I'm thinking of building a G/B Kamigawa block Spirit/Arcane deck for casual play. I was wondering what the general consensus was on which cards are good and which aren't.
Hana Kami - obviously good if Kodama's Reach/Might get played; obviously bad if they don't
Soilshaper
Feral Deceiver
Kami of the Hunt
Kami of the Waning Moon
Theif of Hope
Cruel Deceiver
Wicked Akuba
Sensei's Divining Top
Long-Forgotten Gohei
Kodama's Reach/Might
Anything I'm missing? Anything I'm saying is good that most people wouldn't even consider?
See, that list up there is just too long for me, and I want to play four copies of each ('cept for Top, of course) in a sixty card deck. Doesn't leave much room for land...
Any help?
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Remember, kids: Never fight with Flashback, 'cause Flashback always wins.
...well that sucks, just made a post and apparently it was lost in a surreal twist of time and fate. But I won't give up that easily, so here I go again.
Soilshaper is... debatable. With the Kadoma's Reaches, you very well may have an extra land or two that are not used, and if this guy allows for you to swing at least twice with a 3/3 land, then he's proven his worth.
The whole 'Deceiver cycle is really only good in draft. If you're paying the 3 mana to use their abilities, then it's either late game or your deck's not working and you had nothing good to play. Mainly you'll just be paying 3G for a 3/2 or 1B for a 2/1.
Soulless Revival and Rend Flesh, especially Rend Flesh, will fit well in here.
Have you considered the North or South Kadoma trees? Harobi, Death's Wail? The green or black legendary dragons? 'Life's Aspect and 'Death's Aspect? There are many good spirit rares that aren't too financially expensive, save Kokusho.
Haha, can't believe I forgot the zuberas! (inside joke)
If you're going to run zuberas, I suggest running Hideous Laughter to take advantage of their abilities.
Just a thought, but the addition of red opens you up to several board-controlling cards, such as Glacial Ray, Soul of Magma, Kami of Fire's Roar (good for getting the Kami of the Hunt through), and Earthshaker (also a good way to take advantage of the zuberas).
But most of all, and I'm surprised I didn't think of it before, Devouring Greed is an excellent finisher.
OK... here's my list at this point. I still need to get some of the cards (Budoka Pupil, obviously...) I like Budoka Pupil because you can wait to flip him if you want, so he's a "legend" that isn't necessarily dead if you already have one out. I'd like to play Reach because I'd like to see Soilshaper in action. So this is what I've got:
4 Hana Kami
4 Dripping-Tongue Zubera
4 Ashen-Skin Zubera
4 Budoka Pupil
4 Thief of Hope
4 Soilshaper
EDIT: As long as I'm considering Betrayers cards... What about Forked-Tounge Gerashi (the double Soulshift spirit)? What do people think of that? You don't play it till turn 5 (maybe 4), and it shouldn't die till like turn 7 (this is casual, so the game should last that long)... is the double Soulshift cool or just crap? Oh yeah, and Green's Frostling friend too.
look in the block section, i posted a g/b spiritcraft deck that works really well. it mostly relies on the interaction between soulless revival and hana kami (they continuously fetch each other). Use this fact to exploit triggers like that of south tree and thief. and it works better than most of the decks ive seen posted here.
Yes, the no rares thing is intentional... See, I buy 1/2 box of each set, and then don't buy any more cards after that. Everything else I get from trades, so it's hard to find the rares I want for my casual decks and keep my one tournament deck up to speed.
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A lot of the advice on this page seems totally oblivious to the game plan of the deck.
The plan is essentially a turbo-charged weenie rush. What makes the deck possible is two cards: Soilshaper and Kodama of the South Tree. Soilshaper powers a weenie rush because if your stuff costs two or less, Soilshaper gets in for three or four damage, which is great for a two-mana creature. Kodama of the South Tree is obviously powerful in a weenie strategy, and even more so when you can cast two cheap spells per turn and use the bonus twice. Finally, we have Devouring Greed as a finisher. Creating the deck without those three cards is just foolish.
The rest of the deck is more or less designed around the other three cards. You want cheap guys and cheap spells to optimize the abilities of Kodama and of Soilshaper. That means cheap spirits, especially the new 1-mana ones coming out in Betrayers, are going to be key. Additionally, going with slightly more Swamps to support Wicked Akuba is an attractive idea, although it raises mana base issues, so I'd say it's up to you. If you want your deck to be less poweful but more consistent, try playing with some copies of Commune with Nature: missing out on the one-drop will hurt sometimes, but being able to more consistently play Kodama or Soilshaper will help you out.
