Rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated!
(Primer under construction, bear with me)
Introduction:
Yes. The dreaded Caw-Blade. The menace of post Mirrodin Besieged Standard during the Zendikar-Scars era(that's actually probably an understatement, for those of you that remember). Its origin is a deck from late 2010 Standard called "Caw-Go", a slight modification on Draw-Go, that held only 4 creatures, all of them Squadron Hawks. As time went on, some builds started trying to make use of Sword of Body and Mind, using Stoneforge Mystic to find it. However, it wasn't until the printing of Sword of Feast and Famine that Stoneforge Mystic became a 4 of in more of these builds, and then it started becoming more and more widespread. Even with the eventual bannings of Stoneforge Mystic and Jace, the Mind Sculptor, the deck never really went away until Squadron Hawk finally rotated out. Caw Blade started to become the format-warping, tournament-dominating build that it was. Caw Blade is a combination of two styles of game play. The main wincon involves taking weenie-size creatures and giving them equipments and swinging for victory, occasionally with a couple of larger finishers. Weenie strategies have always been around. The other part is more control, deciding what you want to stick and what you don't, trying to keep the opponent's board at a level where it isn't threatening to you. Caw-Blade is a combination of these two styles of gameplay. It tried to find the best of both worlds, and, based on the tournament results, it did.
Casual is the last format where Caw-Blade lists resembling their old Standard lists are still playable and viable, with Stoneforge and JTMS being banned in Modern and various Stoneblade lists simply outclassing it in Legacy. I think most people know how this works; get your Stoneforge and tutor up a sword of death and destruction/Jitte/Batterskull, attach it to your bearer of choice(generally a Hawk or even the Mystic in the case of the first 2), and start swinging for victory. Oh yeah, and prevent the opponent from murdering you while you do that.
You might like this deck if:
-You like strapping equipment to smaller, weenie creatures and winning
-You don't mind a lack of having a massive army to swing in with each combat step
-You like being able to deal with your opponent's threats
-You like gaining advantage from strong equipment in addition to your spells
You might not like this deck if:
-You like winning most games with giant creatures or massive armies
-You like playing G
-You don't like playing with one of the most infamous builds in Magic
-You'd rather play combo or aggro
-You prefer a more draw-go control strategy
Strategy:
The main plan with this deck is to use various versatile cards to gain advantage over the board while you're grabbing equipment and getting them strapped to attackers(usually hawks). Cards like Into the Roil knock away problem cards that hit the field, assuming you didn't stop them with a Mana Leak. You can afford to let a few smaller creatures through to you here and there, especially since some builds have planeswalkers that divert people's attention(or, in the case of Gideon Jura, force them to attack outright). Their major threats are what you need to worry about. This deck is primarily WU, but builds with B can use targeted discard(devastating in tandem with Surgical Extraction)to get rid of various noncreature issues and use cards like Doom Blade to kill their dudes. R has cards like Lightning Bolt that can help you get ahead in the life race and pop away their creatures. And G....well, you can Fog a large attack. Okay, there weren't a lot of any true Caw-Blade lists that ran Green, but I imagine splashing it could be useful if you've got a lot of artifact or enchantment decks to fight. However, playing Green will likely push your deck in a totally different direction, and it isn't something I would personally advise.
The biggest issue that Caw-Blade has here is that, unlike its time in Standard, there is no set of decks to build against in Casual. Thankfully, Caw-Blade slots are fairly flexible, so you can put in the necessary answers as needed. I can't guarantee this deck will win any and every matchup, but it is resilient against many aggro strategies, strong against midrange, fares decently against control, and just wipes the floor with various precons.
The Cards:
Well, to build a deck, you need cards, right? Of course. We'll start out by looking at some of the most widely used cards run in the old Standard Caw-Blade lists and go into why they were used to give us a baseline to work from. I will also bring up some possible replacement options if you don't have the cards in question.
Core Cards:
-Squadron Hawk-A 1/1 flier for 1W? Suntail Hawk would technically outclass it if not for the fact that Squadron Hawk grabs, well, a squadron of itself, which is very useful. The titular "Caw", this card is the primary beatstick for this deck. It carries swords into the red zone wondrously well. This shouldn't be that hard for you to pick up, but if somehow you can't find it, well, there's always Suntail Hawk. Or Storm Crow.
-Stoneforge Mystic-A 1/2 body for 2 that comes with a Steelshaper's Gift attached? Well, that's a pretty good card, worth having a look at. Being able to then drop the equipment into play with just 2 mana? That alone takes this card from decent to OMG THIS IS OP WIZARDS PLZ BAN. And if you can't get a hold of these, well, you can tutor out your swords with Steelshaper's, but getting them on the board is on you.
-Jace, The Mind Sculptor-What can I say about this card? Everyone knows how strong this can be. I have seen, more than once at the EDH table, someone landing this card immediately becoming the target of everyone because "NO YOU DID NOT JUST PLAY THAT YOU MUST DIE" despite it not being as threatening in EDH, especially multiplayer. It mostly gets used for the Brainstorm and occasionally Unsummon abilities, but being able to fateseal away threats is pretty useful, especially in decks running cards that put attackers on top of your opponent's library(Azorius Charm is a recent example). And then there's the rarely used but game-winning ultimate, which is great if the game is stalled out by your opponent having infinite life or something. While most standard lists ran this card, it is fairly expensive for casual players, and if it's out of your price range, you can survive without it. For the sake of card advantage, you can replace it with Jace Beleren or some other walker in your colors. However, if you can get your hands on even one JTMS, run it. You won't regret it.
Primary Support Cards:
-Day of Judgment-Opponent's board got your life total down? No need to worry. You've got 3 more Squadron Hawks in hand and that sword ain't going anywhere. Go ahead and blow up the world so you can get back to your beats! Not that hard to get a hold of, and not highly expensive.
-Mana Leak-This card is sometimes viewed as the best 2 mana counter spell in Modern, and it's easy to see why. Costing only 1U, it can come out pretty early. And since it comes out so early, whatever annoying thing your opponent is trying to do(like finishing out a ramp curve with a turn 3 Primeval Titan), you can easily say "no" to some things. Even late game, when your opponent may be able to pay the 3 mana, forcing them to tap out can have its advantages. Most lists ran these, with good reason.
-Spell Pierce-So I've heard sometimes opponents like tapping out for Day of Judgement, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, or(nowadays) Sphinx's Revelation. Be a shame if you just paid U and said "no." Has the same problems as Mana Leak when it comes to late-game usefulness, but again, forcing a tap out can be useful at times. That being said, it's definitely better early game.
-Condemn-That's a nice Vengevine ya got there. Be a shame if something happened to it. This card just stops opponents' attacks before they punch you in the face. The extra life it gives them can be annoying at times, but if you manage things right, it shouldn't be that big a deal.
-Oust-A slower Condemn, seems made to be somewhat proactive. I view it as a worse Condemn, but not totally unplayable.
-Preordain-Good for trying to get your draws in order. If you have 2 lands on top(and don't want them there), you can just go ahead and tuck them, then draw into something better(hopefully not another land).
-Ponder-Saw some play in the post-SFM/JTMS ban Caw-Blade lists that were running around, prior to Innistrad block rotating in. Why play this over Preordain? Depends on your view of the digging 3 and shuffle effect versus the scrying of Preordain.
-Oblivion Ring-Hits resolved planewalkers(if you don't feel like dealing with them via combat)and obnoxious things like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn(assuming you either survived the extra turn or it wasn't hardcast). Did some work in standard, but here in the world of casual it has been usurped in WU decks by Detention Sphere.
