I'd go with Savra, simply because Kresh is one the most overplayed generals ever. (Also, Savra has a built in Grave Pact effect, which in my opinion is miles better than simply getting a fat creature.)
...but a musically inclined genie will magically teleport 5 albums of your choice onto the island for your listening pleasure. Which ones would you bring?
For me:
#1. Nirvana - Nevermind
#2. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
#3. The Stooges - Fun House
#4. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
#5. The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
@Blackjack - You're quite right, Reassembling Skeleton is definitely needed, and Sadistic Hypnotist is a superfluous sac outlet that won't last very long at all. I'll keep Nether Traitor in mind, it could definitely help consistency.
World Queller is certainly interesting, but it seems like everyone will just be sacrificing creatures, as that's what the majority of my sacrifice dorks are.
Teysa may be very good, especially if the deck was straight-up Stax. Something to think about!
@Fenris - Thanks, and you're quite correct - hopefully Reassembling Skeleton helps. To be honest, I've only playtested the deck once, and it just up and stomped face with Bitterblossom + Braids (she died something like 3 times until someone finally PtE'd her - by then I was able to just combo out).
@Moxious - It all depends on how you play it, I suppose. If there aren't very competitive decks at the table, I'll just play fatties and reanimate them - on the other hand, the deck wrecks "fair" (creature-based) decks, and likewise doesn't do so awesome against blue-based combo decks. I primarily play multiplayer, but I suppose it wouldn't do that bad at all in 1v1s.
@paragon - I'm not positive how much more resource denial I need, but I'll keep those cards in mind, as the The Abyss is pretty darn cool. Thanks!
EDIT: Something else I've been thinking about is boosting the resiliency/mana denial aspect of the deck by adding Crucible of Worlds, Flagstones of Trokair, Dust Bowl, and a couple more fetchlands. Thoughts?
For me:
#1. Nirvana - Nevermind
#2. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
#3. The Stooges - Fun House
#4. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
#5. The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Also Kormus Bell.
World Queller is certainly interesting, but it seems like everyone will just be sacrificing creatures, as that's what the majority of my sacrifice dorks are.
Teysa may be very good, especially if the deck was straight-up Stax. Something to think about!
@Fenris - Thanks, and you're quite correct - hopefully Reassembling Skeleton helps. To be honest, I've only playtested the deck once, and it just up and stomped face with Bitterblossom + Braids (she died something like 3 times until someone finally PtE'd her - by then I was able to just combo out).
@Moxious - It all depends on how you play it, I suppose. If there aren't very competitive decks at the table, I'll just play fatties and reanimate them - on the other hand, the deck wrecks "fair" (creature-based) decks, and likewise doesn't do so awesome against blue-based combo decks. I primarily play multiplayer, but I suppose it wouldn't do that bad at all in 1v1s.
@paragon - I'm not positive how much more resource denial I need, but I'll keep those cards in mind, as the The Abyss is pretty darn cool. Thanks!
EDIT: Something else I've been thinking about is boosting the resiliency/mana denial aspect of the deck by adding Crucible of Worlds, Flagstones of Trokair, Dust Bowl, and a couple more fetchlands. Thoughts?
Creatures:
1 Academy Rector
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Butcher of Malakir
1 Reaper from the Abyss
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Reveillark
1 Karmic Guide
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Bloodghast
1 Sun Titan
1 Archon of Justice
1 Angel of Despair
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Wurmcoil Engine
Planeswalker:
1 Elspeth, Knight Errant
Artifacts:
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Skullclamp
1 Blasting Station
1 Smokestack
1 Spawning Pit
1 Mimic Vat
1 Expedition Map
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Coalition Relic
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Bitterblossom
1 Debtors' Knell
1 Grace Pact
1 Martyr's Bond
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Angelic Renewal
Instants:
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Corpse Dance
1 Mortify
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tithe
1 Entomb
1 Enlightened Tutor
Sorceries:
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Victimize
1 Unburial Rites
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Syphon Mind
1 Austere Command
1 Promise of Power
1 Profane Command
1 Buried Alive
Lands:
1 High Market
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Kor Haven
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Marsh Flats
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Godless Shrine
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Barren Moor
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Fetid Heath
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
11 Plains
11 Swamp
Thoughts/comments/plagiarism concerns would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton for making this wonderful primer!
Creatures:
1 Palinchron
1 Tidespout Tyrant
1 Man-o'-War
1 Acidic Slime
1 Duplicant
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Primordial Sage
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Terastodon
1 Voidmage Husher
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Acidic Slime
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Mulldrifter
1 Primeval Titan
1 Brutalizer Exarch
1 Eternal Witness
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Draining Whelk
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Gilded Drake
1 Dream Stalker
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Body Double
1 Bloom Tender
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Trygon Predator
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Fierce Empath
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Garruk's Packleader
1 Shrieking Drake
1 Sol Ring
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Skullclamp
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Relic of Progenitus
Enchantments:
1 Earthcraft
1 Rhystic Study
1 Fecundity
1 Equilibrium
Instants:
1 Chord of Calling
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Beast Within
1 Krosan Grip
1 Worldly Tutor
Sorceries:
1 Glimpse of Nature
Lands:
1 Eye of Ugin
1 City of Brass
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Command Tower
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Shivan Reef
1 Flooded Grove
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Mountain
10 Forest
9 Island
Thanks!
-Furnace of Rath, +Stranglehold
-Fists of the Demigod, +Grafted Exoskeleton
-Into the Core, +Aftershock
-Whispersilk Cloak, +Smoke
Creatures:
1 Deathbringer Thoctar
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Mephidross Vampire
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Anowon, the Ruin Sage
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Dimir House Guard
Enchantments:
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Burning Sands
1 Black Market
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Braid of Fire
1 Aether Flash
1 Repercussion
1 War's Toll
1 Stranglehold
1 Bloodchief Ascension
1 Death Pits of Rath
1 Everlasting Torment
1 Blood Moon
1 Smoke
Artifacts:
1 Sol Ring
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Expedition Map
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Dingus Staff
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Quietus Spike
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Gorgon Flail
1 Thornbite Staff
1 Blade of the Bloodchief
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Champion's Helm
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Wrecking Ball
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Mana Geyser
1 Promise of Power
1 Terminate
1 Into the Core
1 Syphon Mind
1 Boom // Bust
1 Decree of Annihilation
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Gamble
1 Mind Twist
1 Chaos Warp
Lands:
1 Strip Mine
1 Ghost Quarter
1 High Market
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Graven Cairns
1 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
13 Mountain
14 Swamp
Any comments/criticisms? I'm intentionally playing very few creatures, primarily so I don't get screwed by Burning Sands/Repercussion-type effects.
Add tutors, Crucible of Worlds, Worm Harvest, Knight of the Reliquary, Exploration, and other cards in that vein, and you should be good to go!