I enjoyed spying on your list for ideas. I am hoping to get this suited up tonight for some games potentially. Some things you might take a look at:
Purphoros, God of the Forge he fits being an anthem and he hits everyone on each of the creatures coming in. He normally fits token tactics more but with his reach I feel like he serves a few purposes and he seems reasonable to animate and start swinging himself in here.
Knollspine Dragon its an aggressive style of deck so it should be relatively reasonable to expect this to be an option to hit for some card draw.
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero I noticed you cut Tahngarth a while back. I guess I am just curious as to how your testing went with him? He seems cool but I can see some issues just with his size plus the fact that it costs extra mana to do his ability.
Grand Melee I sort of just thought of this one but it seems cool for this style of deck. It forces opponents into blocking potentially poorly when you drop it and really just SCREWS with blockers going forward lol. It can backfire but with so many creatures it seems like a fun one.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I enjoyed spying on your list for ideas. I am hoping to get this suited up tonight for some games potentially. Some things you might take a look at:
Purphoros, God of the Forge he fits being an anthem and he hits everyone on each of the creatures coming in. He normally fits token tactics more but with his reach I feel like he serves a few purposes and he seems reasonable to animate and start swinging himself in here.
Knollspine Dragon its an aggressive style of deck so it should be relatively reasonable to expect this to be an option to hit for some card draw.
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero I noticed you cut Tahngarth a while back. I guess I am just curious as to how your testing went with him? He seems cool but I can see some issues just with his size plus the fact that it costs extra mana to do his ability.
Grand Melee I sort of just thought of this one but it seems cool for this style of deck. It forces opponents into blocking potentially poorly when you drop it and really just SCREWS with blockers going forward lol. It can backfire but with so many creatures it seems like a fun one.
On Tahngarth: A lot of decks here are control decks, and while he gets rid of annoying smaller creatures, he didn't do much to stop threats like Jenara, Asura of War. At the time, I saw him as an easy cut for some card draw, because he wasn't doing much for me. If you can get some mileage out of him on your group though, I say go for it!
On the other three: I think I initially excluded Purphoros for not matching the theme I was going for. Because I'm starting to branch away from it a bit, I'll consider him. ^.^ the dragon is a little weird. It's been a long time since I've seen it played. I'll ask they guy I last saw run it how he felt about it, and then mess with it on my own. ^.^
Grand Melee seems kind of fun. I might just try it, it messes with more decks than it will with me.
I may also consider putting things like Wheel of Fortune and the three swords I used to run back in the deck. Most of that stuff is going to my Maelstrom Wanderer deck, but I'll throw copies in here as I get duplicates.
Have you thought about using Marton Stromgald instead of Renegade Warlord? You get more bang with him but at the loss of First Strike and a weaker body. Also this question is strictly flavor based but have you thought about running Snow-Covered Mountains instead of regular ones? I guess it works better for Extraplanar Lens but Flavor is the way to go.
Overall I really like this list and it helped me with making my own Lovisa
Have you thought about using Marton Stromgald instead of Renegade Warlord? You get more bang with him but at the loss of First Strike and a weaker body. Also this question is strictly flavor based but have you thought about running Snow-Covered Mountains instead of regular ones? I guess it works better for Extraplanar Lens but Flavor is the way to go.
Overall I really like this list and it helped me with making my own Lovisa
Marton Stromgald is interesting, I'll see if I can find one to test alongside the cards ISB mentioned. ^.^ he doesn't receive any of Lovisa's buffs, though.
On the Snow-Covered Mountains, there are actually like 6 people (myself included) with mono-red decks in my playgroup. So we split it 50/50 between regular mountains and snow-covered mountains, specifically because of Extraplanar Lens.
I'm glad to hear my list was of help though.
Edit: I don't mean to hijack this reply, but in order to avoid a double post, I'm ping to add in an update here.
