MTG Salvation

Hi all,

Looking for some pointers on this here RWG Multiplayer deck, designed to take advantage of the tremendous card disadvantage inherent to casual 4+ multiplayer free-for-all games, which in my experience last for many turns and thus favor bigger mana cards. The concept for many of the creatures is to get buffed when opponents play spells, and to get as much leverage out of one card as possible. Hitting one of these creatures with chandra's ignition could potentially win the game outright. Please comment with any tips or advice you guys have!

Deck:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/decks/8787-rwg-4-multiplayer-ffa-deck#Details:overview

Also listed here:
Maindeck (60)
4 Managorger Hydra
2 Taurean Mauler
2 Forgotten Ancient
2 Sunscorch Regent
1 Meglonoth (Awesome when buffed by forgotten ancient, attack deterrent)
1 Realm Razer (Use when you know you can win the game, takes away chances of using lands)
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (can destroy armies of 2/2 or 1/1 tokens, and hurts weanie decks)

1 Garruk, Primal Hunter (mega draws since power levels go up fast)

3 Fog (For Stalling)
1 Angelsong (Same as Fog)
1 Balance (To turn the tides in case you are getting screwed, or to mow down lots of tokens that you otherwise can't block)
1 Boros Charm (Mostly to make your guys indestrucable for a turn)
1 Blunt the Assault (stall and gain life)
4 Chandra's Ignition (FTW!)
1 Tragic Arrogance (Same as balance, with a slightly different use)
1 Titanic Ultimatum (giving massive creatures lifelink and trample can win games)
1 Mox Pearl (Yeah, we play with fake placeholders for these)

1 Mox Ruby (Same)
1 Boros Locket (For mana)
2 Manalith (For mana)
1 Selesnya Locket (Same)
1 Gilded Lotus (Same)
2 Hardened Scales (to double the buffs)
1 Lurking Predators (to combat the card disadvantage)

Lands:
9 Forest
7 Mountain
7 Plains

I’d really drop some cards for card draw if I were you.

And maybe you’ll like Kavu Predators?
You could run Respites in stead of those Fogs, to nerf a weenie rusher even more.

(Oh. And could you use card links, for those that don’t know all of them by heart?)

I don't like plain Fog or Angelsong. I like Settle the Wreckage, Comeuppance, Angel of the Dire Hour, and Arachnogenesis. Those do a much better job teaching people not to attack you. Plain Fog is just "well, I guess we'll just have to do it again next turn!"

Gahiji, Honored One is also perfect for those colors and that theme.

I am not a very big fan of Managorger Hydra. Unless you are very lucky, he is gonna get answered and gonna get dead. And all that time he was getting built up will be for nothing. I'm a little more easy on Sunscorch Regent because he gets you life and is flying. So he has a better chance of being useful. Forgotten ancient has nice utility to him so I don't mind that one. Not a fan of mauler either.

Elesh Norn, grand Cenobite is a monster. But she also works better when buffing an army too. For example, paired with Avenger of Zendikar.

I'm not saying this is unplayable. But I just feel if we are gonna be playing of other people playing I would rather run something more powerful such as Lurking Predators or Burgeoning.

My experience of +1/+1 counter decks is that unless you're running some sort of combo, you're planning to swing massive creatures before an opponent pops a sweeper. Cauldron of Souls here might help a little, but it can be a frustrating type of deck to play, totally dependent on your opponents.
That said, built well, these decks can swing for massive damage quickly in a big FFA.

Chandra's Ignition is great, but your deck isn't focused on the plan. You have too few creatures.
I'd up Hardened Scales to 4. Forgetten Ancient begs for a partner to abuse, like Fathom Mage does for blue.
Lurking Predators is great in decks where the only non-creatures are lands, I can't see a reason to play it here. If you do decide to run with a creature only deck, Bane of Progress is great.
You need draw. I usually go with around 4. Greater Good, Momentous Fall, Life's Legacy, Shamanic Revelation, Rishkar's Expertise, Inspiring Call, Armorcraft Judge etc. are just some options this deck could use.
Pathbreaker Ibex can be pretty good here too.
Ion Storm might be useful to control utility creatures your opponents control.

Forgotten Ancient and Spike Weaver are fun to use. Sure, he can get removed easily too, but at least there is a good chance you can play a political game with preventing damage for other players and yourself.

