Zendikar Decks Part II: B/R Bloodchief

Hello readers, and welcome to part two of my Zendikar decks series. Today's post will be about B/R Bloodchief. This deck focuses on playing a Bloodchief Ascension and activating it as quickly as possible. It then uses cards such as Blightning and sweepers to put cards in the opponent's graveyard and deal lots of damage.

Here's the decklist I used:

Lands (20)

4 Akoum Refuge
4 Dragonskull Summit
8 Mountain
8 Swamp

Creatures (16)

4 Goblin Guide
4 Hell's Thunder
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Vampire Lacerator

Spells (24)

4 Blightning
4 Bloodchief Ascension
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Volcanic Fallout
4 Earthquake

Sideboard:

4 Deathmark
3 Duress
4 Goblin Outlander
4 Hideous End

I hopped onto MWS to do battle.

Round 1 vs. Four-Color Control

We start off with ETBT lands. I play Vampire Lacerator, which he Agony Warps. He Esper Charms, and I counter with Blightning and another Lacerator. He plays Baneslayer Angel, then another a couple of turns later, and beats me to death with them.

Game 2 he mulligans to 5. I use Hellspark Elemental, and get some early Goblin Guide action. He gets rid of it  already at 10 life. We pass for a couple of turns, then he Time Warps twice. I drop a Lacerator, and hit him a couple of times. Lightning Bolt and Earthquake are enough to end it.

Game 3 he Spell Pierces a Bloodchief Ascension and Burst Lightning. He Blightnings me, and Pierces another Ascension. I play a third Ascension and beat down with a Lacerator. I activate it and he Esper Charms it. I knock him to 8 with double Lacerator before he Day of Judgements them. I Goblin Guide him to 6, and he plays Baneslayer Angel. I Hideous End it and he scoops it up.

1-0

Round 2 vs. BGW Landfall

He plays a Turn 2 Lotus Cobra. I Bolt it. I swing with a Hellspark, he plays another Cobra and Cobras into a Bloodghast. I kill the Cobra again. He hits with Bloodghast, and then drops a Knight of the Reliquary. He plays an Ob Nixilis a turn or two later and when he plays another fetchland I scoop.

Game 2 I kill a Lotus Cobra, but he plays a second and third one. I don't find enough removal. He plays double Steppe Lynx and landfalls his way to victory over a few turns. I barely get him to 10.

1-1

Round 3 vs. Naya

He opens with a Nacatl. I Bolt it and play Goblin Guide. With the aid of his fetchlands I start beating him down. He plays a 5/5 Reliquary. He plays a Behemoth Sledge, but I trick him into a block and then double Burst Lightning it. I get him down to 5, but he equips a Nacatl with Behemoth Sledge and manages to outrace me.

Game 2 I open with a Goblin Guide, and he opens with a Birds. He plays a Nacatl and a Ranger of Eos. When he plays Behemoth Sledge, I Fallout the board, leaving him at 11. He plays a Nacatl and equips it, but I quake for 5. I Deathmark his next Nacatl. He plays 2 Hierarchs and equips Behemoth Sledge. I pray for a quake off the top, and I get it.

Game 3 I mulligan to 6 and play a Turn 2 Bloodchief Ascension. He plays Behemoth Sledge. I Hellspark him. He plays a Nacatl and I Bolt him at EOT. I play Fallout leaving him at 12 life. He Purges my active Ascension. I swing him to 8, but he gets a 5/5 lifelink Nacatl, and I never draw another Deathmark.

1-2

Round 4 vs. Soldiers

I play a Turn 1 Bloodchief Ascension, and he plays Elite Vanguard. I pass, he plays Honor and attacks. I ho-hum, and take 3. I Burst Lightning him at EOT, then Goblin Guide him. He plays Kor Aeronaut. I swing, he Paths the Guide. I Earthquake for 3 to activate my Ascension. He attacks. Next turn I Blightning him, then I manage to Blightning + Hellspark for exactly lethal the turn after that.

Game 2 He passes. I play Goblin Guide and attack, and he plays White Knight. I Bolt it. He plays Honor of the Pure, I play Bloodchief Ascension and swing. He plays a second Honor and Sigilled Paladin, which I Deathmark. I swing. He Paths my Guide, so I Fallout an empty board to activate Ascension. He plays Kor Aeronaut. I Blightning him to 3 life and 0 cards in hand, then Deathmark his one creature. I win shortly after.

2-2

Salivanth's Rating: 3.5/5
Matches Won x2: 4/8

Total Score: 7.5

I like B/R Bloodchief, but I think B/R Blightning is better. The Bloodchief often gets killed or doesn't activate and it warps your game too much. Goblin Guide is awesome, I don't know about Lacerator. I'd recommend upping the curve by removing the Bloodchief Ascensions and the Lacerators and adding in some strong 3-4 mana cards.

Make sure to vote for tomorrow's deck in the polls!

See you tomorrow!