The aim of the deck is to win on T4. Epic Experiment will be 2/2 on T2 and probably 3/3 on T3. Can be a 3/3 on T2 with some luck. BTE gives a lot of explosiveness.
Some stats on lands (assuming you are on play):
Mountain on T3 (to "pump" Boar): 83%
Green mana on T2: 92%
Red mana on T2: 87%
Red and Green mana on T2: 80%
All 3 colors of mana on T3: 73%
All 3 colors of mana + 3/3 Boar on T3: 67%
It's hard to make stats better (of course I can cut KWR but I like to have that out in the deck). Stats does not include that taplands CIPT but this shouldn't be big deal (probably few percents less on some stats).
You win on dealing some combat damage and then burn to the face. We assume that opponent will shock themselves once or even two.
Godhands include:
T1 Experiment One
T2 BTE + Vexing Devil (take 4) + Rancor on Experiment (take 5)
T3 take 7 + 3/4 from burn or Hasty Boar take 10; its around 18-20 damage hopefull opponent shocked himself with land and is dead
There is some redundancy in burn and Experiment One can be just Dryad but BTE is very important in fast kill.
Unfortunately this deck dies to GW and Naya if they play T2 Smiter/Healer on play.
Opinions?
Flinthoof Boar might be OK with BTE, but I'm trying to approach the build more like a GWr one, so without BTW it's strictly inferior to Call of the Conclave (the W cost doesn't matter too much as we have shocklands and fixlands from M13/INN), because the boar needs a Mountain to be a 3/3 and we won't be hasting him so often. Aside from that I would cut 1-2 rancor (As it's not a card you would like to see on multiples and it's a dead draw after a sweep) and Revenge of the Hunted for some Selesnya Charms (some combat tricks and flashy token) or even take out searing spears (we already have Boros Charm for higher burn, right?) for Blind Obedience.
In my opinion, Firemane / Hellrider decision depends highly on the deck build. If you have a Silverblade Paladin, it won't be so easy to curve into a Hellrider, and if you have a Lightning Mauler out, Firemane will be vastly superior. Even without the Mauler I wouldn't discourage using Avenger. Sure it might not have inmediate impact as Hellrider does, but man, having a 3/3 flying body that can go over Thragtusk, enemy Smiters and Silverblade Paladins, AND making a 9 life point difference provived it hits (and battalion triggers, which is most likely) is insane.
I won't be so sure about Silverblade on the pure Zoo variant. Comparing to Loxodon Smiter, the actual 3-drop:
- It's more difficult to curve into as the 1st and 2nd drops are mostly green
- It's not above the curve unlike Loxodon
- Doesn't enter the battlefield no matter what
- Does get pillared / speared
Also, Loxodon is good on his own, unlike Silverblade, which requires another creature to be on the battlefield, so Loxodon is a better draw after a board wipe.
I'm not saying that Paladin is a bad card, I'm a big fan of him, but he doesn't suit too much the Zoo low-costed, high-beatdown style... At best, he will end up hitting for 4 like Loxodon, and giving another drop double strike, but at the expense of being more fragile...
Also, thoughts on the 6/1 Trample, Haste, Lifelink dude spoiled today? I think it could fit on the human build getting double strike from the Paladin.
I was aldo thinking on Blind obedience on the first build. It also lets you spend some mana to do mini helixes, prevents super aggro builds and gives pseudo haste to your dudes. The problem is what to actually cut of, as Boros is a must 4-of, as well as selesnya. Watchwolves maybe? (I'd rather cut off Mauler though)
Also, Gavony is better in humans, but on Zoo I prefer Slayer, as it speeds up a dude, as well as giving you a blocker and a boost for just RW. Gavony costs too much for a beatdown style: Id rather cast a three and a two drops, or two two drops and extort than tapping 5 mana for a boost.
The first one is without mana dorks. In this one you have to put good 2/x beaters in the deck and have really good two drops. I think that human version has bigger potential here with Champion of Parish and Mayor of Avabruck.
Still, if you want some good beatsticks I think that Experiment One should not be ommited. It will be 2/2 the moment it attacks so it's better than Rakdos Cackler cause it can block and can grow even bigger (especially if we go "big dudes" route). The other one drop can be either of: Dryad Militant (good beater and hate bear), Stromkirk Noble (proven to be good, but may fail in a deck not filled with burn), Boros Elite (not so good, because it won't be 3/3 soon), Legion Loyalist (probably better late game than as a turn 1 drop)
I'd go with Dryad Militant cause it is guaranted 2/1 that will pump up Experiment One and it hates on some decks (that use Snapcasters). Also manabase will be easier to make if we have two green one drops.
