426 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(20 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

obnysalt wrote:

Please check back at that same link, I made a lot of changes.

I'm not seeing the changes... it looks like many of the same problems are still there.

Your land count is still at 17... that's far too few if you hope to actually play more than one card in your hand.  Further, Drown in Filth is practically useless with so few land in the deck.  Ideally you should be running somewhere between 22-24 lands if you hope to get to four reliably.

Second, you still have things that are totally counter to one another in the build.  Specifically, Jarad gets better with more stuff in your yard, but Scavenging Ooze, Deathrite Shaman, and Varolz all remove stuff from your yard.  Nevermind the fact that Slitherhead will just be scavenged as soon as it dies.  It's okay to have one or two cards working counter to one another, but to have that many?  It's not a good idea as it will lead to numerous mis-plays on your part.

Corpsejack Menace really doesn't play as much of a role here as you would like.  I get that he's a 4/4 for four, but for the exact same casting cost you could play Reaper of the Wilds which is a 4/5, will scry when other stuff dies, will NEVER lose in combat (care of deathtouch), and can protect itself via hexproof.  Trust me when I say she will do more work for you than Corpsejack.

I would suggest using Grisly Salvage over Commune with the Gods simply because you only have two enchantments.  At least with Salvage you'll have options.

I still think Deathrite should be dropped from the list... but that's just me.

I'm still tinkering with my build, but you can see it at http://deckbox.org/sets/464290.  Obviously you don't need to take it card-for-card, but I would imagine it will give you a lot better luck than what you're currently sitting on.

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427 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Piffguru wrote:

Yes I am kind of sold on boros right now, and what im going for is double strike // heroic

The key is if you're up for that strategy, U/W actually is better suited to be effective...

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428 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Piffguru wrote:

I got 4 rubblebelt maaka Im just using those for the bloodrush so I did 2 of those and 2 titans strength, instead of doing 4 of each I wanted to split it so I can choose the extra toughness when needed and the scry others, wear//tear was specifically for enchantments since I had nothing for them and they were a big deal at FNM for me, yes I would prob switch them out for something like messengers speed. Not much point in having more than 2 legendary like tajic and I dont even like em that much so I just like having 1 for the indestructible.

At one point I had a second archangel of thune but I sold that early on, I like its addition to this deck now but I wouldnt really want 4 of them since the mana cost is high, I think of it not as having 1x and 1x but 2x end game cards.

My reason for adding more 3 mana cards is cause of the experience I had last friday. It seemed that I would have a good start and decent mid but absolutely no end game. so Im trying to strengthen my midgame to allow for a better end, if that makes sense.

I certainly understand why you chose to add the cards, but they really just aren't ideal in most scenarios.  Rubblebelt Maaka is nice for the bloodrush, but keep in mind that bloodrush doesn't count as "casting" a spell and as such will NOT trigger heroic.  So to that end, I would yank them immediately.  You'll be much better off with Titan's Strength or something else that actually targets.

I get that you don't want to be sitting on a second legendary creature, but only having 1x Tajic is essentially saying you never want to draw him.  If that's the case, cut him and put something else in his place that you DO want to draw.

The reason I suggest getting more Archangels is to increase consistency.  Again, with it being only 1x, you really cannot count on actually drawing it with any reliability.  Even bringing that count up to 2x doubles the odds you see it and makes it a much more likely end-game.

As you just said, you want to strengthen your mid-game, which means you're wanting to abandon the aggro strategy... I cannot stress enough, aggro decks will either win or lose the game 90% of the time by turn 5 or 6.  So to that end, you really shouldn't CARE about not having a mid or late game.  If you want one of those, well, then you're going to want to revamp the whole thing to be more mid-range, which is fine, but all the more reason to up the count of Archangel of Thune.

Additionally, I know WHY you want Wear // Tear, but that goes in the sideboard, as enchantment hate won't do you much good against RDW or a variety of other decks out there.  At most it is good to remove Underworld Connections or Whip of Erebos against mono-black, but unless you're running into that deck every round, there isn't much sense in it being mainboard there either.

