For Polukranos the lack of trample can hurt, though Garruk Wildspeaker's very useable ultimate helps get around that (also helping the Leatherback Baloths). Polukranos has very much earned his 2x spots and I've seen decks that run 4x despite his legendary status. Depending upon what else I have in hand I may pass over his monstrous ability in favor of putting down a Kalonian or Primalcrux, but it's a wonderful option to have in a deck that's starved for creature removal.
Between Wall of Roots, Polukranos, and Leatherback Baloth I've got twelve different X/5 walls to drop – all as soon as T2 – to completely shut down ground based aggro while I ramp. The problem is that these don't do anything against flying. Affinity's quasi-flying Pestermites plus flying Vault Skirge & Ornithopters quickly become a problem if I don't have any way to take them out directly or take out their buffing Steel Overseer.
Other less common flying threats:
*Delver (3/2) is less common these days but still hurts
*Restoration Angel (3/4) by T4 we should be pretty well ramped so this isn't a big problem IMO
*Geist of Saint Traft (2/2 creating 4/4 Angel token)
I could SB Windstorm etc but Lightning bolt would answer most of these options and I like that a bit of burn could help finish a turn earlier since Primalcrux is usually ~14/14, so if my rampers and Baloths attack then +3 bolt damage may be the difference between finishing the opponent this turn or waiting another turn.
Aside from evasive aggro, anything with a lot of disruption or removal is going to be tricky. I expect Jund to be messy but haven't gotten a chance to play that yet. Board wipes are also going to be a problem.
I own a playset of Dromoka's Command and I like it but I don't think I'd ever Main Board it again since it's just a bit too situational for my tastes. The +1/+1 counter and fighting modes both need a heavier creature in play already to be truly valuable, enchantments are reasonably common but not ubiquitous, and the spell damage negation is somewhat situational, too. Compare this to K Command, where the discard & damage are pretty much always useful, and the other two modes are applicable quite often as well. So I'm not wildly excited by D Command but Path is always excellent.
Overall for those 5 flex slots I'm trying think about what will help me get my ramp established and keep it established, or bring me back from a losing state and buy me more time to do so, rather than what will help me win more after I'm set up. Lightning Bolt / Thoughtseize / Path fill that role IMO, though Banefire kinda feels like the latter atm. As mentioned Bonfire of the Damned could work though I'm rather lukewarm on the randomness of the miracle cost, whereas the unstoppable nature of Banefire makes it an exceptionally reliable finisher.
Finally, as for Utopia Sprawl I usually need to set that to green if I want to hit a T3-T4 Primalcrux (big payoff but big design cost, still evaluating him), so it's not terribly reliable as far as splashes go. I've been doing alright with 8 fetches and 2 G/R shocks though, so I might be able to do 8 fetches and two different shocks, 1x G/R + 1x G/W etc.
Hi all, I've been working on a build that started as a tribal hydra deck and has since morphed into more generalized green-devotion battlecruiser build, currently centered around Primalcrux.
With Lightning bolt being such a ubiquitous, efficient, powerful, format defining spell it pains me a bit too see any significant part of my ramp that's effectively "Bolt Bait". It seems like this is really the Achilles heal of many ramp decks, with a very direct role in determining deck viability. For this reason I've been working on a devotion build that attempts to minimize reliance on boltable critters (other than Arbor Elf, his explosive synergy with Utopian Sprawl is too good to pass up), using Wall of Roots instead.
While we lose the ability to untap a land and really go bonkers with the ramp, WoR dodges Bolt, Anger of the Gods, & Pyroclasm until you've at least gotten a little mana out of it. Since it doesn't need to be tapped it can also chain with other 1-2 drop ramp pieces to help hit a T3 Primalcrux etc.
Overall, rather than ramping for 9+ mana for an explosive combo finish this deck aims to put out as many efficient, early 3-6 CMC beaters as possible, each one demanding their own response.
Right now I've got ~5 flexible spots in the deck and I'd love to get feedback from you on the best way to fill those slots.
Currently I'm splashing red for 3 Lightning Bolt and 2 Banefire MB to act as either removal or a burn finisher (was running Kessig Wolf Run but had to drop it to support GGGGGG for Primalcrux =/ ). However I could also splash black for Inquisition / Thoughtseize (pick out removal as extra fatty protection or disrupt opponent combo) or Abrupt Decay, splash white for Path and/or run KotR for more consistent Nykthos appearance, or could go all in on Green and accept poorer spot removal & SB options but save 3-5 life per game by ditching fetches/shocks.
