If you enjoy playing sealed, odyssey - torment - judgement, onslaught - legions - scourge is a lot of fun. Same with the two Mirrodin blocks, or the two Ravnica ones. You're probably not going to end up with a superpowered sealed deck like this, but the huge card pool makes for some awesome gameplay.
First off, I would suggest getting rid of the lotus petals and adding in two more lands. 20 is a bit low, even considering your mana generating creatures.
As for creature suggestions, gravecrawler would work very well in a deck like this. If you have the money, vengevine can be worthwhile too. Aside from that, I would just work on getting rid of some of the weaker creatures and getting up to four copies each of the good stuff.
If you find yourself looking for more removal, abrupt decay and maelstrom pulse are good inclusions as well.
I second the suggestions to add in Azami and patron wizard. Those are, in my opinion, the two best wizards ever made. Another wizard of note is information dealer, who allows you to stack the top of your library before drawing a bunch of cards with Azami.
I've always wanted to get a fish deck together, so here is my attempt at a casual fish deck. One thing I'm insure about is the mana, though. Does that balance look right to you guys? I'm shooting for a very aggro-oriented merfolk deck that is capable of holding it's own in both 1v1 play and multiplayer games.
Thank you for the suggestions, I didn't even think about mnemonic wall. If I were to cast ghostly flicker on a tapped land, would it blink back untapped? If so that seems like a great way to generate massive amounts of mana quickly.
I've always played magic in a card shop or at a kitchen table, but a year or two ago I decided to pick up DoTP 2013 on steam and give it a try. The campaign didn't last very long, but I loved the multiplayer quite a bit. One of my favorite decks from the game was Crosswinds, a control/combo deck featuring Talrand, sky summoner and a number of interesting instants and sorceries. Most of my favorite interactions in the deck were based upon archaeomancer, however, which was meant to be a simple supporting card. However, with things like time warp, rite of replication, and followed footsteps, it was easy to pull all sorts of infinite or game winning combos out of nowhere. So here it is, a multiplayer deck based on all the fun things you can do with archaeomancer and friends.
The idea is to hold off your opponents without looking like too much of a threat using cards like fog bank, rite of replication, and followed footsteps to copy or chump block the best creatures on the table while you build up mana and assemble combo pieces. When you're ready, assemble a combo and crush your enemies. An infinite turn combo isn't required, but there are lots of ways to stumble into one:
Win conditions shouldn't be difficult to find either - academy ruins can recur expedition map for ramp, or inkwell leviathan and mindslaver for the win. Kicking a rite of replication on someone's huge creature can be game winning by itself, or doing so on your own fog bank can give you plenty of blocking power. Academy ruins allows us to reuse artifacts that are destroyed, while call to mind and archaeomancer allow recycling of instants and sorceries. Elixir of immortality can put needed cards back into the library and be lifegain in a pinch, or keep us from decking in a long game. With this sort of resiliency, it takes a lot for an opponent to shut you down.
So what do you guys think? Worthwhile multiplayer deck, or pile of jank? Any improvements you guys see? Thoughts, comments, and suggestions are always awesome.
Im using Massacre Wurm against some aggro decks with small creatures in my play group. Of course I would rather play Elish Norn, but thats too pricey for me.
To be honest I added Gargantuan only for fun purpose. Like you said its very situationally.
I thought Sharuum would be quite good if you manage to reanimate him if the Sphinx is in your graveyard. You would get 2 creatures for one.
I run Sharuum the Hegemon in my mono-black reanimator deck, along with a copy of sphinx of the steel wind and magister sphinx for support. If you're using buried alive, half the time you'll be putting three creatures into the 'yard instead of just one. Sharuum helps you capitalize on that, and get another beater out on the board for free.
