Are you using nimbus wings with flaring flame kin AFTER you apply pressure with goblin arsonist and perilous mer? If you draw two enchantments use one on a different creature besides any of the above; maybe cleric of the forward order or some white 2 drop ally. Bait their removal unless they have some gimmicky deck like enchantment landfall or mill. Against that kinda stuff i make an exception and go all out from the get go. But I'm still a bit new. Hopefully you can enchant flame kin with nimbus wings, divine favor or inferno fist. This should work well against a lot of common stuff. You may also consider juggernaut, razor foot Griffin, ember hauler, fire ally, etc. Hope that helps. And to the guy who suggested reprisal..i tried that and while it does give you a blanket against later drops, you should aim to be aggressive enough not to allow this to be necessary. So i found reprisal not to work for the goals of the deck, but I'm honestly not very good so it is just my opinion
So after mentioning I win over 50% of games with that white deck, I had a pretty bad run where I felt like I could barely win games at all. I think my best early run was something like 10-2, while later runs were closer to 4-8. I dropped down to level 32, but I did grind my way back to 40 again... Took a while though. I also made a few changes. Kinsbaile Skirmisher and Grasp of the Hieromancer could help to push through some damage, but now I'm trying Nimbus Wings and Felidar Cub. Wings help provide more resilience than Grasp against Radiant Flames and even Languish, while still pushing damage through. (I'm super excited that we're getting Enshrouding Mist, btw.) Cub is there because there are just so many troublesome enchantments like From Beyond.
Initially, I thought the upcoming changes would hurt the ramp decks. After giving it a second thought, I'm not so sure. Acid Moss is a big loss, but Explosive Vegetation gets you where you want to be even quicker. Going from 4 mana into 7 mana next turn is a pretty big deal. Also, you can get non-Forests, which is very important. I thought Gatecreeper Vine was annoying, but it's replacement does almost the same thing AND can kill small attackers. Currently, weenie decks can swing in turn after turn in the face of a Vine without fear of losing a creature. However, Sylvan Ranger trades with guys like Elite Vanguard/Expedition Envoy and pre-Renowned Goblin Glory Chaser, among others. Really not sure how this will impact the game.
I am going to miss the Denizen, but I am very hopeful because the article made it seem like red aggro decks will be getting some sweet tools from the update.
However I've had some success with GB elves and WR enchantments (similar to RU from the red portion but with whites nimbus wings and more allies) and personally i think GB elves is a gimmick; too weak to cards like twin bolt or control/removal of key cards like hunt master.
I think Elves was better when it was just Origins. My friend liked it, but I didn't think it was quite as strong as other options.
I have found my RW deck gets out to a fast start, and then nothing. I can't sustain it and finish my opponent and often they drop big guys I can't deal with and curb stomp me before I can race them down.
That's how I've been feeling lately with my mono-red and mono-white builds. It seems like the meta has adapted to the faster strategies. I can get hit with as many as three board wipes in a single game now. It's frustrating for sure, but not impossible for aggro to win. Want to post a list?
been playing a 4-color converge allies deck recently and it's been quite fun. the one card i'm kinda meh on is munda, ambush leader. i've found that playing him turn 4 is actually pretty bad unless you already have a bunch of lands in hand. however, late game he's nuts with all the pseudo-scry
I've been rocking an extremely strong counter to ramp decks that still has game vs fast aggro and the occasional planeswalker control decks.
Can we see a list? I figured control decks would be a good counter to ramp, but I never tried to build one myself.
I can definitely pull my list off my computer when I get the chance. I really didn't do much innovating other than what I mentioned though... I was tuning RG ramp and came to the same conclusions as everyone else about the best list for that color combo. When I switched to blue, I just took out red cards for blue ones... Omnath, Rolling Thunder and Grove Elemental became Scatter, Shrivel, Jace and Alhammaret. It takes a little more care between turns 3-6, as you need to be mindful of when you hit Acid-Moss vs when they hit it, and also need to judge whether that play will matter or not. If they ramp up but only have one fatty in hand, countering the Sower, Ulamog or Deso Twin matters a lot more than countering the Acid-Moss. I've found that it leads to more interactive and fun games in addition to giving me a strong defense against Public Enemy #1.
Alhammy in a ramp deck sometimes just auto-wins, too. If he hits turn 5 and you block out a really important card or a removal spell they have 2 of, the game is just over.
