I am in a creative mood! I would like to find an "engine" card to start building a deck around, preferably something cheap (moneywise.
Thinking like Nephalia Drownyard but that seems to lame/easy to make work. I want to see if you guys can give me any ideas as to a card that be a build around but somewhat annoying/hard to use.
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Currently Playing:
Modern: RUGScapeshift[RUG...Occasionally with goyfs RUGTarmotwinRUG(RIP)
Legacy: UWxuwr miracles and stonebladeUWx
Commander: UWRShu Yun/Ruhan SmashUWR
Hello there. I'm looking for a R/G genereic casual budget werewolf deck. I like aggro with slight control. Hopefully you can make the deck as close to under $20 as possible.
Looking to help a friend who insist on building around jaya ballard, task mage. Any idea? He currently runs it in a budget Rakdos madness deck. He would like to spend as little as possible.
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"De potentia juvenis somniabat, nunc de Mundo somniat..."
Hi, I was wondering if you could help me build this deck idea I have after seeing Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. I wanted to go for a theme revolving around Sorin with his vampire/blood magic/spirit abilities amassing an army of darkness for his goals. or something like that. I tried to look at the net for some ideas and came up with this decklist:
It's a little bit all over the place since I don't really know which direction to take it at the moment. I think my biggest hurdle is deciding on the deck's win condition. The deck is to be a casual-semi budget deck with cards coming from the Standard format up to Innistrad and maybe Scars of Mirrodin blocks. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Looking to help a friend who insist on building around jaya ballard, task mage. Any idea? He currently runs it in a budget Rakdos madness deck. He would like to spend as little as possible.
Any control strategy that ends with too many lands would use Jaya very well. I'm thinking a very counter-heavy U/R deck that uses Jaya to clear the board of threats by discarding extra lands or useless spells and turning it into damage. There's no way to make that first ability regularly usable, so it can't really be used in a faster deck.
He could try other madness colours, which also work very well!
Love this thread, all of the unique ideas and concepts!
I'd like to put forward a request of a deck using Realm Razer that focuses on Flickering it, so far I do have a list, but it's incomplete and rough at best.
and from there i'm kinda stumped on what could be done better, what could be used, or implemented, I've had the strategy of using Ankh of Mishra with Personal Sanctuary pass me by several times, but I'd like to keep the build 'fair' to deal with, but don't know that balance I'd need...
Alright, so this is going to be a bit of a long read, just skip the spoiler if you are not interested in it.
I've built many decks over the years, but recently I never quite manage to put my ideas into an actual playable deck. I am talking kitchen table magic here, of course.
For some reason, I have no problems coming up with commander decklists, and most of them seem to be working fine after a bit of testing, but in the usual 60-cards format it just doesn't work anymore.
Now, before I start on my recent ideas, let's talk about my playgroup first:
It consists of 2 players who have an abundance of decks, even more than myself, as well as 3-4 players who have about 2-4 decks each.
One of the most recent decks of one of the players with tons of decks is the following (I'm posting this because I really like the idea behind it and how it plays out):
Now, I love this deck, because it is not aggro (which gets boring after the 3rd time) and it is not quite combo either (it doesn't have a combination of cards that simply state "I.WIN.", it only has cards interacting nicely together).
So, this is the type of deck that I am aming for most of the time. It is far from perfect, can't deal with everything you might throw at it, but still manages to create some sort of strong yet not game-breaking combo.
Phew.
So now for my most recent deck ideas, which I want to turn into fun kitchen table decks. We mostly play with 3-5 players, about half of the time in team variants such as 2HG and 2vs3 traitor.
Please keep prices below 7-8€ for singletons and below 15€ for playsets. Please do however mention cards that exceed those limits, as I might own them.
As a pricing basis, please refer to https://www.magiccardmarket.eu/ (the site is available in Ger/Eng/Fr/Spa/It). The most accurate pricing would probably be the last dot in the graph, meaning "average price of the most recent purchases".
A GU Deck focused on tapping and untapping permanents. This idea came to me when I got a Prophet of Kruphix in a Theros Booster, and the mechanic of Inspired was spoiled. This just has to work well together, right?
Well it turns out, most of my attempts became either control decks that built up a huge ton of mana using storage lands, countering and bouncing anything my opponents might throw at me, or some weird slow decks that never quite manage to do anything.
Cards I considered for it:
What I want the deck to do:
Tap and untap permanents for some minor effects that help me not to die, build up my wincondition and slightly annoy (but not completly control) my opponents.
