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This deck won me my first fnm, so this deserves, in my opinion, tournament quality now :D Well, I was going to go bant, but then i realized that it'd be kind of hard, and not really worth while, seeing how blue would only provide the single jtms (that's all I have), mana leaks, and preordains. So I decided to go kind of weenie-aggro for this one. Let's see how this works, shall we?
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Wow. Looks very competitive. I'd like to see a decent sideboard for this deck. My only main suggestion would be to somehow try and fit in the extra 2 Stoneforge Mystic and maybe the Basilisk Collar + Mortarpod (even in the sideboard) package. Seems pretty good and I think this deck could do well with it. Nest Invader is actually a pretty great card, too. I could see trying that out a bit. Otherwise, well done.:)
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I could ditch 1 squad hawk and one bop for the extra 2 stoneforge? and I can never figure out the sideboard package until I actually play the deck. but it'll include kor firewalker, oust, naturalise, revoke existance, maybe obstinate baloth, and celestial purge. and of course b collar. but thank you, glad you enjoy it (:
I think personally you probably don't need both Naturalize and Revoke Existance if you do construct a sideboard. Right now in my UG deck I'm actually only using Acidic Slime. While not nearly as cheap, can be just as if not more effective. It can block and still destroy Caw-Blade's Equipment. Plus, it's still easy enough to drop by turn 3 with a fetchland off of a Cobra.
this is true. acidic slime would make a great side card. ^.^ Also some condemns, in the case of blightsteel you can never have too much removal, lol
Haha, sure thing.:)
Edna, how does that sideboard look?
Hey, sorry I've been away for a few days. I really like this deck and the sideboard looks good. The only card I'm honestly not sold on is the Revoke. I mean, it is probably your only true answer to a Blightsteel Colossus, but I think those are relatively uncommon. Plus, this deck looks like it could put quite a bit of early pressure on the opponent before they can even get a Colossus out and attacking anyways. Honestly not too sure what I would replace it with, though. I do agree with raggedjoe that DoJ may be better in the sideboard for this deck - especially if you cannot aquire the Vengevines before you try this out without proxies. I could see it being pretty sick to follow up a DoJ with 2 Squad Hawks the next turn to bring back 2-3 hasty plants. Haha. I totally do understand the maindeck slots for them, though. Guess I'm just not sure, but think you should stay open about moving them around a bit. Oh, and I'm not totally sold on the Celestial Purge either. Great against Vampires, but not super against much else that couldn't be better solved somehow.
Thanks! I'm glad you like the deck, it's become a favorite of mine as well! first off, proxies are only for a short time, trading my single jace for the remaining ones. and i've been thinking about the revokes, and I may find a better place for them. I mean, the exile is good, but a journey to nowhere could do the same. hell, even an oust would do the same. and come to think of that, oust would be a much better fit. seeing how it's so versatile. like I said, doj is getting a lot of talk. I may remove a day for the single student, like raggedjoe said, and move the other to the side. I'd still feel safe with one maindecked though. who knows, I could completely remove them for the student and the 4rth crusader. but I KNOW i'll always sideboard them in. :P I mean, they're good against ramp, control, vampires, weenies, I find doj to be an amazing card. but I'm always open to suggestions. :D celestial purge I run in my boros sideboard, and honestly I didn't use it once. so yeah, they'll go as well. thanks a lot for your help, (:
I completely missed that oust was already sideboarded, haha. well, this opens a lot of new possibilities :D
I would up to two FnF, with zero BnM. FnF is just soooo much better. A singleton Student of Warfare would be good to fetch via Fauna, giving you something to do with the extra mana after untapping. I don't see when you would want DoJ, unless your getting creamed? This deck is about board position.
Day of judgment is a card that I find everybody is talking about these days. Some people like it, while it seems as if others completely disagree with it. I like having them, because with all the caw-go, ramp, and aggro that's out there, it can just sweep the board and really start things off fresh. But it's a possible sideboard option. I'm always open to suggestion! I like having the body and mind there, just in case. I find the extra body for a chump works swell, and ditching 10 cards is always nice, too. So I think I'll have to disagree with you there D: Student of warfare isn't that bad a suggestion, actually. What would you suggest I change around for it?
