So I went 3-2 at my LGS's tournament yesterday. I beat some random brew, Green Devotion, WB mid-range. Lost to UWR bombs and Bug Devotion. I lost mainly because I kept hands that weren't aggressive enough and I wasn't able to get to a point where I could grind out the late game with Athreos and Necromancer. Thoughtseize was mediocre. As was Brain Maggot. Which was a similar problem I had with Banisher Priest. I couldn't afford to sac it to Aristocrat, which led to awkward situations. So I'll be cutting them from the MB (though I'm moving 'Seize to the SB because it was solid in control match ups). Civic Saber was a house though. It allowed my creatures to trade up, which was often very important. So, I'm going up to 2 of them. In place of Brain Maggots, I'm slotting in Tithe Drinker. It isn't a human for Necromancer but Extort with Athreos seems solid plus life gain is important in the deck. It also gets +2/+0 off of Saber and Lifelink seems relevant. I also wanted to get Fiendslayer Paladin into the Main. I boarded it in almost every round and it was consistently awesome. Though I may try out Archetype of Courage just to make combat more favorable since that is my main form of interaction now that 'Seize, Maggot and Banishing Light are coming out. I'm also going to give Profit // Loss a run. Zealous Persecution is a sweet card and even with it costing 5 or just getting half at 2cmc or 3cmc seems solid. Has anyone tried out High Priest of Penance? He seems solid, even without Athreos, and difficult to remove profitably for the opponent.
Anyways, here is the list I'll be trying out going forward:
I played a mid-range BW deck with Athreos this evening and also sided out Athreos frequently. I think I am perhaps trying to force Athreos into a deck.
I checked out the deck lists from States on SCG (searched all Top 8) and there were just 3 BW Athreos decks (there were two more 3 color Athreos decks). None of the 3 BW decks ran Xathrid Necromancer. I can see how there would be redundancy at the 3-drop slot with Xathrid and Athreos.
Amusing side note: the only time I got an Athreos trigger tonight, my opponent went from 137 to 134 to keep a creature in my graveyard (yes, he had ultimated the new Ajani) so it wasn't close to being a difference maker!
Edit: and another thing about those BW Athreos lists, each of them included at least 2 Obzedat main board.
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"Because we cannot prevent draws in paper Magic we allow IDs. If we could prevent draws we would not have IDs in paper Magic. " Scott Larabee.
Also, one of them can't be played in multiples. It does seem to me that Xathrid and Athreos belong together, but the decks that have succeeded so far (at least in States) haven't been running both.
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"Because we cannot prevent draws in paper Magic we allow IDs. If we could prevent draws we would not have IDs in paper Magic. " Scott Larabee.
Also, one of them can't be played in multiples. It does seem to me that Xathrid and Athreos belong together, but the decks that have succeeded so far (at least in States) haven't been running both.
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"Because we cannot prevent draws in paper Magic we allow IDs. If we could prevent draws we would not have IDs in paper Magic. " Scott Larabee.
I just got back into Magic after taking a year break and this deck didn't look like it would break the bank. I needed to pick up a lot of the newer cards and opted to run the deck with the main and side in tact minus the Mana Confluence and Mutavaults. I will get those cards as soon as I can, but even without them I was able to 3-0 my Gameday and claim the playmat.
Round 1 vs Tribal Minotaur 2-0 - Bile Blight was a champion in this matchup. It let me remove deathtouch Minotaur and the lord Minotaur pre-damage making some very unfavorable blocks for my opponent.
Round 2 vs Naya Hexproof 2-1 - The first game I ended up unable to deal with a hexproof 21/21 Fleecemane Lion with lifelink, but Civic Saber on a Tithe Drinker kept me in there for quite some time before the 21 life a turn happened. Post Sideboard the Celestial Flare, Doom Blade and Deicide were all great swaps. Took the next two games with my opponent unable to keep a creature on the table long enough.