The Blades:
-Sword of Body and Mind-Sometimes looked at as just the absolute worst sword. Well, it isn't the best, to be sure, but it also isn't as bad as people make it out to be. The mill works well against more stalled out games, and the chump blocker doesn't hurt either. I think people really started deciding it was terrible when it became clear Innistrad was full of graveyard interaction. The solution? Don't bring this in against decks that like a full graveyard. Simple.
-Sword of Feast and Famine-Major staple of this deck. Caw-Blade had existed prior to Mirrodin Besieged, but after that, the sheer advantage provided by being able to untap all lands cemented Caw-Blade's dominance. The added discard helps as well. Your deck needs this. If you can get only one sword, make it this one.
-Sword of War and Peace-Situational. If you both have empty hands, it's virtually useless save for its protection and P/T boost. Okay, it's still pretty good even if you both have empty hands. However, if that is not the case, it is very strong. It is sometimes possible to OHKO people with this sword equipped to Mirran Crusader, if he's in your list. It's very high risk/high reward.
-Batterskull-Being able to drop a 4/4 vigilance lifelink on turn 3 for just 1W was a major factor in the banning of Stoneforge Mystic. This card is extremely powerful due to coming down with a body already attached. Give the attached body a sword, and it is very strong. Give it to a Squadron Hawk and it becomes tough for your opponent to come back.
-Sun Titan-Helps bring back destroyed swords, fallen hawks, and dead Mystics, among other things. Sun Titan also functions as a late game bomb. However, with a casting cost of 4WW, it pushes the curve up a little high, and therefore is not always used.
-Vampire Nighthawk-Deathtouch makes it a great blocker. Flying and lifelink make it a strong sword carrier. And with a CMC of 1BB, it doesn't push your mana curve too high. And if you're okay with pushing your mana curve, Sun Titan brings it back. A good option if you're running a build with black. Just make sure you can handle the BB requirement.
-Lightning Bolt-What? This isn't a burn deck! Why is Bolt here? Well, as it turns out, some Caw-Blade lists ran red as a third color, and given that Lightning Bolt only costs R to yield 3 damage, it was an obvious choice. Lightning Bolt can be used as either spot removal for smaller dudes or as a little extra reach to help you get there.
-Gideon Jura-A bit high on the curve at 3WW, but he forces oncoming offensives to come at him rather than you, and he can even serve as a sword carrier if you really need him to.
-Inferno Titan-Lightning Bolts something(or some things or even someone)as it enters the battlefield. It also has a firebreathing effect, in the not-so-rare instance it goes unblocked. Give it a sword and it gets scary.
-Consecrated Sphinx-Saw some play here and there. You don't really need it if you are able to secure the game in the early/midgame. However, if you need gas to keep going through in the late game, it'll keep giving you a flow of cards until you either run out of cards or it dies(the latter usually happens unless it gets a sword).
-Jace Beleren-So-called "baby Jace", Jace 1.0 is pretty useful. While the new rules make it so this card doesn't read "1UU, destroy target Jace, the Mind Sculptor" anymore, it does still provide decent card advantage and is worth trying out.
-Essence Scatter-On the plus side, it's a hard counter. The downside is that it isn't an all around counter. Keep it ready to be sided into your deck in case of aggro or midrange.
-Negate-Stronger against less heavy creature builds. You can squeeze a couple of these into the main if you have to deal with a lot of more controlling builds.
-Cancel-Standard's replacement, both now and when Caw Blade was in Standard, for Counterspell. You can run it if you really want to, but given that we aren't in Standard any more, there are simply better options.
-Doom Blade/Go for the Throat/Dismember-Dat removal suite. If you're splashing B, Go for the Throat and Doom Blade are readily playable, as is Dismember. However, if you can afford to pay some life here and there, you can play Dismember without even splashing any B, which makes it a pretty useful card to have laying around.
-Divine Offering-Breaks their artifact toys. If there's some enchantments around, there's always Revoke Existence(or Disenchant if you can't stand playing things on your turn).
-Duress/Despise/Inquisition of Kozilek-All sorts of pinpoint discard to help you get rid of your opponent's threats. Odds are Inquisition is the only one of these you'll have any difficulty finding.
-Surgical Extraction-Gets rid of that card you just made them discard and every other copy of it they had everywhere, aside of the battlefield(if you're ripping a permanent).
"But RoB, most of those cards you listed were just cards the deck had in standard! Y u no update?" Yeah, like I'd be caught dead shifting the topic away without showing off new upgrades to old mainstays of the deck that you can add because we don't need to worry about what's standard legal in the mystical wonderland that is Casual.
New Additions
Creatures:
-Snapcaster Mage-Not really much I need to say. This guy is right up there with the likes of Stoneforge, Dark Confidant, and Tarmogoyf in the category of "best 2-drops ever." Comes down at any time as a surprise blocker, and recycles whichever spell comes in most handy at the time. Slightly pricey money wise, but a very strong card.
-Invisible Stalker-Doesn't have the problems with Lightning Bolt and kin that the hawks do at times. Being an untouchable sword carrier makes him a major threat. However, I don't advise putting him into your deck if you're facing down a lot of aggro, as he doesn't exactly grab 3 more of himself to chump with.
-Geist of Saint Traft-Hexproof 2/2 that brings in an attacking Serra Angel with him every time he goes for the red zone. 6 points of damage without any help if the board is clear. Give him a sword and he goes crazy.
-Deathrite Shaman-Somebody would probably send me Into the Maw of Hell if I didn't mention this, so here it is. I shouldn't need to tell you about what it does. It'll want you to run at least 1 G mana source to get the most out of it, but we usually don't want to have G around in this deck. Run it if you just can't live without it. However, I don't see any point in doing so.
-True-Name Nemesis-Commander 2013 brought us this extremely pushed 3/1 for 1UU. Its price is higher than the MSRP of the box it comes in. I wouldn't say it's necessary for this deck, but it will get some serious work done if you have it.
-Path to Exile-Another get rid of target creature forever effect for W. The only issue with this is that it generally amounts to a Rampant Growth for your opponent, which can be a problem for your Spell Pierces and Mana Leaks if you're running any of those.
-Counterspell-Just tune your mana base to hold up the UU price and slide out those Mana Leaks. Hard counters>soft counters. And most of their printings aren't overly pricey, so they should be fairly easy to get(Mecardian Masques and Seventh Edition versions are two of the lower priced printings).
-Tamiyo, the Moon Sage-A +1 to freeze things in self defense, a -2 to draw, and a -8 that comes just short of reading "You will never run out of answers ever"? Yes please. Only possible issue is the 3UU cost, but given this build sometimes taps down 3WW for a Gideon Jura or even 4WW for Sun Titan, I think Tamiyo is at least testable.
-Brainstorm-What, Ponder and Preordain aren't good enough draw manipulation? Alright, here, have some Brainstorms. These aren't as cheap as Preordain and Ponder, but they only go for ~$1-$2 at the highest.
-Lightning Helix-Lightning Bolt+Healing Salve. Good for your RWU builds. Helps you with life(when dealing with aggro and possibly your shocklands)while being Lightning Bolt.
-Lingering Souls-Gives you more fliers for a total of 3WB than hawks do for 4WWWW. However, it does not have any shuffle effect. I find it most helpful in multiplayer matches, but it's useful in duels as well.
-Midnight Haunting-For those of you who thought the only thing wrong with Lingering Souls was that it was a sorcery. As an instant, it lets you leave mana open. Usable in more draw-go oriented builds.
-Extirpate-Surgical Extraction-Phyrexian Mana+Split Second=this. Use if you're worried about being responded to by whatever graveyard deck you're trying to stop, or if you just really REALLY want something gone.
-Psychic Strike-Cancel with mill. Not really needed if you have Counterspell, Mana Leak, etc, but if not, it's decent in WUB builds. Just be careful against those decks that profit from having cards in their graveyards.
