Three color aggro is sort of taboo. Its rough on the landbase.
22 lands? I am not normally an aggro player so I don't know exactly where I want to be on land counts. Hitting three colors consistently when I need them is enough of a concern though I felt that 22 is as low as I wanted to go offhand.
Only running 3 Plains with an additional 4 fetches that can get them. I am assuming this will affect Sunblade Elf making it possibly not good enough to include assuming its going to often be a 1/1. I think I need to just test and play with it for now and let it sort of prove itself one way or another.
Manabase seems rough. There is a lot of life loss involved in this landbase which means I might need to offset more in sideboard for opposing aggro matchups.
The relevance of Reclamation Sage is mostly unknown to me offhand. I haven't been playing a ton of standard in the last two months so how often they can remove a good target is something I don't really know that well offhand. I feel like a ton of the good cards in the current pool are enchantment based though so it feels like there should be a good amount of targets for them. Dropping in and blowing up a Courser of Kruphix sounds great but assuming someone isnt running much of anything for enchantments I could see it sort of sucking.
Contemplating if Sorin, Solemn Visitor could get a spot mainboard. He does some good things for a top of the curve sort of a guy. He is also a bit tricky to stop.
I feel like Tragic Hero might be a better one drop than Sunblade. As you said, there's a limited amount of Plains in the deck, and the Hero gives you something that will always have two power for one mana, Also, later game Bestowing Scarhide on it for the Heroic trigger gives you a tiny amount of Reach.
I also feel like Thoughtseize is going to be much better than the Brain Maggot. You've already got a good stack of 2-drops between the Lion, Skullhunter, and Raise the Alarm, and Thoughtseize gives you a more permanent answer to troublesome cards in opponents' hands.
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I feel like Tragic Hero might be a better one drop than Sunblade. As you said, there's a limited amount of Plains in the deck, and the Hero gives you something that will always have two power for one mana, Also, later game Bestowing Scarhide on it for the Heroic trigger gives you a tiny amount of Reach.
I also feel like Thoughtseize is going to be much better than the Brain Maggot. You've already got a good stack of 2-drops between the Lion, Skullhunter, and Raise the Alarm, and Thoughtseize gives you a more permanent answer to troublesome cards in opponents' hands.
I might end up running a split of Tormented Hero and Sunblade Elf just to sort of get a feel of the differences between them for now. I originally cut the hero because I felt he was inferior to the other one drops but when I got to the landbase the problem of the elf sort of popped up on me.
It is possible but I feel like the maggot is a more rounded card for mainboarding. It still has a lot of synergy with the creature strategies of the deck and while I agree that against a deck with a lot of control that Thoughtseize is superior I have always felt that Thoughtseize is a bad card against most aggro opponents and considering how much pain I expect to get from my landbase as things stand I felt that I wanted the seize in my sideboard over main where as I feel that the maggot is usually fairly decent in most matchups.
It has also been a very long time since I have tried running an aggro deck so there are a lot of factors I am probably not bringing into effect. You are correct that my two mana spot is sort of heavy and I agree that it is but at the same time I don't like pushing too hard on the one mana slot either. It has been a long time since I have played this sort of deck though so by all means I am looking for input on it.
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I also feel like you might want a few copies of a removal spell somewhere in your maindeck. Hero's Downfall is obviously a strong one, if nothing at the two mana slot really shows up. But it's a real feelbad to have a bunch of 2/1's staring down a Courser of Kruphix.
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I also feel like you might want a few copies of a removal spell somewhere in your maindeck. Hero's Downfall is obviously a strong one, if nothing at the two mana slot really shows up. But it's a real feelbad to have a bunch of 2/1's staring down a Courser of Kruphix.
That was the point of Bow of Nylea / Reclamation Sage. I know what you mean as I normally play midrange tactics so its something I did think about quite a bit. I feel that three mana for Hero's Downfall is sort of rough on an aggro deck though. If there were a decent two mana removal effect I might consider adding that but as it stands I would rather just force them to trade with a deathtoucher.
I feel like Bow of Nylea is going to be a more reasonable answer for an aggro deck than trying to spend three mana answering a single creature. The math in trying to spot remove big creatures as an aggro deck just never adds up in my mind as its stalling you from dropping more creatures.
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Elvish Mystic seemed more reasonable when considering adding Siege Rhino. I considered Sylvan Caryatid but I wanted the option to attack with deathtouch / the option to ascendancy buff.
Sunblade Elf looked awkward until and unless we get more fetchlands.
Siege Rhino looks spicy. I like that it has good synergy as well with the Bow as deathtouch + trample is effective. It looks like an all arround solid creature for this type of build. It did influence me to run the Mystics in this build but I feel like it has good reach against most all type of decks. I think against control lists its probably at its weakest but I think its still probably stronger than like Bramaz in that situation.
Fleecemane Lion is feeling less impressive to me. The addition of the Rhino made me care for it even less. I don't know how I feel about Rakshasa Deathdealer yet but it feels to me like the Lion is possibly stronger vs control. Its hard to really weigh the options here though currently. I think Rakshasa Deathdealer is possibly stronger vs midrange where as the Lion seems better vs aggro and control. I think I need to do some testing though.
Running 3 colors at your 1 drop slot is too much to ask out of the manabases currently available in standard. Pick 1-2 colors to run at the 1 drop slot and building the manabase is reasonable.
