It's pretty self explanatory, no fancy combos or anything, just a random homebrew I'm trying to get down to 60 cards in the best way possible. Any advice is appreciated.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but, your deck is a mess. I cannot really determine what you are going for, because you are going in so many different directions. You have lots of cards that suggest, that you want to win as fast as possible, and then you have lots of cards that suggest you plan for a longer game. And while such an approach is viable in general (what's called Midrange), your card choices really don't lend themselves to that kind of strategy. Then there are cards that demand a build-around (Guttersnipe, Dual Casting), yet you don't have enough support for them. Also, the number of lands is hardly enough for a 60 card deck, not to mention that their composition is really questionable (for example, Dragonskull Summit could just as well be a Rakdos Guildgate, because there are no Swamps nor Mountains in the entire deck, it'll always enter tapped). And having more than half of your lands enter the battlefield tapped when you are trying to be fast to a degree is way too many. With 8 filter lands, you don't even need that many other duals, basics would serve well enough.
So, pick one strategy and abandon the others. If you want to go for a fast burn heavy deck, things like Guttersnipe, Mogis, Stab Wound, Dual Casting, both Rituals, Slyblade, Chosen, and even Nighthawk, don't really belong. If you want a longer game, where your cards deal damage over time (Guttersnipe, Stab Wound, Mogis), you can't afford to lose card advantage through your Rituals and 1-shot creatures like Ball Lightning, but rather need more selfreplacing and/or instant/sorcery burn, flashback, etc. And you may want to add some black card draw like Sign in Blood.
None taken, I don't know red well for one, and I only recently got curious about color combos that I've never messed with. I'm sure there are better ways to do what I want this one to do (basically just control the battle field while wiping with direct damage and life loss). It's in no way meant to be competitive, It's part of a much larger project of casual dual color decks that I'm making to be able to offer friends more variety when we get together. and the main purpose in my post was to figure out ways to lower this decks card count to 60. 20 dual lands plus the ritual spells should be enough mana considering overall mana curve, but as I said I'm here for advice. I can do without the bashing, since it's unproductive and sets a topic of on a miserable tone when for all you knew I was like a 10 year old trying to figure out MTG alone. Kinda shortsighted if that's what this community has to offer, or if that's the impression you choose to promote.
On a lesser note, I'm basically compelled to have stab wound in any black deck I make because of a friend I play regularly with.
My thinking with the deathtouch creatures, which are typically for longer games, is they really are just a shield while I push out damage spells. But I'm sure there are better ways to achieve the same thing. I gave Nighthawk a nod for the simple possibility for a turn one drop. But again, there could very well be something better suited, that's why I'm here. Where I stand now is just simply too many cards. Drop the rituals? That changes a lot of things.
I did not intend to be offensive, so my apologies if I came across that way.
With a now much more clearly stated goal, I can offer better advice (I hope). First, let's talk Rituals. Many more veteran players seem to think, that they are a kind of autoinclusion. But not every deck can use them well. The only kinds of decks that can use them well, in my opinion, are combo decks and aggro decks. Because they inherrently are cardDISadvantage, you are burning an additional card to gain a tempo advantage. But unless you have a way to regain the lost card advantage (like the infamous Dark Ritual + Hypnotic Specter turn 1 play) or can make use of that tempo gain in some way (like getting a really big threat out early, eg. Desecration Demon), that advantage will disappear as the game progresses, leaving you with one less card. I just don't see your deck utilizing the Rituals in a meaningful way as it is now. For example, a turn 2 Mogus may seem awesome, but active devotion is a long way off and taking 2 damage in the early game each turn is the better choice over sacrificing a creature, so you have spent 2 cards to deal 2 damage to the player over 1 turn, 4 damage over 2 turns, 6 damage over 3 turns, 8 damage over 4 turns, etc. But even 8 damage with 2 cards is kinda lackluster for red. It gets better in multiplayer, yes, but then it is also more likely, that Mogus gets removed earlier.
With Stab Wound being a must have (and it's certainly a solid card), instead of hiding behind small deathtouch creatures, where you only have the choice between killing the enchanted creature when it attacks you (and it will), or letting it hurt you, I'd rather hide behind a big wall. That way, you can block it all day without killing it, letting the aura drain the opponent. Cards like Lightning-Rig Crew and Lobber Crew would fit quite well with your game plan. Especially Lobber Crew can pair well with Guttersnipe, since there are a lot of other multicolored instants and sorceries you could play, like Blightning, Unmake, Dreadbore, Manamorphose (which is a "free" spell), etc.
Vexing Devil and Ball Lightning are mostly just 1-shot cards, and don't really fit the deck, if you want to deal damage frequently until the opponent is dead. They don't help out Mogis achieve devotion, they don't help Guttersnipe deal damage, they don't help Stab Wound to keep the enchanted creature alive. Xathrid Slyblade has the same issue, it just doesn't contribute to what I perceive as the core idea of the deck.
