Keep in mind, most people these days, from what I've seen, are completely ok with the idea od you leaving your creatures' interactions up to them, as this gives your opponent full control of the game.
Oblivion Ring is strictly better than Recumbent Bliss, Journey to Nowhere strictly better than Pacifism(Though, in some rare cases, you may want the creature on the Battlefield, in which case this wouldn't be true I guess)
If you play Blue control, Red burn/RDW, etc., some of the big tropes these days, you're going to lose every time if your deck is completely dependant on your opponent for interaction
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Ah so I see how Oblivion Ring would trump cards like Recumbent Bliss and Pacifism. Here's my newly updated deck that I think I may purchase online (each individual card)
Obviously I added Oblivion Ring in place of some Recumbent Bliss and Cowed By Wisdom cards for the above stated reasons. I kept 1 Recumbent Bliss in the deck because I feel like it may be a unique place to draw life points from. I kept in 2 Cowed By Wisdom cards because I think it would be killer to couple that with the Spellbook artifact if my enemy decides they want to attack and isn't bright enough to get rid of the enchantment (or doesn't have the power to) Land Tax seems to just be a good card, period Enlightened Tutor is there so I can have more chances of getting the 4 Soulcatchers' Aerie cards and/or other enchantments if I have a suitable amount (a thank you to the person who mentioned Enlightened Tutor)
As for creatures, much bird spam will be used in the form of Squadron Hawk, Welkin Hawk, and my favorite Courier Hawk in large quantities so even if they die, with Aerie on the field, they all get a boost. Magus of the Moat is obviously in there to assure that I'm the only one attacking. Windbrisk Raptor is in the deck solely for me to be able to put something big onto the field with pleasure. Some people have said to get rid of Cloudreach Cavalry but I think the card is nice enough and cheap enough to afford in order to basically get a 3/3 creature although this card would be the first to hit the hay if I edited this deck more. And I believe that's that
Land Tax is good, but a $9-11 card, from my experience. That's per card.
It is in fact so good that it is banned in Legacy play. A select few of these banned cards are because they are a key card in a combo, but the rest are because they are simply too powerful to be used in a "fair" game. If you do use Land Tax, some people may not be too interested in playing against it.
@Zephynoir
You asked earlier what Spellbook did. It eliminates my maximum hand size. This allows me to use it in coordination with Cowed By Wisdom (Enchant Creature: Pay 1 mana to defend or attack for each card in opponents hand) for a potentially obnoxious restriction from a (1) White Mana Card
Looks great for an entry-level/casual player. Just don't thrash your opponents too hard with those fliers. The only other change I would make is 2 more Plains instead of the Spellbooks because you only have the two Cowed by Wisdom, meaning you won't frequently have the two cards in play at the same time. In addition, even maintaining your current max hand size of 7 (or lower) will dissuade/prevent the creature affected by Cowed by Wisdom to attack.
Hi there everyone again! I do apologize for asking more questions that I probably should but I just had my first Casual Magic Game with my friend today (we're both quite unexperienced) and I mostly whooped him with 5 Wins and 3 Losses, so yay
Getting back to the point. Through this first play test I really noticed that Windbrisk Raptor did NOTHING at all, as I could never get enough mana to summon him, so I took him out (following what you all have said haha). Also Cowed By Wisdom seemed quite useful against him but I can see how in the long run, it just will be overshadowed by better things to use. I wasn't able to get Enlightened Tutor because of the insane price cost so I had to think of other ways to make this deck better. Below are my (hopefully) final changes to this deck. I'd love it if any of you could offer a guiding hand with more critiques
I have two questions about a few of the cards in this new deck
1. For Rebuff the Wicked, a spell is any Instant/Sorcery/or Enchantment right? (that targets a permanent I control, I know)
2. Even though I have this in my deck, I'm a little bit confused on how Extraplanar Lens works. Can someone explain it smoothly?
Rebuff the Wicked is a solid choice. Don't know if you will need it, but it has plenty of uses. With Extraplanar Lens, you can imprint a Plains. Then, whenever you tap a Plains, it will produce WW. I've seen an EDH deck that used Snow-Covered Islands rather than regular Islands so their opponent wouldn't get the mana.
