MTG Salvation

I didn't expect someone to make a comment so soon. Thanks.
Punishing Fire + Grove of Burnwillows seems good, will try removing the 2 Forest and 2 Mountain to make room for the willows, and think of something to replace with the Punishing Fire.

Actually, the 3 Ratchet Bomb in my sideboard used to be Firespout.
But the spouts kill my creatures in certain situations that the Ratchet Bomb will only hurt my opponents. Like for example, I have 2 Mongoose and a Clique, my opponent has Tarmogoyf (the Cat Zoo deck has a playset) or Lord of Atlantis. The bomb will only kill their creaures, but mine would survive.

Hi! I made this deck for use in my casual playgroup. It is called Red Thresh because, well... there's a lot of red cards in it.

It doesn't have much, because most of the money has already been used up by the affinity deck which I use in more serious play. Though I'm hoping that it can still be good enough to beat some semi-strong decks that are used by my friends. We all follow the legacy restrictions, and sometimes have a small tournament among ourselves.

Here's the deck:



Sideboard

2 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
3 Naturalize
4 Spell Pierce
4 Ratchet Bomb

The usual decks that are present in my playgroup are Mefolk (vial), Goblins (non vial), Mono Blue Control that uses Mist of Stagnation lock, Suicide Black, Mono Red Burn, Cat Zoo (I love playing against this one :3), and a Squirrel Opposition deck. My hardest match up is the Suicide Black because T1 Dark Ritual + Hymn to Tourach really hurts. I'm considering to add some Great Stable Stag on the sideboard, but not sure what to take out. Any advice for improving the deck, as well as sideboard plans against Suicide Black would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, I'm also making a casual legacy thresh deck (with leftover money from making the Affinity deck that I use in serious play).
So I felt like making a comment on your deck.

Your choice of creatures are good, but I would prefer the Frightcrawler over Chlorophant.
It's easier to cast and works well against decks that can't block it.

I see Sickening Dreams as being useful in getting rid of dangerous creatures with low toughness like Dark Confidant and Grim Lavamancer. Though it's X can't be paid too high, because it will also kill threshed mongoose and bear. Maybe remove 2 Cabal Rituals and increase the Stitch Together to 4, so that it's ok if the dreams also make your own creatures bite the dust? Increasing stitch together also has more synergy with the dreams, because if discarding for the dreams lets you reach threshold, then the stitch can be used to revive a creature right there (I'm assuming you discarded some creature cards to use dreams, and aready have 4 mana).

@Xanth

Thank you for the good advice.
I have a Canadian Thresh deck, and my usual opponent is an Eva Green deck owned by my friend. I've been using Spell Pierce as sideboard against his Hymns, but now I'm going to try using some Diverts instead (after buying / trading for a playset :)).

Quote from Free 7hinker

The version with Honor of the Pure is really good though. I may have to play-test it some more before I finalize my decision on which version is actually better.

I think it depends on what kind of decks are common in your place.
The version that I'm using now is tailored (the best that I can with limited funds) to fight decks that are used by magic players in my area. Aggro decks are a common sight here. My gameplan is simple, which is to out-aggro them using stronger creatures (HotP) and removals (PtE, OR, DoJ). Emeria, The Sky Ruin serves as backup. Sideboard dedicated against RDW, Jund, and Vampires.

Removed the WoR because having more creatures that can attack is what I want on the deck.

Quote from immortality20

2x World Queller (excellent way to get rid of planeswalkers)

Has a good interaction with Emeria, The Sky Ruin as well.
Thinking of adding 2 or 3 of it to my SB.

Quote from reikamu

Honor of the Pure seems like it would also do well here, it puts Transcendent Master and 2nd-level Student of Warfare out of bolt range, and it turns all your 1/1 bird and 1/1 soldier tokens into 2/2’s, or more if you have multiple copies out. The thing is, you do already have a lot of 2-drops, and those might be better than Honor of the Pure.

Sorry, it took me some time to give feedback on your suggestion.
I went out to test it against my playgroup, and some random people at the nearby shop for a few days.