Having a number of options due to me untapping every turn.
Being able to react and adapt to certain game states.
What I don't want the deck to do:
Taking endlessly long turns using up all the tap and untap effects while my opponents do nothing
Building an endless tap/untap combo that either wins directly or, even worse, locks my opponents out of the game forever.
Now, if this sounds familiar, I started this deck after a GmaD.
The idea here is to get out an Omen machine, then use library sorting effects to always get the good stuff (read: sphinxes) out.
Main problems: The deck is extremly slow, a turn 6 Omen machine is just not relevant.
I also fail to reveal into big enough threats to really make a difference on the board state.
The original was running Eldrazi as stronger win conditions, but my playgroup would probably eat me alive for that.
I really don't know what to do with this deck.
I like how fair omen machine is, and by using stuff such as Telling Time, Fact or Fiction I can continue to "draw" cards while my opponents can't.
It probably suffers from a weakness I call "unable to react". The deck always acts, as in tries to get its main piece online asap, without caring for much else. Once it is done, it hopes to get out a threat every turn while also still drawing new cards to hardcast (mana is pretty useless once everyone is in topdeck mode, otherwise).
I don't think I even need to post any complete decklists for this, it consists of most of the sphinxes (except the ones drawing cards and a few others that didn't fit), mana rocks, Crystal Orbs, Soothsaying, Sensei's Divining Top, etc. And, of course, Academy Ruins.
Any ideas welcome on this one :/
Meh, too much typing. Might post more ideas after I got answers on these two
well... I'm not much of a 'master' on these types of decks, but I do have a friend who loves to use the card Enchanted Evening a lot with Fracturing Gust if that helps at all. That may be my 2 cents, but I can see it working.
well... I'm not much of a 'master' on these types of decks, but I do have a friend who loves to use the card Enchanted Evening a lot with Fracturing Gust if that helps at all. That may be my 2 cents, but I can see it working.
Wait, who are you talking to?
because that combo is most likely too strong for my playgroup. Also it doesn't fit any of the two deck-ideas I posted...
ah, my apologies, I saw the constellation effects, and kept in my mind on how Enchanted Evening would proc that every time you played any kind of permanent, including lands, hence my mistake. As for the other two, the B/I tap-trigger deck (my assumption) is a very nice idea, and I love how you have all the guarantees to pull the untap to tap on every turn. The only thing I would possibly recommend would be to put in other cards that cause creatures to tap, such as the convoke, conspire or to cause them to tap by force, like with Sleep, or to give them an ability to tap themselves for an ability, such as Presence of Gond.
The Omen Machine sphinx idea is something I can work on later today, but for now I'll compile a list ffor what I can recommend for the G/I deck :3
I have just the deck idea for you: Opposition Tokens. It's a very multi-player friendly deck, and extremely powerful while requiring a lot of decision-making.
Using Greens' token making cards (or possibly White, if you preferred), you can use your army of 1/1s to tap down any opponent on their upkeep, preventing them from playing or even attacking. Or you can save your tokens to just tap down any creature about to attack you, which creates a lot of favorable political power for you. With Prophet of Kruphix, you could tap down everybody on their turns and attack on yours without any problems.
Essence Warden can net you tons of life in order to survive early onslaughts.
You can even finish it off with one of many infinite token combos for good measure.
Hi everyone! I just recently got into Magic from my wife and brothers-in-law. I dont know a whole lot about the game yet, but building and creating is one of my favorite things to do, so I plunked down $5 on the MTG Tracker app and have had a ton of fun with it so far. I proxied a deck that summons an army of Myr that I've been really happy with, after a few playtests it is now working like I wanted it to.
Anyway, the reason I'm here is for the second deck that I wanted to build, because I'm completely stuck. Basically, I want to summon an army of Imperiosaurs. The sole reason is because I love dinosaurs.
Now I understand that my Myr deck has managed to perform decently, and this would probably be much less optimized. But I'm only playing with my wife and her brothers casually anyway. Surely there must be some way to pull this off so its at least semi-effective, right?
I found the card Infinite Reflection , which theoretically does what I want. I've found ramping cards like Vine Trellis, Sylvan Caryatid, and Overgrown Battlement, except those don't help me summon the Imperiosaur since it must be summoned with basic mana. Ive also found Triassic Egg and Quicksilver Amulet which would theoretically let me get around the "only summon with basic mana" restriction that the Imperiosaur has, if I understand it correctly, and the Triassic Egg would be thematically appropriate.
