Just wondering why I don't see Enchantress up in the top decks? It isn't even on the first page of the "Proven Competition" forum!
I play Enchantress and find it to be an extremely consistent and strong deck that works well against nearly any deck. (Besides of course 2-land Belcher and whatever ultra-quick goofy combo deck there is. And even Goblins can't really deal with that deck, so I don't see why that should be a criterion..)
I run a 4-color version, and it's extremely non-basic heavy, which makes Wasteland particularly great against it, but in a metagame where Wasteland is prominent, it's not exactly a problem to take out a color and run way less non-basics..
Wow! I thought there is an echantress primer:facepalm:
Because no one made a primer yet, unless you want to volunteer...this thread is for proven competitive decks. This shouldn't be here.
No one has volunteered to write a primer; same with aggro loam. And this deck is proven competitive at least in my mind it has over 60 results posted on deckcheck.net. But yeah you can write a primer forlorn.
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No one has volunteered to write a primer; same with aggro loam. And this deck is proven competitive at least in my mind it has over 60 results posted on deckcheck.net. But yeah you can write a primer forlorn.
Me and 2 friends of mine play Enchantress regularily and it almost always puts on X-0 or X-1 results. If we need a primer I would also be willing to whip something up..?
Here's a stab at a primer. Would love to hear feedback and/or any additions you think should be made.
Legacy Enchantress
What is 'Enchantress'?
Enchantress is a deck that abuses Argothian Enchantress and Enchantress' Presence to draw ridiculous amounts of cards and then vomit them into play. Er, I mean onto the battlefield. For this draw engine to work, the majority of the deck needs to be enchantments.
If you had to classify Enchantress, it would probably be 'Combo-Control'. Enchantress is a slower deck by Legacy standards, usually exploding on turn 4 or 5. In order to compete, the deck runs a fair bit of acceleration, but also runs some enchantment based disruption and creature control. Enchantress has a lot of tutor power and often runs a toolbox of 'silver bullets' to combat specific problem decks. Eventuallly the deck drops the finisher of choice and wins within the next couple of turns.
Enchantress is often nicknamed 'Solitaire' - when the deck is behaving and you're sitting pretty behind a Solitary Confinement, it often looks like you're playing a game of MTG by yourself.
The Core (Enchantress isn't Enchantress without these)
Argothian Enchantress - Always 4 copies. She draws you cards and has built in protection from spot removal.
Enchantress's Presence - Always 4 copies. The second draw engine comes in enchantment form, making it immune to creature removal and allowing it to trigger existing enchantress effects, but costs a bit more mana.
Sterling Grove - Always 4 copies. Protects your horde of enchantments from cards like Krosan Grip and can dig up silver bullets or a Presence if you really need it. In the late game you'll often resolve two of these and the overlapping protection prevents the groves themselves from being targetted.
Utopia Sprawl - Always 4 copies. Necessary acceleration, manafixing, and it triggers your enchantress effects.
The 'Meat'(These cards always show up in the main, but often to varying amounts)
Elephant Grass - Anywhere from 2 to 4 copies. How much Grass you need maindeck depends on the environment you're bringing the deck into, but most people go with the full 4. This is your primary weapon against fast aggro.
Solitary Confinement - 2 to 4 copies. The drawback hurts, but your massive card draw is often more than enough to balance it out. Once you have the engine in place and a Grove protecting a Confinement, it's extremely tough for your opponent to stop you.
Replenish - 2 to 3 copies. Whether you're sacrificing Groves, not paying the upkeep on Grass/Confinement, or your opponent is nuking your enchantments, you'll always have a use for Replenish in the mid and late game.
Oblivion Ring - 1 to 3 copies. Basically Vindicate (that can't hit lands) in enchantment form.
Mirri's Guile and Sylvan Library - 0 to 3 copies. These two cards are in contention for the same spot. Each has their merits, but I generally prefer the Guile. It's a turn 1 play and still works while under Solitary Confinement. Some Enchantress decks will skip over this entirely.
Wild Growth - 0 to 3 copies. Only if you want more acceleration.
Exploration - 2 to 3 copies. When you're drawing this many cards, you need to do something with all that excess land. This was an automatic 4-of for a long time in this deck, but recent decklists have decreased it down to 2 or 3 copies in favor of more disruption, protection, and early game acceleration. Note that multiple copies of this do 'stack' with one another (if you have 3 explorations in play, you can play up to 4 lands this turn from your hand).