Hi guys, it's been a while since I've posted here, but I just revised my MUC deck and I'm looking for some feedback before I purchase anything. Two quick notes: I'm a little OCD about my card frames, so I'd like to keep everything in a modern-style frame for this deck. Aside from that restriction, everything is fair game. Secondly, I understand that hard removal/board wipes are ideal, but I'm trying to keep this deck as "pure" blue as possible. After all, this is simply a casual deck for kitchen table games. Anyway, here's what I've got so far:
My usual game plan is to land an isochron scepter with echoing truth on it as soon as possible, but scepters with memory lapse or accumulated knowledge are great as well, in addition to the obvious scepter/counterspell. As the deck stands right now I've got 16 counters, 8 bounce spells, 12 draw spells, and 4 wincons. Since I don't have any hard removal, I don't want to go below 8 bounce spells. Having 16 counters also seems to be the right number, but are those the right ones? Part of me thinks I'd be better off with force spike as one of my four counters, but I hate to dedicate four slots to something only really effective in the first couple turns. I used to include daze, but ended up removing it in favor of a more reliable counter. devastation tide also seems interesting, but I'm hesitant to run it without any library manipulation. So there it is. Any thoughts/comments/observations?
Unless your group has an existing agreement to only use budget cards in casual games, you did nothing wrong. I've been noticing lately that there are a lot of people who look at a card or deck and proclaim "that's too powerful/expensive/unfair for casual, shame on anyone who uses it!" It's a very poor attitude and it is really starting to get under my skin. Just because "casual" may mean "budget only", or "no tourney decks" to one group doesn't mean that applies to someone else's group. I've played casual games using decks that are under $10, and I've played casual games where the only restrictions are whatever you can afford. Only want to spend $50 on a deck? It can be a casual deck if you say so. Spent upwards of $4000 on a fully powered, pimped out deck? It's casual if that's what you want it to be. Casual is not an official format, it has no rules, no B&R list, and any house rules are determined by the individual group in question. Personally, our group only has two rules for casual games: play whatever deck you like, and don't be a dick. We all play with the understanding that we're there to have fun together, but we acknowledge that fun can mean different things for different people.
If your group really dislikes the way you play, and you're willing to accommodate them, look at setting down some house rules that everyone can agree upon. Personally, it sounds like your friends are being sore losers, and would rather drag your play down than forcing theirs to rise to the occasion.
I have a similar "simic" style casual deck, here are a few synergies that I've included in mine. None of them are overly powerful, but they help even the field against fast b/w lifegaining aggro decks.
Simic guildmage + narcolepsy/curse of chains: They're decent cards on their own, but with the guildmage's ability to move enchatments around at instant speed, you can use one of the above enchantments to keep two creatures locked down.
Simic guildmage + lorescale coatl: The coatl is nice, but it has no trample or evasion, and all the +1/+1 counters he builds up will go to waste, unless you can move them to a better creature. Thanks to the guildmage, you can. Even throwing them on the hexproof slippery boggle works well when you're playing with favor of the overbeing, another card that the guildmage can move between creatures to make sure your attacks go through.
Cold-eyed selkie + lorescale coatl: If you have a way to make the selkie connect every turn, you'll generate massive amounts of card advantage, which turns into massive amounts of counters on the coatl.
It basically functions as a wizard tribal deck, geared for casual kitchen-table play. Fog bank and guard gomazoa protect me while I assemble what I need, sage of epityr and information dealer help me organize and fix my draws, vedalken aethermage allows me to search for critical wizards. Patron wizard gives the deck immense countering power, and Azami keeps my hand full at all times. Once I've got one of each out on the board, then I grab a raven guild master, a fireshrieker, and a whispersilk cloak, and start RFGing libraries, 20 cards at a time.
Echoing Truth is usually my go-to choice for a bounce spell, especially when Isochron Scepter is involved. the ability to generate card advantage by bouncing multiple copies of an opponent's creature, or hosing massive token armies has won countless games for me. On that note, adding 1-2 more scepters would probably be a good idea. It's possible to play MUC without using any board wipes, but you'll need to have either lots of global bounce, or a decent spell on a scepter. Then include the fact that you'll probably want either Counterspell or a draw spell on a scepter too, and you'll want to end up with at least two scepters per game.
