The idea behind the deck is to play creatures with value, then get more value out of them when they die. The majority of the creatures in this deck have some sort of effect attached to them. Cards like Dawntreader Elk, Viridian Emissary, Yavimaya Elder, etcetera, take the place of ramp spells in the deck. Despite some of them being less efficient than ramp spells, their value is increased by scavenge. Cards like Bone Shredder, Fleshbag Marauder, Butcher of Malakir, Massacre Wurm, Acidic Slime, etcetera, are all answer-type spells that come with a body. Creatures like this with evasion are absolute value-houses, since evasion is the key to victory in this deck. There are also some abuse-friendly utility creatures, such as Thought Gorger, Mindless Automaton and Triskelion, who effectively use the +1/+1 counters from scavenge. The rest of the creatures in the deck are either evasive threats or great scavenge targets. Most of them are self-explanatory.
Putting all of your eggs in one basket (read: all of your +1/+1 counters on one creature) is incredibly risky in a format with so much removal. To combat this, I added in Asceticism, Swiftfoot Boots, and Yavimaya Hollow. These cards allow me to safely scavenge onto targets without fear. Additionally, cards like Rogue's Passage and Trailblazer's boots help my creatures without evasion to get through blockers.
Birthing Pod was the card I thought about the most when constructing this deck. Putting creatures in the 'yard while getting more creatures is amazing, and it's exactly what the deck wants to do.
* Sheoldred, Whispering One - Evasive body (Urborg) with a powerful effect attached.
* Putrefy - Conditionless creature removal.
* Increasing Ambition - Reusable tutor.
* Tooth and Nail - I don't want this deck to get hated out of my playgroup (go infinite w/ Triskelion + Mikaeus). On the other hand... free wins?
* Force of Savagery - This was originally in the deck with Death's Shadow, Phyrexian Soulgorger and Phyrexian Dreadnought. Ultimately, I cut this card because I can't actually use it as a creature, and it actually ends up costing 6 mana to scavenge in regular circumstances (cast, then scavenge). Soulgorger stays in play for a turn or two, which is really beneficial in certain situations.
* Damnation - The no-regeneration clause is the only reason I'm not running it.
* Decree of Pain - It costs too much mana, and again, it has a no-regeneration clause.
* Beacon of Unrest - This deck is not a reanimator deck. I already utilize the graveyard via Varolz. There aren't any amazing targets I'd like to hit. I'd probably pick Rune-Scarred Demon in 90% of scenarios when I cast it. Additionally, Sepulchral Primordial allows me to reanimate my opponent's creatures while giving me an evasive body.
* Krosan Grip - I have enough removal of this type.
* Volrath's Stronghold - I want my guys in the 'yard.
* Ghoultree - I cut him for Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. A 10/10 vanilla isn't as good as Mikaeus.
