Before I dive into the decklist I am proposing as a possible Standard deck, I want to make sure that I give a disclaimer. I do not read the message boards; this means that if this deck idea has been discussed by anyone else, that I had no intention of trying to steal credit or to step on anyone's toes. With that said, on we go to the decklist:

R/B/G “Dark Vore” Featured by Eric Plaisted on 2006-06-11 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/12086.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 2 Gruul Signet 4 Rakdos Signet Creatures 4 Magnivore Enchantments 3 Phyrexian Arena Legendary Creatures 2 Kokusho, the Evening Star 1 Ryusei, the Falling Star	Sorceries 2 Cranial Extraction 3 Crime / Punishment 4 Infernal Tutor 4 Pyroclasm 4 Volcanic Hammer 3 Wildfire Basic Lands 3 Mountain 2 Swamp Lands 4 Blood Crypt 2 Overgrown Tomb 4 Rakdos Carnarium 2 Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace 4 Stomping Ground Legendary Lands 1 Miren, the Moaning Well 1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep 1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse	Sideboard: 3 Pithing Needle 2 Naturalize 1 Cranial Extraction 3 Cruel Edict 2 Demonfire 4 Rise / Fall
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This decklist first came to me in a much less polished form, and through some of my own playtesting I was able to arrive at the above configuration. This exercise for me is more of a way to share my ideas and to help others to try something a little more left of center.

Now I will go on to discussing the card choices, why they were chosen, and how they work in context with the deck.

3 Wildfire
4 Magnivore
2 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Ryusei, the Falling Star

This is the core of the deck and its threats, which is obvious. They should all be large enough to survive Wildfire, and in a pinch you can always sacrifice one of the dragons to Miren, the Moaning Well to either obliterate creatures and/or swing the life totals in your favor. The legendary support lands Shizo, Death's Storehouse and Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep are also included to make your Dragon Legends more powerful.

4 Rakdos Signet
2 Gruul Signet
4 Rakdos Carnarium

These are the mana accelerators and fixers. They are there to help your power out your Wildfires and threats as fast as possible. The Rakdos Carnariums will bounce other lands back to your hand to replay after Wildfire, and when sacrificing lands to Wildfire you can elect to leave a Carnarium in play and actually have two mana to work with instead of one. Also, if someone decides to Faith's Fetters your Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace, you can always bounce it with the Carnarium and replay it.

4 Pyroclasm
4 Volcanic Hammer
3 Crime / Punishment

This is your anti-aggro package, backed up of course by Wildfire. However, the Crime / Punishments also both double as maindeck enchantment and artifact kill. They are also your best bet for stopping one of this deck's problem cards: Paladin en-Vec. Even a lone Paladin can be a problem against your other removal and Magnivores pre sideboarding, before you can bring in Cruel Edicts.

2 Cranial Extraction
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
4 Infernal Tutor

This is your anti-control and tutoring package. The Extractions can take out cards that are harmful to this deck, like Faith's Fetters; Condemn; Pillory of the Sleepless; etc, that you cannot deal with otherwise. The Extractions are also your main weapons against combo, supplemented by more disruption from the sideboard, which we will get to. Rix Maadi can also put a large damper on an opposing control deck's plans, stripping them of counters and answers while you have already played out your spells, and it will also power up your Infernal Tutor's hellbent mechanic. Not to mention that the Dungeon Palace is uncounterable. Finally a special note on Infernal Tutor: it really is a gem in this deck. In the early game it can be used to get another copy of a Pyroclasm or Volcanic Hammer, to help stem the flood of beatdown while also nicely jumping into the graveyard to make your Magnivores bigger. Then, when you have used up most of your hand in the early game, you can use the Tutors' hellbent mechanic to find whatever you need for the current matchup. This also makes the deck a lot more consistent, and helps your sideboard plans.

I think that about covers the maindeck. Now we can press on to the sideboard explanation, and then the matchup analysis and plans for which cards to side in for each matchup.

Sideboarding:

This sideboard is geared towards a control and combo metagame, focusing mostly on increasing disrupting elements to the point where it will be an uphill battle for any combo or control player to beat you. The maindeck is already geared towards beating down aggressive creature decks, but there are a few cards that can be sideborded in to help shore up against very creature-heavy builds.

4 Rise / Fall

This card comes in against control and combo, and if you are lucky it can emulate Hymn to Tourach from the older days of Magic. It doesn't take out lands, but there also may be many situations where an opponent may not have extra lands in hand. A combo or control deck losing two critical cards out of its hand as early as turn 2 can help establish the momentum you need to win. They can also be played before important spells, to force out countermagic.