Round 3 vs Black Devotion 2-0 - The first game was some pure bad magic. My opponent and I both kept 1 land hands, but I was on the play with a Soldier of the Pantheon so I went with it. I was Thoughtseize'd 3 times by his 1 mana. The Soldier got in 10 damage before I even got down a second land(Temple of Silence). Opponent scooped at 2 life. Game 2 was better for both of us. He was able to play more land and Lifebane Zombie hit my hand along with Thoughtseize. I brought in 2 Brave the Elements and was able to negate his removal attempts using 1 along with Cartel Aristocrat doing her thing. Bile Blight again opened up the lane and Desecration Demon was too late to the party.
Short event, but I felt very comfortable with what this build could do and I loved Civic Saber. I will definitely play it again at FNM and future 3-5 round events. Thank you Capt. Nick for sharing your lists with the community.
You're very welcome and congrats on the win. I'm glad the deck worked well for you. I unfortunately won't be able to test with it myself for quite some time. What was the mana base you ran instead of the one I listed? Was Fiendslayer important as far as avoiding removal, or do you think Archetype of Courage would be decent in its stead?
I love Civic Saber here. It does a ton of work. I'm glad Tithe Drinker was solid for you. I was theorycrafting when I put it in but hearing that it worked well is great news. I'm excited to play with it myself.
Do you guys think there's a chance Xathrid Necromancer will see a reprint in 2015?
I recently put this deck together (two weeks ago, 3-2 & 4-1 at my last two FNMs!) and I'm a bit sad and worried about the upcoming rotation. It's a blast to play and I don't know how the deck will play or feel post-rotation. It's hilarious getting my board wiped by an overloaded mortars only to get 8 zombie tokens and all my creatures returned back to my hand.
You still have several months to play the deck. As far as worrying about rotation, it's a part of Standard. It happens to every deck. With such a limited card pool, decks can become obsolete with each new set that gets released. I don't think this deck will really be able to stick around post-rotation in Standard. However, with the deck curving out at 3cmc, you could probably port it over to Modern without too much trouble. Not to mention, they'll be releasing that Modern Event deck that's on colors. You could pull a lot of the goodies from that and make a pretty solid deck that won't rotate. Though I don't think we should really get too far into that sort of discussion. This is the Standard section after all. Just enjoy the deck for as long as you can. Retool it come rotation if you feel so inclined but that time is so far out, I don't think it really warrants much discussion at the moment.
I'm not sure whether this goes here or it's more of a BW Midrange deck, but this is what I've been trying out so far, and it's playing better than I expected:
How did I come up with this deck? I took the 3 B/W Athreos shells that placed in States, averaged their numbers, found the core (basically how PVDDR amalgamates lists to create "optimal decks" in his CFB articles), and added whatever I saw fit. Initially with JOU I was trying out a B/W midrange shell that was slower (Barons main, less CMC 1 & 2, etc.
I'm aware that 23 lands may be too... little considering I have 3 cards (5 in the 75) that cost more than 3 mana, but so far it hasn't been issue. May go up to 24, all the same.
The deck is still capable of fast, curve-out starts, with late-game reach, either in the form of midrange creatures or recycling through Athreos. Cartel Aristocrat is also nice for pushing through damage. 3 Athreos may look too many, but I've found that I always want to draw one every game, and never more - 3 sounds like a fine number for that. Obzedat is amazing here, as it adds MASSIVE devotion to Athreos, while being a quick clock in itself.
The spells are what you would expect - I'm trying out Ajani's Presence just because it can protect against Supreme Verdict whereas BtE cannot. I also put 2 Banishing Light as it does stick around and provide +1 devotion. Banisher Priest adds more, but they're usually easier to remove.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride should be there in some quantity, actually, I just don't have one. Probably out one Thoughtseize.
I'll continue to test this deck. Sorry if this shouldn't be here (there isn't any Xathrid Necromancer, after all), but it seemed like the direction an aggressive B/W shell looking to maximize Athreos wanted to go, and I'm not sure where that goes.
I also looked at the three BW decks from States that used Athreos. 2 were Aggro and 1 was midrange. I was surprised that neither of the aggro decks contained Xathrid Necromancer. I fooled around with the aggro decks a little and then tried out the midrange deck. The midrange deck felt better to me. Athreos felt a little out of place, so I dropped him and ended up with a BW midrange deck. I posted that deck in the BW Midrange thread earlier today.
