Not a problem about the bump if it doesn't get a response in a while.

I would offer feedback, but to be honest, I just don't play modern so I couldn't tell you what would be good or not.

But my suggestion would be to either proxy them up OR build them on untap.in or some other playtest site and fiddle with them for a while so you can see how they play before you go dropping any cash on them.

From my VERY limited modern experience, I can say that infect is a major hit or miss strategy... you can build it on the super cheap and win some games as early as t2 or t3, BUT, any opponent who knows what you're up to will adjust and can easily mess you up.

302

(16 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I would think something like Gruul War Chant would be a better option given that it provides a constant plus and makes your guys a bitch to block... and it's an enchantment, so it's not just a quick zap and it's gone.

That being said, what did you lose to?  Can you give us any thoughts on the games so that we might assess your match-ups a bit better?

I could see the argument to run Sacred Foundry and perhaps some number of mountains to give you access to Chained to the Rocks.  But I see a few issues:

1) I'm seeing is the lack of power outside of Archangel and Elspeth.  One of the strengths of the white weenie decks is that they will overwhelm you with a TON of 1 and 2 cost creatures.  This lets you get away with them all being 1 or 2 (maybe 3) power because you have 4-6 of them many times and are swinging for substantial life totals.  Here you have only 8 creatures at the low end of the spectrum but then have 8 at the three drop, none of which has more than 2 power.  Personally, I would advocate to move either 2x of both Banisher and Fiendslayer to the SB or perhaps all four of one to the board in favor of Soldier of the Pantheon - he has his own life-gain trigger AND gives you a much more aggressive start (pro multi-color is also relevant).

2) What exactly is the plan against a non-creature Erebos?  I can see this deck struggling against a lot of black strategies.  Further, against control, only 2 Boros Charms (3 if you side the other one in) doesn't give you the best odds to survive a board wipe (which they're likely to do given their number of draw spells).  Thoughts?

3) Why 3x Arrest? Pacifism does the combat bit for less and if you're worried about activated abilities, that's what Pithing Needle in the SB is for.

4) Isn't Elspeth rather counter to the whole idea of your pumping creatures?  I get that she wins games on her own and is nasty and all, but you've completely invalidated her -3 as it will likely end up dropping a lot of your guys in the process.  Perhaps she is a SB piece more than anything?

5) If you're going the devotion route, no Heliod at all?

6) If you were open to multiple colors, I actually ran against an interesting Naya tokens build a few days back that strikes me as a great option to run here... the simple combination of Trostani, Selesnya's Voice with Assemble the Legion would make Archangel hilarious.

7) How has Soulmender performed?  I was intrigued at the Archangel - Mender combo when they were spoiling M14, but I can't get over the nagging feeling that he has to be underperforming for you.

I hope some of this helps...

304

(4 replies, posted in General Discussion)

You are partially correct about the meaning of hexproof.  Hexproof means that the creature/artifact/whatever cannot be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.  You, however, are free to target them all day long.  The ability that prevents a permanent from being targeted outright is shroud.

305

(16 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Obviously the deck is relatively good for you to have performed so well this past weekend.  But, that being said I think there are a few areas for improvement.

First off, this certainly isn't like the G/R devotion list that is in need of a crap-ton of mana to dump your entire hand every turn, so I wonder whether you need that ramp or whether perhaps you could use some of those spots for other cards.  Specifically, I like the Sylvan Caryatids as they offer blockers AND ramp, but Elvish Mystic strikes me as horribly under-performing for you.  That and a top decked mystic on anything other than the first 3 turns is just weak.

Personally, I like what you're doing with the Ghor-Clans and Flesh // Blood.  The idea that you can swing with Polukranos, pump him, and then still zap them for 9 more for only two more mana is quite appealing (hard to believe nobody else has noticed it).  So if you were to drop the mystics, I can see where adding two more Flesh // Blood and perhaps 2x more Bloodrush would be effective (I'm thinking either Rubblehulk or Zhur-taa Swine as they both lead to a substantial pump), although the trample from Ghor-Clan is really what makes it so good.  To that end, perhaps 2x Nylea, God of the Hunt could prove beneficial.

