1 Reply by Keshiji

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Hello again!

After some tries and games I ended making plenty of changes to this deck! I also changed the name because with all the different types of tokens it brings I found it'd be more accurate hah.

Anyway... Bogbrew Witches, Festering Newts, Dark Prophecy and a lot of other things are gone. The deck is now more token heavy with Angelic Accord/Healing and some of the additions are Doomed Traveler and Skirsdag High Priest among others!

The idea of the combo is still there but I think I made the deck more solid with the last changes (something close to a B/W Combo - Token and Lifegain Deck). The deck is also going to work till Theros comes out... and when that happens I'll see if I go for a more control/removal deck with some big creatures (Obzedat and Blood Baron of Vizkopa) or something else.

As always, comments are welcome!


Thanks for reading! :3


http://deckbox.org/sets/433605 <--- Link again!

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2 Reply by Keshiji

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

elpablo wrote:

I'd be worried about hexproof a little.  I think you need a couple cards maindeck to deal with it.  Even if it's not mutliate something like Tribute to hunger, devour flesh, celestial flare.  Would work.  Barter in blood is another example.  Tragic slip is targeted, and you can't always target.  And sometimes, you just need to clear the board like in the case of Naya Blitz.

What I meant about tutoring and drawing is, if the cards in your deck are "good" then you don't need to tutor because you'll just draw something that does "stuff"..  You know what I mean? If you have to tutor to get your deck to "work" then that means it's ultra fragile and won't stand a chance against a more competitive deck.    If you tutor for a creature then, you pay 4 to tutor , 5 for say, ghost dad.  that's 9 mana and 2 turns spend on him and I could just putrefy him for 3.  Tutoring is a huge tempo loss. if you're tutoring for something, it better win the game the turn you play it. IDK if I got that point across.  The reason the tutoring effects of cards like garruk, relentless and to a very lesser extent the witch, is okay is because you get board presence value out of them, and they can tutor in a minor way. 

Most of the expensive cards I listed do this kind of thing and will be around for the next 12-14 months so, getting them now will help you now and you can still hang onto them for later.  Think of it as an investment.

Colors - if you go green the obvious response is to get voices tongue 

Lands - You could play "baby" fetches, that grab a land and thin your deck, like evolving wilds.  Gates also kind of serve the same purpose.  Though they lose your tempo.  also, go up a couple lands to 25.  You'd be surprised the difference a solid land count can have on your consistency.

Well, Devour Flesh is something I'd like to add (hence why I mention it in the comments) Celestial Flare and Merciless Eviction are in the sidedeck right now!

Also, I understand that in an ideal world all cards that you draw will be good because they'll do stuff... but that doesn't means the cards you draw will be the ones you need in that precise right moment. Remember this is also a "fun" deck that centers around one card as it's main objective (Angelic's Accord), so speeding up the process of getting it makes Diabolic Tutor and other similar cards worthy in my eyes (even considering that mana cost or even by screwing the tempo). Obviously the deck also has it weaknesses (like Slaughter Games, heavy aggro and discarding) but I believe it can survive till the combo happens. And sure, probably a lot of these slow cards may screw the tempo but since it's a "slow" deck I think it can take that liberty.

Once again, I know T1 decks will win against a deck like this one, hence why I'm not actively aiming to find cards to "100% defend" against them because the budget would go way too high. A good example is Voice of Resurgence, great card but way too overpriced for my own taste, plus it depends on having more creatures in the game (and in order to have a good number of creatures this deck needs time, which I think it won't work extremely well)

I also love the idea of adding Evolving Wilds to the deck as it would help greatly to thin the deck!

ATM, I'm thinking this:

Remove

Main Deck:

- 1 Diabolic Tutor
- 3 Silence
- 2 Blind Obedience
- 3 Swamps
- 3 Plains

Sidedeck

- 2 Path of Bravery
- 1 Merciless Eviction
- 3 Sign in Blood*

Add

Main Deck:

+ 4 Evolving Wilds
+ 3 Vault of the Archangel*
+ 3 Sign in Blood*
+ 1 Sanguine Bond
+ 1 Merciless Eviction

Sidedeck

+ 2 Blind Obedience
+ 3 Devour Flesh
+ 1 Something?


I left Sign in Blood, Vault of the Archangel and Evolving Wilds with a * because they'll rotate soon, so It'll depend if I can get them or not, lol. I might add Riot Control if needed as well, in case I can't get some of those cards (different, but helps me to survive!)

PD: With this change the deck would end with 24 lands and right now the deck has a CMC of 2.84. So, 25 mana seems a bit too much D:


Thanks again! smile

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3 Reply by Keshiji

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

elpablo wrote:

I get it, You said it though it's mana intensive and not very efficient.  I think you should limit yourself to one "combo" type effect and just play the cards that are better. If angelic accord is where you want to be then you might consider going RBW.  You'd get access to Warleaders helix, boros reckoner etc.  You could make it a midrange deck with decent removal and a few tough creatures.

