MTG Salvation

White Weenie Tempo



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White Weenie Aggro




It's been a good long while since I've played Magic competitively and I'm trying to get my foot back in. I've been looking at the white cards available and it looks like a Mono-White deck is viable; however, not being familiar with the meta-game, I'm shooting in the dark. I've put together two separate deck lists and I'm curious what you guys think.

Open, legitimate criticism is appreciated. I just ask that you offer some constructive advice alongside it.

the aggro build seems more viable. maybe bring war falcon and thalia in. with thalia and imposing sovereign together in MB, the deck already have outs against both aggro and control. mentor of the meek doesnt really fit in the aggro theme imo. and tis either sublime or jubilation on the 4 drop (cant be both imo), but im leaning toward sublime more. brave the elements is a MUST. it would either allow you to alpha strike ftw, block more profitably, or just dodge those bonfires and mizziums. and of course, reckoner could also be a good addition.

Quote from PTautomatic

the aggro build seems more viable. maybe bring war falcon and thalia in. with thalia and imposing sovereign together in MB, the deck already have outs against both aggro and control. mentor of the meek doesnt really fit in the aggro theme imo. and tis either sublime or jubilation on the 4 drop (cant be both imo), but im leaning toward sublime more. brave the elements is a MUST. it would either allow you to alpha strike ftw, block more profitably, or just dodge those bonfires and mizziums. and of course, reckoner could also be a good addition.

I appreciate the response, PTautomatic -- I should've remembered to include Brave the Elements as a four-of. The last deck I played competitively was Knights and that card won me more games than I could count.

I've updated the list to look like this:

White Weenie Aggro



Now the only issue I'm facing is that I'm running zero removal. Bonds of Faith seems like deck-tech, seeing as it's a 2-drop that'd be either removal or pump for me -- however, it's not instant-speed. Oblivion Ring is obvious in the side-board. What should I pull for Boros Reckoner - Fiendslayer, maybe?

EDIT: Knight of Glory was short man on the totem pole, so I pulled him for Reckoner. Still, having zero removal is bothering me; but I don't know what to pull. Thalia, Sovereign, Reckoner, Ajani, Gideon, and Archangel are all 4-of material. Ajani, Gideon, and Archangel are win conditions. Fiendslayer is going to be good for stabilizing against faster decks / evading removal from the two big removal colors. Champion and Inquisitor are both good - the former offensively and the latter defensively.

I would run Angel of Jubilation over Sublime Archangel. It stops Aristocrats cold from sacrificing their creatures and has a potential to deal more damage than Sublime Archangel.

Let's say you have three 2/2's just as an example in addition to one of the above.

With Jubilation you have four attacking 3/3's that each need to be chump blocked/killed to stop all the damage.
With Sublime you have one attacking 8/8 that can be chump blocked or killed to stop the damage. Good with Caller of the Pride, but otherwise not so much.

Don't count on Brave the Elements to always prevent this as you won't always have one.

Also here are some other considerations to make:
Frontline Medic (makes combat an easy decision)
Odric, Master Tactician (can be good if you can use it)
Fiend Hunter (sideboard for midrange)
War Priest of Thune (sideboard for Bant/Naya Hexproof)
Precinct Captain (the more pressure, the better)

For a start, Precinct Captain is probably the best 2 drop for any humans list running Ajani. With Imposing Sovereign slowing down blockers it's just a no-brainer. No reason to run mono white, really. I mean I love the decks, but adding red for removal or black for resiliency is probably better.

If you're playing red and Silverblade Paladins (probably not since this would start looking like a different deck; less tempo more aggression), Restoration Angel is best 4 drop main deck card bar-none. Eot Resto the Paladin, bind it, attack with angel with Stronghold boost, 10 damage. It's a pretty common occurence. Sublime Archangel is only great with Rancor, I say. Angel of Jubilation is good against Aristocrats and i'd put some in the board because you honestly can't win with their Aristocrat active. I've been in so many games where I would have won if they didn't have Aristocrat to activate morbid or sac a million guys to Blood Artist. And a million guys they will have with Xathrid Necromancer looming on the horizon. Imagine it in multiples. This is especially relevant in your case because you don't even have removal to deal with Skirsdag High Priest making demons every turn. If you don't want to change your 4 drops Pithing Needle is an option.

