Let's start with, a brief tale of my MTG history as I hope it will lead to a better understanding of this project. I was first introduced to MTG right around the beginning of the Tempest block, my buddies had been playing for a little bit and had ammassed enough cards to allow me to put together a janky elf deck so I could play with them around the lunch table at school. I played with this same group of friends for about 2 years, probably a little after Mercadian Masques came out my interests had changed and I gave all my cards away :frown:. Fast forward about 11 years me and a buddy discovered that we both used to play Magic :smile:, about a week later we ended up going to the LGS and splitting a fat pack and a booster box of Innistrad (His first pack he pulled a Liliana, go figure). We threw together a couple decks (Zombies vs Spirits) and battled away. We started going to FNMs not long after that and I've been hooked ever since.
Now for the project! What I am looking to do is put together 15 (5 monocolored and 10 two-colored) tuned up, casual play, "event decks", with 2 main goals in mind. First off, I want the Commons to feel common and the Mythics to feel Mythic, just like they did when you first started playing. To accomplish that, a breakdown of Rares (7-10)/ Uncommons (8-12)/ Commons (15-19) similar to that of the precon event decks should work very nicely. Also, for this project I think 2 of the rares should be mythic and if suitable 1 of those be a Planeswalker.
And secondly, I want the 5 moncolored decks to showcase as many of the common themes, of each color, that have appeared over the 20 years of MTG. With the common/uncommon slots comprising of a nice mix of well known staples and cards that really represent each colors ideology, and the rare/mythic slots to comprise of at least 1 iconic creature, 1 planeswalker and 5-8 really cool and powerful cards that collected dust in trade binders or got traded in for the bigger, badder money cards. This isn't the place for Batterskulls or Primeval Titans we are looking for Elbrus, the Binding Blade and the Vorapedes of Magic.
This whole idea basically spawned from my endless desire to play with 1 particlar card, Killer Bees. That's right! An overcosted, color pie breaking, 0/1 green flyer. So... naturally the first list that I've worked on is the monogreen list and here it is!
I plan on knocking out the 5 monocolor lists before I even think about tackling the 10 guilds, but I would love to hear what everyone has to offer! Any and all suggestions are helpful and appreciated! Also, I'm undecided on whether or not I want sideboards. Currently I'm leaning towards no, because part of the goal is to make balanced decks that all have strengths and weaknesses so that any 2 of the 15 play well together. I hope this all makes sense, and thank you for stopping by!
A breakdown of the original G list, to highlight what I would like to see for all the decks, and the reasons I included certain cards, and also certain cards that were left off that probably have a good argument to have a spot in the 60.
The Breakdown: Khalni Hydra - The G iconic, there are lots of hydras to choose from. Khalni Hydra is probably not the most powerful of the bunch, but it is still powerful and the artwork is very epic, exactly what we are going for. Bonus: We can play it on turn 3, and that is Saaaweeet! Arbor Elf, Elvish Visionary, Llanowar Elves, Priest of Titania, Wood Elves - The elves, greens most recognizable creature type. Dungrove Elder, Pelakka Wurm - Represent 2 more creature types highly prevalent in G. Dungrove represents a difficult to deal with bomb rare. Acidic Slime - A highly played and recognizable card that plays a specific role for green decks. Vorapede and Killer Bees - These are two of the pet cards in the deck for me. I used to bash in some face at the lunch table with Priest of Titania and Killer Bees, and poor Vorapede spent his time in the shadow of Primetime and Thragtusk. Garruk Wildspeaker - Powerful, but not so much that he can't readily be dealt with, also 1/2 of the 4CC cards in the list. Nature's Lore - Classic G rampant growth effect. Prey Upon - Removal, Green style Blanchwood Armor, Gaea's Embrace - Two more pet cards from me. Blanchwood and Dungrove represent the ever-present forests matters theme. And what is a green deck without a Gaea reference! Dryad Arbor, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood, Treetop Village - Green loves its lands, a nice trio to represent that.
Who and What Got Left Out: Birds of Paradise - Our beloved Birds maybe the most glaring omission. It was originally in the list in place of Arbor Elf, but I think it will be better suited to one of the two-color decks. Spiders - Spiders might have the best argument for finding a place in the list. If I had a sideboard Stingerfling or Silklash would definitely have homes. As it is I would like to see some arguments as to what spiders should go in and what should come out. Eternal Witness - Another G staple that I haven't squeezed in yet. Again, she would definitely be in the sideboard. If she is in, who is out? Rancor - One of my favorite cards of all time. Maybe it's just a better choice than Blanchwood Armor, but it goes back to trying to gives some news cards a bit of time in the spotlight. Saprolings, Spikes, and Squirrels - Oh and Elementals too. More green beasties that just didn't make the cut.
Again, I hope this helps clarify a bit of what I'm trying to accomplish.
I'll start with my current ideas for where to start on the other 4 monocolored decks, and eventually move onto the 10 guild pairings. The cards I'm tagging aren't necessarily what I want to go in the decks just the first examples that pop into my head. Since I started with G we will just go reverse order of the color pie.
I did something similar with the monocolor decks, but with many more singles than playsets.
Wow, this is awesome! Just after a quick glance I can already tell that I will be using these lists as a great starting point. You've included quite a few top-tier cards, but other than that the overall builds are exactly what I'm going for. I even like the 3 copy max for the commons, and I might incorporate that so I can include a few more cards. This should make my work on the monocolored decks go that much faster, much appreciated!
