I've been lurking in this thread for quite some time and I thought it was about time for me to contribute. I've been working on UW Spirits for a while now and doing quite a bit of testing. Here's the list I'm working with.
About the Side: The sideboard needs a bit more work. I want to put some number of either Azorius Herald or Kor Firewalker in there for the Naya Burn match-up, even though we're about 50/50 there, and maybe some zoo decks. I also want Kami of False Hope for Infect and Zooicide. Finally, maybe I want some Eidolon of Rhetoric, but after testing with it a lot (in side and main), it's a bit too slow against most decks it's okay against (like, surprisingly, Naya Burn, and any Zoo list running Burning-Tree Emissary) and Kira already beats Ad Nauseam. I've had no problems with Rest In Peace like some people here were talking about. I just side out some number of Lingering Souls and the rest are fine if we draw them first and even fine just casting for half-value. I have run Kataki, War's Wage, but it just doesn't do enough. It's not a haymaker like Stony Silence is against Affinity and they play 4 Galvanic Blast anyway. Even if you can protect it, you are very rarely attacking with it anyway and Stony Silence puts in work against other decks like Tron and Thopter Sword decks. I'm trying out Ceremonious Rejection for Tron and I guess Bant Eldrazi, but so far, it has not been great. Finally, we probably want some Spellskite in the side or main. That card is just good against so many things (Infect, Burn, Zooicide, Removal-Heavy decks, etc.). Also, it's a Horror, so does not get bounced by flipped Thing in the Ice, which is not super relevant, but if it's in the main, it's worth noting.
As for the main: After extensive playtesting. I've found that this deck really wants to go wide. With 9 maindeck anthems and 8 token generators (9 if you count Moorland Haunt), we've done just that. It makes Mausoleum Wanderer and Pride of the Clouds into straight powerhouses. I've been trying to get another Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to try out in the main. It's just so good with Drogskol Captain and Rattlechains. It is important to note, though, that Rattlechains' ability is not a may. It pops Kira's shield on whoever you target. If Pride of the Clouds survives, it can shorten the clock considerably, but we have almost no ways to keep it alive, short of Kira, Great Glass-Spinner or Spectral Procession to put it out of Lightning Bolt range. His Forecast may as well be flavortext in an aggressive tempo deck like this. I rarely find myself using it and even when it's good, tapping out on my turn for a 1/1 flier is just the worst thing I could be doing. The fact that it's not even a Spirit just adds insult to injury. Finally, did anyone else know there are only two cards that make a white/blue bird token (Pride of the Clouds and Dovescape) and neither of them have a paper token? There is not a white/blue bird token on paper in existence. I think I'm going to take it out in favor of 3 Spell Pierce and see how that card performs in conjunction with Mausoleum Wanderer. Selfless Spirit definitely feels like more of a sideboard card and is just awful in some match-ups, so I cut it to two main and I bring in the third when it's relevant. It's also one of the first things I'm looking to side out against decks without Wraths. When it's good, it's pretty good, but when it's bad, it's just a slightly better Vaporkin and we're not looking for a 2 mana vanilla 2/1 flier, even if it is a spirit.
Side Note:Geist of Saint Traft seems like an auto-include in a Spirits list, but it just doesn't do enough and goes against our efficient evasive strategy. If we insisted on playing it, I would cut 3x Pride of the Clouds and 2x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar for 3x Geist of Saint Traft and 2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Elspeth can launch Geist into the air for him to do his thing and give him a considerable boost in p/t. I do not like the Steel of the Godhead builds I've seen floating around, as it's so bad without a Geist out.
Round 1 2-0 vs Bant Control
G1: Ran a Kiora out into a maindeck Negate, which was awkward. Slow game, rather intense, until he has a Kiora at 5 and an Elspeth at 7 with nine tokens. I have an Aetherling, I swing for 5 unblockable at Kiora. He ultimates Elspeth and runs into Aetherspouts. I win that game.
G2: I just stared at him with counterspells until I dropped an Aetherling after his Elspeth and won.
Round 2 0-2 vs Mono-Red not quite boss sligh aggro
Both games got a courser, both games, he wasn't enough. Deck is just too fast, didn't help that I didn't see one sideboard card game 2.
Round 3 1-2 vs GW monsters
G1: 3 Voice of Resurgence. 'Nuff said.
G2: Courser/Caryatid/Removal/he mulled to 5. Nissa wins.
G3: Go to time, he had some pump spell I can't remember, I think just Selesnya Charm. I was at low life and block with Courser, he wins. On last turn.
Round 4 2-1 vs Naya Midrange?
G1: He trounces me with double Smiter and Reckoner and I have no removal. I was dead turn 4.
G2: Removal for the two for ones with his rampagers, selesnya charms, and boros charms. Liliana Vess, all-star,annihilates his hand, tutors Garruk, wins, with the help of Aetherspouts.
G3: Removal, Garruk, win.
Overall, I was very pleased with the deck, and think it is very viable moving forward. I would change some things here and there though. My sideboard probably doesn't need all 3 duress and 2 negate, I'm not sure though. Drown in Sorrow was amazing, pharika's cure was hit or miss. Back to nature never came in.
I think I'm going to try the following changes:
-3 Courser of Kruphix (Card was terrible for me, did nothing vs control, died to a pump spell every time vs aggro, or couldn't block and the lifegain very seldom mattered. The doubles were terrible as well, two life per land is nice and all, but not worth wasting 3 mana usually.)
