I've been busy trying to make an effective Werewolves deck, but have run into a couple of problems:
The deck plays like an aggro deck, but can't win early enough to really work
The deck runs out of gas really quickly as you might images, but just cannot transition into the Late-game well at all.
Incoming attacks basically wipe my board because most of the time, my werewolves are not big enough to actually survive blocks.
I don't currently have card draw other than Sixth Sense, which works poorly when I'm behind.
I have been slowly refining and playtesting but these issues are recurring. I was hoping to get some suggestions about whether this should aim to be a midrange deck, which I have already leaned into with this decklist. That said, I still don't believe this deck transitions into late-game well without some card-draw or some sort of way to support my inconsistent creatures
Anyways, Thank forums, Let's see what you have for me here!
Cheer!
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RG Werewolves are the best tribe from Innistrad RG
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
I don't think the aggro werewolf strategy can work well in multiplayer. They aren't strong enough. I do think a more token/go wide strategy could work. I also think you have a bit too much non-creature cards for your strategy to work. I would start with the following creature base:
The recruiters are ramp/mana sink and play well with flipping your guys. Mayor and Ambusher are lords for all of your guys and can give you a good board presence without overextending. Huntmaster also allows you to go wide and gives you a small removal option.
After that since you have a sort of token/go wide strategy, I could see you playing Instigator Gang to super charge your tokens. The downside is that he is another 4 drop. So to make your deck faster I would probably add some Scorned Villager or Ulvenwald Captive. Domri, Anarch of Bolas can also buff your team, ramp you and fight. It's fragile, but does what the deck wants and diversifies the curve.
Arlin Kord is decent, but is another 4 drop. Moonmist seems like a fun payoff/blow out so I would keep those, but I would trim on the Howlpack Resurgence as the creature lords seem stronger.
To recap, play more of your best creatures, dream bigger when it comes to card draw and add some creature ramp to help you go faster.
I haven't played a deck like this ever (and I mostly just cube MP nowadays), so take all this with a grain of salt
This kind of help is EXACTLY what I was hoping for! I definitely agree with these suggestions. the only one I might argue is The Great Henge, not because I don't think it fits, just because it does cost a fortune, but I'll live with the sacrifice. I really want to make werewolf tribal work and my playgroup seems to have a thing against boardwipes, so a go-wide creatures strategy always goes down well, but with werewolves its normally not a problem about what creatures to run, but, as I mentioned previously, its more about what play strategy you use, since werewolves can be aggro or midrange.
Thank you so much @Miaou, this was extactly what I needed. I'll be sure to build this up and come back soon with a revised list!
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
RG Werewolves are the best tribe from Innistrad RG
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
Ok, so I went ack and made some changes for the deck. I took into account what you said and ended up with this after some very quick games against friends!
The new list looks like this:
So first I listened to your suggestion about the creature base, increasing the numbers on some of them. I cut the Village Messengers, which might change since the hasty menacer werewolf can be gamewinning with some of the lords out. I kept to one copy of Huntmaster of the Fells because it's a bit of a non-bo with Immerwolf, which I added a pair of the keep the werewolves flipped late-game. Couple of Scorned Villagers for ramp as you suggested, but only two, since this deck doen't seem to have trouble finding lands at all. No The Great Henge, because of cost reasons and just to see if it can run well without. Finally, I made sure to have 3 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds because after playing a couple times, I found her to be super relevant. Slamming werewolves on my opponents' end-steps was a key factor in building an intant-board for a win on my turn. With a Vivien out, everything in my deck except lands and planeswalkers become instant-speed spells, much to my advantage.
At one point we had a game and I managed to get three of my Mayor of Avabrucks and a Nightpack Ambusher out, swinging in with wolf tokens that ended up being 6/6's!
I still haven't got a solid source of card draw yet, but I almost feel that this deck doesn't really need much more than the Duskwatch Recruiters and the Vivien, champion of the wilds, since they find me creatures without me having to cast any spells.
Anyway, How's it looking?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
RG Werewolves are the best tribe from Innistrad RG
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
I like the direction this is taking. The flash package of Vivien + Ambusher goes well with transforming werewolves.
Looking at your curve, you probably want a 1 drop accelerant like Wild Growth, Utopia Sprawl or Llanowar Elves since you are 3 drop heavy and not 4 drop.
I'm still not a fan of Howlpack Resurgence as I think any creature lord is better (and you aren't maxed on ambusher and gold dude).
I don't have a good replacement in mind right now, but the Moonlight Hunts seem like the weakest card. Removal is important though.
