Fable of Wolf and Owl Challenge of the Week

I really don't know what I'm doing ha - with that in mind, and because I don't do control or blue easily. I decided to just avoid it all together and build something much crappier - NOW INTRODUCING SHAMAN WOLVES! ta daa (chirp chirp - crickets) yeah that's what I think too, but it's different.

4 x Elvish Visionary
4 x Wolf-Skull Shaman
4 x Troll Ascetic
3 x Vexing Shusher

4 x Snakeform
3 x Loxodon Warhammer
2 x Blanchwood Armor
4 x Leaf-Crowned
2 x Masked Admirers
2 x Garruk Wildspeaker
2 x Wren's Run Packmaster
2 x Fable of Wolf and Owl

24 forests

So obviously I didn't use most of the creatures I posted, but that was the more obvious pure creature build of G/U - they entered my mind as potential better alternatives but seems like you can have fun with a Wolf-skull earlier than the Fable Wolf. Use the kinship mechanic with the rest of the shamans for synergy. Elvish Visionary early to a snake form trade gives 2 card advantage, followed by Wolf-Skull who hopefully will help maintain creature advantage, turn 3-4 troll that hangs out looking for a loxodon or blanchwood. then 4-5 turn Leaf-crown getting free shamans from the library directly into play. Hopefully a Wren pack master to pop off a few token wolves with death touch to maintain some level of board control until Garruk can blow big. Fable is just there late game to maintain creature advantage against wrath or the like. and Masked is there to maintain late game card advantage by playing a creature at plus 2 mana and getting mask back and a card draw (essentially 2 cards for 2 mana) (also good with Wren's who needs to champion an elf)

Over all not very competitive but has some funny elements of draw for playing creature, play a creature for nothing, and get a creature and card draw just for playing a creature.

BW Control (featuring tokens for the win)

4x Thoughtseize
4x Bitterblossom
4x Terror
4x Nantuko Husk
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Spectral Procession
3x Ajani Goldmane
3x Gravepact
3x Marsh Flitter
3x Knight Captain of Eos
4x Fetid Heath
4x Caves of Koilos
4x Windbrisk Heights
6x Plains
6x Swamp

sideboard
4x Paladin en-Vec
4x Fulminator Mage
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Wrath of God

Is this a better deck than my BRG tokens I just posted? I have a pretty good chance of getting all of these cards by Friday. This looks pretty good to me...but is it better?

Obviously I am not running the optimal build, which I would include +4 mutavault -2 swamp -2 plains, +3 elspeth -3 Knight-Captain of Eos, +4 Stillmoon Cavalier -4 Paladin en-Vec. I just posted a deck list I have a high probability of being able to actually play.

Fable of Wolf and Owl/Skullmuncher/control splashing combo

4x Ponder
4x Familiar's Ruse
4x Cancel
4x Snakeform
4x Selkie Hedge Mage
4x Cryptic Command
3x Scattering Stroke
3x Skullmuncher
4x Mulldrifter
2x Fable of Wolf and Owl
4x Yavimaya Coast
4x Flooded Grove
10xIsland
6x Forest

An ideal game would be land first four turns (card draw with ponder/mulldrifter) then turn four scattering stroke your opponent, win the clash, then play fable of wolf and owl turn five with your extra mana. Then use your creature advantage to control the board, and use of counterspells to win the game. Skullmuncher (a card I've been wanting to find a use for) isn't great, but he is ok for this deck. True, you'd probably be better off with the guy you tap and draw three cards with, or even the u/g */* guy who is big depending on the cards in your hand...but when you get to sac crappy tokens and draw counterspells to win the game with, while protecting your hopefully 5/5 or so skullmuncher, hooray.

Challenge of the Week (a touch late)

Lets see what happens when qwe are forced to build a deck around:

Fable of Wolf and Owl

sorry about the lateness, holidays make me busy sometimes.

BRG Tokens

Looks like I'll be able to FNM next friday. My tokens are my most complete deck, so I just need to make them playable. Here's what I have.

4x Bitterblossom
4x Jund Charm
4x Nantuko Husk
4x Sprouting Thrinax
4x Kitchen Finks
3x Goblin Assault
4x Marsh Flitter
2x Sarkhan Vol
3x Grave Pact
3x Caldera Hellion

That looks pretty good to me. I am missing one card, and I would like it to be a third Sarkhan Vol. I may have to wait till Friday night to see what I can trade for to find out what I would add, but Sarkhan Vol is optimal, with Hellion, Assault, then Grave Pact, in that order.

