Ajani, Mentor of Heroes 3GW
Planeswalker - Ajani
+1: Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures you control
+1: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal an Aura, creature, or planeswalker card from among them and put that card into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
-8: You gain 100 life.
/4
As we can see, Ajani now splashes green, and is for a creature-based deck. It also works with auras and other planeswalkers, so although it doesn't defend itself, it relies on the overall deck build to protect him by playing creatures each turn, or make them bulkier. This card may come in handy for some heroic builds, although it doesn't trigger anything at all.
Sage of Hours 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
Heroic - Whenever you cast a spell that targets Sage of Hours, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Remove all +1/+1 counters from Sage of Hours: For each five counters removed this way, take an extra turn after this one.
1/1
The first mythic, and most interesting, heroic creature out there, and for a reason. As you can see in its flavor, you can abuse of a +1/+1 counters engine to take infinite turns, which seems restricted by removing all the counters when you activate its ability. Well, we have an interesting way to exploit this feature, and is with Vorel and the new Ajani.
How it works?
In a good situation, you can play Vorel and Sage of Hours in the early turns, by turn 5 drop Ajani. For this turn, you would ideally like to have UG available or have your sage with 2 +1/+1 counters already, so we can start the fun. Ajani's +1 will place 3 +1/´1 counters on the sage, which can remove all of them to take an extra turn. Next turn, you put the +1/+1 counters again, tap vorel to make them six, and remove them all to take a new turn. You can even swing for 7 each combat phase and then remove the +1/+1 counters (be careful on not having your sage killed in the process), so this is basically an insta-win, in a very fashioned style which only bant can give us in standard right now
It has other win conditions as well, but it mainly focus on getting the infinite combo, which ensures the win. Ordeal of Nylea helps us to place Ajani faster than expected, or place it with extra spare mana to use Vorel's ability. Other ordeals can work as well, having Heliod being good against aggro, and Thassa's one in place we need to dig in for the combo.
This seem as a good time to talk about a pretty interesting engine. It includes Journey into Nyx spoilers, so read it at your own risk
Thats a very interesting idea. I´d recommend some Forced Adaptation to generate counters But i dont know what cards to cut...maybe the battlewise hoplites or so
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes 3GW
Planeswalker - Ajani
+1: Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures you control
+1: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal an Aura, creature, or planeswalker card from among them and put that card into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
-8: You gain 100 life.
/4
As we can see, Ajani now splashes green, and is for a creature-based deck. It also works with auras and other planeswalkers, so although it doesn't defend itself, it relies on the overall deck build to protect him by playing creatures each turn, or make them bulkier. This card may come in handy for some heroic builds, although it doesn't trigger anything at all.
Sage of Hours 1U
Creature - Human Wizard
Heroic - Whenever you cast a spell that targets Sage of Hours, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Remove all +1/+1 counters from Sage of Hours: For each five counters removed this way, take an extra turn after this one.
1/1
The first mythic, and most interesting, heroic creature out there, and for a reason. As you can see in its flavor, you can abuse of a +1/+1 counters engine to take infinite turns, which seems restricted by removing all the counters when you activate its ability. Well, we have an interesting way to exploit this feature, and is with Vorel and the new Ajani.
How it works?
In a good situation, you can play Vorel and Sage of Hours in the early turns, by turn 5 drop Ajani. For this turn, you would ideally like to have UG available or have your sage with 2 +1/+1 counters already, so we can start the fun. Ajani's +1 will place 3 +1/´1 counters on the sage, which can remove all of them to take an extra turn. Next turn, you put the +1/+1 counters again, tap vorel to make them six, and remove them all to take a new turn. You can even swing for 7 each combat phase and then remove the +1/+1 counters (be careful on not having your sage killed in the process), so this is basically an insta-win, in a very fashioned style which only bant can give us in standard right now
It has other win conditions as well, but it mainly focus on getting the infinite combo, which ensures the win. Ordeal of Nylea helps us to place Ajani faster than expected, or place it with extra spare mana to use Vorel's ability. Other ordeals can work as well, having Heliod being good against aggro, and Thassa's one in place we need to dig in for the combo.
Would bioshift be an option? You can move counters from one target to another while adding additional counters onto each target.
Would bioshift be an option? You can move counters from one target to another while adding additional counters onto each target.
Yes, that would be an interesting option. Another which I like most, is the Forced Adaptation, as nightyxx pointed out. Having two on your sage means, you only need to trigger Ajani's +1 to have the exact 5 counters to make the magic happen, while Bioshift only works once, so I'm more inclined to the enchantment.
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
The deck wins consistently on turn 4 if not interrupted, often on turn 5. It has insane token production (7 creatures on turn 2!?) and can pump them up easily for an alpha strike. Honestily Sage of Hours seems to be the weakest card and even he can shine with 5 or more counters. I don't remove them instantly but rather keep them until I feel I need the turn or if he gets targeted by removal.
Its fast, and if the early game gets going to a long game Godsend helps take it over the top. Been working well so far in testing, lot of ways to reach t4 kill and various ways to get 7 to 10 dmg on t3.
Has anyone done some magic online dailies with this yet? DisRaptor your playing it what are the deck problems? Sage of hours seems like he could just be changed to the white/red god.
Only proxied it and played mostly against mono black. The 24 creatures make sure you always have a threat, if they don't run mass removal you only need 1-2 turns before you've got enough tokens and are "safe" from targeted removal. Sadly Bile Blight exists... I would need more testing too see how good the deck really is in the current (and future) meta.
The decks I beat were: Boros Devotion, B/W Midrange, Naya Midrange, and Mono-U Devotion.
Here are some notes and observations I made:
-The fact that lifelink is EVERYWHERE in this deck allows it to race just about anything without fear.