I think that is right, I'm in a hurry so might be mistakes.
EDIT: obviously Is crewed up the list, will be back in awhile to fix it.
That list looks good to me. I like your land distribution..very solid. Your trump card in my experience and opinion is an enchanted flaring flame-kin, especially with nimbus wings; as anything else it's potentially countered by simple stuff like bone splinters, reprisal etc. but ideally you would have baited their removal/control spells by enchanting something else prior to getting it out. Some cards in there I wish I had, but somehow don't yet such as celestial flare, kytheon, goblin glory chaser...ugh. My best cards are going the direction of green and blue since I just scored Kiora and had Jace already, and I am enjoying these two planeswalkers put together. Not that I'm a fan of GB, but if it's what the cards have given me, I'll roll with it until I can move on to bigger and better things. I'd maybe consider downgrading foundry street denizen to x2 instead of x4, as foundry street denizen I find has limited usage after about turn 2, but this is personal preference.
Ok, so after playing and editing some decks, I'm rethinking some stuff I said. If you don't have the defining cards yet as I do not, WR is the way to go. Not many people have a lot of counter/removal spells, but even when they do, I'm finding ways to win when my flaring fire-kin gets removed. Here's how I'm rolling with it and this is still only the 3rd or 4th rough draft I've come up with:
x2 cliffside lookout (maybe elite vanguard is better...not often I really use that ability for cliffside but he does offer synergy with allies)
x1 goblin arsonist
x2 titan's strength
x1 relic seeker
x2 kor bladewhirl
x1 topan freeblade
x2 kinsbale skirmisher
x1 divine favor
x3 nimbus wings
x1 call of the full moon
x1 infectious bloodlust
x3 inferno fist
x2 reprisal
x1 celestial flare
x1 gideon's reproach
x2 lantern scout
x1 heliod's pilgrim
x3 flaring fire kin
x1 enthralling victor
x1 flamside conjuring (good card but maybe not really worth it here; strongly debating this one..)
x2 traitorous act
x1 hero of goma fada
x1 knightly valor
x2 cliffside retreat
x2 rogue's passage
x2 sandstone bridge
x9 plain
x9 mountain
So I'm aiming to take a balanced approach with some added control, not just going all in on flaring fire-kin, and setting up attacks in various different ways each turn. It's pretty amazing some of the victories that are happening out of this. The computer also simply cannot beat me, and I generally beat it in 5 minutes or less and usually it's around turn 4-5. So I should be able to get gideon's, iroas's champion, and the other planeswalkers if I so desire to add them. (How can I not?) Also I believe this deck is actually quite a bit more midranged than it appears. I am enjoying titan's strength a lot, as the scry+early damage is helping immensely at getting early damage done. But overall you're looking to do most of your damage when you have 4 lands available to tap and hopefully draw a traitorous to use their creature against them or drop two enchantments on two creatures. Also I'm rethinking ember hauler. I don't really like it in this deck, as the required 2 red mana actually screwed me out of a game that I already drew another hand and didn't want to take a chance on a mulligan, but couldn't get another mountain or checkland. However this is the best way in my opinion to make the most out of a beginner's card selection for sure. I love it.
I have reached Level 40 in multiplayer gaming using this BWG (Jinx) Ulamog deck in the 2° Season of Magic Duels.
This deck is competitive and have a lot of tool for do hate with all other type of deck.
[link removed]
with the future ban of 4x Mwonvuli Acid-Moss i think that this type of deck lose a lot of impact...i will try red splash.
Since this seems to be the topic that most replies has in the sub-forum, I thought it better for attention's sake to post here rather than in a new thread (if need be I can get to that later).
Would anybody here be interested in setting up a Discord server for general discussion of Duels? Decks, tech, hanging out, challenges, etc.
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Vorthos-y Johnny. All will be One
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
For you and any other person that may not be aware, Discord is a software that emulates Skype and assorted messenger-like programs but gives gaming and large groups a much greater focus. It has the usual goodies - post editing and deletion, avatars, chat history, VoIP, but it integrates seamlessly with different games (namely, stuff on Steam).
The way it works is you get the Discord client (or from the browser, if you prefer; or the mobile app, if you prefer), register, and somebody sets up a server within Discord. You get invited to the server by that person and voila. You join the established conversations to talk about whatever they might be.
