So far, I'm actually really liking the Khans block both flavor-wise and mechanically. Jeskai are by far my favorite of the clan, since I love monks and martial arts and mysticism, and their whole style is really appealing. I have a Jeskai Standard deck now that is fun to play, but I really want to crank this thing up to the next level. I figured once the new set came out, I was going to tear down and rebuild the whole thing. Now that spoilers are out and people are planning, I thought I might come to you guys (the actual WoTC forum for Magic is a ghost town) for help in building a Jeskai deck, and then afterward a fun Temur deck. I only have a couple rules: Save one slot for Narset, and it must actually be in theme. Flavor and "the deck telling a story" are very important to me, and thus far, I can usually make a good deck that's actually in theme. Also, I probably can't afford a full comp of Goblin Rabblemaster, and I really don't want to be forced to use him (there are a lot more fun creatures in the new set, I think), but go ahead and assume that money isn't an object and I'll collect pieces as I go.
I love that Soulfire Grand Master, I tell you what, and I'll be picking her up regardless of whether I actually run her, once she goes down in price.
Jeskai: I like their control aspects and Prowess is actually a hell of a lot of fun. With a couple Monastery Swiftspears and Seekers of the Way out, I throw out an Ascendancy or a Jeskai Charm or a couple of them, it's big damage. Flying Crane Technique serves as a finisher right now, and helps reinforce the "humble monks hiding a devastating power" stuff. My friends never know just what I'm going to do on attack or defense, and I like some more of the control options that came out for them in Fate Reforged. Thanks to the Seeker and Jeskai Charm, life gain is actually pretty nice with these guys. My alpha strikes tend to gain me a lot of life and do some serious damage. The other night in a two-headed giant game, with Narset out, a couple Seekers, a Swiftspear and a Whirlwind Adept, I swung for like 80 damage (Narset's ability grabbed a Flying Crane Technique and a Jeskai Charm, and I had a couple of Ascendancies out), all of it lifelink.
Temur: I have yet to build a Temur deck, but they look fun. They look pretty good. I like their Ascendancy and their Charm, their clan leaders both look fun and they seem both brutally direct (lots of strong creatures) and have a bit of control elements to them. I think they'd make a fun monster-with-a-bit-of-tricksiness deck, but I don't know. The deck lists I looked at online are all over the place. At any rate, I wanted to wait until the new set came out to build one, so I have access to a bigger pool of options. Yasova Dragonclaw looks cool, and most of their other stuff looks pretty tough, too. What do you guys think?
I'm going to completely rebuild my deck. I had considered Alesha, and I'll definitely be getting Shu Yun. I like having the clan leads be part of the clan deck, and Narset, Enlightened Master is pretty awesome. Shu Yun looks mean, too. Turn 5 I might feasibly be able to have a Jeskai Ascendancy out, cast Jeskai Charm for +1/+1 and lifelink and trigger prowess on all my creatures that have it, then pay 2 with Shu Yun's ability to give one of them double strike. All that Prowess and Ascendancy/Charm shenanigans really adds up in my games.
Here's the deck list. It probably looks bush league, because I haven't been able to afford Rabblemaster (I don't want to run him, anyway) or the fetch lands, but at least the latter will change. Monastery Mentor would be a great three-drop but is going for huge numbers on the preorder; hopefully it'll go down, but if not, I have my Mantis Riders. I'm hoping Soulfire will go down; she's great, but really works best in burn decks, rather than any old Standard deck running white, so hopefully she drops a bit.
Note: I just made some additions recently and somehow lost track, so it's sitting at 62 cards. Crazy. I'll be taking care of that when I rebuild the thing.
I like this setup so far. It's just overall fun. I'm thinking I'll ditch End Hostilities; I like it, but I've never once had to use it. Revoke Existence is good anti-God/Ascendancy stuff, so I'll use another one in place of it. Curse of the Swine also works on lots of tough creatures, and I can even cast it for X = 0 just to trigger Prowess (and maybe my Ascendancy). I like Hammerhand and Winterflame, but I might just end up using Wild Slash instead. If you haven't used Ride Down, I tell you this: It causes one of two scenarios. Either your opponents start getting paranoid about blocking with valuable creatures (especially when I swing in with a seemingly harmless Seeker or Swiftspear), or they forget about it and lose a valuable creature while I strengthen my monks and gain trample anyway.
Sage of the Inward Eye can go, I think. She's great, but I could replace her with Soulfire Grand Master. Not quite as much lifelink, but I have plenty of that with the Charms and Seekers, anyway. Definitely want Monastery Mentor, it's just a matter of whether or not it comes down in price. Like I said, I think I'll tear down and rebuild this whole deck. Citadel Siege and Monastery Siege both seem worthwhile, with Monastery Siege probably getting the nod if I can only slot in one. I'd like some more draw, and Monastery Siege allows for both or slowing up spells targeting me or my stuff.
