I just wanted to pop by and comment that this deck is seriously fun!
I've had good experiences with Knight of the Reliquary - fixing the tricolor mana and growing pretty big with 8 fetch lands is too good to miss. Also, they can switch out your used Mosswort Bridges to new ones, or turn them into duals.
I've also given some thought to Yeva, Nature's Herald and Birthing Pod. Yeva, with Mosswort Bridge would allow for a more reflexive (and safe) play style where you drop your fat at the end of your opponent's end step.
I'll probably keep on playing and testing this deck - it's an excellent way to take some time off of playing Esperblade. And who doesn't like hanky decks filled with big creatures.
KotR is an interesting idea indeed! Because with it's mana curve I could run the human weenie route with Mother of Runes and Champion of the Parish.
Just right now I came up with another deck idea call "Mayael's Aria - Crescendo". It utilizes Phyrexian Processor To safely secure the 5/5 creature needed for Aria, while distract opponent with fatties like Thragtusk, Advent of the Wurm, as well as Evolve creatures like Experiment One and Gyre Sage.
Another idea is "Mayael's Aria - Liturgy", which utilizes the Gods from Theros block. Using creatures and enchantments to fulfill the devotion slot (could be any god of the affiliated color) and opponent would have trouble keeping Aria from buffing your crowd. I think the best combo would be with the major gods Heliod, God of the Sun, Purphoros, God of the Forge and Nylea, God of the Hunt because their abilities complements Aria well. However, the new gods such as Karametra, God of Harvest and Xenago, God of Revels too works well with the theme.
Consider Serra Avatar? You've got Ajani in here already, but if you want that token, I feel like it'd be a little easier to just cast it outright. It'll come out pretty huge and then at the very least probably get pumped a ton each turn because of the "gain 10" part of the Aria. Rogue's Passage would be pretty sweet in here too.
I noticed you didn't have any Jungle Shrines in your manabase. They'd be pretty cool to add too.
After some testing, I feel that the Soul's cards are not very reliable, because they require me to control a creature to function.
My new version of this deck, which I dubbed 'Mayael's Aria: Chorus', utilizes 4 copies of Chord of Calling and packs 1 copy of each of the combo-ish creatures (like Quillspike, Mossbridge Troll, Woodfall Primus, etc), this allow me to add more low cost creatures to smooth out the mana while giving me enough Convoke to search my deck for the right creature at the right time, in instant speed.
I’m building a Mayael’s Aria deck. However, rather than focusing on the win-con it provides I want to utilize all three of its functions. Here is a draft:
General strategy is just play the deck like a typical creature-aggro then uses Aria to win the game one way or the other. I want the deck to have as many combinations as possible:
-> Mayael’s Aria/Ajani + Mycoloth = One of the main combo. Mycoloth is usually a 6/6 from start and Aria would add +1/+1 counter on the Mycoloth and all tokens, which means more tokens for next turn.
-> Mayael’s Aria + Devoted Druid + Quillspike = One of the basic infinite combo that could win me the game if not interrupted. The only problem is that aside from Devoted Druid there’s no other uses for Quillspike, so I wonder if I should replace some 5/5 for cards like Kitchen Finks.
-> Mayael’s Aria + Scute Mob = Self-explanatory, play the Mob’s trigger first, it becomes 5/5 and add an +1/+1 from Aria. Next turn the Mob becomes 10/10, it gets +1/+1 and you gain 10 life. It’s a great early play for Aria.
-> Mayael’s Aria + Ajani = Boots your mana creatures, allow your big creatures to defend, and create Serra Avatar at ultimate, which wins you the game next turn if it's at least 9/9.
-> Deathbridge Goliath = Boost smaller creatures to fit Aria’s requirement or make big creatures bigger to accomplish Aria’s higher purposes.
-> Mycoid Shepherd = Life gain for Ajani’s ultimate or keeping you alive.
I think using Vampiric Tutor and/or its like will make great addition, just tutor the stuff you want right before damage is dealt.
That, and the Epic spells from Saviors of Kamigawa can be ... well, epic when resolved through the demon. Also, Congregate at Dawn pretty much gives you three more bombs. If you have the Eldrazi, their trigger-upon-casting takes effect due to the demon as well.
Use cheap persist/undying creatures for early defense, and they last through the demon's wrath also.
The deck utilizes cards that would support Trading Post's four functions. Sorin + Spear of Heliod add threats to tokens and Inkmoth's poison damage (Inkmoth could also be sacrificed by Post in response to a kill spell). Extra tokens allow more artifact recursion for Trading Post. Adding black give me access to Vindicate, Sign in Blood, and Inquisition of Kozilek for more control.
A few issues/thoughts:
1) Would Thunderstaff be better than Spear of Heliod since it also reduces enemy creatures' damage? Or should I value the Spear's creature-removal ability?