I don't want to give up on Athreos. But, figure if the pros haven't found a home for him and the brewers haven't found a home for him in the States lists, then maybe I should at least postpone plans to fit him in somewhere.
I think I would take Obzedat out of your list and replace him with one Ajani and one Cartel Aristocrat. Obzedat can be amazing, but it doesn't come out until at least turn 5 and isn't really consistent with the approach of the rest of the deck. I'd put him in the SB for the matches where you really want him (Control).
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"Because we cannot prevent draws in paper Magic we allow IDs. If we could prevent draws we would not have IDs in paper Magic. " Scott Larabee.
By the way, what's everyone's thoughts on Ajani, Caller of the Pride? I've been using him in my deck lately (don't have Athreos yet), and he helps greatly when I need to jump over enemy creatures for the finishing blow, as well as pumping up creatures and applying pressure. I know our 3-mana slot is pretty packed with a lot of other options, but he's still pretty legit.
Hey guys. After switching back and forth between BW Midrange and humans, I decided to try out humans again after picking up some Athreos. Here is my decklist, but right now it seems too slow to do enough damage early and is too reliant on a Brave the Elements to win. In particular, I feel like this deck is not accomplishing enough at the 2 drop slot. Precinct Captain is getting walled by Caryatid, Sovereign serves its purpose but gives one less devotion, and Cartel Aristocrat isn't doing much too early on. Any suggestions on this decklist? Also, what is your opinion on Dictate of Erebos in the sideboard, could feasibly wipe the board quickly vs a creature deck (but faces competition from other 5 drops) Contemplating adding it, but what for?
You need more one-drops, play this deck like the white weenie decks that are currently succeeding a tad bit at SCG events, but with a black splash for Xathrid and Athreos to protect against Wrath effects. I would recommend Boros Elite or Daring Skyjek as getting through Caryatid. Twelve one-drops, like Boros Elite and Dryad Militant(kinda a weak link, speeds the deck up in a way that really improves its black and control matchups.
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One of these day I have to get myself organizized.
Can you suggest cuts for me then? I'd love to fit them in but the reality is I have 60 cards and I don't know what to cut. Everything has an important purpose in the deck, but the problem right now is they require too much interaction and aren't standing well alone.
I'm not convinced Banishing Light is necessary in the main. On the one drop plan, you'll race them before they cast anything you need to BLight and Imposing Sovereign will keep that tapped down so you can keep getting in. If you cut the two Obzedat, you can cut two lands. I also think you'll be faster and be less dependent on Brave the Elements for the win and so you can cut at least one Brave. I think those eight spots will make room for the Boros Elite and Daring Skyjek. I think it will play more like a white weenie deck without those larger midrange creatures, but I think it is the right switch.
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One of these day I have to get myself organizized.
I'm really impressed with using Tithe Drinker and Underworld Coinsmith in tandem with these lists. Tithe isn't a human, but I have won a bunch of matches with extorts from him and then dumping mana into coinsmith to seal the deal. I won a game on Friday Against boss sligh where we ended up in a creature stalemate, but I was able to play Atheros with one already on the table with extort. I gained 2 life each time and he lost 1. Eventually I could finally swing out and pay into the coinsmith to end the game.
Another plus is that I have so many multicolored creatures that it blanks Ultimate Price, and I've had Mono Black players board in Dark Betrayal which misses all of my one drops. It's fun to beat them with 1 Soldier of the Pantheon and 2 Boros Elite
There was a Gideon in the original version, but I replaced that with a 4th Judge's Familiar.
It seems pretty solid to me, I've been testing against MBD, MUD, BW Midrange, and RG Monsters. I have not done any side boarding.
It's pretty good against MBD, only so-so against MUD, very good against BW Midrange, and about even against RG Monsters. Stormbreath (flying pro-white) is a pain. I did not find Blood Baron as troubling, it's not played as early or as often as Stormbreath and it doesn't fly. As my primary objective is to have a deck that beats MBD, I'm pleased.
I have been thinking, however, that a splash of black for either Athreos or Xathrid Necromancer (plus some black removal) might be in order. Suppose, for instance, you dropped 2 Ajani's Presence and 2 Banisher Priest for 2 Athreos or Necromancer and 2 removal spells. Maybe drop back down to 3 Judge's familiar as well (it not being a human).
