MTG Salvation

Quote from blinketto182 »

I played Vexing Shusher for a long time and i can say he's very good vs control deck, obviously Grand Abolisher is better but is more mana intensive.

Purphoros, God of the Forge is good but i don't know if he deserves the slot.. In late game is a bomb but often he is useless.
Council's Judgement is better than Oblivion Ring, can exile Geist,Sigarda,Planeswalkers and everything you want! Double white is not a problem with our lands. I'll cut Purphoros and i'll run Judgement for testing.

Primeval Titan is a must card in this deck, you can't replace him with nothing.; Bribery is only one card in a 99.

Hadn't considered that with Judgement, gets around hexproof and shroud...ok thanks for that! I'll order now.

I see what you're saying about Bribery. Depending on how big Garruk does, I'll still consider Ruric Thar, the Unbowed. I know they serve much different roles but I don't think it will hurt to test as a meta call. I won't run all three though. I think also grabbing Prime Time off SotF or Fauna Shaman if I have them out in response to Bribery would be a decent answer. Nothing else in the deck is as backbreaking (well not as surely as PT).

What do we think about Collected Company? I know it was mentioned before. Instant speed is good, good chance to hit both targets EOT and untap is good but I'm not sure what purpose it fills on T3+.

Lyserg, how do you like Wall of Roots? I just got Splinter Twin...hate getting it now a after seeing it in bulk boxes for $3 but I don't see it going down anytime soon. I don't see a modern ban happening.

I cut Hardened Scales. It was good at times but overall just wasn't enough impact. Tested Wall of Roots last night and it was GREAT. I loved it and will keep it. Grand Abolisher was good. Fragile but helped me combo off several times. Don't have Council yet but Oblivion Ring has been great. Good synergy with our stuff too, in a pinch. I've got Saffi Eriksdotter in now while I wait for some other cards. Didn't get to use but I'll report back.

Hey guys. Can't remember all my changes but I made quite a few and they've led to me winning much much more matches against control. Wall of Roots continues to be super solid and is not going anywhere. Saffi Eriksdotter is amazing! I know many don't run it but she's really been excellent. Benevolent Bodyguard has been great off of Yisan, the Wanderer Bard and as the last piece in a Survival chain to combo off safely. When Mother of Runes sticks around for a turn, she's been very good, too. Grand Abolisher is meh. Helped me combo off safely a few times but I don't think it's what this deck wants at 2 toughness. War's Toll has been very good. Really forces the opponent to make (or not make) moves the would have wanted to. I cut Weathered Wayfarer (aka 1/1 for W), Flametongue Kavu (totally meta-call, I'll add to an unknown meta), Lotus Cobra (don't like overextending, terrible topdeck), Earthcraft (again, overextending doesn't work out well for me) and maybe a few others but can't remember off the top of my head. Liking how it's playing now though!

edit-oh and I just put him in last week...but big Garruk did soooo much work. He was amazing.

My thing about the Wall of Roots is a) 5 toughness and b) you can use him twice before your opponent can remove him. I understand Lotus Cobra can do this too but again...that 1 toughness is killer. If you play Priest of Titania and it works for you, great, I love her [him?!] as I have played Combo Elves & Ezuri in the past! I just think again the 1 toughness is weak and you also run a suboptimal (IMO) Skyshroud Elf to power it, too. And all the elves only have 1 toughness...I can understand at a larger level how it works better but for me there is much creature removal and 1 toughness is hard to keep around for long.

Garruk, Caller of Beasts drew me 7 cards on the first two turns I played him. Ok, 7 cards for 6 mana, big deal...but I don't have another way to do that in this deck. That's a win with Survival in play. I got his ultimate off once, too (read: win the game). Didn't use the minus but could be useful to cheat in a host of answers and/or protection for him. We are consistently going to draw 3-4 cards off him. I can understand in faster metas how he's too slow though.

How did altar of bone make the cut? Do we really need that much tutors? Isnt the sorcery part too slow?

Do you have any cards in mind that would prob make it hard for a narset or hexproof commanders in general? Ty

I have had good results from War's Toll in this deck vs. control. Never played Narset, Enlightened Master so idk if that helps this matchup or not. Another all-star has been Saffi Eriksdotter. She's good in many matchups IMO but really good against control. Council's Judgment as mentioned is all around great in many matchups, too.

Why do you like loam better, Blink? I guess cause it doesn't have to worry about cheap artifact removal and provides Liliana of the Veil fodder...that's all I can come up with? It replaces a draw (something this deck isn't good at) and is itself subject to graveyard hate. Sounds like a meta-call. If grave hate isn't too prevalent, then run Loam?

Sorry for the double post but just looked through my list on tapped out...I like Asceticism in this deck. If control is a big part of the meta it's at least worth trying IMO. Another two along the same lines as Saffi Eriksdotter: Benevolent Bodyguard and Dauntless Escort. The guard is great with Yisan, the Wanderer Bard and a great trick off of an easy Chord of Calling. The escort is big and can totally turn off board wipes. Combine either/both with Gaddock Teeg for a good day vs. control.