Between Wall of Roots, Polukranos, and Leatherback Baloth I've got twelve different X/5 walls to drop – all as soon as T2 – to completely shut down ground based aggro while I ramp. The problem is that these don't do anything against flying. Affinity's quasi-flying Pestermites plus flying Vault Skirge & Ornithopters quickly become a problem if I don't have any way to take them out directly or take out their buffing Steel Overseer.
Other less common flying threats:
*Delver (3/2) is less common these days but still hurts
*Restoration Angel (3/4) by T4 we should be pretty well ramped so this isn't a big problem IMO
*Geist of Saint Traft (2/2 creating 4/4 Angel token)
I could SB Windstorm etc but Lightning bolt would answer most of these options and I like that a bit of burn could help finish a turn earlier since Primalcrux is usually ~14/14, so if my rampers and Baloths attack then +3 bolt damage may be the difference between finishing the opponent this turn or waiting another turn.
Aside from evasive aggro, anything with a lot of disruption or removal is going to be tricky. I expect Jund to be messy but haven't gotten a chance to play that yet. Board wipes are also going to be a problem.
I own a playset of Dromoka's Command and I like it but I don't think I'd ever Main Board it again since it's just a bit too situational for my tastes. The +1/+1 counter and fighting modes both need a heavier creature in play already to be truly valuable, enchantments are reasonably common but not ubiquitous, and the spell damage negation is somewhat situational, too. Compare this to K Command, where the discard & damage are pretty much always useful, and the other two modes are applicable quite often as well. So I'm not wildly excited by D Command but Path is always excellent.
Overall for those 5 flex slots I'm trying think about what will help me get my ramp established and keep it established, or bring me back from a losing state and buy me more time to do so, rather than what will help me win more after I'm set up. Lightning Bolt / Thoughtseize / Path fill that role IMO, though Banefire kinda feels like the latter atm. As mentioned Bonfire of the Damned could work though I'm rather lukewarm on the randomness of the miracle cost, whereas the unstoppable nature of Banefire makes it an exceptionally reliable finisher.
Finally, as for Utopia Sprawl I usually need to set that to green if I want to hit a T3-T4 Primalcrux (big payoff but big design cost, still evaluating him), so it's not terribly reliable as far as splashes go. I've been doing alright with 8 fetches and 2 G/R shocks though, so I might be able to do 8 fetches and two different shocks, 1x G/R + 1x G/W etc.
With Lightning bolt being such a ubiquitous, efficient, powerful, format defining spell it pains me a bit too see any significant part of my ramp that's effectively "Bolt Bait". It seems like this is really the Achilles heal of many ramp decks, with a very direct role in determining deck viability. For this reason I've been working on a devotion build that attempts to minimize reliance on boltable critters (other than Arbor Elf, his explosive synergy with Utopian Sprawl is too good to pass up), using Wall of Roots instead.
While we lose the ability to untap a land and really go bonkers with the ramp, WoR dodges Bolt, Anger of the Gods, & Pyroclasm until you've at least gotten a little mana out of it. Since it doesn't need to be tapped it can also chain with other 1-2 drop ramp pieces to help hit a T3 Primalcrux etc.
Overall, rather than ramping for 9+ mana for an explosive combo finish this deck aims to put out as many efficient, early 3-6 CMC beaters as possible, each one demanding their own response.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/2000-heads-are-better-than-one/
Right now I've got ~5 flexible spots in the deck and I'd love to get feedback from you on the best way to fill those slots.
Currently I'm splashing red for 3 Lightning Bolt and 2 Banefire MB to act as either removal or a burn finisher (was running Kessig Wolf Run but had to drop it to support GGGGGG for Primalcrux =/ ). However I could also splash black for Inquisition / Thoughtseize (pick out removal as extra fatty protection or disrupt opponent combo) or Abrupt Decay, splash white for Path and/or run KotR for more consistent Nykthos appearance, or could go all in on Green and accept poorer spot removal & SB options but save 3-5 life per game by ditching fetches/shocks.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!