I haven't posted recently, and for that I'm sorry. I haven't had much to say. I've been getting highly involved in the EDH/Commander scheme and didn't feel I had any decks to share with my readers that you guys would be interested in. But now I'm back, with Grixis Delver Tempo.
Delver of Secrets has been singlehandedly redefining Legacy. A 3/2 flier for 1 mana? It's almost silly how powerful he is in this context. Here's the list I've been messing around with:
4 Azure Mage (may test Izzet Guildmage)
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Sedraxis Specter
4 Brainstorm
4 Cry of Contrition
4 Dismember
2 Firespout
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mana Leak
4 Preordain
4 Terminate
4 Crumbling Necropolis
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Darkslick Shores (I anticipate these going for less than $1 post-rotation)
3 Island
3 Mountain
Sideboard:
2 Firespout
4 Duress
4 Spell Pierce
2 Unearth
3 Diabolic Edict
The main is geared heavily to crush the aggro matchup. Against control decks, it plays an aggro role. Post-sideboarding, heavy discard and counterspells protect your creatures as you race the opponent. Your creatures are really good against their defenses.
I currently haven't tested with the Guildmage, but I would like to. He works well here except he can't copy Dismember. The best solution would be to try out Vendetta instead of Dismember, but I don't know how effective the deck will be after a large change like that.
I'm also looking, admittedly less thoroughly, into Esper Delver:
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Meddling Mage
4 Esper Charm
4 Brainstorm
4 Mana Leak
4 Cry of Contrition
4 Path to Exile
3 Dismember
3 Go for the Throat
4 Gerrard's Verdict
4 Arcane Sanctum
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Darkslick Shores
3 Plains
3 Swamp
Sideboard:
4 Duress
3 Day of Judgment
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Unearth
4 Spell Pierce
The game plan is the same as for Grixis Delver, but Esper Delver has Esper Charm for a lot of late-game power. Access to Day of Judgment gives the deck some power against aggro. I'm not sure that this build is better; time will tell.
Until next time, play on.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Building a Sideboard
Here's another "how to" article, this time about my process for building sideboards. I'll use my RDW deck throughout. For reference, here's the decklist:
4 Goblin Guide
1 Grim Lavamancer
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Slith Firewalker
4 Arc Trail
4 Burst Lightning
1 Chain Lightning
3 Flame Javelin
2 Howling Mine
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
17 Mountain
4 Teetering Peaks
So here's how I built the sideboard:
1) The first step is to look at obvious cards that hose the deck, anything that an opponent can side in that you have absolutely no way to win against. I can burn my opponent to death through a Mark of Asylum eventually, but a Kor Firewalker is almost impossible to win against. How do I beat it?
I first looked at potential options and my first thought was Ghostfire. After abandoning that idea, I decided to use four Pyrite Spellbomb and maybe 2 other cards that would kill the Firewalker.
2) Is there a type of card that makes it hard to win? The answer I found was in the form of cards like Perimeter Captain and Wall of Omens. They generally result in a lot of lifegain and are troublesome to kill. Since most Walls that cost a reasonably small amount have four toughness, I decided to add the fourth Flame Javelin to the side and four copies of Dismember.
Yes, I put Dismember in a deck that has tons of killspells in the form of burn. Why? Consider this: Flame Rift hits both players for four damage and costs two mana. A Wall will absorb at least four damage, if not much more. Dismember kills it instantly and costs one mana. In short, it's a one-mana Flame Rift that also kills a creature. Admittedly, it's a niche role, but one that the deck needs. It is also a plausible answer to Kor Firewalker.
3) Is there a deck that gives you trouble? In the case of the red deck, I have problems with decks that can play tons of creatures faster than I can burn them off or kill the opponent. Arc Trail in the main helps, but I needed another "Arc Trail" in the sideboard. Perilous Myr came in. Sweepers also help; I chose to devote two spots for sweepers, a Slagstorm and an Earthquake (I only own one Slagstorm, otherwise I would run two).
Here's where we stand:
4 Dismember
1 Earthquake
1 Flame Javelin
4 Perilous Myr
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Slagstorm
4) Once the sideboard is complete, look at how you can use cards in against it in different matchups. For example, I noticed that I had both Perilous Myr and Pyrite Spellbomb as reasonable answers to Kor Firewalker. I really don't need eight cards against him; it was possible to cut one Spellbomb since it's useful in less matchups.
SB: 14
5) Analyze how you side against various decks. With regards to RDW, against some decks, I increase my curve significantly (for example, against creature-swarm, I take out Rift Bolt for Perilous Myr and the Mines for my sweepers). There are other decks I increase my curve against; for this purpose, I thought adding another land would be prudent. Barbarian Ring became my go-to land of choice since it is yet another option to kill Kor Firewalker, though Smoldering Spires contested this spot for a while, both equally powerful in their own aspects. I chose the Ring since it enters untapped.
Final sideboard:
1 Barbarian Ring
4 Dismember
1 Earthquake
1 Flame Javelin
4 Perilous Myr
3 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Slagstorm
6) Repeat the above steps as necessary until you get a final sideboard.
Here's how the process worked for my Tempered Steel deck.
1) Nothing specific really hoses me, other than cards like Creeping Corrosion. Spell Pierce was my chosen answer.
2) Day of Judgement-esque cards are incredibly powerful against me--and they're all sorceries. Maybe more anti-sorcery counters would be useful. +2 Negate. Burn spells can hurt me too. +3 Mark of Asylum, since the rest of the build works for this purpose.
3) 3/3s can be a pain to defend against. I chose Porcelain Legionnaire for this purpose.
4) At this point, I realized how useful counterspells would be. I changed the lineup from:
4 Spell Pierce
2 Negate
To:
4 Spell Pierce
3 Envelop
1 Negate
5) Here, the sideboard was complete, step six was unnecessary:
3 Envelop
3 Mark of Asylum
1 Negate
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Spell Pierce
That's just how I do it, but it works well for me.
Until next time, keep playing.
4 Goblin Guide
1 Grim Lavamancer
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Slith Firewalker
4 Arc Trail
4 Burst Lightning
1 Chain Lightning
3 Flame Javelin
2 Howling Mine
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
17 Mountain
4 Teetering Peaks
So here's how I built the sideboard:
1) The first step is to look at obvious cards that hose the deck, anything that an opponent can side in that you have absolutely no way to win against. I can burn my opponent to death through a Mark of Asylum eventually, but a Kor Firewalker is almost impossible to win against. How do I beat it?
I first looked at potential options and my first thought was Ghostfire. After abandoning that idea, I decided to use four Pyrite Spellbomb and maybe 2 other cards that would kill the Firewalker.
2) Is there a type of card that makes it hard to win? The answer I found was in the form of cards like Perimeter Captain and Wall of Omens. They generally result in a lot of lifegain and are troublesome to kill. Since most Walls that cost a reasonably small amount have four toughness, I decided to add the fourth Flame Javelin to the side and four copies of Dismember.
Yes, I put Dismember in a deck that has tons of killspells in the form of burn. Why? Consider this: Flame Rift hits both players for four damage and costs two mana. A Wall will absorb at least four damage, if not much more. Dismember kills it instantly and costs one mana. In short, it's a one-mana Flame Rift that also kills a creature. Admittedly, it's a niche role, but one that the deck needs. It is also a plausible answer to Kor Firewalker.
