Looking at the build I can only think your issues lie in your SB. 

Dark Betrayal - you're already sitting on 8 removal spells MB that could easily deal with a black threat.  Do you really think two more in the SB makes that much of a difference?

Pithing Needle - this can be huge against control, I'd suggest kicking it up to 3x.

Blind Obedience - big against aggro, so again, 3x this.

Rest in Peace - The days of Junk Reanimator and Snapcaster Mage are behind us in standard.  As such, you really don't need hate for the yard as much as you need answers for counter magic and the like.  An unorthodox solution would be something like Silence to ensure they don't counter your Blood Barons.

Sin Collector - I think this is a good option and certainly the proper number.  I can't imagine wanting more than 3x of these and it's easy to straight swap them with the Lifebane Zombies in control matchups.

Underworld Connections - to be honest, you either want these or you don't.  I'd suggest dropping them into the MB and sliding one Thoughtseize to the SB and dropping one Read the Bones.  I would likely up the count of Whip of Erebos to 2x as well, as it'll be HUGE when it hits the field.

Merciless Eviction - in reality what would you even need this for?  By the time you would be able to cast it you're likely sitting on some of your good creatures and the game has stabilized or the opponent is playing control and it wouldn't do you any good anyway.  I would drop these in favor of something else...

So if I'm following you correctly, you have a Gruul aggro build that does NOT have 4x Burning-Tree Emissary feeding into 4x Firefist Striker?  Because to be honest, you're leaving a LOT of power on the table without those.

Personally I'd consider sliding Scavenging Ooze to the SB as the above mentioned two-drops are far faster and more critical to the aggro plan.

2x Stormbreath Dragon is fine, but you'll likely want more quality three drops like Chandra's Phoenix or other things of that nature... remember, your goal is for that four damage from Stormbreath to finish them off.  One possible three-drop to consider is Reverent Hunter - they still haven't caught on, but he's easily a 4/4 for three if you put down Exp One and then BTE into anything... that'll evolve the Exp AND essentially give you a Loxodon Smiter (which isn't half bad I hear these days).

Anger of the Gods is TERRIBLE for an aggro build.  You're going to end up clearing your own side quite a bit only to watch your opponent play Brave the Elements or something to that effect.  You might SB a few, but aside from that, you almost NEVER want this card in an aggro build.  Mid-range, sure, but aggro?  Not so much.

Xenagos isn't anything special for aggro, but Chandra, Pyromaster definitely pulls her own weight.  Between the pinging and unblockable +1 and the card advantage you spit out with her +0, yeah, she might be worth playing at least 1x of in here.

As much as I despise net-decking, there is something to be said for it as the pros really have put in the time to sit and playtest decks over and over and over again.  I would suggest looking into what the most successful Gruul aggro builds are at this weekend's tourneys and make some slight tweaks to your build to flesh out the low end of the curve with them as you still feel creature light for some reason (I would also say you don't need 7 burn spells, as you're probably going to want more creatures to increase the odds Domri hits AND to keep more of a pressuring board presense).

You are intending to use this deck for what type of play?  Casual?  FNMs?

Keep in mind that as amusing as milling might be, it is technically making your job three times harder than it normally should be... so if you're headed for a competitive environment, it's not exactly a good plan to start with...

The need for foil and promo pricing is a definite need, but it's not part of TCGPlayer's API for the time being.  My guess would be that foil and promo pricing are coming soon with the improvements in the trade interface.

The issue with Chained to the Rocks here is the text on the card itself "Enchant Mountain you control."  This means that whomever controls Chained to the Rocks must also control the mountain it is enchanting.  If you do not meet that criteria when you check state-based actions, it falls off (sort of like giving a creature protection from white causes Pacifism to fall off, or, more pointedly, how pumping a creature's power causes Runner's Bane to fall off).

Now, can you use this for some permanent exiling shenanigans like people have done with Sundial of the Infinite and whatnot?  My initial reaction would be no, as any modification of ownership of either Chained or the Mountain would shift and the spell would be invalid immediately (not going on the stack).  My understanding, and I'm not a judge by any means, is that as the stack resolves, each layer progresses through player priority and the checking of state-based effects before any effects would resolve. 