Have to say that I like the addition of HotP.
More often than not, it becomes a naturalize magnet when I'm up against a Naya deck.
That's one less naturalize to break open the oblivion ring which I will cast on his/her Godsire.




This is the customized version of the deck that I'm using right now.
I'm still short on cash, so I use Battlegrace instead of Baneslayer.

Performs well enough against certain decks, despite the lack of Baneslayer.
My worst match-ups are Polymorph and control decks / discard decks, thank goodness there are only few people using control in the areas where I play.

@trappedinabox88

Are you referring to my post?

Thanks for the suggestion.
The reason I don't have LoC is because my sideboard is dedicated for matches against Jund and RDW.
If I start to encounter an increasing number of polymorph decks, then that's probably the time I would add some LoC.

not have particularly good answers to the questions Polymorph and Time Sieve are asking.

Polymorph decks are surprisingly tenacious (based on playtests).
Turn 4 Iona is usually game over. I did win a few times against those decks though, but it's really tough. One way to beat them is to keep mana open for PtE, so they would wait to draw a counter or Vines of V. to protect their token (assuming he/she doesn't have one in hand yet). Bluffing to have PtE also worked ONCE, owner of the polymorph deck got a little irritated, and I got owned on the next 2 games.

UW is also tough, but not as hard as Polymorph.
One of my common problems with them is that they can counter my DoJ, but I have nothing to stop theirs.

Posted some of my common match ups on the previous pages of the thread already, so not much more to say.

Back from playtesting against some decks.
I'm using unsideboarded version of Angel deck against them.

I hope it's ok if my game descriptions aren't too detailed this time, it's three decks and detailed desciptions would take too long to type. *feeling a little lazy like a cat

1. Mono green ramp

- This is a relatively easy matchup compared to the other decks I've faced this week. It's creatures are easy enough to Path or O-Ring, and Deadly Recluse can be dealt with using KoWO. Though I lost one match to a Canopy Covered Terra Stomper wearing a Basilisk Collar.

2. UW

A blue white deck with strong defenses (Wall of Denials, Calcite Snappers), and offense using Sphinx of Jwar Isle. The best way is to use DoJ to clear the board, but it doesn't work all the time because of countering spells. He has DoJ of his own as well, the matches soon became "mind reading" on who will use a board sweeper first.

3. UG using Awakening Zone + Polymorph + Iona combo (Iona is the only white spell in his deck)

Honestly, this is the hardest one of all...
At first the owner of the deck uses Emrakul, but he sides in Iona when he realized that I'm using a mono-color deck. Countering spells and Vines of Vastwood (which he uses to protect a token from PtE) makes it hard to stop the combo. Only won 1 out 5 games against it, I had superior board position and aggroed him to death even after he got his Iona out using the combo.

Quote from Free 7hinker

You can even make it:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
	Sideboard: 15 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 3 Perimeter Captain 3 Kor Firewalker 3 Harm's Way 4 Celestial Purge

If you feel comfortable completely dropping the 1 DoJ and 1 O-Ring from the SB.

I'll be keeping the 1 DoJ and 1 O-Ring (is an answer to plenty of things) in the sideboard.
As other people here have already said, Linvalla is a situational card.

It definitely is challenging playing mono-white, but it's also very rewarding.

Well, I'm used to having my favourite RB Aggro-Control deck in hand during games, so using the mono-white Angel deck that you're developing here is going to need a little getting used to. Will try to post here if I encounter something that seems significant during playtests.

Quote from Free 7hinker

I could be wrong, but I don't think Chain Reaction would deal any damage to Kor Firewalker. Let me know how the Safe Passages work.

You are right that the walker is unaffected by Chain Reaction, but it doesn't help if it's the only creature left standing on my side of the board (losing all but one creature is comparable to a board wipe).

Anyway, despite some unexpected losses I still like the deck and don't regret giving it a B on the poll.
I've been a Red-Black player for years. It's fun and challenging to use a white deck for a change.

Quote from Free 7hinker

It's weird because I've had no problem against RDW. Worst case scenario, you'll just have to SB 3 Perimeter Captain or 4 Harm's Way or 4 Refraction Trap if you're having that much trouble. It really shouldn't be, though.