-Gods Willing should be in every heroic deck ever. My deck obviously folds to a Blood Baron of Vizkopa, but Gods Willing will let you swing past it with your unstoppable Aura machine.
-Overperformers include Pain Seer(!) and Hopeful Eidolon. Yes, you read that right. Hopeful Eidolon was one of the strongest cards in the deck for me. We all know about the nut play of T1 Eidolon, T2 double Ethereal Armor. I scored that once early on in the night, and people played around it for the rest of the event! That look on the opponent’s face when you lead with Hopeful Eidolon… “Should I just kill it now?”
-Oh, never do that play against Mono-Black, by the way. You WILL get 3-for-1’d.
-I was originally going to test the Profit/Losses against Mono-blue, an otherwise poor matchup for me. But I never saw them, and I don’t think there was ever an opportunity to cast one profitably. Fusing it was also awkward – at five mana, I’d rather just bestow Herald of Torment. I’m going to replace them with different removal.
-The weakest card in the maindeck was probably Fabled Hero, but I left 2 in there because of how he demands an answer immediately. These are the slots that will probably get used to test out stuff from JOU. The only things I feel would benefit a voltronesque build like this are Athreos (keep the gas coming) or Underworld Coinsmith (provides some reach and pumps Ethereal Armor).
If you’re looking for a different spin on things, give this deck a try!
Thank you for sharing the deck, seems pretty consistent, like it a lot, more because it resembles my voltron a lot, hahah.
I will try something a little different for Nyx metagame, and will make use of some interesting cards that come for orzhov.
Making it more aggro, having beastly openings with Ethereal Armor. I don't like to have multiple Pain Seer in my hand, so 2 or 3 are ok, to not overflow (at least it works better for me in that way), and Athreos plays pretty well with all the weenies there. I may just sideboard it in case I'm going against aggro, to get the other Hopeful Eidolon and the 2 Gift of Orzhova. Banishing Light is an awesome "comeback", now more useful to pump up our armor, or get the devotion for Athreos, while it removes everything we need to, something white was asking so bad. If enchantment removal doesn't become a thing, this can be better option than Ultimate Price, Revoke Existence or Deicide
I'm contemplating swapping Nivmagus Elemental for Akroan Skyguard; due to the Nivmagus Elemental not having heroic, but it seems handy to be able to sac spells into it if the spell target gets destroyed.
The skyguard though will give added reach as it has good evasion
Thank you for sharing the deck, seems pretty consistent, like it a lot, more because it resembles my voltron a lot, hahah.
I will try something a little different for Nyx metagame, and will make use of some interesting cards that come for orzhov.
Making it more aggro, having beastly openings with Ethereal Armor. I don't like to have multiple Pain Seer in my hand, so 2 or 3 are ok, to not overflow (at least it works better for me in that way), and Athreos plays pretty well with all the weenies there. I may just sideboard it in case I'm going against aggro, to get the other Hopeful Eidolon and the 2 Gift of Orzhova. Banishing Light is an awesome "comeback", now more useful to pump up our armor, or get the devotion for Athreos, while it removes everything we need to, something white was asking so bad. If enchantment removal doesn't become a thing, this can be better option than Ultimate Price, Revoke Existence or Deicide
I’m really unsure about cutting the number of Hopeful Eidolon – incidental lifegain is one of the deck’s hidden strengths. It lets us race with near-impunity, and allows us to use Pain Seer more liberally. And I’ve never cared much for Tormented Hero, as it’s a horrible topdeck. If you don’t see Hero turn 1, it loses a lot of its value. I’d cut a pair of them for the remaining two Eidolons. Besides – it makes those Ethereal Armor openers more likely.
I wasn’t able to get to a prerelease, so I had zero modifications to my list when I headed into FNM this past Friday. I still managed a 3-1-1 record (somehow), which leads me to think that I should start experimenting with some of the new toys JOU gives us:
Athreos, God of Passage is the biggest one, obviously. I do like it, I just don’t feel it’s good in a ton of matchups right now. I like it vs. control and that’s about it. I’m going to test 2 in the sideboard over Profit/Loss.
Gnarled Scarhide is an awesome one-drop, and I want to try it out. I currently use 3 Favored Hoplite in my list as supplemental 1-drops to Hopeful Eidolon, so I’ll swap in 3 Scarhides there for testing.
Underworld Coinsmith… I know, right? This card excites me because I think it’s exactly what this deck was looking for. It’s an enchantment that plays well with other enchantments, so it and Ethereal Armor are best buddies. It’s a black multicolored creature, so it avoids Doom Blade and Ultimate Price. And that draining ability works well with stuff like Orzhov Charm and Gods Willing, as it allows us to make full use of our mana every turn. (And with all of our lifegain, it’s easy to come out ahead on this.)
Coinsmith is going to replace Fabled Hero for me. I like the Hero a lot because he basically wins the game if you get to untap with him, but therein lies the issue – I NEVER untap with him. And now I’ve wasted a turn on this vulnerable 3-drop. I’m hoping Coinsmith will perform.
I'm contemplating swapping Nivmagus Elemental for Akroan Skyguard; due to the Nivmagus Elemental not having heroic, but it seems handy to be able to sac spells into it if the spell target gets destroyed.
The skyguard though will give added reach as it has good evasion
3 spots left, possibly anger of the gods for when my heroic creatures get past 3 defense?
Thought and SB help would be fantastic, thanks!
Anger of the Gods doesn't seem like a good option, most of the time it will affect you as well. I'd go for Banishing Light, which will help you to remove anything that is threatening you or slowing you down. And for another creature, I'd suggest Satyr Hoplite. It comes 1 turn earlier than skyguard, although it doesn't have the evasion, it will improve your deck speed overall.