I would look at going the Underworld Coinsmith route while splashing green for the really strong Abazan cards. (Casting them either turn 3,4-5).
I don't see these colors being able to go the super fast aggro route like deck with Goblin Rabblemaster will be going for so either push it into Value (2 for 1) Midrange or Midrange CA/Controlish.
Yea the mana looks iffy. I think Mid range would be better.
I keep trying to rehash my list and it looks like going with midrange might be the safer plan. Its part landbase issues and part issues that there just arent that many low mana drop creatures isolated in 1-2 of the colors at the moment. Its hard to splash a color right now due to the fact that there just aren't enough low drops to focus on one to two colors right now it feels like.
The addition of Bloodstained Brave makes it possible that a black focused aggro might be a possible direction to go with it since Gnarled Scarhide is another good one drop. I might toy with it a bit more but its possible that I just need to wait to see what is in the last bit of the set before I really set down to test anything. I am sort of up in the air currently between doing an aggro and a midrange build right now but I sort of feel like I just need to wait and see if there are any good commons / uncommons that end up pushing me somewhere else before I really settle on anything.
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4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Sunblade Elf
4 Brain Maggot
3 Fleecemane Lion
4 Mardu Skullhunter
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Reclamation Sage
SPELLS (10)
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Bow of Nylea
4 Abzan Ascendancy
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Forest
4 Llanowar Wastes
3 Plains
3 Mana Confluence
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath
4 Thoughtseize
1 Fleecemane Lion
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Bow of Nylea
2 Courser of Kruphix
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Dictate of Erebos
Concerns offhand:
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I also feel like Thoughtseize is going to be much better than the Brain Maggot. You've already got a good stack of 2-drops between the Lion, Skullhunter, and Raise the Alarm, and Thoughtseize gives you a more permanent answer to troublesome cards in opponents' hands.
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I might end up running a split of Tormented Hero and Sunblade Elf just to sort of get a feel of the differences between them for now. I originally cut the hero because I felt he was inferior to the other one drops but when I got to the landbase the problem of the elf sort of popped up on me.
It is possible but I feel like the maggot is a more rounded card for mainboarding. It still has a lot of synergy with the creature strategies of the deck and while I agree that against a deck with a lot of control that Thoughtseize is superior I have always felt that Thoughtseize is a bad card against most aggro opponents and considering how much pain I expect to get from my landbase as things stand I felt that I wanted the seize in my sideboard over main where as I feel that the maggot is usually fairly decent in most matchups.
It has also been a very long time since I have tried running an aggro deck so there are a lot of factors I am probably not bringing into effect. You are correct that my two mana spot is sort of heavy and I agree that it is but at the same time I don't like pushing too hard on the one mana slot either. It has been a long time since I have played this sort of deck though so by all means I am looking for input on it.
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That was the point of Bow of Nylea / Reclamation Sage. I know what you mean as I normally play midrange tactics so its something I did think about quite a bit. I feel that three mana for Hero's Downfall is sort of rough on an aggro deck though. If there were a decent two mana removal effect I might consider adding that but as it stands I would rather just force them to trade with a deathtoucher.
I feel like Bow of Nylea is going to be a more reasonable answer for an aggro deck than trying to spend three mana answering a single creature. The math in trying to spot remove big creatures as an aggro deck just never adds up in my mind as its stalling you from dropping more creatures.
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4 Elvish Mystic
4 Gnarled Scarhide
3 Soldier of the Pantheon
3 Brain Maggot
2 Fleecemane Lion
4 Mardu Skullhunter
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Reclamation Sage
3 Siege Rhino
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Bow of Nylea
3 Abzan Ascendancy
LAND (22)
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Forest
4 Llanowar Wastes
3 Plains
3 Mana Confluence
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Windswept Heath
4 Thoughtseize
1 Brain Maggot
2 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Bow of Nylea
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Siege Rhino
2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2 Dictate of Erebos
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I would look at going the Underworld Coinsmith route while splashing green for the really strong Abazan cards. (Casting them either turn 3,4-5).
I don't see these colors being able to go the super fast aggro route like deck with Goblin Rabblemaster will be going for so either push it into Value (2 for 1) Midrange or Midrange CA/Controlish.
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Fleecemane Lion
2 Reclaimation Sage
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Siege Rhino
3 High Sentinels of Arashin
3 Abzan Charm
3 Banishing Light
2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1 Ajani Steadfast
4 Mana Confluence
4 Windswept Heath
4 Forest
5 Plains
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Yea the mana looks iffy. I think Mid range would be better.
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I keep trying to rehash my list and it looks like going with midrange might be the safer plan. Its part landbase issues and part issues that there just arent that many low mana drop creatures isolated in 1-2 of the colors at the moment. Its hard to splash a color right now due to the fact that there just aren't enough low drops to focus on one to two colors right now it feels like.
The addition of Bloodstained Brave makes it possible that a black focused aggro might be a possible direction to go with it since Gnarled Scarhide is another good one drop. I might toy with it a bit more but its possible that I just need to wait to see what is in the last bit of the set before I really set down to test anything. I am sort of up in the air currently between doing an aggro and a midrange build right now but I sort of feel like I just need to wait and see if there are any good commons / uncommons that end up pushing me somewhere else before I really settle on anything.
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