It is neat to see such interest in those decks. I feel spurred to post updates; ideally tonight.
I should point out the current version of blue includes both an Isochron Scepter and a slew of instants to put on it; in multiplayer, it can be countered, but in a duel may create a soft lock. I say this to recommend not adding it to your blue version.
For your green deck, Vernal Bloom does wonders for me; what about adding some instant-speed growth, be it the iconic Giant Growth, the mean Vines of Vastwood, or the variable Aspect of Hydra? Taking advantage of Devotion might be worth it, too.
As you mention the white deck, I'll open the new deck versions with it:
This deck has shifted to cats and equipment. It also stands to suffer the most changes, as it contains lots of toys that my EDH decks (notably Commander Eesha) would love to run. That said, Emeria and Spirit en-Dal are easily my favorite cards, with Armored Ascension running close, but only after lots of Plains hit the field. Sun Titan recursion works okay. If I looted the deck for EDH purposes, I would focus on tokens - not all cat tokens, either. This would also force me to replace a few cards in the other decks that exist only as ringers.
Muddle the Mixture and Trinket Mage provide a bit of versatility, but searching takes time; also, the Trinket Mage package is not the best. So much countermagic makes even 5-way games difficult, especially if a Scepter lands with countermagic on it. While I love scry, this deck is missing the iconic, arguably essential, 1-drop draw spell: be it Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, or Serum Visions. Still, this deck keeps games focused. Some of my favorite cards are still in here, notably Conundrum Sphinx and Magus of the Future.
Black reanimation, with lots of destruction and a tiny bit of discard. For a dueling version, I would run more discard. It could be argued that I don't do enough with my big mana; Exsanguinate begs to differ. Tainted Strike is to combat white (and a bit of green's) lifegain. Solid devotion AND swamps-in-play cards make for a constant threat.
When the goblin side of the deck starts popping, this deck works well. Should they not appear, it quickly goes grim. Still, there are a few answers to other decks in this star. The earlier version of this deck worked better, in my opinion.
I have copies of Fecundity and Lurking Predators set aside for possible inclusion. The green deck likes to bounce and replay things via the Wildebeests. Otherwise green beats with a touch of devotion. Hunter's Insight often reloads my hand and then some.
Sorry for the delay, I've been busy and the W deck turned out to be a little trickier than I planned. My original plan was to go WhiteWeenie, but after I finished the list I realized that I was just usuing a bunch of cards that everybody already plays, a lot of the underused white cards tend to be on the higher end of the mana curve, so I had to find a new theme that supported that. This wasn't easy as W tends to be very synergy based, so trying to have a main theme supported by a couple minor theme's posed a problem. Tokens don't play well with Exalted, Cats don't vibe with Kithkin or Allys, Rhino's are cool and I'll probably explore a little more. In the end I went with a mid-range list centered on the whole Angels protecting the Humans thing, and throwing in some cool equipment and pumps. I don't know how this deck will play, but I have most of the cards so hopefully I can test it out soon.
EDIT: I'll go ahead and mention the cards I'm not really sold on, I wanted to get a list posted so I just left them in for now. Accorder Paladin, Soul Warden, Pianna, Nomad Captain, Skullclamp, and Honor of the Pure. These all seem better suited for the WW style deck, where you curve out with creatures and try to kill by turn 4.
Windbrisk Heights might be better off as Buried Ruin, as you may not regularly have three attackers as you've dropped the token theme.
Vigilance, First/Double Strike, and tapping/stalling opponents are common white themes. Maybe iconic Serra Angel and Pacifism, alongside Fencing Ace and some cantrips like Repel the Darkness or To Arms! could serve you. Overall, I do like Sun Titan being able to bring back so much if he sticks around is worth considering, even though he isn't in your angel-human theme.
Cheers!
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It goes away from the Angel/Human theme and more towards a "my creatures are better at combat than yours" theme. If that's the case maybe I want things like Silverblade Paladin, Brave the Elements, or Guided Strike. I feel like this deck is going to go through the most changes as we progress. Part of the restrictions I wanted to have on these decks was to try and keep the Rare count close to ten and right now there are 18 rares/mythics in the W list as opposed to the 8 that are in the G list. I feel this is necessary though in order to match the power level.
Mono-black zombie tribal seems like the way to go.
I'm sure we will see some Zombies in the B list, but they will be joined by some other friends as well.
I know a lot of tweaking is required here, but I feel that this deck really embodies what blue is about; Flipping a huge finger at your opponent.
For mono red I would go pure, 100% goblin aggroburn.
Cards like rabblemaster, goblin guide, goblin sharpshooter, bolts, strikes, etc. I would cap the mana at 4CMC, allowing you to easily cast multiple spells per turn. Alternatively, you could try a minotaurs build in monored.
Good luck man, this is an awesome project. I hope we can get this somewhere. I have a small query, why not include a combo in each deck? If you aim for people with little to no magic experience to play these, small combos hidden in the decks are gret ways to help them learn. Never tell them the combos, see if they can find them. Don't do obvious combos like splintertwin though
NVM, I realized combos would make this insanely hard to complete. Perhaps in the guild decks though, since there are tons of easy to find combos in 2colors.