I’m really unsure about cutting the number of Hopeful Eidolon – incidental lifegain is one of the deck’s hidden strengths. It lets us race with near-impunity, and allows us to use Pain Seer more liberally. And I’ve never cared much for Tormented Hero, as it’s a horrible topdeck. If you don’t see Hero turn 1, it loses a lot of its value. I’d cut a pair of them for the remaining two Eidolons. Besides – it makes those Ethereal Armor openers more likely.
I wasn’t able to get to a prerelease, so I had zero modifications to my list when I headed into FNM this past Friday. I still managed a 3-1-1 record (somehow), which leads me to think that I should start experimenting with some of the new toys JOU gives us:
Athreos, God of Passage is the biggest one, obviously. I do like it, I just don’t feel it’s good in a ton of matchups right now. I like it vs. control and that’s about it. I’m going to test 2 in the sideboard over Profit/Loss.
Gnarled Scarhide is an awesome one-drop, and I want to try it out. I currently use 3 Favored Hoplite in my list as supplemental 1-drops to Hopeful Eidolon, so I’ll swap in 3 Scarhides there for testing.
Underworld Coinsmith… I know, right? This card excites me because I think it’s exactly what this deck was looking for. It’s an enchantment that plays well with other enchantments, so it and Ethereal Armor are best buddies. It’s a black multicolored creature, so it avoids Doom Blade and Ultimate Price. And that draining ability works well with stuff like Orzhov Charm and Gods Willing, as it allows us to make full use of our mana every turn. (And with all of our lifegain, it’s easy to come out ahead on this.)
Coinsmith is going to replace Fabled Hero for me. I like the Hero a lot because he basically wins the game if you get to untap with him, but therein lies the issue – I NEVER untap with him. And now I’ve wasted a turn on this vulnerable 3-drop. I’m hoping Coinsmith will perform.
Underworld Coinsmith seems very interesting indeed, more in the build you're using, since it can drain those last points of life out of nowhere in mid-game/endgame. My deck goes well with Tormented Hero in my build, since I need an ensured T1 drop to get fast, and topdecking it isn't that bad either, since I usually don't deplet my hand with this deck, I always have 1 or 2 bestows I can use for him later, so having the draining isn't bad at all. Even if our decks look similar, they indeed work differently, yours having a strong midrange style, while I took an aggro path instead, with chance to win in midgame and endgame also. Anyway, coinsmith is very likely to replace my Fiendslayer Paladin post-rotation, if nothing better comes up on M15 or next block.
I played it before JOU, but then that set came with Launch the Fleet. Now its all-in on creating a huge amount of tokens and pumping them up.
The three drops in this deck are so split because they are all legendary and I don't want them to sit dead in my hand.
I really like what I see here. I would only suggest to have more creatures than enablers. I'd either change Coordinated Assault or Martial Glory for Satyr Hoplite or Soldier of the Pantheon. The soldier works better against UW control and slow decks overall, while the hoplite also has heroics, so is up to you
wanna stick with the mono white, wat to take out for ajani?
Fabled Hero Ajani makes any of your heroics a Fabled Heroes anyway... You could make space for Spear of Heliod by removing Ajani's Presence. Now that you're on white, and it seems you have more than enough protections, you can try out Deicide, I'm sure it will be a good sideboard option for this new meta. Also, you may also switch Glare of Heresy for Banishing Light.
Also, and it is only a little suggestion; I guess Tethmos High Priest could find a place on your deck, probably as a sideboard option for the second match, where they start up packing removals and so. It just makes armies out of nowhere in this type of deck
Edited the example decks with Journey into Nyx cards. Take a look at them, and see if you can get any inspiration. Green seems more promising now, you can bet it
Played this at FNM, went undefeated 8-0 in games (4-0 rounds) during the event and won 2 additional rounds each before and after the event to go 8-0 for the night. Obviously I was running good but that's promising results.
The 61st card was a last second addition of the third Mana Confluence, going forward I want to cut a Mutavault to make room. My experience is Mutavault is quite bad in the low curve version of the deck. It's not really good until you're hellbent or have 4+ lands.
I'm really digging the strive spells and green adds so much to the archetype, I liked Bant/RUG before JOU too. Going forward I want to try Launch the Fleet and even more than that Solidarity of Heroes. I've gotten some major limited blowouts with Solidarity, I think the interaction has what it takes to be good in constructed, and I'm a big fan of cards that can act as mana sinks if I'm flooding. Launch the Fleet is good too but I really like being able to hold up protection which means I'm really looking at having WW to Launch+Protect and I don't have enough white to really do that consistently. A 1 of Launch could still be good though.
Now maybe I can get some practice in with my RUG build too... I'm really torn between them currently but this thread is about w/x which doesn't include RUG.
Last week I played a deck similar to what's posted here, but I found it wasn't consistent enough. Sometimes you get an awesome blowout, and sometimes you're putzing around waiting for the awesomeness to show up. So I decided to rebuild to make it more consistent. I want at least 12 awesome threats in this deck, so I can have 2 on the board every game, and then protect them so they keep chugging. When you attack with 2 big guys, they can't keep up and its game. The solution: maximize enchantment density, and only play the best heroes.
The Awesome Eidolon of Countless Battles - 24 different permanents pump it, so it's easily a 4/4 by itself. Ethereal Armor - It comes early and often is a hasty +2/+2 for W. It's a Shock that demands removal. 22 permanents pump it, so it can easily add +4/+4 to its base. Phalanx Leader - pumps a creatures simultaneously. Play it out turn 3 or 4 so he has lots to do. The best is to target him with God's Willing in response to removal. Not only does he survive, everybody gets bigger, and he gets a free attack. Hero of Iroas - Awesome because he makes Bestow cheaper, and has a body. Put a Nyxborn Eidolon on him and it's already a 4/5. Hopeful Eidolon - 1/1 lifelink, meh. Bestow on a Hero of Iroas: 4/4 lifelink. An 8 point swing wins damage races.
