Red Dead Redemption (Mono Red Phoenix) (Legacy)

Mono Red Prowess is a rare beast: An affordable deck to enjoy at FNM that can also compete at the top tables of a Grand Prix or Open. It is capable of incredibly explosive draws that threaten to kill on turn 3 against combo or control decks, yet it can play a long, controlling game against aggressive or midrange decks. In other words, it pivots roles from matchup to matchup and game to game like a midrange deck, but it's not out of luck against over-the-top strategies. That's a far cry from the one-dimensional pile of Lava Spikes that Mono Red is often purported to be.

Furthermore, playing this deck affords the benefits that the Red Archmage, Patrick Sullivan, described in the February 19th, 2020 edition of Sullivan's Satchel: "At root, I really enjoy Magic, and most aggressive red decks produce games where all pieces of the game engine matter. Battlefield presence, life totals, card advantage, fighting over a key permanent – all these things do and don’t matter depending on the shape of the game and the opposing cards in a way that, say, a blue control mirror doesn’t really promise."

This particular iteration of the deck involves one of my all-time favorite cards, Arclight Phoenix. I'm someone whose life has involved more than my fair share of darkness and doubt. When I can literally bring some beautiful bird-shaped avatars of fire and hope back from the dead, that hits me hard.