I guess the biggest problem I'm having is what to do with them once I've actually got the Imperiosaurs out. Keep summoning cheap creatures which immediately turn into Imperiosaurs and keep attacking, obviously. But it'd be awesome to be able to give them trample, lifelink, etc. And I mean give it to the whole army instead of just one individual. So far, the only way I've found to do this is with creatures like Crowned Ceratok (with a condition of having a +1/+1 counter on all of them), or even Nylea, God of the Hunt, except that as creatures, both of them would instantly become Imperiosaurs as soon as they were summoned anyway.
I did find Concerted Effort, maybe thats the way to go? Enchant one of them and then lay down Concerted Effort to apply it to all of them? That adds a third color to my deck, and if I lay down Infinite Reflection, I'd immediately lose my ramping creature cards.
So yeah I'm kind of all over the place here, so I'm hoping someone can help give me some direction. This is only for casual play so it doesnt have to be really optimized or anything. The end goal is to get an army of Imperiosaurs out and then start buffing them, definitely with trample, but then hopefully with other effects as well. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!
Ah, my good sir, I do have some recommendations for you indeed! For a deck where you have multiple colors, but rely on the 'basic' type of lands, it never hurts to use Prismatic Omen as for your idea with Infinite Reflection and token generaton, you can go many routs. One would be Awakening Zone, a means of making tokens every upkeep, and can sac them for extra mana when needed, otherwise you could go with Fists of Ironwood if you are also putting in Concerted Effort. On the note of the Concerted Effort, since it is (or might) include blue coloring, you may want to invest in ability gaining cards, such as Levitation or Zephyr Charge. As a further sense, I could also see a True Conviction being put in here as well, for an added means of putting pressure on the opponent; and to ensure you are getting what you need, I would say Khalni Heart Expedition and the Enlightened Tutor (if that one's within budget) and follow up with a bunch of cheap creatures to follow up with the Reflections.
Further note: could use cards that use Sunburst effects, or Domain
Unfortunately Infinite Reflection specifies only non-token creatures, so those are out. The Prismatic Omen is really helpful though. Ill just need to get some ramping that doesn't come from creature cards, like that sunburst card you linked. I appreciate your help!
Hello everyone! Just wanted to post and let you guys know I'm still here, just back from a five-week trip and I'm dying to brew. I'll be working on the Prophet of Kruphix, Omen Machine, and Infinite Reflections decks for now. I already have a few ideas storming in my head.
URGImperial AnimarGRU BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB WURNarset NostalgicRUW UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU UBlue BraidsU GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WUHanna, Pillowfort's NavigatorUW WBRAleshacratsBRW UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU URGYasova the ThreateningGRU BGGlissa the ArticiferGB WUSygg MerfolkUW RSquee, Value NabobR
So the first obstacle to overcome was making Omen Machine relevant at six mana. It needed to come down ASAP to really be effective, so I made it a mono-blue list with lots of little blue dudes in a Grand Architect shell to try and ramp it out by turn three. Sage of Epityr and Augury Owl give you some really great library manipulation to try to find Architect early, as well as being relevant once Omen Machine comes down to set up some sweet free cards. Treasure Mage fetches anything you could want to cast off of Grand Architect, including Omen Machine.
There are a good number of bombs I could have tossed in; because of the Architect, I tried to stick to artifact ones, but I left in Sphinx of Uthuun to keep some sphinxes present, plus it's a sweet enter the battlefield ability. Most sphinxes don't have those, so I didn't really find any of them to be great includes without splashing another color. Sphinx Summoner, Sharuum the Hegemon, and Enigma Sphinx would all be cool includes if you wanted to add more color. Spine of Ish Sah has some cute synergy with Phyrexia's Core and will take care of basically anything you need it to. Inkwell Leviathan is just a big fat game-ender. Steel Hellkite is more removal for picking off all those little enchantment dudes who are bothering you.
Mindslaver is often viewed as un-fun, but it's so strong with Grand Architect, Omen Machine, and Academy Ruins that I tossed it into my list anyway. There are plenty of fun bombs to replace it, sticking to CMC 6 is best because it lets you drop it immediately turn three after a sweet Architect curve. Argentum Armor is cute, Myr Battlesphere is a sweet bomb. Dakra Mystic is really hard to goldfish, so I'm including him purely based on speculation. If you don't like it Etherium Sculptor or Augury Owl/Omenspeaker make good replacements. I like Omenspeaker 'cause it's a lot harder to kill than the 1/1 owls, particularly against your buddy's enchantment shenanigans.
