I've taken a couple tours around the search filter and didn't see anything like what I'm about to suggest, which either means I suck at searching or this might not be viable.
But you guys crave seemingly inviable challenges, right?
I've been tasked by my girlfriend to make a 'druid' deck for her. Yes, that's right; a tribal deck made of druids. Being the good boyfriend I am I immediately said 'of course, honey' and got to work trying to figure out what such a deck would accomplish. Problem is, my knowledge of the cards in current standard isn't great (Shadowmoor was my grail) and the ideas I've come up with haven't really seemed to be great for me (or her, for that matter).
What I have found, though, is that druids are awesome for ramping up mana. Most have abilities that allow you to tap for mana. Others, like Arbor Elf allow you to untap a land for more mana, and others bring in land when they come in to play. Seems to me that all this mana generation should be good for something.
So I thought I'd ask the experts. Hopefully you can help me with my challenge. Here are the guidelines I'm going by:
-The creatures in the deck should be primarily druids. There's no need for a LOT of druids, but the deck should feel like they are the important part.
-Since she already has an aggro deck, this deck should focus on spells and enchantments, perfect for the 'coven of druids' feel as if they are casting spells.
-Druids are primarily green, but the deck doesn't need to be limited to that color.
-Let's pretend that cost isn't an issue (of course it is, but creativity is the point here).
Here is how the deck is supposed to work (click the spoiler):
Depending on how well you pull your opening hand, you can pull off this combo as early as turn 2. More realistically, however, this deck should win by turn 3 or 4, but prolonging the game to ensure your combo isn't a bad idea.
The combo of the deck is Splinter Twin enchanting Pestermite. This allows you to create an infinite amount of Pestermites as each time one enters the field, you can use its ability to untap the enchanted Pestermite, allowing you to use it again. All the Pestermites have haste, so when you have your preferred number in play, you can attack and overwhelm the opposition.
The rest of the cards serve three purposes: Control, acceleration, and protection.
Cards such as Dispel (replaced with Spell Pierce) and Negate serve to slow your opponent's progress while you gather your cards. You can also use them to protect your combo when it goes off, but that will primarily be a waste of mana. Use Pact of Negation to protect your combo when you're firing it off, as the game shouldn't last long enough for you to have to make good on its condition.
Cards such as Simian Spirit Guide, Rite of Flame and the land cards should provide more than enough mana acceleration. The Spirit Guide is one of those sneaky mana cards, as your opponent shouldn't be aware that it's in your hand and when you're ready, you simply remove them from your hand and out of game to gain their mana. 2 or 3 in your hand along with the Rites should be make more than enough mana to fire off both combo cards in one turn.
Ponder and Shadow of Doubt are sort of your deck-thinning cards, or acceleration cards. They are cheap, allow you to at least sort the cards you're going to get next or draw them faster, and in the case of Shadow, keep your opponent from using any of his accelerators. This can be quite potent in play, and for me has been all I needed.
And there you have it, another Splinter Twin combo that uses Pestermite for the win condition. I hope mine is as least a bit more fun to play or is put together better than some of the others you find.
I figured as much, but wanted to pose the question for group's sake.
Currently we're interpreting the card to mean that once the Quest is sacrificed, treat all damage sources from controlling player as dealing double, for the rest of the turn.
I suppose this could be asked about any of the new Quest cards, but about Quest for Pure Flame itself I saw this as an opportunity.
My question is two-fold:
1. Attacking player has Quest in play with 3 counters on it. He declares an attack with his creatures. The number of creatures is arbitrary. The defender then declares defenders, but one of the attackers will get through to deal damage directly to the defending player. When combat is resolved, all damage is immediate, so the creature that got through gives the attacker a 4th quest counter. Can this Quest be sacrificed immediately in order to double the damage that occurred during combat?
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, then is the combat phase redone with the double damage in the equation, or is only the damage done to the player doubled since it is after combat?
I play a Nightsky Mimic deck with a few other B/W creatures like the Voracious Hatchling and Deathbringer Liege. I call it my 'high aggro' deck because of the beats it can put down relatively fast. The nips, the mimic, and in later game the hatchling, with an Edge of the Divinity on it is a very tough customer to face down (gotta love an 9/9 with lifelink). But everyone so far has been right in saying that a well-placed removal card can totally faceroll a deck reliant on the Edge.
Thanks to the quick responses! This is good stuff.
