Messages

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Commander Deck Reviews / Re: Alela Enchantress/Fliers

« on: September 26, 2020, 01:35:03 am »

Is your deck set to private? I'm not able to view it. I'd love to look over it.

In any case, there are plenty of anthem effects to boost the stats of your creatures. You could also play around with Propaganda type cards to keep opponents from attacking you.

Once I'm able to see the deck I'll be able to be more specific with suggestions.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [Pioneer] Coveted Party

« on: September 13, 2020, 05:16:02 am »

I think the Party mechanic is really interesting in fun. I'm excited to be seeing decks for them.

Since the only creatures you have that can be in your party are Tajuru Paragon, and because you'll need all four out to have a full party, any removal will be able to shut your strategy down. Removal is everywhere, with Fatal Push being extremely popular, and sideboard options like Legion's End can come in and hurt the deck greatly. If you want to utilize Coveted Prize, I think you'll have to add in a wider selection of creatures, with the paragon being a good flex spot. I'm going to be going off that you'll want the main strategy.

You have a number of ramp cards, like Cultivate, Roiling Regrowth, and Broken Bond which I don't think particularly help your main goal. They work with Nissa and Scute Swarm, but it doesn't necessarily help your main goal. Casting Cultivate on turn three probably isn't what you'll want to be doing. A fine strategy on its own (and could be quite good if focused on), but I think removing the ramp package and replacing it with more Party centric cards would be best.

That leaves what to put in. Ideally, there should be some early turn plays, and cards that are solid on their own. Brazen Borrower is an excellent card. Acting as a bounce spell and as an aggressive creature that is a Rogue would be a nice addition. Archpriest of Iona can end up hitting for quite a bit of damage if it sticks around, and is a solid turn one play. Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate is a solid card that can protect your board if needed, but can also lock an opposing creature out from anything should you have a full party. Kargan Intimidator has some aggressive stats and can push damage through quite easily. Relic Robber, should it get in, can bring in some long term damage should the game last.

Admittedly, I don't know what cards will best for Party yet, and I haven't considered color restrictions. But I think that might be a good place to start.

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Commander Discussion / Re: What deck of yours has changed Commanders?

« on: September 10, 2020, 02:20:17 am »

I entered the format with Sen Triplets as my commander. I was attracted to Esper and a control strategy, and they seemed like the perfect card. I have since moved over to Zur the Enchanter. Many of the cards remain, but the strategy has shifted.

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Commander Discussion / Re: Tribal Tribal

« on: September 10, 2020, 02:11:37 am »

For this strategy, I really like the Reaper King. With a Conspiracy, Xenograft, or Arcane Adaptation out, every creature will come with destroying anything on the board (you could also just kick Rite of Replication and blow 25 things up). I think Morophon works really well too, and either one would fit well into their respective decks.

I would look for cards that grant powerful bonuses to their tribes. Consider Crested Windemere for indestructible and making more tokens, Lord of Atlantis for Islandwalk, or Drogskol Captain for Hexproff. Being able to copy your enchantments that change creature types so you can have multiple bonuses going on could be powerful.

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Commander Deck Reviews / Re: Gruul Lands

« on: September 09, 2020, 03:23:55 am »

The deck looks pretty solid. You definitely have a lot of powerful cards for the strategy. I would consider adding in Sylvan Safekeeper as an additional land sac outlet and for protection.

The only thing I can really think of is adding value cards. Worldly Tutor, Sylvan Library, Veil of Summer, Collector Ouphe, Vexing Shusher, Return to Nature, and mana dorks are all popular examples that are useful. Some of the lower impact cards like Tunneling Geopede or Nesting Dragon might be good to replace.

Otherwise, I can't think of anything else. The deck looks good.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [Pioneer] Vamp it Up Buttercup

« on: September 08, 2020, 08:08:25 pm »

I'm a big fan of Vampires, and Pioneer has a number of strong cards for the tribe (and with a return to Innistrad next year and Zendikar soon, the tribe will have plenty of new toys to look at).

So I think we can streamline the deck a good bit. Your deck size, at 79 cards, makes it rather hard to draw the exact card you need in any given situation. This is only increased by your many one-off cards. By having the max 4 copies of a card, you increase the likelihood of drawing that card. You also don't appear to have a means of digging through your deck, having to rely on your draw step. I would focus on cutting the deck size to 60, consider getting full playsets of cards, and adding card advantage. If possible, the overall mana curve could be lowered as well.