In any case, try to avoid lots of 3-mana guys or spells, particularly Kodama's Reach. Your deck is a rush deck, so you want to be playing creatures, and ideally you want to play two guys per turn on turn 5. You're not going to beat the Soratami deck by waiting until the late game... you need to win quickly, so build a quick deck.
Spock is not portrayed correctly. If Vulcans are above petty emotions, what motivates him to join the most elite starship crew in the galaxy? I, on the other hand, have transcended the weakness of emotion and achieved a blissful lack of caring. Apathy is my strength, our strength, which prevents us from being all-to-human. In this spirit, may Meh be with you, always.
okay, my point still remains valid... the hana kami, soulless revival combo's entire point is to continually trigger spiritcrafts. triggering south tree 4 times is better than 1 time right?
4 Hana Kami
4 Kodamas reach
4 Souless revival
4 Rend flesh
4 Kodamas might
4 Strength of Cedars
4 Gibbering Kami
4 Hidious Laughter
2 Beyblades
4 Kami of the Hunt
12 forest
10 Swamp
Idea-Reach, sac kami, get reach back, play reach, splice revival on kami, play kami, rinse, repeat. Then overkill with Gibbering kami with Cedar splice double might, might splice might, and might
Billking :
I agree with you A to Y, but the starter of the threads wants no rare ==> No Kodama of the South Tree.
Unfortunately for the starter of this thread, his real-world opponents WILL have access to rares, and will be using them to win. Often setting arbitrary limits like this simply means that you're resigning yourself to use an inferior form of an established archetype. This is especially true in this case, where the Kodama's ability is rather unique and hard to replicate. Although I understand his dilemma, I'm not going to write about an archetype as if rares simply don't exist. Instead, I'm going to write about the archetype as it stands to people who have full rare access, mention any possible budget alternatives (in this case, none), and if someone wants to take my decklist and make it worse because they're short on cash, that's their decision.
Spock is not portrayed correctly. If Vulcans are above petty emotions, what motivates him to join the most elite starship crew in the galaxy? I, on the other hand, have transcended the weakness of emotion and achieved a blissful lack of caring. Apathy is my strength, our strength, which prevents us from being all-to-human. In this spirit, may Meh be with you, always.
kodama's reach should stay in, the more mana you have, the more times you can repeat the hana kami/soulless revival combo for pumping. Also if you fetch all the lands from your deck, odds are you'll draw into what you want when you need it.
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Hana Kami - obviously good if Kodama's Reach/Might get played; obviously bad if they don't
Soilshaper
Feral Deceiver
Kami of the Hunt
Kami of the Waning Moon
Theif of Hope
Cruel Deceiver
Wicked Akuba
Sensei's Divining Top
Long-Forgotten Gohei
Kodama's Reach/Might
Anything I'm missing? Anything I'm saying is good that most people wouldn't even consider?
See, that list up there is just too long for me, and I want to play four copies of each ('cept for Top, of course) in a sixty card deck. Doesn't leave much room for land...
Any help?
Remember, kids: Never fight with Flashback, 'cause Flashback always wins.
So does Waning Moon
Akuba isnt that great in 2 color since he won't be that aggresive
somestuff you missed
Cranial Extraction
Hideous Laughter
Soilshaper is... debatable. With the Kadoma's Reaches, you very well may have an extra land or two that are not used, and if this guy allows for you to swing at least twice with a 3/3 land, then he's proven his worth.
The whole 'Deceiver cycle is really only good in draft. If you're paying the 3 mana to use their abilities, then it's either late game or your deck's not working and you had nothing good to play. Mainly you'll just be paying 3G for a 3/2 or 1B for a 2/1.
Soulless Revival and Rend Flesh, especially Rend Flesh, will fit well in here.
Have you considered the North or South Kadoma trees? Harobi, Death's Wail? The green or black legendary dragons? 'Life's Aspect and 'Death's Aspect? There are many good spirit rares that aren't too financially expensive, save Kokusho.
-Xanth
If you're going to run zuberas, I suggest running Hideous Laughter to take advantage of their abilities.