Ok, to expand a little on the question since now I have a baseline:
I can't remember the card, which is why I used Deathbringer as an example, but when looking at the rulings for it on magiccards.info, there was a note that an ability on this card can't be responded to, but that seems to break the rules listed here thus far.
I'm really sorry I don't remember the card, but perhaps you already know what I mean.
What (other than cards that say 'players can't play spells' or similar cards) may cause the rule of response to be broken and deny the option to respond?
I tried searching for the answer to this question, but I kept getting database errors. So, apologies if this has already been covered.
When CAN'T you respond to events that happen in the game?
For instance, I don't believe you can respond to someone else's untap phase, but you CAN respond to someone's upkeep phase.
What about responding to automatic abilities?
Let's say I have a Deathbringer Liege in play. My opponent has a Phyrexian Ghoul and a Royal Assassin in play. I then play a spell that's both black and white, let's say Edge of Divinity and I choose the Royal Assassin as the target of both tapping and destroying.
1. Is choosing the same target for the tap and then subsequent destroy legal?
2. Can my opponent respond to my Deathbringer's ability targeting his Royal Assassin by saccing that Assassin to his Phyrexian Ghoul?
3. If #2 is legal, does that mean the Deathbringer's ability fired and is used up, or does that I mean I now get to choose a new target, namely the ghoul?
4. If #2 is not legal, does he then have to respond to my playing of Edge of Divinity instead, and preemptively sac the Assassin?
It's nice to know these cards exist, but I'm curious as to the point of it? I am suspecting that you ask because you are building a deck to gain advantages from cards like these, and then destroy them or pass them to your opponent.
I can't stand giving my opponents any opportunities. Especially in a multiplayer setting where it's already hard enough keeping tabs on everyone's play habits.
Forgive me if this was discussed here recently, but I couldn't find much that answered my question:
What else, other than aggro, wither and burn, can a red and black deck accomplish?
I already have a high aggro deck in black and white, a tricky wither deck with black and blue, and a fun aggro deck with mono black, so I'm looking to do something different with red and black. But, burn decks don't really appeal to me.
Anyone know of a R/B deck that's out of the norm, but is still a competitive and fun deck to play?
I might run the Knight and see if it works out. Having him would be a boon.
(actually, it only affects creatures that opponents control... it's nice, huh?)
Yeah, I know. I meant to say that he locks down his owner's deck when you steal him away.
Fatestitcher, for me, is a way of making sure I can use Leech Bonder and always keep my opponent at bay. If anything, he and Kulrath would be the interchangable pieces, since they would be performing the same basic functions (keeping opponent from attacking or blocking). I'll give that a shot.
But you guys crave seemingly inviable challenges, right?
I've been tasked by my girlfriend to make a 'druid' deck for her. Yes, that's right; a tribal deck made of druids. Being the good boyfriend I am I immediately said 'of course, honey' and got to work trying to figure out what such a deck would accomplish. Problem is, my knowledge of the cards in current standard isn't great (Shadowmoor was my grail) and the ideas I've come up with haven't really seemed to be great for me (or her, for that matter).
What I have found, though, is that druids are awesome for ramping up mana. Most have abilities that allow you to tap for mana. Others, like Arbor Elf allow you to untap a land for more mana, and others bring in land when they come in to play. Seems to me that all this mana generation should be good for something.
So I thought I'd ask the experts. Hopefully you can help me with my challenge. Here are the guidelines I'm going by:
-The creatures in the deck should be primarily druids. There's no need for a LOT of druids, but the deck should feel like they are the important part.
-Since she already has an aggro deck, this deck should focus on spells and enchantments, perfect for the 'coven of druids' feel as if they are casting spells.
-Druids are primarily green, but the deck doesn't need to be limited to that color.
-Let's pretend that cost isn't an issue (of course it is, but creativity is the point here).
Thank you in advance for your help.
Ok, on to redesigning the decklist.
Too many counters, eh? Hmm, I didn't really find much else to put in their place, so 4 Spell Pierces went in.
What else might work to make this a bit meaner?
Please take a look and let me know what you guys think.
UR
4 Pestermite
4 Simian Spirit Guide
Spells
4 Spell Pierce (replaced Dispel)
4 Negate
4 Pact of Negation
4 Ponder
4 Rite of Flame
4 Shadow of Doubt
4 Splinter Twin
Lands
1 Halimar Depths
7 Island
8 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Steam Vents
Here is how the deck is supposed to work (click the spoiler):
The combo of the deck is Splinter Twin enchanting Pestermite. This allows you to create an infinite amount of Pestermites as each time one enters the field, you can use its ability to untap the enchanted Pestermite, allowing you to use it again. All the Pestermites have haste, so when you have your preferred number in play, you can attack and overwhelm the opposition.
