Given the limited options I would probably have the sideboard be a more aggressive plan with Agent of Fates and Tormented Hero along with some heroic enablers. The reason I would want to go mono black is that with the extremely limited fixing available and the general propensity to play 2+ colors I imagine a lot of decks will stumble. If I wanted to go even more controlling there is 2 other removal spells but they cost 5 and 6
This deck has the highest amount of removal but also a very weak mana base. I went with a slight lean toward swamp as turn 1 thoughtseize could be important. The 4 artifact fixers are basically because the mana is so rough. While I could go lighter on the red it seems like that would be defeating the point of adding red.
This build may involve me trying to be too cute with Triad of Fates but I really like the potential of flickering Ashen Rider and Gray Merchant of Asphodel. I am very unsure of the Spear but it could be helpful. My understanding of the way the whip works, if I had 2 Triads out I would be able to get the card back (1 to add a fate counter and another to flicker it).Just realized the Triad is a legend.
The reason these decks are all black centric is the package of Hero's Downfall, Read the Bones, and Thoughtseize. These 3 seem like some of the most powerful cards we have to begin with. I also think Erebos can be a quite effective card advantage engine.
I am pretty sure your gods in the last two lists will never be active. And able to attack. That being said, I think you Br list is pretty close to good. Run some of the new shimmering grottos and cut the red creatures for some gorgon's and nighthowlers. Not sure how the numbers should work out, but you might want the whip as well. Also am pretty sure the deck never beats monored, which means we might want to save it for later in the format.
Psychobabble, is your set review out? What do you think about WB (semi)heroic aggro vs WR? Thoughtseize is obviously a huge plus, but most of the other black cards you'd play cost BB. Too greedy?
No it's not and unfortunately I thought I had pushed it through three days ago, but turns out I had left it as a draft. It will hopefully be up later today. I will link it when it's up.
I am pretty sure your gods in the last two lists will never be active. And able to attack. That being said, I think you Br list is pretty close to good. Run some of the new shimmering grottos and cut the red creatures for some gorgon's and nighthowlers. Not sure how the numbers should work out, but you might want the whip as well. Also am pretty sure the deck never beats monored, which means we might want to save it for later in the format.
The gods in the last two lists are there for their abilities more so than the creature aspect - which also means I can easily see taking them out. Erebos just offers the best repeatable card advantage and Heliod can techinically win on his own. As for creatures in the red list, I can't tell which I'd want to keep. Which deck "never beats monored"? The BR list runs 12 1 for 1 kill spells and 3 sweepers (the 4th in the board at the least, maybe MB).
Yeah, i'm pretty sure any deck with anger of the gods and spot removal backing it up beats mono red. Looking over the card pool, I really feel like there's so much potentially playable hate for mono red that the deck's just not going to exist (coupled with it needing to rely on heroic which is a bad constructed mechanic), I wouldn't be too worried about it.
Do you really think burnished heart is playable though? I mean the format's probably going to be slow, but I don't feel like taking two turns off to put a 2/2 and two lands into play is something you can do in constructed. It's not exactly solemn simalcrum.
Between thoughtseize, read the bones and erebos, he has 10 spells that shock himself every time he uses them. I mean, you don't have to use them, but it is going to be really awkward sitting there at 4 or 5 life, and having a sixth of your deck turned of for fear of burn.
I think the monored list will be very similar to Rickster's list earlier in this thread to start with, but might shift to a slightly higher curve with fanatic of mogis and strombreath dragon later on. I would have to play with the two decks a bit, but just throwing in tons of removal doesn't always make the matchup favored. And it always has the traditional rock problem of drawing the wrong part of your deck. I don't think this is where I want to start in the format though until we see how the aggressive decks play out.
I think a Gr aggressive deck might be the best deck in the format to start with. You get easy ramp, and can just cast some of the biggest threats of the format. I don't have time to make a list right now, but will try to ost one later tonight.