Just some switching around. I've used Purphoros in other decks, and love him so I'm comfortable just throwing him in the list. I'll still need to play with the other suggestions however. I also could have sworn that I was running Solemn, but I guess not. >.<
Edit 2: I made room for the following changes, as well:
Because I'm refocusing this list, there will probably be a few updates in the next couple of weeks, as I work through most of the cards that aren't serving much purpose (however, Balduvian Barbarians stays, because I love that card ).
There were a few cards recommended to me, so here's my verdict:
I almost never get to cast Hamletback, and if I have to choose between my two seven drop creatures, Boldwyr Intimiator is more useful. Extraplanar Lens usually just bites the dust immediately and ends up giving my opponent a two for one, whereas Hellrider can help kill everyone faster. I'm including Karn for a more flexible (albeit expensive) removal option.
I sort of last second realized that I should add Mutavault to my list. It seems nicely on theme.
I've been trying to track one down for a while for the deck. I should just throw one in the list to show that I'm interested in picking one up. ^.^ my hope is for a price drop when it rotates out of Standard (and people here try to get rid of the copies thy have), though I don't know how realistic that is.
It is about where it used to be before it was reprinted now which is at least something as it was up to like twice its current going price for a while. It still sees some play in other formats but not enough to warrant anything really high. Still... prices after rotation have been doing really unpredictable things the last few years so I wont pretend to have any idea what it might do.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Colored ramp is always good, and I think that the looting effect will help me filter my hand a bit. And while I love Balduvian Horde, I'm switching to a strong effect for random discard.
Yay a for more 'card draw'! Stranglehold is still useful for stopping things like fetch lands, ramp, and other tutors but both Blood Moon and Price of Glory have lost their usefulness with my evolving meta.
Mad Pophet just doesn't provide card advantage unless you have Squee, Goblin Nabob or Rings of Brighthearth so he only felt worth it to me in a very niche situation. I found Mad Prophet to be a big under performer in normal game conditions.
Give PF a try, he has great synergy with equipment and pumping from gauntlets and probably fits into an aggro deck a bit better the Mad Prophet. The combination of double strike and trample means that he can't just be chump blocked either.
I can alway try him out, however with more and more of my meta moving towards creatures, I feel like he'll be similar to Academy Raider and be extremely difficult to land unless I get a sword out (generally, it has to be Fire and Ice to dodge creatures). Still, I'll pick one up to try, but it will have to wait until I get back from vacation next week before I can start playing with it, and instead of swapping it with Mad Prophet, it would likely trade Act on Impulse.
On Ruby Medallion, I really like it, but I also am trying to be fast and kill people before they get a chance to answer me. I also think it depends on how many red cards you run with colorless mana in their cost.
Ghitu Encampment seems to be worth some consideration. It fits the tribes and has built in first strike. I haven't gotten to test it but Mutavault has done some serious work for me already.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Ghitu Encampment seems to be worth some consideration. It fits the tribes and has built in first strike. I haven't gotten to test it but Mutavault has done some serious work for me already.
Sharing idea is sort of the point of putting lists up on the internet
I am hoping to get my Prophetic Flamespeaker in time for my Tuesday night play. It seems like a bit of a coin flip as to if it will make it here by then.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Sharing idea is sort of the point of putting lists up on the internet
I am hoping to get my Prophetic Flamespeaker in time for my Tuesday night play. It seems like a bit of a coin flip as to if it will make it here by then.
I'm afraid it's going to have the same problems that Academy Raider had for me: trouble actually connecting. I'm still willing to try it, but I have to get lucky with finding something like a sword with relevent protection for that game.
I'm afraid it's going to have the same problems that Academy Raider had for me: trouble actually connecting. I'm still willing to try it, but I have to get lucky with finding something like a sword with relevent protection for that game.
Against removal / mazes / big creatures these guys can sort of suck. The raider has intimidate though which should often get him through though but if people are just hitting the wrath button a lot then its hard to really reliably do much.
