So what this deck is is the best of 2 worlds: Gifts Ungiven and Lingering Souls. Elesh Norn is a very good late game target for Souls. I had been looking at the BW Tokens deck but felt it lacked the "oomf", if you will, so I added in the Gifts package along with Remand, Dispel, and Serum Visions.
I like the idea of using Ghost Quarter in the deck. Haven't had a chance to playtest against Tron. Seems like I'd be unfavored in that matchup if an Ugin or Karn hits the board. Run 2-3 copies?
I would even suggest using more fetch lands in either G or W since they can currently fetch up any of 4 shock lands and if you make the previous change they can fetch any of up to 8 "dual" lands.
I'm not sure exactly what you're saying by this. Could you elaborate a little more?
I like Zoo decks but I wanted to make my own spin on it. I like Glittering Wish as a way to play 4-of of any multicolored card in the deck. Or, in other words, a way to get the right card at the right time. So far I've taken it to 1 FNM and lost to Grixis Tasigur and Abzan Souls. I beat Esper Mentor. The Grixis games went on for a while and ended up being so close that it came down to the top-deck, to which they are obviously much better at winning. Abzan I pathed Voice of Resurgence in both games and lost to Souls/Rhino beat down. Removing the Rhino and blocking the Voice might have been a better idea, but hindsight is 20/20.
Strategy: Play fast creatures, pump and burn as needed. Violent Outburst guarantees a hit, wouldn't recommend Outburst when no creatures are present. Only one 3cmc card in the deck. All 2 drop creatures except Kird Ape with burn spells for turn 1.
God's Willing saves 1 creature from Hero's Downfall instead of wasting a whole Brave. Banisher and Daring are nice but I haven't found myself needing them. Revoke Existance has been sideboard since day 1 and I just decided to take it out recently having never sided it in the 20+ matchups I've had.
I built a deck back during Scars that was pretty tough. It was artifact swords (basically Modern's affinity but no affinity and instead swords). I saw Godsend in the spoilers for Nyx and want to take my White Devotion Weenies and basically "recreate" that deck in spirit. This deck is has served me well so far and once Nyx comes in and I get Godsend (and maybe some slightly better weenies) I think it will be really tough to beat, tougher than it already is.
I do want to say that it's semi-budget. I built the whole thing with $50 but adding in the Godsends will close to double the price.
I've considered throwing in red for Iroas and Boros Charm, along with other R/W benefits. The issue is that the dual lands (mainly the scry lands) will hurt my speed. If I don't have something turn 1, I typically don't win. But if there are a good chunk of decent size R/W creatures in Nyx, I might consider making the change.
Probably wondering why not Spirit of the Labyrinth? Mainly because Azorius Arrester has more utility in my Meta since I've only played 1 U/W control deck. I'd definitely consider putting him in if the meta shifts at all.
Game 1 he got mana screwed and I ran over him.
Game 2 I got mana screwed and he ran over me
Game 3 I managed to Brave The Elements an Anger the Gods and seal the victory.
1-0
Match 2: White Heroic Auras:
Game 1 he lacked the necessary amounts of creatures so I managed to overrun him with mine.
Game 2 I had a slow start and he got out a 5/5 Double Strike Flying and beat me into a pulp
Game 3 I got out 1 Soldier, 2 Dryads, and a Precinct Captain by turn 3 and rolled over him before he had a chance
2-0
Match 3: U/W Control:
I had yet to face a straight control deck. I was interested to see what happened.
Game 1 I got mana screwed. Drew 13 of my 22 lands while playing only around 5 or 6 total spells. He had a response to everything by then.
Game 2 I got going really fast and managed to kill him turn 5 with multiple Soldier tokens thanks to 2 Precinct Captains
Game 3 was extremely close. Had multiple creatures out swinging into him while he had 10 life left. My damage total was 12. He Sphinxed for 5 life and barely survived. I forgot about his Jace that went ultimate next turn getting him a Supreme Verdict and stole one of my Glare of Heresys to destroy my entire board that turn. Few turns later Elspeth Ultimate happened and I lost.
