Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I got used to the competitive format after my friends stopped playing. Just hard to scratch that MtG itch with a T5 concede-and-leave.
Sometimes I miss those innocent days without sideboarding. Just slow decks and junk rares..
I couldn't sleep tonight, so decided to play some MtGO. Just "For Fun" with a sub-$5 Temur deck.
Match 1: Had opponent on the ropes while he's only shown Sylvan Caryatid and Map the Wastes. He concedes! And leaves the game..
Match 2: Opponent is playing a wimpy Sligh deck that can't seem to be able to attack or block without heavy losses. He concedes game 1, I sideboard. He leaves the game. I close the client.
I had to stop playing my control deck because I could never finish a game! Always a comment about how bored my opponent is before they leave. But a budget Temur aggro deck?! Is Savage Knuckleblade that infuriating? Do these people really want to play Magic, or just browse around for n00bs? I don't want to spend the money on serious games with pixel-cards, but is that the only option to get some real action?
I know there have been several threads on the topic, but geez, am I irked! Do you guys have any advice or anecdotes?
It was something like that, anyway. Very budget-friendly and did respectably.
I think you definitely want more than 4 hard counters. It's one of the most useful effects in control. I always ran 6-8.
Board wipes are important. Hard wipes! Bouncing creatures is OK to an extent, but you want to leave them with limited resources; ideally, 0 cards in hand, no creatures in play.
You could improve the deck immensely by adding in those Elsepth. I wouldn't use that as the only win-con, though, as a timely Downfall when you have no Negate or Dissolve in hand can spell disaster. I even kept a Colossal Whale in my SB for the decks with no hard removal (mono-green, etc).
Skywise Teachings seems slow, but Myth Realized might be tight.
I used to play a similar deck, with a larger focus on heroic. I think you want a bunch of protection-from-color spells to get damage through. That was usually my win-con. That or a big ol' High Sentinels of Arashin.
All in all I know that Sarkhan Unbroken is a good card but the Temur color combination is its biggest drawback, mainly due to the absence or very strong tri-colored cards in a color (green) that lends pretty much nothing to control but can do well in aggro/midrange.
Thank you for wording it more elequently than I could in my drunken state. This is what I was trying to say about Sarkhan Unbroken being unsuited for control. He doesn't have the support needed to keep him alive. If he lives 4-8 turns, he can be a house! However, he needs fatties and pressure to get there.
Since he doesn't protect himself, he can be a 5-mana, "Draw a card. Rebound." Or just a 5-mana, "Put a 4/4 Dragon token with flying onto the battlefield. Prevent the next 4 damage that would be dealt to you."
If he had black or white in his cost, he could go decently well with control, with hard board wipes. He needs a Courser, Polukranos, or something else with high toughness to protect him. Thus the suggestion for a midrange build.
Drawing a card and probably losing him is not enough, when you could just be running that extra card instead.
I'm not trying to put the OP down at all. In fact, I'm trying to save him $50-100 that he might spend trying to build a Sarkhan control deck. I might be wrong here, but I just don't see S.U. being protected well enough to survive in a control shell. Not the mention that green and red are the worst colors for control.
I think you need some more 0 cost things to bounce and replay. If you don't draw the crypt, you're screwed. I'd probably throw in some Ornithopters, Briber's Purses, and Ensoul Artifact (to hold you over 'til a win-con comes along).
I think what you described fits more of a midrange strategy. If you replaced counters with 2-4 drops, you'd have a decent Temur midrange deck on your hands. I just don't think he lends himself well to control.
+1: Deal X damage to target player, where X is Fuero Juero's loyalty. Fuero Juero deals half that much damage to you, rounded down.
-2: Creatures you control gain Haste and Firebreathing until end of turn.
-X: Reveal the top X cards of your library. Exile an instant or sorcery and put the rest into your graveyard. You may copy the exiled card X times and cast these copies without paying their mana costs.
I, too, like to carry on a reasonable amount of banter (maybe sometimes more than reasonable, if I'm being honest). But when I get that first prickly remark, I usually chuckle, say, "Heh, alright; calm down, bro," and continue to play the game in relative silence.
I have a question, given the number of humans as well as warriors is there a place for Calvary Pegasus? Instead of say blood-chin rager or do we lose too much syngery for the evasion?
I've tried the Pegasus in other human decks (like mono-white heroic, which is wider and less voltron), and it always seems too slow. It looks good on paper, but is almost always underwhelming on cardboard.
EDIT: We also need the new token-hate card in the SB, because a couple Hordeling Outbursts can really make our attacks awkward.
Sometimes I miss those innocent days without sideboarding. Just slow decks and junk rares..