Ghostly Prison - 0 to 3 copies. Most decks don't run Prison, but it's an option that occasionally pops up.
Enlightened Tutor - 0 to 2 copies. Works well with a larger than usual toolbox.
The Silver Bullets(Usually narrow effects that are meant to be tutored up)
Moat - 1 copy. It completely shuts down some decks. Most people shy away from running it due to the hefty price tag, though.
Choke - 1 copy. Likely your best weapon against anything blue. The sideboard often contains copies 2 thru 4.
City of Solitude - 0 to 1 copy. This forces your opponent to burn a counter immediately or be unable to counter for the rest of the game. It also prevents your opponent from using Sensei's Divining Top with Counterbalance.
Aura of Silence - 1 copy. Aura of Silence has a variety of uses and is a huge thorn in the side of some legacy decks (the mirror being one).
Karmic Justice - 0 to 1 copy. This isn't always useful, but against certain decks, it's the perfect weapon. Suddenly your opponent isn't so eager to pop Pernicious Deed or start knocking off your enchantments with Qasali Pridemages ...
Ground Seal - 0 to 3 copies. This is obviously a strong weapon against many legacy decks, but the number to run completely depends on the meta. I'd personally run at least 1 MD. Note the built-in cantrip.
Runed Halo - 0 to 1 copy. Usually a bit better out of the sideboard once you know what you're up against, but still very playable in the maindeck.
Seal of Primordium - 0 to 2 copies. Aura of Silence often gets the nod when it comes to disenchant effects, but this offers speed and more reliability in being green.
The Win Conditions(Gotta win somehow)
Sigil of the Empty Throne - Only 1 copy. Every enchantment you play snags you a 4/4 Angel. Once you land this, you should plan to win within 1 or 2 turns.
Words of War - Only 1 copy. Instead of drawing tons of cards when you play out an enchantment, use all of your Serra's Sanctum mana to start shooting your opponent.
Sacred Mesa - Only 1 copy, if any. Sacred Mesa was the finisher of choice for many years, but Sigil has replaced it in most decks. Land like Serra's Sanctum fueled the extreme mana costs of the Mesa.
Words of Wind - Only 1 copy, if any. Occasionally people will splash into blue and run this as part of the finishers. While it doesn't outright kill anything, it basically bounces their entire board back to their hand every turn until you do win. A fun trick here is to bounce your Exploration and Serra's Sanctum back to your hand. Replay the Exploration and because it is 'new' to the field, this will allow you to drop the Serra's Sanctum again. Lather/Rinse/Repeat until your opponent has an empty board and a 15-card hand.
Manabase(You mean I need mana?)
Serra's Sanctum - 2 to 3 copies. This guy provides ridiculous amounts of white mana once the deck is rolling.
Chrome Mox - Usually 0-3 copies. Not all Enchantress decks play the Mox, but it's hard to argue with its speed. It has the potential to set up a turn 1 Argothian or help ensure a turn 2 Presence - essentially speeding up the deck by an entire turn.
Sideboard Options
More copies of any of the silver bullets covered above are often found in the sideboard. In addition to those:
Blood Moon - Against certain decks, this is just all kinds of nasty. We run a fair amount of basic lands, so the impact isn't as great against us.
Warmth - Burn hates to see this. Proactive solution to red.
Sacred Ground - What Wasteland lock? Helps keep people from messing with your mana base.
Rule of Law - Can help fight off combo. Hide one behind a grove if possible.
Orim's Chant - Used to delay combo and buy yourself one more turn to get the job done.
Other Cards to Consider
Story Circle - COP of "name your color." Kills mono-color decks or deck that utilize a main color to harm you (ie; Green shutting down most of Thresh and Zoo)
Your immediate goal every game is to get an Enchantress effect online ASAP. When you look at your opening hand, you should foresee yourself getting an Enchantress online by hopefully turn 2 (Argothian, or Sprawl/Growth into Presence). If you are likely to not have an Enchantress effect by the end of turn 3, you should likely be mulling.
Once you have an Enchantress out, your next goal is to - you guessed it - get another Enchantress out. Play out your cheap enchantments like Groves, Sprawls, and the like and you'll draw into a second one in no time (if you don't already have it in hand).
Of course you always need to keep an eye on the opponent too. Do you need an early Elephant Grass? Is it a good idea to get Confinement online now? When things go wrong, Replenish is often the answer. It can turn a disastrous board into a dominant one in a split second.