Another option would be to leave in the Banisher Priests and put all the removal spells in the SB.
If you were to do this, would you prefer Necromancer or Athreos? And, what black removal would you include?
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"Because we cannot prevent draws in paper Magic we allow IDs. If we could prevent draws we would not have IDs in paper Magic. " Scott Larabee.
I've been trying out Calvary Pegasus in place of Precinct Captain in my lists.
I feel that if white based (human) aggro decks want to do well right now, you have to get through Courser of Kruphix and Sylvan Caryatid. Since I tried it, this card has done wonders for me. It gets through just about everything: Elspeth tokens, Blood Baron, opposing fiend slayer paladins, etc.
I'll put up a list sometime this weekend, likely after my Saturday tournament.
I love Precinct Captain ( I have a Korean playset), but since Courser came out he has been lacking as a 2 drop.
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"I do as I choose, and I answer to no one!"
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
This is the list I ran at FNM tonight, the 1 Gideon and Athreos were supposed to be Caller of the Prides, but I couldn't find any before. In any case split top 2 and it's pretty competitive so the list is solid. I'm upping the mutavault count to 3 now and I'm also considering cutting something for 2 Gideon, Champion of Justice bceause of his synergy with Cavalry Pegasus and Ajani. Let me know what you guys think.
Never really drew Athreos, but he's obviously insanely powerful with Xathrid Necromancer as an attrition engine. That said, I don't think having him makes up for the lack of aggression. So the list I'll be running next week is probably as follows:
Sleeved up a variant of this deck for FNM last night and Game Day today and unfortunately forgot to get some sideboard cards (Celestial Flares mainly for Blood Baron/Sylvan Caryatid/Courser/other walls that are hard to fight through). Ended up 2-2, though the games were close. Here is the 75 I ran:
First round was pretty easily won. He played an Ashiok and started milling stuff over but I was able to kill it off and land a Brimaz that did not get killed off and powered past the other Walkers he played. Luckily he didn't play any creatures to wall me. Game 2 he had a ton of removal and a Sylvan Caryatid that made it tough to attack into. Drown in Sorrow ate my board alive and forced me to rebuild, though my Cartel Aristocrats got pretty beefy off Ajani and were able to race a bit until my board got Aetherspout'd and I was suddenly in topdeck mode. A timely Desecration Demon helped, but he got big Garruk out and I couldn't get an answer. Game three stalled out and we both drew a ton of lands and irrelevant cards like Thoughtseize. Eventually I was able to get a decent board state and he played a couple blockers, but Cartel Aristocrat and animated Athreos helped me pull through.
Match 2: UW Control: 0-2
I knew going into this match it would be brutal. I don't have much of a sideboard for this matchup and it's rough game 1 because my build isn't as heavy on early pressure. Game 1 I had to mulligan to 5 and kept a hand with a bunch of Necromancers, which didn't do much. He played Elspeth and I had no way to deal with the Soldiers to get to her. Game 2 I got him down to 7 life, being very aggressive and he dropped an Elspeth again, which I was able to keep off Ultimate, trying to wait for Hero's Downfall, but eventually he drew into 2 Sphinx Revs and I couldn't do anything.
Match 3: Esper Control: 2-0
Game 1 all I saw was a Nightveil Specter and a couple Black/White scrylands before Brimaz and a bunch of Soldier tokens off Precinct killed him. I assumed he was playing Mono-Black but Game 2 he played some blue lands and dropped a Jace, Architect of Thought and Syncopated my Necromancer. Ah, okay. Luckily I drew into Ajani and pumped my decently-sized team, hammering Jace away and putting on beats. He used Hero's Downfall on Ajani and next turn played Elspeth, which I could only get to by sacrificing some of my board to Cartel Aristocrats, which I didn't want to do. Luckily I drew my Hero's Downfall, killed it, and swung in a couple more turns to win.
