Can someone explain Spike Weaver to me? It's eating at me. Aside from being a 4drop 3/3 with three fogs, I don't exactly see another purpose for it.
I was also hoping I can get a card by card analysis of this deck. It's been my obsession for the last 2 weeks.
Nevermind, this was done in the Tappedout link. Thanks for the forethought Slivortal!
Spike Weaver's a little weak, but it's a great silver bullet for any kind of MU that really focuses Freya with combat damage (Hornet Queen's an all-star defender that makes tokens, but Weaver's cheaper and deals with otherwise-unblockable threats). The fact you can both tutor it and that it represents three turns of wraths is really great, and the fact that it stops several combat-based combos is excellent as well. Let me know if you have any other questions!
All in all, list is in a good place. I even feel Bane is somewhat unnecessary with both Rec Sage and Manglehorn in the deck. I can't wait to try out Ramunap Excavator in its place; while I definitely don't feel Freya is inherently a Crucible deck, the value you can obtain from being able to tutor for it for land drops via fetches and using it as an EWit on your powerful lands (Cradle/Nykthos/Deserted) really does seem powerful. Maybe the additional utility will cause me to break down and finally run Woodland Bellower, but I've never really had much luck with the card when I've run it (maybe over Song? Idk).
Scavenger Grounds also has lots of potential (as tutorable GY hate), but as I've said in the past, colorless lands are very awkward. If it does make it in, it has to be almost off the non-mana ability alone, as running even 1 or 2 more colorless/ETBT lands vastly decreases your ability to mulligan well. I almost feel that Scavenging Ooze would be just better if I wanted that effect, though.
I've been really happy with the recent changes I've been making to the deck, especially the lowered land count. However, there are a few changes that I think will serve to make the deck even better.
-1 Command Beacon
+1 Forest
A seemingly small and simple, yet incredibly crucial change. Nykthos, Deserted Temple, Ancient Tomb, and Strip Mine are the only other colorless lands in the deck, and are each crucial to the deck's operation. Running Beacon over a Forest therefore ups the odds of drawing unplayable opening hands by a relatively large amount. That risk is not worth the potential small benefit.
-1 Fauna Shaman
+1 Regrowth
This deck is not particularly a Survival of the Fittest deck; it runs Survival because the card is insane, but Fauna is not Survival. In addition to being slow and only usable once/turn, Fauna is one of the few creatures that is a removal magnet in a deck that largely lacks such creatures.
On the other hand, this deck is sorely lacking Regrowth effects, especially when it comes to recurring it's powerful lands. Regrowth brings back both powerful mana sources and combo pieces, making it a perfect addition.
-1 Bane of Progress
+1 Greenwarden of Murasa
Greenwarden? You're probably asking yourself what a "casual" 6-drop Eternal Witness is doing in a competitive deck. If you read above, this deck lacks ways to recur its powerful cards. Greenwarden provides a second such way, is a large blocker, and is most importantly tutorable by our large selection of creature tutors. The only other tutorable Regrowth effect we can run is Skullwinder. Skullwinder is a card I used to run, but honestly is often disappointing in how it forces you to enable your opponents (even at large tables). Greenwarden's death trigger also combos with Greater Good and Natural Order, and provides a small amount of Wrath deterrence.
Bane, in comparison, while a powerful card, is removal for a cardtype our deck is adept at dealing with, between Freya, Rec Sage, and the recent Manglehorn, backed up by several creature tutors. In addition it's clunky in that it destroys our own powerful enchantments while being slow and clunky. In the right meta this card can be very powerful, but in general this is not the card we want.
(Upon HOU release)
-1 Ant Queen
+1 Ramunap Excavator
You may be wondering why we're suddenly adding a Crucible effect to our deck, despite not running Crucible before. The reason for this is simple; like Greenwarden, Excavator is a card that we can Tutor for, unlike Crucible of Worlds. It also blocks and counts towards Freya's ult, while being a decent creature.
Freya is by no means a "Crucible deck." However, we run a low land count with a large amount of fetches, allowing Excavator to enable "infinite" land drops, especially in combination with Exploration, Azusa, and Oracle. Additionally (and more importantly), Excavator is an important way of recurring Cradle, Nykthos, and Deserted Temple; 3 of the most powerful cards in our deck. Finally, there are powerful interactions between extra land drops, Excavator, and the graveyard, potentially allowing us to abuse these lands multiple times.