Once you're drawing 3 cards for every enchantment or so, it's time to dig up a finisher. If you haven't already drawn one, you can pop a Grove or a Tutor to go search for one. If your opponent is playing blue, you'll likely want to first play City of Solitude to force out a counter (or have a Replenish ready). Most of the Enchantress win conditions operate by playing more enchantments, so continue dumping your library into play. Finish with Angel beatdown or burn.
Decklists and Deck Construction
With the exception of the 16 or so core cards, you can (and should) tune Enchantress to your liking. A big part of Enchantress is adapting it to the environment you're bringing it into.
Matchups
Someone should do some detailed matchups. Some general info:
vs. Aggro - Neutral to Favorable
Most aggro decks can be contained by early Grass rolling into Solitary Confinement. Moat outright shuts down some aggro decks as well. Depending on what you're up against, you may want to aggressively mulligan into a hand that can fight off an aggro deck long enough to get the draw engine online. If up against burn, get under a Confinement ASAP and you should be able to turn on cruise control from there on out.
vs. Control - Neutral to Favorable
This of course depends on the type of control, but in general, you want to lead up to a big explosive turn where you cast a succession of cards that must be countered or will directly lead to winning you the game. Chaining Choke, City of Solitude, and a finisher together are usually enough to overwhelm their hand. If not, try and have a Replenish ready.
vs. Combo - Disastrous
Enchantress isn't as fast as other legacy combo and generally doesn't have enough early disruption or protection to pull off a win.
1) Try to get the engine online as fast as possible
2) Hide under a Grove and Confinement
3) Pray.
I agree with nameless that this is a very nice primer. I think it's concise and to-the-point and it may not be as robust and full as other primers but it really gets the job done. A-/A in my grade-book.
Enchantress is capable of being manipulated and built so many ways, the primer is perfect, as it describes options, etc.
I would maybe throw in a section on how to play and the series of plays you'll want to pull off (this is combo in my books and there are "wrong" plays to do).
I think Luminarch is a powerful finisher but establishing the counters is going to be a pain in the ass. Elephant x4 / Confinement x2-3 will be needed to help grow the enchantment....from there onwards, you'll have the resources to churn out ~8+ angels a turn; enough to ruin anyone.
I'd also consider the "sisters" of argothian enchantress as potential card candidates.
*Wrath of God can be a SB option if aggro is heavy. It does little damage to your end while hurting other people.
*Rule of Law = hurts opponent's combo
*Story Circle = COP of "name your color." Kills mono-color decks or deck that utilize a main color to harm you (ie; Green shutting down most of Thresh and Zoo)
I like combo-enchantress but also recognize there is aggro-enchantress. This is quite a different deck and less often top-tier. Combo does snag a few T8's but Aggro is more developing competitive atm
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
LOL I like the last tip against combo "3) Pray."
Anyway seems like a good primer, I might consider building this deck:)
Hopefully more M/U's soon after more testing, good work!
Hey stilex that was a nice stab.
I just think that Journey to nowhereSeal of primordium and Seal of cleansing deserved to be mentioned. For an unkown meta i think ring is better.
I'd just like to say, that I've been testing with supression field, and has worked great, it slows down top long enough, shuts down vial, ravager and wasteland.
I also decided to drop red entirely to favor Boseiju, Who shelters all and Rude Awakening Along with Ascension and Sigil because merfolk usually FoWs both ascension and Sigil.
IDK if you mentioned it, but the beauty of Enchantress is that it can adapt to every meta, sure it will be a long time before it wins a big tourney. But for local play its just awesome.
A while back I was testing with Leyline of the Void 4-of as SB for (I packed fertile ground) Ichorid/LFTL builds but they're not really popular I think only 1 guy plays ichorid.
I was gonna write a primer just now but it looks like you did a pretty good job.
I would like to add a few things you might have missed: 4x Orim's Chant in SB greatly improves your match-up Vs Combo.. a must include. Alot of winning Enchantess decks are including 3x Chrome Mox to bust out turn 1-2 Enchantress.
As a huge fan the deck I would also like to state that while it hasn't shown impressive results at many major events the deck is extremely fun to play and also if very very powerful in under-developed metas.
silex, that is an excellent primer, excellent job. Please start a new thread for it asap, and we can all begin official discussion on the Enchantress build. I am anxious to suggest and hear testing results of several of the new Quest and Ascension enchantments
great primer! for the aggro versions, what about equipoise as a one or two of? I only run one or two creatures out at a time, and it provides a very solid means of removing blockers and threats for the turn.