In other words, if you would cast Chained and exile a creature on its ETB trigger, and then use Zedruu to swap ownership of either Chained or the Mountain, the instant that ability resolves, Chained falls off and they get the creature back.  Similarly, if you were to cast Chained and try to swap control of the mountain you targeted before it resolves, that's also a no-go, as it no longer has a valid target and it fizzles with nothing having ever been exiled.

So the tl;dr version - no, you cannot exile a creature permanently with Chained beyond just keeping it on your mountain and hoping they don't have any enchantment hate.

531

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So first off, the suggestion of Ogre Slumlord strikes me as a good one.  I would also say to drop Hythonia, Nightmare, and Abhorrent Overlord for 3x Sanguine Bond (or potentially Vizkopa Guildmage as an alternative).  I would focus on SMALL 1-2 drop creatures that you'll happily sack to Bubbling Cauldron as it, paired with Dark Prophecy actually sounds like a decent engine.  But something like Sanguine Bond/Guildmage should be your win-con.

A few thoughts aside from what I state above:

1) Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is going to be nice in any monocolored deck as it can easily result in a ramping action - see Cabal Coffers if you're unsure.  It's a slightly different effect, but it's quite the useful card.

2) Whip of Erebos could be big here, as you can use it to reanimate things and then turn around and sack them to the cauldron before you exile them at the end of the turn (yes, they still get exiled, but still).

3) Sadly the timing of this deck is about a month late, as Blood Artist would've fit in here beautifully.  Without this ability though, you really don't have much punch to finish games.

4) Hero's Downfall will be huge for you.  If there were a black sweeper, that would be awesome, but there really isn't one for the time being.

5) Quag Sickness is decent SB tech for a deck with a lot of black as it can translate into a god killer if they ever get Heliod/Purphoros/Thassa online.

Anywhom, seems neat enough to fiddle with.  I can say that you're likely going to lose at FNMs and such, a LOT, but then again, playing with something different is always a lot of fun.

Good luck!

532

(7 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Don't forget Arbor Colossus, Polukranos, or Stormbreath Dragon.

533

(7 replies, posted in General Discussion)

elpablo wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it actually adds an additional "type" to the monster so for fleecemane it would actually be a Monstrous Creature - Cat, in the type area of the card.

Negative, no modification to the creature type. 

The official rules for monstrosity are as follows:

701.28. Monstrosity

701.28a "Monstrosity N" means "If this permanent isn't monstrous, put N +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes monstrous." Monstrous is a condition of that permanent that can be referred to by other abilities.

701.28b If a permanent's ability instructs a player to "monstrosity X," other abilities of that permanent may also refer to X. The value of X in those abilities is equal to the value of X as that permanent became monstrous.

Once a creature becomes monstrous, it can't become monstrous again. If the creature is already monstrous when the monstrosity ability resolves, nothing happens.

Monstrous isn't an ability that a creature has. It's just something true about that creature. If the creature stops being a creature or loses its abilities, it will continue to be monstrous.

An ability that triggers when a creature becomes monstrous won't trigger if that creature isn't on the battlefield when its monstrosity ability resolves.

(Note this was copied and pasted from the rules addendum that was sent out prior to Theros pre-releases.)

534

(7 replies, posted in General Discussion)

You're misunderstanding what it means to make a creature monstrous.  Monstrous is an activated ability that you pay for once the creature is already in play, which, if allowed to resolve, will result in the counters being placed on the creature and whatever other ability set off.

So for your scenario, you cast Savage Summoning to make the Fleecemane Lion uncounterable.  It will enter play with a +1/+1 counter.  Then AFTER the lion is in play, you can pay the five to make it monstrous, giving it another counter, making it a 5/5, hexproof, indestructible.

Keep in mind that activating a monstrous ability does NOT preclude a creature from getting other counters, or vice versa.  If a creature has counters, it can still be made monstrous if you pay the ability.  However, monstrous can only be activated once, meaning the biggest you can pump the Fleecemane without help from any other cards is a 4/4.

