Hey guys, I just started playing Dredge recently and I am really loving this deck. I prefer the LEDless build over the LED build, but I have a question about a land that is commonly used in almost every Dredge deck.
Why is it advised to use Cephalid Coliseum in a Dredge deck?
I get that with it's Threshhold ability you can use the same effect as a Sphinx of Lost Truths, but aren't you only going to be using that ability once or twice in a game. Also doesn't it present a problem considering it only produces blue mana and the majority of your first turn plays are going to be Putrid Imp or Tireless Tribe which require black or white mana respectively. My current build goes without the Cephalid Coliseum's and compensates hopefully with an extra Sphinx of Lost Truths. Maybe I just don't understand the usefulness of Cephalid Coliseum so if someone could explain that to me that would be great.
Anyway here is my current Cephalid Coliseumless build:
It's worked fairly well for me so far, but I am debating whether to cut out Iona for something more useful, and also whether I need a fourth Dread Return because of my extra Sphinx. Thanks guys and tell me what you think.
@Tollas: For your build have you considered running Ichorclaw Myr over Ichor Rats. I find that although they do take up another 2cc spot, I am not usually playing Ichor Rats when they are in my hand, and am instead playing other creatures or pump spells. Ichorclaw Myr also has that added bonus where it may be tough for an opponent to decide whether to block or take the damage because they do not know what you have in your hand for a finisher, and most creatures will not be able to survive it's boosted attack, at the beginning of the game. Also I would suggest that you make Plague Stinger a 4 of in your deck for sure and cut one Blight Mamba as I don't see them being better than Ichorclaw Myr. This is because I don't usually have enough mana open that I want to keep open for their regeneration cost.
Also, I agree about the Praetors, but at this point what else is there to take their spot. Their boost is minimal but they do add that little push that can end games, or turn the tide in your favor if you are playing a longer game. I believe that Livewire Lash is exceptional in a build that utilizes four of them combined with pump spells, many of them with rebound. As mentioned before games can be won without your creature even attacking.
I would also like to bring back up Infiltration Lens as I find that if an opponent manages to stall the game or I have bad draws it can be invaluable combined with pumps because the opponent has to choose between taking a large amount of damage and letting you draw two cards. Those cards could be just the cards you need to finish your opponent off! I can't wait to test my deck at FNM and hope the Ichorclaw Myrs perform better than the Ichor Rats.
Here's my take on an Infect deck. As most of the one's posted before it is an aggro build and can win between turns 4-6. My approach is similar to Tollas's in that I try to get a Livewire Lash down and then pump my creature's to deal damage with the Lash. I prefer Ichorclaw Myr over Blight Mamba, but I agree that Ichor Rats can be hit and miss. I could play Cystbearer but I do not feel that it will make much of an improvement. Also intead of mainboarding Doom Blades I sideboard them and instead use Infiltration Lens for CA. Tell me what you think.
This deck has been working fairly well so far. It's fast (nothing over 3cc) and The CIPT lands do not usually hinder me. Just looking for any suggestions because I am sure there are a few good burn cards that I have missed that would make excellent replacements. (I'm still not sure if Earthquake has a spot in this deck). Also I am on a slight budget which means no Koth of the Hammer for me unless I get one in a booster
Okay so I have always liked the card Primalcrux but have never gotten around to making a deck with it. So without further ado I present my Primalcrux Rage deck!
Llanowar Elves: Good one cost mana booster, Birds of Paradise serve no extra use in this deck and are expensive.
Leatherback Baloth: Good three cost creature with good power and toughness. Easy to drop on turn two and costs all G so it boosts Primalcrux well.
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers: This is one spot that I am definitely unsure of. I like Cavaliers for their low cost combined with vigilance and its power/toughness, but I'm wondering if maybe Great Sable Stag, Troll Ascetic or Boggart Ram-Gang would be better suited for this spot. Thoughts on this matter please.
Oversoul of Dusk: Amazing card. 5cc for protection from blue, red, and black. Also good power/toughness and once again a great boost to Primalcrux.
Deus of Calamity: The other 5cc cost in this deck. It's ability is great for disruption not to mention it has trample and goes with Primalcrux well. It is vulnerable to removal but I think for it's cost and ability it outweighs that.
Primalcrux: The card this whole deck is based around. Comes out as a 6/6 trampler no matter what and will usually be boosted by my other creatures. The card with the highest cc in this deck and once again it is vulnerable to removal but if I can even get one turn attacking with it, it will be devastating.
