Haste
And the bass keeps running and running and running, running, running...
There’s a reputation that mono-Red players often get of being “brainless” for committing the original sin of playing aggressively. While it’s true that fast decks can often win in such a fashion that it incapacitates other strategies, every deck works to incapacitate the opponent’s deck in one way or another. Aggressive strategies exist for a reason, and that reason is to keep greedier control and combo decks in check from running away with the game. The interplay of aggressive, midrange, and control strategies form the fundamental rock-paper-scissors of a metagame that keep the environment fun and fair for a wide variety of decks.
Tapping creatures for value is fun, but tapping them for speed and power can be just as fun if you’re ready to go fast. And sometimes, I want to go fast.
Haste is among the simplest, most direct mechanics in MTG. If you want to play your cards now, Haste lets you. Attack immediately. Tap for value. Don’t wait. Not now. Not ever.
Haste, as one of the core keyworded abilities in Magic, shows up on a variety cards at different power levels big and small. Sometimes, it’s used as a finishing tool in and of itself, like in the case of the iconic Craterhoof Behemoth. Sometimes, it’s a combo payoff, as with Anger and Sneak Attack granting haste to other creatures that would ordinarily lack the keyword. Sometimes it’s somewhere in the middle as with equipment such as Lightning Greaves or cantrips like Expedite.
No matter how you choose to go fast, when it’s time to go all in, you go all in.
Next week, we’ll put our nose to the grindstone once more.