You have a number of mana acceleration cards. I would consider removing them, as you don't have much means of capitalizing on them and can be dead draws a lot of the time. These are Opaline Unicorn and your mana producing artifacts, a total of 9 cards. I also think both Liliana's, Grim Tutor, Mastermind's Acquisition, The Eldest Reborn, Mark of the Vampire, and Vanquisher's Banner could go. They are either too expensive, don't do enough for their cost, or can't be capitalized in this deck. Taking all of those would would bring the deck to 60 cards.

You appear to have a swarm strategy going on, so I think we should play into that. Getting more Legion's Landing will help get that solid turn one play and let you flip into token producing lands.

Knight of the Ebon Legion is the best one-mana turn one play this deck can have (and scales well late game too), and possibly the best one-mana Black creature in Pioneer. I would get three more copies as soon as you are able, as it is a powerhouse of a card. The ability to pump and deal more damage or trade with larger creatures is excellent. For two drops, Gifted Aetherborn is similar. It has a lot of value as an anti-aggro card and would do well with more copies in the deck. Adanto Vanguard is quite aggressive, and should you have remaining life to spare, can be protected from removal. Cruel Celebrant makes removal hurt and can be quite annoying with multiple out. It fits best in Aristocrat type strategies, but you could have it here just for value and keeping your life total healthy. If that's the case, more copies would help. Dusk Legion Zealot, while not the most impressive, does draw you a card, and can be blocker or sacrifice fodder later on.

Champion of Dusk is a powerful card. A 4/4 is rather strong, and drawing you a number of cards when it enters can refill your hand. Blood Baren of Vizkopa won't draw you cards, but it has a good body with some protection, and should you be at 30 or more life, it can end games by itself.

Elenda, the Dusk Rose is powerful. It pairs especially well with aristocrat strategies, and with Cruel Celebrant out, the two can be quite the pair. You might not want a full playset, but three copies could be strong.

When it comes to Planeswalkers, Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord is made for Vampires. All of his abilities are powerful and do things you'll want to do anyway. The first will make everything bigger and gain you some life while making blocking difficult. The second ability will let you do more direct damage with some healing, and trigger Cruel Celebrant and Elenda. The third ability can be used to save mana by cheating something in (Champion of Dusk is an excellent target here).

For utility, Fatal Push is the best removal spell in the format. If you often play against a lot of creature heavy decks, you should consider using it. If want an Aura similar to Mark of the Vampire, consider Demonic Embrace. It's cheaper to cast, gives more power, gives evasion through flying, and can be recast should it go to the graveyard.

I think the deck has serious potential, it just needs some cleanup to make it more potent. I did introduce a few different ideas (along with some pricy suggestions that may not be viable for you at the moment), but hopefully, some of them speak to you.

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Commander Deck Reviews / Re: sacraffice deck

« on: July 31, 2020, 05:17:08 am »

Cool deck! I'm a big fan of sacrifice decks, and Abzan is an excellent color pair for it with a sweet commander pick.

I think adding more Blood Artist type cards would help out. Blood Artist itself is expensive at $7, but Zulaport Cutthroat, Cruel Celebrant, and Falkenrath Noble are all under $1. With things dying and recurring all the time, being able to drain the table can help keep your life total at a healthy level while chipping away at the opponents. Midnight Reaper will draw you cards when non-tokens die, which is a very strong ability. Teysa Karlov will double any death triggers, which can really add up with Butcher of Malakir

Since you want things in the graveyard to be able to recur, I recommend putting in more sacrifice outlets. Viscera Seer and Carrion Feeder are both free sac outlets, which is very important. Ashnod's Altar might be out of budget around $6, but if you can find a cheaper copy I highly recommend getting one.

I also recommend looking at some artifact ramp. You have Sol Ring, but the signets (in this case, Orzhov Signet, Golgari Signet, and Selesnya Signet) are all excellent includes and don't cost much. You can also get the talismans (Talisman of Resilience, Talisman of Hierarchy, and Talisman of Unity) but these can be a couple of dollars depending on which one you look at. At 41 lands, you could replace a few of those with artifacts and find the deck performing quite well.

