MTG Salvation

In response to MattHonkylips' request for a fast infect deck, I decided to revise and update my Karona, False God build. What I've found in playing this deck and variants of it is that it's very easy to kill one person before they can do anything about it, but each subsequent victim becomes exponentialy difficult to dispatch. Switching from pump spells like Giant Growth to auras like Unholy Strength helped a lot in this regard, at the cost of some speed. Auras as a game plan also allows for an Enchantress element in the deck, further boosting the "late game."



And here's the maybe-board:

• Sensei's Divining Top
  
• Brainstorm
  
• Ponder
  
• Preordain
  
• Wheel of Fortune
  
• Windfall
  
• Enchantress's Presence
  

As heretical as it sounds I'm actually thinking about cutting Sol Ring. There just aren't a ton of cards for it to cast in this deck. Still, there aren't none and the potential to start casting two 2 cmc spells on turn 2 is pretty strong. It also plays well with the newest element of this deck; mass land destruction. I haven't played the deck with these cards yet, but I plan to cast them relatively early. "Turn 1 ramp, turn 2 dude & aura, turn 3 'geddon" has a certain twisted appeal to it, and this deck was already pretty high on the jerk-o-meter before including mass land destruction so what the hell.

Riding the Dilu Horse would be really powerful in this deck, though it's an expensive card.

Wow thanks for posting this, I really appreciate that you took the time to do this in response to what I was looking for. Once I get some free time I'll make sure to give this a better look.

I feel like if Enchantress is a subtheme, you're missing some key enchantresses like Eidolon of Blossoms, Enchantrss's Presence, Mesa Enchantress, and Verduran Enchantress. Also, Karona would be better for this type of concept if you included Conspiracy and Xenograft. I also see you're missing Homeward Path and ways to untap it each other turn (like Seedborn Muse and Prophet of Kruphix). I understand the concept, but Karona is in fact a slightly difficult general to build around. I would suggest keeping it simple. The infect / enchantress concept is something I haven't seen before but it can become something as dangerous as it is curious. As per the infect route, it needs more Triumph of the Horde. If you're gonna be enchanting creatures, creatures with bestow would work great and especially cards like Daybreak Coronet and Winds of Rath go great with that theme.

Quote from Outcryqq »

Riding the Dilu Horse would be really powerful in this deck, though it's an expensive card.

The effect is certainly powerful, but three mana is kind of a lot for this deck. While Riding the Dilu Horse is unique in that it grants horsemanship and can't be Disenchanted, it competes with a lot of extremely good pump auras at 3 cmc, e.g. Ancestral Mask and Empyrial Armor. The issue with pump cards that cost more than 2 mana in this deck is that you lose a lot more tempo by getting Necropede hit by Swords to Plowshares in response to Riding the Dilu Horse than in response to Dust Corona. This deck needs to maintain tempo and end the game quickly because its average card quality is quite low.

Quote from MattHonkylips »

Wow thanks for posting this, I really appreciate that you took the time to do this in response to what I was looking for.

No problem. I'm a compulsive brewer.

Quote from DementedKirby »

I feel like if Enchantress is a subtheme, you're missing some key enchantresses like Eidolon of Blossoms, Enchantrss's Presence, Mesa Enchantress, and Verduran Enchantress.

I may end up adding some of the 3 cmc Enchantress pieces, but I'm really trying to keep this deck as low to the ground as possible. Femeref Enchantress is a possibility since it would let me reload after an aura-laden infect creature gets killed, but it's not proactive.

Also, Karona would be better for this type of concept if you included Conspiracy and Xenograft. I also see you're missing Homeward Path and ways to untap it each other turn (like Seedborn Muse and Prophet of Kruphix). I understand the concept, but Karona is in fact a slightly difficult general to build around. I would suggest keeping it simple.

Even though she's the general, this is really not a Karona, False God deck. Starting with the premise of a five color infect deck, Karona is the one legendary creature with an ability somewhat relevant to the deck's main plan. I'm not worried about being attacked by my own Karona. If I'm even casting Karona it's because the game has dragged on for a relatively long time (I've made it to 6 mana, after all) and I need that +3/+3 to deliver lethal poison.

As per the infect route, it needs more Triumph of the Horde.

All my creatures already have infect. Why spend four mana and a card for a redundant instance of a keyword ability? Also, since there are only so many cheap creatures with infect, this deck doesn't run many creatures, making anthem effects less effective.

If you're gonna be enchanting creatures, creatures with bestow would work great and especially cards like Daybreak Coronet and Winds of Rath go great with that theme.

Daybreak Coronet is excellent, but because it costs WW it's unlikely I'd actually be able to play it on time. Colored mana requirements are also keeping Necropotence out of this list. I kind of like the idea of Winds of Rath here. It could be a good way to push through the last couple of points and/or stay competitive in a slightly longer game. It's competing with Bedlam for the "take out all blockers" role.