MTG Salvation

So, I'm not going to lie, outside of pre-releases and commander I am not the best at magic. And on various days I could argue that I'm not good at those! Hence why I've come to request help on building a deck. I want this deck to be centred around one creature, and some lieutenants that would serve as secondary wincons. So without further ado, here he is;

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

That's it for two and a red you can successfully scream out your win condition to whomever you're playing against, only to have your dreams bolted away. Though in the 25% of cases where he isn't bolted, or bounced, or oblivion ringed, you can rain down an army of trampling elemental bois upon your enemy.

But here's the thing. I can't decide whether or not I want to go Boros or Izzet... so I want to know if Jeksai is viable! Boros gives some fantastic creature options such as Danitha Capashen, Paragon and the new Swiftblade Vindicator but Izzet gives me access to evasive auras like Arcane Flight, Aether Tunnel and Curator's Ward! (Also maybe some counterspells?)

The only reason I think this is at all possible is because of the combination of the lands Clifftop Retreat,Glacial Fortress,Sulfur Falls,Sacred Foundry andSteam Vents!


So please, I implore those more skilled at standard deck-building than I... Help! I've thrown together a structure, a starting to point to build off of, and if you think I should just straight out cut out either white or blue, please tell me why! Here's the v0.1 Alpha List;

Welcome! Until the full set is spoiled, this should be in New Card Discussion. Moving. Thanks! - hoser2

Quote from GemKnightDante »

So, I'm not going to lie, outside of pre-releases and commander I am not the best at magic. And on various days I could argue that I'm not good at those! Hence why I've come to request help on building a deck. I want this deck to be centred around one creature, and some lieutenants that would serve as secondary wincons. So without further ado, here he is;

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

That's it for two and a red you can successfully scream out your win condition to whomever you're playing against, only to have your dreams bolted away. Though in the 25% of cases where he isn't bolted, or bounced, or oblivion ringed, you can rain down an army of trampling elemental bois upon your enemy.

But here's the thing. I can't decide whether or not I want to go Boros or Izzet... so I want to know if Jeksai is viable! Boros gives some fantastic creature options such as Danitha Capashen, Paragon and the new Swiftblade Vindicator but Izzet gives me access to evasive auras like Arcane Flight, Aether Tunnel and Curator's Ward! (Also maybe some counterspells?)

The only reason I think this is at all possible is because of the combination of the lands Clifftop Retreat,Glacial Fortress,Sulfur Falls,Sacred Foundry andSteam Vents!


So please, I implore those more skilled at standard deck-building than I... Help! I've thrown together a structure, a starting to point to build off of, and if you think I should just straight out cut out either white or blue, please tell me why! Here's the v0.1 Alpha List;

Standard Jeksai Auras?Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creature 3 Skirk Prospector 3 Champion of the Flame 4 Swiftblade Vindicator 2 Danitha Capashen, Paragon 4 Valduk, Keeper of the Flame Enchantment 3 See Red 2 Curator's Ward 1 On Serra's Wings 4 Arcane Flight 3 Frenzied Rage 2 Aether Tunnel	Land 2 Glacial Fortress 3 Clifftop Retreat 3 Sulfur Falls 2 Island 2 Mountain 2 Plains 4 Sacred Foundry 4 Steam Vents	Instant 3 Negate 4 Opt

Welcome! Until the full set is spoiled, this should be in New Card Discussion. Moving. Thanks! - hoser2

11 white
11 blue
16 red
22 sources


I don't see why it couldn't work. Could probably go down 2 red and up 2 white.
I played against a deck with valduk in it that was equipment based. I see the threat he can be with auras or equipment. The counter spells should be able to slow the game down till you get the enchantment.

I think On Serra's Wings can be removed.
You might be able to bring in equipment to use like blackblade reforged Since you have the counter spells there.

Auras decks need to keep their threats alive. Valduk and Danitha cost 3 mana, so when you play them by turn 3, you're not attacking before turn 4, and most importantly, you have no mana open to protect them from removal spells. In my opinion, those cards are huge traps.
I'll show you where my list stands so far because it'd be too long to explain everything (note that a read of the auras topic in "deck creation" is probably where you should go) :



We must wait for GRN auras to show up, because splashing a third colour is atrocious, let's be honest. So far Izzet is the way to go, for only a few cards are worth splashing white :
Adanto Vanguard, Swiftblade Vindicator and Squire's Devotion.
Most options are in blue for protection purposes and cheap auras, and in red, Champion of the Flame is a must.
I think the deck lacks a good blue one-drop too, Herald is very bad, but it works with Obsession and ensures some damage.
3-cmc spells must stay at a minimum (0-4 max) and must probably be auras or blowout spells, because you want your creatures to be cast asap and put auras on them following turns.