+3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver (I know, I know, most people here have determined it's not that great, but I want to try it for myself, and it can't perform much worse than courser did for me.
-2 Ultimate Price (I could not hit anything half the time, I feel it's not even sideboard-worthy, it was just dead every matchup, even mono red with burning tree, cackler, etc.
+2 Devour Flesh (It was either this or Bile Blight, which I feel is the better card, but I was a bit worried about the double black requirement)
-3 Thoughtseize (I'm not quite sure I want to make this change yet, but it just felt not that great in this deck for some reason. I understand it's probably the best card in standard and pretty high up there in terms of even modern power cards, but I don't know, it just really felt underwhelming)
+2 Dissolve
+1 Putrefy
These changes would raise the curve, but I feel they still disrupt while not making me take damage, and can do something later in the game.
-1 Jace's Ingenuity
+1 Divination
5 mana is a lot better than 6 (looking at you, Oppurtunity), but it's still clunky and competing with a lot of cards in that 5-drop slot, so I decided to play an earlier draw and still keep one for the later game.
I'm still not 100% on my manabase, I was mostly good on colors, but I found myself shocking A LOT (which, in retrospect, may be why I didn't like Thoughtseize here). Courser just didn't do enough to help. I have been wanting to fit in a Crypt Incursion somewhere in the 75, maybe it's more necessary than I thought... Other cards I really wanted to squeeze in, but couldn't: Pithing Needle, Dispel, Illness in the Ranks, Jace, Memory Adept (yet another 5-drop finisher), Vraska, the Unseen (repeatable vindicate is nice in theory, but I let these forums get to me when they said don't play her)
So yeah, overall, I really like the deck and had a lot more fun playing it than my UW control list. I also feel it's a very viable deck and the only real complaints I have are perhaps my list needed a bit more removal or draw and I was a little threat lite a lot of the time.
Hey, so I've read through this entire thread and have come up with my own version of BUG Walkers and would love some feedback, positive or negative; all criticism here has been pretty constructive so I'm okay with getting my choices ripped apart. That all said, here's the list:
Couple things I'd like to say about this list. One, I'm still working on the mana. Two, I think Far is an often forgotten/underrated card. Three, I'm trying out a no counterspell build, not sure if that's correct. Four, the deck could use some card draw; I was thinking maybe Divination because I'm not trying to hold my mana up for counters, although I am for removal, but it is a nice alternate three drop to Courser and is much better than Courser late in the game. Finally, I have some weird numbers of Planeswalkers due to availability; for example, I do not see myself getting any more Nissa anytime soon due to the 40 dollar pricetag. I just need to find another Kiora, and honestly, I might replace the one Nissa with the third Kiora, as I don't think she's as good in this list as she could be. Feel free to tell me that's wrong, as I could see reasons for leaving her in, even as a one-of. Again, any comments and discussion are more than welcome.
@Ashk'rya: I have also considered a similar build adding red for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Ogre Battledriver. You would also get access to some decent removal/reach in the form of Lighning Strike and Shock, not to mention in that shell, we'd have more lands, so Warleader's Helix may be viable here as well, as well as Boros Charm, which is a MUCH better Mizzium Skin. Also, solid lists; honestly, I hadn't even considered the possibilities this enchantment adds for constellation decks. Eidolon of Countless Battles seems hilarious to throw on a spirit and then getting another spirit when it dies; now THAT'S value!
@Luck: I was running Mizzium Skin as a sometimes bad combat trick that also protects my team from targeted removal for 2. It has performed VERY subpar. I'm not sure what I want instead, though. I feel cards like Ephemereal Shield and Ajani's Presence are going to be similarly bad, as they are just too reactive and not proactive enough. Also, just 3 Spirit Bonds because I was wary of drawing too many bonds and not enough creatures or other actions, which was a real problem during testing. I think I went less enchantments and/or anthems for more action, though I'm not sure what exactly.
@AlexTomarelli: Ephara, God of the Polis could be HUGE value here, not only giving us the extra spirits from Spirit Bonds, but everything becomes a cantrip as well. This could be especially powerful with red, as Purphoros, God of the Forge also turns every creature into a shock. The more I think about it, the more appealing adding red looks...
@Anamaniac: I agree that Aetherspouts is a powerful one sided sweep in some cases, though we would probably need to run a bit more mana to cast a 5 cmc spell. Also, it turns out Path of Bravery ended up being the weakest anthem of the bunch. I do like the more streamlined version of the deck otherwise, though. Illusory Angel does have me a bit skeptical, however.
@Bafflement: I am currently testing a WW build with it. Possibly more on that later.
@somekidonfire: I like the artifact twist you're taking there, to try to maximize early damage with Ensoul Artifact. I do have some reservations about adding cards like Negate, however, as it is a reactive card by nature and that kind of interferes with our proactive plan, not to mention Spirit Bonds is supposed to protect us from most removal anyway. What else are we negating? I'm not saying it's wrong, just a bit different. Could end up being the right way to go.
@deeviant0110: Sounds fun, though I'm not entirely sure how I would build that list.
@Hrimfisk: I like the addition of green for Drakewing Krasis and Simic Charm, which is a very tempo-ey card and that might be just what this deck is in the market for. Lavinia of the Tenth looks really good in the side, I'm just a bit worried about that 5 cmc in a deck with not too many lands, but if you can keep bouncing her, that is one heck of a beating for a lot of decks. Even mono-black has demon, rat and connections... hmmm, maybe we're onto something there... Seems a consensus is forming that Oppressive Rays might just be enough tempo to really make this deck take off...
