Hey there, this is my first actual topic on this website, so bear with me.
I am trying to help my girlfriend get into magic with me and my friends. She is newer to the game and I want to help her win or contend consistently. She wants to stay within the Mono green fatties type of deck. Problem is, my playgroup has a few (myself included) that run heavy Wrath like effects and single target removal. Which can lead to some very depressing games for her with a creature heavy deck.
I'm hoping to stay within those guideline to build a deck that can resist, or even benefit from creature hate. Things like Protean Hulk , Vorapede , Summoner's Eggand Woodfall PrimusI can see being useful. Im sure there are plenty of good suggestions that would help.
What's your budget? Any deckbuilding restrictions (banned/restricted list etc.)? How many people do you play with? How frequently is there a monoblue Mage? How prevalent is Black (is someone playing it every game or no)?
She would be able to outpace most of my playgroup with that level of ramp. Luckily I have almost all of those cards too except some of the lands. I never thought of using the guild lands in that manner. Quite terrifying actually.
She would be able to outpace most of my playgroup with that level of ramp. Luckily I have almost all of those cards too except some of the lands. I never thought of using the guild lands in that manner. Quite terrifying actually.
I'm a big proponent of playing a ton of Karoos in Burgeoning decks because it becomes trivial to untap with 6 mana on turn 2 given enough players. It might be worthwhile to play with the deck a few times yourself and if there's any mana issues cut some fat for things like Sakura-Tribe Elder or Wood Elves or whatever. Could also add 4x Green Sun's Zenith and shave the 4-ofs down to 2-3ofs to make room for things like Sakura-Tribe Scout, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Courser of Kruphix, etc. as 1-of fetch targets.
I am a big fan of Green Suns Zenith when it comes to looking for situational cards. Might go that route a bit like you said. Overall I really like the groundwork. She loves thragtusk and I have about 3 playsets of Primeval Titan.
Feel free to post what you would cut to go Green Suns route. If you want. I appreciate the help a lot.
I am a big fan of Green Suns Zenith when it comes to looking for situational cards. Might go that route a bit like you said. Overall I really like the groundwork. She loves thragtusk and I have about 3 playsets of Primeval Titan.
Feel free to post what you would cut to go Green Suns route. If you want. I appreciate the help a lot.
Eh, there's no trick or Magic to GSZ decks. Just cut all of the 4-ofs (creatures) down to 1-2 ofs and have something at every point in the curve.
Looks solid to me overall. I think she will have a very good chance to stand on her own with this. Its also not convoluted with combo pieces or whatnot. Azusa, Lost but Seeking is the only card I really lack. A bit too pricey for my taste at the moment. Undeniably powerful, but already spent a sizable sum filling gaps in the other deck as well. Not a big deal, I can figure it out.
My only concern my be overall life-gain. We have a lot of drain or random poke damage effects that can add up over the game. She understands fully to remove the player Nuking the field ASAP. Even myself running Massacre Wurm or Gray Merchant of Asphodel can spell doom quickly. Of course, I have well over a dozen decks I cycle through so this isnt always the case.
But we have another newer player who runs the the occasional Exsanguinate and Extort fairly often. He only has a limited number of decks and cycles between Black and Red. He usually screws with the more experienced players because he knows they are a larger threat, which is nice, but global effects still ping hard sometimes.
What I do when I want lifegain in Green is add Roots of Life and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to my list. Roots tends to be a fine lifegain spell as-is and once you get Urborg with Primetime or w/e it ratchets straight to 11. Note that Roots of Life is "each opponent" and not "target opponent" which is confusing, but also the rules:
10/4/2004 It affects all opponents in a multiplayer game.
What I do when I want lifegain in Green is add Roots of Life and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to my list. Roots tends to be a fine lifegain spell as-is and once you get Urborg with Primetime or w/e it ratchets straight to 11. Note that Roots of Life is "each opponent" and not "target opponent" which is confusing, but also the rules:
10/4/2004 It affects all opponents in a multiplayer game.
Oh damn that is awesome. Seriously though I have never seen roots of life. I like that combo a lot. Gonna do that.
Wayward Swordtooth will work just fine too. Thanks a lot.
Oh damn that is awesome. Seriously though I have never seen roots of life.
Oh I know, no one has, but the card is fantastic in multiplayer :). I'm a big fan of Golgari/Sultai decks and there's no greater feeling than opening with an Urborg + Roots draw where you proceed to gain hundreds and hundreds of life.
FWIW if you want something else Retreat to Kazandu is also fine. It's not nearly as good as Roots but it's good enough to beat random Garys and Exsangs for 20.
In a monocolored deck, some Radiant Fountains can add some life gain without taking up a card slot or breaking the mana base.
If Wrath effects are too common, you can try to dodge them with permanents, that aren't creatures all the time, like Haunted Plate Mail. Manlands are also an option, for example Treetop Village.
Oh damn that is awesome. Seriously though I have never seen roots of life.
