BUDGET DISCUSSIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED. THAT MEANS NO DISCUSSION IF YOU CAN'T FIND A CARD, CAN'T AFFORD A CARD, DON'T WANT TO PLAY A CARD AT FNM, ETC.... THIS IS FOR COMPETITIVE DISCUSSION ONLY.
Well, I guess I will kick the discussion off then. I just played Elves in two Standard Events on the Magic Cruise - I made top 8 of the dual format Cruise Championship, and I made the finals of a Generic Grand Prix Trial. The exact list I played on the Cruise can be found here. However, I would make a few modifications given the results of the PT - in particular, I want more answers to the Swords. Here's what I would play today:
One card I want to try out in the sideboard is Creeping Corrosion, especially if I see an uptick in Tezzeret and Tempered Steel decks. However, for now I think that Claim is better against the Boros and Caw-Go decks in terms of taking out the Swords as soon as they hit the table. Perhaps the deck wants a mixture, like 2 Claim 1 Corrosion or something...
I think claim is better. Normally against tezzeret just destroying one artifact is enough to slow them down. Obviously corrosion is a blowout but really doesn't come in against anything else. Claim has more options and comes in against more decks.
Any elf deck that isnt running Gen Wave should run 1-2 Copperhorn Scout. I kid you not, this lil guy will enable magical Christmasland on occasion, but moreso, he allows you to get that winning turn usually 1 turn faster than anything else.
I've been play-testing Lead the Stampede x3 and it is epic. I'm thinking the fourth copy belongs in the Sideboard though. Same for Vengevine.
New Boros is a real problem for Elves. Leatherback Baloth can wall out Steppe Lynx and Goblin Guide, but their sworded Squadron Hawks and Plated Geopedes keep getting through. Any ideas?
Also, if we were to evolve Elves to take on a secondary colour, what would you choose?
Blue: Negate, Unified Will, Spell Pierce
Black: Inquisition of Kozilek, Duress, Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Memoricide
I am currently running the black splash (1 Swamp, 4 Verdant Catacombs, 2 Sylvan Rangers, and 1 Green Sun Zenith can potentially grab it, however I may side in an extra swamp or Birds of Paradise). Deck and SB later.
Any elf deck that isnt running Gen Wave should run 1-2 Copperhorn Scout. I kid you not, this lil guy will enable magical Christmasland on occasion, but moreso, he allows you to get that winning turn usually 1 turn faster than anything else.
I've been play-testing Lead the Stampede x3 and it is epic. I'm thinking the fourth copy belongs in the Sideboard though. Same for Vengevine.
New Boros is a real problem for Elves. Leatherback Baloth can wall out Steppe Lynx and Goblin Guide, but their sworded Squadron Hawks and Plated Geopedes keep getting through. Any ideas?
Also, if we were to evolve Elves to take on a secondary colour, what would you choose?
Blue: Negate, Unified Will, Spell Pierce
Black: Inquisition of Kozilek, Duress, Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Memoricide
I am currently running the black splash (1 Swamp, 4 Verdant Catacombs, 2 Sylvan Rangers, and 1 Green Sun Zenith can potentially grab it, however I may side in an extra swamp or Birds of Paradise). Deck and SB later.
why wouldnt you play glissa if your splashing black? even without artifacts glissa says FU to anything on the ground.
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"On top of that, if you ever manage to T2 Lead the Stampede, fill your hand, and pitch two Vengevines on your cleanup phase, the sky rains kittens wearing tophats, each carrying a sock full of quarters. True story."
why wouldnt you play glissa if your splashing black? even without artifacts glissa says FU to anything on the ground.
This is kinda what I have been thinking. Possibly 1 swamp, 4 verdant catacombs, and maybe a couple sylvan rangers. I want just enough ways to get Glissa to not have it be a dead card. With the fetches and a large creature base Mul Daya Channelers could be a decent addition and be 5/5 most of the time. Still working our a deck list.
On MD Glissa: MD Glissa helps the Boros matchup, providing a strong ground defense that can thwart Steppe Lynx and Goblin Guide, while offering a trade with Plated Geopede. We may need to turn to artifact creatures like Phyrexian Revoker to gain some resilience against the Swords that is fauna shaman tutorable. My suggestion would be a one-of Sylvok Replica, as it can block a sword wielder and/or be sacced to destoy the sword. Depending on how sword-heavy your meta is, a 1-of Sylvok Replica may be our guy. Not to mention, Sylvok Replica + Glissa is clutch.