On a sidenote, Emeria, the Sky Ruin isn't your focus against RDW. The goal is to let them run out of steam and then swing for the win with BSA. It's the same deal vs Jund. Those decks come out too aggressive to rely on Emeria for the win. You have to play a lot more defensively against them and strike when you know they're running low on options. You're playing 8 hate removals. If you're exiling them and burn spells are targeting your creatures, then I can't seem to understand how you're having a hard time vs RDW, especially since every red spell will net you life with Kor Firewalker.

Kor Firewalker is a great hoser against red, possibly the best hoser in standard right now. Though I have to point out that I don't always automatically have it in my opening hand. Same with the removals, there may be 8 of them, but it's common to have only 1 or 2 in opening hand. There was one time that I had 3 removal plus 2 walker in opening hand, and I won that game easily (against 2nd person whom I playtested with). That's why I was stressing the need for improvements in the cantrip department on an earlier post.

Also have to point out that gathering a small army of creatures on my side of the board, with the intention of "early defense and swinging in later for the win" got me board wiped by Chain Reaction in 2 separate games. Which is CA for them. I'm thinking that a few Safe Passages should correct this problem.

On the positive side, the addition of Harm's Way looks good.

Quote from Free 7hinker

Think of it this way...Linvala needs to be dealt with or it shuts them down. If that means they need to use up a burn spell on her, then so be it. That's one less burn spell to your face (unless they're using Flame Slash). Force them to run out of gas. That's the key.

I know what you mean about my creatures taking the burn instead of getting the heat myself. However, the questions fall on whether I should cast Linvalla or a WoR first? Or if I should use her to block an incoming Hell's Thunder when I'm out of removal and no other blocker is available.

In the playtests I've already made (6 in all against 2 persons with different version of RDW), I never had the chance to activate Emeria's ability, games against RDW are either too quick or Emeria got destroyed by those annoying goblins. When Linvalla goes to the grave, that's it.

There's nothing wrong with SBing a couple Safe Passage, especially if you feel they're needed in your meta. If burn spells are really annoying you, then consider Harm's Way or Refraction Trap as well. In fact, if you're not up against control in your meta, then do this to your SB:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
	Sideboard: 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1 Day of Judgment 1 Oblivion Ring 3 Kor Firewalker 4 Celestial Purge 4 Harm's Way

Take out 1 Iona and 3 Luminarch.

Update:

1/3 of the deck is now comprised of card advantage and deck thinning:

Card Advantage: 10/60 (17%)
4 Wall of Omens
2 Repel the Darkness
2 Survival Cache (which can account for 4)

If I make it 4 Survival Cache, then I can potentially increase it to 20%.

Deck Thinning: 10/60 (17%)
4 Knight of the White Orchid
3 Arid Mesa
3 Marsh Flats

Total: 20/60 or 33% out of 100%

I say that's pretty descent for mono-white.

The CA department certainly got better.

Games in my area are often dominated by RDW players (some like to add black mana for Doomblade, Thought Hemorrhage and Blightning), leading to some of them having an arrogant attitude (I've received remarks like "your angel deck is all eye-candy and no action", or "my red deck costs twice less than yours but can still kick your deck's ass". Things like that. :-/). The people I've playtested with are nice though. Will meet with them again. I'll do some practice games and post here in a few days.

Quote from Free 7hinker

I hate to say it, but BSA is a must in this deck, especially against R/B. Protection from Demons and Dragons will save you against Hellkite, Broodmate, etc. First Strike is huge too.

As far as Valakut is concerned, we may have to SB Tectonic Edge. I noticed that Iona, Shield of Emeria isn't that necessary in this build. She's definitely a win-more card, even if you're playing against a mono-colored deck. We can squeeze in 2 in the SB. I'm also considering 2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant to protect your creatures/rings/Emeria, the Sky Ruin from being destroyed.

Play Linvala, Keeper of Silence against Unearth creatures. She shuts them down.

I agree with CA, so take a look at the OP. I added in 2 Repel the Darkness and 2 Survival Cache. They've definitely helped. Good luck!