-Render Silent-Counterspell and Silence stapled together. Might be useful here and there. I have yet to test it personally.
-Counterflux-Counter that can't be countered. Useful in RWU builds if you need to deal with other control decks.
(under construction)
Blades:
-Sword of Fire and Ice-I heard you liked getting to both Shock something and Think Twice as a reward for a successfully connected attack so I got you Sword of Fire and Ice so you could do so. Often considered the best of the sword cycle. However, it isn't particularly cheap, even with the Modern Masters Reprint.
-Sword of Light and Shadow-Healing Salve and Disentomb from each successfully connected attack. Not the greatest thing ever, but most assuredly not useless either, especially given the protections from two of the most removal-heavy colors in Magic.
-Umezawa's Jitte-About the only useful thing this doesn't do is dig you into your library. Of course, that's probably the reason it goes for $25+.
Now why did I not mention cards like Force of Will? Well, this ain't legacy. I'm assuming most people in the Casual forum are a: operating on some level of budget limitations, and/or b: aren't looking to build a competitive Legacy deck. If you are, go to the Legacy forum and look up Stoneblade.
Of course we need a way to pay for all this stuff, right? I don't see any 0's on any of these. That means we might need lands or something.
Land Base:
-Basic Lands-Every deck that isn't in Legacy/Vintage needs at least a few of these.
-Celestial Collonade-The ETBT can be a turn off for some, but being able to turn this land into a 4/4 flying vigilance beatstick for 3WU makes up for it.
-Creeping Tar Pit-Another ETBT, this time for a 3/2 unblockable. Not the toughest body ever, but can get in there if you need it to. Its activation cost is easier to manage than Collonade's.
-Tectonic Edge/Ghost Quarter/Strip Mine-Break their lands and then recycle later with Sun Titan for great trolling. However, these aren't always needed, and if you somehow can't get your hand on one but need a surefire way to stop some annoying Tron deck, there's always Spreading Seas. Can be used in 3 color lists, but is best used in 2 color lists to avoid mana troubles.
Synergies:
-Squadron Hawk+itself-Fill your hands with beaters or chump blockers. Whatever you need, the Squadron will await your orders.
-Stoneforge Mystic+Any equipment-Waiting for the right sword to come up? Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! And hardcasting equipment? Ain't nobody nowhere got mana fo' dat!
-Sun Titan+anything 3 CMC or less-Recursion is your friend in the late game.
-Surgical Extraction+B Discard suite-If you're running WB or WUB, Surgical Extraction in tandem with pinpoint discard means if they have something you don't want them to, they don't have it anymore.
Now, I am more than aware this list has some issues. These are primarily budget and some "I don't have Inquisition of Kozilek and apparently no one else does so I'm going to have to settle for now" type problems. I know I need a couple Supreme Verdicts and some hate for a side tech against some decks, but that being said, this deck hasn't done half bad for me.
Card Choices Explained:
Squadron Hawk: The titular "Caw," is a 1/1 flying body that grabs 3 more of itself to beat up your opponent with. Need I say more?
Stoneforge Mystic: Grabs your swords and Batterskulls and slaps them right to the field. Considered a mistake by Wizards for being a tad OP, but isn't that why we love her?
[CARD]
Vampire Nighthawk[/CARD]: 2/3 body alone makes it a pretty solid sword carrier. Add in the deathtouch and lifelink and you've got yourself a pretty strong beater. That being said, it might get moved out of the main deck in the future in favor of more removal or something.
[CARD]
Sun Titan[/CARD]: Oh what, you thought my that Abrupt Decay meant my sword was gone forever? NOPE.
[CARD]
Sword of War and Peace[/CARD]: Helps us evade those pesky Lightning Bolts, trolls people who enjoy full hands. Occasionally OHKOs with Mirran Crusader if your opponent isn't paying attention.
Sword of Body and Mind: Not as bad as people make it out to be. The blockers can be useful, and in my experience the mill makes decks that don't interact with their graveyard cry due to decreased numbers of beaters. Also provides an alternate wincon against lifegain. That being said, it will probably be replaced with Sword of Fire and Ice in the future and given a side tech position.
Sylvok Lifestaff: Put it on a Hawk and chump it up. Still being tested.
Preordain: Helps you draw what you need. I still have yet to decide if Ponder would be better here, as they both do the job well.
Duress: Placeholder for Inquisition of Kozilek/maybe Thoughtseize in the future. Doesn't hit as much as I need it to, but is more useful against some decks than others.
Go for the Throat: Removal. Kills everyone that isn't a robot or indestructible or hexproof or shroud or protected. Which is still the majority.
Doom Blade: Removal. Kills robots. Still doesn't help against that other stuff, but then that's why we have....
Unsummon: Bounces their stuff back to their hand in case the removal isn't working. And if they try to cast their annoying hexproof indestructible protection from everything robot again, there's always...
Mana Leak: TBH I'm running this because I don't think my manabase is quite consistent enough for a playset of Counterspell. That being said, Mana Leak is still pretty darn strong.
Lands: Because mana.
So yeah, that's basically how it is. I'm kind of wondering if I'm the only one running a build like this in casual out there, though I'm sure someone else does. Oh yeah, some critiques on the list might be helpful, just try to keep it to stuff I don't already know.
Caw-Blade in casual? Don't you think that's a little...STRONG for a kitchen table environment?
That said, I'd probably make room for more countermagic (I realize the irony of berating you for using a strong deck and then immediately recommending more "stop having fun" cards). I'm going to completely disregard your statement about your mana base because if you can afford 4 copies of various Sword of Broken and Overpowereds, you can surely find it in your budget to get some Celestial Colonnades or more Glacial Fortress. Even if you couldn't get any more dual lands, I'm sure that tweaking the number of Plains and such could yield a more comfortable mana balance.
Bounces their stuff back to their hand in case the removal isn't working. And if they try to cast their annoying hexproof indestructible protection from everything robot again, there's always...
Well, Unsummon wouldn't work on this mythical robot creature in the first place, and I think it should find its way out of the deck list as well. Most of the time, it's card disadvantage, and the only possible reason I could see a case being made for it is to bounce a Sun Titan--but why not just use something like Into the Roil and have the option to bounce nonland permanents and cantrip? Bouncing a creature to counter it on its way back in is good only if you're running more than 4 Mana Leaks as your only counterspells.
A possible fixed mana base without spending much money could look like:
This could probably support countermagic that requires UU while not sacrificing anything significant. The only cards you'd need to buy are a pair of Glacial Fortress and Terramorphic Expanse.
The list looks pretty solid. I would consider some non-targeted removal. You mentioned Supreme Verdict; I would also consider Diabolic Edict. I would probably replace some of the B targeted removal with either Swords to Ploweshares or Path to Exile. They are not super budget but StP isn't overly costly either.
Caw-Blade in casual? Don't you think that's a little...STRONG for a kitchen table environment?
I've stared down a Stasis deck in said environment. Some people don't quite understand the meaning of the word casual.
As far as acquiring things, you need to understand that the components that are in this deck now were gathered over quite some time. It's not like I just got up one morning, decided I wanted some swords, and went out and grabbed them. If I could do that, this list would have a better manabase, it would have Sword of Fire and Ice, and it would definitely have that Batterskull. It doesn't help that most people in my playgroup that have one won't trade it because Batterskull.
Quote from Chenjesu »
What about some double strike cards? That would make equipment even more fun.
I've tried it in the past, and as I've said, abusing sword triggers off Mirran Crusader gets pretty strong really fast. There were some issues with pre-equip Lightning Bolts and occasionally some precombat bounce spells. Of course, Sword of Fire and Ice would probably fix that. Man, I really need Sword of Fire and Ice....
