Before I forget, I would like to give a major shout-out to pizzap for keeping up with this post so much. Anyways, I have been doing more playtesting with more budget cards and these are the results.
Karplusan Forest - I really like this option if you are budget constrained. The 1 damage it does to you for color fixing isn't really a problem unless you are facing a fast burn, which can be stalled with Essence Warden. I don't know if I like it over Copperline Gorge 100%, but it is a great option for budget decks.
Skinshifter - Skinshifter has been a bit situational depending on if you have the mana to keep transforming it. I love drawing into it, and aside from Burning-Tree Shaman, it has become a great turn 3 drop. Another great budget option.
Fauna Shaman - Rather then playtesting the ability of this card, I have been focusing on how the deck runs without it. I have found that the deck doesn't miss it too bad. The problem I face is that it requires you to discard a creature which is something that I feel like this deck should not be doing. The most common way I win is with a huge board presence with a Rage Forger dropped on top. The true usefulness of this card is finding the cards necessary after boarding that aren't elementals (which could be gotten with Flamekin Harbinger). (I'm looking at you Troll Ascetic) If you have done testing without Fauna Shaman, let me know how it has worked. The current cost of Fauna Shaman is going through the roof, and by cutting it the deck becomes much more budget friendly.
Burning-Tree Shaman - This card is a boss. It stalls other big creature decks (I'm looking at you goyf)and is a pain to many decks.
Wolf-Skull Shaman - I don't have much experience with this card because it is ALWAYS removed right away. I actually really enjoy playing it right before I drop a more important card, such as Rage forger or Bosk Banneret because it usually draws instant removal from their hand and taps them down so I can play one of the other two right away.
I will be competing in a FNM level Modern tournament on the 18th in which I will really put this deck to the test. (Results will follow) 1st prize is a Ravnica Dark Confidant
Glad to see I am not the only person for whom Wolf-Skull is just a giant removal target, lol.
Looking at pizzap's deck lists, I just wonder is there a reason you do not care from Rootbound Crag?
Random thought from when I was researching shaman choices. Would it be possible to take this deck in a more red centric direction by focusing on the Elemental Shaman? I love the deck as it is and am buying up what I need from my previous posts, but just like to explore what else the deck can do.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
That makes sense. I will likely be playing relatively basic heavy for the foreseeable future so the Crag seems to always get in untapped on a regular basis (to be honest I like basic heavy decks in general, I am weird like that).
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
I have also been playing this deck for a while now but I am having so trouble recovering from the Deathrite Shaman ban. The deck lost some of its speed but also utility and reach with it. I have tried some Sakura tribe scout in its place but I don't really like them and instantly went down from four to just three. They only ramp for one turn most of the time and only really help when I have also drawn a Bosk Banneret. Although there are also those opponents who stick with the 'bolt the manadork even if it's a bad one', that is best case scenario. I do feel the deck needs one drops though. Rakdos Cackler seems like the best option if I want to stay more aggresive. But I have also been wondering about splashing black for some disruption like thoughtseizes, it could help against the fast combo decks or against sweepers. Has anyone tried a more disruption build?
All in all I just wished they would print another shaman mana dork. Does not need to be as insane as Deathrite, just tapping for green would be good enough for me.
Should I be running giant growth or is there something that would be better in that slot? I feel like I'm not using it to its fullest potential. Assault strobe maybe?
Also, has anyone considered Vexing Shusher? At worst it's a 2/2 for 2 that can't be countered.
Hey guys, this is my first post I've made on mtgsalvation. Anyhow, I was running a list similar to this one back when Bloodbraid Elf was still legal. With the Prophetic Flamespeaker's printing I've decided to revisit this deck. I was happy to see that Burning-Tree Emissary was in our card pool since it does so much work when it comes to our game plan.
That's the deck! It's not budget, but reading from the previous post, I figured it was appropriate. If not, pardon me. I'm here for criticism.
The game plan when looking strickly at the main board, namely game 1, is pretty straight forward: dump your hand ideally around turn 4 and run at the opponent as quickly as possible. The non-budget card Sword of Body and Mind gives the deck a teeth, hedges game one against UWR/Pod, and makes Prophetic Flamespeaker a scary scary threat. I'll discuss my thoughts about this card after playing ~120 games with it, between standard and modern, that'll come later. TL;DR : our game plan is to stompface and count to 20.