I think I'll put Asceticism , Dauntless Escort and War's toll against my meta full control. I'll see later if I keep

Gaddock Teeg is necessary. For every time he hinders our cards, he screws the control player up ten times. He won't be great in some matchups but that's what we have Survival of the Fittest and Birthing Pod (play the Pod before Teeg haha) :p. Or just save and pitch to Lili! I like Nature's Claim but wouldn't say it's a must-play cause of our creature removal available. I just like the speed and cost of it. Makes it worth it IMO but if you need a spot, it'd be worth considering removing I think.

Arbor Elf is an iffy card, I agree. I don't typically have problems with it in this deck but it does happen and in Anafenza it's close to being cut but Joraga Treespeaker is an option. No T2 Marath but sets up a bigger T3 potentially. What about Mox Diamond in the elf's place? We play plenty of lands and can play a dork off it T1 as well.

I haven't used either Ajani. Ajani, Mentor of Heroes looks to be the far better of the two unless you're in a creature heavy meta. I have tested Mother of Runes and she's good but I found Benevolent Bodyguard to be a much better option a lot of the time but I can see you running either/or. Or even both!

The only artifacts I play are Birthing Pod and Skullclamp. I've seen many lists running all the elves but I've got lots of sweepers present in all the decks I play so I look for more resilience than anything. That's also why I like the Wall of Roots cause of its 5 toughness. He's usually going to stick for at least one turn. Over the past couple months Marath has become so difficult to play due to all the creature hate and how fragile most of its pieces are. The decklist I use reflects these facts...I'll post it later when I get home.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/14-04-15-cco-marath-will-of-the-wild/

I hate how TO doesn't export the proper formatting to MTGS but oh well, that's all I have for now haha. I do NOT run Cruicible or Loam as I don't have Wasteland! Otherwise I would but neither is worth it IMO without (I don't run Tectonic Edge either?). You see a run a SLEW of nontraditional cards but they are mostly metacalls! This list may be slightly off as I haven't adjusted this in a while as I've been having far better luck with GoST and Ana but it's generally what I run. Comments and questions welcome :)!

Oh and this isn't the deck for Stoneforge Mystic in my opinion. I don't run her here and didn't even when I had the collar.

Oh man, I do run Nightshade Peddler and Fauna Shaman haha! Definitely don't play Grand Abolisher anymore. I couldn't remember some of the cards so I guessed a few. Again, haven't played Marath in over a month or more! The Scavenging Ooze I may put back in today but yes, 100% meta call. I think the Sterling Grove is good. Sure, slows the deck down but there are a lot of times where I'm not winning with combo, anyways. Gets Survival of the Fittest, Oblivion Ring, Song of the Dryads, Splinter Twin, or Sylvan Library. So I like its ability to answer situations or sometimes just protect Survival. The O-ring is good and the Song of Dryads is kinda meta-call (for Keranos and Erebos). Still think it's worth testing but could go either way.

I don't think I play Mother of Runes anymore. I had replaced with Benevolent Bodyguard. I didn't like her too much.

I have never liked Gyre Sage, either. I could see running Priest of Titania in her place or maybe Voyaging Satyr. I'm not so sold on the Satyr cause many times I don't have Gaea's Cradle and if I do, it gets destroyed often.

Couple other things: Saffi Eriksdotter is awesome. I can't be the only one to play her? Asceticism is in and out often. Good in certain matchups, dead in others. Unvravel the Aether is metacall. I'd like to run JUST Nature's Claim if possible. Lands: never gotten screwed by running 39. That has always been the perfect number for me.

I'm excited to play tonight, I've got a new deck to face off against and will be trying Marath along with GoST and Ana! So changes will be made, likely. Thanks for the thoughts on the elves! I'm thinking shifting towards the "elf ball" build. Arbor Elf will be back in along with the PoT.

Quote from blinketto182 »

Yes, i think Gaddock is a must play in this deck, sure.

I've another doubt about Arbor Elf cause sometimes i haven't forest! Maybe Joraga Treespeaker could replaces Elf, what do you think about?

Ajani Vengeant, Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, Mother of Runes, have you ever tested these cards?

I have tested both Ajani's, I liked mentor more, he plays nice with dorks / marath and give us gas. Vengeant just didn't do enough in the removal or life gain department to hold his spot. I currently run neither Ajani. I took Mentor out because I needed it for standard and I've never missed him. I forget what I replaced him with though.

Mother of Runes on the other hand is an absolute all star. She shuts down so many effects, allows us to put through damage, and let's our small creatures block all day, and has played a large role in me winning a lot of games. I am always happy to have her out, and if she dies to a sweeper, then we have Reveilark, Eternal Witness Karmic Guide, and in my case Sun Titan.