This has a decent curve, pretty powerful cards, and plenty of ways to buy tempo. The inherent disadvantage of heroic in this deck is somewhat offset by the value in the cards you're casting. Warrior's lesson and triton fortune hunter both provide direct card advantage. Bestow provides virtual card advantage. There isn't much removal, but, honestly, Voyage's End might be the best removal in the set. It hits any creature for 2 mana, at instant speed, and then scries. That means fizzling bestow spells, slowing down ramp strategies, and countering other removal spells. Master of waves seemed a little vulnerable until I realized how insane it was to draw two of them. You'd have at least 3 3/2 Elemental tokens, but probably 5 or 7. That's not to mention they would have to remove both masters to kill the tokens. Oh yeah, and Vaporkin is an elemental. Triton Tactics is difficult to evaluate, but it seems like a good tempo spell. It can counter Anger of the Gods and most of the red removal (i.e. most of the good removal in the set) in addition to surprising blockers, so I'm willing to test it out. Finally, I want to point out Horizon Chimera, which has strong synergy with both the extra card draw and the bestow spells.
Some facts of magic:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
Do you really think burnished heart is playable though? I mean the format's probably going to be slow, but I don't feel like taking two turns off to put a 2/2 and two lands into play is something you can do in constructed. It's not exactly solemn simalcrum.
I'm not sure which I'd play of the artifact fixers, the hart just seemed least bad late game (2/2 versus 1/2 versus drawing an extra land). I just think a mana base of 4 unknown shores and half one basic half the other by itself sounds painful.
Between thoughtseize, read the bones and erebos, he has 10 spells that shock himself every time he uses them. I mean, you don't have to use them, but it is going to be really awkward sitting there at 4 or 5 life, and having a sixth of your deck turned of for fear of burn.
I think the monored list will be very similar to Rickster's list earlier in this thread to start with, but might shift to a slightly higher curve with fanatic of mogis and strombreath dragon later on. I would have to play with the two decks a bit, but just throwing in tons of removal doesn't always make the matchup favored. And it always has the traditional rock problem of drawing the wrong part of your deck. I don't think this is where I want to start in the format though until we see how the aggressive decks play out.
Part of mitigating that is simply playing smart though. If I'm playing against monored Thoughtseize is already pretty bad so I either wouldn't play it (game 1) or would side it out. I did consider the life loss though and was thinking of including Pherika's Cure and Gray Merchant to help mitigate that (was unsure of sideboard or main though).
There isn't much removal, but, honestly, Voyage's End might be the best removal in the set. It hits any creature for 2 mana, at instant speed, and then scries. That means fizzling bestow spells, slowing down ramp strategies, and countering other removal spells.
Just thought I'd point out that bouncing a creature doesn't fizzle the bestow spell, it just makes it an overcosted creature.
Just thought I'd point out that bouncing a creature doesn't fizzle the bestow spell, it just makes it an overcosted creature.
Yeah, you're right. I had to read the bestow rulings though - it makes more sense to me for it to fizzle... but, since it's a 'creature' it can enter the battlefield without a target. It feels to me like they broke the rules to make them more playable.
That black-red deck looks good. I'm not sure about the cerebus in a deck with so few creatures. If it dies, doesn't he give an aggro opponent a big advantage?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Some facts of magic:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
Yeah, you're right. I had to read the bestow rulings though - it makes more sense to me for it to fizzle... but, since it's a 'creature' it can enter the battlefield without a target. It feels to me like they broke the rules to make them more playable.
That black-red deck looks good. I'm not sure about the cerebus in a deck with so few creatures. If it dies, doesn't he give an aggro opponent a big advantage?
The general consensus I've seen is that they broke the rules with bestow specifically to make it play better even if less intuitively.
I honestly hadn't made the connection with Cerberus and aggro decks that is an excellent point. Ember Swallower might be a good replacement with Cerberus in the SB, as I think against another control deck it could go well. I just liked it as a hard to block 6/6 for 5
Lots of good info in this thread for the upcoming block season, which is one of my favorites on MTGO. Polukranos seems like the new thragtusk, gotta have a way to beat it. Which is unfortunate, because I hate playing green.
