This will be my first post on these boards, but I'm hoping everyone will be friendly and constructive, and that I'll be able to look forward to some nice discussion on this great game we call Magic.
This is a deck I have been playing with and testing against some of the current Tier 1 decks with some success. It has no real glaring weaknesses that I have found yet, though I am sure they are there. Also, it uses both Coldsnap and Kamigawa block cards, so I admit it is 6 days away from being truly "Type II" legal, and even then it will only be for a month, but I hope to tune it a bit and try it in some FNMs before it gets rotated out from under me.
The basic strategy behind this deck is to get undercosted fat fliers (UFF) in the air, and utilize Haakon to negate the downside of them, as well as to make your discard pile an extended hand. Card advantage comes from Haakon and Court Hussar, who can be played repeatedly from the graveyard for an Impulse each turn. Drift of Phantasms is either a blocker for Aggro decks like Gruul Beats or Zoo, and transmutes into Haakon, Sphinx, and Avatar if needed (Hussar too!). Ashes of the Fallen... All I can say is that recurring Sphinxes can be Nasty with a capitol N (remember if you have multiple sphinxes out, you can stack the upkeep costs so you can draw cards from sphinxes going out to pay for sphinxes to stay in. Then just play the first sphinx again from the g'yard!) The sideboard is pretty cool too, in my opinion. You can switch up the entire Drift transmute suite with Muddle, then add silver bullets as needed. Ronom Unicorn for creature based enchantment removal (theres a nastly Dovescape build running around in my current FNM). Azorius Guildmage can tap creatures and stop activated abilities (like transmute to Wierd Harvest). Sacred Ground for LD. Azorius Herald can replace Court Hussar where card advantage is less important and life is a more precious resource (aggro), but you'll need an Ashes to get him out repeatedly.
Right now I think the weak spots in the deck are Repeal and Stromgald Crusader. I always find myself ditching repeal, and the crusader is fast but not fast as Avatar or Sphinx. But I am open for any suggestions. I feel I should make a point about my leaving out Compulsive Research. I feel that the deck already has a lot of card advantage from Hussar and the "virtual hand" that Haakon gives you. On turn 3 I want to be playing a UFF, not getting more cards. I will probably be trying it in the build, however, at some point.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Feel free to try the deck out, its pretty fun!
While the deck may seem like an aggro deck, but it definately performs more like a control deck. For that reason no more than 15 creatures are really necessary. Ashes isn't that great because it HAS to stay in play to abuse the deck correctly. Playtest something closer to my version. I promise you'll be more impressed /w the results.
I did make one mistake....The Snare's should be Rune Snags.
Playing Haakon or Wrath hasn't been a problem so far. If for some reason you can't find a wrath, Mortify can buy time. The great thing about this deck is it doesn't have a problem digging for answers via Hussar, Research, and Gifts. There are 8 ways to get Haakon into the GY via Gifts, Research, and Peace of Mind. I suppose you could add a 4th Haakon if you were that worried.
Pitching cards to Peace can buy you a few turns if faced with an onslaught as can your endless supply of Knights when Haakon is in the 'yard. Just yesterday afternoon I was playing v. Solar Flare and Held off 2x Angel of Despair, 1 Yosei, & 1 Kokusho all the while at low life (around 3 or so if I recall corectly).
I have seen a few builds run Stinkweed Imp, but those are mosltly the B/W versions and would replace the Hussar's or Research's.
Vexing Sphinx is a solid card, but I dont like the UU as WW & BB are already needed. I haven't found the deck to need a "Finisher." I tried Sky Hussar briefly, but it was only useful on rare occasion.
BTW Barfly and Aliken....."seems" & "the feeling I get when looking at" make it "seem" like your views based on at-a-glance opinions, and not results. I apologize if this comes across as rude, I assure you the intent was not so. However, I have been testing the deck, and "the feeling I get when looking at" your statements is that you both have not.
this deck would be much more powerful as simply b/w.
i use delirium skeins and peace of mind as useful discard engines. running white gives you leonin skyhunter, paladin en-vec , white shield crusader, and such. coat of arms= tech too.
EDIT-There's a thread for this in rumor mill new card discussion for a control version, you could check that out. so far the weenie version threads have lasted no longer than a couple days or so.
Has anyone tried the deck as a B/G combination, it's very powerful.
It also doesn't need to run any discard, as around half the deck is dredgable. Multiple Haakons in the graveyard isn't a problem, it just boosts the power of Golgari Grave-Troll. I have not yet tested the UBW build yet, so i can't judge how it works yet.
This will be my first post on these boards, but I'm hoping everyone will be friendly and constructive, and that I'll be able to look forward to some nice discussion on this great game we call Magic.
This is a deck I have been playing with and testing against some of the current Tier 1 decks with some success. It has no real glaring weaknesses that I have found yet, though I am sure they are there. Also, it uses both Coldsnap and Kamigawa block cards, so I admit it is 6 days away from being truly "Type II" legal, and even then it will only be for a month, but I hope to tune it a bit and try it in some FNMs before it gets rotated out from under me.