Sunscorch Regent and Archangel of Thune is nuts too. That's a combo that will quickly get out of hand if no one deals with it quick enough.

Quote from Eternal_Varik »

Sunscorch Regent and Archangel of Thune is nuts too. That's a combo that will quickly get out of hand if no one deals with it quick enough.

If by that mean you Spike Feeder + Archangel of Thune then yes, the combo is nuts ;).

Quote from Prid3 »

Quote from Eternal_Varik »

Sunscorch Regent and Archangel of Thune is nuts too. That's a combo that will quickly get out of hand if no one deals with it quick enough.

If by that mean you Spike Feeder + Archangel of Thune then yes, the combo is nuts ;).

Haha! Yeah I'm not degenerate enough to use that. I thought about doing it to piss off my friends for some giggles a couple times. But never actually did it yet.

+1 for having Inspiring Call in this deck. Not only will it draw you cards, it also lets your team survive sweeps at a pinch.
I've found Avatar of the Resolute sneaky good in these decks, too - it will often come down later in the game as a 6-7 power trampler with reach. For two mana. Good deal.
Bow of Nylea is pretty good utility for these decks too.

Hi all,

I haven't checked this thread in a couple months and I am delighted to see the amount of responses! I have been tinkering with the deck since I first posted it. I read some of the initial comments about card draw, and really focused the objective of the deck around Chandra's ignition. I also tossed out the artifact mana cards. Again, please let me know what you think! I will post subsequent comments to address what you guys have said this far and will continue to add your suggestions to the deck. Thank you all for your comments!

https://www.mtgsalvation.com/decks/10592-grow-em-and-blow-em-up

New deck list: Grow Em' and Blow Em' (Up) - 60 cards

Creatures (19)
Birds of Paradise x4
Managorger Hydra x4
Taurean Mauler x4
Forgotten Ancient x4
Sunscorch Regent x4

Enchantment (8)
Hardened Scales x4
Ghostly Prison x3
Mayael's Aria x1

Sorcery/Instant (11)
Tangle x2
Cultivate x2
Chandra's Ignition x4
Rishkar's Expertise x3

Lands(22)
Boros Garrison x2
Clifftop Retreat x2
Forest x9
Mountain x2
Plains x2
Rootbound Crag x1
Temple Garden x4

Quote from Thijs1301 »

I’d really drop some cards for card draw if I were you.

And maybe you’ll like Kavu Predators?
You could run Respites in stead of those Fogs, to nerf a weenie rusher even more.

(Oh. And could you use card links, for those that don’t know all of them by heart?)

Thanks for the suggestions. I liked your idea of looking up alternatives to fogs. I ended up settling for Tangle and Ghost prison. Life gain is not frequent in my meta so I don't see the need for Kavu Predators at the moment. I will keep it in mind, though.

Quote from Xyx0r »

I don't like plain Fog or Angelsong. I like Settle the Wreckage, Comeuppance, Angel of the Dire Hour, and Arachnogenesis. Those do a much better job teaching people not to attack you. Plain Fog is just "well, I guess we'll just have to do it again next turn!"

Gahiji, Honored One is also perfect for those colors and that theme.

Holy heck I def need to throw some of those better attack deterrent cards in there! I see what you mean.

Despite the objective being to blow up big creatures with Chrandra's ignition (see new decklist), do you really think it is best to add Gahiji, Honored One in there?

Quote from Eternal_Varik »

I am not a very big fan of Managorger Hydra. Unless you are very lucky, he is gonna get answered and gonna get dead. And all that time he was getting built up will be for nothing. I'm a little more easy on Sunscorch Regent because he gets you life and is flying. So he has a better chance of being useful. Forgotten ancient has nice utility to him so I don't mind that one. Not a fan of mauler either.

Elesh Norn, grand Cenobite is a monster. But she also works better when buffing an army too. For example, paired with Avenger of Zendikar.

I'm not saying this is unplayable. But I just feel if we are gonna be playing of other people playing I would rather run something more powerful such as Lurking Predators or Burgeoning.