The sideboard is what makes this deck really shine. The swords slots, side and main, change depending on the meta I think I'll be playing against. Normally this slot is dedicated to Sword of War and Peace since it makes the creatures in the deck dodge common removal in Modern while covering most of the pie with Sword of Body and Mind. Thrun and Master of the Wild Hunt come in when it's obvious, but with the additional Bosk Banneret allows us to "go mid-range" against decks that want to side in varients of Whipflare against us or random aggro decks that crop up from time-to-time.
As for Prophetic Flamespeaker, I think he deserves a really deep look to understand why he's actually a good card. If you notice, the deck centers about the 2-slots, so hitting all our land drops means we could get two cards off the top of our deck. Sure, he doesn't pass the bolt test, but the commonly 2/4 trades well with a Loxodon Smiter after dealing a point of damage. With the Swords of hateful colors he becomes a power-house that induces scoops. Honestly, I had an opponent with a single Path to Exile in his hand where I had the Prophetic Flamespeaker and Rage Forger in play and he couldn't figure which one was the better target.
But that's my take on the archaetype, feel free to comment! Thanks! =D
Shared is really really good budget option when you don't have a sword. I dunno, my playstyle loves the fact Prophetic is a removal magnet. It allows me to play Rage Forger with no fear. Gauging the player lets me know if Prophetic Flamespeaker a good card to play post-boardwipe, normally my sword isn't bothered so I can play him, equip, and pass the turn with confidence. I like to Eternal Witness into him when I have an empty board since Rage Forger is unimpressive in that situation.
Pissed Jesus needs to be played with swords with no questions asked. Sometimes, when I'm trying to go as fast as I can (against Affinity) the swords normally come out. I just love the general interaction against the Meta when those two are paired together.
He's my standard format go-to right now, since Titan's Strength synergizes with him so well in a Heroic shell. That list is sweet to play btw =P
What do you think about Whipflare in the side since "going midrange" means I can survive with the creatures on board. (Having those turns to bolt and commune with liesure is a really nice change of pace.... while sculpting the hand)
I really liked the idea of this deck and I went out and got the cards to make the cheap starting version of the deck. I looked at my rare cards and saw that my elvish pipers and gigantomancers are both shamans. I added them. I usually play casual group games but I tested it with a friend in a duel. Elvish piper was able to drop all of my creatures for 1 and I was able to drop gigantomancer. On the same turn I made every creature a 7/7 and plowed into him to win.
I didn't read all 30 pages of the last thread but I wasn't sure if anyone had looked into them as playable shaman cards for this deck. I know fast is the idea but for group game I think it would work well. I need to get some Leaf-crowned Elders but for the time being they seem to work. I need to test this deck more though.
I really liked the idea of this deck and I went out and got the cards to make the cheap starting version of the deck. I looked at my rare cards and saw that my elvish pipers and gigantomancers are both shamans. I added them. I usually play casual group games but I tested it with a friend in a duel. Elvish piper was able to drop all of my creatures for 1 and I was able to drop gigantomancer. On the same turn I made every creature a 7/7 and plowed into him to win.
(snip)
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It really depends on what you want to do with your deck. I like playing in tournament locals; others prefer casual only. For me, I wouldn't recommend this card since it has a high possibility of being a dead card in your hand.
Hereto I need to remind you what our deck is trying to do: Crap out guys literally as fast as we possibily can; anything outside that plan has to be done for a reason, in a tournament setting, and not just for being "cute."
I like Green swords quite a bit since it gets through Goyf. I don't know, since I just want some main board swords since it improves our UWR match up since they have to answer EVERYTHING that we play.
What do you guys think of Simian Spirit Guide to improve our speed slightly? I cut my elvish mystics for them and it makes for some explosive opens since we can cast burning tree into all sorts of scary stuff on turn 1.
A very common line that I've done off a burning tree is using the spirit guide to cast an awkward 3 mana guy. I'm a huge fan of the flamespeaker and being able to play it on turn two with the opponent having knowledge of the Forger in my hand is always a plus, and something that we really can't do with any of the one-mana dorks that this deck conventionally runs.
I completed the tournament at my LGS that I mentioned earlier in the thread. It was BAD. 0-3 then a last round by. I wasn't focused and played bad. Results are as follows.
Match #1: UWR Control
Game 1: He came out fast, and I got badly flooded. Not good.
Game 2: I played a turn 3 Blood Moon. He was in an almost unbeatable board state. He top decked a Batterskull next turn.
