Hi, it's me once again. I improved my first [and only] casual/noob deck, but so did my opponent. Since I don't have anyone to ask IRL, I decided I'll ask here for some advice how to make my deck more competitive against a specific strategy/deck.
(I'd prefer to keep the new expenses low, but I'll consider any options available.)
The opponent plays monored goblins, mostly Dominaria, with Goblin chainwhirler, goblin barrage, siege-gang commander, willy goblin, fanatical firebrand, squee the immortal - and lots of removals like lightning strike/magma spray/twin bolt.
I dominate the early game but then I get burnt fast and cant keep up with the stronger goblins.
My biggest problems are:
a) I get my creatures destroyed by spells like Twin Bolt / Lightning Strike / Magma Spray
b) I end up without cards on hand fast and with 1-2 creatures on the battlefield, while the opponent has more power
c) Goblin Barrage + Siege-Gang Commander endless combo (fuelled with tokens or squee the immortal)
d) Goblin Chainwhirler
but I'd have to buy it and maybe you'd suggest some better options...
(Skullclamp and Grafted Wargear are out of my reach.)
Any suggestions?
I'd preferably avoid buying a whole new deck, please tell me if there is anything doable with these or I need to try different Archetype to manage. :/
a) Losing creatures is normal, don't get to attached to creatures in general. Rather than trying to protect them, repay in kind.
b) Martyr of Dusk replacing itself is a good way to approach this problem, so more of that would help. Black has many tools to simply draw more cards, like that Dusk Legion Zealot or Sign in Blood. It also has the vast majority of discard effects, like Liliana's Specter or Unburden. Since you are playing an aggro deck, you want creatures, so try to find some that also have abilities detrimental to your opponent, like Ravenous Chupacabra. Don't get to fixated on having only vampires in your deck. While non-Vampires won't benefit from Legion Lieutenant and Sanctum Seeker, a strong idividual effect will still be more beneficial for the deck as a whole. Black can also reanimate creatures or get them back into your hand at least. Cards like Aphetto Dredging or Macabre Waltz get you more fuel to keep your vampires going. Furthermore, you should consider playing a minor sweeper like Infest or Yahenni's Expertise. Yes, they kill your creaures, too, but the key is timing. If you kill more of your opponent's creatures than your own, those effects are worth it. There's a reason Wrath of God is iconic for white and it and its many variants have seen extensive play throughout the game's history.
c) Black has lots of graveyard hate as does white, so dealing with Squee should be rather easy. My choice would be Faerie Macabre since it 1) is "free" to use and with instant timing, and 2) is also a decent 2/2 flyer to fit your aggro. Inspiring Cleric to offset the life loss and get a vampire creature is a good idea. Pure lifegain, however, is bad. You want your life gain as an additional effect or additional option, not the sole purpose of the card. Because gaining life does not deal with the problem only the symptoms, so the problem perists and continues to make you lose life. Prevent life loss by dealing with the problem.
d) For Goblin Chainwhirler, keep a Doom Blade in hand until one shows up, then keep the next Doom Blade for the next. Meaning, save up your spot removal for it and deal with other stuff in a different way. Stock up your removal suite to 4x Doom Blade and 4x Moment of Craving or similar and you should have enough fuel to simply kill the Chainwhirrlers while also having the means to deal with other annoying goblins, like that Siege-Gang Commander. Maybe replace the Cravings, though, since there is a lot more powerful removal for 2 or less mana available. The life gain doesn't make much difference, but upgrading to -3/-3 or more like on Last Gasp or Grasp of Darkness, or a white "kill target creature" analog would.
There is a lot of decent equipment out there, so you don't have to get the best there is. Things like Trusty Machete should well be within your budget and provide a good enough boost for your creatures. Especilly with multiples, you can built up even your measliest creature into a serious threat.
Infest is effective against many horde decks. The best part is it handles indestructible, regen, untargetable, and you can hold it until the creature battle swings against you. Devastating to gobos.
I think when Infest comes it might be still not my favorable scenario - the goblins restore their numbers faster than I draw cards. Especially with the guy that creates 3 tokens as he enters and Squee that can be brought from the graveyard - while I am moving at 1 card per draw speed.
I think when Infest comes it might be still not my favorable scenario - the goblins restore their numbers faster than I draw cards. Especially with the guy that creates 3 tokens as he enters and Squee that can be brought from the graveyard - while I am moving at 1 card per draw speed.
Well you know your tempo and opponent best, but the point here is that it is just as effective against 20 gobos as 2, making it endlessly useful to efficiently blunt the hordes. Timing is, of course, paramount against goblins, elves, and any other horde, but I suggested it because a. it’s cheap, and b. you have some 1-for-1 removal that definitely won’t outlast the opponent’s tempo. If anything, you might also add some BSZs. You don’t have to draw twenty cards to stop twenty creatures if the right singleton does the heavy lifting. Card advantage is still card advantage.
One other option, if you can get to six mana reliably and remain alive is Tsabo’s Decree. It’s an instant that blasts both board and hand. It’s unforgiving brutality versus tribal decks.
Infest also has a lot of variants of similar cost and similar effect. Example are:
Hideous Laughter (instant) Drown in Sorrow (additional Scry 1) Flaying Tendrils (colorless and exiles creatures that would die, good against reanimation like Squee and stops death triggers) Golden Demise (may only affects your opponent's creatures if cast later in the game) Languish (bigger effect, but probably out of your budget's reach) Rising Miasma (can turn a land of yours into a 3/3 creature as additional effect)
Permanents with effects like Curse of Death's Hold, Engineered Plague or Night of Souls' Betrayal can also seriously impact a horde of mostly X/1 creatures. Squee would die without your opponent being able to sacrifice him for his other cards. As would those 1/1 tokens.
Gerrard's Verdict is my favorite BW tech against red. It's best against burn, so might not be quite as good against the goblin swarm that your dealing with, but the life can be quite relevant. Zealous Persecution is amazing for a BW creature deck and will deal with unbuffed goblin tokens while giving your creatures a pump. If you want to really annoy your opponent, you could top out with Curse of Death's Hold or Engineered Plague.
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(I'd prefer to keep the new expenses low, but I'll consider any options available.)
The opponent plays monored goblins, mostly Dominaria, with Goblin chainwhirler, goblin barrage, siege-gang commander, willy goblin, fanatical firebrand, squee the immortal - and lots of removals like lightning strike/magma spray/twin bolt.
I dominate the early game but then I get burnt fast and cant keep up with the stronger goblins.
My biggest problems are:
a) I get my creatures destroyed by spells like Twin Bolt / Lightning Strike / Magma Spray
b) I end up without cards on hand fast and with 1-2 creatures on the battlefield, while the opponent has more power
c) Goblin Barrage + Siege-Gang Commander endless combo (fuelled with tokens or squee the immortal)
d) Goblin Chainwhirler
My deck:
3x Adanto Vanguard
1x Dusk Legion Zealot
2x Duskborne Skymarcher
1x Exultant Skymarcher
4x Legion Lieutenant
1x Martyr of Dusk
4x Sanctum Seeker
4x Skymarch Bloodletter
3x Vampire Nighthawk
4x Vicious Conquistador
1x Voracious Vampire
1x Forsaken Sanctuary
7x Plains
1x Scoured Barrens
15x Swamp
Instant (5)
3x Doom Blade
2x Moment of Craving
1x Gruesome Fate
I also have cards like
but I suppose they don't add much enough "draw" and "life" to keep me up.
I considered adding
but I'd have to buy it and maybe you'd suggest some better options...
(Skullclamp and Grafted Wargear are out of my reach.)
Any suggestions?
I'd preferably avoid buying a whole new deck, please tell me if there is anything doable with these or I need to try different Archetype to manage. :/
b) Martyr of Dusk replacing itself is a good way to approach this problem, so more of that would help. Black has many tools to simply draw more cards, like that Dusk Legion Zealot or Sign in Blood. It also has the vast majority of discard effects, like Liliana's Specter or Unburden. Since you are playing an aggro deck, you want creatures, so try to find some that also have abilities detrimental to your opponent, like Ravenous Chupacabra. Don't get to fixated on having only vampires in your deck. While non-Vampires won't benefit from Legion Lieutenant and Sanctum Seeker, a strong idividual effect will still be more beneficial for the deck as a whole. Black can also reanimate creatures or get them back into your hand at least. Cards like Aphetto Dredging or Macabre Waltz get you more fuel to keep your vampires going. Furthermore, you should consider playing a minor sweeper like Infest or Yahenni's Expertise. Yes, they kill your creaures, too, but the key is timing. If you kill more of your opponent's creatures than your own, those effects are worth it. There's a reason Wrath of God is iconic for white and it and its many variants have seen extensive play throughout the game's history.
c) Black has lots of graveyard hate as does white, so dealing with Squee should be rather easy. My choice would be Faerie Macabre since it 1) is "free" to use and with instant timing, and 2) is also a decent 2/2 flyer to fit your aggro. Inspiring Cleric to offset the life loss and get a vampire creature is a good idea. Pure lifegain, however, is bad. You want your life gain as an additional effect or additional option, not the sole purpose of the card. Because gaining life does not deal with the problem only the symptoms, so the problem perists and continues to make you lose life. Prevent life loss by dealing with the problem.
d) For Goblin Chainwhirler, keep a Doom Blade in hand until one shows up, then keep the next Doom Blade for the next. Meaning, save up your spot removal for it and deal with other stuff in a different way. Stock up your removal suite to 4x Doom Blade and 4x Moment of Craving or similar and you should have enough fuel to simply kill the Chainwhirrlers while also having the means to deal with other annoying goblins, like that Siege-Gang Commander. Maybe replace the Cravings, though, since there is a lot more powerful removal for 2 or less mana available. The life gain doesn't make much difference, but upgrading to -3/-3 or more like on Last Gasp or Grasp of Darkness, or a white "kill target creature" analog would.
There is a lot of decent equipment out there, so you don't have to get the best there is. Things like Trusty Machete should well be within your budget and provide a good enough boost for your creatures. Especilly with multiples, you can built up even your measliest creature into a serious threat.
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)
One other option, if you can get to six mana reliably and remain alive is Tsabo’s Decree. It’s an instant that blasts both board and hand. It’s unforgiving brutality versus tribal decks.
Hideous Laughter (instant)
Drown in Sorrow (additional Scry 1)
Flaying Tendrils (colorless and exiles creatures that would die, good against reanimation like Squee and stops death triggers)
Golden Demise (may only affects your opponent's creatures if cast later in the game)
Languish (bigger effect, but probably out of your budget's reach)
Rising Miasma (can turn a land of yours into a 3/3 creature as additional effect)
Permanents with effects like Curse of Death's Hold, Engineered Plague or Night of Souls' Betrayal can also seriously impact a horde of mostly X/1 creatures. Squee would die without your opponent being able to sacrifice him for his other cards. As would those 1/1 tokens.
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)