Hey, this is pretty awesome! Thanks for typing it up. I was wondering, how does transform/Double-Faced cards interact with NWO? Do you add up the text on each side, or do you consider each side on its own? Or does the fact that it's even double-faced in the first place warrant a red flag (due to new players having to read the card twice / ask about it multiple times)?
We're still play-testing, so there might be some cards that are too strong or too weak. I also have a decent number of reprints (I don't think I have too much though).
I've made one and printed it out. It's a lot of work, but I think it's a worthwhile investment. What helped me out a lot was to figure out what I wanted each color combination to be doing, and then design some of the cards based off of that. It doesn't have to be anything strict, just a basic guideline (like RB aggro, UG ramp, UW control, etc.). I did try to give each color a mix of defensive and offensive strategies though. At first I was worried that I might have made too many archetype specific cards, but after play-testing it with my friends I've found you can still draft whatever you'd like most of the time.
Are you planning to have a lot of ways to grant haste in this set? Since I could see this going into some "Monster Bullet" or "Ball Lightning" type archetype, where your creatures have significant drawbacks, but if they ever had haste they would be fine / alright since they can essentially let you burn your opponent out.
I really like the suggestion to take out the Sandstone Warrior for another Enlistment Officer that Philip Elmsbye made. Card advantage in this kind of deck can be really sweet, especially if your opponents like to play sweepers.
To build on theBlueMuzzy's suggestion for Field Marshal, having it replace Glory of Warfare seems awesome since it costs less and can be fetched with Enlistment Officer (it does seem a little expensive money wise though...), A slightly cheaper alternative to Field Marshal is Auriok Steelshaper, which should also work since you're aiming to get equipment out. It also comes out sooner.
For equipment, Grafted Wargear seems pretty strong, and [CARD]
Quietus Spike[/CARD] gets pretty crazy with double strike (it also gives deathtouch). The spike is a little expensive mana wise, so you probably don't want the full 4.
Maybe I should replace Fencing Ace with Boros Swiftblade.
Can't wait to see what Gatecrash will offer.
You might want to try and just get the swiftblades in there and keep the Fencing Ace, as it seems like your threat density is a little low at the moment.
Anyways, I hope your deck plays well; the concept is pretty cool
I agree with you about taking out the Demonspine Whip. The card space could probably be used to find more ways to enable deathtouch and / or ways to deal damage to all creatures. Goblin Sharpshooter + deathtouch is great, and is repeatable unlike the Bloodfire Dwarf (the dwarf comes out pretty fast though, so put some of both in I guess). Also, Goblin Sharpshooter won't destroy your creatures, since you can choose which ones to target. Equipment like Basilisk Collar and Gorgon Flail would be good to put in, since they give the equipped creature deathtouch constantly as opposed to only once or twice. Basilisk Collar is especially nice since it gives lifelink as well.
Brute Force and Unholy Strength don't seem to do too much here. They make your creatures better, but there are more consistent ways to go about that (like equipment). The Gorgon Flail that I mentioned earlier gives a little bit of a boost, but you could always try something like Bonesplitter if you just want the power boost). I understand the the Brute Force could be used to save your guy from combat or direct damage though.
It also wouldn't hurt to put in some discard. It's one of black/red's only ways to deal with troublesome non creature permanents. You have some specters already, but I recommend adding in a playset of Duress in addition to what you have already. I get the interaction between Whispering Specter and the pump, but your main strategy isn't infect and if you want to make people discard multiple cards in that way it might be better to use Needle Specter. Hypnotic Specter is pretty good to use if you want more specters, and Guul Draz Specter or Blazing Specter can take up more 4cc slots if you need them. You could probably take out the Bog Imps for more discard (either through creatures or sorceries), or more creature removal.
well it's really late and I need to go to bed, but I hope this helps you out.
I think you can take out two Isamarus for two Elite Vanguard, to help get around the legendary rule.
For the budget issue, it seems that zoo is really dependent on pumping up those one drops by getting a lot of different land types out into play, so I think the Temple Gardens and the like are going to need to stay (it's also dependent on Tarmogoyf, but those aren't really budget...). If you have any fetch lands such as Windswept Heath, you could possibly reduce the amount of ravnica duals that way. But the fetch lands cost more than the ravnica duals do in most cases, so only use them if you have them already. If you can't really afford either, then I think you need to work on changing around your one drops a bit, or make the deck only one or two colors.
