These, to my mind are all solid upgrades. I've always played this deck with resiliency in mind - these additions a)are strict upgrades to my removal options, b) give me more options in terms of recursion from graveyard. They can both bring back multiple pieces for advantage and both interact well with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. I'm feeling pretty good about these upgrades at present. The phyrexian altar left because I didn't really have any issues with mana fixing. I'm still toying with the idea of removing Ashnod's too, as it's not entirely a necessity with Ghave and really enables infinite shenanigans, which I'd prefer to avoid. Nonetheless, it stays for the moment.
Played over the weekend, and played terribly. For how frightening this deck can be, I saw it at it's worst. Had no ramp or draw and got taken out rather early. A slightly humbling experience to be honest. Harvest Season was in my hand to start and never saw play - it's coming out immediately. Not a great card in this deck at all.
Can't find a copy of these at any of my LGS's. I'll also be adding Fecundity - simply because it would've solved all of my problems this last game. May look at Renegade Rallier too - could be a really nice recursion element.
In: Renegade Rallier - The amount of pieces this can fetch to the field makes it solid - just need to track down its BFF Saffi Eriksdotter Veteran Explorer - I'm loath to give away land drops, but I'm better positioned to use that extra mana than most. This may be a temporary addition at present.
Out: Crop Rotation - If I had Gaea's Cradle in here, it'd be worth running. As it is not so much. Ahn-Crop Champion - Wasn't ever worth playing.
This lowers the curve, and reduces mass reanimation options, but gives me instant speed low cost specific reanimation. Kind of fills out a reanimation suite that should make the deck remarkably resilient. I've been waiting to track down a copy of Saffi for a long time now, happy to have ticked the box.
I took a Meren deck apart last night, as I've not shown any inclination to play it. While initially it seems like a shame, I'm not all that sad to see it go, as it wasn't a great deal of fun for me. And Ghave has had some major upgrades as a result.
I have played a lot with this fungus, and here are a few piece of advice I could share, seeing your list :
- Gaveh requires a huge amount of mana. He needs to come early on the field (otherwise, you don't do many things), and you often need to recast it several times. Many non infinite synergies require mana to work. So you could try many good one and two drops that ramp (utopia sprawl, llanowar elves and his friends, wall of roots, farseek...). I think that at least 15 pieces of ramp are mandatory.
- Your combo pieces are better when they cost few mana. It's already hard to keep Gaveh on the field, you can't wait a 6 drop in the following turn before doing anything. Realm seekers or sun titan seem too slow and have too low impact to be good in your list.
- I have been thinking about speeding the deck up some. Realm Seekers drops far too late to be of any relevance. Ideally I'd like to replace with Devoted Druid, it's just such an obscure card that I don't have a copy, and it's not been reprinted. The search continues. I'm also considering Avacyn's Pilgrim, Satyr Wayfinder, if I had a Birds of Paradise it would be in here. This is definitely the one area of the deck I'd really like to improve on so I appreciate the suggestions here. Sun Titan I like as a way to get back crucial pieces that Mikaeus can't pick up, but you may be right. Telling the truth, since I've had it in the deck I've not drawn it to playtest it so I honestly can't say whether it deserves to stay or not.
- Looking at the counter scheme, I already have Hardened Scales in here. Winding Constrictor I've had in the list but dropped as it's a little redundant. I'd simply rather have the ranger, as the payoff is 3 for an exponential increase in counters rather than +1 for each counter trigger. It asks questions of my opponents that the constrictor doesn't. That being said I have Cathars' Crusade in here anyway, so both may be redundant. Blood Artist I'm not going to add as I have it in enough lists already - it's an easy win, sure, but I'm not really huge on winning THAT easy.
-Earthcraft and Phyrexian Altar I either don't have, or don't have additional copies of. I need the altar in Thraximundar, and it's a favourite deck of mine, so unfortunately Ghave is not likely to get it back. Earthcraft is expensive enough for me to not want to justify spending the money. Sorry. Rishkar, Peema Renegade I do like, but without haste, he's not doing a lot. In fact he's more conditional and doing less than Cryptolith Rite, which I've just removed for the same reason. So he probably doesn't deserve a spot really.
