You should first contact the Casual moderators via PM. Primers are a community resource, and we require a review before they are posted. Don't worry, the review process is largely informal, geared towards ensuring a quality guide (and limiting duplicate work if someone else is already working on that Primer).
Once the review is complete, you'll be given the go ahead to post your new Primer.
Here is a tutorial on writing Primers.
Q : Should the Primer be written before I contact a Mod?
A : Contact Mods first. We'd like to prevent unnecessary duplication of work, as well as direct interested people to each other in case they want another source of feedback.
Q : How should I write up and share the Primer drafts?
A : Word documents and the MTGS blog space both work well. Feel free to suggest other methods! We appreciate your work however you get it done.
Completed Primers
- Affinity (Pauper/Peasant)
- Arcane Axe (Pauper)
- Auras (Pauper)
- Burn (Pauper/Peasant)
- Caw Blade (Pauper)
- Infect (Pauper/Peasant)
- Mono Black Aggro (Pauper/Peasant)
- Mono Black Control (Pauper)
- Mono Blue Delver (Pauper)
- MUC (Pauper/Peasant)
- Pestilence (Pauper)
- Soldiers (Pauper/Peasant)
- Steel Soldiers (Pauper/Peasant)
- Storm (Pauper)
- Turbofog (Pauper/Peasant)
- White Weenie (Pauper/Peasant)
Works in Progress
Mono Black Control (Pauper)
Requested Pauper Primers (PM a Mod if you'd like to tackle one of these.)
Dredge
Soul Sisters
Zombies
– This guy is a MUST (obviously). He’s the namesake of the deck. He'll transform into 
– Free evasive creatures! Drop them second turn and watch your opponent weep at the fact that you have 2 Islands untapped. They can also be cycled for those times when you don’t need them. Tempo at its finest!
– This ninja just keeps the cards flowing. Works wonders with Spellstutter Sprite to get more Faerie action.
- He’s a pretty big roadblock that’s great on the defense and can easily give you an offensive boost also. Frostburn Weird is a big hoser against aggro decks.
– Gush on a stick but costs 3 mana to effectively use. Its stats aren’t the best though, so I’d stick to using Gush.
– He’s a 2/2 for one mana, pretty good. The only drawback is he can be easily dealt with, even if you could counter a spell that targets him, it won’t stop you saccing him. Then again, would your opponent be targeting him or the 3/2 flyer that’s killing him?
– He’s a decent fellow. Gets you a card and he’s a good blocker, but the Oracle is on the high end of the curve you want in this deck.
– Cancel is the same as Faerie Trickery, except it doesn’t exile the spell. Only useable if you don’t have any other options to choose from.
2
Introduction to Pauper Burn
What exactly is Pauper Burn? In essence it is exactly the same thing as the regular good old Burn we have always loved but the only exception being you can only use common cards. The nice thing about Burn is that most of the effective cards are all common, so this makes adapting this archtype to Pauper very easy! This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Pauper Burn
The main idea is to very play cheap burn spells such as Lightning Bolt and Searing Blaze to widdle your opponent down to very low life and once you have enough lands on the field you can use things like Fireblast and Shard Volley to destroy your own lands to deal lethal damage! You will have some support cards such as Needle Drop to generate card draw and dare I call him support but Keldon Marauders can come into and out of play to burn and prevent any pesky critters from touching you.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Pauper have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of burn spells
#2 Use more burn spells to burn more and more
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
0 mana drops
Simian Spirit Guide
Lightning Bolt
Shard Volley
Lava Spike
Needle Drop
Rift Bolt
Lava Dart
Chain Lightning
Crimson Wisps
Electrickery
Spark Elemental
Goblin Fireslinger
Pillar of Flame
Firebolt
Mogg Fanatic
Shock
Fireblast
Kiln Fiend
Keldon Marauders
Searing Blaze
Flame Rift
Incinerate
Searing Spear
Volcanic Hammer
Brimstone Volley
Thunderclap
Staggershock
None as of yet.
Reckless Charge
Smash to Smithereens
Pyroblast
Relic of Progenitus
Faithless Looting
Molten Rain
Moutain
Forgotten Cave
XBM Yosho's Pauper Burn
The primary focus of this deck is simple, burn as fast as you possibly can. It doesn't utilize single creature pump like Kiln Fiend decks do, their isn't really any fancy draw spells, just plain old burn. The sideboard allows me to deal with artifacts, any annoying blue counters, some dedicated pinging and some graveyard hate with additional card draw. If you go first, this deck can produce 23 damage on turn 4. If you go second this deck can produce 22 damage on turn 3.