I think these all would be solid inclusions and don't seem out of budget (minus a few exceptions).

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Deck Reviews / Re: [Pioneer] Eternal Life and Sacrifice

« on: July 11, 2020, 06:34:58 am »

Hello. I really like the Solemnity combos. I've used one before, and it's a blast when you just can't die.

So it's clear that having creatures die and come back is a big part of the deck, so I think we should expand on that idea.

You can add in cards like Zulaport Cutthroat and Cruel Celebrant, which add a higher density of these cards to your deck, thus making them more consistent. You also want more reliable ways to get creatures to die. You have some sacrifice outlets, but they either cost mana or need to tap. If a card has a sacrifice outlet with no cost, like Woe Strider or Cartel Aristocrat, it is a lot easier to get the desired effect to happen. Finally, since cards will be dying and reentering the battlefield a lot, having cards that have additional effects when that happens, such as Yarok's Fenlurker, would be nice.

I would consider removing cards like Bounty Agent and Atzocan Seer, which both don't have great targets for their abilities and replace them with cards that make the main goal of the deck easier to accomplish. Alpha Authority feels like it doesn't do a whole lot there, as does Shadowspear. I think Pious Evangel is just too slow, with cards that do that job better out there.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [Commander] Boros Deck

« on: July 05, 2018, 11:05:49 pm »

Hello.

I've yet to see these two in a deck, so I'm excited to look at your deck. You got a nice skeleton to it. Before we touch on Dragons and Knights, I want to look at a few important areas.

First thing, I suggest adding ramp. Commanders are always likely to get removed, and having the extra mana to pay for the tax (along with more cards per turn) is very helpful. I recommend adding in Sol Ring, Boros Signet, Solemn Simulacrum (can also draw you a card), Mind Stone (more card draw), Knight of the White Orchid (is also a knight) Boros Cluestone (more card draw) Commander's Sphere (more card draw) and Burnished Hart. If you can afford them, Land Tax and Tithe are great inclusions as well.

I would also suggest adding in more interaction. Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile are excellent removal, and can really stop a major threat on the board. Boros Charm can boost your power or protect your entire board if needed. It's very flexible. Return to Dust can get two major threats for one card if you time it right. Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast can interact with Blue spells and can even counter them. Chaos Warp is risky but can get anything on the board. Deflecting Palm can stop some major damage from hitting you and punish the player who caused it. Sunforger is an amazing card. It gives you a nice boost in power but also can let you search your library for a card if you need it (the above cards can all be searched with this). Wrath of God can clear away creatures if you are even in a position where you need to. Vandalblast can set your opponents back quite a bit, be it destroying their artifact ramp or taking out powerful game-ending artifacts. Blasphemous Act can remove the board as well, and becomes easier to cast with more creatures. Finally, Legion's Initiative can buff your creatures, but also save them from a potential board wipe. If you want to be really nasty, you could active it, and while your creatures are in exile, play one of the board wipes I mentioned. Everything else will be gone, but your creatures will come back ready to attack into an open board.

All that said, let's get to the main goal of the deck, knights dragons and soldiers. Hero of Bladehold is a very powerful card that only gets better over time, and with Khorvath out it can swing in immediately. Adriana, Captain of the Guard can buff your other creatures to high levels. Assemble the Legion, while doing nothing when played, will slowly build up your army over time. Elspeth, Sun's Champion can win games on her own.

Other stuff. With all the soldier tokens, Skullclamp can draw you a lot of cards. Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots give haste and protection to your key creatures. Sun Titan is a big creature, but getting stuff back for free is great.

Personally, I'd remove the life gain cards. They aren't as impactful as other cards. You have some good buff and equpitmnet already in.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to cover everything. You are in no way required to change listen to my ideas. Hope I helped, and good luck with your deck!

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Deck Reviews / Re: [Modern] Midrange Managorger

« on: May 17, 2018, 02:46:49 am »

Hi.

So I like the deck theme. And the idea of keeping the cost of each card under $3 for your playgroup. That definitely leads to interesting deck building.

My biggest suggestion is adding more copies of your key cards. You have a lot of single copies in your deck, which ultimately lowers your consistency. I would take out the cards that you think are the least critical while putting in more copies of the cards your deck really values.

