I realy like the idea of this deck but have no budget for some staples like: Goblin Guide, Path to Exile, Fetch Lands or Shock Lands.
So I decided to try and build the deck without them and find some budget-friendly replacements.
Instead of Path to Exile I decided to take Flame Slash, 4 damage seems enough to kill most creatures.
Instead of "Fetches" and "Shocks" I took Basics and 3x Evolving Wilds.
Is it a decent choice for the deck ? (or should I take Naya Panorama or Jungle Shrine instead ?)
Can the deck even function without Fetch and Shock lands ?
(I have Check Lands but they won't help me activate Kird Ape, Loam Lion or Wild Nacatl)
Are you sure that Raise the Alarm isn't worth keeping in this deck ?
It should work well with all the power boosting creatures (and building up Crusader of Odric) or as chump blockers if things go wrong (the tokens can also help convoke spells like Obelisk of Urd or Devouring Light, right?)
No one here plays Heroic at all ?
I know it has never been a top tier deck archtype but it seems fun and I would like to build at least a competent deck based on the concept.
Hero of Bladehold is not out of the question but seems a bit mana intensive for an all-in kind of deck I have in mind (is this plan too risky?)
How is Odric, Master Tactician as an alternative ?
Another idea I thought about is to replace Launch the Fleet with Bioshift.
This can be an efficient way to trigger Heroic twice for 1 mana and a great combo between Abzan Falconer (or another creature)and Phalanx Leader.
So I decided to try and build the deck without them and find some budget-friendly replacements.
Instead of Goblin Guide I decided to take Monastery Swiftspear (Prowess seems really good in this deck), other cards I considered were: Steppe Lynx and Dryad Militant.
Instead of Path to Exile I decided to take Flame Slash, 4 damage seems enough to kill most creatures.
Instead of "Fetches" and "Shocks" I took Basics and 3x Evolving Wilds.
Is it a decent choice for the deck ? (or should I take Naya Panorama or Jungle Shrine instead ?)
Can the deck even function without Fetch and Shock lands ?
(I have Check Lands but they won't help me activate Kird Ape, Loam Lion or Wild Nacatl)
I'm also not sure about the 3/4 drop spot, I have 3x Ghor-Clan Rampager there but maybe Loxodon Smiter or Woolly Thoctar are a better choice ?
Here is my build:
4x Experiment One
4x Kird Ape
4x Loam Lion
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Wild Nacatl
3x Ghor-Clan Rampager
3x Rancor
Instant (13)
3x Boros Charm
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Lightning Helix
2x Vines of Vastwood
3x Flame Slash
Land (18)
4x Forest
6x Mountain
3x Evolving Wilds
5x Plains
I might include it instead of Gather the Townsfolk though...
It should work well with all the power boosting creatures (and building up Crusader of Odric) or as chump blockers if things go wrong (the tokens can also help convoke spells like Obelisk of Urd or Devouring Light, right?)
I agree that Honor of Pure seems less necessary now and consider swapping it for:
1. Combat tricks like 2x Guardians' Pledge
2. Removal like: 2x Puncturing Light or 2x Devouring Light or 2x Valorous Stance or 2x Journey to Nowhere.
3. Card Draw like 2x Mentor of the Meek
What do you think?
But if I include 4x Ballyrush Banneret and 4x Dryad Militant together with 4x Preeminent Captain it negates the human theme and makes Champion of the Parish much worse.
So it leads to almost entirely different deck composition altogather, something like this:
1x Odric, Master Tactician
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Crusader of Odric
4x Field Marshal
4x Ballyrush Banneret
4x Preeminent Captain
4x Dryad Militant
4x Veteran Swordsmith
3x Raise the Alarm
2x Honor of the Pure
3x Forbidding Watchtower
18x Plains
Another idea I have is to add something like: Door of Destinies or Coat of Arms or Obelisk of Urd to the deck (probably as a one-of), is it a good idea ?
I know it has never been a top tier deck archtype but it seems fun and I would like to build at least a competent deck based on the concept.
3 Knight of the Holy Nimbus
4 Student of Warfare
3 Knight of Meadowgrain
4 Leonin Skyhunter
4 Knight of the White Orchid
3 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
4 Knight Exemplar
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Brave the Elements
2 Light from Within
3 Honor of the Pure
2 Journey to Nowhere
2 Forbidding Watchtower
18 Plains
Don't you think that Knight of the White Orchid makes Emeria, The Sky Ruin a more viable option ?
Is Silverblade Paladin a good option for this deck ?
