I want to build some custom, non-supported format decks with the following considerations:
-Rock solid lore/faction basis. I want most of the cards in the deck to be clearly associated with a specific faction from a specific plane.
-There is some flexibility with lands, or generic spells, but I don't want to cross over planes, even with shared creature types... so no theros tritons interacting with other merfolk. Example, "negate" "duress" etc ok.
-Not exactly block constructed. Revisits to a plane, or generic cards from other sets are allowed. Magic origins also added many thematically appropriate cards. Cards from the same block in different factions would not be ok.
-No modern moneycards. 10 max value on an individual card, but even that is discouraged unless it makes or breaks a deck concept.
-Must be a well thought out constructed deck with a specific game plan, in line with the "new order" of deck archetypes and associated subtypes.
-Possible extension to allow a legendary in the decks colors that plays similarly to a commander in EDH. I like this because it could mitigate some of the mana frustration in MTG by guaranteeing a play on certain turns.
-Major bonus points if it ties into having a planeswalker with lore connections.
The goal for these decks is to have a couple casual decks lying around, tuned to their own closed meta, to be used for casual play by intermediate players who know the rules of the game, but don't have in depth knowledge of the card pool. By restricting the card pools for each deck, the pilot is only exposed to a few mechanics. The lore concept should be strong enough that you actually feel that you are commanding this faction, not some hodgepodge of random cards.
I want them to be powerful enough so as to have a game plan and do exciting things with a payoff, but not so powerful that you can lose the game before it begins. Power level should be significantly higher than limited, higher than dual decks, slightly higher than block constructed, less powerful than standard, and significantly less powerful than modern/legacy. I want both players to be able to PLAY.
I'm not asking for decklists here, though if anyone is interested in contributing that I'm interested. I am just looking for ideas for which factions might be well supported enough to make a decent deck under these restrictions. I only started back in RTR so I don't know the cardpools very well of earlier sets or sets after Tarkir. These are some of what I have so far:
UW Azorius Control - To me this is the standard by which a viability of the other decks has to be judged as this package seems very powerful. Rev, Verdict, D Sphere, Charm, with something like Windreaver as the win condition. Jace can be represented here.
RW Akros Aggro - (Hoplites, Phalanxes, and other soldiers making up the Akros army commanded by Anax and Cymede. Heroic or Enchantment synergies. Compatible flavor options are Iroas and especially Kytheon/Gideon.
Other ideas? The biggest hole is some kind of midrange strategy. Some other loose ideas I've had...
RG Werewolves Aggro/Midrange (Huntmaster price is a barrier). The lore of having a team of innocuous creatures that suddenly becomes twice as threatening is fascinating, but is there enough support for this synergy? How will it have game against Supreme Verdict? Will it be obnoxious to play this many flip cards in paper?
Black - Innastrad Zombies? Innastrad or Orzhov Vampires? Tie to Lilianna?
Ramp - Zendikar Kiora Kraken or Nissa Animist (Awaken) theme?
Elf theme with Nissa, but which plane's elves are deep enough? There could be some generic elves to work with (Elvish Mystic comes to mind). But what is this deck's game plan?
Shards - interested in tri color, but I don't know this well enough to know if any of the shards are powerful enough by themselves.
Burn - Don't know enough of her lore, but Chandra associated cards (ex. Chandra's Phoenix) and fiery burn spells, especially where she is represented (exquisite firecraft).
Thanks for any tips.
I do appreciate the comments that aren't writing me off as a whiner. I'm attempting to make a point that across the board these effects are disproportionately powerful while being disproportionally difficult to interact with. Dromokas Command, banishing light and Sultai charm are the only reasonable cards that you can play that aren't completely dead and you have to be in those colors.
It only takes a tutelage player 2-3 turns to mill you out once it's down and yes he's doing a lot of other interaction while that's going on. In the case of hardened scales or citadel siege, they alone completely hose a deck who's trying to maintain a few turns of early tempo with burn spells.
Back to nature will hose an enchantment deck, but can you really take a narrow answer and make it even narrower by excluding artifacts? I don't think it's playable.