The only other area I can see for improvement is the SB.  The 4x Mistcutter make perfect sense and I'm good with that (although I would perhaps say to go down to 3x).   I'm not so sold on where Shock is going to be sided in and will make a difference.  Destructive Revelry is really misleading as I would likely run Fade into Antiquity over them - getting rid of Thassa or Nylea is a pretty big deal.  I'm also not sure I see a scenario where Chandra, Pyromaster would come in... as you're already generating card advantage with Garruk, Domri, and Xenagos.  So I can see a fair amount of wiggle room here to drop stuff and find pieces that will be more beneficial to your specific match-ups.  If I were to run with a SB for this deck it would likely look something like this:

2x Pithing Needle - stop Elspeth, Jace, Ashiok, Pack Rat, Mutavault, etc etc

3x Mistcutter Hydra - you know the mono-blue matchup

2x Plummet - a good call, as it will take out a Desecration Demon in a pinch

2x Fade into Antiquity - exiling, scrying, and just for one more than Revelry... yeah I'd do that

2x Bramblecrush - destroys PWs, artifacts, enchants, lands, you name it... this card is sort of a skeleton key

2x Mizzium Mortars - you could talk me into these being Anger of the Gods - your aggro matchup is a bit weak from what I can tell

2x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed - if you ever wanted an anti-control card, this guy is it... but you'll want 2x as you'll almost never draw him with only 1x OR, might want to draw 2x in long games

Anywhom, I hope some of this helps.  Props to ya for finding a different way to attack the R/G build.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... if you want something else totally off the wall, I played against someone using Savageborn Hydra the other day and it was quite the nuisance.  Make even a 3/3 one and then the next turn swing, bloodrush Ghor-Clan on there, you'll hit for 14 and can cast Blood to do 21 damage in a single turn... some food for  thought...

Well the issue comes from the fact that they can simply flood out the board and you don't have the evasion or the removal needed to clear the way.  Really the only options you're going to have in your colors are going to be via mass removal or just going THROUGH their resistance.

The three options I'm thinking would be:

1) Add at least 1x more Gaze of Granite to the SB and hope you can get enough mana to wipe everything 3CMC and less from the board (that will leave most of your big stuff around) to get in an alpha strike. 

2) Nylea, God of the Hunt in some capacity.  The added trample for your 4/4s and such will likely help you seal the deal. 

3) Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord is a nice option, as his sac ability will let you ignore their blockers to just finish them off.  Sacking a 6/6 demon can be pretty solid...

On a side note, you would potentially benefit from Reaper of the Wilds and Putrefy in here as well.

I actually don't know of a single tool out there that will build the decks in reverse for you like that.  The best bet would be to proxy up whatever deck you're looking at playing and test it out a few games to see if you like it and THEN go picking up the cards for it.  Either that or taking a look at your inventory and identifying the deck closest to what you have and making your own adaptations from there.  Alternately, you can always brew something completely original...

308

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Or as Talus said, a few instances of spot removal to ensure their devotion never gets high enough.  Lightning Strike that Nightveil Specter and they're pretty stuck.

309

(3 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't metalcraft a part of Affinity decks?  All those artifacts have to allow for some silliness to be going on there...

310

(15 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Oh I'm quite well aware of the format restrictions for proliferate.  Legacy has the same established decks and she's hardly going to change that.  Standard is going to have to find a new footing once the rest of the set hits... but I can see where the low loyalty isn't as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be.

311

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Lukecelmare wrote:

unfortunately I traded most of my white cards to get the cards for this deck smile who know may after the new set comes out it will be more competitive

Well, unless you're headed to a GP or something like that, it won't hurt to wait.  Spoilers should be firing up Sunday night/Monday morning.

312

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

And there isn't really any reason to bump something that hasn't even been up for a day and already sits atop the forum...