Does that clarify things?

535

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Ethereal Armour and Madcap Skills

536

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

My suggestion would be to just Google "MTG RDW" or "MTG Red Deck Wins."  Odds are, it will give you a good sense of what a good build will look like.

Now, if I were to focus on this particular build, I see several issues:

1) Firedrinker Satyr is just plain bad.  I understand that all sorts of pros have been claiming it will be good, but consider the following scenario: The opponent is on the play, you put down the satyr on your first turn, they answer with a 3/3 (could be Kalonian Tusker, a Centaur Token, whatever).  On your second turn, you have the option to attack.  You swing, they opt to block.  You can easily make this a 1-for-1 trade, so you pay to pump the satyr.  Nice work, your 1-drop just took out their 3/3, and you traded, right?  Not so fast, not only have you lost tempo (kind of a big deal in RDW) by spending your mana to pump him, but you lose your creature AND you're out 4 life.  Alternately, which creature do you think they're going to zap with Lightning Strike?  If it's me I'll burn your guy and thank you for Forking my strike and letting me hit you with the copy.

So what's a better option?  Foundry Street Denizen and Rakdos Cackler are both solid options  that don't have the potential for getting blown out like the satyr.  Given that you have both of these, why bother with more one-drops?  You really don't want to be top-decking a one-drop beyond say the third turn.  As such, they should both be 4x, but you don't really need Legion Loyalist and the Satyr is just bad.

2) Burning-Tree Emissary definitely needs to be a 4x.  They're FREE 2/2s... How can that go wrong?

3) Firefist Striker is the optimal two-drop to accompany BTE, but for some nagging reason I think there should be at least one other option here... although I'm blanking at the moment.  Young Pyromancer seems to have found its way into several builds these days, although I think of it as being more of a control card.  Deathbellow Raider might actually not be terrible as an another two-drop.  Gore-House Chainwalker is probably the best bet.

4) Reckoner is a great creature, but not exactly the aggro piece you're looking for.  Definitely keep them in your SB for the mirror match, but I can see where a full playset of Chandra's Phoenix will serve you better at the three-drop.  In addition, Mindsparker or even Minotaur Skullcleaver is might be decent options here.

5) Purphoros is good, as is Chandra, but I would keep Fanatic of Mogis in mind as an added option at the four-spot.

6) I might would say to consider 2x Stormbreath Dragon as a finisher.  It's no Thundermaw Hellkite, but it's the best that we have for the time being.

For your spells:

1) You'll definitely want a copy of Mizzium Mortars (at least one MB).

2) Skullcrack really isn't necessary.  You could easily run one of the other creatures in their place.

A few other cards to consider:

1) Ash Zealot.  It might not fit the whole BTE plan, but a 2/2 with first strike and haste isn't exactly a bad thing.

2) Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.  You're sitting on a TON of colored symbols and it's not unlikely that you have a BTE in play... you're going to be able to ramp using this.  Think, T1 - any one drop, T2 - BTE into Firefist, T3 - Nykthos, tap it for four - you're already landing Purphoros or Chandra.  If you manage the elusive BTE - BTE - Creature, now you're landing a Stormbreath Dragon on T3.

Anywhom, I'd suggest first looking into the RDW builds and then with any luck some of these ideas can be of use.

537

(15 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Lukecelmare wrote:

So underworld connections or read the bones? Read the bones seems better , how many should I run? 2 or 4 ?

Thanks for all the help guys !

It's going to depend on the deck you're running.  Underworld Connections will provide a more consistent card draw that extends as far as you would like to take it.  However, there are two drawbacks, the BB in the mana cost AND that it's a permanent that is vulnerable on the field.  Read the Bones will dig four cards into the library and has the easier mana cost, all while not being vulnerable to anything on the board; however, it's at sorcery speed, meaning you have to do it on your turn rather than in your opponent's end-step.

They're comparable spells, again, it's going to come down to what you really want.