Like I said, I'll take a gander at your inventory and will see what you could do... but the question is, do you want to go mid-range or aggro?  Do you want to feature heroic as your main strategy or are you interested in going another route?  Are you completely sold that you HAVE to go with Boros or would you be fine changing it to Azorius?

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429 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Based on the look of the new build, you're spreading yourself too thin in terms of the creature counts.  Having 2x of something that will just win the game when it hits is one thing, but only having 2x or 1x of stuff like Rubblebelt Maaka or Tajic, really just won't cut it.  Additionally, it looks like you've strayed enough that you're not clearly defined as either aggro or mid-range - a big no-no for competitive play.

I'm also seeing things like Wear // Tear in the mainboard when they are clearly sideboard cards.  This is the whole point of a board, to be able to slide in things for a specific matchup or something problematic but that you won't need normally.

All that being said, you're horribly flooded with three-drops.  You would be better suited to try and smooth out your curve.  I'd even suggest trading some of the more costly pieces to get higher counts of the stuff you need, i.e., Archangel of Thune for another Reckoner or vice-versa.  As these pieces are critical to the deck running smoothly and really need to be in higher counts.

If you'd like to give me a day or so, I can look at your inventory and will figure out an ideal build given what you have.

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430 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Against mono-blue devotion, you're rather well suited.  Against pretty much anything else, I'm thinking ANY deck with black, you're likely going to have a problem.

The issue here is that the strategy seems entirely directed at beating blue decks, when, let's be honest, the standard metagame at the moment only has 2-3 decks that run counters in any significant number.  Esper Rich Kid - aka Esper Superfriends - aka Esper Control is the most prominent among them and, well, it has a TON of answers beyond counters to deal with most of your threats.

A lot of the pro-blue things should go in the sideboard and you should develop a clearer strategy of how you would like you deck to play, what the major plays are, and how you expect to win games.  Then build around said strategy and, again, leave most of the counter hate and anti-blue stuff for the SB to slide in against a blue or counter-heavy matchup.

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431 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(4 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

nullkarmaexception wrote:

Did they unban Kokusho?

You can use him, just not as your commander.

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432 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

DarrenM wrote:

I chose to use Path over the spear for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that I'm not running Devotion anything, but I am running 4 mutavaults. If I keep a hand that has Plains Mutavault Mutavault as the lands, I want to be able to play it out with the path. Secondly, my red splash is for Akroan Hoplite, which encourages attacking with as much as possible every turn. Path also shares this encouragement, and can save me in a hyper aggressive mirror. While being able to remove creatures is nice late game, I don't really expect there to be a late game. Even if there is, I have Banisher priest and Azorius Arrester to get rid of big problem blockers.

Certainly understandable.  I don't know that anyone is really worried about Spear for the removal so much as just being able to guarantee your guys get the boost.  But admittedly if you've had success with Path, go with it.  I have two in my GF's Selesnya Aggro and I agree that the life-gain can be worthwhile.

DarrenM wrote:

In regards to Boros charm, it is definitely something that I considered. but unfortunately I traded away all 20 copies that I had accumulated back at the dawn of rotation when everyone in my playgroup was specing that Naya Hexproof would become dominant. As soon as I get some, They'll be in the Sideboard. I don't think that I'll be putting them main board because I feel that it's too obvious. 'A bunch of plains with some red splash, he's obviously running boros charm.' I believe that the opponent will be playing around it without me even having to show it, which will allow me to run more threats and answers main board. I could be wrong though, but this is at least what I have seen happen with other similar builds (I ran Jund for about a week, and all of my opponent were playing around thragtusks that weren't there).

I would argue any time you force your opponent to play around a spell, it's doing its job.  This means that Boros Charm would be forcing them to adjust to what you're doing, which is the first step toward winning the game.  Additionally, as you reference about the issue of Ajani after a board wipe, but in the same respect, the charm simply negates the threat of a board wipe altogether.  Additionally, I'm telling you, there will be games where you get them down to 4-8 life before they stabilize the board.  If you have the ability to just blast them for four direct damage and swing out, as long as a FEW of your guys get through, the game is over.

