So I made a thread a while ago about my first attempt at creating a deck. Needless to say, it was rough. However, I've been playing it at local events, asking people for advice, reading on this forum, and just generally doing my homework. This Friday, I'll be going to a FNM and plan to have the deck ready to go and I want to do really well. I feel like I've hit just the right setup for my play style and I'm very happy at the moment, thanks to a few tweaks and trades I've made. Without further ado, here it is:
(Oh, I'm also not sure on what type of deck this would be "classified" as. I'm thinking it's either midrange or control, or maybe a mix of both? Some clarification on that would be great.)
So first, I'll start off by saying that Serra Angel may not be staying. I'm thinking about trading it out for either Celestial Archon or another Seraph of the Sword; I haven't decided yet. Anyway, with that said, here are my notes on the deck:
Yoked Ox - When I first looked at this card, I thought "Cool, a useless defender." Little did I realize that it isn't actually a defender, therefore can be used as an attacker. So it does 3 things for me: it gives my early game some much needed stabilization against cards like Fleecemane Lion and Anger of the Gods, gives my mid and late game extra attacking bodies (which is useful for triggering Frontline Medic's Battalion ability and extra lifegain from Path of Bravery) and it provides devotion for Heliod. That's a lot of utility for 1 mana.
Frontline Medic - This card is the core of my midgame and has fantastic synergy with the rest of my deck. The Battalion ability allows much more freedom when attacking, which helps trigger Path of Bravery, which then triggers Archangel, so on and so forth. When Heliod is out and giving everything Vigilance, I'm basically attacking for free and gaining life, adding +1/+1 counters to my creatures, or at least forcing spells out of my opponent that they'd rather use elsewhere. Add that to the fact that once he gives my creatures indestructibility, I can drop Supreme Verdict during the 2nd Main Phase and wipe out all of my opponent's creatures while keeping all of mine, and this card is incredibly good.
Boros Reckoner - Wasn't a card I had originally planned on using, but through playtesting I've found that I do have a good enough mana base to cast it right after Frontline Medic, which is when he becomes most useful. When attacking (especially with Frontline Medic's Battalion ability), it forces the opponent to take damage or waste a spell. Its bounce damage also makes it useful on defense, which further improves the stability of the deck as it builds up to Archangel. The 3 white devotion also helps trigger Heliod very quickly.
Heliod - A huge 5/6 body for just 4 mana and it doesn't take long for my devotion to enable him. The vigilance ability is extremely useful as I have previously mentioned and the Cleric token ability is a very useful backup plan in games where, for example, I end up getting mana flooded or someone casts a board wipe.
Seraph of the Sword - Another great defensive stabilization card and the mana cost helps smoothen out my mana curve.
Archangel of Thune - My favorite card. Combined with Path of Bravery, Heliod, and Frontline Medic, things just get out of hand very very quickly.
Angel of Serenity - The perfect card for turning the tide in a stalemate or providing the finishing blow.
Then I have my Essence Scatters and Celestial Flares to help keep early creatures off the board while I build up to my mid and late game. Supreme Verdict is a great game saver if I'm getting flooded with attacking creatures or a game ender if I can cast it after activating Frontline Medic's Battalion ability. Path of Bravery, as mentioned earlier, is just absolutely killer with Archangel of Thune. It's also great with Heliod and Frontline Medic where I can attack freely, even if only for the life gain.
The sideboard is still something I'm working on and is incomplete at this time.
Anyways, that is my deck at the moment and I would love to hear your comments, suggestions and advice as I move forward. Thanks for reading!
After some thought about my deck's early game, I'm thinking that Yoked Ox will be much more useful than Soulmender. It will fend off most creatures within the first 3 turns, survive hits from the plethora of 2-3 damage spells and allow me to get to the late game much more safely, at which point it will start gaining counters and be able to attack. So I plan to swap out my 3 soulmenders and one other card for 4 Yoked Ox. Any thoughts?
This is similar to my deck except I'm running blue for spells. Sorry for the lack of deck tags, I'm typing this on my phone.