3) Is there a deck that gives you trouble? In the case of the red deck, I have problems with decks that can play tons of creatures faster than I can burn them off or kill the opponent. Arc Trail in the main helps, but I needed another "Arc Trail" in the sideboard. Perilous Myr came in. Sweepers also help; I chose to devote two spots for sweepers, a Slagstorm and an Earthquake (I only own one Slagstorm, otherwise I would run two).
Here's where we stand:
4 Dismember
1 Earthquake
1 Flame Javelin
4 Perilous Myr
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Slagstorm
4) Once the sideboard is complete, look at how you can use cards in against it in different matchups. For example, I noticed that I had both Perilous Myr and Pyrite Spellbomb as reasonable answers to Kor Firewalker. I really don't need eight cards against him; it was possible to cut one Spellbomb since it's useful in less matchups.
SB: 14
5) Analyze how you side against various decks. With regards to RDW, against some decks, I increase my curve significantly (for example, against creature-swarm, I take out Rift Bolt for Perilous Myr and the Mines for my sweepers). There are other decks I increase my curve against; for this purpose, I thought adding another land would be prudent. Barbarian Ring became my go-to land of choice since it is yet another option to kill Kor Firewalker, though Smoldering Spires contested this spot for a while, both equally powerful in their own aspects. I chose the Ring since it enters untapped.
1 Barbarian Ring
4 Dismember
1 Earthquake
1 Flame Javelin
4 Perilous Myr
3 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Slagstorm
6) Repeat the above steps as necessary until you get a final sideboard.
Here's how the process worked for my Tempered Steel deck.
1) Nothing specific really hoses me, other than cards like Creeping Corrosion. Spell Pierce was my chosen answer.
2) Day of Judgement-esque cards are incredibly powerful against me--and they're all sorceries. Maybe more anti-sorcery counters would be useful. +2 Negate. Burn spells can hurt me too. +3 Mark of Asylum, since the rest of the build works for this purpose.
3) 3/3s can be a pain to defend against. I chose Porcelain Legionnaire for this purpose.
4) At this point, I realized how useful counterspells would be. I changed the lineup from:
4 Spell Pierce
2 Negate
To:
4 Spell Pierce
3 Envelop
1 Negate
5) Here, the sideboard was complete, step six was unnecessary:
3 Envelop
3 Mark of Asylum
1 Negate
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Spell Pierce
That's just how I do it, but it works well for me.
Until next time, keep playing.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
How to Build
I've posted a lot of decks without describing the exact process by which I come to those decks. It's something that I feel I should share. Here's (my) set of steps to deckbuilding:
1) Find an angle to build around. Sometimes a decklist can start with a single card. In my case, I wanted to build a control deck based around Whispering Specter. The list feel into place from there.
2) Figure out how to support that angle. In the above case, I started by trying to splash blue to give me Corrupted Resolve and Blighted Agent. I naturally looked at other options at this step too, and I found Fallen Ferromancer. Coupled with Flame Slash, I would have great removal in UR. I was now stuck; UBR, UR, or UB?
3) Look at your options. Maybe you like the deck, but the mana is impossible. Maybe there's a way to substitute another color to improve mana and give you more options. In the case of my Infect Control deck, I rejected UBR and UR for the manabase. I was stuck in UB, though I wanted to play Fallen Ferromancer.
4) Step back, take a break, and look again a while later. I looked at it again and realized I was hyping the blue too much; I wanted to build around Whispering Specter, not anything blue. I decided to try BR.
5) Fill in the gaps. Firstly, decide what style the deck is; control, aggro, tribal, ramp, or combo. Different land counts fit different styles. Keep this in mind and add cards until you hit the amount of blank spots you need for mana. Then add the manabase, keeping the deck's colors in mind.
6) Look at the final list, then re-adjust the balance of cards. Maybe you added a ton of high-cost creatures and want to add more land? Maybe the reverse? Do you want a 4-3 split of Llanowar Elves to Joraga Treespeaker or 3-4?
7) Shuffle it up and look at what hands you get from random shuffling. Evaluate your land count, what cards were the most useful, which were least. Re-adjust your deck until you're happy.
8) Play it out against a variety of decks. Re-adjust your deck based on what you see and how cards function in reality rather than a vacuum (for example, removal and discard are useless in vacuum but incredibly powerful in real games). Find your bad match-ups.
9) Build a sideboard for these bad matchups. For example, my red deck has problems with swarm decks than can put tons of blockers out in front of Slith Firewalker or Goblin Guide. To account for this, my sideboard includes a set or Arc Trails, an Earthquake, and a Slagstorm.
10) Innovate and adjust as each new set comes out.
That's all I have for you today. This is how I build decks; other styles have their merits, this one has just proven more consistent for me.
Until next time, play on.
1) Find an angle to build around. Sometimes a decklist can start with a single card. In my case, I wanted to build a control deck based around Whispering Specter. The list feel into place from there.
2) Figure out how to support that angle. In the above case, I started by trying to splash blue to give me Corrupted Resolve and Blighted Agent. I naturally looked at other options at this step too, and I found Fallen Ferromancer. Coupled with Flame Slash, I would have great removal in UR. I was now stuck; UBR, UR, or UB?
3) Look at your options. Maybe you like the deck, but the mana is impossible. Maybe there's a way to substitute another color to improve mana and give you more options. In the case of my Infect Control deck, I rejected UBR and UR for the manabase. I was stuck in UB, though I wanted to play Fallen Ferromancer.
4) Step back, take a break, and look again a while later. I looked at it again and realized I was hyping the blue too much; I wanted to build around Whispering Specter, not anything blue. I decided to try BR.
5) Fill in the gaps. Firstly, decide what style the deck is; control, aggro, tribal, ramp, or combo. Different land counts fit different styles. Keep this in mind and add cards until you hit the amount of blank spots you need for mana. Then add the manabase, keeping the deck's colors in mind.
6) Look at the final list, then re-adjust the balance of cards. Maybe you added a ton of high-cost creatures and want to add more land? Maybe the reverse? Do you want a 4-3 split of Llanowar Elves to Joraga Treespeaker or 3-4?
7) Shuffle it up and look at what hands you get from random shuffling. Evaluate your land count, what cards were the most useful, which were least. Re-adjust your deck until you're happy.
8) Play it out against a variety of decks. Re-adjust your deck based on what you see and how cards function in reality rather than a vacuum (for example, removal and discard are useless in vacuum but incredibly powerful in real games). Find your bad match-ups.
9) Build a sideboard for these bad matchups. For example, my red deck has problems with swarm decks than can put tons of blockers out in front of Slith Firewalker or Goblin Guide. To account for this, my sideboard includes a set or Arc Trails, an Earthquake, and a Slagstorm.
10) Innovate and adjust as each new set comes out.
That's all I have for you today. This is how I build decks; other styles have their merits, this one has just proven more consistent for me.
Until next time, play on.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Red Metal
So, here's a deck I've been thinking on that uses some of the new spoilers from New Phyrexia.
Molten-Steel Dragon: (4) (R/P) (R/P)
Artifact Creature--Dragon
(R/P) can be paid with either (R) or 2 life.