The B deck rough draft is here! We got demons, vampires, horrors, shades, rats, and of course some zombozos. We have discard, life payment, sacrifice, and swamps lots of swamps! Now, we are over the limit on Rares, as we have 12, but I'm not too worried unless the deck ends up being to powerful. I do feel like the deck might be a little on the oppressive side, but we won't know until we can get some games in.
planeswalkerunderstand - Thanks for stopping by! Funny you mention the Jace vs Vraska duel deck as it is the only one that I've ever actually played. It is a great skeleton to work with for the U deck, for all the reasons you mentioned. I've got a few idea's for some cards I want to include and hopefully I can have a list put together by friday.
As for the R deck it will definitely be the aggro deck of the bunch, full of goblins, elementals, and anyone else who has haste! The curve will be on the lower end, but I don't want to have a hard cap on the CC of the cards. For one, the monocolored decks are trying to cover as much ground as they can in 60 cards (while still maintaining playability and cohesiveness) which limits the card pool enough already. Also, I want each of the decks to have a couple big, bomby, cards that you get to slam down on the table when you top deck them and send your opponent home crying! I mean there is no denying that Goblin Guide will win you more games than Malignus, but he won't ever take an opponent from 40>10 in 2 turns.
As for combos, they are definitely something I will look at more for a couple of the two-color decks. Like you said trying to squeeze them into the monocolor is near impossible, especially while maintaining the integrity of the project. The two-color decks will also have much more focused themes, I already have a few in mind, and I will be starting with UWSpirits.
For the mono blue list, I think you could do a very control heavy deck, and then do mill in one of the blue-guild decks. For example, UB defender mill is an awesome mechanic.
When I say control, I really mean more of a "tempo" type build where you have maybe 8 creatures, and tons of ways to protect them. Dispels, mana leaks, spell pierces, negates, into the roil, maybe some aqueous form/invisibility or evasion, so on and so forth...
Been busy lately so I haven't spent much time on this, but I have a U list put together. Also, U and R are probably my weakest colors as far as familiarity with some of the older cards, so please all suggestions are welcome!
Red deck coming soon.... Red deck is here! This easily has the lowest curve of all the mono-colored decks, but it isn't a red deck wins strategy. I'm happy to have all 5 lists up now so we can work on the fine-tuning.
I'm officially addicted to scrying, so I suggest Crystal Ball and Preordain, and perhaps Augury Owls for the blue. Do you have enough artifacts to make Trinket Mage worthwhile? Scrying plays nice with Conundrum Sphinx and Miracles (Brainstorm helps, too).
Cheers!
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Im starting to feel slightly concerned by the way you decided to build the red deck lol... its seems to not portray the aggro of red very well. IDK, maybe im just tripping. It seems almost tempoish to me.
Back from Christmas, hope everyone had a good one! We got ourselves some sweet new spoilers, I've got a sweet UW Spirits list brewed up, and you guys have made some suggestions for me to review and get started on some tuning. I already made one change before the holidays and pulled Exsanguinate for Profane Command, at first I wanted to stay away from the Command cycle but I don't think that Profane is too overpowered in this case, so it goes in.
I'm officially addicted to scrying, so I suggest Crystal Ball and Preordain, and perhaps Augury Owls for the blue. Do you have enough artifacts to make Trinket Mage worthwhile? Scrying plays nice with Conundrum Sphinx and Miracles (Brainstorm helps, too).
The deck does have some pseudo scrying, but I wouldn't mind finding a spot for Preordain or Brainstorm or possibly Crystal Ball. Not sure what to take out though, maybe Twincast and Mind Stone? The Trinket Mage package, though small and somewhat limited can find a late game Chalice or Elixir which could be key. Maybe the extra Scry could accomplish the same thing just as efficiently, maybe I'll try it out.
Im starting to feel slightly concerned by the way you decided to build the red deck lol... its seems to not portray the aggro of red very well. IDK, maybe im just tripping. It seems almost tempoish to me.
Well you have to remember the goal of these mono-colored decks is to try and attain the overall feel of each color, and not necessarily focus on the one aspect that they do the best. That being said, I do think the deck is a little heavy on the 4 drop creatures, and it feels weird not having any 1 drop creatures. However I'm not sure which 1 drops should go in?? I'd like some suggestions. The cards I'm likely to pull are Oracle of Bones, 1x Brood Keeper, and Dragon Breath. Another change I think I could make is Hordeling Outburst > Krenko's Command as we only had two 2 drops previously. Hopefully this gives a slightly more aggro feel and also smooths out the curve a bit.
Lastly, here is the first of the 2-colored decks!UW Spirits
If you've enough Skullclamps to go around, the red deck might benefit, as could spirits if you add spirit token-making sorceries and enchantments.
I like Guiding Spirit, but mostly for my Danger Room project (in the casual variant forum master thread). Still, it teaches about errata and recursion.
Tallowisp could fetch up ugly auras like Pacifism or Control Magic, if you want to go that route.
Cheers!
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Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
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Let's start with, a brief tale of my MTG history as I hope it will lead to a better understanding of this project. I was first introduced to MTG right around the beginning of the Tempest block, my buddies had been playing for a little bit and had ammassed enough cards to allow me to put together a janky elf deck so I could play with them around the lunch table at school. I played with this same group of friends for about 2 years, probably a little after Mercadian Masques came out my interests had changed and I gave all my cards away :frown:. Fast forward about 11 years me and a buddy discovered that we both used to play Magic :smile:, about a week later we ended up going to the LGS and splitting a fat pack and a booster box of Innistrad (His first pack he pulled a Liliana, go figure). We threw together a couple decks (Zombies vs Spirits) and battled away. We started going to FNMs not long after that and I've been hooked ever since.