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Vorthos-y Johnny. All will be One
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
Sometimes when I'm bored I take my GW deck and try to clog up the board with as many tokens as possible and then alpha strike the AI in one massive attack to see how much damage I can deal in one turn. I just achieved a personal best, getting the AI's life past negative 1000 for the first time in Magic Duels.
Alright now that the SOI/OGW update has been out for a while I've settled on my favorite deck. It's really jankey, but I can't help loving alternate win conditions. (Again, let me reiterate that I tend to build decks to play against the AI in hard mode since my intermittent internet connection makes playing the online VS mode an exercise in frustration).
The idea of the deck is to control the board with bounce effects or removal and use looting effect and madness spells to mill the opponent out with a Tutelage or until Thing in the Ice transforms into Awoken Horror. It has other win conditions in Fevered Visions and Chandra.
Nahiri and new Jace are in the deck because they're good at controlling the board and giving me draw triggers, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is the 61st card of the deck and is less of a win condition than it is a convenient mill 20 for Nahiri's ultimate.
Decaration in stone is great removal with the upside of helping my opponents get through their own deck quicker.
Jori En, Ruin Diver has been a surprise MVP, often serving as the grease the deck needs to control the board and keep the removal spells coming.
Skyline Cascade is occationally useful as a tempo play, but I rather have more manlands in the deck instead. I tried Reckless Scholar instead of reflector Mage and found it lacking. It feels like I need more draw/discard effects on a stick, but I found the Mage is better overall at keeping me alive long enough to mill my opponent's out.
So far I've enjoyed playing this list a lot because of how unconventional it feels.
Most of the time it forces me to think of my opponent's library as their life total, but it can win through pure damage and has proven to be very adaptable to whatever the situation demands.
I always feel strange posting in the same thread when there are no new posts since the last time I posted, but It has been over a week and I have a new decklist that is just mowing through the players in online Vs mode. I said before that I usually don't play online VS because it takes forever to get matched up, well it seems Magic Duels has fixed that problem for me and I've been playing Online VS for the last few days.
This deck started out as an experiment in how close I could get to the current standard Wx human tribal deck. After looking at the cards available I decided that the number of 2/1 humans for W in Magic Duels (which was one uncommon and Kytheon, Hero of Akros) wasn't enough to go mono white aggro, so I branched out into WB for a better late game.
I feel the somewhat unusual restrictions on the number of uncommons, rares and mythic rares in magic duels has benefited this deck rather than hurt it. It has such a diverse threat package that it can be very explosive at times, but is also able to grind really well.
Surprise MVPs have been Pious Evangel and Dead Weight. Dead weight really neuters most opposing creatures that it doesn't kill outright and the number of creatures with first strike this deck has makes it hard for opponents to trade when blocking.
My original idea was to include Lantern Scout to offset the life loss of Ob Nixilis and Anguished Unmaking, but I decided that the deck's Allies were too few to trigger rally reliably, so I took the soul sisters approach and went with Pious Evangel, a decision that has ended up really being the reason why this deck can grind out games. The Evangels have also single handedly won me games once they've transformed and I wrath the board.
When I threw Graveblade Marauder into this deck I did it because it survives radiant flames and with a single +1/+1 counter, Gideon emblem, or Always Watching it can survive languish. While neither has come up I still like it here because it has proven to be the best wall in the format and will trade with any non-flying creature ramp throws my way (barring Ulamog).
Thanks for sharing your experiences Darkling, I for one am always interested to hear what you have to report. For me it's always lacking the proper cards as I just don't have the time to grind out a bunch of coin and I have yet to pull the trigger on just buying coins.
What has been your toughest match so far from your VS opponents?
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Thanks for sharing your experiences Darkling, I for one am always interested to hear what you have to report. For me it's always lacking the proper cards as I just don't have the time to grind out a bunch of coin and I have yet to pull the trigger on just buying coins.
What has been your toughest match so far from your VS opponents?
I just had a match against UBC(colorless) control that went into overtime, so to speak. I get the feeling that he was letting his clock run down purposely, trying to get me to leave the match out of sheer boredom. It's a pity he felt that it was necessary, since I was flooding out a bit and he stabilized at 3 life and nearly had the lock considering that I could no longer attack with a Shambling Vent because of his Sinister Concoction. He then Necromantic Summonsed his own Reality Smasher and I had no answer until I top decked Archangel Avacyn and had exactly enough mana to activate the vent and then cast Avacyn in response to him activating the concoction.