Flying
(R/P): ~ gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
4/4
Slag Fiend: (R)
Creature--Construct
~'s power and toughness are each equal to the number of artifact cards in all graveyards
*/*
These two cards give us a strong base in metalcraft/artifact sacrifice. Now to round out the list (time crunch, so I won't be able to include card links):
4 Atog
3 Greater Gargadon
4 Iron Myr
4 Kuldotha Phoenix
4 Molten-Steel Dragon
4 Myr Sire
4 Perilous Myr
4 Slag Fiend
4 Ichor Wellspring
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Great Furnace
2 Crystal Vein
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Smoldering Spires
9 Mountain
I haven't done any testing with this list, but it looks fun to play. Sacrifice artifacts and do tons of damage! Rather quick route to winning, but looks like it could be fun. A turn two Molten-Steel is fun (double Crystal Vein) but turn 3-4 is more reasonable. Have fun with it!
Until next time, play on.
Molten-Steel Dragon: (4) (R/P) (R/P)
Artifact Creature--Dragon
(R/P) can be paid with either (R) or 2 life.
Flying
(R/P): ~ gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
4/4
Slag Fiend: (R)
Creature--Construct
~'s power and toughness are each equal to the number of artifact cards in all graveyards
*/*
These two cards give us a strong base in metalcraft/artifact sacrifice. Now to round out the list (time crunch, so I won't be able to include card links):
4 Atog
3 Greater Gargadon
4 Iron Myr
4 Kuldotha Phoenix
4 Molten-Steel Dragon
4 Myr Sire
4 Perilous Myr
4 Slag Fiend
4 Ichor Wellspring
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Great Furnace
2 Crystal Vein
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Smoldering Spires
9 Mountain
I haven't done any testing with this list, but it looks fun to play. Sacrifice artifacts and do tons of damage! Rather quick route to winning, but looks like it could be fun. A turn two Molten-Steel is fun (double Crystal Vein) but turn 3-4 is more reasonable. Have fun with it!
Until next time, play on.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The So-Called "GodBook"
All of New Phyrexia was just spoiled. I was going to post a monogreen infect deck later tonight, but my entire deck theory is now invalid.
Here's the file for the download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8cbw97bf6w9pdbn
The password is case-sensitive: Magic
I see so much fun stuff. Etched Monstrosity is amazing, Myr Superion is going to be well-loved in casual (turn 3 off of a Vedalken Engineer), Jor Kadeen will soon inspire an EDH deck. Oh, and there's a 1-drop infecter. I'm excited.
Edit: And I just heard that the full list might have been stolen, not released. Some confusion about that online. Shenanigans may ensue, dunno.
Here's the file for the download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8cbw97bf6w9pdbn
The password is case-sensitive: Magic
I see so much fun stuff. Etched Monstrosity is amazing, Myr Superion is going to be well-loved in casual (turn 3 off of a Vedalken Engineer), Jor Kadeen will soon inspire an EDH deck. Oh, and there's a 1-drop infecter. I'm excited.
Edit: And I just heard that the full list might have been stolen, not released. Some confusion about that online. Shenanigans may ensue, dunno.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Spoilers Abound!!!
I'm sorry I haven't posted much recently. I've been pretty busy with various things and I finally got a chance to go home last weekend, so I didn't get to post because I was busy spending time with my family. To make up for it, here's a really cool deck I whipped up based around the card Puresteel Paladin.
Puresteel Paladin has been spoiled for New Phyrexia. Within five minutes of seeing the card text, I knew what I needed to do to make a good list for him.
Before we begin, here's the card:
Puresteel Paladin WW
Creature--Human Knight
Metalcraft--Equip costs you pay cost 0.
Whenever an equipment enters the battlefield under your control, draw a card.
2/2
Right after I saw him, I thought of a deck my brother has that plays Accorder's Shield. Hmmm. To cast it draws you a card and you can equip it for nothing if you have enough artifacts in play. And if you have two, you can play both for 0 each and draw two cards. Hmmm. Grapeshot, anyone?
This list is less cheap than the ones I usually post due to the presence of four Mox Opals. They are easily replaceable with more land, so don't worry about them if you don't have them (I don't).
4 Puresteel Paladin
4 Riddlesmith
4 Vedalken Archmage
4 Accorder's Shield
4 Bone Saw
4 Golem-Skin Gauntlets
3 Grapeshot
1 Lightning Greaves
4 Lotus Petal
4 Mox Opal
4 Paradise Mantle
4 Sigil of Distinction
4 Spidersilk Net
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Glimmervoid
4 Seachrome Coast
It's really luck dependent, but with "twelve" Glimpse of Natures, its ability to combo out may, in the end, rival some of the lower-end Elf Storm builds.
You can Storm out really quickly (on the first or second turn) and win with Grapeshot or go the alternative route; cast a ton of equipment, stick them on the Paladin along with a Lightning Greaves and Golem-Skin Gauntlets, and bash in for lethal. To that end, I'm contemplating Neurok Hoversail for evasion instead of haste because most decks can chump for a while. Not sure which'll make the cut in the end.
Until next time, play on.
Puresteel Paladin has been spoiled for New Phyrexia. Within five minutes of seeing the card text, I knew what I needed to do to make a good list for him.
Before we begin, here's the card:
Puresteel Paladin WW
Creature--Human Knight
Metalcraft--Equip costs you pay cost 0.
Whenever an equipment enters the battlefield under your control, draw a card.
2/2
Right after I saw him, I thought of a deck my brother has that plays Accorder's Shield. Hmmm. To cast it draws you a card and you can equip it for nothing if you have enough artifacts in play. And if you have two, you can play both for 0 each and draw two cards. Hmmm. Grapeshot, anyone?
This list is less cheap than the ones I usually post due to the presence of four Mox Opals. They are easily replaceable with more land, so don't worry about them if you don't have them (I don't).
4 Puresteel Paladin
4 Riddlesmith
4 Vedalken Archmage
4 Accorder's Shield
4 Bone Saw
4 Golem-Skin Gauntlets
3 Grapeshot
1 Lightning Greaves
4 Lotus Petal
4 Mox Opal
4 Paradise Mantle
4 Sigil of Distinction
4 Spidersilk Net
4 Adarkar Wastes
4 Glimmervoid
4 Seachrome Coast
It's really luck dependent, but with "twelve" Glimpse of Natures, its ability to combo out may, in the end, rival some of the lower-end Elf Storm builds.
You can Storm out really quickly (on the first or second turn) and win with Grapeshot or go the alternative route; cast a ton of equipment, stick them on the Paladin along with a Lightning Greaves and Golem-Skin Gauntlets, and bash in for lethal. To that end, I'm contemplating Neurok Hoversail for evasion instead of haste because most decks can chump for a while. Not sure which'll make the cut in the end.
Until next time, play on.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
FlickerLark
Reveillark is an incredibly powerful and versatile card. It almost always provides tons of card advantage, especially when paired with Mulldrifer, Wall of Omens, or any of the many other weak creatures of today that draw cards. Note that its ability triggers when it leaves the battlfield--so Mistmeadow Witch is an excellent source of disruption, tempo, and card advantage.
Now look at the Witch with Nevermaker. When it leaves play, you can bounce a nonland permanent to the top of an opponent's library, locking an opponent out of either:
1) Drawing new cards.
2) Playing cards for you to bounce.