@McToomin: It's hard to fully design a list based on what you're looking for, but I can give you some suggestions. First off, your deck seems mostly green, with a blue splash for Infinite Reflections. Because of this, I think it's very easy for you to run mostly Forests, so you don't need to worry about having a hard time casting Imperiosaur. Since it's already cheap at 4 mana, I don't think you need to worry about ramping into it too much. But even still, Arbor Elf and Kiora's Follower are cards you can use to produce extra mana with your basic Forests that ramp into the dino. Abundant Growth also lets you produce mana of any color with a basic land, so you can use an Island to tap for green mana. Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds are also cheap ways to fix your mana, giving you Forests early for Imperiosaur and Islands later for your other blue stuff. You really want your early drops to be defensive and functional, so I think you're on the right track with those defenders you listed who also ramp you. True once you land Infinite Reflections they lose the ability to ramp, but at that point you're just ready to crush your opponent with a horde of dinosaurs. I'd use Primal Rage to give them all trample or Levitation to give them all flying, splashing another color just for Concerted Effort is too much. I hope this helps, welcome to MTGS!
URGImperial AnimarGRU BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB WURNarset NostalgicRUW UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU UBlue BraidsU GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WUHanna, Pillowfort's NavigatorUW WBRAleshacratsBRW UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU URGYasova the ThreateningGRU BGGlissa the ArticiferGB WUSygg MerfolkUW RSquee, Value NabobR
Ah, I do hate to ask you to backtrack, I would like to know if I can get some assistance on the Realm Razer deck idea that is on page 4 of the thread. If at all possible. :3
Its cool this thread is back. Always has been very inspiring.
Anyways, I have been thinking a long time to make a deck around the card Fatigue.
If oyu can play it every turn your opponent is locked out from the game.
So far I have been considering Archaeomancer and been locking for a way to make it enter play each turn with either conjurer's closet or Venser, the Sojourner .
But I'm stuck on the amount of possible other conclusions for the deck.
Maybe you find this interesting enough to lend me a helping hand?
Fair warning, this deck is a great way to lose friends and alienate people ;D
I just built this deck with some minor adjustments to make it Modern legal.
-4 Fatigue -4 Counterspell
+3 Ghostly Prison +2 Oblivion Ring +3 Render Silent
Prison is just Prison, but Oblivion Ring can be reset by Venser if need be.
The notable addition is Render Silent. It's only a soft lock, but it makes for more spells with a "silence" theme. This way I can gesture "shhh" to my opponent more often.
With only 2 Sphinx as wincons, I also added a pair of Celestial Colonnades.
The deck is strong and challenging to pilot. Thanks for the list!
Its cool this thread is back. Always has been very inspiring.
Anyways, I have been thinking a long time to make a deck around the card Fatigue.
If oyu can play it every turn your opponent is locked out from the game.
So far I have been considering Archaeomancer and been locking for a way to make it enter play each turn with either conjurer's closet or Venser, the Sojourner .
But I'm stuck on the amount of possible other conclusions for the deck.
Maybe you find this interesting enough to lend me a helping hand?
Fair warning, this deck is a great way to lose friends and alienate people ;D
Prison is just Prison, but Oblivion Ring can be reset by Venser if need be.
The notable addition is Render Silent. It's only a soft lock, but it makes for more spells with a "silence" theme. This way I can gesture "shhh" to my opponent more often.
With only 2 Sphinx as wincons, I also added a pair of Celestial Colonnades.
The deck is strong and challenging to pilot. Thanks for the list!
Just wanted to point out that you should use the card tag to let others see what card you are referring to without opening more tabs please. Also, have you considered Isochron Scepter
@Rage Scoop:
Thanks, I'm glad you like the list! I rather like it myself. I would have built something much closer to your version were I freestyling it, but following the request led me in a slightly different direction.
@DragonOfInsight:
In my original post regarding that deck I give honorable mention to Isochron Scepter; I'd suggest it in a competitive environment, but that card (in that deck specifically) is just a middle finger to the idea of casual Magic.
