Added 4x Cultivate, and I'm strongly considering Ornithopter for flying defense or late 6/6.
I'm not 100% sure about the Memnites- mostly because it's not a great draw later in the game. I'd rather have a token producer than another single 6/6, or a 1/1, after round 5-6. Also because mana isn't really an issue after a few turns - the ramp is more for sheer forest amount than mana necessity, which kind of makes me want to go for Blanchwood Armor, but I'm trying to keep it focused and small. Planning to add 4x Fog as well though :).
With only 16 creatures in your deck, 4 of which you really don't want to have dying, Cagebreakers isn't too great - and if you drop it after Essence, it doesn't drop wolves.
Nevermore and Meddling Mage are basically counters to this deck. Naturalize can handle Nevermore, but is fairly narrow otherwise - so maybe some Beast Within, since it's the best removal available in Mono G. Memoricide is still an issue, though.
I would definitely cut 1-2 Parallel Lives, you probably won't ever need to have two of them in play. Howl of the Night Pack will, in this deck, always drop at least 14 power, and with Essence out they'll need a wrath effect or some sort of infinite token combo to survive, so you could probably cut 1 of those.
I would test to see if Fog is useful. This deck doesn't play dangerous creatures until 6 mana (at which point it starts trying to rain them).
I would definitely leave Plummet and Naturalize in the sideboard.
With 8 ramp cards, you might be able to cut a forest or two.
At the moment, fog is in my sideboard. As are 2x Garruk (M11), though he may be slightly more useful.
Those are all great tips though, and I'll definitely have to rethink Cagebreakers -- haven't really considered removing them, since the deck was based on a whim that looked something like: "Oooh, Essence + Cagebreakers + Parallel lives!". But I see how Jade Mage / Howl are better options.
One thing to be pointed out though, is that the deck is mostly for social play -- so I don't mind having 4 parallel lives out and getting 28 (or would it be 112?) wolves onto the battlefield with Howl of the Night Pack, even though it might take me a few extra rounds and be slight overkill :P. At least not the first few times I play the deck.
Having said all that, are there any creatures I should replace Cagebreakers with? Ambush viper feels like a good way to go.
I considered Green Sun's Zenith, and it's definitely in the maybe pile -- as for the sideboard thing, should I leave out plummet when I have no other flying protection whatsoever? Seems scary to be that vulnerable with no outs.
Another card I want to add is Ambush Viper (<3). Flash deathtouch is one thing, but it can also help if someone is trying to remove my last Essence (flashing in another Essence before the removal resolves).
Immediately, I'm thinking I need some tutor effects. Also, I don't like that I can't figure out what to cut down on in terms of amount - I'm assuming here that having 4x everything isn't really the way to go.
The main purpose is to get Essence out either with a few Jade Mages on the table, or (if essence gets Surgically Removed) just go for the Parallel Howl win. Yes, I realise it's extremely vulnerable to both flying and wrath - this is another reason I need some input :).
Any help is appreciated :). I'm hoping to keep it mono-green, even though I do like those instant-tokenfetchers white has to offer.
I'm a 23-year-old game design student from Norway who, after playing Magic for the first time last year as part of my Intro to Game Design curriculum, has become addicted.
I'm not really big on the terminology (l don't, for example, know the difference between Extended and Vintage), but I play a few times a week with friends I've taught the game to and I think I've gotten to the point where the only rule clarifications I need are those found in dusty tomes, hidden away in guarded basements where only a few choice people may access them to gently turn the pages and reveal the knowledge within.
Hence the signup to these forums :).
Looking forward to arguments and agreements alike!
Added 4x Cultivate, and I'm strongly considering Ornithopter for flying defense or late 6/6.
I'm not 100% sure about the Memnites- mostly because it's not a great draw later in the game. I'd rather have a token producer than another single 6/6, or a 1/1, after round 5-6. Also because mana isn't really an issue after a few turns - the ramp is more for sheer forest amount than mana necessity, which kind of makes me want to go for Blanchwood Armor, but I'm trying to keep it focused and small. Planning to add 4x Fog as well though :).
Also; what I wouldn't give for an instant GSZ <3
At the moment, fog is in my sideboard. As are 2x Garruk (M11), though he may be slightly more useful.
Those are all great tips though, and I'll definitely have to rethink Cagebreakers -- haven't really considered removing them, since the deck was based on a whim that looked something like: "Oooh, Essence + Cagebreakers + Parallel lives!". But I see how Jade Mage / Howl are better options.
One thing to be pointed out though, is that the deck is mostly for social play -- so I don't mind having 4 parallel lives out and getting 28 (or would it be 112?) wolves onto the battlefield with Howl of the Night Pack, even though it might take me a few extra rounds and be slight overkill :P. At least not the first few times I play the deck.
Having said all that, are there any creatures I should replace Cagebreakers with? Ambush viper feels like a good way to go.
Another card I want to add is Ambush Viper (<3). Flash deathtouch is one thing, but it can also help if someone is trying to remove my last Essence (flashing in another Essence before the removal resolves).
This is my first deck-post, so go easy on me :P.
I'm looking to make an Essence of the Wild deck, and I'm having some trouble figuring out what to leave out. So far it looks like this:
4x Jade Mage
4x Essence of the Wild
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Kessig Cagebreakers
4x Parallel Lives
4x Howl of the Night Pack
2x Plummet
4x Khalni Heart Expedition
4x Rampant Growth
2x Naturalize
2x Fog
26x Forest
Immediately, I'm thinking I need some tutor effects. Also, I don't like that I can't figure out what to cut down on in terms of amount - I'm assuming here that having 4x everything isn't really the way to go.
The main purpose is to get Essence out either with a few Jade Mages on the table, or (if essence gets Surgically Removed) just go for the Parallel Howl win. Yes, I realise it's extremely vulnerable to both flying and wrath - this is another reason I need some input :).
Any help is appreciated :). I'm hoping to keep it mono-green, even though I do like those instant-tokenfetchers white has to offer.
I'm not really big on the terminology (l don't, for example, know the difference between Extended and Vintage), but I play a few times a week with friends I've taught the game to and I think I've gotten to the point where the only rule clarifications I need are those found in dusty tomes, hidden away in guarded basements where only a few choice people may access them to gently turn the pages and reveal the knowledge within.
Hence the signup to these forums :).
Looking forward to arguments and agreements alike!
Anyway, to clarify: does this mean that I could Mind Control any valid target, cast Oblivion Ring to exile my Mind Control and then Naturalize the Oblivion Ring in order to Mind Control an otherwise invalid target for the spell?
Sorry if that was confusing, it's hard to tell when there are card tags everywhere.