Here's a rough list I've thrown together, admittedly without much testing. Also note that its more expensive than lists I usually post; this is just my example of how to build a unique control deck.
2 Body Double
4 Galepowder Mage
3 Mistmeadow Witch
4 Mulldrifter
4 Nevermaker
4 Reveillark
4 Riftwing Cloudskate
4 Sea Gate Oracle
4 Wall of Omens
4 Everflowing Chalice
4 Azorius Chancery
3 Cloudcrest Lake
3 Terramorphic Expanse
6 Island
7 Plains
It's a very different deck to play than most common aggro decks. Worth some messing around with.
Until next time, play on.
Now look at the Witch with Nevermaker. When it leaves play, you can bounce a nonland permanent to the top of an opponent's library, locking an opponent out of either:
1) Drawing new cards.
2) Playing cards for you to bounce.
Here's a rough list I've thrown together, admittedly without much testing. Also note that its more expensive than lists I usually post; this is just my example of how to build a unique control deck.
2 Body Double
4 Galepowder Mage
3 Mistmeadow Witch
4 Mulldrifter
4 Nevermaker
4 Reveillark
4 Riftwing Cloudskate
4 Sea Gate Oracle
4 Wall of Omens
4 Everflowing Chalice
4 Azorius Chancery
3 Cloudcrest Lake
3 Terramorphic Expanse
6 Island
7 Plains
It's a very different deck to play than most common aggro decks. Worth some messing around with.
Until next time, play on.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Twelve-Land Stompy
Twelve-land stompy is a deck that seems to be well-loved around the casual table for a few reasons:
1) With a good hand, it can beat an expensive deck with ease.
2) Twelve or less lands means that you can run tons of creatures and other stuff.
3) There's nothing like swinging for ten damage on the fourth turn.
I threw together a 12-Land list--with a twist. 12-Land is usually played as monogreen. This is red and black. The sole problem with the list is the manabase: untapped duals are really powerful and necessary to the deck's speed. However, they're expensive. I included two copies of Blackcleave Cliffs in the list (I pulled two copies from a fat pack) and they comprise a quarter of the deck's price.
The main problem that a 12-Land deck has is consistency in the late game. I've tried to resolve that issue. One note--I'm still not sure about the choice of Spikeshot Elder over Seal of Fire. The issue is still up in the air. Resolve as you see fit.
4 Bloodhall Ooze
4 Carnophage
4 Death's Shadow
4 Guul Draz Vampire
4 Jackal Pup
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Spikeshot Elder
4 Tattermunge Maniac
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Bonesplitter
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Vendetta
4 Akoum Refuge
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Mountain
3 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
Obviously, the deck is kind of luck-reliant. The nuts draw is a turn one Bloodhall Ooze, turn two Tattermunge Maniac and Pulse Tracker, turn three shenanigans. Bonesplitter on Spikeshot Elder hasn't happened in testing yet, but it'll happen someday--and I can't wait for it. In the worst scenario, he's a 1/1 for one mana which isn't necessarily bad. Signal Pest, however, may eventually replace him. Your late game is a combination of Death's Shadow, Guul Draz Vampire, and Bloodhall Ooze. Getting a single one of them active should win you the game in short order. Note also that Tattermunge Maniac is green, though you're going to pay red mana for him. That means that he'll boost your Ooze.
Until next time, play on.
1) With a good hand, it can beat an expensive deck with ease.
2) Twelve or less lands means that you can run tons of creatures and other stuff.
3) There's nothing like swinging for ten damage on the fourth turn.
I threw together a 12-Land list--with a twist. 12-Land is usually played as monogreen. This is red and black. The sole problem with the list is the manabase: untapped duals are really powerful and necessary to the deck's speed. However, they're expensive. I included two copies of Blackcleave Cliffs in the list (I pulled two copies from a fat pack) and they comprise a quarter of the deck's price.
The main problem that a 12-Land deck has is consistency in the late game. I've tried to resolve that issue. One note--I'm still not sure about the choice of Spikeshot Elder over Seal of Fire. The issue is still up in the air. Resolve as you see fit.
4 Bloodhall Ooze
4 Carnophage
4 Death's Shadow
4 Guul Draz Vampire
4 Jackal Pup
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Spikeshot Elder
4 Tattermunge Maniac
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Bonesplitter
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Vendetta
4 Akoum Refuge
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Mountain
3 Swamp
1 Terramorphic Expanse
Obviously, the deck is kind of luck-reliant. The nuts draw is a turn one Bloodhall Ooze, turn two Tattermunge Maniac and Pulse Tracker, turn three shenanigans. Bonesplitter on Spikeshot Elder hasn't happened in testing yet, but it'll happen someday--and I can't wait for it. In the worst scenario, he's a 1/1 for one mana which isn't necessarily bad. Signal Pest, however, may eventually replace him. Your late game is a combination of Death's Shadow, Guul Draz Vampire, and Bloodhall Ooze. Getting a single one of them active should win you the game in short order. Note also that Tattermunge Maniac is green, though you're going to pay red mana for him. That means that he'll boost your Ooze.
Until next time, play on.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
KuldothaGoblins
I'm working on a rebuild of this list but here's where the list stands right now. It's basically a deck devoted solely to dropping tons of 1/1 goblin tokens into play and overwhelming an opponent quickly. Cards are hyperlinked to Gatherer.
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Wardriver
4 Memnite
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Signal Pest
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Mogg Alarm
4 Quest for the Goblin Lord
3 Shared Animosity
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
13 Mountain
This deck has a ton of tribal stuff to do and it's really fast. It can win on turn 3 with a lucky enough hand:
T1: Memnite, Memnite, Mountain, Signal Pest
T2: Swing (4), Mountain, Kuldotha Rebirth, Kuldotha Rebirth
T3: Tap both Mountains, Mogg Alarm, Goblin Bushwhacker (with kicker), swing for 28 more
Of course, not a likely hand. But turn three wins do happen.
On another note, I bought the Into the Breach event deck on Saturday and it's been a blast to play. I've kept it Standard-legal and took out a few cards for the Searing Blazes that it came with. Lots of fun, if you have $25 sitting around.
Until next time, play on.
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Wardriver
4 Memnite
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Signal Pest
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Mogg Alarm
4 Quest for the Goblin Lord
3 Shared Animosity
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
13 Mountain
This deck has a ton of tribal stuff to do and it's really fast. It can win on turn 3 with a lucky enough hand:
T1: Memnite, Memnite, Mountain, Signal Pest
T2: Swing (4), Mountain, Kuldotha Rebirth, Kuldotha Rebirth
T3: Tap both Mountains, Mogg Alarm, Goblin Bushwhacker (with kicker), swing for 28 more
Of course, not a likely hand. But turn three wins do happen.
On another note, I bought the Into the Breach event deck on Saturday and it's been a blast to play. I've kept it Standard-legal and took out a few cards for the Searing Blazes that it came with. Lots of fun, if you have $25 sitting around.
