Hello everyone. Ive always liked beasts and was hoping you guys could help me make my deck better. I already have some ideas to add but would like your feedback and suggestions. The first one is my current deck and the second one is what im planning to change it to. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Cards like Advocate of the Beast aren't worth your time. The last thing that big dumb Green idiots needs are a couple of +1/+1 counters. You'd much rather have mana acceleration, card draw, defense, etc.
Journey of Discovery is weak for its cost. Overgrowth is basically the same thing except it always puts the 2 lands into play and it only ever costs 3. Cards like Elvish Piper are also too risky since they're easy removal targets. You may as well just play a card like Explosive Vegetation which accomplishes the same thing and can't be picked-off.
Dense Foliage is too powerful to omit in fair creature-based decks. Why allow your opponents to interact with your threats using removal?
Chaosphere is worthless in multiples (you literally can't have 2 Enchant Worlds in play at the same time) so you may as well diversify your flying defense a bit with a card like Spidersilk Armor. If nothing else you can cast it to pump your team's defense which is still better than having a card rot in your hand. Unless someone in your circles is playing something like Pillar Tombs of Aku there's just very little reason to load up on Enchant Worlds unless you absolutely have to.
Hello. Thank you for your input. All your explanation makes a lot of sense, especially that part on the Chaosphere. The reason I have the Journey of Discovery and Rampant Growth is to accelerate my mana. I had never heard of Dense Foliage before, its a great card. I was actually looking for a way to give my creatures hexproof or indestructible but that should be good.
I added your deck to a play simulator on another site and noticed that I start playing around the 3rd turn most of the times. Also the card that I most of the times played first was Overgrowth. After the 4th or 5th turn it was going really fast. Is this how it was intended to be played?
Rampant Growth variants are fine but there's basically no real to play a card like Journey of Discovery. Paying 3 mana to put 2 lands into your hand is significantly weaker than paying 3 mana to put 2 lands into play.
I added your deck to a play simulator on another site and noticed that I start playing around the 3rd turn most of the times. Also the card that I most of the times played first was Overgrowth. After the 4th or 5th turn it was going really fast. Is this how it was intended to be played?
In general yes. I typically expect multiplayer games to be slower than duels since it usually doesn't make much sense to build an aggressive deck when you have to deal ~60 points of damage in order to win the game. You could certainly tweak the deck and include more cards such as Wild Growth if you were so inclined since it all boils down to how fast your games are. I typically dislike fielding mana dorks such as Elvish Mystic because it's easy for them to die to removal/sweepers. That's why the lists that I propose tend to use more durable forms of acceleration.
For what it's worth I basically never field the card Rampant Growth myself. If I'm just going to ramp 1 mana I'd rather use Utopia Sprawl because it hits a turn earlier and if I want big mana then I'd rather use Overgrowth. 6 mana on turn 4 is a big game and it only goes up from there.
If you were looking for something faster, you could always try something like:
Although the primary weakness of this style of deck is that it lacks card advantage. At ~22 creatures Descendants' Path takes a long time to outperform something like Harmonize and you don't have something big like Genesis Wave or Lifeblood Hydra that you can fall back on. Normally I'd suggest something like Tooth and Nail to power out some Craterhoof Behemoths but that's not exactly budget-friendly lol. Lurking Predators is a solid option but even that card isn't a dollar like it once was. It's also not that amazing in a deck with 22 creatures. It's just rough to play this much ramp when you don't have any card draw or amazing bombs to exploit with it.
Dense Foliage is too powerful to omit in fair creature-based decks. Why allow your opponents to interact with your threats using removal?
Steely Resolve is also an option, though it turns off Krosan Warchief. Might still be worth it if Wrath of God is popular (no can regenerate) or "protection from targeted abilities" is relevant.
I considered it but I didn't want to remove the Contested Cliffs and figured that the OP probably didn't want to either. I probably should have mentioned them both though.
Hi,
What about something that gives hexproof? Then I can target them but my opponent cant. And how can Steely Resolve protect against Wrath of God? Isnt Wrath of God a global effect meaning there isnt any targeting?
Prid3: I got your first deck recommendation and instead of 4 Overgrowth I put 2 and 2 Wild Growth. Came to the conclusion that if I dont get a Wild Growth in my starting hand they become useless in the later game. Might just stay with the 4 Overgrowth.