It's always changing though. I like having some maindeck removal, since it makes the deck a bit more versatile and takes more advantage of the black splash. The only thing that sucks is playing Lead the Stampede and having to put a Go for the Throat on the bottom.
Horizon Spellbomb is a new addition. It's only there for Glissa, obviously. A recurring card draw/land thinner sounds really good in theory. I haven't played any games with it yet. Hope it turns out okay. I took out 2 Viridian Emissary for them. They kind of serve the same purpose.
I personally don't think the black splash is worth it just for 1 or 2 Glissa, the Traitors. It would be terrible if your starting hand looked like "Swamp, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood, Llanowar, Arbor, etc, etc." (only land that comes into play tapped and one that's a useless black)
I would rather keep it mono green.
Also, I'm running something like a 2/2 or 3/2 split for Nissa Revane and Garruk Wildspeaker in my OCTGN Elf deck. I love feeding Nissa's Chosen to Eldrazi Monument although that's probably only a cute interaction. Thus, less effective than I think it to be.
Although I personally think Glissa's combo with Horizon Spellbomb is cuter and far less useful. The three to four mana required to use the spellbomb would be much better spent on tossing more elves down or preparing an Ezuri rampage.
R1 Kudoltha Goblins
G1 He gets nuts draw. T4 Kills me X_X
G2 I stabilize with a Leyline in play. He dies.
G3 I lose to Signal Pest + Kudoltha Rebirth + Goblin Bushwacker x 2
R2 Some random black control with 4x Black Sun's Zenith
G1: He puts up a good fight and BSZ's me twice. I recover with Lead the Stampede and win the game.
G2: I memoricide his Black Sun's Zenith on t3 when there is one in his hand. Smexy times. Easy wins anyone?
R3 Boros
G1: Plated Geopede + Adventuring Gear... yea that's pretty brutal. Oh and he burnt out all my blockers.
G2: He whips out Sword of Body and Mind and gets me down to 4. I GSZ for Acidic Slime and LOL hard when he doesnt draw any burn. Next turn, Ezuri FTW.
G3: I win with a combination of his misplays and a perfectly timed Eldrazi Monument top-deck.
R4 Valakut
G1: T4 Titan... yea I died
G2: T3 Memoricide for Titan. Yea I won
G3: I overextend to t4 double vengevine off my Fauna Shaman. Gets Pyroclasmed, but I get his life down to 8 next turn and play Fauna Shaman and Ezuri. Next turn, he draws no answers and misplays. I overrun the win!
Lessons:
Still haven't got to use Glissa too much. She's a fun 1-of though. Admittedly, Baloth is probably much better, but she's fun. Makes me want to use Sylvok Replica too much though.
Lead the Stampede is sexy. I never LTS for less than 2 cards, and I LTS for 4 cards once. Sooooooo good. Gen Wave was nice, but LTS is always hawt. Still think 3 is the magic number on this card though.
Green Sun's Zenith is pretty epic too. I like it as a one-of.
Memoricide = soooooo good. Honestly, I'm thinking blue splash would probably be more effective against the dreaded UB matchup. However, Memoricide is just so darn good against Val Titan. Also, never sided in Go for the Throat.
Not too sure about Terastodon. I want to try it, but I'm still kind of on the fence. Definitely a 1-of for some matchup, but not sure which one.
Well, I guess I will kick the discussion off then. I just played Elves in two Standard Events on the Magic Cruise - I made top 8 of the dual format Cruise Championship, and I made the finals of a Generic Grand Prix Trial. The exact list I played on the Cruise can be found here. However, I would make a few modifications given the results of the PT - in particular, I want more answers to the Swords. Here's what I would play today:
One card I want to try out in the sideboard is Creeping Corrosion, especially if I see an uptick in Tezzeret and Tempered Steel decks. However, for now I think that Claim is better against the Boros and Caw-Go decks in terms of taking out the Swords as soon as they hit the table. Perhaps the deck wants a mixture, like 2 Claim 1 Corrosion or something...
