Enchantress has been an archetype for many years. Revolving around creatures such as Argothian Enchantress, the goal of the deck is to typically cast numerous amounts of cheap Enchantments, draw cards off your Enchantresses, play additional Enchantments, draw more cards, all until you either generate stupid amounts of mana and combo out, or until you overrun your opponent with flying angels thanks to Sigil of the Empty Throne.
With the release of Journey Into Nyx, the Theros block--one focused on enchantments--completed itself. Within the new set lay a new Enchantress to be exploited: Eidolon of Blossoms. An Enchantment Creature herself, she replaces herself when she enters the battlefield, and draws you cards whenever another enchantments follows her onto the field. Journey also introduced the new ability Constellation. Cards with this ability give you bonuses whenever an Enchantment enters the battlefield, basically turning these creatures into Enchantresses themselves (although obviously not as powerful).
Having never tried an Enchantress deck before, I decided to start working on one. I looked through various primers and deck lists--sunnyaegyo's Sigarda Primer was particularly instructive--in an attempt to better understand the archetype. Green and White, with occasionally Blue or Red, were considered to be the best colors for this style of deck. While that's probably true, I decided to go in an other direction. I chose Black.
Wait, you're probably saying. Black? Why Black? It's a valid question to ask, considering I'm knowingly and willingly sacrificing cards like Kor Spiritdancer or Sterling Grove. I could've easily decided on Karador, Ghost Chieftain or Teneb, the Harvester as a general just so I could have both the White and the Black. But I didn't, partly because I already have a Karador list and I don't want to double up on that color combination. But mostly because, in all my searches, Golgari Enchantress isn't a strategy I've come across. I wanted to brew, to try something new, and force myself to be creative. It doesn't hurt that Black gives me access to a bunch of recursion, tutors out of the wazoo, arguably the best available Constellation cards, and finally opens the door to a more attrition-based style of play that I think can coincide nicely with the card drawing provided by the Enchantress engine.
There's also the fact that Golgari has an ideal general for this kind of deck: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave. He's an interesting card, offering a hyper-aggressive general to a color combination that typically doesn't seek to smash your face in right out of the gates. This makes him naturally suited to a Voltron role: suiting him up with various equipment and smashing face is always a fun thing to do. But I'd rather enchant him with with Shape of the Wiitigo and smash you that way, and draw cards on top of it.
As an aside, I do plan on getting some better/more expensive options for this deck in the future--Demonic Tutor, I'm looking at you--but it's a little out of my budget right now.
The basic strategy of this deck is to use the early game to get some early beats in with Skullbriar, and then morph into an attrition game as you begin to build up your resources using the Enchantresses. To finish everyone off, you can fire off a lethal Exsanguinate or just continually smashing face with a ridiculously huge Skullbriar. There are probably some infinite combos out there that I can take advantage of to win games, but I dislike them on principle, and would rather avoid them.
I did consider other options for this general. Savra, Queen of the Golgari would lend itself better the attrition style of play this deck wants to achieve, but not for the Enchantress side; I'd have to fit in other ways to win the game which would ultimately take away from the critical mass of Enchantments needs to get the engine going. Sisters of Stone Death seems like it could work for both strategies, but its mana cost is prohibitive. I'd rather hit the ground running and get a few hits in with Skullbriar, which can help me set up my late game.
Some of the synergies present in the deck:
Enchantress + Enchantments = card draw
Eidolon of Blossoms + Necrotic Plague = creatures dying every turn, and you drawing a card every turn (Probably should use something like Asceticism so they can't target your Eidolon with the Plague)
Enchantress + Whip Silk = repeatable card draw
Grim Guardian + Whip Silk = repeatable life drain
Doomwake Giant + Whip Silk = board wipe
Agent of Erebos + Whip Silk = exile all graveyards
Extinguish All Hope + Enchantment Creature on your side of the field = Plague Wind
Infernal Tribute + Rancor/Fallen Ideal = draw engine
Awakening Zone + Attrition = kill things
Awakening Zone + Grave Pact/Dictate of Erebos = Add 1 colorless mana to your mana pool, everyone else sacrifices a creature.
