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RW

Iron Hills

Red–White (RW)

Many Dwarves or equipped attackers

DesignedDual land Iron Hills57.0% game win · 12,594 games · +0.5 vs 56.5% average · Pick-Two Draft, Aug 11–29, 2026 · 17Lands ↗
Thorin OakenshieldThorin OakenshieldSignpostIron HillsIron HillsDual land
Strategy
Mode

How it wins

Keep several creatures available, then use a team bonus or favorable combat to turn those bodies into damage.

Dwarven ProvisionerDori, Bearer of FriendsIron Hills BlacksmithFíli the PathfinderThe Mountain-king's ReturnPinecone StrikeIron Hills
Early
Play creatures rather than saving everything for a rare. A modest early body can later benefit from a team bonus.
Middle
Add bodies through recruit or Dwarf effects. Count what you really produce, including the required discard for recruit.
Finish
Provisioner can strengthen the whole team. With an enduring story, Fíli gives your creatures +1/+1 while he remains in play.

What it needs

Dwarves, useful Equipment, or a white rare already give your cards a shared job. A white rare alone does not require red.

Four checks while you draft

  1. 1
    Creatures that arrive early

    Will this selection help put creatures into play before your expensive rewards?

    Provisioner is a two-mana body; Blacksmith leaves an Axe as well as a creature.

    Dwarven ProvisionerIron Hills Blacksmith
  2. 2
    More than one useful body

    Does the card actually increase creature count under your current conditions?

    Instructor recruits on entry. Fíli creates a Dwarf for itself and each other nontoken Dwarf entering.

    Patient InstructorFíli the Pathfinder
  3. 3
    A way to strengthen the team

    Are enough creatures able to attack for this mana investment to matter?

    Provisioner’s four-mana ability gives all your creatures +1/+1 that turn, regardless of creature type.

    Dwarven ProvisionerFíli the Pathfinder
  4. 4
    Recovery or a clear attack

    Can you rebuild after trades, or open a profitable attack?

    Return can recover a cheap creature; Pinecone can remove a blocker rather than sacrificing attackers into it.

    The Mountain-king's ReturnPinecone Strike

Choose the missing job before another reward that needs it.

What to take next

You have team-strengthening effects but only a small battlefield.

Favor bodies before another team reward.

In Pick-Two, inspect whether both picks contribute creatures or merely promise future benefits.

Patient InstructorDwarven Provisioner

You opened Fíli and are comparing similar creatures.

Prefer useful nontoken Dwarves when they fit your mana costs.

Fíli’s entry trigger does not trigger again from a token Dwarf.

Dori, Bearer of FriendsIron Hills BlacksmithDwarven Shortsword

The support is missing

Use the bodies and removal you actually have. If weapons lack carriers, add creatures; if many creatures stall, seek a way through.

Signals to watch
  • Useful white bodies arriving with red removal or Dwarf support make a stronger case than a white rare alone. Compare what red contributes to the actual opening curve.
  • Equipment and suitable carriers arriving together support that branch; bodies plus recruit or team boosts support the wider branch. Weapons without carriers are not evidence of a complete deck.

Repeated useful cards are clues, not proof that the colors are open.

Don’t
Recruit has a price

Discarding a land makes no Soldier. Do not count every recruit effect as a guaranteed extra body.

Fíli needs the story

His constant team bonus requires an enduring story; his Dwarf-creation trigger does not.

Pick-Two: check both jobs

Two Equipment picks do not give you two attackers. Even an Equipment that attaches on entry has a specific condition; count carriers, mana and the actual attachment rule.

Best commons & uncommons

Bothersome NoisemakerBothersome Noisemaker61.7% GIH · 1,690 instancesStone by SunlightStone by Sunlight61.5% GIH · 2,410 instancesCelebrate the Mountain-kingCelebrate the Mountain-king61.5% GIH · 2,542 instancesMisty Mountains RaiderMisty Mountains Raider61.0% GIH · 1,701 instancesBurn, Burn, Tree and FernBurn, Burn, Tree and Fern60.8% GIH · 1,971 instancesDori, Bearer of FriendsDori, Bearer of Friends59.7% GIH · 4,889 instances

17Lands ↗ · Aug 11–29, 2026 · at least 100 card-in-hand instances in this pair’s no-splash decks. Choose the job your deck needs first.

Bombs in these colors

An Unexpected PartyAn Unexpected Party 2WWX2WAdventure makes Dwarves, then the enchantment boosts a shared creature type. WW is a main-color commitment.Fíli the PathfinderFíli the Pathfinder 3WDwarves give extra bodies, and its Story boosts your team. One W is splashable with fixing; Dwarves improve the payoff.Smaug the MagnificentSmaug the Magnificent 2RRFlying haste closes games; add Treasures for attack damage. RR makes red a main color, not a light splash.The ArkenstoneThe Arkenstone 52WColorless main spell boosts creatures and draws cards. Fits any mana base; only the optional Adventure needs white.

17Lands Pick-Two ↗ · Aug 11–29, 2026 · 100-instance minimum

Cards for this pair

By jobA card can fill more than one job.
Build-arounds
Fíli the Pathfinder

Raise playable nontoken Dwarves and ways to reach storied.

Kíli the Resourceful

Raise Dwarves and Equipment; storied makes each turn’s first equip free.

An Unexpected Party

Take useful recruiters or Dwarves matching the type you expect to choose.

Bothersome Noisemaker

Raise in-color interaction and flashback, while keeping independent bodies.

GoldUncommons and rares in both colors
All 130 castable cards →Including hybrid and colorless cards

Worked turns

2 examples

Examples apply the printed rules; judge the board, costs and timing.

Dwarven Provisioner + Patient Instructor

  1. Play Provisioner, then Instructor on a later turn. Instructor’s recruit draws and discards a card.
  2. Discard a nonland only when the exchange is sensible; doing so adds a Human Soldier beside your two creatures.
  3. On a later attack, compare spending four mana on Provisioner’s team bonus with developing another creature. The Human benefits too.
Dwarven ProvisionerDwarven ProvisionerPatient InstructorPatient Instructor

Reach storied, then keep the story

  1. Have Thorin in play, then cast Dori. Thorin and Dori are two legendary permanents; Dori’s entry trigger creates a Treasure artifact.
  2. After the Treasure arrives, those three separate permanents give you an enduring story. A permanent that is both legendary and an artifact would still count only once.
  3. You keep that story for the rest of the game even if you later spend the Treasure. Thorin must remain on the battlefield for his ward ability to protect your artifacts and creatures.
Thorin OakenshieldThorin OakenshieldDori, Bearer of FriendsDori, Bearer of Friends

Adapt the plan to your format

Pick-TwoOne-pickSealed
A useful carrier plus Equipment or a body plus a team reward can work when both fit the curve. Check casting and equip costs before treating the two-card package as an immediate attack.Choose bodies before extra weapons when carriers are missing. If the battlefield is already wide, compare the supported team finish with yet another creature or expensive Equipment.Do not require the opened pool to reproduce a draft Dwarf engine. Choose wide bodies or Equipment from the cards present, and count the three separate permanents for storied rather than assuming one legendary artifact counts twice.

More card pairings

Dwarven MattockDwarven Mauler
Dwarven Mattock + Dwarven Mauler

Mattock attaches to a Dwarf on entry. Later equipping it specifically to Mauler costs one; ordinary equip timing still applies.

Rules for every deck →What every two-color deck needs before the plan: early plays, answers, a curve and mana · BuildOpen the workshop →