313

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Voice is nice and all, but I'd actually think you might have a better shot with this version than with Voice.  I get it's resilient and stops people from doing stuff on your turn, but a 2/2 for 2 in an G/W aggro build really just is out of place.

I could see perhaps moving a few things around here but for the most part it looks solid and any card substitutions will be up to you and your playstyle.

Personally I'd likely cut 1x Boon Satyr and 1x Scavenging Ooze to insert 2x Spear of Heliod for that added little bit of pump to finish the opponent off, but that might be just me.  I would also look into Precinct Captain in some quantity as T2 Captain, T3 Ajani with his -2 for flying double-strike, 4 damage, crap out two 1/1 soldiers is pretty good.

For the SB:

3x Mistcutter Hydra sounds about right as it's really your only shot against mono-blue.  I would also suggest looking into Last Breath for the board, as it can deal with Master of Waves and Gray Merchant.

Sundering Growth strikes me as a solid option in the board given that you already have the charm to exile the gods.  But only 1x?  I would up this to at least 2x if not 3x.

Pithing Needle is suuuuch a powerful card at the moment and really should be at least a 2x in most boards these days.  I would up the count if I were you as it can shut off PWs, Underworld Connections, creatures with monstrous, etc.

I will admit that I'm a HUGE fan of Trostani as a card and love her abilities, but I really don't think you need her in the board here.  In the event you're up against an aggro deck and life is relevant, your stuff is bigger than theirs and you can play on the defensive until you land Unflinching Courage on something and just use lifelink for the win.  So to that end, it's not like you'll need the added life gain or populate given that you're bigger and faster than most aggro strategies.

Rootborn Defenses is a card I'm somewhat on the fence about here.  It seems such a natural inclusion, and I would probably leave it alone because it stops sweepers AND populates, but on the flip side, you already have Advent of the Wurm and Boon Satyr which allow you to completely play around wipes as though they're not even there... so to that end, I don't know if the defenses are necessary anymore.

In either event, you're sitting on a good list and will likely have some luck with it.

Timber wrote:

Don't worry too much about people that say "I don't think you should run that deck.  You're going to lose a lot."

Of course you're going to lose a lot; you're new!  At your first FNM you're going to get your teeth kicked in every game and it will be the best time of your life.  The only way you find out that a card is really good or really sucks is if you play with/against it.  Once someone resolves an Elspeth, Sun's Champion against you, you'll realize why she's worth $19.

If you love building decks, build them.  Deck building is half the fun of the game.

Oh I'll definitely second this sentiment.  To me, the biggest challenge and enjoyment I get out of the game is building a deck that works even half as well as it should on paper.

Other places to look for the "tier 1" decks include the following two sites:

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/standard_deck_hq.asp

and

http://mtganalytics.net/

The first one might be of more use as you can click on the different archetypes in the column on the right and then go through the different variants people are playing to see which cards change and whatnot.

I mean it looks alright and I don't see why you couldn't take a few games by surprise, but it's not exactly like you're going to win an FNM with this by a long shot.

My first suggestion would be to scout out your local FNM to see how hardcore the competition is.  In the event that people are all playing Tier 1 decks, well, you're probably going to lose... a lot.  But, if it's more of a home-brew crowd, you could likely slide in and get some wins.

I see a few issues here:

1) You rely entirely on Angelic Accord.  Literally there is no other back-up plan, shy of a monstrous, Unflinching Courage Fleecemane Lion.  This is a problem, as people will catch on to your plan after Game 1 and can plan accordingly - Detention Sphere, Golgari Charm, Bramblecrush, etc etc - care of Sphere and Underworld Connections people are packing more enchantment hate in their boards than normal, making them particularly suited to deal with your plan.

2) You have a complete lack of resiliency against sweepers.  A resolved Elspeth, Sun's Champion just ends the game as she can easily drop all your angel tokens while outpacing the rest of your board.  Nevermind this, Supreme Verdict also pretty much just hoses you unless you can gain more life quickly.