1x Angel of Serenity
4x Archangel of Thune
1x Serra Angel
1x Seraph of the Sword
2x Heliod God of the Sun
4x Frontline Medic
4x Boros Reckoner (note below)
3x Soulmender
4x Essence Scatter
3x Negate
1x Spear of Heliod
4x Supreme Verdict
2x Celestial Flare
2x Path of Bravery
14 Plains
10 Island
Im currently experimenting with Boros Reckoner. I have 4x Detention Sphere that I may also use in that slot. Right now my mana flow has been great. It's very rare that I'm short on either color. The cohesiveness of frontline medic and supreme verdict is fantastic; make all of my creatures indestructible then destroy my opponent's creatures. Boros Elite is another card I've had my eye on for supplementing my early turn plays. I also have a Fiendslayer Paladin and 2 Imposing Sovereign at my disposal. Any comments/suggestions are welcome.
Ok so I'm quite new to Magic, so try to take it a bit easy on my horrid deck building skills for now haha . I recently started playing right when M14 came out and decided to build a deck that wouldn't go out of date for quite some time, so I started looking at the cards I pulled and started thinking of ideas. I've gone through a ton of different iterations of this deck and I feel that this is the closest to achieving my idea with the cards I currently have, though there is certainly a lot of room for improvement. I'll try to explain the reasons for and ideas behind my deck. Feel free to point out my dumb ideas, but try to also point me in the right direction .
Here's my thinking behind it:
Simply put, the base goal of the deck is to survive until I can get an Archangel out of the field then trigger the 1/1 counters and lifelink bonuses as much as possible. I have tried several ways to achieve this, and decided that the best (and most enjoyable to play) route would be to utilize low mana creatures, especially ones that would continue to be useful later in the game.
So I start off with Soulmenders, which help regenerate health in the early game and can use that same ability to trigger the Archangels' distribution of 1/1 counters later in the game. The Angelic Wall, Seacoast Drakes, Walls of Frost and Haazda Snare Squad are used for defense. The Snare Squads are also useful on offense with their ability to tap creatures when attacking. Other useful creatures on offense would be the Trained Condors, which are particularly useful when my opponent is lacking air defense. The Banisher Priests are...well...just super useful in many scenarios, and the Fiendslayer Paladin is really nice to have for the extra lifelink. The Wardens of Evos Isle can exploit lack of air defense and help get Archangels out quicker. Seraph of the Sword is another very useful card, especially on defense. So I tried not to blindly add low mana creatures, but instead add ones that would help me achieve my goal.
Then as for the Enchantments, some of them serve a defensive purpose. The Pacifisms and Claustrophobias help me weather the storm of creature/token spam decks. Indestructibility can have many uses; either on defense to keep me alive or on offense to enable myself to swing in with lifelink. Path of Bravery is probably one of my favorite additions to the deck. It rewards high health numbers with a 1/1 counter and it rewards health whenever I attack, meaning the Archangels abilities will trigger on that as well as their actual attack. That, along with the creatures that give bonuses for attacking, feels like a nice combination. The two Staffs will also trigger the Archangel ability and the Angelic Accord will allow the effect to swell even greater.
Sadly, I only have MTG Forge to be able to regularly test out my deck ideas, so I don't have a great way to see how this will work in a live setting. But from what I can tell, it can be a somewhat fragile strategy, mainly against heavy aggro decks, but when it works, it snowballs out of control for the opponent insanely quick. Right now the card count is at 66 and I'm trying to keep it as close to 60 as possible.
So anyways, I'm really looking for comments on how I can improve this deck. I personally like the idea behind it, but I'm sure the execution could use work and some trimming around the edges. I have some decent sideboard cards like Jace Memory Adept, Colossal Whale, Essence Scatters, Negates, Riot Control, Congregate etc to work with as well. I actually feel like Jace could be useful because once I get 6-8 mana out on the field, I usually deal out my hand pretty quick and could use the extra influx of cards. But I'll stop blabbing and let people who actually know what they're talking about help me out because I definitely don't! Thanks for your time .