As far as the tutors go, yeah they would help, but in general I try to make the effort not to spend money on tutors. I don't exclusively not play them, but I'm selective as to which ones I will, and hard tutors are generally not something I like to buy or play. The closest I'd get in this deck is Traverse the Ulvenwald - although I don't have any bomb lands that justify its inclusion, or the Birthing Pod I mentioned in my last post. Even then I'm not sure this is the right deck for it.
Thanks again, if you have any further thoughts feel free to share.
Interesting build. I too run a Ghave deck - see link in signature. Some suggestions/comments:
- Protean Hydra could be better served if replaced with Triskelion for immediate benefit instead of waiting until end of turn.
- How has your experience been with Reyhan, Last of the Abzan? I've found him to be underwhelming during my play testing as he doesn't create more counters and only moves counters around. Makes for a big aggro threat, but seems like win-more when you are swinging with 1000000 saprolings. Has your experience been the same?
- Spike Weaver looks like an awesome card. How is that working out for you?
- I've found Utopia Mycon and Vitaspore Thallid are powerful cards in Ghave.
- Zulaport Cutthroat is a solid alternate to Blood Artist
- Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest is stupid sick in this deck. Strongly recommend her.
- Phyrexian Reclamation could help you get your key pieces back from the graveyard.
- Altar of Dementia is a fantastic alternate win-con
- Imo you need more land and/or more ramp. I struggle with my mana-base at 39 with 7 ramp spells.
- I'm hesitant to put Triskelion in here because of Mike, I don't want a known infinite combo to rely on. I know that's probably a little silly in Ghave, but that's how it is. That being said I'm open to replacing Protean Hydra.
- Reyhan, Last of the Abzan has been slightly disappointing I must admit. I thought he would be a solid add, but most of the time, there is very little it adds.
- Spike Weaver is legitimately awesome. It's infuriating for opponents, and is a super fun time. Pure all star MVP.
- I like Utopia Mycon and Vitaspore thallid in theory, but they are slow. Even on T1, they don't help get Ghave out any earlier, which is why I'd be playing them.
- Zulaport Cutthroat and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest would both be awesome in here. I may well look to get them in.
- Phyrexian Reclamation is a great card, but I have a pretty strong reanimation package here already. Saffi, Sun Titan, Reveillark, KG, Mikaeus mean I can get most of what I need back.
- Altar of Dementia is a solid card, and I may look into it.
- Land and ramp I seem to do well with. Between a reasonable draw package and a reasonable ramp package, I've had very few games where I stall out entirely. That being said, I may look at adding some mana dorks for early game speed - Avacyn's Pilgrim, Elves of Deep Shadow, maybe Birds of Paradise, Devoted Druid etc.
Thanks for the feedback, I am always glad to see it and would be happy to discuss further!
"... I don't want a known infinite combo to rely on..."
Ashnod's Altar is a pretty sick enabler for many infinite combos in Ghave...I see you've added it already. Maybe just never witnessed the oppressive power of it yet?
It is. Truth be told, so is Cathar's Crusade in the right circumstances. Lots of things are with Ghave. I try to limit myself to minimal usage of said combos. And to be honest, I've yet to have the perfect circumstances on board to see it go truly stupid. I'm well aware that it can, but I'm also well aware that Ghave doesn't need to combo to be very strong.
In: Swords to Plowshares - To my mind, there's never really a bad place for it. Shamanic Revelation - I'm not sure if it's entirely necessary. It'll be explosive every time I play it guaranteed. Whether it holds it place or not will be interesting. Aven Mindcensor - A big part of this deck is getting off the ground early, getting an engine running and outpacing other decks. This could help. Have considered adding a couple of other slowdown pieces like Aura of Silence and Blind Obedience, but will start here and see if it's a direction I'm happy with. Illusionist's Bracers - I've seen it in other lists; I'm not entirely convinced, but I am willing to try it out.
