Pro Tour: Kobe has come to a close and has left us with some promising ideas from the cunning minds of the Japanese. Even though Kobe was a Mirrodin Block Constructed tournament, you can't just blow off all the innovations presented there when trying to find a Regionals deck. I'm sure you know where I'm getting with this article by now, so I'll just show off the decklist and let you sit in awe.

Big Red Standard
4 Great Furnace
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
16 Mountain

4 Arc-Slogger
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Barbed Lightning
4 Flamebreak
4 Electrostatic Bolt
4 Shrapnel Blast
4 Pulse of the Forge
4 Fireball
4 Damping Matrix

Sideboard:
3 Furnace Dragon
4 Echoing Ruin
4 Oblivion Stone
4 Starstorm

Only four non-Mirrodin Block cards... And this thing is supposed to take down all in which stands bright and tall in our metagame? You're damn right it is.

Card by Card Analysis:
Blinkmoth Nexus
We Love Man Lands! Especially when they turn into artifacts so they can't be Terrored and can be sacrificed for Shrapnel Blast. If that's not enough, it flies too. Life is good.

Arc-Slogger
Personally, I'm not all for the idea of giving up ten cards off the top of my library just for a Shock, but when you're opponent is knocking outside of death's door, I'm not complaining either. The 4/5 body is solid.

Solemn Simulacrum
Fetch, Draw, Artifact, and a 2/2 body all for four mana. This is a deck that kinda relies on the sad robot to get out of stupid ruts.

Barbed Lightning
Eat your heart out Volcanic Hammer. So what if you can cast yourself a turn earlier. I'll have five lands in no time, so I can burn off a Siege-Gang Commander and still get three damage at my opponent's head.

Flamebreak
At first, I was a bit afraid of Flamebreak due to the damage at each player and the fact that it didn't hit flyers. Suddenly, I'm up against two Troll Ascetics. Needless to say, now I've got my four Flamebreaks ready.

Electrostatic Bolt
Myr Enforcer, Frogmite, Arcbound Worker, Arcbound Ravager, Ornithopter, Solemn Simulacrum, Arcbound Stinger. Did I miss any important ones?

Pulse of the Forge
I'm going to have to give this card my MVC award for Most Valuable Card in this deck. You're already taking a beating from all those aggro decks, so you've got a huge probability of Pulse coming back and four damage is nothing to be laughing at. Along with Shrapnel Blast, Barbed Lightning, Fireball, and Arc-Slogger, your opponent won't be standing for too long.

Fireball
What is the world coming to when we rely on XR burn spells? Blaze didn't do so hot so what's Fireball going to do? Dividing damage is pretty nice, even if it costs an additional one for each target and it is raw burn for that matter so, yeah, I'd have to say a lot has changed since Blaze.

Damping Matrix
Yes everyone, four maindeck Damping Matrix is without a doubt, the most needed card for the current Standard metagame. Do you want a list of most of what it hoses? Here ya go:

Arcbound Ravager
Skullclamp
Atog
Chiss-Goria Jank
Goblin Sharpshooter
Siege-Gang Commander
Goblin Sledder
Skirk Prospector
Mindslaver
Bosh, Iron Golem
Isochron Scepter
Spellbombs
Bonesplitter
Weathered Wayfarer
Ravenous Baloth
Troll Ascetic
And many more!

Furnace Dragon
Affinity has become quite the popular deck and is no laughing matter when going up against it. All three versions pack a wide variety of death and so, you might as well just play something that is death for them. Furnace Dragon! You're up!

Echoing Ruin
Still think Affinity can beat you? Of course it can! But this makes it that harder for them to come out victorious.

Oblivion Stone
When discussion started as to whether Big Red was viable in Standard, many people pointed to how it would find itself in an impossible situation against the heavily sideboarded Circle of Protection: Red. Shouldn't be much of a problem anymore.

Starstorm
Aggro decks are pretty damn fast, thanks to Skullclamp and you sure can't rely on finding a Damping Matrix every single game. Just consider Starstorm as an added bonus to screw over Aggro decks even more.