The Protection
Everyone talks about 2 for 1s, but this deck only has Ethereal Armor to get that lame result. Nevertheless, when you have a 4/4, and you prefer to keep it rather than have a removal spell make it a 2/2. The cards that matter tend to be 4/4 already, so Anger of the Gods, Bile Blight, etc. become irrelevant. For the rest: Gods Willing - Defeats Bile Blight, Abrupt Decay, Lightning Strike. Any Exile/Destroy/Damage/Deflate target creature are neutered by Gods Willing. It also targets Phalanx Leader for a boost, and scry's if you need a card. It can't normally save auras.
However:
If you really need to save Eidolon of Countless Battles, you can Gods Willing your own base creature (protection from white), the enchantment falls off and becomes a creature, and then Brave the Elements. That is a 2 for 1 disadvantage (rather than 1 for 1 if you just let it die), but if this is before attackers, all your guys get a free ticket to attack, so it could be worth it. [Gods Willing] is also a good trick to bring out a surprise blocker.
Brave the Elements - Protect all creatures, just as Gods Willing. Defeats every mass removal spell except Supreme Verdict and Bile Blight. (But you shouldn't have lots of small guys, so...). But much more importantly, everybody can attack for the win! Acolyte's Reward - Save your guy, kill their best guy, 2 for 1 them! X is usually big in this deck, and this can kill those enemy flyers you can't reach. If your creatures have first strike, Reward can kill another blocker before it strikes back. Of special note: If they chump block your big guy, 1st target is the chump blocker! Their token survives, while you deal damage equal to your creature's power to any creature or player. Heroic pump: If you have 2 Phalanx Leaders out: Target both of them. 0 damage prevented or dealt, but all creatures get +2/+2. Just remember not to attack with the first one this turn.
Strategy
Play a guy, then another guy, then an aura on each. As long as your guys are bigger, just attack. If they block, you win. If they don't, you win. If they block and play a trick, just trump their trick with your own spell. If blockers become a nuissance and you have plenty of protection, then use Brave and Gods Willing to force yourself through.
Never tap out except turn 1, so you can respond to their removal. Unless your opponent is not playing removal, you want to eat their spells and keep attacking.
Experience suggests I'm good vs. Esper Control (play measured aggression), great vs. mono-black desecration demon stuff (foil their removal and keep attacking), okay vs. mono-blue (watch for counterspell, kill Master of the Waves), not sure about tempo, and struggling vs. midrange (once they get going, stop attacking until you obtain a critical mass for a lethal Brave.)
If you are fighting us, play removal on YOUR turn. Most people like to wait and see what else is coming, but my spells are double-whammies on my turn: Your spell fizzles, and I get a free attack.
Sideboard Tech Ajani's Presence saves you from Supreme Verdict and other destroy cards. (Bestow is your second way to survive, and the third is just keeping creatures in hand.) Glimpse the Sun God against monsters (except hexproof). When they threaten to make a monstrous trampling hydra, tap down as many creatures as possible before combat. Come your turn you have free reign to kill them or their planeswalker, or maybe Acolyte's Reward their threat if you attack into blockers. (Extra mana left? Pump phalanx leader.)
If you roll them over first game, they will be gunning for removal; bring in more protection and take out a land and maybe a some weak creatures. If they are matching you with big guys, bring in your removal and take out weaker creatures. If they don't have removal, Gift of Orzhova makes your 4/4 into an unblockable 5/5 lifelinker.
- Vorel of the Hull Clade
- Sage of Hours
- Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
What does each new card does? Let's see:
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
3GW
Planeswalker - Ajani
+1: Distribute three +1/+1 counters among one, two, or three target creatures you control
+1: Look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal an Aura, creature, or planeswalker card from among them and put that card into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
-8: You gain 100 life.
/4
As we can see, Ajani now splashes green, and is for a creature-based deck. It also works with auras and other planeswalkers, so although it doesn't defend itself, it relies on the overall deck build to protect him by playing creatures each turn, or make them bulkier. This card may come in handy for some heroic builds, although it doesn't trigger anything at all.
Sage of Hours
1U
Creature - Human Wizard
Heroic - Whenever you cast a spell that targets Sage of Hours, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
Remove all +1/+1 counters from Sage of Hours: For each five counters removed this way, take an extra turn after this one.
1/1
The first mythic, and most interesting, heroic creature out there, and for a reason. As you can see in its flavor, you can abuse of a +1/+1 counters engine to take infinite turns, which seems restricted by removing all the counters when you activate its ability. Well, we have an interesting way to exploit this feature, and is with Vorel and the new Ajani.
How it works?
In a good situation, you can play Vorel and Sage of Hours in the early turns, by turn 5 drop Ajani. For this turn, you would ideally like to have UG available or have your sage with 2 +1/+1 counters already, so we can start the fun. Ajani's +1 will place 3 +1/´1 counters on the sage, which can remove all of them to take an extra turn. Next turn, you put the +1/+1 counters again, tap vorel to make them six, and remove them all to take a new turn. You can even swing for 7 each combat phase and then remove the +1/+1 counters (be careful on not having your sage killed in the process), so this is basically an insta-win, in a very fashioned style which only bant can give us in standard right now
Right now, a deck would work like this:
2 Plains
2 Forest
1 Island
4 Temple Garden
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Breeding Pool
3 Temple of Enlightment
3 Temple of Plenty
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Battlewise Hoplite
4 Sage of Hours
4 Hero of Iroas
3 Vorel of the Hull Clade
4 Eidolon of Countless Battles
4 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
Spells(2)
2 Hidden Strings
Auras(8)
4 Ordeal of Nylea
4 Unflinching Courage
It has other win conditions as well, but it mainly focus on getting the infinite combo, which ensures the win.
