Hello! I am currently looking at putting together a mono white control deck for casual multiplayer use. This is what I put together:
Creature (18)
3x Magus of the Tabernacle
4x Martyr of Sands
4x Solemn Simulacrum
3x Sun Titan
4x Wall of Omens
Sorcery (4)
1x Day of Judgment
3x Wrath of God
Land (25)
4x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
3x Marsh Flats
12x Plains
2x Tectonic Edge
4x Tundra
Planeswalker (3)
1x Gideon Jura
2x Venser, the Sojourner
Enchantment (9)
4x Ghostly Prison
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Sacred Mesa
Artifact (2)
2x Staff of Domination
Maybeboard (7)
3x Aegis of the Gods
2x Iona, Shield of Emeria
2x Transcendent Master
Any opinions, comments, concerns, suggestions are very much wanted before I spend the money on this deck! So, I thank you in advance.
Wall of Omens is typically the thing that gets flickered with Venser. You do that to give yourself a personal Howling Mine and then go for his ultimate.
What direction do you want the deck to go? You can fall down the Stax rabbit-hole pretty quickly from the start that you've posted. Adding any of the following along with some artifact mana will get you there:
The Iona will be tough to get out without some ramp. What do you want more of in the deck? It's lacking some focus I think. More control? Lifegain? Stronger beats?
Thanks for linking them for me! I was unsure how to do that!
The role of Venser is like what XavierMTG said to flicker Wall of Omens.
I think I have to agree with you, that does seem like a pretty good combo, maybe run 4 and 4? 4 Proclamation of Rebirth (sorry, still not sure how to link cards haha)
I am still a little unsure of which direction to go with it, but with the decks I usually go up against, I think more control would be best. Armageddon seems like a good one to throw in there. As does Smokestack.
Maybe take out the Marsh Flats for some artifact land? Part of my concern is I would kinda like something that would protect me when casting spells like Armageddon and Wrath of God and Day of Judgement. Not sure if there is anything like that out there. At this point, I am not really concerned with how much money I throw into it (I mean, already 4 dual lands @ $150 ea). But if anyone knows any cards that would give me protection from my board wipe spells that would be swell, though I am not sure if there are any.
Well, if you're willing to drop on Tundras, then you have a whole world open to you, lol. I say, keep in the fetches if you're set on using Venser, though most white prison decks don't splash. Flagstones of Trokair is one that gives you some protection there and there's always Darksteel Citadel. Note the the Flagstones are legendary. Other than that, artifact mana is the way to go. Mox Diamonds are the most common. If your group lets you play them, go Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Mana Crypt, Grim Monolith, and Voltaic Keys. Gilded Lotus is the top of the curve there. Thran Dynamo is also not bad.
Cataclysm is another nuke to consider as it removes creatures too. Keeping a Lotus/Dynamo with a Magus in play after one will bail out nearly any board state.
Here is the Legacy Stax thread for reference. Basically everything I've just suggested is spoken to there.
Uh, why would you purchase Tundras for casual magic? Unless you need them for competitive reasons I see absolutely no reason to blow $600.00. I'm not saying that Duals are wasted money, they hold their value well, but really, why would you invest so much in a casual deck? Isn't Hallowed Fountain like $10.00? Or why splash Blue to begin with? Why not just play mono-White? I dunno man, I'm kinda lost on this one. It seems a bit silly to me.
Never play Aegis of the Gods. It's only good against Black/Red but neither color struggles to kill small critters. Play Ivory Mask or something if you want that effect.
The reason for the Tundras is simply to get them back (use to have a ton of dual lands that I sold before the price hike) so, that is the reason for the dual lands. I do however like the idea of of the artifact lands. So, I'll swap out for artifact lands I think.
I think the Land Tax + Scroll Rack is a really good combo, and you make a really good point on Aegis of the Gods.
There really is no particular reason for throwing in a splash of blue, just thought it might be fun. And it's a combo I don't already have.
Don't take this the wrong way, but that list is a hot mess dude. First, it looks like your Geddons disappeared somewhere. Second, 12 lands isn't enough to fuel this 68 card deck, even with the artifact mana that you have in there. Remember, you have to pitch one to the Mox Diamond. Thirdly, four Sol Ring is no bueno unless you're playing in the most casual of casual groups.
If you're looking to make an investment for the future and you like this strategy, pick up some Wastelands.
What are the Staff of Dominations in there for? This is typically a combo card, but I don't see anything in there that it's going to work with. If you really want those in then Metalworker is your best bet. If not, pull 'em.
4 Ivory Mask seems like overkill. Pull at least two for Enlightened Tutors. Then you can start putting together your combos depending on what you draw. Ditch Sacred Mesa. It just won't work with your repeated wipes and Magus of the Tabernacle. As Prid3 suggested, try a Helm of Obedience here as a one-of since you have the RIPs. Draw one, tutor for the other. If you're playing the Vintage B/R list anyway (or none?) you might as well rock the Balance.