Tutor effects --  I'm almost 100% sure that you don't want to be tutoring on turn 4.  You need to be putting action down all it does is put you behind.  If you want to dig for cards you need drawing is just better... and unconditional drawing like sign in blood just nets you 2 cards.  And you get to choose went to play it.  Someone can technically kill you with dark prophecy, you don't get a choice you have to draw and lose a life. No Bueno.

Silence isn't going to help you that much I promise.  There's no guarantee you'll have it when you need it and if they already have a developed board then a silence won't help you.  More removal is what you need.

Blood Baron works well here too. vault of the archangel should be included. Consider a sweeper like mutilate.  Nighthawk is really good for lifegain.

Thanks again for the quick answer!

About colors, well... right now it's only Black and White and I was thinking to add Green so the biggest issue of the deck (which is mana) would be solved and I would also get some strong cards in the process (ex. Putrefy). Another color choice instead of Green is Blue, but at the same time I'm trying to avoid it (even when I think it could work amazingly well) because I'd feel that I would need to add Sphinx's Revelation among other things and they are already expensive. As for red, well, there are cards like Warleader's Helix and Reckoner, you said it yourself, but I believe other colors mix better with this deck because the whole "strategy" would need a revamp. Also, adding a 3rd color means I'd need to add more shocklands, which is already expensive... so for now I'm just planning to stick to two.

Also, about Tutoring... if I need to tutor on turn 4 I'll just have to do it, lol. And well, I like the card because it stops random luck, but that's it.

About drawing, I think I could change Silence for Sign in Blood or similar cards (Once again, Silence is in there because it's cheap and can give me one "extra turn" ignoring the drawing step and mana). Also, I still think Dark Prophecy is good because even when I always lose 1 life and always 1 draw a card I'm also gaining life all turns and if I think its effect won't help me in a game I'll just stop dropping it and use it as a discard card for Trading Post, save it when I have the game under control or just change it for something else in the sideboard.

Right now I also have 1 Blood Baron of Vizkopa but getting more than 1 or 2 could be tricky (And I'd rather get Obzedat over Baron) and I'd love to get Vault of the Archangel, but no one here has them, same goes with Nighthawk (please remember I'd like to avoid spending more than 50-80 bucks to finish this deck and that I'd like to keep it ready for Theros rotation)

As for wipes, I have Merciless Eviction in the sideboard and made some little changes. Since I sacrifice a lot of creatures Morbid triggers a lot, so I got Tragic Slip in the main deck for that purpose.


Once again, thanks again for your time! big_smile

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4 Reply by Keshiji

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

elpablo wrote:

Taking a gimmicky fun deck to FNM is okay, but even then you want to "try" to do well right?  There are some things I see that can help you stream line the deck.

First the witch acts as a tutor effect on her own for your combo pieces.   So you can cut the diabolic tutor. 

Silence, is not a card and hasn't seen any play.  It's sideboard at best. 

For drawing cards, you have better options in sign in blood and toil/trouble.  cut the dark prophecy.

I'd want to see more removal in this deck too. Doomblade, orzhov charm, celestial flare.

Cut the paladin and go more "token shell" get some doomed travelers/lingering souls.  Sorin would be good too, if you can get him.  A obzedat would help with the lifegain too and make saguine bond interesting.  Archangel of Thune would also be good.

If you make these changes I think you're taking a good "shell" of a deck with a fun gimmick splashed in.

Well, you got it right, heh. Even when I know the deck won't "survive" to T1 decks I still want it to perform as good as possible tongue

Besides of that, I'd like to thank you for taking your time to check the deck!

While I was checking your comment I realized that I might need to explain why there are some cards in the deck:

- Diabolic Tutor: The Bogbrew Witch only helps to find Bubbling Cauldron, but not Trading Post, Angelic's Accord, Sanguine Bond or anything else that might be needed in the battlefield. Hence why it's in the deck, having a 39.9% chances to get it in the first hand and 44% and more chances to get it after turn 1 is simply amazing, it can make hands that are not that great into decent! So yes, both of them are in the deck just to speed up things.

- Silence: I'm just playing that card during my opponent's upkeep to give me time (I don't really care if he drops mana), the thing is less creatures, enchants or anything in the board are big I think. Sure, it's not amazing or the most op card but helps (plus, it's cheap to play). Anyway, if I need to change it I'd probably get Devouring Flesh or Celestial Flare to replace it.

- Dark Prophecy: That card is in the deck instead of of Sign in Blood, Toil // Trouble or even Altar's Reap because I sacrifice a lot of creatures, it's an ongoing effect instead of just one temporary effect. You sacrifice stuff in your turn and also in your opponent's turn while you still gain life all the time. Hence why it's there, you'll always draw a card.

- Fiendslayer Paladin: Where I live Lingering Souls is super expensive for an uncommon... but at the same time I like the idea of adding Doomed Travelers as I'd get two tokens from it (and gladly they are cheap too!) but at the same time I also like Fiendslayer Paladin because it's a hard to remove card and that has lifelink. Sure, it's only 2 but I also think the card is strong enough to be added in the deck.

- Other Recommendations: Sorin is hard to get where I live because it's way rare and expensive. I also love the idea of adding Obzedat, but they are also super expensive where I live (everyone wants them!). Archangel of Thune is on my own Wishlist and I'd love to have that monster in my deck but she's far too expensive at the moment.