However I'm not sure if it was this is just a tough matchup for me, or if it was the fact that I flooded out a bit. When all was said and done the deck survived two Biting Rains, a Dead Weight, three castings of a single Oblivion Strike (thanks to the bug where Jace no longer exiles the spell cast from the graveyard) and the aforementioned Concoction. He managed to get Jace, Telepath Unbound out against me because I had to choose between exiling Jace or Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet with my Declaration in Stone. I chose to exile Kalitas because I didn't want him to start gaining life on me.
I've only spend $10 on coins when Magic Duels was first released, I play it on my iPad often enough that I've been able to bank enough coins to let me purchase entire sets when they're released.
Wow, can't believe they haven't patched the Jace bug yet, sounds like a pretty good battle you guys had though. What deck archetype have you found best for grinding coin against the AI and/or VS?
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All-out aggro is probably the best for grinding out the AI, I've never seen the AI use a board wipe since the BFZ/SOI update. It's most likely because neither set had a board wipe included in the cards except for Kozilek's Return & Biting Rain, and the AI always heavily favors playing decks build exclusively from the starter card packs and the most recent set. So you'll be pretty safe over-extending against the AI right now and win the games fairly quick with an aggro plan.
The VS mode is another story and it's a total crap shoot because it's basically a slightly slower and more inconsistent version of standard and you'll have no idea what cards your opponent has unlocked. Overall I still prefer playing against the AI even though the VS mode yeilds twice the coin reward. This is because it can take me a long time to be matched up with someone and then some opponents will also take forever on their turns, effectively making it slower to win one VS match than it is to win two matches against the AI. I also just like the convenience of being able to stop mid game against the AI and pick up the game where it left off a few hours later.
I got board wiped by the AI using Archangel Avacyn against me. Also had red werewolves flipped and that blue fliped (super Delver forget name). Anyways it was a doomed fight for me but Avacyn board wiping me was the nail in the coffin.
Was playing G/W vs the AI on hard.
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I forgot about Avacyn, however Reprisal a good answer for her and big creature decks in general, just cast it on her before she can transform. However there will be sometimes when bad luck strikes.
Also don't hesitate to hit the restart button before the first turn against the AI if you needed to mulligan to less than six cards. By doing this I win 95% of the time when playing against the AI on hard. I feel there's no point in playing against the AI with a five card starting hand, it just isn't fun and this is a game after all.
Which of the new sets should I unlock first? I'm working on getting the entire Zendikar set, then either going back and getting Origins (currently around 50%) or grabbing one of the new ones.
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“Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are.” Esmeralda Santiago Art is life itself.
You should look at the cards in each one (you can find lists online for the Magic Duels version of the sets) and try to figure out which cards you really want to make a deck out of.
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I'm fairly confident I will think of something to say. Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
Initially, I thought the upcoming changes would hurt the ramp decks. After giving it a second thought, I'm not so sure. Acid Moss is a big loss, but Explosive Vegetation gets you where you want to be even quicker. Going from 4 mana into 7 mana next turn is a pretty big deal. Also, you can get non-Forests, which is very important. I thought Gatecreeper Vine was annoying, but it's replacement does almost the same thing AND can kill small attackers. Currently, weenie decks can swing in turn after turn in the face of a Vine without fear of losing a creature. However, Sylvan Ranger trades with guys like Elite Vanguard/Expedition Envoy and pre-Renowned Goblin Glory Chaser, among others. Really not sure how this will impact the game.
Can we see a list? I figured control decks would be a good counter to ramp, but I never tried to build one myself.
I am going to miss the Denizen, but I am very hopeful because the article made it seem like red aggro decks will be getting some sweet tools from the update.
I think Elves was better when it was just Origins. My friend liked it, but I didn't think it was quite as strong as other options.
That's how I've been feeling lately with my mono-red and mono-white builds. It seems like the meta has adapted to the faster strategies. I can get hit with as many as three board wipes in a single game now. It's frustrating for sure, but not impossible for aggro to win. Want to post a list?