I think they operate a bit differently from meta to meta so its going to be a tough call. I love double strike though when it comes to pump effects and sword triggers though so getting another double strike option that I can put a good equipment on is nice.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Against removal / mazes / big creatures these guys can sort of suck. The raider has intimidate though which should often get him through though but if people are just hitting the wrath button a lot then its hard to really reliably do much.
I think they operate a bit differently from meta to meta so its going to be a tough call. I love double strike though when it comes to pump effects and sword triggers though so getting another double strike option that I can put a good equipment on is nice.
I play Lovisa against a lot of decks that just don care about his intimidate, because I try to play it against decks of a similar power level. On the off chance I did play it against decks that were more competitive (many of them aren't red) he had no problems. I just think that I'd rather have an effect that's more consistant across the board and the same goes for Prophetic Flamespeaker vs. Act on Impuse. But that's just me, I typically try to avoid conditional cards which is why I've removed a lot of the punisher effects I used to run. Except Stranglehold. That card does work against most decks in my group, be it tutor spells or fetchlands.
I haven drawn the Flamespeaker yet though, so I can't pass too much judgement on it!
Thoughts on Raid (the Mardu mechanic): For an example of the mechanic, see Mardu Heart-Piercer. Because Mardu is the red based tribe, this will be the mechanic we'll most likely see on mono-red cards. It's very awkward with Lovisa's ability, as it's counterproductive with haste but with a good enough ability, it could be useful. My hope is that there will be at least one or two rare-level instances of this mechanic on a mono-red (hopefully tribal) card with a decent ability, but that could be aiming too high.
I've played with Prophetic Flamespeaker in a few games, and I hate to say it but I'm very underwhelmed. Unless I do get lucky and have or draw into the right sword, it's hard to get him to land. I'll extend its trial a bit, but I don't like it so far.
I am pretty pleased with the rest of the changes I've made to the deck, however. It's been running very smoothly.
Adding in some more utility lands. I don't know that all three will stay (I like having a higher basic count in a mono-colored deck), but they all cover something I need.
I still haven't decided between Prophetic Flamespeaker and Mad Prophet. For now, I'll run both and I'll cut whichever one I like the least once Khans is spoiled (right now it will likely be for Dragon Throne of Tarkir). I also think I want to focus on not stalling out more than screwing my opponents over sometimes.
I'm swapping Prohpetic Flamespeaker for the new Dragon Throne of Tarkir. Flamespeaker's just been to hit or miss for me to keep it over Mad Prophet.
Normally I wouldn't bother with the. Leyline, but there's been a frustrating surge of life gain and an overabundance of fog/damage prevention effects, and I don't want to auto lose to a fog deck, or something of that nature (again).
I'm considering Horde Ambusher as a potential addition as well, but I'll want some one to consider a spot for it first.
Sulfuric Vortex might be worth considering over the leyline. It accomplishes the same thing while also dropping life totals across the board. It does add up quite fast too considering you generally get 6 damage in on opponents for every 2 you take yourself.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Out
Tauren Mauler
Kragma Butcher
Staff of Nin
War's Toll
Lu Bu, Master-at-Arms
Fissure Vent
Into the Core
In
Vandalblast
Shattering Spree
Aggravated Assault
Rage Reflection
Borderland Maurader
Paragon of Fierce Defiance
Soul of New Phyrexia
A lot of changes, but I think it's done pretty well so far. ^.^
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Purphoros, God of the Forge he fits being an anthem and he hits everyone on each of the creatures coming in. He normally fits token tactics more but with his reach I feel like he serves a few purposes and he seems reasonable to animate and start swinging himself in here.
Knollspine Dragon its an aggressive style of deck so it should be relatively reasonable to expect this to be an option to hit for some card draw.
Tahngarth, Talruum Hero I noticed you cut Tahngarth a while back. I guess I am just curious as to how your testing went with him? He seems cool but I can see some issues just with his size plus the fact that it costs extra mana to do his ability.
Grand Melee I sort of just thought of this one but it seems cool for this style of deck. It forces opponents into blocking potentially poorly when you drop it and really just SCREWS with blockers going forward lol. It can backfire but with so many creatures it seems like a fun one.
