Note: This is still work in progress and I'll update it when I can.
1. Introduction:
Question: What does Valakut, Wolf Run Ramp and Solar Flare have in common?
Answer: It aims to abuse the most powerful interaction in the format and tries to go over the top of all the other decks.
So what's the most powerful thing you could be doing come RtR? In my opinion:
The ability for one Angel to exile another is completely broken. Against aggro decks, you exile two of their threats, while getting back a Thragtusk or exiling one that's already on board. If you draw into another Angel or Disciple, it’s usually game as the life gain, card advantage will be too much for them to handle. Against control, you just exile all of your guys to completely blank their removal. If they deal with it, fine, you get your 3 best creatures back. If not, well, they just die.
The trick then, is how to bring these 4 cards together in an viable archetype. One might initially propose Unburial Rites as a way to cheat the Angel into play, but with the amount of splash GY hate from Zombies/Snapcaster decks, 4x Unburial Rites is probably not the right way to go about it. Instead, let us focus on ramp.
2. Core Card Choices:
Ramp:
Arbor Elf/Avacyn's Pilgrim: There are only two reasons to play green post rotation. Thragtusk and these guys. Arbor Elf in particular does a pretty good Birds of Paradise impression. However, the problem with these guys is the amount of tragic slip/pillar of flame that will be around. It's not a huge problem though, in that you don't lose tempo like you do when Gut Shot was around.
Farseek: Ok, so they kill your T1 dork. Not a problem, you can still get ahead with one of these babies. Farseeking into a shockland just feels so good.
Ranger's Path: Farseek on juice, potentially giving you access to 7 mana to T4. The problem with this card, is that on the draw against an aggro deck, you're just dead unless you actually have an Angel/Tusk in hand to follow it up. I'd probably play 2-3 copies, but not the full set.
Borderland Ranger: Not so much ramp as ensuring you hit your land drops. A T2 Ranger followed up with a T3 Bolas/Angel is a solid when you don't have the luxury of straight up ramp.
There really isn't much more to be said about these cards except that they provide value in colours otherwise lack card advantage. It's just a matter of figuring out the correct numbers.
Lands:
The mana base is very very good. I believe 23 lands is the right number with 8 dorks, 3-4 Rangers, Farseek and 2-3 Path. You'll need at least 13+ T1 untapped Green sources to reliably cast the dorks.
Gavony Township: Late game mana sink to turn your topped decked dorks into actual threats. If you run Lingering Souls, even better.
Vault of the Archangel: I'd say this is better than township. The lifelink get you out of 'burn' range when you don't see a Bolas/Tusk after you stabilise with an Angel against aggro. Deathtouch let's you trade your dorks for Green's biggest threats.
3. Supporting Cast:
*This section will be updated after more testing. All feedback are welcome.
Scorned Villager: Grisly Salvage: Somewhat adds consistency to the deck by either dumping excess creatures into your hard for your Angel to bring back, or just to find that Thragtusk to let you stabilise.
Unburial Rites: An 1 of fits nicely with Salvage in theory. Much like how Solar Flare had one for a Christmas Land: T3 EoT Alchemy, dumping Sun Titan, Rites, T4 Titan. This card gives you the potential of a T3 Serenity off T2 Salvage. It has a non-zero chance of occurence in anycase. A decent card in the control MU too.
Loxodon Smiter: This card is a house. A lot of people have been suggesting Centaur Healer, but this is just better. Think about it, the Healer may gain you 3 life, but it only trades with one half of a Messenger. The 4/3 left behind effectively nullifies the 3 life you just gained. This card is a built-in 2 for 1 against basically the entire Zombie team. Rancor still makes this look bad however. Really wish Leatherback Baloth was still around.
Lingering Souls: Honestly, not all that impressive without anthem effects. Against Zombies, it only really trades with Shredders and Ghouls. If they have a Rancor or Artist out, you don't even want to chump with them.
Grafdigger's Cage: I'm testing this as an attempt to fight Zombies, Reanimator and Snapcaster decks. It seems awful against other Midrange/Non-Zombie Aggro however. From testing, it is only OK against Zombies, but when they're on the rancor beatdown plan, this card does nothing. Drawing this against something like GW/Bant midrange is basically a mulligan. Removed.
Couple of points, because this is probably where I would like to be in the new Constructed.