You are savannah-less sir. I suggest you cut 2 plains for 2 savannah's; you can still fetch basics. And I find the 3/3 split of wild growth and utopia sprawl odd; I would go 4/2 in favor of utopia sprawl simply because it allows you to cast words of war more easily. And you should have a singleton taiga in there as well in place of a plains or forest your pick.
Are you finding 21 lands to be too many? I run less I can't remember the number exactly but it is equal to or less than 20.
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The lack of Sprawls might be directly due to a lack of Savannah. Enchant Forest...
Anyways, on the subject of combo, Mindbreak Trap offers another SB option in addition to Orim's Chant. Though I generally considered Enchantress to be a good tool for combating aggro, and not great vs anything else. I've been playing it, but it just never feels as good as a deck sporting 4 Brainstorm and 4 FoW. Still underrated though. Bonus: it rocks in casual multiplayer. :\
You are savannah-less sir. I suggest you cut 2 plains for 2 savannah's; you can still fetch basics. And I find the 3/3 split of wild growth and utopia sprawl odd; I would go 4/2 in favor of utopia sprawl simply because it allows you to cast words of war more easily. And you should have a singleton taiga in there as well in place of a plains or forest your pick.
Are you finding 21 lands to be too many? I run less I can't remember the number exactly but it is equal to or less than 20.
I am very Savannah less. I chose not to run them because of the amount of Aggro-Loam aka Loam/Wasteland in my meta. I know I can still grab basics but I haven't found myself needing a Savannah over a basic thus far.
As for the Wild Growths/Utopia Sprawls I guess I never put much thought into it. I seems to cast Words of War fine everygame I need it. After you start going off and you're drawing 12+ cards a turn you usually run into a Sprawl where you can name Red. Growth is nice though because if can enchant a Plains... Don't know why that would ever help but it could be relevant.
I find 21 lands to be okay. I could probably drop 1 in favor of a 1cc enchantment actually. Possibly a 3rd Exploration?
The lack of Sprawls might be directly due to a lack of Savannah. Enchant Forest...
Anyways, on the subject of combo, Mindbreak Trap offers another SB option in addition to Orim's Chant. Though I generally considered Enchantress to be a good tool for combating aggro, and not great vs anything else. I've been playing it, but it just never feels as good as a deck sporting 4 Brainstorm and 4 FoW. Still underrated though. Bonus: it rocks in casual multiplayer. :\
In a meta where theres lots of combo Mindbreak seems fine. Chant is alot more versitile however, i.e. against conterspells Chant into City of Solitude, GG FoW. But Mindbreak is okay.
Also I agree that Enchantress is SOOO fun in multiplayer. It's one of the few 1.5 decks that is viable and fun in casual.
-On a seperate note, kinda fun, my friend bought 2 boxes of Jap Zendikar and the 4/4 Angel Tokens look so bad ass in Japanese. Now my Sigils make 4/4 Kamikaze Jap Angels! Ahhhhhh!
I'm actually going to be playing Enchantress at the Gran Prix Minneapolis Legacy Masters side event... Simply because it CAN beat all the top decks, aside from combo, and no one will have a board to hate it out cuz everyone will be boarding against the usual 1.5 suspects. If I win with Enchantress I will **** my pants. Lol.
I play Enchantress and find it to be an extremely consistent and strong deck that works well against nearly any deck. (Besides of course 2-land Belcher and whatever ultra-quick goofy combo deck there is. And even Goblins can't really deal with that deck, so I don't see why that should be a criterion..)
I run a 4-color version, and it's extremely non-basic heavy, which makes Wasteland particularly great against it, but in a metagame where Wasteland is prominent, it's not exactly a problem to take out a color and run way less non-basics..
So again, why no love for Enchantress?
Because no one made a primer yet, unless you want to volunteer...this thread is for proven competitive decks. This shouldn't be here.
Thanks!
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Me and 2 friends of mine play Enchantress regularily and it almost always puts on X-0 or X-1 results. If we need a primer I would also be willing to whip something up..?
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Legacy Enchantress
What is 'Enchantress'?