1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Elite Vanguard
1 Goblin Glory Chaser
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Ember Hauler
1 Mage-Ring Bully
3 Skyhunter Skirmisher
3 Flaring Flame-Kin
1 Iroa's Champion
1 Kytheon's Irregulers
1 Grasp of the Hieromancer
3 Nimbus Wings
4 Inferno Fist
1 Molten Vortex
Spells (4)
1 Celestial Flare
1 Twin Bolt
1 Solemn Offering
1 Exquisite Firecraft
8 Plains
10 Mountains
1 Evolving Wilds
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Blighted Gorge
1 Rogue's Passage
I think that is right, I'm in a hurry so might be mistakes.
EDIT: obviously Is crewed up the list, will be back in awhile to fix it.
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
Sign & Share Petition To Fix MTG: Arena's Economy: https://goo.gl/z8fop8
I can definitely pull my list off my computer when I get the chance. I really didn't do much innovating other than what I mentioned though... I was tuning RG ramp and came to the same conclusions as everyone else about the best list for that color combo. When I switched to blue, I just took out red cards for blue ones... Omnath, Rolling Thunder and Grove Elemental became Scatter, Shrivel, Jace and Alhammaret. It takes a little more care between turns 3-6, as you need to be mindful of when you hit Acid-Moss vs when they hit it, and also need to judge whether that play will matter or not. If they ramp up but only have one fatty in hand, countering the Sower, Ulamog or Deso Twin matters a lot more than countering the Acid-Moss. I've found that it leads to more interactive and fun games in addition to giving me a strong defense against Public Enemy #1.
Alhammy in a ramp deck sometimes just auto-wins, too. If he hits turn 5 and you block out a really important card or a removal spell they have 2 of, the game is just over.
That list looks good to me. I like your land distribution..very solid. Your trump card in my experience and opinion is an enchanted flaring flame-kin, especially with nimbus wings; as anything else it's potentially countered by simple stuff like bone splinters, reprisal etc. but ideally you would have baited their removal/control spells by enchanting something else prior to getting it out. Some cards in there I wish I had, but somehow don't yet such as celestial flare, kytheon, goblin glory chaser...ugh. My best cards are going the direction of green and blue since I just scored Kiora and had Jace already, and I am enjoying these two planeswalkers put together. Not that I'm a fan of GB, but if it's what the cards have given me, I'll roll with it until I can move on to bigger and better things. I'd maybe consider downgrading foundry street denizen to x2 instead of x4, as foundry street denizen I find has limited usage after about turn 2, but this is personal preference.
1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Elite Vanguard
1 Goblin Glory Chaser
2 Foundry Street Denizen
2 Perilous Myr
2 Ember Hauler
1 Mage-Ring Bully
3 Skyhunter Skirmisher
3 Flaring Flame-Kin
1 Iroas's Champion
1 Kytheon's Irregulars
1 Felidar Cub
1 Celestial Flare
3 Twin Bolt
1 Exquisite Firecraft
2 Titan's Strength
1 Reprisal
1 Grasp of the Hieromancer
3 Nimbus Wings
4 Inferno Fist
8 Plains
10 Mountains
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Blighted Gorge
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Evolving Wilds
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
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x2 cliffside lookout (maybe elite vanguard is better...not often I really use that ability for cliffside but he does offer synergy with allies)
x1 goblin arsonist
x2 titan's strength
x1 relic seeker
x2 kor bladewhirl
x1 topan freeblade
x2 kinsbale skirmisher
x1 divine favor
x3 nimbus wings
x1 call of the full moon
x1 infectious bloodlust
x3 inferno fist
x2 reprisal
x1 celestial flare
x1 gideon's reproach
x2 lantern scout
x1 heliod's pilgrim
x3 flaring fire kin
x1 enthralling victor
x1 flamside conjuring (good card but maybe not really worth it here; strongly debating this one..)
x2 traitorous act
x1 hero of goma fada
x1 knightly valor
x2 cliffside retreat
x2 rogue's passage
x2 sandstone bridge
x9 plain
x9 mountain
So I'm aiming to take a balanced approach with some added control, not just going all in on flaring fire-kin, and setting up attacks in various different ways each turn. It's pretty amazing some of the victories that are happening out of this. The computer also simply cannot beat me, and I generally beat it in 5 minutes or less and usually it's around turn 4-5. So I should be able to get gideon's, iroas's champion, and the other planeswalkers if I so desire to add them. (How can I not?) Also I believe this deck is actually quite a bit more midranged than it appears. I am enjoying titan's strength a lot, as the scry+early damage is helping immensely at getting early damage done. But overall you're looking to do most of your damage when you have 4 lands available to tap and hopefully draw a traitorous to use their creature against them or drop two enchantments on two creatures. Also I'm rethinking ember hauler. I don't really like it in this deck, as the required 2 red mana actually screwed me out of a game that I already drew another hand and didn't want to take a chance on a mulligan, but couldn't get another mountain or checkland. However this is the best way in my opinion to make the most out of a beginner's card selection for sure. I love it.