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Onyx Path Freelancer
Writer, game designer, part-time zombie fighter
So far, I'm actually really liking the Khans block both flavor-wise and mechanically. Jeskai are by far my favorite of the clan, since I love monks and martial arts and mysticism, and their whole style is really appealing. I have a Jeskai Standard deck now that is fun to play, but I really want to crank this thing up to the next level. I figured once the new set came out, I was going to tear down and rebuild the whole thing. Now that spoilers are out and people are planning, I thought I might come to you guys (the actual WoTC forum for Magic is a ghost town) for help in building a Jeskai deck, and then afterward a fun Temur deck. I only have a couple rules: Save one slot for Narset, and it must actually be in theme. Flavor and "the deck telling a story" are very important to me, and thus far, I can usually make a good deck that's actually in theme. Also, I probably can't afford a full comp of Goblin Rabblemaster, and I really don't want to be forced to use him (there are a lot more fun creatures in the new set, I think), but go ahead and assume that money isn't an object and I'll collect pieces as I go.
I love that Soulfire Grand Master, I tell you what, and I'll be picking her up regardless of whether I actually run her, once she goes down in price.
Jeskai: I like their control aspects and Prowess is actually a hell of a lot of fun. With a couple Monastery Swiftspears and Seekers of the Way out, I throw out an Ascendancy or a Jeskai Charm or a couple of them, it's big damage. Flying Crane Technique serves as a finisher right now, and helps reinforce the "humble monks hiding a devastating power" stuff. My friends never know just what I'm going to do on attack or defense, and I like some more of the control options that came out for them in Fate Reforged. Thanks to the Seeker and Jeskai Charm, life gain is actually pretty nice with these guys. My alpha strikes tend to gain me a lot of life and do some serious damage. The other night in a two-headed giant game, with Narset out, a couple Seekers, a Swiftspear and a Whirlwind Adept, I swung for like 80 damage (Narset's ability grabbed a Flying Crane Technique and a Jeskai Charm, and I had a couple of Ascendancies out), all of it lifelink.
Temur: I have yet to build a Temur deck, but they look fun. They look pretty good. I like their Ascendancy and their Charm, their clan leaders both look fun and they seem both brutally direct (lots of strong creatures) and have a bit of control elements to them. I think they'd make a fun monster-with-a-bit-of-tricksiness deck, but I don't know. The deck lists I looked at online are all over the place. At any rate, I wanted to wait until the new set came out to build one, so I have access to a bigger pool of options. Yasova Dragonclaw looks cool, and most of their other stuff looks pretty tough, too. What do you guys think?
I'm going to completely rebuild my deck. I had considered Alesha, and I'll definitely be getting Shu Yun. I like having the clan leads be part of the clan deck, and Narset, Enlightened Master is pretty awesome. Shu Yun looks mean, too. Turn 5 I might feasibly be able to have a Jeskai Ascendancy out, cast Jeskai Charm for +1/+1 and lifelink and trigger prowess on all my creatures that have it, then pay 2 with Shu Yun's ability to give one of them double strike. All that Prowess and Ascendancy/Charm shenanigans really adds up in my games.
Here's the deck list. It probably looks bush league, because I haven't been able to afford Rabblemaster (I don't want to run him, anyway) or the fetch lands, but at least the latter will change. Monastery Mentor would be a great three-drop but is going for huge numbers on the preorder; hopefully it'll go down, but if not, I have my Mantis Riders. I'm hoping Soulfire will go down; she's great, but really works best in burn decks, rather than any old Standard deck running white, so hopefully she drops a bit.
Note: I just made some additions recently and somehow lost track, so it's sitting at 62 cards. Crazy. I'll be taking care of that when I rebuild the thing.
3x Mystic Monastery
2x Temple of Enlightenment
2x Temple of Triumph
1x Swiftwater Cliffs
1x Tranquil Cove
4x Island
4x Plains
4x Mountain
4x Evolving Wilds
1x Narset, Enlightened Master
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
3x Mantis Rider
4x Monastery Swiftspear
2x Sage of the Inward Eye
4x Seeker of the Way
Sorceries - 4
2x Curse of the Swine
1x End Hostilities
1x Revoke Existence
3x Flying Crane Technique
4x Jeskai Charm
3x Ride Down
1x Weave Fate
2x Winterflame
Enchantments - 6
2x Hammerhand
4x Jeskai Ascendancy
I like this setup so far. It's just overall fun. I'm thinking I'll ditch End Hostilities; I like it, but I've never once had to use it. Revoke Existence is good anti-God/Ascendancy stuff, so I'll use another one in place of it. Curse of the Swine also works on lots of tough creatures, and I can even cast it for X = 0 just to trigger Prowess (and maybe my Ascendancy). I like Hammerhand and Winterflame, but I might just end up using Wild Slash instead. If you haven't used Ride Down, I tell you this: It causes one of two scenarios. Either your opponents start getting paranoid about blocking with valuable creatures (especially when I swing in with a seemingly harmless Seeker or Swiftspear), or they forget about it and lose a valuable creature while I strengthen my monks and gain trample anyway.
Sage of the Inward Eye can go, I think. She's great, but I could replace her with Soulfire Grand Master. Not quite as much lifelink, but I have plenty of that with the Charms and Seekers, anyway. Definitely want Monastery Mentor, it's just a matter of whether or not it comes down in price. Like I said, I think I'll tear down and rebuild this whole deck. Citadel Siege and Monastery Siege both seem worthwhile, with Monastery Siege probably getting the nod if I can only slot in one. I'd like some more draw, and Monastery Siege allows for both or slowing up spells targeting me or my stuff.
Writer, game designer, part-time zombie fighter
Writer, game designer, part-time zombie fighter