Match #2 - Jund
Game 1 - I came out with a great board presence. I have ~7 creatures to his 4 fatties. I swung with everything for lethal even with blocks... until I realized he had a Raging Ravine. He was able to block that extra creature to live and struck back with a 9/9 Ooze and a 5/6 Goyf for the win. BAD PUNT!
Game 2 - I had a great board with multiple threats. He fires off a Anger of the Gods. Wipes my board. Followed up with 2 5/6 Goyfs.
Match #3 - U/G Infect - This was my friend who did all the playtesting with me. HE was playing my half completed Infect that he just threw some cards into of his own. (He still beat me with the half-good deck)
Game 1 - He was stuck on one land. Killed all his threats.
Game 2 - I tried to (stupidly) keep a one lander because I had a Destructive Revelry and I knew he was going to board a Torpor Orb. Bad decision.
Game 3 - I was able to deal with every threat. I had a great board state, but he was able to keep topdecking a new creature for each I killed. Used an Apostle's Blessing for protection from green. GG.
Match #4 - BYE
It was an AWFUL day. I don't think the deck is that trash. I think I just played bad, and that was that.
I played my list at my LGS on wednesday, seeing the post above I learned that we should prolly report our results. I went 3-1, splitting into top 4.
Round 1: Twin.
The deck hummed really well in this match, it was a shame I was on the draw for two of the games, each of those times he had the combo and 4 lands in his opener. Overall, I don't really worry about this match-up, I think we just need to play quickly and answer the combo if we can.
Round 2: Pod.
I crushed this poor guy, which makes sense since I nut drew twice, and resolved the good 'ol Burning-Tree Shaman against him before he could pod. The card in his hand had to read CMC3,4 dmg to all the things.
Round 3: Scapeshift.
This match was a joke, if we resolve a rage forger most of our board survive the bolts and angers the deck plays. Cryptic slows us down quite a bit though.
Round 4: Soul Sisters.
I thought this match-up was going to be really bad until I realized that my creatures normally can kill his guys, with them staying around. Basically, I had to make sure that my guys dealt more damage than the 2-3 life that he gained. I do think his list was really weird since he was cutting the 1cmc Soul Sisters.
After the tournament I played against WUR, this match up seems really really bad. What are your guys recommendations for this match-up?
I really liked the idea of this deck and I went out and got the cards to make the cheap starting version of the deck. I looked at my rare cards and saw that my elvish pipers and gigantomancers are both shamans. I added them. I usually play casual group games but I tested it with a friend in a duel. Elvish piper was able to drop all of my creatures for 1 and I was able to drop gigantomancer. On the same turn I made every creature a 7/7 and plowed into him to win.
(snip)
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It really depends on what you want to do with your deck. I like playing in tournament locals; others prefer casual only. For me, I wouldn't recommend this card since it has a high possibility of being a dead card in your hand.
Hereto I need to remind you what our deck is trying to do: Crap out guys literally as fast as we possibily can; anything outside that plan has to be done for a reason, in a tournament setting, and not just for being "cute."
I totally understand the point of this deck. I really like it a lot actually. Since I play group games a lot I decided to take it in a another direction. Since I have never competed in a tournament I would consider taking this type of deck with me the day I feel the urge to compete. It is very fast and I can win against most of my friends decks 1v1.
I tried a Sword of Fire and Ice for a few training matches + a Modern Daily Event on MTGO, but it had no real show so far. I sided it out twice against Affinity. Anyway, yesterday in the Daily I had a 3-0-split and with such results I don't mind testing the Sword a bit more (2-1 VS Bogles, thanks to Back to Nature sideboard, 2-1 VS Affinity, no particular sideboard hero, but I was just faster, 2-0 vs RUg Tarmo/Tempo Twin, nice topdeck Lightning Bolt while my opponent was at 3).
I really liked the idea of this deck and I went out and got the cards to make the cheap starting version of the deck. I looked at my rare cards and saw that my elvish pipers and gigantomancers are both shamans. I added them. I usually play casual group games but I tested it with a friend in a duel. Elvish piper was able to drop all of my creatures for 1 and I was able to drop gigantomancer. On the same turn I made every creature a 7/7 and plowed into him to win.
I didn't read all 30 pages of the last thread but I wasn't sure if anyone had looked into them as playable shaman cards for this deck. I know fast is the idea but for group game I think it would work well. I need to get some Leaf-crowned Elders but for the time being they seem to work. I need to test this deck more though.