I've always liked 4 wincons, so perhaps you could trim two of the slots there to make room for more scepters? I'd also try to make room for at least two other bounce spells, although what you'd want to cut to make room there is up to you.
Lechuza, I'd love to see some "proof" that god created life, but I've yet to see enough proof that god even exists, let alone creates things. This thread isn't about "taking things on faith". It's an intellectual exercise where we hypothesize how life might begin on Europa. I sincerely hope this is just a poor trolling attempt.
Tomcat, that bit about bubbles serving as the precursors for cell membranes wasn't something I was aware of. Fascinating.
Lat-Nam's Legacy is also extremely good draw due to it being instant speed and the same cost as the typical counterspell. Martyr of Frost makes for a great one drop. Stern Proctor is one of our best ways of dealing with Artifacts and Enchantments in lists utilizing Riptide Laboratory. Also, why isn't Remand on the list?
I'm not sure I agree that Lat-Nam's Legacy is a good draw spell at all... It doesn't net you any cards. You cast it (-1 card), and then have to shuffle another card into your library (-1 card). Then later, you get two in return (+2 cards). You're spending the same amount of card advantage as you're gaining. By the time you've played through all four of them, you've spent a total of 8 cards, and drawn a total of 8 cards off of them.
Compare that to a "true" draw spell that actually nets you cards, Accumulated Knowledge. By the time you've played through four copies, you've spent a total of 4 cards, but gained a total of 10. Even if you only play two of them, you're spending two cards and getting back three in return. That's actual card advantage, whereas Lat-Nam is more of a filtering/thinning effect.
I think getting rid of the Reassembling Skeletons would be a good move - yes, they can make some fun combos, but they aren't tribal, and you lose out on all of the fun tribal synergies that make zombies what they are. I'd also replace the Death Baron with Lord of the Undead, for several reasons. I don't see much of a need for the Baron that supports skeletons, and typically I'd rather have the Lord anyway. He is a source of card advantage, a way of recurring your guys, a global pump up, and a body which can swing in for damage. He truly is one of the best lords available to us, much better than the Baron in my opinion. Since you also seem to have large numbers of smaller creatures, I think the Gempalm Polluter could be a very strong card for you, especially when you're using Lord of the Undead or Unholy Grotto to play it multiple times per turn. While on the topic of recurring spells, you don't have very much targeted removal - Jitte is your only source. Something like Nameless Inversion would work great here, but since you can recur it as much as needed, two should suffice. Lastly, unless I'm missing something, I don't see what good the Polluted Deltas are doing you, aside from causing loss of life and opening you up to things like Stifle and Wasteland. Those are really the only tweaks I would make to the deck, so feel free to take it or leave it.
Here is a possible update to my old Zombie deck. Right now it's a casual midrange deck, suited more for multiplayer games than anything else. It's been a work in progress since I bought the Zombies Unleashed precon, and now I think it's time for another update. Innistrad had a lot of good stuff in it, so I think I'm going to go for a faster, more aggressive deck, that still retains all the sacrificing/recurring elements I enjoy playing with.
As for creature suggestions, gravecrawler would work very well in a deck like this. If you have the money, vengevine can be worthwhile too. Aside from that, I would just work on getting rid of some of the weaker creatures and getting up to four copies each of the good stuff.
If you find yourself looking for more removal, abrupt decay and maelstrom pulse are good inclusions as well.
