Bruse's lifelink is strong but aside from the obvious combat math i still prefer Saskia's haste which allows a better presence and response against slower decks or wraths
My challenge to that is 1 the mana intensity of double red cards that don't hold up in the long run or on their own and an energy card in a deck without energy themes.
We don't need to try that hard with Saskia.
The creature selections need to stand on their own, so fireball creatures aren't exactly appealing here. I'd recommend you guys take a look at how canadian highlander decks are built http://www.mtgtop8.com/archetype?a=543&meta=&f=CHL
This is what i'm trying out, still toying with the mana base but the rest is much to my liking, i've been satisfied with it so far and it's curve is consistent.
Doran's creature selection is a good template of beaters that do more than just beat
Volt Brawler seems like an odd choice since its a two shot - unless you're playing more energy cards. I wouldn't bother playing with Marath either(much more worse when its not a commander) or Winter Orb
Siege Rhino should be added
Archangel Avacyn covers 2 different matchups
Along with Selfless Spirit you have evasion and defense from removal
Falkenrath Aristocrat for more evasion/Resilience
Other adds worth having are Sublime Archangel, Hellrider, Xenagod
Doran is a good template to go from, this deck would be more suited for a beatdown midrange than hyper aggro,
I like these list but i'm not sure about the high amount of mana you need to cast some spells that could not be decisive (primal command, gaze of granite, nissa vital etc). How you feel about them?
Land is the most important resource, you fall behind fast without it but you maintain tempo when you have it, i mentioned before in this thread that Meren is a mana hungry deck, midrange and good stuff strategies moreso, our cmc does not average at 2 or 3 so we can't afford to play less lands. You could argue that mana dorks justify running less lands but they really don't. Mana dorks' first job here is to make you faster than control and to respond in tempo to aggression.
Primal Command has a number of useful stats
1. Flushing graves against graveyard shenanigan decks/Jace
2. Searching a silver bullet
3. Answering Threats
4. LIFE which is a resource we gotta cherish more now
Gaze of Granite should speak for itself if Pernicous Deed is safe, it also hits walkers which deed could not. It's purpose like most board wipes is to reclaim position and time. Having cards that do more than just trade one for one is important.
How comfortable are you playing a general you don't need to have in play to win the game?
End of the day Meren still returns a creature to the battlefield or to your hand - reclaiming resources and making removal worse. If i were playing this deck anywhere else i'd still have her on the list.
I made a recent update for the 20 life build. Its a more removal heavy setup but don't mistake it for control. It's still midrange.
the mass removal is made to increase the scope of our threat responses and regain momentum after slow starts, and target guys like Titania and/or Leovold without losing advantage.
The gain life is high but i'm sure after the format is more defined some of it can be cut.
The land count is high at 40 but you'll need it to be able to do a lot of the things you need to do in one turn. You also don't want to fall behind aggressive decks because we missed one land drops. There's also more ways to handle flooding like Tireless Tracker, Courser of Kruphix, Nissa, Vital Force,Nissa, Vastwood SeerPernicious Deed and Gaze of Granite
Abyssal Persecutor and Desecration Demon are new picks made to provide pressure and end games faster. We also have a number of ways to get rid of Percy to claim your win
I'm still seeing success with Karador, since its combo it can ignore aggro to a degree, and its resilient enough to handle control. Though being forced to play unusual cards like finks with the 20 life platform the deck is still fire
If you wanna stick to combo then Karador is the choice, but if you just want to keep Meren then there's no combo for you to abuse there atm, best to build it into a goodstuff deck. Or Elfball since that seems popular lately
i haven't played paper magic in a month so i'm a bit out of a loop, my computer is also bugging so the spoilers have gotten away from me. I will be back with a brew soon as i can get it fixed
What would you cut or add after your finish?
What other potential picks could have made the list?
Any thoughts on running Thundermaw Hellkite or Bloodbraid Elf in the 99?
Any thoughts on Punishing Fire since Grove is being run?
We don't need to try that hard with Saskia.
The creature selections need to stand on their own, so fireball creatures aren't exactly appealing here. I'd recommend you guys take a look at how canadian highlander decks are built http://www.mtgtop8.com/archetype?a=543&meta=&f=CHL
This is what i'm trying out, still toying with the mana base but the rest is much to my liking, i've been satisfied with it so far and it's curve is consistent.
