I guess the idea was pack as much removal as you can into one deck because Block is all aggro, but I don't understand the creature suit. You have to win the game at some point, which I get, but why not lean on all Heliod or all Stormbreath?
Also, Fated Conflagration just seems better than Lightning Strike. The reach doesn't seem to be needed, but you do need to kill Elspeth and fatties, which Lightning Strike fails to do quite spectacularly.
Killing someone with Heliod alone would take forever. He's not a primary or secondary win condition -- he's a last resort when facing another deck that's packing as much removal as you are. Kind of like Elixir of Immortality in a UW Standard deck. I've also seen decks like this run Fated Return for the same reason.
Lightning strike is probably there as a cheap removal spell for small threats (along with sniping Xenagos and Kiora). A 4cc removal spell just won't fit in that slot.
I played against this deck in the dailies and it seems to be the most dominate atm in the meta.
The idea is to get Elsperth, Hammer and Heloid out on the field and suddenly you have 3 token producers with all your creatures having haste and vigilance. You can swing in every turn with your hasted tokens and still have them there for chump blocking.
Whatever is left dies to the rest of your removal.
The reason behind Heliod (or Mogis, which some lists are now using) is to have a threat that doesn't die to hero's downfall/gild, which is a big consideration in such a threat-light deck.
3 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Temple of Malice
4 Temple of Silence
4 Temple of Triumph
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Anger of the Gods
4 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Fated Retribution
4 Gild
2 Hammer of Purphoros
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
3 Read the Bones
2 Fated Conflagration
1 Fated Retribution
3 Glare of Heresy
2 Revoke Existence
3 Thoughtseize
(I've forgotten how to do deck tags)
I guess the idea was pack as much removal as you can into one deck because Block is all aggro, but I don't understand the creature suit. You have to win the game at some point, which I get, but why not lean on all Heliod or all Stormbreath?
Also, Fated Conflagration just seems better than Lightning Strike. The reach doesn't seem to be needed, but you do need to kill Elspeth and fatties, which Lightning Strike fails to do quite spectacularly.
Lightning strike is probably there as a cheap removal spell for small threats (along with sniping Xenagos and Kiora). A 4cc removal spell just won't fit in that slot.
-2 magma jet, -1 elspeth, -1 hammer
The idea is to get Elsperth, Hammer and Heloid out on the field and suddenly you have 3 token producers with all your creatures having haste and vigilance. You can swing in every turn with your hasted tokens and still have them there for chump blocking.
Whatever is left dies to the rest of your removal.
http://puremtgo.com/articles/around-block-43-controlling-block
The reason behind Heliod (or Mogis, which some lists are now using) is to have a threat that doesn't die to hero's downfall/gild, which is a big consideration in such a threat-light deck.