It's not just at the budget level, or in red green, I was watching one of the CFB videos recently of some RW deck against UB control and the entire match was cheezed by outpost siege. It shouldn't be one car, let alone one that's not realistic to answer.
The whole point of my thread is that it's not a feasible solution to load up on enchantment hate, because when it's bad, it's completely dead and you can't afford to have cards like that against aggressive decks. You can't answer every threat, but you shouldn't automatically lose to individual cards.
Yes you have a sideboard but you'll forgive me if I'm not enthusiastic to phone in the entire first game just because the cost of playing maindeck enchantment removal is too high
Magic exists beyond playing the most highest end decks. Playing casual decks that don't cost hundreds of dollars shouldn't expose you to instant losses off of one card.
Also I have no interest in playing tutelage myself.
Hardened scales is another absurd card... and it comes down for 1 cmc.
Well, I play pretty casually, so it's not so much worrying about top 8 decks but all of the random stuff you find. I realize you can't be prepared for every deck but I do consistently find out that these enchantments do disproportionate amounts of work.
Reclamation Sage may well be the most maindeckable option, but being sorcery speed odds are you opponent has already gotten their turn to extract value and the 2/1 is usually not very relevant by then. By contrast the conclave naturalists come out way too late to be a reasonable answer. Instant speed would be highly desirable because of being able to blow out the white removal end of turn. I usually play an aggressive GR.
I think enchantment removal is best handled by charm cycles. That way you have maindeckable cards that provide some insurance of giving you some play against unexpected strategies without having your deck just fold to them altogether. A really nice RG charm should have rolled plummet and naturalize into one card (without being unplayable at 4 mana)
Monastery Siege is absolutely backbreaking to RG by the way. Crowd control is accomplished through burn and it only takes 1 trigger to grow their creature beyond that range. And it doesn't stop after the first trigger... every turn it gives massive value and turns every single dorky creature they draw into a real threat. Or, they get to cherry pick your best threat to lock down every turn.
I think that enchantments are too powerful right now. There are several low CMC single cards in many decks that are just completely unbeatable by themselves. Sphinx Tutelage, The red and white sieges, ensoul artifact, spy network and in casual settings other stuff like to a lesser extent the one that makes Angel tokens, draws extra cards every turn, etc. I'm fine with getting trumped by Ugin... they had to work to get to cast that. But not of these cards.
Outside of Dromoka's command or Sultai charm, there is really no reasonable card to play in maindeck or multiple copies that can handle these threats.
A game of magic shouldn't be come down to playing 1 card that your opponent can't answer. I really don't appreciate being put into a situation where I have to main deck something like naturalize just so I don't automatically lose to something. There's also a natural law that says that the moment you run more disenchant effects, your next match will be red deck wins.
I have a couple buds that used to play back in middle school that don't play the game seriously. I'd like to create 4 good decks that we can play with casually. I have some duel decks but to be honest they're not very satisfying. They seem to be all over the place, poorly matched, and not built with good fundamentals.
Using the modern card pool, I would like to capture iconic builds of the common archetypes into quality constructed decks that act as its own "meta".
1.) A Red/x low to the ground aggressive/sligh deck- probably doesn't look too different from the firedrinker satyr, chandra's phoenix decks from last standard.
2.) A Blue/x pure control deck, like rev/verdict
3.) A Green/x midrange ramp deck, possibly "rock"
4.) Open to suggestions! Combo is a possibility, or aggro-control/tempo, or a different slant of midrange
Trying to stay away from strategies that are overly gimicky or get too much into keyword mechanics, but still play with good cards that do powerful things. I'd like to include planeswalkers that aren't too expensive. Obviously big money cards like Tarmogoyf are out. I'm expecting these to be much less powered down than competitive modern decks. I'd expect classic paper-rock-scissors to apply, but each deck should have a reasonable chance against the others.
We have most of the staples of RTR, Theros, and KTK cards available, but I'm willing to go buy cards from older sets. I didn't play much before Theros so I only have recent standard to relate to.