Ordeal of Nylea helps us to place Ajani faster than expected, or place it with extra spare mana to use Vorel's ability. Other ordeals can work as well, having Heliod being good against aggro, and Thassa's one in place we need to dig in for the combo.
Weird Idea of the Month (Standard)
RGWNaya Token CommandoWGR
Rate/discuss my decks :D(almost all formats)
Standard
Orzhov Voltron Superheroes
Modern
Infectors
Legacy
UGBack to Square OneGU
EDH
GWURafiq of the Many Wins (1vs1)UWG
Jarad's Turbo Suicidal Squad (Multiplayer)
Pauper
Are you Afraid of Ghosts? You Better Be!
Thats a very interesting idea. I´d recommend some Forced Adaptation to generate counters But i dont know what cards to cut...maybe the battlewise hoplites or so
Would bioshift be an option? You can move counters from one target to another while adding additional counters onto each target.
Yes, that would be an interesting option. Another which I like most, is the Forced Adaptation, as nightyxx pointed out. Having two on your sage means, you only need to trigger Ajani's +1 to have the exact 5 counters to make the magic happen, while Bioshift only works once, so I'm more inclined to the enchantment.
Weird Idea of the Month (Standard)
RGWNaya Token CommandoWGR
Rate/discuss my decks :D(almost all formats)
Standard
Orzhov Voltron Superheroes
Modern
Infectors
Legacy
UGBack to Square OneGU
EDH
GWURafiq of the Many Wins (1vs1)UWG
Jarad's Turbo Suicidal Squad (Multiplayer)
Pauper
Are you Afraid of Ghosts? You Better Be!
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Nivmagus Elemental
4 Sage of Hours
2 Satyr Hoplite
spells 22
2 Ordeal of Thassa
2 Bioshift
4 Gods Willing
1 Mizzium Skin
2 Retraction Helix
3 Triton Tactics
4 Hidden Strings
4 Trait Doctoring
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Mana Confluence
4 Mutavault
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Steam Vents
2 Aqueous Form
4 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Boros Charm
2 Mizzium Skin
1 Retraction Helix
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Heroic for top tier!
4x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
4x Mana Confluence
4x Mutavault
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Steam Vents
4x Akroan Crusader
4x Favored Hoplite
4x Nivmagus Elemental
4x Phalanx Leader
4x Sage of Hours
4x Satyr Hoplite
4x Launch the Fleet
3x Profit // Loss
4x Trait Doctoring
2x Aqueous Form
2x Bioshift
1x Blind Obedience
1x Deicide
2x Gods Willing
1x Oppressive Rays
2x Ordeal of Heliod
1x Ordeal of Thassa
1x Pithing Needle
2x Retraction Helix
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
The deck wins consistently on turn 4 if not interrupted, often on turn 5. It has insane token production (7 creatures on turn 2!?) and can pump them up easily for an alpha strike. Honestily Sage of Hours seems to be the weakest card and even he can shine with 5 or more counters. I don't remove them instantly but rather keep them until I feel I need the turn or if he gets targeted by removal.
4x Favored Hoplite
2x Hopeful Eidolon
4x Nyxborn Rollicker
4x Satyr Hoplite
4x Hero of Iroas
4x Mogis's Warhound
4x Eidolon of Countless Battles
4x Ethereal Armor
4x Madcap Skills
3x Godsend
Land
2x Mana Confluence
5x Mountain
8x Plains
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Temple of Triumph
Its fast, and if the early game gets going to a long game Godsend helps take it over the top. Been working well so far in testing, lot of ways to reach t4 kill and various ways to get 7 to 10 dmg on t3.
Only proxied it and played mostly against mono black. The 24 creatures make sure you always have a threat, if they don't run mass removal you only need 1-2 turns before you've got enough tokens and are "safe" from targeted removal. Sadly Bile Blight exists... I would need more testing too see how good the deck really is in the current (and future) meta.
4 satyr hoplite
4 battlewise hoplite
3 phalynx leader
4 battlefield thaumaturge
4 fabled hero
3 aurelias fury
4 ajanis presence
4 gods willing
Different take on heroic, more resilience and mass triggers.
4 Akroan Crusader
3 Favored Hoplite
3 Satyr Hoplite
4 Phalanx Leader
3 Akroan Hoplite
3 Iroas, God of Victory
4 Boros Charm
3 Coordinated Assault
4 Launch the Fleet
2 Desperate stand
3 Gods Willing
2 Hammer of Purphoros
2 Chain to the Rocks
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
2 Mana Confluence
6 Plains
4 Mountain
So in Magical Christmas Land:
T1: land, Akroan Crusader
T2: Land, Phalanx Leader
T3: land, launch the Fleet for 2, Coordinated Assault (with proper triggering)(2 4/3, 3/3, 2/2, 2 1/1) 15 damage!
T4: Land, Iroas, God of Victory
Rivenor @ Miraculous Recovery Signatures is the man!
Rivenor @ Miraculous Recovery Signatures is the man!
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
9 Plains
5 Swamp
Creatures (24)
4 Hopeful Eidolon
3 Favored Hoplite
4 Hero of Iroas
4 Pain Seer
4 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Herald of Torment
2 Fabled Hero
4 Ethereal Armor
2 Gift of Orzhova
Tricks (8)
4 Gods Willing
4 Orzhov Charm
4 Thoughtseize
2 Sin Collector
3 Fiendslayer Paladin
2 Renounce the Guilds
2 Doom Blade
2 Profit//Loss
The decks I beat were: Boros Devotion, B/W Midrange, Naya Midrange, and Mono-U Devotion.