Match 3: Jund Walkers: 1-2
Game 1 got brickwalled by Caryatid and Coursers, and drew a ton of land while he drew all sorts of kill spells and walkers. I was able to keep up decently, but eventually I just ate too much damage from his two Coursers. Game 2 I shredded his hand with Duress and Thoughtseize, leaving him with a bunch of lands. I was able to get in for some good damage before he played Nissa and started making his lands into creatures. The board stalled as I played some Aristocrats and finally got Ajani, who I got to 8 loyalty. I didn't think the ultimate was very relevant, as he was at 5 life so I needed to keep trying to get my team bigger than his treefolk. He finally drew Hero's Downfall, but by that time I was able to kill him. Game 3 I shredded his hand again but started just getting lands and he played a Nissa again. I couldn't draw any threats (or anything, really), and he slapped a Gift of Orzhova on a land and I promptly lost.
overall, the deck is very fun to pilot and I think it's powerful. The weakest matchup is control, since the deck doesn't have the powerful start of an aggro deck or the raw destructive power of midrange decks, and is somewhere in-between. i think Gift of Orzhova is a decent sideboard card we use to get around Courser and Caryatid, which stop the deck cold in its tracks. Being able to fly over is nice, and giving something like Cartel Aristocrat even more evasion is nuts (just gotta be careful with that ability!). Celestial Flare is also very good here, but we 'lose' an attack by doing so, where Gift lets us stay really aggressive and just race. I also think Sin Collector may be overkill. He's a good card, but I would probably just rather play 4 Duress out of the side. He doesn't tend to do much that Duress can't, and the three drop spot is very awkwardly crammed already. He is a human, but I don't think that's a good enough reason to include him. Dictate of Erebos did not perform well today, but it did pretty well at FNM last night so I'm happy with it. maybe cut the one in the side possibly but it is house against any midrange decks. Spirit of the Labyrinth is a possibility against Control since they drown us in card advantage, but I feel like it is too prone to Azorius Charm or just getting boardwiped. I may experiment with it. I also cut Obzedat a lot - I'm not saying he's bad, but a lot of decks have ways to interact with him now (I saw a lot of Putefy - could be just my meta though), and I think Blood Baron may possibly be better maindeck with Obz on the side. Not sure yet. Demon is also very good here, and i think I may up him to a 3-of. He can swing games back and gives us the nice fat body we need. Also need more Hero's Downfall. Elspeth is really hard to deal with for us, and so is Jace, Architect of Thought. I like having cath-all removal in Orzhov Charm, but Downfall being able to hit Walkers is much needed. Could just up Banishing Light instead, but I'm worried Golgari Charm/Abrupt Decay can just blow that out.
Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I figure since the deck still has the human theme in it, it's more BW Humans than Midrange.
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I make art!
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing: Standard: UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)
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Anyways, here is the list I'll be trying out going forward:
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Boros Elite
4 Tithe Drinker
4 Cartel Aristocrat
4 Underworld Coinsmith
3 Fiendslayer Paladin
4 Xathrid Necromancer
3 Athreos, God of Passage
2 Civic Saber
4 Bile Blight
2 Ultimate Price
Lands: 22
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
3 Mana Confluence
3 Mutavault
4 Swamp
4 Plains
2 Blind Obedience
4 Thoughtseize
2 Deicide
2 Brave the Elements
2 Celestial Flare
1 Doom Blade
2 Sin Collector
EDIT: After talking with some friends, I opted to take out Profit//Loss for Ultimate Price MB and brought Sin Collector into the SB.
I checked out the deck lists from States on SCG (searched all Top 8) and there were just 3 BW Athreos decks (there were two more 3 color Athreos decks). None of the 3 BW decks ran Xathrid Necromancer. I can see how there would be redundancy at the 3-drop slot with Xathrid and Athreos.
Amusing side note: the only time I got an Athreos trigger tonight, my opponent went from 137 to 134 to keep a creature in my graveyard (yes, he had ultimated the new Ajani) so it wasn't close to being a difference maker!
Edit: and another thing about those BW Athreos lists, each of them included at least 2 Obzedat main board.
Round 1 vs Tribal Minotaur 2-0 - Bile Blight was a champion in this matchup. It let me remove deathtouch Minotaur and the lord Minotaur pre-damage making some very unfavorable blocks for my opponent.
Round 2 vs Naya Hexproof 2-1 - The first game I ended up unable to deal with a hexproof 21/21 Fleecemane Lion with lifelink, but Civic Saber on a Tithe Drinker kept me in there for quite some time before the 21 life a turn happened. Post Sideboard the Celestial Flare, Doom Blade and Deicide were all great swaps. Took the next two games with my opponent unable to keep a creature on the table long enough.
Round 3 vs Black Devotion 2-0 - The first game was some pure bad magic. My opponent and I both kept 1 land hands, but I was on the play with a Soldier of the Pantheon so I went with it. I was Thoughtseize'd 3 times by his 1 mana. The Soldier got in 10 damage before I even got down a second land(Temple of Silence). Opponent scooped at 2 life. Game 2 was better for both of us. He was able to play more land and Lifebane Zombie hit my hand along with Thoughtseize. I brought in 2 Brave the Elements and was able to negate his removal attempts using 1 along with Cartel Aristocrat doing her thing. Bile Blight again opened up the lane and Desecration Demon was too late to the party.
Short event, but I felt very comfortable with what this build could do and I loved Civic Saber. I will definitely play it again at FNM and future 3-5 round events. Thank you Capt. Nick for sharing your lists with the community.
I love Civic Saber here. It does a ton of work. I'm glad Tithe Drinker was solid for you. I was theorycrafting when I put it in but hearing that it worked well is great news. I'm excited to play with it myself.
I recently put this deck together (two weeks ago, 3-2 & 4-1 at my last two FNMs!) and I'm a bit sad and worried about the upcoming rotation. It's a blast to play and I don't know how the deck will play or feel post-rotation. It's hilarious getting my board wiped by an overloaded mortars only to get 8 zombie tokens and all my creatures returned back to my hand.
4 Dryad Militant
4 Precinct Captain
2 Imposing Sovereign
2 Cartel Aristocrat
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Athreos, God of Passage
1 Banisher Priest
1 Desecration Demon
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
3 Brave the Elements
1 Ajani's Presence
2 Thoughtseize
2 Orzhov Charm
2 Banishing Light
1 Spear of Heliod
2 Mana Confluence
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
7 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Orzhov Guildgate
1 Thoughtseize
1 Ajani's Presence
2 Celestial Flare
2 Deicide
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
2 Ultimate Price
1 Gift of Orzhova
3 Sin Collector
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
How did I come up with this deck? I took the 3 B/W Athreos shells that placed in States, averaged their numbers, found the core (basically how PVDDR amalgamates lists to create "optimal decks" in his CFB articles), and added whatever I saw fit. Initially with JOU I was trying out a B/W midrange shell that was slower (Barons main, less CMC 1 & 2, etc.
I'm aware that 23 lands may be too... little considering I have 3 cards (5 in the 75) that cost more than 3 mana, but so far it hasn't been issue. May go up to 24, all the same.
The deck is still capable of fast, curve-out starts, with late-game reach, either in the form of midrange creatures or recycling through Athreos. Cartel Aristocrat is also nice for pushing through damage. 3 Athreos may look too many, but I've found that I always want to draw one every game, and never more - 3 sounds like a fine number for that. Obzedat is amazing here, as it adds MASSIVE devotion to Athreos, while being a quick clock in itself.
The spells are what you would expect - I'm trying out Ajani's Presence just because it can protect against Supreme Verdict whereas BtE cannot. I also put 2 Banishing Light as it does stick around and provide +1 devotion. Banisher Priest adds more, but they're usually easier to remove.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride should be there in some quantity, actually, I just don't have one. Probably out one Thoughtseize.
I'll continue to test this deck. Sorry if this shouldn't be here (there isn't any Xathrid Necromancer, after all), but it seemed like the direction an aggressive B/W shell looking to maximize Athreos wanted to go, and I'm not sure where that goes.
I don't want to give up on Athreos. But, figure if the pros haven't found a home for him and the brewers haven't found a home for him in the States lists, then maybe I should at least postpone plans to fit him in somewhere.
I think I would take Obzedat out of your list and replace him with one Ajani and one Cartel Aristocrat. Obzedat can be amazing, but it doesn't come out until at least turn 5 and isn't really consistent with the approach of the rest of the deck. I'd put him in the SB for the matches where you really want him (Control).
If we saw both Xathrid Necromancer and Elite Vanguard reprinted, then we'd have a great rotation on our hands!
By the way, what's everyone's thoughts on Ajani, Caller of the Pride? I've been using him in my deck lately (don't have Athreos yet), and he helps greatly when I need to jump over enemy creatures for the finishing blow, as well as pumping up creatures and applying pressure. I know our 3-mana slot is pretty packed with a lot of other options, but he's still pretty legit.
Thoughts?
3x Athreos, God of Passage
2x Cartel Aristocrat
2x Imposing Sovereign
2x Obzedat, Ghost Council
4x Precinct Captain
2x Banisher Priest
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Xathrid Necromancer
Lands (24)
4x Godless Shrine
8x Plains
4x Swamp
3x Mutavault
2x Mana Confluence
4x Temple of Silence
4x Banishing Light
1x Spear of Heliod
Instants (4)
4x Brave the Elements
Sorceries (3)
3x Thoughtseize
1x Thoughtseize
1x Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1x Deicide
3x Fiendslayer Paladin
2x Hero's Downfall
3x Lifebane Zombie
4x Sin Collector
Another plus is that I have so many multicolored creatures that it blanks Ultimate Price, and I've had Mono Black players board in Dark Betrayal which misses all of my one drops. It's fun to beat them with 1 Soldier of the Pantheon and 2 Boros Elite
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
Usually by trying to get it into a celestial flare scenario.
This White deck was featured in a Deck Tech during SCG Portland last weekend:
2 Banisher Priest
4 Boros Elite
4 Cavalry Pegasus
4 Daring Skyjek
3 Frontline Medic
2 Imposing Sovereign
4 Judge's Familiar
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Lands (21)
17 Plains
4 Mutavault
Spells (10)
3 Banishing Light
2 Ajani's Presence
4 Brave the Elements
1 Spear Of Heliod
1 Banisher Priest
1 Fiendslayer Paladin
3 Keening Apparition
2 Celestial Flare
2 Deicide
1 Godsend
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1 Spear Of Heliod
2 Glare of Heresy
There was a Gideon in the original version, but I replaced that with a 4th Judge's Familiar.
It seems pretty solid to me, I've been testing against MBD, MUD, BW Midrange, and RG Monsters. I have not done any side boarding.
It's pretty good against MBD, only so-so against MUD, very good against BW Midrange, and about even against RG Monsters. Stormbreath (flying pro-white) is a pain. I did not find Blood Baron as troubling, it's not played as early or as often as Stormbreath and it doesn't fly. As my primary objective is to have a deck that beats MBD, I'm pleased.
I have been thinking, however, that a splash of black for either Athreos or Xathrid Necromancer (plus some black removal) might be in order. Suppose, for instance, you dropped 2 Ajani's Presence and 2 Banisher Priest for 2 Athreos or Necromancer and 2 removal spells. Maybe drop back down to 3 Judge's familiar as well (it not being a human).
Another option would be to leave in the Banisher Priests and put all the removal spells in the SB.
If you were to do this, would you prefer Necromancer or Athreos? And, what black removal would you include?
I feel that if white based (human) aggro decks want to do well right now, you have to get through Courser of Kruphix and Sylvan Caryatid. Since I tried it, this card has done wonders for me. It gets through just about everything: Elspeth tokens, Blood Baron, opposing fiend slayer paladins, etc.
I'll put up a list sometime this weekend, likely after my Saturday tournament.
I love Precinct Captain ( I have a Korean playset), but since Courser came out he has been lacking as a 2 drop.
—Dr. Doom
-My approach to building decks. Sometimes it works.