I believe that Peasant only allows up to 5 uncommons to be included in the deck which still feels too restricting. It is good to know that this is called silverblack. I look forward to hearing from people interested in this format.
Is anyone interested in playing around mtgo with a new type of budget format?
Until a better name comes around I'm calling it middle class.
I think that standard pauper is too restricting to be interesting, and indeed no one plays it on mtgo, so I propose an expanded view where only standard commons and uncommons are legal. To reiterate, absolutely no Rares or Mythics allowed, even low quality or budget ones. The banning of oppressive cards allows some of the fun and worthwhile uncommons to take the spotlight allow a more varied array of deck strategies to play.
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A couple deck ideas:
Mono red aggressive - Almost a carbon copy of a standard playable deck. Akroan Crusader, Frenzied goblin, Foundry street, Satyr Hoplite with supporting spells such as hammerhand, dragon mantle, titans strength. This deck comes out of the gates FAST and is very difficult to mount a creature-based defense to. This is a popular, cheap, and effective deck that any deck playing in this proposed format needs to have a reasonable game plan against.
W/x heroic - Another very popular and solid gameplan. Strong heroic cards are Favored Hoplite, Phalanx Leader, Wingsteed Rider, Akroan Skyguard. Splashing red and blue are common and add a lot of options including Battlewise Hoplite, Triton Tactics, Coordinated Assault. Common enablers are Defiant Strike, Gods Willing, Ajanis Presence. You can not win combat against this deck and it is very difficult to kill its creatures. I believe that some of prowess creatures such as Seeker of the Way and Monastary Switftspear are excellent additions here as they will also benefit from enablers cast on your heroic guys.
White Lifegain - Ajani's Pridemate is a very powerful card. I see people trying to do this a lot, and I think it's just short of some work by you fine people to figure it out and make it work. Other lifegain synergy I noticed was Sunbond and Wall of Limbs in black. This is going to have to be a more controlling deck but I believe white has the tools. Powerful removal in Suspension Field/Banishing Light/Devouring Light. It's going to need another angle to attack from besides pridemate, so I think the trick is playing cards that enable lifegain without going too far out of your way to do it. Bad cards to enable this are Staff of the Sun Magus, Meditation Puzzle, etc while good cards are Radiant Fountain/Refuge Lands, Seeker of the Way.
RG aggressive - Currently the one I champion. Heir of the Wilds, Fanatic of Xenagos, Curve Chieftain with some burn and other spells to keep the way clear. Game plan is to attack with high quality aggressively costed creatures and use burn to control the game just long enough to close it out.
Abzan Counters - If any of the clans could work I think it could be this one, playing very defensively until it can overwhelm the opponent.
Mono Black - Untested, but seems like it could be powerful as black just has it all. Good card draw in Sign in Blood/Read the Bones. Hand disruption in Brain Maggot, Disciple of Phenax, and Despise. Squelching Leeches and Grey Merchants could do some heavy lifting in the late game while Drown in Sorrow and/or Festergloom give it a chance against aggro. Though black removal took a bit of a hit this standard, it still has some exceptional single target spells such as bile blight and murderous cut, with some other situational options available in Asphyxiate or Nightmarish end.
Mono Black Aggressive - A close port from a reasonable standard deck, we keep a lot of the tools we need. Tormented hero and Gnarled Scarhide are 1 drop 2/1s. The game plan here is to get early damage in with 2/1s, with Mogis Marauder, Spiteful Returned then drop Mogis Marauder for evasion the killing blow. Other creature options are Mardu Skullhunter, Necrogen horror, Bellowing Saddlebrute, Marshmist titan, or Grey Merchant to top out the curve. Very weak to arc lightning and token strategies which are common. The generally good cards from the above Mono Black deck can apply here as well, but other support cards are Ulcerate, Boon of Erebos, Crippling Blight.