Regarding Realm Razer, I get what you're going for. The landfall trick with Razer is cute, I particularly like it with Emeria Angel. I'm afraid Rampaging Baloths just costs too much to be effective, though. I'd probably go with Cosi's Ravager as a cheaper alternative; less explosive, but ultimately more effective I think. Plated Geopede is also an option. It's not nearly as impressive an effect, but suddenly swinging with an 11/11 is sweet, especially since Fiery Justice is very good at removing multiple blockers. He's also very aggressive early game which could force blocks in your favor, making Razer an even better drop.
Rather than try to blink Razer for the effect you're looking for, I'd suggest setting up your deck so that when he hits the field, you either win because they can't remove him and you have resources or you win because removing him causes them to lose (i.e. the Landfall plan). Knotvine Mystic gives you additional Bloom Tender-esque effects, Plated Geopede is a good threat, and I'd say Student of Warefare would probably do a better job than Figure of Destiny. Khalni Garden is basically a must for you, what with Purphoros being in the deck and all the land blinking going on. I don't see Amulet of Vigor doing enough for you. They're not ideal, but some number of Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse are probably worth your time in place of expensive Zendikar fetchlands.
URGImperial AnimarGRU BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB WURNarset NostalgicRUW UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU UBlue BraidsU GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WUHanna, Pillowfort's NavigatorUW WBRAleshacratsBRW UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU URGYasova the ThreateningGRU BGGlissa the ArticiferGB WUSygg MerfolkUW RSquee, Value NabobR
Alright, I was looking through my decks and I discovered that I have the Tibalt vs Sorin duel deck. I was looking to deconstruct the Sorin, Lord Of Innistraddeck and build a completely new deck around him. I don't have the biggest budget when it comes to building new decks, but I have a fairly decent card pool. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thinking like Nephalia Drownyard but that seems to lame/easy to make work. I want to see if you guys can give me any ideas as to a card that be a build around but somewhat annoying/hard to use.
Modern:
RUGScapeshift[RUG...Occasionally with goyfs
RUGTarmotwinRUG(RIP)
Legacy:
UWxuwr miracles and stonebladeUWx
Commander:
UWRShu Yun/Ruhan SmashUWR
4x Doomed Traveler
4x Child of the Night
4x Vampire Nighthawk
2x Gatekeeper of Malakir
2x Sengir Vampire
2x Diabolic Tutor
4x Lingering Souls
Enchantments: 4
2x Mark of the Vampire
2x Field of Souls
Instants: 8
3x Midnight Haunting
3x Tendrils of Corruption
2x Mortify
3x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Lands: 23
4x Orzhov Guildgate
4x Tainted Field
5x Plains
10x Swamps
It's a little bit all over the place since I don't really know which direction to take it at the moment. I think my biggest hurdle is deciding on the deck's win condition. The deck is to be a casual-semi budget deck with cards coming from the Standard format up to Innistrad and maybe Scars of Mirrodin blocks. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Jaya could be used in a madness deck. I'm thinking U/R or R/G, depending on where you want to go with it. It could do a lot of damage there!
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
That's what he's playing now. Any other idea?
Any control strategy that ends with too many lands would use Jaya very well. I'm thinking a very counter-heavy U/R deck that uses Jaya to clear the board of threats by discarding extra lands or useless spells and turning it into damage. There's no way to make that first ability regularly usable, so it can't really be used in a faster deck.
He could try other madness colours, which also work very well!
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
Remaking Magic - A Podcast for those that love MTG and Game Design
The Dungeon Master's Guide - A Podcast for those that love RPGs and Game Design
Sig-Heroes of the Plane
I'd like to put forward a request of a deck using Realm Razer that focuses on Flickering it, so far I do have a list, but it's incomplete and rough at best.
x4 Figure of Destiny
x4 Bloom Tender
x4 Realm Razer
x2 Rampaging Baloths
x3 Emeria Angel
Yeva, Nature's Herald (Still debating, most likely sided}
Artifacts/Enchantments:
x3 Amulet of Vigor
x2 Seer's Sundial
x3 Conjurer's Closet
x2 City of Solitude (sided}
x3 Mark of Asylum {Sided}
x2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
x2 Firewild Borderpost
x2 Wildfield Borderpost
Sorceries/Instants:
x3 Swords to Plowshares
x3 Path to Exile
x2 Fiery Justice
Lands:
x2 Stomping Ground
x2 Temple Garden
x4 Gemstone Mine
and from there i'm kinda stumped on what could be done better, what could be used, or implemented, I've had the strategy of using Ankh of Mishra with Personal Sanctuary pass me by several times, but I'd like to keep the build 'fair' to deal with, but don't know that balance I'd need...
