MTG Salvation

Hi guys,

So I'm super new to Magic. Only been playing a few months and my playgroup is full of guys who've been into MtG for over a decade so I pretty much lose every game.

I've decided to have a go at making a deck that'll make me lose *slower*, or at least not first. It's a defensive deck based around low cmc deathtouch rattlesnakes I can recur with Athreos. There's also a fair bit of pillowfort. Of course, I'm lacking in wincon apart from maybe Luminarch ascension.

Firstly, are there any other fun rattlesnake cards or low cost black/white defensive cards that'll fit in here? I'm prioritizing things that don't effect the board and draw hate *unless* I'm attacked.

Secondly, are there any sneaky wincon cards that'll fit here that won't draw immediate hate?

- My deck so far.

Archetype of courage is good with deathtouch.
Gifted Aetherborn is good
Ophiomancer
you missed Ruthless ripper

Blind Obedience is great

Maybe Vengeful Pharaoh?
You are low on lands. I think you need at least 36.

You can win with a big debt to the deathless. You can also throw in Kokusho, the Evening Star or Gray Merchant of Asphodel... not bad with the recursion you have in the deck.

Ooooh. Vengeful Pharaoh seems perfect.

Good suggestions. I'll do some switch ups.

I was hoping with an average cmc of 2.34 I could get away with fewer lands, but maybe you're right.

Souls of the Faultless was the first thing that came to mind. That thing deters SO MUCH it's almost not even funny.

I play Athreos myself, and one thing I've found useful is having something like Phyrexian Reclamation on the table. It tends to make itself oddly useful by making itself useless - by making people not want to pay for Athreos (since I'd get the cards back I want anyway).

Also Martyr's Cause is probably a good for trigger-heavy Athreos deck.

I expected this thread to be about Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts.

This definitely isn't the most important part of the deck, but a quick word about lands - if you can afford a scrubland then there's absolutely no reason to be running evolving wilds or orzhov guildgate. Pack in all 7 fetches that can hit either swamps or plains, since they can all hit scrubland (or godless shrine, or a basic). That will make your mnabase MUCH better. As a general rule, unless you're on a budget, you shouldn't be playing etbt lands that don't generate additional value outside of fixing your mana - especially not in 2-color.

Evolving wilds might be the most overplayed card in the format. The number of 2-color decks I've seen running it...smh.

As far as the actual cards - it's certainly meta-dependent, but even a moderately competitive meta will make 1/1 deathtouchers look pretty terrible, either by generating so much value that they don't care, evading them, going wide with tokens, etc. I'd be a lot more inclined to to run removal, which you can threaten to trade with their permanents that actually matter if they attack you. And you can use them to break combos, etc, which otherwise you have little ability to interact with.

Winning isn't that hard if you know what you're doing (well, in lower-power groups at least). The main trick is to win in a bursty way, something that can't be easily answered and doesn't require that you're ahead beforehand. Generating massive mana (cabal coffers + urborg, tomb of yawgmoth, bubbling much, crypt ghast, etc) into a debt to the deathless, exsanguinate, or rain of hailfire, as mentioned, can be easy ways to get a win, especially when protected by boseiju, who shelters all, grand abolisher, etc.

Athreos himself also gives the ability to create some infinite combos under the right circumstances - namely, you have an opponent who is either at less than 3 life, or is willing to do your nefarious bidding in order to eliminate another player. Then you can just loop, say, endless one infinitely while a blood artist kills everyone (or whoever your ally is helping you kill). You can look at my version of Athreos if you're interested (it's buried somewhere in my sig).

I get the desire to not die early so you aren't sitting around, but anything that isn't first place is last. Frequently, getting eliminated first means you're doing something right - either you're scary enough that the table conspired to kill you, or whoever was in the lead decided you were the greatest threat to their victory and killed you ASAP. Which frequently means the solution is to play a savvier political game, so people aren't as inclined to eliminate you while you build up your power. Remember to always watch the table, and think about who each other player is likely most concerned about, and how you can make sure it isn't you. And when necessary, make deals, point out enemy threats that can take heat off yourself, etc. If you can do that, you'll be winning loads of games. And then you can start trying to make things harder on yourself by winning in stupider and stupider ways.

Quote from DirkGently »

Evolving wilds might be the most overplayed card in the format. The number of 2-color decks I've seen running it...smh.

You'd hate my piles, then. Sometimes I run it even in monocolour decks.

It's always for a reason, though. Cards with Delve, Life from the Loam, and in rare cases, Panglacial Wurm.