4 Keldon Marauders
Spells 36
4 Fireblast
4 Flame Rift
4 Incinerate
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Needle Drop
4 Rift Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Shard Volley
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
XBM Yosho's Pauper Kiln/Burn
This deck uses the Kiln Fiend casting method, burn away everything in your path and push through with your fiend. You also have the option of casting your Reckless Charge onto your Keldon Marauders and let him swing, and if he dies that's great because he still does damage on the way out.
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Kiln Fiend
Spells 32
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Crimson Wisps
4 Reckless Charge
4 Fireblast
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Dart
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
I would give this match up a 70/30 if not better because with the right cards (IE: not Shock) we can easily outrace these decks since we are capable of going lethal on turn 3. Since we are racing the opponents deck to deal lethal damage and we have really little to no creatures we are trading blow for blow BUT a creature like Keldon Marauders can change the balance since he deals damage on the way in and way out in addition to blocking or attacking.
Control:
Outside of Mono-U you should have little to no problem dealing with a control based deck, but that is why we sideboard in Pryoblast. Most of the time the other colors rely on you having creatures but shutting down spells is a bit harder, not impossible mind you but much much harder.
Combo:
Combo decks such as Affinity can spur off lethal damage by turn 4, a well equipped Burn deck can do lethal damage by turn 3, so in this capacity a combo match up is slightly in our favor. However if facing a combo deck like Soul Sisters then your Burn deck is vastly outclassed and the chances of winning are very slim. Most other combo decks can't really lock down a Burn deck so you should have favorable match ups in this department aside from what has been noted.
Introduction to Peasant Burn
What exactly is Peasant Burn? In essence it is exactly the same thing as the regular good old Burn we have always loved but the only exception being you can only use up to five uncommon cards and the rest need to be common cards. The nice thing about Burn is that most of the effective cards are all common and their really is only a small select few that are worth adding from the uncommon card pool, so this makes adapting this archtype to Peasant very easy! This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Peasant Burn
The main idea is to very play cheap burn spells such as Lightning Bolt or cheap creatures like Hellspark Elemental to widdle your opponent down to very low life and once you have enough lands on the field (just like with Pauper) you can use things like Fireblast and Shard Volley to destroy your own lands to deal lethal damage! You will have some support cards such as Needle Drop and Browbeat to generate card draw and dare I call him support but Keldon Marauders can come into and out of play to burn and prevent any pesky critters from touching you.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Peasant have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of burn spells
#2 Use more burn spells to burn more and more
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
1 mana drops
None as of yet.
Hellspark Elemental
Searing Blood
Ball Lightning
Browbeat
None as of yet.
None as of yet.
Barbarian Ring
XBM Yosho's Peasant Burn
The primary focus of this deck is simple, burn as fast as you possibly can. It doesn't utilize single creature pump like Kiln Fiend decks do, it uses a nice draw spell which can also be converted into a burn if your opponent dares. The sideboard allows me to deal with artifacts, any annoying blue counters, some dedicated pinging and some graveyard hate with additional card draw. If you go first, this deck can produce 23 damage on turn 4. If you go second this deck can produce 22 damage on turn 3.
4 Keldon Marauders
3 Hellspark Elemental
Spells 33
4 Fireblast
4 Flame Rift
2 Browbeat
3 Needle Drop
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Shard Volley
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
XBM Yosho's Peasant Kiln/Burn
This deck uses the Kiln Fiend casting method, burn away everything in your path and push through with your fiend. You also have the option of casting your Reckless Charge onto your already hasted and trampled Hellspark Elemental to walk through anything annoying.
4 Hellspark Elemental
4 Kiln Fiend
Spells 32
4 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Needle Drop
1 Browbeat
4 Reckless Charge
4 Fireblast
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Dart
20 Mountain
4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Pyroblast
4 Goblin Fireslinger
3 Relic of Progenitus
I would give this match up a 70/30 if not better because with the right cards (IE: not Shock) we can easily outrace these decks since we are capable of going lethal on turn 3. Since we are racing the opponents deck to deal lethal damage and we have really little to no creatures we are trading blow for blow BUT a creature like Keldon Marauders can change the balance since he deals damage on the way in and way out in addition to blocking or attacking.
Control:
Outside of Mono-U you should have little to no problem dealing with a control based deck, but that is why we sideboard in Pryoblast. Most of the time the other colors rely on you having creatures but shutting down spells is a bit harder, not impossible mind you but much much harder.