538

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

My first reactions to the build:

1) You're sitting on too many copies of legendary creatures.  You're going to end up with dead draw Anax and Cymede a air amount of the time.  Further, Heliod would be best as a 2x, as you don't want to dead draw one, especially since he's unlikely to actually become a creature given your current configuration.

2) Your creature count is quite low and manages to omit one of the best heoric creatures in the set, Fabled Hero.  Given the number of cards you've allocated to triggering heroic, you will likely have games where you only draw 1-2 creatures and a ton of pumps, only to see the creatures removed and you frustratingly drawing dead until they take you out.

3) You have a direct conflict of interest between Hammer of Purphoros and only having 20 lands.  Simply put, it will be highly unlikely that you're ever going to have enough land to really sack into more than 1-2 golems.

4) Spear of Heliod is good, but I wouldn't run any more than 2x of them.  If you're dying for more anthem effects, either more Legion's Initiatives or Path of Bravery will work.  The problem behind having just 3x spears is that you'll never have more than one anthem at your disposal care of its legendary status.

5) Tajic is good and I think there are places for him, but I can just see where you're seldom going to trigger his battalion and even then he'll just get chumped almost endlessly.

6) You'll really need at least 2x Sacred Foundry if you're planning on going to an FNM to really be competitive.

7) I'm seeing ZERO removal on your part.  R/W has a LOT of options to help deal with opposing threats.  Lightning Strike, Magma Jet, or even better given that you're playing with red, Chained to the Rocks.  You need at least a few options to deal with your opponent's creatures, otherwise, there are bigger and better creatures than you're using that will just overpower you.

I think to really make boros work you need to commit to either a full out aggro strategy or a more mid-range game.  Sadly, heroic has some promise, but I don't know that it's worth building an entire deck around just yet.  For an aggro build, you'll want Akroan Crusader, Soldier of the Pantheon, Rakdos Cackler, Firefist Striker, Daring Skyjek, Wojek Halberdiers, and things of that like.  For a mid-range build you'll likely want to culminate in Assemble the Legion which is just a monster card that ends games on its own (although it is actually outpaced by Elspeth until the 10th turn they would both be in play).

539

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

The key is that even software like Cockatrice requires a second person to play unless you simply want to sit and fishbowl (aka playing against a goldfish or an empty chair).  I don't know of any real way to play against AI with user built decks.  Even the Duels of the Planeswalkers versions of the game have a limited card pool.

So the first thought I have here is that this deck is WAYYYYY too fragmented.  You really need to decide whether you're wanting to play control or whether you're wanting to play something else, as you're definitely torn between strategies at the moment.

1) If you're going control/mill - go U/B.  It gives you access to Ashiok and Jace for milling purposes, Aetherling as a backup plan, and a TON of counter and removal options.  The current build's only answer to anything on the board is either Voyage's End or Supreme Verdict - the latter being good, but only if it's in conjunction with other control elements.  Rethink the counters you have - I'm thinking Syncopate and Essence Scatter among others - Psychic Strike isn't exactly optimal in most instances.  Additionally, you can remove essentially your entire creature base as a control deck doesn't really want to have any creatures on the field unless they're digging or are essential to winning (so think Omenspeaker and Aetherling and nothing else).

Keep in mind that playing this strategy will take a LOT of discipline and practice.  You need to evaluate threats and figure out which ones need removal and which ones need countered - so as to be sure to keep all your options open.  You will spend most of your turns drawing, playing a land, and passing the turn.  Your goal is to literally grind out your wins - meaning there is a chance you'll be going to turns and drawing a fair amount of the time.

2) If you choose to go with a more creature oriented deck, something of a mid-range if you will.  Then you can easily go U/W and include every single one of the creatures you're using (although I think 4x Daxos is a bit overkill as they'll often be dead cards in your hand).  Again, you'll want some responses for threats that actually hit the field, given that you'll frequently be tapped out from playing your own creatures, but that's not the hardest thing in the world given the removal that white has.  But keep in mind, all the planeswalkers you currently have in the build would have to go.

This type of deck is typically a bit easier to play as you're not really as focused on what they're doing at all times, instead acting with a bit more of a plan on your own.

