1) Would you leave out the "stompy" part (SLCs and Geists) and focus more on the DRAW part in adding more Selkies/TTracker? Are BTEs quicker and better here than Geists?
2) Spellbreaker vs. Xenagod? And 2x Xenagos vs 2x VoZ? Again keeping in mind the Wave aspect?
3) The third question is more GENERAL one... Are Fetch lands that BIG of a deal? I mean I will get them in the future but do they smoothen the draw and quicken the play that much more? I mean getting 2x W. Heath and 2x W. Foothills is a 80 dollar investment so im asking you as you have ton of experience...
Thank you guys for your input and answers. Also thank you for keeping this thread alive!
Welcome Curator Ventris
1) I would say the Stompy Theme is quite good and the Geists give you some Wrath Protection. Spellbreaker and SLC are a nice interaction. But I would play even more Witness, since they allow you to rebuy your wave, so when you hit Garruk + Witness you can do it all over again.
2) I'd say Xenagod is propably more synergistic with the wave aspect, allow you to hit for 10 with the SLC. But not really a fan of both in a Genesis Wave build.
Vexxing Shusher is propably the better counter protection for your wave. Boseiju, Who Shelters All would be nice too.
Nissa VOZ with Geists is kind of a nonbo since the +1/+1 counter means they wont be undying.
3) Fetchlands have some nice interactions with a Courser on board, allowing you to shuffle away cards you dont want to draw. Aside from the manafixing I don't think they are absolutely vital when you dont play Tracker or any landfall like creatures. The deck thinning is marginal, but great if you're looking for any % you can get.
Those are all great points about Kozilek's Return. I love the green devotion community, everytime I visit there is always something new to learn. Ordered myself two copies and will try them out. Being able to cast it T2 vs Elves is quite nice too.
Congrats @Semoreh, solid performance. Jund is hard to beat.
Tireless Tracker: mistahARK is quite right, i try to refrain myself from casting a T2 Tracker without any lands to back him up. He feels more like a 4 drop in the sense you want to be holding a land. That's why a split between Jadelight and Tracker seems like a good call.
I wanted to wait for the Jadelights to rotate out of standard, they will propably end up very cheap. With that much love you guys give it I will propably have to buy them at standard prices so that I can experience it first hand.
Against Hollow One: Obstinate Baloth is great post board. The variance of the deck is crazy, if they have an insane start theres not much any deck can do about it.
Merfolk: Every removal post board, as long as we can keep them off islandwalk we can definately outpower them with our fatties and value creatures.
Humans: In my Planeswalker builds, Garruk Relentless is one of the best cards against the deck. Tons of good targets and the deathtouch tokens are strong. Mantis Rider and Freebooter are the ones that give me the most trouble. The more removal you run mainboard the better imo. Although there are times where you can outpace them, mostly ending in a board stall, where you hope you get to some sort of overrun effect.
Question about Kozilek's Return: We don't play any Eldrazi Creature Spells to trigger it from the graveyard, why not play Pyroclasm. Is the instant speed relevant?
very rarely does Tracker take over games the way people claim. typically the evidence im presented for this, is when the game has grinded out and the opponent simply has no creature removal left, cause they simply ran out earlier. such a situation is where any creature can take over a game.
Not necessarily if they don't have any removal left. A T3 Tracker with a fetch in hand means you get 2 clues, independent if it gets removed. If it doesnt get removed and you get yet another Clue the following turn you have access to 3 cards and a potential big Tracker.
Paired with our big mana deck we can crack the clues pretty fast, which is why I think it fits so well.
I dont mean to say it's a must play and other 3 drops are weaker, I just want to emphasize the problems he solves: Gives card advantage which costs 2 but we can generate a lot of mana and it becomes a huge beater which we can give trample and it can outclass a Tarmogoyf.
Ever since Oath of Nissa, things like Harmonize became less interesting for me. Other card advantage machines like Regal Force are way up there in CMC.
Curdbros: Cool little synergy you discovered there.
I wonder where the Ghalta Blitz players are, Steel Leaf Champion seems like a strict upgrade for that deck.
I have been playing some more online, theres a lot of hatebears decks going around. I think we are quite favored in that match up. I have been tweaking my old Primal Command build again after taking a look at Uegjos latest devotion play here (https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/985658#paper)
I am currently trying in 3 lighting bolts, which work great. Eternal witness works great with it as our kind of snapcaster mage making 6 damage in the same turn for only 4 mana.