With 15 creatures in this deck that have the potential to gain power quickly, a couple removal spells here and there shouldn't spell the end of this deck. In multiplayer, at least in my meta, it is costly to remove every creature one person plays when there are 2-4 other opponents who are equally big threats. I removed Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite because it didn't fit the objective. I think this strategy is worth going for, and Managorger Hydra and its oracle text makes it play a central role. The point of all of these creatures is to get big and blow them up using Chandra's ignition or Rishkar's Expertise on turn 5 or 6 and win the game. I am not sure how Lurking Predators will do in this deck since I have so many non-creature spells, and I don't have enough lands to make use of Burgeoning.

Quote from bleedin_eyeball »

My experience of +1/+1 counter decks is that unless you're running some sort of combo, you're planning to swing massive creatures before an opponent pops a sweeper. Cauldron of Souls here might help a little, but it can be a frustrating type of deck to play, totally dependent on your opponents.
That said, built well, these decks can swing for massive damage quickly in a big FFA.

Chandra's Ignition is great, but your deck isn't focused on the plan. You have too few creatures.
I'd up Hardened Scales to 4. Forgetten Ancient begs for a partner to abuse, like Fathom Mage does for blue.
Lurking Predators is great in decks where the only non-creatures are lands, I can't see a reason to play it here. If you do decide to run with a creature only deck, Bane of Progress is great.
You need draw. I usually go with around 4. Greater Good, Momentous Fall, Life's Legacy, Shamanic Revelation, Rishkar's Expertise, Inspiring Call, Armorcraft Judge etc. are just some options this deck could use.
Pathbreaker Ibex can be pretty good here too.
Ion Storm might be useful to control utility creatures your opponents control.

Thanks for the detailed response. Your advice is sage wisdom. I changed the decklist a bit so go back and check it out. To answer your comments, swinging is not the ideal way to win with this deck. I added more creatures to make Chandra's ignition more viable as you pointed out, and added card draw to take advantage of the massive power that these creatures gain in just one round of turns as you suggested. These changes made the deck more robust. I don't think Cauldron of Souls will be worth the cost here, especially since managorger's are 1/1.

Your suggestions overall were really good. Let me know what you think of the changes I made to the deck.

Quote from Eternal_Varik »

Forgotten Ancient and Spike Weaver are fun to use. Sure, he can get removed easily too, but at least there is a good chance you can play a political game with preventing damage for other players and yourself.

Sunscorch Regent and Archangel of Thune is nuts too. That's a combo that will quickly get out of hand if no one deals with it quick enough.

I considered using spike weaver... maybe I should switch it out for my Ghost Prisons... As far as that combo goes, I would have to build an entire deck around it. As far as this deck, I don't think Archaengel of Thune plays a viable role.

Quote from Prid3 »

Quote from Eternal_Varik »

Sunscorch Regent and Archangel of Thune is nuts too. That's a combo that will quickly get out of hand if no one deals with it quick enough.

If by that mean you Spike Feeder + Archangel of Thune then yes, the combo is nuts ;).

Infinite combo!! I would feel bad using it. But it is excellent.

Quote from CadaverousBl00m »

+1 for having Inspiring Call in this deck. Not only will it draw you cards, it also lets your team survive sweeps at a pinch.
I've found Avatar of the Resolute sneaky good in these decks, too - it will often come down later in the game as a 6-7 power trampler with reach. For two mana. Good deal.
Bow of Nylea is pretty good utility for these decks too.

Thanks for the suggestions. I would say inspiring call is definitely something I should add to my deck, since removal is the biggest enemy here, and the card draw is nice too.

The other two cards you suggested are, in my opinion, too agro for the goal of the deck. Maybe I am wrong, though.

You’re welcome.
I like Tangle.

And your last remark: something too aggro for a Chandra’s Ignition deck somehow strikes me as funny...!

Quote from Thijs1301 »

You’re welcome.
I like Tangle.

And your last remark: something too aggro for a Chandra’s Ignition deck somehow strikes me as[quote from="Thijs1301 »" url="/forums/the-game/casual-multiplayer-formats/multiplayer/803556-4-player-ffa-rwg-deck-concept?comment=20"]You’re welcome.
I like Tangle.

And your last remark: something too aggro for a Chandra’s Ignition deck somehow strikes me as funny...!

Sorry that was a bit hard-headed to say. Cant judge a card until you try it. Ill pick up a few copies of those and see how they work in practice and get back to you.