The next suggestion is adding in mana dorks. Elvish Mystic and Llanowar Elves are cheap and efficient cards that will allow you to get your other cards out faster.

I'd also like to share some other Hydras you might like. Polukranos, World Eater is powerful and is capable of wiping your opponent's board state. Mistcutter Hydra is easy to cast just by dumping mana and can swing in immediately.

I hope my suggestions have been of some help to you. Good luck with your deck!

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Boros Mean Stuff

« on: May 17, 2018, 02:24:31 am »

I've considered it. If I were to include it, I think I would have to add in a lot of damage spells, which would change the style of the deck to something else. However, it's a good card to consider in future builds.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Boros Mean Stuff

« on: May 16, 2018, 04:44:14 am »

Thanks for the suggestions!

White counterspells would be nice. Lapse of Certainty especially for making them draw the same card again. That's never fun (unless you make someone do it).

The blasts I've completely forgotten about but would be some good utility to have.

Copying spells seems like a great tool to have in this deck for having fun and being annoying. I love it!

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Deck Reviews / [EDH / Commander] Boros Mean Stuff

« on: May 16, 2018, 03:30:55 am »

Boros Bad Stuff

So today I decided to build a Boros EDH deck just to see what I would do with the colors. The basic idea is to screw over opponents and make them want to avoid attacking me.

While I don't own this deck in real life, I tried to keep it reasonably priced on the chance I end up making it, so things like original dual lands, fast mana enablers, and other powerful but expensive cards weren't included.

In addition, I did not spend a lot of time building this deck (on and off over two hours) using cards I'm not as familiar with (Mainly play B and U) and haven't spent time looking at possible hands and statistics and making sure its diverse enough or too thinly spread. So I know things are going to be sloppy here.

I would appreciate any suggestions anyone may have.

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General Magic / Re: Card Shaming

« on: July 08, 2017, 06:30:36 pm »

A card I quite enjoy is Batwing Brume. I typically play against more creature heavy decks, so being able to save myself and chip away at the opponent is nice. In one instance, I had one in my opening hand and drew three in a row (bad shuffling) and used each turn I used one against my friend, who had 5 or so vampires out and just kept swinging. I felt real good about that.

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Deck Reviews / Re: [Modern] White Token Generator (Please help me make this deck better!)

« on: March 16, 2017, 03:22:25 am »

Hello.

So Ynfinity brought up the good point of consistency. Typically, you'll want multiple copies of the key cards in order to draw them more often. Not only that, but the theme needs to be consistent as well. Having and Elf deck, for example, won't benefit much if you also include some Vampires. I think before doing anything else, you need to figure out a theme a little bit more. With that said, I'm going to list off some powerful cards that are typically seen with token decks.

A great card for tokens is Intangible Virtue. A very basic anthem effect, but also very powerful. You will absolutely want this in a token heavy deck. Because this deck is mono White, Honor of the Pure is another nice card to take advantage of. Hero of Bladehold is a strong card in tokens. While 4 mana might be pricey, being able to create tokens with each attack while boosting all of your tokens can be very powerful. You can also take advantage of some Planeswalkers. Elspeth Tirel, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, and Elspeth, Sun's Champion can all be powerful cards.

Other useful cards can be Brave the Elements, which can help you finish out the game, Path to Exile, to remove some threats, and Timely Reinforcements in case you are falling behind.

Now, the most popular token deck in modern is Black White Tokens. Lingering Souls can be fully utilized with the flashback cost. Black gives access to hand disruption, which can take our opponents key cards that can really mess tokens up. Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek are both wonderful cards here. Bitterblossom is a very nice card that gives a constant supply of tokens every turn. We also get another buff card, Zealous Persecution. This can give that extra amount of damage and sometimes kill some of our opponents creatures. Fatal Push is another spell to remove more creatures. Finally, we have access to another Planeswalker. Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, and Sorin, Solemn Visitor, can both be strong cards for tokens.

With all of that, I think the biggest changes need to come from the goal of the deck. With various one offs, there isn't a consistent goal that can be achieved. I suggest looking at the cards you enjoy the most or what you think are the most powerful and building around that. Hope this has been helpful to you. Good luck!