Tireless Trackers are amazing, even if they go out and only draw us 1 card. Its just a pitty they spiked up in price so high so quickly, I should have bought them while they were cheaper.
Shapers' Sanctuary is sooo good, I am running 2 in the sideboard atm against control. It makes the matches soo much better, and they really have to think twice before removing our creatures.
Dragonlord Atraka has been doing a lot of work, and combined with lightning bolt it can close games. I am so far liking it more than Behemoth
I swapped ballista, after thinking about it and what you guys said, unless you are running infinite then its probably not worh it. Even if you have a lot of mana I would rather cast Dragonlord Atraka instead and have bolts, or fatal push for earlier game removal.
Ill post my updated list later
Lightning Bolt is a great piece of interaction that is sorely needed in some matchups. I have not been playing it due to Oath missing it. However I agree that it is very viable and fixes some of the interaction problem our decks tend to have.
against all of the tireless tracker fad that is going on I think this guy can out perform tracker Undergrowth Champion. trade off being a creature that lasts longer vs one that draw cards that being the ups and downs of either option.
The problem with the two lands is they either come into play tapped or they dont produce G. I think you'd need to build some additional landfall like value in there to justify Oboro. Additionally bounce lands are awkward in a 20/21 land deck, just imagine having Gruul Turf as your only land in your opening hand.
I dont think the downside of these is worth the potential benefit. Undergrowth Champion is not nearly as powerful as Tracker. Tracker can take over a game by giving card advantage and becoming huge, while Undergrowth Champion has some conditional protection from non exile based spot removal.
Not sure if this excerpt is right (source), but it says:
711.4b While a double-faced permanent’s back face is up, it has only the characteristics of its back face. However, its converted mana cost is calculated using the mana cost of its front face. If a permanent is copying the back face of a double-faced card (even if the card representing that copy is itself a double-faced card), the converted mana cost of that permanent is 0.
I believe this change was implemented in Shadows over Innistrad.
Doesnt fully answer the devotion question we have. Have to test this out in mtgo, see what happens there. That would also imply that they cant abrupt decay a flipped Garruk Relentless.
@Dos_Rouge: 100% Agree with you. That is my SB plan as well, taking out Oath for hight impact sideboard cards that canot be hit by Oath like Relic, Bloodmoon etc gives me something to take out which does not slow the ramp gameplan at all.
Genesis Hydra is most likely in the sideboard because it a big nonbo with BBE, but can come in vs control matchups.
@Curdbros: Have tested BBE out but I dont like it. The chances of hitting one of our Ramp cards is so high. Let us know how it goes for you.
@soulgix: That sounds like a good adaption. I've noticed a surge in Jund and UWx control that keep your ramp in check. So there's a higher risk of not being able to cast your expensive cards. Carnage Tyrant is propably not a bad call as its solid against both these decks. Keep the edict effect in Mind.
A good preperation for your tournament is to got to mtgtop8 and see the top decks and have an idea how to sideboard against each one. I'm mostly struggling of what to take out.
I have actually been running 3X Nykthos lately and to be honest I find it perfectly fine. It almost always shows up when needed but I havent been running into the situations where you draw 2 in a row
I have to agree with you, despite some people saying you HAVE to play 4. In my BG walker list I actually play 3. Not because I have a problem with drawing two in a row, which as pointed out can actually be beneficial if nykthos is mana positive. Rather I want a turn 1 untapped green source 100% of the time. Having a 1 lander with nykthos is not keepable even if you have utopia sprawl, arbor elf and an oath in Hand.
Especially because of Oath of Nissa can help find 1 Nykthos.
@Why always 4x Nykthos!
Imagine, you draw a second Nykthos and have one in Play. You can activate Nyktos, just got a bunch of Mana in the Pool. Now you play the second one and just do it again! With this Move you can Instant Kill with Walking Ballista (my highest record- 41 Mana in Pool, and all in Ballista) , Search with Primal Command and Play in the same turn a creature.
In situations like that it's obviously hugely beneficial, however if you cant win that turn or you dont have a payoff on board or in hand or your devotion gets totally diminished by spot removal its another story. Then its just a legendary land that can generate 1 mana for one turn.