(Oh, I'm also not sure on what type of deck this would be "classified" as. I'm thinking it's either midrange or control, or maybe a mix of both? Some clarification on that would be great.)
4x Yoked Ox
4x Frontline Medic
3x Boros Reckoner
2x Heliod, God of the Sun
1x Seraph of the Sword
1x Celestial Archon
4x Archangel of Thune
1x Angel of Serenity
4x Essence Scatter
3x Negate
4x Supreme Verdict
2x Celestial Flare
3x Path of Bravery
Land
14x Plains
10x Island
4x Brave the Elements
4x Detention Sphere
3x Blind Obedience
3x Gods Willing
So first, I'll start off by saying that Serra Angel may not be staying. I'm thinking about trading it out for either Celestial Archon or another Seraph of the Sword; I haven't decided yet. Anyway, with that said, here are my notes on the deck:
Yoked Ox - When I first looked at this card, I thought "Cool, a useless defender." Little did I realize that it isn't actually a defender, therefore can be used as an attacker. So it does 3 things for me: it gives my early game some much needed stabilization against cards like Fleecemane Lion and Anger of the Gods, gives my mid and late game extra attacking bodies (which is useful for triggering Frontline Medic's Battalion ability and extra lifegain from Path of Bravery) and it provides devotion for Heliod. That's a lot of utility for 1 mana.
Frontline Medic - This card is the core of my midgame and has fantastic synergy with the rest of my deck. The Battalion ability allows much more freedom when attacking, which helps trigger Path of Bravery, which then triggers Archangel, so on and so forth. When Heliod is out and giving everything Vigilance, I'm basically attacking for free and gaining life, adding +1/+1 counters to my creatures, or at least forcing spells out of my opponent that they'd rather use elsewhere. Add that to the fact that once he gives my creatures indestructibility, I can drop Supreme Verdict during the 2nd Main Phase and wipe out all of my opponent's creatures while keeping all of mine, and this card is incredibly good.
Boros Reckoner - Wasn't a card I had originally planned on using, but through playtesting I've found that I do have a good enough mana base to cast it right after Frontline Medic, which is when he becomes most useful. When attacking (especially with Frontline Medic's Battalion ability), it forces the opponent to take damage or waste a spell. Its bounce damage also makes it useful on defense, which further improves the stability of the deck as it builds up to Archangel. The 3 white devotion also helps trigger Heliod very quickly.
Heliod - A huge 5/6 body for just 4 mana and it doesn't take long for my devotion to enable him. The vigilance ability is extremely useful as I have previously mentioned and the Cleric token ability is a very useful backup plan in games where, for example, I end up getting mana flooded or someone casts a board wipe.
Seraph of the Sword - Another great defensive stabilization card and the mana cost helps smoothen out my mana curve.
Archangel of Thune - My favorite card. Combined with Path of Bravery, Heliod, and Frontline Medic, things just get out of hand very very quickly.
Angel of Serenity - The perfect card for turning the tide in a stalemate or providing the finishing blow.
Then I have my Essence Scatters and Celestial Flares to help keep early creatures off the board while I build up to my mid and late game. Supreme Verdict is a great game saver if I'm getting flooded with attacking creatures or a game ender if I can cast it after activating Frontline Medic's Battalion ability. Path of Bravery, as mentioned earlier, is just absolutely killer with Archangel of Thune. It's also great with Heliod and Frontline Medic where I can attack freely, even if only for the life gain.
The sideboard is still something I'm working on and is incomplete at this time.
Anyways, that is my deck at the moment and I would love to hear your comments, suggestions and advice as I move forward. Thanks for reading!