Favourite 2cmc drops: Ash Zealot (good creature but the cost is pretty prohibitive, also sucks against turn two Centaur Healer / Smiter), Flinthoof Boar (3/3 for two is what we should aim at, but we will have only 4-6 mountains in deck, so I won't be so sure he is a good choice) Gore-house Chainwalker (not exactly 3/3 and can't block, still one of better beaters), Lighting Mauler (give haste to that awesome three drop but is only measly 2/1), Mogg Flunkies (3/3 with downside, worse than...), Call of the Conclave (vanilla 3/3 for 2cmc - I like that for ZOO), Precinct Captain (one of best two drops in current Standard but cost is only a little better than Ash Zealot's), Strangleroot Geist (good, hasty beater, not as good as Ash Zealot but has managable casting cost), Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (2/1 First Strike hate bear, I like her in this deck cause we won't run many noncreature spells and having her against control game one is huge), Burning-Tree Emissary (some may say he is a free 2/2 but in order to be free we have to build our deck properly which means that one drops should be either green or red and two drops should be 1R or 1G or RG :().
sidenote: I really really like BTE and I want it to see play, however I think that he will be better in Naya Humans.
The other way to build this deck is to keep 6-8 mana dorks. In this case you omit two drop (we can have Selesnya Charms there and they will act as two drop in case we don't have T1 dork. Hands without T1 dork AND T2 play should be mulliganed).
3 drops that should be considered: Centaur Healer (3/3 for 3 with lifegain is good especially with Restoration Angel and in aggro metas), Loxodon Smiter (4/4 dude that is guaranted to hit battlefield), Silverblade Paladin (2/2 double strike soulbonder, solid creature that sees play in many decks), Fiend Hunter (gets rid of opponent's threats but I think that we should be as beatdown as possible so this might not be best choice... our creatures should at worst trade in combat with opponent's creatures so he is not that useful), Intrepid Hero (sideboard creature but I love him so I listed him here), Predator Ooze (this one is annoying but needs some time to be on par with other drops), Pyreheart Wolf (alpha strike enabler, one of more important creatures in RDW), Frontline Medic (if his battalion connects we are in great shape cause either we will get alpha strike or our opponent will make unprofitable blocks, protection against Bonfire and Sphinx is extra value), Hellraiser Goblin (giving haste to our important 4 turn drop might be good but sometimes we might not want to attack with whole team, also helps triggering battalion), Skyknight Legionnaire (2/2 for 3 is very underwhelming when we have access to 4/4 for same cost but evasion and haste might be enough to make for P/T difference)
I think that all in all Pyreheart Wolf won't be as needed and if we decide to play with Lighting Mauler, Skyknight Legionnaire will not be as good as expected.
4 cmc drops: Angel of Jubilation (3/3 flyer that is lord for all creatures is great but that cost... also hoses Falkenrath Aristocrat), Hellrider (most aggresive 4 drop of a format, can't see him not being included in the list), Hound of Griselbrand (solid beater that is awesomesauce after he undies, but with 4 Silverblade Paladins his ability is a bit redundant), Huntmaster of the Fells (proven to be a great creature but do not fit beatdown style... maybe will be good enough with Silverblade though), Restoration Angel (all around good creature, unexpected blocker, great after sweeper, saves our dudes from removal), Firemane Avenger (so called Hella-Angel... its battalion is really great so I guess we have to test how reliable battalion mechanic is.. 3/3 flyer for 4 is good but unfortunately it dies so bad to Restoration Angel :() Ghor-Clan Rampager (4/4 trampler for 4 is not so impressive but given that he is best pump spell in format he might end up as a two of filling pump spell role that can be a creature if needed) Rubblebelt Raiders (if we assume that we are able to trigger Battalion, we have to assume that this guy is 7/7 for 4 mana which is a lot even if it has no evasion... if we can give him trample some way (Kessig, Rancor, Selesnya Charm, Ghor-Clan Rampager) then he will win games)
5cmc drop:
If we go with mana dork route we can have more 5cmc spells, if no 2-3 will be max.
My favourites: Thundermaw Hellkite - best beater in the format Wolfir Silverheart - "hasty +4+4" and something that you have to get rid of pretty quickly, however a bit redundant if we play Rubblebelt Raiders Vorapede - hard to deal with, can be a blocker, has evasion, great with Silverblade Paladin or Boros Charm
6cmc:
If we play mana dorks we might consider 1-of Aurelia.
edits: some silly mistakes
Now I have to make a Naya Humans breakdown
Oh my, completely forgot Experiment 1.
Based on this post, I can make two creature packs. The "pure Zoo" variant and the "Naya Humans" one
This lands acts more as an aggresive, pure Zoo beatdown, with creatures that are good enough on their own, so you don't die so easily to a board wipe like another decks in which you have to setup first. If you get Wrath'd, you simply cast another Strangleroot or Lightning Mauler, or send in a Knight token EOT and start again.
I think the "dorks path" should be classified as a Midrange deck and not as an aggro / beatdown deck, since it focuses on a higher curve and value creatures like Thragtusk, Resto Angel or Huntmaster.
Also I think Flinthoof Boar is much better now that Stomping Ground is available. A 3/3 haster for 2 mana is pretty darn good.
-Scott-
Actually you have to pay R more for it to have haste, so it's technically for 3.
Thundermaw is added, but Major only fits on heavy-oriented human builds.