Now for the project! What I am looking to do is put together 15 (5 monocolored and 10 two-colored) tuned up, casual play, "event decks", with 2 main goals in mind. First off, I want the Commons to feel common and the Mythics to feel Mythic, just like they did when you first started playing. To accomplish that, a breakdown of Rares (7-10)/ Uncommons (8-12)/ Commons (15-19) similar to that of the precon event decks should work very nicely. Also, for this project I think 2 of the rares should be mythic and if suitable 1 of those be a Planeswalker.
And secondly, I want the 5 moncolored decks to showcase as many of the common themes, of each color, that have appeared over the 20 years of MTG. With the common/uncommon slots comprising of a nice mix of well known staples and cards that really represent each colors ideology, and the rare/mythic slots to comprise of at least 1 iconic creature, 1 planeswalker and 5-8 really cool and powerful cards that collected dust in trade binders or got traded in for the bigger, badder money cards. This isn't the place for Batterskulls or Primeval Titans we are looking for Elbrus, the Binding Blade and the Vorapedes of Magic.
This whole idea basically spawned from my endless desire to play with 1 particlar card, Killer Bees. That's right! An overcosted, color pie breaking, 0/1 green flyer. So... naturally the first list that I've worked on is the monogreen list and here it is!
2x Acidic Slime
2x Arbor Elf
1x Dungrove Elder
2x Elvish Visionary
1x Eternal Witness
1x Khalni Hydra
3x Killer Bees
3x Llanowar Elves
2x Pelakka Wurm
3x Priest of Titania
1x Silklash Spider
1x Silvos, Rogue Elemental
1x Vorapede
3x Wood Elves
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
Enchantments (3):
2x Blanchwood Armor
1x Gaea's Embrace
1x Vernal Bloom
Sorceries (7):
3x Nature's Lore
3x Prey Upon
Lands (23):
2x Dryad Arbor
18x Forest
1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
2x Treetop Village
1x Angel of Jubilation
1x Archon of Justice
1x Avacyn, Guardian Angel
3x Doomed Traveler
1x High Sentinels of Arashin
2x Nearheath Pilgrim
1x Odric, Master Tactician
1x Requiem Angel
2x Serra Angel
2x Soul Warden
1x Stonehewer Giant
1x Sun Titan
3x Sunspear Shikari
1x Elspeth Tirel
Enchantments (5):
1x Angelic Destiny
1x Honor of the Pure
1x Land Tax
2x Oblivion Ring
Artifacts (8):
1x Godsend
2x Mind Stone
1x Moonsilver Spear
2x Pristine Talisman
1x Skullclamp
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Divine Deflection
2x Path to Exile
Sorcery (1):
1x Wrath of God
Lands (22):
1x Buried Ruin
1x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
19x Plains
1x Temple of the False God
1x Avatar of Woe
1x Crypt Ghast
1x Dread Slaver
1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2x Liliana's Shade
1x Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis
1x Nightmare
1x Nirkana Revenant
2x Phyrexian Rager
2x Plague Spitter
2x Ravenous Rats
2x Sengir Vampire
2x Vampire Nighthawk
1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
Sorceries (8):
1x Army of the Damned
1x Barter in Blood
1x Corrupt
1x Profane Command
1x Mutilate
2x Smallpox
1x Stitch Together
Instants (3):
1x Tendrils of Corruption
2x Tragic Slip
1x Dark Prophecy
1x Death Pit Offering
1x Homicidal Seclusion
1x Murderous Betrayal
Artifact (1):
1x Lashwrithe
Lands (24):
1x Cabal Coffers
2x Leechridden Swamp
21x Swamp
1x Archaeomancer
2x Augur of Bolas
1x Conundrum Sphinx
1x Great Whale
1x Hypnotic Siren
1x Old Man of the Sea
1x Talrand, Sky Summoner
1x Thousand Winds
1x Trinket Mage
1x Tromokratis
1x Voidmage Prodigy
1x Willbender
1x Jace, the Living Guildpact
Sorceries (5):
1x Divination
2x Ponder
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Whelming Wave
Instants (10):
1x AEtherize
1x Cackling Counterpart
1x Dismiss
2x Mana Leak
1x Pongify
1x Remand
1x Rewind
1x Swan Song
1x Twincast
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Mind Stone
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
Enchantments (2):
1x Claustrophobia
1x Encrust
Lands (25):
1x Faerie Conclave
2x Halimar Depths
22x Island
1x Arms Dealer
1x Ball Lightning
2x Beetleback Chief
2x Brood Keeper
1x Chandra's Phoenix
1x Chaos Imps
2x Hellspark Elemental
1x Hound of Griselbrand
1x Ingot Chewer
1x Malignus
1x Ogre Battledriver
1x Oracle of Bones
1x Pyrewild Shaman
1x Shivan Dragon
1x Chandra, Pyromaster
Sorceries (9):
2x Faithless Looting
2x Hordeling Outburst
1x Mark of Mutiny
1x Pillage
1x Reforge the Soul
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Slagstorm
Instants (7):
2x Fling
1x Incinerate
1x Searing Spear
3x Shock
1x Bravado
1x Crown of Flames
1x Dragon Breath
1x Dragon Mantle
1x Genju of the Spires
Lands (21):
1x Kher Keep
19x Mountain
1x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
I plan on knocking out the 5 monocolor lists before I even think about tackling the 10 guilds, but I would love to hear what everyone has to offer! Any and all suggestions are helpful and appreciated! Also, I'm undecided on whether or not I want sideboards. Currently I'm leaning towards no, because part of the goal is to make balanced decks that all have strengths and weaknesses so that any 2 of the 15 play well together. I hope this all makes sense, and thank you for stopping by!