My initial thoughts was an adaption of the big red/boros deck from standard, which seems like it has some good tools. Although, the biggest one (the best sweeper in the set) doesn't matter if there isn't an aggro type deck that emerges. However, with the prevalence of aggro on mtgo, I'm sure one will show up.
The thing I'm least sure about is Anax and Cymede. I figured it may be a decent replacement for Boros Reckoner against aggro, but it may not be needed, and perhaps those just become Elspeth to give another out to Polukranos. Or maybe Divine Verdict makes an appearance, as an okay but not great way to deal with the monster hydra.
Hammer gives great late game inevitability, and the majority of the creatures all survive Anger and can become monstrous in the late game to clock the opponent quickly.
Board has some decent options as well, but the power level of this set outside of a few specific cards seems pretty weak.
Some facts of magic:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
After playing around some at the prerelease, I think Wr heroic aggro is going to be a good second aggro deck alongside mono red. The list I am thinking as a base point can be found here (http://www.mtgdeckbuilder.net/Decks/EditDeck/869334) for the visually inclined. Here is the decklist:
The actual numbers on each card are a little bit tweakable. I think the you might want a third Anax and Cymede over a Wingsteed Rider, and it might be possible that there should be some observant oleid in there as well as a three drop with more value, but I would wait to later in the format to experiment with that.The land base is an area that I am not sure of. I don't know if the scrylands is better or worse than a basic, but we will see how it plays out in testing.
A couple of things to note is that the hopeful eidolon is mostly there for the enchantment ability. The only time I think you should cast it as a creature is when you have a turn 2 ordeal ready. In addition, the curve of Favored hoplite into Ordeal of Purphoros on the play is immune to all red removal, and the ordeal will only get knocked off before getting the bolt off by a voyage's end or glare of heresy. For the removal suite, we don't have enough space for Magma jet, Lightning strike, and chained to the rocks. I decided to go with lightning strike because I want my burn spell to be the last spell I cast in a game, so the scry is irrelevant. With the mountain count so low, I don't think the chained too the rock will be active enough to be really useful. I would want the chained in the rocks for the sideboard for the green matchups where the burn can't kill as many creatures. The last consideration is the Phalanx Leader. I think this card is a trap, expecially when viewed as a 2 drop. In reality, it isn't a real card until you activate its heroic ability with other creatures out, at which point it is a 3 mana card. I think if you wanted the ability, Heliod's spear is just better for this role, and I don't really want to run the spear.
Sideboard considerations include a monored deck, a green bigstuff deck, and a Br control deck. I don't know what role blue will play in the format, But there is probably a blue deck somewhere. To battle these, I like ordeal of Heliod for the red matchup. Coordinated Assault as well as Chained to the rocks will likely go in for the green matchups. Glare of heresy as a generically powerful spell against other white decks, and the remaining hopeful eidolons.
For reference, I think the red deck will look something like this:
The Br deck needs more tweaking still, but the core of black draw spells and red/black removal should be hanging around the format. As Fev Mentioned, the deck can can switch colours as needed.
This deck still needs some tweaking too. I think warrior's lesson should be time to feed, and a red splash for polis crusher is likely useful. Overall, I like the shell though.
The only remaining super power card that hasn't been used is the Elspeth. Maybe this is the home of the Blue deck? I don't really know.
My questions for you guys is what of the maybe board should get that finally spot in the side board?
I like Gr coming out the gate but I've also started to like a black blue control list I've been trying to configure. Problem is, double blue and double black is so tough to pull off when we only have 1 set of dual lands. Prognostic Sphinx and Hero's Downfall paired up with Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver seem like an absolute beating.
The fixing is so bad I really want to just play MBC. I'd play the Temples of Deceit for the incidental scry and to turn on Returned Phalanx eventually. Tons of card advantage and Pharika's cure is going to be excellent against the weenie rushes. Agent of the Fates + Rescue From the Underworld is going to be my favorite mini-combo to resolve.