Quote from Croatoan »
The list looks pretty solid. I would consider some non-targeted removal. You mentioned Supreme Verdict; I would also consider Diabolic Edict. I would probably replace some of the b targeted removal with either Swords to Ploweshares or Path to Exile. They are not super budget but StP isn't overly costly either.
I would probably ditch Unsummon and maybe SB something like Echoing Truth.
I agree that Batterskull really needs to be here though.
The problem with Diabolic Edict(and a lot of sac effects)is that a lot of the time it'll result in some weenie 1/1 going to the grave rather than their huge hexproof indestructible protection from everything robot that I would want to hit. I've never really liked them for that reason. I have 2 Swords to Plowshares in my collection, but when my primary wincon involves them losing all their life, I'd prefer not to then boost their life casting StP on a Blightsteel Colossus or some such shenanigans. Unsummon hasn't been as bad as made out to be, but to be fair I haven't tested out cards like Echoing Truth or Into the Roil in this deck, so I guess those are gonna need some testing this week.
In any case, grabbing two Glacial Fortress and Terramorphics should cost $4 at the VERY most. Like I said, tweaking the basic land count should be enough to support UU or other restrictive mana requirements.
I feel like you could definitely make the sacrifice cards work for you. If you apply enough pressure with your creatures to force blocks and such, you can ensure that they only have one creature at a time which makes sacrifice effects very powerful. Against tokens, Supreme Verdict is definitely the way to go like you said.
I've stared down a Stasis deck in said environment. Some people don't quite understand the meaning of the word casual.
I think Casual is a relative term; some groups are much more competitive then others. What may seem Degenerate or Oppressive to one group, may be "just another deck" to a different group.
In any case, grabbing two Glacial Fortress and Terramorphics should cost $4 at the VERY most. Like I said, tweaking the basic land count should be enough to support UU or other restrictive mana requirements.
I feel like you could definitely make the sacrifice cards work for you. If you apply enough pressure with your creatures to force blocks and such, you can ensure that they only have one creature at a time which makes sacrifice effects very powerful. Against tokens, Supreme Verdict is definitely the way to go like you said.
Exactly. Sacrifice effects work best when you've been applying constant pressure, so they have no choice but to sac their Blightsteel or Geist.
I suppose that could work, assuming I'm swinging with Stoneforge Mystic or Sun Titan rather than doing what I usually do and swinging with Squadron Hawk. But then I guess I have more targeted removal to force sacs if I really want to.
I haven't updated my list yet(been too busy trying to turn the thread into a primer)but I've tested swapping out my Unsummon lineup for Into the Roils and, I have to say, it hasn't helped out many matchups. A lot of the decks I face rely heavily on creatures, and I have so many two cost spells to deal with those, but I'll be keeping my Into the Roils in my deck box just in case.
Honestly, the problem that comes in running this in casual(at least in my situation)is you never know what you're gonna face. One match might be against Newbie McGee and his freshly opened intro pack and the next might be against a deck that just won a Legacy tournament. It's impossible very difficult to cram enough answers to that into a 60 card deck, or even the addition of a 15 card sideboard.
This is by no means a multiplayer list. It never was, and though it has won me a multiplayer round once or twice, it isn't geared for that. If it was, it'd be in the multiplayer section now wouldn't it?
And a lot of lists I saw even prior to NPH ran Stoneforges. Those will be added in soon.
Also, if people wanted to build Stoneblade, they wouldn't look in the casual section, they'd be over in Legacy, land of the Force of Wills. I'm not making a Stoneblade primer.
Those are both strong cards that are definitely at least somewhat feasible in this deck. Heck, you could probably just run Mystic as your only creature and use Bitterblossom and Lingering Souls as your beaters.. However, in doing so, it becomes more of a straight up control deck and less of a hybrid. While that could be a good thing, that's not what we're going for here. That and Hawk grabs more of itself.
That being said, my playgroup knows I have a bit of an affinity for Lingering Souls, so trying them out with a sword or two sometime might be amusing.
EDIT: I really don't like card like Bitterblossom in aggro matchups. That 1 life a turn can add up, especially in a deck with a couple shocklands.
Those are both strong cards that are definitely at least somewhat feasible in this deck. Heck, you could probably just run Mystic as your only creature and use Bitterblossom and Lingering Souls as your beaters.. However, in doing so, it becomes more of a straight up control deck and less of a hybrid. While that could be a good thing, that's not what we're going for here. That and Hawk grabs more of itself.
Running it that way would but just replacing the hawks wouldn't. Competitive versions of this archtype use them and not hawks, definitely feasible as long as you have access to black mana which this deck has.
That being said, my playgroup knows I have a bit of an affinity for Lingering Souls, so trying them out with a sword or two sometime might be amusing.
I played with b/w version of this deck for over a year now and also started with the hawks, tried lingering souls the day it came out and never looked back since. I mean no disrespect but you'll need to play test atleast with all popular card choices before continuing with the primer.
I've been reading over this thread and for the past week I've been developing a version of caw-blade. I'm developing this with my local metagame in mind, so this design is meant to take on multiple oponents (5 or 6 player games).
The landbase is still being calculated, but there will be 4x Hallowed Fountain, 1x Academy Ruins, and 4x fetchlands. I'd love to hear what you guys think!
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Current Decks RUG Canadian Threshold RUG BRG Jund BRG GRW Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
What about Stonehewer Giant? It's basically the Mystic's big brother that comes out if someone bullies his little sister and beats their faces in. Even worse, it doesn't just tutor the equip, it auto-equips it.
I feel like there aren't enough targets for Stonehewer Giant to be good in this deck. I just added Sword of War and Peace to the build, so I'm running 4 equipments total. Sun Titan is a nasty bomb to drop after a board wipe because all my creatures can come back for an encore, and as far as attackers go Stonehewer Giant doesn't have any built-in evasion - so he doesn't carry equipment as well as Squadron Hawk or True-name Nemesis. Thanks for the suggestion though!
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Current Decks RUG Canadian Threshold RUG BRG Jund BRG GRW Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
What about Stonehewer Giant? It's basically the Mystic's big brother that comes out if someone bullies his little sister and beats their faces in. Even worse, it doesn't just tutor the equip, it auto-equips it.
I feel like there aren't enough targets for Stonehewer Giant to be good in this deck. I just added Sword of War and Peace to the build, so I'm running 4 equipments total. Sun Titan is a nasty bomb to drop after a board wipe because all my creatures can come back for an encore, and as far as attackers go Stonehewer Giant doesn't have any built-in evasion - so he doesn't carry equipment as well as Squadron Hawk or True-name Nemesis. Thanks for the suggestion though!
Fair enough. Although it does depend on what you're equipping. With your specific selection, yes, I guess it's not as useful, but for those who use Loxodon Warhammer, the Giant is probably a nasty bomb.
EDIT: Out of curiosity, if for one reason or another someone doesn't have Squadron Hawks, would Mourning Thrulls be acceptable replacements? Naturally, this is for a casual deck...
I don't see why not - Mourning Thrull is the proper CMC and it flies. Playing Mourning Thrull in the deck won't slow the deck down, and the lifelink can be very good in any setting. However, Squadron Hawk also provides you with deck thinning, consistency (if one gets killed or swords, play another one), and extra shuffle effects (even if their aren't any left in your library you can elect to shuffle).
Why not try it and see what happens?
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My decklist is going to be a bad case study because I designed it to take on multiple players, which means it needs to do a lot of damage, but it also doesn't need to get going that quickly (batterskull can hit the battlefied on turn 3). I believe that if you carefully design the deck to deal with early threats, the match-up with Affinity could be in our favor. Affinity is a swarm and clobber deck for the most part, Caw-blade has room in its game-plan for a lot of adaptation. Of course, our odds of victory go up post-board because we have access to Stony Silence and since this is casual, we could also run Hurkyl's Recall. If you run Batterskull or any type of Living Weapon, you still have a win condition with Stony Silence in play, but Affinity is shut off by that card. Hurkyl's Recall will not stop them, but it will slow them down long enough for Stoneblade to get the upper hand - and it's a more devestating play to them than to us.