A breakdown of the original G list, to highlight what I would like to see for all the decks, and the reasons I included certain cards, and also certain cards that were left off that probably have a good argument to have a spot in the 60.
The Breakdown:
Khalni Hydra - The G iconic, there are lots of hydras to choose from. Khalni Hydra is probably not the most powerful of the bunch, but it is still powerful and the artwork is very epic, exactly what we are going for. Bonus: We can play it on turn 3, and that is Saaaweeet!
Arbor Elf, Elvish Visionary, Llanowar Elves, Priest of Titania, Wood Elves - The elves, greens most recognizable creature type.
Dungrove Elder, Pelakka Wurm - Represent 2 more creature types highly prevalent in G. Dungrove represents a difficult to deal with bomb rare.
Acidic Slime - A highly played and recognizable card that plays a specific role for green decks.
Vorapede and Killer Bees - These are two of the pet cards in the deck for me. I used to bash in some face at the lunch table with Priest of Titania and Killer Bees, and poor Vorapede spent his time in the shadow of Primetime and Thragtusk.
Garruk Wildspeaker - Powerful, but not so much that he can't readily be dealt with, also 1/2 of the 4CC cards in the list.
Nature's Lore - Classic G rampant growth effect.
Prey Upon - Removal, Green style
Blanchwood Armor, Gaea's Embrace - Two more pet cards from me. Blanchwood and Dungrove represent the ever-present forests matters theme. And what is a green deck without a Gaea reference!
Dryad Arbor, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood, Treetop Village - Green loves its lands, a nice trio to represent that.
Who and What Got Left Out:
Birds of Paradise - Our beloved Birds maybe the most glaring omission. It was originally in the list in place of Arbor Elf, but I think it will be better suited to one of the two-color decks.
Spiders - Spiders might have the best argument for finding a place in the list. If I had a sideboard Stingerfling or Silklash would definitely have homes. As it is I would like to see some arguments as to what spiders should go in and what should come out.
Eternal Witness - Another G staple that I haven't squeezed in yet. Again, she would definitely be in the sideboard. If she is in, who is out?
Rancor - One of my favorite cards of all time. Maybe it's just a better choice than Blanchwood Armor, but it goes back to trying to gives some news cards a bit of time in the spotlight.
Saprolings, Spikes, and Squirrels - Oh and Elementals too. More green beasties that just didn't make the cut.
Again, I hope this helps clarify a bit of what I'm trying to accomplish.
I'll start with my current ideas for where to start on the other 4 monocolored decks, and eventually move onto the 10 guild pairings. The cards I'm tagging aren't necessarily what I want to go in the decks just the first examples that pop into my head. Since I started with G we will just go reverse order of the color pie.
R:
Iconic - Dragon
Creatures - Goblins, Phoenix, Elementals, Minotaurs, Humans, Giants, Ogres, Beasts, Devils, Orcs, and Dwarfs
Themes - Lightning Bolts, Fireballs, Haste, Acts of Treason, Looting, Wildfires, Flings.
B:
Iconic - Demon
Creatures - Zombie, Vampire, Shade, Horror, Rat, Human, Avatar, Specter, Nightmare, Minion
Themes - Reanimate, Drain Life, Pay Life-Draw, Discard, Murder, Tutor, Intimidate, Deathtouch
U:
Iconic - Sphinx
Creatures - Merfolk, Wizard, Djinn, Illusion, Leviathan, Spirit, Vedalken, Drake, Bird
Themes - Draw, Bounce, Tap/Untap, Transform, Flying
W:
Iconic - Angel
Creatures - Human, Cat, Kithkin, Soldier, Elephant, Cleric, Spirit, Bird, Wall, Knight
Themes - Tokens, Lifegain, Denial
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
At one point they were posted, but am unsure if that was here or at WotC.
I'll poke around and see.
Looks fun, and building them is truly a challenge.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
Wow, this is awesome! Just after a quick glance I can already tell that I will be using these lists as a great starting point. You've included quite a few top-tier cards, but other than that the overall builds are exactly what I'm going for. I even like the 3 copy max for the commons, and I might incorporate that so I can include a few more cards. This should make my work on the monocolored decks go that much faster, much appreciated!
Here is the link to krichaiushii's lists!
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
Miracle - it sounds like you found a link to krichaiushii's deck. Could you post it? I would love to check them out.
I really like your first Green deck and may plagiarize it directly.
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
It is neat to see such interest in those decks. I feel spurred to post updates; ideally tonight.
I should point out the current version of blue includes both an Isochron Scepter and a slew of instants to put on it; in multiplayer, it can be countered, but in a duel may create a soft lock. I say this to recommend not adding it to your blue version.
For your green deck, Vernal Bloom does wonders for me; what about adding some instant-speed growth, be it the iconic Giant Growth, the mean Vines of Vastwood, or the variable Aspect of Hydra? Taking advantage of Devotion might be worth it, too.
