  Machine-Head
Redux 2006.
Description of deck by it's author
(quoted):
This deck is built around the two Underused
Hall of Fame cards Void and Crypt Angel. Although the Crypt Angel fits
equally well in Black/Blue or Black/Red decks, the Void mandates
Black/Red.
Void is a great - surgical mass removal spell with the
promise of lucky discard as well. Crypt Angel is a fine flying beater, a
great anti-White creature, and a way of recurring your dead Red creatures
- of which there are many. In fact, every other creature in the deck is
Red.
I included three Red creatures that go well with Crypt
Angel. The ubiquitous Flametongue Kavu fits into any Red deck. Avalanche
Riders are a great choice for tempo. And Underused Hall of Fame entry
number three - Ghitu Slinger - rears its head and does a little damage
before falling back to the graveyard. All of these make sense to recur
with a Crypt Angel because they can do something when they come into play.
I also went with Eron the Relentless as a hasted way of
getting a beater on the board. You might use his regeneration power on
rare occasions. For some reason, I'd rather have Eron the Relentless over
Skizzik. I think he's just cooler.
The last creature I used was a pair of Kumano, Master
Yamabushi. It's a great card for Red/Black, and can burn down opposing
creatures as well as players.
As removal, I packed Terminate and Urza's Rage.
Terminate is probably the best pound-for-pound creature removal spell in
the game. (By “pound-for-pound,” I mean in comparison for casting cost.
It's an instant, and it kills regenerators, and it costs a mere two mana).
Urza's Rage can burn creatures early and are a
guaranteed victory later in case your deck stalls. I always like having
one or two backup plans just in case.
To round out the deck, I tossed in a pair of Duress.
This serves two functions. The first is as the normal early game discard
that disrupts an opponent. The second is to learn a player's hand before
playing a Void, so you can use Void as maximally useful discard as well as
permanent removal.
For example, suppose your opponent has a pair of threats
out - one costing four mana, one costing five - and three cards in hand.
You have a Void and you draw a Duress. Playing the Duress reveals a land,
a four-mana threat, and a five-mana removal spell. Take the spell with
Duress, and then play Void for four. You played two cards and eliminated
three because of the information that Duress provided. If you had played
Void for five, it still would have taken two cards, but the Duress would
now be useless, and your opponent would have a backup threat ready to go.
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