Topic: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

Hey, Im looking for any and all suggestions, input, feedback, comments, flame-age, whatever on this deck Ive built.

What would make it better? I find its weak against blue/black decks...but if I can get a thune/soulmender/path of bravery out, its GG against almost anything. Or just an Elspeth by herself. trouble is, blue/blacks just counter me, unless I can silence em while i bring out the big guns. It doesnt seem quite consistent enough though against counter decks, still...

Any ideas on what I should change??

Heres the deck:
http://deckbox.org/sets/502765

Dont hold back, I wanna know how shitty this is - but at least tell me whats wrong please tongue

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

First off, I am assuming you are playing this at FNMs?  Or is this for casual play?

A few things are jumping out at me:

1) You have a LOT of potential life gain triggers, yet only two Archangel of Thune.  This essentially says, if you have two removal spells, you're hosed (outside of Elspeth).  You need to up the count to 4x in the hope that you'll always have one... otherwise, you have a lot of lifegain triggers and no real end-game.  That and having two more would increase the odds you can just cast a second one in response to them countering/Doom Blade-ing the first one.

2) I would swap Soulmender with Soldier of the Pantheon.  It's still a one-drop, but it has more power, pro-multicolor AND it might still gain you life.

3) You have 4x Syndic of Tithes in both the MB and SB... can't really do that... Nevermind the fact that you would probably be better suited getting your extort triggers from Blind Obedience...

4) Ethereal Armor will achieve what exactly for you?  You're just begging to get two-for-one'd there.

5) I'd suggest some Precinct Captains given the mono-colored nature of the deck... they can be quite the annoying threat all on their own.

6) Heliod, God of the Sun and Spear of Heliod could do well here, offering both a big, cheap beater given that you're likely going to hit 5 devotion, as many tokens as you can pay for, and a possible source of removal if push comes to shove.

7) No Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx?  You're running mono-white and it offers you a way to ramp... seems silly not to include it to me.

8) If you're looking to break the bank, I think an argument could be made for Boros Reckoner being in here too

9) Brave the Elements is your best friend here... no really... they should be AT LEAST in the SB.  You might look into Gods Willing too.

Anywhom, those are just what popped into my head... give us more info on what decks/what cards you're struggling against and we can go from there...

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

By the looks of it, you're trying to build around Archangel of Thune by supporting her with several life gain cards. If you'd like to win at the FNM level, I'd avoid building around one card because if anything happens to that card (ie; countered, spot removal, you just don't draw it), you probably won't win. Instead, try to focus on putting cards together that have enough synergy and relevant abilities that you have a shot at winning regardless of which cards you draw. It also helps to pick an archtype like aggro, midrange or control and choose cards that support the goal of whichever you choose.

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

TyWooOneTime wrote:

First off, I am assuming you are playing this at FNMs?  Or is this for casual play?

A few things are jumping out at me:

1) You have a LOT of potential life gain triggers, yet only two Archangel of Thune.  This essentially says, if you have two removal spells, you're hosed (outside of Elspeth).  You need to up the count to 4x in the hope that you'll always have one... otherwise, you have a lot of lifegain triggers and no real end-game.  That and having two more would increase the odds you can just cast a second one in response to them countering/Doom Blade-ing the first one.

2) I would swap Soulmender with Soldier of the Pantheon.  It's still a one-drop, but it has more power, pro-multicolor AND it might still gain you life.

3) You have 4x Syndic of Tithes in both the MB and SB... can't really do that... Nevermind the fact that you would probably be better suited getting your extort triggers from Blind Obedience...

4) Ethereal Armor will achieve what exactly for you?  You're just begging to get two-for-one'd there.

5) I'd suggest some Precinct Captains given the mono-colored nature of the deck... they can be quite the annoying threat all on their own.

6) Heliod, God of the Sun and Spear of Heliod could do well here, offering both a big, cheap beater given that you're likely going to hit 5 devotion, as many tokens as you can pay for, and a possible source of removal if push comes to shove.

7) No Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx?  You're running mono-white and it offers you a way to ramp... seems silly not to include it to me.

8) If you're looking to break the bank, I think an argument could be made for Boros Reckoner being in here too

9) Brave the Elements is your best friend here... no really... they should be AT LEAST in the SB.  You might look into Gods Willing too.

