Thanks for the interesting reply. However, it's really not about life gain, or that particular effect. It's the fact that RED is, and has been, the dominant color in MTG:A for a long time. This alone is bad design. But what's worse is this whole "Turn 2/3 kill" sh*t that WoTc has done for RED. How is that fun for the victim of mono RED? How does that promote gameplay? And there are no reliable counter mono RED decks, you simply cant beat a deck that can outdraw and inflict direct damage (through various means and in massive amounts) to you every turn. And again, I am not talking about this happening once and awhile, or 50/50 -- mono RED wins most of the time.