3) Several cards I'm seeing here REALLY just aren't very good or just don't fit.  For instance, Mind Grind.  Sure, you can mill them for a bunch, but that doesn't really accomplish much if they're landing threats on the board and beating your face in.  You typically want to keep counter mana up and the sorcery speed of it is completely counter to that idea.  Next, Immortal Servitude... to get you what?  Reanimate the Omenspeakers following a Supreme Verdict? - Keep in mind that you would end up likely scrying the same few cards over and over again.

I'm also not really seeing why Thassa is in here as a 4x.  I get that she's powerful, cheapest of the gods, scrying every turn, getting things unblockable.  But having 4x not only costs a ton of cash, it will also result in numerous dead draws (or dead cards in hand), and given the current makeup of your deck, seldom ever will your devotion be high enough to really start swinging with her.  She strikes me more as a 2x or 3x card and probably in a more blue devotion dedicated deck with things like Claustrophobia, Frostburn Weird and even potentially Master of Waves - a totally different deck than what you have here.

4) The mana... You'll probably notice that I've suggested two different paths, both in two colors.  Given the rotation of the check lands and the incomplete cycle of the Temples, playing three color is going to be sketchy in terms of color requirements.  It will take a full 12 set of the relevant shock-lands (that's roughly $120 there in just lands) to even have a chance of working properly.


So, the take away point here is that you need to choose between a control/mill type deck that has a LOT more focus on spot removal OR go with a more creature centric deck that can have fun with things like Daxos and possibly Thassa.

541

(2 replies, posted in General Discussion)

WarLordUSA is spot on.  Just like how you'd tell someone in person that you're not looking to trade at the moment, you can just as easily tell the person in the chat box that you're not really interested in the trade at this time.

542

(15 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Egann wrote:
TyWooOneTime wrote:

Nevermind the fact that if you have a bunch of tokens out, the opponent could actually just win the game by wiping the board...

If you have that many, why would you spend the mana to drop it? The reason I recommended card draw is because I expect the tokens to get constantly sacked. You will either have too many tokens or (more likely) no other option.

I didn't mean in just one shot.  If you're sitting on more than 3-4 tokens then you should've been swinging or something.  My point was that a control deck would happily wipe the board, ding you for 4-5 care of Dark Prophecy and just let you rebuild only to repeat.  If you're down any life from Shocks/other causes, that could easily be the move needed to finish you off.

Simply put, I don't think Dark Prophecy is all that good.  I would rather run Underworld Connections all day, every day.  At least then you get the choice of whether you lose life or not.  It's also a LOT easier to cast as a BB requirement is considerably easier to get consistently than BBB.

543

(15 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Egann wrote:

I see some hand problems with this deck, too. Instants and sorceries just don't stick on the battlefield like permanents, and red just does not draw cards well, and you will need at least some. As you're already in black, you've got some options. Dark Prophecy is great because it would synergize with the Young Pyro tokens (opponent can't take out your permanents without giving you cards) but with a BBB casting cost and only five swamps in the deck it's almost impossible to cast it right now. You would basically need a full playset of Rakdos Guildgates or a similar manafix.

Alternatively you could play Toil / Trouble, which has the added utility of fuse, should you ever want it. Or Underworld Connections, even if it's a bit slow and almost as bad with the mana cost.

Nevermind the fact that if you have a bunch of tokens out, the opponent could actually just win the game by wiping the board...

If you're after a low-mana intensive draw option in R/B, Read the Bones is your work-horse.  It essentially lets you drill four cards into the deck, something blue is happy to pay six mana to do these days (Opportunity).

First off, Lightning Mauler is rotating... so no good there.

Second, I just don't see Xenagos working in aggro.  Mid-range, you bet.  Aggro, nah.  You want to be winning the game on T4-5 not pumping out another 2/2 or ramping toward something.  Odds are your hand is empty at that point anyway.

Third, comments for Leaite's build...