3) This deck is SCREAMING for some Selesnya love to help out.  Think about the gain you'd get from Trostani, Selesnya's Voice.  Once you get an angel token, you can essentially ensure you will plop more out... populate a token, gain four, get another token... she becomes a life-gain and token generator rather quickly while also giving you a solid blocker.  You'll note she also is pretty solid with Voracious Wurm.
     - To this end, I would also suggest cards like Advent of the Wurm, Rootborn Defenses, and even things like Gods Willing and Brave the Elements.

4) I know they're pricey, but Temple Gardens are a must to be competitive in these colors.  If you do want to go the gate route, 4x guildgates and Saruli Gatekeepers aren't a completely terrible idea.

5) I don't know that I'd run Alive // Well as it will require you to have a board presence to gain life.  You could just as easily run Riot Control for the Fog effect and life gain there.

To make a long story short, go scope out your local meta to see if this could get any traction.  If you're in a control heavy meta, you're screwed (same goes for Tier 1 builds), but otherwise you could likely steal a few games/rounds and likely have some fun.

Good luck!

316

(15 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Ahh how we miss the days of the T4 Hellrider always sealing the deal? wink

I can see where she'll be decent in standard, someone normally finds a way to make PWs work (even Ral Zarek sees some competitive play these days).  The starting loyalty is a bit of an issue, but she's far more likely to get taken out by Hero's Downfall than any of the burn spells people are mentioning... and even then, she may have already provided value.  Think about Vraska after her -3 or Jace, AOT after his -2... they're all in Shock range yet everyone isn't all "they're easy targets for Shock!"  It's not like that's the normal burn spell of choice these days anyway... But being able to shut down their biggest threat even for 1-3 turns can provide a LOT of breathing room to do all sorts of fun things.

I don't really play other formats beyond EDH, but for someone not to be looking at her and proliferate in the same sentence is amazing me.  If she stays on the board for any amount of time you can get her to 5 and BAM, free Krakens.  Either way...

317

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

You can likely take your pick from the lists available here as they're probably all about the same:

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck_sear … estset=THS

Just substitute black for the white...

318

(1 replies, posted in General Discussion)

So in case anyone was unaware, it is possible to playtest much like we used to with Cockatrice on UnTap.in (www.untap.in).

Happy playtesting everyone!

319

(15 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Not a single response or reaction? 

I'm intrigued by her and the fact that practically EVERY pro is saying that her price will drop, but then follow that up by saying they'll pre-order her (as if that makes any sense).

Thoughts?  Brewable?  No?

320

(2 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

This strikes me as needing Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in some quantity to help with the devotion to green you're running.

Other than that, I guess it's worth a go.

For the SB, I would imagine you could go with a bit more removal and such.  So I would probably go with something close to the following:

2x Pithing Needle
2x Cyclonic Rift
2x Fade into Antiquity
3x Essence Scatter
2x Izzet Staticaster
2x Bramblecrush
2x Primeval Bounty

This would give you a lot of added versatility:

Pithing Needle for problematic walkers and/or creatures (think Aetherling)

Cyclonic Rift if the opponent can flood the board or against devotion decks

Fade into Antiquity for problem enchantments and those pesky enemy gods

Essence Scatter for soooooo many opposing threats - nothing like countering a Gray Merchant

Izzet Staticaster flash defense that can deal with mana dorks, Elspeth tokens, and a bunch of other stuff

Bramblecrush for problematic enchantments, artifacts, walkers, even lands...

Primeval Bounty if you need some life gain or just have issues with stalling out, this will single-handedly beat mono-black devotion and will give you serious traction against control

I hope that helps...

drgolovacroxby wrote:

Man, I wish Rancor was still in standard. sad

Don't we all?

The fact it didn't see more play with Ethereal Armor is interesting but it would be pretty broken... T1 Gladecover Scout, T2 Ethereal Armor + Rancor and you have a 5/3 hexproof, trample, first strike... even if they Devour Flesh you can put that Rancor on something else...

I wouldn't even begin to think that this is going to be tier 1, but I think there are ways to take those decks by surprise enough to actually carry out a win.  But, in either respect, the lifelink is going to be HUGE as there are enough decks out there that don't even need to swing at you to win... Gray Merchant is waving at you!  If you have Unflinching Courage or Gift of Orzhova to help you get lifelink, well, that's going to go a long way to help.

I'll add more in a bit, but the first point I'll make is that Emrakul is also banned in EDH.  Check the ban list before you go dropping cash on anything (http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php).  So, between that and Primeval Titan being banned... those issues are resolved.

drgolovacroxby has offered some GREAT options.  I would definitely consider taking many of them into consideration.

My first take, I think you're really wanting to be in only two colors and have left out much of what black has to offer you.  You have Phyrexian Arena and a few other fun items, but where is the spot removal?  Where are the other draw engines?  Underworld Connections, Sign in Blood, Read the Bones, Bloodgift Demon are all good options to consider.  You DEFINITELY need the infinite combo drgolovacroxby points out.  Also, why include the black sweepers Damnation, Mutilate (works like a champ with Urborg), Black Sun's Zenith, etc? 

I would also consider running even more clearing items like Planar Cleansing given your incredibly low creature count.  Either that or you need to up the count... think token generators as you can clog up the board with only 1-2 of them while the opponent has to spend all their resources and cards trying to fill things on their side.

To that end, with so few creatures, I think you probably will really want to pick up some tutor effects.  They can be in the form of Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Increasing Ambition, Diabolic Tutor, etc.  You're going to have a lot of card draw too, so you'll likely want more than just Reliquary Tower to modify your maximum hand capacity - think Library of Leng or even Venser's Journal.  To this end, I don't think you want to run Howling Mine as you want the card draw to be one sided.

Sheoldred, Whispering One is an alternative for Magus of the Abyss with the added benefit of giving you recursion.

You can easily supplement Leyline of the Void with Rest in Peace.  It might affect you too, but I don't know that you're really running enough recursion to stress it being one-sided.

Oblivion Ring, Detention Sphere, Curse of Exhaustion, Curse of Echoes, and Journey to Nowhere are other enchantments coming to mind that you might could benefit from.

For the pillow fort feel, Norn's Annex, Island Sanctuary, Moat, and even Meekstone come to mind.  Toss in some tap effects and a way to bounce Meekstone (see Temporal Adept and those types of effects) and you can ensure that YOUR stuff untaps but theirs doesn't.  It's also fun with Stasis as you just win at that point.

Two more things I've found to be quite useful for decks running counters -  1) you're going to want a LOT more of them as you will almost always want one in EDH, especially in group games and 2) Glasses of Urza is actually REALLY good - being able to look at the opponent's hand repeatedly to see if you need to keep counter mana up makes life soooooooooo much easier.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps...

To be honest, I would suggest going not just to a red splash, but to go full Naya.  Green will give you access to some solid enchantments and a few hexproof critters to have in the SB.  Things like Voice of Resurgence, Witchstalker, Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, Unflinching Courage, etc etc are all worth the splash... They would certainly be more valuable than Messenger's Speed (I'm not sold on that one...).  Hell, Naya even gives access to Gruul War Chant which I think is a MASSIVELY under appreciated card.

The big negative here is that the more you stray away from a mono-white, the less effective Heliod and Nykthos will be.

324

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Given the look of it, you're so close to the mono-red devotion lists it really doesn't make sense not to more that way.  You'll need some number of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and can easily swap Exava out for Fanatic of Mogis.  Aside from that the black splash is okay for the added removal and card draw, but I would actually suggest dropping either Lightning Strike or Magma Jet to up your count of Read the Bones to four, as you're going to want that card draw more than you realize.

I'm really thinking the idea of a Sphere of Safety centric deck will take off more with the inclusion of the Selesnya and Azorius scry lands.  You could then essentially build mono-white enchantments but with the added benefit of the blue card draw or the added enchantments from green.  But if I were to focus on your current build, I would suggest definitely including Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Pacifism, and Arrest in some quantities.