Well, of those three DoJ only is good vs aggro right? I mean, 4 mana to kill a hawk? or a Cobra? I think BnM is good in some circumstances (Valakut mainly), but over all i prefer the discard and untap lands. I think I would drop 1 J2N for the Student. I think that Vengevine and Squad Hawk might be getting a little greedy in this deck, Hawk being the better of the two right now I think. You may want to try 4 Mirran, they are just amazing. As in, better than KotR in my bant deck! Have you concidered Condemn instead of J2N for spot removal?
I don't use the day to kill a sole hawk, I use it to wipe the board of maybe 4 hawks. even 2 and a stoneforge is good enough for me. using my boros last fnm, i found no matter what the game was, I was siding in doj. so i had might as well keep it mained. i played one green white blue squad hawk variant, one squad hawk, one blue black white squad variant, and a red green aggro/ramp. i aalways sided in day, either to kill a swarm of hawks, or a bunch of titans/ mana excels. I may try for the 4rth cusuader, because you're absolutely right about that, they are amazing. student of warfare could be nice, but with the shaman im always seeking a vengevine, then discard the vengevine to repeat the process. then bring like 3 back all at once. i have considered condemn for spot removal, but I figure if I drew a condemn, or a journey, i'd be able to play them both essentially at the same time. if i drew a j2n, i'd play it when I draw it. but if I drew condemn, i'd play it on their turn. to me the timing didn't really matter. but I've yet to actually get all 4 vengevines yet, so i've just proxied and barely tested.
moved the dojs to the sideboard, not sure how i feel about that, or the single student, lol. but how would you guys say that looks?
Haha, I like the changes a fair amount. However, I feel like if you are really more comfortable with the DoJ in the main deck or will plan to side them in all the time, leave them in. I personally would probably not want to play them in the main deck, but that is my preference. I see your argument for them in the deck, and if that's what is more comfortable for you, that is what will lead to better results in the end as well. If you read articles from the pros ever, time and time again you will see them say that if you aren't playing the deck they think seems best, just play what you are comfortable with as it will be what you know best and will lead to you playing better. Playing with the "Best" deck doesn't mean you'll win a match if you don't know how to play it correctly or are comfortable with how to play it and sideboard it. So, once again, keep the Days in if that's preferable for you and your meta but keep the option of sideboard in mind as well. Hope that makes a bit of sense without ranting too much.:/
yeah, I may drop the student and the fourth crusader for 2 days. never know, though. I may like this build. It's not that I dislike the 4rth crusader and the sole student, but I hate 1-ofs, :P and also as amazing as the crusader is, if I really need him i have the shamans to seek him out. I really appreciate the both of your help, and once i get those vines and a few rares here and there, i'll report back to you on how this does :D
Sounds like a plan! Good luck!
hey ethan thanks alot for the suggestions. on my goblin deck i was trying to do something diff but it honostly wasnt working out.. after the changes u suggested it runs VERY nice! :) I know i always ask u to look at my decks but i made 1 more yesterday and would really like ur opinion plz! http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=156793 this is it. Also how do you get so many people to look at YOUR decks?! i wanna know the secret lol. i only ever get like maybe 2-3 ppl to post suggestions. thanks for all the help you have done in the past
Hey man, glad the changes worked for you! and yeah no problem I'll take a look! but I found the best way to get people to look at your decks, is to look at other people's decks. offer the best advice you can, and usually in return they'll check out yours. after you comment a few times, people will get a general idea of who you are, and the more known you are, the more people will check your decks. basically just get out there, everyone on this site wants to help, and I do the best I can ^.^
You do not need 4 shaman. Period. 3 max. Aside from that, I really like this.
