MTG Salvation

Hi Ulka

I have a soft spot for intricate synergies and non-goodstuff builds and your deck include some of my favourite cards of all time (Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, River Kelpie, Heartless Summoning and Havengul Lich). I'm in the proces of making new decks and I'm curious to know how well yours works? Is it mostly a novelty deck or can it actually stand it's own in a four player game against 75 % decks? And were you able to fit in some of the new cards that you were contemplating?

Hi all

After getting loads of good advice in the main forum on rebuilding my Anax and Cymede deck I've decided to change it into a more multiplayer suited deck lead by Archangel Avacyn. I like the colors red and white (I'm danish it's in my blood ) but I don't want to end up with a mediocre deck that is only good at attacking and gets hosed by sweepers. A quick search of the internet and this forum reveals lots of lists but it's pretty hard to tell which ones that are tested and refined, that actually works. Do you know of fun, synergistic builds for Archangel Avacyn that actually works in a solid casual meta? We don't allow infinite combos and I would prefer not to use too much MLD since it slows down the game and is generally considered unfunny in my playgroup.

I'm looking very much forward to hearing your experiences and seeing solid decklists (if you have any). Thanks in advance!

Thank you all for the overwhelming amount of replies, many of which were very enlightening! I think that a Boros deck could fare in my playgroup but still I'm leaning further away from building a combat-oriented deck like one commanded by Aurelia, the Warleader. The thing is I already have a deck lead by Xenagos, God of Revels for when I want to go for massive, brainless beats and I generally prefer somewhat more intricate builds with lots of mini-combos (non-infinite!), synergies etc. Furthermore, I mainly play commander with three of my very best friends and we put great emphasis on creating games with lots of interaction and fun where each deck can flourish - MLD does really go well with that.

If I alter my Anax and Cymede deck I'm thinking of going for either Gisela, Blade of Goldnight or Archangel Avacyn for a less standard Boros deck. I still need the deck to be solid though and it needs to have multiple roads to victory and a not too linear playstyle so that it won't get boring too fast. Do you have any good ideas or advice in that regard?

Hi!

I've had a fairly solid Anax and Cymede deck for some time now. The deck is built for duels but my group and I almost exclusively play four player matches now and the deck simply can't handle three opponents at 40 life. I'm thinking about giving the deck a new Boros commander, maybe Aurelia, and a higher curve but I'm unsure if that will be enough to compete in multiplayer. Our meta is casual but with decent decks and capable players. We don't allow infinite comboes. What do you think?

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Hi!

I recently went from playing 1v1 exclusively to playing mostly four player FFA and the occasional 2v2. The games are great but some of my decks aren't really cut out for that many opponents so I want to remake them into something better suited for multiplayer. It was fairly easy to adapt my The Gitrog Monster and my Zur the Enchanter Solar Flare but I've had a harder time with Karlov of the Ghost Council and Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest. I therefore intend to make new decks using some of the cards. I'd like to have a Jeskai or Izzet deck centered around using noncreature spells and either another Orzhov deck or something completely different, preferably something less controlling and more combat-centric. The budget for each deck is around $300. My playgroup never plays infinite combos so that is a no-go. We generally prefer fun games where everyone has a "fair chance" but at the same time I really like to win. The other decks in my playgroup all belongs to the same guy who is quite skilled at creating decks with lots of synergies and interactions so my decks have to be pretty strong and at least semi-competitive. I really hope that you have ideas for fun, strong decks that promotes varied games. Anyone?

Baleful Strix is great for ninjas, but Ornithopter is by far the best enabler in the game. Ideally you should play sets of both and 2-4 other enablers. Cloud of Fairies is decent, but you'll usually spend your mana during combat to pay for ninjutsu costs, so you might not have two mana left during the postcombat main phase to recast it. It works well with counterspells though.

Why don't you like Oona's Prowler? It may be the single best creature for a deck like this since it is both a strong beater (3 flying power for CMC2 is very good), and the free unlimited discard handles your speed-due-to-cost-issue.

Can we see your build Xyx? It sounds like it is very different from the typical ninja builds, such as mine.

As I said, I haven't tested the new build yet (loads of work at the moment...), but I don't see why he shouldn't be an upgrade from Spiritmonger. You may be right in that I'm too light on removal and CA - I'll consider adding more.

I recently bought a set of Pernicious Deeds for cheap, so I decided to build a Rock deck. Like you I couldn't afford Bobs, Bayous or Tarmogoyfs though. My first build looked like this:


The deck had strong points but also weaknesses. I really like Deeds and I'm actually considering adding a fourth copy. Spiritmonger however always felt lackluster because of the lack of evasion or trample. Deity of Scars is probably a lot better. Veteran Explorer + Cabal Therapy really rocks (pun intended), especially with Deeds sweeping for say 3 while I can cast mean fatties in the CMC 4-6 range. My build seemed to have too many toolbox cards that were too situational and too few actual threats, so I've changed it to this:



I may change Garruk Relentless into Garruk, Primal Hunter, but I haven't had the chance to test this build yet.

I tried something like that once, but my main problem was, that dragons are pretty easy to handle. A bit of targeted removal, bounce, tapdown etc. and you´re screwed. Besides, Mana Flare is dangerously two-sided, so whether it will work for you probably depends a lot on your meta.

EDIT: Balefire Dragon could be a pretty cool inclusion.

IMO the great thing about Magic is that it is about so much more than just playing. it is about constructing the perfect decks for your playgroup, to make the most of the cards and budget you have, about anticipating what you'll face and adapt to it. No decks in Magic are unbeatable, so he'll just have to learn from his defeats and adapt - it's a magical evolution!

I know you´re in BW, but I still wanted to mention, that Bant-colored exalted can be really strong, much stronger than BW IMO. I've had this deck for a long time, but it still beats most decks that it meets. It can deal 40 damage by turn 4(!) Here it is:

Quote from TheKnave

Phyrexian Metamorph and possibly Adaptive Automaton would be good additions.

Why Adaptive Automaton and Phyrexian Metamorph? Unlike cards with changeling, neither counts as knights in the graveyard and thus can't be cast from there with Haakon.