Things to consider when playing with Big Red:
1. You're playing with a control deck. You have eight real creatures, so don't rely on them for the kill all the time. Try to save up some burn to finish up an opponent.

2. The games you will be playing will usually be a race to see who can kill the other person first. If playing against Aggro, keep their heavy threats to a minimum and slowly work down their life. If playing against Control, toss just about every piece of burn you can at their head!

3. Don't always rely on drawing up a burn card to save your arse when up against a threat. If you can take out an opponent, fine. If not, take out the threat and buy yourself more time.

4. Use Arc-Slogger wisely! Don't just mill yourself for forty cards as soon as you play him! Use him as a beat stick with the ability to drop your opponent from eight or so to zero.

5. Make your Blinkmoth Nexus do work. Get in as many swings as you can to lower your opponent's life little by a little, so they're that much closer to dying from an assortment of burn.

Match-ups:
Big Red vs. U/W Control (60% - 65% before and after sideboard)
Is this deck still alive? Of course, because it never died! It's just that R/W Control hogged a lot of its spotlight. Anyway, you've got the upper hand, just like you would against any normal control deck. Focus all your burn at them while holding onto your Shrapnel Blasts for when they are tapped out or when looking at an Exalted Angel threat. Their lifegain is a big no-no and sometimes, Pulse of the Forge won't be able to bail you out, no matter how many times it recurs. Sideboards won't change much as, they've got Circle of Protection: Red and you have anti-Circle of Protection: Red in Oblivion Stone.

Sideboarding: -4 Damping Matrix; +4 Oblivion Stone

Big Red vs. R/W Control (50% - 55% before sideboard; 40% - 45% after sideboard):
So not all of Control is a walk in the park. Especially when they're backed up with burn of their own and a good amount of life gain to boot. You don't mind Astral Slide all too much, as I'm sure you'll enjoy fetching out all your lands with a sliding Solemn Simulacrum. Fear Lightning Rift however! Once they get started on their cycling spree, the game turns into a full blown race to see who dies first. You've got more burn than they have, but they've got that pesky life gain in Exalted Angel, Renewed Faith, and possibly Pulse of the Fields.

After sideboarding, you get the infamous Oblivion Stone to wreak havoc on all their enchantments, but they get to pull out Circle of Protection: Red anyway and Pulse of the Fields if they didn't already have it in. Pulse of the Fields is truly a pain in the arse, as it can ultimately force you out of burn and end up losing. It's up to you to finish off your opponent before they get too much land and can Pulse of the Fields more than one time a turn.

Sideboarding: -4 Damping Matrix; +4 Oblivion Stone

Big Red vs. G/W Control/Beatdown (60% - 65% before sideboard, 65% - 70% after sideboard):
Flamebreak, Damping Matrix and a many bits of burn is what turns this game into a massacre. Pulse of the Tangle will rarely return to their hand, Flamebreak singes off Troll Ascetics, 3/3 Beast tokens, and Birds of Paradise with no mercy, and Damping Matrix turns Troll Ascetics and Ravenous Baloths into regular creatures. I will say that you will have to play this game strategically if you want to win, but with that done, it should be pretty simple. Make sure that their heavy threats are neutralized and taken out, otherwise you may too much to handle. Once sideboards are implemented, you get Starstorm and Oblivion Stone to waste their creatures at an even faster rate and allowing you to focus your burn on their dome.

Sideboarding: -4 Electrostatic Bolt, -1 Barbed Lightning, -1 Fireball, -1 Flamebreak; +4 Oblivion Stone, +3 Starstorm

Big Red vs. Goblin/Goblin Bidding (50% - 55% before sideboard, 55% after sideboard):
Oops. Goblins win. That's just how some games work against those sadistic, destructive, Red men. They simply play a few creatures and suddenly, you're at zero. As for the games where that doesn't take place, you stand a pretty descent chance. Damping Matrix is your best friend, since it hoses down about half of their deck. Goblin Sharpshooter becomes a 1/1 attacker/blocker, Goblin Sledders can't save their goblin buddies, Skirk Prospectors can't shove huge amounts of mana into their pool, Siege-Gang Commander simply makes three 1/1 Goblins without serving much of a purpose after being played, and Skullclamp just sits around on the field gathering up dust.

