Overview:

This mono-red spellslinger deck revolves around Ashling, Flame Dancer, leveraging instant/sorcery storm synergies and ritual mana to chain spells. The primary strategy focuses on casting multiple spells per turn to trigger Ashling's magecraft abilities for card filtering, damage output, and explosive mana generation. Key backup win conditions include storm finishers like Grapeshot, infinite mana combos using Reiterate + rituals, and massive spell-copy chains via Bonus Round/Mizzix's Mastery. Ashling serves as both a value engine (providing card velocity and late-game mana bursts) and a damage amplifier, though the deck can function without her.

Primer:

Core Strategy Execution:

1. Early Setup (Turns 1-3): Deploy mana accelerants like Runaway Steam-Kin, Ruby Medallion, or Storm-Kiln Artist. Cast cantrips (Crash Through, Expedite) to cycle and trigger magecraft.
2. Mana Ramp (Turns 3-5): Use rituals (Seething Song, Jeska's Will) to generate explosive red mana. Cast Ashling if possible to enable her magecraft triggers.
3. Storm Turn: Chain copied rituals (e.g., Reiterate targeting Seething Song with buyback for infinite mana) or overload Mizzix's Mastery to replay multiple spells. Finish with Grapeshot storm or Ashling's third magecraft trigger (dealing 2 damage to all opponents).
4. Alternative Lines: Copy Invoke Calamity or Bonus Round to cast free spells from hand/graveyard. Use Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre as a late-game reset button if rituals fail.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands and at least one ritual or mana rock.
• Prioritize Storm-Kiln Artist, Runaway Steam-Kin, or Ruby Medallion for early acceleration.
• Avoid hands without red mana sources or spells with MV >4.

Key Tips:

• Use Ashling’s third magecraft trigger (after casting 3+ spells) to fund Invoke Calamity or Ulamog.
• Reiterate + Seething Song generates infinite red mana: cast Song (RRRRR), copy with Reiterate (pay buyback), repeat.
• Harmonic Prodigy doubles Ashling’s magecraft triggers, accelerating damage and mana generation.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• No native card advantage engines beyond Ashling’s magecraft, leading to frequent topdecking if the initial storm fizzles.
• Extremely vulnerable to counterspells: Relies on Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast as only stack interaction.

Moderate

• Graveyard dependency: Mizzix's Mastery, Invoke Calamity, and flashback spells are hosed by Rest in Peace.
• Fragile mana base: Rituals and artifact ramp are soft to Vandalblast/Collector Ouphe.

Minor

• Limited board presence: Struggles against go-wide aggro without Blasphemous Act-level sweepers.
• High variance: Many situational copy spells (e.g., Display of Power) risk dead draws.

Most Important Cards:

• Reiterate (Infinite mana combo enabler)
• Seething Song (Key ritual for infinite loops)
• Storm-Kiln Artist (Mana generation via spellcasting)
• Jeska's Will (Explosive mana/card advantage)
• Mizzix's Mastery (Recur multiple spells for storm turns)
• Bonus Round (Copy all spells for massive value)
• Grapeshot (Primary storm win condition)
• Ashling, Flame Dancer (Card velocity/damage engine)
• Ruby Medallion (Cost reduction for critical spells)
• Runaway Steam-Kin (Mana acceleration via spell count)

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 7/10

• Capable of T4-5 wins with ideal ritual/copy chains but inconsistent without tutors.

Resilience: 4/10

• Minimal protection for key pieces; folds to early interaction or stax like Rule of Law.

Consistency: 5/10

• Relies on drawing synergistic pieces naturally; lacks high-impact tutors beyond Invoke Calamity.

Interaction: 3/10

• Limited to artifact removal (Abrade) and niche counterspells; struggles against noncreature threats.

Rating Justification:

This deck has high burst potential (T5-7 wins via storm/combo) but suffers from fragility and inconsistency due to minimal protection and tutoring. Its speed aligns with the "Focused" tier (T7-8), while resilience shortcomings prevent higher optimization.

Power level: 6.0 - 6.5