4x Savage Lands
1x Vivid Grove
1x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Crag
3x Karplusan Forest
2x Llanowar Wastes
3x Sulfurous Springs
3x Graven Cairns
1x Fire-lit Thicket
1x Twilight Mire
2x Reflecting Pools

Missing two cards to make a sixty card deck, ideally both reflecting pools. I hope I can find someone to let me borrow two reflecting pools on Friday. As for my other lands, I'd like to -1 Karplusan Forest, -1 Sulfurous Springs, +1 Fire-lit Thicket, +1 Twilight Mire. I haven't played my deck enough to know if that is the ideal land situation or not, so I'll solitaire it a few times hopefully to see if I'm getting the lands I need.

Sideboard:

4x Mogg Fanatic
4x Cloudthresher
4x Fulminator Mage
3x Flame Javelin

I think that is probably ok. My maindeck should destroy most aggro. Jund Charm hates reveillark and is a board sweeper. Firespout wrapped up in a dude. My sideboard helps against weanie (fanatic), fairy (fanatic + cloudthresher), control (javelin), 3 4 or 5 color (fulminator). I think if anyone is playing the planeswalker parade stuff, that might be hard to beat. I am very weak to lifegain and enchantments.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Maybe I can find a time to do some playtesting with you guys this week, too, if you want.

(by the way, drok, your cards are 2x sarkhan vol, 2x llanowar wastes, 1x Karplusan Forest, 1x twilight mire. Is that all? The reflecting pools I think you said were mine, and I think I remember trading for a fire-lit thicket at some point. Also I have 4x chameleon collosus, 4x primal command, and 1x foily murmuring bosk of yours. And 4x fulminator mage.

4 x Gilder Bairn
4 x Goldmeadow Harrier
4 x Rampant Growth
4 x Rings of Brighthearth
3 x Naya Battlemage
4 x Sarkhan Vol
3 x Ajani Vengeant
2 x Chandra Nalaar
4 x Oblivion Ring

2 x commune with nature
2 x Angel's song

Lands 24

2 x Reflecting Pool
2 x Fire Thicket
2 x Rugged Prairie
4 x Jungle Shrine
5 x plains
6 x forest
3 x mountain

Not sure on side board yet. Early game play harriers or battlemage to stall damage, rampant growth into mana early for Sarkhan Vol preferrably, at which point mid game you will have played Gilder and Rings of Bright, this is when you tap Gilder by either attacking looking for one use out of him (costs one lest mana), or pay one tap him using harrier or Battlemage, pay the 3 for Gilder plus his untap cost, double the counters on Sarkhan which should have been out at least 1 turn by this point with 5 counters on him - his counters now go to 10, use Sarkans -6 ability remove six at which point you pay 2 into Rings and now you get 10 4/4 flying dragons into play by turn 6 ( or 5 if you don't plan on reusing gilder to do it again next turn). This assumes you've drawn perfectly, but more than likely you'll stall into ajani and if they haven't seen your deck yet you use Gilder by himself by attacking pump ajani above the 7 and use his ability on the turn after you played him. which could happen turn 5 to 6 and you reset your opponents land giving you the time you need to build any other part of the combo over again using Commune to refind Gilders and etc.

What do you guys think workable?

Planeswalker Toolbox - 5 color

4x Rampant Growth
3x Firespout
3x Sprouting Thirnax
4x Esper Charm
3x Jace Beleren
4x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Ajani Vengeant
3x Wrath of God
4x Mulldrifter
3x Chandra Nalaar


Sideboard
4x Bant Charm
4x Jund Charm
4x Cryptic Command
1x Wrath
1x Firespout
1x Sprouting Thirnax

I only need Blue Red Green White for my planeswalkers, but I'm splashing black for Jund Charm and Sprouting Thirnax.
I am running the charms heavily because I can, and it fits the toolbox approach. Esper Charm is maindeck for the draw, but it also gets rid of a pesky bitterblossom. Jund Charm is in the board ready to come in for wrath if pyroclasm will do the job, but it also is reveillark hate. Bant Charm is ready to come in if I need to take out my board sweepers and add cyrptic command (it counters target instant).
Scrying gets me my land drops sooner, and helps my heavy heavy curve out a touch, also. A turn two rampant growth ensures a turn three planeswalker or sweeper, whatever the situation calls for.
I decided to go with sprouting thirnax over bitterblossom because it makes a bunch of immediate blockers or a big threat with garruk, just like bitterblossom. Unlike bitterblossom, its not a dead card late game.
Jace is almost always going to get counters removed because I will probably not care about his ultimate ability--but that's the great thing about this deck. If I needed to deck my opponent, my deck has the capability of doing so. That's why its a toolbox, after all.
Ajani and Garruk and Chandra are my big threats and my big win conditions.

