I got the general idea for a pet deck project during pre-release weekend when I got a nice chunk of red & blue cards. I’m not really sure how it’s gonna look by the time I’m done tinkering with it but I’ve got a first draft of this thing together and I’m gonna take it to playtesting night over my buddy’s this week. At this point it might seem like there’s some odd choices and while I’ve put some thought into the card selection I fully admit that this deck isn’t a refined finished project. Since it’s not close to being a finished deck, as per my personal tradition there is no real sideboard yet, I have some real solid ideas about what it should be but since I acknowledge that the deck is in flux it’s just something I put off until it’s a bit more stable. Finally, I started this as its own thread because I wouldn’t call this a burn deck exactly, it’s certainly not mono blue and it seems like there’s a pretty wide range of wizards (my deck is Izzit at this point but who knows where it’ll end up).
General:
I always have a bit of a rough time putting my brews into archtype boxes and this case isn’t any different. By and large this deck is intended to play aggressively. Most of the deck will be played fast and cheap. There is a small element of control built in (with Siren Stormtamer’s ability and Wizard’s Retort) but there’s an aggressive edge to this as well (Stormtamer’s ability being attached to a flying Wizard one drop and Wizard’s Retort triggering Prowess and Adeliz). There’s a bit of burn involved in this formula and while it’s vital, it’s secondary to the Wizards themselves. I’m a little iffy on the manna base, most of the cards cast very cheap and this deck seems to get by on 21 lands but it’s also nice to be able to drop lands more consistently.
Soul-Scar Mage: This little guy has had a lot said about him but I’ll say a little more in the context of this deck. His ability to give -1/1 damage counters is the primary reason I’ve played him in the past but while it’s not totally irrelevant in this build (wizard lightning and lightning strike can both hit a range of targets) it’ll probably factor in strongly for my sideboard. Prowess is the real motivation for him being in here (being a one drop red helps too).
Blue:
Siren Stormtamer: He’s a one drop flier Wizard and if you’re in a position to sacrifice it, this card helps limit your opponent’s options significantly. Not much more needs to be said about this card, it’s a real workhorse.
Two-drops:
Red:
Burning Fist Minotaur: It may seem an odd choice, there may be better two drop red wizards but I’ve got a good feeling about this guy in the context of this deck. A 2/1 for 2 isn’t amazing but (besides it being a wizard) first strike is a nice ability. The other text on the card could prove exceptionally useful but more on this later.
Blue:
Spellweaver Eternal: Once again, a 2/1 for 2 isn’t earth shaking but this card has a couple bits that are really nice in here. Afflict: 2 isn’t revolutionary but it assures you that something is gonna make it through if you swing. This card also has Prowess which is pretty useful because you’ll be casting a good number of non-creature spells.
Three-drops:
Gold (U/R):
Adeliz, the Cinder-Wind: She’s the champ in this build, comes out swinging in the air and effectively gives the whole team prowess, double prowess for the Soul-Scars and Spellweavers but it doesn’t hurt buffing up your flying Stormtamers or your first strike Burning-Fists either.
Four-drops:
Blue:
Naru Meha, Master Wizard: She’s the only three-of in the deck but only because something had to be and she costs the most. In an ideal world you’ll be casting her with (at least) 5 lands out to copy a Wizard’s Lightning but in the likely situation where (at least at first) you won’t have the luxury of 5+ lands and a spell (Wizard’s Lightning or Lightning Strike) to copy she’s still useful as a lord and as a three-of there’s a chance you’ll have a second chance to take advantage of that copy ability.
The Spells:
Besides being awesome in and of themselves these spells provide the bonus of bonuses to (many, potentially all of your wizards) with prowess and / or Adeliz’s ability.
Enchantments:
One-drops:
Blue:
Curious Obsession: The +1/1 is fine enough but the card draw is the reason this is here along with the fact that it is a non creature spell so it will trigger prowess and Adeliz’s ability on the turn it comes out. It looks good on most of your creatures (The fliers tend to have a good chance of getting through a lot of decks, it’ll give your prowess guys +2/2 on the turn it comes out and a 3/2 first striker with the ability to bring card draw with its attacks helps offset the pain of discarding a card to activate his ability which, (if you’ve got the resources) , can kill most blockers.
Instants:
Two-drops:
Red:
Lightning Strike: Three damage to creature or player for 2 manna isn’t bad. Soul-Scar’s ability can make this meaningful against creatures with toughness higher than 3 and as a non-creature spell triggers 12 cards in the deck and can be copied by 3.
Three-drops:
Both Three-drop spell slots are a bit deceptive as they are functionally R or UU to cast.
Red:
Wizard’s Lightning:Just like Lightning Strike but better because there are 23 Wizards in this deck that turn this card into a one-drop Lightning Bolt and as everyone knows Lightning Bolt > Lightning Strike.
Blue:
Wizard’s Retort: Once again 23 wizards pays off, turning this three-drop into an effective two-drop Cancel which is a swell way to frustrate your opponent and throw off their combat math a good bit with your prowess wizards and Adeliz’s ability.
Tinkered with this a bit more, play-tested it out last night. It seems to work better. I managed to beat a couple top-notch decks against a good player with it but still wound up at maybe 50% wins for it. It's really inconsistent but works way better than my first iteration. Any thoughts?
I made a brawl deck. Wasn't crazy about the format. It just seems too gimmicky to me. If other people dig it, that's all right by me. I might make another Brawl deck in the future but I'd probably play my constructed Unstable deck more.