No Garruk? I find that a little interesting since I think he's almost an auto-include just because you can untap 2 land or Overrun over Overrun over Overrun with him. I'll probably run this list since I want to see how it goes at my next FNM.
I've never ran elfs but am thinking about it. One thing that has surprised me is that I haven't seen any Khalini Hydras in elf decks. They seem like they would be a perfect fit.
Alright, i built elves and really like it. Need some more experienced elf players to give me some pointers before i hit the tourny scene with the deck.
I built this for the archtype alone and it is all sleeved up, ready to go. I already know removal is going to be terrible. Can anyone list strategies for certain match-ups? I had to stop myself from throwing in a Emarkul or a Blightsteel knowing that establishing that much ramp would likely not happen with all the creature dependence.
Here is the one I WAS going to sleeve but I had many tell it would not work, but not much of an explanation.
sb:
4x Slime
2x Oran
4x Green Leyline
3x Autumn's veil
2x Creeping Corrosion
The idea was to burn through the deck as fast as possible, to replace to board easily if wiped, and to just give the acceleration a purpose. Considered dropping a forest and putting in a 4th Garruk and making cuts for sylvan rangers.
I just learned something from today's Standard Format, the decks are either aggro fast creatures or control one. So if we want to win them, we need something faster but we don't want to be run out of ammo. So this is the list I'm goind to use:
Why Viridian Emissary?
1. It can kill fast creature which we found it hard to kill before: Goblin Guide, Hero of Oxid Ridge, most Vampires toughness are 2 or 1 (without the lord)
2. Very useful when it gets kill with spot removal, mass removal or Gatekeeper of Malakir
3. Power 2, quite big for an elf.
4. The ability of Rampant Growth, my deck is an Ezuri based winning deck, so I need lots and lots of mana.
Why no Glissa?
1. To have win fast, we need to increase the quantity, but not giving all creatures up to the field. Glissa is a good quality card, 3 mana for only 3/3 is not what I'm looking for to have fast winning.
2. We need to splash with black, that means we must include at least a Swamp. I guess it will make the elves slower (almost all of them cost GG, and Ezuri ability also requires lots of G)
*if we still got Gilt-Leaf Palace, maybe I'll use Glissa in my deck.
Why no Vengevine?
As I said before, my deck is an Ezuri-based-winning deck, so that means I only play elves if I want to make Ezuri really useful.
Acidic Slime - Valakut, Grave and Primeval Titan (kill with the deathtouch)
Fog - against Infect, Blightsteel Colossus, Goblins
Nature's Claim - against Boros deck, Signal Pest
Hornet Sting - Goblins, Infects and Vampires most toughness are 1, and also mirror match
Brittle Effigy - to exile Titans, Colossus, Infect guy
Nissa Revane - life gaining and tutor
So, any of you would like to comment? Thanks a lot!
I really like using some Green Sun's Zenith...it can be used to tutor cards like viridian corrupter when you need to destroy a sword.
also, and this might sound a little silly, but i like using bellowing tanglewurm. in my eyes, it's basically a tutorable eldrazi monument because the turn you play it, you win
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Originally posted by Deimosfobos
BTW... what a silly question, I guess I should go to Ux control forum and ask: How come Mana Leak has a place in Ux control?
Green Sun's Zenith is pretty shweet. I use 1 in my build. That being said, I do not see this deck functioning well without Vengevine. Against U/B, you need the haste and you need the instant recovery potential Vengevine brings. You only need 2 Vengeevine maindeck, the other ones can live in your sideboard or not come out at all, meta dependant. Also, Garruk or Nissa should be main-decked with at least two of one if not two of both or a 1-2 split (1 Garruk 2 Nissa). Eldrazi Monument can be brought down to 2 in most metas, as it is now far less effective against MBC and U/B Control (Black Sun's Zenith is serious business).
so is no one else runninggenesis wave? I've been using it to vomit up a hoard of elves and sometimes sticking the monument to top things off, after that it's pretty much gg unless they have the mana to play a sweeper and remove your monument in one turn. Warcaller has been really disapointing latetly, I'm down to one to fetch with fauna shamans. I think Nissa is great to run in the elf deck, vs aggro she can fetch a blocker and diverts the heat to herself for a few turns, or soaks up a burn spell better spent on your life total, with the amount of mana elves in the deck a turn 3 nissa is pretty easy to do, I've found it's helped alot vs agro. Garruk is good too, powers up the over run, soaks damage, or gives you a few tough blockers to fight off early aggro. Now that corupter is in play, I'm wondering how many to run, so far there haven't been enough decks to keep more than 1 main deck, what are some other thoughts on that?