Here are some notes and observations I made:
-The fact that lifelink is EVERYWHERE in this deck allows it to race just about anything without fear.
-Gods Willing should be in every heroic deck ever. My deck obviously folds to a Blood Baron of Vizkopa, but Gods Willing will let you swing past it with your unstoppable Aura machine.
-Overperformers include Pain Seer(!) and Hopeful Eidolon. Yes, you read that right. Hopeful Eidolon was one of the strongest cards in the deck for me. We all know about the nut play of T1 Eidolon, T2 double Ethereal Armor. I scored that once early on in the night, and people played around it for the rest of the event! That look on the opponent’s face when you lead with Hopeful Eidolon… “Should I just kill it now?”
-Oh, never do that play against Mono-Black, by the way. You WILL get 3-for-1’d.
-Fiendslayer Paladin is a house. I’m going to be sad when he rotates.
-I was originally going to test the Profit/Losses against Mono-blue, an otherwise poor matchup for me. But I never saw them, and I don’t think there was ever an opportunity to cast one profitably. Fusing it was also awkward – at five mana, I’d rather just bestow Herald of Torment. I’m going to replace them with different removal.
-Renounce the Guilds is pretty good, and dug me out of a couple holes during that event. (The one on an opposing Detention Sphere to make my Eidolon of Countless Battles lethal after a Gods Willing to slip by was pretty tech) I would still stick with 2.
-The weakest card in the maindeck was probably Fabled Hero, but I left 2 in there because of how he demands an answer immediately. These are the slots that will probably get used to test out stuff from JOU. The only things I feel would benefit a voltronesque build like this are Athreos (keep the gas coming) or Underworld Coinsmith (provides some reach and pumps Ethereal Armor).
If you’re looking for a different spin on things, give this deck a try!
Thank you for sharing the deck, seems pretty consistent, like it a lot, more because it resembles my voltron a lot, hahah.
I will try something a little different for Nyx metagame, and will make use of some interesting cards that come for orzhov.
4 Godless Shrine
3 Temple of Silence
3 Mana Confluence
5 Plains
5 Swamp
Creatures (30)
2 Hopeful Eidolon
3 Favored Hoplite
4 Tormented Hero
4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Hero of Iroas
3 Pain Seer
4 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Herald of Torment
3 Athreos, God of Passage
4 Ethereal Armor
Spells(6)
3 Gods Willing
3 Orzhov Charm
1 Hopeful Eidolon
2 Thoughtseize
3 Sin Collector
3 Fiendslayer Paladin
4 Banishing Light
2 Gift of Orzhova
Making it more aggro, having beastly openings with Ethereal Armor. I don't like to have multiple Pain Seer in my hand, so 2 or 3 are ok, to not overflow (at least it works better for me in that way), and Athreos plays pretty well with all the weenies there. I may just sideboard it in case I'm going against aggro, to get the other Hopeful Eidolon and the 2 Gift of Orzhova. Banishing Light is an awesome "comeback", now more useful to pump up our armor, or get the devotion for Athreos, while it removes everything we need to, something white was asking so bad. If enchantment removal doesn't become a thing, this can be better option than Ultimate Price, Revoke Existence or Deicide
Weird Idea of the Month (Standard)
RGWNaya Token CommandoWGR
Rate/discuss my decks :D(almost all formats)
Standard
Orzhov Voltron Superheroes
Modern
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UGBack to Square OneGU
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GWURafiq of the Many Wins (1vs1)UWG
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Are you Afraid of Ghosts? You Better Be!
The SB is very WiP
2x Eidolon of Countless Battles
4x Favored Hoplite
4x Hopeful Eidolon
4x Nivmagus Elemental
3x Nyxborn Rollicker
4x Satyr Hoplite
Enchantment (7)
3x Chained to the Rocks
4x Madcap Skills
3x Boros Charm
4x Coordinated Assault
1x Gods Willing
4x Titan's Strength
Land (20)
2x Mana Confluence
4x Mountain
6x Plains
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Temple of Triumph
1x Chained to the Rocks
3x Gods Willing
4x Swift Justice
This deck can get a turn 3 win.
Turn 1: Any 1/1 heroic creature
Turn 2: Madcap skills, swing for 5
Turn 3: Boros Charm + Titan's Strength. Swing for 18.
I'm contemplating swapping Nivmagus Elemental for Akroan Skyguard; due to the Nivmagus Elemental not having heroic, but it seems handy to be able to sac spells into it if the spell target gets destroyed.
The skyguard though will give added reach as it has good evasion
SB choices
Gods Willing: To help vs burn and control
Chained to the Rocks: vs other aggro
Swift Justice: replaces [[Coordinated Assault]] against aggro
Aegis of the Gods: vs Black and burn.
not sure about the last 3 slots, maybe anger of the gods?
3 spots left, possibly anger of the gods for when my heroic creatures get past 3 defense?
Thought and SB help would be fantastic, thanks!
WU$50 Budget UW heroicUW
Modern
WR Boros Burn RW
Commander/EDH
(WiP) RNorin the TrollR
I’m really unsure about cutting the number of Hopeful Eidolon – incidental lifegain is one of the deck’s hidden strengths. It lets us race with near-impunity, and allows us to use Pain Seer more liberally. And I’ve never cared much for Tormented Hero, as it’s a horrible topdeck. If you don’t see Hero turn 1, it loses a lot of its value. I’d cut a pair of them for the remaining two Eidolons. Besides – it makes those Ethereal Armor openers more likely.
I wasn’t able to get to a prerelease, so I had zero modifications to my list when I headed into FNM this past Friday. I still managed a 3-1-1 record (somehow), which leads me to think that I should start experimenting with some of the new toys JOU gives us:
Athreos, God of Passage is the biggest one, obviously. I do like it, I just don’t feel it’s good in a ton of matchups right now. I like it vs. control and that’s about it. I’m going to test 2 in the sideboard over Profit/Loss.