Thank you for all the suggestions but the Wizards club support thing is out of my reach since I don't live in USA or Canada. School hasn't started yet but I'm already looking for ideas so in case there are Magic players at the school, I can already share the plan and hopefully succeed.
Well, if all else fails just find some other people and play. I'm not sure where you're from but it's been a consistent thing that at most schools there's some kinda group of kids that're into this sort of thing. The nature of it changes (some groups are into mini stuff more (like Warhammer), while other groups are more into table top rpgs) with time and location, chances are you'll find some kids into the same sorts of stuff. They might not look like you expect them to (heck, when I was fifteen I had a two foot mohawk and spent my weekends at punk houses and squats) but chances are there are a couple people in your new school who would at least be interested if they don't already play. Good luck.
Just wanted to say, thanks for the info! I've been running a school group for a few years...never knew about this program through WotC! Just sent an e-mail in. Much appreciated!
Sweet, thanks. Good luck with the program. I just got a box of stuff for my students yesterday. It's a pretty solid kit and they were really quick with everything.
I'm an educator, Wizards has been awesome in bringing magic to my students.There are a few ways to approach this but you're probably best off starting (as others have said) by finding some other players in your new school (it wouldn't be unheard of that your school already has a MTG / Gaming club in place). It never hurts to keep two decks around to help show someone else how to play but yeah, most LCS's should have some welcome decks. If you can (and it's really hard to say what your chances are) try to find a staff member who plays, has played, is familiar with the game, if there isn't already a student group dedicated to this sort of thing find out the procedures to start one (chances are your group will need a staff "sponsor"), just bring it up to them (mentioning the following webpage isn't a bad idea). If you have a hard time doing this (honestly, I imagine it could be kinda harder than it seems at first [I'm the only staff member at my school who plays magic]) don't be discouraged. If there's one thing I could tell highschool me about navigating through school that I never thought of if that you really don't know your teachers. This sounds more menacing than it is. I don't think there's a subject or type of teacher you need to keep an eye out for. There's a lot of math involved, so obviously math teachers might be a good hook (if you go there work up the math angle) but at the same time English and History (/ any "soft" science teachers) in my experience seem to be from the "nice guy athlete grown up" to the most far-out / nerdy people you can imagine, one group of teachers that you may not deal with (and your school may not have many / any) are special education folks and if you have a hard time they might be your last best shot. Special education is a pretty broad term and their specialization could be in a number of things which share a ton of elements from behavior specialists to communications, learning theory... all kindsa stuff. Before that, find at least two or three other students who would be interested.
Wizards has a program in place to help support magic clubs and you can possibly find some level of support there too (This is a link to said Wizards program).
Remember, your greatest tool will be inclusiveness. This can possibly be your biggest challenge depending on who you find to play with (if they've got problematic tendencies) but it could also be no problem at all. It's important when forming a group that everyone feels welcome regardless of who they are (provided they show that same level of respect towards others).
If this fails, your best best is just to find local shops that run FNM. This will find you magic players to play with but in my (limited) experience most of these players won't be your age (The shops I've been to most of the guys have been in their 20's-40's but with a handful of younger players) but tend to be supportive of younger players.
As mentioned I'm taking my deck into my play test night with a little Grixis experimentation. In doing this I realize that it opens up a load of great options and there's a temptation to try to cram them in but my goal isn't to radically transform the deck, rather to add some pieces which I think can add (in many, if not most match ups) solutions to possibly very likely problems. These cards are, Siren Stormtamer and Warkite Marauder. Also, if the slightly more grixis build works well it could allow me a lot more sideboard options. I'm interested in seeing the results.
Before getting all hopeful, I'll start with my concerns... On the negative side I see this making the deck a little slower in two ways. Firstly, the land base is kinda funky. Uncharted Territories are a bit of a boon and a bane, it's great because my deck is mostly creatures and as such functions as a three color land which comes out untapped but they don't help too much with spells or Siren Stormtamer's ability, they also don't help with my checklands. Secondly, while they rarely come out, my Immortal Sun / Vanquisher's Banner both add a bit of card advantage and umph, this is also true about Sword Point Diplomacy. Besides those points, the Stormtamer & Marauder are in a lot of ways less aggro-efficient than many other options. Finally, and this is a bit of a shaky point but Stormtamer's ability is only as useful as my ability to keep a blue source untapped and philosophically, in theory I don't tend to have a lot of lands hanging around untapped by the end of my turn (but to be fair, if I can keep something around for a Push I could probably do so for a Stormtamer even with fewer blue sources).
That said, there are a few reasons why it may work well too, in no particular order here's how I can see these changes being advantageous. The two blue cards both have flying which can be very useful, in this current build I've got 9 flyers and 3 menace-y guys who make more menace-y guys. That's a good bit of evasion which can help a great deal especially if they're backed by a lord. As I've said before, most of the time Neckbreaker is your best option for a lord if you're tutoring one up but sometimes Brass will do you much better and more pirates that'll get through will help you steal things (while a lot has been said about her limitations, her ability is nothing to sneeze at). Essentially my criteria for choosing lords is as such, if the Neckbreaker will let your guys swing for lethal (which will likely be most times but with enough exceptions to justify Brass main board) you should probably choose the Neckbreaker; if not, you should probably choose Brass.
As for the cards themselves... Stormtamer (besides being a flyer) can protect you and your creatures from a lot of nasty effects for the cost of a blue manna while Warkite Marauder's can at the very least neutralize a blocker but is a very good excuse to sideboard in Magma Spray against decks with really nasty creatures as a swing with a Marauder followed by a Spray will exile anything without hexproof no matter how vicious it would otherwise be.