In other news, Brave the Elements is definitely awesome and is much better than Faith's shield. I'd run 3. 4 maybe too much but I don't know. From being pseudo removal (prot after block), counterspell (prot after target removal), to alpha strike mode... it's really good.

I really appreciate you guys throwing your advice my way -- thank you. I've been contemplating a lot of what you've said, as well as the Wescoe article/deck I was directed to (kudos for that suggestion - gave me plenty to consider). That being said, I think I've come up with something a bit more focused.

White Weenie Aggro




This is how this works:

Early game aggro is accomplished by Champion of the Parish, although he can easily carry into mid and late game with appropriate boosts from Silver-Inlaid Dagger, Precinct Captain, and Silverblade Paladin.

Imposing Sovereign helps us slow down already slower decks and make decks faster than us manageable, especially since our creatures tend to outclass theirs with first/double-strike, vigilance, lifelink, and so forth once they've landed.

Precinct Captain is a great threat that presents a pretty impressive cost-benefit ratio. It's board advantage on a stick. First Strike gives it some utility, and Silverblade Paladin and Ajani, Caller of the Pride both make him very dangerous very quickly. If anything, puking out 1/1 tokens can act as chumps or aid in a Brave the Elements alpha strike.

Fiendslayer Paladin is good against aggro and midrange due to his immunity to 3/4 of removal and his first strike + lifelike combination. With doublestrike on him he creates strong life gaps, which either win games or buy time.

Riders of Gavony is a card that I originally looked at and found boring. For 4 mana a 3/3 with vigilance isn't too impressive; however, the fact that it benefits from its own pump makes a difference I hadn't noticed before. Riders gives all our creatures evasion (except the angels, which have flying anyway). I'm still a bit iffy about the card, and am considering it a sideboard option (and taking 4 Angel of Jubilation maindeck instead).

Gideon, Champion of Justice is a win-condition. With Silverblade, Ajani, Riders, or Path out he's even more so. He's also at a perfect cost. I just wish the deck had room for 4-ofs of all these guys, much less Gideon.

Angel of Jubilation is an Honor of the Pure with a 3/3 evasive body that combats Aristocrats and reanimation decks.

Silver-Inlaid Dagger seems aggressive and persistent, which I like; however, I had considered replacing them from Bonds of Faith (which would act as pump and removal simultaneously). I decided against the latter even though it seems pretty useful since most decks run a metric ton of humans at the moment. Still, I'm not totally sold on this card. Suggestions (or reassurance) is welcome.

Brave the Elements is a fantastic card. It does everything this deck needs save removal (and even that if played post-block).

Mutavault, as suggested, is absolutely amazing. It gives the deck resilience, which is currently needs.

Comments, criticisms, advice?

I would replace the Knight of Glory in your side deck with War Priest of Thune. It's a human also, and it kills enchantments like Detention Sphere, Oblivion Ring, or the enchantments in Hexproof decks. I really believe Hexproof is making a major comeback as now even Naya Hexproof is viable with the addition of 2 mono-green hexproof creatures. We'll be seeing American Hexproof, Bant Hexproof, and Naya Hexproof now.

I do agree that Gideon can be a win condition, but to me it just seems like win more. On the turn you cast it, there are probably many other equally good plays you could be making. I can't say for certain as I haven't tested it in this deck yet, but that's my 2 cents. I think you could easily swap it to the sideboard (or remove the daggers) and bring three of the Thalias back in. Thalias stall the board wipes (except miracle Terminus) in control matchups, which I think is huge for a heavily creature based deck. And Naya Blitz has proven this time and time again. It will also slow the ability for Hexproof decks to play their auras and block kill an unenchanted Geist of Saint Traft.