MTG Salvation

For the splash green lists, does Deathrite Shaman warrant consideration? It seems that, with pitching cards to Pack Rat, Mono-Bg can make the most of this very powerful eternal staple in standard. It also gives the deck a second option on one to Thoughtseize. I've had many instances where two life / two damage can make an impact.

Went undefeated last night with a splash of blue for Far // Away in the main (-1 Whip and -1 Devour) and Reap Intellect in the side. I never needed to side in Reap and Far // Away was fine, especially against GW.

Round One:
RW Aggro. 2-1. Lost to a loose keep in game one, not enough removal and by the time my demon hit he had enough sac fodder. Game two was all Pack Rat, all day. Two Mutavaults and two pack rats, and underworld connections and an Erebos set me up for a pair of swinging 8/8 rats. Game three was Rat into Specter into Demon then Gary followed by Gary.

Round Two:
RW Enchantment Aggro. 2-0. Removal, removal, Demon both games lead to quick scoops.

Round Three:
GW. 2-1. Again, loose keep cost me game one against his X1, Lion, Smiter, Advent curve out. Game two was Rats of doom with double connections and a whip. Game three he mulled to 5 against my double thoughtseize opener. Not a good time for him.

Round Four:
BUG Flash. 2-0. Really interesting list, Prophet of Kruphix, Demon, Jace, Caryatids, pack Rats, a few counters and kills. He never got any gas against me in either game, and I just had all the right removal at the right time.

I don't know if the blue is worth it, but in theory I love Reap Intellect. Far // Away seems like it could be a blow out in some situations, I just haven't seen them. Running 4 Grave, 4 Temple, 1 guildgate, I always had a blue source available. I was considering an Ashiok in the side, since the deck can stall pretty well, and in a more midrange matchup I can protect it long enough to potentially cast their Blood Baron or something.

Quote from zemanjaski

It's only marginally better than Reckoner, who is already bad in the matchup. You wouldn't bring in Reckoner from your board and I don't think Mindsparker would be enough better; this means it's a very tough sell for SB space.

I don't know, Mindsparker hits an average of 21 cards per UW / Esper deck in yesterday's top 8. It's an efficient creature that can swing well, and punishes your opponent for just playing their game with no additional investment.

Just the fact that he's mono-red makes him more than marginally better in the UW matchup with Glare of Heresy being a card. Seems like a really good move to side maindecked Reckoners into Mindsparkers, maybe leaving them with a dead card in their boarded Heresy, plus shocking them with each spell they cast.

With the abundance of UW and Esper in the field currently, how do we feel about Mindsparker in the side? Granted, a 3/2 first striker isn't our best option at 3, but a curve of Mindsparker into Burning Earth seems pretty brutal. If they want to verdict on 4, with a little sideboard luck, they could potentially have to pay 6 life and still have to worry about the Burning Earth on the board.

My current version of the deck, similar in some ways to most but I find that we have a key piece of tech that is being overlooked:



Gift of Immortality is insane with most of our creatures. Sin Collector, Lifebane Zombie, and High Priest of Penance all make Gift nearly as good as a Resto Angel, and better against sweepers.

I include Read the Bones as a Sign in Blood because card draw is going to be very important to us, and though I'm not a huge fan of "Hey lets tack scry onto this card and increase the cost," I think the scry 2 it provides will be a difference maker.

I included Lili because in testing I'd find myself short on white to cast Obz, and being able to fetch a Shrine is great, and her -3 modes are both relevant, especially since we still have Reckoner around and a few new indestructible guys to deal with.

Curious, though I don't think there is a confirmed answer, if you're casting an Enchantment Creature, like Celestial Archon, for its Bestow cost, is it an Aura in addition to being an Enchantment Creature, or instead of being a creature, and is casting a Bestowed card a legal use of Prophet's flash?

My initial reaction is that it's not legal to flash in a Bestowed card due to the line in the reminder text "It becomes a creature again if it's not attached to a creature."

My Edric deck is going to love this.

I see Erebos being a key player in the Esper Control build that is sure to arise. Erebos, Thoughseize, Sphinx's Revelation, Aetherling.

