Topic: First Deck - Thoughts on GWB Midrange

So I started playing a few months ago just after M15 came out. I'm fairly terrible, and have only played sealed and draft tournaments (maybe 5 in total) at my local LGS. I'm still in love with the game and am trying to build my first standard deck.

I've built a collection of close to 1,000 cards, mainly through the drafting, the purchase of a few fat packs, boosters, and the deckbuilding kit. I tried putting together a deck based on some of the bigger cards I have, but I'd like people's opinions.  You can find the deck here: https://deckbox.org/sets/810086

Thoughts? Suggestions? Any help is greatly appreciated! I'd say 90% of my cards are M15 or Khans, but I'm opening to buying some singles to round this out and make it a fun deck to play... I haven't even thought of a sideboard yet.

Last edited by fe_cruz82 (2014-10-16 01:20:33)

Re: First Deck - Thoughts on GWB Midrange

I know you haven't been playing long, but i'm just going to talk to you like you know a little bit about the game and not dumb things down too much.

Some general advice... once you start figuring out what you want, stop buying the fat packs, they're very bad value... booster boxes are okay, but singles are the best.  Don't buy packs from walmart/target if you can help it support your local shops first.  they'll generally run a 3/$10 deal or something anyway most of the ones around me do.

on to your deck, your deck doesn't have a cohesive plan... are you a ramp deck? an aggro deck? you're trying to do everything in one deck and that's bad.  You're going to end up doing some of it some of the time and nothing the rest of the time. 

You have powerful cards and can probably just win games by  playing "better" cards that your opponent but as far as your strategy goes. D-

Just a note before i get started... the absolute best reason to be in these colors is card power... these colors host some of the best removal, win conditions and overall raw card power in the current standard meta.  You can alternatively do a good impression of an aggro deck... from my experience I'll talk about the removal/midrange deck, but I'll posts lists for both at the end.

Okay, so first, my wtf section...

1 Dazzling Ramparts - why? not even remotely worth the mana... rhino is a wall enough and so is anafenza

2 Nyx-Fleece Ram - see above

1 Seeker of the Way - really an aggressive card with life gain to swing aggro matches... might be okay, if you choose the aggro path.

these should be sylvan caryatids, yes i know they're expensive, but caryatid does what you're trying to do with these and provides needed fixing in a 3 color deck. If you can't fit in caryatid this 2 drop slot is better served by being aggressive with  Heir of the wilds... heir is a grear card that synergyzes with rhino and anafenza.

Now the maybe okay, but should probably cut section... I see what you're doing with the counters... it's good to find synergy in cards, but abzan ascendancy and hardened scales don't do much on their own.  yes they pump your dudes, but really a removal package is just stronger... you play strong dudes, and remove theirs... hero's downfall, abazan charm (which incidentally does some of what you're trying to do here, plus a couple other very relevant modes), banishing light, despise, thoughtseize, bile blight... should really replace most of the master of the pearls scales and other +1/+1 strategy cards...

4 Master of Pearls
4 Hardened Scales
1 Hooded Hydra
4 Abzan Ascendancy
2 Abzan Falconer

1 Soul of Theros - okay... but elspeth is just better
1 Soul of Zendikar -  same as theros (unless, you're on the whip plan, then 1 of these might be okay, see below for a decklist)
2 Garruk, Apex Predator (powerful, but 7 mana is too much of an investment in this deck, could easily just be a sorin and you're curve would be 10x better. ) having garruk forces you to keep hands with more lands and you don't want that.
4 Bloodsoaked Champion (doesn't really synergy well with your plan)

all solid and on the midrange plan.

4 Elvish Mystic
1 Anafenza, the Foremost
1 Pharika, God of Affliction - she's okay, probably better as a sideboard card against heavy removal or  boardwipes.
1 Ajani Steadfast
4 Siege Rhino

the mana is atrocious.... you can't just jam 4 of this and that and think you're on  the right plan. you're manabase should be able to help you cast things on curve do it as painlessly as possible. Instead of this, you need some number of temples, windswept heath, and just plain old basics.  the caves and wastes are good, but i feel your numbers are off.  I run a spread sheet that totals my mana symbols of each color then try to work a landbase that provides about the same %% of mana on curve.

4 Blossoming Sands
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Jungle Hollow
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Scoured Barrens

consider the following lists and be creative with them.  Don't try to force the counter thing it's okay and might steel some games, but overall not that great.

Midrange abzan - http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=8286&d=247645&f=ST

More aggressive abzan - http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=8286&d=247646&f=ST

Abzan graveyard - http://mtgtop8.com/event?e=8228&d=247355&f=ST

Last edited by elpablo (2014-10-16 21:16:13)