Ah I see how Extraplanar Lens works then. Also I'm glad to know that Rebuff the Wicked will work on various troublesome cards. I'm going to want to keep my Enchantments safe
Now, does Extraplanar Lens stack? If I had 2 on the field, would that mean I get 2 mana per land tapped? And if so, would that be better than using Gift of Estates if I know my opponent has none of my lands?
Hikaru, I think you might be confused on the way that works: Spellbook eliminates a maximum hand size, but has no correlation with counting the number of cards in your hand. If you have 3 cards in hand and a Spellbook out, the game still only sees 3 cards in hand.
Hikaru - The Lens is FANTASTIC for mana ramp~
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Yeah Zeph I was thinking about using Cowed By Wisdom with Spellbook to force my opponent use like 10 mana if I had 10 cards in my hand (because of the no max hand size) but then after my first game, I realized that throughout much of the match I didn't even have a full hand so I threw those two cards out
As for my question right now. Does Extraplanar Lens stack? If I have 2 on the field, does that mean I'll get WWW for every Plains I tap? And what would it be better to use Extraplanar Lens or Gift of Estates
Rather than use two cards (Cowed by Wisdom and Spellbook) to possibly neutralize one of your opponent's creatures, you could spend the same amount of mana and one card to get rid of it entirely through:
-Journey to Nowhere (Great against non-ETB creatures)
-Faith's Fetters (Works on multiple types of permanents, gives a nice, immediate life buffer)
-Prison Term (Move it over to larger threats as they get played)
It's true that almost every card has its uses, but some cards are just flat out better than others. You're playing White, you should run the best spot removal available to you.
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My Black & Silver Cube [360/Peasant/Draft It! EDH Decks: - Reya Dawnbringer // - Mistform Ultimus // - Balthor the Defiled // - Urabrask the Hidden // - Mirri, Cat Warrior
Alright so it seems like both cards would be useful to a certain extent. I think I'll keep just a small few of both. Can anyone suggest any Mono-White (or Colorless) Enchantment/Instant/Artifact/Sorcery Cards to me? I need two more of these kinds of cards so I can round out my deck of 20/20/20 (Land/Creature/Other). I'd love anything that would just help this deck out in general. I think I have just about enough Exile/Land Gain/Creature/Counter/Life Gain Cards but I still feel like I'm missing something. Really wish I could throw in 2 Enlightened Tutor Cards inside but that's way too pricy
An aggressive deck like this wants to play Path to Exile over Swords to Plowshares because your trying to race against the clock to kill your opponent and giving them life is counter intuitive. The longer the game lasts the less likely a deck like this is going to win so you don't want to extend the game via giving your opponent lifegain.
Extraplanar Lens needs to go, your average CMC in this deck is very low so you don't need the Extraplanar Lens. Moreover you'd just be better off playing more lands, 20 lands is too low you should be at 22 so take it out for a slot for another land.
Gift of Estates seems cool, I remember a long time ago when I used to play with it, but it's too conditional. There are two options which are both much better than it:
A. Land Tax: A little expensive but one of the best cards ever printed it's worth it's price.
B. Tithe: Just outright better than Gift of Estates, I've made the switch and never looked back. Moreover it's an instant so you can play it at the end of your opponents turn.
If your playing multiplayer than definitely invest in Land Tax as it is wildly bonkers in multiplayer as there will nearly always be someeone with more lands than you out.
Lose Rebuff the Wicked. Honestly, you don't have anything that big that is worth protecting, it's not worth a spot in your deck. Use one of it's slots for the 22nd land, you need 22 lands in this deck please just trust me on this one. It's the biggest mistake that new players make is playing too few lands. I've been playing since Revised came out (off and on, started in Revised quit during Ice Age came back during Lorwyn), that's third edition so a long long long time ago, and I used to always go by the 20 land rule when I first played and I was at best an average player, now since I've found this site I run 22 to 24 lands in all of my decks, with the exception of some decks like burn, and I hardly ever lose a game. So in sum just play 22 lands, you will see a difference.