She makes Yisan, the Wanderer Bard much better so I don't have to take a dork on his first activation.

All in all MoR pulls a lot of weight, I recommend you try her.

P.s. sorry for the lack of deck tags, my tablet is not cooperating

Regarding Joraga, Treespeaker I don't think of her as a one drop, and so I wouldn't replace Arbor Elf with her. In my mind Joraga is a 3 drop.

As far as Voyaging Satyr goes. I'm going to try it out right away. He provides good fixing, he can attack, and he can double the activations of my utility lands. I'm in. The only thing I don't like about him is he is a 1/2 instead of a 1/1. I would prefer if he was easily sacrificed toSkullclamp.


This is my ramp package by casting cost
1 cmc

• Elvish Mystic
  
• Arbor Elf
  
• Llanowar Elves
  
• Avacyn's Pilgrim
  
• Fyndhorn Elves
  
• Birds of Paradise

2 cmc

• Utopia Tree
  
• Lotus Cobra
  
• Quirion Elves
  
• Gyre Sage

3 cmc
Wood Elves

4 cmc

• Solemn Simulacrum
  
• Xenagos, the Reveler

I like the number of ramp creatures that I have, I would consider dropping one, but not adding. I also run 41 lands.

These are the cards I am considering and could use opinions on.

• Voyaging Satyr
  
• Sylvan Caryatid
  
• Sakura-Tribe Elder
  
• Wall of Roots
  
• Somberwald Sage

I'm going to trade Utopia Tree for Voyaging Satyr. Sylvan Caryatid and Wall of Roots don't fit the aggressive role of the deck very well in my opinion as they can't attack.

That leaves Somberwald Sage and Sakura-Tribe Elder both of which I want to try but am hesitant about. Can anyone convince me why I would play Sakura-Tribe Elder I see him in a lot of decks but I feel like he doesn't fit here, what am I missing?

Didn't really liked the leap there, even though it's good to trade a token for a random creature. The Woodland Bellower on the other hands seems like a true bomb in almost any green-based deck

I won't even be testing Nissa...really lackluster. If it put the land on the battlefield, MAYBE, but as is: no. Evolutionary Leap looks AWESOME for 2 CMC. I am most certainly going to try. I would be hard to believe it won't find a spot here. Woodland Bellower looks amazing too but the only question is: is it worth running 2 6 CMC critters? My gut says yes but I'll have to see what could be cut.

Other relevant targets are Bloom Tender, Nightshade Peddler, Fauna Shaman, Voice of Resurgence, Harmonic Sliver, Courser of Kruphix...not saying it's definitely worth it, but there are some good options for it. I preordered Evolutionary Leap and the Bellower today so I will hopefully be able to proxy and play a few games this weekend...

Oh yeah, I love Gaddock Teeg. He is dead in certain matchups (notably Anafenza, Animar) but is an all-star in others (Wanderer, Narset, Geist, GAAIV, Wydwen). Idk maybe I play too defensively but I like having him around.

Here's what I'm running now. I just saw Druid of the Anima; why is this not played instead of Skyshroud Elf?!?!



Woodland Bellower seems good from initial testing. Added Fierce Empath to get him off Bellower if I don't have Primeval Titan already and don't have a Reclamation Sage or Eternal Witness target, etc. Evolutionary Leap is very nice here. I would certainly recommend it from initial testing.

Oh I see. So it is better cause it can filter. I thought all this time that you had to tap to use the second ability >_<. Well at least that playset of Druid's was only 1.70USD!

s g (and everyone else, too), how do you feel about the lands that enter the battlefield tapped? (Temples, manlands, etc). I understand their inherent value, but is them entering tapped a nuisance more often than not? Additionally, how valuable do you feel the scry 1 is on the temples specifically?
I'm considering adding the temples and one or two manlands, but entering tapped always bothered me, I'd just like some justification for the inclusion of them. Of course I'm planning on testing them myself but I would love to hear from some that have played with them for awhile already.

Niv, I don't run a ton of tap lands (one temple, two manlands, and the checks/scar lands). The temple is something carried over from early days when I was on a tight budget but could easily be another filter land instead (I don't find filters necessary here). Or just a basic. This deck is very hard to get color screwed running the duals, shocks, fetches and all of our dorks, Solemn Simulacrum, Wood Elves, etc. Checks never come in to play tapped, scars are personal preference and I like them...as for the manlands, Raging Ravine is very helpful as he gets big quickly and can hold Marath counters well. I'm split on Stirring Wildwood as he can help occasionally but is dead many times IMO. I could see cutting him for another filter I don't have.

Basically, the moral of the story is if you run appropriate # of lands, all nine fetches (I only run eight, actually as I'm waiting for BFZ for Scalding Tarn), all three shocks and at least a couple OG duals then you have a lot of liberty with the mana base IMO. I don't even run Crucible of Worlds (though I would like to once I get one) and I'm satisfied with 39 lands INCLUDING Dryad Arbor.