Red Horsemanship by Toasted

Format: Commander

Commander: Yuan Shao, the Indecisive

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 24

Deck overview

This deck is a mono-red aggro deck helmed by Yuan Shao, the Indecisive. Its core mechanic exploits the rules interaction between Yuan Shao's static ability—which forbids opponents from blocking any creature with more than one blocker—and the menace keyword, which requires at least two blockers. Together, they make every attacking creature with menace completely unblockable. The list curves out early menace and horsemanship creatures before deploying Yuan Shao on Turn 4 or 5. Once the board is unblockable, the deck accelerates its clock using damage triplers such as Fiery Emancipation and City on Fire, double strike via Berserkers' Onslaught, and extra combat phases from Raphael, Tag Team Tough and Relentless Assault. While the deck deals guaranteed combat damage through creature walls, it relies on natural topdecks due to low card draw and carries minimal protection against mass removal.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Abomination, World Ravager
  • 1 Abrade
  • 1 Ancient Copper Dragon
  • 1 Anger
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Arcbound Tracker
  • 1 Arena of Glory
  • 1 Atarka Pummeler
  • 1 Barbarian General
  • 1 Berserkers' Onslaught
  • 1 Blasphemous Act
  • 1 Burning Fields
  • 1 Burning of Xinye
  • 1 Castle Embereth
  • 1 Chaos Warp
  • 1 City on Fire
  • 1 Crystalline Giant
  • 1 Deflecting Swat
  • 1 Dinotomaton
  • 1 Disrupt Decorum
  • 1 Dong Zhou, the Tyrant
  • 1 Eunuchs' Intrigues
  • 1 Fiery Emancipation
  • 1 Fire Diamond
  • 1 Full Throttle
  • 1 Generous Plunderer
  • 1 Gnoll War Band
  • 1 Goblin War Drums
  • 1 Goldhound
  • 1 Goldspan Dragon
  • 1 Gorilla War Cry
  • 1 Great Train Heist
  • 1 Hazoret's Monument
  • 1 Heavyweight Demolisher
  • 1 Heraldic Banner
  • 1 Inquisitorial Rosette
  • 1 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
  • 1 Komainu Battle Armor
  • 1 Lightning Bolt
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Lu Bu, Master-at-Arms
  • 1 Ma Chao, Western Warrior
  • 29 Mountain
  • 1 Mountain Bandit
  • 1 Neheb, the Eternal
  • 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
  • 1 Professional Face-Breaker
  • 1 Raphael, Tag Team Tough
  • 1 Redirect Lightning
  • 1 Relentless Assault
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Rising of the Day
  • 1 Rolling Earthquake
  • 1 Ruby Medallion
  • 1 Ruin Grinder
  • 1 Seething Song
  • 1 Sire of Seven Deaths
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Spellbook
  • 1 Sticky Fingers
  • 1 Temple of the False God
  • 1 The Fire Crystal
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Unexpected Windfall
  • 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
  • 1 Vandalblast
  • 1 Vincent, Vengeful Atoner
  • 1 Yellow Scarves Cavalry
  • 1 Yellow Scarves General
  • 1 Yuan Shao, the Indecisive
  • 1 Zhao, the Moon Slayer
  • 1 Zodiac Dragon