Okay now with the other two spots open from Rebuff the Wicked add two more copies of Path to Exile, you want six pieces of spot removal in your deck. I always play six to eight pieces of spot removal, because I mainly play against aggro, and it comes so so so in handy. With the two Oblivion Ring and four Path to Exile that's six pieces of spot removal and enough. From there you can lose the Disenchant's as you have non creature removal from the Oblivion Ring. Use these two spots for two more Soulcatcher as it's one of the best birds out there.
Lose Recumbent Bliss as you already have six pieces of spot removal and do not need anymore in a deck that wants to be this aggressive, also lose Magus of the Moat as your deck wants to be aggressive not defensive. This card is just bad here, you don't care if your opponent attacks you you just want to swing at them.
That leaves four spots open in your deck, use them to add four Honor of the Pure. It gives +1+1 to all of your creatures for just 1W, yes please.
Finally lose the four Courier Hawk as they basically suck, two mana for just a 1/2 isn't worth the mana investment, especially since it doesn't net you anything else. Use these spots for four Spectral Procession. It's WWW for three 1/1 flying creatures, that is a spectacular deal, it's off the wall good. Yes they aren't birds but it's fine to have something that aren't birds because it's three 1/1 flyers for three mana, nothing else in all of Magic gives you this kind of deal it's such an undervalued card that is truly a powerhouse. Moreover, remember for Soulcatcher it's when creatures with flying die not just birds so it works with Soulcatcher and the tokens are white so if you have a Honor of the Pure out you will get three 2/2 flying creatures for just three mana, thats a win win win.
Overall all of these changes will costs you around $50 and will give you a deck that will dominate your friends. If your on a budget and thrifty with money than go with the Tithe over Land Tax and that will take the improvements down to about $35. If you still want to go cheaper use Journey to Nowhere over Path to Exile, DO NOT USE Swords to Plowshares (it's one of the best cards ever printed but just not good in a deck that wants to be this aggressive). If you do that that will put the improvements down to like $20.
Oblivion Ring is strictly better than Recumbent Bliss, Journey to Nowhere strictly better than Pacifism(Though, in some rare cases, you may want the creature on the Battlefield, in which case this wouldn't be true I guess)
If you play Blue control, Red burn/RDW, etc., some of the big tropes these days, you're going to lose every time if your deck is completely dependant on your opponent for interaction
Done by Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery signatures!
3 Holy Strength
1 Recumbent Bliss
2 Cowed By Wisdom
4 Soulcatchers' Aerie
1 Land Tax
2 Healing Salve
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Spellbook
2 Aven Riftwatcher
2 Magus of the Moat
4 Squadron Hawk
1 Windbrisk Raptor
2 Duskrider Peregrine
4 Courier Hawk
3 Welkin Hawk
2 Cloudreach Cavalry
Deck Thoughts:
Obviously I added Oblivion Ring in place of some Recumbent Bliss and Cowed By Wisdom cards for the above stated reasons. I kept 1 Recumbent Bliss in the deck because I feel like it may be a unique place to draw life points from. I kept in 2 Cowed By Wisdom cards because I think it would be killer to couple that with the Spellbook artifact if my enemy decides they want to attack and isn't bright enough to get rid of the enchantment (or doesn't have the power to)
Land Tax seems to just be a good card, period
Enlightened Tutor is there so I can have more chances of getting the 4 Soulcatchers' Aerie cards and/or other enchantments if I have a suitable amount (a thank you to the person who mentioned Enlightened Tutor)
As for creatures, much bird spam will be used in the form of Squadron Hawk, Welkin Hawk, and my favorite Courier Hawk in large quantities so even if they die, with Aerie on the field, they all get a boost. Magus of the Moat is obviously in there to assure that I'm the only one attacking. Windbrisk Raptor is in the deck solely for me to be able to put something big onto the field with pleasure. Some people have said to get rid of Cloudreach Cavalry but I think the card is nice enough and cheap enough to afford in order to basically get a 3/3 creature although this card would be the first to hit the hay if I edited this deck more. And I believe that's that
Sorry for writing so much T_T
alright, ya got me- Explain Spellbook again?
Done by Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery signatures!
It is in fact so good that it is banned in Legacy play. A select few of these banned cards are because they are a key card in a combo, but the rest are because they are simply too powerful to be used in a "fair" game. If you do use Land Tax, some people may not be too interested in playing against it.
Done by Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery signatures!