@RoboReaper: That list looks pretty fun, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Chasm Skulker, how is he performing for you?
@a_lot: You caught onto what testing has shown me: namely that Warden of Evos Isle and Path of Bravery are simply "too cute". Illusory Angel also grossly underperformed, as I found myself just wanting to cast other things on time and not waiting to cast her and something else, usually it just ended up being wasting a Mizzium Skin to cast her, which was pretty gross. Maybe I wasn't playing right, I'm not entirely sure, but I think this deck shines when it moves as fast as possible. All in all, I'd be glad to cut her. Alright, I'm sold on Azorius Charm and Oppresive Rays. Agreed on Bident being too clunky as well. I think 2 Military Intelligence is correct, but man did I draw that a lot with no action. Faerie Impostor is nice, but doesn't save our dudes from removal and combat tricks, etc. Still, it might be worth running as an additional bounce. I also considered Peel from Reality. Bouncing is always nice for tempo, and even though we bounce our own dude and lose tempo, this could mean additional value for us in the long run. Loyal Pegasus has had me a bit worried, as often, it just can't swing until turn 3. It is a nice curve into Faerie Impostor, but I'm thinking we may have better one drops; maybe Judge's Familiar or Triton Shorestalker or even Soldier of the Pantheon. I am a bit wary of Daring Skyjek for similar reasons. Not to mention, both can just be left on the board alone, so that's just one less card your opponent has to spend to stop your pressure.
Sorry I haven't been super active for the past week in this thread, deep in the lab and life and all that, hope all this discussion continues, I'm loving all the feedback! Hopefully I didn't miss anyone or anything.
Hey all,
I've just been brewing up a bunch of different lists for spirit bonds and looking up enter the battlefield effects as well as bounce to get multiple spirits, etc. Anyway, I came across this combo and thought about it, this is pretty powerful, no? I'm just not sure what kind of deck to build around it. There are plenty of things to bounce the Archaeomancer, and maybe spellstrike chimera for instants/sorcerie matter theme and spite of mogis. I was also thinking of purphoros recycle archeomancer theme, this would especially be good with spirit bonds too, but it seems much too mana intensive. Peel from reality plus archaeomancer plus spirit bond trigger is 7 mana a turn. and all you really get is a bounce and a spirit, idk... what does anyone else think. Is it worth it? Is there a deck shell we could put this in to make it work, or just bust it wide open?
Hey all, so I have quite a few ideas for Spirit Bonds. I'll only post one for now, but depending how this goes, I might post some others in this thread, so I don't keep making new ones. So without further ado, I give you UW Spirit Bonds flyover!
Left the manabase out because I'm lazy and it's all pretty standard at this point, shocks, confluence, basics. What does everyone think? Also, what other directions do you think this could go?
I think America is the way to go. You have Quickling, Deputy of Acquittals, Faerie Impostor even, and Purphoros and Spirit Bond. Together those cards are amazing. Spirit bond essentially becomes a shock for one W instead of R.
Thanks for the help! I made some edits after taking your suggestions into account in regards to balancing, and wording. I think it's much more balanced now. I also made some small flavor tweaks!
I'm a bit new around here, but I think this is where I should be posting this. I've been making a few cards from DC Comics (mostly a heroes vs villains thing) because I really enjoy DC Comics and I really enjoy Magic, so I thought, why not put them together? I may attempt to make a set with these cards in mind, but I definitely don't have the expertise to keep limited in mind. That said, I would like to keep these balanced enough to possibly make their own constructed format. I want flavor to be my primary concern, thought, as it is important to me to capture the essence of these beloved characters. Any and all feedback is appreciated, from cost, to abilities, to color, to just balancing in general, or anything else anyone can think of. That all being said, hears what I have so far, I'll post more as I make them.
Superman5WWW
Legendary Creature — Kryptonian Hero
Flying, Haste, Trample, Indestructible
When Superman enters the battlefield, detain target villain until Superman leaves the battlefield. If you control a villain, sacrifice Superman. The Man of Steel does NOT negotiate with terrorists.
7/7
Batman2UB (Actually 2 and 2 hybrid blue/black, but I can't seem to make that work here.)
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
Batman enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters in it if you cast it from exile.
Batman can’t be blocked.
Whenever batman deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
Suspend 2 - 2 U/B U/B Given enough prep time, the Dark Knight cannot be stopped.
2/2
Wonder Woman4WRG
Legendary Creature — Amazoness Hero
Flying, Double Strike, Trample
Whenever Wonder Woman becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, you may pay R. If you do, choose new targets for that spell or ability. Princess Diana sure is a force to be reckoned with.
4/5
Flash1RR
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
Haste
Whenever a creature blocks or becomes blocked by Flash, that creature loses first strike until end of turn.
Flash can only be blocked by creatures with haste.
Flash can block creatures as though they didn't have "can't be blocked."
Flash can block any number of creatures.
Lethal combat damage does not destroy Flash. No one can keep up with the Fastest Man Alive.
1/1
Green Lantern3W
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
Flying, Vigilance
GW: Green Lantern gains an ability of your choice until end of turn. Activate this ability only once per turn. In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power, green lantern’s light!