Gnarled Scarhide is an awesome one-drop, and I want to try it out. I currently use 3 Favored Hoplite in my list as supplemental 1-drops to Hopeful Eidolon, so I’ll swap in 3 Scarhides there for testing.
Underworld Coinsmith… I know, right? This card excites me because I think it’s exactly what this deck was looking for. It’s an enchantment that plays well with other enchantments, so it and Ethereal Armor are best buddies. It’s a black multicolored creature, so it avoids Doom Blade and Ultimate Price. And that draining ability works well with stuff like Orzhov Charm and Gods Willing, as it allows us to make full use of our mana every turn. (And with all of our lifegain, it’s easy to come out ahead on this.)
Coinsmith is going to replace Fabled Hero for me. I like the Hero a lot because he basically wins the game if you get to untap with him, but therein lies the issue – I NEVER untap with him. And now I’ve wasted a turn on this vulnerable 3-drop. I’m hoping Coinsmith will perform.
Anger of the Gods doesn't seem like a good option, most of the time it will affect you as well. I'd go for Banishing Light, which will help you to remove anything that is threatening you or slowing you down. And for another creature, I'd suggest Satyr Hoplite. It comes 1 turn earlier than skyguard, although it doesn't have the evasion, it will improve your deck speed overall.
Underworld Coinsmith seems very interesting indeed, more in the build you're using, since it can drain those last points of life out of nowhere in mid-game/endgame. My deck goes well with Tormented Hero in my build, since I need an ensured T1 drop to get fast, and topdecking it isn't that bad either, since I usually don't deplet my hand with this deck, I always have 1 or 2 bestows I can use for him later, so having the draining isn't bad at all. Even if our decks look similar, they indeed work differently, yours having a strong midrange style, while I took an aggro path instead, with chance to win in midgame and endgame also. Anyway, coinsmith is very likely to replace my Fiendslayer Paladin post-rotation, if nothing better comes up on M15 or next block.
I really like what I see here. I would only suggest to have more creatures than enablers. I'd either change Coordinated Assault or Martial Glory for Satyr Hoplite or Soldier of the Pantheon. The soldier works better against UW control and slow decks overall, while the hoplite also has heroics, so is up to you
Weird Idea of the Month (Standard)
RGWNaya Token CommandoWGR
Rate/discuss my decks :D(almost all formats)
Standard
Orzhov Voltron Superheroes
Modern
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Legacy
UGBack to Square OneGU
EDH
GWURafiq of the Many Wins (1vs1)UWG
Jarad's Turbo Suicidal Squad (Multiplayer)
Pauper
Are you Afraid of Ghosts? You Better Be!
4 Dryad Militant
2 Fabled Hero
4 Hero of Iroas
4 Phalanx Leader
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
Enchantments: 4
4 Ethereal Armor
2 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Hopeful Eidolon
4 Nyxborn Shieldmate
Instants: 8
2 Ajani's Presence
2 Brave the Elements
4 Gods Willing
1 Spear of Heliod
Lands: 20
20 Plains
Side Deck: 15
3 Pacifism
3 Spirit of the Labyrinth
2 Brave the Elements
3 Rootborn Defenses
4 Glare of Heresy
wanna stick with the mono white, wat to take out for ajani?
Fabled Hero Ajani makes any of your heroics a Fabled Heroes anyway... You could make space for Spear of Heliod by removing Ajani's Presence. Now that you're on white, and it seems you have more than enough protections, you can try out Deicide, I'm sure it will be a good sideboard option for this new meta. Also, you may also switch Glare of Heresy for Banishing Light.
Also, and it is only a little suggestion; I guess Tethmos High Priest could find a place on your deck, probably as a sideboard option for the second match, where they start up packing removals and so. It just makes armies out of nowhere in this type of deck
Weird Idea of the Month (Standard)
RGWNaya Token CommandoWGR
Rate/discuss my decks :D(almost all formats)
Standard
Orzhov Voltron Superheroes
Modern
Infectors
Legacy
UGBack to Square OneGU
EDH
GWURafiq of the Many Wins (1vs1)UWG
Jarad's Turbo Suicidal Squad (Multiplayer)
Pauper
Are you Afraid of Ghosts? You Better Be!
Weird Idea of the Month (Standard)
RGWNaya Token CommandoWGR
Rate/discuss my decks :D(almost all formats)
Standard
Orzhov Voltron Superheroes
Modern
Infectors
Legacy
UGBack to Square OneGU
EDH
GWURafiq of the Many Wins (1vs1)UWG
Jarad's Turbo Suicidal Squad (Multiplayer)
Pauper
Are you Afraid of Ghosts? You Better Be!
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple Garden
4 Breeding Pool
3 Mana Confluence
2 Mutavault
Creatures 21
4 Favored Hoplite
2 Hero of Leina Tower
4 Nivmagus Elemental
3 Judge's Familiar
3 Akroan Skyguard
1 Zameck Guildmage
4 Sage of Hours
4 Gods Willing
4 Hidden Strings
4 Trait Doctoring
2 Ajani's Presence
4 Mutant's Prey
3 Warriors' Lesson
2 Bioshift
3 Selesnya Charm
3 Azorius Charm
2 Ordeal of Heliod
2 Ordeal of Thassa
3 Mizzium Skin
2 Naturalize
The 61st card was a last second addition of the third Mana Confluence, going forward I want to cut a Mutavault to make room. My experience is Mutavault is quite bad in the low curve version of the deck. It's not really good until you're hellbent or have 4+ lands.