1. Needs removal. Obv, but the choices are wide, varied, and unfortunately, situational. This is where I see the deck evolving as the metagame evolves, but having a varied removal suite between main deck and sideboard to handle the expected metagame. Golgari Charm/Abrupt Decay can both be played in this deck, Bg Zombies, Jund Zombies, Jund Mid-Range, and Junk Tokens. That is a large number of decks, and it changes how we play removal. Oblivion Ring is not a sure thing for removal any longer. Slayer of the Wicked might be an actual card, but I also worry about Appetite for Brains in the Zombies lists.
2. How good is Ranger's Path? I mean, have you tested it extensively?
3. Armada Wurm. This card must be in the deck somewhere. 2 5/5s with Trample that can be blinked with Restoration Angel is quite ridiculous.
I still want to find room for Rancor, but I plan on beating Tokens using Vault of the Archangel and Thragtusk to buy time, so I almost want to find room for the 4th. I almost thought about playing the 3/3 for 1GW that gains 3 life when it CIB just to prevent aggro from ever winning the game instead of Fiend Hunter, but I feel like the deck just needs removal at times, and the Borderland Rangers are non-negotiable.
I actually would like to find room for a couple of Trostani as well, since I think it plays well with the rest of the deck, but I probably would need a couple more token generators to get this to work.
-This isn't a deck where you can afford to 1 for 1 them with point removal as we don't have raw card advantage/selection like a control deck does. Sever the Bloodline/Garruk are potential answers, but at 4cc, it's a little too slow. Your best bet is probably to just chump with resilient creatures until you get your trumps online. Fiend Hunter is a good suggestion though.
-I've tested Ranger's Path a lot starting from 4 copies, going down to 2, then back to 3. It's pretty horrible against aggro on the draw if you consider a fairly typical T1 Ghoul; T2 Shredder; T3 Mangler draw from Zombies. However, it also just gives you free wins when you curve out with a T4 Serenity.
-Looking at your list, you're really short on ramp and I don't see you ever casting your Angel. A typical ramp should have at least 12-16 ways to accelerate.
Hey there, I have to say this is my favorite list I've come across in awhile, and we're on completely the same page. Aka taking ramp to the next level and wiping the floor with everyone. It's going to be glorious when it happens, because every indicator you look at, ramp is completely off everyone's radar. I hear it's a dead archetype now just because primetime is rotating. /sarcasm
Anyway, I will most definitely get back to taking a harder look at your list+brainstorming the finer details later, but, I would implore you to take a look at my own, I think you'll find we are on *exactly* the same page, just splashing a different third color. Aka hard ramp plan, lots of spots devoted to consistency, and having guaranteed 5-6 on T4, with the goal getting that Angel out. With the same general idea that our trumps will win us the game, we don't bother with spot removal and reactive one for one plays.
Yo dawg Frites Player, we herd you liked getting 1 for 3'd by Angel of Serenity, so we put some Angels in your Angel (Avacyn) so you can get chained while you get exiled. ANGELCEPTION.
Is he talking about getting a serenity from the yard off of another serenity?
Yes, he was. The main point was to cast the first AoS and wipe 3 of the opps creatures off the board (or 2 of theirs and 1 of yours from the graveyard). Then, when the opp deals with that AoS, the 2nd AoS would then grab 2 of the opps creatures they had managed to re-cast, along with your 1st AoS now in the graveyard. Voila: a neverending stream of AoS. (or so the plan)
I really enjoy this deck, although I am using 4x Golgari Charm instead of the cage and salvage. The only thing that bothered me was some of the draws were really ramp heavy with no action, or all action and no ramp. I am still learning the mulligans though.
This deck really made me see how powerful Angel of Serenity can really be. Absolute monster. I want to put a Terminus in here, but it seems like it would hurt more than help.
I wanted to make tthis type of deck post rotation, but didn't have enough cards so I figured I'd wait, I think nows the time. Gonna wait a bit to see exactly how things shake out, but I'm figuring something along the lines of the following:
Some extra room, needs more ramp I think? I really don't want to run arbor elf for some reason. Farseek? Seems like there should be a better option out there
Lands TBA
I know nothing of angel of serenity, apparently it's sick like the bird flu, maybe add one of those.
This looks like a lot of fun!!!!! I was trying to make Junk Tokens work and it just Dosent. B/G Zombies destroys it. This however, looks legit AND has Restoration Angel in it. I cant wait to sleeve this up and give it a try.
A few notes,
1: Why no Vampire Nighthawk.....He seems like a great early game staller for the aggro matchup.....
2: Is Rancor just not good with all the blink effects?
3: Lingering souls might noy be a bad card in here.....again, to help against aggro.