It seems fun, but I think it is a bit fragile, especially since Piper is 4 mana and is only 1/1 with summoning sickness. Leaf-Crowned Elder will help for sure, and you may also have a look at Descendants' Path. Also, you want to have your Shamans on top of your library. It is a stretch, but perhaps Cream of the Crop helps or some kind of spell to scry (Llanowar Empath and Stormcaller of Keranos are scrying Shamans). However, I have no experience with such a Shaman deck. Usually I dump my hand and flock my opponent. I think that what thebabbles said is true, you will end up with dead cards in your hand, and you need to work towards very specific situations which makes you vulnerable to disruption in your setup. So, I think it has a lot of fun potential, but not so much tournament potential.
After playing with my friends the other night I realize that this type of plan will not work. The elvish piper eats a removal/counter spell before I ever get to play her, in turn making my gigantomancer to expensive to cast and utilize on the same turn. It was good in theory but what looks going on paper isn't always going to work.
I've been having a bit of trouble with damage-based board wipes. Almost all of my creatures are 2 or less toughness and given the speed with which I am laying down creatures, a Pyroclasm often eats my entire opening hand. Any suggestions on how to play around these type of spells or how to build around surviving would be greatly appreciated.
Two thoughts: Simian Spirit Guide is good on turns 1, 2 and 3: Turn 1 for B-TE into a two drop or some shenanegans, turn 2 for Bosk into another creature, or turn 3 double Rage Forger (with a turn 2 bosk). It is a highly conditional card and late game is almost totally useless. However, this deck should not aim to play late game and should not evaluate cards based on their late game utility, IMO. I consider it a land and count it as such. A land that can be ditched to Fauna Shaman. A land that taps only for R.
Shared Animosity gives a bigger pump than Rage Forger if you control four attacking creatures. This is usually not relevant but can come in handy. I have occasionally chosen to cast Shared Animosity over Rage Forger for this reason. Shared Animosity pumps the wolf tokens produced by Wolf-Skull Shaman. Again, rarely relevant but worth taking note of. Tattermunge Witch can be played and activated a turn after Shared Animosity for a pseudo-overrun effect.
I rarely see Pyroclasm anymore, since everybody is playing Anger of the Gods nowadays. Anyway, they are similar and both annoying. This is the reason I started liking Burning-Tree Shaman so much. Even after Anger of the Gods, he remains and deals too much damage to opponents to stabilize.
My solution is basically running 4 Bosk Banneret, and at least 2 Burning-Tree Shaman. I noticed that green's anti-damage such as Tower Defense and Wrap in Vigor require you to keep 2 mana open, what you absolutely don't want. Therefore I splashed white and have some Burrenton Forge-Tender, just set it and forget it. If you expect a Pyroclasm, don't overextend and play first the higher toughness creatures and if necessary Elvish Visionary that is a cantrip anyway.
Burning-Tree Shaman is a great duder and I have been using him for some time. Two of seems about right.
I have never used Burrenton Forge-Tender because of the cost of splashing a third color but it seems like a good plan. Maybe I'll look into a budget friendly way of splashing white.
How much use have you been getting from those Horizon Canopy? I very much like the idea of being able to trade a land in for a card late game but I'm not sure how important that really is, given the co$t of that land.
Evening all. I wrote an article regarding Shamans for a budget deckbuilding competition. My budget was £65 ($110) and the pricing was based on manaleak's shop.
Why do you have so few Burning-Tree Emissary? I mean, I have a biased love for the card, but I was just wondering why you stuck your number at 2. In my build a very common turn one play is Commune with Nature and having a burning-tree being common by turn two makes the Rage Forger plays that much more valuable. Needless to say, you inclusions that I didn't even think of - so maybe cutting a few of these will allow room for other things. Cheers.
By the way, how is the Flamespeaker doing? Perhaps I will try it as well at some point and I think I initially rated it too low. What I wonder the most about is how often you can successfully equip him with a Sword. I usually could not bring up the 5 mana for it. How would Mutagenic Growth be instead of Swords? It would basically be a 5 mana difference and it would occasionally save some other Shamans from Bolt or Anger of the Gods.