Instead of Vexing Devil, Rakdos Cackler is another option. Also, with the meta filled of shocklands and M13-INN lands, I don't see where is the problem on a T1 Stomping Ground > Cackler / Vexing, T2 Stomping / Temple Garden / Forest / Sunpetal Grove / Rootbound Crag Geist.
With the arrival of Gatecrash, the shocklands that Naya needed finally arrive. With just Temple Garden in our arsenal until February 1st, after that Naya Zoo may become a force to be reckoned with. I'm making a decklist with the spoilers that have been revealed until now, so this will certainly change when the full set is reveled.
Let's first analyse the cards that can form the deck: 1 CMC Creatures:
- Boros Elite: Hopefully Gatecrash releases some sort of Kird Ape to abuse with the shockland cycle (which is unlikely, as we had some underwhelming "Kird Apes" in M13). Until that day comes, this the most close thing we have to a 1CMC beater. A 1/1 that requires some bros to become a Wild Nacatl. I'd rather go with some dorks.
- Army Loyalist: Great card in my opinion, but at first it's just a raging goblin. It's not something you want to drop on T1, but later in game it can be a game-changing topdeck.
- Arbor Elf: With the arrival of the shocklands, this has become the premier dork over Avacyn¡s Pilgrim in my opinion. While dorks provide highly appreciated mana ramp, Zoo doesn't want to waste mana on little creatures that can't even attack a turn or two.
- Avacyn's Pilgrim: See above.
- Deathrite Shaman: This is more a control-midrange tool than a beater, but might be a good sideboard VS Zombies.
- Rakdos Cackler: Creature above the curve that can be played for it's R mana cost. I find him highly worth considering.
- Dryad Militant: A Rakdos Cackler that can block. Might see some play due to the prevalence of flashback shenanigans.
- Vexing Devil: Though this suffers from the "Browbeat syndrome", I love this card in Zoo. If your opponent chooses to leave it on the battlefield, he will be forced to deal with a 4/3 threat on turn 1, giving us the aggro possition and lowering the opponent's resources. If not, 4 to the dome for R never hurts. Probably will be the premier 1-drop
2 CMC Creatures:
- Strangleroot Geist: Good card for our strategy. With lots of fixing in the format, it's a lot easier to cast than it was in the last season, and it's a hasty, resilient dude than can survive board wipes, be a beater, trade with things, enable early battalions, and has to be 2 for 1'd most of the time. Watch out for Pillar of Flame or Terminus, though.
- Call of the Conclave: Watchwolf as a sorcery: Another creature above the curve. Early beater and chump blocker that can trade with a lot of things, not much more to say about it.
- Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: Thorn of ametist on a 2/1 first striking body that makes slower decks lose a lot of tempo, and even gives you an extra turn before the board wipe. Watch out for our Call of the Conclave and our utility spells, though.
- Lightning Mauler: This is seeing lots of play on RDW and dos rakis decks, and for a good reason. Gives one of our cheap dudes haste, as well as being hasty himself.
- Knight of Glory: Well, not so synergistic with the rest of the deck, but hey, he's there. I don't like him though.
- Burning-Tree Emissary: "Free" beater and mana fixer
- Skarrg Guildmage: Has the potential for some shenanigans. RG for making all your dudes trampling is really cool, and a 4/4 land for 3 is no slouch either.
- Mayor of Avabruck: Could go well in a human-oriented deck
- Flinthoof Boar: A 3/3 that can become hasty for R more. Stomping-ground dependant though.
Others:
- Selesnya Charm: One of the best, if not the greatest charm of all. Enables combat tricks, puts a flashy, defensive 2/2 token, and has great synergy with rancor, letting you remove a 3+ power dude just for GGW.
- Boros Charm: Close second to Selesnya Charm. Helps us survive a board sweep or hits 4 to the dome for 2. We won't be using the double strike that much, but hey, it's at instant speed, so you will have the option to do it if necessary.
- Gruul Charm: ...Okay? This is the worst charm of all, but at least it cleans the board vs Spirits or lets us alpha strike.
- Signal the Clans: Select three heavy hitters and put one of them into your hand for just two. While it is at random, you reveal the selected cards before putting one into your hand, so your opponent won't know which one it was. Also, the deck will be full of heavy hitters, so it doesn't matter at all which one do you get, unless you're highly desperate, in which case you can always try to be lucky...
- Searing Spear: Lightning Bolt for 1 more. Not bad, but it isn't too good either. Can do the last damage or remove a threat at instant speed.
- Farseek: Provides ramp on turn two. With lots of other options at the two CMC slot, and this being more of a midrange tool, I don't expect this to be a staple, though two-or-three of might be OK.
- Mizzium Mortars: Good ol' Mortars, but with Thalia and the Overload costing 6 mana, don't expect to overload it too much. It's simply a slower Searing Spear, but with higher reach.
- Skullcrack: New Thragtusk and Sphinx's Revelation hate guys. Too sad it doesn't target creatures.
- Ground Assault: Inferior Mortars, but if the game gets long, it has higher reach.