Maybe I could drop a shaman for a 2nd student? and thanks man, glad you like the deck (:
I think I disagree with this here. The Shaman is honestly one of those cards that will almost never be bad to draw in multiples because the first can trade the others for something better! The exception here of course is if they drop a Linvala, but it's still at least a cheaper beater/blocker. Plus, it works just too well with Vengevine to not put in 4 I think.
well seeing how I haven't bought the 4rth yet, I'll just play test and see what i like better (:
Cool deck Ethan. Good mana curve/split. I love Gideon in this deck, although I wish you could fit in Ajani somewhere. The +1/+1 and Vigilance paired up with Gideon would just be a sick sick combo and give some protection to your small framed creatures while also gaining you some life. He even makes BoP and Squad Hawks start to look scary as the game goes on. Alongside Garruk, this deck would just pwn. Student of Warfare should def be at least a 3 of if you plan on running it.. it's amazing to pop him on the 1st turn and then attack for 3 the next turn if you have no other play but to level him.. but since this isn't a mono white deck, you could probably drop the 1 for, say .. Ajani?!
Thanks man, I'm glad you like it. :D The students are going to stay at 2, because although they are good and a 1 drop at that, if I added a 3rd I'd have to take out something else. :/ And while Ajani is good in a lot of decks, but I feel he'd only heighten the mana curve in this one. Thanks for the suggestions, I really appreciate them, and I'm glad you like the deck. :D
The other problem with the Ajani is that as I see it, it's not a creature and in a deck with 4 Vengevines and Fauna Shamans, you probably want all the creatures you can get. You can't always rely on Squadron Hawks...
Congrats on yet another Top Decks, btw!
why thank you, Edna (:
nice deck! my friend used to run a deck very similar to this, cept his came before besieged. I prolly like this deck so much also because vengevine is probably my favorite green card:p either way! would you mind checking my roulette of ruin deck out and helping with it? i think you'll like it considering it includes U/B lol
Thanks man, yeah Vengevine is a BEAST :P and ouuu, u/b :P sure man I'll take a look ^.^
its actually B/U/W lol thanks!
commented (:
thanks! i saw, i made some changes! what do you think?
hey sorry to kinda spam your deck like this, but my mana base for my roulette deck has actually been the hardest part :-/
I'm a sad, sad panda over trading my Gideons. I miss them so much. :/ Damn nice deck, though. I'll give you that.
gideons are SO good. <3 but thanks a lot man, glad you like it.
no elspeth...she makes guys and helps in alot of ways on gaining life and another way of board wipe if you need it. think about it check out my deck i want to try something new for the grand prix trial coming up http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=153392 any help i would love
elspeth... eh. who needs her when you have a bunch of low cost creatures, gideon to protect yourself, and garruk to make tokens? :P elspeth, in my opinions, is one of the worst planeswalkers
Man, I'd love to run this deck and use gideon just to almost make your guys unblockable for a turn, too. They have to tap all their guys and you swing through to kill them... But anyways, the old Elspeth was sooo awesome! The new one is actually pretty good at stopping a quick rush from decks like vampires and works pretty well with Venser, actually (3 1/1s every turn). In this deck, though, I like your call Ethan on not adding Elspeth. Just don't need it with all your dudes.
Gideon is my favorite planeswalker. I just think he's control, but so aggressive!! Elspeth is good sometimes, but in this deck I think she's too slow. :/ And thanks, (:
i'd have to say venser is my favorite planeswalker :) when he pops.... its insane:) i loves is so much! gideon is my second favorite of the walkers though followed closely by ajani vengeant, whos final ability is also awesome. i like the new elspeth only because of her use with venser lol. anyway, would you mind giving my casper slide deck a look??
Gideon is amazing (will not argue), but if your running that many low cost creatures, in an agro deck, I'd think that if you actually needed him, wouldn't you be in dire straights during the game anyways? xD Maybe run Thrun main for Gideon? And Venser is amazing as well! =P http://www.mtgvault.com/ViewDeck.aspx?DeckID=158916 Venser deck I made for kicks, runs pretty good, and does well against other decks in standard.
Although this deck may be fast, any deck can be slowed down, and gideon provides a good late-game threat. I use thrun in the control matchups, besides that, I'm not really a fan
Ah yes, I see your point.
Have you tested this at all against Tezz? I feel like Creeping Corrosion would benefit you a lot more than hurt in that case. Maybe sideboard?
