Looking for feedback to see if this is something that could do well above an FNM level. With the mana base being so easy right now I decided to adapt my old G/W scales deck to see if I could fill in some holes. I do like that every creature in the deck has trample or can get it. Any suggestions are welcome. All I ask is if you suggest a card to add please recommend what you would take out and reasoning for the add would be nice as well. I should mention that I don't own a Jace and am not willing to pay the going price for him either so while he may be an improvement it unforunately won't be an option.
I recant my earlier statement concerning Might of Masses. It is potentially a blowout card as well if it sticks. I wouldn't run a full set, but 2-3 would be good.
After playing around a bit I have decided to add a playset of Hangerback Walkers. Leap gives me a way to kill it to get tokens and I would not be unhappy to see either Zada or the Walker of a leap trigger.
I am going to play around with replacing Might of Masses with Tandem Tactics as the wording on the card states up to one creature so it works with Zada to an insane amount if you have a board.
I am thinking of going with a transitional board and making it into a prowess/goblin tribal deck.
Sideboard is my biggest issue at the moment. Other than some enchantment hate for plague not sure what else to put in.
Pretty straightforward. Swarm with tokens , get Zada out and pump the crap out of everything for the win. I was worried that Zada would be 100% neccessary to win but he actually isn't. He does make it easier but I have pulled off some wins with proxy tests at my LGS. The Evolutionary Leaps are in there to try to get Zada faster as he is the only creature. Debateing bumping it to three but not sure.
I would welcome suggestions on improving. All I ask if if you suggest putting a card in please include what you would take out.
Interesting at least, for 2 mana, you get a 1/1, then another 1/1 (with flying this time) when it dies, not bad, if it survives, you can upgrade it each turn, and if it dies, you get an extra 1/1 flyer for each upgrade.
Definitely not constructed playable, but it's an interesting design, and it's very good in limited. Also in a artifact themed commander, it can be very powerful.
Yeah the sideboard is crucial for this type of deck lol
Yeah, I managed to get 2 going in Dragon mode against a red burn deck. All of a sudden those wil slashed were cost 5CMC lol
Yeah I've been looking at that and trying to figure out if there's a spot for it for me but does it only let you draw 2 instead of one during your draw step or when ever you draw a card besides the one in your draw step?
So if I Fascinate for 4 cards would I then draw 8?
Exactly. Any draw after your first is doubled. For example if you have two sieges out in Khans mode you would draw 5 and discard 2.
Think about Dark Deal. I loved doing that. "We discard our hands. I draw 12 and you mill at least 24 :::insert evil laugh and dodge flipped table:::"
One thing i was playing around with when I was tinkering with a mill deck was my sideboard. If burn is a weak spot for you an Orb of Warding or wo might be helpful. Also remember the siege in dragon mode can definatly slow a red player down if they are running burn. One of the Archive (cant remember its name right now) that double your card draw and your life gain might not be bad either. Works really great with Radiant Fountain.
I originally started with Monastary Swiftspear but found that i needed a way to find Zada better and decided on the evolutionary leap. However, I hated leaping into a swiftspear. Enter Hangarback. I really don't mind hitting him with the leap as he will just be more tokens for the next leap.
You do need to wait till you have 5 mana before casting zada against any deck with elimination in it. One of the best moves I have found is to cast Titan's strength during you upkeep for multiple scry's until you find a battle rage or another pump spell. Defiant strike will do the same with great card draw.
Still working on a side board. Definately Valorous Stance and possibly Feat of Resistance. I think Aggro will be the hardest matchup so need to factor that in. Thinking about Goblin Piledriver for the control matchup.
I have been playing around with a r/g/w build. The only creatures are 4 Hangerback Walkers and 4 Zada. I am playing around with evolutionary leap to get Zada faster. With eight cards that create tokens and then the rest pump effects it has been suprising people at my LGS where we are testing with proxies. May cut the white altogether. I will post a decklist later on my break.
This is my first Standard Deck Creation on the forums so go easy and let me know not only what you think but how I can improve the deck and the list writing.
I was surprised to see no real competitive Mono Blue Standard going on at my local and from what I have seen thus far from the Origins Tour. Please correct me if I am wrong on this.
Here goes, hope fully this does not look terrible to you all.
So the idea is that You have ygood cheap defenders such as Guardians of Meletis to protect you early on otherwise if you dont draw those you'll be able to Canel spells.
If you get Quiet Contemplation our on the field then all your noncreature spells allow you to pay 1 to tap a "target" creature.
This is where [card]Willbreaker[/card} comes in.
With Willbreaker on the field card like Icy Blast will really screw over your opponents battlefield plans as you then take control of them. I mean they'll be tapped during your next turn but hey, your opponent no longer has monsters that have the Will power to fight for them any more (pun intended)
Meanwhile Sphinx's Tutelage will consitantly mill your opponent down. Combine that with Day's Undoing and watch your opponent cry as you claim 7 activations on Tutelage. (I found it easier to go one for one in the "draw seven cards" For example We both draw a card then activate Tutelage. Then Draw a card then activate again. Does that make sense?) I milled down one opponent 38 cards with this combo with 1 Tutelage and 1 Day's Undoing.
If your opponent is playing lots of flying then board out Guardians of Meletis for Monastery Flock
If you're up against quick aggro or surprise dashing decks then take your opponent by surprise by boarding in Nivix Barrier and Flash them in. If you have Willbreaker out at the same time then say hello to your new friend.
If up against Red Player Burn decks then keep Psychic Rebuttal in the deck otherwise if you're up against White or Black kill spells then board them out for Negate
I've play tested against 2 friends and will be taking it to FNM tonight to see how it goes. Hopefully good.
Look forward to hearing eveyrones thoughts! Competitive or not?
First issue you need to know is that you will not get any mill triggers off of Day's Undoing. As soon as the cards are drawn the turn ends and all stacks go away.
I would play Bounding Krassis over the Guardians as you can flash it in as a suprise and it also targets for a Willbreaker steal.
Adding the mill as a wincon I would suggest upping the Tutelage to 4 and the Siege to 4 as well. Remember you can always choose Dragon's mode to make any spell targeting Willbreaker cost 2 more.
Send to sleep is also a good defensive card that can tap opponents creatures or steal them with Willbreaker.
Mizzium Meddler in the side can help with protecting Willbreaker and maybe an Evolutionary leap to help find her or sack the creatures you steal.
Just some off the top of my head thoughts. I will try to post with something more later.
BTW I am on my phone so I apologize for no card tags.
Thaty leaves 7 spots open for either more ramp, more bounce, or more creatures. I.m thinking Displacement Wave may be a better choice over Icy Blast. I would like to have a way to kill or exile anything they drop, as bouncing it or leaving it tapped in play gives them a card when you Aurora.
Pre-rotation I would add Mistcutter Hydra. Drawing it after aurora usually means some damage.
Tried a new build that really did not turn out to be competative at all but was funny as all get out. I played around with a G/U/w build using tutaledge. With dictate of Karametra I cast a banishing light on my Tutaledge then cast great aurora. The banishing light goes away and I usually get 12 - 16 mill triggers. Incredibly fragile but fun when it goes off. The look on their faces when I banish my own card is funny and the look when they realize what happened is priceless.
There's a slight problem with your combo and that is that Wizards doesn't let us have fun stuff anymore. Banishing Light can only exile cards your opponents control. Now, you can try it with Skybind which is as far as I know the only way to achieve this in standard at the moment.
And that is what happens when you test on the kitchen table. Thanks for pointing that out before I embarrassed myself at my LGS.
Tried a new build that really did not turn out to be competative at all but was funny as all get out. I played around with a G/U/w build using tutaledge. With dictate of Karametra I cast a banishing light on my Tutaledge then cast great aurora. The banishing light goes away and I usually get 12 - 16 mill triggers. Incredibly fragile but fun when it goes off. The look on their faces when I banish my own card is funny and the look when they realize what happened is priceless.
I am playing with Solidarity of Heros. I know it seems like more of a win more card but when you cast it on a hydra you might be able to win that turn rather than give your opponent another turn to find an answer. Had one game where I attacked with a 4/4 servant on turn 4 with three hardened scales out. He let it through and I cast feat of resistance and solidarity to make him a 19/19. I know that is Chrstmasland but it can be explosive.
