Tovolar the howlpack alpha

[KingKia]

Hi everybody,
here is my primer for a tribal that I have been waiting for for a long time. the strategy for a gruul werewolf deck is actually quite simple, but i tried to highlight various cards that are important for the victory and to explain the mechanics again clearly.

I look forward to your suggestions and constructive criticism

https://deckstats.net/decks/118014/2218583-tovolar-dire-overlord-the-howl#show_description

[Morganator 2.0]

I have a few questions and suggestions. I've also sent you a private message with all the spelling mistakes you'll need to correct.

It would be a good idea to reorder the cards in the inclusions and exclusions sections into alphabetical order. That way it will be easy for a reader to find a particular card.

It seems like this deck's card advantage is entirely dependent on Tovolar being on the battlefield. What do you do if he keeps getting removed, and how well can this deck recover from a boardwipe?

In the single card discussion you bring up Return to Nature twice.

You explained why you're not using Beast Whisperer, but doesn't Guardian Project have the same downside you mentioned?

In the "Strengths" section you mention that it's good against combo decks, but in the "Weaknesses" section you say it isn't. Which one is it?

You mention a couple of times that other players are hesitant to attack you because your creatures are bigger. But if you attack, then you won't have any blockers. What strategy do you adopt against a token swarm deck that has no problem throwing expendable creatures at you?

In that same vein, how do you protect against a voltron deck or a Gruul stompy deck where their creatures are much stronger than yours?

[KingKia]

I have a few questions and suggestions. I've also sent you a private message with all the spelling mistakes you'll need to correct.

Hi Morganator! Thank you for your support, I updated the primer as you suggested.

It would be a good idea to reorder the cards in the inclusions and exclusions sections into alphabetical order. That way it will be easy for a reader to find a particular card.

Done.

It seems like this deck's card advantage is entirely dependent on Tovolar being on the battlefield. What do you do if he keeps getting removed, and how well can this deck recover from a boardwipe?

It is true, that this deck is entirely dependent on Tovolar, since werewolf tribal isn't really strong and letting them transform into werewolf in edh is quite impossible without tovolar.
Cards like heroic intervention, bear umbra, full moon's rise and yavimaya hollow will help to protect our board against board wipes.
In addition tovolar only costs 3 and can be recasted easily and he is a draw engine on his own.

It is also important to play smart and don't put all the creatures on the battlefield if no protection or haste is available.

A lot of mass removal are hard to handle for any creature based aggro deck but with haste and good ramp it is possible to come back quick after a mass removal.

I'm thinking to play wrap in vigor instead of cindervines, since I got a new removal with boseiju, who endures all. What do you think?

In the single card discussion you bring up Return to Nature twice.

Yeah cuz I'm dumg :-D

You explained why you're not using Beast Whisperer, but doesn't Guardian Project have the same downside you mentioned?

True. The reason is, that the cast trigger doesn't synergize with in search of greatness or howlpack piper and it is also on a creature body which will be easier to remove than an enchantment.
In addition Guardian project is {3}(g) while beast whisperer is {2}(g)(g).

In the "Strengths" section you mention that it's good against combo decks, but in the "Weaknesses" section you say it isn't. Which one is it?

It is really hard to say. Actually if there is 1 combo deck on the table you can just overrun it. But in a heavy combo enviroment, you can't kill all of them fast enough. And against high controll decks with many mass removal it can be a really really hard game as well.
I changed the primer.

You mention a couple of times that other players are hesitant to attack you because your creatures are bigger. But if you attack, then you won't have any blockers. What strategy do you adopt against a token swarm deck that has no problem throwing expendable creatures at you?

In that same vein, how do you protect against a voltron deck or a Gruul stompy deck where their creatures are much stronger than yours?

In my experience, attacking with the deck is almost equivalent to creature removal. Players block to a) prevent dmg and/or b) reduce draw. So I weigh up whether it makes sense to simply go to the opponent who has nothing on the field. Or whether I attack the opponent with many blockers to clear up the field or just cause immense damage. Aggro decks tend to be very simple, as attacking is often the only option. at the same time you always have to think about what you want to achieve with your attack.
Due to the kessig effect of Tovolar and some buffs like Berserkers' Onslaught/Unnatural Growth/Kruin Outlaw // Terror of Kruin Pass, the players are usually also more careful in the block, since a no block can often end in defeat.
In addition, after the attack I'll draw some cards and can play some blockers if needed.

Voltron decks have a huge bottleneck, which is that they trying to kill with their commander. Most of time it is just enough to kill him or block him.
Other gruul stompy decks are just lacking of that insane draw engine and they not that fast and have way more problems to come back after a mass removal. For those it is goot to attack with some suprise mechanics like Howlpack Resurgence or Moonmist.
Moonmist will only prevent their dmg and can transform some of the werwolfs for more unexpected dmg.
Moonmist can also help to prevent dmg if someone attacks me and I can kill the creatures from the enemy.