Hello everyone. With the bans that took place on June 28th, Red took quite a hit. But now, the dust has settled a bit and it's time for me to take a look at some decks that all feature Red mana. Let's get started.

Mono-Red Aggro

Let's begin by taking a look at a Mono-Red deck to see what has changed after the bans.

Mono-Red Aggro | FIN Standard | LegenVD, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (20)
• 4 Emberheart Challenger
• 4 Hired Claw
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Screaming Nemesis
• 4 Slickshot Show-Off

• Instants (15)
• 3 Witchstalker Frenzy
• 4 Burst Lightning
• 4 Lightning Strike
• 4 Shock

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Boltwave

• Lands (21)
• 17 Mountain
• 4 Rockface Village

Buy This Deck Export text

Much of the core of this deck remained intact, however some important cards were lost. You still want to begin the game with Monastery Swiftspear and Slickshot Show-Off. These two creatures provide a lot of punch for this deck, thanks to their prowess and prowess-like abilities. You'll be able to swing for a lot of damage while still being able to cast other spells to either deal additional direct damage to your opponent or to destroy their creatures.

Speaking of direct damage spells, this deck runs a ton of them. Shock and Boltwave both only cost one Red mana to cast. Burst Lightning can also be cast for just one mana, but you'll want to kick it for extra damage some of the time. There's also Lightning Strike, which can be used to finish off a weakened opponent. Even though this deck lost a lot of cards in the ban, it's still really fast and aggressive.

Boros Burn

Next, we'll take a look at another burn deck that has a bit of White mana added to the mix. Let's check out the deck.

Boros Burn | FIN Standard | MTG_Joe, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Screaming Nemesis
• 4 Emberheart Challenger
• 4 Hired Claw
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Slickshot Show-Off

• Instants (14)
• 2 Lightning Strike
• 4 Boros Charm
• 4 Burst Lightning
• 4 Lightning Helix

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Boltwave

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Case of the Crimson Pulse

• Lands (22)
• 9 Mountain
• 1 Restless Bivouac
• 4 Battlefield Forge
• 4 Inspiring Vantage
• 4 Sunbillow Verge

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

This deck features all of the same creatures the previous Mono-Red deck had, although in slightly different quantities. It also features many of the same burn spells, but thanks to the addition of White mana, there are some additional spells that will help you withstand the initial rush of an opponent's aggressive deck.

Lightning Helix pulls double duty, dealing damage to either your opponent directly or to one of their creatures, while healing you in return. Boros Charm is a great modal spell that offers a lot of direct damage in relation to the amount of mana spent, double strike for one of your presumably pumped creatures, or indestructibility for your permanents for the turn. Even though these two spells are the only spells that require the addition of White mana, they really can offer you more staying power throughout the game.

Izzet Vivi Cauldron

The next deck I have for you features my favorite new creature from Final Fantasy, Vivi Ornitier. Let's take a look at the deck.

Izzet Vivi Cauldron | FIN Standard | LegenVD, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Voldaren Thrillseeker
• 4 Fear of Missing Out
• 4 Marauding Mako
• 4 Tersa Lightshatter
• 4 Vivi Ornitier

• Instants (4)
• 4 Into the Flood Maw

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Glacial Dragonhunt
• 4 Winternight Stories

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Proft's Eidetic Memory

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Agatha's Soul Cauldron

• Lands (22)
• 3 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Riverpyre Verge
• 4 Shivan Reef
• 4 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Thundering Falls

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

I have nothing but good things to say about Vivi Ornitier. Being able to add additional mana each turn based on Viv's power allows you to get so far ahead of your opponent. Plus, the fact that Vivi's power (and toughness) grows each time you cast a noncreature spell makes this Wizard a creature that will have a huge target on their back.