Out: Nim Deathmantle - Two reasons: I know it combos with Ashnod's Altar and that doesn't need any help to be broken. Also I have enough recursion here that this is redundant. Protean Hydra - Yes it gets big and is hard to kill. No it has no evasion or other reason to be considered a threat. Bloodspore Thrinax - Its too slow and conditional to be of any great use. I find it a dead draw often, and the more time goes by the more I find Cathar's Crusade making the rest of the counter themes redundant. Workhorse - Doesn't hit the field at the right time. If it were 4 for four counters I'd be keeping it likely. But it's too expensive and colour fixing is sort of unnecessary at present.
As always, happy to take feedback on these changes or the list in general.
I really wanted to like HG, but it was way too hard to get running. Corpsejack was always winmore and didn't add enough, and I don't remember ever playing IC. The dorks mana fix and colour fix early, can be sacrificed for profit and recurred easily. Hopefully that theory will play out just fine.
It may or may not have a spot here. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is clearly the first pick with it, but there's other options to pick up too with all of the varied recursion options. Chances are if it resolves I'll win.
In: Lotus Cobra - Should be a solid ramper. Chord of Calling - It'll be an easy tutor no doubt, with some good options for silver bullets and a win con if needed.
Out: Forgotten Ancient - It gets big and encourages the counter theme, but it's a little win more. I may regret this, time will tell. Illusionist's Bracers - Fairly good yes, but generally resources I don't need.
Made some changes - I decided to play less into +1/+1 counters and token strategy and leverage death. Ghave does the aforementioned just fine, all he needs is ramp, which I've added, as well as some cool death triggers and a little more control with the Aven.
This update sort of takes the deck into more of a reanimator for value area. It should be reasonably resilient, and it should ramp well. Ashen Rider is very rarely going to be hard cast, but when it is or reanimated, that ETB/LTB trigger is a killer. Most of what I'm taking out is either redundant or win more, so I'm reasonably happy with these changes.
The counter scheme was slow and a little redundant. Helm is fun, but doesn't fit here well. The adds give me a bit more ramp and draw, and Archon should be a good reanimation target.
Essentially, HS is a little redundant. It does nothing on its own. PoD potentially filters helps hit land drops, pseudo-scries, and allows me to drop creatures to my yard for reanimation as I choose. That's the theory anyway. Yet to playtest, but I think it could be a good add.
In: Shanna, Sisay's Legacy - She'll get pretty big. She's not bulletproof obviously, but she could be alright. Slimefoot, the Stowaway - honestly, I'm tempted to build this guy on his own. He's savage. As the only aristocrat I have in here I'm happy with that. The saps are really only being used here to sac for value so he will do what he does. Song of Freyalise - this'll need to be used judiciously, obviously. It'll turn tokens into mana for a burst, and a one turn overrun effect. Could be nice in conjunction with things like Aura Mutation and Mycoloth - obviously the third lore is good with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Champion of Lambholt. We'll see if it stays.
I guess taking out some of the spell based ramp is a gamble, but early, repeatable dork ramp is stronger here than a one time spell. Sad Robot is such good value I can't rue the loss. Karametra is limited to cast triggers, which is not where I'm going to spend most of my mana here. Viscera is a free sac outlet and draw fixer, so I have no problems with him being in the deck whatsoever. The Demon is a gamble, but makes a nice addition to Elesh Norn for a T&N combo. Shred the board, use a whole lot of free energy to res the best stuff, sac it all for value or swing in for a win. Could be decent, time will tell.
...but impactful changes.
In:
Reveillark
Sun Titan
Vindicate
Anguished Unmaking
Ashnod's Altar
Out:
Karametra, God of Harvests
Gravity Well
Explore
Mortify
Phyrexian Altar
These, to my mind are all solid upgrades. I've always played this deck with resiliency in mind - these additions a)are strict upgrades to my removal options, b) give me more options in terms of recursion from graveyard. They can both bring back multiple pieces for advantage and both interact well with Mikaeus, the Unhallowed. I'm feeling pretty good about these upgrades at present. The phyrexian altar left because I didn't really have any issues with mana fixing. I'm still toying with the idea of removing Ashnod's too, as it's not entirely a necessity with Ghave and really enables infinite shenanigans, which I'd prefer to avoid. Nonetheless, it stays for the moment.