1 Cranial Extraction

An extra copy comes in from the board to help put away combo and control. With three Extractions and four Tutors, you can be assured of it making an impact during most games.

2 Demonfire

This card can be subbed in against opposing decks that use almost all pain and shock lands, like Zoo and Four-color control variants, and it will punish them for relying to heavily on these fixers. Against control, if the Hellbent mechanic is active it cannot be prevented or countered... a great way to finish a close game against a control opponent. Finally, this card can get rid of pesky creatures with Dredge (or other abilities that come back from the dead), or it can take out larger creatures that your smaller burn spells can't handle.

3 Pithing Needle

This card is another check against both combo and control, but can be useful in nearly any matchup. It shuts down transmute, activated abilities, anything you can think of.

3 Cruel Edict

This can be a tool against other control decks that only play a few copies of creatures for finishers. If you can force the Edict through, then you can easily get rid of most large threats [While I agree in principle, most Control decks pack Meloku. Just sayin', is all. — Craig.] Edict is also another bit of insurance against Simic Sky Swallower, which can be a real pain for this deck to handle if you don't have the lead in life totals or board position. It's big enough to survive Wildfires, trumps your Dragons, and is untargetable to boot. However, if it is the only creature your opponent has on the board, Edict can give it a dirt nap. Edict can also be boarded in against the fastest attackers, improving your chances of stopping an early onslaught.

2 Naturalize

Finally, here we have a few copies of artifact and enchantment kill to help support your Crime / Punishments in the maindeck. These also come in against combo and control depending on what you may be facing. It never hurts to have more insurance against Umezawa's Jitte.

With the sideboard choices out of the way, it's now time to go on to the matchups and what cards to board in against each different opponent. Understand that these are just guidelines, and both your sideboard choices and what to sideboard are always very case sensitive.

Matchup Analysis:

Against Heartbeat:

Out: 4 Pyroclasm; 4 Volcanic Hammer; 2 Wildfire.
In: 4 Rise / Fall; 3 Pithing Needle; 1 Cranial Extraction; 2 Naturalize .

Game 1 could be a bit off a toss-up. You have maindeck enchantment removal, Cranial Extractions, and ways to search for both of them. Wildfire itself is also very disruptive, and a player who puts out a Heartbeat early may just allow you to play a Wildfire twice as fast. In game 1, the only truly dead cards may be the Pyroclasms. For games 2 and 3, the amount of disruption you have for their combo can make it very hard for them to win.

Against Zoo, Dark Zoo, Sea Stompy, Hand to Hand and other beatdown focused decks:

Out: 3 Phyrexian Arena; 2 Cranial Extraction.
In: 3 Cruel Edict; 2 Demonfire.

For game 1 this deck is very well equipped to handle aggressive creature decks. Between Pyroclasm, Wildfire, Volcanic Hammer, and Crime / Punishment, it shouldn't be hard to grind their offensive to a halt. But as everyone knows, fast creature decks can just get the right opening hands, draws, and combination of burn and disruption to beat you, no matter how unlikely. In games 2 and 3 you can bring in the Edicts to help further dwindle the numbers of surviving attackers, and the Demonfires to finish off self-damaging “suicide” decks or large hard-to-kill creatures.

Against Ghost Husk:

Out: 3 Phyrexian Arena; 2 Cranial Extraction.
In: 3 Pithing Needle; 2 Naturalize.

Just like with other Aggro based decks, Dark Vore has a very good chance of shutting down early assaults. The main difference here is both the explosiveness and the disruption that Ghost Husk can pack. There will be times when it seems you are winning, and then the Husk player rips the Promise of Bunrei or the Orzhov Pontiff to change your mind. Another issue with this deck is versions of Black/White Weenie running full sets of Ravenous Rats, Shrieking Grotesques, and the like, to do their job stripping your hand before you even get the chance to remove them with spells, creating card disadvantage for you. In games 2 and 3 you can use Pithing Needles to shut down Ghost Councils, Nantuko Husks, Umezawa's Jittes, and other problem cards. The extra Naturalizes also help against cards like Promise of Bunrei, Faith's Fetters, and Umezawa's Jitte. You may lose the first game to Husk through its explosiveness and disruption; however, games 2 and 3 become easier to handle.

Against Izzetron, URzaTron, and other control decks that are not based on Dovescape:

Out: 4 Pyroclasm; 2 Wildfire; 4 Volcanic Hammer.
In: 4 Rise / Fall; 1 Cranial Extraction; 2 Demonfire; 3 Pithing Needle.