Changes from v1 to v2
-2 Joraga Treespeaker
+2 Tectonic Edge (from the board)
-2 Nissa Revane (to the board)
-2 Garruk Wildspeaker
-1 Eldrazi Monument
+3 Lead the Stampede
+2 Green Sun's Zenith
+1 Vengevine (from the board)
+1 Acidic Slime (to the board)
I haven't seen a single Zenith in testing and when I do see it, its off a LtS so it goes to the bottom. I'm really considering the 4th LtS as this thing is a beating when your across from control. It really allows me to over commit a bit when rebuying Vengevine to get the beats in and not worry much about the sweep.
Viridian Emissary is seeming like a natural inclusion at this point since he's fairly aggressive, gets the lord bonus, nabs you a land when he's swept and seems decent at rebuying Vengevines.
My proposed version 3 has no monuments, no this is not a budget decision as I own 3 but rather because when I ran 3 it almost always clogged my hand, when I ran 2 it rarely ever came up nor was needed, then I dropped it to one it obviously almost never showed up and has only even been something that was needed the ONE game that I actually had it as it was my only way to win. Most games I've won off the back of Vengevine or Ezuri + tons of other elves.
My sideboard might need some tweaks as I've been debating on if the leylines are helpful anymore and the Nissa package being split like it is was because it seemed like an ok split with 2 Zeniths in the main with v2. Nissa herself might either be cut or squeezed back into the main board. Obviously if she gets cut then Chosen will probably become either Leatherback or Slimes and I guess I'll start re-evaluating the possible inclusion list below for the swaps in the side.
Cards in my radar for other future changes (in order of possible inclusion): Viridian Emissary (added with possible change to v3)
Hornet Sting
Nature's Claim
Phyrexian Revoker
Autumn's Veil
Steel Hellkite
Molten-Tail Masticore
Khalni Hydra
Asceticism
Glissa, the Traitor
I just learned something from today's Standard Format, the decks are either aggro fast creatures or control one. So if we want to win them, we need something faster but we don't want to be run out of ammo. So this is the list I'm goind to use:
I like the list, so far I think I'd suggest -1 Monument, +1 more Emissary as I think the elf needs more testing. Like you said, he's fairly aggressive and deserves to be evaluated.
Why Viridian Emissary?
1. It can kill fast creature which we found it hard to kill before: Goblin Guide, Hero of Oxid Ridge, most Vampires toughness are 2 or 1 (without the lord)
2. Very useful when it gets kill with spot removal, mass removal or Gatekeeper of Malakir
3. Power 2, quite big for an elf.
4. The ability of Rampant Growth, my deck is an Ezuri based winning deck, so I need lots and lots of mana.
Why no Glissa?
1. To have win fast, we need to increase the quantity, but not giving all creatures up to the field. Glissa is a good quality card, 3 mana for only 3/3 is not what I'm looking for to have fast winning.
2. We need to splash with black, that means we must include at least a Swamp. I guess it will make the elves slower (almost all of them cost GG, and Ezuri ability also requires lots of G)
*if we still got Gilt-Leaf Palace, maybe I'll use Glissa in my deck.
Why no Vengevine?
As I said before, my deck is an Ezuri-based-winning deck, so that means I only play elves if I want to make Ezuri really useful.
I fought and fought the inclusion of Vengevine but once I finally got mine and tested him, I won't run less than 2. I find 4 to be optimal because he's always there and I'm running 21 lands to help ensure I can cast him without cheating him out as he can be a beating. I've had so many situations where I've been swinging with 2 or 3 6/5 vengevines, titan's can't outclass that! I will also reduce numbers of other elves before ever thinking about bringing Ezuri back down to 3 as he's an awesome win condition. He is however so much easier to kill than vegevine so I feel the vengevine plan is a must. Vengevine almost always trades if he's delegated to blocking duty, can be rebought stupid easy in this deck and can just lay the smack down if your opponent lets you untap with a Shaman on board.
