I've never played Standard format before, but one of my friends recently convinced me to invest in a deck so that I can start playing some local tourneys with him. Here's what I have together right now for the deck. It worked well while I was play-testing it, but I haven't taken it to a tourney yet. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!
I think it has great potential. I'd say I love it if Bloodsoaked Champion could block but his recursion does give you something to sink mana into and keep pressure on later in the game.
I've been running something similar for fun and I'm going to try a few of these ideas. I'm also starting to think that 4 Master of the Feast gives too much card advantage to the opponent so I'm going to try a 2/2 split with him Squelching Leeches.
^^^
Yeah, the more I've been play-testing this deck the less I'm liking the Bloodsoaked Champions. He's not a bad first turn drop, but I don't like top-decking him any time after that, and I typically have more important things to spend my mana on (even though the recursion isn't a bad option). I swapped out the 4 Bloodsoaked Champions for 2 Whip of Erebos and 2 Gnarled Scarhide. I've found that Gnarled Scarhide is pretty good because if I draw him late-game I can play him for 4 and turn Master of the Feast into a 7/6 beatstick. Also I swapped out the 2 Grim Haruspex for 2 Erebos, God of the Dead. Even though he deals me damage if I choose to use his draw ability it's still a good option to have and a 5/7 indestructible monster is never a bad thing to have on the field. Also he's a great target for Herald of Torment if you play him for his Bestow cost because he turns into a 8/10 indestructible flyer. The main downfall of this deck is that I deal myself quite a bit of damage so I'm hoping that the Whips help out with this. Also Gray Merchant can give me quite a bit of health late game, and if I decide to side in Pharika's Cure it can be another source of life gain. I'll be playing a tournament on monday and wednesday so I'll let you guys know how this build does.
Now you are basically to the build I've been playing except -4 Pain Seer and +2 scry land, +2 Doomwake Giant. I've been very underwhelmed by the build. It just isn't productive enough in the early turns.
Let me know how you do.
Oh and I've been running only 1 Erebos main with the other slot going to Lilliana.
^^^
Yeah, I was thinking about running 1 Erebos and 1 Liliana. I'll probably make that change before I play a tourney so I don't top-deck into a second useless Erebos. Also I could always tutor for one while Liliana is on the field.
Exactly. Also Lillian can counter the card advantage given my Master of the Feast. The second Erebos in the side is good against decks with a lot of life gain.
I'll have to give Pain Seer a try. I just haven't come up with something productive to do in the early turns.
I just tried this deck out last night in a tourney and ended up going 2-1 which wasn't too bad. In my first matchup the guy had a pretty slow deck that couldn't really get moving so I just beat him down with first turn Gnarled Scarhide, second turn Pain Seer, and third turn Master of the Feast both games for an easy win. During my second match I played against a white/blue lifegain/aura deck. I won first round with quick aggro, he beat me second round, and third round I got out one of my sided Erebos and stopped his lifegain for the win. The third game I drew ***** hands and ended up losing the first 2 rounds, so I ended up with a 2-1 for the night. Next time I'll definitely use Bloodsoaked Champions over Gnarled Scarhide since I found myself pretty much only using him for a first turn creature, not his Bestow. Also I wasn't running Whip of Erebos in my main deck so I'll probably add 2 of those and take out 2 of my Bile Blights for them. I also wanna add a big creature of some sort so I can have a good tutoring target for late-game Liliana.
Creatures (22)
x4 Bloodsoaked Champion
x4 Pain Seer
x4 Herald of Torment
x4 Master of the Feast
x4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
x2 Grim Haruspex
Spells (16)
x4 Thoughtseize
x4 Bile Blight
x4 Sign in Blood
x4 Hero's Downfall
Lands (22)
x2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
x20 Swamp
Sideboard (15)
x1 Liliana Vess
x2 Erebos, God of the Dead
x2 Whip of Erebos
x4 Squelching Leeches
x3 Pharika's Cure
x3 Despise
Between Pain Seer, Thoughtseize, and Sign in Blood you are going to do a lot of damage to yourself. I'd squeeze in a couple Whip of Erebos or maybe splash white for Sorin, Solemn Visitor. The extra sources or life gain will be crucial. Maybe remove a couple Pain Seer or Grim Haruspex to fit them in.
I've been running something similar for fun and I'm going to try a few of these ideas. I'm also starting to think that 4 Master of the Feast gives too much card advantage to the opponent so I'm going to try a 2/2 split with him Squelching Leeches.
Yeah, the more I've been play-testing this deck the less I'm liking the Bloodsoaked Champions. He's not a bad first turn drop, but I don't like top-decking him any time after that, and I typically have more important things to spend my mana on (even though the recursion isn't a bad option). I swapped out the 4 Bloodsoaked Champions for 2 Whip of Erebos and 2 Gnarled Scarhide. I've found that Gnarled Scarhide is pretty good because if I draw him late-game I can play him for 4 and turn Master of the Feast into a 7/6 beatstick. Also I swapped out the 2 Grim Haruspex for 2 Erebos, God of the Dead. Even though he deals me damage if I choose to use his draw ability it's still a good option to have and a 5/7 indestructible monster is never a bad thing to have on the field. Also he's a great target for Herald of Torment if you play him for his Bestow cost because he turns into a 8/10 indestructible flyer. The main downfall of this deck is that I deal myself quite a bit of damage so I'm hoping that the Whips help out with this. Also Gray Merchant can give me quite a bit of health late game, and if I decide to side in Pharika's Cure it can be another source of life gain. I'll be playing a tournament on monday and wednesday so I'll let you guys know how this build does.
Let me know how you do.
Oh and I've been running only 1 Erebos main with the other slot going to Lilliana.
Yeah, I was thinking about running 1 Erebos and 1 Liliana. I'll probably make that change before I play a tourney so I don't top-deck into a second useless Erebos. Also I could always tutor for one while Liliana is on the field.
I'll have to give Pain Seer a try. I just haven't come up with something productive to do in the early turns.
Planeswalker (1)
x1 Liliana Vess
Creatures (21)
x4 Bloodsoaked Champion
x4 Pain Seer
x4 Herald of Torment
x4 Master of the Feast
x4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
x1 Erebos, God of the Dead
Spells (14)
x4 Thoughtseize
x4 Sign in Blood
x2 Bile Blight
x4 Hero's Downfall
Artifacts (2)
x2 Whip of Erebos
Lands (22)
x1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
x21 Swamp
Sideboard (15)
x1 Liliana Vess
x1 Erebos, God of the Dead
x1 Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
x1 Soul of Innistrad
x3 Doomwake Giant
x1 Champion of Stray Souls
x1 Whip of Erebos
x2 Bile Blight
x2 Squelching Leeches
x2 Despise