Do you really like Mistcutter Hydra? Early in the game it is really bad and late game it is not even far better than Arbor Colossus (for 11 mana Arbor Colossus is a 9/9 reach, for 11 mana the hydra is 10/10 haste ect, not a big difference). The protection blue & uncounterable does not seem very relevant, but I might be wrong. Stormbreath Dragon and Ember Swallower are also better than Mistcutter Hydra but does not increase devotion unfortunately, and are harder to cast.
I like at least 1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, the mana base is "perfect" anyway and it can give really monstruous Polukranos.
I wonder how good is Hammer of Purphoros in this kind of deck, may be worth considering 2.
Mistcutter is a so so card imo. the reason i like is that I can play it at anytime and it scales well with the game. If im mana screwed (which will never happen) its still ok there too. They are really cards 72-75 in the deck and will most likely be leaving.
The Shrine cards is a trap card imo. It doesn't do a ton unless you have a huge board presence. The standard basic lands will just fine here.
I've been actually been considering both Puphoros and His hammer for the deck. I know that turning on devotion wouldn't really be a thing but damn if his other two abilities are just completely broken. The hammer is really nice to help close out games late and apply a ton of pressure in the mid-game.
Here is the random basically untested block brew I put together. Its a B/G tempo with backup self mill into undercosted phatty/card advantage deck. The mana sucks but Voyaging Satyr helps a lot. The sideboard is a mix of anti control cards and cards to make the deck more aggressive.
Also, in pre-release I played Blue/Red and it was completely the nut. The amount of threats and control you can play with was unreal. Did anyone else play in pre-release and if so what did you play?
Thanks for the article wilhouse. On you UB list, I feel you are low on actual land out. In my controlling deck lists, I start at 26 and look to add more, rather than 24, and look to cut some. The easiest cut seems to be triton's tactics. This card is a stellar tempo play, but at the end of the day, doesn't actually deal with any problem cards. I am skeptical on the usefulness of bident, and think that in order to take advantage of it, you have to play an aggro game. Your chief advantage with this list is to win out late, so being the beat down, and drawing cards with the bident is not for you. The shipwreck singer also intrigues me. My gut says the mana requirements and the weak body won't work out, but test it and let us know. Bring in the rest of the here's downfall, and some voyage's end for the bident. Overall, the shell seems sweet, and seems like it will be a player in the meta.
Ps. Not the biggest fan of you stylistic tone in the article. It is very conversational, and doesn't make it seem like you are someone who should be listened to. It is one thing to use that on a forum, and another to use it in an article. I would minimize the use of I and we, and be more definite with your statements. Ex. Instead of "Some of the above decks, I think will be more common and powerful..." Just say "Some of these decks will be less common and powerful..." It makes you sound more authoritive and confident of your material. Try to avoid contractions or colloquialisms as well. These are some harder editing techniques, but I recommend trying to get into these habits to make your writing stronger and more persuasive.
In other nes, block queues don't start until late in October, so does anyone want to do some practice room testing before then? I plan on investing in the Wr, if we can get some people with the Gr and B list it would be great.
Thanks for the article wilhouse. On you UB list, I feel you are low on actual land out. In my controlling deck lists, I start at 26 and look to add more, rather than 24, and look to cut some. The easiest cut seems to be triton's tactics. This card is a stellar tempo play, but at the end of the day, doesn't actually deal with any problem cards. I am skeptical on the usefulness of bident, and think that in order to take advantage of it, you have to play an aggro game. Your chief advantage with this list is to win out late, so being the beat down, and drawing cards with the bident is not for you. The shipwreck singer also intrigues me. My gut says the mana requirements and the weak body won't work out, but test it and let us know. Bring in the rest of the here's downfall, and some voyage's end for the bident. Overall, the shell seems sweet, and seems like it will be a player in the meta.