Mono Green - Untested, but it has plenty of mana ramp options in Elvish Mystic, Golden Hind, and Voyaging Satyr. Since we're less worried about sweepers here, I believe creature based ramp is better than spell based ramp such as Peregrination or Font of fertility. Mana dorks also give you the option of using an overrun type effect late game to keep them relevant (Overwhelm). With less instant speed black removal running around, the fight mechanic of Savage Punch is a reasonable way to interact with the opponent. Nessian Game Warden and Garruk's Packleader are card advantage engines. The champion of this deck will have to find a reasonable way to push through board stalls, most likely with trample. Another challenge to this deck is that the reasonable green creatures start at 5 mana with no good 4 drops. Reasonable high end drops are Nessian Asp, Vulpine Goliath, Ancient Silverback, Pine Walker.
G/B Graveyard - Nemesis of Mortals is a powerful card. We have the enablers of Satyr Wayfinder, Commune with the Gods, and Nyx Weaver is good. Second tier creatures are Undergrowth Scavenger and Graverobber Spider. This deck frequently plays mana dorks and so really misses Nighthowler but Strength from the Fallen could have a similar effect if there is a reliable way to Constellate without diluting the creature-heavy needs of the deck. Murderous Cut is amazing in this deck as you'll have plenty of lands in the GY to delve away. I'd love for someone to crack this deck for me because it seems fun.
R/U control - Very speculative draw/go, counterburn deck. You have a lot of decent draw, burn and counterspells at common/uncommon rarity. Spellheart Chimera, Spite of Mogis benefit from spells in the graveyard as well as treasure cruise of course. An artifact subtheme would include Ensoul Artifact, Shrapnel Blast, Scrapyard Mongrel. There can also be a scry subtheme in Flamespeaker Adept, Stormchaser Chimera, Knowledge and Power. Other creature options are Prescient Chimera (scry), Cloaked Siren (flash), and many other evasive finishers.
General tips:
-The most efficient removal in this format is Bile Blight and Lightning Strike. For that reason I would be hesitant to play very expensive threats (4-5 cmc+) unprotected with only 3 toughness due to the tempo swing of losing them.
-Going 3 color is untested. While there is adequate mana fixing in the trilands and lifegain lands, it's going to be very slow. Need to evaluate whether access to the charms and the common and uncommon 3 color creatures makes it worthwhile.
-I think the paragons and archetypes are a trap due to their high cost and low toughness.
-Juggernaut is a decent 4 mana 5/3 that can fit into any aggressive deck that needs it. Does fail the lightning strike test though.
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From here, if forming a middle class group appeals to others I would like people to pick a deck idea, work out some options, and post what you come up with. If there is interest, I will post my full RG Aggro decklist, sideboard, and card analysis to start things off. I am pretty excited. Looking at the cards from this perspective opens up so many possibilities that just don't exist in a world of mantis rider, siegeman, end hostilites, thoughtseize, etc.
What's the plan against mono green. Having trouble with both big and little:
little green aggro:
Their bow of nylea deathtouch makes it impossible to stabilize against them with creatures when their burning trees, kalonian tuskers, etc trade for my polukranos, prog sphinx, etc.
big green devotion plans (including GR):
What do we really have to answer Arbor Colossus, Nykthos-fueled Mistcutters/polukranos, etc? I feel that bounce doesn't do enough because of how fast those decks can redeploy, and that honestly they're on line a few turns before rift overload anyway.
I feel like against other green decks we're the little guy and always getting beaten down on the defensive. I guess taking out my own arbor colossus for prog sphinx hurts for this matchup
edit: hypnotic siren could be decent for the big green situation, though still 7 mana is steep
It's clearly meant to go with inspiration, but you would never be allowed to keep that creature in play, so I'm thinking hexproof is the best bet.
I am seeing playing this on sylvan caryatid (kiora's follower being the other ramper which also plays into this). Now we've solved the problem of dorks being useless late game draws and turned them into powerhouse card draw.
1 enchanted caryatid + 1 follower + prophet = 4 cards each set of turns. Not an unrealistic board presence either.