I think Skirk Prospector is ramp in that deck. So Danitha and Valduk could come out on turn2.

I'm afraid it's not good enough. It's not as good as Simian Spirit Guide that you can hide and use without casting it on Turn 1. Here you must cast it on turn 1, it doesn't provide white for Danitha, is a very bad one-drop (worse than the ones in my list), since it doesn't carry auras very well (no evasion).
If you play this archetype, you quickly come to the conclusion 3-cmc creatures are too cute. Adding a bad mana dork to force them in is not viable.

While I do appreciate the highly valid criticism against Valduk, if he's cut from the deck it'd absolutely drain most, if not all, of my enthusiasm to play the archetype. If he's not worth the slot then I'd likely just want to play a different deck. Again, thank you for the input, I appreciate it.

So let's try a different approach then since I think we are going about this the wrong way.

So since Valduk is the main card, let's just build around that and try to make that work as best as we can.

creatures
Valduk
Champion of the flame.

I've decided to just use two colors for these decks.

The three colors we can use are.
Temur UGR
Jeskai RWU
Naya RGW

I'll elaborate on these later.

So to start off focusing on two colors makes it easier to build around Valduk.



Now with this deck it only has 12 creatures. Other creatures you can add are Mist-Cloaked Herald / Slippery Scoundrel

Dive Down Allows for spot removal
Opt for card advantage

Auras should be pretty clear cut. You could add Aether Tunnel

Sideboard options:
Fight with Fire deals with midrange threats
Lave Coil deals with midrange threats and is cheaper than the previous one
Sorcerous SpyGlass helps with the early game giving us info about OP's deck and taking away abilities of problem cards.
Banefire Late game mana sink finisher incase we are board wiped.
Nezahal, Primal Tide Late game answer that is uncounterable. Not sure if it's going to be super usefull but it will avoid counters.

Next is RW Auras



You can splash blue here but if you do. Only do it for Dive Down and Curious Obsession. You can also try Adamant Will or Bounty Agent to see how they fit in. There is also Maniacal Rage

Sideboard options:
Fight with Fire deals with Midrange issues.
Settle the Wreckage deals with Aggro.
Sorcerous SpyGlass helps with the early game giving us info about OP's deck and taking away abilities of problem cards.
Banefire Late game mana sink finisher incase we are board wiped.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty hexproofs everyone except herself. Keeps away nasty sweepers and some removal.
Tiana, Ship's Caretakerkeeps auras on the field if they get destroyed.

Now what about the 3 color builds? Temur, Jeskai, Naya. I wouldn't suggest these. If you do end up doing it, it can only be for a splash and really you only want to get 1 or 2 cards from that group because again, we can potentially flood out on Auras because we are running less creatures in the deck.

Also because of the splashing you also want to keep basic lands there incase you run into Field of Ruin or Assassin's Trophy Not saying this problem will happen but just in case.

Problems: I noticed with both is that you can potentially flood out with nothing but Auras. Also there is no answer to destroy artifacts and enchantments outbeside countering them or using Ixalan's binding. So choose wisely there. We have no answer for graveyard effects so you may swap in Sentinel Totem for that.

Conlusions: Both decks run the risk of flooding out to Auras but hopefully these should go a bit longer into the game and run less risk of getting blownout. If that does happen the sideboard should be able to fill in the gaps. The best version of the deck is Izzet with white splash for Danitha Capashen, Paragon or Swiftblade Vindicator. You really only want 1 of them and not both.

In the blue version, you want as many 1-cmc auras as you can. I suggest you to play the full 4 Arcane Flights. Plus, you want Valduk to be untouchable. You'll face Steel Leaf Champion and other elves, Goblin Chainwhirler and other gobs, rea decks, and Rekindling Phoenix, angels and demons will force you to have as many Frenzied Rages and/or Aether Tunnels as necessary.
Negate isn't as necessary since you already have 8 protection spells (Sirens and Dives). I would play more auras in those slots. Tilonalli's Crown doesn't kill a 1/1 Champion of the Flame btw. I think you want at least 16 auras in any list, and I recommand 14 creatures minimum. With only 12, I need something to find them and unfortunately, there's no good cantrip in blue (nothing like Adventurous Impulse).

In the WR version, the big problem for me is the lack of 1-cmc auras in white and red. And GRN gives us ZERO aura, that's very disappointing. I would play Squire's Devotion in this list and more lands (22-24), and I would cut the reactive spells like Binding and Settle from your list. An auras deck is a very linear and proactive strategy. Maybe the meta will force to play a few reactive spells but a stock list should avoid them...

Both decks run the risk of flooding out to Auras

In my experience, I never flooded with auras, but with creatures. Nothing worse than drawing all your critters but no aura to grow them !