Tezz doesn't really scare me. Blightsteel can be dealt away with oust, and this deck is fairly aggressive.
Hey man, congratulations on front page again! This is a really neat deck, and it's actually a pretty good aggro. My only suggestions are -1 Garruk +1 Thrun, and -1 Stundent +1 GSZ.
Why would you want GSZ in this deck? Almost all the best cards to search are white it seems, to me. I guess Fauna Shaman isn't, but other than that...
Hey man, thanks! :D But yeah, i think gsz is pretty like.. pointless. i only ever want vengevines, and usually 2 is enough to win the game. i found that 2 cobras are enough, because late game I never want one, and I draw them fairly frequently while just running 2. so -1 cobra, +1 shaman. thrun is good, but I find he's more a sideboard card.
*facepalm* I thought GSZ worked like Worldly Tutor. Also, Thrun is amaaaazing dude. He wins soooo many games, he's the closest we have to 'Goyf right now. Also, 2 cobras is how I always felt it should be done, if you weren't doing straight up ramp.
I wishh, gsz would be soo good if it wasn't color restricted. And I may remove garruk for thruns, but I'm not quite sure.
Thrun is like the stag, it's the middle finger with legs, pointed directly towards the crotch of every faerie deck. Perhaps I'm biased, but I find he wins to many games for green in non-eternal formats to leave him as a sideboard card.
-2 Student +1 fauna +1 lotus cobra Fauna is great cause u can run one ofs of stuff like say stoneforge cause u can simply get it the trick is 1 stoneforge 1 skyfisher u can grab um with fauna bounce mystic with skyfisher if u ever need to reuse her also u should run 1-2 Acidic slime or artifact destruction mainboard and because u have fauna u can just get it if u have a 1 of there is SO much Caw-Blade in the format it is the top deck and it is vicious against every match up except for boros and rdw really
So, garruk seems pretty irrelevant in this deck, so I'm thinking about going -2 garruk, -1 bop, +1 gideon, +2 thrun maindeck
suggestions would be swell, but I'm not really sure about losing the bop.
Really? Seems to me like Garruk would be pretty good in this deck. Even for just the Overrun ability seems worth the inclusion. However, if it hasn't been working out, then I guess it makes sense to cut it. 3 Gideon seems like it may almost be a bit much for a deck like this, although quite possibly not. It's hard to say without testing, but I wouldn't be surprised if having 3 in the deck leads to too many games where he just doesn't help enough and you draw him in multiples... Thrun seems good, but Vengevine is just as good or better against most control decks anyways, so are you sure you need another 4 drop there in the main? All of the changes seem perfectly valid and justified, but I personally feel like it could be better just as it is.
Well I've only playtested against my friend's green red deck, which is fast as hell, and garruk never really helps against him. I mainly use garruk for his -1, to provide beast tokens, but thinking on a larger scale, a control deck could just mana leak garruk. but they CANT mana leak thrun, or condemn him. he may stay a sideboard card, because I mean in those matchups I could just side him in, but I'm not sure. and I loveee gideon, I find I want to be drawing him more.
Alright, I guess that makes sense. Gideon is great, for sure but I'm personally a huge fan of Garruk. I think he's way underrated as far as planeswalkers go. Typically I'd consider him only second to JtMS and maybe Gideon (depending on the type of deck) for standard. I think he's miles above Koth, Elspeth T, and Venser for sure. Even Jace Beleren I feel is far worse if not for the fact that it "counters" JtMS. But that is my opinion, for sure. I've had lots of good games with him and not nearly as many with Gideon or Thrun (Gideon just doesn't fit into UG decks very well;) and Thrun is fairly new and still needs a bit more testing).
Quick suggestion. Drop journey to nowhere for quest for renewal. It would help you considerably.
Iunno man, quest seems too cute. Journey is a solid removal, but quests are feeble. thanks for the suggestion though :3
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Hey Ethan! would you mind taking a look at my newest G/W vines of revenge deck? i've always loved vengevine and this is my first attempt at a deck with him! thanks! :)
commented!
thanks mate you sir are a stud! i changed it up a little :) tell me what you think!