Are all Planes the Place to Be?

Challenge Deck Version:
3 x Elspeth
3 x Ajani Goldmane
2 x Ajani Vengeant
4 x Wrath

2 x Holy Day

4 x Angel's Song
2 x Srakhan

1 x Jace Beleren

1 x Garruk Warspeaker

1 x Liliana Vess
1 x Chandra Nalaar
4 x Painter's Servant

4 x Scuttlemutt

4 x Rings of Brighthearth

Lands 24

4 x Savage Lands (green, red, black)
4 x Wooded Bastion (white/Green)

4 x Rugged Prairie (white/red)

12 x Plains

Non-Challenge Version:

3 x Elspeth
3 x Ajani Goldmane
3 x Ajani Vengeant
4 x Wrath

3 x Holy Day
4 x Angel's Song'
3 x Story Circle
3 x Srakhan
2 x Chandra Nalaar
4 x Rings of Brighthearth
4 x Painters Servant

Lands 24
4 x Jungle Shrine (red, green, white)
3 x Wooded Bastion (white/Green)
3 x Rugged Prairie (white/red)
14 x Plains

So I'm not going to really explaining the concept for the Challenge build because I can't come up with justifiable reasons to keep or be using some of the planeswalkers when it feels wrong to me to put them in - the non-challenge build is all about stall with angel song, holy day, story circle - get the mana for any planeswalker and a Rings of Brighthearth into play and effectively double all your planeswalker abilities for 2 mana each. 2 chump blockers a turn, 4 life a turn, prevent 2 from untapping or better yet do 6 damage and gain 6 life, or my personal favorites instant kill 20 damage with chandra, or ten 4/4 flying dragons

Painters servant is just for story circle or if I dont' get the right land drops early game, and it is a small blocker if necessary.

Well let me know you guys thoughts on it, Sorry I feel like I really fell short on the whole 5 color thing.

Big questions, Planeswalkers are Permanents in Play right?

So if I'm reading the comprehensive rules list right, Planeswalkers are put into the in play permanents section, meaning anything that reads 'target nonland permanent' is able to target them directly, yes? Awesome.

I feel a big revamp to this Planeswalker thing, I wasn't thinking clearly it was so late last night, I've found something humorous that I can't resist messing with.

How would you like to double the counters on your Planeswalker every turn, it's possible, takes 2 combo cards and a minimum 4 mana - I'll let you see if one of you finds what I'm talking about before I post it.

Was I supposed to make a Galepowder deck? oops...

3 x Knight-Captain Eos - 4w
4 x Galepowder Mage - 3w
2 x Meadowboon - 2ww
3 x Elspeth, Knight-Errant - 2ww
4 x Mirrorweave - 2ww/uu

2x Spectral Procession - www/222
3 x Field Marshall -1ww
4 x Gwyllion Hedge Mage - 2w/b
4 x Wisen Cenn - ww
3 x BitterBlossom -1b
4 x Soul Warden - w


24 Lands - 10 Swamp - 14 Plains

Ok so once I got to really digging at what Galepowder can do, it's a good deal tougher than I thought, cause I kept coming back to half the decks we've built on here and finding so many holes in trying to use creature dependant syngery - so I sort of didn't. This is more Mirrorweave, with Galepowder support?

Concept early game, soul warden into token producer blossom or Hedge Mage - get the creature count up and drop mirrorweave.

If you make it to mid-game, get gale in play use him couple times if the sky is clear removing one of the creature producers like Hedge Mage, OR if you have a decent number of tokens in play say 7 and a mirrorweave in hand you copy your Galepowder to swing basically unblocked in for the instant kill if they are at 20.

Late game you should have the knight in play, with a Powder mage, you attack remove your knight and get tokens to sacrifice to prevent you taking damage - looking to token produce until you find another mirrorweave (likely by now you also have ELspeth in play and are just popping out life and tokens like there's no tomorrow, right into the indestructible mode)

Other in deck mirrorweave combos, field marshall, wisen cenn, galepowder, soul warden.

Again no idea what to do with the sideboard cause my confidence level in the deck really isn't there to care to build one.

I bow to each of your Magicy goodness and will now look at Sean's one up Plainswalker challenge.

Planeswalker Toolbox

So I haven't actually seen a decklist for one of these, but I have heard that there are decks loaded full of planeswalkers, and then throw in cards like esper charm, wrath of god, cryptic command, mulldrifter and bitterblossom. I'm talking five color decks here with garruk, chandra, jace, ajani vengent, sarkhan vol and elsperth. What do you guys think of these monstrosities? Seems like they'd be weak to control (too slow) and weanie aggro (again, too slow) but could destroy aggro-control or mid-range aggro. I don't know for sure, but when I think about it it still seems a bit weak. But imagine having three planeswalkers and a bitterblossom down. Seems kinda hard to lose.

