In Love With Inferno Titan

I apologize for lack of images - I'm posting this from an 'Net rental shop because my new home doesn't have Internet or a phone line yet.

I participated in the Magic 2012 Pre-Release tournament held at Eton Cyberpod last Saturday, July 10, 2011, and got a 3-1 record! Would you believe it, with these cards?

Deck List  (24 spells, 16 lands)
14 Commons, 8 Uncommons, 1 Rare, 1 Mythic Rare

Mythic Rare-

Inferno Titan - To answer the above question, yes, 3-1 with this monster is believable. In all 3 matches I won, it was because of this guy. From killing Royal Assassins and Grim Lavamancers, assisting in taking down a literal 6/6 flying demonic tutor, to doing a suicide run in order to bring my opponent within Lava Axe range, this Titan was the MVP. Too bad he didn't show up the first game, though.

Rare-

Sorin's Vengeance - This 7-mana sorcery saved my hide from losing when my opponent was at 28 life and I was at 10. My opponent was just being practical and hitting me with his Sorin Markov for 2 and gaining 2 every turn, and I was trying my best to kill the planeswalker with my attacks when I drew my third swamp, which also happened to be my seventh land. Rather than wait for my opponent to hit me with a "Mindslaver ver. Black" I hit Sorin with his own draining spell. Irony!

Uncommon:

Circle of Flame - While normally this spell would be passed over in Standard constructed and relegated to the sideboard, this little red enchantment saved me countless of times in the mirror match, keeping various X/1 attackers at bay, buying me time to set up my big hitters.

Crimson Mage - Turn 1 Goblin Fireslinger, Turn 2 shoot/swing with Goblin, triggering Stormblood Berserker's bloodthirst 2, Turn 3 Crimson Mage, give itself haste, swing for 6. Or, Turn 1 Goblin Fireslinger, Turn 2 Crimson Mage, ping for 1, Turn 3 Child of Night + haste = 7-point life swing! In reality though, Crimson Mage was relegated to the role of 2-mana beater, which it does well.

Crown of Empires - The other reason I was able to hold out against enemy creatures. Volcanic Dragon heading your way and no Doom Blade in hand? No problem, just stare it down with the crown - and three mana, of course. Black flying 6/6 demon? Piece of cake. Have 3, will live.

Onyx Mage - You have got to love a 2-mana beater who essentially makes blocking even your smallest attackers a losing proposition if regeneration isn't available. Its ability to grant deathtouch is also a powerful defensive tool. You're not going to attack with your 5/7 giant spider legend into certain death, are you?

Sengir Vampire - Classic black threat from the sky. 'Nuff said. For those new to Magic, in a sealed deck constructed environment, paying 5 mana for a 4/4 flyer is fine already, and extra abilities are icing on the cake. The ability to get a +1/+1 counter for each kill certainly is a great bonus.

Stormblood Berserker x2 - I didn't know how to use these guys in the first match, and I feel that I must apologize to these dudes. They're excellent harassers even as 1/1 creatures, can force weird blocks or be let through just to avoid having a fragile support creature die, and late in the game a 3/3 that requires 2 creatures to block it can be a cause for consideration.

Volcanic Dragon - Here's a bit of history: Volcanic Dragon was originally a rare when it came out in the Mirage set, and people would feel bad if they drew one from a pack. It's not much of a bomb, especially for a rare. Now, a 4/4 uncommon flyer with haste for 6 mana is just about right, in a color not known for flying, efficient or big creatures.

Common:

Bloodrage Vampire - In the right conditions or deck, this guy is actually a 4/2 for three mana. Most of the time though, he'll be a magnet for blockers, or a threat against X/4 would-be attackers.

Bonebreaker Giant - 100% better than Blood Ridge Berserkers, which has the same 4/4 body and converted mana cost of 5, because it can actually block for more than 1 turn. You can actually tell it to stay put and not suicidally charge into the enemy ranks.

Chandra's Outrage - My favorite 4-mana burn spell, because when you need to kill an opposing Serra Angel, Sengir Vampire, Volcanic Dragon, or Djinn of Wishes, three damage will not do. 4 damage to any targetable creature is nice, and 2 damage on your opponent (or a planeswalker he controls) is a nice side effect.

Child of Night x2 - Yet another vampire foot soldier. No flying here, just 2 damage for 2 mana, and a life bonus with each hit thanks to its lifelink ability. It also plays nice with multi-color decks thanks to requiring just one black mana plus one of any color.

Doom Blade - This spell destroys any creature that isn't black, whatever size it is. During my matches Doom Blade took down enemy Volcanic Dragons, 6/6 wurms with trample and bloodthirst, 5/7 giant spiders, and other creatures that would have spoiled my plans.

Goblin Fireslinger - It's not in the size of the body or the size of the burning pebble it hits you in the face with from long range. It's the ability to trigger bloodthirst in his buddies that convinced me to let this little guy stay in my deck, and I have no regrets.

Gorehorn Minotaurs - If Inferno Titan was my MVP, this guy was my waterboy and bench-warmer rolled into one. He didn't show up in the battlefield in any of the matches at all. I only drew him in test draws or non-scoring games, which shows just how weird my luck is, I guess.

Gravedigger - Crucial. Absolutely crucial, especially when you have plans of a suicidal charge to take down one or some of your opponent's creatures, or if a surprise spell kills your current attacker. You get a free 2/2 zombie as a bonus, and who doesn't like free zombies?

Incinerate - They should rename this spell "Trollbuster". Whenever I fought a green deck in my matches, they would always bring out a Cudgel Troll or enchant their creatures with Trollhide, and this burn spell would always answer the call. I even remember ending one game with Goblin Fireslinger and Incinerate for the last few points of damage.

Lava Axe - 5 damage to the face for five mana. It doesn't get simpler than this. See the Inferno Titan comment above for a memorable instance of sternum-crushing axe to the face action. For those confused with the anatomical references, go and take a look at, or better yet, get a copy of the M12 version of this card.

Manalith - Q: You're playing a two-color deck, should you still run mana-fixing? A: If it's anything that will help you summon your Giant, Vampire, Dragon, or Titan earlier, then by all means do so. I remember casting an Inferno Titan on Turn 5 after getting nothing but Swamps, a Sengir Vampire and a Child of Night for the first 4 turns. A Mountain on Turn 5 followed with a Titan - that won the game then and there.

Manic Vandal - Q: Manic Vandal main in the main deck, when you're running 2 artifacts of your own? A: When push comes to shove, and you need an extra body, you do what you need to do. I put him in because I saw there were 3/4 golems running around, which would really mess up my attack plans, but I didn't encounter any. He got to blow up a Manalith or 2 though.

Warpath Ghoul - It's a vanilla 3/2 zombie for three mana. There's not much to say about this guy, except that he got narrowly beat out of the bench-warmer/waterboy position by the Gorehorn Minotaurs.

Last but not the least, the mana base:
9 Mountains
7 Swamps