I've built many decks over the years, but recently I never quite manage to put my ideas into an actual playable deck. I am talking kitchen table magic here, of course.
For some reason, I have no problems coming up with commander decklists, and most of them seem to be working fine after a bit of testing, but in the usual 60-cards format it just doesn't work anymore.
Now, before I start on my recent ideas, let's talk about my playgroup first:
It consists of 2 players who have an abundance of decks, even more than myself, as well as 3-4 players who have about 2-4 decks each.
One of the most recent decks of one of the players with tons of decks is the following (I'm posting this because I really like the idea behind it and how it plays out):
It's a BR Constellation deck, utilizing Forgeborn Oreads and Grim Guardians as their constellation cards, and Infectious Rage and Screams from Within as recurring triggers. The deck is rounded off with Seal of Fire, Seal of Doom, Font of Ire.
Now, I love this deck, because it is not aggro (which gets boring after the 3rd time) and it is not quite combo either (it doesn't have a combination of cards that simply state "I.WIN.", it only has cards interacting nicely together).
So, this is the type of deck that I am aming for most of the time. It is far from perfect, can't deal with everything you might throw at it, but still manages to create some sort of strong yet not game-breaking combo.
So now for my most recent deck ideas, which I want to turn into fun kitchen table decks. We mostly play with 3-5 players, about half of the time in team variants such as 2HG and 2vs3 traitor.
Please keep prices below 7-8€ for singletons and below 15€ for playsets. Please do however mention cards that exceed those limits, as I might own them.
As a pricing basis, please refer to https://www.magiccardmarket.eu/ (the site is available in Ger/Eng/Fr/Spa/It). The most accurate pricing would probably be the last dot in the graph, meaning "average price of the most recent purchases".
Well it turns out, most of my attempts became either control decks that built up a huge ton of mana using storage lands, countering and bouncing anything my opponents might throw at me, or some weird slow decks that never quite manage to do anything.
Cards I considered for it:
As well as anything with Convoke, Conspire, Inspired.
What I want the deck to do:
Tap and untap permanents for some minor effects that help me not to die, build up my wincondition and slightly annoy (but not completly control) my opponents.
Having a number of options due to me untapping every turn.
Being able to react and adapt to certain game states.
What I don't want the deck to do:
Taking endlessly long turns using up all the tap and untap effects while my opponents do nothing
Building an endless tap/untap combo that either wins directly or, even worse, locks my opponents out of the game forever.
Now, if this sounds familiar, I started this deck after a GmaD.
The idea here is to get out an Omen machine, then use library sorting effects to always get the good stuff (read: sphinxes) out.
Main problems: The deck is extremly slow, a turn 6 Omen machine is just not relevant.
I also fail to reveal into big enough threats to really make a difference on the board state.
The original was running Eldrazi as stronger win conditions, but my playgroup would probably eat me alive for that.
I really don't know what to do with this deck.
I like how fair omen machine is, and by using stuff such as Telling Time, Fact or Fiction I can continue to "draw" cards while my opponents can't.
It probably suffers from a weakness I call "unable to react". The deck always acts, as in tries to get its main piece online asap, without caring for much else. Once it is done, it hopes to get out a threat every turn while also still drawing new cards to hardcast (mana is pretty useless once everyone is in topdeck mode, otherwise).
I don't think I even need to post any complete decklists for this, it consists of most of the sphinxes (except the ones drawing cards and a few others that didn't fit), mana rocks, Crystal Orbs, Soothsaying, Sensei's Divining Top, etc. And, of course, Academy Ruins.
Any ideas welcome on this one :/
Meh, too much typing. Might post more ideas after I got answers on these two
Cockatrice is still going strong over at http://www.woogerworks.com[/B]
Ghostly Battlefield
The Winner is Judge [2]
Chasay, Caller of Fire
Skaab Corpse Looter
[B]This Winner is also Judge [0]
Wait, who are you talking to?
because that combo is most likely too strong for my playgroup. Also it doesn't fit any of the two deck-ideas I posted...
Cockatrice is still going strong over at http://www.woogerworks.com[/B]
Ghostly Battlefield
The Winner is Judge [2]
Chasay, Caller of Fire
Skaab Corpse Looter
[B]This Winner is also Judge [0]
The Omen Machine sphinx idea is something I can work on later today, but for now I'll compile a list ffor what I can recommend for the G/I deck :3
I have just the deck idea for you: Opposition Tokens. It's a very multi-player friendly deck, and extremely powerful while requiring a lot of decision-making.