Match 1: Had opponent on the ropes while he's only shown Sylvan Caryatid and Map the Wastes. He concedes! And leaves the game..
Match 2: Opponent is playing a wimpy Sligh deck that can't seem to be able to attack or block without heavy losses. He concedes game 1, I sideboard. He leaves the game. I close the client.
I had to stop playing my control deck because I could never finish a game! Always a comment about how bored my opponent is before they leave. But a budget Temur aggro deck?! Is Savage Knuckleblade that infuriating? Do these people really want to play Magic, or just browse around for n00bs? I don't want to spend the money on serious games with pixel-cards, but is that the only option to get some real action?
I know there have been several threads on the topic, but geez, am I irked! Do you guys have any advice or anecdotes?
But I'm not sure they'd fit a full 75, double-sleeved.
4x Prognostic Sphinx
2x Tromokratis
Counters: 12
4x Dissolve
2x Dissipate
3x Disdainful Stroke
2x Nullify
1x Negate
3x Treasure Cruise
3x Jace's Ingenuity
Other Spells: 10
4x End Hostilities
3x Banishing Light
3x Valorous Stance
It was something like that, anyway. Very budget-friendly and did respectably.
I think you definitely want more than 4 hard counters. It's one of the most useful effects in control. I always ran 6-8.
Board wipes are important. Hard wipes! Bouncing creatures is OK to an extent, but you want to leave them with limited resources; ideally, 0 cards in hand, no creatures in play.
You could improve the deck immensely by adding in those Elsepth. I wouldn't use that as the only win-con, though, as a timely Downfall when you have no Negate or Dissolve in hand can spell disaster. I even kept a Colossal Whale in my SB for the decks with no hard removal (mono-green, etc).
Skywise Teachings seems slow, but Myth Realized might be tight.
Good luck.
4x Foundry Street Denizen
4x Lightning Berserker
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Mardu Scout
3x Raging Goblin
2x Goblin Heelcutter
3x Roast
4x Lightning Strike
4x Dragon Fodder
4x Titan Strength
20x Mountain
If you want to use Impact Tremors to its fullest (which doesn't seem very full), you might try something like:
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Foundry Street Denizen
4x Mardu Scount
3x Akroan Crusader
2x Goblin Heelcutter
3x Titan Strength
4x Dragon Fodder
4x Hordeling Outburst
3x Impact Tremors
3x Coordinated Assault
2x Trumpet Blast
20x Mountain
I tried my best to pull something out of my butt quickly. I don't see either list doing extremely well, though, to be honest.
Sorry if we sound harsh. We're only trying to help.
Thank you for wording it more elequently than I could in my drunken state. This is what I was trying to say about Sarkhan Unbroken being unsuited for control. He doesn't have the support needed to keep him alive. If he lives 4-8 turns, he can be a house! However, he needs fatties and pressure to get there.
If he had black or white in his cost, he could go decently well with control, with hard board wipes. He needs a Courser, Polukranos, or something else with high toughness to protect him. Thus the suggestion for a midrange build.
Drawing a card and probably losing him is not enough, when you could just be running that extra card instead.
I'm not trying to put the OP down at all. In fact, I'm trying to save him $50-100 that he might spend trying to build a Sarkhan control deck. I might be wrong here, but I just don't see S.U. being protected well enough to survive in a control shell. Not the mention that green and red are the worst colors for control.
All of the expensive cards I've just happened to pull.
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Heir of the Wilds
4x Fanatic of Xenagos
4x Boon Satyr
2x Polis Crusher
2x Polukranos, World Eater
4x Thunderbreak Regent
1x Stormbreath Dragon
Spells: 12
4x Lightning Strike
4x Crater's Claws
2x Temur Battle Rage
2x Roast
10x Forest
10x Mountain
3x Destructive Revelry
2x Harness by Force
3x Mistcutter Hydra
2x Roast
The sideboard is pretty flexible. I'm open to any budget suggestions (no Rabblemaster in my future). Does anyone else run a similar list?
Planeswalker - Fuero Juero
+1: Deal X damage to target player, where X is Fuero Juero's loyalty. Fuero Juero deals half that much damage to you, rounded down.
-2: Creatures you control gain Haste and Firebreathing until end of turn.
-X: Reveal the top X cards of your library. Exile an instant or sorcery and put the rest into your graveyard. You may copy the exiled card X times and cast these copies without paying their mana costs.
I've tried the Pegasus in other human decks (like mono-white heroic, which is wider and less voltron), and it always seems too slow. It looks good on paper, but is almost always underwhelming on cardboard.
EDIT: We also need the new token-hate card in the SB, because a couple Hordeling Outbursts can really make our attacks awkward.