Acidic Slime - Valakut, Grave and Primeval Titan (kill with the deathtouch)
Fog - against Infect, Blightsteel Colossus, Goblins
Nature's Claim - against Boros deck, Signal Pest
Hornet Sting - Goblins, Infects and Vampires most toughness are 1, and also mirror match
Brittle Effigy - to exile Titans, Colossus, Infect guy
Nissa Revane - life gaining and tutor
I can sure see the fog if you are staring at tons of infect and that is becoming a valid strategy as the set expands and the mechanic grows in numbers.
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BUDGET DISCUSSIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED. THAT MEANS NO DISCUSSION IF YOU CAN'T FIND A CARD, CAN'T AFFORD A CARD, DON'T WANT TO PLAY A CARD AT FNM, ETC.... THIS IS FOR COMPETITIVE DISCUSSION ONLY.
3 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Arbor Elf
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Fauna Shaman
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Vengevine
4 Ezuri Renegade Leader
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sylvan Ranger
2 Eldrazi Monument
1 Green Sun's Zenith
4 Tectonic Edge
3 Leyline of Vitality
3 Leatherback Baloth
3 Nature's Claim
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Thrun, the Last Troll
One card I want to try out in the sideboard is Creeping Corrosion, especially if I see an uptick in Tezzeret and Tempered Steel decks. However, for now I think that Claim is better against the Boros and Caw-Go decks in terms of taking out the Swords as soon as they hit the table. Perhaps the deck wants a mixture, like 2 Claim 1 Corrosion or something...
Thanks to Avatar for the rockin' Sig and Avvy!
Any elf deck that isnt running Gen Wave should run 1-2 Copperhorn Scout. I kid you not, this lil guy will enable magical Christmasland on occasion, but moreso, he allows you to get that winning turn usually 1 turn faster than anything else.
I've been play-testing Lead the Stampede x3 and it is epic. I'm thinking the fourth copy belongs in the Sideboard though. Same for Vengevine.
New Boros is a real problem for Elves. Leatherback Baloth can wall out Steppe Lynx and Goblin Guide, but their sworded Squadron Hawks and Plated Geopedes keep getting through. Any ideas?
Also, if we were to evolve Elves to take on a secondary colour, what would you choose?
Blue: Negate, Unified Will, Spell Pierce
Black: Inquisition of Kozilek, Duress, Doom Blade, Go for the Throat, Memoricide
I am currently running the black splash (1 Swamp, 4 Verdant Catacombs, 2 Sylvan Rangers, and 1 Green Sun Zenith can potentially grab it, however I may side in an extra swamp or Birds of Paradise). Deck and SB later.
why wouldnt you play glissa if your splashing black? even without artifacts glissa says FU to anything on the ground.
This is kinda what I have been thinking. Possibly 1 swamp, 4 verdant catacombs, and maybe a couple sylvan rangers. I want just enough ways to get Glissa to not have it be a dead card. With the fetches and a large creature base Mul Daya Channelers could be a decent addition and be 5/5 most of the time. Still working our a deck list.
I just made the following change
-1 Jorage Treespeaker
+1 Glissa the Traitor
And now, my current list:
Current Decklist
Dark Elves
33 Creatures
4 Llawanar Elves
4 Arbor Elves
3 Joraga Treespeaker
3 Joraga Warcaller
1 Copperhorn Scout
4 Fauna Shaman
2 Sylvan Ranger
4 Elvish Archdruid
3 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1 Glissa, the Traitor
3 Vengevine
1 Acidic Slime
2 Planeswalkers
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
6 Non-Creature Spells
1 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Lead the Stampede
2 Eldrazi Monument
19 Lands
11 Forest
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Swamp
3 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
On MD Glissa: MD Glissa helps the Boros matchup, providing a strong ground defense that can thwart Steppe Lynx and Goblin Guide, while offering a trade with Plated Geopede. We may need to turn to artifact creatures like Phyrexian Revoker to gain some resilience against the Swords that is fauna shaman tutorable. My suggestion would be a one-of Sylvok Replica, as it can block a sword wielder and/or be sacced to destoy the sword. Depending on how sword-heavy your meta is, a 1-of Sylvok Replica may be our guy. Not to mention, Sylvok Replica + Glissa is clutch.