Personally the cards that I think are "changeable" (and are the ones I'd use to swap stuff from the sideboard) are:

- 3 Silence
- 3 Tragic Slip
- 3 Bogbrew Witch
- 3 Festering Newt
- 2 Blind Obedience
- 1 Diabolic Tutor

Which gives me about 15 slots to do things with the deck.

About the Combo:  Let me elaborate a bit more. The main focus of the deck (and probably the most important combo) is with Angelic Accord. Bubbling Cauldron/Trading Post are the cards that allow you to do the combo in your own turn and also in your opponent's turn.

For example:

I have an untapped and without summoning sickness 4/4 Angel Token in the battlefield (it's my only creature). I also have a 1 Trading Post, 1 Angelic Accord, 2 Bubbling Cauldrons and 1 Dark Prophecy in the Battlefield and 3 Mana to do whatever I want.

My Turn: I tap the Angel and swing for 4. In my 2nd main step I tap the Bubbling Cauldron and sacrifice the 4/4 Angel Token, which makes me lose 1 life and draw 1 card, but at the same time I get 4 life. At the end of my turn a new, untapped 4/4 Angel Token would appear.

My Enemy's Turn: He does whatever he wants to do and attacks me, for example, with 2 creatures. I choose to block one of them with my Angel (the weakest one) and pay 1 life and 1 mana, tap the trading post and create a 0/1 Goat Token to block the other creature. Once blockers are decided and before the damage happens, I tap the remaining Bubbling Cauldron, pay 1 mana, sacrifice the Goat Token, lose 1 life, draw a new card, get 4 life and also I put a new 4/4 Angel Token in the battlefield when my opponent's turn ends.

And you can rinse and repeat those combos as you please and since Dark Prophecy is in the game you'll still draw cards all the time. It's very mana intensive but as long as you get 4 mana you can do it. (sure, probably you'll need to wait for the 5th or even 6th turn) but still! tongue


Anyway, I'm open to debate! (I love that). And once again, thanks a lot for your comments! smile


PD: I forgot to add, I'd like to avoid getting "expensive" cards from Innistrad or M13. This deck is pretty much meant for RTR Block/M14 and be Ready for Theros. The only cards that I'd get from Innistrad or even M13 are the super cheap ones (unless I already have them). Thanks! smile

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5 Topic by Keshiji

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

LINK: http://deckbox.org/sets/433605

CHECK THE LAST POST! The deck changed heavily!

1) What level of play is this expecting to see? Mmmhm, I want to take it to FNM and just have fun, I'd love to have a casual store as well to play with the deck, but the only available ones are pretty much full of tier 1 decks, so yes, I'll take it to FNM and probably be crushed by most decks, but I also want to have fun.

2) Do you have a format restriction/preference? Standard.

2) What are the win conditions of the deck? It can win by getting a lot of 4/4 Angels or by doing direct damage thru healing. It has a lot of healing to survive the initial turns as well and multiple combos in case you don't want to sacrifice an important creature (like a Goat, or a tapped 4/4 Angel for an untapped 4/4 Angel).

3) If you were to imagine an ideal 4-5 turns, how do you envision them playing out? 3 Mana (1 black and 2 multicolored), 1 Bogbrew Witch OR 1 Fiendslayer Paladin OR Xathrid Necromancer, 1 Silence OR 1 Festering Newt, 1 Angelic's Accord OR 1 Demonic Tutor as my starting hand. The first card I draw would be mana, the second one would be a Bubbling Cauldron OR Blind Obedience, the 3rd one is another mana, the 4th one is Dark Prophecy and the 5th is a Sanguine Bond.

Ideal Scenario

Turn 1: Play Land, Play Festering Newt if I got this instead of Silence.
Turn 2: Play Land, Play Bubbling Cauldron
Turn 3: Play Land, Play Fiendslayer Paladin or Xathrid Necromancer
Turn 4: Play Land, Play Dark Prophecy, leave 1 mana available for silence and play it on my opponent's upkeep step or to sacrifice a creature if I need to.
Turn 5: Play Land, Play Angelic's Accord, leave 1 mana for Sacrifice and start with the angel combo.

The next turns can probably be explained by themselves.

4) What sort of budget do you have for improving the deck? If possible I don't want to spend more than 50 bucks in the deck. I'd rather trade my actual cards for Archangels of Thune, more shocklands, maybe an Obzedat, Ghost Council, etc.

5) Introduction: Hello! My name is Keshiji, I'm from Chile and I returned to play Magic in Gatecrash after a huge "break" since Urza's Saga... (I left because I wasn't playing it seriously and I was more interested in Pokemon TCG when Wizard's of the Coast still had control over it). Anyway, this is the 2nd deck that I build and I'd love to have some opinions on how to improve it. There are plenty cards that I'm also debating to include (and even get rid of some things like Congregate) or change some of those 4 mana drops for something that costs 3 mana (like Riot Control?) or even 1 mana (like Tragic Slip, because my deck will trigger Morbid!)


Anyway, I'll be waiting for your comments!



Thanks for reading this and your help! smile

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