Anyhow, I'll see how it goes tonight and post more sometime soon. Here's what my maindeck is looking like right now, my sideboard is a bit up in the air as this build is pretty experimental.
Wound up missing FNM this week again due to a broken gas line at home. Got some Drowned Catacombs and I'm tinkering with a slightly more grixis look, I'll post an updated list after playtesting this week. I think it could work but it's a fine line to walk. Blue brings a lot of options but I don't want to radically transform the nature of the deck. That said, I'm tinkering with Siren Stormtamer and Warkite Marauder (and 1 Brass in there) (have playsets of both, right now I've got in 4 & 3 respectively but I'm not sure how it'll turn out). While there are a lot of great blue pirates I'm sticking with these two because they seem to fit in well with the theme of the deck and help deal with problems that I didn't have too much of a solution for( Siren Stormtamer helping out with a bit of spell protection and Warkite helping naturalize big nasty blockers (Hazoret, Rekindling Phoenix, etc...) they also help make Brass's ability more triggerable and as fliers can sometimes go in for hits when otherwise you couldn't. Goldfishing has given me slightly worse results in a vacuum but I'm not sure it'll translate the same way during a game given the nature of what the cards do. Anyway, I'll be sure to have more soon.
FNM didn’t go too well this week @ 1-3. While I’m not upset over this (the way I see it is I’ve got a sweet job and an awesome girlfriend, doing bad at a game isn’t sad) in any kinda emotional way, but
Going into this week I was feeling fairly confident; I wasn’t expecting a 4-0 but 3-1 seemed likely and 2-2 seemed like the worst case scenario going in. The Pirates performed pretty well for me so far and I felt like this build had kinda stripped away all the goofy stuff for a more balls-to-the-wall aggressive approach. The funny thing here is, at the start I would say things like “no, it’s totally not an aggro deck” because guys like Kitesail Freebooter, Direfleet Daredevil just didn’t feel very aggro too me. Still, I’m hard pressed to say what it was if it wasn’t aggro so I kinda gave in a bit and opted in cards that were more aggressive than what I had been doing, messed with things a bit to give me a more aggro curve. In a world of goldfish, things were looking a great deal more efficient for me to take my opponent from 20 to 0 quicker, in theory. That’s not how it played out. Once more my losses were close, but still not in my favor. While changes I had made over the past several weeks had given the deck a “better” (but is it better if it doesn’t win as much?) curve which I hit more consistently and could theoretically do more damage quicker it had sacrificed a level of responsiveness that set it apart in order to get there.
Due to circumstances entirely unconnected to MTG I’ll be missing FNM for the next week, possibly two… and this week I may or may not have a playtest night either. I’ll be conducting a massive overhaul on these buccaneers. More to come...
As for if this should be a specifically Rakdos or general Pirates thread, it doesn’t matter to me too much (I sometimes splash in Brass so I guess I’m kinda Grixis sometimes…) I mostly stick to Rakdos because while there are good blue / blue-combo pirates , the R & B ones seem the most to the point to me and it’s more efficient not to get too fancy with color stuff… But I totally am willing if something pops out.
(Yeah, I totally just copied / pasted this but at least I added card links and I just typed it up...)A pile o' jank I'm working on for fun. After building this I goldfished it a few times and realized it probably wasn't going to work the way I hoped it would but during my playtest night it was still in sleeves so I gave it a spin. It didn't do amazing but it didn't do as bad as I thought it would either so I'm putting it up to play with a bit.
Sanguine Sacrament is bonus because it keeps returning to your library. Evolving Wilds, Legion Conquistador & Thaumatic Compass, all offer opportunities to search your library for specific cards (mostly land) you will need, thinning out your deck and to shuffle those Sanguine Sacraments (and any Opt-ed over scrys) back into the mix (from the bottom of your library). This'll all make opt a little better too as you're pulling out cards (for the most part, lands) that you need to do stuff and leaving in your library more stuff to do, opt things things out with your scry if you don't like it then draw. If and when you get Azor out, you've likely sifted through your deck a bit and have at least 6 lands on board, an attack with him and the cost paid you get to draw more cards to do stuff and get some life.
Anyhow, it's a work in progress. Let's see how it goes...
I actually more or less agree with Forerunner. The two things that makes it really fit for me is manna cost. Sure, 2/2 for 3 can make you feel kinda like you're wasting your time and that one point of damage payoff per pirate can seem trite when for that amount of manna you could do something like bust out a Dire Fleet Captain AND a Rigging Runner...
But even with treasure Neckbreaker (which will be Forerunner's target most of the time) can't really come out in either of our decks until turn 4 (maybe turn 3 if you pull something like a turn 2 fatal push to an opponents Wanted Scoundrels or something along those lines but that's not something we can accomplish on our own) it doesn't matter too much that we have to wait a turn to get to cast it because we wouldn't be able to any way. If, in the case that you have a Neckbreaker to come out but not enough manna to cast it, Captain Lannery could be a good way to go. Yeah... it's kinda round about and this is the slower of the two options but it's kinda a you take what you can get situation there and you can still get Neckbreaker out (albeit on turn 5). In an ideal world, our opponents will crumble at the sight of a Neckbreaker but they're also gonna have some tools at their disposal and the game can go on. Those extra points of damage can really help too, when playing against a deck like Approach you may find your pirates kinda in stasis, unable to cause any damage with our attacks (Or maybe you're at a point where your opponent is low on life but you've got to reserve your creatures for blocking), but we can still power our way through such situations with the help of cheap pirates (and especially Fathom Fleet Captain). It also helps counter some of the effects of an opponent's potential Authority of the Consuls.