The idea is instead of consistency, it goes for versatility. It would have to be piloted by an experienced magic player who is familiar with the meta-game.

If anyone wants to try a decklist I'd like to see it. My challenge of the week with galepowder was just hinting at the three color planeswalker toolbox, but what would five color look like? Can it win?

Challenge of the Week: Galepowder Mage

4x Bitterblossom
4x Tidehollow Sculler
4x Esper Charm
4x Kitchen Finks
2x Jace Beleren
4x Mulldrifter
4x Cryptic Command
2x Ajani Goldmane
2x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2x Liliana Vess
3x Galepowder Mage
25 lands

This deck is meant to confuse your opponents into submission. Early game is control and draw and life-gain. Late game is dependent on what you draw, but the basic idea is to get down a planeswalker (protected by bitterblossom) and next turn galepowder mage. It is kind of a tool-box approach; you can either go aggro or control at that point. Giving the galepowder mage and your other fliers vigilance and putting +1/+1 counters on them (with Ajani Goldmane) is pretty pimp. Drawing an extra card for four turns is pretty hot (with Jace). Bitterblossom + Elspeth, Knight Errant equal win. Liliana Vess + Esper Charm can make your opponent discard three cards.

Its kind of a novelty approach, but it might work enough to be amusing.

Galepowder Mage

Looks like a wincon to me.

4x Galepowder Mage
4x Wrath of God
4x Oblivion Ring
4x Condemn
4x Unmake
4x Mulldrifter
4x Cryptic Command
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Bant Charm

42 Land

Galepowder Mage Challenge of the Week

So, guess it's my week then - I really like synergy decks but I'm never great with building them, but there are so many great possibilities for this one to be a versitile card I'm sure you all will find some funny things to use it for - if it might not fall as the true combocentric card.

Like Sean I'm giving a couple spoiler hints below, if you don't want to be influenced don't scroll past the card image

IN WHITE

Cloudgoat Ranger

Reveillark

Knight-Captain of Eos

Meadowboon

Soul Warden

Gwyllion Hedge-Mage

IN BLACK

Ravenous Rat

Highway Robberz

IN GREEN

Elvish Visionary

Masked Admirers

Mycoloth

Orchard Warden

I'm certain you guys have better choices but these are what I saw that would be funny.

Tezzeret, the Seeker

3x Tezzeret the Seeker
2x Sharum the Hegemon
4x Executioners Capsule ????
4x Tidehollow Sculler
4x Etherium Astrolabe
4x Cryptic Command
4x Mind Stone
4x Razormane Masticore
4x Mulldrifter
4x Agony Warp

25x ubw land set.

lots of draw, lots of accel, lots of control. Sharum to recur Tezzeret after searching for Sharum.

When Oozing is a good thing?

4x Prickly Boggart - B ... 1/1 fear
4x Oona's Prowler - 1B ... 3/1 flying
4x Inkfanthom Infiltrator - BB/UU ... 2/1 unblockable
4x Auntie's Snitch - 2B ... 3/1 can't block, 1b prowl, when goblin or rogue deals combat damage you may return auntie to hand
4x Bitterblossom - 1b ... lose 1 life at upkeep put 1/1 flying fairy rogue into play

4x GIant Growth - g ... target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn
4x Might of Oaks - 3G ... target creature gets +7/+7 until end of turn
4x Ooze Garden - 1G ... 1G, sacrifice non-ooze, put x/x green ooze into play, where x is creature's power. only when sorcery.
3x Cloak & Dagger - 2 ... whenever rogue into play may attach, +2/0 & shroud
3x Loxodon Warhammer - 3 ... pay 3, equip +3/0 lifelink.

2x terramorphic expanse
8x forest
12x swamps

Ok so basic combo.
bitterblossom makes rogues to equip to cloak, that are sacrificed to ooze to make permanent 3/3 on the turn they come into play (since they can't attack anyhow, might as well make them a decent blocker.) Then reuse this combo over and over, flooding the board with 3/3's.

Or, use the blossom and small threats to stall for ooze garden Might of Oaks, to make yourself a potential 10/10 out of a prowler or auntie. for 6-7 mana.

Or early game turn a prowler or auntie into a 6/6 with giant growth and ooze garden. (nicely the auntie can just keep coming back for more like the blossom)

so with 5 mana you can permanently make 3/3's out of an auntie every turn, and if you have a cloak in play you are making 5/5's every turn for 5.