I would love to see the best ~$50 Caw-Blade deck. This would necessitate the removal of Stoneforge Mystic. The pauper guys are on to the right tack, but there are plenty of budget uncommons and even rares that could vastly improve the deck.
That's my initial take - casual has the benefit of no ban-list over pauper, and access to the cheaper really good stuff like Swords to Plowshares and Day of Judgment.
If you are playing none-pauper and ditching the fastest options I think I might suggest Thopter Spy Network and Genju of the Falls as win conditions. Genju of the Falls is good damage, evasive, and cheap while being hardish to remove. Thopter Spy Network + Counters wins the game, and you are running lots of artifacts.
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Pauper: UB Wight Phantasm RB Burn UR Faerie Rites of Initiation
Legacy: R Burn CG-Post
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Rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated!
(Primer under construction, bear with me)
Introduction:
Yes. The dreaded Caw-Blade. The menace of post Mirrodin Besieged Standard during the Zendikar-Scars era(that's actually probably an understatement, for those of you that remember). Its origin is a deck from late 2010 Standard called "Caw-Go", a slight modification on Draw-Go, that held only 4 creatures, all of them Squadron Hawks. As time went on, some builds started trying to make use of Sword of Body and Mind, using Stoneforge Mystic to find it. However, it wasn't until the printing of Sword of Feast and Famine that Stoneforge Mystic became a 4 of in more of these builds, and then it started becoming more and more widespread. Even with the eventual bannings of Stoneforge Mystic and Jace, the Mind Sculptor, the deck never really went away until Squadron Hawk finally rotated out. Caw Blade started to become the format-warping, tournament-dominating build that it was. Caw Blade is a combination of two styles of game play. The main wincon involves taking weenie-size creatures and giving them equipments and swinging for victory, occasionally with a couple of larger finishers. Weenie strategies have always been around. The other part is more control, deciding what you want to stick and what you don't, trying to keep the opponent's board at a level where it isn't threatening to you. Caw-Blade is a combination of these two styles of gameplay. It tried to find the best of both worlds, and, based on the tournament results, it did.
Casual is the last format where Caw-Blade lists resembling their old Standard lists are still playable and viable, with Stoneforge and JTMS being banned in Modern and various Stoneblade lists simply outclassing it in Legacy. I think most people know how this works; get your Stoneforge and tutor up a sword of death and destruction/Jitte/Batterskull, attach it to your bearer of choice(generally a Hawk or even the Mystic in the case of the first 2), and start swinging for victory. Oh yeah, and prevent the opponent from murdering you while you do that.
You might like this deck if:
-You like strapping equipment to smaller, weenie creatures and winning
-You don't mind a lack of having a massive army to swing in with each combat step
-You like being able to deal with your opponent's threats
-You like gaining advantage from strong equipment in addition to your spells
You might not like this deck if:
-You like winning most games with giant creatures or massive armies
-You like playing G
-You don't like playing with one of the most infamous builds in Magic
-You'd rather play combo or aggro
-You prefer a more draw-go control strategy
Strategy:
The main plan with this deck is to use various versatile cards to gain advantage over the board while you're grabbing equipment and getting them strapped to attackers(usually hawks). Cards like Into the Roil knock away problem cards that hit the field, assuming you didn't stop them with a Mana Leak. You can afford to let a few smaller creatures through to you here and there, especially since some builds have planeswalkers that divert people's attention(or, in the case of Gideon Jura, force them to attack outright). Their major threats are what you need to worry about. This deck is primarily WU, but builds with B can use targeted discard(devastating in tandem with Surgical Extraction)to get rid of various noncreature issues and use cards like Doom Blade to kill their dudes. R has cards like Lightning Bolt that can help you get ahead in the life race and pop away their creatures. And G....well, you can Fog a large attack. Okay, there weren't
a lot ofany true Caw-Blade lists that ran Green, but I imagine splashing it could be useful if you've got a lot of artifact or enchantment decks to fight. However, playing Green will likely push your deck in a totally different direction, and it isn't something I would personally advise.The biggest issue that Caw-Blade has here is that, unlike its time in Standard, there is no set of decks to build against in Casual. Thankfully, Caw-Blade slots are fairly flexible, so you can put in the necessary answers as needed. I can't guarantee this deck will win any and every matchup, but it is resilient against many aggro strategies, strong against midrange, fares decently against control, and just wipes the floor with various precons.
The Cards:
Well, to build a deck, you need cards, right? Of course. We'll start out by looking at some of the most widely used cards run in the old Standard Caw-Blade lists and go into why they were used to give us a baseline to work from. I will also bring up some possible replacement options if you don't have the cards in question.
Core Cards:
-Squadron Hawk-A 1/1 flier for 1W? Suntail Hawk would technically outclass it if not for the fact that Squadron Hawk grabs, well, a squadron of itself, which is very useful. The titular "Caw", this card is the primary beatstick for this deck. It carries swords into the red zone wondrously well. This shouldn't be that hard for you to pick up, but if somehow you can't find it, well, there's always Suntail Hawk. Or Storm Crow.
-Stoneforge Mystic-A 1/2 body for 2 that comes with a Steelshaper's Gift attached? Well, that's a pretty good card, worth having a look at. Being able to then drop the equipment into play with just 2 mana? That alone takes this card from decent to OMG THIS IS OP WIZARDS PLZ BAN. And if you can't get a hold of these, well, you can tutor out your swords with Steelshaper's, but getting them on the board is on you.
-Jace, The Mind Sculptor-What can I say about this card? Everyone knows how strong this can be. I have seen, more than once at the EDH table, someone landing this card immediately becoming the target of everyone because "NO YOU DID NOT JUST PLAY THAT YOU MUST DIE" despite it not being as threatening in EDH, especially multiplayer. It mostly gets used for the Brainstorm and occasionally Unsummon abilities, but being able to fateseal away threats is pretty useful, especially in decks running cards that put attackers on top of your opponent's library(Azorius Charm is a recent example). And then there's the rarely used but game-winning ultimate, which is great if the game is stalled out by your opponent having infinite life or something. While most standard lists ran this card, it is fairly expensive for casual players, and if it's out of your price range, you can survive without it. For the sake of card advantage, you can replace it with Jace Beleren or some other walker in your colors. However, if you can get your hands on even one JTMS, run it. You won't regret it.
-Day of Judgment-Opponent's board got your life total down? No need to worry. You've got 3 more Squadron Hawks in hand and that sword ain't going anywhere. Go ahead and blow up the world so you can get back to your beats! Not that hard to get a hold of, and not highly expensive.
-Mana Leak-This card is sometimes viewed as the best 2 mana counter spell in Modern, and it's easy to see why. Costing only 1U, it can come out pretty early. And since it comes out so early, whatever annoying thing your opponent is trying to do(like finishing out a ramp curve with a turn 3 Primeval Titan), you can easily say "no" to some things. Even late game, when your opponent may be able to pay the 3 mana, forcing them to tap out can have its advantages. Most lists ran these, with good reason.
-Spell Pierce-So I've heard sometimes opponents like tapping out for Day of Judgement, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, or(nowadays) Sphinx's Revelation. Be a shame if you just paid U and said "no." Has the same problems as Mana Leak when it comes to late-game usefulness, but again, forcing a tap out can be useful at times. That being said, it's definitely better early game.
-Condemn-That's a nice Vengevine ya got there. Be a shame if something happened to it. This card just stops opponents' attacks before they punch you in the face. The extra life it gives them can be annoying at times, but if you manage things right, it shouldn't be that big a deal.