2-1
Match 4: Bant something...
I'm not sure what this deck was. You'll see in a minute
Game 1 I killed him turn 5 and he hadn't played any spells besides a Detention sphere and 2 azorius charms
Game 2 he mulliganed to 5 and got a Sylvan Caryatid out and that was it.
3-1
So I'm not sure what that Bant deck was but it didn't do anything because I got to him faster than he could get anything going.
Overall I'm satisfied with how this deck ran. I knew it had 2 weaknesses: Supreme Verdict and Drown in Sorrows. Supreme can hopefully be answered with Rootborn Defenses. Drown is answered with Fortify. The question is, how to sideboard it all.
This is a less efficient version of mono black aggro. Not exactly new persay. The reason why I say inefficient is because corrupt is not going to be cast remotely consistently as even gray merchant wants another land. Cryptoborn is a bit too hopeful as you're not likely to be dropping marauder into cryptoborn or something. It requires you to be doing a siginificant amount of pressuring for a deck with only one set of one drops. Tormented hero.
Can always count on you Nev to point out the flaws =)
Tweaked it so that I have a majority of turn 2 and 1 drops with some turn 3 stuff and only 5 cards costing 5 or more.
I always enjoy budget and against the meta. This deck I whipped up in about 5 minutes after looking at the Rakdos Devotion primer. Adds up to like 10 bucks or something stupidly cheap like that
Side board is coming soon. Drown in Sorrow will definitely be there. Crypt Incursion for when you're killing everything they have and need life. Other thoughts welcome.
My friends and I used to talk about this back during Zendikar block. This was when Mind Sculptor was going for roughly $70-80.
We talked about how the game could be more affordable if the highest demand rares (the "best") in Standard would cap in price at $20 each, high demanded rares ("better") capped at $10, and everything else would be under $10. Granted you could still make $300 decks but it'd be much more affordable (even though there aren't too many $20 rares in Standard now).
But looking at that from the point of view of Modern, that'd make decks much more affordable since most competitive decklists (say top 8 GP) run $600 or so (from what I've seen at least).
Still, that theory requires $80 for a playset of the "Best" cards so even then it's still somewhat expensive. I'd like prices to drop so I can make a few decks instead of 1 or maybe 2 to play at tournaments (since I'm a budget guy).
OP Updated for this Friday's list. Added Dryad Militant, took out an Eidolon, added Celestial Flare, took out an Azorius Arrester, and a few other things.
This Friday I'll be playing this deck with 1 Less Heliod, 1 less Eidolon, No Ethereal Armors, No Glimpse the Sun God's, 3 Gods Willing, 2 more Sovereigns, and 2 of some other card. Will let you know how it goes. Updated OP with new deck list
EDIT: Might tweak number to make the 2x unknown slot to be a 4x good creature drop. Again, will update once I determine what's best/what I have to build.
I see this being beaten pretty easily due to it's somewhat lack of early game creatures. Yes you'll have 4 Doom Blades and the others that kill anything with a relatively small toughness, but other than that you won't be killing much. The deathtouch is a good addition to help kill their creatures but it'll also kill yours. If you're looking into Extort, Pontiff of Blight isn't so bad. He's a late game guy but can help get some life loss/gain if you manage to live after playing him. Soldier of the Pantheon is good for early game and life gain off of multicolored decks. He's roughly $2-2.50 depending on where you get him so he might be pushing your budget depending on what you can spend.
Your deck can work, but I think it just needs some... I don't wanna just say "better" cards but right now I don't see it winning too much just due to lack of "better" cards. But I understand you threw it together out of spare stuff.
EDIT: Good sideboard card is Drown in Sorrow but that's also $2 per
I agree i think the Armors are kind of a waste in this deck. Most of the creatures are humans what about Cavalry Pegasus. Also since you are running Mono-white what about Evangel of Heliod it could be a big boost to Eidolon of Countless Battles Also it could help with the overrun white weenie tries for.
I had pegasi (pegasuses?) in the deck but had too many spirits and felt like it was a waste of a spot. Maybe the Evangel but I've rarely gotten to 6 land so I can see that as an issue.