Enchantress is a deck that abuses Argothian Enchantress and Enchantress' Presence to draw ridiculous amounts of cards and then vomit them into play. Er, I mean onto the battlefield. For this draw engine to work, the majority of the deck needs to be enchantments.
If you had to classify Enchantress, it would probably be 'Combo-Control'. Enchantress is a slower deck by Legacy standards, usually exploding on turn 4 or 5. In order to compete, the deck runs a fair bit of acceleration, but also runs some enchantment based disruption and creature control. Enchantress has a lot of tutor power and often runs a toolbox of 'silver bullets' to combat specific problem decks. Eventuallly the deck drops the finisher of choice and wins within the next couple of turns.
Enchantress is often nicknamed 'Solitaire' - when the deck is behaving and you're sitting pretty behind a Solitary Confinement, it often looks like you're playing a game of MTG by yourself.
The Core (Enchantress isn't Enchantress without these)
Argothian Enchantress - Always 4 copies. She draws you cards and has built in protection from spot removal.
Enchantress's Presence - Always 4 copies. The second draw engine comes in enchantment form, making it immune to creature removal and allowing it to trigger existing enchantress effects, but costs a bit more mana.
Sterling Grove - Always 4 copies. Protects your horde of enchantments from cards like Krosan Grip and can dig up silver bullets or a Presence if you really need it. In the late game you'll often resolve two of these and the overlapping protection prevents the groves themselves from being targetted.
Utopia Sprawl - Always 4 copies. Necessary acceleration, manafixing, and it triggers your enchantress effects.
The 'Meat' (These cards always show up in the main, but often to varying amounts)
Elephant Grass - Anywhere from 2 to 4 copies. How much Grass you need maindeck depends on the environment you're bringing the deck into, but most people go with the full 4. This is your primary weapon against fast aggro.
Solitary Confinement - 2 to 4 copies. The drawback hurts, but your massive card draw is often more than enough to balance it out. Once you have the engine in place and a Grove protecting a Confinement, it's extremely tough for your opponent to stop you.
Replenish - 2 to 3 copies. Whether you're sacrificing Groves, not paying the upkeep on Grass/Confinement, or your opponent is nuking your enchantments, you'll always have a use for Replenish in the mid and late game.
Oblivion Ring - 1 to 3 copies. Basically Vindicate (that can't hit lands) in enchantment form.
Mirri's Guile and Sylvan Library - 0 to 3 copies. These two cards are in contention for the same spot. Each has their merits, but I generally prefer the Guile. It's a turn 1 play and still works while under Solitary Confinement. Some Enchantress decks will skip over this entirely.
Wild Growth - 0 to 3 copies. Only if you want more acceleration.
Exploration - 2 to 3 copies. When you're drawing this many cards, you need to do something with all that excess land. This was an automatic 4-of for a long time in this deck, but recent decklists have decreased it down to 2 or 3 copies in favor of more disruption, protection, and early game acceleration. Note that multiple copies of this do 'stack' with one another (if you have 3 explorations in play, you can play up to 4 lands this turn from your hand).
Ghostly Prison - 0 to 3 copies. Most decks don't run Prison, but it's an option that occasionally pops up.
Enlightened Tutor - 0 to 2 copies. Works well with a larger than usual toolbox.
The Silver Bullets (Usually narrow effects that are meant to be tutored up)
Moat - 1 copy. It completely shuts down some decks. Most people shy away from running it due to the hefty price tag, though.
Choke - 1 copy. Likely your best weapon against anything blue. The sideboard often contains copies 2 thru 4.
City of Solitude - 0 to 1 copy. This forces your opponent to burn a counter immediately or be unable to counter for the rest of the game. It also prevents your opponent from using Sensei's Divining Top with Counterbalance.
Aura of Silence - 1 copy. Aura of Silence has a variety of uses and is a huge thorn in the side of some legacy decks (the mirror being one).
Karmic Justice - 0 to 1 copy. This isn't always useful, but against certain decks, it's the perfect weapon. Suddenly your opponent isn't so eager to pop Pernicious Deed or start knocking off your enchantments with Qasali Pridemages ...
Ground Seal - 0 to 3 copies. This is obviously a strong weapon against many legacy decks, but the number to run completely depends on the meta. I'd personally run at least 1 MD. Note the built-in cantrip.
Runed Halo - 0 to 1 copy. Usually a bit better out of the sideboard once you know what you're up against, but still very playable in the maindeck.