I added Mikaeus. I'll think about Tooth and Nail. I don't want to get hated out of my playgroup, nor do I want this to turn into a "find a way to get Tooth and Nail, then win the game" deck. I already have one of those decks.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
Artifacts (5):
1 Birthing Pod
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Swiftfoot boots
1 Trailblazer's boots
Enchantments (7):
1 Asceticism
1 Grave Pact
1 Greater Good
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
Instant (3):
1 Beast Within
1 Entomb
1 Vampiric Tutor
Planeswalkers (1):
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Sorceries (5):
1 Buried Alive
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Jarad's Orders
1 Living Death
Land (38):
1 Bayou
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
11 Forest
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Strip Mine
9 Swamp
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Woodland Cemetary
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Dryad Arbor (repeated - there is only 1 copy)
CMC 1:
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Death's Shadow
1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
CMC 2:
1 Dawntreader Elk
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Nether Traitor
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Viridian Emissary
CMC 3:
1 Bone Shredder
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Phyrexian Soulgorger
1 Splinterfright
1 Eternal Witness
1 Yavimaya Elder
CMC 4:
1 Corpsejack Menace
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
1 Mindless Automaton
1 Slum Reaper
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Thought Gorger
1 Thrun, The Last Troll
CMC 5:
1 Acidic Slime
1 Golgari Grave-Troll
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Lord of Extinction
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Shriekmaw
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Harvester of Souls
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Rhox
1 Triskelion
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
CMC 7:
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Sepulchral Primordial
1 Sylvan Primordial
CMC 8:
1 Terastodon
---
The idea behind the deck and card choices:
The idea behind the deck is to play creatures with value, then get more value out of them when they die. The majority of the creatures in this deck have some sort of effect attached to them. Cards like Dawntreader Elk, Viridian Emissary, Yavimaya Elder, etcetera, take the place of ramp spells in the deck. Despite some of them being less efficient than ramp spells, their value is increased by scavenge. Cards like Bone Shredder, Fleshbag Marauder, Butcher of Malakir, Massacre Wurm, Acidic Slime, etcetera, are all answer-type spells that come with a body. Creatures like this with evasion are absolute value-houses, since evasion is the key to victory in this deck. There are also some abuse-friendly utility creatures, such as Thought Gorger, Mindless Automaton and Triskelion, who effectively use the +1/+1 counters from scavenge. The rest of the creatures in the deck are either evasive threats or great scavenge targets. Most of them are self-explanatory.
Putting all of your eggs in one basket (read: all of your +1/+1 counters on one creature) is incredibly risky in a format with so much removal. To combat this, I added in Asceticism, Swiftfoot Boots, and Yavimaya Hollow. These cards allow me to safely scavenge onto targets without fear. Additionally, cards like Rogue's Passage and Trailblazer's boots help my creatures without evasion to get through blockers.
Cards like Grave Pact and Butcher of Malakir are great once I establish a board with Varolz. I can force players to sacrifice creatures by regenerating Varolz. Cards like Greater Good, Garruk, Primal Hunter, Phyrexian Arena, Survival of the Fittest, Buried Alive, etcetera, help me generate card advantage.
Birthing Pod was the card I thought about the most when constructing this deck. Putting creatures in the 'yard while getting more creatures is amazing, and it's exactly what the deck wants to do.
Pod chain/GSZ targets: http://i.imgur.com/lCQJoEJ.png
---
Cards I'm currently considering:
* Sheoldred, Whispering One - Evasive body (Urborg) with a powerful effect attached.
* Putrefy - Conditionless creature removal.
* Increasing Ambition - Reusable tutor.
* Tooth and Nail - I don't want this deck to get hated out of my playgroup (go infinite w/ Triskelion + Mikaeus). On the other hand... free wins?
Cards I'm unsure about (will playtest):
* Living Death
Cards that haven't made the cut:
* Force of Savagery - This was originally in the deck with Death's Shadow, Phyrexian Soulgorger and Phyrexian Dreadnought. Ultimately, I cut this card because I can't actually use it as a creature, and it actually ends up costing 6 mana to scavenge in regular circumstances (cast, then scavenge). Soulgorger stays in play for a turn or two, which is really beneficial in certain situations.
* Damnation - The no-regeneration clause is the only reason I'm not running it.
* Decree of Pain - It costs too much mana, and again, it has a no-regeneration clause.
* Beacon of Unrest - This deck is not a reanimator deck. I already utilize the graveyard via Varolz. There aren't any amazing targets I'd like to hit. I'd probably pick Rune-Scarred Demon in 90% of scenarios when I cast it. Additionally, Sepulchral Primordial allows me to reanimate my opponent's creatures while giving me an evasive body.
* Krosan Grip - I have enough removal of this type.
* Volrath's Stronghold - I want my guys in the 'yard.
* Ghoultree - I cut him for Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. A 10/10 vanilla isn't as good as Mikaeus.
He + Triskelion is an instant kill to the whole table if it gets to that. Tooth and Nail have some utility here too.