3/3
Martian Manhunter5UG
Legendary Creature — Martian Hero
Flying, Phasing
Your opponents play with their hands revealed.
GU: Martian Manhunter becomes the creature type of your choice until end of turn, in addition to its other types.
U: Martian Manhunter can’t be blocked this turn.
0: Regenerate Martian Manhunter. You cannot activate this ability if Martian Manhunter was dealt damage by a red source this turn. (This is to represent his weakness to/fear of fire) J'onn J'onnz by day, John Jones by night.
6/6
Hawkgirl1WR
Legendary Creature — Thanagarian Hero
Flying, First Strike, Trample
Protection from Instants (from the mace) Hyah!
3/2
Aquaman2UU (Maybe should be more devoted to blue)
Legendary Creature — Atlantean Hero
Islandwalk
Other Atlantean creatures you control get +1/+1.
Atlantean creatures your opponent controls get -1/-1. Atlanteans cannot deny the King of Atlantis’ presence is always felt.
4/4
Cyborg4
Legendary Artifact Creature — Human Hero
When Cyborg enters the battlefield, you may put target equipment card from your deck onto the battlefield and equip it to Cyborg, without paying its equip cost. Booyah!
2/3
Brainiac5UUU
Legendary Artifact Creature — Android Villain
Flying, Vigilance
UUU, T: Exile all cards in all graveyards. Then draw a card for each type of card exiled this way as well as for each hero, villain and planet in play.
3: Put a 1/1 Colorless Brainiac Android artifact creature token with flying onto the battlefield. Absolute power in pursuit of absolute knowledge.
3/4
Lex Luthor1UB
Legendary Creature — Human Villain
Villains you control get +1/+1.
UB: Target hero loses all abilities until end of turn. Me! Lex Luthor!
1/1
JokerBR
Legendary Creature — Human Villain
BR, Discard a card at random: Target player exiles a hero they control.
R, T: Search your deck for a card named Harley Quinn and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library. Welcome to the party! Sorry about the wait, people have just been dying to see me. Ahahaha!
1/1
AtomU
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
U: Atom gains hexproof until end of turn. (Benefits of shrinking)
U: Atom can’t be blocked this turn. (Benefits of shrinking) This oughta bring ‘em down to size!
1/1
Harley QuinnR
Legendary Creature — Human Villain
Haste, First Strike
Sacrifice Harley Quinn: Target card with Joker in its name gains hexproof and indestructible until end of turn. I’ll never betray Mistah J!
1/1
General Zod5BB
Legendary Creature — Kryptonian Villain
Flying, Haste, Trample, Indestructible
BB, T: Tap target creature, it remains tapped until Zod leaves the battlefield or uses this ability again. Kneel before Zod!
6/6 (I wanted to note that he is weaker than superman here)
Darkseid7BBB
Legendary Creature — Apokoliptian Villain
Hexproof, Indestructible, Trample
Spells and abilities your opponents control can’t cause you to sacrifice permanents. (I wanted to make him nigh unkillable and demonstrate his God-level status)
RRR: Exile target permanent. (Omega Beams) I am order, bow unto me!
7/7
Joker ThugBR
Creature — Human Villain
Haste, Reach (has a gun) Isn't that funny?!
2/1
Note: I balanced power/toughness around grizzly bears and titans, so I'm not sure all power levels and costs are quite where they should be. For example: I wanted Superman to be stronger than a titan so he's a 7/7. I wanted Batman to be about as strong as a bear, so he's a 2/2, etc...
EDIT 1: Made some balancing and wording changes, from feedback from iphanx, thanks again! Also made some small flavor tweaks. I feel pretty confident about most of these; the only one I'm still particular unsure about is Cyborg.
I've been trying to think up a GW enchantment list that's a bit different than Saito's, as I want to use Ajani, Mentor of Heroes as an engine, so I'm more aura heavy. Here's what I got so far:
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, I had a lot of trouble with numbers, because I want a lot of the early auras against aggressive strategies, but they're pretty dead against control. I also wanted more sphere of safety, but it's pretty high on the curve. Finally, speaking of control, I think a problem I might have is against them. I mean Primeval Bounty and Banishing Light are good against them, I guess, but do you think that's enough?
I've been lurking in this thread for quite some time and I thought it was about time for me to contribute. I've been working on UW Spirits for a while now and doing quite a bit of testing. Here's the list I'm working with.
4x Drogskol Captain
4x Mausoleum Wanderer
3x Pride of the Clouds
4x Rattlechains
4x Spell Queller
2x Selfless Spirit
1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
Instants:
4x Path To Exile
Sorceries:
4x Lingering Souls
4x Spectral Procession
3x Favorable Winds
Planeswalkers:
2x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Lands:
4x Flooded Strand
4x Polluted Delta
1x Moorland Haunt
2x Godless Shrine
2x Plains
2x Island
2x Hallowed Fountain
3x Seachrome Coast
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Dismember
3x Ghostly Prison
3x Rest In Peace
3x Stony Silence
2x Negate
2x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Selfless Spirit
About the Side: The sideboard needs a bit more work. I want to put some number of either Azorius Herald or Kor Firewalker in there for the Naya Burn match-up, even though we're about 50/50 there, and maybe some zoo decks. I also want Kami of False Hope for Infect and Zooicide. Finally, maybe I want some Eidolon of Rhetoric, but after testing with it a lot (in side and main), it's a bit too slow against most decks it's okay against (like, surprisingly, Naya Burn, and any Zoo list running Burning-Tree Emissary) and Kira already beats Ad Nauseam. I've had no problems with Rest In Peace like some people here were talking about. I just side out some number of Lingering Souls and the rest are fine if we draw them first and even fine just casting for half-value. I have run Kataki, War's Wage, but it just doesn't do enough. It's not a haymaker like Stony Silence is against Affinity and they play 4 Galvanic Blast anyway. Even if you can protect it, you are very rarely attacking with it anyway and Stony Silence puts in work against other decks like Tron and Thopter Sword decks. I'm trying out Ceremonious Rejection for Tron and I guess Bant Eldrazi, but so far, it has not been great. Finally, we probably want some Spellskite in the side or main. That card is just good against so many things (Infect, Burn, Zooicide, Removal-Heavy decks, etc.). Also, it's a Horror, so does not get bounced by flipped Thing in the Ice, which is not super relevant, but if it's in the main, it's worth noting.
As for the main: After extensive playtesting. I've found that this deck really wants to go wide. With 9 maindeck anthems and 8 token generators (9 if you count Moorland Haunt), we've done just that. It makes Mausoleum Wanderer and Pride of the Clouds into straight powerhouses. I've been trying to get another Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to try out in the main. It's just so good with Drogskol Captain and Rattlechains. It is important to note, though, that Rattlechains' ability is not a may. It pops Kira's shield on whoever you target. If Pride of the Clouds survives, it can shorten the clock considerably, but we have almost no ways to keep it alive, short of Kira, Great Glass-Spinner or Spectral Procession to put it out of Lightning Bolt range. His Forecast may as well be flavortext in an aggressive tempo deck like this. I rarely find myself using it and even when it's good, tapping out on my turn for a 1/1 flier is just the worst thing I could be doing. The fact that it's not even a Spirit just adds insult to injury. Finally, did anyone else know there are only two cards that make a white/blue bird token (Pride of the Clouds and Dovescape) and neither of them have a paper token? There is not a white/blue bird token on paper in existence. I think I'm going to take it out in favor of 3 Spell Pierce and see how that card performs in conjunction with Mausoleum Wanderer. Selfless Spirit definitely feels like more of a sideboard card and is just awful in some match-ups, so I cut it to two main and I bring in the third when it's relevant. It's also one of the first things I'm looking to side out against decks without Wraths. When it's good, it's pretty good, but when it's bad, it's just a slightly better Vaporkin and we're not looking for a 2 mana vanilla 2/1 flier, even if it is a spirit.
Side Note: Geist of Saint Traft seems like an auto-include in a Spirits list, but it just doesn't do enough and goes against our efficient evasive strategy. If we insisted on playing it, I would cut 3x Pride of the Clouds and 2x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar for 3x Geist of Saint Traft and 2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Elspeth can launch Geist into the air for him to do his thing and give him a considerable boost in p/t. I do not like the Steel of the Godhead builds I've seen floating around, as it's so bad without a Geist out.
So I played my fnm tonight and here's the breakdown.
3x Courser of Kruphix
4x Sylvan Caryatid
1x Aetherling
Instants
3x Hero's Downfall
3x Abrupt Decay
2x Ultimate Price
2x Dissolve
1x Far
3x Aetherspouts
2x Jace's Ingenuity
Sorceries
3x Thoughtseize
Planeswalkers
3x Jace, Architect of Thought
3x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
1x Liliana Vess
1x Garruk, Apex Predator
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Breeding Pool
3x Watery Grave
3x Llanowar Wastes
3x Temple of Deceit
3x Temple of Mystery
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Forest
1x Island
2x Gainsay
2x Negate
3x Duress
2x Doom Blade
2x Pharika's Cure
2x Drown in Sorrow
2x Back to Nature
Round 1 2-0 vs Bant Control
G1: Ran a Kiora out into a maindeck Negate, which was awkward. Slow game, rather intense, until he has a Kiora at 5 and an Elspeth at 7 with nine tokens. I have an Aetherling, I swing for 5 unblockable at Kiora. He ultimates Elspeth and runs into Aetherspouts. I win that game.
G2: I just stared at him with counterspells until I dropped an Aetherling after his Elspeth and won.
Round 2 0-2 vs Mono-Red not quite boss sligh aggro
Both games got a courser, both games, he wasn't enough. Deck is just too fast, didn't help that I didn't see one sideboard card game 2.
Round 3 1-2 vs GW monsters
G1: 3 Voice of Resurgence. 'Nuff said.
G2: Courser/Caryatid/Removal/he mulled to 5. Nissa wins.
G3: Go to time, he had some pump spell I can't remember, I think just Selesnya Charm. I was at low life and block with Courser, he wins. On last turn.
Round 4 2-1 vs Naya Midrange?
G1: He trounces me with double Smiter and Reckoner and I have no removal. I was dead turn 4.
G2: Removal for the two for ones with his rampagers, selesnya charms, and boros charms. Liliana Vess, all-star,annihilates his hand, tutors Garruk, wins, with the help of Aetherspouts.
G3: Removal, Garruk, win.
Overperformers: Aetherspouts, Nissa, Aetherling
Underperformers: Thoughtseize, Courser of Kruphix (Big Time!), Ultimate Price
Overall, I was very pleased with the deck, and think it is very viable moving forward. I would change some things here and there though. My sideboard probably doesn't need all 3 duress and 2 negate, I'm not sure though. Drown in Sorrow was amazing, pharika's cure was hit or miss. Back to nature never came in.
I think I'm going to try the following changes:
-3 Courser of Kruphix (Card was terrible for me, did nothing vs control, died to a pump spell every time vs aggro, or couldn't block and the lifegain very seldom mattered. The doubles were terrible as well, two life per land is nice and all, but not worth wasting 3 mana usually.)
+3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver (I know, I know, most people here have determined it's not that great, but I want to try it for myself, and it can't perform much worse than courser did for me.
-2 Ultimate Price (I could not hit anything half the time, I feel it's not even sideboard-worthy, it was just dead every matchup, even mono red with burning tree, cackler, etc.
+2 Devour Flesh (It was either this or Bile Blight, which I feel is the better card, but I was a bit worried about the double black requirement)
-3 Thoughtseize (I'm not quite sure I want to make this change yet, but it just felt not that great in this deck for some reason. I understand it's probably the best card in standard and pretty high up there in terms of even modern power cards, but I don't know, it just really felt underwhelming)
+2 Dissolve
+1 Putrefy
These changes would raise the curve, but I feel they still disrupt while not making me take damage, and can do something later in the game.
-1 Jace's Ingenuity
+1 Divination
5 mana is a lot better than 6 (looking at you, Oppurtunity), but it's still clunky and competing with a lot of cards in that 5-drop slot, so I decided to play an earlier draw and still keep one for the later game.
I'm still not 100% on my manabase, I was mostly good on colors, but I found myself shocking A LOT (which, in retrospect, may be why I didn't like Thoughtseize here). Courser just didn't do enough to help. I have been wanting to fit in a Crypt Incursion somewhere in the 75, maybe it's more necessary than I thought... Other cards I really wanted to squeeze in, but couldn't: Pithing Needle, Dispel, Illness in the Ranks, Jace, Memory Adept (yet another 5-drop finisher), Vraska, the Unseen (repeatable vindicate is nice in theory, but I let these forums get to me when they said don't play her)
So yeah, overall, I really like the deck and had a lot more fun playing it than my UW control list. I also feel it's a very viable deck and the only real complaints I have are perhaps my list needed a bit more removal or draw and I was a little threat lite a lot of the time.
3x Elvish Mystic
4x Sylvan Caryatid
3x Courser of Kruphix
Planeswalkers
4x Jace, Architect of Thought
2x Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1x Liliana Vess
1x Nissa, Worldwaker
1x Garruk, Apex Predator
3x Hero's Downfall
3x Abrupt Decay
2x Ultimate Price
1x Far
3x AEtherspouts
Sorceries
1x In Garruk's Wake
4x Thoughtseize
Lands
4x Breeding Pool
4x Overgrown Tomb
3x Watery Grave
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Temple of Mystery
2x Yavimaya Coast
3x Llanowar Wastes
2x Forest
2x Temple of Deceit
1x Swamp
Couple things I'd like to say about this list. One, I'm still working on the mana. Two, I think Far is an often forgotten/underrated card. Three, I'm trying out a no counterspell build, not sure if that's correct. Four, the deck could use some card draw; I was thinking maybe Divination because I'm not trying to hold my mana up for counters, although I am for removal, but it is a nice alternate three drop to Courser and is much better than Courser late in the game. Finally, I have some weird numbers of Planeswalkers due to availability; for example, I do not see myself getting any more Nissa anytime soon due to the 40 dollar pricetag. I just need to find another Kiora, and honestly, I might replace the one Nissa with the third Kiora, as I don't think she's as good in this list as she could be. Feel free to tell me that's wrong, as I could see reasons for leaving her in, even as a one-of. Again, any comments and discussion are more than welcome.
@Ashk'rya: I have also considered a similar build adding red for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Ogre Battledriver. You would also get access to some decent removal/reach in the form of Lighning Strike and Shock, not to mention in that shell, we'd have more lands, so Warleader's Helix may be viable here as well, as well as Boros Charm, which is a MUCH better Mizzium Skin. Also, solid lists; honestly, I hadn't even considered the possibilities this enchantment adds for constellation decks. Eidolon of Countless Battles seems hilarious to throw on a spirit and then getting another spirit when it dies; now THAT'S value!
@Luck: I was running Mizzium Skin as a sometimes bad combat trick that also protects my team from targeted removal for 2. It has performed VERY subpar. I'm not sure what I want instead, though. I feel cards like Ephemereal Shield and Ajani's Presence are going to be similarly bad, as they are just too reactive and not proactive enough. Also, just 3 Spirit Bonds because I was wary of drawing too many bonds and not enough creatures or other actions, which was a real problem during testing. I think I went less enchantments and/or anthems for more action, though I'm not sure what exactly.
@AlexTomarelli: Ephara, God of the Polis could be HUGE value here, not only giving us the extra spirits from Spirit Bonds, but everything becomes a cantrip as well. This could be especially powerful with red, as Purphoros, God of the Forge also turns every creature into a shock. The more I think about it, the more appealing adding red looks...
@Anamaniac: I agree that Aetherspouts is a powerful one sided sweep in some cases, though we would probably need to run a bit more mana to cast a 5 cmc spell. Also, it turns out Path of Bravery ended up being the weakest anthem of the bunch. I do like the more streamlined version of the deck otherwise, though. Illusory Angel does have me a bit skeptical, however.
@Bafflement: I am currently testing a WW build with it. Possibly more on that later.
@somekidonfire: I like the artifact twist you're taking there, to try to maximize early damage with Ensoul Artifact. I do have some reservations about adding cards like Negate, however, as it is a reactive card by nature and that kind of interferes with our proactive plan, not to mention Spirit Bonds is supposed to protect us from most removal anyway. What else are we negating? I'm not saying it's wrong, just a bit different. Could end up being the right way to go.
@deeviant0110: Sounds fun, though I'm not entirely sure how I would build that list.
@Hrimfisk: I like the addition of green for Drakewing Krasis and Simic Charm, which is a very tempo-ey card and that might be just what this deck is in the market for. Lavinia of the Tenth looks really good in the side, I'm just a bit worried about that 5 cmc in a deck with not too many lands, but if you can keep bouncing her, that is one heck of a beating for a lot of decks. Even mono-black has demon, rat and connections... hmmm, maybe we're onto something there... Seems a consensus is forming that Oppressive Rays might just be enough tempo to really make this deck take off...
@RoboReaper: That list looks pretty fun, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Chasm Skulker, how is he performing for you?
@a_lot: You caught onto what testing has shown me: namely that Warden of Evos Isle and Path of Bravery are simply "too cute". Illusory Angel also grossly underperformed, as I found myself just wanting to cast other things on time and not waiting to cast her and something else, usually it just ended up being wasting a Mizzium Skin to cast her, which was pretty gross. Maybe I wasn't playing right, I'm not entirely sure, but I think this deck shines when it moves as fast as possible. All in all, I'd be glad to cut her. Alright, I'm sold on Azorius Charm and Oppresive Rays. Agreed on Bident being too clunky as well. I think 2 Military Intelligence is correct, but man did I draw that a lot with no action. Faerie Impostor is nice, but doesn't save our dudes from removal and combat tricks, etc. Still, it might be worth running as an additional bounce. I also considered Peel from Reality. Bouncing is always nice for tempo, and even though we bounce our own dude and lose tempo, this could mean additional value for us in the long run. Loyal Pegasus has had me a bit worried, as often, it just can't swing until turn 3. It is a nice curve into Faerie Impostor, but I'm thinking we may have better one drops; maybe Judge's Familiar or Triton Shorestalker or even Soldier of the Pantheon. I am a bit wary of Daring Skyjek for similar reasons. Not to mention, both can just be left on the board alone, so that's just one less card your opponent has to spend to stop your pressure.
Sorry I haven't been super active for the past week in this thread, deep in the lab and life and all that, hope all this discussion continues, I'm loving all the feedback! Hopefully I didn't miss anyone or anything.
I've just been brewing up a bunch of different lists for spirit bonds and looking up enter the battlefield effects as well as bounce to get multiple spirits, etc. Anyway, I came across this combo and thought about it, this is pretty powerful, no? I'm just not sure what kind of deck to build around it. There are plenty of things to bounce the Archaeomancer, and maybe spellstrike chimera for instants/sorcerie matter theme and spite of mogis. I was also thinking of purphoros recycle archeomancer theme, this would especially be good with spirit bonds too, but it seems much too mana intensive. Peel from reality plus archaeomancer plus spirit bond trigger is 7 mana a turn. and all you really get is a bounce and a spirit, idk... what does anyone else think. Is it worth it? Is there a deck shell we could put this in to make it work, or just bust it wide open?
4x Cloudfin Raptor
4x Quickling
4x Lyev Skyknight
2x Welkin Tern
2x Vaporkin
3x Warden of Evos Isle
1x Bident of Thassa
2x Military Intelligence
1x Hall of Triumph
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Path of Bravery
4x Mizzium Skin
4x Illusory Angel
3x Spirit Bonds
Left the manabase out because I'm lazy and it's all pretty standard at this point, shocks, confluence, basics. What does everyone think? Also, what other directions do you think this could go?
EDIT: Or Pit Fight for an instant example.
I'm a bit new around here, but I think this is where I should be posting this. I've been making a few cards from DC Comics (mostly a heroes vs villains thing) because I really enjoy DC Comics and I really enjoy Magic, so I thought, why not put them together? I may attempt to make a set with these cards in mind, but I definitely don't have the expertise to keep limited in mind. That said, I would like to keep these balanced enough to possibly make their own constructed format. I want flavor to be my primary concern, thought, as it is important to me to capture the essence of these beloved characters. Any and all feedback is appreciated, from cost, to abilities, to color, to just balancing in general, or anything else anyone can think of. That all being said, hears what I have so far, I'll post more as I make them.
Superman 5WWW
Legendary Creature — Kryptonian Hero
Flying, Haste, Trample, Indestructible
When Superman enters the battlefield, detain target villain until Superman leaves the battlefield. If you control a villain, sacrifice Superman.
The Man of Steel does NOT negotiate with terrorists.
7/7
Batman 2UB (Actually 2 and 2 hybrid blue/black, but I can't seem to make that work here.)
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
Batman enters the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters in it if you cast it from exile.
Batman can’t be blocked.
Whenever batman deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
Suspend 2 - 2 U/B U/B
Given enough prep time, the Dark Knight cannot be stopped.