Seal of Primordium - 0 to 2 copies. Aura of Silence often gets the nod when it comes to disenchant effects, but this offers speed and more reliability in being green.
The Win Conditions (Gotta win somehow)
Sigil of the Empty Throne - Only 1 copy. Every enchantment you play snags you a 4/4 Angel. Once you land this, you should plan to win within 1 or 2 turns.
Words of War - Only 1 copy. Instead of drawing tons of cards when you play out an enchantment, use all of your Serra's Sanctum mana to start shooting your opponent.
Sacred Mesa - Only 1 copy, if any. Sacred Mesa was the finisher of choice for many years, but Sigil has replaced it in most decks. Land like Serra's Sanctum fueled the extreme mana costs of the Mesa.
Words of Wind - Only 1 copy, if any. Occasionally people will splash into blue and run this as part of the finishers. While it doesn't outright kill anything, it basically bounces their entire board back to their hand every turn until you do win. A fun trick here is to bounce your Exploration and Serra's Sanctum back to your hand. Replay the Exploration and because it is 'new' to the field, this will allow you to drop the Serra's Sanctum again. Lather/Rinse/Repeat until your opponent has an empty board and a 15-card hand.
Manabase (You mean I need mana?)
Serra's Sanctum - 2 to 3 copies. This guy provides ridiculous amounts of white mana once the deck is rolling.
Windswept Heath - 4 copies. Mana fixin's.
Savannah and Taiga - Pretty obvious.
Chrome Mox - Usually 0-3 copies. Not all Enchantress decks play the Mox, but it's hard to argue with its speed. It has the potential to set up a turn 1 Argothian or help ensure a turn 2 Presence - essentially speeding up the deck by an entire turn.
Sideboard Options
More copies of any of the silver bullets covered above are often found in the sideboard. In addition to those:
Blood Moon - Against certain decks, this is just all kinds of nasty. We run a fair amount of basic lands, so the impact isn't as great against us.
Warmth - Burn hates to see this. Proactive solution to red.
Sphere of Law - Reactive solution to red.
Sacred Ground - What Wasteland lock? Helps keep people from messing with your mana base.
Rule of Law - Can help fight off combo. Hide one behind a grove if possible.
Orim's Chant - Used to delay combo and buy yourself one more turn to get the job done.
Other Cards to Consider
Story Circle - COP of "name your color." Kills mono-color decks or deck that utilize a main color to harm you (ie; Green shutting down most of Thresh and Zoo)
Verduran Enchantress & Mesa Enchantress - More enchantress effects, but are almost always immediately incinerated by opposing spot removal.
Gossamer Chains - Repeatable cantripping and creature control in one package, but the double white cost is kind of annoying.
Journey to Nowhere - More creature control in enchantment form. Note that this probably should not replace Oblivion Ring.
Suppression Field - Decks with Aether Vial and Sensei's Divining Top are never a fan of this, however it does mess with Words of War and Sterling Groves.
How to Play Enchantress
Your immediate goal every game is to get an Enchantress effect online ASAP. When you look at your opening hand, you should foresee yourself getting an Enchantress online by hopefully turn 2 (Argothian, or Sprawl/Growth into Presence). If you are likely to not have an Enchantress effect by the end of turn 3, you should likely be mulling.
Once you have an Enchantress out, your next goal is to - you guessed it - get another Enchantress out. Play out your cheap enchantments like Groves, Sprawls, and the like and you'll draw into a second one in no time (if you don't already have it in hand).
Of course you always need to keep an eye on the opponent too. Do you need an early Elephant Grass? Is it a good idea to get Confinement online now? When things go wrong, Replenish is often the answer. It can turn a disastrous board into a dominant one in a split second.
Once you're drawing 3 cards for every enchantment or so, it's time to dig up a finisher. If you haven't already drawn one, you can pop a Grove or a Tutor to go search for one. If your opponent is playing blue, you'll likely want to first play City of Solitude to force out a counter (or have a Replenish ready). Most of the Enchantress win conditions operate by playing more enchantments, so continue dumping your library into play. Finish with Angel beatdown or burn.
Decklists and Deck Construction
With the exception of the 16 or so core cards, you can (and should) tune Enchantress to your liking. A big part of Enchantress is adapting it to the environment you're bringing it into.