3 CMC Creatures:
- Loxodon Smiter: Third creature above the curve. This dude is really, really good. With the prevalence of Liliana of the Veil lately, it's ability can also be relevant. Huge beater and can't be countered too, so it's great against heavy-counter control decks.
- Silverblade Paladin: This guy is absolutely bonkers. It's a double striker itself, and it also gives double strike to another of your dudes. Definetly a must-answer threat. Will probably be the 3-drop of choice.
- Frontline Medic: I like this card. I like it a lot. Not only is a reasonably-costed 3/3 for 3, but also makes your dudes indestructible on the swing, AND can be sacrificed to counter Aurelia's Fury, Clan Defiance, Bonfire, Rakdos' Return, Sphinx's Revelation...
- Centaur Healer: Kitchen Finks' lil brother. Helps stabilize against heavy burn decks, but it's sideboard material at best.
- Fiend Hunter: This card is everything but aggro. However, deserves a mention for giving us the chance to remove a problematic blocker and swing
- Skyknight Legionnaire: Well, probably not the best three-drop, but it's evasive and enables early battalions alongside with Geist and Boros Elite / Army Loyalist...
Others:
- Domri Rade: Absolutely bonkers card for a Zoo deck. Helps you draw, as the deck is filled with creatures, grants you a way to removal opposing dudes with your above-the-curve ones, and if you ultimate is pretty much GG. Probably a staple.
- Oblivion Ring: Almost permanent answer to problematic stuff. However, too slow for the deck. Might go to the sideboard.
4 CMC: Creatures:
- Sublime Archangel: This is a flying finisher that can surprise your opponents. Before, you were swarming with powerful beasts, now those beasts stay on the defense while you attack with a overpowering, big champion. Anti-synergistic with battalion shenanigans, though.
- Huntmaster of the Fells: Proven to be a great card in the format, this nets you 2 life and 2 2/2 bodies at once all for 4. However, transforming it is highly unprobable, as you would like to repeatedly cast more creature spells to apply pressure. More of a midrange approach.
- Firemane Avenger I like this one the most as a 4 turn drop. It's a 3/3 flyer for 4, which is nice, but also casts a Lightning Helix everytime he and two of your dudes attack together, which will happen most of the time. Winning in the air is the key to beat Thragtusk, and the Lightning Helix helps against those 5 life gained, or kill the Thragtusk and the token.
- Restoration Angel: Aside for saving a dude from a kill spell and being a flying beater with high resistance, this doesn't have much use unless you're playing Thrag and Huntmaster (which is more of a midrange deck)
- Hellrider: Favorite 4-drop along with the Firemane Avenger.
Others:
- Garruk Relentless: Not exactly what we need, but he's here if you want to give him a try.
5 CMC
This is a high cost for a Zoo-oriented deck, as you will be more likely be casting smaller CMC spells for mantaining board presence and gain advantage, but this is where I will include the bombs.
- Thragtusk: The almighty Thragtusk. It's a huge beatstick that gets 5 life and is very resilient and annoying against most of the decks in the format.
- Wolfir Silverheart: Much more aggro card that demands an answer right down the moment it enters. Fits much more in the deck than thragtusk, as it practically is a 8/8 that makes your previous turn casted Firemane Avenger a 7/7 flyer that casts helixes for just 3GG. Wow.
- Sigarda, Host of Herons: a 5/5 flyer that is very, very hard to remove for 5. Just a great finisher with great body, abilities and evasion. It's as good as the Silverheart.
- Thundermaw Hellkite: Another 5/5 flyer, but this one taps blockers, kills spirits and might crush a planeswalker as well as push the final damage.
Others:
- Garruk, Primal Hunter: Creates tokens for +1 and is a drawing engine. It's worth the mention overall.
X CMC:
- Aurelia's Fury: This card is just NUTS. Gets rid of creatures, hurts the opponent, delays board wipes AND enables for an alpha strike. Auto 1 or 2 of in every deck.
- Bonfire of the Damned: One-sided boardswipe with damage to the head. Might see play too.
- Clan Defiance: Better than Bonfire in this deck in my opinion. It's not a dead card in the hand and lets you kill 1, sometimes 2 creatures while doing damage to the head.
The nut draw for the deck is turn 1 enabler, turn two deep hours, turn three slam the cover for the ninja clown car shenanigans.
If they can't get rid of the ninjas or the cover (or block with black/artifact creatures), you end up swimming in card advantage as mistblades repeatedly bounce stuff and your deep hours hands you your own personal howling mine.
Then just hopefully have counterspells for their sweeps.
Same as before, I can't get Cover of Darkness without ordering D: Mask of Riddles gives evasion + drawing.
It's not that, it's that I don't have access to the Seer. No one here has it, and I'm not ordering single cards from the Internet anytime soon, so I can't get it. Same for the Traitor, and that's even more pricy. I want to spend my money in Standard and Modern right now, so I can't afford the Traitor and can't get the Seer playset until I order some other cards via Internet
Well, the deck is designed mostly for 1vs1 play, and in multiplayer I can just add in those additions.