I'll likely be making some changes soon, I just need to track down some frustratingly hard to find cards:
Devoted Druid
Utopia Mycon
Psychotrope Thallid
Saffi Eriksdotter
Can't find a copy of these at any of my LGS's. I'll also be adding Fecundity - simply because it would've solved all of my problems this last game. May look at Renegade Rallier too - could be a really nice recursion element.
EDIT - Got home and switched Harvest Season for Fecundity immediately. It couldn't wait.
In:
Renegade Rallier - The amount of pieces this can fetch to the field makes it solid - just need to track down its BFF Saffi Eriksdotter
Veteran Explorer - I'm loath to give away land drops, but I'm better positioned to use that extra mana than most. This may be a temporary addition at present.
Out:
Crop Rotation - If I had Gaea's Cradle in here, it'd be worth running. As it is not so much.
Ahn-Crop Champion - Wasn't ever worth playing.
In:
Workhorse - Crazy ramp in the right environment.
Out:
Fresh Meat - It may be a mistake removing this but it hasn't really held it's place well.
In:
Saffi Eriksdotter
Out:
Champion of Stray Souls
This lowers the curve, and reduces mass reanimation options, but gives me instant speed low cost specific reanimation. Kind of fills out a reanimation suite that should make the deck remarkably resilient. I've been waiting to track down a copy of Saffi for a long time now, happy to have ticked the box.
I took a Meren deck apart last night, as I've not shown any inclination to play it. While initially it seems like a shame, I'm not all that sad to see it go, as it wasn't a great deal of fun for me. And Ghave has had some major upgrades as a result.
In:
Llanowar Wastes - Enters untapped and mana fixes. Good times in my mind.
Grim Backwoods - Another sac outlet and draw engine.
Awakening Zone - Nice early ramp and plays well into Fecundity etc.
Aid from the Cowl - I can trigger this at will. Not sure if it's a perfect add, but I'll give it a chance.
Smothering Abomination - This should be gravy.
Meren of Clan Nel Toth - Should be super easy reanimation.
Birthing Pod - I'm not sure if this belongs here. There's a good chain up to Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, and even saccing a saproling will get me a Veteran Explorer or Carrion Feeder. I'm definitely open to opinions in this respect as I've not used pod a lot before.
Out:
Swamp x1
Forest x1
Animation Module - Hesitant, but will hang onto it. It may come back if any of these don't perform.
Cryptolith Rite - Underperformed so no-brainer to go.
Elemental Bond - Upgraded to Smothering Abomination - it goes from one card per cast to potentially refilling my hand each turn and more.
Hangarback Walker - Never really did enough.
Lifeblood Hydra - As much as the effect is cool, I won't miss it.
Any thoughts or opinions on these choices I'm happy to hear.
I have played a lot with this fungus, and here are a few piece of advice I could share, seeing your list :
- Gaveh requires a huge amount of mana. He needs to come early on the field (otherwise, you don't do many things), and you often need to recast it several times. Many non infinite synergies require mana to work. So you could try many good one and two drops that ramp (utopia sprawl, llanowar elves and his friends, wall of roots, farseek...). I think that at least 15 pieces of ramp are mandatory.
- Your combo pieces are better when they cost few mana. It's already hard to keep Gaveh on the field, you can't wait a 6 drop in the following turn before doing anything. Realm seekers or sun titan seem too slow and have too low impact to be good in your list.
Some other cards that could be usefull :
- Young wolf, Strangleroot Geist : Undiying is a really cool ability, it makes creature combo with Gaveh on their own, both with infinite loop when they are helped or in a more fair way, when you need a mana sink.
- Winding Constrictor, hardened scales, Blood artist... Allows both combo and way to use your mana. I used corpsejack menace, but found it too costly to be worth. Same for Juniper order Ranger.