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Flooded Strand
1 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
1 Mana Confluence
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Arbor Elf
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Mother of Runes
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Voice of Resurgence
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sylvan Library
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Dismember
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Duress
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Thoughtseize
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Archangel Avacyn
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Lightning Helix
1 Dromoka's Command
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Siege Rhino
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Badlands
1 Plateau
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Blood Crypt
1 Taiga
1 Stomping Ground
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Vindicate
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Raging Ravine
1 Grim Flayer
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Blightning
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Path to Exile
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Terminate
1 Wild Nacatl
1 Go for the Throat
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Twilight Mire
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Concealed Courtyard
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Loxodon Smiter
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Boros Charm
1 Saskia, the Unyielding
Volt Brawler seems like an odd choice since its a two shot - unless you're playing more energy cards. I wouldn't bother playing with Marath either(much more worse when its not a commander) or Winter Orb
Siege Rhino should be added
Archangel Avacyn covers 2 different matchups
Along with Selfless Spirit you have evasion and defense from removal
Falkenrath Aristocrat for more evasion/Resilience
Other adds worth having are Sublime Archangel, Hellrider, Xenagod
Doran is a good template to go from, this deck would be more suited for a beatdown midrange than hyper aggro,
I cut shredder and throat because i was trying to replace the one for one answers but both are good picks
Land is the most important resource, you fall behind fast without it but you maintain tempo when you have it, i mentioned before in this thread that Meren is a mana hungry deck, midrange and good stuff strategies moreso, our cmc does not average at 2 or 3 so we can't afford to play less lands. You could argue that mana dorks justify running less lands but they really don't. Mana dorks' first job here is to make you faster than control and to respond in tempo to aggression.
Primal Command has a number of useful stats
1. Flushing graves against graveyard shenanigan decks/Jace
2. Searching a silver bullet
3. Answering Threats
4. LIFE which is a resource we gotta cherish more now
Coupled with Eternal Witness it gets better
Gaze of Granite should speak for itself if Pernicous Deed is safe, it also hits walkers which deed could not. It's purpose like most board wipes is to reclaim position and time. Having cards that do more than just trade one for one is important.
How comfortable are you playing a general you don't need to have in play to win the game?
End of the day Meren still returns a creature to the battlefield or to your hand - reclaiming resources and making removal worse. If i were playing this deck anywhere else i'd still have her on the list.
the mass removal is made to increase the scope of our threat responses and regain momentum after slow starts, and target guys like Titania and/or Leovold without losing advantage.
The gain life is high but i'm sure after the format is more defined some of it can be cut.
The land count is high at 40 but you'll need it to be able to do a lot of the things you need to do in one turn. You also don't want to fall behind aggressive decks because we missed one land drops. There's also more ways to handle flooding like Tireless Tracker, Courser of Kruphix, Nissa, Vital Force,Nissa, Vastwood Seer Pernicious Deed and Gaze of Granite
Abyssal Persecutor and Desecration Demon are new picks made to provide pressure and end games faster. We also have a number of ways to get rid of Percy to claim your win
or any of the mass removals not named Languish
Any questions?
[deck]1 Thragtusk
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Primal Command
1 Ravenous Baloth
1 Grim Flayer
1 Spore Frog
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Eldritch Evolution
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Nissa, Vital Force
1 Liliana of the Veil
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Birthing Pod
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Windswept Heath
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Bayou
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Wasteland
1 Treetop Village
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Mana Confluence
1 Shriekmaw
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Scavenging Ooze
7 Forest
5 Swamp
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Temple of Malady
1 Twilight Mire
1 Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Arbor Elf
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Eternal Witness
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Sadistic Hypnotist
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Acidic Slime
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Contamination
1 Hissing Quagmire
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Pulse of Murasa
1 Wood Elves
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Liliana, Heretical Healer
1 Sylvan Library
1 Thoughtseize
1 Duress
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Minister of Pain
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Damnation
1 Languish
1 Desecration Demon
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Coercive Portal
1 High Market
1 Grim Backwoods
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Tablet of the Guilds
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Abyssal Persecutor