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Arbor Elf
3 Joraga Treespeaker
2 Sylvan Ranger
4 Elvish Archdruid
3 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
3 Fauna Shaman
1 Copperhorn Scout
2 Glissa, the Traitor
3 Vengevine
1 Acidic Slime
2 Eldrazi Monument
2 Horizon Spellbomb
Spells (7)
2 Go for the Throat
2 Green Sun's Zenith
3 Lead the Stampede
Lands (19)
10 Forest
2 Swamp
3 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Acidic Slime
2 Doom Blade
4 Leyline of Vitality
3 Memoricide
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Tectonic Edge
It's always changing though. I like having some maindeck removal, since it makes the deck a bit more versatile and takes more advantage of the black splash. The only thing that sucks is playing Lead the Stampede and having to put a Go for the Throat on the bottom.
Horizon Spellbomb is a new addition. It's only there for Glissa, obviously. A recurring card draw/land thinner sounds really good in theory. I haven't played any games with it yet. Hope it turns out okay. I took out 2 Viridian Emissary for them. They kind of serve the same purpose.
I would rather keep it mono green.
Also, I'm running something like a 2/2 or 3/2 split for Nissa Revane and Garruk Wildspeaker in my OCTGN Elf deck. I love feeding Nissa's Chosen to Eldrazi Monument although that's probably only a cute interaction. Thus, less effective than I think it to be.
Although I personally think Glissa's combo with Horizon Spellbomb is cuter and far less useful. The three to four mana required to use the spellbomb would be much better spent on tossing more elves down or preparing an Ezuri rampage.
Standard: RW Boros Allies. (7-1 at FNM due to LUCK)
BGW Junk Allies. (3-1 at FNM)
EDH: WKemba, Kha RegentW
R1 Kudoltha Goblins
G1 He gets nuts draw. T4 Kills me X_X
G2 I stabilize with a Leyline in play. He dies.
G3 I lose to Signal Pest + Kudoltha Rebirth + Goblin Bushwacker x 2
R2 Some random black control with 4x Black Sun's Zenith
G1: He puts up a good fight and BSZ's me twice. I recover with Lead the Stampede and win the game.
G2: I memoricide his Black Sun's Zenith on t3 when there is one in his hand. Smexy times. Easy wins anyone?
R3 Boros
G1: Plated Geopede + Adventuring Gear... yea that's pretty brutal. Oh and he burnt out all my blockers.
G2: He whips out Sword of Body and Mind and gets me down to 4. I GSZ for Acidic Slime and LOL hard when he doesnt draw any burn. Next turn, Ezuri FTW.
G3: I win with a combination of his misplays and a perfectly timed Eldrazi Monument top-deck.
R4 Valakut
G1: T4 Titan... yea I died
G2: T3 Memoricide for Titan. Yea I won
G3: I overextend to t4 double vengevine off my Fauna Shaman. Gets Pyroclasmed, but I get his life down to 8 next turn and play Fauna Shaman and Ezuri. Next turn, he draws no answers and misplays. I overrun the win!
Lessons:
Still haven't got to use Glissa too much. She's a fun 1-of though. Admittedly, Baloth is probably much better, but she's fun. Makes me want to use Sylvok Replica too much though.
Lead the Stampede is sexy. I never LTS for less than 2 cards, and I LTS for 4 cards once. Sooooooo good. Gen Wave was nice, but LTS is always hawt. Still think 3 is the magic number on this card though.
Green Sun's Zenith is pretty epic too. I like it as a one-of.
Memoricide = soooooo good. Honestly, I'm thinking blue splash would probably be more effective against the dreaded UB matchup. However, Memoricide is just so darn good against Val Titan. Also, never sided in Go for the Throat.
Not too sure about Terastodon. I want to try it, but I'm still kind of on the fence. Definitely a 1-of for some matchup, but not sure which one.
No Garruk? I find that a little interesting since I think he's almost an auto-include just because you can untap 2 land or Overrun over Overrun over Overrun with him. I'll probably run this list since I want to see how it goes at my next FNM.