Alternate link is here. Looks pretty okay.
Art is life itself.
Would anybody here be interested in setting up a Discord server for general discussion of Duels? Decks, tech, hanging out, challenges, etc.
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
Sign & Share Petition To Fix MTG: Arena's Economy: https://goo.gl/z8fop8
The way it works is you get the Discord client (or from the browser, if you prefer; or the mobile app, if you prefer), register, and somebody sets up a server within Discord. You get invited to the server by that person and voila. You join the established conversations to talk about whatever they might be.
Modern - Cheeri0s (building), Belcher (building), Lantern (building), UW Control (building)
RIP Magic Duels. Wizards will regret what they did to you.
Craterhoof Behemoth made dealing 1000+ damage a cakewalk in DOTP 2015. For Magic Duels I had to resort to using Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to exile the AI's library before dropping Oblivion Sower and to use all the landfall triggers from Retreat to Emeria to make my army of Kor Ally tokens massive.
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 Thing in the Ice
3 Reflector Mage
2 Jori En, Ruin Diver
2 Forgotten Creation
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Instants & Sorceries: (16)
2 Fiery Impulse
2 Declaration in Stone
4 Just the Wind
4 Fiery Temper
2 Radiant Flames
1 Part the Waterveil
2 Fevered Visions
2 Oath of Jace
3 Sphinx's Tutelage
Planeswalkers: (3)
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
1 Chandra, Flamecaller
Land: (25)
2 Drownyard Temple
4 Evolving Wilds
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Island
2 Mountain
2 Needle Spires
1 Plains
2 Prairie Stream
2 Skyline Cascade
2 Sulfur Falls
2 Wandering Fumarole
The idea of the deck is to control the board with bounce effects or removal and use looting effect and madness spells to mill the opponent out with a Tutelage or until Thing in the Ice transforms into Awoken Horror. It has other win conditions in Fevered Visions and Chandra.
Nahiri and new Jace are in the deck because they're good at controlling the board and giving me draw triggers, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is the 61st card of the deck and is less of a win condition than it is a convenient mill 20 for Nahiri's ultimate.
Decaration in stone is great removal with the upside of helping my opponents get through their own deck quicker.
Jori En, Ruin Diver has been a surprise MVP, often serving as the grease the deck needs to control the board and keep the removal spells coming.
Skyline Cascade is occationally useful as a tempo play, but I rather have more manlands in the deck instead. I tried Reckless Scholar instead of reflector Mage and found it lacking. It feels like I need more draw/discard effects on a stick, but I found the Mage is better overall at keeping me alive long enough to mill my opponent's out.
So far I've enjoyed playing this list a lot because of how unconventional it feels.
Most of the time it forces me to think of my opponent's library as their life total, but it can win through pure damage and has proven to be very adaptable to whatever the situation demands.
This deck started out as an experiment in how close I could get to the current standard Wx human tribal deck. After looking at the cards available I decided that the number of 2/1 humans for W in Magic Duels (which was one uncommon and Kytheon, Hero of Akros) wasn't enough to go mono white aggro, so I branched out into WB for a better late game.
3 Expedition Envoy
1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Consul's Lieutenant
2 Hanweir Militia Captain
2 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Thalia's Lieutenant
2 Graveblade Marauder
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
3 Pious Evangel
1 Archangel of Tithes
1 Archangel Avacyn
4 Dead Weight
2 Always Watching
Instants/Sorceries: (6)
2 Declaration in Stone
2 Anguished Unmaking
2 Planar Outburst
Planeswalkers: (3)
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 Sorin, Grim Nemesis
Lands: (24)
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Forsaken Sanctuary
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Mortuary Mire
6 Plains
2 Shambling Vent
2 Swamp
2 Westvale Abbey
I feel the somewhat unusual restrictions on the number of uncommons, rares and mythic rares in magic duels has benefited this deck rather than hurt it. It has such a diverse threat package that it can be very explosive at times, but is also able to grind really well.