The rest of the cards serve three purposes: Control, acceleration, and protection.
Cards such as Dispel (replaced with Spell Pierce) and Negate serve to slow your opponent's progress while you gather your cards. You can also use them to protect your combo when it goes off, but that will primarily be a waste of mana. Use Pact of Negation to protect your combo when you're firing it off, as the game shouldn't last long enough for you to have to make good on its condition.
Cards such as Simian Spirit Guide, Rite of Flame and the land cards should provide more than enough mana acceleration. The Spirit Guide is one of those sneaky mana cards, as your opponent shouldn't be aware that it's in your hand and when you're ready, you simply remove them from your hand and out of game to gain their mana. 2 or 3 in your hand along with the Rites should be make more than enough mana to fire off both combo cards in one turn.
Ponder and Shadow of Doubt are sort of your deck-thinning cards, or acceleration cards. They are cheap, allow you to at least sort the cards you're going to get next or draw them faster, and in the case of Shadow, keep your opponent from using any of his accelerators. This can be quite potent in play, and for me has been all I needed.
And there you have it, another Splinter Twin combo that uses Pestermite for the win condition. I hope mine is as least a bit more fun to play or is put together better than some of the others you find.
Please let me know what you think.
-Enix
Well, thanks to the rest of you for your kind help. We appreciate it.
Currently we're interpreting the card to mean that once the Quest is sacrificed, treat all damage sources from controlling player as dealing double, for the rest of the turn.
My question is two-fold:
1. Attacking player has Quest in play with 3 counters on it. He declares an attack with his creatures. The number of creatures is arbitrary. The defender then declares defenders, but one of the attackers will get through to deal damage directly to the defending player. When combat is resolved, all damage is immediate, so the creature that got through gives the attacker a 4th quest counter. Can this Quest be sacrificed immediately in order to double the damage that occurred during combat?
2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, then is the combat phase redone with the double damage in the equation, or is only the damage done to the player doubled since it is after combat?
Ok, to expand a little on the question since now I have a baseline:
I can't remember the card, which is why I used Deathbringer as an example, but when looking at the rulings for it on magiccards.info, there was a note that an ability on this card can't be responded to, but that seems to break the rules listed here thus far.
I'm really sorry I don't remember the card, but perhaps you already know what I mean.
What (other than cards that say 'players can't play spells' or similar cards) may cause the rule of response to be broken and deny the option to respond?
When CAN'T you respond to events that happen in the game?
For instance, I don't believe you can respond to someone else's untap phase, but you CAN respond to someone's upkeep phase.
What about responding to automatic abilities?
Let's say I have a Deathbringer Liege in play. My opponent has a Phyrexian Ghoul and a Royal Assassin in play. I then play a spell that's both black and white, let's say Edge of Divinity and I choose the Royal Assassin as the target of both tapping and destroying.
1. Is choosing the same target for the tap and then subsequent destroy legal?
2. Can my opponent respond to my Deathbringer's ability targeting his Royal Assassin by saccing that Assassin to his Phyrexian Ghoul?
3. If #2 is legal, does that mean the Deathbringer's ability fired and is used up, or does that I mean I now get to choose a new target, namely the ghoul?
4. If #2 is not legal, does he then have to respond to my playing of Edge of Divinity instead, and preemptively sac the Assassin?
I can't stand giving my opponents any opportunities. Especially in a multiplayer setting where it's already hard enough keeping tabs on everyone's play habits.
What else, other than aggro, wither and burn, can a red and black deck accomplish?
I already have a high aggro deck in black and white, a tricky wither deck with black and blue, and a fun aggro deck with mono black, so I'm looking to do something different with red and black. But, burn decks don't really appeal to me.
Anyone know of a R/B deck that's out of the norm, but is still a competitive and fun deck to play?
Yeah, I know. I meant to say that he locks down his owner's deck when you steal him away.
Fatestitcher, for me, is a way of making sure I can use Leech Bonder and always keep my opponent at bay. If anything, he and Kulrath would be the interchangable pieces, since they would be performing the same basic functions (keeping opponent from attacking or blocking). I'll give that a shot.