a 60 card deck is recommended to have 24 lands, but i run 19. say you stick with 24.
if you draw 4 in your 1st hand like you illustrate,that means you only have 20 lands int he deck.
probability dictates you're 4 land draw is good for 6 nonland cards, meaning your next three draws are likely to be nonland. and if you run STE, that means you're running close to 1 to 3 land to deck ratio. meaning you might not draw a land til turn 4 or 5, if you activate ste too early and filter even more.
Okay, you have access to three lands, one block (if necessary), a Mindstab and a Smother. You can:
1. Draw another land.
2. Draw a Sensei's Divining Top.
3. Draw something for 3 mana or less (perhaps even another Elder).
From my experience the only 4 drops in rock style decks nowadays are Heirarchs and Baloths. That's about 4-8 cards you can't play. The rest of the deck will either be something good, like Vindicate, Eternal Witness, Tarmogoyf etc. or something that will help you get to four lands. It's not the end of the world.
My illustration obviously wasn't meant to be taken that you drop a Heirarch turn 3. That's just probably what you're gonna end up doing later on.
how are you gonna cast hierarchs without the lands since you dumped two of them for the two recurred chimes?
you cant cast STE before turn 3 since you're chiming away.
You're gonna draw another land in the three turns you have to not miss a beat. And I think with this hand, the small tempo loss with the Elder is worth a Mindstab turn 2.
BUT WAIT! You have to discard the lands too. But who cares. They're probably discarding something much better.
Or something. I think the Turn 2 Smallpox sacrificing Flagstones is too good to pass up and if Eventide provides the B/W hybrid land it will be even more consistent. The curve is a bit lower in this build and would probably be able to finish off an opponent quicker.
Doran the Risen (W/B)(W/B)(W/B)(W/B)
Legendary Creature - Zombie Treefolk
Creatures are put into the graveyard from play when the damage they have received equals or exceeds their power, rather than their toughness.
5/0
That's a pretty interesting idea, but I don't think it would work. Wouldn't he immediately go to the graveyard barring some Glorious Anthem effect? It would be cool if it could turn blue -X/-0 effects into creature kill effects though.
Apart from the double-lifelink bit, that's basically Windbrisk Raptor. *yawn* (IMO, lifelink paired with double-strike on a RW demigod is more likely.)
That would be so ridiculous. It's like control's Tarmogoyf.
Then it dies, and they get it back with the persist, no? Worth it? Not really.
Really, really good. If a creature had retrace it would probably be something boring like the staple 3/3 for 3G.
Okay, you have access to three lands, one block (if necessary), a Mindstab and a Smother. You can:
1. Draw another land.
2. Draw a Sensei's Divining Top.
3. Draw something for 3 mana or less (perhaps even another Elder).
From my experience the only 4 drops in rock style decks nowadays are Heirarchs and Baloths. That's about 4-8 cards you can't play. The rest of the deck will either be something good, like Vindicate, Eternal Witness, Tarmogoyf etc. or something that will help you get to four lands. It's not the end of the world.
My illustration obviously wasn't meant to be taken that you drop a Heirarch turn 3. That's just probably what you're gonna end up doing later on.
You're gonna draw another land in the three turns you have to not miss a beat. And I think with this hand, the small tempo loss with the Elder is worth a Mindstab turn 2.
BUT WAIT! You have to discard the lands too. But who cares. They're probably discarding something much better.
Imagine a bad hand in Extended with Raven's Crime. Overgrown Tomb, Windswept Heath, Raven's Crime, Smother, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Forest, Swamp.
T1: Raven's Crime
T2: Raven's Crime, Raven's Crime
T3 and on: Proceed to beat down with Heirarchs or whatever.
Pretty cool.
3 Flagstones of Trokair
15 Swamp
2 Plains
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Dusk Urchins
4 Thoughtseize
4 Bitterblossom
4 Smallpox
4 Rain of Tears
4 Poison the Well
4 Damnation
Or something. I think the Turn 2 Smallpox sacrificing Flagstones is too good to pass up and if Eventide provides the B/W hybrid land it will be even more consistent. The curve is a bit lower in this build and would probably be able to finish off an opponent quicker.
Edit: Whoops. Fixed.
Artifact
~ comes into play tapped.
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice ~ unless you discard a card.
T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
That's a pretty interesting idea, but I don't think it would work. Wouldn't he immediately go to the graveyard barring some Glorious Anthem effect? It would be cool if it could turn blue -X/-0 effects into creature kill effects though.
Edit: Nevermind. As a sorcery it's good enough as it can be completely one-sided.
Well, it can still be countered, right?
This is ridiculously strong. You pay 5 for 8+ surprise damage? Imagine it with a Bogardan Hellkite and no blockers. That's 18 damage for five mana.
How does mono-red get lifelink?