So I have a deck that hasn't done so well. Mana is an issue, so I'm upping the lands, but the cards have also not really clicked. It's a tabletop deck for casual play, used for wingman in an Emperor's Game, or else smaller cooperative team games. Here's the list with two options I'm considering. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome, though I'm trying to keep this budget.
Creature options: (4 of this or 4 of that) 4 Endless Wurm (end game finishers if everything else goes South) 4 Acidic Slime (continuous destruction for board management)
Non-Creature Spells: 4 Rancor ("I'm getting angry...") 4 Beast Within ("It's not good to get me angry...") 4 Beastmaster Ascension ("Hulk Smash!") 4 Arachnogenesis (spider fog! Now imagine what they do with an activated Ascension...)
The original lineup had Blanchwood Armor replaced by the Beast Withins, and Overrun replaced by the Ascensions. The Overruns simply were too mana-expensive when I'm bouncing the Witnesses to bring back cards or increase creature density by bouncing the eldrazi drones. Now, with the Ascensions, I'm looking to get to seven creatures before dropping the Ascensions, which should be fairly quick between the drones and spider fogs.
So as a wingman, I'm there to get as much pressure as fast as I can, but be able to also handle myself. The Ascension gives me an easy way to move from defensive into aggro fast, while the Wildebeests keep me cycling etb effects, to include hitting land drops from the Expanses. I just added the 4 Expanses to up beginning land %. The two biggest questions are the Wurms and Slimes, as to which is the better top end to my curve. On one hand, the wurms can be a finisher, even if the early parts of the curve are stopped. On the other hand, slimes can add some repeatable control and resource grind. I'm honestly leaning towards the Wurms to take removal heat off of the Wildebeests and Ascensions because it is tough to ignore 9/9 tramplers and Rancors once they start dropping, even if the Ascensions are actually potentially more destructive and the Wildebeests the combo motor of the deck. Any suggestions?
I'd play Spike Weaver instead of Spore Frog. It's basically three times the amount of fog effects and with an activated ascension, this will stick around after the fogs get used.
[Edit] Doh, and then I saw the budget comment so Spike Weaver probably wouldn't work for you.
Beastmaster Ascension is very weak in this deck. It's more a card for go-wide-strategies and only really works if you slam it the turn you would attack with 7 creatures anyway. There is also absolutely no reason to play Terramorphic Expanse in mono-color decks.
4 Spore Frog
4 Nest Invader
4 Eternal Witness
4 Kozilek's Predator
4 Stampeding Wildebeests
4 Endless Wurm (end game finishers if everything else goes South)
4 Acidic Slime (continuous destruction for board management)
Non-Creature Spells:
4 Rancor ("I'm getting angry...")
4 Beast Within ("It's not good to get me angry...")
4 Beastmaster Ascension ("Hulk Smash!")
4 Arachnogenesis (spider fog! Now imagine what they do with an activated Ascension...)
20 Forest
4 Terramorphic Expanse
The original lineup had Blanchwood Armor replaced by the Beast Withins, and Overrun replaced by the Ascensions. The Overruns simply were too mana-expensive when I'm bouncing the Witnesses to bring back cards or increase creature density by bouncing the eldrazi drones. Now, with the Ascensions, I'm looking to get to seven creatures before dropping the Ascensions, which should be fairly quick between the drones and spider fogs.
So as a wingman, I'm there to get as much pressure as fast as I can, but be able to also handle myself. The Ascension gives me an easy way to move from defensive into aggro fast, while the Wildebeests keep me cycling etb effects, to include hitting land drops from the Expanses. I just added the 4 Expanses to up beginning land %. The two biggest questions are the Wurms and Slimes, as to which is the better top end to my curve. On one hand, the wurms can be a finisher, even if the early parts of the curve are stopped. On the other hand, slimes can add some repeatable control and resource grind. I'm honestly leaning towards the Wurms to take removal heat off of the Wildebeests and Ascensions because it is tough to ignore 9/9 tramplers and Rancors once they start dropping, even if the Ascensions are actually potentially more destructive and the Wildebeests the combo motor of the deck. Any suggestions?
[Edit] Doh, and then I saw the budget comment so Spike Weaver probably wouldn't work for you.
Brainstorm, Lotus Cobra, Tireless Tracker, Titania, Protector of Argoth, Sun Titan, Rampaging Baloths, Avenger of Zendikar and more all have something to say about that
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God damn technicalities.