And since this also decreases the number of creatures a lot
-4 Dual Casting
That's 28 cards out, leaving you at 46. I'd refill by adding at least 2-3 more lands and 4 Lobber Crew (or something similar), leaving the other slots for some experimentation. You could run Veinfire Borderposts as stand-ins for lands (though you need quite a lot of basic lands for their alternative cost), because they are multicolored spells for the Crew. Gray Merchant of Asphodel is also a great card to drain your opponents and gain some life in the process, as well as inceasing devotion. With more red instants and sorceries, Pyromancer's Goggles can take the place of Dual Casting. A fused Toil // Trouble counts as a multicolored spell, so the Goggles, Guttersnipe, and Lobber Crew would all benefit, and both modes are useful on their own, too (though then it's just a monocolored spell).
Thanks for the very in depth advice. A lot of points I didn't think of about how some cards effect the efficiency of others negatively in less than obvious ways. In an unrelated note, where would be the best place to make a sort of opinion poll about the use of proxies.
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http://www.mtgsalvation.com/decks/640-help-me-trim-this-down-please
It's pretty self explanatory, no fancy combos or anything, just a random homebrew I'm trying to get down to 60 cards in the best way possible. Any advice is appreciated.
So, pick one strategy and abandon the others. If you want to go for a fast burn heavy deck, things like Guttersnipe, Mogis, Stab Wound, Dual Casting, both Rituals, Slyblade, Chosen, and even Nighthawk, don't really belong. If you want a longer game, where your cards deal damage over time (Guttersnipe, Stab Wound, Mogis), you can't afford to lose card advantage through your Rituals and 1-shot creatures like Ball Lightning, but rather need more selfreplacing and/or instant/sorcery burn, flashback, etc. And you may want to add some black card draw like Sign in Blood.
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)
On a lesser note, I'm basically compelled to have stab wound in any black deck I make because of a friend I play regularly with.
With a now much more clearly stated goal, I can offer better advice (I hope). First, let's talk Rituals. Many more veteran players seem to think, that they are a kind of autoinclusion. But not every deck can use them well. The only kinds of decks that can use them well, in my opinion, are combo decks and aggro decks. Because they inherrently are cardDISadvantage, you are burning an additional card to gain a tempo advantage. But unless you have a way to regain the lost card advantage (like the infamous Dark Ritual + Hypnotic Specter turn 1 play) or can make use of that tempo gain in some way (like getting a really big threat out early, eg. Desecration Demon), that advantage will disappear as the game progresses, leaving you with one less card. I just don't see your deck utilizing the Rituals in a meaningful way as it is now. For example, a turn 2 Mogus may seem awesome, but active devotion is a long way off and taking 2 damage in the early game each turn is the better choice over sacrificing a creature, so you have spent 2 cards to deal 2 damage to the player over 1 turn, 4 damage over 2 turns, 6 damage over 3 turns, 8 damage over 4 turns, etc. But even 8 damage with 2 cards is kinda lackluster for red. It gets better in multiplayer, yes, but then it is also more likely, that Mogus gets removed earlier.
With Stab Wound being a must have (and it's certainly a solid card), instead of hiding behind small deathtouch creatures, where you only have the choice between killing the enchanted creature when it attacks you (and it will), or letting it hurt you, I'd rather hide behind a big wall. That way, you can block it all day without killing it, letting the aura drain the opponent. Cards like Lightning-Rig Crew and Lobber Crew would fit quite well with your game plan. Especially Lobber Crew can pair well with Guttersnipe, since there are a lot of other multicolored instants and sorceries you could play, like Blightning, Unmake, Dreadbore, Manamorphose (which is a "free" spell), etc.
Vexing Devil and Ball Lightning are mostly just 1-shot cards, and don't really fit the deck, if you want to deal damage frequently until the opponent is dead. They don't help out Mogis achieve devotion, they don't help Guttersnipe deal damage, they don't help Stab Wound to keep the enchanted creature alive. Xathrid Slyblade has the same issue, it just doesn't contribute to what I perceive as the core idea of the deck.
So the cuts, I would make to trim down the deck, are
-4 Dark Ritual
-4 Pyretic Ritual
-4 Pharika's Chosen
-4 Vexing Devil
-4 Ball Lightning
-4 Xathrid Slyblade
And since this also decreases the number of creatures a lot
-4 Dual Casting
That's 28 cards out, leaving you at 46. I'd refill by adding at least 2-3 more lands and 4 Lobber Crew (or something similar), leaving the other slots for some experimentation. You could run Veinfire Borderposts as stand-ins for lands (though you need quite a lot of basic lands for their alternative cost), because they are multicolored spells for the Crew. Gray Merchant of Asphodel is also a great card to drain your opponents and gain some life in the process, as well as inceasing devotion. With more red instants and sorceries, Pyromancer's Goggles can take the place of Dual Casting. A fused Toil // Trouble counts as a multicolored spell, so the Goggles, Guttersnipe, and Lobber Crew would all benefit, and both modes are useful on their own, too (though then it's just a monocolored spell).
Former Rules Advisor
"Everything's better with pirates." - Lodge
(The Gamers: Dorkness Rising)
"Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science."
(Girl Genius - Fairy Tale Theater Break - Cinderella, end of volume 8)