Ps. Not the biggest fan of you stylistic tone in the article. It is very conversational, and doesn't make it seem like you are someone who should be listened to. It is one thing to use that on a forum, and another to use it in an article. I would minimize the use of I and we, and be more definite with your statements. Ex. Instead of "Some of the above decks, I think will be more common and powerful..." Just say "Some of these decks will be less common and powerful..." It makes you sound more authoritive and confident of your material. Try to avoid contractions or colloquialisms as well. These are some harder editing techniques, but I recommend trying to get into these habits to make your writing stronger and more persuasive.
In other nes, block queues don't start until late in October, so does anyone want to do some practice room testing before then? I plan on investing in the Wr, if we can get some people with the Gr and B list it would be great.
Hey DeftJackal thanks for the feedback. Thats a good point you make about it being a less conversational piece and I will work on that for future articles.
As for the deck. Taking out the Tatics, Bident, and Singer were the last cards i added. I thought that with all the scry in the deck and with surprising low card draw that I could get away with 23 lands. I think i'll try to up it to 25 lands, go with some Read the Bones, Hero's Downfall, and Voyage End's.
2x Disciple of Phenax
3x Erebos, God of the Dead
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
2x Nighthowler
1x Hythonia the Cruel
4x Thoughtseize
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Read the bones
4x Pharika's Cure
3x Viper's Kiss
2x Whip of Erebos
27 lands
25x Swamp
2x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
3x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Underworld Cerberus
3x Burnished Hart
4x Thoughtseize
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Read the bones
3x Anger of the Gods
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
1x Traveler's Amulet
26 Land
14x Swanp
12x Mountain
1x Ashen Rider
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
2x Heliod, God of the Sun
2x Triad of Fates
4x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3x Burnished Hart
2x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
16 Spells
4x Thoughtseize
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Read the Bones
2x Last Breath
2x Divine Verdict
1x Spear of Heliod
2x Whip of Erebos
25 Land
8 Plains
13 Swamp
4 Temple of Silence
My understanding of the way the whip works, if I had 2 Triads out I would be able to get the card back (1 to add a fate counter and another to flicker it).Just realized the Triad is a legend.The reason these decks are all black centric is the package of Hero's Downfall, Read the Bones, and Thoughtseize. These 3 seem like some of the most powerful cards we have to begin with. I also think Erebos can be a quite effective card advantage engine.
I'd love any discussion of these lists!
Theros Myth Origins Part 1 WUBRG Part 2 GRBUW Born of the Gods
Beta Client Tutorial
Momir Basic Primer
Full article list
No it's not and unfortunately I thought I had pushed it through three days ago, but turns out I had left it as a draft. It will hopefully be up later today. I will link it when it's up.
Theros Myth Origins Part 1 WUBRG Part 2 GRBUW Born of the Gods
Beta Client Tutorial
Momir Basic Primer
Full article list
Do you really think burnished heart is playable though? I mean the format's probably going to be slow, but I don't feel like taking two turns off to put a 2/2 and two lands into play is something you can do in constructed. It's not exactly solemn simalcrum.
I think the monored list will be very similar to Rickster's list earlier in this thread to start with, but might shift to a slightly higher curve with fanatic of mogis and strombreath dragon later on. I would have to play with the two decks a bit, but just throwing in tons of removal doesn't always make the matchup favored. And it always has the traditional rock problem of drawing the wrong part of your deck. I don't think this is where I want to start in the format though until we see how the aggressive decks play out.
I think a Gr aggressive deck might be the best deck in the format to start with. You get easy ramp, and can just cast some of the biggest threats of the format. I don't have time to make a list right now, but will try to ost one later tonight.