4: Did I miss Duress in the SB somewhere?
Just some thoughts. Critique and coments always welcomed
Yes, he was. The main point was to cast the first AoS and wipe 3 of the opps creatures off the board (or 2 of theirs and 1 of yours from the graveyard). Then, when the opp deals with that AoS, the 2nd AoS would then grab 2 of the opps creatures they had managed to re-cast, along with your 1st AoS now in the graveyard. Voila: a neverending stream of AoS. (or so the plan)
sounds good and thank you for answering my question.
this deck looks great,getting two shocks off of rangers path or even one off of farseek looks really good.the deck looks like it needs some sort of 3/4 mana card to help against very aggressive decks,like nighthawk,loxodon smiter,wolfir avenger,hell maybe even angelic wall,grave bramble,mutilate?
Looks pretty nice, with Farseek and Chromatic Lantern as acceleration, Centaur Healer and Thragtusk and Lingering Souls to throw in the way of Zombies and other aggro dudes, and Terminus to try to clean up before throwing down an Angel. I would be worried against control, however, but as a dedicated ramp deck, it looks fairly nice.
Made a few changes to the list, as well as added some comments about some of the cards I've tested/people have suggested.
Nighthawk seems like it could be good, but it has some issues. First is the double black in its casting cost. Second is that, in theory, you're only 1 for 1'ing them (Messenger/Manger etc), so it's not the greatest stall. I feel like the Smiter is probably the best option. T1 Dork, T2 Smiter, T3 Bolas feels really really good
I really want to play sweepers, but with so many creatures of our own, it just doesn't fit. Terminus would in fact be the best choice, followed by something like Sever perhaps?
The thing with other forms of removal is that in a new format, the threats people play are so varied, it's impossible to have answers to them all. Better just to go over the top and drop some fatties and bash face with.
Ranger's Path is probably the worst card in the deck even it is still a 2 for 1. I'm cutting down to 2 because I find that you don't necessarily have to have Serenity out to win the game. Could be wrong though.
After seeing Kiblers list, I ran this today against Zombies, Bant, Grixis, and a GW Midrange deck. It out preformed everywhere except against Grixis where is stuggled but a few SB cards like Duress and Connections can swing the matchup in out favor. I really like the deck and Angel is actually just insane.
Yup, the deck is very very good and it can easily out CA control decks. I won't be updating the list until after our local GP, but the core is there anyway.
In the more ramp oriented decks, I feel that it's almost better to go bant so we have a real sweeper other than terminus. I like the ideas bouncing around so far and feel that the ramp oriented build seems stronger as it just gains life and for the most part ignores your opponent the on the build up. The only reasons I can see junk being better is that you can find the B source easier without messing up your mana base, but tossing in a couple hallowed fountains to search up could easily fix that with far seek and chromatic lantern gives you all color tap for your lands and it's self.
Has anyone considered Deathrite Shaman? With enough digging spells akin to Grisly Salvage in the deck I'm almost certain this a superior choice to Avacyn's Pilgrim.
For one thing, he can make any colour of mana you need. True, he can't do this all the time, but it's there when and if you need it. To make up for that he is a fine card to draw late since he does have other relevant abilities.
His 2nd ability can hate on flashback cards, Snapcaster Mage targets, and it even does damage so it's not that far fetched to have it as a "win condition".
Finally, the 3rd ability is why I think he should get the nod over pilgrim. Being able to exile Gravecrawlers and Geralf's Messenger with the undying trigger on the stack, not to mention Unburial Rites targets, is very valuable. Add life gain and I really can't say no to it.
Two other cards I think we might want to consider are Jarad's Orders and Martial Law. If we are already playing Farseek, playing any of these spells on turn three is very powerful. Orders can get you a reanimation target and a Thragtusk to hold down the fort and stabilize while Martial Law just shuts down the most powerful creature on the opponent's board. The double white might be an issue, but I honestly doubt it.
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In my dream, the world had suffered a terrible disaster. A black haze shut out the sun, and the darkness was alive with the moans and screams of wounded people. Suddenly, a small light glowed. A candle flickered into life, symbol of hope for millions. A single tiny candle, shining in the ugly dark. I laughed and blew it out.
Many thanks to HotP Studios. Special thanks to DNC for this great sig.
Jarad's Orders is apparently very good, but have yet to test it. The problem with Martial Law is that the meta will initially be dominated by swarm strategies. Shutting off a Troll/Messenger while you continued to get beat on by a bunch of other creatures just doesn't seem great to me. Especially when you consider the fact that it doesn't do anything on the turn it is played.