Okay enough pre-amble, to the list:
Haakon Knigts
Creatures:
Avatar of Discord x3
Court Hussar x4
Drift of Phantasms x4
Haakon, Stromgald Scourge x3
Stromgald Crusader x4
Vexing Sphinx x4
Spells:
Mortify x4
Repeal x4
Rune Snag x4
Artifacts:
Ashes of the Fallen x3
Lands:
Frost Marsh x4
Godless Shrine x3
Hallowed Fountain x3
Island x1
Swamp x4
Underground River x4
Watery Grave x4
Sideboard:
Azorius Guildmage x1
Azorius Herald x4
Ronom Unicorn x1
Muddle the Mixture x4
Faith's Fetters x3
Sacred Ground x1
Ashes of the Fallen x1
The basic strategy behind this deck is to get undercosted fat fliers (UFF) in the air, and utilize Haakon to negate the downside of them, as well as to make your discard pile an extended hand. Card advantage comes from Haakon and Court Hussar, who can be played repeatedly from the graveyard for an Impulse each turn. Drift of Phantasms is either a blocker for Aggro decks like Gruul Beats or Zoo, and transmutes into Haakon, Sphinx, and Avatar if needed (Hussar too!). Ashes of the Fallen... All I can say is that recurring Sphinxes can be Nasty with a capitol N (remember if you have multiple sphinxes out, you can stack the upkeep costs so you can draw cards from sphinxes going out to pay for sphinxes to stay in. Then just play the first sphinx again from the g'yard!) The sideboard is pretty cool too, in my opinion. You can switch up the entire Drift transmute suite with Muddle, then add silver bullets as needed. Ronom Unicorn for creature based enchantment removal (theres a nastly Dovescape build running around in my current FNM). Azorius Guildmage can tap creatures and stop activated abilities (like transmute to Wierd Harvest). Sacred Ground for LD. Azorius Herald can replace Court Hussar where card advantage is less important and life is a more precious resource (aggro), but you'll need an Ashes to get him out repeatedly.
Right now I think the weak spots in the deck are Repeal and Stromgald Crusader. I always find myself ditching repeal, and the crusader is fast but not fast as Avatar or Sphinx. But I am open for any suggestions. I feel I should make a point about my leaving out Compulsive Research. I feel that the deck already has a lot of card advantage from Hussar and the "virtual hand" that Haakon gives you. On turn 3 I want to be playing a UFF, not getting more cards. I will probably be trying it in the build, however, at some point.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Feel free to try the deck out, its pretty fun!
Creatures (13)
4x Court Hussar
3x Haakon
2x Paladin en-Vec
2x White Shield Crusader
2x Stromgald Crusader
Spells (25)
4x Remand
4x Rune Snag
4x Compulsive Research
4x Wrath of God
3x Mortify
2x Gifts Ungiven
2x Peace of Mind
2x Persecute
Land (22)
4x Watery Grave
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Godless Shrine
3x Swamp
3x Plains
2x Island
1x Shizo
1x Eiganjo
While the deck may seem like an aggro deck, but it definately performs more like a control deck. For that reason no more than 15 creatures are really necessary. Ashes isn't that great because it HAS to stay in play to abuse the deck correctly. Playtest something closer to my version. I promise you'll be more impressed /w the results.
Playing Haakon or Wrath hasn't been a problem so far. If for some reason you can't find a wrath, Mortify can buy time. The great thing about this deck is it doesn't have a problem digging for answers via Hussar, Research, and Gifts. There are 8 ways to get Haakon into the GY via Gifts, Research, and Peace of Mind. I suppose you could add a 4th Haakon if you were that worried.
Pitching cards to Peace can buy you a few turns if faced with an onslaught as can your endless supply of Knights when Haakon is in the 'yard. Just yesterday afternoon I was playing v. Solar Flare and Held off 2x Angel of Despair, 1 Yosei, & 1 Kokusho all the while at low life (around 3 or so if I recall corectly).
I have seen a few builds run Stinkweed Imp, but those are mosltly the B/W versions and would replace the Hussar's or Research's.
Vexing Sphinx is a solid card, but I dont like the UU as WW & BB are already needed. I haven't found the deck to need a "Finisher." I tried Sky Hussar briefly, but it was only useful on rare occasion.
BTW Barfly and Aliken....."seems" & "the feeling I get when looking at" make it "seem" like your views based on at-a-glance opinions, and not results. I apologize if this comes across as rude, I assure you the intent was not so. However, I have been testing the deck, and "the feeling I get when looking at" your statements is that you both have not.
i use delirium skeins and peace of mind as useful discard engines. running white gives you leonin skyhunter, paladin en-vec , white shield crusader, and such. coat of arms= tech too.
EDIT-There's a thread for this in rumor mill new card discussion for a control version, you could check that out. so far the weenie version threads have lasted no longer than a couple days or so.
It also doesn't need to run any discard, as around half the deck is dredgable. Multiple Haakons in the graveyard isn't a problem, it just boosts the power of Golgari Grave-Troll. I have not yet tested the UBW build yet, so i can't judge how it works yet.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=510597
Playing:
Legacy BW Stoneblade
Modern BGW Rock
4XHakkon, Stromgald Scourge
4xCourt Hussar
4xPaladin en vec
2xGhost Council of Orzhova
Artifacts
2xLoxodon Warhammer
3xAzorious Signet
3xOzhov Signet
Enchantments
3xPeace of Mind
Sorceries
4xCompulsive Research
4xWrath of God
1xNightmare Void
Instants
4xMortify
Lands
3xSwamp
2xIsland
1xPlains
2xGodless Shrine
3xCaves of Koilos
2xOzhov Basilica
4xBoreal Shelf
1xAdsakar Wastes
Legendary Lands
1xMinamo, School at water's Edge
1xMiren, the Moaning Well
1xEigajo Castle
1xShizo, Death's Storehouse
This is my version of Hakkon control, I call it "Hakkon's Council"