16 island
4 mutavault
Creatures:
4 merfolk sovereign
4 master of the pearl trident
4 merrow reejerey
4 wake thrasher
4 silvergill adept
4 tidal warrior
4 aether vial
4 aquitect's will
4 standstill
4 counterspell
15 island
4 glimmerpost
4 cloudpost
1 academy ruins
Creatures:
4 fog bank
4 archaeomancer
1 inkwell leviathan
1 call to mind
2 fabricate
4 trade secrets
4 rite of replication
4 followed footsteps
4 time warp
4 panoptic mirror
1 elixir of immortality
1 expedition map
1 mindslaver
1 planar portal
The idea is to hold off your opponents without looking like too much of a threat using cards like fog bank, rite of replication, and followed footsteps to copy or chump block the best creatures on the table while you build up mana and assemble combo pieces. When you're ready, assemble a combo and crush your enemies. An infinite turn combo isn't required, but there are lots of ways to stumble into one:
rite of replication + archaeomancer + time warp
followed footsteps + archaeomancer + time warp
panoptic mirror imprinting time warp
panoptic mirror imprinting call to mind + time warp in graveyard
panoptic mirror imprinting rite of replication + archaeomancer + time warp
Win conditions shouldn't be difficult to find either - academy ruins can recur expedition map for ramp, or inkwell leviathan and mindslaver for the win. Kicking a rite of replication on someone's huge creature can be game winning by itself, or doing so on your own fog bank can give you plenty of blocking power. Academy ruins allows us to reuse artifacts that are destroyed, while call to mind and archaeomancer allow recycling of instants and sorceries. Elixir of immortality can put needed cards back into the library and be lifegain in a pinch, or keep us from decking in a long game. With this sort of resiliency, it takes a lot for an opponent to shut you down.
So what do you guys think? Worthwhile multiplayer deck, or pile of jank? Any improvements you guys see? Thoughts, comments, and suggestions are always awesome.
I run Sharuum the Hegemon in my mono-black reanimator deck, along with a copy of sphinx of the steel wind and magister sphinx for support. If you're using buried alive, half the time you'll be putting three creatures into the 'yard instead of just one. Sharuum helps you capitalize on that, and get another beater out on the board for free.
22 island
2 faerie conclave
Counters/Bounce:
4 memory lapse
4 rune snag
4 counterspell
4 cryptic command
4 echoing truth
4 accumulated knowledge
4 fact or fiction
Utility:
4 isochron scepter
Wincon:
2 vedalken shackles
2 guile
My usual game plan is to land an isochron scepter with echoing truth on it as soon as possible, but scepters with memory lapse or accumulated knowledge are great as well, in addition to the obvious scepter/counterspell. As the deck stands right now I've got 16 counters, 8 bounce spells, 12 draw spells, and 4 wincons. Since I don't have any hard removal, I don't want to go below 8 bounce spells. Having 16 counters also seems to be the right number, but are those the right ones? Part of me thinks I'd be better off with force spike as one of my four counters, but I hate to dedicate four slots to something only really effective in the first couple turns. I used to include daze, but ended up removing it in favor of a more reliable counter. devastation tide also seems interesting, but I'm hesitant to run it without any library manipulation. So there it is. Any thoughts/comments/observations?
If your group really dislikes the way you play, and you're willing to accommodate them, look at setting down some house rules that everyone can agree upon. Personally, it sounds like your friends are being sore losers, and would rather drag your play down than forcing theirs to rise to the occasion.
Simic guildmage + narcolepsy/curse of chains: They're decent cards on their own, but with the guildmage's ability to move enchatments around at instant speed, you can use one of the above enchantments to keep two creatures locked down.
Simic guildmage + lorescale coatl: The coatl is nice, but it has no trample or evasion, and all the +1/+1 counters he builds up will go to waste, unless you can move them to a better creature. Thanks to the guildmage, you can. Even throwing them on the hexproof slippery boggle works well when you're playing with favor of the overbeing, another card that the guildmage can move between creatures to make sure your attacks go through.
Cold-eyed selkie + lorescale coatl: If you have a way to make the selkie connect every turn, you'll generate massive amounts of card advantage, which turns into massive amounts of counters on the coatl.
