[Standard] Elves Still Matter

[Mister.Ri]

Elves Still Matter

OMG I love Elves.

With rotation we get new additions in Pelt Collector and Beast Whisperer which exemplifies our deck.

First, we can go all out aggro and beat face. Turn 1 Llanowar Elves into Steel Leaf Champion is great. Or a turn 1 Pelt Collector into any elves.

Second, our ramp engine in Llanowar Elves, Druid of the Cowl & Elfhame Druid get us to early 4/5 drops. With ramp such as Marwyn, the Nurturer, we can have our mana sink into the abilities of Thorn Lieutenant and Elvish Clancaller.

Thirdly, our lords in Vanquisher Banner & Elvish Clancaller will make our weak dorks bigger.

Lastly, if that does not work our draw engine is great with Vanquished Banner + Beast Whisperer to keep the gas going.

The synergies are great.

Sideboard still to be worked our depending on meta. Any comments/suggestions welcome!

[tsirides]

have you tested it so far? How is it doing against certain strategies that go wide and big very fast like Boros?

[gay4sorin]

I tested this a bit and it's a lot of fun. If you can survive the early turns against aggro (some life gain in the sideboard would help with this) it easily outlasts them once you start drawing a million cards and throwing out loads of elves. I would recommend splashing white or black for a set of either the selesnya or golgari guildmages in place of elfhame druid. I found 8 mana dorks was plenty and I hated drawing an 0/2 for 2. Another color gives you more options for removal and such also.

[Blusterbutts]

@gay4sorin I've been thinking of splashing white for Shalai, or black for trophy and ochran assassin, but i haven't tested anything at all.

[Mister.Ri]

I have tested it in cockatrice last night and deck was a blast to play. It feels much like an elfball deck once you get your engine going, you just draw LOTS of cards then overwhelmed the board. Boardwipes are not an issue as you can easily rebuild. Vanquisher's Banner is the all star here, finally able to shine now that abrade has rotated.

Yes, this deck has struggles against aggro as mono-green does not have much removal. Prey Upon was tested, but was underwhelming. The best bet against aggro is to gump up board and play the long game. Sometimes Steel Leaf Champion can just go over these aggro decks. What this deck is sorely missing is protection (aka blossoming defense & heroic intervention). An overrun effect will be nice as well.

One underwhelming card was actually Pelt Collector (I did not read the card properly) as we do not have much creatures except for steel leaf champion to pump Pelt Collector after 2 power.

With regards to splashing, I have thought about that, but will lose the consistency of being mono green. But if I were to splash, it will definitely be along the lines of ochran assassin to go with the elf theme (as it triggers Vanquisher's Banner) so that we can swing with the rest of the team as 'unblockable'. Going black also have better removal in assassin's trophy in sideboard or even mainboard. Please share any decklist if any.

[Mister.Ri]

Sideboard added.
Pelt Collector removed. Marwyn is great for the elfball to dump cards drawn onto the battlefield, so added 1 more. Immortal of the Sun as an additional draw source and anthem. Trying Bounty of Might as a surprise overrun effect to hit for lethal. Added a utility land as curve has increased.

Revision 2

Added/removed cards:
-4 Pelt Collector
+1 Bounty of Might
+1 Field of Ruin
+1 The Immortal Sun
+1 (SB) Golgari Raiders
+2 (SB) Might of the Masses
+3 (SB) Plummet
+4 (SB) Prey Upon
+3 (SB) Reclamation Sage
+2 (SB) Sorcerous Spyglass

Changed amounts:
+1 Marwyn, the Nurturer

[Erinoxe]

How about Declare Dominance rather than Bounty of Might for surprise win ? Yes you do sacrifice a creature but it let the field wide open for the others.

[Nils]

Your deck was selected as our deckstats.net deck of the week this week. Congratulations!

[Mister.Ri]

thank you

[Mister.Ri]

Looks like this may be a better version!
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-98-22-tix-elfball-standard

[tribe.br]

I like your deck, I'm from Brazil and I'd like to know, no one rides deck from scratch? everybody copies? I was thrilled to play for not making a deck from scratch .. and adptar the decks of others

[bagabundo11]

I added three songs of freyalise and the deck worked very well, because when the last ability of the song is activated, you have many creatures on the table and you attack with everything, then thanks to the skill they have vigilance, trample and indestructible.

[Mister.Ri]

Oh my god, @bagabundo that is a brilliant suggestion. Will try it out.