I've been toying around with ideas for a couple of days trying to come up with a new idea for standard, just to mix things up for myself. I'm also working on a mono-black devotion list, and trying to baby both of them into functionality, which is easier with only one color. And so I bring a Jund aggro list to y'all for ideas and such. I wanted to make something small and fast, that pings until I can get to a Master of the Feast, Archfiend of Depravity, or Mogis, God of Slaughter, or some combination of those three.
The sideboard is the piece I'm the most unsure of. I know that I want hard removal to assist the burn in getting rid of things, some kind of artifact/enchantment removal, but the rest I'm not sure so I just threw in the Legendary Artifacts in the colors. For land base, I just used basics to try and get a good mix but because of that I'm not sure how to exchange them for Bloodstained Mires and/or Wooded Foothills.
Ideal turn structure (off the top of my head) would be:
T1: Swamp, Mardu Shadowspear
T2: Forest, Heir of the Wilds
T3: Swamp, Master of the Feast
T4: Mountain, Mogis
T5: Whip
I know that'll probably never happen, but it's a dream haha.
I moved the burn and some removal to the Side, threw in more 1-drops to try to smooth it out, especially early game. Added some more self-mill that also serves as potential pump in Grave Strength
Here's where its at after a little tweaking from solitaire testing and against my Temur deck. It still feels a little clunky, and I'm not sure what to do with it.
I've also considered actually going Jund by adding green, just to put in Rakshasa Deathdealer and Heir of the Wilds, adding deathtouch to the threat suite.
Should I add the Whip in? I wanted to see how this list did before I did any major adjustments, but if someone sees some kind of glaring error or something, feel free to bring it up
On Whip of Erebos, it was just a judgement call. I might put it sideboard just for the lifelink, but I think Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is better recursion because its permanen, not just for a turn.
As for Temur Battle Rage, it actually does more than you'd think, and I'm not really concerned with the trample aspecy as much as the double strike. Sure, most of the time I'll only be doubling 2 or 3 damage, but at the same time it puts me that much further in the race. Not to mention if I can get Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury to stick for a turn and then swing him for 10 (and I'll get trample)
Hey guys, this is an idea I've come up with and spitballed with a couple friends. This is what I've pinned down as a rough draft to sleeve up for the weekend.
It was between Dark Deal and Tormenting Voice as a way to drop Hornet Queen if she gets in hand, and I decided on Dark Deal since it clears my opponent's hand as well.
Sideboard strategy is to combat swarm decks, protection for Alesha, and stop the ever-present Whip decks.
I like Shaman of the Great Hunt but I feel like it takes up an important spot in the deck for a very situational effect. The pump is nice, but how much will you see that? Much less the card draw that costs mana you couldve used to play something. I feel like, if it gets to that late in the game, something with the deck isn't right.
I keep trying to find some kind of haste mechanic for all my creatures, but the only ones that come to mind are Hammer of Purphoros and Temur Ascendancy, both of which take a turn away from the gameplan kf hitting hard, fast, and on curve. I've yhought about putting in a couple copies of Ascendancy, because t3 Ascendancy into t4 Polukranos seems pretty good. That also frees up a land for a mid/late game Savage Knuckleblade to pump or bounce out of danger
So this is my idea for a deck after FRF is released. I know it probably isn't very good, but just an idea to move away from Monsters into a more tempo/aggro oriented deck. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Scourge of Scola Vale seems interesting, but really only useful if you have something to untap him (Kiora's Follower comes to mind), but definitely a force if you get it to work since both Yasova and the Scourge easily Ferocious a Stubborn Denial
I like the idea of Flamewake Phoenix as that annoying gnat they have to keep swatting away, which will either have them waste burn, kill cards, or whittle down blockers for an Anger of the Gods or something (cause I don't know many people that would exile a 2/2 over something else in a Creature deck)
I feel like Shaman of the Great Hunt would be so much better if he had a bigger body. As he is, he's just like a remix of Boon Saytr. He just feels way to easy to get rid of.
Reality Shift looks really interesting. As mentioned, I think that'll be our biggest way to take care of something that's already hit the board even though they keep a body, albeit a more manageable one.
