RisenDeep

Do you want to mill or ramp your opponent down?

It seems not the one but also not the other. Good old Lorwyn mill cards have been Drowner of Secrets, Merrow Commerce, Surgespanner and Grimoire Thief in combination with other tap cards like Springleaf Drum or Paradise Mantle with a high synergy to each other. Tapping with Drowner from Turn 3 in synergy with untapping using Merrow Commerce and Tap-Abilities like Removal (Surgespanner) or more Mill (Grimoire Thief) are a steady mashine that is hard to beat and parts could always be exchanged for a ramp or stompy kind deck. Grimoire Thief is the two mana worth beeing also a 2/2 hitter accordingly with Lord of Atlantis, Master of the Pearl Tridant or Merfolk Sovereign

If you want to speed up your deck you should use Collected Company or Lead the Stampede as at least a 3 card drop. What I liked to do with my casual elves deck is to go for Joarag Warcaller and Gavony Township or Oran-Rief, the Vastwood. Play Warcaler on Turn 2 with Oran-Rief is cheaper and it boosts the your other elves anyway when Gavony boosts them in the later game for just 4 mana (and due to more counters on Warcaller boost them additionally)

Lush Growth is the same for your elves as playing Merfolk with Lord of Atlantis. Make an opponents land to a forest and do your final hit with Forest Walk-ing elves

What camed into my mind when seeing this was a one drop Seismic Assault, even on the cost a heavy red mana feeder this could speed up things a little even when you have a lot of lands on your hand. Another maybe card would be Life from the Loam

Name: RisenDeep http://www.mtgvault.com/risendeep/
Formats: Modern, Legacy, Vintage (Casual)
Modern, Legacy (Competitive)
Expertise: Over 15 years of magic experience and over 10 years of tribals. I intend to leaf paths and walk new ways especially away from well proofen and often headless copied tournament lists finding interesting decks and card synergies. I use this platform primarily to collect and maintain interesting ideas up to complete lists from myself and others


IXALAN - Yeah, its Tribal :D

I've made a more stable deck utilizing nissa as the target for counter adding to get realy big bugs on the table as a competitive build for Modern format. A lot of counter spells as same as drawing/scry and Nissa, Steward of Elements as the key card

http://www.mtgvault.com/risendeep/decks/countersight/

A single Blood Moon and you are out of any action ...
http://www.mtgvault.com/risendeep/decks/merfolk-4/

Its more kind of a magic trick rather than real magic isnt it? ^^

Do you have some backup plan for example an empty hand and your opponent plays something like Languish or Anger of the Gods?

What about Myr Superion?

What about Sky Hussar as constant card drawer?

You could trust me that a pure weenie approach wouldnt do 10 damage in turn 3-4 in a modern torunament in FNM style. There is too much burn and every deck runs creature hate like Dismember/Path to Exile/Lightning Bolt/Anger of the Gods/Skred. Thats why Merfolk and Eldrazi are the most common played tribals in modern, they could counter/protect against creature hate what elves will never could do in this dimensions like a single Coursecatcher.
Thats why you should play stuff like Lead the Stampede/Collected Company to refresh your ranks against aggressive hate and prepare for late game.

On the white splash you should absolutely run Path to Exile at least 3 copies as board removal. I personaly like Sunblade Elf as it becomes 2/2 instantly when you control a plains but Gavony Township is also a must have for its second ability in my opinion.

You could try Westvale Abbey but I dont think that it makes any ground against a range of full powered elves.

Well Wisher is not modern legal

Either you could use Immaculate Magistrate or classic Overrun to replace these cards but I would strongly suggest for making this deck fit more into the meta of modern format. Joraga Warcaller and Oran-Rief, the Vastwood are a good combo and with Gavony Township you could also pump them additionaly late game when splashing white. You should also go for some technics of working against BUW Counter Control decks that are a mess playing against with elves, maybe AEther Vial or Cavern of Souls could help here. I like to play Joraga Treespeaker also because I think this is an underrated card worth leveling in turn 2 and instantly using the 2 mana you get from it so it is a full payback. Play Elvish Champion with Lush Growth on board makes your elves unblockable as same as Merfolk does. Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen is also a good choice and you should think of playing Nissa Revane at least for the life boost you could need when playing against Burn, Aggro and Dredge decks. A great boost is also using Collected Company or the more cheap version Lead the Stampede otherwise it could happen that you go of of elves realy fast.

Playing this one as fun deck is except for Control decks also a good meta deck as experiences have shown; http://www.mtgvault.com/risendeep/decks/elves-2/ maybe it helps

Some wont play that cards together as they are different combo pieces like Form of the Dragon with Phyrexian Unlife or Dovescape with Sphere of Safety and having more than one additional upkeep isnt worth cutting any other card

Wouldnt say so, need to test and adjust first

ever thought of Eldrazi Displacer as it costs 3 to activate its ability and is colorless so even protection creatures would go for it

This seems a bit cobbeld together rather than realy have a plan. You play counter on mass but also all cards that make an aggro deck powerfull. Merrow Commerce is unnecessary in your case, would use it in combination with Drowner of Secrets or True-Name Nemesis.
Lords are worthless without there subjects, either go for counter or aggro but not both.

Good counter cards are for example Lullmage Mentor, Sigil Tracer or Thada Adel, Aquisitor for grabbing cards from an opponents library. You should also think of good removal cards for go against Cavern of Souls and AEther Vial

You know that Brooding Saurian's ability is not removal proof? A quick Path to Exile in response to Challenge may make the game for you too

The card is nice and may have the potential to make the game, maybe the meta too anyways. The Problem is and I refer to current decks, that it is way too unstable. You need to get the card back your opponent has stolen or give him something that is so terrible that you make it. Each second deck runs at least one potential counter to prevent Gruul Charm from working, Thoughtseize for hand disrupt it or simply something to let sac your fatties.

Thats why playing with Flikerwisp is currently the safest Option or paired with some Proteus Stuff to send whatever it is back into library

Saw the green version of this using Eldritch Evolution and Eternal Witness to fetch Kiki and/or Angel out. Might be an option too