Hey Ethan. So, I just decided to build a random GW Aura deck and want to try it out for FNM. It can get some sick draws but could use some work. Any suggestions?
green white has quickly developed into my favorite color combination. so far, this deck has stomped out everyone it's played against. >:D so yeah, I'll check that right now! (: i've been waiting for a new deck from you!
Thanks Ethan! Commented back, btw. I liked your idea on DoJ.:)
I really am loving the look of this deck. My only complaints honestly (and ones I'm not sure how to fix exactly) is that I feel like there should be a Sword of Feast and Famine in the main deck as well just as an additional target for the Mystic. I don't honestly think it's a great sword to sideboard in against much, but can be very good against a lot of stuff. Hope that makes sense... Like, it doesn't actually make many matchups all that much better, but it does still do quite well against a variety. For this reason I'd like to see it find it's way into the main deck somehow. For other mostly optional ideas, I think it would be great if you could find a spot for a 1-of Thrun in the main deck although this is entirely not necessary, but potentially quite helpful. I also wish there could be more Crusaders in the main deck but again, I'm not sure what to cut. The decklist is honestly just quite solid overall. One complaint I do have about the main deck is the Khalni Gardens. I don't see this deck needing those chump blockers all that much and feel they could be much better as additional dual lands, Tectonic Edge, Green Fetches, or even just Forests really. I feel like they're mostly just going to slow your deck down is all. If you do switch those to say dual lands, then it may make sense to then also switch one of the white fetches into a green one like Misty Rainforest. Lotus Cobra seems marginal in this deck with only 2 fetches. Always good, but never at it's best. Possible cut? Idk. I haven't played this deck out a ton like you have, so it's your call but is an option in my opinion. There are some ideas to toy with a bit. Let me know if I was way off on any of it.:) Good luck with your upcoming tournament!!:)
I'm glad you like the deck, it's a personal favorite :D and me and my friend were suggesting just go to 61 cards... might not be the norm, but it's only an extra card that I can seek out. I can't see it severely hurting my odds in the long run either. ballsy, maybe. good? I think so. i'd add the sword of f&f mained and then have a 3rd crusader sideboarded. and on the land base, yeah, khalni gardens will probably go. and then if I get the cash, hello misty rainforests :D i can probably trade for 2 this friday. and then my lotus cobras will gain value. i also may ditch garruk. he's good, but not exactly needed in the deck. and dual lands are sure to come. thanks for your suggestions, :D
Yeah, actually a deck by Gerry T. just recently one a pretty big tournament (it was Caw-Blade splashing black) and it ran 61 cards so it definitely is not the worst idea. In fact, I kinda like the idea. :) I could see Garruk going, since you don't have as much to ramp into. I personally love it in my UG ramp deck, but then again... It's a ramp deck. Haha. But yeah, I think I like the changes. Good luck! P.S. What's your friend plan to run?
damnit Gerry, stealing our ideas. lol just joking. and yeah, garruk will probably go. for 2 more cobras, maybe? my friend who's been playing a lot longer than me insists I have 4, because turn 3 baneslayers are sick, haha. and on that note, he's running his boros deck. i dont have the list, but it's kind of a cross between old school and new battle cry boros.
Oh, ok. Neat. I still hate red in general but Boros seems like a pretty good deck, regardless (I only hate it because I always seem to lose to it with the decks I enjoy playing most of the time and never can seem to win when I use it - lose lose. Ugh). And yeah, Baneslayers are pretty amazing from turn 5 and past that; before turn 5, it's just an insane beating! However, you are only playing 1 Baneslayer so I'm not sure 4 Cobra's is really worth it in this deck honestly. I feel like Garruk could be a bit stronger and more versatile overall. Although, the Cobra now days may just be great for drawing out removal early. Not sure if it's going to be too much more help past that. :/ I mean, your curve (including sideboard) tops out with 3 total 5 drops and nothing bigger. I'd almost feel that cutting Cobra may not be the worst idea. Idk, though. Just a thought.