- Sigil Captain, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Earthcraft, Phyrexian Altar are all cards that allow the deck to do efficient and cool things. Tutors such as enlightened tutor, demonic tutor or eladamri's call help being more reliable if you can afford some of them.
Hope that could help, tell me how it works if you try any of these ideas.
- I have been thinking about speeding the deck up some. Realm Seekers drops far too late to be of any relevance. Ideally I'd like to replace with Devoted Druid, it's just such an obscure card that I don't have a copy, and it's not been reprinted. The search continues. I'm also considering Avacyn's Pilgrim, Satyr Wayfinder, if I had a Birds of Paradise it would be in here. This is definitely the one area of the deck I'd really like to improve on so I appreciate the suggestions here. Sun Titan I like as a way to get back crucial pieces that Mikaeus can't pick up, but you may be right. Telling the truth, since I've had it in the deck I've not drawn it to playtest it so I honestly can't say whether it deserves to stay or not.
- Looking at the counter scheme, I already have Hardened Scales in here. Winding Constrictor I've had in the list but dropped as it's a little redundant. I'd simply rather have the ranger, as the payoff is 3 for an exponential increase in counters rather than +1 for each counter trigger. It asks questions of my opponents that the constrictor doesn't. That being said I have Cathars' Crusade in here anyway, so both may be redundant. Blood Artist I'm not going to add as I have it in enough lists already - it's an easy win, sure, but I'm not really huge on winning THAT easy.
-Earthcraft and Phyrexian Altar I either don't have, or don't have additional copies of. I need the altar in Thraximundar, and it's a favourite deck of mine, so unfortunately Ghave is not likely to get it back. Earthcraft is expensive enough for me to not want to justify spending the money. Sorry. Rishkar, Peema Renegade I do like, but without haste, he's not doing a lot. In fact he's more conditional and doing less than Cryptolith Rite, which I've just removed for the same reason. So he probably doesn't deserve a spot really.
As far as the tutors go, yeah they would help, but in general I try to make the effort not to spend money on tutors. I don't exclusively not play them, but I'm selective as to which ones I will, and hard tutors are generally not something I like to buy or play. The closest I'd get in this deck is Traverse the Ulvenwald - although I don't have any bomb lands that justify its inclusion, or the Birthing Pod I mentioned in my last post. Even then I'm not sure this is the right deck for it.
Thanks again, if you have any further thoughts feel free to share.
In:
Blood Artist
Mentor of the Meek
Dictate of Erebos
Nim Deathmantle
Out:
Veteran Explorer
Realm Seekers
Birthing Pod
Gyre Sage
Interesting build. I too run a Ghave deck - see link in signature. Some suggestions/comments:
- Protean Hydra could be better served if replaced with Triskelion for immediate benefit instead of waiting until end of turn.
- How has your experience been with Reyhan, Last of the Abzan? I've found him to be underwhelming during my play testing as he doesn't create more counters and only moves counters around. Makes for a big aggro threat, but seems like win-more when you are swinging with 1000000 saprolings. Has your experience been the same?
- Spike Weaver looks like an awesome card. How is that working out for you?
- I've found Utopia Mycon and Vitaspore Thallid are powerful cards in Ghave.
- Zulaport Cutthroat is a solid alternate to Blood Artist
- Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest is stupid sick in this deck. Strongly recommend her.
- Phyrexian Reclamation could help you get your key pieces back from the graveyard.
- Altar of Dementia is a fantastic alternate win-con
- Imo you need more land and/or more ramp. I struggle with my mana-base at 39 with 7 ramp spells.