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Arbor Elf
3x Joraga Treespeaker
1x Copperhorn Scout
4x Elvish Archdruid
3x Joraga Warcaller
2x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Vengevine
1x Nissa's Chosen
2x Garruk Wildspeaker
2x Nissa Revane
2x Eldrazi Monument
4x Lead the Stampede
1x Green Sun Zenith
2x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
17x Forest
SB
3x Acidic Slimes
3x Nature's Claim
3x Autumn's Veil
3x Leyline of Vitality
3x Leatherback Baloth
I built this for the archtype alone and it is all sleeved up, ready to go. I already know removal is going to be terrible. Can anyone list strategies for certain match-ups? I had to stop myself from throwing in a Emarkul or a Blightsteel knowing that establishing that much ramp would likely not happen with all the creature dependence.
Here is the one I WAS going to sleeve but I had many tell it would not work, but not much of an explanation.
4x Arbor Elves
4x Llanowar Elves
3x Treespeaker
1x Copperhorn Scout
4x Archdruid
3x Warcaller
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Vengevine
3x Garruk
4x Lead the Stampede
4x Green Sun
2x Eldrazi Monument
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Misty Rainforest
2x Oran Rief vastwoody thing
10x Forest
sb:
4x Slime
2x Oran
4x Green Leyline
3x Autumn's veil
2x Creeping Corrosion
The idea was to burn through the deck as fast as possible, to replace to board easily if wiped, and to just give the acceleration a purpose. Considered dropping a forest and putting in a 4th Garruk and making cuts for sylvan rangers.
Thoughts?
-1 Glissa
+1 Wurmcoil Engine
And you're good to go
Run Forests over verdant catacombs and 1 Sylvan Ranger instead of 2
4 Arbor Elf
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Joraga Treespeaker
2 Copperhorn Scout
2 Nissa's Chosen
3 Viridian Emissary
2 Sylvan Ranger
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
2 Joraga Warcaller
3 Eldrazi Monument
2 Green's Sun Zenith
4 Lead the Stampede
LANDS 20
12 Forest
2 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacomb
Why Viridian Emissary?
1. It can kill fast creature which we found it hard to kill before: Goblin Guide, Hero of Oxid Ridge, most Vampires toughness are 2 or 1 (without the lord)
2. Very useful when it gets kill with spot removal, mass removal or Gatekeeper of Malakir
3. Power 2, quite big for an elf.
4. The ability of Rampant Growth, my deck is an Ezuri based winning deck, so I need lots and lots of mana.
Why no Glissa?
1. To have win fast, we need to increase the quantity, but not giving all creatures up to the field. Glissa is a good quality card, 3 mana for only 3/3 is not what I'm looking for to have fast winning.
2. We need to splash with black, that means we must include at least a Swamp. I guess it will make the elves slower (almost all of them cost GG, and Ezuri ability also requires lots of G)
*if we still got Gilt-Leaf Palace, maybe I'll use Glissa in my deck.
Why no Vengevine?
As I said before, my deck is an Ezuri-based-winning deck, so that means I only play elves if I want to make Ezuri really useful.
And these are the sideboards:
3 Fog
2 Nature's Claim
3 Hornet Sting
2 Brittle Effigy
2 Nissa Revane
Acidic Slime - Valakut, Grave and Primeval Titan (kill with the deathtouch)
Fog - against Infect, Blightsteel Colossus, Goblins
Nature's Claim - against Boros deck, Signal Pest
Hornet Sting - Goblins, Infects and Vampires most toughness are 1, and also mirror match
Brittle Effigy - to exile Titans, Colossus, Infect guy
Nissa Revane - life gaining and tutor
So, any of you would like to comment? Thanks a lot!
