So I haven't played Standard in forever as I felt that my money was better spent on non-rotating formats, but Arena has changed that! I'm looking to burn up some wildcards and build one of the following decks. Which one seems better and/or more fun?
So the plan for this one is to exile everything in sight then ultimate Kaya. Super rough draft below.
The next one is just so I can play a bunch of cards that seem cool to me and sacrifice a bunch of tokens or token makers for lots of value. Rough draft is...
I really want to put Journey to Eternity on an Elenda. And since saccing one to the other seems cool, I could be convinced to run more of her, but I just have lots of 4 drops already in this sucker.
Anyway, feedback and thoughts on where to invest my wildcards is appreciated. thanks.
Mardu has way more potential, there are some competitive deck lists running around with that archetype. I would have a look at those and see which cards are being used the most. Seems like you're on the right track.
Mardu has way more potential, there are some competitive deck lists running around with that archetype. I would have a look at those and see which cards are being used the most. Seems like you're on the right track.
I assume you're suggesting B/W/R as a replacement for the second deck I posted? I contemplated mardu for Judith, the Scourge Diva. Abrupt Decay could easily become Bedevil. In the end, the mardu scheme might be as good or better, but Teysa Karlov is really the card I'm interested in jamming, and she and Judith have some conflicting strategies. One not working with tokens, and the other wanting you to have tokens on the field to get max value.
With Poison-Tip Archer, I can get a similar effect without triggering my anti-synergy OCD. Judith being able to ping creatures/planeswalkers is very alluring, though. Because the two decks likely share quite a few cards, I could eventually try out a Mardu version and see how the two legendary ladies get along in practice. Perhaps the double-trigger from Teysa is strong enough that the token buff doesn't matter all that much. Or maybe being able to ping creatures with Judith and the team-buff is strong enough that missing out on triggers from tokens/opposing creatures dying is negligible.
Is there a mardu version that Kaya wants to be in?
I just want to say - man I really do prefer UBRWG over guild names. When I see esper, golgari, bant, etc, it just seems so much harder than putting colors? I don't understand the change - and the adoption.
What did you decide to run from these options, EggShen?
So, after playing a whole bunch of Allegiance drafts in order to accumulate some of the needed cards and a few more wildcards, I actually put both of them together (but with shaky manabases as I didn't have enough rare wildcards for the necessary lands). Both have issues.
With the Teysa/Priest build, I always felt like I was barely hanging on. The individual cards are fairly weak, so it only gets going when certain card combinations are present. It needs to find ways to increase consistency and/or card draw. This is normal for synergy decks like this, and I haven't put a whole lot of thought into how to fix it. I did add a Midnight Reaper to the mix, which might increase the velocity.
Additionally, I didn't always have enough fodder for the Priest to sacrifice. Hero of Precinct One is a prime target for enemy creature-control spells, and she hits the yard frequently. Without the Hero, I'm not generating enough tokens. I went up to 4 Reassembling Skeletons to help with this.
I only played a handful of games with this. Lost a couple to mana issues, which I'm not really counting as the lands aren't right. Of the non-mana-issue games, i think I won 2 and lost 4. I may try a B/W/r version with Judith, the Scourge Diva at some point.
The Kaya deck does what it's supposed to do with much more consistency, and seems brutal to play against for the first 5 or 6 turns. However, it currently lacks a good way to finish off the game in a timely manner. Particularly if the opponent isn't playing any good creatures to steal with Hostage Taker. So eventually they start finding ways to get their cards back, and the pendulum swings their way. I don't love any of the equipment available, nor are any of the vehicles all that wonderful, so I need to brainstorm a way to close out games quickly. Or maybe I just need card draw to continue the control aspects a little longer. Not sure.
Deadeye Tracker got taken out almost immediately. With all the exiling, there just isn't enough stuff in the graveyard to exile. Etrata also got removed once I actually read the card and realized that it gets shuffled back into my library every time I make contact with it. Lame. I added a few Opt, but I really need a powerful finisher. Open to suggestions. I think I won 3 and lost 5 with this deck (not counting losses due to mana issues, which were a couple more).
I had just enough rares and mythics left over to put together a 3rd brew, which is performing much better.
Still toying around with cards. Basically, the games where Growth Chamber Guardian come on early and don't get answered are usually quite favorable. The card is really good and gets gnarly with Reclamation. Or getting a turn 3 or 4 Wilderness Reclamation with Frilled Mystic in hand usually feel pretty good as well. Originally, Pteramander was a 4-of, but it just wasn't doing that great. I wasn't adapting it all that often. Biogenic Ooze and Shaper of Nature get pretty sick with a Wilderness Reclamation on the field.
I've played quite a few games with it and I'm probably 50/50 right now, maybe a little better.
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So I haven't played Standard in forever as I felt that my money was better spent on non-rotating formats, but Arena has changed that! I'm looking to burn up some wildcards and build one of the following decks. Which one seems better and/or more fun?