As a UG player, I think this is one of the finest additions we have from BNG
We were lacking a 4 toughness 3 drop and combined with lifegain it really helps us stabilize vs aggro. Also keeps us from flooding out vs midrange. Seems dead vs control but I really don't know that these colors can beat that matchup anyway. Awesome synergy with prog sphinx.
This doesn't guarantee you'll get out of too few mana, but helps in the other extreme.
I really wish this had been a private "you may reveal the top card and put it into play if it's a land" effect like on Into The Wilds. Telling your opponent everything that's coming is a big hit to GU decks which rely more on tricks and surprises (rift, flash, simic charm, zegana) than the raw power of GR does.
-Rock solid lore/faction basis. I want most of the cards in the deck to be clearly associated with a specific faction from a specific plane.
-There is some flexibility with lands, or generic spells, but I don't want to cross over planes, even with shared creature types... so no theros tritons interacting with other merfolk. Example, "negate" "duress" etc ok.
-Not exactly block constructed. Revisits to a plane, or generic cards from other sets are allowed. Magic origins also added many thematically appropriate cards. Cards from the same block in different factions would not be ok.
-No modern moneycards. 10 max value on an individual card, but even that is discouraged unless it makes or breaks a deck concept.
-Must be a well thought out constructed deck with a specific game plan, in line with the "new order" of deck archetypes and associated subtypes.
-Possible extension to allow a legendary in the decks colors that plays similarly to a commander in EDH. I like this because it could mitigate some of the mana frustration in MTG by guaranteeing a play on certain turns.
-Major bonus points if it ties into having a planeswalker with lore connections.
The goal for these decks is to have a couple casual decks lying around, tuned to their own closed meta, to be used for casual play by intermediate players who know the rules of the game, but don't have in depth knowledge of the card pool. By restricting the card pools for each deck, the pilot is only exposed to a few mechanics. The lore concept should be strong enough that you actually feel that you are commanding this faction, not some hodgepodge of random cards.
I want them to be powerful enough so as to have a game plan and do exciting things with a payoff, but not so powerful that you can lose the game before it begins. Power level should be significantly higher than limited, higher than dual decks, slightly higher than block constructed, less powerful than standard, and significantly less powerful than modern/legacy. I want both players to be able to PLAY.
I'm not asking for decklists here, though if anyone is interested in contributing that I'm interested. I am just looking for ideas for which factions might be well supported enough to make a decent deck under these restrictions. I only started back in RTR so I don't know the cardpools very well of earlier sets or sets after Tarkir. These are some of what I have so far:
UW Azorius Control - To me this is the standard by which a viability of the other decks has to be judged as this package seems very powerful. Rev, Verdict, D Sphere, Charm, with something like Windreaver as the win condition. Jace can be represented here.
RW Akros Aggro - (Hoplites, Phalanxes, and other soldiers making up the Akros army commanded by Anax and Cymede. Heroic or Enchantment synergies. Compatible flavor options are Iroas and especially Kytheon/Gideon.
Other ideas? The biggest hole is some kind of midrange strategy. Some other loose ideas I've had...
RG Werewolves Aggro/Midrange (Huntmaster price is a barrier). The lore of having a team of innocuous creatures that suddenly becomes twice as threatening is fascinating, but is there enough support for this synergy? How will it have game against Supreme Verdict? Will it be obnoxious to play this many flip cards in paper?
Black - Innastrad Zombies? Innastrad or Orzhov Vampires? Tie to Lilianna?
Ramp - Zendikar Kiora Kraken or Nissa Animist (Awaken) theme?
Elf theme with Nissa, but which plane's elves are deep enough? There could be some generic elves to work with (Elvish Mystic comes to mind). But what is this deck's game plan?
Shards - interested in tri color, but I don't know this well enough to know if any of the shards are powerful enough by themselves.
Burn - Don't know enough of her lore, but Chandra associated cards (ex. Chandra's Phoenix) and fiery burn spells, especially where she is represented (exquisite firecraft).
Thanks for any tips.
It only takes a tutelage player 2-3 turns to mill you out once it's down and yes he's doing a lot of other interaction while that's going on. In the case of hardened scales or citadel siege, they alone completely hose a deck who's trying to maintain a few turns of early tempo with burn spells.
