I guess this really comes down to how much you want to spew out tokens VS grind everyone out.
Drawing a tonne of cards and playing out your whole hand every turn past turn 5 is the aim I assume?
Just some idea's;
Given how much something like Fracturing Gust would suck, have you considered a Darksteel Forge or two?
How about Helm of Possession to steal potential problems from your opponents?
If you're considering Smokestack, you'd be able to steal whatever resistance or token producers they might have.
For triple land decks that include green, you're spoilt for choices. Sakura-Tribe Elder, Triple lands, some Evolving Wilds and whatever else will usually do the job.
I really like pain lands and check lands, but it really comes down to how much you wanna spend, given land cards will be with you for a looooong time.
Ha ha! Yeah sorry RE: Power Artifacts' cost. Cards like that I tend to make proxy's of, just print them out on a sticker and attach them to a nothing-card I would never likely use.
LOL, yeah yeah I know. ;P
I have a set of stones, but they're tied up in another deck. I tend to try and avoid buying many sets of the same card, as the friends I play MTG multiplayer with are a fairly casual lot. I get bored of playing with the same cards pretty easily anyway.
Etali, Primal Storm is a card I didn't really notice first time around.
A friend played it against me in a RUG shell last night in a 6 player game, and it wrecked! Mimic Vat (helped by Trophy Mage) made sure he was repeatedly finding what he needed, then swinging with it every turn. He reminded me just how good Mimic Vat is with evoke creatures too...
I think the best way to do it might be to focus on creatures.
Creatures typically have protection & landwalk based on these alliances you're talking about, or triggers for certain things happening.
E.g. Mirran Crusader, Kor Firewalker, Great Sable Stag, King Crab, Etched Champion etc.
That all said, I think you're going to have a tough time balancing out these decks, as protection/walk effects usually lends itself to pump spells or perms (like Rancor, Armored Ascension, Cranial Plating etc.), which aren't evenly balanced across the colour pie.
Of course there are plenty of enchantments that help too, like Desolation for example.
They're both good cards - and what really gets me about these in the world of Dark Ritual - is they're both fairly cheap for now.
I'll be grabbing both of these, some memorials, aswell as a few others.
Cards I'm looking at not in Prid3s' review (there's not many either! ;));
Llanowar Scout.
For someone on Posts, Tron, Coffers etc., this card seems useful-ish using tutors like Sylvan Scrying, Living Wish, Expedition Map etc. I think it's fair to compare this to Explore. This card lends itself to responding to an opponent, I might potentially land a Glacial Chasm at instant speed, for example. Life from the Loam says hi too.
I'm going to be grabbing some of these.
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
Very niche I know. But then I also play a R/W Sunforger deck with Puresteel Paladin & Stoneforge Mystic.
I'm not sure how this might work in that build, but the possibility of attacking with a mob of elementals each attack phase is making me think!
I'm gonna grab 1 and see how it goes.
Thanks for the review Prid3. Appreciate it.
I agree with you, this set looks like a ripper (especially when you factor in the previous 5 years and compare).
So you want big Exsanguinate & Torment of Hailfire?
I have a deck that does this.
I use Cloudpost's, Glimmerpost's (& B/G lands) together with Magus of the Candelabra to generate big mana.
I have all the usual Expedition Map, Sylvan Scrying and Hour of Promise to get the land engine up and running, plus a couple of Glacial Chasm to protect me. I run a few small creatures too.
Other than that, you can run whatever finisher you want. The deck allows me a tonne of mana quick enough to nuke the table. I've actually changed the deck up a bit lately though, running big X-spells got a bit dull - but smacking a Hydra Broodmaster down and paying 40+ mana to make it monstrous is too funny to pass up.
EDIT: I should mention I run a set of Crop Rotation too.
Yes!! LOL, I've seen this exact instance in the flesh. It's like when someone drops a Tidespout Tyrant....
Drawing a tonne of cards and playing out your whole hand every turn past turn 5 is the aim I assume?
Just some idea's;
Given how much something like Fracturing Gust would suck, have you considered a Darksteel Forge or two?
How about Helm of Possession to steal potential problems from your opponents?
If you're considering Smokestack, you'd be able to steal whatever resistance or token producers they might have.