Until next time, play on.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Zur the Enchanter EDH
So I was messing around with some generals for Commander (EDH for those like myself who still call it by its older name) and stumbled across Zur the Enchanter. Whenever he attacks, you get an enchantment with a CMC of 3 or less from your deck. Attach Vanishing and he's unkillable. Attach Steel of the Godhead and he can deal some serious damage. Fetch up Oblivion Ring or Seal of Doom to kill stuff. There are also two "cute" little combos he can assemble in EDH: Grim Poppet with Torture and Triskelion with Daily Regimen. My favorite trick is to swing, attach Arcanum Wings, get through due to flying, and Aura Swap it for an Eldrazi Conscription. Here's the list I'm testing. It has some combos that use Zur to set up, namely Reality Acid and Vedalken Mastermind and Grim Poppet with Torture.
General: Zur the Enchanter
Creatures (14):
Auratog
Cantivore
Celestial Ancient
Evershrike
Grim Poppet
Kor Spiritdancer
Lost Auramancers
Mesa Enchantress
Mindleech Mass
Nomad Mythmaker
Sovereigns of Lost Alara
Tidespout Tyrant
Umbra Mystic
Vedalken Mastermind
Noncreature Spells (45):
Arcanum Wings
Arrest
Aura of Silence
Azorius Signet
Battle Mastery
Celestial Mantle
Circle of Protection: Artifacts
Cloak of Mists
Compulsion
Conviction
Daybreak Coronet
Declaration of Naught
Demonic Collusion
Diabolic Tutor
Dimir Signet
Diplomatic Immunity
Dragon Shadow
Eldrazi Conscription
Empyrial Armor
Enslave
Flickerform
Infiltrator's Magemark
Journey to Nowhere
Journeyer's Kite
Lingering Death
Mark of Eviction
Mind Control
Obelisk of Esper
Oblation
Oblivion Ring
Orzhov Signet
Pillory of the Sleepless
Prison Term
Prophetic Prism
Reality Acid
Seal of Cleansing
Seal of Doom
Sleeper's Robe
Sphere of the Suns
Spirit Loop
Steel of the Godhead
Three Dreams
Torture
Vanishing
Volition Reins
Land (40):
Ancient Spring
Azorius Chancery
Bad River
Calciform Pools
Cloudcrest Lake
Dimir Aqueduct
Dreadship Reef
Esper Panorama
Evolving Wilds
Flood Plain
Island (8)
Jwar Isle Refuge
Orzhov Basilica
Plains (7)
Prahv, Spires of Order
Rootwater Depths
Rupture Spire
Sejiri Refuge
Swamp (6)
Terramorphic Expanse
Thalakos Lowlands
Waterveil Cavern
There are still some cards I want to fit in: Corrupted Conscience, Copy Enchantment, Dance of the Dead, Pemmin's Aura, Phyresis, and Phyrexian Reclamation (mainly because sending your general to the General Zone upon death is optional). I wasn't sure what to cut, to be honest. I like Pyresis because the deck has a hard time getting in for 21 Zur damage, which is mainly how it wins. The rest give me some redundancy or other options for fighting. Any suggestions?
Until next time, play on.
General: Zur the Enchanter
Creatures (14):
Auratog
Cantivore
Celestial Ancient
Evershrike
Grim Poppet
Kor Spiritdancer
Lost Auramancers
Mesa Enchantress
Mindleech Mass
Nomad Mythmaker
Sovereigns of Lost Alara
Tidespout Tyrant
Umbra Mystic
Vedalken Mastermind
Noncreature Spells (45):
Arcanum Wings
Arrest
Aura of Silence
Azorius Signet
Battle Mastery
Celestial Mantle
Circle of Protection: Artifacts
Cloak of Mists
Compulsion
Conviction
Daybreak Coronet
Declaration of Naught
Demonic Collusion
Diabolic Tutor
Dimir Signet
Diplomatic Immunity
Dragon Shadow
Eldrazi Conscription
Empyrial Armor
Enslave
Flickerform
Infiltrator's Magemark
Journey to Nowhere
Journeyer's Kite
Lingering Death
Mark of Eviction
Mind Control
Obelisk of Esper
Oblation
Oblivion Ring
Orzhov Signet
Pillory of the Sleepless
Prison Term
Prophetic Prism
Reality Acid
Seal of Cleansing
Seal of Doom
Sleeper's Robe
Sphere of the Suns
Spirit Loop
Steel of the Godhead
Three Dreams
Torture
Vanishing
Volition Reins
Land (40):
Ancient Spring
Azorius Chancery
Bad River
Calciform Pools
Cloudcrest Lake
Dimir Aqueduct
Dreadship Reef
Esper Panorama
Evolving Wilds
Flood Plain
Island (8)
Jwar Isle Refuge
Orzhov Basilica
Plains (7)
Prahv, Spires of Order
Rootwater Depths
Rupture Spire
Sejiri Refuge
Swamp (6)
Terramorphic Expanse
Thalakos Lowlands
Waterveil Cavern
There are still some cards I want to fit in: Corrupted Conscience, Copy Enchantment, Dance of the Dead, Pemmin's Aura, Phyresis, and Phyrexian Reclamation (mainly because sending your general to the General Zone upon death is optional). I wasn't sure what to cut, to be honest. I like Pyresis because the deck has a hard time getting in for 21 Zur damage, which is mainly how it wins. The rest give me some redundancy or other options for fighting. Any suggestions?
Until next time, play on.
Monday, February 28, 2011
EDH
Would you folks be interested in seeing some EDH decks (or Commander, as they're now called)? I've built a few more budget builds but I didn't know if there would be interest in seeing them. Barring a no, I'll plan to post one later this week. Just tell me.
Until next time, play on.
Until next time, play on.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Token Rebirth
Kuldotha Rebirth has hit some serious popularity in Standard, but what about around the casual table? Here's my list:
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
3 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin War Driver
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Signal Pest
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Mogg Alarm
4 Panic Spellbomb
4 Quest for the Goblin Lord
4 Great Furnace
14 Mountain
3 Darksteel Citadel
Basically, it's a goblin-token deck that runs artifact lands for the Rebirths. I've messed with it and seen quite a few hands that resolve about four or five tokens on turn three and follow that up with a lord or massive swing due to a Quest. It's a fun and explosive build that's enjoyable to play, though still slightly luck-reliant.
Until next time, play on.
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
3 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin War Driver
4 Mogg War Marshal
4 Signal Pest
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Kuldotha Rebirth
4 Mogg Alarm
4 Panic Spellbomb
4 Quest for the Goblin Lord
4 Great Furnace
14 Mountain
3 Darksteel Citadel
Basically, it's a goblin-token deck that runs artifact lands for the Rebirths. I've messed with it and seen quite a few hands that resolve about four or five tokens on turn three and follow that up with a lord or massive swing due to a Quest. It's a fun and explosive build that's enjoyable to play, though still slightly luck-reliant.
Until next time, play on.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
This is madness!!!
So I was messing around on Gatherer recently and I stumbled across a few Madness cards. I whipped up a decklist in BG but it seemed to be missing something...so I added red and now the deck has some serious oomph.
3 Arrogant Wurm
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Greenseeker
2 Kris Mage
2 Notorious Assassin
4 Reckless Wurm
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Dark Withering
3 Fiery Temper
3 Roar of the Wurm
4 Strength of Lunacy
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Forest
5 Mountain
5 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse
The early game is the hardest part. Your 4/4 tramplers are powerhouses in the mid-to-late game but fast decks will blow you out of the water before you stabilize. Kris Mage is kind of an antidote to that; I sideboard in two more against fast decks.