Here's where I'm looking to go post 14:



Witchstalker is a fine 3 drop and gives the deck more versatility and resilience. I think it's important to still run dorks. Especially in the UWR match, or even esper, a turn 2 Geist on the draw allows you to have mana up for a Rootborn when they verdict, and it helps you race against aggro.

I thought long and hard about Trollhide, but it's essentially a 5 mana spell. It still may make the list, regeneration seems incredibly valuable for us, but I don't know that it beats out Flight.

Gladecover is obviously amazing.

I've been a proponent of Silverblade for a couple of months, but I think it'll be even harder if we're running Witchstalker, and it might be crowding the 3 spot. The paladin is way more aggressive, but such an easy target, if we have a more stable option, I think that's where I want to be.

Quote from GenericKen

Didn't you JUST say your key loss was caused by getting stick on 3 mana?

I would have lost just the same if I'd had Ace in hand vs. Thrags, Restos, and beast tokens.

I loved Ace in goldfish, but as mentioned, in the real world he's just completely underwhelming.

My current list looks something like this:


I run Voice in the side to come in against control or flash, where it actually gains value, but against the large field of Jund and aggro, Voice's ability to replace itself with a 1/1 - 3/3 token doesn't feel right in the main, in my opinion. Strangleroot does the same thing, if not better. I found Fog and Feeling pulling their weight against aggro and Ground Seal's triple play of cantrip / Ethereal boost / grave hate made me almost happy to play reanimator or snapcaster control.

I was also at SCG Columbus, obviously didn't fair quite as well, but I loved my addition of Strangleroots in the main.

I also added a doublestirke option to my list, but unlike Durham I went with Silverblade. I feel that it can be easier to keep a paladin on board, since you usually have no way to protect the planeswalker, and the paladin can swing.

I placed 105 after going 4-1 into a match with Andrew Shrout who Top 8ed. Game three I got stuck on two mana until turn 7 or 8 with a Stalker wearing rancor, armor, and flight, with two courage in hand vs. his thrag, two tokens, voice, resto. I finally hit the third source, drop a courage and pass at 3 life. If he swings I can outgain his damage and start to stabilize. Instead he casts Supreme Verdict leaving him with a 2/2 and a 3/3 to swing for the win after my draw of a rancor.

I finished 6-4 after facing back to back decks mainboarding 4 Lilis. My conclusions: I still like Paladins, I am completely off of Fencing Ace. Strangleroot in the main is a winner, voice in the side seems a better choice for flash/control matchups than main with so few creatures to boost the tokens. I'll be running Smiters in place of Aces, especially with the potential to turn two Smiter and turn three rancor and pair a paladin.

My deck for the coming weekend:



I've gone off of Voice, as much as I love the card, I just don't think it lives up to its potential in a list with so few other creatures on board. I realize the trade off for being more aggressive with Paladins and Aces is the potential to get blown out, but I've generally found the risk is worth the reward.

I went with Paladins over Ajani, as some have mentioned, because in a pinch, the Paladin can do work for you on his own, Ajani is a horrible top deck after a board wipe. I also rarely attack with the Paladin if he's paired. He's almost another aura that can be an emergency outlet.

Selesnya Charms are in there in case I do have to rely on Silverblade as an instant speed pairing target, and the pump and removal modes can come in handy. I think I want to drop it to 1 Selesnya though. Maybe a 4th Paladin.

Drogskol Captain

In play testing last night, a friend brought up this card when I sided in Strangleroot Geist.

Would running Strangleroots and Captains in the main give the deck a little more reliability?

The manabase is always a struggle when I bring in the Roots, but perhaps captains make Cavern of Souls that much more viable.

Very few creatures in many of these builds have near as much impact as Silverblade. I've loved him so far. Amazing top deck if you have anything going on that can just end the game, works great with Geist. He almost like another enchantment with legs.

I've been running Selesnya charm as a one of also, for the trick pairing target on blocks, since I rarely attack with the paladin, or if I am limited on offense, I'll swing and pair at instant speed.

His downside is the potential to get blown out on combat by removal, but that's any hexproof-less creature.

Of note: The gentleman I lost to in the mirror, Round 5 of TCGplayer Detroit this past weekend won the whole thing, going 7-1 in the swiss. His list was the standard pants, found here.

Nice to see it take first.