What about something that gives hexproof? Then I can target them but my opponent cant.
The main Hexproof enablers cost 5 or more mana. The reason why we're suggesting cards such as Steely Resolve and Dense Foliage is because they're inexpensive (CMC wise) so you're able to cast them before you start to deploy your threats (as opposed to after). Things like Asceticism, Privileged Position and Archetype of Endurance are powerful but they're also very slow which can be awkward in a deck that's already a bit slow to get going. It's up to you, play whichever version of the effect that you want, we've just personally experienced the most success with the cheapest versions of the cards when it comes to protecting your creature-based threats.
Prid3: I got your first deck recommendation and instead of 4 Overgrowth I put 2 and 2 Wild Growth. Came to the conclusion that if I dont get a Wild Growth in my starting hand they become useless in the later game. Might just stay with the 4 Overgrowth.
One card that I've snuck into Beast decks before... Midsummer Revel.
No-one knows about it, and everyone reads it and dismisses it.
And then it will reach 3-4 counters before you know it.
And then you drop Aether Charge... the number of stealth kills Revel + Charge has given me make it worth running.
No-one knows about it, and everyone reads it and dismisses it.
The strongest Beast by a wide margin is a 5 drop (Thragtusk) and the second-best Beast payoff card is also a do-nothing 5 CMC enchantment (Æther Charge). That's the main reason why the card is frequently dismissed; it's legitimately hard to make room for it.
Thank you.
3 Elvish Mystic
4 Garruk's Companion
4 Kalonian Tusker
1 Leatherback Baloth
4 Advocate of the Beast
3 Krosan Warchief
1 Elvish Piper
2 Tephraderm
2 Molder Slug
2 Rampaging Baloths
2 Needleshot Gourna
2 Descendants' Path
1 Æther Charge
Sorceress (5)
3 Rampant Growth
2 Journey of Discovery
Instants (4)
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Windstorm
1 Naturalize
Lands (20)
11 Forest
3 Mountain
2 Contested Cliffs
2 Rugged Highlands
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Vivid Crag
4 Garruk's Companion
4 Kalonian Tusker
4 Advocate of the Beast
2 Elvish Piper
4 Thragtusk
2 Tephraderm
2 Rampaging Baloths
2 Siege Behemoth
2 Terra Stomper
2 Spearbreaker Behemoth
2 Descendants' Path
2 Æther Charge
2 Chaosphere
Sorceress (5)
3 Rampant Growth
2 Journey of Discovery
Instants (2)
2 Lightning Bolt
Lands (19)
11 Forest
3 Mountain
2 Contested Cliffs
2 Rugged Highlands
1 Vivid Crag
11x Forest
1x Mountain
4x Rugged Highlands
4x Gruul Guildgate
2x Contested Cliffs
2x Kessig Wolf Run
Creatures (23)
4x Kalonian Tusker
2x Garruk's Companion
2x Krosan Warchief
4x Ravenous Baloth
4x Thragtusk
1x Indrik Stomphowler
2x Rampaging Baloths
2x Siege Behemoth
2x Grave Sifter
2x Descendants' Path
4x Overgrowth
1x Chaosphere
1x Spidersilk Armor
1x Dense Foliage
2x Explosive Vegetation
2x Æther Charge
19 lands is far too few in a deck such as this.
Cards like Advocate of the Beast aren't worth your time. The last thing that big dumb Green idiots needs are a couple of +1/+1 counters. You'd much rather have mana acceleration, card draw, defense, etc.
Journey of Discovery is weak for its cost. Overgrowth is basically the same thing except it always puts the 2 lands into play and it only ever costs 3. Cards like Elvish Piper are also too risky since they're easy removal targets. You may as well just play a card like Explosive Vegetation which accomplishes the same thing and can't be picked-off.
Dense Foliage is too powerful to omit in fair creature-based decks. Why allow your opponents to interact with your threats using removal?
Chaosphere is worthless in multiples (you literally can't have 2 Enchant Worlds in play at the same time) so you may as well diversify your flying defense a bit with a card like Spidersilk Armor. If nothing else you can cast it to pump your team's defense which is still better than having a card rot in your hand. Unless someone in your circles is playing something like Pillar Tombs of Aku there's just very little reason to load up on Enchant Worlds unless you absolutely have to.