Combo:
Combo decks such as Affinity can spur off lethal damage by turn 4, a well equipped Burn deck can do lethal damage by turn 3, so in this capacity a combo match up is slightly in our favor. However if facing a combo deck like Soul Sisters then your Burn deck is vastly outclassed and the chances of winning are very slim. Most other combo decks can't really lock down a Burn deck so you should have favorable match ups in this department aside from what has been noted.
1
As for your match up section you can most likely take my Total Package White Weenie match up against my own Delver deck for that section if you wish. I don't have an in depth breakdown but my own Delver went 1 and 2 against my White Weenie due to the versatility.
1
I agree, when I have a free minute I will update the guide and the deck. Good catch!
1
Long story short I took a promotion, moved and have been busy settling in.
Now I have to catch up on the threads here.
1
Introduction to Pauper Soldiers
What exactly is Pauper Soldiers? In essence it is exactly the same thing as regular Soldiers but the only exception being you can only use common cards. The Soldier archtype has been around for quite awhile and has evolved over the years into a semi-serious deck that deserves respect. Even though it is not currently competitive like its White Weenie counterpart it is still very fun to play in casual and a very easy beginner deck or just something to have plain straight forward fun with. This primer will be discussing the archtype as it is related to the paper form of the game not the online version. For a more equipment based soldier deck I have provided a link below in the relevant information section to Rinin's primer. Some cards and strategies are transferable from Magic Online to paper and vice versus, but the general outline will be focused on paper Magic.
Basics of Pauper Soldiers
The main idea is to play cheap, fast and usually first strike creatures such as Porcelain Legionnaire and Mosquito Guard to create a strong early board presence and then eventually lay down your pumps such as Veteran Armorsmith and Veteran Swordsmith to work down your opponent. You will need to use support cards such as Unmake or Glorious Charge to help out so that your creatures can punch through to give you that victory since the soldier archtype is inherently weaker then others.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Pauper have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of creatures
#2 Use the creature lords and support spells to pump and clear the way
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
1 mana drops
Mosquito Guard
Soltari Foot Soldier
Deftblade Elite
Serra Zealot
Boros Recruit
Doomed Traveler
Gideon's Lawkeeper
Goldmeadow Harrier
Icatian Javelineers
Infantry Veteran
Auriok Glaivemaster
Ardent Recruit
Kitesail Apprentice
War Falcon
Honorable Scout
Akrasan Squire
Soltari Trooper
Veteran Armorsmith
Veteran Armorer
Loyal Cathar
Crossbow Infantry
Ballyrush Banneret
Benalish Trapper
Cenn's Heir
Expendable Troops
Auriok Sunchaser
Sunspear Shikari
Kor Skyfisher
Raise the Alarm
Veteran Swordsmith
Ballynock Cohort
Elder Cathar
Kithkin Zephyrnaut
Combat Medic
Basilica Guards
Benalish Veteran
Ballynock Trapper
Unmake
Lotus Petal
Oblivion Ring
Prismatic Strands
Bonesplitter
Unified Strike
Journey to Nowhere
Dust to Dust
Serrated Arrows
Adventuring Gear
Guardians' Pledge
Vulshok Morningstar
Holy Light
Glorious Charge
Inviolability
Bone Saw
Repel the Darkness
Origin Spellbomb
Sunlance
Flickering Ward
Empyrial Armor
Disenchant
Arrest
Pacifism
Plains
Secluded Steppe
Sejiri Steppe
Kabira Crossroads
XBM Yosho's Pauper Traditional Soldiers
The main focus of this deck is to pump your first strikers, provoke any problematic creatures and remove any major threat be it creature, enchantment or artifact. If you cannot afford Turbo-Soldiers this is a great option.
4 Deftblade Elite
4 Serra Zealot
4 Soltari Trooper
4 Mosquito Guard
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Veteran Armorsmith
4 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Bonesplitter
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Glorious Charge
Lands 20
17 Plains
3 Secluded Steppe
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
XBM Yosho's Pauper Equipment Soldiers
Pretty straight forward, slap down your creatures and rely on your equipment to activate the abilities. Use your fetch lands to double proc your Adventuring Gear for a deadly strike or massive life gain.