Anywhom, those are just what popped into my head... give us more info on what decks/what cards you're struggling against and we can go from there...

Golden! Very much appreciate you taking the time to really pick it apart.
So first off yeah, its just for casual play, maybe eventually FNM, but Ive only been playing for 2 months...Im an obvious nub

Im gonna look into all these suggestions, I actually do want to get Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx and Soldier of the Pantheon, theyre just kinda expensive...And I used to use 4x Brave the Elements, but I removed it cause I thought it was kind of lame, but thanks to you I just realized (I think??) that I can use that to counter creature counters, such as my worst nightmare, Doom Blade. Decks with Doomblade, Disperse, Dissolve....a lot of my friends are playing Blue and Black decks with stuff like that, so those are what Im trying to beat tongue

SweetSupremacy, thanks also. You mentioned putting more Archangel of Thune in...I thought that would make for a rough ramp, is it a good idea to do without having any Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx?

Thanks again both of you, I didnt really expect to get any feedback, and certainly not actual analytics. Im likin the community here...

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

The key to Brave the Elements is that it's instant speed and provides protection from the color of choice.  This means that it does triple duty for you, as it can provide protection in response to a targeted removal spell (causing it to fizzle), it can help you win defensive combat hands down as it can provide protection from the damage their creatures would deal, and it can often provide a completely free swing on the opponent, as protection from the chosen color would make your creatures unblockable... so yeah... it's worth it.

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

TyWooOneTime wrote:

The key to Brave the Elements is that it's instant speed and provides protection from the color of choice.  This means that it does triple duty for you, as it can provide protection in response to a targeted removal spell (causing it to fizzle), it can help you win defensive combat hands down as it can provide protection from the damage their creatures would deal, and it can often provide a completely free swing on the opponent, as protection from the chosen color would make your creatures unblockable... so yeah... it's worth it.

Wow that last point.... i didnt know that brave the elements will give white creatures a free swing... apparently as long as i play it before my opponent declares blockers...?!? wow thats huge, those are definitely going back into this deck! thanks!!

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

So I used Brave the Elements to much avail yesterday night, thank-you very much. Twas a  righteous slaughter.

@TyWooOneTime, Ive made a few changes, not to the extent you suggested, simply because I dont have the cards available to me yet.

The improved deck, and I cleaned up my sideboard - before it was just a reminder to myself of what I might want to change, now its an actual 'sideboard'...kind of lol
http://deckbox.org/sets/502765

The next highest priorities on my list are getting 2 more Archangel of Thune and 4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Last edited by gocleaver (2013-10-30 20:53:17)

Re: White Power: Elspeth + Archangel of Thune Deck: NEED FEEDBACK PLZ

I think you can still really improve on the SB.  Consider the major matchups these days and what you would need to better your chances in them.

You're already not half-bad suited to deal with pretty much anything aggro. You also have some moderate answers to mid-range in Banisher Priest, Archangel, and Elspeth.  So what about control?  Well, here you have something of a problem.  The most serious build going at the moment is Esper Control which can match your Elspeth with their own, Jace will make your tokens pretty worthless unless you ultimate Ms. E first, AND the pumping of Archangel actually plays into their hands... so what can you do?  What sorts of cards would work in the SB to benefit that matchup?

I would suggest that the SB should feature some sort of protection from board wipes, so I'm thinking Rootborn Defenses as a start.  Celestial Flare is good to deal with large threats, but I'd also suggest perhaps 2x Renounce the Guilds given that you are running ZERO multicolored cards (how fun would it be to deal with their Blood Baron for two mana.  Additionally, I would consider cards to actually increase the speed of your deck - go aggro on control.  So that would mean Dryad Militant, Soldier of the Pantheon, Imposing Sovereign and possibly even things like Heliod, God of the Sun - who could easily spit out new tokens in the event of a board wipe.

Again, these are changes you'll work your way up to, but many of those cards aren't hard to get your hands on (certainly easier than 2x Archangel and 4x Nykthos).  Sideboards should be built to deal with cards/decks you MIGHT encounter that you're vulnerable to.

Glad to hear the other suggestions have helped.