Thanks for the taking the time to write all of that out! You're right, it does seem more casual after your suggestions. I was hoping to make it as competitive as possible while sticking to the human tribal theme, but perhaps that isn't possible.
My playgroup isn't tournament-level competitive, but they have pretty brutal decks: Vorel often wins by simply piling on the +1/+1 counters, we have someone who absolutely crushes with Queen Marchesa, and someone just finished building a Leovold deck that is pretty darn strong. I'd really just like to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak.
After I play with this and see how it goes, I can definitely see myself moving into a more 'competitive' build with her. I especially like the Elesh Norn + Living Plane combo, I hadn't seen that before.
Updated, now down to having to make 2 cuts. I think I like where the deck is headed, but there are a few spots I'm still iffy on.
The follow cards are the ones I'm least sure about: Containment Priest, Dragonscale General, Selfless Spirit, Eerie Interlude, Repel the Abominable, Akroma's Memorial, Gallows at Willow Hill, Always Watching, Beastmaster Ascension, Collective Effort. Any illumination would be very helpful!
I don't really feel like Dark Confidant is where I want to go for the deck. The card draw is nice, don't get me wrong, but we aren't trying to draw into removal or anything. We're trying to lock them down early, and you're playing a Bob instead of a Thalia. It just feels off to me.
What are people thinking is the most 'powerful' of the archetypes nowadays? I'm thinking BW Eldrazi is still on top, but that's basically all I've been playing since I can't afford Hierarchs or find people to trade with for them, so I'd appreciate some input from people who've played any combination of the archetypes to get a feel for where we are nowadays.
Is there any way to make Saffi less "oops I win"? I mean, I like winning, don't get me wrong, but today I had Grand Abolisher out, Mortarpod, Saffi and Karmic Guide on board, and an Enlightened Tutor in hand. I just Tutored for Phyrexian Altar on upkeep, drew it, played it, made infinite mana, then did infinite damage. I mean, it's pretty fun trying to assemble and protect the combo (I had my Ashnod's Altar exiled 4-5 rounds earlier...), but after that, you have the "oops I win" moment and it doesn't feel as triumphant as it probably should.
Juniper/Herald are indeed nice together, but like you said, he's a dead draw and winmore. I can cut him, the Thraben Doomsayer, and Herald of War pretty quickly.
Very true about Yisan; especially since later in the game, he's unlikely to make any impact. And you're still spending the 3 mana to get someone out, so I'm feeling pretty much meh about him. Cut!
Whoops, yes, Aura Shards was supposed to be there. An oversight on my part! And Den Protector seems pretty excellent, actually, for returning something from my graveyard in case things go sour.
I don't think I like clues for the sake of clues, but I like that the two Clue-y cards (Ulvenwald Mysteries and Tireless Tracker) are Human-related.
Juniper Order Ranger has definitely been on the chopping block for a while, but with all of the various human tokens entering the battlefield, I was thinking it may be worth it to keep him in. Melira can go because she's too narrow. Herald of War seems good because she makes my angels and humans a lot cheaper (assuming things like Gavony/Juniper Order Ranger are putting counters on her, I guess). Perhaps I should just slice off the parts that require putting counters on things.
I'm curious why you'd cut Odric; having an angel and Odric out means everything can have flying, which is pretty relevant; or having one of my many first-strikers out means everyone has first strike, which can be super relevant in combat. It also makes lifelink and vigilance spread to everyone.
Yisan seems pretty busted on paper; is he not that good in practice? He'll have hexproof with Sigarda out so he'll dodge a lot of spot removal that would otherwise happen if he's churning out a free (and increasingly potent) threat every turn.
Hi there! I've read the primers here and some others' decklists, but I wanted my own spin on things (while using newer cards). Flavor is a win, and I'm OK with it not being a tier one deck, but I do have a playgroup with really good players in it, so I'd like help tuning my deck so that it can compete with the best of them.
The basic strategy is going wide with a bunch of Sigarda-protected humans and then bring the beats.
It has a real weakness to Cyclonic Rift type effects, and the only card that can really deal with that is Eerie Interlude (for non-tokens).
I still need to make 10 2 cuts. Comments/suggestions for different cards welcome!
I like the Clue subtheme, since it can provide me with card draw if my board gets wiped to try to find Angel of Glory's Rise or Sun Titan or something to get my guys back.
I originally had Recruiter of the Guard, but I didn't see much I'd actually be looking for.
On the chopping block (in my mind): Collective Effort, Repel the Abominable, Always Watching, maybe Melira.
Thanks for reading and for any comments you may have.
That seems really solid, actually, nice formulation. I like that we still have the 3 basics in case of Blood Moon. Blood Moon *has* screwed me out of colorless before, but I don't think a 1-of wastes is going to fix that issue.
I wouldn't use it for Sensei's Divining Top, since they'll just tap it in response, right? I suppose it's good permanent removal for nasty things, I'm just not sure where to fit it in, and he's slow so they have an opportunity to kill him before he gets online.
I hate that Shambling Vent always comes in tapped, and more often than not the 2/3 will die to anything on defence (and bolt, path) and on offense it's only good if they only have a few paltry blockers, and you're winning at that point anyway. I'd definitely be up for trying to swap the vents for fastlands. I do think that we don't want anything below 3 basics, though. Paths and Ghost Quarters are a real threat if we can't search them up.
I agree that 2 Caverns seems like the right number; we still have SFM, Flickerwisp, Serra Avenger if you still play those that need W mana with no strings attached, not to mention Swords to Plowshares and sideboard cards. I went from 1 to 2 when I put in the recruiters and prelate and it seemed to work very smoothly for me. I am warming to the idea of swapping a Flickerwisp for a Stonecloaker, for sure, but I tend to Flicker opposing things just as often as my own, and having the first option turned off for me seems meh. A 1-of tutorable with Recruiter seems like it'd work well, though.