2/2
Wonder Woman 4WRG
Legendary Creature — Amazoness Hero
Flying, Double Strike, Trample
Whenever Wonder Woman becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, you may pay R. If you do, choose new targets for that spell or ability.
Princess Diana sure is a force to be reckoned with.
4/5
Flash 1RR
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
Haste
Whenever a creature blocks or becomes blocked by Flash, that creature loses first strike until end of turn.
Flash can only be blocked by creatures with haste.
Flash can block creatures as though they didn't have "can't be blocked."
Flash can block any number of creatures.
Lethal combat damage does not destroy Flash.
No one can keep up with the Fastest Man Alive.
1/1
Green Lantern 3W
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
Flying, Vigilance
GW: Green Lantern gains an ability of your choice until end of turn. Activate this ability only once per turn.
In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight! Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power, green lantern’s light!
3/3
Martian Manhunter 5UG
Legendary Creature — Martian Hero
Flying, Phasing
Your opponents play with their hands revealed.
GU: Martian Manhunter becomes the creature type of your choice until end of turn, in addition to its other types.
U: Martian Manhunter can’t be blocked this turn.
0: Regenerate Martian Manhunter. You cannot activate this ability if Martian Manhunter was dealt damage by a red source this turn. (This is to represent his weakness to/fear of fire)
J'onn J'onnz by day, John Jones by night.
6/6
Hawkgirl 1WR
Legendary Creature — Thanagarian Hero
Flying, First Strike, Trample
Protection from Instants (from the mace)
Hyah!
3/2
Aquaman 2UU (Maybe should be more devoted to blue)
Legendary Creature — Atlantean Hero
Islandwalk
Other Atlantean creatures you control get +1/+1.
Atlantean creatures your opponent controls get -1/-1.
Atlanteans cannot deny the King of Atlantis’ presence is always felt.
4/4
Cyborg 4
Legendary Artifact Creature — Human Hero
When Cyborg enters the battlefield, you may put target equipment card from your deck onto the battlefield and equip it to Cyborg, without paying its equip cost.
Booyah!
2/3
Brainiac 5UUU
Legendary Artifact Creature — Android Villain
Flying, Vigilance
UUU, T: Exile all cards in all graveyards. Then draw a card for each type of card exiled this way as well as for each hero, villain and planet in play.
3: Put a 1/1 Colorless Brainiac Android artifact creature token with flying onto the battlefield.
Absolute power in pursuit of absolute knowledge.
3/4
Lex Luthor 1UB
Legendary Creature — Human Villain
Villains you control get +1/+1.
UB: Target hero loses all abilities until end of turn.
Me! Lex Luthor!
1/1
Joker BR
Legendary Creature — Human Villain
BR, Discard a card at random: Target player exiles a hero they control.
R, T: Search your deck for a card named Harley Quinn and put it onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.
Welcome to the party! Sorry about the wait, people have just been dying to see me. Ahahaha!
1/1
Atom U
Legendary Creature — Human Hero
U: Atom gains hexproof until end of turn. (Benefits of shrinking)
U: Atom can’t be blocked this turn. (Benefits of shrinking)
This oughta bring ‘em down to size!
1/1
Harley Quinn R
Legendary Creature — Human Villain
Haste, First Strike
Sacrifice Harley Quinn: Target card with Joker in its name gains hexproof and indestructible until end of turn.
I’ll never betray Mistah J!
1/1
General Zod 5BB
Legendary Creature — Kryptonian Villain
Flying, Haste, Trample, Indestructible
BB, T: Tap target creature, it remains tapped until Zod leaves the battlefield or uses this ability again.
Kneel before Zod!
6/6 (I wanted to note that he is weaker than superman here)
Darkseid 7BBB
Legendary Creature — Apokoliptian Villain
Hexproof, Indestructible, Trample
Spells and abilities your opponents control can’t cause you to sacrifice permanents. (I wanted to make him nigh unkillable and demonstrate his God-level status)
RRR: Exile target permanent. (Omega Beams)
I am order, bow unto me!
7/7
Joker Thug BR
Creature — Human Villain
Haste, Reach (has a gun)
Isn't that funny?!
2/1
Note: I balanced power/toughness around grizzly bears and titans, so I'm not sure all power levels and costs are quite where they should be. For example: I wanted Superman to be stronger than a titan so he's a 7/7. I wanted Batman to be about as strong as a bear, so he's a 2/2, etc...
EDIT 1: Made some balancing and wording changes, from feedback from iphanx, thanks again! Also made some small flavor tweaks. I feel pretty confident about most of these; the only one I'm still particular unsure about is Cyborg.
I've been trying to think up a GW enchantment list that's a bit different than Saito's, as I want to use Ajani, Mentor of Heroes as an engine, so I'm more aura heavy. Here's what I got so far:
Creatures (12)
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Courser of Kruphix
4x Eidolon of Blossoms
Enchantments (22)
4x Oppressive Rays
4x Pacifism
3x Arrest
4x Banishing Light
3x Nylea's Presence
2x Sphere of Safety
2x Primeval Bounty
Planeswalkers (2)
2x Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, I had a lot of trouble with numbers, because I want a lot of the early auras against aggressive strategies, but they're pretty dead against control. I also wanted more sphere of safety, but it's pretty high on the curve. Finally, speaking of control, I think a problem I might have is against them. I mean Primeval Bounty and Banishing Light are good against them, I guess, but do you think that's enough?
Thanks!