During my testing, I was finding that I was either having the best nuts ever, or just land flooding, with the occasional mana screw, but that was very rare. Disciple of Bolas seems like a good card when I have a decent board state, but sucks by itself or if I only have 1 other creature.
Two other cards I think we might want to consider are Jarad's Orders and Martial Law. If we are already playing Farseek, playing any of these spells on turn three is very powerful. Orders can get you a reanimation target and a Thragtusk to hold down the fort and stabilize while Martial Law just shuts down the most powerful creature on the opponent's board. The double white might be an issue, but I honestly doubt it.
I havent tried Martial Law but I have been running 3 Jarad's Orders and it works amazing. Most of the time I will use it to grab 2 Angels the turn before I play one to guarantee the loop but it can also be used to grab Thragtusk if you need life, Rest Angel if you need tricks/flyers or Armada Wurm if you are going for the beatdown/need to choke up the ground. I would suggest testing it over Grisly Salvage as it does the same thing in most cases. The only problems I have run into is sometimes i need a land off salvage to keep my drops consistent.
What has everyone been testing for the Sideboard? I'm interested to hear what works as I'm going to try and buy this and run it all sleeved up this weekend because I really think we are on to something here. My list for reference:
I've been playing Mono G for the last two and a half months and now that Dungrove Elder is gone I figured that GW is the next logical progression. Vault of the Archangel is too good in this kind of deck not to play so here I am splashing B.
I haven't got to test this list a whole lot, except against UR Delver. Pre-board I only lost one game, out of ten, and I had mulled to 5. Post board it was probably about 60-40. I had misboarded for most of those thinking that Rest in Peace wasn't very good against him, turns out it really is, and he had a full suite of Essence Scatter because it's the only way he beat this and ramp.
I decided to go with a more aggro approach because I really don't want to have to play Ranger's Path and/or have my dorks survive to play the threats in my opening hand.
I know my 75 is going to look crazy but there's a reason for all the numbers and so far they seem to work really well. I have been thinking about trying to find room for Trostani because I think she would be an absolute house, but I'm not sure what I would cut and the WW can be problematic on turn 3/4.
The 2 Woodland Cemetary could, and maybe should, be Isolated Chapel, but then I would probably want at least one of the Forests to be a Plains.
Knight of Glory and Rest in Peace are for Zombies, with the added bonus that RIP actually is fairly decent against UR Delver. Thalia, Triumph, and Garruk are for dedicated control decks. Sigarda, Collective Blessing, and the rest of the charms are for the mirror and ramp strategies. I'm not real sure yet what comes out in each MU but that will come with testing.
As for Deathrite Shaman he's good and could be worth a board slot, though I think RIP is probably better where you want it. He will rarely ever produce mana for you and especially not on the second turn when you want to playing that three drop. You have to keep mana open and hope that he doesn't die before the ability is relevant and I just don't see it happening all that often. I think real dorks and Farseek are better.
What about Elvish Visionary? It blocks early, serves as a good 2 drop (assuming you dont want to run farseek), nets you are card, and can be blinked with Resto Angel if their are no other valid targets.
Also my idea was a Rites deck running the same creatures, but using Unburial Rites as a SUPPORT engine, meaning that yes, if I accelerate a creature great, but it offers recursion for our creatures.
Thragtusk dies? Rites it for 5 mana from hand (same as Thragy), and you can do it again later.
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1. Introduction:
Question: What does Valakut, Wolf Run Ramp and Solar Flare have in common?
Answer: It aims to abuse the most powerful interaction in the format and tries to go over the top of all the other decks.
So what's the most powerful thing you could be doing come RtR? In my opinion:
http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_RTR/AngelOfSerenity.jpg http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_M13/Thragtusk.jpg http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_M13/DiscipleOfBolas.jpg http://static.starcitygames.com/sales/cardscans/MAG_AVR/RestorationAngel.jpg
Patrick Chapin has already written about how insane chaining Angels are:
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/24868-Going-Infinite-With-Angel-Of-Serenity.html
Sam Black has also written about the sick interaction between Disciple of Bolas and Thragtusk:
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/24805-Interactions-To-Keep-An-Eye-On.html
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/24896-Brewing-Golgari.html
The ability for one Angel to exile another is completely broken. Against aggro decks, you exile two of their threats, while getting back a Thragtusk or exiling one that's already on board. If you draw into another Angel or Disciple, it’s usually game as the life gain, card advantage will be too much for them to handle. Against control, you just exile all of your guys to completely blank their removal. If they deal with it, fine, you get your 3 best creatures back. If not, well, they just die.