2x Monastery Mentor
Tokens
4x Lingering Souls
3x Midnight Haunting
Anthem
4x Intangible Virtue
Tempo
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Path to Exile
4x Remand
2x Dispel
2x Thoughtseize
Digging
4x Serum Visions
Gifts Package
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Unburial Rites
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
2x Darkslick Shores
4x Flooded Strand
2x Ghost Quarter
2x Godless Shrine
3x Hallowed Fountain
1x Island
1x Plains
4x Polluted Delta
1x Seachrome Coast
1x Swamp
1x Watery Grave
2x Burrenton Forge-Tender
2x Engineered Explosives
2x Erase
3x Rest in Peace
3x Spellskite
3x Stony Silence
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
Some recommended cards that I'm considering: Bitterblossom for constant tokens, Sorin, Solemn Visitor for lifelink/token creation
Cards I have cut: Spectral Procession due to needy mana cost, 1 Ghost Quarter in favor of another Darkslick Shores
I'm not sure exactly what you're saying by this. Could you elaborate a little more?
3x Dryad Militant
3x Fleecemane Lion
3x Kitchen Finks
3x Knight of the Reliquary
4x Loam Lion
3x Loxodon Smiter
3x Qasali Pridemage
4x Scavenging Ooze
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
4x Forest
5x Plains
3x Sunpetal Grove
4x Windswept Heath
4x Temple Garden
Instants
3x Dromoka's Command
4x Path to Exile
Namesake
4x Glittering Wish
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
1x Captured Sunlight
1x Dromoka's Command
1x Fleecemane Lion
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Knight of the Reliquary
2x Krosan Grip
1x Loxodon Smiter
1x Qasali Pridemage
2x Torpor Orb
1x Voice of Resurgence
1x Wilt-Leaf Liege
Link to deck @ TappedOut.net
Looking for any and all feedback. Hoping to keep this deck GW but that doesn't mean I'm not open to suggestions.
4x Burning-Tree Emissary (1.16)
4x Ember Hauler (.36)
4x Jund Hackblade (.24)
4x Ash Zealot (1)
4x Rip-Clan Crasher (.20)
2x kird ape (2.30)
4x Brute Force (.16)
4x Burst Lightning (.20)
4x Colossal Might (.40)
4x Lightning Bolt (2)
2x Violent Outburst (.20)
6x Forest
6x Mountain
4x Rootbound Crag (1.80)
4x copperline gorge (8.84)
Strategy: Play fast creatures, pump and burn as needed. Violent Outburst guarantees a hit, wouldn't recommend Outburst when no creatures are present. Only one 3cmc card in the deck. All 2 drop creatures except Kird Ape with burn spells for turn 1.
Upgrades: Goblin Guide, Wooded Foothills, , Stomping Ground, more Kird Ape, Manamorphose.
Sideboard: Probably want artifact hate and flying hate since the only way to kill fliers is bolt or burst lightning..
I do want to say that it's semi-budget. I built the whole thing with $50 but adding in the Godsends will close to double the price.
22x Plains
Creatures: 26
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Azorius Arrester
4x Precinct Captain
4x Judge's Familiar
4x Imposing Sovereign
2x Heliod, God of the Sun
4x Dryad Militant
4x Brave the Elements
3x Gods Willing
Artifacts: 3
3x Godsend
Enchantments: 2
2x Spear of Heliod
4x Fortify
3x Glare of Heresy
4x Rootborn Defenses
4x Celestial Flare
I've considered throwing in red for Iroas and Boros Charm, along with other R/W benefits. The issue is that the dual lands (mainly the scry lands) will hurt my speed. If I don't have something turn 1, I typically don't win. But if there are a good chunk of decent size R/W creatures in Nyx, I might consider making the change.
Probably wondering why not Spirit of the Labyrinth? Mainly because Azorius Arrester has more utility in my Meta since I've only played 1 U/W control deck. I'd definitely consider putting him in if the meta shifts at all.