3 Holy Strength
1 Recumbent Bliss
2 Cowed By Wisdom
4 Soulcatchers' Aerie
1 Demystify
2 Healing Salve
3 Enlightened Tutor
2 Aven Riftwatcher
2 Magus of the Moat
4 Squadron Hawk
1 Windbrisk Raptor
2 Duskrider Peregrine
4 Courier Hawk
3 Welkin Hawk
2 Soulcatcher
Last Changes:
Decided to take out Cloudreach Cavalry and replace it with Soulcatcher because in the end, Soulcatcher will contribute to Soulcatchers' Aerie and Cloudreach Cavalry will not
Also switched out Land Tax for another Enlightened Tutor because Land Tax is a banned card
@Zephynoir
You asked earlier what Spellbook did. It eliminates my maximum hand size. This allows me to use it in coordination with Cowed By Wisdom (Enchant Creature: Pay 1 mana to defend or attack for each card in opponents hand) for a potentially obnoxious restriction from a (1) White Mana Card
I really don't think this is a card for this deck, anyway, if you want this kind of effect, don't waste MD slots, and use Reliquary Tower.
Without blue, you're shortening bird's power, specially Aven Mimeomancer, Kangee, Aerie Keeper, Stormscape Familiar, Seaside Haven...
Getting back to the point. Through this first play test I really noticed that Windbrisk Raptor did NOTHING at all, as I could never get enough mana to summon him, so I took him out (following what you all have said haha). Also Cowed By Wisdom seemed quite useful against him but I can see how in the long run, it just will be overshadowed by better things to use. I wasn't able to get Enlightened Tutor because of the insane price cost so I had to think of other ways to make this deck better. Below are my (hopefully) final changes to this deck. I'd love it if any of you could offer a guiding hand with more critiques
1 Recumbent Bliss
4 Soulcatchers' Aerie
2 Gift of Estates
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Healing Salve
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Rebuff the Wicked
2 Aven Riftwatcher
2 Magus of the Moat
4 Squadron Hawk
2 Duskrider Peregrine
4 Courier Hawk
4 Welkin Hawk
3 Soulcatcher
I have two questions about a few of the cards in this new deck
1. For Rebuff the Wicked, a spell is any Instant/Sorcery/or Enchantment right? (that targets a permanent I control, I know)
2. Even though I have this in my deck, I'm a little bit confused on how Extraplanar Lens works. Can someone explain it smoothly?
RGGruul Aggro
WSoul Sisters
WBTokens
BUGRRestore Balance
BMono-Black Infect
EDH:
RGWMayael, the Anima
GWURoon of the Hidden Realm
BDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Now, does Extraplanar Lens stack? If I had 2 on the field, would that mean I get 2 mana per land tapped? And if so, would that be better than using Gift of Estates if I know my opponent has none of my lands?
Hikaru - The Lens is FANTASTIC for mana ramp~
Done by Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery signatures!
As for my question right now. Does Extraplanar Lens stack? If I have 2 on the field, does that mean I'll get WWW for every Plains I tap? And what would it be better to use Extraplanar Lens or Gift of Estates
And... Extraplanar Lens, in the long run, will probably net you more mana, but....I see the Gift of Estates as more useful in this deck.
Rule of thumb: If you want to play more things from your deck, thin your deck.
If you need big costs payed, make more mana.
Here, you want to thin your deck out as much as possible
Done by Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery signatures!
-Swords to Plowshares (The best there is)
-Path to Exile (Pricey, but worth it)
-Condemn (A solid, budget, defensive option)
Other options would be:
-Journey to Nowhere (Great against non-ETB creatures)
-Faith's Fetters (Works on multiple types of permanents, gives a nice, immediate life buffer)
-Prison Term (Move it over to larger threats as they get played)
It's true that almost every card has its uses, but some cards are just flat out better than others. You're playing White, you should run the best spot removal available to you.