I think the Dash guys could be interesting, namely Flamerush Rider and Goblin Heelcutter. Repeatedly making a copy of a fatty or preventing a block seem like good options, although with a questionable amount of effectiveness
I've been trying to make Temur work for a while now, and its been difficult. From these 87 cards that have been spoiled so far, it seems like Temur is bad simply because there literally aren't good cards for that color combo. It feels like Wizards is catering to the decks that are already winning everything. Its irritating, to be honest. Why should we not get good cards for every clan without reaching back into Theros? Every other clan has great cards, individual and combo pieces, yet if someone wants to play RUG, they're on the fringe grasping at straws.
I've been toying around with ideas for a couple of days trying to come up with a new idea for standard, just to mix things up for myself. I'm also working on a mono-black devotion list, and trying to baby both of them into functionality, which is easier with only one color. And so I bring a Jund aggro list to y'all for ideas and such. I wanted to make something small and fast, that pings until I can get to a Master of the Feast, Archfiend of Depravity, or Mogis, God of Slaughter, or some combination of those three.
2x Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
2x Archfiend of Depravity
4x Bloodsoaked Champion
4x Heir of the Wilds
4x Mardu Shadowspear
4x Master of the Feast
2x Mogis, God of Slaughter
4x Rakshasa Deathdealer
5x Forest
6x Mountain
11x Swamp
4x Lightning Strike
3x Stoke the Flames
Sorcery (3)
3x Crater's Claws
Artifact (2)
2x Whip of Erebos
2x Back to Nature
3x Bow of Nylea
2x Hammer of Purphoros
4x Hero's Downfall
3x Shatter
1x Whip of Erebos
The sideboard is the piece I'm the most unsure of. I know that I want hard removal to assist the burn in getting rid of things, some kind of artifact/enchantment removal, but the rest I'm not sure so I just threw in the Legendary Artifacts in the colors. For land base, I just used basics to try and get a good mix but because of that I'm not sure how to exchange them for Bloodstained Mires and/or Wooded Foothills.
Ideal turn structure (off the top of my head) would be:
T1: Swamp, Mardu Shadowspear
T2: Forest, Heir of the Wilds
T3: Swamp, Master of the Feast
T4: Mountain, Mogis
T5: Whip
I know that'll probably never happen, but it's a dream haha.
Any ideas or suggestions to improve the deck?
10 Mountain
12 Swamp
Creatures (26)
4 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
3 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Hornet Queen
3 War Name Aspirant
2 Mardu Heart Piercer
1 Archfiend of Depravity
4 Mardu Shadowspear
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
2 Murderous Cut
Sorcery (7)
4 Tormenting Voice
3 Grave Strength
Artifact (2)
1 Hammer of Purphoros (1RR)
1 Whip of Erebos (2BB)
Enchantment (1)
1 Outpost Siege (3R)
3 Bile Blight
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Lightning Strike
2 Wild Slash
1 Archfiend of Depravity
3 Shatter
My plan was to find a connection between Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Tymaret. the Murder King. One of the combos I keep wanting to pull off in a game is Tormenting Voice away a Hornet Queen, bring her back with Alesha, sac to Tymaret, rinse and repeat.
Tymaret is there as a reusable 2 damage to a player, and a recurring threat.
The Tormenting Voices are mainly there to discard Hornet Queen, but can discard other fodder for Alesha.
Alesha is used to abuse ETBs and Raid triggers.
Grave Strength as just what the card is. Self-mill and maybe pump something.