What I mean with Thalakos Seer and Nether Traitor out of my reach is that Thalakos is too old and Nether is a little bit pricey, and I'd rather spend the money in other serious format. However, the question now is: Augury Owl or Tormented Soul?
The Owl provides more value and alongside the Strix, the Ninja of the Deep Hours, and the Mask it helps me smoothen my draws, while the Soul is one of the greatest enablers for just 1 mana.
Baleful Strix might actually be worth more than Watery Grave. Those 8 cards are good for at least 75% of the budget.
WHOA dude. I just saw the price on magiccards.info. Didn't know it costed so much, I got the four by just buying two Planechase decks as a skeleton for this one. Might buy another one just for two Strix as trade bait, alongside with all the ninjas
Thanks again. Seeker seems awesome but out of my reach (I want to capitalize in more serious formats), so is the Nether guy. Ornithopter set over Tormented Soul maybe? (though these are unblockable...) I need some advice of which should I take out for Vela and the third Higure.
Thanks for the advice. I'm forgoing both Inkfathom Infiltrator and Invisible Stalker in favor of Augury Owl. With the ninjutsu ability, and cards like Baleful Strix and Ninja of the Deep Hours, the card advantage it provides is insane. If I don't like how it works I will change to the idea of the Stalker and the human equipment. Replaced the Mistblade Shinobi with Skullsnatcher, since it can be casted by the same ninjutsu mana cost, hardcasted earlier, and has 1 more power. It's ability is not as great as Mistblade in this deck, but hey, a little bit of optional graveyard hate doesn't hurt. Final decision is about replacing Artful Dodge. It can be either with three Mask of Memory or Mask of Riddles. The Memory one digs deeper and is cheaper to equip, while the Riddles one gives evasion. Need opinion here. The other slot, alongside with one Go for the Throat will be given to two Sai of the Shinobi. I also want one more slot dedicated to Higure, but don't know what to swap out.
I disregard the cloak because in turn 3 I'd rather drop one of both the owls or a ninja of the deep hours and leave one mana open for vapor snag, plus 2 to equip in a deck where everywhing goes up is a little bit costy.
Well, this deck is mostly for planechase / archenemy and casual playing, so save for the Watery Grave is mostly of an acceptable budget. Lands are replaceable with plenty others like Dimir Aqueduct or Tainted Isle, even Dimir Guildgate whenever it comes out. Here's the deck:
The idea behind the deck is simple: attack with stealthy little creatures (Tormented Soul can't be blocked right off the bat, while Baleful Strix gives you a card, and, if blocked, takes care of another creature) Baleful Strix also interacts greatly with the Ninjutsu ability, while being evasive and a great blocker later in game, as well as Augury Owl.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse's unique copy is solely for the purpose of helping Higure and Ink-Eyes sneak some damage, and Minamo, School at Water's Edge untaps Ink-Eyes for blocking and regenerating. Also, in my local casual meta, some friends play other legendary things, so they provide utility for Two-Headed Giant games.
Ideas to improve the deck:
- Powerful, yet cheap equipment (in terms of both money and mana costs)
- A little more drawing engine
- Maybe some other cheap sneakers like Zephyr Sprite, Nightshade Stinger, Prickly Boggart or Ornithopter
- Two or three copies of Glen Elendra Liege to boost my dudes (although she's a little bit costy...)
- Maybe one copy of Vela, the Night-Clad for an alternate wincon with her returning to hand ability? (suffers of the same problem as Glen Elendra though)
It's alright, I've already added a Rakdos Aggro to the mix of course. But before posting it, I'd like to see this one improved to the maximum for the minimum
4 Boros Elite
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Lightning Mauler
3 Ash Zealot
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Silverblade Paladin
3 Frontline Medic
3 Hellrider
4 Boros Charm
4 Searing Spear
2 Skullcrack
Lands (22)
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Clifftop Retreat
5 Mountain
5 Plains
I know Zealot can be difficult to curve, but with Cavern, Foundry and Clifftop it shouldn't be that difficult.
Flinthoof Boar might be OK with BTE, but I'm trying to approach the build more like a GWr one, so without BTW it's strictly inferior to Call of the Conclave (the W cost doesn't matter too much as we have shocklands and fixlands from M13/INN), because the boar needs a Mountain to be a 3/3 and we won't be hasting him so often. Aside from that I would cut 1-2 rancor (As it's not a card you would like to see on multiples and it's a dead draw after a sweep) and Revenge of the Hunted for some Selesnya Charms (some combat tricks and flashy token) or even take out searing spears (we already have Boros Charm for higher burn, right?) for Blind Obedience.
In my opinion, Firemane / Hellrider decision depends highly on the deck build. If you have a Silverblade Paladin, it won't be so easy to curve into a Hellrider, and if you have a Lightning Mauler out, Firemane will be vastly superior. Even without the Mauler I wouldn't discourage using Avenger. Sure it might not have inmediate impact as Hellrider does, but man, having a 3/3 flying body that can go over Thragtusk, enemy Smiters and Silverblade Paladins, AND making a 9 life point difference provived it hits (and battalion triggers, which is most likely) is insane.