Oh I know, no one has, but the card is fantastic in multiplayer :). I'm a big fan of Golgari/Sultai decks and there's no greater feeling than opening with an Urborg + Roots draw where you proceed to gain hundreds and hundreds of life.
FWIW if you want something else Retreat to Kazandu is also fine. It's not nearly as good as Roots but it's good enough to beat random Garys and Exsangs for 20.
I cannot wait to see the look on everyone face when she pulls off that combo. How many copies do you think we should add/how would you edit the decklist to add them?
In a monocolored deck, some Radiant Fountains can add some life gain without taking up a card slot or breaking the mana base.
If Wrath effects are too common, you can try to dodge them with permanents, that aren't creatures all the time, like Haunted Plate Mail. Manlands are also an option, for example Treetop Village.
Yeah it definitely doesnt hurt to add in a copy of Treetop VIllage or Raging Ravine. Worst case scenario she could pump it with Kessig Wolf Run to go for a quick kill after a heavy Mutilate. With Primeval TItan the manlands will have no problem being on the field every game if needed. But with Kher Keep it is probably unnecessary. Essentially the same thing without it running the chance of getting killed as a creature.
Elf weenies don't work, they get zapped. So I focus on fetching forests instead. Win condition is tooth and nail, combo or emrakul or blightsteel (or use worldspine if your removal is sacrifice heavy) with xenagos or samut if can't use him). Also primeval titan can win you games by getting kessig and cinder glade to pump.
Chalice is great for stalling the game early, nothing of yours is 1 drop and only sakura is 2.
Edit - starstorm is a bit experimental. Also i don't like infinite combos but if you prefer you can tooth and nail mirror breaker with one of the many creatures that give you an auto win.
Well we ran this last night with a few Roots of life. She was absolutely destroying. The sheer ramp and card draw dominated every game she played this deck. She even generated a good degree of salt. It was glorious.
Whenever I question my dedication to multiplayer Magic I'm reminded by words like these that make it all worthwhile .
Yeah! It was a lot of fun. There was one game where I dropped 3 Damnation/Wrath of the God within like 6 turns or so. Because she had so many Clues and Land saved up though she just kept dropping Avenger of Zendikars and whatnot like it was nobodies busines. I was really impressed.
I think your dedication to the format is awesome. I definitely wouldn't be as good at the game if I hadn't read all of your guides back when I first started playing.
I am trying to help my girlfriend get into magic with me and my friends. She is newer to the game and I want to help her win or contend consistently. She wants to stay within the Mono green fatties type of deck. Problem is, my playgroup has a few (myself included) that run heavy Wrath like effects and single target removal. Which can lead to some very depressing games for her with a creature heavy deck.
She enjoys pump and destroy type cards such as Overwhelming Stampede , Triumph of the Hordes , and Craterhoof Behemoth
I'm hoping to stay within those guideline to build a deck that can resist, or even benefit from creature hate. Things like Protean Hulk , Vorapede , Summoner's Eggand Woodfall PrimusI can see being useful. Im sure there are plenty of good suggestions that would help.
Thanks in advance!
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Multiple Sylvan Primordial is banned. That would be my fault, I abused it to hell. Sol Rings are 1 only. Most things are fair game.
Usually 4 to 5 players. 6 max but this is rare.
Mono blue is hardly ever. But black is almost every game. We see a lot of mutilate.
Thinning the deck with land search and playing those for bonus effects can be brutal.
In general, card draw is needed, some control, maybe some cheaty artifacts.
That said, probably our Canadian friend can help better...
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
12x Forest
4x Simic Growth Chamber
4x Gruul Turf
2x Selesnya Sanctuary
1x Stomping Ground
1x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Arch of Orazca
1x Kher Keep
4x Tireless Tracker
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
4x Thragtusk
1x Genesis
4x Primeval Titan
4x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Sylvan Primordial
1x Woodfall Primus
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
4x Burgeoning
1x Sol Ring
4x Summer Bloom
4x Compost
Maybe something close to this? Or if you're allowed to play Red cards then add Nesting Dragon, Nikya of the Old ways and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed alongside some random Red sources (Spire Garden etc).
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
She would be able to outpace most of my playgroup with that level of ramp. Luckily I have almost all of those cards too except some of the lands. I never thought of using the guild lands in that manner. Quite terrifying actually.
I'm a big proponent of playing a ton of Karoos in Burgeoning decks because it becomes trivial to untap with 6 mana on turn 2 given enough players. It might be worthwhile to play with the deck a few times yourself and if there's any mana issues cut some fat for things like Sakura-Tribe Elder or Wood Elves or whatever. Could also add 4x Green Sun's Zenith and shave the 4-ofs down to 2-3ofs to make room for things like Sakura-Tribe Scout, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Courser of Kruphix, etc. as 1-of fetch targets.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Feel free to post what you would cut to go Green Suns route. If you want. I appreciate the help a lot.