Using Greens' token making cards (or possibly White, if you preferred), you can use your army of 1/1s to tap down any opponent on their upkeep, preventing them from playing or even attacking. Or you can save your tokens to just tap down any creature about to attack you, which creates a lot of favorable political power for you. With Prophet of Kruphix, you could tap down everybody on their turns and attack on yours without any problems.
Essence Warden can net you tons of life in order to survive early onslaughts.
You can even finish it off with one of many infinite token combos for good measure.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
Anyway, the reason I'm here is for the second deck that I wanted to build, because I'm completely stuck. Basically, I want to summon an army of Imperiosaurs. The sole reason is because I love dinosaurs.
Now I understand that my Myr deck has managed to perform decently, and this would probably be much less optimized. But I'm only playing with my wife and her brothers casually anyway. Surely there must be some way to pull this off so its at least semi-effective, right?
I found the card Infinite Reflection , which theoretically does what I want. I've found ramping cards like Vine Trellis, Sylvan Caryatid, and Overgrown Battlement, except those don't help me summon the Imperiosaur since it must be summoned with basic mana. Ive also found Triassic Egg and Quicksilver Amulet which would theoretically let me get around the "only summon with basic mana" restriction that the Imperiosaur has, if I understand it correctly, and the Triassic Egg would be thematically appropriate.
I guess the biggest problem I'm having is what to do with them once I've actually got the Imperiosaurs out. Keep summoning cheap creatures which immediately turn into Imperiosaurs and keep attacking, obviously. But it'd be awesome to be able to give them trample, lifelink, etc. And I mean give it to the whole army instead of just one individual. So far, the only way I've found to do this is with creatures like Crowned Ceratok (with a condition of having a +1/+1 counter on all of them), or even Nylea, God of the Hunt, except that as creatures, both of them would instantly become Imperiosaurs as soon as they were summoned anyway.
I did find Concerted Effort, maybe thats the way to go? Enchant one of them and then lay down Concerted Effort to apply it to all of them? That adds a third color to my deck, and if I lay down Infinite Reflection, I'd immediately lose my ramping creature cards.
So yeah I'm kind of all over the place here, so I'm hoping someone can help give me some direction. This is only for casual play so it doesnt have to be really optimized or anything. The end goal is to get an army of Imperiosaurs out and then start buffing them, definitely with trample, but then hopefully with other effects as well. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!
Further note: could use cards that use Sunburst effects, or Domain
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Modern: BRGLiving EndGRB
Legacy: UBGShardless BUGGBU
BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB
WURNarset NostalgicRUW
UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU
UBlue BraidsU
GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WBRAleshacratsBRW
UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU
URGYasova the ThreateningGRU
BGGlissa the ArticiferGB
WUSygg MerfolkUW
RSquee, Value NabobR
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Dakra Mystic
4 Augury Owl
4 Treasure Mage
4 Grand Architect
2 Steel Hellkite
3 Sphinx of Uthuun
2 Inkwell Leviathan
3 Omen Machine
2 Mindslaver
2 Spine of Ish Sah
Lands:
19 Island
2 Phyrexia's Core
2 Academy Ruins
There are a good number of bombs I could have tossed in; because of the Architect, I tried to stick to artifact ones, but I left in Sphinx of Uthuun to keep some sphinxes present, plus it's a sweet enter the battlefield ability. Most sphinxes don't have those, so I didn't really find any of them to be great includes without splashing another color. Sphinx Summoner, Sharuum the Hegemon, and Enigma Sphinx would all be cool includes if you wanted to add more color. Spine of Ish Sah has some cute synergy with Phyrexia's Core and will take care of basically anything you need it to. Inkwell Leviathan is just a big fat game-ender. Steel Hellkite is more removal for picking off all those little enchantment dudes who are bothering you.
Mindslaver is often viewed as un-fun, but it's so strong with Grand Architect, Omen Machine, and Academy Ruins that I tossed it into my list anyway. There are plenty of fun bombs to replace it, sticking to CMC 6 is best because it lets you drop it immediately turn three after a sweet Architect curve. Argentum Armor is cute, Myr Battlesphere is a sweet bomb. Dakra Mystic is really hard to goldfish, so I'm including him purely based on speculation. If you don't like it Etherium Sculptor or Augury Owl/Omenspeaker make good replacements. I like Omenspeaker 'cause it's a lot harder to kill than the 1/1 owls, particularly against your buddy's enchantment shenanigans.