Here are some sample decklists:
Pretty standard list, using red for Words of War
04 Enchantress's Presence
04 Sterling Grove
04 Elephant Grass
04 Utopia Sprawl
03 Solitary Confinement
02 Ground Seal
02 Oblivion Ring
02 Replenish
02 Enlightened Tutor
02 Exploration
01 Sigil of the Empty Throne
01 Words of War
01 Moat
01 Runed Halo
01 Choke
01 Wild Growth
01 Karmic Justice
03 Plains
04 Windswept Heath
04 Savannah
01 Taiga
02 Serra's Sanctum
03 Choke
03 Warmth
02 Karmic Justice
02 Blood Moon
02 Sacred Ground
01 Oblivion Ring
01 Replenish
01 Aura of Silence
Blue splash, using Words of Wind
04 Enchantress's Presence
04 Sterling Grove
04 Elephant Grass
04 Utopia Sprawl
03 Mirri's Guile
03 Solitary Confinement
02 Replenish
02 Enlightened Tutor
02 Exploration
01 Sigil of the Empty Throne
01 City of Solitude
01 Words of Wind
01 Ground Seal
01 Choke
01 Oblivion Ring
02 Plains
04 Windswept Heath
02 Misty Rainforest
03 Savannah
01 Tropical Island
02 Serra's Sanctum
03 Choke
03 Warmth
03 Sphere of Law
02 City of Solitude
02 Karmic Justice
01 Replenish
01 Aura of Silence
Matchups
Someone should do some detailed matchups. Some general info:
vs. Aggro - Neutral to Favorable
Most aggro decks can be contained by early Grass rolling into Solitary Confinement. Moat outright shuts down some aggro decks as well. Depending on what you're up against, you may want to aggressively mulligan into a hand that can fight off an aggro deck long enough to get the draw engine online. If up against burn, get under a Confinement ASAP and you should be able to turn on cruise control from there on out.
vs. Control - Neutral to Favorable
This of course depends on the type of control, but in general, you want to lead up to a big explosive turn where you cast a succession of cards that must be countered or will directly lead to winning you the game. Chaining Choke, City of Solitude, and a finisher together are usually enough to overwhelm their hand. If not, try and have a Replenish ready.
vs. Combo - Disastrous
Enchantress isn't as fast as other legacy combo and generally doesn't have enough early disruption or protection to pull off a win.
1) Try to get the engine online as fast as possible
2) Hide under a Grove and Confinement
3) Pray.
Since you are running Solitary Confinement, would Luminarch Ascension work here as another win-con?
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Thanks for DarkNightCavalier of HotPS for the exceptional signature.
I agree with nameless that this is a very nice primer. I think it's concise and to-the-point and it may not be as robust and full as other primers but it really gets the job done. A-/A in my grade-book.
Enchantress is capable of being manipulated and built so many ways, the primer is perfect, as it describes options, etc.
I would maybe throw in a section on how to play and the series of plays you'll want to pull off (this is combo in my books and there are "wrong" plays to do).
I think Luminarch is a powerful finisher but establishing the counters is going to be a pain in the ass. Elephant x4 / Confinement x2-3 will be needed to help grow the enchantment....from there onwards, you'll have the resources to churn out ~8+ angels a turn; enough to ruin anyone.
I'd also consider the "sisters" of argothian enchantress as potential card candidates.
*Wrath of God can be a SB option if aggro is heavy. It does little damage to your end while hurting other people.
*Rule of Law = hurts opponent's combo
*Story Circle = COP of "name your color." Kills mono-color decks or deck that utilize a main color to harm you (ie; Green shutting down most of Thresh and Zoo)
I like combo-enchantress but also recognize there is aggro-enchantress. This is quite a different deck and less often top-tier. Combo does snag a few T8's but Aggro is more developing competitive atm
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Anyway seems like a good primer, I might consider building this deck:)
Hopefully more M/U's soon after more testing, good work!
a) nullifies an attacker, and
b) is an excellent enchantress enabler.
It's something to consider.
'buster
HR Analyst. Gamer. Activist | Fearless, and forthright | Aggro-control is a mindset.
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I just think that Journey to nowhere Seal of primordium and Seal of cleansing deserved to be mentioned. For an unkown meta i think ring is better.
I'd just like to say, that I've been testing with supression field, and has worked great, it slows down top long enough, shuts down vial, ravager and wasteland.
I also decided to drop red entirely to favor Boseiju, Who shelters all and Rude Awakening Along with Ascension and Sigil because merfolk usually FoWs both ascension and Sigil.