I cannot stress enough that Firedrinker Satyr is not as good as everyone is hyping it up to be.  Consider the following, you have said Satyr and they have a 3/3... let's say a centaur for the sake of argument.  Yes, you can attack into the centaur and pump the satyr to take it out - giving you a 1-for-1 exchange (typically good value), but consider that you're not just trading 1-for-1.  In reality, you're trading 1-for-1 in cards, but are also giving up two mana (a precious resource in an aggro deck) AND are taking four damage.  Now I know that most aggro decks don't really care about giving up some life, as, after all, they're racing and their whole strategy is predicated on being faster.  However, consider how easy it is to play another 3/3.  Hell, you have Kalonian Tuskers in this build... so the question becomes, is Firedrinker Satyr really worth it?  Or perhaps an alternative example would illustrate... damage done to him is also done to you... so if I have Lightning Strike in hand, I'll happily zap him and thank you for essentially copying my spell and hitting yourself with it.

Experiment One is a better one drop, not because of its initial stats, but because it continues to grow as the game evolves, making it a bigger and bigger threat turn after turn.  Additionally, it can regen in the face of a Supreme Verdict.

I'm not seeing much in the way of other creatures you can drop with BTE - just another BTE, Scavenging Ooze or some combination of one-drops.  Firefist Striker is a REALLY good option to consider here.

I think, being aggro, you could afford to drop to 2x Stormbreath Dragon.  It helps the wallet and, to be honest, won't be necessary a lot of games.

I don't know that Zhur-taa Swine is a great option either.  Sure, it can bloodrush for a lot of damage, but the real reason Ghor-Clan sees so much play is because it provides trample, allowing you to both take out an opposing creature AND slam through for damage.

I would likely drop to 2x Magma Jet and 1x Mizzium and fill those three vacated slots with Lightning Strikes.  Scrying is a mid-range game most of the time.  You might be able to fix things so that Domri can hit more reliably, but outside of that, you have bigger and better things to be doing.

I think you would be well suited to look into Reverent Hunter.  At the moment they're only like $1.50 each AND it would rather consistently enter play on T3 as a 3/3 or higher.  Just food for thought...

Lastly, I would suggest even considering Gruul War Chant as a possible finisher at the four spot.  Think, odds are you've put some serious hurt on them by then.  Even having a pair of 3/3s on the field, they become 5/3s and the opponent can likely only block one.  That's probably 2-for-1 exchange on creatures AND sliding in for those last points of damage.

So did I save your light and internet for the month?

545

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Dmullvain44 wrote:

What do you think will take this deck to the next level past being playable at FNM? Possibly a grand prix

Two things:

1) There's no need to start a new thread for the existing deck discussion.  I've deleted the other thread as it's redundant.

2) It's not entirely clear what will make the next GP dominating deck (believe me, if we knew, we would be playing it).  That being said, playtest, playtest, playtest.  The only way to truly understand a deck to the point that you'll be competitive at a GP is going to be to play the thing until you're honestly sick of it.  FNMs, casual games, anything.  Proxy up what look like other decks and test it.  The goal is to figure out where your weak links are, and how to build your sideboard.  Then you figure out what you side in and out against certain matchups.  There's only so much that can be purely speculative like we do here... at the end of the day, you need to be playing the thing to see whether it works or not.

Another card you might consider picking up 2x of would be Stormbreath Dragon.  You're almost never going to make it monstrous, but a 4/4 flyer with haste isn't half bad as a finisher (especially if it comes in the turn after Purphoros, God of the Forge to give another 2 damage).

546

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Egann wrote:

I've never heavily used enchantments, so I might be way off base, but when I look at the creatures I see some...lackluster abilities. Imposing Soverign? I get that on a two mana creature any abilities past that 2/2 is basically a freebie, but that one in particular doesn't do much. Not unless your opponent's deck is entirely built around hastes, anyway.

I'm tempted to say that some exalt creatures will really change the chemistry of this deck, particularly in the low mana cost slots. Basically, I'm thinking if your creature abilities are freebies, an exalt will sop up more removal than other abilities, hopefully allowing the enchants to deploy as planned. Realistically, I expect your opponent will pick one concept and you'd be stuck working with the other.

Imposing Sovereign totally alters the tempo of an opponent's deck.  Not only does it negate haste, it can keep their blockers a turn behind what you're doing.