Back to nature will hose an enchantment deck, but can you really take a narrow answer and make it even narrower by excluding artifacts? I don't think it's playable.
It's not just at the budget level, or in red green, I was watching one of the CFB videos recently of some RW deck against UB control and the entire match was cheezed by outpost siege. It shouldn't be one car, let alone one that's not realistic to answer.
What was the "no rares" deck concept?
Yes you have a sideboard but you'll forgive me if I'm not enthusiastic to phone in the entire first game just because the cost of playing maindeck enchantment removal is too high
Also I have no interest in playing tutelage myself.
Hardened scales is another absurd card... and it comes down for 1 cmc.
Reclamation Sage may well be the most maindeckable option, but being sorcery speed odds are you opponent has already gotten their turn to extract value and the 2/1 is usually not very relevant by then. By contrast the conclave naturalists come out way too late to be a reasonable answer. Instant speed would be highly desirable because of being able to blow out the white removal end of turn. I usually play an aggressive GR.
I think enchantment removal is best handled by charm cycles. That way you have maindeckable cards that provide some insurance of giving you some play against unexpected strategies without having your deck just fold to them altogether. A really nice RG charm should have rolled plummet and naturalize into one card (without being unplayable at 4 mana)
Monastery Siege is absolutely backbreaking to RG by the way. Crowd control is accomplished through burn and it only takes 1 trigger to grow their creature beyond that range. And it doesn't stop after the first trigger... every turn it gives massive value and turns every single dorky creature they draw into a real threat. Or, they get to cherry pick your best threat to lock down every turn.
I think that enchantments are too powerful right now. There are several low CMC single cards in many decks that are just completely unbeatable by themselves. Sphinx Tutelage, The red and white sieges, ensoul artifact, spy network and in casual settings other stuff like to a lesser extent the one that makes Angel tokens, draws extra cards every turn, etc. I'm fine with getting trumped by Ugin... they had to work to get to cast that. But not of these cards.
Outside of Dromoka's command or Sultai charm, there is really no reasonable card to play in maindeck or multiple copies that can handle these threats.
A game of magic shouldn't be come down to playing 1 card that your opponent can't answer. I really don't appreciate being put into a situation where I have to main deck something like naturalize just so I don't automatically lose to something. There's also a natural law that says that the moment you run more disenchant effects, your next match will be red deck wins.
I have a couple buds that used to play back in middle school that don't play the game seriously. I'd like to create 4 good decks that we can play with casually. I have some duel decks but to be honest they're not very satisfying. They seem to be all over the place, poorly matched, and not built with good fundamentals.
Using the modern card pool, I would like to capture iconic builds of the common archetypes into quality constructed decks that act as its own "meta".
1.) A Red/x low to the ground aggressive/sligh deck- probably doesn't look too different from the firedrinker satyr, chandra's phoenix decks from last standard.
2.) A Blue/x pure control deck, like rev/verdict
3.) A Green/x midrange ramp deck, possibly "rock"
4.) Open to suggestions! Combo is a possibility, or aggro-control/tempo, or a different slant of midrange
Trying to stay away from strategies that are overly gimicky or get too much into keyword mechanics, but still play with good cards that do powerful things. I'd like to include planeswalkers that aren't too expensive. Obviously big money cards like Tarmogoyf are out. I'm expecting these to be much less powered down than competitive modern decks. I'd expect classic paper-rock-scissors to apply, but each deck should have a reasonable chance against the others.
We have most of the staples of RTR, Theros, and KTK cards available, but I'm willing to go buy cards from older sets. I didn't play much before Theros so I only have recent standard to relate to.
Thanks for any help
Is anyone interested in playing around mtgo with a new type of budget format?
Until a better name comes around I'm calling it middle class.
I think that standard pauper is too restricting to be interesting, and indeed no one plays it on mtgo, so I propose an expanded view where only standard commons and uncommons are legal. To reiterate, absolutely no Rares or Mythics allowed, even low quality or budget ones. The banning of oppressive cards allows some of the fun and worthwhile uncommons to take the spotlight allow a more varied array of deck strategies to play.