FNM with 14 people. Went 3-1 and placed 3rd.
Match 1: Rakdos Destruction
Game 1 he got mana screwed and I ran over him.
Game 2 I got mana screwed and he ran over me
Game 3 I managed to Brave The Elements an Anger the Gods and seal the victory.
1-0
Match 2: White Heroic Auras:
Game 1 he lacked the necessary amounts of creatures so I managed to overrun him with mine.
Game 2 I had a slow start and he got out a 5/5 Double Strike Flying and beat me into a pulp
Game 3 I got out 1 Soldier, 2 Dryads, and a Precinct Captain by turn 3 and rolled over him before he had a chance
2-0
Match 3: U/W Control:
I had yet to face a straight control deck. I was interested to see what happened.
Game 1 I got mana screwed. Drew 13 of my 22 lands while playing only around 5 or 6 total spells. He had a response to everything by then.
Game 2 I got going really fast and managed to kill him turn 5 with multiple Soldier tokens thanks to 2 Precinct Captains
Game 3 was extremely close. Had multiple creatures out swinging into him while he had 10 life left. My damage total was 12. He Sphinxed for 5 life and barely survived. I forgot about his Jace that went ultimate next turn getting him a Supreme Verdict and stole one of my Glare of Heresys to destroy my entire board that turn. Few turns later Elspeth Ultimate happened and I lost.
2-1
Match 4: Bant something...
I'm not sure what this deck was. You'll see in a minute
Game 1 I killed him turn 5 and he hadn't played any spells besides a Detention sphere and 2 azorius charms
Game 2 he mulliganed to 5 and got a Sylvan Caryatid out and that was it.
3-1
So I'm not sure what that Bant deck was but it didn't do anything because I got to him faster than he could get anything going.
Overall I'm satisfied with how this deck ran. I knew it had 2 weaknesses: Supreme Verdict and Drown in Sorrows. Supreme can hopefully be answered with Rootborn Defenses. Drown is answered with Fortify. The question is, how to sideboard it all.
Can always count on you Nev to point out the flaws =)
Tweaked it so that I have a majority of turn 2 and 1 drops with some turn 3 stuff and only 5 cards costing 5 or more.
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Tormented Hero
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
3 Blood Scrivener
3 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Mogis's Marauder
3 Cryptborn Horror
4 Doom Blade
3 Bile Blight
4 Duress
2 Corrupt
Lands: 23
23 Swamp
4 Drown in Sorrow
3 Ratchet Bomb
4 Dark Betrayal
4 Devour Flesh
Side board is coming soon. Drown in Sorrow will definitely be there. Crypt Incursion for when you're killing everything they have and need life. Other thoughts welcome.
EDIT: Considering Grim Return and Dark Betrayal for SB as well. Maybe Ratchet Bomb for that pesky Sylvan Caryatid
=| <-- that's basically the layout
We talked about how the game could be more affordable if the highest demand rares (the "best") in Standard would cap in price at $20 each, high demanded rares ("better") capped at $10, and everything else would be under $10. Granted you could still make $300 decks but it'd be much more affordable (even though there aren't too many $20 rares in Standard now).
But looking at that from the point of view of Modern, that'd make decks much more affordable since most competitive decklists (say top 8 GP) run $600 or so (from what I've seen at least).
Still, that theory requires $80 for a playset of the "Best" cards so even then it's still somewhat expensive. I'd like prices to drop so I can make a few decks instead of 1 or maybe 2 to play at tournaments (since I'm a budget guy).
EDIT: Might tweak number to make the 2x unknown slot to be a 4x good creature drop. Again, will update once I determine what's best/what I have to build.
Your deck can work, but I think it just needs some... I don't wanna just say "better" cards but right now I don't see it winning too much just due to lack of "better" cards. But I understand you threw it together out of spare stuff.
EDIT: Good sideboard card is Drown in Sorrow but that's also $2 per
I had pegasi (pegasuses?) in the deck but had too many spirits and felt like it was a waste of a spot. Maybe the Evangel but I've rarely gotten to 6 land so I can see that as an issue.