As you mention the white deck, I'll open the new deck versions with it:
22 Plains
1 Temple of the False God
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Creatures
1 Mother of Runes
2 Soul Warden
3 Sunspear Shikari
1 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Leonin Skyhunter
1 Spirit en-Dal
1 Khemba, Kha Regent
1 Magus of the Disk
1 Angel of Finality
1 Wall of Reverence
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Sun Titan
1 Eternal Dragon
2 Pristine Talisman
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Haunted Plate Mail
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 White Sun's Zenith
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Safe Passage
1 Wrath of God
1 Endless Horizons
1 Return to Dust
1 Armored Ascension
1 True Conviction
1 Austere Command
This deck has shifted to cats and equipment. It also stands to suffer the most changes, as it contains lots of toys that my EDH decks (notably Commander Eesha) would love to run. That said, Emeria and Spirit en-Dal are easily my favorite cards, with Armored Ascension running close, but only after lots of Plains hit the field. Sun Titan recursion works okay. If I looted the deck for EDH purposes, I would focus on tokens - not all cat tokens, either. This would also force me to replace a few cards in the other decks that exist only as ringers.
21 Island
2 Halimar Depths
1 Terrain Generator
1 Faerie Conclave
Creatures
2 Augury Owl
1 Etherium Sculptor
1 Trinket Mage
1 Conundrum Sphinx
1 Archaeomancer
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Diviner Spirit
1 Magus of the Future
1 Aetherling
1 Guile
1 Mahamoti Djinn
1 Kraken of the Straits
1 Sol Ring
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Voltaic Key
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Mind Stone
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Crystal Ball
1 Proteus Staff
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Telling Time
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Counterspell
1 Remand
1 Delay
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Dissolve
1 Rewind
1 Dismiss
1 Evacuation
1 Rite of Replication
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Control Magic
1 Propaganda
Muddle the Mixture and Trinket Mage provide a bit of versatility, but searching takes time; also, the Trinket Mage package is not the best. So much countermagic makes even 5-way games difficult, especially if a Scepter lands with countermagic on it. While I love scry, this deck is missing the iconic, arguably essential, 1-drop draw spell: be it Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, or Serum Visions. Still, this deck keeps games focused. Some of my favorite cards are still in here, notably Conundrum Sphinx and Magus of the Future.
22 Swamps
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Leechridden Swamp
Creatures
2 Reassembling Skeleton
2 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Phyrexian Obliterator
1 Liliana's Reaver
1 Crypt Ghast
1 Magus of the Coffers
1 Vengeful Pharaoh
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Harvester of Souls
1 Nightmare
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Reiver Demon
1 Tainted Strike
1 Reanimate
1 Stitch Together
1 Exsanguinate
1 Profane Command
1 Victimize
1 Buried Alive
1 Murder
2 Read the Bones
2 Tendrils of Corruption
1 Syphon Mind
1 Barter in Blood
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Mutilate
1 Lashwrithe
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Phthisis
1 Army of the Damned
Black reanimation, with lots of destruction and a tiny bit of discard. For a dueling version, I would run more discard. It could be argued that I don't do enough with my big mana; Exsanguinate begs to differ. Tainted Strike is to combat white (and a bit of green's) lifegain. Solid devotion AND swamps-in-play cards make for a constant threat.
22 Mountain
1 Kher Keep
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
Creatures
1 Bloodmark Mentor
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
1 Guttersnipe
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Goblin Chieftain
1 Goblin Matron
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Ogre Battledriver
1 Voracious Dragon
1 Vulshok Battlemaster
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Inferno Titan
1 Skullclamp
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Shattering Spree
1 Sudden Demise
1 Goblin Grenade
2 Krenko's Command
2 Incinerate
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Comet Storm
1 Reverberate
1 Starstorm
2 Seething Song
1 Goblin Offensive
1 From the Ashes
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Goblin Rally
1 Curse of Bloodletting
1 Witch Hunt
1 Staff of Nin
When the goblin side of the deck starts popping, this deck works well. Should they not appear, it quickly goes grim. Still, there are a few answers to other decks in this star. The earlier version of this deck worked better, in my opinion.
Green
21 Forest
2 Treetop Village
Creatures
1 Veteran's Explorer
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Traproot Kami
1 Strangleroot Geist
1 Ambush Viper
2 Elvish Visionary
1 Mwonvuli Beast Tracker
1 Eternal Witness
2 Wood Elves
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Karametra's Acolyte
1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
2 Stampeding Wildebeests
1 Ant Queen
1 Silklash Spider
1 Acidic Slime
1 Vorapede
1 Seedguide Ash
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Terra Stomper
1 Vigor
1 Cloudthresher
1 Pelakka Wurm
1 Sylvan Primordial
1 Khalni Hydra
2 Aspect of Hydra
1 Ground Seal
1 Revive
1 Back to Nature
1 Squall Line
1 Hunter's Insight
1 Primal Command
I have copies of Fecundity and Lurking Predators set aside for possible inclusion. The green deck likes to bounce and replay things via the Wildebeests. Otherwise green beats with a touch of devotion. Hunter's Insight often reloads my hand and then some.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
Feel free to make suggestions:
1x Angel of Jubilation
1x Archon of Justice
1x Avacyn, Guardian Angel
3x Doomed Traveler
1x High Sentinels of Arashin
2x Nearheath Pilgrim
1x Odric, Master Tactician
1x Requiem Angel
2x Serra Angel
2x Soul Warden
1x Stonehewer Giant
1x Sun Titan
3x Sunspear Shikari
1x Elspeth Tirel
Enchantments (5):
1x Angelic Destiny
1x Honor of the Pure
1x Land Tax
2x Oblivion Ring
Artifacts (8):
1x Godsend
2x Mind Stone
1x Moonsilver Spear
2x Pristine Talisman
1x Skullclamp
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Divine Deflection
2x Path to Exile
Sorcery (1):
1x Wrath of God
Lands (22):
1x Buried Ruin
1x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
19x Plains
1x Temple of the False God
I also made a few swaps in the G deck, since I'm going to try out the 3/commons-2/uncommons-1/Rare tactic:
1x Killer Bees > Silklash Spider
1x Llanowar Elves > Eternal Witness
1x Wood Elves > Silvos, Rogue Elemental
1x Nature's Lore > Vernal Bloom
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
The variety of the 3-2-1 keeps games different enough to maintain interest, at least for my circle.