While all these things are pretty great, it still comes back to a 2/2 for 3 just isn't a very good deal. In most situations, it's ideal to be able to play a Neckbreaker on turn 4 and this can help make the dream real. Sure, it can sometimes feel like an extra step but it only costs 3 and is way more flexible (but not nearly as good) as Neckbreaker (I'd much rather have one of each than two Neckbreakers in my opening hand). This is why I run 2 (and 3 Neckbreakers), it gives you a really good chance to curve into a T4 Neckbreaker.
All in all looks good. SPD can be a good card with pirates. Two other cards that I loved with my Pirates but found their way out of my deck at this point are Crash Through and Buccaneer's Bravado. Sure, it sucks that Crash Through is a sorcery but it's also 1 and gives you a card draw and trample can win you the game a lot of times with cards like the Dire Fleet's Captains & Neckbreakers (and first strikers+Neckbreakers) at the very least it can force them to use blockers which can sometimes put you in a great position to use Poisoner. Buccaneer's Bravadocan be outright sick if you throw it on a Dire Fleet Captain at the right time (even at the "worst" time it turns the Cap into a 3/3 double strike which is pretty mean but with a couple crew-mates swinging in with it and possibly a neck breaker this guy can get huge, if you already cast a crash through it can be pretty mean way to rip through a bunch of blockers like a school's worth of teachers would rip up a free doughnut buffet... I work at a school, some times we'll set theses up at work... if you can't imagine it... I assure you, they're gonna tear through a lot of (metaphorical for your cards, literally for the teachers) doughnuts). While these spells work well, I'm not currently running them because my deck tends to run better with more creatures than spells.
One creature I might suggest slipping in (and I'm kinda a late convert to this one as well) is Forerunner of the Coalition it seems kinda slow and weak (and in some ways it is)but it works well with other pirates for a few reasons: It's a pirate so while it may only be a 2/2 if you've got to swing with her Neckbreaker will help her out and she'll help out the Dire Fleet Captain, admittedly there are a lot of other great pirates so this isn't the strongest point but it's something... It'll help you curve into your lords by either tutoring for them or for Captain Lannery Storm which can help give you the manna that you need to cast a neck breaker (or whatever). Finally, that point of damage per pirate can really matter; you've got a ton of cheap pirates and it works particularly well with Fathom Fleet Captain.
Well, that's a bit complicated... Where about town do you live? I live in the mid Mon Valley region and there's a few places I'll go.
Mr. Nice Guy Games: Monroeville
Been here a couple times. They've got a very nice selection of cards that are priced a bit on the high end. If you need to pick up some things last minute it's a really good spot but I wouldn't go with a very long shopping list. They run a lot of events on most nights but they also have a bit of a reputation for having a bunch of Spikes and a very competitive tone to the place. Of course, if that's what you're looking for it's a fine place to go.
Nethervoid games: Munhall
It seems a bit out of the way until you actually find the place. It's a bit smaller than the other shops listed here but fits in the middle when it comes to card selection, it's also a good place to find Minis for things like Warhammer and what not. It's got a pretty friendly vibe and runs events regularly. Not too far from the Homestead waterfront so if you are in a part of the city near to there it's a fine spot.
NDC: Century III mall.
Yes, that Century III mall. This NDC is a great place to play games and buy comics of all kinds. Their selection of singles is pretty lacking but they make up for it in all kindsa ways. People are friendly and helpful, FNM events are full of regulars, several of which will bring several (many top tier) decks for others (like new folks or anyone really) to play.
The thing is with "casual" is it's only as "casual" as the kitchen table you're playing at. "Casual" for a group of friends in 8th grade might mean a bunch of assorted jank from the last couple years while "casual" games among others could be like Legacy without the ban-list. It takes a bit of care to get together a good kitchen table style group that fits your needs. If you're in the area I'd suggest checking out Century 3 NDC FNM. Even if you don't have a standard deck that you can use, someone will have one that you can play with so it won't eat up your budget and you can take it from there.
Went 2-2 this week at FNM but it was a 2-2 much closer to a 4-0 than a 0-4 but at the end of the day still a 2-2.
Round 1: (2-0) Win Vs. Rakdos Pirates
Both games went pretty much the same, we both came out cannons a’ blazing. His guys were a little faster to come out but my guys weren’t far behind and they got much bigger much quicker.
Round 2: (1-2)Loss Vs. G/W Dinosaurs
Game 1 was close but he came out ahead. Game 2 was close but I came out ahead. Game 3 I only got the two lands I started with and while I had a good start they didn’t have any kinda mana problems and they powered through my slow stream of pirates.
Round 3: (1-2) Loss Vs. Grixis Pirates
My opponent in round 3 had a pretty interesting Grixis pirate deck. While I don’t have the list, it was a toolbox deck based around Forerunner of the Coalition. Of the three games, my victory was pretty well decided while both of theirs were squeaked out (but earned none the less). Game 3 was incredibly close (I was a fatal push away from a killing attack, but he managed to squeak by with one life and top decked what he needed to kill me). I take the loss for what it was but it could have went either way, at the end of the day I’d take my pirates over his but for folks looking to go more grixis Toolbox Pirates could be the way to go. Still, while he wasn’t running arcane adaptation, that could be a thing that allows you to toolbox any creatures you can cast as pirates and possibly take this idea to a next level of nasty (then again, maybe not).