2 Triton Tactics
4 Leafcrown Dryad
4 Vaporkin
4 Voyage's End
4 Triton Fortune Hunter
2 Wavecrash Triton
2 Dissolve
4 Master of Waves
4 Temple of Mystery
11 Forest
9 Island
This has a decent curve, pretty powerful cards, and plenty of ways to buy tempo. The inherent disadvantage of heroic in this deck is somewhat offset by the value in the cards you're casting. Warrior's lesson and triton fortune hunter both provide direct card advantage. Bestow provides virtual card advantage. There isn't much removal, but, honestly, Voyage's End might be the best removal in the set. It hits any creature for 2 mana, at instant speed, and then scries. That means fizzling bestow spells, slowing down ramp strategies, and countering other removal spells. Master of waves seemed a little vulnerable until I realized how insane it was to draw two of them. You'd have at least 3 3/2 Elemental tokens, but probably 5 or 7. That's not to mention they would have to remove both masters to kill the tokens. Oh yeah, and Vaporkin is an elemental. Triton Tactics is difficult to evaluate, but it seems like a good tempo spell. It can counter Anger of the Gods and most of the red removal (i.e. most of the good removal in the set) in addition to surprising blockers, so I'm willing to test it out. Finally, I want to point out Horizon Chimera, which has strong synergy with both the extra card draw and the bestow spells.
Some interesting cards I left out:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
More facts of magic
Part of mitigating that is simply playing smart though. If I'm playing against monored Thoughtseize is already pretty bad so I either wouldn't play it (game 1) or would side it out. I did consider the life loss though and was thinking of including Pherika's Cure and Gray Merchant to help mitigate that (was unsure of sideboard or main though). Just thought I'd point out that bouncing a creature doesn't fizzle the bestow spell, it just makes it an overcosted creature.
Theros Myth Origins Part 1 WUBRG Part 2 GRBUW Born of the Gods
Beta Client Tutorial
Momir Basic Primer
Full article list
4 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Underworld Cerberus
4 Anger of the Gods
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
4 Read the Bones
4 Thoughtseize
9 Swamp
3 Unknown Shores
It kills stuff and then beats you with fatties. Not much to say.
Check out my expected lands table at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Airj6A6lYAz_dG05T2JETnVTak1xQ0tqOHNSdEJLWVE&hl=en_US#gid=0
Yeah, you're right. I had to read the bestow rulings though - it makes more sense to me for it to fizzle... but, since it's a 'creature' it can enter the battlefield without a target. It feels to me like they broke the rules to make them more playable.
That black-red deck looks good. I'm not sure about the cerebus in a deck with so few creatures. If it dies, doesn't he give an aggro opponent a big advantage?
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
More facts of magic
I honestly hadn't made the connection with Cerberus and aggro decks that is an excellent point. Ember Swallower might be a good replacement with Cerberus in the SB, as I think against another control deck it could go well. I just liked it as a hard to block 6/6 for 5
Theros Myth Origins Part 1 WUBRG Part 2 GRBUW Born of the Gods
Beta Client Tutorial
Momir Basic Primer
Full article list
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=380755
My initial thoughts was an adaption of the big red/boros deck from standard, which seems like it has some good tools. Although, the biggest one (the best sweeper in the set) doesn't matter if there isn't an aggro type deck that emerges. However, with the prevalence of aggro on mtgo, I'm sure one will show up.
Here was my first draft at a list...
9 Plains
12 Mountain
3 Anax and Cymede
4 Ember Swallower
4 Hundred-handed One
3 Celestial Archon
3 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Magma Jet
4 Anger the Gods
4 Chained to the Rocks
2 Hammer of Purphuros
The thing I'm least sure about is Anax and Cymede. I figured it may be a decent replacement for Boros Reckoner against aggro, but it may not be needed, and perhaps those just become Elspeth to give another out to Polukranos. Or maybe Divine Verdict makes an appearance, as an okay but not great way to deal with the monster hydra.
Hammer gives great late game inevitability, and the majority of the creatures all survive Anger and can become monstrous in the late game to clock the opponent quickly.
Board has some decent options as well, but the power level of this set outside of a few specific cards seems pretty weak.
Just my two cents.
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Tormented Hero
4 Gods willing
2 Boon of Erebos
4 Thoughtseize
4 Cavalry Pegasus
4 Agent of Fates
2 Dauntless Onslaught
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
More facts of magic
4 Favored hoplite
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Akroan Hoplite
4 Leonin Snarecaster
2 Anax and Cymede
2 Wingsteed Rider
Spells:
4 Gods Willing
4 Ordeal of Purphoros
4 Lightning Strike
2 Hopeful Eidolon
4 Temple of Triumph
6 Mountain
12 Plains
The actual numbers on each card are a little bit tweakable. I think the you might want a third Anax and Cymede over a Wingsteed Rider, and it might be possible that there should be some observant oleid in there as well as a three drop with more value, but I would wait to later in the format to experiment with that.The land base is an area that I am not sure of. I don't know if the scrylands is better or worse than a basic, but we will see how it plays out in testing.