Link to TappedOut: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/alesha-raid-rakdos-aggro/
TCG checkout price around $70.79 after optimization
10 Mountain
12 Swamp
Creatures (26)
4 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
3 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Hornet Queen
3 War Name Aspirant
2 Mardu Heart Piercer
1 Archfiend of Depravity
4 Mardu Shadowspear
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
2 Murderous Cut
Sorcery (7)
4 Tormenting Voice
3 Grave Strength
Artifact (2)
1 Hammer of Purphoros (1RR)
1 Whip of Erebos (2BB)
Enchantment (1)
1 Outpost Siege (3R)
3 Bile Blight
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Lightning Strike
2 Wild Slash
1 Archfiend of Depravity
3 Shatter
I moved the burn and some removal to the Side, threw in more 1-drops to try to smooth it out, especially early game. Added some more self-mill that also serves as potential pump in Grave Strength
10 Mountain
10 Swamp
Creatures (22)
4 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
3 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Hornet Queen
3 War Name Aspirant
3 Mardu Skullhunter
2 Mardu Heart Piercer
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
3 Mardu Shadowspear
3 Lightning Strike
2 Wild Slash
2 Murderous Cut
3 Hero's Downfall
Sorcery (5)
2 Grave Strength
3 Tormenting Voice
Artifact (2)
1 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Whip of Erebos
Enchantment (1)
1 Outpost Siege
4 Bile Blight
3 Molting Snakeskin
1 Crux of Fate
2 Magma Spray
1 Hornet Queen
3 Shatter
1 Hammer of Purphoros
Changes in this version:
-3 Dark Deal
-2 Temur Battle Rage
-1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
-2 Magma Spray
-1 Palace Siege
+1 Whip of Erebos
+2 Wild Slash
+3 Tormenting Voice
+3 Mardu Shadowspear
Should I add the Whip in? I wanted to see how this list did before I did any major adjustments, but if someone sees some kind of glaring error or something, feel free to bring it up
As for Temur Battle Rage, it actually does more than you'd think, and I'm not really concerned with the trample aspecy as much as the double strike. Sure, most of the time I'll only be doubling 2 or 3 damage, but at the same time it puts me that much further in the race. Not to mention if I can get Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury to stick for a turn and then swing him for 10 (and I'll get trample)
10 Mountain
10 Swamp
Creatures (20)
4 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
3 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Hornet Queen
3 War-Name Aspirant
3 Mardu Skullhunter
2 Mardu Heart Piercer
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
3 Lightning Strike
2 Magma Spray
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Murderous Cut
3 Hero's Downfall
Sorcery (5)
2 Grave Strength
3 Dark Deal
Artifact (1)
1 Hammer of Purphoros
Enchantment (2)
1 Palace Siege
1 Outpost Siege
4 Bile Blight
3 Molting Snakeskin
1 Crux of Fate
2 Magma Spray
1 Hornet Queen
3 Shatter
1 Hammer of Purphoros
The original idea was to find some sort of connection between Alesha, Who Smiles at Death and Tymaret, the Murder King, and expanded into abusing ETB effects, specifically Raid triggers and Hornet Queen.
It was between Dark Deal and Tormenting Voice as a way to drop Hornet Queen if she gets in hand, and I decided on Dark Deal since it clears my opponent's hand as well.
Sideboard strategy is to combat swarm decks, protection for Alesha, and stop the ever-present Whip decks.
What do you guys think?
I keep trying to find some kind of haste mechanic for all my creatures, but the only ones that come to mind are Hammer of Purphoros and Temur Ascendancy, both of which take a turn away from the gameplan kf hitting hard, fast, and on curve. I've yhought about putting in a couple copies of Ascendancy, because t3 Ascendancy into t4 Polukranos seems pretty good. That also frees up a land for a mid/late game Savage Knuckleblade to pump or bounce out of danger
And I realized that about Flamewake Phoenix and Anger of the Gods, but figured the gain would be more than the loss
3 Forest
3 Island
3 Mountain
2 Mana Confluence
4 Yavimaya Coast
4 Frontier Bivouac
2 Temple of Abandon
2 Battlefield Forge
Creature (19)
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Warden of the First Tree
3 Flamewake Phoenix
3 Savage Knuckleblade
3 Whisperwood Elemental
3 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Crater's Claws
2 Anger of the Gods
Enchantment (6)
3 Frontier Siege
3 Monastery Siege
Instant (8)
3 Reality Shift
3 Stubborn Denial
2 Wild Slash
4 Naturalize
2 Wild Slash
3 Lighting Strike
1 Stubborn Denial
3 Magma Spray
2 Stoke the Flames
I like the idea of Flamewake Phoenix as that annoying gnat they have to keep swatting away, which will either have them waste burn, kill cards, or whittle down blockers for an Anger of the Gods or something (cause I don't know many people that would exile a 2/2 over something else in a Creature deck)
I feel like Shaman of the Great Hunt would be so much better if he had a bigger body. As he is, he's just like a remix of Boon Saytr. He just feels way to easy to get rid of.
Reality Shift looks really interesting. As mentioned, I think that'll be our biggest way to take care of something that's already hit the board even though they keep a body, albeit a more manageable one.
I think the Dash guys could be interesting, namely Flamerush Rider and Goblin Heelcutter. Repeatedly making a copy of a fatty or preventing a block seem like good options, although with a questionable amount of effectiveness
Anyone have similar or different thoughts?