I want to build a multi-color Honden deck but I am having issues with mana ramp and mana fixing. I also want the deck to focus on enhancements so I can maximize Sphere of Safety. with hondens and the sphere the deck is rather slow so I need both speed and versatility.
the issue is how to balance the mana ramp/fixing enchantments with other, more useful enchantments (hondens, spheres, etc) that actually win me the game. ramp doesn't help if my first five turns are nothing but more ramp.
I also don't want to use creature ramp like Bird's of Paradise or Utopia Tree because they don't synergize with the Sphere.
I just wanted to say that I have built a few decks without instants or sorcery's. one of them is a pure creature deck (slivers) and the other is a nearly pure enchantment deck (2 artifacts). and with 0 cost artifacts it is indeed possible to have a 'no-land' deck.
These provide the "answers" that Rezzahan mentions above.
I would also suggest Nyx-Fleece Ram as an early blocker alongside your wall of omens. 5 toughness for CMC 2 is pretty good early on and it gives passive healing. a few of those should give you plenty of time to get out a few heavy hitters.
ghostly prison is decent, but consider sphere of safety. it synergizes with oblivion ring, prison term and nyx-fleece ram to really lockdown your opponent's creatures.
I also agree that you may have too many high cost angles. White's strength is on early defense and healing so you should use that to your advantage. go for a slower, more controlled game and patiently wait for a larger angel to appear.
My personal limit for grading is Near Mint condition with a $500 or more value. anything less I put into a screw down case. anything less than $25 just goes into a binder (double sleeved of course).
If we are talking about casual play...
if you don't like your hand, just look your opponent in the eye and say "I concede." Then proceed to shuffle and draw 7 more cards for the "next" game. if your opponent likes their hand they can keep it.
also, if both of you want to mulligan just redraw 7 cards each, its just casual after all.
and because you don't need to sac the vial you get a free creature each turn with increasing power level, which (already said above) can't be countered.
I tried entering the Forum Rules sub-forum and it said that the action was forbidden and I didn't have access. seems weird that one would need special access to view the rules.
specifically I wanted to know more about the rules regarding dead threads and "necro-posting". I wanted to respond a topic where the last post was Nov 2016 but I didn't know if that counted as a dead thread or not.
you could use the following combos: Startled Awake - this is nasty and has the potential to never go away unless your opponent has the ability to exile it somehow.
not sure if I can make it faster but, I can suggest a few things: Nyx-Fleece Ram - this is a 2 CMC for a 0/5 that gives 1 point of passive healing each turn. it is not a defender so it can be buffed and used to attack if you wanted. also counts as an enchantment if that matters.
I would also suggest making room for removal in the form of Murder, Prison Term, Oblivion Ring or Swords to Plowshares. that's just a personal rule I have for my own decks; always have removal! I see you have Deathmark, but, I personally don't like building decks that target a specific player's builds, but if it works for you...
sometimes speed isn't always the way to go. you can control your opponent with defense, healing and removal then cast your big guns when you eventually get the mana you need.
Sinkhole is not very pricey if you get the Eternal Masters version. it goes for about 5 bucks on TCGPlayer.com.
and yes, I always seek permission from my opponent before playing this deck. land destruction is very powerful and frustrating to play against.
I have a beast of a B/R land death deck, but, unfortunately, I don't have it with me right now to give the full details. suffice to say, it is powerful enough that in two games I had to mulligan down to 5 cards and I still won both of those games...anyway, here are some cards I remember off the top of my head:
Honden of Seeing Winds
Honden of Life's Web
Honden of Infinite Rage
Honden of Night's Reach
I want to build a multi-color Honden deck but I am having issues with mana ramp and mana fixing. I also want the deck to focus on enhancements so I can maximize Sphere of Safety. with hondens and the sphere the deck is rather slow so I need both speed and versatility.
I have been experimenting with using all forests as the mana base and using some combination of the following:
Voyaging Satyr
Utopia Sprawl
Nylea's Presence
Fertile Ground
the issue is how to balance the mana ramp/fixing enchantments with other, more useful enchantments (hondens, spheres, etc) that actually win me the game. ramp doesn't help if my first five turns are nothing but more ramp.
I also don't want to use creature ramp like Bird's of Paradise or Utopia Tree because they don't synergize with the Sphere.
Other enchantments I am looking at are: Sterling Grove, Jace's Erasure (win condition with blue honden), Wheel of Sun and Moon, Beastmaster Ascension (win condition with green honden), Paradox Haze. Mirror Gallery and Elixir of Immortality are the only artifacts. none of these win the game or protect me on their own so the focus is still on the hondens and the sphere.
advice is appreciated.
I just wanted to say that I have built a few decks without instants or sorcery's. one of them is a pure creature deck (slivers) and the other is a nearly pure enchantment deck (2 artifacts). and with 0 cost artifacts it is indeed possible to have a 'no-land' deck.
Swords to Plowshares
Oblivion Ring
Prison Term
Disenchant
These provide the "answers" that Rezzahan mentions above.
I would also suggest Nyx-Fleece Ram as an early blocker alongside your wall of omens. 5 toughness for CMC 2 is pretty good early on and it gives passive healing. a few of those should give you plenty of time to get out a few heavy hitters.
ghostly prison is decent, but consider sphere of safety. it synergizes with oblivion ring, prison term and nyx-fleece ram to really lockdown your opponent's creatures.
I also agree that you may have too many high cost angles. White's strength is on early defense and healing so you should use that to your advantage. go for a slower, more controlled game and patiently wait for a larger angel to appear.
if you don't like your hand, just look your opponent in the eye and say "I concede." Then proceed to shuffle and draw 7 more cards for the "next" game. if your opponent likes their hand they can keep it.
also, if both of you want to mulligan just redraw 7 cards each, its just casual after all.
and because you don't need to sac the vial you get a free creature each turn with increasing power level, which (already said above) can't be countered.
of course, like all other artifacts it falls to Disenchant, Naturalize, Boomerang, and can be countered itself.
and lets not forget...foil...
specifically I wanted to know more about the rules regarding dead threads and "necro-posting". I wanted to respond a topic where the last post was Nov 2016 but I didn't know if that counted as a dead thread or not.
Startled Awake - this is nasty and has the potential to never go away unless your opponent has the ability to exile it somehow.
Jace's Erasure combined with Honden of Seeing Winds and Honden of Life's Web.
if you are afraid of milling yourself with the honden then you can use wheel of sun and moon.
Nyx-Fleece Ram - this is a 2 CMC for a 0/5 that gives 1 point of passive healing each turn. it is not a defender so it can be buffed and used to attack if you wanted. also counts as an enchantment if that matters.
I would also suggest making room for removal in the form of Murder, Prison Term, Oblivion Ring or Swords to Plowshares. that's just a personal rule I have for my own decks; always have removal! I see you have Deathmark, but, I personally don't like building decks that target a specific player's builds, but if it works for you...
sometimes speed isn't always the way to go. you can control your opponent with defense, healing and removal then cast your big guns when you eventually get the mana you need.
and yes, I always seek permission from my opponent before playing this deck. land destruction is very powerful and frustrating to play against.
I have a beast of a B/R land death deck, but, unfortunately, I don't have it with me right now to give the full details. suffice to say, it is powerful enough that in two games I had to mulligan down to 5 cards and I still won both of those games...anyway, here are some cards I remember off the top of my head:
My land destruction core includes:
sinkhole
icequake
roiling terrain
destroy the evidence
pillage
stone rain
strip mine
creature removal includes
dreadbore
languish
Creatures include:
shivan wumpus
helldozer
visara the dreadful
Direct Damage:
Beacon of Destruction