Some of you may be wondering why I have no Kitchen Finks or Khalni Hydra. The reason for that is that Finks is too expensive (money wise) and I can't see it working too well in this deck without some sort of combo. Khalni Hydra didn't make it because I doubt I will have enough green creatures out to make it worthwhile, not too mention it is vulnerable to removal.
Rancor: One G for +2/+0 and Trample? Yes please! Not to mention if it goes to the graveyard from play I get it back to use again.
Nature's Lore: A good land fetching card especially in mono green.
Lightning Greaves: Good for putting on creatures with trample hat need to be protected like Primalcrux or Deus. Should I use these or Aspect of Mongoose though because Aspect is returnable from graveyard, but this provides haste. Thoughts appreciated.
Raking Canopy: My answer to flying creatures. I debated between this, Deadly Recluse, and Tornado Elemental for a long time but decided on Canopy. Still unsure as to whether that was the right decision or if there are better cards out there. Thoughts appreciated.
Harmonize: Who doesn't like to draw cards especially in decks where you are trying to dump your hand most of the time?
Naturalize: Destruction of artifacts and enchantments plus a reasonable cc.
Mosswort Bridge: Excellent card to play big creatures with but I don't know if it will work with this deck well since the highest cc is 6. Thoughts appreciated.
Okay so that's all I can think of right now. Any and all thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated.
I was hoping I could get a couple of people's opinions on this. My current elf deck has been doing very well so far but I would like to add Elvish Archdruid to my deck and I can't figure out what to drop for it. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Your deck is pretty good as a token aggro, i'd just fix a few things
-1 Steely Resolve (you don't need multiples for the same effect)
-4 Wellwisher (your deck is fast, you'll probably not need lifegain)
-4 Coat of Arms (sucks vs other tribal decks)
Yeah I suppose since I haven't played against any other tribal decks yet I haven't experienced that problem with Coat of Arms, maybe I'll just run it as a sideboard card and play it if I know I'm not playing against a tribal deck.
I like the look of Elvish Promenade so I think I'll add 2 instead of one and instead only add 3 Gilt-Leaf Ambush even though it is a very good card.
The deck should be able to manage without the boost from Coat of Arms as long as I get an Overrun fairly early on so that I can completely flatten my opponent :D. What about putting in 3 Joraga Warcaller instead of the 3 Overrun? I know that Joraga would not give other creatures trample but that is what Bramblewood Paragon is for. Also Joraga is as good of a booster as Coat of Arms and his boost lasts for more than one turn unlike Overrun. Tell me what you think.
I've been tinkering with this elf deck for a while and I think I've finally got a good balance. This deck has done pretty well so far but any suggested improvements would be greatly appreciated.
Even though Tinker is a good card the problem with it in this deck is that it is not an artifact so it cannot be used over and over, but the combo of master transmuter and sphinx summoner can.
What do you mean by saying that Sharding Sphinx is brutal? The main purpose of it in this deck is to provide fodder for blocking but also to beef up master of etherium who in turn beefs up the tokens. The tokens can also be used for the use of master transmuter's ability without having to use another creature I have out.
Thanks that makes a lot of sense. My original idea of playing more sharding sphinx was to basically swarm my opponent with a bunch of powered up flying token because of master of etherium.Tutoring for him is easier though and honestly what are the chances that I will have more than one of him out at a time.
I like the sculpting steels because they are a card with a cheap mana cost (especially with etherium sculptor) which can be very powerful if you don't want to play 4 of a creature in a deck.
I like the idea of playing a darksteel colossus but the main problem I see with this is it getting removed right away. Most of my friends I play against have at least one deck that splashes white and they always play path to exile. It wouldn't feel like a total waste because I wouldn't be paying colossuses cost but what would I switch out that wouldn't effect the rest of the deck. I suppose I could take out a counterspell (or maybe lower the number of sharuum?) cause I would love to get a colossus out on my friends.
Thanks for your continued suggestions because I love playing artifact decks
Okay so I think this deck is fairly solid but it needs some tinkering. The main goal of the deck is to get creatures out and use a lot of graveyard retrieval creatures/cards to get them back if they are defeated.
I do have some money to spend but not enough for paying more than $4.00 for a single card which rules out Tezzeret the Seeker even though he is awesome. Although I was looking at Master Transmuter combined with Ornithopter but I don't know what I would take out to put them in.
Anyway here is what the deck looks like right now. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated or just approval of the deck as it is. Thank you very much.