Eh, there's no trick or Magic to GSZ decks. Just cut all of the 4-ofs (creatures) down to 1-2 ofs and have something at every point in the curve.
12x Forest
4x Simic Growth Chamber
4x Gruul Turf
2x Selesnya Sanctuary
1x Stomping Ground
1x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Arch of Orazca
1x Kher Keep
1x Sakura-Tribe Scout
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Tireless Tracker
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Thragtusk
1x Genesis
4x Primeval Titan
1x Bane of Progress
1x Whiptongue Hydra
4x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Sylvan Primordial
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
4x Green Sun's Zenith
4x Burgeoning
1x Sol Ring
4x Compost
2x Summer Bloom
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
My only concern my be overall life-gain. We have a lot of drain or random poke damage effects that can add up over the game. She understands fully to remove the player Nuking the field ASAP. Even myself running Massacre Wurm or Gray Merchant of Asphodel can spell doom quickly. Of course, I have well over a dozen decks I cycle through so this isnt always the case.
But we have another newer player who runs the the occasional Exsanguinate and Extort fairly often. He only has a limited number of decks and cycles between Black and Red. He usually screws with the more experienced players because he knows they are a larger threat, which is nice, but global effects still ping hard sometimes.
Gnaw to the Bone is nice, but can be random. Miren, the Moaning Well is a nice replacement for the absurdly priced Diamond Valley
Perhaps something like a combo of 1 of each Essence Warden Courser of Kruphix Thragtusk and Verdant Sun's Avatar
Or some variation. Food for thought and all that.
What I do when I want lifegain in Green is add Roots of Life and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to my list. Roots tends to be a fine lifegain spell as-is and once you get Urborg with Primetime or w/e it ratchets straight to 11. Note that Roots of Life is "each opponent" and not "target opponent" which is confusing, but also the rules:
10/4/2004 It affects all opponents in a multiplayer game.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Oh damn that is awesome. Seriously though I have never seen roots of life. I like that combo a lot. Gonna do that.
Wayward Swordtooth will work just fine too. Thanks a lot.
Oh I know, no one has, but the card is fantastic in multiplayer :). I'm a big fan of Golgari/Sultai decks and there's no greater feeling than opening with an Urborg + Roots draw where you proceed to gain hundreds and hundreds of life.
FWIW if you want something else Retreat to Kazandu is also fine. It's not nearly as good as Roots but it's good enough to beat random Garys and Exsangs for 20.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
If Wrath effects are too common, you can try to dodge them with permanents, that aren't creatures all the time, like Haunted Plate Mail. Manlands are also an option, for example Treetop Village.
Former Rules Advisor
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I cannot wait to see the look on everyone face when she pulls off that combo. How many copies do you think we should add/how would you edit the decklist to add them?
Yeah it definitely doesnt hurt to add in a copy of Treetop VIllage or Raging Ravine. Worst case scenario she could pump it with Kessig Wolf Run to go for a quick kill after a heavy Mutilate. With Primeval TItan the manlands will have no problem being on the field every game if needed. But with Kher Keep it is probably unnecessary. Essentially the same thing without it running the chance of getting killed as a creature.
1x Blightsteel Colossus
4x Dungrove Elder
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2x Omnath, Locus of Mana
2x Primeval Titan
4x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Samut, Voice of Dissent
2x Sylvan Primordial
1x Xenagos, God of Revels
4x Cinder Glade
17x Forest
1x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Mountain
Sorcery (11)
3x Kodama's Reach
4x Search for Tomorrow
4x Tooth and Nail
3x Momentous Fall
2x Starstorm
Artifact (3)
3x Chalice of the Void
Elf weenies don't work, they get zapped. So I focus on fetching forests instead. Win condition is tooth and nail, combo or emrakul or blightsteel (or use worldspine if your removal is sacrifice heavy) with xenagos or samut if can't use him). Also primeval titan can win you games by getting kessig and cinder glade to pump.
Chalice is great for stalling the game early, nothing of yours is 1 drop and only sakura is 2.
Edit - starstorm is a bit experimental. Also i don't like infinite combos but if you prefer you can tooth and nail mirror breaker with one of the many creatures that give you an auto win.
Well we ran this last night with a few Roots of life. She was absolutely destroying. The sheer ramp and card draw dominated every game she played this deck. She even generated a good degree of salt. It was glorious.
Thanks a lot for the help,
Whenever I question my dedication to multiplayer Magic I'm reminded by words like these that make it all worthwhile .
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
Yeah! It was a lot of fun. There was one game where I dropped 3 Damnation/Wrath of the God within like 6 turns or so. Because she had so many Clues and Land saved up though she just kept dropping Avenger of Zendikars and whatnot like it was nobodies busines. I was really impressed.
I think your dedication to the format is awesome. I definitely wouldn't be as good at the game if I hadn't read all of your guides back when I first started playing.