I won't be so sure about Silverblade on the pure Zoo variant. Comparing to Loxodon Smiter, the actual 3-drop:
- It's more difficult to curve into as the 1st and 2nd drops are mostly green
- It's not above the curve unlike Loxodon
- Doesn't enter the battlefield no matter what
- Does get pillared / speared
Also, Loxodon is good on his own, unlike Silverblade, which requires another creature to be on the battlefield, so Loxodon is a better draw after a board wipe.
I'm not saying that Paladin is a bad card, I'm a big fan of him, but he doesn't suit too much the Zoo low-costed, high-beatdown style... At best, he will end up hitting for 4 like Loxodon, and giving another drop double strike, but at the expense of being more fragile...
Also, thoughts on the 6/1 Trample, Haste, Lifelink dude spoiled today? I think it could fit on the human build getting double strike from the Paladin.
Also, Gavony is better in humans, but on Zoo I prefer Slayer, as it speeds up a dude, as well as giving you a blocker and a boost for just RW. Gavony costs too much for a beatdown style: Id rather cast a three and a two drops, or two two drops and extort than tapping 5 mana for a boost.
Oh my, completely forgot Experiment 1.
Based on this post, I can make two creature packs. The "pure Zoo" variant and the "Naya Humans" one
4 Experiment One
4 Dryad Militant
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Firemane Avenger
4 Call of the Conclave
Instants (8)
4 Boros Charm
4 Selesnya Charm
This lands acts more as an aggresive, pure Zoo beatdown, with creatures that are good enough on their own, so you don't die so easily to a board wipe like another decks in which you have to setup first. If you get Wrath'd, you simply cast another Strangleroot or Lightning Mauler, or send in a Knight token EOT and start again.
4 Champion of the Parish
4 Experiment One
4 Mayor of Avabruck
4 Lightning Mauler
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Silverblade Paladin
4 Boros Charm
4 Selesnya Charm
4 Cavern of Souls
20 Lands
I think the "dorks path" should be classified as a Midrange deck and not as an aggro / beatdown deck, since it focuses on a higher curve and value creatures like Thragtusk, Resto Angel or Huntmaster.
Actually you have to pay R more for it to have haste, so it's technically for 3.
Thundermaw is added, but Major only fits on heavy-oriented human builds.
Instead of Vexing Devil, Rakdos Cackler is another option. Also, with the meta filled of shocklands and M13-INN lands, I don't see where is the problem on a T1 Stomping Ground > Cackler / Vexing, T2 Stomping / Temple Garden / Forest / Sunpetal Grove / Rootbound Crag Geist.
Let's first analyse the cards that can form the deck:
1 CMC
Creatures:
- Boros Elite: Hopefully Gatecrash releases some sort of Kird Ape to abuse with the shockland cycle (which is unlikely, as we had some underwhelming "Kird Apes" in M13). Until that day comes, this the most close thing we have to a 1CMC beater. A 1/1 that requires some bros to become a Wild Nacatl. I'd rather go with some dorks.
- Army Loyalist: Great card in my opinion, but at first it's just a raging goblin. It's not something you want to drop on T1, but later in game it can be a game-changing topdeck.
- Arbor Elf: With the arrival of the shocklands, this has become the premier dork over Avacyn¡s Pilgrim in my opinion. While dorks provide highly appreciated mana ramp, Zoo doesn't want to waste mana on little creatures that can't even attack a turn or two.
- Avacyn's Pilgrim: See above.
- Deathrite Shaman: This is more a control-midrange tool than a beater, but might be a good sideboard VS Zombies.
- Rakdos Cackler: Creature above the curve that can be played for it's R mana cost. I find him highly worth considering.
- Dryad Militant: A Rakdos Cackler that can block. Might see some play due to the prevalence of flashback shenanigans.
- Vexing Devil: Though this suffers from the "Browbeat syndrome", I love this card in Zoo. If your opponent chooses to leave it on the battlefield, he will be forced to deal with a 4/3 threat on turn 1, giving us the aggro possition and lowering the opponent's resources. If not, 4 to the dome for R never hurts. Probably will be the premier 1-drop
Others:
- Pillar of Flame: Sorcery shock that removes Gravecrawler, Geralf's Messenger and Strangleroot Geist from the game.
- Rancor: Not much to say about this. +2/+0, trample, and goes back to the hand for just G? Yes, please.
2 CMC
Creatures:
- Strangleroot Geist: Good card for our strategy. With lots of fixing in the format, it's a lot easier to cast than it was in the last season, and it's a hasty, resilient dude than can survive board wipes, be a beater, trade with things, enable early battalions, and has to be 2 for 1'd most of the time. Watch out for Pillar of Flame or Terminus, though.
- Call of the Conclave: Watchwolf as a sorcery: Another creature above the curve. Early beater and chump blocker that can trade with a lot of things, not much more to say about it.
- Thalia, Guardian of Thraben: Thorn of ametist on a 2/1 first striking body that makes slower decks lose a lot of tempo, and even gives you an extra turn before the board wipe. Watch out for our Call of the Conclave and our utility spells, though.