__
Sorry for the double post and all but I've switched this deck around to be more of an Esper Midrange Deck rather than relying on artifact revival as much.
Please tell me what you think and as stated before I'd love to fit in Master Transmuter and Ornithopter but I don't know what I would take out.
I wouldn't have Nyxathid in a deck for a nelw player. It could be confusing and frustrate them.
Same thing with Gatekeeper of Malakir , I wouldn't introduce cards with things like 'kicker' right away. If he seems to get the game and is going well than after a few weeks you could put these more complicated cards in the deck.
Yeah you're probably right, maybe I'll just sub in some ravenous rats and terror for those cards. Hopefully he will enjoy the deck.
Okay I've thought about the deck a bit more and come up with a hopefully better version.
I am trying to only use cards in this deck that have a converted mana cost of 4 or less so that mana is not a problem, that is the reason why I do not use cards like corrupt or mind sludge even though they are both very good. Any more advice would be appreciated.
So I'm trying to get one of my friends to play MTG with me to increase the number of people I can play against.
He doesn't want to spend money on cards until he has tried the game for a bit.
I offered to let him use my Mono Black Discard deck since he likes the look of the black cards the most, but it has been a while since I have used it so it is outdated and a bit scrambled.
I have some cards I have added in that I think will make it better but any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
So there it is. Honestly there is a lot of open space for the number of a certain card I put in, or even a bunch of other cards that I have not listed.
Also I know that the methods of creature removal I have listed are bot that great and If there is a better option I can easily take out seal of Doom/Fleshbag Marauder for a better card.
Thanks again and as a final note I would prefer it if the cards you mentioned did not cost too much since I am on a limited budget. Thanks again.
Why is it advised to use Cephalid Coliseum in a Dredge deck?
I get that with it's Threshhold ability you can use the same effect as a Sphinx of Lost Truths, but aren't you only going to be using that ability once or twice in a game. Also doesn't it present a problem considering it only produces blue mana and the majority of your first turn plays are going to be Putrid Imp or Tireless Tribe which require black or white mana respectively. My current build goes without the Cephalid Coliseum's and compensates hopefully with an extra Sphinx of Lost Truths. Maybe I just don't understand the usefulness of Cephalid Coliseum so if someone could explain that to me that would be great.
Anyway here is my current Cephalid Coliseumless build:
2x Flame-Kin Zealot
4x Golgari Grave-Troll
3x Golgari Thug
3x Ichorid
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
4x Narcomoeba
4x Putrid Imp
2x Sphinx of Lost Truths
4x Stinkweed Imp
4x Tireless Tribe
4x Breakthrough
4x Bridge from Below
3x Cabal Therapy
4x Careful Study
3x Dread Return
Lands-11
4x City of Brass
4x Gemstone Mine
3x Tarnished Citadel
2x Ancient Grudge
3x Chain of Vapor
3x Firestorm
3x Leyline of the Void
4x Pithing Needle
It's worked fairly well for me so far, but I am debating whether to cut out Iona for something more useful, and also whether I need a fourth Dread Return because of my extra Sphinx. Thanks guys and tell me what you think.
Also, I agree about the Praetors, but at this point what else is there to take their spot. Their boost is minimal but they do add that little push that can end games, or turn the tide in your favor if you are playing a longer game. I believe that Livewire Lash is exceptional in a build that utilizes four of them combined with pump spells, many of them with rebound. As mentioned before games can be won without your creature even attacking.
I would also like to bring back up Infiltration Lens as I find that if an opponent manages to stall the game or I have bad draws it can be invaluable combined with pumps because the opponent has to choose between taking a large amount of damage and letting you draw two cards. Those cards could be just the cards you need to finish your opponent off! I can't wait to test my deck at FNM and hope the Ichorclaw Myrs perform better than the Ichor Rats.