This deck works by abusing combat tricks. Consider this:
T1: Fetchland
T2: Untapped land, Wild Mongrel
T3: Untapped land, wait. The opponent goes to swing, discard a Wurm to your Mongrel and the opponent is now attacking a 3/3 and a 4/4. You kill two attackers (if there are that many) and then the game goes on. However, you're now up two cards and a few points of damage. That's crucial to winning with this build.
The important thing about madness combat tricks is to keep the opponent guessing. You might flash in a Wurm, you might just hold on to it and take a hit, to make it all the more damaging on the next turn. This deck requires the mind of a control player but the mindset of an aggro player, if you ask me.
Until next time, play on.
3 Arrogant Wurm
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Greenseeker
2 Kris Mage
2 Notorious Assassin
4 Reckless Wurm
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Dark Withering
3 Fiery Temper
3 Roar of the Wurm
4 Strength of Lunacy
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Forest
5 Mountain
5 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse
The early game is the hardest part. Your 4/4 tramplers are powerhouses in the mid-to-late game but fast decks will blow you out of the water before you stabilize. Kris Mage is kind of an antidote to that; I sideboard in two more against fast decks.
This deck works by abusing combat tricks. Consider this:
T1: Fetchland
T2: Untapped land, Wild Mongrel
T3: Untapped land, wait. The opponent goes to swing, discard a Wurm to your Mongrel and the opponent is now attacking a 3/3 and a 4/4. You kill two attackers (if there are that many) and then the game goes on. However, you're now up two cards and a few points of damage. That's crucial to winning with this build.
The important thing about madness combat tricks is to keep the opponent guessing. You might flash in a Wurm, you might just hold on to it and take a hit, to make it all the more damaging on the next turn. This deck requires the mind of a control player but the mindset of an aggro player, if you ask me.
Until next time, play on.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Currently Arming: Steel
Today I've got another slightly more expensive deck than usual to share. I've been gathering cards for this deck on my own. I plan to buy the few cards I'm missing at the nearest opportunity. It's basically a Tempered Steel deck I made quite a while ago, a few days after Signal Pest was spoiled. The Pest occupies the spot for the fourth tribal lord.
4 Court Homunculus
4 Frogmite
3 Master of Etherium
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Riddlesmith
4 Signal Pest
4 Steel Overseer
4 Tempered Steel
4 Thoughtcast
4 Ancient Den
4 Cloudcrest Lake
1 Island
2 Plains
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Sejiri Refuge
3 Thalakos Lowlands
It's really explosive and can win as early as turn 3, though it usually wins around turn 5-6. The manabase is really bad but tapped lands hurt me a lot and I don't have access to and other untapped duals (like Seachrome Coast). Those would be awesome though.
Until next time, play on.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
American Control
Red, white, and blue. It means a lot for countries (note the flags of France, the US, and Britain, among others) but can also mean something in Magic.
Lightning Angel is a classic example of the idea that the more colors a card has, the more powerful it can be. I like the card, so I decided to throw together a control deck around Lightning Angel.
3 Crackleburr
4 Izzet Guildmage
4 Lightning Angel
4 Minister of Impediments
3 Numot, the Devastator
3 Spiketail Hatchling
3 Stun Sniper
4 Disenchant
4 Flame Slash
4 Spell Pierce
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Island
6 Mountain
5 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
You can substitute Rakavolvers in place of Numots if you don't have them sitting around, both work fine.
Until next time, play on.
Lightning Angel is a classic example of the idea that the more colors a card has, the more powerful it can be. I like the card, so I decided to throw together a control deck around Lightning Angel.
3 Crackleburr
4 Izzet Guildmage
4 Lightning Angel
4 Minister of Impediments
3 Numot, the Devastator
3 Spiketail Hatchling
3 Stun Sniper
4 Disenchant
4 Flame Slash
4 Spell Pierce
4 Evolving Wilds
5 Island
6 Mountain
5 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
You can substitute Rakavolvers in place of Numots if you don't have them sitting around, both work fine.
Until next time, play on.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Currently Armed: RDW
I thought that I should post a deck I'm currently using every once in a while. Every deck I post is the result of testing and analysis, but few of my builds survive the test of time and my budget. So here's my interpretation of Red Deck Wins. It's what I'm currently using, but the list is far from finished.
1 Goblin Guide
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Spark Elemental
1 Burst Lightning
1 Earthquake
4 Flame Javelin
3 Flames of the Blood Hand
2 Howling Mine
2 Incinerate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Temple Bell
18 Mountain
4 Teetering Peaks
Sideboard:
3 Breath of Darigaaz
4 Flame Slash
1 Flames of the Blood Hand
3 Manabarbs
4 Pyroclasm
The deck is still a work in progress. The Temple Bells haven't shown amazing results; I plan to invest money in a playset of Browbeat, outside of my usual budget constraints. The Incinerates and one Flames of the Blood Hand will be replaced with three more copies of Burst Lightning when I finish out my playset. The removed FotBH will go to my sideboard in place of a Flame Slash.
The singletons were all cards I had sitting around when I made the deck. I tested it with Chandra Nalaar but she was just too slow for the deck; I took her out for an Earthquake I had sitting around.
The sideboard is a concession to four things: Manabarbs shuts down control decks since they hurt themselves too badly for any move to be profitable. Pryoclasm and Breath of Darigaaz shut down weenie decks which are highly prevalent in my meta. Flame Slash kills Wall of Omens and Overgrown Battlement, traditional problems for the red deck. Finally, Flames of the Blood Hand is the nail in the coffin against lifegain, another popular theme in my meta.
Hope you liked it. Keep in mind that this is a deck tailored to my meta more than most decks I play.
Until next time, play on.
1 Goblin Guide
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Spark Elemental
1 Burst Lightning
1 Earthquake
4 Flame Javelin
3 Flames of the Blood Hand
2 Howling Mine
2 Incinerate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Temple Bell
18 Mountain
4 Teetering Peaks
Sideboard:
3 Breath of Darigaaz
4 Flame Slash
1 Flames of the Blood Hand
3 Manabarbs
4 Pyroclasm
The deck is still a work in progress. The Temple Bells haven't shown amazing results; I plan to invest money in a playset of Browbeat, outside of my usual budget constraints. The Incinerates and one Flames of the Blood Hand will be replaced with three more copies of Burst Lightning when I finish out my playset. The removed FotBH will go to my sideboard in place of a Flame Slash.
The singletons were all cards I had sitting around when I made the deck. I tested it with Chandra Nalaar but she was just too slow for the deck; I took her out for an Earthquake I had sitting around.
The sideboard is a concession to four things: Manabarbs shuts down control decks since they hurt themselves too badly for any move to be profitable. Pryoclasm and Breath of Darigaaz shut down weenie decks which are highly prevalent in my meta. Flame Slash kills Wall of Omens and Overgrown Battlement, traditional problems for the red deck. Finally, Flames of the Blood Hand is the nail in the coffin against lifegain, another popular theme in my meta.
Hope you liked it. Keep in mind that this is a deck tailored to my meta more than most decks I play.
Until next time, play on.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Fear the Eye: A Combo Deck
Ever done 108 damage to your opponent in one turn? On the same turn in which you made that player sacrifice 50+ creatures and tapped every other card that player had in play? Maybe, but what about on the fifth turn?