You're willing to buy Tundra. Don't play with Day of Judgement when you've got access to Wrath of God. The amount of regeneration over the last few years has become very noticeable.
With the amount of Enchantments you're running, Sphere of Safety should cover your needs.
You really need more Artifacts if you're going to use Voltaic Key.
Edit: Oh yeah, and if you're willing to shell out lots of money and play with Enchantments, you basically needSerra's Sanctum.
Edit: Oh yeah, and if you're willing to shell out lots of money and play with Enchantments, you basically needSerra's Sanctum.
Eh... Iunno about that one. I keep trying to make Sanctum work in horrible broken ways the same as Academy and Cradle, and I've just never been able to make it dance. About the only time it ever lives up to potential is when you're drawing a motherlode of cards to spend the mana on (in other words, you basically need to be running balls-and-all White Enchantress, and you need to be in a Magical Christmasland End-Game where you've already got a stonking number of enchantments on the board and a Flickering Ward handy). At this point, I think it's only price memory giving it its current price tag, not its actual ability to produce massive gobs of mana in decks like this (because, I'll give you the hint, it doesn't... it always falls short of your expectations).
I'd be happy with 3. I'm guessing it easily makes 3. If I happen to get 10, that's awesome but again, Magical Christmasland.
True. I guess I look at lands capable of producing 2+ mana, and in order for them to be excellent accelerants, they need to be rocking 2+ straight away, particularly in white. About the only two good ones I can think of that don't work this way are Cabal Coffers and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and that's because they both go from 0 to 100 very quickly. Sanctum doesn't. It's only giving you mana as fast as you can plonk enchantments on the table (which, without Enchantresses, is pretty hard).
But anyway, that's my rant against Sanctum. Not to divert from the main course of the thread, and all!
Huh? How do you struggle to make Sanctum work? I play it in the 4x Wild Growth + 4x Utopia Sprawl Enchantress decks with Elephant grass and Ghostly Prison and such and the card is always insane for me. I don't run 4, 2-3 is plenty, but it's a complete house in the vast majority of my games. It enables lightning quick Sphere of Safetys at which point Luminarch Ascension/Heliod, God of the Sun wins the game outright. The deck loses to mass Enchantment removal but so few people actually maindeck that stuff that it's absurd. A bit of spot removal isn't nearly good enough to thwart the list so as long as I only play it every few weeks it basically always nets a win. The thing is that even if people know it's coming it doesn't really matter. You either have the hate or your lose. It beats almost anything that isn't combo and since my meta has a soft ban on combo (the game just isn't fun when everyone is playing Solitaire) it's a pretty surefire build. Ganging up on me just doesn't work because Elephant Grass + Ghostly Prison into quick Sphere of Safetys just isn't beatable with creatures and once Sterling Grove lands the spot removal does nothing. From that point on you're basically just going through the motions until everyone scoops or you find a Luminarch Ascension. Insofar as combo is banned/kept in check I think that Enchantress is a completely dominant strategy and the Sanctum is one of the best cards in the archetype. Again, the key here is that so few people actually go out of their way to maindeck mass Enchantment removal which means that you're playing the most unfair "fair" deck at the table. No one can interact with you and you can complete obsolete everyone else's actions. Bear in mind that Enchantress can field a lot of gate. Leyline of Sanctity is awesome and Blind Obedience is nuts in deck that's filled with 1-3 CMC goodies and plenty of draw engines. It's really freaking hard to kill you before you can soft lock the game.
I suspect it works there because you're playing a motherlode of 1CC enchantments alongside an Enchantress. Sanctum has never worked for me in the slower Enchantress builds (i.e. those playing the gold standard 3CC auras like Ancestral Mask and Armadillo Cloak). By the time I need it to produce the mana I want to start dropping the auras, I already have a nasty collection on the table. Economy of scale, I suppose.
Creature (18)
3x Magus of the Tabernacle
4x Martyr of Sands
4x Solemn Simulacrum
3x Sun Titan
4x Wall of Omens
Sorcery (4)
1x Day of Judgment
3x Wrath of God
Land (25)
4x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
3x Marsh Flats
12x Plains
2x Tectonic Edge
4x Tundra
Planeswalker (3)
1x Gideon Jura
2x Venser, the Sojourner
Enchantment (9)
4x Ghostly Prison
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Sacred Mesa
Artifact (2)
2x Staff of Domination
Maybeboard (7)
3x Aegis of the Gods
2x Iona, Shield of Emeria
2x Transcendent Master
Any opinions, comments, concerns, suggestions are very much wanted before I spend the money on this deck! So, I thank you in advance.
I know that thing's getting expensive nowadays, but it's a darned fine combo.
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What direction do you want the deck to go? You can fall down the Stax rabbit-hole pretty quickly from the start that you've posted. Adding any of the following along with some artifact mana will get you there:
The Iona will be tough to get out without some ramp. What do you want more of in the deck? It's lacking some focus I think. More control? Lifegain? Stronger beats?
The role of Venser is like what XavierMTG said to flicker Wall of Omens.