I'm really digging the strive spells and green adds so much to the archetype, I liked Bant/RUG before JOU too. Going forward I want to try Launch the Fleet and even more than that Solidarity of Heroes. I've gotten some major limited blowouts with Solidarity, I think the interaction has what it takes to be good in constructed, and I'm a big fan of cards that can act as mana sinks if I'm flooding. Launch the Fleet is good too but I really like being able to hold up protection which means I'm really looking at having WW to Launch+Protect and I don't have enough white to really do that consistently. A 1 of Launch could still be good though.
Now maybe I can get some practice in with my RUG build too... I'm really torn between them currently but this thread is about w/x which doesn't include RUG.
4 Eidolon of Countless Battles
4 Nyxborn Shieldmate
4 Hopeful Eidolon
2 Spirit of the Labyrinth
2 Harvestguard Alseids
Creatures
4 Phalanx Leader
4 Hero of Iroas
2 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Ethereal Armor
2 Banishing Light
Multipurpose Spells
2 Gods Willing
2 Brave the Elements
2 Acolyte's Reward
1 Deicide
Land
20 Plains
1 Encroaching Wastes
2 Archetype of Courage
1 Acolyte's Reward
1 Aegis of the Gods
1 Gods Willing
2 Ajani's Presence
2 Celestial Flare
1 Wear/Tear
2 Gift of Orzhova
The Awesome
Eidolon of Countless Battles - 24 different permanents pump it, so it's easily a 4/4 by itself.
Ethereal Armor - It comes early and often is a hasty +2/+2 for W. It's a Shock that demands removal. 22 permanents pump it, so it can easily add +4/+4 to its base.
Phalanx Leader - pumps a creatures simultaneously. Play it out turn 3 or 4 so he has lots to do. The best is to target him with God's Willing in response to removal. Not only does he survive, everybody gets bigger, and he gets a free attack.
Hero of Iroas - Awesome because he makes Bestow cheaper, and has a body. Put a Nyxborn Eidolon on him and it's already a 4/5.
Hopeful Eidolon - 1/1 lifelink, meh. Bestow on a Hero of Iroas: 4/4 lifelink. An 8 point swing wins damage races.
The Protection
Everyone talks about 2 for 1s, but this deck only has Ethereal Armor to get that lame result. Nevertheless, when you have a 4/4, and you prefer to keep it rather than have a removal spell make it a 2/2. The cards that matter tend to be 4/4 already, so Anger of the Gods, Bile Blight, etc. become irrelevant. For the rest:
Gods Willing - Defeats Bile Blight, Abrupt Decay, Lightning Strike. Any Exile/Destroy/Damage/Deflate target creature are neutered by Gods Willing. It also targets Phalanx Leader for a boost, and scry's if you need a card. It can't normally save auras.
However:
If you really need to save Eidolon of Countless Battles, you can Gods Willing your own base creature (protection from white), the enchantment falls off and becomes a creature, and then Brave the Elements. That is a 2 for 1 disadvantage (rather than 1 for 1 if you just let it die), but if this is before attackers, all your guys get a free ticket to attack, so it could be worth it. [Gods Willing] is also a good trick to bring out a surprise blocker.
Brave the Elements - Protect all creatures, just as Gods Willing. Defeats every mass removal spell except Supreme Verdict and Bile Blight. (But you shouldn't have lots of small guys, so...). But much more importantly, everybody can attack for the win!
Acolyte's Reward - Save your guy, kill their best guy, 2 for 1 them! X is usually big in this deck, and this can kill those enemy flyers you can't reach. If your creatures have first strike, Reward can kill another blocker before it strikes back. Of special note: If they chump block your big guy, 1st target is the chump blocker! Their token survives, while you deal damage equal to your creature's power to any creature or player. Heroic pump: If you have 2 Phalanx Leaders out: Target both of them. 0 damage prevented or dealt, but all creatures get +2/+2. Just remember not to attack with the first one this turn.
Strategy
Play a guy, then another guy, then an aura on each. As long as your guys are bigger, just attack. If they block, you win. If they don't, you win. If they block and play a trick, just trump their trick with your own spell. If blockers become a nuissance and you have plenty of protection, then use Brave and Gods Willing to force yourself through.
Never tap out except turn 1, so you can respond to their removal. Unless your opponent is not playing removal, you want to eat their spells and keep attacking.
Experience suggests I'm good vs. Esper Control (play measured aggression), great vs. mono-black desecration demon stuff (foil their removal and keep attacking), okay vs. mono-blue (watch for counterspell, kill Master of the Waves), not sure about tempo, and struggling vs. midrange (once they get going, stop attacking until you obtain a critical mass for a lethal Brave.)
If you are fighting us, play removal on YOUR turn. Most people like to wait and see what else is coming, but my spells are double-whammies on my turn: Your spell fizzles, and I get a free attack.
Sideboard Tech
Ajani's Presence saves you from Supreme Verdict and other destroy cards. (Bestow is your second way to survive, and the third is just keeping creatures in hand.)
Glimpse the Sun God against monsters (except hexproof). When they threaten to make a monstrous trampling hydra, tap down as many creatures as possible before combat. Come your turn you have free reign to kill them or their planeswalker, or maybe Acolyte's Reward their threat if you attack into blockers. (Extra mana left? Pump phalanx leader.)
If you roll them over first game, they will be gunning for removal; bring in more protection and take out a land and maybe a some weak creatures. If they are matching you with big guys, bring in your removal and take out weaker creatures. If they don't have removal, Gift of Orzhova makes your 4/4 into an unblockable 5/5 lifelinker.
GB Electric Dreams BG Deal 20 in one shot, or discard their hand?
GWU Free Stuff Midrange UWG Slowly bury the opponent with more threats and answers than they can handle.
My greatest hits:
GURFate Reforged Temur Ascendancy COMBORUG
GUDragons of Tarkir Whisperwood Forever UG