The trick then, is how to bring these 4 cards together in an viable archetype. One might initially propose Unburial Rites as a way to cheat the Angel into play, but with the amount of splash GY hate from Zombies/Snapcaster decks, 4x Unburial Rites is probably not the right way to go about it. Instead, let us focus on ramp.
2. Core Card Choices:
Ramp:
Arbor Elf/Avacyn's Pilgrim: There are only two reasons to play green post rotation. Thragtusk and these guys. Arbor Elf in particular does a pretty good Birds of Paradise impression. However, the problem with these guys is the amount of tragic slip/pillar of flame that will be around. It's not a huge problem though, in that you don't lose tempo like you do when Gut Shot was around.
Farseek: Ok, so they kill your T1 dork. Not a problem, you can still get ahead with one of these babies. Farseeking into a shockland just feels so good.
Ranger's Path: Farseek on juice, potentially giving you access to 7 mana to T4. The problem with this card, is that on the draw against an aggro deck, you're just dead unless you actually have an Angel/Tusk in hand to follow it up. I'd probably play 2-3 copies, but not the full set.
Borderland Ranger: Not so much ramp as ensuring you hit your land drops. A T2 Ranger followed up with a T3 Bolas/Angel is a solid when you don't have the luxury of straight up ramp.
X for 1 Creatures:
Restoration Angel
Disciple of Bolas
Thragtusk
Angel of Serenity
Borderland Ranger
There really isn't much more to be said about these cards except that they provide value in colours otherwise lack card advantage. It's just a matter of figuring out the correct numbers.
Lands:
The mana base is very very good. I believe 23 lands is the right number with 8 dorks, 3-4 Rangers, Farseek and 2-3 Path. You'll need at least 13+ T1 untapped Green sources to reliably cast the dorks.
Temple Garden/Overgrown Tomb: No explanation needed.
Gavony Township: Late game mana sink to turn your topped decked dorks into actual threats. If you run Lingering Souls, even better.
Vault of the Archangel: I'd say this is better than township. The lifelink get you out of 'burn' range when you don't see a Bolas/Tusk after you stabilise with an Angel against aggro. Deathtouch let's you trade your dorks for Green's biggest threats.
3. Supporting Cast:
*This section will be updated after more testing. All feedback are welcome.
Scorned Villager:
Grisly Salvage: Somewhat adds consistency to the deck by either dumping excess creatures into your hard for your Angel to bring back, or just to find that Thragtusk to let you stabilise.
Unburial Rites: An 1 of fits nicely with Salvage in theory. Much like how Solar Flare had one for a Christmas Land: T3 EoT Alchemy, dumping Sun Titan, Rites, T4 Titan. This card gives you the potential of a T3 Serenity off T2 Salvage. It has a non-zero chance of occurence in anycase. A decent card in the control MU too.
Garruk Relentless:
Sever the Bloodline:
Loxodon Smiter: This card is a house. A lot of people have been suggesting Centaur Healer, but this is just better. Think about it, the Healer may gain you 3 life, but it only trades with one half of a Messenger. The 4/3 left behind effectively nullifies the 3 life you just gained. This card is a built-in 2 for 1 against basically the entire Zombie team. Rancor still makes this look bad however. Really wish Leatherback Baloth was still around.
Lingering Souls: Honestly, not all that impressive without anthem effects. Against Zombies, it only really trades with Shredders and Ghouls. If they have a Rancor or Artist out, you don't even want to chump with them.
Armada Wurm:
Griselbrand:
Abundant Growth:
Cavern of Souls:
Fiend Hunter:
Grafdigger's Cage: I'm testing this as an attempt to fight Zombies, Reanimator and Snapcaster decks. It seems awful against other Midrange/Non-Zombie Aggro however. From testing, it is only OK against Zombies, but when they're on the rancor beatdown plan, this card does nothing. Drawing this against something like GW/Bant midrange is basically a mulligan. Removed.