I do have some questions and concerns about the deck right now, which I'd like some feedback on:
1. I was thinking of adding a +1/+1 counter subtheme to the deck without affecting the Enchantment count too much. Is it worth it?
2. Is 36 Enchantments too few for a deck like this? Too much?
3. Thoughts on adding in Filth/Brawn/Genesis along with Jarad's Orders?
4. Success for this deck can vary, mainly due to clunky hands. How do I improve the consistency of the deck?
But really, any and all suggestions will help, particularly since I haven't built a deck like this before. Thanks in advance!
EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
In addition, I've completely overhauled the original post, in order to give a more in-depth look at the deck's background and objective, as well as my reasoning behind the color/general selection.
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
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With the release of Journey Into Nyx, the Theros block--one focused on enchantments--completed itself. Within the new set lay a new Enchantress to be exploited: Eidolon of Blossoms. An Enchantment Creature herself, she replaces herself when she enters the battlefield, and draws you cards whenever another enchantments follows her onto the field. Journey also introduced the new ability Constellation. Cards with this ability give you bonuses whenever an Enchantment enters the battlefield, basically turning these creatures into Enchantresses themselves (although obviously not as powerful).
Having never tried an Enchantress deck before, I decided to start working on one. I looked through various primers and deck lists--sunnyaegyo's Sigarda Primer was particularly instructive--in an attempt to better understand the archetype. Green and White, with occasionally Blue or Red, were considered to be the best colors for this style of deck. While that's probably true, I decided to go in an other direction. I chose Black.
Wait, you're probably saying. Black? Why Black? It's a valid question to ask, considering I'm knowingly and willingly sacrificing cards like Kor Spiritdancer or Sterling Grove. I could've easily decided on Karador, Ghost Chieftain or Teneb, the Harvester as a general just so I could have both the White and the Black. But I didn't, partly because I already have a Karador list and I don't want to double up on that color combination. But mostly because, in all my searches, Golgari Enchantress isn't a strategy I've come across. I wanted to brew, to try something new, and force myself to be creative. It doesn't hurt that Black gives me access to a bunch of recursion, tutors out of the wazoo, arguably the best available Constellation cards, and finally opens the door to a more attrition-based style of play that I think can coincide nicely with the card drawing provided by the Enchantress engine.
There's also the fact that Golgari has an ideal general for this kind of deck: Skullbriar, the Walking Grave. He's an interesting card, offering a hyper-aggressive general to a color combination that typically doesn't seek to smash your face in right out of the gates. This makes him naturally suited to a Voltron role: suiting him up with various equipment and smashing face is always a fun thing to do. But I'd rather enchant him with with Shape of the Wiitigo and smash you that way, and draw cards on top of it.