Awesome! So I had some more playtesting and what I found was these things:
The combination of the playset of Duskwatch Recruiter and the 3 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds works as far as card draw
The recruiters can't activate when flipped, but usually I get the value I need out of them by the time that they do flip.
I removed the Huntmaster of the Fells because my main plan is to play out tons of werewolves and lords, then flip all the werewolves and keep them flipped, which doesn't work well with huntmaster, which loves flipping back and forth.
I loved the art for Sage of Ancient Lore because every time I played it it was game-winning, because I could either flip it that turn, or flip it on my turn and have a huge attacker next turn.
I added return to nature for some enchantment/artifact removal / graveyard hate mostly to avoid problematic enchantments (our playgroup uses pacifism a lot)
The current and potentially final decklist is this:
I am just debating if I want to add in another Arlinn Kord. The reason why I used Howlpack Resurgence was because it grants Trample, something many werewolves want. Luckily you'll notice I also added Breakneck Rider, which not only equals Howlpack Resurgence for power buffs, but also grants trample to my attacking creatures. The Village Messengers often end up being huge threats, which was surprising! They come down, and if I can flip with help from Geier Reach Bandit, it becomes a buffed up menacer with trample if I have my loreds out. Often it leads to awkward blocks which help me push damage through.
Anyway, I think this deck is nearly completely sorted out! Thanks for all the help!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
RG Werewolves are the best tribe from Innistrad RG
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
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I've been busy trying to make an effective Werewolves deck, but have run into a couple of problems:
The deck plays like an aggro deck, but can't win early enough to really work
The deck runs out of gas really quickly as you might images, but just cannot transition into the Late-game well at all.
Incoming attacks basically wipe my board because most of the time, my werewolves are not big enough to actually survive blocks.
I don't currently have card draw other than Sixth Sense, which works poorly when I'm behind.
The decklist is currently sitting at this:
3 Village Messenger // Moonrise Intruder
1 Daybreak Ranger // Nightfall Predator
4 Duskwatch Recruiter // Krallenhorde Howler
3 Geier Reach Bandit // Vildin-Pack Alpha
1 Huntmaster of the Fells // Ravager of the Fells
3 Mayor of Avabruck // Howlpack Alpha
2 Nightpack Ambusher
2 Ulrich of the Krallenhorde // Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha
1 Arlinn Kord // Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon
2 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
Non-Creature:
3 Fire Prophecy
4 Howlpack Resurgence
4 Moonlight Hunt
3 Moonmist
3 Sixth Sense
8 Forest
4 Gruul Guildgate
2 Kessig Wolf Run
8 Mountain
3 Unclaimed Territory
I have been slowly refining and playtesting but these issues are recurring. I was hoping to get some suggestions about whether this should aim to be a midrange deck, which I have already leaned into with this decklist. That said, I still don't believe this deck transitions into late-game well without some card-draw or some sort of way to support my inconsistent creatures
Anyways, Thank forums, Let's see what you have for me here!
Cheer!
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
4x Duskwatch Recruiter
4x Mayor of Avabruck
4x Nightpack Ambusher
2x Huntmaster of the Fells
The recruiters are ramp/mana sink and play well with flipping your guys. Mayor and Ambusher are lords for all of your guys and can give you a good board presence without overextending. Huntmaster also allows you to go wide and gives you a small removal option.
After that since you have a sort of token/go wide strategy, I could see you playing Instigator Gang to super charge your tokens. The downside is that he is another 4 drop. So to make your deck faster I would probably add some Scorned Villager or Ulvenwald Captive.
Domri, Anarch of Bolas can also buff your team, ramp you and fight. It's fragile, but does what the deck wants and diversifies the curve.
Arlin Kord is decent, but is another 4 drop. Moonmist seems like a fun payoff/blow out so I would keep those, but I would trim on the Howlpack Resurgence as the creature lords seem stronger.
For your card draw problem, I personally love The Great Henge. You should be able to get this out turn 5ish with your lords, at which point you get bigger guys and draw cards.
You could also just jam things like Outpost Siege, Stolen Strategy, Evolutionary Leap, Greater Good, Shaman of the Great Hunt, Lifecrafter's Bestiary, etc.
I would find something less risky than Sixth Sense especially since green has some decent options.
I like your Kessig Wolf Runs as finishers.
To recap, play more of your best creatures, dream bigger when it comes to card draw and add some creature ramp to help you go faster.