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On Tahngarth: A lot of decks here are control decks, and while he gets rid of annoying smaller creatures, he didn't do much to stop threats like Jenara, Asura of War. At the time, I saw him as an easy cut for some card draw, because he wasn't doing much for me. If you can get some mileage out of him on your group though, I say go for it!
On the other three: I think I initially excluded Purphoros for not matching the theme I was going for. Because I'm starting to branch away from it a bit, I'll consider him. ^.^ the dragon is a little weird. It's been a long time since I've seen it played. I'll ask they guy I last saw run it how he felt about it, and then mess with it on my own. ^.^
Grand Melee seems kind of fun. I might just try it, it messes with more decks than it will with me.
I may also consider putting things like Wheel of Fortune and the three swords I used to run back in the deck. Most of that stuff is going to my Maelstrom Wanderer deck, but I'll throw copies in here as I get duplicates.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Overall I really like this list and it helped me with making my own Lovisa
Marton Stromgald is interesting, I'll see if I can find one to test alongside the cards ISB mentioned. ^.^ he doesn't receive any of Lovisa's buffs, though.
On the Snow-Covered Mountains, there are actually like 6 people (myself included) with mono-red decks in my playgroup. So we split it 50/50 between regular mountains and snow-covered mountains, specifically because of Extraplanar Lens.
I'm glad to hear my list was of help though.
Edit: I don't mean to hijack this reply, but in order to avoid a double post, I'm ping to add in an update here.
Out
Barbarian Ring
Academy Raider
Heartless Hidetsugu
Starstorm
In
1x Mountain
Solemn Simulacrum
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Wheel of Fortune
Just some switching around. I've used Purphoros in other decks, and love him so I'm comfortable just throwing him in the list. I'll still need to play with the other suggestions however. I also could have sworn that I was running Solemn, but I guess not. >.<
Edit 2: I made room for the following changes, as well:
Out
Enraged Revolutionary
Pillage
Champion's Helm
Darksteel Plate
In
Sword of Fire and Ice
Sword of Feast and Famine
Sword of Light and Shadow
Sword of War and Peace
My swords aren't being used at the moment, so I'll throw them back into this deck. ^.^
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
There were a few cards recommended to me, so here's my verdict:
Knollspine Dragon - it was too slow, sadly. I've even been working on dropping the lower end of my curve. I did add Wheel of Fortune to the list tbough, an am considering Reforge the Soul/Faithless Looting/Act on Impulse. The most likely of the three is Faithless Looting.
Grand Melee - I like this card, but forcing everyone to attack means that it usually ends up coming at me. >.<
Marton Stromgald - needs additional testing, but I'm not sure he'll make the cut.
And updates:
Out
Extraplanar Lens
Hamletback Goliath
In
Hellrider
Karn Liberated
I almost never get to cast Hamletback, and if I have to choose between my two seven drop creatures, Boldwyr Intimiator is more useful. Extraplanar Lens usually just bites the dust immediately and ends up giving my opponent a two for one, whereas Hellrider can help kill everyone faster. I'm including Karn for a more flexible (albeit expensive) removal option.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
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[Modern] Allies
I've been trying to track one down for a while for the deck. I should just throw one in the list to show that I'm interested in picking one up. ^.^ my hope is for a price drop when it rotates out of Standard (and people here try to get rid of the copies thy have), though I don't know how realistic that is.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
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[Modern] Allies
And now, the wait for Khans spoilers begin >.<
Edit: more ninja updates, because I'm trying to overhaul this deck.
Out
Aftershock
Balduvian Horde
Reverberate
Hall of Triumph
In
Fire Diamond
Faithless Looting
Gamble
Akroma's Memorial
Colored ramp is always good, and I think that the looting effect will help me filter my hand a bit. And while I love Balduvian Horde, I'm switching to a strong effect for random discard.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Out
Blood Moon
Price of Glory
In
Mad Prophet
Act on Impulse
Yay a for more 'card draw'! Stranglehold is still useful for stopping things like fetch lands, ramp, and other tutors but both Blood Moon and Price of Glory have lost their usefulness with my evolving meta.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Mad Pophet just doesn't provide card advantage unless you have Squee, Goblin Nabob or Rings of Brighthearth so he only felt worth it to me in a very niche situation. I found Mad Prophet to be a big under performer in normal game conditions.