IDK if you mentioned it, but the beauty of Enchantress is that it can adapt to every meta, sure it will be a long time before it wins a big tourney. But for local play its just awesome.
Then again Archmage ascension looks quite tasty for a toolbox Words of Wind enchantress. Quest for ancient secrets might find a spot in Blu chantress builds too.
A while back I was testing with Leyline of the Void 4-of as SB for (I packed fertile ground) Ichorid/LFTL builds but they're not really popular I think only 1 guy plays ichorid.
I would like to add a few things you might have missed: 4x Orim's Chant in SB greatly improves your match-up Vs Combo.. a must include. Alot of winning Enchantess decks are including 3x Chrome Mox to bust out turn 1-2 Enchantress.
As a huge fan the deck I would also like to state that while it hasn't shown impressive results at many major events the deck is extremely fun to play and also if very very powerful in under-developed metas.
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:o-)(EDH)(-:o
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Thanks for all the feedback and help everyone - updated the post.
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
Currently Playing:
Retired
Agreed. That cards would be damn powerful in Enchantress if our Argothian wasn't so needed...
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{{TeNeB, Th3 A-HoLe}}
=MoMiR VigSauc3=
4x Enchantress' Precence
4x Sterling Grove
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Wild Growth
3x Elephant Grass
3x Utopia Sprawl
2x Exploration
2x Solitary Confinement
2x City of Solitude
2x Sigil of the Empty Throne
2x Replenish
1x Words of War
1x Karmic Justice
1x Runed Halo
1x Moat
9x Froest
4x Windswept Heath
2x Serra Sanctum
6x Plains
3x Choke
2x Aura of Silence
1x Sacred Ground
1x Seal of Primordium
1x Elephant Grass
1x City of Solitude
1x Karmic Justice
1x Words of Worship
1x Solitary Confinement
1x Replenish
2x Rule of Law
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+++++++++++++++++
:o-)(EDH)(-:o
{{TeNeB, Th3 A-HoLe}}
=MoMiR VigSauc3=
Are you finding 21 lands to be too many? I run less I can't remember the number exactly but it is equal to or less than 20.
Currently Playing:
Retired
Anyways, on the subject of combo, Mindbreak Trap offers another SB option in addition to Orim's Chant. Though I generally considered Enchantress to be a good tool for combating aggro, and not great vs anything else. I've been playing it, but it just never feels as good as a deck sporting 4 Brainstorm and 4 FoW. Still underrated though. Bonus: it rocks in casual multiplayer. :\
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I am very Savannah less. I chose not to run them because of the amount of Aggro-Loam aka Loam/Wasteland in my meta. I know I can still grab basics but I haven't found myself needing a Savannah over a basic thus far.
As for the Wild Growths/Utopia Sprawls I guess I never put much thought into it. I seems to cast Words of War fine everygame I need it. After you start going off and you're drawing 12+ cards a turn you usually run into a Sprawl where you can name Red. Growth is nice though because if can enchant a Plains... Don't know why that would ever help but it could be relevant.
I find 21 lands to be okay. I could probably drop 1 in favor of a 1cc enchantment actually. Possibly a 3rd Exploration?
In a meta where theres lots of combo Mindbreak seems fine. Chant is alot more versitile however, i.e. against conterspells Chant into City of Solitude, GG FoW. But Mindbreak is okay.
Also I agree that Enchantress is SOOO fun in multiplayer. It's one of the few 1.5 decks that is viable and fun in casual.
-On a seperate note, kinda fun, my friend bought 2 boxes of Jap Zendikar and the 4/4 Angel Tokens look so bad ass in Japanese. Now my Sigils make 4/4 Kamikaze Jap Angels! Ahhhhhh!
~ UGBW Ba$eruptioN UGBW ~
+++++++++++++++++
:o-)(EDH)(-:o
{{TeNeB, Th3 A-HoLe}}
=MoMiR VigSauc3=
I'm actually going to be playing Enchantress at the Gran Prix Minneapolis Legacy Masters side event... Simply because it CAN beat all the top decks, aside from combo, and no one will have a board to hate it out cuz everyone will be boarding against the usual 1.5 suspects. If I win with Enchantress I will **** my pants. Lol.
~ UGBW Ba$eruptioN UGBW ~
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:o-)(EDH)(-:o
{{TeNeB, Th3 A-HoLe}}
=MoMiR VigSauc3=