1x Angel of Serenity
4x Archangel of Thune
1x Serra Angel
1x Seraph of the Sword
2x Heliod God of the Sun
4x Frontline Medic
4x Boros Reckoner (note below)
3x Soulmender
4x Essence Scatter
3x Negate
1x Spear of Heliod
4x Supreme Verdict
2x Celestial Flare
2x Path of Bravery
14 Plains
10 Island
Im currently experimenting with Boros Reckoner. I have 4x Detention Sphere that I may also use in that slot. Right now my mana flow has been great. It's very rare that I'm short on either color. The cohesiveness of frontline medic and supreme verdict is fantastic; make all of my creatures indestructible then destroy my opponent's creatures. Boros Elite is another card I've had my eye on for supplementing my early turn plays. I also have a Fiendslayer Paladin and 2 Imposing Sovereign at my disposal. Any comments/suggestions are welcome.
Here's the deck:
3 Soulmender
3 Seacoast Drake
1 Angelic Wall
1 Imposing Sovereign
2 Haazda Snare Squad
2 Trained Condor
2 Warden of Evos Isle
2 Wall of Frost
2 Phantom Warrior
3 Banisher Priest
1 Fiendslayer Paladin
1 Seraph of the Sword
4 Archangel of Thune
4 Pacifism
2 Clasutrophobia
2 Path of Bravery
1 Staff of Mind Magus
1 Staff of Sun Magus
2 Indestructibility
1 Angelic Accord
Land
12 Island
14 Plains
1 Angelic Wall
1 Banisher Priest
1 Riot Control
1 Elixir of Immortality
2 Congregate
1 Guardian of the Ages
3 Negate
1 Colossal Whale
1 Jace Memory Adept
1 Gift of Orzhova
1 Solemn Offering
Here's my thinking behind it:
Simply put, the base goal of the deck is to survive until I can get an Archangel out of the field then trigger the 1/1 counters and lifelink bonuses as much as possible. I have tried several ways to achieve this, and decided that the best (and most enjoyable to play) route would be to utilize low mana creatures, especially ones that would continue to be useful later in the game.
So I start off with Soulmenders, which help regenerate health in the early game and can use that same ability to trigger the Archangels' distribution of 1/1 counters later in the game. The Angelic Wall, Seacoast Drakes, Walls of Frost and Haazda Snare Squad are used for defense. The Snare Squads are also useful on offense with their ability to tap creatures when attacking. Other useful creatures on offense would be the Trained Condors, which are particularly useful when my opponent is lacking air defense. The Banisher Priests are...well...just super useful in many scenarios, and the Fiendslayer Paladin is really nice to have for the extra lifelink. The Wardens of Evos Isle can exploit lack of air defense and help get Archangels out quicker. Seraph of the Sword is another very useful card, especially on defense. So I tried not to blindly add low mana creatures, but instead add ones that would help me achieve my goal.
Then as for the Enchantments, some of them serve a defensive purpose. The Pacifisms and Claustrophobias help me weather the storm of creature/token spam decks. Indestructibility can have many uses; either on defense to keep me alive or on offense to enable myself to swing in with lifelink. Path of Bravery is probably one of my favorite additions to the deck. It rewards high health numbers with a 1/1 counter and it rewards health whenever I attack, meaning the Archangels abilities will trigger on that as well as their actual attack. That, along with the creatures that give bonuses for attacking, feels like a nice combination. The two Staffs will also trigger the Archangel ability and the Angelic Accord will allow the effect to swell even greater.
Sadly, I only have MTG Forge to be able to regularly test out my deck ideas, so I don't have a great way to see how this will work in a live setting. But from what I can tell, it can be a somewhat fragile strategy, mainly against heavy aggro decks, but when it works, it snowballs out of control for the opponent insanely quick. Right now the card count is at 66 and I'm trying to keep it as close to 60 as possible.
So anyways, I'm really looking for comments on how I can improve this deck. I personally like the idea behind it, but I'm sure the execution could use work and some trimming around the edges. I have some decent sideboard cards like Jace Memory Adept, Colossal Whale, Essence Scatters, Negates, Riot Control, Congregate etc to work with as well. I actually feel like Jace could be useful because once I get 6-8 mana out on the field, I usually deal out my hand pretty quick and could use the extra influx of cards. But I'll stop blabbing and let people who actually know what they're talking about help me out because I definitely don't! Thanks for your time