I have been playing a fun of Ramunap Excavator and whenever he is on board it's absolutely sweet. Playing Fetches, Nykthos from your graveyard is amazing.
With the success off BBE Ponza this is some sweet tech. I would suggest to pick them up since they are so underpriced imo. Crucible of Worlds on a stick.
Rendroc is correct. +1/+1 counter reset the -1/-1 counter on Persist creatures, that's why me and others play Nissa VOZ with finks.
Gearhulk has been tested before with some great success. Making your birds or other dorks into huge creatures is powerful. Even on an empty board a 8/8 trampler for 5 mana is insane.
Now this is a solid T&N deck, thanks for the write up.
As for counters Negate was the go to counter back when the Genesis Wave build with Kiora made waves.
Having relics G2 against Living End has worked wonders for me. Generally you don't run a lot of graveyard hate in your sideboard. If you try out the relics dont forget to side out the Eternal Witnesses when they come in.
Your list probably struggles against burn and affinity a lot with no spot removal or lifegain mainboard. Many people here have had lots of success with Abrade, can come in vs creature heavy decks and even vs lantern.
Can you explain the two Bow of Nylea's in the sideboard?
With T&N i'd try to put some other devastating fatties in the side, most notably Ruric Thar against Storm.
@curdbros: I've had similar issues with Chandra ToD. RR can be hard to achieve on T2/3 and I have found myself in the position of not being able to cast her. Been only playing with my GB Walker list and optimized it for the maximum consistency, dropping high CMC threats with castable high impact 3 drops.
The same goes for Vraska 1 vs Vraska 2. Vraska 2 is definately more powerful but dont forget it costs 1 more, being able to generate 5 mana happens quickly a lot even against disruption.
Especially against disruption I find myself less in the position where I have a hand of 6+ mana cards that i cannot cast.
Since the superfriends deck is a mix between ramp and midrange deck the problem i've encountered is that you end up dumping a lot of your hand really quickly and by having all the ramp in the deck it gives you a lot of bad topdecks. Thats where Tireless Tracker comes in handy in creating that overwhelming value behind the planeswalker activations. With 8 Fetches its definately not a bad option. If you can try it out and see how you like it in the superfriends list. Has been doing tons of work for me.
With a 20 Land Deck Oath makes it possible to decrease the amount of mulligans significantly.
However there seems to be a cut off, depending on how many non-targets you play.
It the traditional Devotion I played for a long time, I needed to trim them down because of Primal Commands. This is also the case when I side in Relic of Progenitus, Creeping Corrosion, etc I will cut oaths, since the deck gets filled with cards i cannot hit of oath.
However if the SB card can be hit by oath i'm leaving them in, since they increase the chance of hitting them.
To the Gruul Aggro/Midrange Discussion:
Don't forget about Arlinn Kord
Maybe Samut, the Tested is worth some testing in this shell. Double Strike combined with fatties is pretty strong. Sarkhan Vol might be worth trying out as well.
When playing tons of creatures Heartwood Storyteller could give you the card advantage against more control oriented decks. In Testing I have run into problems with him because of Oath, Utopia Sprawl and Planeswalker. But the possible card advantage without thinning your deck of creatures is great.
As top end in aggressive deck Vorapede can do some work with added resiliency. Whisperwood Elemental has been insane in my testing. Giving you a fighting chance against All is Dust and less brutal Boardwipes. Allows you to commit heavily to the board, when in some scenarios I'm reluctant to walk into a wipe.
I'm toying with the idea of getting rid of Burning Tree Emissary and using Overgrown Battlement and Axebane Guardian playsets for a Jamie Wakefield kind of toolbox deck. Even if they nuke Nykthos, the deck might be more resilient as a mana dork deck with creature Fatties like Deus of Calamity and Primalcrux as the Devotion enablers. Relying on bad creatures for devotion usually costs us games against early game heavy hand removal and creature removal given that some decks run playsets of Fatal Push and Lightning Bolt so its either you dont have a board with Nykthos in play or you have lots of crap devotion dorks and the opponent qhost quarters or spreading seas your Nykthos giving you an ugly board state while they beat face on you.