Mimic Vat or Conjurer's Closet to get more out of Sandstone Oracle?
Lastly, I assume Chief of the Foundry is a budget/flex option here, or an option you want that costs zero mana.
Have you looked at Signal Pest, Master of Etherium or Steel Overseer?
Yeah if you're set on modern-legality & Gary, then a devotion deck is prolly where you should be hunting. Prid3 got you covered
I run Cabal Coffers together with sets of Dark Ritual, Crypt Ghast & Soldevi Adnate to gain early mana.
Bloodgift Demon & Harvester of Souls take care of draw.
Skirsdag High Priest is there along with a heap of high-cmc options in Griselbrand, Pestilence Demon, Reiver Demon, Scion of Darkness, Dread Cacodemon etc.
If you end up running devotion, I'd consider Abhorrent Overlord.
Sakura-Tribe Elder, Triple lands, some Evolving Wilds and whatever else will usually do the job.
I really like pain lands and check lands, but it really comes down to how much you wanna spend, given land cards will be with you for a looooong time.
I have a set of stones, but they're tied up in another deck. I tend to try and avoid buying many sets of the same card, as the friends I play MTG multiplayer with are a fairly casual lot. I get bored of playing with the same cards pretty easily anyway.
RE: Basalt Monolith;
Power Artifact or Rings of Brighthearth can be used for infinite mana. The combo with Rings will need 2 other mana to get it rolling.
Or you could just use an untapper like Aphetto Alchemist or Voltaic Key, which both work just fine with Powerstone too.
I know there are plenty of other options in red, but I really like these three too.
Generator Servant, Grinning Ignus, Seething Song & Sandstone Needle are in pretty much every mono-red creature deck I build these days, so I can just start jamming 6+ cmc bombs in from there. It's dumb but I like it
A friend played it against me in a RUG shell last night in a 6 player game, and it wrecked!
Mimic Vat (helped by Trophy Mage) made sure he was repeatedly finding what he needed, then swinging with it every turn. He reminded me just how good Mimic Vat is with evoke creatures too...
Anyone tried Etali before? What do you think?
Creatures typically have protection & landwalk based on these alliances you're talking about, or triggers for certain things happening.
E.g. Mirran Crusader, Kor Firewalker, Great Sable Stag, King Crab, Etched Champion etc.
That all said, I think you're going to have a tough time balancing out these decks, as protection/walk effects usually lends itself to pump spells or perms (like Rancor, Armored Ascension, Cranial Plating etc.), which aren't evenly balanced across the colour pie.
Of course there are plenty of enchantments that help too, like Desolation for example.
They're both good cards - and what really gets me about these in the world of Dark Ritual - is they're both fairly cheap for now.
I'll be grabbing both of these, some memorials, aswell as a few others.
Cards I'm looking at not in Prid3s' review (there's not many either! ;));
Llanowar Scout.
For someone on Posts, Tron, Coffers etc., this card seems useful-ish using tutors like Sylvan Scrying, Living Wish, Expedition Map etc. I think it's fair to compare this to Explore. This card lends itself to responding to an opponent, I might potentially land a Glacial Chasm at instant speed, for example. Life from the Loam says hi too.
I'm going to be grabbing some of these.
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
Very niche I know. But then I also play a R/W Sunforger deck with Puresteel Paladin & Stoneforge Mystic.
I'm not sure how this might work in that build, but the possibility of attacking with a mob of elementals each attack phase is making me think!
I'm gonna grab 1 and see how it goes.
I agree with you, this set looks like a ripper (especially when you factor in the previous 5 years and compare).
I have a deck that does this.
I use Cloudpost's, Glimmerpost's (& B/G lands) together with Magus of the Candelabra to generate big mana.
I have all the usual Expedition Map, Sylvan Scrying and Hour of Promise to get the land engine up and running, plus a couple of Glacial Chasm to protect me. I run a few small creatures too.
Other than that, you can run whatever finisher you want. The deck allows me a tonne of mana quick enough to nuke the table. I've actually changed the deck up a bit lately though, running big X-spells got a bit dull - but smacking a Hydra Broodmaster down and paying 40+ mana to make it monstrous is too funny to pass up.
EDIT: I should mention I run a set of Crop Rotation too.