I also cut the swords recently. Since I added the Spirit that adds one red mana, I would get really greedy playing those cards with the Flamespeaker to make him good. The one extra helps. I have learned that just playing the flamespeaker, in this deck, is good enough. He soaks up a bolt, helix, path, or mana leak upon entering or during combat. He simply has to be answered, if he connects you win - independent of what cards are in your hand. They simply become the back up plan.
Mutagenic Growth I haven't really considered. Since the deck runs red I prefer bolt to this card - but with prophetic it is better math wise. I'll sleeve up a few my next tourney and let you know how it goes.
I have varied feelings of prophetic in legacy and standard, but I think he's a good card if you can realize that he is a removal magnet. If your playstyle complements that then you'll enjoy the card, simply enough.
As pizzap said, you're looking at Shaman rather than Emissary. I discuss in the article about how crucial Emissary is so I'd never go to fewer than four. I'm not a fan of Commune With Nature. I prefer Flamekin as you know exactly what you're getting (Rage Forger) as well as getting a Shaman on the board, ready to benefit from pumps. The deck is so packed with two drops that I'm confident I'll be getting a decent amount of value on t2, leading into a t3 Rage Forger, that I don't need to dilute my strategy by playing a card that doesn't add a Shaman to the battlefield or tutor me up a wincon.
Oh man, I agree. I just need G spells in my deck since Flamekin and Birds/Commune is my most common burning-tree play. The extra sight does provide more for the decks that skimp on bolt and go for creature threats. I really enjoyed your list since it included far more "do things" shamans than my list did. How has your list been performing for you against UWR and Scapeshift?
Karplusan Forest - I really like this option if you are budget constrained. The 1 damage it does to you for color fixing isn't really a problem unless you are facing a fast burn, which can be stalled with Essence Warden. I don't know if I like it over Copperline Gorge 100%, but it is a great option for budget decks.
Skinshifter - Skinshifter has been a bit situational depending on if you have the mana to keep transforming it. I love drawing into it, and aside from Burning-Tree Shaman, it has become a great turn 3 drop. Another great budget option.
Fauna Shaman - Rather then playtesting the ability of this card, I have been focusing on how the deck runs without it. I have found that the deck doesn't miss it too bad. The problem I face is that it requires you to discard a creature which is something that I feel like this deck should not be doing. The most common way I win is with a huge board presence with a Rage Forger dropped on top. The true usefulness of this card is finding the cards necessary after boarding that aren't elementals (which could be gotten with Flamekin Harbinger). (I'm looking at you Troll Ascetic) If you have done testing without Fauna Shaman, let me know how it has worked. The current cost of Fauna Shaman is going through the roof, and by cutting it the deck becomes much more budget friendly.
Burning-Tree Shaman - This card is a boss. It stalls other big creature decks (I'm looking at you goyf)and is a pain to many decks.
Wolf-Skull Shaman - I don't have much experience with this card because it is ALWAYS removed right away. I actually really enjoy playing it right before I drop a more important card, such as Rage forger or Bosk Banneret because it usually draws instant removal from their hand and taps them down so I can play one of the other two right away.
I will be competing in a FNM level Modern tournament on the 18th in which I will really put this deck to the test. (Results will follow) 1st prize is a Ravnica Dark Confidant
Looking at pizzap's deck lists, I just wonder is there a reason you do not care from Rootbound Crag?
Random thought from when I was researching shaman choices. Would it be possible to take this deck in a more red centric direction by focusing on the Elemental Shaman? I love the deck as it is and am buying up what I need from my previous posts, but just like to explore what else the deck can do.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
How can you consider this decklist as a budget one with nearly 600$ locked up in 8 cards?
Also, has anyone considered Vexing Shusher? At worst it's a 2/2 for 2 that can't be countered.
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
I will always firmly stand by the belief that Magic is a game first and a collectable second.
Here's the list I've taken to my LGS's weekly modern tournament. It's a rather competive meta:
The Main
1 - Drops
3 Flamekin Harbinger
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Commune with Nature
T: 14
2 - Drops
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Elvish Visonary
3 Wolf-Skull Shaman
2 Fauna Shaman
3 Bosk Banneret
T: 15
3 - Drops
2 Sword of Body and Mind
3 Prophetic Flamespeaker
2 Eternal Witness
4 Rage Forger
T: 11
Lands : 20
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Ground
3 Cavern of Souls
5 Forest
4 Mountain
The Side
2 Sword Package
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
2 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Bosk Banneret
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Essence Warden
2 Burning-Tree Shaman
That's the deck! It's not budget, but reading from the previous post, I figured it was appropriate. If not, pardon me. I'm here for criticism.