An alternative to the one drops is to reduce the amount of "pump" one drops that require the expensive mana base, and instead add cards like Steppe Lynx, Tattermunge Maniac, Watchwolf (not a one drop but still efficient), any of the myriad of one drop red creatures with two power, etc. Cards like Kird Ape, Loam Lion, and Wild Nacatl are probably still better though.
For the Terravore, you could try replacing it with something like Ranger of Eos, which is slightly more budget and helps you restock your creature reserves since you have so many one drops. Even without the Terravore, Knight of the Reliquary should still be pretty helpful.
I guess I should be asking, how much of these cards do you already have? It might be a little easier figuring out where you should be going with this deck once we know that.
You might want to use Steam Vents to replace the mountains, as they have good synergy with High Tide.
Cloud of Faeries works really well with Snap, so even if you don't have them right now I'd try to get some of those. On that note, like raver said, you should definitely max out as many free spells as you can, especially Frantic Search, and try to add those Time Spirals you mentioned. Mind over Matter can also help untap lands when you're running low on free spells, and it works well with Blue Sun's Zenith.
To help drawing into more gas without a large amount of mana you could try something like Ideas Unbound. Meditate might be a nice consideration as well. These would mainly be for when you're going off already, however, so I also recommend upping the amount of Preordain and / or Ponder in the deck. Both of those spells are very nice for drawing into more gas, but they can help set up as well.
No problem. Haha I also realized that Trinket Mage would let you get your Sol Ring as well.
One thing I'm seeing that might be a problem is the Shatterstorm, since it will destroy your creatures too, but I guess the Wurmcoil Engines and the Solemn Simulacrums like getting blown up anyways.
Since you seem to be recurring your sorceries just by putting them back into your library instead of directly back to your hand, maybe some more tutors could help. Something like Personal Tutor maybe? You could try it out as a 2-of to start. It's mainly since you need the Mystical Tutor to search for your silver bullet each time you want to use it (when combined with the Elixir of Immortality of course), as opposed to just searching for it once and recurring it some other way. So it might be nice to have some extra effective copies of it.
Anyways, for graveyard hate, you could try to put in some one mana artifacts and run them along with Trinket Mage, since Elixir of Immortality also costs 1. Then you could run stuff like Tormod's Crypt or Relic of Progenitus. But that would probably make your deck a bit inconsistent by trying to focus on multiple engines like that.
For other sorceries though, I can't seem to think of any besides without going into other colors, like white for Morningtide or black for more targeted card removal like Memoricide or something similar. Morningtide might be a little iffy regardless though.
Veil of Secrecy would be a great way to protect your golems. It makes them unblock-able too. Cerulean Wisps could be used for card draw, but Shadow Rift does that for you already. The wisps are nice for defense though.
For some extra threats, Guardian Idol or Rusted Relic would be nice. You might not have enough artifacts to keep the relic going though. The idol is nice since it gives you another card to cast on turn two, can help you ramp up into your other golems, and can give you an extra body to copy spells with (since it turns into a golem now).
I agree with rchrhds about the walls. Maybe try Wall of Blossoms or Carven Caryatid? You have plenty of mana accel, so I don't think you need anything like Wall of Roots (I could be wrong though).
About the Crop Rotation, Sylvan Scrying, Expedition Map dilemma, I think you should try and see if Sylvan Scrying works out for you, and take out Crop Rotation. Although the rotation lets you get out an Eye of Ugin early, you'll have to sacrifice a forest to do it, and that doesn't seem to be your goal here. You should also try to consider adding a few non basic lands that could help (you already mentioned Eldrazi Temple, but there should be plenty of useful ones out there. Maybe something like Dust Bowl?)
And I think having 8 fatties is fine. You'll probably encounter some removal, so it will be nice to have a decently large supply of them.
You could use something like Nameless Inversion for some removal. Since it's a Knight, you can play it from the graveyard whenever you'd like with Haakon out. It's ok without him as well. Same with Crib swap actually.
I don't think Pestilence really works in this deck, since it doesn't have any synergy with your creatures or your win condition (which is to kill your opponent with poison counters, not damage). It ends up dealing damage to you too. Are they in there because you're worried about opposing creatures?
Unless there is something I'm missing, you could take those out and put in the 3rd and 4th Flesh-eater Imps, since you say you need some fliers.