Hope this helps.
| B Erebos, God of VampiresB | GYeva SmashG | RBosh ArtifactsR | GURAnimar +1 BeatsGUR | RBVial's Secret Hot SauceRB | UBRNekusar, Draw if you DareUBR | RGBDarigaaz'z DragonsRGB | GBSlimeFEETGB | UBOn-Hit LazavUB | URBrudiclad's Artificer InventionsUR | GUBMuldrotha's ElementalsGUB | WUGKestia's EnchantmentsWUG | GUTatyova - Draw, Land, Go!GU | WGArahbo's EquipmentWG | BUWVarina's ZOMBIE HORDESBUW | WLyra's Angelic SalvationW | WBChurch of TeysaWB | UAzami...WizardsU
- I'm hesitant to put Triskelion in here because of Mike, I don't want a known infinite combo to rely on. I know that's probably a little silly in Ghave, but that's how it is. That being said I'm open to replacing Protean Hydra.
- Reyhan, Last of the Abzan has been slightly disappointing I must admit. I thought he would be a solid add, but most of the time, there is very little it adds.
- Spike Weaver is legitimately awesome. It's infuriating for opponents, and is a super fun time. Pure all star MVP.
- I like Utopia Mycon and Vitaspore thallid in theory, but they are slow. Even on T1, they don't help get Ghave out any earlier, which is why I'd be playing them.
- Zulaport Cutthroat and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest would both be awesome in here. I may well look to get them in.
- Phyrexian Reclamation is a great card, but I have a pretty strong reanimation package here already. Saffi, Sun Titan, Reveillark, KG, Mikaeus mean I can get most of what I need back.
- Altar of Dementia is a solid card, and I may look into it.
- Land and ramp I seem to do well with. Between a reasonable draw package and a reasonable ramp package, I've had very few games where I stall out entirely. That being said, I may look at adding some mana dorks for early game speed - Avacyn's Pilgrim, Elves of Deep Shadow, maybe Birds of Paradise, Devoted Druid etc.
Thanks for the feedback, I am always glad to see it and would be happy to discuss further!
Ashnod's Altar is a pretty sick enabler for many infinite combos in Ghave...I see you've added it already. Maybe just never witnessed the oppressive power of it yet?
| B Erebos, God of VampiresB | GYeva SmashG | RBosh ArtifactsR | GURAnimar +1 BeatsGUR | RBVial's Secret Hot SauceRB | UBRNekusar, Draw if you DareUBR | RGBDarigaaz'z DragonsRGB | GBSlimeFEETGB | UBOn-Hit LazavUB | URBrudiclad's Artificer InventionsUR | GUBMuldrotha's ElementalsGUB | WUGKestia's EnchantmentsWUG | GUTatyova - Draw, Land, Go!GU | WGArahbo's EquipmentWG | BUWVarina's ZOMBIE HORDESBUW | WLyra's Angelic SalvationW | WBChurch of TeysaWB | UAzami...WizardsU
In:
Beastmaster Ascension
Helm of Possession
Springjack Pasture
Out:
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan
Mindless Automaton
Forest
Taken out some of the more inefficient cards for some different options. These should all work nicely.
In:
Swords to Plowshares - To my mind, there's never really a bad place for it.
Shamanic Revelation - I'm not sure if it's entirely necessary. It'll be explosive every time I play it guaranteed. Whether it holds it place or not will be interesting.
Aven Mindcensor - A big part of this deck is getting off the ground early, getting an engine running and outpacing other decks. This could help. Have considered adding a couple of other slowdown pieces like Aura of Silence and Blind Obedience, but will start here and see if it's a direction I'm happy with.
Illusionist's Bracers - I've seen it in other lists; I'm not entirely convinced, but I am willing to try it out.
Out:
Nim Deathmantle - Two reasons: I know it combos with Ashnod's Altar and that doesn't need any help to be broken. Also I have enough recursion here that this is redundant.
Protean Hydra - Yes it gets big and is hard to kill. No it has no evasion or other reason to be considered a threat.
Bloodspore Thrinax - Its too slow and conditional to be of any great use. I find it a dead draw often, and the more time goes by the more I find Cathar's Crusade making the rest of the counter themes redundant.
Workhorse - Doesn't hit the field at the right time. If it were 4 for four counters I'd be keeping it likely. But it's too expensive and colour fixing is sort of unnecessary at present.