2) I've considered Jace, Architect of Thoughts for the deck but it'd be another 4cc, bad for the curve. It would combo well with Thunderstaff as defense though.
3) Would mana artifacts be ideal here? That said, should I use artifact-friendly cards like Etherium Sculptor, Grand Architect, or Tezeeret?
4) Transmute Artifact has been on my mind as an artifact search. However, while the deck utilizes Trading Post I don't want it to be the end-all solution. Adding too many artifact-related spells might hinder the deck more than helping it.
Before Mutavault, people used Mishra's Factory and/or [c]Blinkmoth Nexus
[/c]. Unless tribal theme is important, I prefer the factory, and I prefer Inkmoth Nexus over its Blinkmoth cousin.
So my friends and I meet once a week for our boardgame night, and I'm trying to find a way to get them back into playing more magic. The problem is, we don't want to deal with all the $$@&; of magic involving collecting cards and having an arms race. I have a couple of duel decks lying around which my friends and I enjoy playing. The plan is to buy more duel decks, but my friends also want the deck building aspect of the game intact. I was wondering if you all could help me build 30 card sideboards like they have in DOTP to allow the decks to take on different strategies. I've already tried making one for the golgari duel deck to either go the beatdown or dredging route. Help much appreciated :).
2 grave-shell scarab
3 golgari thug
3 shambling shell
I think The Mimeoplasm is super cool, but this isn't the deck to make it shine. It works best off stuff like Lord of Extinction and other giant guys.
I also don't think I'd play three colors unless I had some really good lands. The green isn't really needed, is it?
If you just want a really good deck with some of those cards, the traditional approach is Careful Study, discard something ridiculous and Reanimate it.
This deck idea came to me when I was trying to make a BUG deck. BG utilizes graveyard while blue has the mill. Reanimation is one of the approaches but I wanted to take another step forward, thus there are Deathrite Shaman, Scavengin Ooze, and Surgical Extraction. That, and The Mimeoplasm
What do you think of The Mimeoplasm? It was in my original deck list. There are plenty of creatures in my deck to utilize it regardless of opponent's deck. Should I use Lotleth Troll or Careful Study for Chancellor dump?
KotR is an interesting idea indeed! Because with it's mana curve I could run the human weenie route with Mother of Runes and Champion of the Parish.
Just right now I came up with another deck idea call "Mayael's Aria - Crescendo". It utilizes Phyrexian Processor To safely secure the 5/5 creature needed for Aria, while distract opponent with fatties like Thragtusk, Advent of the Wurm, as well as Evolve creatures like Experiment One and Gyre Sage.
Another idea is "Mayael's Aria - Liturgy", which utilizes the Gods from Theros block. Using creatures and enchantments to fulfill the devotion slot (could be any god of the affiliated color) and opponent would have trouble keeping Aria from buffing your crowd. I think the best combo would be with the major gods Heliod, God of the Sun, Purphoros, God of the Forge and Nylea, God of the Hunt because their abilities complements Aria well. However, the new gods such as Karametra, God of Harvest and Xenago, God of Revels too works well with the theme.
After some testing, I feel that the Soul's cards are not very reliable, because they require me to control a creature to function.
My new version of this deck, which I dubbed 'Mayael's Aria: Chorus', utilizes 4 copies of Chord of Calling and packs 1 copy of each of the combo-ish creatures (like Quillspike, Mossbridge Troll, Woodfall Primus, etc), this allow me to add more low cost creatures to smooth out the mana while giving me enough Convoke to search my deck for the right creature at the right time, in instant speed.
2 Deadbridge Goliath
3 Devoted Druid
2 Mycoid Shepherd
2 Mycoloth
3 Quillspike
3 Scute Mob
3 Spellbreaker Behemoth
4 Woolly Thoctar
4 Mayael’s Aria
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Contested Cliff
1 Forest
3 Gaea’s Cradle
1 Kessig Wolf run
1 Plains
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Craig
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
General strategy is just play the deck like a typical creature-aggro then uses Aria to win the game one way or the other. I want the deck to have as many combinations as possible:
-> Mayael’s Aria/Ajani + Mycoloth = One of the main combo. Mycoloth is usually a 6/6 from start and Aria would add +1/+1 counter on the Mycoloth and all tokens, which means more tokens for next turn.
-> Mayael’s Aria + Devoted Druid + Quillspike = One of the basic infinite combo that could win me the game if not interrupted. The only problem is that aside from Devoted Druid there’s no other uses for Quillspike, so I wonder if I should replace some 5/5 for cards like Kitchen Finks.