Looking at your white deck, I have a few thoughts:
Land Tax begs for Scroll Rack, if you have one.
Being addicted to draw and ramp makes me suggest adding some or all of the following: Tithe, Gift of Estates, Knight of the White Orchid, and/or Mesa Enchantress and your favorite auras.
Windbrisk Heights might be better off as Buried Ruin, as you may not regularly have three attackers as you've dropped the token theme.
Vigilance, First/Double Strike, and tapping/stalling opponents are common white themes. Maybe iconic Serra Angel and Pacifism, alongside Fencing Ace and some cantrips like Repel the Darkness or To Arms! could serve you. Overall, I do like Sun Titan being able to bring back so much if he sticks around is worth considering, even though he isn't in your angel-human theme.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
2x Accorder Paladin > 2x Serra Angel
1x Hundred-Handed One > Sun Titan
1x Windbrisk Heights > Buried Ruin
Angelic Overseer, Pianna, Nomad Captain, Treasure Hunter > 3x Doomed Traveler
It goes away from the Angel/Human theme and more towards a "my creatures are better at combat than yours" theme. If that's the case maybe I want things like Silverblade Paladin, Brave the Elements, or Guided Strike. I feel like this deck is going to go through the most changes as we progress. Part of the restrictions I wanted to have on these decks was to try and keep the Rare count close to ten and right now there are 18 rares/mythics in the W list as opposed to the 8 that are in the G list. I feel this is necessary though in order to match the power level.
I'm sure we will see some Zombies in the B list, but they will be joined by some other friends as well.
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
You have a fair bit of control: Jace, architect of thought, spelltwine, ray of control, negate, remand
There is some mill: thought scour, Jace again, etc.
You have tons of elusive dudes: phantasmal bear, phantasmal dragon, krovikan mists, etc.
Cards that get big over time: Aeon chronicler, Jace's phantasm
I know a lot of tweaking is required here, but I feel that this deck really embodies what blue is about; Flipping a huge finger at your opponent.
For mono red I would go pure, 100% goblin aggroburn.
Cards like rabblemaster, goblin guide, goblin sharpshooter, bolts, strikes, etc. I would cap the mana at 4CMC, allowing you to easily cast multiple spells per turn. Alternatively, you could try a minotaurs build in monored.
Good luck man, this is an awesome project. I hope we can get this somewhere.
I have a small query, why not include a combo in each deck? If you aim for people with little to no magic experience to play these, small combos hidden in the decks are gret ways to help them learn. Never tell them the combos, see if they can find them. Don't do obvious combos like splintertwin though
NVM, I realized combos would make this insanely hard to complete. Perhaps in the guild decks though, since there are tons of easy to find combos in 2colors.
1x Avatar of Woe
1x Crypt Ghast
1x Dread Slaver
1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2x Liliana's Shade
1x Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis
1x Nightmare
1x Nirkana Revenant
2x Phyrexian Rager
2x Plague Spitter
2x Ravenous Rats
2x Sengir Vampire
2x Vampire Nighthawk
1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
Sorceries (8):
1x Army of the Damned
1x Barter in Blood
1x Corrupt
1x Exsanguinate
1x Mutilate
2x Smallpox
1x Stitch Together
Instants (3):
1x Tendrils of Corruption
2x Tragic Slip
1x Dark Prophecy
1x Death Pit Offering
1x Homicidal Seclusion
1x Murderous Betrayal
Artifact (1):
1x Lashwrithe
Lands (24):
1x Cabal Coffers
2x Leechridden Swamp
21x Swamp
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
As for the R deck it will definitely be the aggro deck of the bunch, full of goblins, elementals, and anyone else who has haste! The curve will be on the lower end, but I don't want to have a hard cap on the CC of the cards. For one, the monocolored decks are trying to cover as much ground as they can in 60 cards (while still maintaining playability and cohesiveness) which limits the card pool enough already. Also, I want each of the decks to have a couple big, bomby, cards that you get to slam down on the table when you top deck them and send your opponent home crying! I mean there is no denying that Goblin Guide will win you more games than Malignus, but he won't ever take an opponent from 40>10 in 2 turns.
As for combos, they are definitely something I will look at more for a couple of the two-color decks. Like you said trying to squeeze them into the monocolor is near impossible, especially while maintaining the integrity of the project. The two-color decks will also have much more focused themes, I already have a few in mind, and I will be starting with UW Spirits.
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
Also, I would consider Bad Moon or Ascendant Evincar over Death Pit Offering - you still get a bonus. Maybe Dregs of Sorrow for a lesser-used sweeper of sorts.
I do like all the doubling, though. Word of Binding is an odd black spell that does, too.
For your U and/or BU decks - if you take the mill route, don't half-butt it; milling works best when the whole deck does it.