I haven't played a deck like this ever (and I mostly just cube MP nowadays), so take all this with a grain of salt
Edit: Forgot about Immerwolf as another lord option and Wolfbriar Elemental as a scalable token spam card.
My 450ish 1vs1 cube
Thank you so much @Miaou, this was extactly what I needed. I'll be sure to build this up and come back soon with a revised list!
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
The new list looks like this:
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Mayor of Avabruck
2 Scorned Villager
3 Breakneck Rider
3 Geier Reach Bandit
2 Immerwolf
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Nightpack Ambusher
1 Ulrich of the Krallenhorde
2 Domri, Anarch of Bolas
3 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds
1 Arlinn Kord
Instant:
3 Fire Prophecy
3 Moonlight Hunt
3 Moonmist
Enchantment:
2 Howlpack Resurgence
8 Forest
8 Mountain
4 Gruul Guildgate
2 Kessig Wolf Run
3 Unclaimed Territory
So first I listened to your suggestion about the creature base, increasing the numbers on some of them. I cut the Village Messengers, which might change since the hasty menacer werewolf can be gamewinning with some of the lords out. I kept to one copy of Huntmaster of the Fells because it's a bit of a non-bo with Immerwolf, which I added a pair of the keep the werewolves flipped late-game. Couple of Scorned Villagers for ramp as you suggested, but only two, since this deck doen't seem to have trouble finding lands at all. No The Great Henge, because of cost reasons and just to see if it can run well without. Finally, I made sure to have 3 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds because after playing a couple times, I found her to be super relevant. Slamming werewolves on my opponents' end-steps was a key factor in building an intant-board for a win on my turn. With a Vivien out, everything in my deck except lands and planeswalkers become instant-speed spells, much to my advantage.
At one point we had a game and I managed to get three of my Mayor of Avabrucks and a Nightpack Ambusher out, swinging in with wolf tokens that ended up being 6/6's!
I still haven't got a solid source of card draw yet, but I almost feel that this deck doesn't really need much more than the Duskwatch Recruiters and the Vivien, champion of the wilds, since they find me creatures without me having to cast any spells.
Anyway, How's it looking?
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG
Looking at your curve, you probably want a 1 drop accelerant like Wild Growth, Utopia Sprawl or Llanowar Elves since you are 3 drop heavy and not 4 drop.
I'm still not a fan of Howlpack Resurgence as I think any creature lord is better (and you aren't maxed on ambusher and gold dude).
I don't have a good replacement in mind right now, but the Moonlight Hunts seem like the weakest card. Removal is important though.
Have fun and let us know how the deck plays out
My 450ish 1vs1 cube
The combination of the playset of Duskwatch Recruiter and the 3 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds works as far as card draw
The recruiters can't activate when flipped, but usually I get the value I need out of them by the time that they do flip.
I removed the Huntmaster of the Fells because my main plan is to play out tons of werewolves and lords, then flip all the werewolves and keep them flipped, which doesn't work well with huntmaster, which loves flipping back and forth.
I loved the art for Sage of Ancient Lore because every time I played it it was game-winning, because I could either flip it that turn, or flip it on my turn and have a huge attacker next turn.
I added return to nature for some enchantment/artifact removal / graveyard hate mostly to avoid problematic enchantments (our playgroup uses pacifism a lot)
The current and potentially final decklist is this:
3 Village Messenger
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
3 Mayor of Avabruck
3 Breakneck Rider
3 Geier Reach Bandit
3 Immerwolf
3 Nightpack Ambusher
2 Sage of Ancient Lore
1 Ulrich of the Krallenhorde
1 Arlinn Kord
3 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds
Instants:
3 Fire Prophecy
3 Moonlight Hunt
3 Moonmist
2 Return to Nature
8 Forest
8 Mountain
2 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Gruul Guildgate
3 Unclaimed Territory
I am just debating if I want to add in another Arlinn Kord. The reason why I used Howlpack Resurgence was because it grants Trample, something many werewolves want. Luckily you'll notice I also added Breakneck Rider, which not only equals Howlpack Resurgence for power buffs, but also grants trample to my attacking creatures. The Village Messengers often end up being huge threats, which was surprising! They come down, and if I can flip with help from Geier Reach Bandit, it becomes a buffed up menacer with trample if I have my loreds out. Often it leads to awkward blocks which help me push damage through.
Anyway, I think this deck is nearly completely sorted out! Thanks for all the help!
Dragons are best creature type
WBRG Best control deck is non-blue Yorion Doom WBRG