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
I added your deck to a play simulator on another site and noticed that I start playing around the 3rd turn most of the times. Also the card that I most of the times played first was Overgrowth. After the 4th or 5th turn it was going really fast. Is this how it was intended to be played?
Rampant Growth variants are fine but there's basically no real to play a card like Journey of Discovery. Paying 3 mana to put 2 lands into your hand is significantly weaker than paying 3 mana to put 2 lands into play.
In general yes. I typically expect multiplayer games to be slower than duels since it usually doesn't make much sense to build an aggressive deck when you have to deal ~60 points of damage in order to win the game. You could certainly tweak the deck and include more cards such as Wild Growth if you were so inclined since it all boils down to how fast your games are. I typically dislike fielding mana dorks such as Elvish Mystic because it's easy for them to die to removal/sweepers. That's why the lists that I propose tend to use more durable forms of acceleration.
For what it's worth I basically never field the card Rampant Growth myself. If I'm just going to ramp 1 mana I'd rather use Utopia Sprawl because it hits a turn earlier and if I want big mana then I'd rather use Overgrowth. 6 mana on turn 4 is a big game and it only goes up from there.
If you were looking for something faster, you could always try something like:
13x Forest
4x Rugged Highlands
2x Gruul Guildgate
2x Contested Cliffs
2x Kessig Wolf Run
Creatures (22)
4x Kalonian Tusker
2x Garruk's Companion
2x Krosan Warchief
4x Ravenous Baloth
4x Thragtusk
2x Rampaging Baloths
2x Siege Behemoth
2x Grave Sifter
4x Utopia Sprawl
2x Descendants' Path
4x Overgrowth
1x Chaosphere
1x Spidersilk Armor
1x Dense Foliage
2x Æther Charge
Although the primary weakness of this style of deck is that it lacks card advantage. At ~22 creatures Descendants' Path takes a long time to outperform something like Harmonize and you don't have something big like Genesis Wave or Lifeblood Hydra that you can fall back on. Normally I'd suggest something like Tooth and Nail to power out some Craterhoof Behemoths but that's not exactly budget-friendly lol. Lurking Predators is a solid option but even that card isn't a dollar like it once was. It's also not that amazing in a deck with 22 creatures. It's just rough to play this much ramp when you don't have any card draw or amazing bombs to exploit with it.
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
I considered it but I didn't want to remove the Contested Cliffs and figured that the OP probably didn't want to either. I probably should have mentioned them both though.
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
What about something that gives hexproof? Then I can target them but my opponent cant. And how can Steely Resolve protect against Wrath of God? Isnt Wrath of God a global effect meaning there isnt any targeting?
Prid3: I got your first deck recommendation and instead of 4 Overgrowth I put 2 and 2 Wild Growth. Came to the conclusion that if I dont get a Wild Growth in my starting hand they become useless in the later game. Might just stay with the 4 Overgrowth.
The main Hexproof enablers cost 5 or more mana. The reason why we're suggesting cards such as Steely Resolve and Dense Foliage is because they're inexpensive (CMC wise) so you're able to cast them before you start to deploy your threats (as opposed to after). Things like Asceticism, Privileged Position and Archetype of Endurance are powerful but they're also very slow which can be awkward in a deck that's already a bit slow to get going. It's up to you, play whichever version of the effect that you want, we've just personally experienced the most success with the cheapest versions of the cards when it comes to protecting your creature-based threats.
He was saying that Steely Resolve shuts-off Krosan Warchief which provides defense against oh, say, Day of Judgment.
Seems reasonable.
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
No-one knows about it, and everyone reads it and dismisses it.
And then it will reach 3-4 counters before you know it.
And then you drop Aether Charge... the number of stealth kills Revel + Charge has given me make it worth running.
My Stupidly Large Number of Current Decks
PucaTrade with me!
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
The strongest Beast by a wide margin is a 5 drop (Thragtusk) and the second-best Beast payoff card is also a do-nothing 5 CMC enchantment (Æther Charge). That's the main reason why the card is frequently dismissed; it's legitimately hard to make room for it.
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