MTG Salvation

I'm looking to improve my winning chances in a very creature heavy meta. We play 2 to 4 players but always use the normal banlist / rules (i.e. no french type list...) The decks are budget, the mindset is competitive

Most of my decks are valueish with something like 3.5 CMC average. This works very well against decks that are not so heavy on creatures. On the other hand, I have problems against creature heavy decks, even if nothing really happens the first 2 to 3 turns. I can often win with Torment of Hailfire, especially if I get some board wipes. But I also often get run over by Aggro tribal Decks.

There are a few options: 1) Turn 3 combo things. 2) Pillowfort 3) Control 4) Decks that are more aggro

I find fast combos boring and I don't like playing control or pillow fort.

Consequently, I need to play aggro as well or maybe midrange. I'm looking for a way to keep the board under control early or keep up with aggression and combo before turn 8 or 10 if necessary, i.e. if I'm on the wrong side of the combat damage distribution or if I get into a stalemate.

I considered Spike Feeder / Archangel of Thune as a combo option which is easy to tutor for. I also considered Food Chain / Prossh. I also want to try a super low CMC edric evasion build. Probably I need to generally lower my mana curves.

Are there any other ideas worth pursuing if I want to win often without a combo that happens both consistently and early?

Thanks in advance!

You basically laid out your best options and then described why you didn't like them. Personally, I'd load up on board wipes. Also, I like Aetherize as a pet card.

Doran, the Siege Tower laughs at aggro. Walls are cheap and can be put out faster than most big stompy.


Conversely you can incentivize attacking other opponents with Curses, like Curse of Opulence.

Doran is definitely an idea. Abzan is one of my favourite combinations. I got useful pieces from a modern arcades deck I built. I can use Elesh Norn, black draw, green ramp, my favourite orzhov removal pieces and spike feeder / Thune. On the other hand it will be pretty bad against Etrata...

What commanders are there that are highly aggressive but allow for an easy backup combo? (Like spike feeder / Thune).

Ninjas might be another possibility? Yuriko, the tiger's shadow makes for a very agressive commander if you build around getting her ability to trigger. she can hit the field as early as turn 2 if you get a 1-drop creature, and this deck wants to run a bunch of cheap, hard to block creatures anyway to get your ninjas in.

I don't understand your problem... aggro is basically the tamest archetype out there, so what is exactly your problem? which decks are you facing are too strong and why? your talk about tribal decks makes me think about edgar markov and ezuri
and also what are you exactly playing?

I don't understand why you are saying that your low curve is a problem and then you want to lower the curve even more. Just add some fatties?

Prossh, Skyraider of Kher and Food Chain grant you infinite ETB and colorless mana. Plus with haste you can 1hit ko someone.


Krenko, Mob Boss with Purphoros, God of the Forge.

If your trouble stems from their commander you can disable it with something like Darksteel Mutation or any gain Control Magic type effect.


Lastly you can use rattlesnake like cards such as Glissa, the Traitor, Voracious Cobra, Pit Spawn, Deadly Recluse, or Seal of Doom.

or just have a bunch of boardwipes and/or Fog effects.

When I think board wipes + aggro, I think of depala, pilot exemplar. With vehicles, you can have a big aggro board without being prevented from playing board wipes - or getting destroyed by enemy wipes.


could also play zurgo helmsmasher or nahiri, the lithomancer, who also play very well with board wipes but using equipment instead of vehicles. And with nahiri you can play humility and watch all creature-based decks get absolutely destroyed.

Quote from Randuir »

Ninjas might be another possibility? Yuriko, the tiger's shadow makes for a very agressive commander if you build around getting her ability to trigger. she can hit the field as early as turn 2 if you get a 1-drop creature, and this deck wants to run a bunch of cheap, hard to block creatures anyway to get your ninjas in.

Yuriko tends to be a glass cannon against aggro decks. Yes, she come in hard and fast, bringing your opponents' life totals low by flipping things like eldrazi and split cards... but she also tends to have just a few small creatures on the board at any given time until late game (when those eldrazi can actually be cast), and those small creatures tend to be tapped. Yuriko is very vulnerable to crack back.

Creature heavy meta? Sounds like time for a trolly Pramikon, Sky Rampart deck full of time wipe/disrupt decorum/bloodthirsty blade/master warcraft and other forced attack effects. Use the opponents to kill eachother and then momentary blink your wall to change turn order at the opportune moment to kill a player, or just board clear until enough is out for a good ol' insurrection.