yeah, iunno. boros to me IS good, but i think this deck is a lot faster with a hell of a lot stronger late game. it's funny though, because the deck this deck has the most problems with (online, that is, so.. kinda different, w.e) is anything with emeria the sky ruin and sun titan. :/ but I may just go for 3 lotus cobras, because they are good, and have the extra sword maindeck. I find i always side garruk out anyways. so i'll try that at tomorrow's fnm :D
Seems like you already have pretty good mana. Could try one more Tectonic Edge to stop Emeria... Seems like a reasonable call though. Hope tomorrow goes well for you! Oh, and there's no doubt in my mind that Boros IS good. It's just not the right deck for me. Idk what it is. I just can't get on board with red. Haha. I love a lightning bolt splashed or something and Goblins have forever been a favorite deck of mine, but outside of that... Idk. Good cards, just not my style generally. I love card draw and card advantage too much (which Boros can do quite well and is why I wouldn't mind Boros nearly as much). Plus, decks like my UG ramp deck are really solid against most control variants but it kinda gets thrashed by Boros and red decks, which is where some of the hate comes from. Haha. Definitely wouldn't blame someone else for playing those decks though.
Just realized that today already IS Friday... So, Good Luck tonight! haha.
hahaha, thanks! and yeah, boros is hit and miss for a lot of people. It really is one of the hardest decks to play. but on the mana subject, yeah my mana is good, but I want to go off turn 3, you know? and if that doesn't work, abuse the late game :P
Hmm. I'm not sure I like the Lead the Stampede in this deck. It's awesome in something like elves with 35+ creatures but with 28 (less than half your deck), you'll on average get about 2 creatures with much more chance of 0-1 and much less chance of 4-5. Idk. Maybe add back 1 or even both Mystics for it (still nice card advantage) or more Crusaders (Idk why but I'm pretty much in love with them right now, white or black). Acidic Slime could be nice too. Honestly, in terms of gamechanging potential, a turn 3 Slime on the play is sometimes just as good or better than Baneslayer if you can cripple someones mana base or something (keeping them off one of their colors or halting their defenses). Plus, it can kill artifacts which is always pretty handy I think. What other changes have you made? I'm sure I'm missing something here (besides the extra Cobras for Garruk and the fetches to go with them).
lead the stampede i find is actually really good in this deck. with the mana accel. i find I play my hands out rather quickly, and in an aggro deck you really need to hit your creatures asap. i took out acidic slime, because i found it heightened the curve too much. even in the sideboard. for artifact removal we have 4 targets. 1 viridan corrupter main, 1 in the board and 2 leonin relic warder. they dont heighten the curve as much and fulfil the purpous of destruction. besides that, the lotus cobras are the only real change, haha. and the leonins in the sideboard, pretty. much. (:
I see. I'm not so sure about the Leonins honestly. I mean, they're 2 mana but you can't even for sure have those 2 colored mana on turn 2 and later the extra cost isn't a big deal on something like Slime/Corrupter. I feel like the downside of letting their artifacts come back after it dies is just too unappealing to me. I'd honestly prefer even something like Sylvok Replica or Kor Sanctifiers. Besides, how often do you need to kill an artifact/enchantment on turns 1 and 2? (Quest decks are too rare and whatnot to count). The rest I like, though.:)
hm... sylvok replica is a nice suggestion. I may try that! thanks (:
So, just thought of something when looking through potential sideboard cards for my deck. Linvala, Keeper of Silence! I played against an Elf deck last FNM and if I'd have been able to cast one of these (especially on turn 3 thanks to some form of ramp) I almost could not have lost the game. Their elves don't tap for mana, their Fauna Shamans quit working, and they can no longer activate the "overrun" effect of their Ezuri. It's also just good against opposing Fauna Shaman decks and to some degree, even Caw-Blade as they can't cheat in the swords which uses more mana and it can block their sworded creatures all day. Just a thought. A one-of seems pretty decent anyways - sideboard or main.
HOW DID I FORGET LINVALA! I originally had her in the sideboard, but somehow forgot about her... thanks :D besides that, do you like the changes?