Eye of the Storm is what I'm talking about. I was able to (admittedly, only once did it happen this beautifully) cast the Eye on turn four on the back of a Peat Bog and a Dark Ritual. On turn five, I played Diabolic Tutor to find Dark Ritual, cast it and tutored for Syphon Life. I cast that and found another Syphon and got the DR mana for it. I repeated this process and eventually ripped every black card in my library into play, including the remaining Dark Rituals and huge amounts of Barter in Blood.
The deck also can combo out like this with Sadistic Sacrament, probably a stronger choice for the deck in the end. However, the price on the Sad' Sac is a little too high for my budget.
Here's the list. The Mana Leaks are kind of awkward here, I might replace them with other stuff. I'm not sure what as of yet, though. You want to be able to cast everything you can at once, so the Leaks kind of interfere with that plan. A red splash for Grapeshot/Empty the Warrens might not be a bad idea either.
4 Barter in Blood
4 Dark Ritual
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Doom Blade
4 Eye of the Storm
3 Gigadrowse
4 Mana Leak
4 Preordain
1 Snapback
4 Syphon Life
7 Island
4 Jwar Isle Refuge
2 Peat Bog
7 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse
Overall, you either combo out or grind out a game against an opponent. Your Eye is your weak spot; anticipate Naturalize and the like with Turn Aside and Duress in the side.
As far as replacements go, when Mirrodin Besieged comes out, Go for the Throat will replace Doom Blade. As far as my Warrens idea goes, I'm contemplating taking out 4 Mana Leak for 3 Simian Spirit Guide and 1 Empty the Warrens. However, the deck tends to be kind of overkill as is and the Empty's will interact unfavorably with Barter in Blood. The whole idea bodes more thought.
Hope you liked it!
Until next time, play on.
Eye of the Storm is what I'm talking about. I was able to (admittedly, only once did it happen this beautifully) cast the Eye on turn four on the back of a Peat Bog and a Dark Ritual. On turn five, I played Diabolic Tutor to find Dark Ritual, cast it and tutored for Syphon Life. I cast that and found another Syphon and got the DR mana for it. I repeated this process and eventually ripped every black card in my library into play, including the remaining Dark Rituals and huge amounts of Barter in Blood.
The deck also can combo out like this with Sadistic Sacrament, probably a stronger choice for the deck in the end. However, the price on the Sad' Sac is a little too high for my budget.
Here's the list. The Mana Leaks are kind of awkward here, I might replace them with other stuff. I'm not sure what as of yet, though. You want to be able to cast everything you can at once, so the Leaks kind of interfere with that plan. A red splash for Grapeshot/Empty the Warrens might not be a bad idea either.
4 Barter in Blood
4 Dark Ritual
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Doom Blade
4 Eye of the Storm
3 Gigadrowse
4 Mana Leak
4 Preordain
1 Snapback
4 Syphon Life
7 Island
4 Jwar Isle Refuge
2 Peat Bog
7 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse
Overall, you either combo out or grind out a game against an opponent. Your Eye is your weak spot; anticipate Naturalize and the like with Turn Aside and Duress in the side.
As far as replacements go, when Mirrodin Besieged comes out, Go for the Throat will replace Doom Blade. As far as my Warrens idea goes, I'm contemplating taking out 4 Mana Leak for 3 Simian Spirit Guide and 1 Empty the Warrens. However, the deck tends to be kind of overkill as is and the Empty's will interact unfavorably with Barter in Blood. The whole idea bodes more thought.
Hope you liked it!
Until next time, play on.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Searing Tamanoa
I just found a list I made some time ago that I wanted to share. This deck is focused around the insane interaction between Searing Blaze and Tamanoa. Basically, whenever you gain life, you may pay 2 mana to deal 2 damage to anything and then you gain 2 life, which lets you repeat the process. Here's the deck I built around it:
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Druid of the Anima
4 Essence Warden
4 Knotvine Mystic
1 Realm Razer
2 Soul Warden
3 Tamanoa
4 Fiery Justice
4 Glittering Wish
3 Searing Blaze
4 Survival Cache
5 Forest
4 Graypelt Refuge
4 Kazandu Refuge
2 Mountain
5 Plains
3 Terramorphic Expanse
The Glittering Wishes act as tutors for the fourth of each of the combo pieces which should be found in your sideboard. You should also include multicolored removal (like Unmake) and emergency red mana (Firewild Borderpost or Trace of Abundance) for when you can't draw a red source. A multicolored lifegain card isn't that bad either.
The whole deck capitalizes on the interaction of the Blaze and Tamanoa. The Refuges start the combo, Wardens do, Cache starts it twice and usually draws cards. I need a wincon, and Serra Ascendant still isn't cheap right now, so I went with Ajani's Pridemate.
Hope you like it!
Until next time, play on.
4 Ajani's Pridemate
4 Druid of the Anima
4 Essence Warden
4 Knotvine Mystic
1 Realm Razer
2 Soul Warden
3 Tamanoa
4 Fiery Justice
4 Glittering Wish
3 Searing Blaze
4 Survival Cache
5 Forest
4 Graypelt Refuge
4 Kazandu Refuge
2 Mountain
5 Plains
3 Terramorphic Expanse
The Glittering Wishes act as tutors for the fourth of each of the combo pieces which should be found in your sideboard. You should also include multicolored removal (like Unmake) and emergency red mana (Firewild Borderpost or Trace of Abundance) for when you can't draw a red source. A multicolored lifegain card isn't that bad either.
The whole deck capitalizes on the interaction of the Blaze and Tamanoa. The Refuges start the combo, Wardens do, Cache starts it twice and usually draws cards. I need a wincon, and Serra Ascendant still isn't cheap right now, so I went with Ajani's Pridemate.
Hope you like it!
Until next time, play on.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Shadow Weenie
So, today, I've got an idea I've been testing for some time now. White Weenie is a recurring theme through the history of Magic. A turn one Savannah Lions became an Isamaru, Hound of Konda, then Figure of Destiny and now Student of Warfare and Steppe Lynx exist all as incredible one-drops that encourage you to play an aggressive white deck. But what about white's natural foil, black?
Black has plenty of one mana, two power creatures. And a ton of 4+ power three-drops. This is a BW (Black Weenie) deck I've been testing.
4 Arrogant Bloodlord (or Ashenmoor Gouger)
4 Blind Creeper
4 Carnophage
4 Death's Shadow
4 Guul Draz Vampire
1 Hypnotic Specter
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Doom Blade
2 Grasp of Darkness
4 Sign in Blood
4 Tomb of Urami
17 Swamp
This deck runs lower than my normal land count of 22 due to its much lower curve. It has a large amount of aggressive one-drops that also hurt you. You should be able to easily smash your opponent into the single digits in the first four or so turns. Your end game should be dominated by Guul Draz Vampire, Death's Shadow, and Urami. I chose the Tomb over Dread Statuary because I felt that the flying was crucial in longer games.
Note the tribality here. So much Vampires! Captivating Vampire would also be a good fit. However, I wouldn't run more than three. If you have them sitting around, it's a decent idea to cut, say, Carnophage for a land and three tribal lords for your Vamps. The original version was tribal in Zombies; this build is Vampish by coincidence.