I think I have to agree with you, that does seem like a pretty good combo, maybe run 4 and 4? 4 Proclamation of Rebirth (sorry, still not sure how to link cards haha)
I am still a little unsure of which direction to go with it, but with the decks I usually go up against, I think more control would be best. Armageddon seems like a good one to throw in there. As does Smokestack.
Maybe take out the Marsh Flats for some artifact land? Part of my concern is I would kinda like something that would protect me when casting spells like Armageddon and Wrath of God and Day of Judgement. Not sure if there is anything like that out there. At this point, I am not really concerned with how much money I throw into it (I mean, already 4 dual lands @ $150 ea). But if anyone knows any cards that would give me protection from my board wipe spells that would be swell, though I am not sure if there are any.
Cataclysm is another nuke to consider as it removes creatures too. Keeping a Lotus/Dynamo with a Magus in play after one will bail out nearly any board state.
Here is the Legacy Stax thread for reference. Basically everything I've just suggested is spoken to there.
Mono-White and/or Blue/White shouldn't care about mass removal. Your win condition should be Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience, Thopter Foundry + Sword of the Meek, Land Tax/Endless Horizons + Goblin Charbelcher, etc. Something that doesn't care about removal. Land Tax + Scroll Rack is a fantastic way to generate value, it fuels Armageddon and it enables Goblin Charbelcher. Stuff like that beats the crap out of trying to win with Sun Titan beats.
Never play Aegis of the Gods. It's only good against Black/Red but neither color struggles to kill small critters. Play Ivory Mask or something if you want that effect.
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Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I think the Land Tax + Scroll Rack is a really good combo, and you make a really good point on Aegis of the Gods.
There really is no particular reason for throwing in a splash of blue, just thought it might be fun. And it's a combo I don't already have.
4x Ghostly Prison
4x Ivory Mask
3x Land Tax
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Rest in Peace
2x Sacred Mesa
Sorcery (4)
1x Day of Judgment
3x Wrath of God
2x Grim Monolith
4x Mox Diamond
4x Sol Ring
Artifacts (8)
2x Scroll Rack
2x Staff of Domination
4x Voltaic Key
Lands (12)
10x Plains
2x Tectonic Edge
3x Magus of the Tabernacle
4x Martyr of Sands
2x Solemn Simulacrum
3x Sun Titan
4x Wall of Omens
Maybe board (7)
2x Iona, Shield of Emeria
3x Mana Vault
2x Transcendent Master
If you're looking to make an investment for the future and you like this strategy, pick up some Wastelands.
What are the Staff of Dominations in there for? This is typically a combo card, but I don't see anything in there that it's going to work with. If you really want those in then Metalworker is your best bet. If not, pull 'em.
4 Ivory Mask seems like overkill. Pull at least two for Enlightened Tutors. Then you can start putting together your combos depending on what you draw. Ditch Sacred Mesa. It just won't work with your repeated wipes and Magus of the Tabernacle. As Prid3 suggested, try a Helm of Obedience here as a one-of since you have the RIPs. Draw one, tutor for the other. If you're playing the Vintage B/R list anyway (or none?) you might as well rock the Balance.
With the amount of Enchantments you're running, Sphere of Safety should cover your needs.
You really need more Artifacts if you're going to use Voltaic Key.
Edit: Oh yeah, and if you're willing to shell out lots of money and play with Enchantments, you basically need Serra's Sanctum.
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Eh... Iunno about that one. I keep trying to make Sanctum work in horrible broken ways the same as Academy and Cradle, and I've just never been able to make it dance. About the only time it ever lives up to potential is when you're drawing a motherlode of cards to spend the mana on (in other words, you basically need to be running balls-and-all White Enchantress, and you need to be in a Magical Christmasland End-Game where you've already got a stonking number of enchantments on the board and a Flickering Ward handy). At this point, I think it's only price memory giving it its current price tag, not its actual ability to produce massive gobs of mana in decks like this (because, I'll give you the hint, it doesn't... it always falls short of your expectations).
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Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
True. I guess I look at lands capable of producing 2+ mana, and in order for them to be excellent accelerants, they need to be rocking 2+ straight away, particularly in white. About the only two good ones I can think of that don't work this way are Cabal Coffers and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and that's because they both go from 0 to 100 very quickly. Sanctum doesn't. It's only giving you mana as fast as you can plonk enchantments on the table (which, without Enchantresses, is pretty hard).
But anyway, that's my rant against Sanctum. Not to divert from the main course of the thread, and all!
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Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I suspect it works there because you're playing a motherlode of 1CC enchantments alongside an Enchantress. Sanctum has never worked for me in the slower Enchantress builds (i.e. those playing the gold standard 3CC auras like Ancestral Mask and Armadillo Cloak). By the time I need it to produce the mana I want to start dropping the auras, I already have a nasty collection on the table. Economy of scale, I suppose.
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The Multiplayer Power Rankings
Cube: the Gittening (My Multiplayer Cube) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor
The N00b Cube (Peasant cube for new players) - MTGS Cube List | @ CubeTutor