The game plan when looking strickly at the main board, namely game 1, is pretty straight forward: dump your hand ideally around turn 4 and run at the opponent as quickly as possible. The non-budget card Sword of Body and Mind gives the deck a teeth, hedges game one against UWR/Pod, and makes Prophetic Flamespeaker a scary scary threat. I'll discuss my thoughts about this card after playing ~120 games with it, between standard and modern, that'll come later. TL;DR : our game plan is to stompface and count to 20.
The sideboard is what makes this deck really shine. The swords slots, side and main, change depending on the meta I think I'll be playing against. Normally this slot is dedicated to Sword of War and Peace since it makes the creatures in the deck dodge common removal in Modern while covering most of the pie with Sword of Body and Mind. Thrun and Master of the Wild Hunt come in when it's obvious, but with the additional Bosk Banneret allows us to "go mid-range" against decks that want to side in varients of Whipflare against us or random aggro decks that crop up from time-to-time.
Essence Warden and Burning-Tree Shaman come in against Twin and, for the latter, Pod. That's basically the deck.
As for Prophetic Flamespeaker, I think he deserves a really deep look to understand why he's actually a good card. If you notice, the deck centers about the 2-slots, so hitting all our land drops means we could get two cards off the top of our deck. Sure, he doesn't pass the bolt test, but the commonly 2/4 trades well with a Loxodon Smiter after dealing a point of damage. With the Swords of hateful colors he becomes a power-house that induces scoops. Honestly, I had an opponent with a single Path to Exile in his hand where I had the Prophetic Flamespeaker and Rage Forger in play and he couldn't figure which one was the better target.
But that's my take on the archaetype, feel free to comment! Thanks! =D
Pissed Jesus needs to be played with swords with no questions asked. Sometimes, when I'm trying to go as fast as I can (against Affinity) the swords normally come out. I just love the general interaction against the Meta when those two are paired together.
He's my standard format go-to right now, since Titan's Strength synergizes with him so well in a Heroic shell. That list is sweet to play btw =P
What do you think about Whipflare in the side since "going midrange" means I can survive with the creatures on board. (Having those turns to bolt and commune with liesure is a really nice change of pace.... while sculpting the hand)
I didn't read all 30 pages of the last thread but I wasn't sure if anyone had looked into them as playable shaman cards for this deck. I know fast is the idea but for group game I think it would work well. I need to get some Leaf-crowned Elders but for the time being they seem to work. I need to test this deck more though.
It really depends on what you want to do with your deck. I like playing in tournament locals; others prefer casual only. For me, I wouldn't recommend this card since it has a high possibility of being a dead card in your hand.
leaf-crowned elder occasionally sees play in my sideboard depending on the amount of scapeshift and other "slow" decks in the format since it survives Anger of the Gods/Slagstorm/Pyroclasm/Lightning Bolt like a champion while providing card advantage.
Hereto I need to remind you what our deck is trying to do: Crap out guys literally as fast as we possibily can; anything outside that plan has to be done for a reason, in a tournament setting, and not just for being "cute."
What do you guys think of Simian Spirit Guide to improve our speed slightly? I cut my elvish mystics for them and it makes for some explosive opens since we can cast burning tree into all sorts of scary stuff on turn 1.
A very common line that I've done off a burning tree is using the spirit guide to cast an awkward 3 mana guy. I'm a huge fan of the flamespeaker and being able to play it on turn two with the opponent having knowledge of the Forger in my hand is always a plus, and something that we really can't do with any of the one-mana dorks that this deck conventionally runs.
Match #1: UWR Control
Game 1: He came out fast, and I got badly flooded. Not good.
Game 2: I played a turn 3 Blood Moon. He was in an almost unbeatable board state. He top decked a Batterskull next turn.
Match #2 - Jund
Game 1 - I came out with a great board presence. I have ~7 creatures to his 4 fatties. I swung with everything for lethal even with blocks... until I realized he had a Raging Ravine. He was able to block that extra creature to live and struck back with a 9/9 Ooze and a 5/6 Goyf for the win. BAD PUNT!
Game 2 - I had a great board with multiple threats. He fires off a Anger of the Gods. Wipes my board. Followed up with 2 5/6 Goyfs.