Can you guys try the 2 playsets of mana dork walls to play a fat Walking Ballista early? You can also pump replenish it since 3 walls is equal to 9 mana and that puts into play any fattie that can change the game. I'm messing around with Mirrorweave with Primalcrux and Deus of Calamaity as targets. It turns all the walls into Primalcrux or Deus of Calamaity and 4 or 5 of those with just 2 or 3 swinging is lethal.
Decklist? Sounds fun.
BTE is great for giving you insane ramp speed in the right draws (especially potent combined with Summoner's Pact) and is another body for overrun effects. However I would not consider BTE as a dork, as without Nykthos there is no real ramping going on.
The Walls Ramp can definitely work well and is great against aggro, but the overrun plan gets worse (except with Mirrorweave).
They are not as fast as Bird of Paradise, which I assume you'd cut? And no color fixing.
Mirrorweave: Sweet card to toy around with for sure. This card can be absurd like you mentioned, targeting a Primeval Titan, Deus of Calamity, Axebane Guardian, Arbor Elf. But...
Can't be tutored easily (sorcery)
Dead card on an empty board.
CMC 4 and UW
As for myself found that Kitchen Finks is a great stabilizer against aggressive decks. Especially useful combined with Planeswalkers.
On another Note: Luck is definitely a big part of the game. Got to cast a Turn 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance off an Utopia Sprawl on R and an Arbor Elf.
Observation: Between Birds of Paradise, Utopia Sprawl, Fetches&Shocks, Arbor Elf untapping a Shock and Oath of Nissa, I've never had any issues casting my off color, out there, inconsistent 1 of Planeswalkers.
@Rendroc: Thanks for the great content. Lovely edited write ups! Walking Ballista seems to give great early game interaction and scales well in lategame. If only it were green and shoot trees
Will play them at the next FNM for sure. Whisperwood Elemental I played it too for a while, it's truly like a little Planeswalker with Wrath protection build in for your creatures. Activates EOT with [0]: Manifest the top card of your library.
Can you link to the article or is it behind a paywall?
Welcome Curator Ventris
1) I would say the Stompy Theme is quite good and the Geists give you some Wrath Protection. Spellbreaker and SLC are a nice interaction. But I would play even more Witness, since they allow you to rebuy your wave, so when you hit Garruk + Witness you can do it all over again.
2) I'd say Xenagod is propably more synergistic with the wave aspect, allow you to hit for 10 with the SLC. But not really a fan of both in a Genesis Wave build.
Vexxing Shusher is propably the better counter protection for your wave. Boseiju, Who Shelters All would be nice too.
Nissa VOZ with Geists is kind of a nonbo since the +1/+1 counter means they wont be undying.
3) Fetchlands have some nice interactions with a Courser on board, allowing you to shuffle away cards you dont want to draw. Aside from the manafixing I don't think they are absolutely vital when you dont play Tracker or any landfall like creatures. The deck thinning is marginal, but great if you're looking for any % you can get.
Congrats @Semoreh, solid performance. Jund is hard to beat.
Tireless Tracker: mistahARK is quite right, i try to refrain myself from casting a T2 Tracker without any lands to back him up. He feels more like a 4 drop in the sense you want to be holding a land. That's why a split between Jadelight and Tracker seems like a good call.
I wanted to wait for the Jadelights to rotate out of standard, they will propably end up very cheap. With that much love you guys give it I will propably have to buy them at standard prices so that I can experience it first hand.
Merfolk: Every removal post board, as long as we can keep them off islandwalk we can definately outpower them with our fatties and value creatures.
Humans: In my Planeswalker builds, Garruk Relentless is one of the best cards against the deck. Tons of good targets and the deathtouch tokens are strong. Mantis Rider and Freebooter are the ones that give me the most trouble. The more removal you run mainboard the better imo. Although there are times where you can outpace them, mostly ending in a board stall, where you hope you get to some sort of overrun effect.
Question about Kozilek's Return: We don't play any Eldrazi Creature Spells to trigger it from the graveyard, why not play Pyroclasm. Is the instant speed relevant?
Not necessarily if they don't have any removal left. A T3 Tracker with a fetch in hand means you get 2 clues, independent if it gets removed. If it doesnt get removed and you get yet another Clue the following turn you have access to 3 cards and a potential big Tracker.
Paired with our big mana deck we can crack the clues pretty fast, which is why I think it fits so well.
