Mainboard (60)
Creatures (12)
Instants (8)
Sorceries (20)
This is a near-mirror where both decks are racing to deal 20 damage through madness synergies, but Mono-Red runs Guttersnipe and Kessig Flamebreather as damage multipliers that can quickly spiral out of control. Dark Withering gives you efficient removal for those key threats at instant speed when you're already discarding to enable madness, making it a natural inclusion. Vampire's Kiss is the weakest card in the matchup — the life gain is largely irrelevant when both players are trying to race, and the card disadvantage is a liability. Keep up your discard outlets and prioritize removing Guttersnipe and Kessig Flamebreather before they can turn each spell into extra damage, and your burn density should win the race.
Grixis Affinity wins by flooding the board with free or cheap artifacts like Myr Enforcer and Refurbished Familiar, then leveraging Galvanic Blast and Makeshift Munitions to close out games. Cast into the Fire is your best answer here, exiling artifacts and denying graveyard recursion via Blood Fountain and Reckoner's Bargain. Nihil Spellbomb provides additional graveyard hate while replacing itself, which is important since you need to maintain your threat density. Highway Robbery and two Vampire's Kiss come out as their higher mana costs clash with the urgency of dealing with early artifact threats before Affinity assembles metalcraft. Your burn plan with Lightning Bolt, Fiery Temper, and Alms of the Vein remains effective at picking off Krark-Clan Shaman before it can wipe your board, so keep the madness engine intact.
Dimir Terror is a tempo-control deck that wins by filling its graveyard to cheaply cast Tolarian Terror and Gurmag Angler while disrupting you with Counterspell, Snuff Out, and Cast Down. Dark Withering is your best removal here — it's madness-enabled and hits both Delve threats cleanly, bypassing the cost problem entirely when discarded to Faithless Looting or Vampire's Kiss. Extract a Confession gives you a discard spell that can strip a Counterspell or key threat before it resolves. Cut a few Lightning Bolts since they don't reach Gurmag Angler or Tolarian Terror, and shave Grab the Prize which underperforms when your opponent is disrupting your spell sequencing. Play aggressively and use your discard outlets to dodge counterspell windows — your speed is your best weapon before they stabilize behind a 5/5.