- Lightning Mauler: This is seeing lots of play on RDW and dos rakis decks, and for a good reason. Gives one of our cheap dudes haste, as well as being hasty himself.
- Knight of Glory: Well, not so synergistic with the rest of the deck, but hey, he's there. I don't like him though.
- Burning-Tree Emissary: "Free" beater and mana fixer
- Skarrg Guildmage: Has the potential for some shenanigans. RG for making all your dudes trampling is really cool, and a 4/4 land for 3 is no slouch either.
- Mayor of Avabruck: Could go well in a human-oriented deck
- Flinthoof Boar: A 3/3 that can become hasty for R more. Stomping-ground dependant though.
Others:
- Selesnya Charm: One of the best, if not the greatest charm of all. Enables combat tricks, puts a flashy, defensive 2/2 token, and has great synergy with rancor, letting you remove a 3+ power dude just for GGW.
- Boros Charm: Close second to Selesnya Charm. Helps us survive a board sweep or hits 4 to the dome for 2. We won't be using the double strike that much, but hey, it's at instant speed, so you will have the option to do it if necessary.
- Gruul Charm: ...Okay? This is the worst charm of all, but at least it cleans the board vs Spirits or lets us alpha strike.
- Signal the Clans: Select three heavy hitters and put one of them into your hand for just two. While it is at random, you reveal the selected cards before putting one into your hand, so your opponent won't know which one it was. Also, the deck will be full of heavy hitters, so it doesn't matter at all which one do you get, unless you're highly desperate, in which case you can always try to be lucky...
- Searing Spear: Lightning Bolt for 1 more. Not bad, but it isn't too good either. Can do the last damage or remove a threat at instant speed.
- Farseek: Provides ramp on turn two. With lots of other options at the two CMC slot, and this being more of a midrange tool, I don't expect this to be a staple, though two-or-three of might be OK.
- Mizzium Mortars: Good ol' Mortars, but with Thalia and the Overload costing 6 mana, don't expect to overload it too much. It's simply a slower Searing Spear, but with higher reach.
- Skullcrack: New Thragtusk and Sphinx's Revelation hate guys. Too sad it doesn't target creatures.
- Ground Assault: Inferior Mortars, but if the game gets long, it has higher reach.
3 CMC
Creatures:
- Loxodon Smiter: Third creature above the curve. This dude is really, really good. With the prevalence of Liliana of the Veil lately, it's ability can also be relevant. Huge beater and can't be countered too, so it's great against heavy-counter control decks.
- Silverblade Paladin: This guy is absolutely bonkers. It's a double striker itself, and it also gives double strike to another of your dudes. Definetly a must-answer threat. Will probably be the 3-drop of choice.
- Frontline Medic: I like this card. I like it a lot. Not only is a reasonably-costed 3/3 for 3, but also makes your dudes indestructible on the swing, AND can be sacrificed to counter Aurelia's Fury, Clan Defiance, Bonfire, Rakdos' Return, Sphinx's Revelation...
- Centaur Healer: Kitchen Finks' lil brother. Helps stabilize against heavy burn decks, but it's sideboard material at best.
- Fiend Hunter: This card is everything but aggro. However, deserves a mention for giving us the chance to remove a problematic blocker and swing
- Skyknight Legionnaire: Well, probably not the best three-drop, but it's evasive and enables early battalions alongside with Geist and Boros Elite / Army Loyalist...
Others:
- Domri Rade: Absolutely bonkers card for a Zoo deck. Helps you draw, as the deck is filled with creatures, grants you a way to removal opposing dudes with your above-the-curve ones, and if you ultimate is pretty much GG. Probably a staple.
- Oblivion Ring: Almost permanent answer to problematic stuff. However, too slow for the deck. Might go to the sideboard.
4 CMC:
Creatures:
- Sublime Archangel: This is a flying finisher that can surprise your opponents. Before, you were swarming with powerful beasts, now those beasts stay on the defense while you attack with a overpowering, big champion. Anti-synergistic with battalion shenanigans, though.
- Huntmaster of the Fells: Proven to be a great card in the format, this nets you 2 life and 2 2/2 bodies at once all for 4. However, transforming it is highly unprobable, as you would like to repeatedly cast more creature spells to apply pressure. More of a midrange approach.
- Firemane Avenger I like this one the most as a 4 turn drop. It's a 3/3 flyer for 4, which is nice, but also casts a Lightning Helix everytime he and two of your dudes attack together, which will happen most of the time. Winning in the air is the key to beat Thragtusk, and the Lightning Helix helps against those 5 life gained, or kill the Thragtusk and the token.
- Restoration Angel: Aside for saving a dude from a kill spell and being a flying beater with high resistance, this doesn't have much use unless you're playing Thrag and Huntmaster (which is more of a midrange deck)
- Hellrider: Favorite 4-drop along with the Firemane Avenger.
Others:
- Garruk Relentless: Not exactly what we need, but he's here if you want to give him a try.
5 CMC
This is a high cost for a Zoo-oriented deck, as you will be more likely be casting smaller CMC spells for mantaining board presence and gain advantage, but this is where I will include the bombs.