Haha. Umm, it looks really solid all around. I really like it. To make room for the Linvala though, I would perhaps cut a Thrun, the Last Troll. Maybe even both for a 2nd Linvala (probably don't need it though) or just for another good sideboard card to help. Maybe a Celestial Purge or something. But anyways, I love Thrun a bunch, but at least how my meta is shaping up, he really just doesn't do much anymore. Back when UB control was the main deck to play he was great. Now that control is all about Caw-Blade, he gets significanly worse and control is really the matchup Thrun is best for! So yeah, wouldn't change much else. As always, best of luck with it.:)
Oh, and I love seeing the Garruk in the deck.:) Hope he works as well for you as he does for me.
I think I'll cut a day of judgement. I only ever side in 1. and against caw blade, thrun down more than you think : O batterskull is going in this deck though, as SOON as it drops. 2, actually. -2 mirran crusaer, +2 batterskull -2 lead the stampede, -2 journey, +3 beast within, + 1 stoneforge. and sword of war and peace will find a nice sideboard spot. (:
Hmm. I like the changes overall, although I think the Crusader is just sick with a sword equipped. Also, as good as Batterskull is, I can't imagine too often when you'd need/want 2 in the deck and would maybe just swap the new Sword in instead for the ultimate Stoneforge Package and protection from EVERY color and thus EVERY deck! Overall though, this deck just keeps getting better.:) Best of luck with it as always.
Ok, jw... what do you side Beast Within in against? Seems like a fine card, though I'm just not sure what it'd be worth sideboarding it for... I think I'd maybe almost prefer another Spellskite instead. Then you get potentially 10 cards plus a swamp that you could sideboard in against Splinter Twin. Other notable observations... Why the one-of Inkmoth Nexus? Seems a bit random for this deck. Also, what happened to Gideon? I still think the card is sick and against Splinter Twin (Assuming he lands) you can just +2 him until you need him to attack for a final turn for lethal damage. (+2ing him will ensure you don't get comboed out against and you can follow up that next turn and hopefully attack back for lethal (against a smart opponent though isn't likely I admit) or have an extra turn to draw into a way to stop the combo.
I side beast within mainly against decks that rely on planeswalkers. Big red, tezzeret control, now even some bant are running karn. Any deck that has threats I can't deal with by other means, I side the 4th in. Gideon was good, and I love gideon. he's my favorite planeswalker. But I found through hours and hours of play testing, that I rarely use him. This deck has so many options, that usually gideon isn't the best choice to drop. Being aggressive is the best way to go about this deck (usually) and Gideon, although a sick back up plan, was just too much (curve wise) for the deck. BSA is good because I can tutor her up when I need her, but I can't tutor gideon. And also, yes gideon is good to stop the combo, IF you have him down. But now I have 5 immediate outs mainboard to stop the combo, as well. And I have 5 more board. I use a 1-of inkmoth as chump blocker incase I'm in a tough situation. Even though i play aggro, this deck sometimes is forced into the control player's slot. and even just equipping a sword to inkmoth to get the sword's benefit is worth it. After seeing so many caw-blade decks use it against me, I decided to try it out, and it's not a bad idea. Block a hawk equipped with a sword of w/p with a 1/1 colorless flier is always nice. And saves me 8+ damage. spellskites are really good. and originally I had 3, and then changed it to 2 to add in the beast within. You may be right, that beast within may very well be another spellskite, but after play testing a bit, i'll know for sure. Thanks edna :D
quest for the holy relic and argentum armor, or is that turning it too much into a vengequest deck?
too quest. you can put allll that time equipping your dudes, and then I can just nature's claim it, or beast within it, or viridian corrupter is, and your gameplan is half screwed. I like this build a lot more than any quest I've played with. :/
I agree with Ethan. While it can can be an effective deck, it relies too much on the strategy of "questing" while this deck can just use Stoneforge Mystic for Batterskull instead... The deck just has soo much more versatility without the Quest which is part of what makes it so good. It can come from so many angles - kind of like Caw-Blade.
edna hit the nail right on the head; versatility is what makes this deck so strong. i can play both the aggro player and as the control player. but on that note, it makes this deck equally hard to play. with so many options it's hard knowing which one's the right one. but you judge accordingly, lol