So the plan for this one is to exile everything in sight then ultimate Kaya. Super rough draft below.
4 kitesail freebooter
4 deputy of detention
4 thief of sanity
2 bishop of binding
1 etrata, the silencer
4 hostage taker
4 seal away
3 kaya, orzhov usurper
2 settle the wreckage
3 vraska's contempt
The next one is just so I can play a bunch of cards that seem cool to me and sacrifice a bunch of tokens or token makers for lots of value. Rough draft is...
4 Hero of Precinct One
2 Orshov Enforcer
4 Pitiless Pontiff
4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
1 Elenda, the Dusk Rose
4 Poison-Tip Archer
2 Seraph of the Scales
3 Teysa Karlov
2 Assassin's Trophy
1 Journey to Eternity
4 Mortify
2 Kaya's Wrath
1 Vraska, Golgari Queen
I really want to put Journey to Eternity on an Elenda. And since saccing one to the other seems cool, I could be convinced to run more of her, but I just have lots of 4 drops already in this sucker.
Anyway, feedback and thoughts on where to invest my wildcards is appreciated. thanks.
I assume you're suggesting B/W/R as a replacement for the second deck I posted? I contemplated mardu for Judith, the Scourge Diva. Abrupt Decay could easily become Bedevil. In the end, the mardu scheme might be as good or better, but Teysa Karlov is really the card I'm interested in jamming, and she and Judith have some conflicting strategies. One not working with tokens, and the other wanting you to have tokens on the field to get max value.
With Poison-Tip Archer, I can get a similar effect without triggering my anti-synergy OCD. Judith being able to ping creatures/planeswalkers is very alluring, though. Because the two decks likely share quite a few cards, I could eventually try out a Mardu version and see how the two legendary ladies get along in practice. Perhaps the double-trigger from Teysa is strong enough that the token buff doesn't matter all that much. Or maybe being able to ping creatures with Judith and the team-buff is strong enough that missing out on triggers from tokens/opposing creatures dying is negligible.
Is there a mardu version that Kaya wants to be in?
So, after playing a whole bunch of Allegiance drafts in order to accumulate some of the needed cards and a few more wildcards, I actually put both of them together (but with shaky manabases as I didn't have enough rare wildcards for the necessary lands). Both have issues.
With the Teysa/Priest build, I always felt like I was barely hanging on. The individual cards are fairly weak, so it only gets going when certain card combinations are present. It needs to find ways to increase consistency and/or card draw. This is normal for synergy decks like this, and I haven't put a whole lot of thought into how to fix it. I did add a Midnight Reaper to the mix, which might increase the velocity.
Additionally, I didn't always have enough fodder for the Priest to sacrifice. Hero of Precinct One is a prime target for enemy creature-control spells, and she hits the yard frequently. Without the Hero, I'm not generating enough tokens. I went up to 4 Reassembling Skeletons to help with this.
I only played a handful of games with this. Lost a couple to mana issues, which I'm not really counting as the lands aren't right. Of the non-mana-issue games, i think I won 2 and lost 4. I may try a B/W/r version with Judith, the Scourge Diva at some point.
The Kaya deck does what it's supposed to do with much more consistency, and seems brutal to play against for the first 5 or 6 turns. However, it currently lacks a good way to finish off the game in a timely manner. Particularly if the opponent isn't playing any good creatures to steal with Hostage Taker. So eventually they start finding ways to get their cards back, and the pendulum swings their way. I don't love any of the equipment available, nor are any of the vehicles all that wonderful, so I need to brainstorm a way to close out games quickly. Or maybe I just need card draw to continue the control aspects a little longer. Not sure.
Deadeye Tracker got taken out almost immediately. With all the exiling, there just isn't enough stuff in the graveyard to exile. Etrata also got removed once I actually read the card and realized that it gets shuffled back into my library every time I make contact with it. Lame. I added a few Opt, but I really need a powerful finisher. Open to suggestions. I think I won 3 and lost 5 with this deck (not counting losses due to mana issues, which were a couple more).
I had just enough rares and mythics left over to put together a 3rd brew, which is performing much better.
4 Growth Chamber Guardian
3 Hydroid Krasis
2 Shapers of Nature
4 Frilled Mystic
2 Biogenic Ooze
1 Dive Down
2 Opt
3 Blink of an Eye
3 Negate
4 Wilderness Reclamation
4 Growth Sprial
Still toying around with cards. Basically, the games where Growth Chamber Guardian come on early and don't get answered are usually quite favorable. The card is really good and gets gnarly with Reclamation. Or getting a turn 3 or 4 Wilderness Reclamation with Frilled Mystic in hand usually feel pretty good as well. Originally, Pteramander was a 4-of, but it just wasn't doing that great. I wasn't adapting it all that often. Biogenic Ooze and Shaper of Nature get pretty sick with a Wilderness Reclamation on the field.
I've played quite a few games with it and I'm probably 50/50 right now, maybe a little better.