Don't know if was mentioned, but how about Energy Field as a way to stall/protect until everything's online. With Forsaken City, you can exile a card/turn to keep anything from hitting the graveyard for a while.
How are control players supposed to deal with him, especially with his planeswalker version out at the same time? Board wipes won't do anything, and satyr tokens come out as a 4/4 in your face every turn. Detention sphere just got a very playable answer in Unravel the Aether.
Question: Does Savage Summoning protect him if you don't have enough devotion to make him a creature?
I guess I'm the only one who thinks Satyr Nyx-Smith will see play. First of all, he has haste, so the possibility of getting a 3/1 haster the turn after playing him is quite good. In a deck like RDW, it can help it not run out of gas, by putting another threat on the board without having to spend your most easily depleted resource, cards in hand. It's not like spending 2R for a 3/1 haste is going to be much worse than any threat you may play turn 4-5 in a deck like that.
And even though he has a weak body, chances are pretty good that opponents will already have used removal on an Ash Zealot or Spike Jester. Even if he just connects once on turn 3, he gives great value.
Seer and Springleaf drum are replacing Sylvan Caryatid and Boon Satyr in my B/G dredgy deck. The drum makes the four-of of DRS that much better, and Seer can be a mana-bear when it's not swinging. Just another good target for Nighthowler in that deck.
So I'm making an 8-rack, and I'm wondering if 3-4x Blood Scrivener is an acceptable replacement for Bob. I'm running smallpox and delirium skeins, along with bridge, liliana, etc., so plenty of self discard.
The bonuses over bob are two: One, assuming you empty your hand every turn, you're taking less damage/extra card draw on average; and two, you can shut off the effect if you absolutely can't afford to be pinged.
The real drawback is if you open a land flooded hand, having a bob in it is much better. Thoughts?
Heh, I did forget gift. Probably cut some removal and an a reap for four gifts.
However, instant speed removal doesn't work on the rat because the discard trigger is when it dies, not etb. And you can just use aristocrat sac ability any numberof times on the stack, right?
I do like the gray merchant idea, I might cut the demon for gary.
Also, the rat isn't completely useless on its own. I feel like a good turn three play is chump blocking with it, then cast altars reap and spend the open black for the diacard.
Wanted to make a synergistic deck that tries to break gift of immortality. Put a gift on drainpipe vermin, and with a sac outlet you can completely lock someone out of the game during their draw step. There seemed like some other obvious candidates to include, namely Xathrid Necromancer.
Wondering how this would work as a combo deck. It has mostly low cmc spells, and the combo with the rat gets going on turn 4.
The sideboard would have sin collector and lifebain zombie. The pharika's cure is mostly just to hit my own high priest of penance in a pinch, which is always hilarious.
Any thoughts on whether this deck would survive long enough to get going?
I've also been working on a b/r list like this one. I would cut all the ultimate price and put in some dreadbores and a fourth thoughtseize. Also, four RtB seems a little greedy. Siding pharikas cure might be good.
Yes, the shred-freak is better because it can mana-fix with Nykthos if you have no lands that actually tap for black. Although, the weird is very good against Anger of the Gods.
I have been playing a variant on this exact theme, mono red using Nykthos. And yes, 4 of them is the way to go. I would advise 4 of the Fanatics though, instead of two. In my tests, you are almost never disappointed with one or multiples in your hand.
When I drafted on Friday, my first pick out of pack #1 was Voyage's End. Because I think that is the best value removal. It can give you tempo, it can save your bomb, it can be a pseudo kill spell by shrinking opponents' bestowed creatures, and can set monstrosity back a few turns. Plus the scry is extremely useful.
Second pick was magma jet, and third was another voyage's end. I went 3-0-1 and first place, with opponents complaining about how annoying my removal was. So I think blue has lots of options, along with green and white. I agree black removal is pretty bad.
With any of the good two-red drops and Boros Reckoner, and maybe Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to quickly power out the Pyxis, the enters-the-battlefield damage output can be pretty big.