4. Core Decklist:
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
1 Swamp
1 Plains
5 Forest
2 Gavony Township
2 Vault of the Archangel
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Arbor Elf
4 Borderland Ranger
2 Disciple of Bolas
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
3 Loxodon Smiter (testing)
3 Angel of Serenity
4 Farseek
2 Ranger's Path
1 Unburial Rites (testing)
2 Grisly Salvage (testing)
Leeched images removed. ~parinoid
1. Needs removal. Obv, but the choices are wide, varied, and unfortunately, situational. This is where I see the deck evolving as the metagame evolves, but having a varied removal suite between main deck and sideboard to handle the expected metagame. Golgari Charm/Abrupt Decay can both be played in this deck, Bg Zombies, Jund Zombies, Jund Mid-Range, and Junk Tokens. That is a large number of decks, and it changes how we play removal. Oblivion Ring is not a sure thing for removal any longer. Slayer of the Wicked might be an actual card, but I also worry about Appetite for Brains in the Zombies lists.
2. How good is Ranger's Path? I mean, have you tested it extensively?
3. Armada Wurm. This card must be in the deck somewhere. 2 5/5s with Trample that can be blinked with Restoration Angel is quite ridiculous.
My original take:
4 Farseek
3 Fiend Hunter
4 Borderland Ranger
4 Restoration Angel
3 Disciple of Bolas
4 Thragtusk
2 Armada Wurm
4 Angel of Serenity
4 Selesnaya Charm
4 Temple Garden
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Sunpetal Grove
5 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Vault of the Archangel
I still want to find room for Rancor, but I plan on beating Tokens using Vault of the Archangel and Thragtusk to buy time, so I almost want to find room for the 4th. I almost thought about playing the 3/3 for 1GW that gains 3 life when it CIB just to prevent aggro from ever winning the game instead of Fiend Hunter, but I feel like the deck just needs removal at times, and the Borderland Rangers are non-negotiable.
I actually would like to find room for a couple of Trostani as well, since I think it plays well with the rest of the deck, but I probably would need a couple more token generators to get this to work.
-This isn't a deck where you can afford to 1 for 1 them with point removal as we don't have raw card advantage/selection like a control deck does. Sever the Bloodline/Garruk are potential answers, but at 4cc, it's a little too slow. Your best bet is probably to just chump with resilient creatures until you get your trumps online. Fiend Hunter is a good suggestion though.
-I've tested Ranger's Path a lot starting from 4 copies, going down to 2, then back to 3. It's pretty horrible against aggro on the draw if you consider a fairly typical T1 Ghoul; T2 Shredder; T3 Mangler draw from Zombies. However, it also just gives you free wins when you curve out with a T4 Serenity.
-Looking at your list, you're really short on ramp and I don't see you ever casting your Angel. A typical ramp should have at least 12-16 ways to accelerate.
Anyway, I will most definitely get back to taking a harder look at your list+brainstorming the finer details later, but, I would implore you to take a look at my own, I think you'll find we are on *exactly* the same page, just splashing a different third color. Aka hard ramp plan, lots of spots devoted to consistency, and having guaranteed 5-6 on T4, with the goal getting that Angel out. With the same general idea that our trumps will win us the game, we don't bother with spot removal and reactive one for one plays.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=450658
Hell, you're making me want to jump ship from Bant to Junk.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=9157664&postcount=1
South Carolina State Champion: 2012
Yo dawg Frites Player, we herd you liked getting 1 for 3'd by Angel of Serenity, so we put some Angels in your Angel (Avacyn) so you can get chained while you get exiled. ANGELCEPTION.
Thanks Hero's of the Plane
Modern
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xRxAffinityxRx
No,unfortunately iam not a premium member.
Is he talking about getting a serenity from the yard off of another serenity?
Yes, he was. The main point was to cast the first AoS and wipe 3 of the opps creatures off the board (or 2 of theirs and 1 of yours from the graveyard). Then, when the opp deals with that AoS, the 2nd AoS would then grab 2 of the opps creatures they had managed to re-cast, along with your 1st AoS now in the graveyard. Voila: a neverending stream of AoS. (or so the plan)
This deck really made me see how powerful Angel of Serenity can really be. Absolute monster. I want to put a Terminus in here, but it seems like it would hurt more than help.
Enchant me fool
2/3 rancor
2 abundent growth
4 oblivion ring
DESTROY THEM!!!
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 loxodon smiter
(1 silverblade paladin?)
(1/2 fiend hunter? Maybe a SB card)
3 restoration angel
(1 wolfir silverheart?)
3/4 thragusk
3/4 disciple of bolas
(2/3 centaur healer?)
OTHER
2/4 abrupt decay
2/3 selesnya charm
Friends of the Deck
1/2 garruk, primal hunter?
1/2 garruk relentless?
Some extra room, needs more ramp I think? I really don't want to run arbor elf for some reason. Farseek? Seems like there should be a better option out there
Lands TBA
I know nothing of angel of serenity, apparently it's sick like the bird flu, maybe add one of those.