also, and this might sound a little silly, but i like using bellowing tanglewurm. in my eyes, it's basically a tutorable eldrazi monument because the turn you play it, you win
genesis wave? I've been using it to vomit up a hoard of elves and sometimes sticking the monument to top things off, after that it's pretty much gg unless they have the mana to play a sweeper and remove your monument in one turn. Warcaller has been really disapointing latetly, I'm down to one to fetch with fauna shamans. I think Nissa is great to run in the elf deck, vs aggro she can fetch a blocker and diverts the heat to herself for a few turns, or soaks up a burn spell better spent on your life total, with the amount of mana elves in the deck a turn 3 nissa is pretty easy to do, I've found it's helped alot vs agro. Garruk is good too, powers up the over run, soaks damage, or gives you a few tough blockers to fight off early aggro. Now that corupter is in play, I'm wondering how many to run, so far there haven't been enough decks to keep more than 1 main deck, what are some other thoughts on that?4 Arbor Elf
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Joraga Warcaller
1 Copperhorn Scout
4 Fauna Shaman
2 Nissa's Chosen
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
2 Leatherback Baloth
4 Vengevine
3 Lead the Stampede
2 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Eldrazi Monument
Lands ( 21 )
12 Forest
3 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tajuru Preserver
2 Nissa Revane
1 Gaea's Revenge
4 Acidic Slime
3 Obstinate Baloth
3 Leyline of Vitality
1 Tectonic Edge
Changes from v1 to v2
-2 Joraga Treespeaker
+2 Tectonic Edge (from the board)
-2 Nissa Revane (to the board)
-2 Garruk Wildspeaker
-1 Eldrazi Monument
+3 Lead the Stampede
+2 Green Sun's Zenith
+1 Vengevine (from the board)
+1 Acidic Slime (to the board)
Possible future changes:
4 Arbor Elf
4 Llanowar Elves
3 Joraga Warcaller
1 Copperhorn Scout
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Fauna Shaman
2 Nissa's Chosen
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
2 Leatherback Baloth
4 Vengevine
3 Lead the Stampede
Lands ( 21 )
12 Forest
3 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tajuru Preserver
2 Nissa Revane
1 Gaea's Revenge
4 Acidic Slime
3 Obstinate Baloth
3 Leyline of Vitality
1 Tectonic Edge
I haven't seen a single Zenith in testing and when I do see it, its off a LtS so it goes to the bottom. I'm really considering the 4th LtS as this thing is a beating when your across from control. It really allows me to over commit a bit when rebuying Vengevine to get the beats in and not worry much about the sweep.
Viridian Emissary is seeming like a natural inclusion at this point since he's fairly aggressive, gets the lord bonus, nabs you a land when he's swept and seems decent at rebuying Vengevines.
My proposed version 3 has no monuments, no this is not a budget decision as I own 3 but rather because when I ran 3 it almost always clogged my hand, when I ran 2 it rarely ever came up nor was needed, then I dropped it to one it obviously almost never showed up and has only even been something that was needed the ONE game that I actually had it as it was my only way to win. Most games I've won off the back of Vengevine or Ezuri + tons of other elves.
My sideboard might need some tweaks as I've been debating on if the leylines are helpful anymore and the Nissa package being split like it is was because it seemed like an ok split with 2 Zeniths in the main with v2. Nissa herself might either be cut or squeezed back into the main board. Obviously if she gets cut then Chosen will probably become either Leatherback or Slimes and I guess I'll start re-evaluating the possible inclusion list below for the swaps in the side.
Cards in my radar for other future changes (in order of possible inclusion):
Viridian Emissary (added with possible change to v3)
Hornet Sting
Nature's Claim
Phyrexian Revoker
Autumn's Veil
Steel Hellkite
Molten-Tail Masticore
Khalni Hydra
Asceticism
Glissa, the Traitor
I like the list, so far I think I'd suggest -1 Monument, +1 more Emissary as I think the elf needs more testing. Like you said, he's fairly aggressive and deserves to be evaluated.
Agreed
Also agreed.
I fought and fought the inclusion of Vengevine but once I finally got mine and tested him, I won't run less than 2. I find 4 to be optimal because he's always there and I'm running 21 lands to help ensure I can cast him without cheating him out as he can be a beating. I've had so many situations where I've been swinging with 2 or 3 6/5 vengevines, titan's can't outclass that! I will also reduce numbers of other elves before ever thinking about bringing Ezuri back down to 3 as he's an awesome win condition. He is however so much easier to kill than vegevine so I feel the vengevine plan is a must. Vengevine almost always trades if he's delegated to blocking duty, can be rebought stupid easy in this deck and can just lay the smack down if your opponent lets you untap with a Shaman on board.
I can sure see the fog if you are staring at tons of infect and that is becoming a valid strategy as the set expands and the mechanic grows in numbers.