DarrenM wrote:

I like Cavalry pegasus, but I would rather keep my 1 drops high. As I mentioned in my origional post, This is meant to act as a tempo deck, so I want to be playing as much as possible every turn, and by replacing a 1 drop with a 2 drop, I'm cutting back on my tempo potential. I will, however, be putting the pegasus in my sideboard to replace what is currently Viashino Firstblade, which is admittedly in there to help justify running red mana...

I would argue that Cavalry Pegasus could come into the deck in place of something like Azorius Arrester.  Yes, detain is good for the turn it buys you, but on the flip side, I'd trade that for most of your guys being largely unblockable for the remainder of the game.  As such, you can keep the one drops and still gain access to the Pegasus.

As another two-drop I cannot believe I overlooked at first glance, Imposing Sovereign is CRITICAL to this working.  Their blockers coming in tapped is absolutely huge in the matchup.

DarrenM wrote:

Nykthos is not really necessary here. I think it'd be a sort of Lili of the Dark Realms situation; Here's a bunch of mana, hope you have something to do with it. I do want to get a couple of Heliods though for the SB just in case things slow down for me and I need something to power through.

I don't dispute this fact.  I just know that Nykthos lets you get to crazy amounts of mana rather quickly, allowing you to outpace the opponent.  Again, it's a take-it or leave-it sort of deal.  Certainly not necessary but it might have some promise if you were to slide things like Elspeth or even Evangel of Heliod into the SB for mid-range matchups.

DarrenM wrote:

I think you're right about the Gideon, but I put him in because he provides a large body that evades removal in the control matchup. While Ajani is very good utility in the midrange / aggro matchup, I'm much more afraid of being shut out by board wipes and having to face an AEtherling. I  want the Gideon because he is a constant, practically non-removable threat, whereas the Ajani doesn't do anything by himself when he's left alone after a wipe. Again, I may be wrong about this, but how I see it, Gideon is just so much better as a last resort card. I am very excited for the new Ajani that's coming in one of the later Theros sets though, and I really want to see what he can add to this deck.

I don't doubt that Gideon can do some work for you, but given the amount of "destroy target PW" spells people have access to, he really isn't as resilient as you'd think.  Dreadbore, Hero's Downfall, and Detention Sphere take him out when he's in PW mode... I can see him in the SB, but not really MB.

That being said, Ajani actually helps against board wipes too.  If you use his double strike with Precinct Captain and have a Path in hand, you literally do not need to play another creature as you're likely going to be sitting on the dominant board state.  They wipe and then you resume dropping creatures like normal, pumping them in the process with his counters.

DarrenM wrote:

I do have another question here, is Boros Elite something that I should be picking up? Sure, it's a 3/3 for 1, but the battalion is very situational, and he seems very unreliable as a 1 drop. Yet, I see a lot of the white weenie decks using him...

Boros Elite might be situational.  He fits right into the mold and gives you access to something else on the low end if you're needing to speed the deck up even more.  He'll hit the battalion quite a bit in actuality and he forces them to burn another spell on a 1/1... so I'd say to test with him in the build and see what it does.

In reality we're not talking about major changes, you're sitting on really evaluating the differences between five or six cards out of 60.

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433 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

It's alright to be frustrated by the flood of people to the mono-black and mono-blue devotion decks.  Just keep in mind that they both have rather sizable weaknesses that can be exploited if people know what you're going to be running.

So mono-white weenie... I would suggest taking a look at the Orzhov Aggro build that managed to place 5th at the TCG Max point championship (http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=1169015) and using it as the starting point for what you're building.

I'm admittedly torn on whether Path of Bravery or Spear of Heliod is the better anthem... on the one hand Path gives you life gain and potentially can pump, but on the flip side, it's often a dead card and won't pump your guys.  Often you REALLY want that pump to win the game in a single swing...  I would suggest testing with both options to see which is the better option.

Second, you're splashing a touch of red, so I would say that Boros Charm is a MUST for your SB and possibly even in the MB.  Giving double-strike to a Precinct Captain is no joke as it will do four AND produce two tokens.  Simply zapping them in the face for four is nothing to scoff at.  Lastly, being able to spare your guys from a board wipe, well, that WILL end the game in a lot of instances.