3x Hand of the Praetors
3x Ichor Rats
4x Ichorclaw Myr
4x Plague Stinger
3x Putrefax
Instant
3x Giant Growth
3x Prey's Vengeance
3x Vines of Vastwood
3x Virulent Swipe
2x Infiltration Lens
4x Livewire Lash
2x Mimic Vat
Land
12x Forest
11x Swamp
3x Deathmark
3x Doom Blade
4x Nature's Claim
4x Plummet
1x Vines of Vastwood
4x Ball Lightning
3x Ember Hauler
4x Goblin Guide
4x Hell's Thunder
4x Hellspark Elemental
3x Mogg Fanatic
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Searing Blaze
Sorcery 7
3x Earthquake
4x Rift Bolt
15x Mountain
4x Smoldering Spires
4x Teetering Peaks
This deck has been working fairly well so far. It's fast (nothing over 3cc) and The CIPT lands do not usually hinder me. Just looking for any suggestions because I am sure there are a few good burn cards that I have missed that would make excellent replacements. (I'm still not sure if Earthquake has a spot in this deck). Also I am on a slight budget which means no Koth of the Hammer for me unless I get one in a booster
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Leatherback Baloth
3 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
3 Oversoul of Dusk
3 Deus of Calamity
4 Primalcrux
3 Rancor
3 Lightning Greaves
4 Nature's Lore
2 Raking Canopy
4 Harmonize
Land 22
18 Forest
4 Mosswort Bridge
1 Rancor
4 Naturalize
2 Raking Canopy
Reasons for Cards
Llanowar Elves: Good one cost mana booster, Birds of Paradise serve no extra use in this deck and are expensive.
Leatherback Baloth: Good three cost creature with good power and toughness. Easy to drop on turn two and costs all G so it boosts Primalcrux well.
Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers: This is one spot that I am definitely unsure of. I like Cavaliers for their low cost combined with vigilance and its power/toughness, but I'm wondering if maybe Great Sable Stag, Troll Ascetic or Boggart Ram-Gang would be better suited for this spot. Thoughts on this matter please.
Oversoul of Dusk: Amazing card. 5cc for protection from blue, red, and black. Also good power/toughness and once again a great boost to Primalcrux.
Deus of Calamity: The other 5cc cost in this deck. It's ability is great for disruption not to mention it has trample and goes with Primalcrux well. It is vulnerable to removal but I think for it's cost and ability it outweighs that.
Primalcrux: The card this whole deck is based around. Comes out as a 6/6 trampler no matter what and will usually be boosted by my other creatures. The card with the highest cc in this deck and once again it is vulnerable to removal but if I can even get one turn attacking with it, it will be devastating.
Some of you may be wondering why I have no Kitchen Finks or Khalni Hydra. The reason for that is that Finks is too expensive (money wise) and I can't see it working too well in this deck without some sort of combo. Khalni Hydra didn't make it because I doubt I will have enough green creatures out to make it worthwhile, not too mention it is vulnerable to removal.
Rancor: One G for +2/+0 and Trample? Yes please! Not to mention if it goes to the graveyard from play I get it back to use again.
Nature's Lore: A good land fetching card especially in mono green.
Lightning Greaves: Good for putting on creatures with trample hat need to be protected like Primalcrux or Deus. Should I use these or Aspect of Mongoose though because Aspect is returnable from graveyard, but this provides haste. Thoughts appreciated.
Raking Canopy: My answer to flying creatures. I debated between this, Deadly Recluse, and Tornado Elemental for a long time but decided on Canopy. Still unsure as to whether that was the right decision or if there are better cards out there. Thoughts appreciated.
Harmonize: Who doesn't like to draw cards especially in decks where you are trying to dump your hand most of the time?
Naturalize: Destruction of artifacts and enchantments plus a reasonable cc.
Mosswort Bridge: Excellent card to play big creatures with but I don't know if it will work with this deck well since the highest cc is 6. Thoughts appreciated.
Okay so that's all I can think of right now. Any and all thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated.
4 Heritage Druid
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 Imperious Perfect
4 Joraga Warcaller
3 Immaculate Magistrate
3 Gilt-Leaf Ambush
4 Elvish Promenade
4 Coat of Arms
Land
14 Forest
4 Wirewood Lodge
Yeah I suppose since I haven't played against any other tribal decks yet I haven't experienced that problem with Coat of Arms, maybe I'll just run it as a sideboard card and play it if I know I'm not playing against a tribal deck.
I like the look of Elvish Promenade so I think I'll add 2 instead of one and instead only add 3 Gilt-Leaf Ambush even though it is a very good card.
The deck should be able to manage without the boost from Coat of Arms as long as I get an Overrun fairly early on so that I can completely flatten my opponent :D. What about putting in 3 Joraga Warcaller instead of the 3 Overrun? I know that Joraga would not give other creatures trample but that is what Bramblewood Paragon is for. Also Joraga is as good of a booster as Coat of Arms and his boost lasts for more than one turn unlike Overrun. Tell me what you think.
Thanks again for the help!