Still I have concerns, that I have no idea what to side board, except a bunch of removal or board control that this just doesn't have. it is all stall for big agro. and recycling aunties or little fairies.

Challenge of the Week: Ooze Garden

When I did the pre-release for Shards of Alara one of my rares was a two-cost green enchantment that made creatures. Nifty, I thought, as I began to read it. Then I noticed the bit about sorcery speed. Suck, I thought, and immediately put it into the stack of non-playable cards.

But it doesn't have to be that way, right? I mean, surely there has to be a way to make a terrible card slightly less terrible, or possibly even playable. And so this week's new challenge awaits.

Decklist spoiler below the card image, so if you want to think about it before you see anything, don't scroll down!!



















Ooze Garden. Good name. Good picture. Enchantments are good. So how do we get the most benefit from it?

Here is my idea, and it comes from a deck we have already discussed.

Recurring Ooze
3x Condemn
3x Ooze Garden
4x Safehold Elite
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Murderous Redcap
4x Heartmender
4x Wrath of God
2x Ajani Goldmane
3x Reveillark
4x Mulldrifter
25 lands

Pretty straight forward. The deck is designed to get persist creatures back into play and then get the -1/-1 counters off of them, with Heartmender, or Ajani Goldmane. Your opponent has seventeen 1/1 fairy tokens and you just have a murderous redcap and a safehold elite? No problem! Just Wrath of God and then watch as their fairies hit the yard and yours bounce back. What about if you have a reveillark and a finks in play? Finks returns, reveillark targets heartmender and mulldrifter. Your opponent loses all his or her creatures, you get two cards, two life, and three creatures.

And oh yeah, what about Ooze Garden?
Turn one plains.
Turn two forest. Play Safehold Elite.
Turn three swing with elite, drop a swamp, play a kitchen finks.
Turn four swing with the team, drop a land and a heartmender.
Turn five swing with the team, then play ooze garden and sac a finks.
Turn six you have a 2/2 elf, a 3/3 ooze, a 3/2 finks, a 2/2 elemental. Swing with them, make some trades, play a wrath or evoke a reveillark, keep creature advantage.

You can use reveillark to get back a heartmender. You can use Ajani to remove counters or create a diversion from your creatures so they have time to smash face. You control with condemn, redcap and wrath.

Wispmare is good for the board, and although it doesn't fit the theme, I would have two or three Cloud Threshers. I wanted to add Pyrrhic Revival to the mix, but couldn't quite fit it in there, but with condemn as removal, and unmake or bekon apparition, you could conceivably add it maindeck, or from the board.

Having four colors (use black or red for redcap, blue from mulldrifter) will hurt my deck, cause I'll probably be playing lands that come into play tapped, slowing things down. Which is fine, as long as I'm holding a wrath, I can afford to have things slow, and it might work out in my favor vs. aggro. Vs. combo or control, or any variation of those, slow is bad. In other words, this is far from optimal.

Alright, I'm interested in seeing everyone's decklists. Surely you can improve on my deck, or come up with a whole new deal.

Tezzeret the Seeker

3x Tezzeret the Seeker
1x Grim Poppet
1x Sharding Sphinx
1x Deathrender
1x Legacy Weapon
2x Rings of Brighthearth
4x Bottle Gnomes
4x Puppet Conjurer
4x Composite Golem
4x Scarecrone
4x Scuttlemutt
2x Etherium Astrolabe
4x Cryptic Command
25 lands

The idea is the get out Rings and abuse the activated ability of Puppet Conjurer, Tezzeret, Scarecrone (the second ability) and Legacy Weapon. I am unclear if you can replicate the activated abilities of Grim Poppet, Bottle Gnomes and Etherium Astrolab, and Scarecrone's first ability, i.e. remove one -1/-1 counter, trigger rings, pay two, add two -1/-1 counters with different targets; or sac. bottle gnomes, pay two, gain six life.


Regardless, you want to live long enough to get a lot of artifact creatures into play, and then swing for lots.

This deck needs early game real bad.

I tried to go with reaper king, but I can not figure out how to make a bunch of scarecrows (even utilizing good changelings) not utterly suck.

TEZZERET THE SEEKER CHALLENGE

4x Puppet Conjurer 1b ... 1/2, u+tap: put 0/1 art. creature into play

4x Glaze Fiend 1b ... 0/1 flying when art comes into play glaze gets +2/+2

2x Etherium Sculpter 1u ... 1/2 art. spells cost 1 less

2x Howling mine 2 ... draw 1 during upkeep

3x Remove Soul 1u ... counter creature spell

1x Cancel 1uu ... counter spell

3x Master of Etherium 2u ... x/x where x is number of artifacts you control other art. creatures get +1/+1

4x Rings of Brighthearth 3 ... whenever you pay activated ability, if it isn't a mana ability, pay 2 and you copy that ability, choosing new targets(or same).

2x Door of Destinies 4 ... choose creature type, when you play spall of that type, put charge counter on door, creatures of that type get +1/+1 per charge counter.

3x March of the Machines 3u ... each noncreature artifact is artifact creature w/power and toughness equal to converted mana cost.

2x Cryptic Command 1uuu ... choose 2 tap all creature opp. controls, counter spell, bounce perm., draw card.

3x Tezzeret the Seeker 3uu ... +1 untap 2 artifacts, -x put artifact of x into play, -5 all artifacts become 5/5 creatures until end of turn

2x Sharding Sphinx 4uu ... when art creature deals combat damage to opp. put 1/1 flying art. creature into play.

1x Platinum Angel 7 ... 4/4 flying you can't loose they can't win.

16 art. creatures.
3 plainswalker
6 instants
11 artifacts
(36) spells

10 black
14 blue
(24) lands

So my basic idea is stall with a puppet conjurer supported rings of birghthearth costing 3 to put 2 homunculus into play each turn by turn 4, followed by glaze fiend as a 4/5 threat, with Master of Etherium coming between turn 3-5 as either 4/4 or 5/5 growing from there. These are all just stalling long enough to get the mana for Tezzeret to draw and play Sharding Sphinx with hopefully a door of destiny in play an the puppet combo. so each homunculus that falls makes each thopter bigger and vice versa.

This is really a late game deck though. maybe drok has some better thoughts.

Weekly Challenge

How about this one guys:

Tezzeret, the Seeker

What can we make using this planeswalker.

F'N'M'(irrorweave) Goats

3x Condemn
4x Wizened Cenn
2x Mirror Entity
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Spectral Procession
4x Springjack Shepherd
2x Mirrorweave
3x Ajani Goldmane
4x Wrath of God
4x Mulldrifter
3x Reveillark
14xPlains
4x Adarkar Wastes
3x Mystic Gate
2x Springjack Pasture

Sideboard
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Runed Halo
4x Unmake
4x Wispmare


Mulldrifter, Wizend Cenn, Mirror Entity, Springjack Shepherd + Reveillark equals I have a bunch of creatures or card advantage after a Wrath of God.

Two Turn to Mist will help my comes into play/leaves play to get the most out of Kitchen Finks, Reveillark, Springjack Shepherd and Mulldrifter. Also will obviously keep my guys alive if my opponent uses target removal. I think two is enough though.

Ajani Goldmane helps out with the goat tokens (two white mana symbols = two more goats), makes my 0/1 goats 1/2 and 2/3 and 3/4 goats and gives me infinite life. Or it means my opponent deals five damage to him instead of to me. I thought about just two, but he's good enough that I want him every game, and if I have a second one in hand to play after my opponent kills off the first one, happy days.

Mirrorweave is the reliable win. My spectral procession tokens, or my goats, all become wizened cenn. I can also make them copies of my opponents big threat.

Mirror Entity is the back-up plan.

Really, Really Dumb.dec

4x Angel's Herald
4x Slippery Bogle
4x Zealous Guardian
4x Elvish Hexhunter
4x Mulldrifter
1x Empyrial Archangel

4x Cryptic Command
4x Broken Ambitions
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Hindering Light

24 lands

I just want a turn 3 5/8 flying shroud pariah dude

Esper pt two

4x Bitterblossom
4x Shriekmaw
4x Esper Charm
4x Bottle Gnomes
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Wrath of God
3x Makeshift Mannequin
4x Mulldrifter
4x Reveillark
4x Reflecting Pool
4x Shimmering Grotto
4x Arcane Sanctum
4x Adakar Waste
2x Mystic Gate
2x Caves of Koilos
2x Underground River

Sideboard
4x Snakeform
4x Thoughtseize
4x Wispmare
3x Fulminator Mage

Thoughts? Comments?

Blinking Goats

4x Figure of Destiny
4x Turn to Mist
3x Runed Halo
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Mirror Entity
4x Oblivion Ring
3x Springjack Shepherd
4x Wrath of God
4x Mulldrifter
3x Reveillark
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Mystic Gate
13x Plains
2x Springjack Pasture

sideboard
4x Wispmare
3x Oversoul of Dusk
3x Unmake
3x Condemn
2x Story Circle


If I play goats FNM it might look something like this. Last night I was laying out cards trying to come up with an FNM goat deck, and I ended up looking at Mulldrifter and Reveillark. A few minutes later I didn't have enough cards with white mana symbols to warrant playing Springjack Shepherd. And I had to run either Ajani Goldmane or Mirror Entity as the win. (I took out wizened cenn because I have to combo her with the entity, and I don't like the chances of a bulky combo like that actually getting pulled off more than one out of three games.) Since I went reveillark, i took out finks in favor of bottle gnomes, which come recur. Which removed even more white mana symbols. So my goat deck slowly evolved into the esper deck I posted yesterday. I like that deck a lot, but I may not have the lands to play it, if Drok doesn't have them to let me borrow. So this will be my alternate.

As David pointed out (and I realized last night), turn to mist works well with reveillark and other comes into play/leave play creatures. Imagine a reveillark getting blinked at the end of my opponents turn, targeting a shepherd and a mirror entity. I get two or three goats and get my flier back. On my turn they'll have to figure out a way to stop five or more big creatures.

I still don't think it will be as consistent as the esper deck, but unlike the esper deck, it has a clear victory condition (my esper build pretty much relies on staying alive long enough for bitterblossom to kill off my opponenet). Either deck could be fun, so I'll just see what I can get the cards for and play it.

Any more thoughts or suggestions about either of these decks will be appreciated. I have a big paper I have to work on all night and tomorrow, so I won't have much chance to mess around with any of this until tomorrow afternoon.

My DireUndercurrents // Original Challenger's Ideas

4x Inkfantom Infiltrator b/u b/u. 2/1 unblockable.
2x Sygg River Cutthroat b/u b/u 1/3 if opponent dealt 3 or more damage you may draw card.
4x Bitterblossom
4x Oona's Blackguard 1b 1/1 flying put 1/1 counter on rogue, when rogue deals damage player discards a card.

3x Stinkdrinker Bandit 3b 1/1 prowl for 1b unblocked rogues get +2/1

4x Morsel Theft 2bb prowl for 1b opponent loses 3 life you gain 3 life and draw a card

2x howling mine each players upkeep draws another card
3x Dire Undercurrents 3bb when u creature comes play target player draws card, b creature target player discards card.
3x Oona, Queen of the Fae 3u/b u/b u/b 5/5 fly x b/u look top x of a color put 1/1 b/u into play per card.
2x underworld dreams, player draws they take 1.
2x megrim, player discards they take 2.
3x cloak and dagger 2 artifact auto equip to rogues, +2/0 & shroud.

24 lands

Side board undefined.

So basic concept, rogues for stalling threats and potential discard from oona's counters, and maybe damage from megrim. But late game with Dire Undercurrents, Megrim, Underworld Dreams, and Oona Queen in play you are looking at 3 damage per blue/black fairie into play.
Cloak and dagger gaurds the Queen if you can get her into play and they don't have an instant kill in hand.

Some of the card counts need to be adjusted I'm certain, but this was what I was thinking when I first saw the dire undercurrent.

FNM this week

I think I can play FNM this Friday. Not 100%, but maybe. If so, I might need some help rounding up some cards. I'm not 100% sure on my decklist, either. Kinda depends on what I can get my hands on. I'm closest to having my mono white built. I need:


2x Runed Halo
3x Springjack Shepherd
3x Kitchen Finks
2x Unmake
3x Oversoul of Dusk

Dire Undercurrents // Weekly Challenge

I decided to either go mono-black discard, or mono-blue draw. Oona, Queen of the Fae is probably the best card to combo with Dire Undercurrents, but I figured I'd try something more original. I have made a hundred discard decks, but I rarely build a mono blue deck. I figured I'd build something with decent control with a couple of win conditions. All of my win conditions require living beyond turn eight, and getting lots of lands down. Then I play a boomerang and bounce about four things, or I play summon the school and copy it a couple times, or if I get good cards from my grimoire thief then I make my opponent draw a bunch of cards and control the game. If I am playing vs especially bad deck, I might be able to actually deck my opponent.

3x Cursecatcher
4x Grimoire Thief
3x Sygg, River Guide
4x Boomerang
4x Sigil Tracer
4x Drowner of Secrets
4x Sage's Dousing
3x Summon the School
4x Cryptic Command
3x Dire Undercurrents
16xIslands
4x Mystic Gate
4x Wanderwine Hub

Sideboard:
4x Wake Thrasher
4x Merrow Reejerey
4x Wrath of God
3x Oblivion Ring

I CHALLENGE THEE TO A DUELELLL.

So I thought maybe I'd be the one to challenge you guys this week.

Dire Undercurrents 3b/u, b/u.

I've got an idea what I would do with it, and I'm sure you guys will too, but curious what you can come up with.

BWU Manipulation

4x Ponder
4x Agony Warp
4x Bitterblossom
4x Esper Charm
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Makeshift Mannequin
4x Cryptic Command
4x Mulldrifter
3x Reveillark
4x Reflecting Pool
4x Adarkar Wastes
2x Caves of Koilos
3x Underground River
4x Arcane Sanctum
2x Mystic Gate
2x Sunken Ruins
4x Shimmering Grotto

Sideboard
4x Sower of Temptation
4x Snakeform
4x Wispmare
3x Fulminator Mage


This deck is just about control and card advantage. Ponder and Mulldrifter for drawing, bitterblossom for tokens, reveillark and mannequin for recursion. The win is to control the board until I can get enough creatures to nullify my opponents threats and start swinging with my reveillarks. I imagine, more often than not, bitterblossom enables the win by either taking away life from my opponent, or enabling me to get into good board position by chump blocks or what not.

I really want to combo Empyrial Archangel with Makeshift Mannequin, but I feel like I would need to run a discard outlet in order to do that, and those cards would make my deck less good. Take out Reveillark for a Razormane Masticore makes this deck much worse. I had originally included Oona's Prowler, but that was solely for a way for me to get my angel in the graveyard. I think that combo won't quite fit into this decklist. And to be consistent, it would need something like Corpse Connoisseur, which I also don't have room for and would make this deck worse. Getting the Angel at instant speed for a black and three colorless is powerful, but I think it makes the deck overall less good. Am I right?

Bitterblossom: Bitterblossom is my dependable win condition. While I'm messing around with getting my mulldrifters and kitchen finks and reveillarks from play to my graveyard and back, my 1/1 fairy rogue army is (hopefully) dutifully whittling away my opponents life. Which make me think I should add three or four Scion of Oona or Oona's Blackguard. Hitting my opponent with free 2/2 fliers that can't be targeted or make them discard seems like a good way to steal the game. But, like the angel combo, does it just detract from the overall consisetency and synergy of the cards? I think a mannequin or reveillark getting back a scion of oona could change the game (probably more than oona's blackguard)...but then, where do I make the cut? Finks/Bottle Gnomes? Ponder? Agony Warp?

Shimmering Grotto: Obviously, this deck has 25 lands, which is a many. Secondly, it has four Reflecting Pools, which like Shimmering Grotto as much as it likes Vivid lands. Thirdly, Shimmering Grotto doesn't come into play tapped. Fourthly, it is a common, and therefore much easier to acquire than, say, Primal Beyond. I think it will work out well.

Bottle Gnomes vs Kitchen Finks: Bottle Gnomes is a 1/3 that I can sac for three life, and costs three colorless. Kitchen finks is a 3/2 that nets me a total of four life, has the versatility of a persist creature, and costs double white plus colorless. Kitchen Finks is unquestionably the better card. But then consider that Reveillark returns bottle gnomes, not Finks. True, with four Mannequins I can achieve recursion with finks, but not with the reveillark. So which is better for this deck? I am still leaning with Kitchen Finks because it is the "better" card, but I am not sure it is best for this deck. I am not sure how often I would be able to play a turn three finks. Double white may be not that common. A bottle gnome can always come down every turn three, though.

Cryptic Command vs Wrath: This build seems to be fairly aggressive for a control build. Only twelve cards have a way to get rid of creatures (agony warp, esper charm, cryptic command); the former, only -3/-3, the latter two, only temporarily. The more I look at it, the more it looks like I need wrath. The second argument for wrath is I own them already, and I own zero Cryptic Commands. If I ever did play this deck (and I think BWU would be very fun to play), I might be required to play wrath over command out of necessity. But let's just think about which card is better for this deck. Obviously Command is very good, but do I have enough removal without Wrath of God? I am thinking not.

Vs big creatures/Chameleon Collosus: snakeform comes in, agony warp goes out. Perhaps snakeform should be maindeck?

Sower of Temptation and Fulminator Mage: They are good on their own, with Reveillark and Mannequin they are very good. But perhaps more control options, such as Oblivion Ring, Condemn, or Unmake should be filling these sideboard slots? I don't want to limit my discussion of the best deck with what is my likely end result, but I don't own the fulminator mages or sowers, and I do have the unmakes, o-rings, condemns, story circle, etc.

What do you all think about wrath/command, finks/bottle gnomes, adding snakeform for agony warp, adding a Scion of Oona for...what? Is shimmering grotto the miracle common land mana fixer I think it could be? Is four of it too many? Sideboard creatures vs. sorceries/instants/enchantments that say control?