-------------
A couple deck ideas:
Mono red aggressive - Almost a carbon copy of a standard playable deck. Akroan Crusader, Frenzied goblin, Foundry street, Satyr Hoplite with supporting spells such as hammerhand, dragon mantle, titans strength. This deck comes out of the gates FAST and is very difficult to mount a creature-based defense to. This is a popular, cheap, and effective deck that any deck playing in this proposed format needs to have a reasonable game plan against.
W/x heroic - Another very popular and solid gameplan. Strong heroic cards are Favored Hoplite, Phalanx Leader, Wingsteed Rider, Akroan Skyguard. Splashing red and blue are common and add a lot of options including Battlewise Hoplite, Triton Tactics, Coordinated Assault. Common enablers are Defiant Strike, Gods Willing, Ajanis Presence. You can not win combat against this deck and it is very difficult to kill its creatures. I believe that some of prowess creatures such as Seeker of the Way and Monastary Switftspear are excellent additions here as they will also benefit from enablers cast on your heroic guys.
White Lifegain - Ajani's Pridemate is a very powerful card. I see people trying to do this a lot, and I think it's just short of some work by you fine people to figure it out and make it work. Other lifegain synergy I noticed was Sunbond and Wall of Limbs in black. This is going to have to be a more controlling deck but I believe white has the tools. Powerful removal in Suspension Field/Banishing Light/Devouring Light. It's going to need another angle to attack from besides pridemate, so I think the trick is playing cards that enable lifegain without going too far out of your way to do it. Bad cards to enable this are Staff of the Sun Magus, Meditation Puzzle, etc while good cards are Radiant Fountain/Refuge Lands, Seeker of the Way.
RG aggressive - Currently the one I champion. Heir of the Wilds, Fanatic of Xenagos, Curve Chieftain with some burn and other spells to keep the way clear. Game plan is to attack with high quality aggressively costed creatures and use burn to control the game just long enough to close it out.
Abzan Counters - If any of the clans could work I think it could be this one, playing very defensively until it can overwhelm the opponent.
Mono Black - Untested, but seems like it could be powerful as black just has it all. Good card draw in Sign in Blood/Read the Bones. Hand disruption in Brain Maggot, Disciple of Phenax, and Despise. Squelching Leeches and Grey Merchants could do some heavy lifting in the late game while Drown in Sorrow and/or Festergloom give it a chance against aggro. Though black removal took a bit of a hit this standard, it still has some exceptional single target spells such as bile blight and murderous cut, with some other situational options available in Asphyxiate or Nightmarish end.
Mono Black Aggressive - A close port from a reasonable standard deck, we keep a lot of the tools we need. Tormented hero and Gnarled Scarhide are 1 drop 2/1s. The game plan here is to get early damage in with 2/1s, with Mogis Marauder, Spiteful Returned then drop Mogis Marauder for evasion the killing blow. Other creature options are Mardu Skullhunter, Necrogen horror, Bellowing Saddlebrute, Marshmist titan, or Grey Merchant to top out the curve. Very weak to arc lightning and token strategies which are common. The generally good cards from the above Mono Black deck can apply here as well, but other support cards are Ulcerate, Boon of Erebos, Crippling Blight.
Mono Green - Untested, but it has plenty of mana ramp options in Elvish Mystic, Golden Hind, and Voyaging Satyr. Since we're less worried about sweepers here, I believe creature based ramp is better than spell based ramp such as Peregrination or Font of fertility. Mana dorks also give you the option of using an overrun type effect late game to keep them relevant (Overwhelm). With less instant speed black removal running around, the fight mechanic of Savage Punch is a reasonable way to interact with the opponent. Nessian Game Warden and Garruk's Packleader are card advantage engines. The champion of this deck will have to find a reasonable way to push through board stalls, most likely with trample. Another challenge to this deck is that the reasonable green creatures start at 5 mana with no good 4 drops. Reasonable high end drops are Nessian Asp, Vulpine Goliath, Ancient Silverback, Pine Walker.