Miserable
Round 4: (2-0) Win Vs. Merfolk
It seemed like a solid Merfolk build in theory. Hexproof stuff, stuff that can’t be blocked, counters and the normal the G/U staples. His creatures wound up dieing as blockers before they could get big enough or numerous enough to pose any kind of threat to me at any point.
While I can’t speak for every shop, this week showed me a few things.
First of all, there were a lot more people pirates than there was when I started. I wouldn’t be shocked to see some flavor of pirates on the meta list sooner rather than later.
Secondly, at least on local level, the meta is as good in most ways as it reasonably can be. There currently are a lot of creative, competitive deck builds going, none of which dominate every match up but many of them have the potential to win any, if not most, match ups depending on how the games go.
There are things this deck does worse against some decks than others ( solid midrange, lots of white stuff, and any typical thing that generally mauls folks like Scarab God) but given a good line of play the pirates are one of the many deck types that consistently have a good chance to win against anything (in standard, right now).
Thanks, there's more coming too (want to touch on my manna base, sideboard and some random bits) but while I have a lot of love for Glory Bringer I wouldn't use him in this build. It's a very good card but he's a 5 drop and most of my curve is way below that, and he's not a Pirate so he's not gonna help Dire Fleet Captain get bigger, the Pirate lords won't help him get bigger and the Vanquisher's Banner won't affect him, also Unclaimed Territory won't help you get a red for him (though you probably wouldn't be lacking red mana). I could see him being incredibly pretty nasty with some pirates if you're playing around with blue a bit more than I am and using Arcane Adaptation.
I got the general idea for a pet deck project during pre-release weekend when I got a nice chunk of red & blue cards. I’m not really sure how it’s gonna look by the time I’m done tinkering with it but I’ve got a first draft of this thing together and I’m gonna take it to playtesting night over my buddy’s this week. At this point it might seem like there’s some odd choices and while I’ve put some thought into the card selection I fully admit that this deck isn’t a refined finished project. Since it’s not close to being a finished deck, as per my personal tradition there is no real sideboard yet, I have some real solid ideas about what it should be but since I acknowledge that the deck is in flux it’s just something I put off until it’s a bit more stable. Finally, I started this as its own thread because I wouldn’t call this a burn deck exactly, it’s certainly not mono blue and it seems like there’s a pretty wide range of wizards (my deck is Izzit at this point but who knows where it’ll end up).
General:
I always have a bit of a rough time putting my brews into archtype boxes and this case isn’t any different. By and large this deck is intended to play aggressively. Most of the deck will be played fast and cheap. There is a small element of control built in (with Siren Stormtamer’s ability and Wizard’s Retort) but there’s an aggressive edge to this as well (Stormtamer’s ability being attached to a flying Wizard one drop and Wizard’s Retort triggering Prowess and Adeliz). There’s a bit of burn involved in this formula and while it’s vital, it’s secondary to the Wizards themselves. I’m a little iffy on the manna base, most of the cards cast very cheap and this deck seems to get by on 21 lands but it’s also nice to be able to drop lands more consistently.
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Siren Stormtamer
4 Burning-Fist Minotaur
4 Spellweaver Eternal
4 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
3 Naru Meha, Master Wizard
4 Curious Obsession
Land
8 Island
9 Mountain
4 Sulfur Falls
4 Lightning Strike
4 Wizard's Retort
4 Wizard's Lightning
The Wizards:
One-drops:
Red:
Soul-Scar Mage: This little guy has had a lot said about him but I’ll say a little more in the context of this deck. His ability to give -1/1 damage counters is the primary reason I’ve played him in the past but while it’s not totally irrelevant in this build (wizard lightning and lightning strike can both hit a range of targets) it’ll probably factor in strongly for my sideboard. Prowess is the real motivation for him being in here (being a one drop red helps too).
Blue:
Siren Stormtamer: He’s a one drop flier Wizard and if you’re in a position to sacrifice it, this card helps limit your opponent’s options significantly. Not much more needs to be said about this card, it’s a real workhorse.
Two-drops:
Red:
Burning Fist Minotaur: It may seem an odd choice, there may be better two drop red wizards but I’ve got a good feeling about this guy in the context of this deck. A 2/1 for 2 isn’t amazing but (besides it being a wizard) first strike is a nice ability. The other text on the card could prove exceptionally useful but more on this later.
Blue:
Spellweaver Eternal: Once again, a 2/1 for 2 isn’t earth shaking but this card has a couple bits that are really nice in here. Afflict: 2 isn’t revolutionary but it assures you that something is gonna make it through if you swing. This card also has Prowess which is pretty useful because you’ll be casting a good number of non-creature spells.
Three-drops:
Gold (U/R):
Adeliz, the Cinder-Wind: She’s the champ in this build, comes out swinging in the air and effectively gives the whole team prowess, double prowess for the Soul-Scars and Spellweavers but it doesn’t hurt buffing up your flying Stormtamers or your first strike Burning-Fists either.
Four-drops:
Blue:
Naru Meha, Master Wizard: She’s the only three-of in the deck but only because something had to be and she costs the most. In an ideal world you’ll be casting her with (at least) 5 lands out to copy a Wizard’s Lightning but in the likely situation where (at least at first) you won’t have the luxury of 5+ lands and a spell (Wizard’s Lightning or Lightning Strike) to copy she’s still useful as a lord and as a three-of there’s a chance you’ll have a second chance to take advantage of that copy ability.