I recommend taking out Contagious Nim and bringing the Septic Rats and Hand of the Praetors up to 4 each (when you get them of course). Since you're mono black the rats seem much better than the nim, and the nim aren't that great in the first place.
It depends on who you play with, but dropping Doom Blade for Go for the Throat would be a good idea in my opinion.
Since there aren't any particularly useful 1 drop infect creatures, some discard could be pretty useful. Stuff like Duress and Inquisition of Kozilek are nice 1cc discard spells that handle the majority of what you need to get rid of. Thoughtseize is amazing, but it costs a large amount of money so I don't really recommend it. I think it would be good to take out Flight Spellbomb for the discard, as right now it only gives your guys evasion, yet you have 8 removal spells plus a slew of creatures that your opponent doesn't really want to block unless they absolutely have to.
If you don't mind spending some money on rares, Phyrexian Crusader would be an excellent 3 drop(take out the Ichor Rats for them maybe?). Bad Moon and Hatred work pretty well with infect creatures as well (if the bad moon does go in you will probably want to take out the Ichorclaw Myr for a black infect creature). Lake of the Dead Is amazing for mono black mana excel (in my experience at least). Like I said before, Thoughtseize goes under this category as well, although it's more expensive than the others.
Phyrexian Vatmother might be good as well, but it also costs 4, which is when you want to be casting your Praetors. So I'm not sure.
We're still play-testing, so there might be some cards that are too strong or too weak. I also have a decent number of reprints (I don't think I have too much though).
To build on theBlueMuzzy's suggestion for Field Marshal, having it replace Glory of Warfare seems awesome since it costs less and can be fetched with Enlistment Officer (it does seem a little expensive money wise though...), A slightly cheaper alternative to Field Marshal is Auriok Steelshaper, which should also work since you're aiming to get equipment out. It also comes out sooner.
For equipment, Grafted Wargear seems pretty strong, and [CARD]
Quietus Spike[/CARD] gets pretty crazy with double strike (it also gives deathtouch). The spike is a little expensive mana wise, so you probably don't want the full 4.
You might want to try and just get the swiftblades in there and keep the Fencing Ace, as it seems like your threat density is a little low at the moment.
Anyways, I hope your deck plays well; the concept is pretty cool
Since both of your finishers are 5cc, maybe add in some Brainspoil to tutor them up? If it's too slow, you could try Diabolic Tutor (or any of the cheaper tutors like Demonic Tutor or Vampiric Tutor).
Brute Force and Unholy Strength don't seem to do too much here. They make your creatures better, but there are more consistent ways to go about that (like equipment). The Gorgon Flail that I mentioned earlier gives a little bit of a boost, but you could always try something like Bonesplitter if you just want the power boost). I understand the the Brute Force could be used to save your guy from combat or direct damage though.
Some acceleration would be nice as well. Stuff like Mind Stone and Everflowing Chalice are a nice start, but there are probably better ones out there to mess around with (besides stuff like Sol Ring, Basalt Monolith, or Grim Monolith which might be hard to come by). Star Compass or Darksteel Ingot are nice too.
It also wouldn't hurt to put in some discard. It's one of black/red's only ways to deal with troublesome non creature permanents. You have some specters already, but I recommend adding in a playset of Duress in addition to what you have already. I get the interaction between Whispering Specter and the pump, but your main strategy isn't infect and if you want to make people discard multiple cards in that way it might be better to use Needle Specter. Hypnotic Specter is pretty good to use if you want more specters, and Guul Draz Specter or Blazing Specter can take up more 4cc slots if you need them. You could probably take out the Bog Imps for more discard (either through creatures or sorceries), or more creature removal.
well it's really late and I need to go to bed, but I hope this helps you out.
For the budget issue, it seems that zoo is really dependent on pumping up those one drops by getting a lot of different land types out into play, so I think the Temple Gardens and the like are going to need to stay (it's also dependent on Tarmogoyf, but those aren't really budget...). If you have any fetch lands such as Windswept Heath, you could possibly reduce the amount of ravnica duals that way. But the fetch lands cost more than the ravnica duals do in most cases, so only use them if you have them already. If you can't really afford either, then I think you need to work on changing around your one drops a bit, or make the deck only one or two colors.
An alternative to the one drops is to reduce the amount of "pump" one drops that require the expensive mana base, and instead add cards like Steppe Lynx, Tattermunge Maniac, Watchwolf (not a one drop but still efficient), any of the myriad of one drop red creatures with two power, etc. Cards like Kird Ape, Loam Lion, and Wild Nacatl are probably still better though.
For the Terravore, you could try replacing it with something like Ranger of Eos, which is slightly more budget and helps you restock your creature reserves since you have so many one drops. Even without the Terravore, Knight of the Reliquary should still be pretty helpful.
I guess I should be asking, how much of these cards do you already have? It might be a little easier figuring out where you should be going with this deck once we know that.
Cloud of Faeries works really well with Snap, so even if you don't have them right now I'd try to get some of those. On that note, like raver said, you should definitely max out as many free spells as you can, especially Frantic Search, and try to add those Time Spirals you mentioned. Mind over Matter can also help untap lands when you're running low on free spells, and it works well with Blue Sun's Zenith.
To help drawing into more gas without a large amount of mana you could try something like Ideas Unbound. Meditate might be a nice consideration as well. These would mainly be for when you're going off already, however, so I also recommend upping the amount of Preordain and / or Ponder in the deck. Both of those spells are very nice for drawing into more gas, but they can help set up as well.
One thing I'm seeing that might be a problem is the Shatterstorm, since it will destroy your creatures too, but I guess the Wurmcoil Engines and the Solemn Simulacrums like getting blown up anyways.
Anyways, for graveyard hate, you could try to put in some one mana artifacts and run them along with Trinket Mage, since Elixir of Immortality also costs 1. Then you could run stuff like Tormod's Crypt or Relic of Progenitus. But that would probably make your deck a bit inconsistent by trying to focus on multiple engines like that.
For other sorceries though, I can't seem to think of any besides without going into other colors, like white for Morningtide or black for more targeted card removal like Memoricide or something similar. Morningtide might be a little iffy regardless though.
For some extra threats, Guardian Idol or Rusted Relic would be nice. You might not have enough artifacts to keep the relic going though. The idol is nice since it gives you another card to cast on turn two, can help you ramp up into your other golems, and can give you an extra body to copy spells with (since it turns into a golem now).
About the Crop Rotation, Sylvan Scrying, Expedition Map dilemma, I think you should try and see if Sylvan Scrying works out for you, and take out Crop Rotation. Although the rotation lets you get out an Eye of Ugin early, you'll have to sacrifice a forest to do it, and that doesn't seem to be your goal here. You should also try to consider adding a few non basic lands that could help (you already mentioned Eldrazi Temple, but there should be plenty of useful ones out there. Maybe something like Dust Bowl?)
And I think having 8 fatties is fine. You'll probably encounter some removal, so it will be nice to have a decently large supply of them.
Unless there is something I'm missing, you could take those out and put in the 3rd and 4th Flesh-eater Imps, since you say you need some fliers.
It depends on who you play with, but dropping Doom Blade for Go for the Throat would be a good idea in my opinion.
Since there aren't any particularly useful 1 drop infect creatures, some discard could be pretty useful. Stuff like Duress and Inquisition of Kozilek are nice 1cc discard spells that handle the majority of what you need to get rid of. Thoughtseize is amazing, but it costs a large amount of money so I don't really recommend it. I think it would be good to take out Flight Spellbomb for the discard, as right now it only gives your guys evasion, yet you have 8 removal spells plus a slew of creatures that your opponent doesn't really want to block unless they absolutely have to.
The Flensermite is nice, but since your deck doesn't really have any pump, the lifelink ability will not be super useful. Instead, you could take them out along with your Flesh-eater Imps and increase your Ichorclaw Myr count to 4 and add in 4 Ichor Rats (I say 4 since your deck only has 59 cards right now. I could be wrong since it's late here though). I could be wrong here though, so I'm not sure.
If you don't mind spending some money on rares, Phyrexian Crusader would be an excellent 3 drop(take out the Ichor Rats for them maybe?). Bad Moon and Hatred work pretty well with infect creatures as well (if the bad moon does go in you will probably want to take out the Ichorclaw Myr for a black infect creature). Lake of the Dead Is amazing for mono black mana excel (in my experience at least). Like I said before, Thoughtseize goes under this category as well, although it's more expensive than the others.
Phyrexian Vatmother might be good as well, but it also costs 4, which is when you want to be casting your Praetors. So I'm not sure.