During my third event, I went with a graveyard recursion theme. I chose black and drew an Agent of Fates, Nighthowler, two Returned Centaurs and a Thoughtseize, in addition to enough graveyard spells. Splashed blue for removal. When I drew the centaurs, the synergy really started to kick into gear, but not so much when I didn't. But it was fun to play. Return from the Underworld, or whatever it's called, was especially nice, letting me either dodge removal or chump block for maximum value.
Anyway, the strategy looks viable in draft as it would probably be possible to get a good number of centaurs. Just another direction to go.
Had to make an account just to post this not-hard-to-assemble combo:
Turn 1: Favored Hoplite
Turn 2: Ordeal of Heliod (white one), swing for three
Turn 3: Swing for 4, sac aura and gain ten life. Play Voracious Wurm as a 12/12 with one white mana open to protect it with Gods Willing, or as a way to swing through next turn.
Or if you have gladecover scout in your opening hand, then its turn four instead. But that's cool 'cause you can play angeic accord that turn. Yup, this deck is getting made.
My favorite card of all time: Vesuvan Doppleganger. When I laid eyes on it as a 13 year old, MtG became the game that I played. Beautiful art, great power at the time, fun to play, and one of the first desirable rares I ever opened out of a pack.
Also, because I run my stasis deck U/W for Enlightened Tutor, I can have Wheel of Sun and Moon as a wincon over Ebony Owl Netsuke, what with it's obvious synergy with Energy Field. The tutor can get any missing pieces.
Question: Does Savage Summoning protect him if you don't have enough devotion to make him a creature?
And even though he has a weak body, chances are pretty good that opponents will already have used removal on an Ash Zealot or Spike Jester. Even if he just connects once on turn 3, he gives great value.
Seer and Springleaf drum are replacing Sylvan Caryatid and Boon Satyr in my B/G dredgy deck. The drum makes the four-of of DRS that much better, and Seer can be a mana-bear when it's not swinging. Just another good target for Nighthowler in that deck.
The bonuses over bob are two: One, assuming you empty your hand every turn, you're taking less damage/extra card draw on average; and two, you can shut off the effect if you absolutely can't afford to be pinged.
The real drawback is if you open a land flooded hand, having a bob in it is much better. Thoughts?
However, instant speed removal doesn't work on the rat because the discard trigger is when it dies, not etb. And you can just use aristocrat sac ability any numberof times on the stack, right?
I do like the gray merchant idea, I might cut the demon for gary.
Also, the rat isn't completely useless on its own. I feel like a good turn three play is chump blocking with it, then cast altars reap and spend the open black for the diacard.
Wondering how this would work as a combo deck. It has mostly low cmc spells, and the combo with the rat gets going on turn 4.
Here's the list I'm working on:
CREATURES:
SPELLS:
The sideboard would have sin collector and lifebain zombie. The pharika's cure is mostly just to hit my own high priest of penance in a pinch, which is always hilarious.
Any thoughts on whether this deck would survive long enough to get going?
I have been playing a variant on this exact theme, mono red using Nykthos. And yes, 4 of them is the way to go. I would advise 4 of the Fanatics though, instead of two. In my tests, you are almost never disappointed with one or multiples in your hand.
Second pick was magma jet, and third was another voyage's end. I went 3-0-1 and first place, with opponents complaining about how annoying my removal was. So I think blue has lots of options, along with green and white. I agree black removal is pretty bad.
Fanatic of Mogis with Pyxis of Pandemonium.
With any of the good two-red drops and Boros Reckoner, and maybe Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to quickly power out the Pyxis, the enters-the-battlefield damage output can be pretty big.
Anyway, the strategy looks viable in draft as it would probably be possible to get a good number of centaurs. Just another direction to go.
Turn 1: Favored Hoplite
Turn 2: Ordeal of Heliod (white one), swing for three
Turn 3: Swing for 4, sac aura and gain ten life. Play Voracious Wurm as a 12/12 with one white mana open to protect it with Gods Willing, or as a way to swing through next turn.
Or if you have gladecover scout in your opening hand, then its turn four instead. But that's cool 'cause you can play angeic accord that turn. Yup, this deck is getting made.