Just a thought, but the addition of red opens you up to several board-controlling cards, such as Glacial Ray, Soul of Magma, Kami of Fire's Roar (good for getting the Kami of the Hunt through), and Earthshaker (also a good way to take advantage of the zuberas).
But most of all, and I'm surprised I didn't think of it before, Devouring Greed is an excellent finisher.
-Xanth
EDH:
:symw::symu: Hannah
Sad Day's Tommorow
Almost Nine-Tails
Standard:
Legacy:
4 Hana Kami
4 Dripping-Tongue Zubera
4 Ashen-Skin Zubera
4 Budoka Pupil
4 Thief of Hope
4 Soilshaper
3 Devouring Greed
4 Kodama's Might
4 Kodama's Reach
3 Hideous Laughter
4 Rend Flesh
11 Forest
11 Swamp
EDIT: As long as I'm considering Betrayers cards... What about Forked-Tounge Gerashi (the double Soulshift spirit)? What do people think of that? You don't play it till turn 5 (maybe 4), and it shouldn't die till like turn 7 (this is casual, so the game should last that long)... is the double Soulshift cool or just crap? Oh yeah, and Green's Frostling friend too.
Remember, kids: Never fight with Flashback, 'cause Flashback always wins.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=76 in here
3 Hana Kami
4 Dripping-Tongue Zubera
4 Ashen-Skin Zubera
2 Budoka Pupil
2 Rootrunner
2 Burr Grafter
3 Thief of Hope
3 Soilshaper
2 Devouring Greed
4 Kodama's Might
4 Kodama's Reach
2 Hideous Laughter
3 Rend Flesh
11 Forest
11 Swamp
Yes, the no rares thing is intentional... See, I buy 1/2 box of each set, and then don't buy any more cards after that. Everything else I get from trades, so it's hard to find the rares I want for my casual decks and keep my one tournament deck up to speed.
Remember, kids: Never fight with Flashback, 'cause Flashback always wins.
The plan is essentially a turbo-charged weenie rush. What makes the deck possible is two cards: Soilshaper and Kodama of the South Tree. Soilshaper powers a weenie rush because if your stuff costs two or less, Soilshaper gets in for three or four damage, which is great for a two-mana creature. Kodama of the South Tree is obviously powerful in a weenie strategy, and even more so when you can cast two cheap spells per turn and use the bonus twice. Finally, we have Devouring Greed as a finisher. Creating the deck without those three cards is just foolish.
The rest of the deck is more or less designed around the other three cards. You want cheap guys and cheap spells to optimize the abilities of Kodama and of Soilshaper. That means cheap spirits, especially the new 1-mana ones coming out in Betrayers, are going to be key. Additionally, going with slightly more Swamps to support Wicked Akuba is an attractive idea, although it raises mana base issues, so I'd say it's up to you. If you want your deck to be less poweful but more consistent, try playing with some copies of Commune with Nature: missing out on the one-drop will hurt sometimes, but being able to more consistently play Kodama or Soilshaper will help you out.
In any case, try to avoid lots of 3-mana guys or spells, particularly Kodama's Reach. Your deck is a rush deck, so you want to be playing creatures, and ideally you want to play two guys per turn on turn 5. You're not going to beat the Soratami deck by waiting until the late game... you need to win quickly, so build a quick deck.
Spock is not portrayed correctly. If Vulcans are above petty emotions, what motivates him to join the most elite starship crew in the galaxy? I, on the other hand, have transcended the weakness of emotion and achieved a blissful lack of caring. Apathy is my strength, our strength, which prevents us from being all-to-human. In this spirit, may Meh be with you, always.
4 Kodamas reach
4 Souless revival
4 Rend flesh
4 Kodamas might
4 Strength of Cedars
4 Gibbering Kami
4 Hidious Laughter
2 Beyblades
4 Kami of the Hunt
12 forest
10 Swamp
Idea-Reach, sac kami, get reach back, play reach, splice revival on kami, play kami, rinse, repeat. Then overkill with Gibbering kami with Cedar splice double might, might splice might, and might
Spock is not portrayed correctly. If Vulcans are above petty emotions, what motivates him to join the most elite starship crew in the galaxy? I, on the other hand, have transcended the weakness of emotion and achieved a blissful lack of caring. Apathy is my strength, our strength, which prevents us from being all-to-human. In this spirit, may Meh be with you, always.