In game 1 they may be able to out-mana you with their Urza lands if you do not resolve a Wildfire. Depending on how early you draw an Arena and whether or not it resolves, you could be fairly evenly matched on card drawing. In game 1, some control decks only run (for example) maybe four Keiga, the Tide Stars or Niv-Mizzet, the Fireminds main, while you are running a total of seven maindeck threats, not to mention that the Magnivores can sometimes reach power/toughness levels of six or higher. So in summary, game 1 is fifty/fifty. In game 2 you swap out some of your creature control effects and bring in your heavy disruption package. In games 2 and 3 you are now more of the aggressor, using your disruptive elements as early and often as possible to force through cards like Phyrexian Arena, Cranial Extraction, and your Magnivores and Dragons. The average control deck may just be overloaded between trying to stop your disruption, counter all the key spells, and also deal with large hasty Magnivores and flying Dragons. Then there is also Demonfire as a backup plan.

Against Dovescape control:

Out: 3 Wildfire; 4 Volcanic Hammer; 1 Infernal Tutor.
In: 1 Cranial Extraction; 2 Naturalize; 3 Cruel Edict; 2 Demonfire.

Why am I bringing in Naturalizes? Because after game 1 it's fairly likely that the opposing player may board out Dovescape entirely, and bring in additional creature control like Faith's Fetters that is bad for your deck. It is also likely that they will board in more of their offensive threats, like Kodama of the North Tree; Yosei, the Morning Star; and Arashi, the Sky Asunder, to try to wear down your removal and then go for your throat. The additional Cranial Extraction can take care of Glare of Subdual, Shining Shoal, and Faith's Fetters, cards that can cause problems for your damage spells and attackers. The Cruel Edicts help further stem their offensive capabilities and provide insurance against both Kodama of the North Tree and Simic Sky Swallower, which can both be lethal to this deck if brought to bear too early. Finally, the Demonfires can be brought in and be put to better use, now that, in games 2 and 3, you take out Wildfire. It may be slow and clunky in this match. As an added bonus, in case the Dovescape player decides to leave in the Dovescape games 2 and 3, you have three Crime / Punishments and two Demonfires that can act as “put X bird tokens into play” under a Dovescape. Another trick in this match is to have a Ryusei, the Falling Star in play and then sac it to your Miren, the Moaning Well to obliterate all the non-token creatures on the board, gaining you life and perhaps resetting the board for a win (if you've token superiority). In summary, game 1 could go fifty/fifty depending on what occurs, with a slight edge on the Dovescape player's side. Games 2 and 3 will depend on whether or not you can guess what your opponent's sideboarding plans will be. If you can anticipate their plans and play accordingly, you have the answers, the means to get them, and a good chance of coming out on top.

...

I hope that that is enough information on matchups. I realize that there must be another fifty or so decks that I didn't cover, but many of the standard rules apply for other archetypes.

Secret bonus section:

I realize by now that the editor is probably ready to come after me with an axe for such a long first article [not at all! — Craig, who's edited Rizzo], but if this article is put in print I want to reward anyone who has managed to make it this far. So here it is; an alternate, more simplistic, version of Red/Black “Dark Vore.” This decklist trades the extra answers provided by Green and goes for a more straightforward, elegant approach. It also lets you abuse Blood Moon, which, for some opposing players like Zoo and Four-Color Control decks, may just be an automatic concession. No more analysis, no more talk... here is the decklist:

Red/Black “Dark Vore” with Blood Moons Featured by Eric Plaisted on 2006-06-11 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/12086.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 2 Gruul Signet 4 Rakdos Signet Creatures 4 Magnivore Enchantments 3 Phyrexian Arena	Legendary Creatures 2 Kokusho, the Evening Star 1 Ryusei, the Falling Star Sorceries 2 Cranial Extraction 3 Cruel Edict 4 Infernal Tutor 4 Pyroclasm 4 Volcanic Hammer 3 Wildfire Basic Lands 6 Mountain 5 Swamp Lands 4 Blood Crypt 4 Rakdos Carnarium 2 Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace Legendary Lands 1 Miren, the Moaning Well 1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep 1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse	Sideboard: 3 Blood Moon 1 Cranial Extraction 1 Cruel Edict 2 Demonfire 4 Rise / Fall 4 Shattering Spree
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Lastly, I just wanted to say that I hope this analysis will help some people out there to try something a little different. I had a lot of fun in both the testing and the writing, of which I hope I can look forward to a long career. Thanks for your attention and your time.

Sincerely,
Eric Plaisted