-> Mayael’s Aria + Scute Mob = Self-explanatory, play the Mob’s trigger first, it becomes 5/5 and add an +1/+1 from Aria. Next turn the Mob becomes 10/10, it gets +1/+1 and you gain 10 life. It’s a great early play for Aria.
-> Mayael’s Aria + Ajani = Boots your mana creatures, allow your big creatures to defend, and create Serra Avatar at ultimate, which wins you the game next turn if it's at least 9/9.
-> Deathbridge Goliath = Boost smaller creatures to fit Aria’s requirement or make big creatures bigger to accomplish Aria’s higher purposes.
-> Mycoid Shepherd = Life gain for Ajani’s ultimate or keeping you alive.
Some other cards I considered:
-> Cliffrunner Behemoth = Very ideal 3rd turn play if you get Woolly Thoctar or Mayael’s Aria on turn 2. In most cases a lifelink 5/3, still good.
-> Blastoderm = Hard to kill 5/5 for three turns.
-> Kitchen Finks and other persist creatures = Make Quillspike more useful. Woodfall Primus appears to be rather abusive with the Aria.
-> Avenger of Zendikar = Token makers and enables Aria.
-> Spikeshot Goblin = Another toy to shoot.
-> Ageless Entity = Life-gain becomes more deadly, which may require extra life-gain cards in deck to work.
->Wirewood Savage = If there are more beasts, then it might replace Quillspike.
-> Mossbridge Troll = Another instant win but requires multiple other creatures.
-> Chameleon Colossus = Instant win, but requires a lot of mana.
-> Wall of Reverence, Lightning Helix, Ajani’s Pridemate, Cradle of Vitality, etc = Again, if I go for the life-gain route.
-> Fling = Alt win con.
-> Equipments = Mage Slayer, Sword of X, Umezawa’s Jitte, etc, boost smaller creatures, make big creatures more deadly.
-> Hydra = Feral Hydra, Protean Hydra, Primordial Hydra, Apocalypse Hydra, etc, easy to cast and some hard to kill.
-> Mother of Runes, Vines of Vastwood, etc = Protecting your creatures, and Vines add size as well.
-> Worldly Tutor/Primal Command = Creature search.
-> Tezzeret’s Gambit = Card draw and counter proliferate. Perhaps even Volt Charge?
-> Chord of Calling = I love this card, perhaps Green Sun's Zenith too.
Any suggestion is welcomed
Finally! Hopefully not main-casting Jace...
That, and the Epic spells from Saviors of Kamigawa can be ... well, epic when resolved through the demon. Also, Congregate at Dawn pretty much gives you three more bombs. If you have the Eldrazi, their trigger-upon-casting takes effect due to the demon as well.
Use cheap persist/undying creatures for early defense, and they last through the demon's wrath also.
3 Ichor Wellspring
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Spear of Heliod
3 Trading Post
2 Sphinx's Revelation
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Sign in Blood
3 Supreme Verdict
3 Vindicate
1 Drowned Catatomb
1 Glacial Fortress
4 Godless Shrine
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Marsh Flats
1 Plains
1 Swamp
The deck utilizes cards that would support Trading Post's four functions. Sorin + Spear of Heliod add threats to tokens and Inkmoth's poison damage (Inkmoth could also be sacrificed by Post in response to a kill spell). Extra tokens allow more artifact recursion for Trading Post. Adding black give me access to Vindicate, Sign in Blood, and Inquisition of Kozilek for more control.
A few issues/thoughts:
1) Would Thunderstaff be better than Spear of Heliod since it also reduces enemy creatures' damage? Or should I value the Spear's creature-removal ability?
2) I've considered Jace, Architect of Thoughts for the deck but it'd be another 4cc, bad for the curve. It would combo well with Thunderstaff as defense though.
3) Would mana artifacts be ideal here? That said, should I use artifact-friendly cards like Etherium Sculptor, Grand Architect, or Tezeeret?
4) Transmute Artifact has been on my mind as an artifact search. However, while the deck utilizes Trading Post I don't want it to be the end-all solution. Adding too many artifact-related spells might hinder the deck more than helping it.
[/c]. Unless tribal theme is important, I prefer the factory, and I prefer Inkmoth Nexus over its Blinkmoth cousin.
Phyrexian Plaguelord has been one of my favorite creature to use in a B/G deck. Spiritmonger is between $3~$5. [c]Eternal Witness[c] is around $2.
This deck idea came to me when I was trying to make a BUG deck. BG utilizes graveyard while blue has the mill. Reanimation is one of the approaches but I wanted to take another step forward, thus there are Deathrite Shaman, Scavengin Ooze, and Surgical Extraction. That, and The Mimeoplasm
What do you think of The Mimeoplasm? It was in my original deck list. There are plenty of creatures in my deck to utilize it regardless of opponent's deck. Should I use Lotleth Troll or Careful Study for Chancellor dump?