-Oust-A slower Condemn, seems made to be somewhat proactive. I view it as a worse Condemn, but not totally unplayable.
-Preordain-Good for trying to get your draws in order. If you have 2 lands on top(and don't want them there), you can just go ahead and tuck them, then draw into something better(hopefully not another land).
-Ponder-Saw some play in the post-SFM/JTMS ban Caw-Blade lists that were running around, prior to Innistrad block rotating in. Why play this over Preordain? Depends on your view of the digging 3 and shuffle effect versus the scrying of Preordain.
-Oblivion Ring-Hits resolved planewalkers(if you don't feel like dealing with them via combat)and obnoxious things like Emrakul, the Aeons Torn(assuming you either survived the extra turn or it wasn't hardcast). Did some work in standard, but here in the world of casual it has been usurped in WU decks by Detention Sphere.
-Sword of Body and Mind-Sometimes looked at as just the absolute worst sword. Well, it isn't the best, to be sure, but it also isn't as bad as people make it out to be. The mill works well against more stalled out games, and the chump blocker doesn't hurt either. I think people really started deciding it was terrible when it became clear Innistrad was full of graveyard interaction. The solution? Don't bring this in against decks that like a full graveyard. Simple.
-Sword of Feast and Famine-Major staple of this deck. Caw-Blade had existed prior to Mirrodin Besieged, but after that, the sheer advantage provided by being able to untap all lands cemented Caw-Blade's dominance. The added discard helps as well. Your deck needs this. If you can get only one sword, make it this one.
-Sword of War and Peace-Situational. If you both have empty hands, it's virtually useless save for its protection and P/T boost. Okay, it's still pretty good even if you both have empty hands. However, if that is not the case, it is very strong. It is sometimes possible to OHKO people with this sword equipped to Mirran Crusader, if he's in your list. It's very high risk/high reward.
-Batterskull-Being able to drop a 4/4 vigilance lifelink on turn 3 for just 1W was a major factor in the banning of Stoneforge Mystic. This card is extremely powerful due to coming down with a body already attached. Give the attached body a sword, and it is very strong. Give it to a Squadron Hawk and it becomes tough for your opponent to come back.
When it comes to budget options, there isn't really anything in the league of these equipments. About as good as it gets are cards like Trepanation Blade, Loxodon Warhammer, Sword of Vengeance, or Runechanter's Pike
-Sun Titan-Helps bring back destroyed swords, fallen hawks, and dead Mystics, among other things. Sun Titan also functions as a late game bomb. However, with a casting cost of 4WW, it pushes the curve up a little high, and therefore is not always used.
-Vampire Nighthawk-Deathtouch makes it a great blocker. Flying and lifelink make it a strong sword carrier. And with a CMC of 1BB, it doesn't push your mana curve too high. And if you're okay with pushing your mana curve, Sun Titan brings it back. A good option if you're running a build with black. Just make sure you can handle the BB requirement.
-Lightning Bolt-What? This isn't a burn deck! Why is Bolt here? Well, as it turns out, some Caw-Blade lists ran red as a third color, and given that Lightning Bolt only costs R to yield 3 damage, it was an obvious choice. Lightning Bolt can be used as either spot removal for smaller dudes or as a little extra reach to help you get there.
-Gideon Jura-A bit high on the curve at 3WW, but he forces oncoming offensives to come at him rather than you, and he can even serve as a sword carrier if you really need him to.
-Inferno Titan-Lightning Bolts something(or some things or even someone)as it enters the battlefield. It also has a firebreathing effect, in the not-so-rare instance it goes unblocked. Give it a sword and it gets scary.
-Consecrated Sphinx-Saw some play here and there. You don't really need it if you are able to secure the game in the early/midgame. However, if you need gas to keep going through in the late game, it'll keep giving you a flow of cards until you either run out of cards or it dies(the latter usually happens unless it gets a sword).
-Jace Beleren-So-called "baby Jace", Jace 1.0 is pretty useful. While the new rules make it so this card doesn't read "1UU, destroy target Jace, the Mind Sculptor" anymore, it does still provide decent card advantage and is worth trying out.
-Essence Scatter-On the plus side, it's a hard counter. The downside is that it isn't an all around counter. Keep it ready to be sided into your deck in case of aggro or midrange.
-Negate-Stronger against less heavy creature builds. You can squeeze a couple of these into the main if you have to deal with a lot of more controlling builds.
-Cancel-Standard's replacement, both now and when Caw Blade was in Standard, for Counterspell. You can run it if you really want to, but given that we aren't in Standard any more, there are simply better options.
-Doom Blade/Go for the Throat/Dismember-Dat removal suite. If you're splashing B, Go for the Throat and Doom Blade are readily playable, as is Dismember. However, if you can afford to pay some life here and there, you can play Dismember without even splashing any B, which makes it a pretty useful card to have laying around.
-Divine Offering-Breaks their artifact toys. If there's some enchantments around, there's always Revoke Existence(or Disenchant if you can't stand playing things on your turn).
-Duress/Despise/Inquisition of Kozilek-All sorts of pinpoint discard to help you get rid of your opponent's threats. Odds are Inquisition is the only one of these you'll have any difficulty finding.
-Surgical Extraction-Gets rid of that card you just made them discard and every other copy of it they had everywhere, aside of the battlefield(if you're ripping a permanent).
"But RoB, most of those cards you listed were just cards the deck had in standard! Y u no update?" Yeah, like I'd be caught dead shifting the topic away without showing off new upgrades to old mainstays of the deck that you can add because we don't need to worry about what's standard legal in the mystical wonderland that is Casual.
New Additions
Creatures:
-Snapcaster Mage-Not really much I need to say. This guy is right up there with the likes of Stoneforge, Dark Confidant, and Tarmogoyf in the category of "best 2-drops ever." Comes down at any time as a surprise blocker, and recycles whichever spell comes in most handy at the time. Slightly pricey money wise, but a very strong card.
-Invisible Stalker-Doesn't have the problems with Lightning Bolt and kin that the hawks do at times. Being an untouchable sword carrier makes him a major threat. However, I don't advise putting him into your deck if you're facing down a lot of aggro, as he doesn't exactly grab 3 more of himself to chump with.
-Geist of Saint Traft-Hexproof 2/2 that brings in an attacking Serra Angel with him every time he goes for the red zone. 6 points of damage without any help if the board is clear. Give him a sword and he goes crazy.
-Deathrite Shaman-Somebody would probably send me Into the Maw of Hell if I didn't mention this, so here it is. I shouldn't need to tell you about what it does. It'll want you to run at least 1 G mana source to get the most out of it, but we usually don't want to have G around in this deck. Run it if you just can't live without it. However, I don't see any point in doing so.
-True-Name Nemesis-Commander 2013 brought us this extremely pushed 3/1 for 1UU. Its price is higher than the MSRP of the box it comes in. I wouldn't say it's necessary for this deck, but it will get some serious work done if you have it.
(under construction)
Support Cards:
-Supreme Verdict-All the destruction of Day of Judgment minus the vulnerability to cards like Negate. Not really any reason to run Wrath of God over this, unless you're running into a lot of regeneration shenanigans like Thrun, the last Troll.
-Swords to Plowshares-Enough of that giant obnoxious Wurmcoil Engine. No tokens either.
-Path to Exile-Another get rid of target creature forever effect for W. The only issue with this is that it generally amounts to a Rampant Growth for your opponent, which can be a problem for your Spell Pierces and Mana Leaks if you're running any of those.
-Counterspell-Just tune your mana base to hold up the UU price and slide out those Mana Leaks. Hard counters>soft counters. And most of their printings aren't overly pricey, so they should be fairly easy to get(Mecardian Masques and Seventh Edition versions are two of the lower priced printings).