I dont mean to say it's a must play and other 3 drops are weaker, I just want to emphasize the problems he solves: Gives card advantage which costs 2 but we can generate a lot of mana and it becomes a huge beater which we can give trample and it can outclass a Tarmogoyf.
Ever since Oath of Nissa, things like Harmonize became less interesting for me. Other card advantage machines like Regal Force are way up there in CMC.
Pride Sovereign is actually quite nice in a Bant deck paired with Kiora, Master of the depths.
Curdbros: Cool little synergy you discovered there.
I wonder where the Ghalta Blitz players are, Steel Leaf Champion seems like a strict upgrade for that deck.
The problem with the two lands is they either come into play tapped or they dont produce G. I think you'd need to build some additional landfall like value in there to justify Oboro. Additionally bounce lands are awkward in a 20/21 land deck, just imagine having Gruul Turf as your only land in your opening hand.
I dont think the downside of these is worth the potential benefit.
Undergrowth Champion is not nearly as powerful as Tracker. Tracker can take over a game by giving card advantage and becoming huge, while Undergrowth Champion has some conditional protection from non exile based spot removal.
Doesnt fully answer the devotion question we have. Have to test this out in mtgo, see what happens there. That would also imply that they cant abrupt decay a flipped Garruk Relentless.
@Dos_Rouge: 100% Agree with you. That is my SB plan as well, taking out Oath for hight impact sideboard cards that canot be hit by Oath like Relic, Bloodmoon etc gives me something to take out which does not slow the ramp gameplan at all.
Genesis Hydra is most likely in the sideboard because it a big nonbo with BBE, but can come in vs control matchups.
@Curdbros: Have tested BBE out but I dont like it. The chances of hitting one of our Ramp cards is so high. Let us know how it goes for you.
@soulgix: That sounds like a good adaption. I've noticed a surge in Jund and UWx control that keep your ramp in check. So there's a higher risk of not being able to cast your expensive cards. Carnage Tyrant is propably not a bad call as its solid against both these decks. Keep the edict effect in Mind.
A good preperation for your tournament is to got to mtgtop8 and see the top decks and have an idea how to sideboard against each one. I'm mostly struggling of what to take out.
I have to agree with you, despite some people saying you HAVE to play 4. In my BG walker list I actually play 3. Not because I have a problem with drawing two in a row, which as pointed out can actually be beneficial if nykthos is mana positive. Rather I want a turn 1 untapped green source 100% of the time. Having a 1 lander with nykthos is not keepable even if you have utopia sprawl, arbor elf and an oath in Hand.
Especially because of Oath of Nissa can help find 1 Nykthos.
In situations like that it's obviously hugely beneficial, however if you cant win that turn or you dont have a payoff on board or in hand or your devotion gets totally diminished by spot removal its another story. Then its just a legendary land that can generate 1 mana for one turn.
I have been playing a fun of Ramunap Excavator and whenever he is on board it's absolutely sweet. Playing Fetches, Nykthos from your graveyard is amazing.
With the success off BBE Ponza this is some sweet tech. I would suggest to pick them up since they are so underpriced imo. Crucible of Worlds on a stick.
(Sidenote; been working on a list using Wayward Swordtooth, Ramunap Excavator, Lotus Cobra, Knight of the Reliquary, Rhonas the Indomitable, Tireless Tracker and Courser of Kruphix. But doesn't run nykthos. If you're interested in the list send me a pm)
Gearhulk has been tested before with some great success. Making your birds or other dorks into huge creatures is powerful. Even on an empty board a 8/8 trampler for 5 mana is insane.
Now this is a solid T&N deck, thanks for the write up.
As for counters Negate was the go to counter back when the Genesis Wave build with Kiora made waves.
Having relics G2 against Living End has worked wonders for me. Generally you don't run a lot of graveyard hate in your sideboard. If you try out the relics dont forget to side out the Eternal Witnesses when they come in.
Your list probably struggles against burn and affinity a lot with no spot removal or lifegain mainboard. Many people here have had lots of success with Abrade, can come in vs creature heavy decks and even vs lantern.
Can you explain the two Bow of Nylea's in the sideboard?
With T&N i'd try to put some other devastating fatties in the side, most notably Ruric Thar against Storm.