A couple of things to note is that the hopeful eidolon is mostly there for the enchantment ability. The only time I think you should cast it as a creature is when you have a turn 2 ordeal ready. In addition, the curve of Favored hoplite into Ordeal of Purphoros on the play is immune to all red removal, and the ordeal will only get knocked off before getting the bolt off by a voyage's end or glare of heresy. For the removal suite, we don't have enough space for Magma jet, Lightning strike, and chained to the rocks. I decided to go with lightning strike because I want my burn spell to be the last spell I cast in a game, so the scry is irrelevant. With the mountain count so low, I don't think the chained too the rock will be active enough to be really useful. I would want the chained in the rocks for the sideboard for the green matchups where the burn can't kill as many creatures. The last consideration is the Phalanx Leader. I think this card is a trap, expecially when viewed as a 2 drop. In reality, it isn't a real card until you activate its heroic ability with other creatures out, at which point it is a 3 mana card. I think if you wanted the ability, Heliod's spear is just better for this role, and I don't really want to run the spear.
Sideboard considerations include a monored deck, a green bigstuff deck, and a Br control deck. I don't know what role blue will play in the format, But there is probably a blue deck somewhere. To battle these, I like ordeal of Heliod for the red matchup. Coordinated Assault as well as Chained to the rocks will likely go in for the green matchups. Glare of heresy as a generically powerful spell against other white decks, and the remaining hopeful eidolons.
For reference, I think the red deck will look something like this:
One Drops (8)
4 Fire Drinker Satyr
4 Akroan Crusader
Two Drops (12)
4 Satyr Rambler
4 Deathbellow Raider
4 Arena Athlete
4 Minotaur Skullcleaver
4 Bloodrage Shaman
4 Magma Jet
4 Lightning Strike (searing spear)
4 Titan's Strength
Lands (20)
20 Mountain
And I think the black shell will look something like this:
10 Creatures
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
3x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Underworld Cerberus
3x Burnished Hart
4x Thoughtseize
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Read the bones
3x Anger of the Gods
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
1 Arifact
1x Traveler's Amulet
14x Swanp
12x Mountain
The Br deck needs more tweaking still, but the core of black draw spells and red/black removal should be hanging around the format. As Fev Mentioned, the deck can can switch colours as needed.
Creatures
4 Sedge Scorpion
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Voyaging Satyr
4 Reverent Hunter
4 Boon Satyr
4 Polukranos, World Eater
3 Nylea, God of the Hunt
4 Arbor Colossus
2 Bow of Nylea
Land
3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
20 Forest
This deck still needs some tweaking too. I think warrior's lesson should be time to feed, and a red splash for polis crusher is likely useful. Overall, I like the shell though.
The only remaining super power card that hasn't been used is the Elspeth. Maybe this is the home of the Blue deck? I don't really know.
3x Arbor Colossus
3x Boon Satyr
3x Mistcutter Hydra
3x Nylea, God of the Hunt
4x Polis Crusher
3x Polukranos, World Eater
4x Sylvan Caryatid
4x Voyaging Satyr
Land (24)
13x Forest
7x Mountain
4x Temple of Abandon
2x Destructive Revelry
3x Magma Jet
Enchantment (6)
3x Boon Satyr
3x Nylea, God of the Hunt
Planeswalker (4)
4x Xenagos, The Reveler
2x Anger of the Gods
2x Fade into Antiquity
4x Hunt the Hunter
3x Lightning Strike
1x Mistcutter Hydra
3x Ember Swallower
3x Savage Surge
3x Stormbreath Dragon
I've been working on this deck and doing some slight tuning. I did a big write up on it here Building with Blocks #1 – Theros G(r) Ramp
My questions for you guys is what of the maybe board should get that finally spot in the side board?