-Tamiyo, the Moon Sage-A +1 to freeze things in self defense, a -2 to draw, and a -8 that comes just short of reading "You will never run out of answers ever"? Yes please. Only possible issue is the 3UU cost, but given this build sometimes taps down 3WW for a Gideon Jura or even 4WW for Sun Titan, I think Tamiyo is at least testable.
-Brainstorm-What, Ponder and Preordain aren't good enough draw manipulation? Alright, here, have some Brainstorms. These aren't as cheap as Preordain and Ponder, but they only go for ~$1-$2 at the highest.
-Lightning Helix-Lightning Bolt+Healing Salve. Good for your RWU builds. Helps you with life(when dealing with aggro and possibly your shocklands)while being Lightning Bolt.
-Lingering Souls-Gives you more fliers for a total of 3WB than hawks do for 4WWWW. However, it does not have any shuffle effect. I find it most helpful in multiplayer matches, but it's useful in duels as well.
-Midnight Haunting-For those of you who thought the only thing wrong with Lingering Souls was that it was a sorcery. As an instant, it lets you leave mana open. Usable in more draw-go oriented builds.
-Extirpate-Surgical Extraction-Phyrexian Mana+Split Second=this. Use if you're worried about being responded to by whatever graveyard deck you're trying to stop, or if you just really REALLY want something gone.
-Psychic Strike-Cancel with mill. Not really needed if you have Counterspell, Mana Leak, etc, but if not, it's decent in WUB builds. Just be careful against those decks that profit from having cards in their graveyards.
-Render Silent-Counterspell and Silence stapled together. Might be useful here and there. I have yet to test it personally.
-Counterflux-Counter that can't be countered. Useful in RWU builds if you need to deal with other control decks.
(under construction)
Blades:
-Sword of Fire and Ice-I heard you liked getting to both Shock something and Think Twice as a reward for a successfully connected attack so I got you Sword of Fire and Ice so you could do so. Often considered the best of the sword cycle. However, it isn't particularly cheap, even with the Modern Masters Reprint.
-Sword of Light and Shadow-Healing Salve and Disentomb from each successfully connected attack. Not the greatest thing ever, but most assuredly not useless either, especially given the protections from two of the most removal-heavy colors in Magic.
-Umezawa's Jitte-About the only useful thing this doesn't do is dig you into your library. Of course, that's probably the reason it goes for $25+.
Now why did I not mention cards like Force of Will? Well, this ain't legacy. I'm assuming most people in the Casual forum are a: operating on some level of budget limitations, and/or b: aren't looking to build a competitive Legacy deck. If you are, go to the Legacy forum and look up Stoneblade.
Land Base:
that isn't in Legacy/Vintageneeds at least a few of these.-Glacial Fortress/Hallowed Fountain/Seachrome Coast/Nimbus Maze-Mana Fixing for your WU core. If these are out of your budget, you can use cards like Sejiri Refuge and Azorius Guildgate in their place.
-Drowned Catacomb/Watery Grave/Darkslick Shores-Mana fixing for your B splashes or WUB builds. If you can't afford these, cards like Jwar Isle Refuge and Dimir Guildgate can serve as budget options.
-Isolated Chapel/Godless Shrine-Mana fixing for those WB lists out there, as well as more fixing for WUB builds. If your budget is not compatible with these, you can use Orzhov Guildgate or Tainted Field
-Clifftop Retreat/Sacred Foundry-Mana fixing for those RWU lists out there. If you can't afford these, you can use Boros Guildgate or Ancient Amphitheater instead.
-Celestial Collonade-The ETBT can be a turn off for some, but being able to turn this land into a 4/4 flying vigilance beatstick for 3WU makes up for it.
-Creeping Tar Pit-Another ETBT, this time for a 3/2 unblockable. Not the toughest body ever, but can get in there if you need it to. Its activation cost is easier to manage than Collonade's.
-Tectonic Edge/Ghost Quarter/Strip Mine-Break their lands and then recycle later with Sun Titan for great trolling. However, these aren't always needed, and if you somehow can't get your hand on one but need a surefire way to stop some annoying Tron deck, there's always Spreading Seas. Can be used in 3 color lists, but is best used in 2 color lists to avoid mana troubles.
Synergies:
-Squadron Hawk+itself-Fill your hands with beaters or chump blockers. Whatever you need, the Squadron will await your orders.
-Stoneforge Mystic+Batterskull-4/4 Vigilance Lifelink for 1W on turn 3 says hi.
-Stoneforge Mystic+Any equipment-Waiting for the right sword to come up? Ain't nobody got time fo' dat! And hardcasting equipment? Ain't nobody nowhere got mana fo' dat!
-Sun Titan+anything 3 CMC or less-Recursion is your friend in the late game.
-Surgical Extraction+B Discard suite-If you're running WB or WUB, Surgical Extraction in tandem with pinpoint discard means if they have something you don't want them to, they don't have it anymore.
Deck Lists:
(under construction)
Original OP/My List:
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Vampire Nighthawk
2 Sun Titan
Equipment:
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Sylvok Lifestaff
3 Preordain
3 Duress
Instants:
3 Go for the Throat
1 Doom Blade
4 Unsummon
4 Mana Leak
Lands:
10 Plains
5 Island
2 Swamp
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Godless Shrine
2 Drowned Catacomb
2 Watery Grave
Now, I am more than aware this list has some issues. These are primarily budget and some "I don't have Inquisition of Kozilek and apparently no one else does so I'm going to have to settle for now" type problems. I know I need a couple Supreme Verdicts and some hate for a side tech against some decks, but that being said, this deck hasn't done half bad for me.
Card Choices Explained:
Stoneforge Mystic: Grabs your swords and Batterskulls and slaps them right to the field. Considered a mistake by Wizards for being a tad OP, but isn't that why we love her?
[CARD]
Vampire Nighthawk[/CARD]: 2/3 body alone makes it a pretty solid sword carrier. Add in the deathtouch and lifelink and you've got yourself a pretty strong beater. That being said, it might get moved out of the main deck in the future in favor of more removal or something.
[CARD]
Sun Titan[/CARD]: Oh what, you thought my that Abrupt Decay meant my sword was gone forever? NOPE.
Sword of Feast and Famine: Most people love this sword. It wins games hard.
[CARD]
Sword of War and Peace[/CARD]: Helps us evade those pesky Lightning Bolts, trolls people who enjoy full hands. Occasionally OHKOs with Mirran Crusader if your opponent isn't paying attention.
Sword of Body and Mind: Not as bad as people make it out to be. The blockers can be useful, and in my experience the mill makes decks that don't interact with their graveyard cry due to decreased numbers of beaters. Also provides an alternate wincon against lifegain. That being said, it will probably be replaced with Sword of Fire and Ice in the future and given a side tech position.
Sylvok Lifestaff: Put it on a Hawk and chump it up. Still being tested.
Preordain: Helps you draw what you need. I still have yet to decide if Ponder would be better here, as they both do the job well.
Duress: Placeholder for Inquisition of Kozilek/maybe Thoughtseize in the future. Doesn't hit as much as I need it to, but is more useful against some decks than others.
Go for the Throat: Removal. Kills everyone that isn't a robot or indestructible or hexproof or shroud or protected. Which is still the majority.
Doom Blade: Removal. Kills robots. Still doesn't help against that other stuff, but then that's why we have....
Unsummon: Bounces their stuff back to their hand in case the removal isn't working. And if they try to cast their annoying hexproof indestructible protection from everything robot again, there's always...
Mana Leak: TBH I'm running this because I don't think my manabase is quite consistent enough for a playset of Counterspell. That being said, Mana Leak is still pretty darn strong.