A few notes,
1: Why no Vampire Nighthawk.....He seems like a great early game staller for the aggro matchup.....
2: Is Rancor just not good with all the blink effects?
3: Lingering souls might noy be a bad card in here.....again, to help against aggro.
4: Did I miss Duress in the SB somewhere?
Just some thoughts. Critique and coments always welcomed
sounds good and thank you for answering my question.
this deck looks great,getting two shocks off of rangers path or even one off of farseek looks really good.the deck looks like it needs some sort of 3/4 mana card to help against very aggressive decks,like nighthawk,loxodon smiter,wolfir avenger,hell maybe even angelic wall,grave bramble,mutilate?
6 Forest (1)
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
2 Vault of the Archangel
4 Woodland Cemetery
Creatures
4 Thragtusk
4 Angel of Serenity
2 Armada Wurm
4 Centaur Healer
2 Griselbrand
4 Farseek
4 Lingering Souls
4 Ranger's Path
4 Chromatic Lantern
4 Terminus
3 Angel of Glory's Rise
3 Underworld Connections
2 Purify the Grave
3 Vraska the Unseen
4 Duress
Looks pretty nice, with Farseek and Chromatic Lantern as acceleration, Centaur Healer and Thragtusk and Lingering Souls to throw in the way of Zombies and other aggro dudes, and Terminus to try to clean up before throwing down an Angel. I would be worried against control, however, but as a dedicated ramp deck, it looks fairly nice.
Nighthawk seems like it could be good, but it has some issues. First is the double black in its casting cost. Second is that, in theory, you're only 1 for 1'ing them (Messenger/Manger etc), so it's not the greatest stall. I feel like the Smiter is probably the best option. T1 Dork, T2 Smiter, T3 Bolas feels really really good
I really want to play sweepers, but with so many creatures of our own, it just doesn't fit. Terminus would in fact be the best choice, followed by something like Sever perhaps?
The thing with other forms of removal is that in a new format, the threats people play are so varied, it's impossible to have answers to them all. Better just to go over the top and drop some fatties and bash face with.
Ranger's Path is probably the worst card in the deck even it is still a 2 for 1. I'm cutting down to 2 because I find that you don't necessarily have to have Serenity out to win the game. Could be wrong though.
4x Angel of Serenity
4x Centaur Healer
4x Thragtusk
3x Armada Wurm
Spells(20)
4x Farseek
4x Lingering Souls
4x Ranger's Path
4x Selesnya Keyrune
4x Terminus
5x Forest
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Temple Garden
4x Woodland Cemetery
3x Vault of the Archangel
1x Plains
After seeing Kiblers list, I ran this today against Zombies, Bant, Grixis, and a GW Midrange deck. It out preformed everywhere except against Grixis where is stuggled but a few SB cards like Duress and Connections can swing the matchup in out favor. I really like the deck and Angel is actually just insane.
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UWRGModern Saheeli CobraGRWU
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Follow the link for nice cheap clothing.
Playing:
Death's Shadow Jund
Played:
Kiki Chord, Zoo variants, Goblins, Burn
For one thing, he can make any colour of mana you need. True, he can't do this all the time, but it's there when and if you need it. To make up for that he is a fine card to draw late since he does have other relevant abilities.
His 2nd ability can hate on flashback cards, Snapcaster Mage targets, and it even does damage so it's not that far fetched to have it as a "win condition".
Finally, the 3rd ability is why I think he should get the nod over pilgrim. Being able to exile Gravecrawlers and Geralf's Messenger with the undying trigger on the stack, not to mention Unburial Rites targets, is very valuable. Add life gain and I really can't say no to it.
Two other cards I think we might want to consider are Jarad's Orders and Martial Law. If we are already playing Farseek, playing any of these spells on turn three is very powerful. Orders can get you a reanimation target and a Thragtusk to hold down the fort and stabilize while Martial Law just shuts down the most powerful creature on the opponent's board. The double white might be an issue, but I honestly doubt it.
Many thanks to HotP Studios. Special thanks to DNC for this great sig.