@McToomin: It's hard to fully design a list based on what you're looking for, but I can give you some suggestions. First off, your deck seems mostly green, with a blue splash for Infinite Reflections. Because of this, I think it's very easy for you to run mostly Forests, so you don't need to worry about having a hard time casting Imperiosaur. Since it's already cheap at 4 mana, I don't think you need to worry about ramping into it too much. But even still, Arbor Elf and Kiora's Follower are cards you can use to produce extra mana with your basic Forests that ramp into the dino. Abundant Growth also lets you produce mana of any color with a basic land, so you can use an Island to tap for green mana. Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds are also cheap ways to fix your mana, giving you Forests early for Imperiosaur and Islands later for your other blue stuff. You really want your early drops to be defensive and functional, so I think you're on the right track with those defenders you listed who also ramp you. True once you land Infinite Reflections they lose the ability to ramp, but at that point you're just ready to crush your opponent with a horde of dinosaurs. I'd use Primal Rage to give them all trample or Levitation to give them all flying, splashing another color just for Concerted Effort is too much. I hope this helps, welcome to MTGS!
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Modern: BRGLiving EndGRB
Legacy: UBGShardless BUGGBU
BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB
WURNarset NostalgicRUW
UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU
UBlue BraidsU
GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WBRAleshacratsBRW
UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU
URGYasova the ThreateningGRU
BGGlissa the ArticiferGB
WUSygg MerfolkUW
RSquee, Value NabobR
I just built this deck with some minor adjustments to make it Modern legal.
-4 Fatigue -4 Counterspell
+3 Ghostly Prison +2 Oblivion Ring +3 Render Silent
Prison is just Prison, but Oblivion Ring can be reset by Venser if need be.
The notable addition is Render Silent. It's only a soft lock, but it makes for more spells with a "silence" theme. This way I can gesture "shhh" to my opponent more often.
With only 2 Sphinx as wincons, I also added a pair of Celestial Colonnades.
The deck is strong and challenging to pilot. Thanks for the list!
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Just wanted to point out that you should use the card tag to let others see what card you are referring to without opening more tabs please. Also, have you considered Isochron Scepter
Thanks, I'm glad you like the list! I rather like it myself. I would have built something much closer to your version were I freestyling it, but following the request led me in a slightly different direction.
@DragonOfInsight:
In my original post regarding that deck I give honorable mention to Isochron Scepter; I'd suggest it in a competitive environment, but that card (in that deck specifically) is just a middle finger to the idea of casual Magic.
Regarding Realm Razer, I get what you're going for. The landfall trick with Razer is cute, I particularly like it with Emeria Angel. I'm afraid Rampaging Baloths just costs too much to be effective, though. I'd probably go with Cosi's Ravager as a cheaper alternative; less explosive, but ultimately more effective I think. Plated Geopede is also an option. It's not nearly as impressive an effect, but suddenly swinging with an 11/11 is sweet, especially since Fiery Justice is very good at removing multiple blockers. He's also very aggressive early game which could force blocks in your favor, making Razer an even better drop.
Rather than try to blink Razer for the effect you're looking for, I'd suggest setting up your deck so that when he hits the field, you either win because they can't remove him and you have resources or you win because removing him causes them to lose (i.e. the Landfall plan). Knotvine Mystic gives you additional Bloom Tender-esque effects, Plated Geopede is a good threat, and I'd say Student of Warefare would probably do a better job than Figure of Destiny. Khalni Garden is basically a must for you, what with Purphoros being in the deck and all the land blinking going on. I don't see Amulet of Vigor doing enough for you. They're not ideal, but some number of Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse are probably worth your time in place of expensive Zendikar fetchlands.
Living End Contributor and Enthusiast
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Modern: BRGLiving EndGRB
Legacy: UBGShardless BUGGBU
BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB
WURNarset NostalgicRUW
UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU
UBlue BraidsU
GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WBRAleshacratsBRW
UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU
URGYasova the ThreateningGRU
BGGlissa the ArticiferGB
WUSygg MerfolkUW
RSquee, Value NabobR
6 Swamp
10 Plains
4 Tainted Field
2 Vault of the Archangel
Spells (38)
1 Skullclamp
4 Intangible Virtue
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Spawning Pit
4 Zealous Persecution
4 Lingering Souls
4 Midnight Hunting
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Leyline of the Meek
3 Diabolic Tutor
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Hour of Reckoning