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Heritage Druid
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Imperious Perfect
4 Bramblewood Paragon
4 Wellwisher
4 Coat of Arms
4 Steely Resolve
2 Hunting Triad
Land 18
18 Forest
Even though Tinker is a good card the problem with it in this deck is that it is not an artifact so it cannot be used over and over, but the combo of master transmuter and sphinx summoner can.
What do you mean by saying that Sharding Sphinx is brutal? The main purpose of it in this deck is to provide fodder for blocking but also to beef up master of etherium who in turn beefs up the tokens. The tokens can also be used for the use of master transmuter's ability without having to use another creature I have out.
I like the sculpting steels because they are a card with a cheap mana cost (especially with etherium sculptor) which can be very powerful if you don't want to play 4 of a creature in a deck.
I like the idea of the academy ruins and hopefully the mana base wont suffer from the loss of an ancient den and vault of whispers even though I doubt it will.
I like the idea of playing a darksteel colossus but the main problem I see with this is it getting removed right away. Most of my friends I play against have at least one deck that splashes white and they always play path to exile. It wouldn't feel like a total waste because I wouldn't be paying colossuses cost but what would I switch out that wouldn't effect the rest of the deck. I suppose I could take out a counterspell (or maybe lower the number of sharuum?) cause I would love to get a colossus out on my friends.
Thanks for your continued suggestions because I love playing artifact decks
I do have some money to spend but not enough for paying more than $4.00 for a single card which rules out Tezzeret the Seeker even though he is awesome. Although I was looking at Master Transmuter combined with Ornithopter but I don't know what I would take out to put them in.
Anyway here is what the deck looks like right now. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated or just approval of the deck as it is. Thank you very much.
4 Master of Etherium
3 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Tower Gargoyle
3 Sanctum Gargoyle
3 Myr Retriever
4 Etherium Sculptor
2 Sharuum the Hegemon
3 Sculpting Steel
3 Scourglass
3 Executioner's Capsule
4 Counterspell
Land
4 Arcane Sanctum
1 Reflecting Pool
2 Island
2 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
4 Seat of the Synod
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Sorry for the double post and all but I've switched this deck around to be more of an Esper Midrange Deck rather than relying on artifact revival as much.
Please tell me what you think and as stated before I'd love to fit in Master Transmuter and Ornithopter but I don't know what I would take out.
4 Master of Etherium
3 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Sphinx Summoner
4 Sanctum Gargoyle
3 Sharding Sphinx
4 Etherium Sculptor
2 Sharuum the Hegemon
2 Ethersworn Adjudicator
3 Sculpting Steel
3 Scourglass
4 Counterspell
Land 22
4 Arcane Sanctum
1 Reflecting Pool
3 Sejiri Refuge
2 Jwar Isle Refuge
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
4 Seat of the Synod
merged.
blut
Yeah you're probably right, maybe I'll just sub in some ravenous rats and terror for those cards. Hopefully he will enjoy the deck.
Yeah thanks that is where I originally looked for the starting ideas for this deck.
I am trying to only use cards in this deck that have a converted mana cost of 4 or less so that mana is not a problem, that is the reason why I do not use cards like corrupt or mind sludge even though they are both very good. Any more advice would be appreciated.
19 Swamp
Creatures
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
4 Nyxathid
2 Nezumi Shortfang
3 Black Knight
4 The Rack
4 Hymn To Tourach
3 Duress
2 Persecute
3 Doom Blade
4 Dark Ritual
2 Scepter of Fugue
2 Geth's Grimoire
EDIT: Hopefully final copy of the deck, realized that if megrim goes that abyssal nocturnus might as well too because of their similar abilities.
He doesn't want to spend money on cards until he has tried the game for a bit.
I offered to let him use my Mono Black Discard deck since he likes the look of the black cards the most, but it has been a while since I have used it so it is outdated and a bit scrambled.
I have some cards I have added in that I think will make it better but any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Here is it what it looks like right now.
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Abyssal Nocturnus
4 Ravenous Rats
2 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Mindslicer
4 The Rack
4 Hymn To Tourach
4 Cry of Contrition
2 Persecute
3 Seal of Doom
3 Megrim
So there it is. Honestly there is a lot of open space for the number of a certain card I put in, or even a bunch of other cards that I have not listed.
Also I know that the methods of creature removal I have listed are bot that great and If there is a better option I can easily take out seal of Doom/Fleshbag Marauder for a better card.
Thanks again and as a final note I would prefer it if the cards you mentioned did not cost too much since I am on a limited budget. Thanks again.