G/B Graveyard - Nemesis of Mortals is a powerful card. We have the enablers of Satyr Wayfinder, Commune with the Gods, and Nyx Weaver is good. Second tier creatures are Undergrowth Scavenger and Graverobber Spider. This deck frequently plays mana dorks and so really misses Nighthowler but Strength from the Fallen could have a similar effect if there is a reliable way to Constellate without diluting the creature-heavy needs of the deck. Murderous Cut is amazing in this deck as you'll have plenty of lands in the GY to delve away. I'd love for someone to crack this deck for me because it seems fun.
R/U control - Very speculative draw/go, counterburn deck. You have a lot of decent draw, burn and counterspells at common/uncommon rarity. Spellheart Chimera, Spite of Mogis benefit from spells in the graveyard as well as treasure cruise of course. An artifact subtheme would include Ensoul Artifact, Shrapnel Blast, Scrapyard Mongrel. There can also be a scry subtheme in Flamespeaker Adept, Stormchaser Chimera, Knowledge and Power. Other creature options are Prescient Chimera (scry), Cloaked Siren (flash), and many other evasive finishers.
General tips:
-The most efficient removal in this format is Bile Blight and Lightning Strike. For that reason I would be hesitant to play very expensive threats (4-5 cmc+) unprotected with only 3 toughness due to the tempo swing of losing them.
-Going 3 color is untested. While there is adequate mana fixing in the trilands and lifegain lands, it's going to be very slow. Need to evaluate whether access to the charms and the common and uncommon 3 color creatures makes it worthwhile.
-I think the paragons and archetypes are a trap due to their high cost and low toughness.
-Juggernaut is a decent 4 mana 5/3 that can fit into any aggressive deck that needs it. Does fail the lightning strike test though.
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From here, if forming a middle class group appeals to others I would like people to pick a deck idea, work out some options, and post what you come up with. If there is interest, I will post my full RG Aggro decklist, sideboard, and card analysis to start things off. I am pretty excited. Looking at the cards from this perspective opens up so many possibilities that just don't exist in a world of mantis rider, siegeman, end hostilites, thoughtseize, etc.
What's the plan against mono green. Having trouble with both big and little:
little green aggro:
Their bow of nylea deathtouch makes it impossible to stabilize against them with creatures when their burning trees, kalonian tuskers, etc trade for my polukranos, prog sphinx, etc.
big green devotion plans (including GR):
What do we really have to answer Arbor Colossus, Nykthos-fueled Mistcutters/polukranos, etc? I feel that bounce doesn't do enough because of how fast those decks can redeploy, and that honestly they're on line a few turns before rift overload anyway.
I feel like against other green decks we're the little guy and always getting beaten down on the defensive. I guess taking out my own arbor colossus for prog sphinx hurts for this matchup
edit: hypnotic siren could be decent for the big green situation, though still 7 mana is steep
It's clearly meant to go with inspiration, but you would never be allowed to keep that creature in play, so I'm thinking hexproof is the best bet.
I am seeing playing this on sylvan caryatid (kiora's follower being the other ramper which also plays into this). Now we've solved the problem of dorks being useless late game draws and turned them into powerhouse card draw.
1 enchanted caryatid + 1 follower + prophet = 4 cards each set of turns. Not an unrealistic board presence either.
(still folds to SV)
We were lacking a 4 toughness 3 drop and combined with lifegain it really helps us stabilize vs aggro. Also keeps us from flooding out vs midrange. Seems dead vs control but I really don't know that these colors can beat that matchup anyway. Awesome synergy with prog sphinx.
This doesn't guarantee you'll get out of too few mana, but helps in the other extreme.
I really wish this had been a private "you may reveal the top card and put it into play if it's a land" effect like on Into The Wilds. Telling your opponent everything that's coming is a big hit to GU decks which rely more on tricks and surprises (rift, flash, simic charm, zegana) than the raw power of GR does.