4 Avatar of the Resolute
4 Managorger Hydra
4 Woodland Wanderer
4 Siege Rhino
4 Warden of the First Tree
2 Yasova Dragonclaw
Enchantments
4 Hardened Scales
3 Retreat to Kazandu
Spells
2 Abzan Charm
4 Dromoka's Command
2 Jeskai Charm
Land
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Polluted Delta
1 Canopy Vista
1 Cinder Glade
1 Prairie Stream
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Mountain
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Plains
2 Forest
2 Abzan Charm
4 Dispel
4 Surge of Righteousness
3 Radiant Flames
2 Feat of Resistance
Looking for feedback to see if this is something that could do well above an FNM level. With the mana base being so easy right now I decided to adapt my old G/W scales deck to see if I could fill in some holes. I do like that every creature in the deck has trample or can get it. Any suggestions are welcome. All I ask is if you suggest a card to add please recommend what you would take out and reasoning for the add would be nice as well. I should mention that I don't own a Jace and am not willing to pay the going price for him either so while he may be an improvement it unforunately won't be an option.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Tested it a little did you?
I am going to play around with replacing Might of Masses with Tandem Tactics as the wording on the card states up to one creature so it works with Zada to an insane amount if you have a board.
I am thinking of going with a transitional board and making it into a prowess/goblin tribal deck.
Sideboard is my biggest issue at the moment. Other than some enchantment hate for plague not sure what else to put in.
4 Zada, Hedron Grinder
Enchantments
2 Evolutionary Leap
Token creators
3 Secure the Wastes
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Dragon Fodder
Pumps
1 Mighty Leap
2 Become Immense
3 Defiant Strike
4 Might of the Masses
4 Temur Battle Rage
4 Titan's Strength
2 Valorouse Stance
Land
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Canopy Vista
4 Cinder Glade
5 Mountain
1 Forest
1 Plains
4 Dramoka's Command
2 Valorous Stance
9 to be determined
Pretty straightforward. Swarm with tokens , get Zada out and pump the crap out of everything for the win. I was worried that Zada would be 100% neccessary to win but he actually isn't. He does make it easier but I have pulled off some wins with proxy tests at my LGS. The Evolutionary Leaps are in there to try to get Zada faster as he is the only creature. Debateing bumping it to three but not sure.
I would welcome suggestions on improving. All I ask if if you suggest putting a card in please include what you would take out.
Suggestions for sideboard are also welcome.
Oops
Exactly. Any draw after your first is doubled. For example if you have two sieges out in Khans mode you would draw 5 and discard 2.
Think about Dark Deal. I loved doing that. "We discard our hands. I draw 12 and you mill at least 24 :::insert evil laugh and dodge flipped table:::"
edit: Just saw the orb in your list DOH!
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Windswept Heath
4 Cinder Glade
4 Canopy Vista
2 Plains
2 Forest
4 Mountain
2 Secure the Waste
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Dragon Fodder
2 Become Immense
4 Might of the Masses
4 Titan's Strength
4 Temur Battle Rage
4 Defiant Strike
2 Evolutionary Leap
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Zada, Hedron Grinder
I originally started with Monastary Swiftspear but found that i needed a way to find Zada better and decided on the evolutionary leap. However, I hated leaping into a swiftspear. Enter Hangarback. I really don't mind hitting him with the leap as he will just be more tokens for the next leap.
You do need to wait till you have 5 mana before casting zada against any deck with elimination in it. One of the best moves I have found is to cast Titan's strength during you upkeep for multiple scry's until you find a battle rage or another pump spell. Defiant strike will do the same with great card draw.
Still working on a side board. Definately Valorous Stance and possibly Feat of Resistance. I think Aggro will be the hardest matchup so need to factor that in. Thinking about Goblin Piledriver for the control matchup.
Any input would be greatly appreciated
First issue you need to know is that you will not get any mill triggers off of Day's Undoing. As soon as the cards are drawn the turn ends and all stacks go away.
I would play Bounding Krassis over the Guardians as you can flash it in as a suprise and it also targets for a Willbreaker steal.
Adding the mill as a wincon I would suggest upping the Tutelage to 4 and the Siege to 4 as well. Remember you can always choose Dragon's mode to make any spell targeting Willbreaker cost 2 more.
Send to sleep is also a good defensive card that can tap opponents creatures or steal them with Willbreaker.
Mizzium Meddler in the side can help with protecting Willbreaker and maybe an Evolutionary leap to help find her or sack the creatures you steal.
Just some off the top of my head thoughts. I will try to post with something more later.
BTW I am on my phone so I apologize for no card tags.
Pre-rotation I would add Mistcutter Hydra. Drawing it after aurora usually means some damage.
And that is what happens when you test on the kitchen table. Thanks for pointing that out before I embarrassed myself at my LGS.