Lands: Because mana.
So yeah, that's basically how it is. I'm kind of wondering if I'm the only one running a build like this in casual out there, though I'm sure someone else does. Oh yeah, some critiques on the list might be helpful, just try to keep it to stuff I don't already know.
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
That said, I'd probably make room for more countermagic (I realize the irony of berating you for using a strong deck and then immediately recommending more "stop having fun" cards). I'm going to completely disregard your statement about your mana base because if you can afford 4 copies of various Sword of Broken and Overpowereds, you can surely find it in your budget to get some Celestial Colonnades or more Glacial Fortress.
I see no Batterskull. This must be rectified!
Well, Unsummon wouldn't work on this mythical robot creature in the first place, and I think it should find its way out of the deck list as well. Most of the time, it's card disadvantage, and the only possible reason I could see a case being made for it is to bounce a Sun Titan--but why not just use something like Into the Roil and have the option to bounce nonland permanents and cantrip? Bouncing a creature to counter it on its way back in is good only if you're running more than 4 Mana Leaks as your only counterspells.
A possible fixed mana base without spending much money could look like:
This could probably support countermagic that requires UU while not sacrificing anything significant. The only cards you'd need to buy are a pair of Glacial Fortress and Terramorphic Expanse.
GW Tokens GW || UB UB Control UB || BRG Jund Aggro BRG || UR Wee Dragonauts Tempo UR || BG Fungus/Saproling BG || W Soldiers W ||
GWU Bant Flicker Gun GWU
Under Construction
U Wizards Tribal Control U || RG MLD Trolling RG
I would probably ditch Unsummon and maybe SB something like Echoing Truth.
I agree that Batterskull really needs to be here though.
U FaerieNinjaStandstill U
B Swag Flu B
In Development
BG Nightmare Survival GB
B The Gate B
BRG Jund GRB
I've stared down a Stasis deck in said environment. Some people don't quite understand the meaning of the word casual.
As far as acquiring things, you need to understand that the components that are in this deck now were gathered over quite some time. It's not like I just got up one morning, decided I wanted some swords, and went out and grabbed them. If I could do that, this list would have a better manabase, it would have Sword of Fire and Ice, and it would definitely have that Batterskull. It doesn't help that most people in my playgroup that have one won't trade it because Batterskull.
I've tried it in the past, and as I've said, abusing sword triggers off Mirran Crusader gets pretty strong really fast. There were some issues with pre-equip Lightning Bolts and occasionally some precombat bounce spells. Of course, Sword of Fire and Ice would probably fix that. Man, I really need Sword of Fire and Ice....
The problem with Diabolic Edict(and a lot of sac effects)is that a lot of the time it'll result in some weenie 1/1 going to the grave rather than their huge hexproof indestructible protection from everything robot that I would want to hit. I've never really liked them for that reason. I have 2 Swords to Plowshares in my collection, but when my primary wincon involves them losing all their life, I'd prefer not to then boost their life casting StP on a Blightsteel Colossus or some such shenanigans. Unsummon hasn't been as bad as made out to be, but to be fair I haven't tested out cards like Echoing Truth or Into the Roil in this deck, so I guess those are gonna need some testing this week.
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
I feel like you could definitely make the sacrifice cards work for you. If you apply enough pressure with your creatures to force blocks and such, you can ensure that they only have one creature at a time which makes sacrifice effects very powerful. Against tokens, Supreme Verdict is definitely the way to go like you said.
GW Tokens GW || UB UB Control UB || BRG Jund Aggro BRG || UR Wee Dragonauts Tempo UR || BG Fungus/Saproling BG || W Soldiers W ||
GWU Bant Flicker Gun GWU
Under Construction
U Wizards Tribal Control U || RG MLD Trolling RG
I think Casual is a relative term; some groups are much more competitive then others. What may seem Degenerate or Oppressive to one group, may be "just another deck" to a different group.
Exactly. Sacrifice effects work best when you've been applying constant pressure, so they have no choice but to sac their Blightsteel or Geist.
U FaerieNinjaStandstill U
B Swag Flu B
In Development
BG Nightmare Survival GB
B The Gate B
BRG Jund GRB
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
Honestly, the problem that comes in running this in casual(at least in my situation)is you never know what you're gonna face. One match might be against Newbie McGee and his freshly opened intro pack and the next might be against a deck that just won a Legacy tournament. It's
impossiblevery difficult to cram enough answers to that into a 60 card deck, or even the addition of a 15 card sideboard.WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
And a lot of lists I saw even prior to NPH ran Stoneforges. Those will be added in soon.
Also, if people wanted to build Stoneblade, they wouldn't look in the casual section, they'd be over in Legacy, land of the Force of Wills. I'm not making a Stoneblade primer.
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
That being said, my playgroup knows I have a bit of an affinity for Lingering Souls, so trying them out with a sword or two sometime might be amusing.
EDIT: I really don't like card like Bitterblossom in aggro matchups. That 1 life a turn can add up, especially in a deck with a couple shocklands.
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
Running it that way would but just replacing the hawks wouldn't. Competitive versions of this archtype use them and not hawks, definitely feasible as long as you have access to black mana which this deck has.
Why would grabbing more hawks matter?
I played with b/w version of this deck for over a year now and also started with the hawks, tried lingering souls the day it came out and never looked back since. I mean no disrespect but you'll need to play test atleast with all popular card choices before continuing with the primer.
There would be times it would, but they atleast deserve a mention, since it's a good option.
Deck Building Primer - Casual
Sliver Primer - Casual
Want To Buy List
Now Playing:
Excaliboros R(R/W)W / Maverick G(G/W)W
Bant Pro Excalibur (G/U)W(G/U) / Merfolk (W/U)U(U/B)
They're all listed under the category of "New Additions".
WU Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
RWU Numot, the Devastator
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
WB Athreos, God of Passage
I didn't see it mentioned, but surely it's there somewhere.
I've been reading over this thread and for the past week I've been developing a version of caw-blade. I'm developing this with my local metagame in mind, so this design is meant to take on multiple oponents (5 or 6 player games).
4x Swords to Plowshares
3x Counterspell
3x Supreme Verdict
1x Detention Sphere
1x Misdirection
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Sphinx's Revelation
4x Squadron Hawk
3x True-Name Nemesis
3x Flickerwisp
2x Sun Titan
1x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
The landbase is still being calculated, but there will be 4x Hallowed Fountain, 1x Academy Ruins, and 4x fetchlands. I'd love to hear what you guys think!
RUG Canadian Threshold RUG
BRG Jund BRG
GRW Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
RUG Canadian Threshold RUG
BRG Jund BRG
GRW Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
I don't see why not - Mourning Thrull is the proper CMC and it flies. Playing Mourning Thrull in the deck won't slow the deck down, and the lifelink can be very good in any setting. However, Squadron Hawk also provides you with deck thinning, consistency (if one gets killed or swords, play another one), and extra shuffle effects (even if their aren't any left in your library you can elect to shuffle).
Why not try it and see what happens?
RUG Canadian Threshold RUG
BRG Jund BRG
GRW Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
RUG Canadian Threshold RUG
BRG Jund BRG
GRW Marath, Will of the Wild GRW
4 Trinket Mage
4 Preordain
4 Brainstorm
4 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Day of Judgment
3 Treasure Cruise
1 Sylvok Lifestaff
1 Flayer Husk
2 Mistveil Plains
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Ancient Den
1 Seat of the Synod
6 Plains
6 Island
That's my initial take - casual has the benefit of no ban-list over pauper, and access to the cheaper really good stuff like Swords to Plowshares and Day of Judgment.
UB Wight Phantasm
RB Burn
UR Faerie Rites of Initiation
Legacy:
R Burn
CG-Post