1x Athreos, God of Passage
4x Banisher Priest
4x Boros Elite
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3x Daring Skyjek
3x Imposing Sovereign
4x Precinct Captain
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Xathrid Necromancer
4x Caves of Koilos
4x Godless Shrine
2x Mana Confluence
1x Mutavault
9x Plains
2x Temple of Silence
Instant (4)
4x Brave the Elements
Sorcery (3)
3x Thoughtseize
Planeswalker (1)
1x Gideon, Champion of Justice
2 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Celestial Flare
3x Fiendslayer Paladin
2x Keening Apparition
2x Profit / Loss
4x Sin Collector
1x Thoughtseize
Never really drew Athreos, but he's obviously insanely powerful with Xathrid Necromancer as an attrition engine. That said, I don't think having him makes up for the lack of aggression. So the list I'll be running next week is probably as follows:
4x Banisher Priest
4x Boros Elite
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Cavalry Pegasus
3x Daring Skyjek
3x Precinct Captain
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Xathrid Necromancer
Sorcery (3)
3x Thoughtseize
4x Caves of Koilos
4x Godless Shrine
2x Mana Confluence
3x Mutavault
7x Plains
2x Temple of Silence
Planeswalker (4)
2x Ajani, Caller of the Pride
2x Gideon, Champion of Justice
Instant (4)
4x Brave the Elements
2x Dark Betrayal
2x Doom Blade
3x Fiendslayer Paladin
2x Keening Apparition
2x Profit / Loss
3x Sin Collector
1x Thoughtseize
The deck becomes insanely powerful with more Mutavaults. After playing with 3 for a while perhaps we'll go up to 4. Let me know what you all think.
Standard Budget Decks Link:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/standard-type-2/budget-standard/752237-clownstabbers-budget-decks
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Precinct Captain
3x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Xathrid Necromancer
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1x Athreos, God of Passage
2x Desecration Demon
2x Obzedat, Ghost Council
4x Thoughtseize
2x Orzhov Charm
1x Hero's Downfall
2x Banishing Light
2x Ajani Steadfast
1x Dictate of Erebos
Lands
4x Mutavault
20x Other Lands
2x Duress
1x Ultimate Price
3x Sin Collector
3x Fiendslayer Paladin
2x Lifebane Zombie
1x Athreos, God of Passage
2x Blood Baron of Vizkopa
1x Dictate of Erebos
Match 1: BUG Control: 2-1
Match 2: UW Control: 0-2
Match 3: Esper Control: 2-0
Match 3: Jund Walkers: 1-2
overall, the deck is very fun to pilot and I think it's powerful. The weakest matchup is control, since the deck doesn't have the powerful start of an aggro deck or the raw destructive power of midrange decks, and is somewhere in-between. i think Gift of Orzhova is a decent sideboard card we use to get around Courser and Caryatid, which stop the deck cold in its tracks. Being able to fly over is nice, and giving something like Cartel Aristocrat even more evasion is nuts (just gotta be careful with that ability!). Celestial Flare is also very good here, but we 'lose' an attack by doing so, where Gift lets us stay really aggressive and just race. I also think Sin Collector may be overkill. He's a good card, but I would probably just rather play 4 Duress out of the side. He doesn't tend to do much that Duress can't, and the three drop spot is very awkwardly crammed already. He is a human, but I don't think that's a good enough reason to include him. Dictate of Erebos did not perform well today, but it did pretty well at FNM last night so I'm happy with it. maybe cut the one in the side possibly but it is house against any midrange decks. Spirit of the Labyrinth is a possibility against Control since they drown us in card advantage, but I feel like it is too prone to Azorius Charm or just getting boardwiped. I may experiment with it. I also cut Obzedat a lot - I'm not saying he's bad, but a lot of decks have ways to interact with him now (I saw a lot of Putefy - could be just my meta though), and I think Blood Baron may possibly be better maindeck with Obz on the side. Not sure yet. Demon is also very good here, and i think I may up him to a 3-of. He can swing games back and gives us the nice fat body we need. Also need more Hero's Downfall. Elspeth is really hard to deal with for us, and so is Jace, Architect of Thought. I like having cath-all removal in Orzhov Charm, but Downfall being able to hit Walkers is much needed. Could just up Banishing Light instead, but I'm worried Golgari Charm/Abrupt Decay can just blow that out.
Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I figure since the deck still has the human theme in it, it's more BW Humans than Midrange.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, I mostly post from my tablet/smartphone.
Currently playing:
Standard:
UBRControl
Commander:
White Makes Right (Mikaeus, The Lunarch)
Izzet Fun Yet? (Jhoira of the Ghitu)
The Perfect Storm (Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge)
Dead Grave Walking (Skullbriar, the Walking Grave)
How Could You Be So Heartless? (Heartless Hidetsugu)