I like Gr coming out the gate but I've also started to like a black blue control list I've been trying to configure. Problem is, double blue and double black is so tough to pull off when we only have 1 set of dual lands. Prognostic Sphinx and Hero's Downfall paired up with Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver seem like an absolute beating.
4 Returned Phalanx
4 Agent of the Fates
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
3 Hythonia, the Cruel
3 Erebos, God of the Dead
Instants/Sorceries
4 Thoughtseize
4 Read the Bones
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Pharika's Cure
2 Rescue from the Underworld
18 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3 Viper's Kiss
2 Whip of Erebos
4 Disciple of Phenax
3 Dark Betrayal
3 Sip of Hemlock
Mistcutter is a so so card imo. the reason i like is that I can play it at anytime and it scales well with the game. If im mana screwed (which will never happen) its still ok there too. They are really cards 72-75 in the deck and will most likely be leaving.
The Shrine cards is a trap card imo. It doesn't do a ton unless you have a huge board presence. The standard basic lands will just fine here.
I've been actually been considering both Puphoros and His hammer for the deck. I know that turning on devotion wouldn't really be a thing but damn if his other two abilities are just completely broken. The hammer is really nice to help close out games late and apply a ton of pressure in the mid-game.
Is that a combo? Is the Heroic Mechanic active at all times like in hands, graveyards, library? It doesn't say it has to be in play on it.
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
10 Swamp
9 Forest
Creatures:
4 Agent of the Fates
4 Baleful Eidolon
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Nighthowler
3 Returned Centaur
3 Nemesis of Mortals
4 Voyaging Satyr
2 Pharika's Mender
4 Hero's Downfall
2 Read the Bones
1 Rescue from the Underworld
2 Whip of Erebos
4 Commune with the Gods
3 Time to Feed
1 Warriors' Lesson
3 Disciple of Phenax
4 Thoughtseize
2 Boon of Erebos
3 Fade into Antiquity
2 Boon Satyr
1 Reaper of the Wilds
Here is the random basically untested block brew I put together. Its a B/G tempo with backup self mill into undercosted phatty/card advantage deck. The mana sucks but Voyaging Satyr helps a lot. The sideboard is a mix of anti control cards and cards to make the deck more aggressive.
I assume it only works on the battlefield. Which led me to realize that the sacrifice is an additional cost, not a targeted thing. Bummer
Still a value engine in the late game but not the cool interaction I thought it was.
Yeah I had this cleared up by a level 2 Judge yesterday afternoon. It is a battlefield only mechanic.
Theros Block Constructed - Blue/Black Control
Also, in pre-release I played Blue/Red and it was completely the nut. The amount of threats and control you can play with was unreal. Did anyone else play in pre-release and if so what did you play?
Ps. Not the biggest fan of you stylistic tone in the article. It is very conversational, and doesn't make it seem like you are someone who should be listened to. It is one thing to use that on a forum, and another to use it in an article. I would minimize the use of I and we, and be more definite with your statements. Ex. Instead of "Some of the above decks, I think will be more common and powerful..." Just say "Some of these decks will be less common and powerful..." It makes you sound more authoritive and confident of your material. Try to avoid contractions or colloquialisms as well. These are some harder editing techniques, but I recommend trying to get into these habits to make your writing stronger and more persuasive.
In other nes, block queues don't start until late in October, so does anyone want to do some practice room testing before then? I plan on investing in the Wr, if we can get some people with the Gr and B list it would be great.
Hey DeftJackal thanks for the feedback. Thats a good point you make about it being a less conversational piece and I will work on that for future articles.
As for the deck. Taking out the Tatics, Bident, and Singer were the last cards i added. I thought that with all the scry in the deck and with surprising low card draw that I could get away with 23 lands. I think i'll try to up it to 25 lands, go with some Read the Bones, Hero's Downfall, and Voyage End's.