I'm kind of confused how people are still finding room for Mangara when he requires so much setup/is so slow. Is he that good, even now?
Yeah, I don't know about you, but with all of the taxing we're doing, I don't think I've seen four cards being shipped to the graveyard on turn 5. And my graveyard is almost always pretty barren since we don't use fetchlands or many spells.
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Concealed Courtyard
4 Eldrazi Temple
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Godless Shrine
3 Plains
1 Swamp
Artifact (6)
4 Aether Vial
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Path to Exile
Creature (27)
3 Eldrazi Displacer
4 Flickerwisp
4 Leonin Arbiter
2 Selfless Spirit
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thought-Knot Seer
3 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Wasteland Strangler
2 Blessed Alliance
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Celestial Purge
2 Ghostly Prison
2 Orzhov Pontiff
2 Rest in Peace
1 Spellskite
3 Stony Silence
My playgroup isn't tournament-level competitive, but they have pretty brutal decks: Vorel often wins by simply piling on the +1/+1 counters, we have someone who absolutely crushes with Queen Marchesa, and someone just finished building a Leovold deck that is pretty darn strong. I'd really just like to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak.
After I play with this and see how it goes, I can definitely see myself moving into a more 'competitive' build with her. I especially like the Elesh Norn + Living Plane combo, I hadn't seen that before.
The follow cards are the ones I'm least sure about: Containment Priest, Dragonscale General, Selfless Spirit, Eerie Interlude, Repel the Abominable, Akroma's Memorial, Gallows at Willow Hill, Always Watching, Beastmaster Ascension, Collective Effort. Any illumination would be very helpful!
What are people thinking is the most 'powerful' of the archetypes nowadays? I'm thinking BW Eldrazi is still on top, but that's basically all I've been playing since I can't afford Hierarchs or find people to trade with for them, so I'd appreciate some input from people who've played any combination of the archetypes to get a feel for where we are nowadays.
Very true about Yisan; especially since later in the game, he's unlikely to make any impact. And you're still spending the 3 mana to get someone out, so I'm feeling pretty much meh about him. Cut!
I don't think I like clues for the sake of clues, but I like that the two Clue-y cards (Ulvenwald Mysteries and Tireless Tracker) are Human-related.
Juniper Order Ranger has definitely been on the chopping block for a while, but with all of the various human tokens entering the battlefield, I was thinking it may be worth it to keep him in. Melira can go because she's too narrow. Herald of War seems good because she makes my angels and humans a lot cheaper (assuming things like Gavony/Juniper Order Ranger are putting counters on her, I guess). Perhaps I should just slice off the parts that require putting counters on things.
I'm curious why you'd cut Odric; having an angel and Odric out means everything can have flying, which is pretty relevant; or having one of my many first-strikers out means everyone has first strike, which can be super relevant in combat. It also makes lifelink and vigilance spread to everyone.
Yisan seems pretty busted on paper; is he not that good in practice? He'll have hexproof with Sigarda out so he'll dodge a lot of spot removal that would otherwise happen if he's churning out a free (and increasingly potent) threat every turn.
The basic strategy is going wide with a bunch of Sigarda-protected humans and then bring the beats.
It has a real weakness to Cyclonic Rift type effects, and the only card that can really deal with that is Eerie Interlude (for non-tokens).
I still need to make
102 cuts. Comments/suggestions for different cards welcome!1x Sigarda, Heron's Grace
Creature (33)
1x Angel of Glory's Rise
1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
1x Banisher Priest
1x Bastion Protector
1x Bruna, the Fading Light
1x Champion of Lambholt
1x Champion of the Parish
1x Containment Priest
1x Devout Chaplain
1x Dragonscale General
1x Duskwatch Recruiter
1x Eternal Witness
1x Fiend Hunter
1x Gisela, the Broken Blade
1x Hanweir Militia Captain
1x Heron's Grace Champion
1x Intrepid Hero
1x Karametra, God of Harvests
1x Knight of the White Orchid
1x Mentor of the Meek
1x Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1x Mirror Entity
1x Mother of Runes
1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1x Ranger of Eos
1x Selfless Spirit
1x Serra Ascendant
1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
1x Sun Titan
1x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1x Thalia's Lieutenant
1x Tireless Tracker
1x Blossoming Sands
1x Brushland
1x Canopy Vista
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Command Tower
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Flagstones of Trokair
7x Forest
1x Gavony Township
1x Graypelt Refuge
1x Homeward Path
1x Kor Haven
1x Maze of Ith
10x Plains
1x Razorverge Thicket
1x Savannah
1x Selesnya Sanctuary
1x Stirring Wildwood
1x Sungrass Prairie
1x Sunpetal Grove
1x Temple Garden
1x Windbrisk Heights
Instant (7)
1x Eerie Interlude
1x Eladamri's Call
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Repel the Abominable
1x Return to Dust
1x Rootborn Defenses
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Artifact (10)
1x Akroma's Memorial
1x Door of Destinies
1x Gallows at Willow Hill
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Selesnya Signet
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Tormod's Crypt
Enchantment (8)
1x Always Watching
1x Aura Shards
1x Beastmaster Ascension
1x Cathars' Crusade
1x Evolutionary Leap
1x Marshal's Anthem
1x Mirari's Wake
1x Ulvenwald Mysteries
Sorcery (6)
1x Austere Command
1x Collective Effort
1x Council's Judgment
1x Cultivate
1x Tragic Arrogance
1x Wrath of God
Thoughts:
Thanks for reading and for any comments you may have.
I'm kind of confused how people are still finding room for Mangara when he requires so much setup/is so slow. Is he that good, even now?