Other cards to take note of:
20 Island
4 Cloudpost
Creatures -
4 fog bank
4 guard gomazoa
3 vedalken aethermage
3 sage of epityr
3 information dealer
2 patron wizard
2 azami, lady of scrolls
2 raven guild master
4 counterspell
2 echoing truth
2 isochron scepter
2 fireshrieker
2 whispersilk cloak
1 elixir of immortality
It basically functions as a wizard tribal deck, geared for casual kitchen-table play. Fog bank and guard gomazoa protect me while I assemble what I need, sage of epityr and information dealer help me organize and fix my draws, vedalken aethermage allows me to search for critical wizards. Patron wizard gives the deck immense countering power, and Azami keeps my hand full at all times. Once I've got one of each out on the board, then I grab a raven guild master, a fireshrieker, and a whispersilk cloak, and start RFGing libraries, 20 cards at a time.
I've always liked 4 wincons, so perhaps you could trim two of the slots there to make room for more scepters? I'd also try to make room for at least two other bounce spells, although what you'd want to cut to make room there is up to you.
Tomcat, that bit about bubbles serving as the precursors for cell membranes wasn't something I was aware of. Fascinating.
I'm not sure I agree that Lat-Nam's Legacy is a good draw spell at all... It doesn't net you any cards. You cast it (-1 card), and then have to shuffle another card into your library (-1 card). Then later, you get two in return (+2 cards). You're spending the same amount of card advantage as you're gaining. By the time you've played through all four of them, you've spent a total of 8 cards, and drawn a total of 8 cards off of them.
Compare that to a "true" draw spell that actually nets you cards, Accumulated Knowledge. By the time you've played through four copies, you've spent a total of 4 cards, but gained a total of 10. Even if you only play two of them, you're spending two cards and getting back three in return. That's actual card advantage, whereas Lat-Nam is more of a filtering/thinning effect.
I think getting rid of the Reassembling Skeletons would be a good move - yes, they can make some fun combos, but they aren't tribal, and you lose out on all of the fun tribal synergies that make zombies what they are. I'd also replace the Death Baron with Lord of the Undead, for several reasons. I don't see much of a need for the Baron that supports skeletons, and typically I'd rather have the Lord anyway. He is a source of card advantage, a way of recurring your guys, a global pump up, and a body which can swing in for damage. He truly is one of the best lords available to us, much better than the Baron in my opinion. Since you also seem to have large numbers of smaller creatures, I think the Gempalm Polluter could be a very strong card for you, especially when you're using Lord of the Undead or Unholy Grotto to play it multiple times per turn. While on the topic of recurring spells, you don't have very much targeted removal - Jitte is your only source. Something like Nameless Inversion would work great here, but since you can recur it as much as needed, two should suffice. Lastly, unless I'm missing something, I don't see what good the Polluted Deltas are doing you, aside from causing loss of life and opening you up to things like Stifle and Wasteland. Those are really the only tweaks I would make to the deck, so feel free to take it or leave it.
- 3 Reassembling Skeleton
- 3 Death Baron
- 2 Innocent Blood
- 4 Polluted Delta
+ 4 Lord of the Undead
+ 2 Gempalm Polluter
+ 2 Nameless Inversion
+4 Swamp
Here is a possible update to my old Zombie deck. Right now it's a casual midrange deck, suited more for multiplayer games than anything else. It's been a work in progress since I bought the Zombies Unleashed precon, and now I think it's time for another update. Innistrad had a lot of good stuff in it, so I think I'm going to go for a faster, more aggressive deck, that still retains all the sacrificing/recurring elements I enjoy playing with.
18 Swamp
4 Unholy Grotto
Creatures: 28
4 Undead Warchief
4 Lord of the Undead
4 Geralf's Messenger
3 Nantuko Husk
3 Carrion Feeder
4 Gravecrawler
4 Diregraf Ghoul
2 Gempalm Polluter
4 Dark Ritual
4 Grave Pact
2 Nameless Inversion
2 Nameless Inversion
2 Call to the Grave
2 Shepherd of Rot
2 Rotlung Reanimator
3 Noxious Ghoul
4 Unbreathing Horde