The Spells:
Besides being awesome in and of themselves these spells provide the bonus of bonuses to (many, potentially all of your wizards) with prowess and / or Adeliz’s ability.
Enchantments:
One-drops:
Blue:
Curious Obsession: The +1/1 is fine enough but the card draw is the reason this is here along with the fact that it is a non creature spell so it will trigger prowess and Adeliz’s ability on the turn it comes out. It looks good on most of your creatures (The fliers tend to have a good chance of getting through a lot of decks, it’ll give your prowess guys +2/2 on the turn it comes out and a 3/2 first striker with the ability to bring card draw with its attacks helps offset the pain of discarding a card to activate his ability which, (if you’ve got the resources) , can kill most blockers.
Instants:
Two-drops:
Red:
Lightning Strike: Three damage to creature or player for 2 manna isn’t bad. Soul-Scar’s ability can make this meaningful against creatures with toughness higher than 3 and as a non-creature spell triggers 12 cards in the deck and can be copied by 3.
Three-drops:
Both Three-drop spell slots are a bit deceptive as they are functionally R or UU to cast.
Red:
Wizard’s Lightning:Just like Lightning Strike but better because there are 23 Wizards in this deck that turn this card into a one-drop Lightning Bolt and as everyone knows Lightning Bolt > Lightning Strike.
Blue:
Wizard’s Retort: Once again 23 wizards pays off, turning this three-drop into an effective two-drop Cancel which is a swell way to frustrate your opponent and throw off their combat math a good bit with your prowess wizards and Adeliz’s ability.
4 Minister of Inquiries
2 Fleet Swallower
2 Azor, the Lawbringer
Enchantment
3 Cast Out
4 Fraying Sanity
3 Ixalan's Binding
1 Search for Azcanta
4 Winds of Rebuke
3 Settle the Wreckage
2 Opt
4 Ritual of Rejuvenation
Sorcery
4 Compelling Argument
Land
4 Plains
5 Island
1 Desert of the Mindful
3 Scavenger Grounds
4 Ipnu Rivulet
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Evolving Wilds
Tinkered with this a bit more, play-tested it out last night. It seems to work better. I managed to beat a couple top-notch decks against a good player with it but still wound up at maybe 50% wins for it. It's really inconsistent but works way better than my first iteration. Any thoughts?
Well, if all else fails just find some other people and play. I'm not sure where you're from but it's been a consistent thing that at most schools there's some kinda group of kids that're into this sort of thing. The nature of it changes (some groups are into mini stuff more (like Warhammer), while other groups are more into table top rpgs) with time and location, chances are you'll find some kids into the same sorts of stuff. They might not look like you expect them to (heck, when I was fifteen I had a two foot mohawk and spent my weekends at punk houses and squats) but chances are there are a couple people in your new school who would at least be interested if they don't already play. Good luck.
Sweet, thanks. Good luck with the program. I just got a box of stuff for my students yesterday. It's a pretty solid kit and they were really quick with everything.
Wizards has a program in place to help support magic clubs and you can possibly find some level of support there too (This is a link to said Wizards program).
Remember, your greatest tool will be inclusiveness. This can possibly be your biggest challenge depending on who you find to play with (if they've got problematic tendencies) but it could also be no problem at all. It's important when forming a group that everyone feels welcome regardless of who they are (provided they show that same level of respect towards others).
If this fails, your best best is just to find local shops that run FNM. This will find you magic players to play with but in my (limited) experience most of these players won't be your age (The shops I've been to most of the guys have been in their 20's-40's but with a handful of younger players) but tend to be supportive of younger players.
Good luck
Before getting all hopeful, I'll start with my concerns... On the negative side I see this making the deck a little slower in two ways. Firstly, the land base is kinda funky. Uncharted Territories are a bit of a boon and a bane, it's great because my deck is mostly creatures and as such functions as a three color land which comes out untapped but they don't help too much with spells or Siren Stormtamer's ability, they also don't help with my checklands. Secondly, while they rarely come out, my Immortal Sun / Vanquisher's Banner both add a bit of card advantage and umph, this is also true about Sword Point Diplomacy. Besides those points, the Stormtamer & Marauder are in a lot of ways less aggro-efficient than many other options. Finally, and this is a bit of a shaky point but Stormtamer's ability is only as useful as my ability to keep a blue source untapped and philosophically, in theory I don't tend to have a lot of lands hanging around untapped by the end of my turn (but to be fair, if I can keep something around for a Push I could probably do so for a Stormtamer even with fewer blue sources).
That said, there are a few reasons why it may work well too, in no particular order here's how I can see these changes being advantageous. The two blue cards both have flying which can be very useful, in this current build I've got 9 flyers and 3 menace-y guys who make more menace-y guys. That's a good bit of evasion which can help a great deal especially if they're backed by a lord. As I've said before, most of the time Neckbreaker is your best option for a lord if you're tutoring one up but sometimes Brass will do you much better and more pirates that'll get through will help you steal things (while a lot has been said about her limitations, her ability is nothing to sneeze at). Essentially my criteria for choosing lords is as such, if the Neckbreaker will let your guys swing for lethal (which will likely be most times but with enough exceptions to justify Brass main board) you should probably choose the Neckbreaker; if not, you should probably choose Brass.
As for the cards themselves... Stormtamer (besides being a flyer) can protect you and your creatures from a lot of nasty effects for the cost of a blue manna while Warkite Marauder's can at the very least neutralize a blocker but is a very good excuse to sideboard in Magma Spray against decks with really nasty creatures as a swing with a Marauder followed by a Spray will exile anything without hexproof no matter how vicious it would otherwise be.