As always, happy to take feedback on these changes or the list in general.
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
2 Nature's Lore
1 Sunpetal Grove
2 Hunting Grounds
4 Corpsejack Menace
3 Inspiring Call
1 Forest
I really wanted to like HG, but it was way too hard to get running. Corpsejack was always winmore and didn't add enough, and I don't remember ever playing IC. The dorks mana fix and colour fix early, can be sacrificed for profit and recurred easily. Hopefully that theory will play out just fine.
In:
Tooth and Nail
Out:
Aven Mindcensor
It may or may not have a spot here. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is clearly the first pick with it, but there's other options to pick up too with all of the varied recursion options. Chances are if it resolves I'll win.
In:
Lotus Cobra - Should be a solid ramper.
Chord of Calling - It'll be an easy tutor no doubt, with some good options for silver bullets and a win con if needed.
Out:
Forgotten Ancient - It gets big and encourages the counter theme, but it's a little win more. I may regret this, time will tell.
Illusionist's Bracers - Fairly good yes, but generally resources I don't need.
2 Viridian Emissary
8 Ashen Rider
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Harrow
4 Frontier Siege
3 Primal Growth
2 Blood Artist
7 Duneblast
4 Utter End
5 Shamanic Revelation
2 Ninth Bridge Patrol
3 Fecundity
3 Krosan Grip
This update sort of takes the deck into more of a reanimator for value area. It should be reasonably resilient, and it should ramp well. Ashen Rider is very rarely going to be hard cast, but when it is or reanimated, that ETB/LTB trigger is a killer. Most of what I'm taking out is either redundant or win more, so I'm reasonably happy with these changes.
In:
Karametra, God of Harvests
Archon of Justice
Life's Legacy
Unearth
Out:
Cathars' Crusade
Helm of Possession
Juniper Order Ranger
Harrow
The counter scheme was slow and a little redundant. Helm is fun, but doesn't fit here well. The adds give me a bit more ramp and draw, and Archon should be a good reanimation target.
Path of Discovery replaces Hardened Scales.
Essentially, HS is a little redundant. It does nothing on its own. PoD potentially filters helps hit land drops, pseudo-scries, and allows me to drop creatures to my yard for reanimation as I choose. That's the theory anyway. Yet to playtest, but I think it could be a good add.
In:
Shanna, Sisay's Legacy - She'll get pretty big. She's not bulletproof obviously, but she could be alright.
Slimefoot, the Stowaway - honestly, I'm tempted to build this guy on his own. He's savage. As the only aristocrat I have in here I'm happy with that. The saps are really only being used here to sac for value so he will do what he does.
Song of Freyalise - this'll need to be used judiciously, obviously. It'll turn tokens into mana for a burst, and a one turn overrun effect. Could be nice in conjunction with things like Aura Mutation and Mycoloth - obviously the third lore is good with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Champion of Lambholt. We'll see if it stays.
Out:
Unearth
Blind Obedience
Life's Legacy
In
Devoted Druid
Ghoulcaller Gisa
Out:
Shanna, Sisay's Legacy
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
Slimefoot leaves for Zulaport Cutthroat. Simply a better cheaper bleeder. Slimefoot is too tribal.
1 Viscera Seer
1 Sol Ring
3 Pawn of Ulamog
4 Solemn Simulacrum
6 Demon of Dark Schemes
2 Viridian Emissary
2 Rampant Growth
2 Nature's Lore
3 Search for Tomorrow
5 Karametra, God of Harvests
I guess taking out some of the spell based ramp is a gamble, but early, repeatable dork ramp is stronger here than a one time spell. Sad Robot is such good value I can't rue the loss. Karametra is limited to cast triggers, which is not where I'm going to spend most of my mana here. Viscera is a free sac outlet and draw fixer, so I have no problems with him being in the deck whatsoever. The Demon is a gamble, but makes a nice addition to Elesh Norn for a T&N combo. Shred the board, use a whole lot of free energy to res the best stuff, sac it all for value or swing in for a win. Could be decent, time will tell.