- Thragtusk: The almighty Thragtusk. It's a huge beatstick that gets 5 life and is very resilient and annoying against most of the decks in the format.
- Wolfir Silverheart: Much more aggro card that demands an answer right down the moment it enters. Fits much more in the deck than thragtusk, as it practically is a 8/8 that makes your previous turn casted Firemane Avenger a 7/7 flyer that casts helixes for just 3GG. Wow.
- Sigarda, Host of Herons: a 5/5 flyer that is very, very hard to remove for 5. Just a great finisher with great body, abilities and evasion. It's as good as the Silverheart.
- Thundermaw Hellkite: Another 5/5 flyer, but this one taps blockers, kills spirits and might crush a planeswalker as well as push the final damage.
Others:
- Garruk, Primal Hunter: Creates tokens for +1 and is a drawing engine. It's worth the mention overall.
X CMC:
- Aurelia's Fury: This card is just NUTS. Gets rid of creatures, hurts the opponent, delays board wipes AND enables for an alpha strike. Auto 1 or 2 of in every deck.
- Bonfire of the Damned: One-sided boardswipe with damage to the head. Might see play too.
- Clan Defiance: Better than Bonfire in this deck in my opinion. It's not a dead card in the hand and lets you kill 1, sometimes 2 creatures while doing damage to the head.
EXAMPLE DECKLIST:
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Lightning Mauler
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Loxodon Smiter
3 Silverblade Paladin
2 Hellrider
2 Firemane Avenger
1 Wolfir Silverheart
2 Rancor
Instants (9)
4 Boros Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Signal the Clans
Lands (23)
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Sunpetal Grove
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Slayer's Stronghold
1 Kessig Wolf Run
Thoughts about this?
Same as before, I can't get Cover of Darkness without ordering D: Mask of Riddles gives evasion + drawing.
What I mean with Thalakos Seer and Nether Traitor out of my reach is that Thalakos is too old and Nether is a little bit pricey, and I'd rather spend the money in other serious format. However, the question now is: Augury Owl or Tormented Soul?
The Owl provides more value and alongside the Strix, the Ninja of the Deep Hours, and the Mask it helps me smoothen my draws, while the Soul is one of the greatest enablers for just 1 mana.
Running Mask of Riddles over Mask of Memory and Throatslitter over Skullsnatcher, so I can take out the Go for the Throat for Mana Leak. Sai of the Shinobi seems cool there, but I can replace both with two Artful Dodge if needed.
WHOA dude. I just saw the price on magiccards.info. Didn't know it costed so much, I got the four by just buying two Planechase decks as a skeleton for this one. Might buy another one just for two Strix as trade bait, alongside with all the ninjas
Now considering:
- Sakashima's Student
- Kathari Remnant
- Deny Reality (Over the two Sais maybe?)
- Still thinking about what to take out in favor of one more Higure and Vela.
I disregard the cloak because in turn 3 I'd rather drop one of both the owls or a ninja of the deep hours and leave one mana open for vapor snag, plus 2 to equip in a deck where everywhing goes up is a little bit costy.
4x Ornithopter
4x Baleful Strix
3x Augury Owl
The ninjas:
3x Throat Slitter
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
2x Silent-Blade Oni
2x Higure, the Still Wind
2x Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
3x Mana Leak
4x Vapor Snag
3x Mask of Riddles
2x Sai of the Shinobi
Lands:
3x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacomb
3x Island
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
2x River of Tears
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
4x Swamp
4x Watery Grave
2x Rogue's Passage
The idea behind the deck is simple: attack with stealthy little creatures (Tormented Soul can't be blocked right off the bat, while Baleful Strix gives you a card, and, if blocked, takes care of another creature) Baleful Strix also interacts greatly with the Ninjutsu ability, while being evasive and a great blocker later in game, as well as Augury Owl.
When the little ones have hit, I simply start casting ninjas with the Ninjutsu ability. Cards like Vapor Snag and Rogue's Passage, help the raid's progress, while Go for the Throat takes out fearsome threats. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni and Silent-Blade Oni are the deck's finishers, and can be tutored via Higure, the Still Wind or just by drawing them thanks to Baleful Strix and Ninja of the Deep Hours.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse's unique copy is solely for the purpose of helping Higure and Ink-Eyes sneak some damage, and Minamo, School at Water's Edge untaps Ink-Eyes for blocking and regenerating. Also, in my local casual meta, some friends play other legendary things, so they provide utility for Two-Headed Giant games.
Ideas to improve the deck:
- Powerful, yet cheap equipment (in terms of both money and mana costs)
- A little more drawing engine
- Maybe some other cheap sneakers like Zephyr Sprite, Nightshade Stinger, Prickly Boggart or Ornithopter
- Two or three copies of Glen Elendra Liege to boost my dudes (although she's a little bit costy...)
- Maybe one copy of Vela, the Night-Clad for an alternate wincon with her returning to hand ability? (suffers of the same problem as Glen Elendra though)
Possitive criticism is welcomed