As for exalted, you can definitely go that route, but they require you to only attack with one creature at a time (often leading to un-ending chump blocking) and would require the deck to be beyond standard legal (although I don't recall if that's an issue here).

TBittenbender wrote:

just throwing my opinion out there:

Not really sure slitherhead is a good choice here, if your looking for a 1 drop i'd much rather use experiment one IMO you get more value out of it, and you can regenerate it.

I also feel you need a few removal spells maybe lightning strike or even magma jet, the ability to scry IMO is a lot better than what ppl think.

Not a fan of skarrg guildmage either but maybe that's just me, if your going midrange here maybe Scavening
Ooze is a choice, but to me this looks more agro, you should want a clear distinction if your going competitive.

With 24 land what are you trying to ramp to with sylvan caryatid? idk if that's doing to much here either.. maybe gore-house chainwalker if you wanna go aggro

id drop feral invocation, consider madcap skills or even ordeal of purphouros.

I think it needs a bit of work yet, there's signs of midrange and signs of gruul so its really hard to help if your undecided but I gave a little help based on if u wanna go aggro

TBittenbender is pretty on target here.  To go through the points systematically:

1) Experiment One is better than Slitherhead in just about every scenario.  Unless you're REALLY dying to be using +1/+1 counters, you will want the Exp every time.

2) You do appear to be torn between aggro and mid-range as TB says.  I think Gruul decks are running into this problem a LOT these days as it's not entirely clear which route is best - especially given that aggro might be slowing down with Theros - but then again, the mid-range card of the year, Thragtusk, is rotating out.  So there's really no telling which route is best.

3) Among the cards in your list that really just under-perform are, Skarrg Guildmage, Rubblebelt Raiders, and Wild Beastmaster.  If you have a friendly meta, you could easily catch someone off guard and this might work.  However, the more likely situation is that the Beastmaster gets blown up before it would pump your stuff and the guildmage will sort of just sit there.  The Raiders have the best chance of doing something meaningful.

4) I would suggest looking into Reverent Hunter as an option to slide in the deck.  It will often come in as a pretty sizeable creature given the devotion you'll get off of Exp One, Burning Tree, and others.

5) I'm also not sold on Titan's Strength or Feral Invocation.  Sure, they offer some tricks, but that's why Ghor-Clan Rampager is in there.  I would suggest either Boon Satyr or some other bloodrush.  Both offer some options to pump but don't get you blown out in the same way other pumps do.  For instance, bloodrush can't be countered as you're not actually casting it... and the Satyr if cast for the bestow cost, if they take out the target, it still comes in as a creature.  Neither is perfect, but they provide some options.

6) I would suggest Savage Summoning in the SB.  Counter-magic is about to make a resurgence with Cavern of Souls rotating... so that ability to have uncounterables is going to be big.

Anywhom, I would suggest looking into whether you want to go more aggro or mid-range.  Once you clarify that distinction, it'll be easier to suggest alternatives to the cards I've listed above.

548

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

You say you don't want to spend too much to finish the deck, and yet it's a $300 deck....

Everything looks alright.  I can't imagine you'd get taken out before the third turn... then again, a bit more early game might make some more sense.  I could see perhaps putting Sin Collector in the SB and slide in some cheaper stuff like Soldier of the Pantheon.  Aside from that, it looks fine... it's essentially goodcards.dek... so it's sort of hard to go wrong there.

549

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

TBittenbender wrote:

im not much of a deckbuilder myself but I really like fabled hero from theros.. 2/2 double strike with heroic so If you attach something like ordeal of heliod to it, it swings for 4

Simply attaching the Ordeal of Heliod to Fabled Hero would result in you swinging for eight damage, as it would be a 4/4 with double-strike.

550

(14 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Profanity wrote:

Updated!

-1 Heliod, God of the Sun
+1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
+1 Mizzium Mortars
+1 Plains
-2 Akroan Hoplite
-2 Truefire Paladin
+2 Fiendslayer Paladin

So wait, to be clear, you yanked Akroan Hoplite entirely from the build?