So, what we have here is my ingenious method for completely wrecking the meta of my FNM tournaments and hopefully getting to the hotpage! There are anywhere from 8-10 people who play on a regular basis, and among the top decks that consistently get into the top 3, there are at least two aggro decks, one of which is a goblin deck and another that is a warrior/prowess deck. The last is a hearty control deck.
So, what I've gone and done is built a deck that I believe should be able to defeat all three of my biggest enemies.
How do I do this? Well, in my maindeck I am running mostly warriors that will utilize dash and double strike, this should allow me to overpower the other warrior deck that uses only prowess. Not to mention I could move my Iroases up into my mainboard and force them to consistently block my creatures with their double strike with their creatures, inevitably killing two creatures with one of mine. With his creatures effectively taken care of, his deck sort of falls apart, so I'm not overly worried about it. The only reason he does well against the other aggro decks are because his warriors are stronger than the goblin tokens and typically have lifelink.
So! The control deck will likely be my biggest worry. However, there is one way that I believe I could probably defeat it without much of an issue. First off, Meletis will be their worst enemy. They run very little actual removal and mostly counter spells, and most of those require three mana to get down, therefore, if I have Meletis by turn three, I can cast him before they can counter him. Once he is down, he can wreck their deck by potentially denying them any number of counter spells or even their valuable land cards. Not to mention he'll be able to let me use their cards against them, so I'll hopefully have plenty of counter spells to use against them. Center Soul will help me keep him on the field against their removal spells as well.
The final major threat is a token-spawning, instant-wielding aggro deck. My method for defeating them will be very similar to how I would defeat the warrior deck. Iroas, some counter spells for their burns, Meletis to utilize all of their cheap spells against them, and my warriors for their double strike. However, against them, I would probably swap out most of my warriors for my prowess triggering creatures so that they can take advantage of their numerous noncreature spells.
To build this deck I looked through every White, Blue, and Red card available in standard and picked each and every card of use, then slowly sifted my way down to 75 cards. So, I looked at every possibility to make this. However, I may not have done the perfect job and there may be better ways to achieve what I am doing. However, I think I should be good to go.
I'm willing to hear and consider all critiques and criticisms. I am tired of losing at FNM so, I'm basically looking to get highly competitive! ^.^
So, here's a run-down of what each card's purpose is and why I have it.
- Mainboard -
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death: This is a handy-dandy card for this particular deck. While Alesha is a relatively good card on her own for 3CMC with her first strike, she will help me keep my dashers coming back, which is also important. Why? Because they are nice, especially when used with Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit.
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit: She basically lets me use a 2CMC for 3 or a 1 CMC for 2 damage, which can be really nice, especially when it happens over and over. Likewise, she can make Meletis into a 3/3, meaning that it's almost impossible for him to die to other creatures, which is very nice. It also makes anything with doublestrike that much better. So, that 2CMC that dashed in and became a 3/3 suddenly becomes a 6/6 because of Arashin Foremost. Hard to say that is a bad deal.
Arashin Foremost: 3CMC double striker that gives double strike to another warrior. How could I pass that up? Put it on my dashers. Put it on my dashers and away we go. Or put it onto Seeker of the Way for a little life padding.
Daxos of Meletis: Daxos of Meletis is a fiendish little guy. He's not what we expect from a 'hero', but his nefarious ways are great for this deck. He essentially allows me to play a card from my opponent's library every time he deals damage, and if nothing else, he exiles it. The nice thing about it? They become 'colorless' so I can cast them with whatever mana I want. Particularly useful if I swap in more of my prowess creatures. Or just steal theirs.
Flamerush Rider: Flamerush rider is a nice dasher. A little more expensive, but he allows me to create a token of another creature that is attacking, so, essentially, I'd probably copy Arashin Foremost so that I could get another double-strike thrown into the mix.
Lightning Berserker: 1 CMC dasher for triggering Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit. Will be 2/2 for 1. Hard to sa yno.
Zurgo Bellstriker: 2 CMC 2/2 Dasher that can become a 3/3. Pretty good if you ask me. Can only play one, though, but considering he's fairly vulnerable in combat it might not matter. He's a warrior, so can benefit from Arashin Foremost's Double Strike buff, becoming a 6/6 for 2CMC on dash with Anafenza down. That's solid if you ask me.
Jeskai Ascendancy: Prowess for all creatures. Potential draw. Pairs well with rebound and Meletis.
Anticipate: Handy for some card advantage.
Center Soul: Protect a critter like Meletis. Has rebound for extra prowess triggers or double-turn protection.
Dissipate: Counter and scry.
Ojutai's Command: Little spendy for purely anti-creature counter, but for 4CMC instead of 3CMC to tack a draw a card onto it, seems worth it.
Elspeth, Sun's Champion: Tokens, Tokens, Tokens. Relatively sturdy planeswalker that can redirect damage from me to her. Can wipe all 4/4+ which means all of my creatures are probably going to be safe from it, allowing me to maintain control of the field in combat.
Narset Transcendent: Another beefy planeswalker that can take a few hits. Most people don't want to leave her around. Can add rebound or help with some card advantage.
Temporal Trespass: Random Win-con. Considering how fast my graveyard could fill, delving 8 won't be that difficult for an extra turn. Maybe tap a rebound on it for another extra turn.. hehehe... not many people will survive that.
- Sideboard -
Ojutai Exemplars: An interesting version of prowess. Can gain first strike and lifelink. Sadly, is not a warrior, though.
Seeker of the Way: Warrior that gets lifelink prowess. With Arashin, can become a double-striker. May be a 3/3 hitting for 6/6 with lifelink with Anafenza around. Nice card for its cost.
Banishing Light: A staple removal for white.
Artful Maneuver: +2/+2 rebound for prowess trigger. When dashing in Zurgo, could become a 3/3, +2/+2 and attack with double strike to hit for 10. Not toooo bad. Especially twice in a row.
Polymorphist's Jest: Potential win-con, or at least easy way to clear a board. Get rid of pesky big critters with arc lightning or just roll over them with my attackers.
Iroas, God of Victory: Don't need to explain the reason to have this lovely fella. Makes creatures invulnerable in combat, require two blockers a piece, and can be pretty tough on his own. Yeeeeeah, he sort of puts a wrench in many plans.
Arc Lightning: I like arc lightning as a burn spell. Considering the number of 2/2s or 1/1s in my Meta, I prefer it over lightning strike or some such.
- How To Play -
Rule of thumb for the deck: Be a dick.
Show no mercy. Dash that bugger to death! Your dashers can become veeeery dangerous and considering they can also acquire double strike and be bolstered, mhhhm. Hard to say no to that.
The deck can be swapped a bit to move into a prowess build or to have a little more control or removal of necessary. Or it can be turned into a power offensive deck with Iroas.
Meletis is a valuable guy to have. Once an enemy knows what he can do they will do whatever they can to get rid of him. If you can play him turn three, you're basically going to throw off an enemy's early game.
Anafenza, Kin-Tree combos well with the dashers by giving them a little extra oomph when they attack. He's only 2CMC so he can be dropped real early, too. When pairing his bolstering capability with Arashin's double strike, you'll have early creatures that are hard to block, so your aggro capabilities will be up there.
The primary weakness you will face with this deck is against flying. There are no real flying decks in my meta, however, so I wasn't worried about it. However, I know at least one person is building a dragon deck, so I might just sneak a playset of Dragon-Hunters in there to stall their dragons. Hehehe.