Give PF a try, he has great synergy with equipment and pumping from gauntlets and probably fits into an aggro deck a bit better the Mad Prophet. The combination of double strike and trample means that he can't just be chump blocked either.
On Ruby Medallion, I really like it, but I also am trying to be fast and kill people before they get a chance to answer me. I also think it depends on how many red cards you run with colorless mana in their cost.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
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[Modern] Allies
I still haven't gotten a hold of a Mutavault, but I'll try out Ghitu Encampment in when I get back, along side Prophetic Flamespeaker
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Out
2x Mountain
In
Ghitu Encampment
Haunted Fengraf
Shamelessly using all of ISB's ideas.
Because I've only been back from vacation for a day, I haven't had a chance to test out Prophetic Flamespeaker. I'll update here when I have. ^.^
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
I am hoping to get my Prophetic Flamespeaker in time for my Tuesday night play. It seems like a bit of a coin flip as to if it will make it here by then.
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I'm afraid it's going to have the same problems that Academy Raider had for me: trouble actually connecting. I'm still willing to try it, but I have to get lucky with finding something like a sword with relevent protection for that game.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Against removal / mazes / big creatures these guys can sort of suck. The raider has intimidate though which should often get him through though but if people are just hitting the wrath button a lot then its hard to really reliably do much.
I think they operate a bit differently from meta to meta so its going to be a tough call. I love double strike though when it comes to pump effects and sword triggers though so getting another double strike option that I can put a good equipment on is nice.
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[Modern] Allies
I play Lovisa against a lot of decks that just don care about his intimidate, because I try to play it against decks of a similar power level. On the off chance I did play it against decks that were more competitive (many of them aren't red) he had no problems. I just think that I'd rather have an effect that's more consistant across the board and the same goes for Prophetic Flamespeaker vs. Act on Impuse. But that's just me, I typically try to avoid conditional cards which is why I've removed a lot of the punisher effects I used to run. Except Stranglehold. That card does work against most decks in my group, be it tutor spells or fetchlands.
I haven drawn the Flamespeaker yet though, so I can't pass too much judgement on it!
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
I've played with Prophetic Flamespeaker in a few games, and I hate to say it but I'm very underwhelmed. Unless I do get lucky and have or draw into the right sword, it's hard to get him to land. I'll extend its trial a bit, but I don't like it so far.
I am pretty pleased with the rest of the changes I've made to the deck, however. It's been running very smoothly.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Update:
Out
3x Mountain
In
Buried Ruin
Forgotten Cave
Kher Keep
Adding in some more utility lands. I don't know that all three will stay (I like having a higher basic count in a mono-colored deck), but they all cover something I need.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Out
Stranglehold
Warstorm Surge
In
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Reforge the Soul
I still haven't decided between Prophetic Flamespeaker and Mad Prophet. For now, I'll run both and I'll cut whichever one I like the least once Khans is spoiled (right now it will likely be for Dragon Throne of Tarkir). I also think I want to focus on not stalling out more than screwing my opponents over sometimes.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Comet Storm
Prophetic Flamespeaker
In
Dragon Throne of Tarkir
Leyline of Punishment
I'm swapping Prohpetic Flamespeaker for the new Dragon Throne of Tarkir. Flamespeaker's just been to hit or miss for me to keep it over Mad Prophet.
Normally I wouldn't bother with the. Leyline, but there's been a frustrating surge of life gain and an overabundance of fog/damage prevention effects, and I don't want to auto lose to a fog deck, or something of that nature (again).
I'm considering Horde Ambusher as a potential addition as well, but I'll want some one to consider a spot for it first.
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies