Custom Duel Deck - Gods vs Mortals (Casual)

"The gods, they've gone too far! Cast down these arrogant liars!"
-Thelas, Akroan Crusader

These duel decks pit the uneasily allied cities of Akros and Meletis against the gods Heliod and Nylea on Theros.

-Mortals-
The Mortals deck is built around the Heroic mechanic. It features many solid Auras and combat tricks that either cantrip or target multiple creatures for value, hopefully building towards explosive turns that will have you hitting early, and hitting hard. The deck also features moderate amounts of removal, with Mortal Obstinacy a clear standout in the battle against the enchantment heavy Gods deck. Standing in your way are the unruly politics of Theros; the sometimes forced inclusion of blue can hasten you to victory, or it can also derail once-promising strategies as you find yourself unable to cast key spells at key moments. But such is life amidst the meddles of men.

-Gods-
The Gods deck is built around the Constellation mechanic and surviving until the long game. While the Gods enchantment creatures are naturally larger than the mortals, they are fewer in number and will frequently find themselves smaller than their enchanted, buffed opponents. To solve this, the Gods player must rely on a mix of bounce and aura removal, like the versatile Armament of Nyx, to either neuter their opponent's creatures or remove all the counters their opponent's creatures may be carrying. The end-game should belong to the Gods thanks to the card advantage provided by Eidolon of Blossoms and spells like Commune with the Gods. By then Medomai the Ageless, Humbler of Mortals and Riptide Chimeras should be charging in for the kill.

-Designer's Notes-
I've played these guys against each other a lot, and they seem to have reached a nice balance. Typically if the Mortals get a strong opening hand it's very hard for them to lose to anything other than a Wash Out or a few Voyage's Ends, but most games feature lots of back and forth and can go either way, depending on draws. The Mortals deck is intentionally designed to awkwardly include blue, both for flavour and balance issues. It pilots more erratically, and perhaps sometimes more frustratingly because of it, but it makes those occasions where everything goes to plan all the more triumphant, and the card draw and selection provided by the blue spells are often worth the headache of including them. Or at least they would be with a better mana base.