4 Auriok Glaivemaster
4 Deftblade Elite
4 Kitesail Apprentice
4 Sunspear Shikari
4 Veteran Armorsmith
4 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Bonesplitter
4 Adventuring Gear
4 Bone Saw
Instants
4 Unified Strike
Lands
4 Evolving Wilds
16 Plains
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
XBM Yosho's Pauper Kithkin Soldiers
This deck doesn't use traditional soldier pump, it instead relies on the reinforce ability, Surge of Thoughtweft, and the combined number of Kithkin to pump up Cenn's Heir. Remove what is in your way and pummel your opponent. Thin your deck slightly with Squadron Hawk and Secluded Steppe for better draw.
4 Mosquito Guard
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Ballynock Cohort
4 Ballyrush Banneret
4 Burrenton Bombardier
4 Cenn's Heir
2 Ballynock Trapper
2 Kithkin Zephyrnaut
1 Cenn's Enlistment
2 Fire at Will
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Surge of Thoughtweft
Lands 20
17 Plains
3 Secluded Steppe
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
XBM Yosho's Pauper Turbo-Soldiers
The basic idea behind this is to flood the field on turn 2 with several creatures by using Lotus Petal, by turn 2 you should have 3-4 creatures on the field which in most cases is plenty to overwhelm an opponent early game especially because this deck uses first strike and shadow so well. Slap a Bonesplitter on a creature with shadow for free damage or on a first striker to remove any annoying blockers. This deck can have a very strong early game, a well setup mid game but a very very mediocre late game.
4 Soltari Foot Soldier
4 Ballyrush Banneret
4 Soltari Trooper
4 Mosquito Guard
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Veteran Armorer
4 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Bonesplitter
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Lotus Petal
Lands 18
18 Plains
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
These are usually always our best match ups. Soldier decks employ very fast creatures, though weaker then most they have great abilities such as first strike or shadow to pummel other aggro critters down to victory. To do well we need to race our opponents within the first 2-3 turns to kill them faster than they can kill us. Spot removal will be our best friend in these games to take out key threats so that our creatures handle the lesser guys and push through to victory.
Control:
The soldier archtype in this format really doesn't have many options unlike White Weenie to be overly competitive to answer certain threats. Soldier decks normally rely on quick creatures to get the job done, take away any of that competitive quickness and you will lose your ability to win. Our only hope is to use protection cards such as Prismatic Strands and hope we aren't forced to discard.
Combo:
The name of the game here is to simply kill them before the combo goes off, if you cannot do lethal damage before Affinity floods the field with free and powerful evasive creatures your going to have an uphill battle. It isn't impossible but since soldiers lack end game punch through power it will be a struggle and you will have to utilize cards such as Dust to Dust to aid your cause.
XBM Yosho's Pauper/Peasant White Weenie Primer.
Rinin's Pauper/Peasant Equipment Soldier Primer (AKA Steel Soldiers)
Introduction to Peasant Soldiers
What exactly is Peasant Soldiers? Well just as stated above it is the same as regular Soldiers but your deck must be constructed of only common cards, but you are allowed to use up to 5 uncommon cards as-well. When you jump into Peasant Magic you open up a larger selection of cards to use, but you just need to narrow them down to a choice of five cards for your deck.
Basics of Peasant Soldiers
The main idea is exactly the same as the above for the Peasant version of Soldiers, but you get to play creatures such as Daru Warchief as your pump creature over something like Veteran Swordsmith. Your support cards can change with such removal spells as Path to Exile and protective spells like Brave the Elements. The core of the deck will remain almost unchanged though since you are only allowed five uncommons.
All of the sideboards in each decklist within Peasant have been designed for a broad meta, it is completely up to the builder to decide what works and what does not work within each sideboard as this can serve as a starting point.
So in short your general rule of play should be,
#1 Play lots and lots of creatures
#2 Use the creature abilities and removal spells to clear the way
#3 ??????
#4 Profit
What you will need to win
1 mana drops
Alaborn Zealot
Cenn's Tactician
Boros Elite
Dryad Militant
Kor Duelist
Hada Freeblade
Kazandu Blademaster
Catapult Squad
Longbow Archer
Jötun Grunt
Crusader of Odric
Daru Warchief
Enlistment Officer
Rhox Pikemaster
Swords to Plowshares
Path to Exile
Brave the Elements
Skullclamp
Aether Vial
Daru Encampment
XBM Yosho's Peasant Turbo-Soldiers
The basic idea behind this is to flood the field on turn 2 with several creatures by using Lotus Petal and Aether Vial, by turn 2 you should have 3-4 creatures on the field which is most cases is plenty to overwhelm an opponent early game especially because this deck uses first strike and shadow so well. By turn 3 you should have emptied your hand and you can slap a Bonesplitter on a creature with shadow for free damage or on a first striker to remove any annoying blockers. I went with Veteran Armorer over Veteran Armorsmith because Ballyrush banneret can make him cheaper while he cannot do that with the latter. This deck can have a very strong early game, a well setup mid game but a very very mediocre late game.