Would have to save again for the Baneslayers, since I've used most of my MTG money for the set of Path to Exile and Battlegrace Angels. Though I'll try if my opponents would allow me to proxy BA's, it's just a playtest after all.

Update:

Sideboard Adjustments:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
	Sideboard: 15 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria (Alternate Win-Con vs Mono-Color) 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence (vs Activated Abilities) 1 Day of Judgment (Backup) 1 Oblivion Ring (Backup) 3 Luminarch Ascension (vs Control) 3 Kor Firewalker (vs Jund/RDW) 4 Celestial Purge (vs Vampires/Jund/RDW)

-3 Perimeter Captain (4 WoO, 4 KotWO, 3 WoR, 2 Linvala, 3 KF + 4 Celestial Purge are enough vs RDW/Jund)
+3 Luminarch Ascension (I needed these vs Control)

Linvala, Keeper of Silence has actually worked surprisingly well vs RDW and Jund. Vs RDW, she has basically shut down reanimation through Unearth. Vs Jund, she has shut down Siege-Gang Commander and Putrid Leech.

Update 2:

2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant were just added to the MD in place of 1 DoJ and 1 O-Ring.

2 Tectonic Edge were added to the MD in place of 2 Plains.

Ok, I appreciate the suggestions and honestly don't want to sound pessimistic. But I have some serious doubts whether Linvalla will stay long enough on the battlefield for me to benefit from her ability. Most RDW that I fought can take down at least two WoR. Linvalla would probably fall easier to their burn, since she's thinner than the walls.

Thinking of adding some Safe Passage to help my creatures last longer, in addition to trying the new sideboard adjustments.

Quote from Free 7hinker

Thank you. If you do well against RDW, then you'll also be in good shape against Jund. However, if you start playing against control, then your SB should look similar to my SB in my original thread. I've only begun to test Emrakul vs control. I'll report back with results.

Ok, I managed to find someone at the shop to playtest the deck with.
It's only a casual game, not FNM.

Game 1 (unsideboarded against an unknown deck)

She wins the coin flip and plays a Valakut on T1, just by seeing that I knew she is RDW. I respond by playing Emeria on T1 as well. I managed to play a KoWO, WoO, KoWO and a TM (in that order). She spent the next couple of turns bolting all of my creatures. I managed to path one Ball Lightning, but it was followed by another one to which I have no answer. She earthquaked for 5 and that's it.

Game 2 (sideboard, -4 DoJ, -3 EA, -2 TM, +4CP, +3 Kor Firewalker, +2 PC)

I had an opening hand of 4 land (3 plains and 1 Emeria), 1 PC, 1 CP, 1 PtE, and decided to keep it. The match was pretty straightforward. She kept playing threats with me removing them. I played a Battlegrace on T5, but it was hit by a kicked Burst Lightning. I retaliate by casting CP on the Hellkite Charger that she played a few turns later. I was at 8 life, her at 14. I played a walker, followed by a WoR. She scooped when I had 2 WoR, 2 Walkers and an Admonition Angel in play.

Game 3 (I didn't change anything on the sideboard)

Things turned out similar on Game 2, except for one difference.
She added those goblins carrying a bomb (forgot the name of the card), which destroyed 2 of my Emeria, it was a major slowdown since I haven't drawn any Chalices. I had a walker out early however, so I didn't take that much damage from the burn that she has now decided to spam directly at me. Obvious that she's trying to end the game before the WoR and Battlegrace Angels come out. I managed to cast two WoR on the battlefield, but both were destroyed by Chain Reaction. After that I had bad luck of drawing only land for 3 turns, and her having the good luck of drawing a Hellkite Charger (used the last purge in my hand to get rid of it), and an earthquake which ended the game.

Well, it's playtest... so losing is ok I guess.
And things did get better after sideboarding.


Learned some things from the match.
Deck needs more card drawing, and maybe something else aside from CP that deals with unearth creatures but does not give my opponent free land. Casting two PtE allowed activation of Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle two turns earlier, which is an advantage to my opponent.