4x Arbor Elf
4x Vampire Nighthawk
2x Borderland Ranger
4x Disciple of Bolas
4x Restoration Angel
2x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
3x Thragtusk
3x Angel of Serenity
4x Farseek
1x Ranger's Path
1x Unburial Rites
Enchantments
3x Rancor
Planeswalkers
3x Garruk Relentless
Lands
4x Forests
4x Overgrown Tombs
4x Temple Garden
1x Swamp
1x Plains
2x Isolated Chapel
2x Woodland Cemetery
2x Vault of the Archangel
2x Gavony Township
During my testing, I was finding that I was either having the best nuts ever, or just land flooding, with the occasional mana screw, but that was very rare. Disciple of Bolas seems like a good card when I have a decent board state, but sucks by itself or if I only have 1 other creature.
The only deck I was playtesting against was a Jund Aggro deck, and if I didn't hit Vampire Nighthawk on turn two or three, it was hard to keep him at bay. He also would Tragic slip or Pillar of flame my Arbor Elfvery often. Also, the main reason I'd lose to his deck was whether or not I saw Angel of Serenity and/or had the mana to pay for it. Gavony Township seems mediocre some of the time, however Vault of the Archangel was an absolute boss especially if Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord was in play. I'm wondering though if I should switch Jarad out for Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, would definitely help against aggro.
I havent tried Martial Law but I have been running 3 Jarad's Orders and it works amazing. Most of the time I will use it to grab 2 Angels the turn before I play one to guarantee the loop but it can also be used to grab Thragtusk if you need life, Rest Angel if you need tricks/flyers or Armada Wurm if you are going for the beatdown/need to choke up the ground. I would suggest testing it over Grisly Salvage as it does the same thing in most cases. The only problems I have run into is sometimes i need a land off salvage to keep my drops consistent.
What has everyone been testing for the Sideboard? I'm interested to hear what works as I'm going to try and buy this and run it all sleeved up this weekend because I really think we are on to something here. My list for reference:
3 Angel of Serenity
4 Arbor Elf
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
2 Disciple of Bolas
3 Loxodon Smiter
2 Armada Wurm
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
Sorceries
4 Farseek
3 Jarad's Orders
4 Chromatic Lantern
Lands
2 Gavony Township
5 Forest
4 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
4 Sunpetal Grove
1 Swamp
4 Temple Garden
2 Vault of the Archangel
4 Golgari Charm
2 Triumph of Ferocity
3 Revenge of the Hunted
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Garruk Relentless/Garruk, the Veil-Cursed
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
thanks to The Highlight Studios for the amazing avatar
I haven't got to test this list a whole lot, except against U R Delver. Pre-board I only lost one game, out of ten, and I had mulled to 5. Post board it was probably about 60-40. I had misboarded for most of those thinking that Rest in Peace wasn't very good against him, turns out it really is, and he had a full suite of Essence Scatter because it's the only way he beat this and ramp.
I decided to go with a more aggro approach because I really don't want to have to play Ranger's Path and/or have my dorks survive to play the threats in my opening hand.
I know my 75 is going to look crazy but there's a reason for all the numbers and so far they seem to work really well. I have been thinking about trying to find room for Trostani because I think she would be an absolute house, but I'm not sure what I would cut and the WW can be problematic on turn 3/4.
4 Centaur Healer
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Deadbridge Goliath
2 Restoration Angel
2 Thragtusk
3 Wolfir Silverheart
4 Rancor
2 Selesnya Charm
4 Farseek
6 Forest
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Woodland Cemetary
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
3 Vault of the Archangel
1 Gavony Township.
3 Knight of Glory
3 Thalia
1 Sigarda
1 Collective Blessing
2 Rest in Peace
2 Triumph of Ferocity
2 Selesnya Charm
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
The 2 Woodland Cemetary could, and maybe should, be Isolated Chapel, but then I would probably want at least one of the Forests to be a Plains.
Knight of Glory and Rest in Peace are for Zombies, with the added bonus that RIP actually is fairly decent against UR Delver. Thalia, Triumph, and Garruk are for dedicated control decks. Sigarda, Collective Blessing, and the rest of the charms are for the mirror and ramp strategies. I'm not real sure yet what comes out in each MU but that will come with testing.
As for Deathrite Shaman he's good and could be worth a board slot, though I think RIP is probably better where you want it. He will rarely ever produce mana for you and especially not on the second turn when you want to playing that three drop. You have to keep mana open and hope that he doesn't die before the ability is relevant and I just don't see it happening all that often. I think real dorks and Farseek are better.
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Also my idea was a Rites deck running the same creatures, but using Unburial Rites as a SUPPORT engine, meaning that yes, if I accelerate a creature great, but it offers recursion for our creatures.
Thragtusk dies? Rites it for 5 mana from hand (same as Thragy), and you can do it again later.