The same goes for Vraska 1 vs Vraska 2. Vraska 2 is definately more powerful but dont forget it costs 1 more, being able to generate 5 mana happens quickly a lot even against disruption.
Especially against disruption I find myself less in the position where I have a hand of 6+ mana cards that i cannot cast.
Since the superfriends deck is a mix between ramp and midrange deck the problem i've encountered is that you end up dumping a lot of your hand really quickly and by having all the ramp in the deck it gives you a lot of bad topdecks. Thats where Tireless Tracker comes in handy in creating that overwhelming value behind the planeswalker activations. With 8 Fetches its definately not a bad option. If you can try it out and see how you like it in the superfriends list. Has been doing tons of work for me.
GB Planeswalker Devotion (20)
4x Arbor Elf
2x Birds of Paradise
3x Courser of Kruphix
3x Tireless Tracker
1x Eternal Witness
3x Kitchen Finks
1x Polukranos, World Eater
1x Genesis Hydra
1x Hornet Queen
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
Enchantment (8)
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Oath of Nissa
Planeswalker (12)
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
3x Garruk Relentless
1x Garruk, Primal Hunter
3x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
2x Vraska the Unseen
8x Green Fetch
8x Forest
1x Overgrown Tomb
3x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Cloudthresher
2x Creeping Corrosion
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Polukranos, World Eater
1x Reclamation Sage
3x Relic of Progenitus
1x Terastodon
1x Thragtusk
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
1x Woodland Bellower
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OiIIjYgXB4&list=PLxg8UAfS2YJaQU-awzdWFY1cfglXmSYkh
Article: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=14228&writer=Corbin Hosler&articledate=10-16-2017
However there seems to be a cut off, depending on how many non-targets you play.
It the traditional Devotion I played for a long time, I needed to trim them down because of Primal Commands. This is also the case when I side in Relic of Progenitus, Creeping Corrosion, etc I will cut oaths, since the deck gets filled with cards i cannot hit of oath.
However if the SB card can be hit by oath i'm leaving them in, since they increase the chance of hitting them.
Don't forget about Arlinn Kord
Maybe Samut, the Tested is worth some testing in this shell. Double Strike combined with fatties is pretty strong.
Sarkhan Vol might be worth trying out as well.
When playing tons of creatures Heartwood Storyteller could give you the card advantage against more control oriented decks. In Testing I have run into problems with him because of Oath, Utopia Sprawl and Planeswalker. But the possible card advantage without thinning your deck of creatures is great.
As top end in aggressive deck Vorapede can do some work with added resiliency.
Whisperwood Elemental has been insane in my testing. Giving you a fighting chance against All is Dust and less brutal Boardwipes. Allows you to commit heavily to the board, when in some scenarios I'm reluctant to walk into a wipe.
Decklist? Sounds fun.
BTE is great for giving you insane ramp speed in the right draws (especially potent combined with Summoner's Pact) and is another body for overrun effects. However I would not consider BTE as a dork, as without Nykthos there is no real ramping going on.
The Walls Ramp can definitely work well and is great against aggro, but the overrun plan gets worse (except with Mirrorweave).
They are not as fast as Bird of Paradise, which I assume you'd cut? And no color fixing.
Mirrorweave: Sweet card to toy around with for sure. This card can be absurd like you mentioned, targeting a Primeval Titan, Deus of Calamity, Axebane Guardian, Arbor Elf. But...
Can't be tutored easily (sorcery)
Dead card on an empty board.
CMC 4 and UW
As for myself found that Kitchen Finks is a great stabilizer against aggressive decks. Especially useful combined with Planeswalkers.
On another Note: Luck is definitely a big part of the game. Got to cast a Turn 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance off an Utopia Sprawl on R and an Arbor Elf.
Observation: Between Birds of Paradise, Utopia Sprawl, Fetches&Shocks, Arbor Elf untapping a Shock and Oath of Nissa, I've never had any issues casting my off color, out there, inconsistent 1 of Planeswalkers.
@Rendroc: Thanks for the great content. Lovely edited write ups!
Walking Ballista seems to give great early game interaction and scales well in lategame. If only it were green and shoot trees
Will play them at the next FNM for sure.
Whisperwood Elemental I played it too for a while, it's truly like a little Planeswalker with Wrath protection build in for your creatures. Activates EOT with [0]: Manifest the top card of your library.