Oh, this deck would change a lot if I updated it. I built this long before the Chieftains were around.
Permalink
The Imperious Perfect isn't bad, but it removes one of the combos I have available. Pumping all the elves would be nice, but if I have more than a couple tokens, then more than likely I've got one big Quillspike. If I ever make the deck, I'll make sure to consider that.
I had a deck similar to this when Visions was released. Dingus Egg was a viable damage source at the time, but it was also slow, doing the 20 damage in 10 turns if you were lucky. With so many cards available, especially for under 4 mana, there are better options. Mwonvuli Acid-Moss should only be used as a substitute for Ice Storm (they're not cheap or easy to get). Creeping Mold is a savior for this deck. A Dark Ritual'd Royal Assassin or double Ritual'd Sengir can really mess you up. ;)
Sorry, I've been busy recently. I have to say I haven't solitaire'd the deck, so I can't get a real feel for typical draw capabilities and nothing really jumps out. If you like lots of variation in win conditions, definitely look into Whetwheel. You have creatures and direct damage (in essence), but if you ever stall, then Whetwheel gives you an alternative. It is definitely a sideboard card for this deck though.
Unless you're playing in a very casual environment, Demonic Tutor is restricted to 1 per deck. You may also want to consider replacing Ethereal Usher and/or Infiltrator's Magemark with Invisibility or Whispersilk Cloak, Shadow Rift, Fear, Aphotic Wisps, Ebony Charm, Sleeper's Robe, or 'Shizo, Death's Storehouse'. You may also want to consider Fireshrieker. It's not as useful with so few creatures, but it can double the counters on Szadek with every hit.
Whoops, I was thinking of Spiteful Visions for the decking. Ignore the beginning of the last comment.
You have potential to deck yourself, so you should be very careful. Swans of Bryn Argoll + Pariah + Underworld Dreams = Decked. It doesn't look bad, but in most cases you are waiting until turn 3 to cast anything. Funeral Charm, Midnight Charm, or even Oona's Blackguard can help in the beginning turns.
It is a little schizophrenic with so many single copies. If it's working in your area, it's hard to suggest more, especially without knowing card availability. I would try to focus a bit more. Kulrath Knight would be a good addition. Fallen Ideal could allow the Woodfall Primus to nuke an opponent's side with the help of Heartmender. It's only 1 card a turn, but it can save a stalled game. Quillspike and Devoted Druid are hard not to recommend to any current black/green deck.
In a tournament setting, if you you have a 7/7 or a 5/5 on the board and no one else has anything, you will most likely win. ;) Spring cleaning helps in the fact that you have a chance to just wipe out your opponent's permanents. If it came down to a complete board wipe with just the Shepherd out, it should be an easy reset for the speed of this deck.
You might consider Sacred Mesa. It's a cheap token generator and can be played on an opponent's turn, allowing you to keep your counterspell mana until the "End of Turn" phase before creating FLYING tokens. Imperial Mask is another option that will remove direct damage from the equation.
It's hard to argue with a deck that's winning. You have a very low average casting cost, but you have multiple lands that come into play tapped, slowing your progression. Also, you have 10 of 40 spells that are black and almost all of your mana seems focused on getting the one black mana you need for any given black spell. I'd put in 6 Forests and 2 Swamps, drop the Vivid lands, the Fertile Ground, Nettle Sentinel and Loxodon Warhammer and one Garruk Wildspeaker.
In regards to the Phyrexian Soulgorger, from what I've read, you will still need to sacrifice at least one creature a turn. You do not get to interrupt in the middle of the upkeep cost and change the number of counters. The ability that triggers "knows" how many counters were on it just before the trigger is placed on the stack. You could remove the counter after the triggered ability is on the stack, but the triggered ability will have already counted it. With Doubling Season, it's worse.
If you're going for a mostly non-rare setup, it's not bad, but it definitely looks like it's trying to play a lot of defense in the form of gaining life. Forestwalk won't help if your opponent doesn't have forests and you're depending heavily on multiple copies of Perfects and Champions. If you really want those out, you need to consider Harbingers. Your Llanowar will provide extra mana, but all of your creatures can be out by turn 3. If you're staying on a budget, it may be difficult.
govtgeek
I apologize smc1215. The way I look at most decks (by person) includes the format for which the deck is made. Despite the idea of 'Casual Play', my friends and I have always played what is now referred to as 'Vintage' (Type 1). Since there is no 'Vintage' setting, I filed it under 'Casual Play'. As an aside, it is actually a 14 year old deck. All those cards were available in the fall of '94, with an investment of ~$45 and some good trading. Now to have a "No comments needed" option...
The Shrieking Drake could be a nice addition. If lucky, I could bounce the Drake until I ran out of available mana and bounce the Spire Golem to squeeze out an extra 3. The deck doesn't work as I like, but it's with the cards I have available, like all my decks.
I'll make sure not to mark any more of my decks finished to ensure that an extremely old deck, marked as "Casual Play", that worked just fine in my area, that I didn't intend to update, but rather have a nicely formatted deck listing doesn't receive such vitriolic comments.
I think you both missed the point. First, the deck is almost 15 years old. Second, I built it with the cards I had available. Third, it can, and did, work. Most people would take 1 from a Yotian, and almost as many would take 5 to keep their first creature out. One good hit was all it took. Power sinks and Spell Blasts were there to keep my opponent's mana tied up, the Mind Twist nuked any hand, the Rod of Ruin and The Hive were my defense against a stalled offense.
You're missing a possible 3rd turn kill by not playing Skirk Prospector. Turn 1: Mountain, Skirk Prospector Turn 2: Mountain, Sacrifice Prospector, Goblin Warchief Turn 3: Goblin Piledriver x 3, attack for 23
Unless you have special format with friends, Sol Ring has been restricted (or banned) for over a decade. You're still short 10 cards and if you want to be truly annoying you play Stasis.
1-20 of 25 items