Anyhow, I'll see how it goes tonight and post more sometime soon. Here's what my maindeck is looking like right now, my sideboard is a bit up in the air as this build is pretty experimental.
4 Siren Stormtamer
2 Kitesail Freebooter
3 Rigging Runner
2 Captain Lannery Storm
3 Fathom Fleet Captain
4 Dire Fleet Captain
3 Daring Buccaneer
2 Forerunner of the Coalition
3 Warkite Marauder
3 Dire Fleet Poisoner
1 Admiral Beckett Brass
2 Dire Fleet Neckbreaker
1 Island
2 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Canyon Slough
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Unclaimed Territory
2 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Strike
Sorcery
2 March of the Drowned
Going into this week I was feeling fairly confident; I wasn’t expecting a 4-0 but 3-1 seemed likely and 2-2 seemed like the worst case scenario going in. The Pirates performed pretty well for me so far and I felt like this build had kinda stripped away all the goofy stuff for a more balls-to-the-wall aggressive approach. The funny thing here is, at the start I would say things like “no, it’s totally not an aggro deck” because guys like Kitesail Freebooter, Direfleet Daredevil just didn’t feel very aggro too me. Still, I’m hard pressed to say what it was if it wasn’t aggro so I kinda gave in a bit and opted in cards that were more aggressive than what I had been doing, messed with things a bit to give me a more aggro curve. In a world of goldfish, things were looking a great deal more efficient for me to take my opponent from 20 to 0 quicker, in theory. That’s not how it played out. Once more my losses were close, but still not in my favor. While changes I had made over the past several weeks had given the deck a “better” (but is it better if it doesn’t win as much?) curve which I hit more consistently and could theoretically do more damage quicker it had sacrificed a level of responsiveness that set it apart in order to get there.
Due to circumstances entirely unconnected to MTG I’ll be missing FNM for the next week, possibly two… and this week I may or may not have a playtest night either. I’ll be conducting a massive overhaul on these buccaneers. More to come...
As for if this should be a specifically Rakdos or general Pirates thread, it doesn’t matter to me too much (I sometimes splash in Brass so I guess I’m kinda Grixis sometimes…) I mostly stick to Rakdos because while there are good blue / blue-combo pirates , the R & B ones seem the most to the point to me and it’s more efficient not to get too fancy with color stuff… But I totally am willing if something pops out.
3 Minister of Inquiries
4 Legion Conquistador
2 Fleet Swallower
2 Azor, the Lawbringer
Enchantment
4 Fraying Sanity
Land
4 Plains
5 Island
1 Desert of the Mindful
3 Scavenger Grounds
4 Ipnu Rivulet
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Thaumatic Compass
Instant
4 Sanguine Sacrament
3 Settle the Wreckage
4 Opt
Sorcery
4 Compelling Argument
4 Flood of Recollection
The general idea is to mill your opponent with Fraying Sanity + Minister of Inquiries , Fleet Sallower, Ipnu Rivulet, Compelling Argument (+Flood of Recollection). With a bit of graveyard hate built into the Scavenger Grounds.
This can take a while, so it's helpful to have a small handful of chump blockers (burnt out ministers & Legion Conquistador), some life gaining ability (Sanguine Sacrament & Azor, the Lawbringer ) and a little bit of disruption ( Spires of Orazca, Settle the Wreckage) to help you stay in the game.
Sanguine Sacrament is bonus because it keeps returning to your library. Evolving Wilds, Legion Conquistador & Thaumatic Compass, all offer opportunities to search your library for specific cards (mostly land) you will need, thinning out your deck and to shuffle those Sanguine Sacraments (and any Opt-ed over scrys) back into the mix (from the bottom of your library). This'll all make opt a little better too as you're pulling out cards (for the most part, lands) that you need to do stuff and leaving in your library more stuff to do, opt things things out with your scry if you don't like it then draw. If and when you get Azor out, you've likely sifted through your deck a bit and have at least 6 lands on board, an attack with him and the cost paid you get to draw more cards to do stuff and get some life.
Anyhow, it's a work in progress. Let's see how it goes...
But even with treasure Neckbreaker (which will be Forerunner's target most of the time) can't really come out in either of our decks until turn 4 (maybe turn 3 if you pull something like a turn 2 fatal push to an opponents Wanted Scoundrels or something along those lines but that's not something we can accomplish on our own) it doesn't matter too much that we have to wait a turn to get to cast it because we wouldn't be able to any way. If, in the case that you have a Neckbreaker to come out but not enough manna to cast it, Captain Lannery could be a good way to go. Yeah... it's kinda round about and this is the slower of the two options but it's kinda a you take what you can get situation there and you can still get Neckbreaker out (albeit on turn 5). In an ideal world, our opponents will crumble at the sight of a Neckbreaker but they're also gonna have some tools at their disposal and the game can go on. Those extra points of damage can really help too, when playing against a deck like Approach you may find your pirates kinda in stasis, unable to cause any damage with our attacks (Or maybe you're at a point where your opponent is low on life but you've got to reserve your creatures for blocking), but we can still power our way through such situations with the help of cheap pirates (and especially Fathom Fleet Captain). It also helps counter some of the effects of an opponent's potential Authority of the Consuls.
While all these things are pretty great, it still comes back to a 2/2 for 3 just isn't a very good deal. In most situations, it's ideal to be able to play a Neckbreaker on turn 4 and this can help make the dream real. Sure, it can sometimes feel like an extra step but it only costs 3 and is way more flexible (but not nearly as good) as Neckbreaker (I'd much rather have one of each than two Neckbreakers in my opening hand). This is why I run 2 (and 3 Neckbreakers), it gives you a really good chance to curve into a T4 Neckbreaker.