This is the latest round of additions and modifications. Please let me know your thoughts and comments, as always!
All in all, list is in a good place. I even feel Bane is somewhat unnecessary with both Rec Sage and Manglehorn in the deck. I can't wait to try out Ramunap Excavator in its place; while I definitely don't feel Freya is inherently a Crucible deck, the value you can obtain from being able to tutor for it for land drops via fetches and using it as an EWit on your powerful lands (Cradle/Nykthos/Deserted) really does seem powerful. Maybe the additional utility will cause me to break down and finally run Woodland Bellower, but I've never really had much luck with the card when I've run it (maybe over Song? Idk).
Scavenger Grounds also has lots of potential (as tutorable GY hate), but as I've said in the past, colorless lands are very awkward. If it does make it in, it has to be almost off the non-mana ability alone, as running even 1 or 2 more colorless/ETBT lands vastly decreases your ability to mulligan well. I almost feel that Scavenging Ooze would be just better if I wanted that effect, though.
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW
Hey everyone!
I've been really happy with the recent changes I've been making to the deck, especially the lowered land count. However, there are a few changes that I think will serve to make the deck even better.
-1 Command Beacon
+1 Forest
A seemingly small and simple, yet incredibly crucial change. Nykthos, Deserted Temple, Ancient Tomb, and Strip Mine are the only other colorless lands in the deck, and are each crucial to the deck's operation. Running Beacon over a Forest therefore ups the odds of drawing unplayable opening hands by a relatively large amount. That risk is not worth the potential small benefit.
-1 Fauna Shaman
+1 Regrowth
This deck is not particularly a Survival of the Fittest deck; it runs Survival because the card is insane, but Fauna is not Survival. In addition to being slow and only usable once/turn, Fauna is one of the few creatures that is a removal magnet in a deck that largely lacks such creatures.
On the other hand, this deck is sorely lacking Regrowth effects, especially when it comes to recurring it's powerful lands. Regrowth brings back both powerful mana sources and combo pieces, making it a perfect addition.
-1 Bane of Progress
+1 Greenwarden of Murasa
Greenwarden? You're probably asking yourself what a "casual" 6-drop Eternal Witness is doing in a competitive deck. If you read above, this deck lacks ways to recur its powerful cards. Greenwarden provides a second such way, is a large blocker, and is most importantly tutorable by our large selection of creature tutors. The only other tutorable Regrowth effect we can run is Skullwinder. Skullwinder is a card I used to run, but honestly is often disappointing in how it forces you to enable your opponents (even at large tables). Greenwarden's death trigger also combos with Greater Good and Natural Order, and provides a small amount of Wrath deterrence.
Bane, in comparison, while a powerful card, is removal for a cardtype our deck is adept at dealing with, between Freya, Rec Sage, and the recent Manglehorn, backed up by several creature tutors. In addition it's clunky in that it destroys our own powerful enchantments while being slow and clunky. In the right meta this card can be very powerful, but in general this is not the card we want.
(Upon HOU release)
-1 Ant Queen
+1 Ramunap Excavator
You may be wondering why we're suddenly adding a Crucible effect to our deck, despite not running Crucible before. The reason for this is simple; like Greenwarden, Excavator is a card that we can Tutor for, unlike Crucible of Worlds. It also blocks and counts towards Freya's ult, while being a decent creature.
Freya is by no means a "Crucible deck." However, we run a low land count with a large amount of fetches, allowing Excavator to enable "infinite" land drops, especially in combination with Exploration, Azusa, and Oracle. Additionally (and more importantly), Excavator is an important way of recurring Cradle, Nykthos, and Deserted Temple; 3 of the most powerful cards in our deck. Finally, there are powerful interactions between extra land drops, Excavator, and the graveyard, potentially allowing us to abuse these lands multiple times.
This is the latest round of additions and modifications. Please let me know your thoughts and comments, as always!
GX Tron XG
UR Phoenix RU
GG Freyalise High Tide GG
UR Parun Counterspells RU
BB Yawgmoth Token Storm BB
WB Pestilence BW