Third, I can definitely see the argument for Judge's Familiar as it essentially adds one to the CMC for opponent removal, but perhaps Cavalry Pegasus could prove useful to this build?  Practically EVERY creature you're running is human... and pretty much making all your guys unblockable turn-after-turn could be huge.  I know it's not a very efficient creature, but even if it just causes them to use removal spells on the pegasus rather than your other threats, it's doing something solid.

Fourth, if you're mono-colored, I can see where you might be able to capitalize on some devotion shenanigans with either Nykthos or Heliod.

Lastly, I don't really see Gideon doing nearly the work for you that Ajani, Caller of the Pride will.  Whether you're pumping threats or giving double-strike on curve to your Precinct Captains or just giving the opponent an extra target to deal with he can be a huge help for you.

On average, it looks pretty solid.  Hopefully some of the points I've made help.

Good luck!

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434 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(18 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Since there were some hopes/interest expressed in a competitive Rakdos build, I should point out this deck (http://deckbox.org/sets/528264) that a friend home-brewed (and I've taken some liberties with to match my current inventory).  But the basic idea is to be controlling until you can either overpower them with tokens (which are expendable), clear the board and whoop some arse with Keyrunes (he was using Mutavaults) or use the damage from Purphoros, God of the Forge and/or Tymaret, the Murder King (aka, the Burger King).

It struck me as a particularly intriguing deck that, to be honest, probably would've beaten me last night had I not jedi-mind-tricked him into using Thoughtseize on my Loxodon Smiter.

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435 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(18 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Comically, VampireArmy, I actually sleeved up a rakdos aggro build just last night on pretty much that premise.... (http://deckbox.org/sets/523269) as I was trying to use the GP Santiago deck idea but with my own non-Xathrid Necromancer twist (as I just traded my only two away...).  Sadly, it just doesn't get the job done as consistently as a pure RDW or something of that ilk.  That and things like Selesnya will just eat you alive, as their two-drops are just bigger and better...  So to that end, sure, you put down Cerberus and he can get all your stuff back... but it's stuff that you wouldn't want to top-deck on T-6 anyway.  I mean the natural card to use him with is Rakdos Charm as you exile their yard in response to him dying... but at the moment there isn't really a board wipe or anything on your side of the table to really make that setup in your advantage.  Anger goes and exiles them...

If you really want to have some fun with Rakdos, I put together a total budget rakdos minotaur build if you're looking for something to sleeve up for less than $100... (http://deckbox.org/sets/526973" onclick="Tcg.mtgCard.showNewCard('http://deckbox.org/sets/526973');return false">http://deckbox.org/sets/526973).

I guess I'll have to keep on tinkering... I want the Jund to work, but perhaps I'll just have to wait until Born of the Gods... sad

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436 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(18 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

All valid points... I mean an option would be to straight out Jund control this list... move Anger into the MB and even more removal in place of the smaller stuff... perhaps keyrunes could be useful in terms of the fixing (Rakdos Keyrune is pretty good I hear).  Essentially change the strategy into just raining chaos down on the board with removal a plenty until you get up to 5-6 lands to then let loose some huge threat...

But then again, I feel like you're better going two color... and that then brings you back to the age old, if you're running black, put Desecration Demon in and the same old boring "oh look... I cast a DD... Do you have an answer?  Nope?  I'm probably going to win then..." which is what I'm straying to get away from.

On a side note, I'm a big fan of Underworld Cerberus but have yet to really figure out a build where he makes all that much sense.  A 6/6 pretty much unblockable for 5 isn't bad value and man if he doesn't look cool.  But in a pure rakdos build he's too slow for aggro, and mid-range isn't ideal either as you'll end up washing out most of your removal if he dies by giving their creatures back to them.

On a side note, pairing Agent of the Fates with Hidden Strings = hilarious.  Cipher it onto something unblockable or flying and you're able to force the opponent to sack at least two creatures per turn.  Good times had by... well... not all, but at least you're having a good time.

More brewing must be done!

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437 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(18 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

psrex wrote:

I'm trying to come up with a similar deck, but I haven't figured out which direction to go in.  At this point I'm thinking of building around Deadbridge Chant, Gaze of Granite, Whip of Erebos, Vraska the Unseen and Reaper of the Wilds.  Alternatively, there may be something interesting in building around Ember Swallower.

I'm thinking Deadbridge Chant isn't ideal given the number of ways to deal with it, resulting in you just milling yourself 10 cards.

Gaze is alright, but you'll likely want to run some sort of devotion or two-color build for it.

I cannot sing enough praises for Whip of Erebos.  The lifelink is HUGE and the ability to reanimate just about anything, well, it does some solid work.

Vraska, I believe is better suited than at any point up until now in the standard metagame.  She tends to work beautifully with Reaper of the Wilds (which is arguably one of the best, but most overlooked creatures in standard these days).

As far as Ember Swallower is concerned, I think that's a non-jund build as you're going to want more ramping.  Conveniently, I've been tinkering with a R/G build that plays off the mono-green devotion shenanigans to power out Ember Swallower and set him off early.  Admittedly I was fishbowling, but the build is able to set him off on T4 quite frequently.

That all being said, what about the jund setup more specifically?  We're short two of the scry lands, but we have a variety of options available... should I take it in a more control direction or is this good as it stands?  Thinking about the matchups, I can see where it will perform well against mono-black and mono-blue, I'm not sure about the Esper matchup, but I think there's enough removal to be resilient against aggro... I don't know... I have almost all of the pieces, but I can't say how well it will hold up without more playtesting (sadly my LGS doesn't do standard constructed as much as I would like...).

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438 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(18 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

TRZ wrote:

Almost a third of your deck is cards that are >= 4CMC that seems really high to me. I'll take another look in the morning when I've had some sleep and try and come up with more suggests. I'd look for stuff like Master of Cruelties, Scooze and such.

I'm with you that stuff in there is expensive, but you're sitting on 10 removal spells mainboard with the option of even more out of the board against faster opponents.  Admittedly perhaps the deck is in need of Voyaging Satyr or some sort of ramping, even Satyr Hedonist would help power out your four-drops on turn two.

I also feel like the four-drop is rather flooded at the moment, I'm thinking Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch and Chandra, Pyromaster are the weakest options there at the moment.

But having a lot of (potentially expensive) major threats that are hard to deal with is sort of the definition of a mid-range deck though... that and adding Master of Cruelties, another five drop, really wouldn't help with the issue you've identified...

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439 Topic by TyWooOneTime

(18 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So I've noticed that Jund (or Rakdos for that matter) really isn't much of a player in the standard metagame... so let's try to change that.

http://deckbox.org/sets/526905

I've thrown this build together rather quickly after looking at the builds that feature Stormbreath Dragon that have placed relatively well in recent events... but I'm liking the slightly more controlling effort here, with things like Sire of Insanity practically ending the game on its own, or at least letting you make major strides care of Blood Scrivener.

I know it's not ideal, it's not orthodox, and I would be best to just take the net-decked version, but I figure, why not work outside the box a little bit.  The big glaring piece missing I'm sure is Desecration Demon, who I fully acknowledge is one of the best creatures in the format, BUT, I'm getting so bored with every deck that has black striving to get to four to cast one...

So thoughts?

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440 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(20 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I'm going to second almost everything elpablo said.  Land count is far too low and there doesn't seem to be a clear direction.

For what it's worth if you're interested in going a more mid-range route, here's a build I've been tinkering with (it's hardly tested or refined yet, but it has some ideas).  Although I cannot stress enough to how valuable Reaper of the Wilds is...

http://deckbox.org/sets/464290

Feel free to take whatever ideas from it you like.  With any luck it should be of some help.

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441 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Selesnya Aggro is going to be the way to go.  Here's the list my GF ran at Theros Gameday - she did alright, but some mana-screw cost her a top 8 spot (I'm thinking she needs to mulligan more aggressively).

http://deckbox.org/sets/428181

Alternately, I think Craig Wescoe recently did an article on Selesnya aggo featuring Boon Satyrs.  I'd give it a look too... the biggest thing I can say you'll need will be Advent of the Wurm (it really does make all the difference).

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442 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Sorry to hear that.  If you had some sort of token generation to create more sack targets, perhaps that'd help.  But in all likelihood, yeah, there are enough edict effects that hexproof doesn't go as far.  You really just lost too much of the firepower with rotation...

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443 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Piffguru wrote:

phalanx leader is something I really liked when I first made this deck, it hurt me to let it go but the double white land necessary was killing me, if I ended up with 2 plains on draw then that was pretty much the only card I could play, where as if I get 2 mountains or 1 and 1 then I could play everything else, so I decided to drop that.

I noticed that you havent said anything bout the judge's familiar, thats something I have been on the fence about for a while.. I had 2 in at one point but Im thinking of dropping them all together and getting more legion loyalist.

I had more battalion at one point so the daring skyjek made sense but im not sure its a good fit right now, maybe after I get more legion loyalists I can capitalize on it more but im not sure if I just should drop battalion all together.

I mean Judge's Familiar is an underrated card much of the time.  It gives you a flying 1/1, so you're almost always dealing some damage, and, perhaps most importantly, everyone forgets about the ability to sack it to counter stuff, so you can often catch the opponent not paying attention and counter his Sphinx's Revelation/Hero's Downfall, etc.  Is it necessarily an aggro card, not really, but I can think of worse things to be running.

The biggest problem with Legion Loyalist is that he never gets any bigger.  Sure, setting off his battalion makes most of your guys win in combat, but on average, they can just take that damage to block and kill the loyalist and then just clean up next combat.  If he were able to get +2/+0 on a regular basis, then he'd be much more effective.

Daring Skyjek is among the better two-drops given your colors.  Compare it to the ones that are seeing the most play - Firefist Striker, Goblin Shortcutter, Burning-Tree Emissary.  Compared to Firefist, sure, it cannot outright stop a blocker, but it's giving you an added power in a flying creature.  Compared to Shortcutter, again, it cannot stop a blocker (only once this time), but it again has the same advantages.  Compared to BTE, well, it actually costs mana as opposed to essentially being free like BTE, but that added power and flying are quite relevant, especially if you run things like Legion's Initiative, Spear of Heliod or Path of Bravery.  So, pending you don't have the other pieces, I think Skyjek is a fine choice to run as a 4x.

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444 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(3 replies, posted in General Discussion)

It's going to depend on the format honestly, as one could easily argue that some colorless producing lands are better than others, i.e. the Urza lands (aka Tron lands).

More generally speaking, I don't know that a smattering of basics will really throw the opponent unless they're REALLY overthinking things.  They'll pick up pretty quickly that every card you've played is colorless.

That being said, I'd go R/G, just because those aren't exactly the colors you associate with artifacts and such.... but it's really just a preference thing I'd guess.

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445 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Do you ever find yourself wishing you had more card draw?  I could see where perhaps 2x Divination or even Opportunity, if you find the games go that long, could prove useful.

I'd also want more than just the poor chimera and one Aetherling in my creature base... I'm thinking Prognostic Sphinx perhaps?

Lastly I'm thinking I'd probably have Anger of the Gods in the sideboard in place of something else only to slide in vs aggro.  There's no reason to risk killing your own chimeras if you don't need to.

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446 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Piffguru wrote:

But your right and I think I am going to max out the doublestrike creatures when I get a chance, this is just all I currently have. My thing has been trying to find a good balance between creatures and powerups.

again im not refusing to add more copies, I just dont have them and I am trying to decide which ones to go for without just dropping alot of money to try things out and realize I dont like how it goes.

The key for you is going to be to get the most out of each heroic trigger.  To be honest, Phalanx Leader would be a good fit here if you're really looking for those sorts of things.  Additional spells for the triggers are Titan's Strength, Gods Willing, Dragon Mantle, Madcap Skills - I honestly wouldn't run more than that as you're already sitting on possibly 16 spells that require a valid target or they're dead cards.

For the Hammer, really since just about everything has haste anyway, you would probably actually hold it until T4 - T5, as you could easily drop it and then start converting lands into golems at that point since you'll need SOMETHING to overwhelm them with if the game has gone that long.

As for not having multiple copies of stuff yet, just put lands in the sleeves and put notes in front of them to serve as proxies to playtest the deck to see how it feels, how it performs and the like.  You obviously can't play it in an FNM like that, but still, it's a start.  Then if you need to pick up the cards, I'd suggest just checking on TCGPlayer as I'd wager you can pick the singles up cheaper that way and likely finish out the deck for like $5-20.

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447 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I understand the reluctance to net-deck, believe me, I do.  But putting multiples into a deck to increase consistency is just smart deckbuilding, it has nothing to do with net-decking or anything of that sort.  So running 1x Daring Skyjek versus 4x is just saying that you don't really want to draw it consistently, which then says, you just don't need the card at all and can drop it.  Refusing to net-deck is one thing, but refusing to add card consistency will simply result in your deck failing to perform.

As far as topping the curve off at four, you say that's too slow, but the most aggressive decks out there top out at four.  RDW famously topped at four with Hellrider pre-rotation and now runs Fanatic of Mogis.  Further, you tell me that topping at four is too slow, but you put a six-drop in the deck?  If Aurelia is only for games that go long, put her in the SB as you don't need her most of the time.  But more importantly, aggro decks will either win the game by turn 6 or the game is typically lost by then.  So a six-drop really doesn't make sense.

For mono-black.  Yes, you have first strike, but they have targeted removal... a LOT of it.  Their job isn't to win creature combat.  As such, Gift of Immortality is never going to resolve as they can take out the target at instant speed.  Do you have answers to Desecration Demon?  Whip of Erebos?  Gray Merchant?  As you sit I only see two cards that could deal with one.  So unless you're getting a T4 kill every game (which you won't), you have something of a problem.

For mono-blue, Master of Waves has pro-red, so again, your only option at the moment is Chained to the Rocks... strikes me as a bit of a problem.

For R/G devotion, they're going to be dropping a LOT of creatures faster than you can...

So, what can you do about it?  Again, I would suggest using one of the tourney decks as A STARTING POINT to then deviate from based on the cards you have and the strategy you would like to adopt.  If you're all about double-strike, then get another 3x Fabled Hero, 1x Two-Headed Cerberus, and 3x Fencing Ace.  Toss in some Fireshriekers and focus then on some spot removal and pump spells for them.  It's not that hard to make the changes, but simply denouncing all the time and work someone else put into the decks you see online just for the sake of "not net-decking" is silly.  It is possible to look at someone's idea and figure out how to apply your own ideas to the deck...

A few added thoughts:

1) Chandra's Phoenix, mana permitting, is better than Skyknight Legionnaire 100 out of 100 times.  Why?  It can come back with a burn spell.  Skyknight dies, it's gone.  But also, why not run 5x of a 2/2 flying haste?  Flying wins a LOT of games.

2) If you're wanting a TON of speed, why are there only two one-drops?  Foundry Street Denizen will almost NEVER attack for just one.  Soldier of the Pantheon and Dryad Militant are both good options here too - although I cannot stress enough how much Firedrinker Satyr is bad.

3) Again, if you're after speed, where is Burning-Tree Emissary?  It's literally a free 2/2 that can help trigger battalion and the like.

4) If you really want an unorthodox way to go with things, figure out how to run a deck with 4x Firemane Avenger.  It costs all of a dollar per card and can be a real threat, taking out blockers, pinging the opponent, all while gaining you life.

5) Boros Charm?  Your board wipe worries are significantly less if you have 4x of these.  Alternately, Rootborn Defenses but that's more expensive and you likely won't get any benefit out of the populate trigger.

6) Temple of Abandon really is worth looking into getting a few copies.  The scry can be really big for you.

7) Hammer of Purphoros can also really help a build like this, giving stuff haste and even turning late game land draws into 3/3 golems.

8) Additionally, if you're on the double-strike train, why not up the copies of Madcap Skills to 4x and toss in Dragon Mantles?  Both are GREAT for double-strike creatures and the mantle even replaces itself by letting you draw another card.  Both open the door to get two-for-one'd, but such is the case with auras.

9) Perhaps Tajic would find a welcome home here?  Indestructible is a thing these days I hear...

Ultimately how you decide to modify it is your business, but keep in mind that taking someone else's deck and modifying it is NOT net-decking (taking someone else's decklist card-for-card is).  I cannot stress how it pained me to start looking at decklists and such myself, but in the world of competitive magic you will lose a LOT if you refuse to add multiples of cards for consistency or to recognize that some people do this for a living, lucky bastards, and we would be well to at least consider that they might know what they're doing.

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448 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(28 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So obviously results will vary based on how competitive your local FNM is, but my base assumption is that you're going to get killed pretty hard.  The biggest problem isn't the strategy so much as the lack of consistency in play.  You REALLY need to have something that performs consistently to do well in a competitive environment.  As such, just as you said, you'll need 3-4x of most cards to really provide what you're looking for.

That being said, cards to focus on include:

Legion Loyalist, Foundry Street Denizen, Ash Zealot, Daring Skyjek, Firefist Striker, Imposing Sovereign, Boros Reckoner, Chandra's Phoenix, and Aurelia (who actually did pretty well at the TCG 50K Diamond event).  In reality, you're going to want to top your curve off at four with Fanatic of Mogis or something to that end.

I would honestly suggest looking at the Boros and RDW builds that have put up solid numbers in the recent tourneys (you can find them at http://magic.tcgplayer.com/standard_deck_hq.asp) and use that as a template to strive toward.  You don't have to match it card-for-card, and in fact, I would encourage you not to; but, go ahead and recognize that these decks are tested a LOT  by the various players who have spent countless hours trying to figure out the best cards, combos, and strategies.  As such, why re-invent the wheel?

If you're looking for a heroic style, Craig Wescoe actually JUST wrote an article on an amusing build, although it's Azorius colors - so why not make it "Real American Heroes" and make R/U/W heroic?  You can find Wescoe's article here (http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=11485) and a quick take I had on the three color deck idea here (http://deckbox.org/sets/523862).

Be creative, but keep in mind that the competitive game is a far different animal than the kitchen table.  You'll want higher numbers of the cards you use most and rely on most to win the game.

I hope this helps... Good luck!

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449 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(3 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

You're allowed to use whatever basics you like, regardless of which set they're from as the standard five lands are reprinted in every set.  Many people play with the full-art lands from Zendikar or the Un-sets simply because they're often more fun to look at.

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450 Reply by TyWooOneTime

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So the basic idea isn't half bad, but it really lacks the punch that you used to see in the Bant Hexproof decks because of the relatively low number of creatures that actually have hexproof these days.  Before the appeal was to use either Invisible Stalker, mostly for the unblockable part, or Geist of Saint Traft, mostly for the angel tokens, and pump the crap out of them with enchantments.  The real strength was that there were relatively few ways to deal with those guys before... now, well, Celestial Flare, Devour Flesh, Anger of the Gods, Supreme Verdict and a variety of other tools are available to work against you.

As a result, you have only 11 hexproof creatures, meaning you're unlikely to have more than 1-2 creatures out at any given point in time.  As a result, you're likely going to get wiped out pretty hard by a single hit.  In the current meta, you likely could perform alright against most decks, specifically mono-black devotion is likely weak against you, but anything that overloads Cyclonic Rift or holds a board wipe is just going to clear you out rather easily.  It's worth a shot

To the specific details of the deck, you DEFINITELY need to up Witchstalker to 4x and could consider some other creatures in addition to potentially adding Alpha Authority to your list of enchantments.  I would say to drop the Elvish Mystics as it's not like you're really struggling to hit a high curve, so the ramping isn't really necessary.

Aside from those changes, it looks about right, but again, I don't know how good the strategy will be these days.

Lastly, for the sideboard, I would suggest thinking about what types of decks are normally present at your local FNM.  If it's a control-centric crowd, figure out the pieces that would best serve you to combat control builds and slide them in (I'm thinking Rootborn Defenses, Bramblecrush, and things of that nature).  Alternately, if it's an aggro crowd, you'll likely want to slip in things like Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, Call of the Conclave, and things of that like.  If it's mid-range, well, you're already pretty well suited there, but a few copies of Sphere of Safety might be fun.

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