Even with all that locked down, Goblins are still a threat. Take out Goblin Warchief the minute you see him pop his head out to save yourself a large amount of grief. The same goes for Goblin Piledriver. Make sure to keep some mana open just in case your opponent tries to play both plus more in a single turn. After sideboarding, not much changes. Starstorm becomes active, but that's all you get to receive and that won't change the game dramatically.

Sideboarding: -4 Fireball; +4 Starstorm

Big Red vs. Ravager Affinity (50% before sideboard, 70% after sideboard):
Just like Goblins, Ravager Affinity pulls out this amazing turn 4 kills before you're able to finish a blink. Disciple of the Vault and Arcbound Ravager are key threats that should be eliminated upon seeing them. Even if you have to use a Fireball for one on the Disciple, if that's all you've got to use, do it. It's definitely worth it.

Myr Enforcers are pretty big beat sticks that should be taken care of next, and Flamebreak should clear up everything else. Be sure to see if any Welding Jars are present for the rest of your burn, as your opponent will not hesitate to regenerate an Arcbound Ravager. Damping Matrix once again shines to stop an Arcbound Ravager and/or Atog from getting any bigger and stops a Skullclamp from... clamping skulls, of course. After sideboarding, you get to bring in just about everything and tear your opponent apart. This isn't to say that you are automatically going to win. Actually, it's far from it. Make sure not to make any mistakes, as Ravager Affinity can easily capitalize off of one and snatch a victory right from your hands.

Sideboarding: -4 Arc-Slogger, -2 Fireball, -1 Barbed Lightning; +4 Echoing Ruin, +3 Furnace Dragon (Optional: -3 Barbed Lightning, +3 Oblivion Stone)

Big Red vs. Ponza & R/G Land Destruction (Pretty damn bad before and after sideboard):
I believe there's a saying that goes like,"All good things must come to an end." Or something like that. Anyway, your only real chance of winning against Land Destruction is to either start up with more lands than they have Land Destruction, get down on your hands and knees and beg for mercy from your opponent, or have your opponent not show up. All joking aside, things are not looking very bright for you. Your strategy is to simply try to finish off your opponent as quickly as you can before you're unable to play anything. Make sure to take out Slith Firewalker, Troll Ascetic, and Ravenous Baloth, otherwise your chances of winning will be diminished even further. Sadly, there's nothing you can bring in from your sideboard to help, so just play your very best.

Big Red vs. Zombie Clerics (45% - 55% before and after sideboard):
From the percentage given, it's pretty easy to tell that I didn't test against this matchup all too much. Sorry. But I can tell you from what I've played that this is a pretty hard matchup if the Zombie Cleric deck gets moving. Damping Matrix is a necessity due to Skullclamp, Cabal Archon, Dark Supplicant, and Carrion Feeder will grow rather unnerving if left unhindered. Rotlung Reanimator is what makes this match really hard. Make sure to kill it on spot before it begins its zombie take over, or before a second one hits play and you find yourself really screwed. Use Flamebreak wisely and make sure to keep whittling away your opponent's life. Sideboards don't really change much as you bring in Starstorm for more board removal. Just make sure not to overextend yourself in this one.

Sideboarding: -4 Fireball; +4 Starstorm

I hope you've enjoyed this piece on Big Red in Standard and will think about how badly it will waste your deck. That's right. I'm talking to all of you Ravager Affinity and Goblin players who think you're so cool with your turn 4 wins. Come Regionals, you're all going down at the hands of Big Red. As for you Land Destruction players, please remember to forget your decks at home. Thanks.

~Dan Wilson