Surprise MVPs have been Pious Evangel and Dead Weight. Dead weight really neuters most opposing creatures that it doesn't kill outright and the number of creatures with first strike this deck has makes it hard for opponents to trade when blocking.
My original idea was to include Lantern Scout to offset the life loss of Ob Nixilis and Anguished Unmaking, but I decided that the deck's Allies were too few to trigger rally reliably, so I took the soul sisters approach and went with Pious Evangel, a decision that has ended up really being the reason why this deck can grind out games. The Evangels have also single handedly won me games once they've transformed and I wrath the board.
When I threw Graveblade Marauder into this deck I did it because it survives radiant flames and with a single +1/+1 counter, Gideon emblem, or Always Watching it can survive languish. While neither has come up I still like it here because it has proven to be the best wall in the format and will trade with any non-flying creature ramp throws my way (barring Ulamog).
What has been your toughest match so far from your VS opponents?
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
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1x Kytheon, hero of akros
2x Thalia's leuitenant
1x knight of white orchid
3x consuls lieutenant
1x topan free blade
1x veteran cathar
1x duskwatch recruiter
1x nissa vastwood seer
1x byway courier
2x citadel castellan
1x archangel of tithes
1x intrepid provisioner
1x primal hunt beast
1x archangel avacyn
2x hixus prison warden
2x reprisal
2x expose evil
2x puncturing light
3x celestial flare
1x explosive vegetation
2x siegecraft
2x hope against hope
1x always watching
I just had a match against UBC(colorless) control that went into overtime, so to speak. I get the feeling that he was letting his clock run down purposely, trying to get me to leave the match out of sheer boredom. It's a pity he felt that it was necessary, since I was flooding out a bit and he stabilized at 3 life and nearly had the lock considering that I could no longer attack with a Shambling Vent because of his Sinister Concoction. He then Necromantic Summonsed his own Reality Smasher and I had no answer until I top decked Archangel Avacyn and had exactly enough mana to activate the vent and then cast Avacyn in response to him activating the concoction.
However I'm not sure if it was this is just a tough matchup for me, or if it was the fact that I flooded out a bit. When all was said and done the deck survived two Biting Rains, a Dead Weight, three castings of a single Oblivion Strike (thanks to the bug where Jace no longer exiles the spell cast from the graveyard) and the aforementioned Concoction. He managed to get Jace, Telepath Unbound out against me because I had to choose between exiling Jace or Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet with my Declaration in Stone. I chose to exile Kalitas because I didn't want him to start gaining life on me.
Thalia's Lieutenant and Always Watching both did what they were supposed to do and helped about half of my creatures survive each of the Biting Rains which was what got him down to 3 life when I wrathed the board with a awakened Planar Outburst to get rid of the first Reality Smasher and a Consul's Lieutenant that he Necromantic Summonsed out of my graveyard. He then recurred Oblivion strike with Jace to get rid of the awakened land.
I've only spend $10 on coins when Magic Duels was first released, I play it on my iPad often enough that I've been able to bank enough coins to let me purchase entire sets when they're released.
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
Sign & Share Petition To Fix MTG: Arena's Economy: https://goo.gl/z8fop8
The VS mode is another story and it's a total crap shoot because it's basically a slightly slower and more inconsistent version of standard and you'll have no idea what cards your opponent has unlocked. Overall I still prefer playing against the AI even though the VS mode yeilds twice the coin reward. This is because it can take me a long time to be matched up with someone and then some opponents will also take forever on their turns, effectively making it slower to win one VS match than it is to win two matches against the AI. I also just like the convenience of being able to stop mid game against the AI and pick up the game where it left off a few hours later.
Was playing G/W vs the AI on hard.
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
Sign & Share Petition To Fix MTG: Arena's Economy: https://goo.gl/z8fop8
Also don't hesitate to hit the restart button before the first turn against the AI if you needed to mulligan to less than six cards. By doing this I win 95% of the time when playing against the AI on hard. I feel there's no point in playing against the AI with a five card starting hand, it just isn't fun and this is a game after all.
Art is life itself.
Active Player: 1994-1999, 2016-
Sign & Share Petition To Fix MTG: Arena's Economy: https://goo.gl/z8fop8