4 Soltari Foot Soldier
4 Ballyrush Banneret
4 Soltari Trooper
4 Mosquito Guard
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Veteran Armorer
4 Veteran Swordsmith
3 Bonesplitter
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Aether Vial
4 Lotus Petal
Lands 18
18 Plains
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
XBM Yosho's Peasant Equipment Soldiers
Pretty straight forward, slap down your creatures and rely on your equipment to activate the abilities. Use your fetch lands to double proc your Adventuring Gear for a deadly strike or massive life gain. This Peasant version uses both Kor Duelist and Swords to Plowshares
4 Auriok Glaivemaster
3 Kor Duelist
4 Kitesail Apprentice
4 Sunspear Shikari
4 Veteran Armorsmith
4 Veteran Swordsmith
4 Bonesplitter
4 Adventuring Gear
4 Bone Saw
Instants 5
3 Unified Strike
2 Swords to Plowshares
Lands 20
4 Evolving Wilds
16 Plains
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
XBM Yosho's Peasant Traditional Soldiers
The main focus of this deck is to get down your Daru Warchiefs and Veteran Armorsmiths as quickly as possibly. That is why I have outfitted this deck with both Lotus Petal and Ballyrush banneret. Pump, remove and win! If you cannot afford Peasant Turbo-Soldiers this is a great second choice.
4 Deftblade Elite
4 Ballyrush banneret
4 Serra Zealot
4 Soltari Trooper
4 Mosquito Guard
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
4 Veteran Armorsmith
4 Daru Warchief
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Journey to Nowhere
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Lotus Petal
Lands 20
17 Plains
3 Secluded Steppe
2 Dust to Dust
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Circle of Protection: Black
4 Standard Bearer
2 Unmake
3 Sunlance
These are usually always our best match ups. Soldier decks employ very fast creatures, though weaker then most they have great abilities such as first strike or shadow to pummel other aggro critters down to victory. To do well we need to race our opponents within the first 2-3 turns to kill them faster than they can kill us. Spot removal will be our best friend in these games to take out key threats so that our creatures handle the lesser guys and push through to victory.
Control:
The soldier archtype in this format really doesn't have many options unlike White Weenie to be overly competitive to answer certain threats. Soldier decks normally rely on quick creatures to get the job done, take away any of that competitive quickness and you will lose your ability to win. Our only hope is to use protection cards such as Prismatic Strands and hope we aren't forced to discard.
Combo:
The name of the game here is to simply kill them before the combo goes off, if you cannot do lethal damage before Affinity floods the field with free and powerful evasive creatures your going to have an uphill battle. It isn't impossible but since soldiers lack end game punch through power it will be a struggle and you will have to utilize cards such as Dust to Dust to aid your cause.
XBM Yosho's Pauper/Peasant White Weenie Primer.
Rinin's Pauper/Peasant Equipment Soldier Primer (AKA Steel Soldiers)
2
To sum it up, yes. Immaturity is an epidemic online.
1
I searched threw every single common white card and have come up with a list of some older cards that may prove useful in some or all situations. Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Wordmail - Pretty straight forward what it does, in most cases it is at least a +2+2 and in the case of Guardian of the Guildpact it is a +4+4 for one mana that is permanent. If your playgroup allows it I think it should be used.
Stand Firm - Pump and Scry. White needs more draw and deck fixing so this might be useful in some versions of the deck.
Reinforcements - I don't know about this one, thoughts?
Niveous Wisps - One mana for a tap and draw, possibly good.
Lashknife - potentially free first strike. Maybe?
Hyena Umbra - An overlooked gem I think.
Deathward - I really like this card, for only a single mana it can really turn the tides.
Asha's Favor - Maybe? It is costly but the benefits are nice.
1
Let us also not forget the "free" pump spell of Mutagenic Growth, saves your mana pool and since you should be beating face by turn 4-5 with a stompy list the life loss isn't a big deal.
1
Scoure of the Nobilis is also a very nice addition, such a good enchantment lol.
1
It is very defensive, the bottom line being that you gain so much life your opponent really has no answer so all you need to do is wear them down. You could tweak it a bit to be more offensive pretty easily by using some more equipment or some different creatures.
I think soldiers would be the safest and cheapest bet.