Match #3 - U/G Infect - This was my friend who did all the playtesting with me. HE was playing my half completed Infect that he just threw some cards into of his own. (He still beat me with the half-good deck)
Game 1 - He was stuck on one land. Killed all his threats.
Game 2 - I tried to (stupidly) keep a one lander because I had a Destructive Revelry and I knew he was going to board a Torpor Orb. Bad decision.
Game 3 - I was able to deal with every threat. I had a great board state, but he was able to keep topdecking a new creature for each I killed. Used an Apostle's Blessing for protection from green. GG.
Match #4 - BYE
It was an AWFUL day. I don't think the deck is that trash. I think I just played bad, and that was that.
Round 1: Twin.
The deck hummed really well in this match, it was a shame I was on the draw for two of the games, each of those times he had the combo and 4 lands in his opener. Overall, I don't really worry about this match-up, I think we just need to play quickly and answer the combo if we can.
Round 2: Pod.
I crushed this poor guy, which makes sense since I nut drew twice, and resolved the good 'ol Burning-Tree Shaman against him before he could pod. The card in his hand had to read CMC3,4 dmg to all the things.
Round 3: Scapeshift.
This match was a joke, if we resolve a rage forger most of our board survive the bolts and angers the deck plays. Cryptic slows us down quite a bit though.
Round 4: Soul Sisters.
I thought this match-up was going to be really bad until I realized that my creatures normally can kill his guys, with them staying around. Basically, I had to make sure that my guys dealt more damage than the 2-3 life that he gained. I do think his list was really weird since he was cutting the 1cmc Soul Sisters.
After the tournament I played against WUR, this match up seems really really bad. What are your guys recommendations for this match-up?
I totally understand the point of this deck. I really like it a lot actually. Since I play group games a lot I decided to take it in a another direction. Since I have never competed in a tournament I would consider taking this type of deck with me the day I feel the urge to compete. It is very fast and I can win against most of my friends decks 1v1.
After playing with my friends the other night I realize that this type of plan will not work. The elvish piper eats a removal/counter spell before I ever get to play her, in turn making my gigantomancer to expensive to cast and utilize on the same turn. It was good in theory but what looks going on paper isn't always going to work.
Shared Animosity gives a bigger pump than Rage Forger if you control four attacking creatures. This is usually not relevant but can come in handy. I have occasionally chosen to cast Shared Animosity over Rage Forger for this reason. Shared Animosity pumps the wolf tokens produced by Wolf-Skull Shaman. Again, rarely relevant but worth taking note of. Tattermunge Witch can be played and activated a turn after Shared Animosity for a pseudo-overrun effect.
Burning-Tree Shaman is a great duder and I have been using him for some time. Two of seems about right.
I have never used Burrenton Forge-Tender because of the cost of splashing a third color but it seems like a good plan. Maybe I'll look into a budget friendly way of splashing white.
How much use have you been getting from those Horizon Canopy? I very much like the idea of being able to trade a land in for a card late game but I'm not sure how important that really is, given the co$t of that land.
Why do you have so few Burning-Tree Emissary? I mean, I have a biased love for the card, but I was just wondering why you stuck your number at 2. In my build a very common turn one play is Commune with Nature and having a burning-tree being common by turn two makes the Rage Forger plays that much more valuable. Needless to say, you inclusions that I didn't even think of - so maybe cutting a few of these will allow room for other things. Cheers.
I also cut the swords recently. Since I added the Spirit that adds one red mana, I would get really greedy playing those cards with the Flamespeaker to make him good. The one extra helps. I have learned that just playing the flamespeaker, in this deck, is good enough. He soaks up a bolt, helix, path, or mana leak upon entering or during combat. He simply has to be answered, if he connects you win - independent of what cards are in your hand. They simply become the back up plan.
Mutagenic Growth I haven't really considered. Since the deck runs red I prefer bolt to this card - but with prophetic it is better math wise. I'll sleeve up a few my next tourney and let you know how it goes.
I have varied feelings of prophetic in legacy and standard, but I think he's a good card if you can realize that he is a removal magnet. If your playstyle complements that then you'll enjoy the card, simply enough.
Oh man, I agree. I just need G spells in my deck since Flamekin and Birds/Commune is my most common burning-tree play. The extra sight does provide more for the decks that skimp on bolt and go for creature threats. I really enjoyed your list since it included far more "do things" shamans than my list did. How has your list been performing for you against UWR and Scapeshift?