The biggest things that hurt this deck are as follows: White Knight, Wall of Omens, Perimeter Captain, Wall of Roots, etc. So you should sideboard heavily in matchups that will have these cards. I would recommend running 4 Inquisition of Kozilek in the side if you have them. If not, run Ostracize in the side to avoid these dangers. My current side is this:
4 Duress
1 Grasp of Darkness
4 Liliana's Specter
4 Ostracize
2 Strands of Night
Until next time, play on.
Black has plenty of one mana, two power creatures. And a ton of 4+ power three-drops. This is a BW (Black Weenie) deck I've been testing.
4 Arrogant Bloodlord (or Ashenmoor Gouger)
4 Blind Creeper
4 Carnophage
4 Death's Shadow
4 Guul Draz Vampire
1 Hypnotic Specter
4 Pulse Tracker
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Doom Blade
2 Grasp of Darkness
4 Sign in Blood
4 Tomb of Urami
17 Swamp
This deck runs lower than my normal land count of 22 due to its much lower curve. It has a large amount of aggressive one-drops that also hurt you. You should be able to easily smash your opponent into the single digits in the first four or so turns. Your end game should be dominated by Guul Draz Vampire, Death's Shadow, and Urami. I chose the Tomb over Dread Statuary because I felt that the flying was crucial in longer games.
Note the tribality here. So much Vampires! Captivating Vampire would also be a good fit. However, I wouldn't run more than three. If you have them sitting around, it's a decent idea to cut, say, Carnophage for a land and three tribal lords for your Vamps. The original version was tribal in Zombies; this build is Vampish by coincidence.
The biggest things that hurt this deck are as follows: White Knight, Wall of Omens, Perimeter Captain, Wall of Roots, etc. So you should sideboard heavily in matchups that will have these cards. I would recommend running 4 Inquisition of Kozilek in the side if you have them. If not, run Ostracize in the side to avoid these dangers. My current side is this:
4 Duress
1 Grasp of Darkness
4 Liliana's Specter
4 Ostracize
2 Strands of Night
Until next time, play on.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Impulsive Animosity, By Request
I was recently contacted by a fellow TCGPlayer member by the name of shayseph with a request for a deck. The goal: use the Gustcloak creatures. The six that exist all have abilities that let them remove themselves from combat after they've been blocked. Shayseph suggested using Raid Bombardment, Explorer's Scope, and Infiltrator's Lens. However, I found a different use for this ability. Actually, two of them.
1) Impulsive Maneuvers: Basically, whenever you attack, for each creature, you flip a coin. For winning a flip, the creature deals double combat damage. If you lose the flip, it deals none. So what if you use a Gustcloak's ability to "call back" an attack after losing a flip? You can't attack again, but it preserves your creature. Add in the fact that most of them have natural evasion and you're off to a great start, like a "4"/3 flier for three mana.
2) Shared Animosity: In a nutshell, it gives you a Coat of Arms-type ability but only when attacking. You'll get the boost before the Gustcloaks (all of the ones included in the deck are Soldiers) can remove themselves from combat...so whichever ones aren't blocked get through for massive damage. And what if I have a creature that's also a Soldier but has evasion, though not a Gustcloak? I'll take an 8/1 creature with Shadow for one mana any day!
You can also use their ability to "preserve" mana--for example, if I have a creature equipped with Mage Slayer, it'll deal damage then change to being unblocked, saving you the mana that it would cost to cast a new creature and equip the Slayer to it.
I priced this deck on TCGPlayer for under $10. Here's the final list:
4 Gustcloak Harrier
4 Gustcloak Runner
1 Gustcloak Savior
4 Gustcloak Sentinel
4 Gustcloak Skirmisher
2 Lost Auramancers
2 Soltari Foot Soldier
3 Yellow Scarves Cavalry
1 Extra Arms
4 Impulsive Maneuvers
3 Mage Slayer
4 Shared Animosity
4 Evolving Wilds
1 Forest
7 Mountain
8 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
I honestly don't know how it will fare, but good luck to shayseph if he likes this deck! I have a higher land count than my "comfortable" 22 due to the double white mana necessary for most of the Gustcloaks and double red needed for Impulsive Maneuvers. On turn four, I want to have two red mana and two white mana available, and maybe a Forest open. Jungle Shrine would be ideal for this deck, but I didn't want to include a playset due to price. If you have them sitting around, cut out the Evolving Wilds (but keep the single Forest).
I looked into a version solely based around Shared Animosity, but I don't have a list; the 3 Idyllic Tutors necessary bumped the price up to absurd levels. The idea was to get out Shared Animosity and use Waves of Aggression to get multiple combat steps and add boost after boost to a Soltari Foot Soldier or Yellow Scarves Cavalry. The Gustcloaks would never enter combat, instead falling back just to boost my two evasion guys. Here's another idea to build around if you don't like my list.
Hope you like it!
Until next time, play on.
1) Impulsive Maneuvers: Basically, whenever you attack, for each creature, you flip a coin. For winning a flip, the creature deals double combat damage. If you lose the flip, it deals none. So what if you use a Gustcloak's ability to "call back" an attack after losing a flip? You can't attack again, but it preserves your creature. Add in the fact that most of them have natural evasion and you're off to a great start, like a "4"/3 flier for three mana.
2) Shared Animosity: In a nutshell, it gives you a Coat of Arms-type ability but only when attacking. You'll get the boost before the Gustcloaks (all of the ones included in the deck are Soldiers) can remove themselves from combat...so whichever ones aren't blocked get through for massive damage. And what if I have a creature that's also a Soldier but has evasion, though not a Gustcloak? I'll take an 8/1 creature with Shadow for one mana any day!
You can also use their ability to "preserve" mana--for example, if I have a creature equipped with Mage Slayer, it'll deal damage then change to being unblocked, saving you the mana that it would cost to cast a new creature and equip the Slayer to it.
I priced this deck on TCGPlayer for under $10. Here's the final list:
4 Gustcloak Harrier
4 Gustcloak Runner
1 Gustcloak Savior
4 Gustcloak Sentinel
4 Gustcloak Skirmisher
2 Lost Auramancers
2 Soltari Foot Soldier
3 Yellow Scarves Cavalry
1 Extra Arms
4 Impulsive Maneuvers
3 Mage Slayer
4 Shared Animosity
4 Evolving Wilds
1 Forest
7 Mountain
8 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
I honestly don't know how it will fare, but good luck to shayseph if he likes this deck! I have a higher land count than my "comfortable" 22 due to the double white mana necessary for most of the Gustcloaks and double red needed for Impulsive Maneuvers. On turn four, I want to have two red mana and two white mana available, and maybe a Forest open. Jungle Shrine would be ideal for this deck, but I didn't want to include a playset due to price. If you have them sitting around, cut out the Evolving Wilds (but keep the single Forest).
I looked into a version solely based around Shared Animosity, but I don't have a list; the 3 Idyllic Tutors necessary bumped the price up to absurd levels. The idea was to get out Shared Animosity and use Waves of Aggression to get multiple combat steps and add boost after boost to a Soltari Foot Soldier or Yellow Scarves Cavalry. The Gustcloaks would never enter combat, instead falling back just to boost my two evasion guys. Here's another idea to build around if you don't like my list.
Hope you like it!
Until next time, play on.
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