It helps to kind of approach building these like building an EDH deck.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of these decks from your project.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
For the mono blue list, I think you could do a very control heavy deck, and then do mill in one of the blue-guild decks. For example, UB defender mill is an awesome mechanic.
When I say control, I really mean more of a "tempo" type build where you have maybe 8 creatures, and tons of ways to protect them. Dispels, mana leaks, spell pierces, negates, into the roil, maybe some aqueous form/invisibility or evasion, so on and so forth...
1x Archaeomancer
2x Augur of Bolas
1x Conundrum Sphinx
1x Great Whale
1x Hypnotic Siren
1x Old Man of the Sea
1x Talrand, Sky Summoner
1x Thousand Winds
1x Trinket Mage
1x Tromokratis
1x Voidmage Prodigy
1x Willbender
1x Jace, the Living Guildpact
Sorceries (5):
1x Divination
2x Ponder
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Whelming Wave
Instants (10):
1x AEtherize
1x Cackling Counterpart
1x Dismiss
2x Mana Leak
1x Pongify
1x Remand
1x Rewind
1x Swan Song
1x Twincast
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Mind Stone
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
Enchantments (2):
1x Claustrophobia
1x Encrust
Lands (25):
1x Faerie Conclave
2x Halimar Depths
22x Island
Red deck coming soon....Red deck is here! This easily has the lowest curve of all the mono-colored decks, but it isn't a red deck wins strategy. I'm happy to have all 5 lists up now so we can work on the fine-tuning.1x Arms Dealer
1x Ball Lightning
2x Beetleback Chief
2x Brood Keeper
1x Chandra's Phoenix
1x Chaos Imps
2x Hellspark Elemental
1x Hound of Griselbrand
1x Ingot Chewer
1x Malignus
1x Ogre Battledriver
1x Oracle of Bones
1x Pyrewild Shaman
1x Shivan Dragon
1x Chandra, Pyromaster
Sorceries (9):
2x Faithless Looting
2x Hordeling Outburst
1x Mark of Mutiny
1x Pillage
1x Reforge the Soul
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Slagstorm
Instants (7):
2x Fling
1x Incinerate
1x Searing Spear
3x Shock
1x Bravado
1x Crown of Flames
1x Dragon Breath
1x Dragon Mantle
1x Genju of the Spires
Lands (21):
1x Kher Keep
19x Mountain
1x Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
I'm officially addicted to scrying, so I suggest Crystal Ball and Preordain, and perhaps Augury Owls for the blue. Do you have enough artifacts to make Trinket Mage worthwhile? Scrying plays nice with Conundrum Sphinx and Miracles (Brainstorm helps, too).
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
I really like Ascendant Evincar as it is both Bad Moon and Curse of Deaths Hold on a decent flying vampire, which is about as B as it gets, but I think there is only room for 1 anthem in the list and I like Death Pit Offering because it really shows the "sacrifice the weak for the greater good(or evil in this case)" side of black. It also plays very well alongside Avatar of Woe, Plague Spitter, Stitch Together, Dark Prophecy, Homicidal Seclusion, and to a certain extent Nefarox and Tragic Slip.
The deck does have some pseudo scrying, but I wouldn't mind finding a spot for Preordain or Brainstorm or possibly Crystal Ball. Not sure what to take out though, maybe Twincast and Mind Stone? The Trinket Mage package, though small and somewhat limited can find a late game Chalice or Elixir which could be key. Maybe the extra Scry could accomplish the same thing just as efficiently, maybe I'll try it out.
Well you have to remember the goal of these mono-colored decks is to try and attain the overall feel of each color, and not necessarily focus on the one aspect that they do the best. That being said, I do think the deck is a little heavy on the 4 drop creatures, and it feels weird not having any 1 drop creatures. However I'm not sure which 1 drops should go in?? I'd like some suggestions. The cards I'm likely to pull are Oracle of Bones, 1x Brood Keeper, and Dragon Breath. Another change I think I could make is Hordeling Outburst > Krenko's Command as we only had two 2 drops previously. Hopefully this gives a slightly more aggro feel and also smooths out the curve a bit.
Lastly, here is the first of the 2-colored decks! UW Spirits
1x Angel of Flight Alabaster
1x Celestial Crusader
2x Drogskol Captain
1x Drogskol Reaver
1x Dungeon Geists
1x Eidolon of Countless Battles
2x Eidolon of Rhetoric
1x Geist of Saint Traft
1x Guiding Spirit
2x Hopeful Eidolon
1x Niblis of the Breath
1x Oyobi, Who Split the Heavens
2x Spectral Rider
1x Spirit of the Labyrinth
2x Tallowisp
1x Windborn Muse
1x Call to the Kindred
1x Detention Sphere
3x Ethereal Armor
2x Spectral Flight
1x Sphere of Safety
1x Steel of the Godhead
1x War Tax
Artifacts (3):
1x Bident of Thassa
2x Fieldmist Borderpost
Instants (2):
2x Azorius Charm
1x Ghostly Prison
10x Island
1x Moorland Haunt
12x Plains
UGThe FlashUG
EDH:
GDosan ControlG
GGeneral ShermanG
UWGDerevi's School of MagicUWG
I like Guiding Spirit, but mostly for my Danger Room project (in the casual variant forum master thread). Still, it teaches about errata and recursion.
Tallowisp could fetch up ugly auras like Pacifism or Control Magic, if you want to go that route.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.