At any rate, good luck with the SPD!
One creature I might suggest slipping in (and I'm kinda a late convert to this one as well) is Forerunner of the Coalition it seems kinda slow and weak (and in some ways it is)but it works well with other pirates for a few reasons: It's a pirate so while it may only be a 2/2 if you've got to swing with her Neckbreaker will help her out and she'll help out the Dire Fleet Captain, admittedly there are a lot of other great pirates so this isn't the strongest point but it's something... It'll help you curve into your lords by either tutoring for them or for Captain Lannery Storm which can help give you the manna that you need to cast a neck breaker (or whatever). Finally, that point of damage per pirate can really matter; you've got a ton of cheap pirates and it works particularly well with Fathom Fleet Captain.
Mr. Nice Guy Games: Monroeville
Been here a couple times. They've got a very nice selection of cards that are priced a bit on the high end. If you need to pick up some things last minute it's a really good spot but I wouldn't go with a very long shopping list. They run a lot of events on most nights but they also have a bit of a reputation for having a bunch of Spikes and a very competitive tone to the place. Of course, if that's what you're looking for it's a fine place to go.
Nethervoid games: Munhall
It seems a bit out of the way until you actually find the place. It's a bit smaller than the other shops listed here but fits in the middle when it comes to card selection, it's also a good place to find Minis for things like Warhammer and what not. It's got a pretty friendly vibe and runs events regularly. Not too far from the Homestead waterfront so if you are in a part of the city near to there it's a fine spot.
NDC: Century III mall.
Yes, that Century III mall. This NDC is a great place to play games and buy comics of all kinds. Their selection of singles is pretty lacking but they make up for it in all kindsa ways. People are friendly and helpful, FNM events are full of regulars, several of which will bring several (many top tier) decks for others (like new folks or anyone really) to play.
The thing is with "casual" is it's only as "casual" as the kitchen table you're playing at. "Casual" for a group of friends in 8th grade might mean a bunch of assorted jank from the last couple years while "casual" games among others could be like Legacy without the ban-list. It takes a bit of care to get together a good kitchen table style group that fits your needs. If you're in the area I'd suggest checking out Century 3 NDC FNM. Even if you don't have a standard deck that you can use, someone will have one that you can play with so it won't eat up your budget and you can take it from there.
Round 1: (2-0) Win Vs. Rakdos Pirates
Both games went pretty much the same, we both came out cannons a’ blazing. His guys were a little faster to come out but my guys weren’t far behind and they got much bigger much quicker.
Round 2: (1-2)Loss Vs. G/W Dinosaurs
Game 1 was close but he came out ahead. Game 2 was close but I came out ahead. Game 3 I only got the two lands I started with and while I had a good start they didn’t have any kinda mana problems and they powered through my slow stream of pirates.
Round 3: (1-2) Loss Vs. Grixis Pirates
My opponent in round 3 had a pretty interesting Grixis pirate deck. While I don’t have the list, it was a toolbox deck based around Forerunner of the Coalition. Of the three games, my victory was pretty well decided while both of theirs were squeaked out (but earned none the less). Game 3 was incredibly close (I was a fatal push away from a killing attack, but he managed to squeak by with one life and top decked what he needed to kill me). I take the loss for what it was but it could have went either way, at the end of the day I’d take my pirates over his but for folks looking to go more grixis Toolbox Pirates could be the way to go. Still, while he wasn’t running arcane adaptation, that could be a thing that allows you to toolbox any creatures you can cast as pirates and possibly take this idea to a next level of nasty (then again, maybe not).
Miserable
Round 4: (2-0) Win Vs. Merfolk
It seemed like a solid Merfolk build in theory. Hexproof stuff, stuff that can’t be blocked, counters and the normal the G/U staples. His creatures wound up dieing as blockers before they could get big enough or numerous enough to pose any kind of threat to me at any point.
While I can’t speak for every shop, this week showed me a few things.
First of all, there were a lot more people pirates than there was when I started. I wouldn’t be shocked to see some flavor of pirates on the meta list sooner rather than later.
Secondly, at least on local level, the meta is as good in most ways as it reasonably can be. There currently are a lot of creative, competitive deck builds going, none of which dominate every match up but many of them have the potential to win any, if not most, match ups depending on how the games go.
There are things this deck does worse against some decks than others ( solid midrange, lots of white stuff, and any typical thing that generally mauls folks like Scarab God) but given a good line of play the pirates are one of the many deck types that consistently have a good chance to win against anything (in standard, right now).
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/decks/1554-ni-dieu-ni-maitre-pirates
4 Rigging Runner
4 Dire Fleet Captain
3 Dire Fleet Poisoner
3 Fathom Fleet Captain
3 Kitesail Freebooter
2 Forerunner of the Coalition
2 Captain Lannery Storm
2 Admiral Beckett Brass
2 Dire Fleet Neckbreaker
5 Swamp
5 Mountain
4 Canyon Slough
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Unclaimed Territory
Artifact
1 Vanquisher's Banner
1 The Immortal Sun
Instant
2 Fatal Push
2 Lightning Strike
Sorcery
3 March of the Drowned
2 Dire Fleet Daredevil
2 Fatal Push
2 Abrade
1 Vraska's Contempt
3 Fiery Cannonade
3 Lost Legacy
2 Kari Zev's Expertise