EDH Decks:
- Reya Dawnbringer // - Mistform Ultimus // - Balthor the Defiled // - Urabrask the Hidden // - Mirri, Cat Warrior
RGGruul Aggro
WSoul Sisters
WBTokens
BUGRRestore Balance
BMono-Black Infect
EDH:
RGWMayael, the Anima
GWURoon of the Hidden Realm
BDrana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Here's my tweaked deck
2 Recumbent Bliss
4 Soulcatchers' Aerie
2 Gift of Estates
1 Extraplanar Lens
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Rebuff the Wicked
2 Aven Riftwatcher
2 Magus of the Moat
4 Squadron Hawk
2 Duskrider Peregrine
4 Courier Hawk
4 Welkin Hawk
2 Soulcatcher
Extraplanar Lens needs to go, your average CMC in this deck is very low so you don't need the Extraplanar Lens. Moreover you'd just be better off playing more lands, 20 lands is too low you should be at 22 so take it out for a slot for another land.
Gift of Estates seems cool, I remember a long time ago when I used to play with it, but it's too conditional. There are two options which are both much better than it:
A. Land Tax: A little expensive but one of the best cards ever printed it's worth it's price.
B. Tithe: Just outright better than Gift of Estates, I've made the switch and never looked back. Moreover it's an instant so you can play it at the end of your opponents turn.
If your playing multiplayer than definitely invest in Land Tax as it is wildly bonkers in multiplayer as there will nearly always be someeone with more lands than you out.
Lose Rebuff the Wicked. Honestly, you don't have anything that big that is worth protecting, it's not worth a spot in your deck. Use one of it's slots for the 22nd land, you need 22 lands in this deck please just trust me on this one. It's the biggest mistake that new players make is playing too few lands. I've been playing since Revised came out (off and on, started in Revised quit during Ice Age came back during Lorwyn), that's third edition so a long long long time ago, and I used to always go by the 20 land rule when I first played and I was at best an average player, now since I've found this site I run 22 to 24 lands in all of my decks, with the exception of some decks like burn, and I hardly ever lose a game. So in sum just play 22 lands, you will see a difference.
Okay now with the other two spots open from Rebuff the Wicked add two more copies of Path to Exile, you want six pieces of spot removal in your deck. I always play six to eight pieces of spot removal, because I mainly play against aggro, and it comes so so so in handy. With the two Oblivion Ring and four Path to Exile that's six pieces of spot removal and enough. From there you can lose the Disenchant's as you have non creature removal from the Oblivion Ring. Use these two spots for two more Soulcatcher as it's one of the best birds out there.
Duskrider Peregrine sucks lose it, put in two more Aven Riftwatcher. Aven Riftwatcher is very very good here because it is guaranteed to die so it will guarantee to pump up Soulcatcher and all of your birds if you have Soulcatcher's Aerie out.
Lose Recumbent Bliss as you already have six pieces of spot removal and do not need anymore in a deck that wants to be this aggressive, also lose Magus of the Moat as your deck wants to be aggressive not defensive. This card is just bad here, you don't care if your opponent attacks you you just want to swing at them.
That leaves four spots open in your deck, use them to add four Honor of the Pure. It gives +1+1 to all of your creatures for just 1W, yes please.
Finally lose the four Courier Hawk as they basically suck, two mana for just a 1/2 isn't worth the mana investment, especially since it doesn't net you anything else. Use these spots for four Spectral Procession. It's WWW for three 1/1 flying creatures, that is a spectacular deal, it's off the wall good. Yes they aren't birds but it's fine to have something that aren't birds because it's three 1/1 flyers for three mana, nothing else in all of Magic gives you this kind of deal it's such an undervalued card that is truly a powerhouse. Moreover, remember for Soulcatcher it's when creatures with flying die not just birds so it works with Soulcatcher and the tokens are white so if you have a Honor of the Pure out you will get three 2/2 flying creatures for just three mana, thats a win win win.
Overall all of these changes will costs you around $50 and will give you a deck that will dominate your friends. If your on a budget and thrifty with money than go with the Tithe over Land Tax and that will take the improvements down to about $35. If you still want to go cheaper use Journey to Nowhere over Path to Exile, DO NOT USE Swords to Plowshares (it's one of the best cards ever printed but just not good in a deck that wants to be this aggressive). If you do that that will put the improvements down to like $20.
Basically what I am saying is there are budget alternatives to Path to Exile and Land Tax but there are not for Honor of the Pure and Spectral Procession these two cards you want to buy badly.
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"STAY CLEAR OF WHITE POWDER"
311 "Who's Got the Herb"
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