Without further ado, the deck list:
1 Agent of Erebos
1 Argothian Enchantress
1 Cavern Lampad
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Eidolon of Blossoms
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Eternal Witness
1 Golgari Guildmage
1 Grim Guardian
1 Herald of Torment
1 Nylea's Emissary
1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
1 Nyx Weaver
1 Pharika's Mender
1 Reaper of the Wilds
1 Riftsweeper
1 Silent Arbiter
1 Verduran Enchantress
Planeswalkers
1 Vraska the Unseen
Enchantments
1 Abundance
1 Ancestral Mask
1 Asceticism
1 Attrition
1 Awakening Zone
1 Bear Umbra
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Enchantress's Presence
1 Fallen Ideal
1 Fertile Ground
1 Font of Return
1 Grave Pact
1 Ground Seal
1 Infernal Tribute
1 Into the Wilds
1 Necrogenesis
1 Necrotic Plague
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Rancor
1 Shape of the Wiitigo
1 Underworld Connections
1 Utopia Sprawl
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Whip Silk
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Whispersilk Cloak
Instants
1 Beast Within
1 Consign to Dust
1 Krosan Grip
1 Shred Memory
Sorceries
1 Creeping Renaissance
1 Cultivate
1 Dimir Machinations
1 Exsanguinate
1 Extinguish All Hope
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Reviving Melody
Lands
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Grim Backwoods
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Opal Palace
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Tainted Wood
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terramorphic Expanse
13 Forest
12 Swamp
Change log:
5/7/2014
Boon Satyr --> Dimir House Guard
Pharika, God of Affliction --> Nyx Weaver
Glistening Oil --> Riftsweeper
Mana Bloom --> Dictate of Erebos
Primeval Bounty --> Dimir Machinations
Explorer's Scope --> Font of Return
Hero's Downfall --> Grave Pact
Putrefy --> Shred Memory
Unravel the Aether --> Whip Silk
Demonic Tutor --> Opal Palace
Forest --> Llanowar Reborn
Swamp --> Command Tower
As an aside, I do plan on getting some better/more expensive options for this deck in the future--Demonic Tutor, I'm looking at you--but it's a little out of my budget right now.
The basic strategy of this deck is to use the early game to get some early beats in with Skullbriar, and then morph into an attrition game as you begin to build up your resources using the Enchantresses. To finish everyone off, you can fire off a lethal Exsanguinate or just continually smashing face with a ridiculously huge Skullbriar. There are probably some infinite combos out there that I can take advantage of to win games, but I dislike them on principle, and would rather avoid them.
I did consider other options for this general. Savra, Queen of the Golgari would lend itself better the attrition style of play this deck wants to achieve, but not for the Enchantress side; I'd have to fit in other ways to win the game which would ultimately take away from the critical mass of Enchantments needs to get the engine going. Sisters of Stone Death seems like it could work for both strategies, but its mana cost is prohibitive. I'd rather hit the ground running and get a few hits in with Skullbriar, which can help me set up my late game.
Some of the synergies present in the deck:
Eidolon of Blossoms + Necrotic Plague = creatures dying every turn, and you drawing a card every turn (Probably should use something like Asceticism so they can't target your Eidolon with the Plague)
Enchantress + Whip Silk = repeatable card draw
Grim Guardian + Whip Silk = repeatable life drain
Doomwake Giant + Whip Silk = board wipe
Agent of Erebos + Whip Silk = exile all graveyards
Extinguish All Hope + Enchantment Creature on your side of the field = Plague Wind
Infernal Tribute + Rancor/Fallen Ideal = draw engine
Awakening Zone + Attrition = kill things
Awakening Zone + Grave Pact/Dictate of Erebos = Add 1 colorless mana to your mana pool, everyone else sacrifices a creature.
I do have some questions and concerns about the deck right now, which I'd like some feedback on:
1. I was thinking of adding a +1/+1 counter subtheme to the deck without affecting the Enchantment count too much. Is it worth it?
2. Is 36 Enchantments too few for a deck like this? Too much?
3. Thoughts on adding in Filth/Brawn/Genesis along with Jarad's Orders?
4. Success for this deck can vary, mainly due to clunky hands. How do I improve the consistency of the deck?
But really, any and all suggestions will help, particularly since I haven't built a deck like this before. Thanks in advance!
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
Boon Satyr --> Dimir House Guard
Pharika, God of Affliction --> Nyx Weaver
Glistening Oil --> Riftsweeper
Mana Bloom --> Dictate of Erebos
Primeval Bounty --> Dimir Machinations
Explorer's Scope --> Font of Return
Hero's Downfall --> Grave Pact
Putrefy --> Shred Memory
Unravel the Aether --> Whip Silk
Demonic Tutor --> Opal Palace
Forest --> Llanowar Reborn
Swamp --> Command Tower
In addition, I've completely overhauled the original post, in order to give a more in-depth look at the deck's background and objective, as well as my reasoning behind the color/general selection.
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG