dknight27

I've been toying around with the whole 'deal with the one ring' thing, and the best solution I've had so far is (hilariously) running [[Cast Into the Fire]], which not only deals with the big bad artifact of the day, it doubles as delightful removal against [[Ampred Raptor]] and [[Orcish Bowmasters]]. As a sidenote, I'm toying around with an anti-meta build to take advantage of this and a few other fun overlaps like [[Arc Trail]].

You're probably right about Damn, which makes me wonder if I just need to mainboard some Pyroclasm as well.

I'm still struggling with the discard element. I'm in love with a turn 1 discard disruption, especially when followed by turn 2 High Noon, but they do tend to turn into dead draws in lots of builds. My thinking on this one was that with a High Noon in play, you bottleneck opponent, who has to hold onto multiple solid cards, so when you topdeck a discard, you can trade it off for another potential threat. Not really sure what to do about this long term yet, other than to work in something like [[Blood Fountain]] and build synergy around that.

Vault of the Archangel could probably be swapped in over Hive of the Eye Tyrant or one of the Urborgs. Good potential option against big threats as well as anti-bleeding.

Proliferate isn't actually that effective for the Calendar, as it only gives you +1 counter. You can achieve that by just untapping something normally. The best way to get counters on the Calendar is via doubling effects or by its own ability. You also want to have a way to get to the Calendar as fast as possible, cause without one the deck essentially doesn't do anything. Ideally this would mean running Urza's Saga, but it's very expensive. Alternatively, you could run [[Trinket Mage]], which would also let you run [[Voltaic Key]] so you can reuse Calendar's doubling ability. You'd also want cards like Kiora's Follower (same reason), which not only lets you reuse the Calendar but gives you a tap that doesn't require an attack, putting more counters on the clock. [[Seedborn Muse]] works like a charm in the build, as it will untap all your stuff, giving you another full turn of tap shenanigans, which essentially halves the amount of time you need to build the Calendar to a win.

First cut I'd suggest, you're running too many 'lord' effects (critters that boost your smaller critters). Cut Phabine (too expensive), Kitt Kanto (not enough benefit), and Angelic Observer (3/3 flyer is nice, but doesn't really fit the build and is only conditionally good). That frees up 6 spots.

Second cut I'd suggest is some extraneous spells that either cost too much or don't fit what's going on. Daring Escape (it's just a bad card), Elspeth (doesn't really fit the build), Scepter of Celebration (way too expensive), Stimulus Package (too expensive for the payout (even if it combos with prosperous partnership)). That frees up 9 spots (15 total).


As for what to do with those 15 spots, I am less sure. There really isn't that much going on with citizens yet (that I'm aware of), so other than throwing in a bunch of 1 and 2-drop citizen cards that do SOMETHING ([[Meriadoc Brandybuck]], [[Streetwise Negotiator]], [[Unlucky Witness]]), the only things that come to mind are [[Impact Tremors]], [[Chivalric Alliance]], [[Horn of the Mark]], and [[Domri, Anarch of Bolas]]. But you very much want this to be a critter build, so don't go overboard with the support enchantments, etc.

Just some thoughts, I'm not anywhere near 100% on what I would do with this build. It's both outside my wheelhouse and pulled from a tribe that's not really all that developed yet.

Quite a few changes to the game in the last 10 years. Feel like updating the build? I assume this is budget modern, correct?

Those monsters, I've never seen the Boomerang before. That's just cruel.

I just can't justify Powerblade in my head. If you play it turn 3, you can't activate it till turn 4, so you burn a whole very important turn that ultimately only nets you a vanilla +2/+0. There aren't even that many soldiers that get bonuses for being equipped. So, assuming you're extremely lucky and have a turn 1 and 2 soldier drop, in this scenario, on turn 4 you're swinging for about 5 damage and have fielded 3 cards. IF opponent doesn't have removal and you wasted turn 4's equip, IF you have a critter that won't just die to blocks cause Powerblade doesn't give a toughness boost, etc. I can't justify the creation of this card in my head whatsoever.

Comparing it to Pirate's Cutlass is like being kicked in the mental balls. Cutlass hits the board turn 3 and gets equipped for free, speeding you up a turn and turning a 2/1 or 1/2 pirate into a 4/3 or 3/4 that's got no problem going over the top of whatever opponent has fielded and will almost certainly survive anything but spot removal, creating a (relatively) fast and reliable damage clock. Pair it with something like [[Kitesail Freebooter]] and you got rid of that spot removal that's going to screw up your plan or any of the many 2-drops that have little bonuses that help them score damage or buff things, and you've got a solid win mechanic constructed from a common equipment used in a way that takes advantage of the synergy of its own design and the design of its architype.

Not only is Powerblade terrible (both by comparison and on its own), it's boring and has basically no synergy at all. I've been randomly brainstorming how I would fix this card (I make custom cards, it's quite fun) and I can think of lots of fun ways to keep it a common-strength tribal equip that's still fun and not completely useless.

I don't know, maybe I'm thinking about this too much. There's obviously no logic in the game anymore, we're in a post-apocalyptic game world where shit just blows up and the only thing that makes sense is the need for money.

I think someone liked it. Oh well, a little nostalgia. I do miss the days when magic could try for mechanics like this. I used to run Royal Assassin back in the day.

[[Static Orb]] would be this deck's best friend

You silly goose, [[Pox]] isn't legal in pauper ;).

Maybe throw in a [[Blood Fountain]] for sac targets, move through dead draws, and fetching back the rat and/or the troll that you either ditch for a swamp or nuke. Only thing I could think of.

With only 19 lands, the biggest suggestion I have is cutting down the mana curve as low as possible, especially since you want to be fielding critters and targeting them quickly, as half the deck will be dead draws without the other half, so the longer the game runs, the worse your topdecking options become. I know you're going for the Hero of Iroas reduction angle, but there's only 3 copies that can only reduce 12 targets as is, so that's relatively unreliable.

I'd suggest cutting True Love's Kiss for [[Rip Apart]], which is just about the best removal option this deck can have. Half the cost and doubles as a critter bolt

Cut Unquestioned Authority for [[Defiant Strike]], as you're going to go over the top of opponent's critters anyway thanks to the boosts your critters get, so being able to get the +1 material with a small attack boost is more valuable as you can also do something else that turn, and at instant speed. Cut Fists of Flame for [[Ancestral Anger]] for similar reasons, as it's trading +1/+0 for being able to be played a turn faster/with more development, and you're probably not going to be able to take advantage of the multi-draw effect with so few lands anyway. Since you've cut 8 of the auras, you can drop Hero of Iroas for [[Satyr Hoplite]] to keep the speed cooker going.

Bonds of Faith in the flex spot of pseudo-removal vs aura boost target is interesting. I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea, especially since it would turn your 1/1 into a 4/4 turn 2 and let you start a fast damage clock, assuming your playing against something that's not running much quick removal.

Just some thoughts on how I'd rework the deck for speed. I know the build is older, but it got modified, so I figured I'd chime in with some thoughts.

I've been scratching my head about this one for a few days.

You've got 9 targets with ETB's you'd want to blink, and 19 blink spells, which is a very bad balance. You're actually relatively likely to not see any blink targets in the opening hand, meaning the deck has very little to do until you draw one. The mana curve is also high, so it would help to cut down on some blink spells and up the number of blink targets while keeping them low cost, as you want to cast them turns 1 and 2 then start blinking them for advantage.

The problem is, there really aren't that many good blink targets for white/blue that are 1 and 2-drop or alternate cost. Obviously you could just do [[Solitude]] and [[Subtlety]], but those are boring and expensive. Another staple that you'd want to use, [[Snapcaster Mage]] doesn't fit at all, as it would be redundant to blink him in a build like this most of the time.

The next logical idea is to do draw critters like [[Wall of Omens]] or [[Helpful Hunter]], which nets you some card advantage and can be useful for a few block/blink combos that net you +0 in material with no life lost, which is sort of a pseudo +1 turn. This, of course, becomes much more useful with Panharmonicon and/or Teleportation Circle/Soulherder. The same idea applies to [[Novice Inspector]] and [[Thraben Inspector]], which gets your clock moving turn 1 and later converts unused mana into material.

Other than that, I'm sort of at a loss.

So, I'd recommend cutting out 4x Momentary Blink and 2x Flickerwhisp and 2x Restoration Angel and adding in 4x [[Wall of Omens]] and 4x [[Novice Inspector]]. That should speed you up, gives you 17 targets instead of 9, and still leaves you with more than enough blink spells to get what you want.

Seems like you've got a bit of clashing mechanics at play here. Ashiok, Dream Render exiles the grave, which you need for Vantress Gargoyle, Drown in the Loch, and Into the Story. Tasha's Hidious Laughter does as well, but that spell is so powerful (and you're only running 2) that it shouldn't matter. The other Ashiok effectively mills, but again only through exile, so it won't help your 'needs milled cards' cards, of which there are 10 in the deck. Just potentially a bad balance of exile vs mill vs needs milled cards, is what I'm getting at.

Perhaps [[Jace, the Perfected Mind]] over Ashiok?

Right off the bat, you're going to need may more than 16 lands. I'd suggest cutting most of the 6-drops to accomplish this, as they're going to be bricks sitting in your hand for the entire game as the deck is currently built. Specifically, Captain of the Watch and Darien are underpowered in the build you're going for, as they're too slow to make a difference without any acceleration, which black/white doesn't really have (even with the Banneret). I realize you want to do the deathtouch/first strike thing, or I'd recommend Finality as well for the same reasons. Cutting the four 6-drops should give you room for 20 lands, and I'd recommend running at least 21 (as well as shaving the curve down considerably).

Whip of Erebos is nice, but it costs a lot to play and a lot to activate, and you don't really care about lifegain in a deck that's trying to win with swarm damage, so that's an easy trim.

I'd also advise cutting some of the 3-drops, particularly Bastion of Remembrance, Commisar Severina Raine, and Colonel Autumn in favor of 1-drop soldiers, of which there are many, many fantastic options, such as [[Champion of the Parish]], [[Esper Sentinel]], [[Recruitment Officer]], etc. This will speed up the deck by quite a lot, and you want the damage clock started as fast as possible.

Just some thoughts

The biggest thing that stuck out to me here was that the mana curve is a little too high, and that you'll be playing catchup all game because almost half your deck consists of 3-drops or higher. Since you're running critter swarm, you ideally want to hit the ground running as fast as possible and flood the field with damage clocks that overwhelm opponent before opponent can put his plan in action and/or runs out of material trying to stop you from overwhelming him.

Translation: cut some 3-drops and make them 1 and 2-drops to speed things up.

Best advice I can give is to cut the mana curve WAAAAAAAY down, as most of your deck costs 4 or more.

You've got a few extraneous things going on here that could be trimmed for some better performance. Copy Artifact and Copy Enchantment don't really have any place in this build, as you aren't running many of either type, and neither type fits into your dragon theme. Curiosity isn't necessary and doesn't have great targets, as it's essentially a +0 until you attack with it twice beyond the Niv-shenanigans. Basilisk Collar isn't really worth the spot, as you don't need big dragons to have deathtouch, and lifelink is nice with big dragons, but you'll almost certainly win the game with damage making the life gain aspect moot. Instead, I'd up the land count to 21 and check out the following:

[[Mind Stone]]- helps you accelerate into your dragons and isn't a dead draw when you don't need the mana
[[Orb of Dragonkind]]- same as above
[[Thorn of Amethyst]]- basically won't affect you at all and will cripple a good portion of opposing decks (if you build the rest of the deck around critters, which is one way to do it)
[[Sarkhan, Fireblood]]- mana accel and good other effects on the cheap
[[Breath Weapon]]- instant speed nuke that doesn't affect you

You could also look into some of the cheaper dragons that are still quite good, such as:
[[Moonveil Regent]]
[[Thunderbreak Regent]]
[[Verix Bladewing]]

Since you're running blue, it would also be quite helpful to add in some tactics cards to help move through the deck more quickly, such as:

[[Ponder]]
[[Preordain]]
[[Brainstorm]]


Just some thoughts.

[[Umara Raptor]] is a better version of Avian Changeling.

Azorius Charm and Bustersquall are pretty underpowered cards. Bustersquall is just a worse version of something like [[Assassin Gauntlet]], [[Sleep]], or [[Tempest Caller]], as you're using it to essentially keep the damage clock moving as quickly as possible. The Charm can give you a life refill, but this deck doesn't need it. If you need a life refill to survive, you've already lost, as you're trying to out tempo/swarm opponent. If you want it for it's removal, it does admittedly buy you a tempo for even material, but doesn't negate the threat, so all you're doing is a weaker version of the 'tap all critters' effect you want. It would be better to run [[On Thin Ice]] and switch to snow-basics, which is cheaper and permanent.

Your curve is also pretty low, so you don't need to run 23 lands. I'd suggest cutting the Sejiri Refuge alltogether (it costs you a tempo) and running 2 copies of [[Ally Encampment]] with the 4 Glacial Fortresses and the rest snow-basics (for On Thin Ice), for a total of 21 lands, which frees up 2 spots. I'd consider running [[Expedition Envoy]], as it's cheap, strong, triggers everything, and is a turn 1 play that starts your damage clock strong.

Just some suggestions.

To be clear, I'm not arguing that there is ani-power creep. I'm joking that I somehow found a card that is anti-power creep in a game that is absolutely plagued by power creep to the point that its actively driving away its players due to oversaturation of meta mechanics and complete lack of creativity as the same decks and cards dominate formats left and right.

I compared Powerblade to Fire and Ice for the express purpose of pointing out that they cost the same and yet could not be more different, demonstrating just how terrible Powerblade ultimately is. If you want it compared to other commons for this express purpose (demonstrating that 3-drop equipments with equip 2 are better), compare it to Pirate's Cutlass, which has actual tribal synergy and comes with an additional +0/+1 kicker.

As for the need to design new cards angle, they've got a nearly unlimited ability to either tweak existing card ideas or come up with new ones based on the new mechanics they now seem to pop out every other set. I don't see this as an excuse for making 'bonesplitter but triple worse' the way there are a whole slew of '[[Ancestral Recall]] but worse because of X' cards, as one is an unimportant equipment and the other is THE game of magic compressed into a single (silly) card.

I essentially covered the draft pack angle when I talked about making bad cards for lower formats. I personally find this a repulsive business model, as this exact thing is what tore down yugioh, but even in the idea of drafting straight up soldier decks, Powerblade isn't anything better than mediocre, as you're paying 4 mana for a vanilla +2/+0.

But that's me. I'm more than unwilling to cut WOTC any slack these days, as they've dug their own graves.

The best advice I can give with this one is to cut the curve down. Right now you've got too many 3-drops, so you'll be slow in the opening and be playing catchup all game. I'd suggest cutting the following:

Thought Collapse, as it's too slow and will cause you to have to choose between development and countering (and isn't that good a payoff)

Zulaoport Duelist, as it's just too weak and the payoff is mininmal



Here are some cheaper cards to consider in replacement:

[[Thought Scour]]
[[Visions of Beyond]]

Not trying to insult, asking because my suggestions would differ greatly depending on the legality and budget. Nothing wrong with building a budget casual deck.