How is Door of Destinies as an alternative to Light from Within ? (or maybe Coat of Arms or Obelisk of Urd instead)
In your deck which is focused on the survivability of creatures, why don't you play White Knight ?
Playing a mono-color deck I obviously want to have synergy between the cards (mostly creatures).
And the last point is to keep the overall cost of the deck reasonably low: so no Brimaz, king of oreskos, Path to Exile, Aether Vial or Elspeth, Knight-Errant for now.
Hero of Bladehold is not out of the question but seems a bit mana intensive for an all-in kind of deck I have in mind (is this plan too risky?)
How is Odric, Master Tactician as an alternative ?
By the way, I have a playset of Mirran Crusader.
The deck looks like this now:
4x Accorder Paladin
4x Champion of the Parish
3x Crusader of Odric
4x Daring Skyjek
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
4x Student of Warfare
4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2x Guardians' Pledge
2x Puncturing Light
2x Forbidding Watchtower
18x Plains
3x Honor of the Pure
Is Guardians' Pledge a good card that is worth keeping or should I replace it with:
1x Honor of the Pure and 1x Gather the Townsfolk
or 2x Devouring Light or 2x Journey to Nowhere
-4x Dryad Militant, +4x Champion of the Parish
-4x Serra Avenger, +4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
-4x Knight of Meadowgrain, +2x Gather the Townsfolk and +2x Puncturing Light
-1x Honor of the Pure, +1x Brave the Elements
Path of Exile is too expensive for me so I picked Puncturing Light as a budget replacement ( I considered Journey to Nowhere but wanted something Instant).
Should I keep Guardians' Pledge in or add more removal or token production ?
I want to put in 2x Forbidding Watchtower to help with Daring Skyjek's battalion and pump further Crusader of Odric.
2x Brion Stoutarm
4x Balefire Liege
4x Figure of Destiny
2x Firemane Avenger
4x Wojek Halberdiers
2x Iroas, God of Victory
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Battlegate Mimic
2x Boros Garrison
4x Clifftop Retreat
8x Mountain
8x Plains
Enchantment (4)
4x Legion's Initiative
4x Boros Charm
4x Lightning Helix
I want Elspeth ,Knight-Errant and Aether Vial myself but they are a too expensive for me now.
What do you suggest instead of Emeria, The Sky Ruin ? And is 22 lands the appropriate amount for my deck ?
What should I take out for Knight of the White Orchid ?
I will probably replace 1x Honor of the Pure with 1x Brave the Elements.
Any budget stand-ins for Path of Exile.
Maybe Celestial Flare or Last Breath or Valorous Stance or Reprisal or Journey to Nowhere or Devouring Light or Puncturing Light ?
What do you think about Hero of Bladehold , does it warrant inclusion in the deck ?
If not, what are some alternatives ?
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben seems like a good (but not cheap) investment, but what to take out for it ?
Precinct Captain or Soldier of the Pantheon ?
I obviously want Brimaz, king of oreskos but he is too expensive for me.
I considered Ballyrush Banneret but I don't use that much colorless mana anyway (except for Preeminent Captain maybe and Crusader of Odric because Captain of the Watch is mainly intended to be cheated in by Preeminent Captain ) so I want a better fighter like Precinct Captain which can produce soldier tokens as well.
I prefer the Veteran Armorsmith to the Veteran Swordsmith mainly because of the lower mana cost.
I already have Honor of the Pure and Field Marshal to increase the power of my soldiers.
I like Dryad Militant as well but prefer Soldier of the Pantheon because his passive seems a bit better and he has a better synergy with Champion of the Parish.
If I want to add Knight of the White Orchid (which is rather hard to acquire now) as well should I take out Leonin Skyhunter (and lose my deck's flyer) ?
Because Knight of Meadowgrain seems more like a must have.
Also, do you think that Emeria, the sky ruin is worth inclusion in the deck ?
My build looks like this now:
4 Knight of the Holy Nimbus
4 Student of Warfare
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
4 Leonin Skyhunter
2 Hero of Bladehold
3 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
4 Knight Exemplar
4 Mirran Crusader
3 Brave the Elements
2 Light from Within
4 Honor of the Pure
Lands (22)
3 Emeria, The Sky Ruin
19 Plains
I guess I should also replace 2x Guardians' Pledge with 2x Gather the Townsfolk, right ?
This can be an efficient way to trigger Heroic twice for 1 mana and a great combo between Abzan Falconer (or another creature)and Phalanx Leader.
Is it a good idea? What do you think?