You can further boost Vivi's power and toughness by playing Proft's Eidetic Memory. While it's on the battlefield, you'll have no maximum hand size. Plus, if you've drawn more than one card this turn, at the beginning of combat on your turn, you'll be able to put a number of +1/+1 counters on a creature you control equal to one less than the number of cards you've drawn this turn. Vivi Ornitier is a great target for those counters, but if you're concerned about your opponent destroying Vivi, you can always put them on any of the other creatures in this deck.

Rakdos Lizards

While I might not be a fan of Lizards in real life, this Rakdos Lizards deck looks to me to be a lot of fun. Let's take a look at the deck.

Rakdos Lizards | FIN Standard | MTG_Joe, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (30)
• 2 Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate
• 2 Valley Flamecaller
• 3 Gev, Scaled Scorch
• 3 Laughing Jasper Flint
• 4 Fireglass Mentor
• 4 Flamecache Gecko
• 4 Gastal Thrillseeker
• 4 Hired Claw
• 4 Iridescent Vinelasher

• Instants (7)
• 3 Go for the Throat
• 4 Burst Lightning

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Duress

• Lands (20)
• 2 Mountain
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Mudflat Village
• 3 Rockface Village
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Blazemire Verge
• 4 Sulfurous Springs

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

Early on, you'll want to be on the lookout for two creatures. Gev, Scaled Scorch provides a +1/+1 counter to each other creature you cast as long as your opponent has lost life this turn. He also deals 1 damage to your opponent whenever you cast a Lizard spell. Since the majority of creatures in this deck are Lizards, you'll often get that +1/+1 counter, making all of your threats that much more threatening.

Since this deck already has a ton of Lizards, you'll want to get a copy of Hired Claw into play as quickly as possible. While this Lizard Mercenary is on the battlefield, it will deal 1 damage to your opponent whenever you attack with at least one Lizard. While these two creatures form a great team, there are a bunch of other great creatures for you to explore while playing this deck.

Gruul Vehicles

The final deck I have for you this week features a number of Vehicles, which is something we're sure to see more of in Edge of Eternities next month. Let's take a look at the deck.

Gruul Vehicles | FIN Standard | HelloGoodGame, aetherhub.com user

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Chandra, Spark Hunter

• Creatures (15)
• 2 Halana and Alena, Partners
• 2 Scavenging Ooze
• 3 Redshift, Rocketeer Chief
• 4 Balthier and Fran
• 4 Llanowar Elves

• Instants (9)
• 2 Abrade
• 3 Defend the Rider
• 4 Burst Lightning

• Artifacts (10)
• 2 Boommobile
• 4 Gastal Thrillroller
• 4 Thunderous Velocipede

• Lands (23)
• 5 Mountain
• 6 Forest
• 4 Copperline Gorge
• 4 Karplusan Forest
• 4 Starting Town

• Sideboard (4)
• 1 Draconautics Engineer
• 1 Kolodin, Triumph Caster
• 1 Oviya, Automech Artisan
• 1 Lumbering Worldwagon

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

Chandra, Spark Hunter leads this deck. Her static ability allows you to transform one Vehicle you control into an artifact creature for the turn, plus it gains haste. This can often allow you to get in a big attack while your opponent's defenses are down. Chandra can make her own Vehicles for you to animate, or you can play any of the other great Vehicles in this deck.

Thunderous Velocipede is a huge 5/5 Vehicle that provides additional +1/+1 counters to your other Vehicles when they enter the battlefield. Boommobile provides you with additional mana you can use to activate abilities with when it comes into play. It's also another big 5/5 Vehicle, sure to cause damage when it attacks. Finally, there's Gastal Thrillroller, which becomes an artifact creature for the turn when it enters play. It can also return from the graveyard, making combat math even more difficult for your opponent.

Wrapping Up

Red is squarely all about aggression right now. Each of these decks offers multiple ways of dealing direct damage to your opponent, whether it's with instant or sorcery spells, the abilities of creatures, or trample damage. All of these decks really appeal to me, and I'm not sure which of them I'm going to build first.

What do you think of these decks? Feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes