- Rowan
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Member for 13 years, 10 months, and 10 days
Last active Mon, Jun, 6 2016 18:19:20
- 2 Followers
- 505 Total Posts
- 12 Thanks
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Jun 2, 2011Rowan posted a message on How to Build a Tasty Deck... NOM NOMSo after playtesting, guess what? This deck sucks :/ Mono black spirits are pretty darn weak... gonna try some adding more removal...Posted in: Rowan Blog
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Jun 2, 2011Rowan posted a message on Super Bad Luck.LOL, maybe you should quit while your ahead? ... I like the sensation of opening new packs too, but I learned long ago that I have bad luck with them... still haven't pulled anything really nice yet. SO, I just go to drafts where I can enter in for $10 and get 3 packs... I then get to choose which cards to keep... plus I can have the experience of battling it out for a chance to win more packs as prizes... It just seems like a better investment to me. :/ Just my 2cPosted in: Matt Blog
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on [DECK] Mono-Blue Air ControlYeah, it seems pretty darn good. I like decks where you can easily tell what it's trying to do. I think those are the most effective and fun to play. Unfortunately, those kinds of decks are vulnerable to things like surgical extraction and memoricide taking out your key cards.Posted in: darkspellcards Blog
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May 29, 2011Volt Charge seems like a really good option for this deck, what do you think? Proliferating chalices and spheres at the same time as removing your opponent's early attackers seems really viable. I really don't like that's it's a phyrexian card though.Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 29, 2011I really like your suggestion of Hellkite Charger. I think he might go in instead of the Phoenixes. As much as a I like them they feel a little awkward with the mana "curve" which is actually more of a boxy shape, lol. I'm not sure what else I would swap charger for. A good reason to swap Charger for Phoenix is that phoenix just doesn't have the damage potential that Charger does. We HAVE the mana for it, so it's probably best to use it. Plus he's got haste, which means he can attack on turn three for 5 dmg.Posted in: Rowan Blog
Bogardan Hellkite is awesome too, but not standard. Maybe they will reprint him. -
May 29, 2011You don't need pyretic ritual to attack with hellkite igniter on turn 3, just an iron myr or a sphere on turn two, then geosurge on turn three. You CAN use it INSTEAD of the iron myr or the sphere though, and actually it might better to have 4 Ritual and 4 Sphere, and ditch the iron myr all together - maybe a sideboard card? As much as they help with metalcraft and Igniter, the myr are too easily removed by contagion clasp, bolt, etc... HOWEVER, the lack of a permanent mana source is a little bit of a letdown for the dragons. That's what everflowing chalice is for though. The only other option is get land out more than once per turn, but I don't think that's doable in mono red.Posted in: Rowan Blog
The reason I opted for dragons over battleshperes is primarily for the flying, and also the ability to pump them. Steel Hellkite is just a beast, I love him immensely for his ability to board wipe and the fact that he gets around colored protection (swords).
Battleshperes are great especially if you are running any myr already. Probably a worthy addition to the arsenal. Not sure if I would rather have a battlesphere or an igniter though. Haste has allowed me to do damage when I would otherwise not have been able to.
Chimeric mass is definitely something to consider. I don't like the fact that it takes 1 to turn it into a creature though. It does have pseudo haste though, which I like, and you can pour as little or as much mana as you want into it. However, it works A LOT better in a proliferate deck. It's immunity to sorceries is very noteworthy though... ultimately I think I'd have to playtest it to determine if I really want to use it.
I don't have any koth or titans, so I'm not using them yet, but they are good for this deck without a doubt.
Red Sun's Zenith or Fireball is very necessary for this deck to work well. If your creatures get countered or locked down again and again, you still have the ability to do direct damage with all that mana you've ramped up to. NOT too mention that "shuffle back into your library" thing. Crystal ball helps to dig them out. It shouldn't be uncommon to do two RSZ in a row, later in the game when you have more than one ball out. Not to mention the exile thing is useful for MANY creatures.
I'm curious why you chose bolts instead of galvanic blast, or actually why you're using them at all. I swapped my blasts for RSZ because of the scalability. Whipflare should deal with rush type decks quite nicely.
I wish we could do simulations with these decks... like battle it out to see which build works the best consistently. -
May 29, 2011Hey do you mind posting your deck list, I'd be curious to see how it differs. Originally, I did use Iron Myr, but I switched them for Sphere of the Suns. Creature ramp wasn't working out for me because they always got pinged.Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on As Many First Blogs Go, This Won't.*applause*Posted in: Lantern Blog
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on [DECK] Mono-Blue Air ControlI might sideboard the bounce cards in favor for Guard Gomazoa Another great flying creature that can be buffed by gravitational shift.Posted in: darkspellcards Blog
I know it doesn't have flying, but Æther Adept might be useful in place of your 1 for 1 bounce. Combo with Æther Tradewinds.
Wind Zendikon Is also a good card to play on that first turn. It's in keeping with your air theme, and might help swing the game in your favor earlier. A 4/2 flyer for U aint bad (after you get gravitational shift onto the battlefield).
I might trade the Gitaxian probe for Preordain. I don't think you want to be paying life with this deck, although knowing what's in your opponents hand can be useful... I haven't played with it, so I can't speak from experience.
Dissipation Field might help you against aggro.
Redirect? Useful against burn decks.
Have you considered Sphinx of Magosi? Amazing card draw, gets ridiculous with training grounds, but I can see you aren't going the activated ability route.
How about something like Volition Reins or Mind Control?
Twisted Image might be an interesting card alongside your Gravitational Shift, protecting your own creatures and possibly killing your opponent's? Also, kills anything with 0 attack like ornithopter, wall of omens, spellskite, etc... possible sideboard?
That's about all I got for ya. I hope at least some of that is useful.
Oh, and btw, here are a few cards I made that I thought you might like:
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May 29, 2011Rowan posted a message on ANGELFIRE - Boros CasualHey, thanks for the comment. I hadn't seen either of those before now either. Wojek Embermage hoses token decks, but that's about all. Brightflame does a better job I think. Leave no trace is interesting, but obviously only good against enchantress decks, which I HAVE played against. So, I'll side board it when I play against him again. Mwahahaha!Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on TUMBLEBLASTActually I hadn't even though about it. That's pretty epic though, and I will definitely see if I can procure one or two of him. It fits the theme quite nicely. Thanks for the suggestion!!Posted in: Rowan Blog
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May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on UW Venser ControlHey! This is another deck that I've been mulling over for a while.Posted in: yarpus Blog
Æther Tradewinds might also be good. Gives you a second chance to counter whatever it is you target.
Mine is a lot different than yours and is mono white, but here ya go, Tumbleblast:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/blog.php?b=5445
It uses Glimmerpoint stag instead of Venser, and focuses a lot more on wiping out their side of the battlefield with sunblast angel, utilizing white's tap capabilities. From the looks of your deck, glimmerpoint might not be a bad addition to back up venser. -
May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on G/B Rock-ggroWhat about something like Reassembling Skeleton?Posted in: Decks
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May 28, 2011Rowan posted a message on Price of Progress: Mono U InfectFirst off, I'm totally with you on the flavor - my aim is to build decks that sit well with me "aesthetically" while still being pretty competitive. This means no mirran phyrexian mingling! I'm leery about multicolored decks too unless they have an overarching theme flavor-wise.Posted in: yarpus Blog
That said, I've been trying to come up with a mono blue infect for a while now... mine's a little different though and focuses a little more on card draw for psychosis crawler which is a card I like a lot.
My fear though is that it just doesn't fit into a deck that's also trying to do infect. I'm thinking about taking out cards that only do infect in favor of ones that help out psychosis crawler also. I just feel like using proliferate without infect would be a waste.
Cards that I thought might fit in somehow with this are
Mitotic Manipulation - to help with ramp, maybe get a second chalice out earlier or a proliferate engine.
Culling Dais - proliferated card draw
Corrupted Conscience - helpful infect + removal
Oculus - sack to culling dais
Vivisection - awesomely evil flavor - but in practice not as useful as I'd like.
Darkslick Drake - sack to the dais, also decent body for defense and attack
Plague Myr - ramp and possible early infect?
Thrummingbird - great little beast. that is all.
Grafted Exoskeleton - goes onto thrummingbird or other big threats
Mana Leak - very decent counter - when are they going to have 3 extra mana left to counter your counter?
Phyrexian Metamorph - Copy your biggies for only three?
Viral Drake - pretty neat card, probably will include him eventually
Gitaxian Probe - perfect for the deck flavor wise but idk if it's worth a card slot.
Phyrexian Ingester - NOM NOM
I'm curious though how you fared with so few land. Did it work out alright?
My hope is that the two of us can spread the enlightenment that is phyrexia! mwahahaha! - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Khemba might go in, however I don't like that her kitties aren't clampable. I want to be getting my equipment on Aurelia in an ideal world anyway.
Jor Kadeen is decent and worth testing. However, my hunch is that he's still not as efficient as what I'm looking for. The battlecry creatures were almost better because they're clampable and battlecry triggers twice with Aurelia. So, for just 1 Signal Pest can do as much for my army as Jor Kadeen (if Aurelia is in play).
Hero of Oxid Ridge is another one that I've considered for swarm boost. The haste is really nice.
Natural Order is awesome but they run about $30-$40. I don't think my friend can afford that one right now. Still a Worldly Tutor and/or Summoner's Pact might be within budget. I need to figure what elves can be cut for tutors.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician has some potential but I think for this deck, we want to stay GW. Gaddock Teeg is the only other commander I would consider for the deck, but I don't like painting a bullseye on my face right off the bat if I can help it.
Turn 10 is very very very late to be trying to win in my experience. Most of my decks can win by turn 5 (they usually don't because of interruption). As for artifact hate, I feel that Austere Command and Aura Shards are enough. If I need more I'd add in a Fracturing Gust or something.
Genesis Wave is one of the worst early topdecks. Even late game, it's a bit hit or miss. If I'm spending that much mana on something I want it to be a sure thing, hence why Tooth and Nail and Craterhoof are in and G-wave isn't
Thanks for your comments.
-1 Frontline Medic +1 Idylic Tutor ~ Idylic can grab Land Tax, Breath of Fury, Iroas, and Purphoros
-1 Signal Pest +1 Argentum Armor ~ We can cheat Argentum into play fairly reliably. While the battlecry effect is efficient, Pest isn't doing enough for me.
-1 Gratuitous Violence +1 Concerted Effort ~ Violence was a little heavy on my curve. Concerted Effort is a little more useful.
-1 Coldsteel Heart +1 Coalition Relic ~ Relic helps us cast a turn 4 Aurelia a bit more reliably
-1 Legion Loyalist +1 Stonehewer Giant ~ Loyalist doesn't do a whole lot for me, but the giant can be game winning now that I've got some serious equipment.
-1 Precinct Captain +1 Puresteel Paladin ~ the Captain was pretty subpar considering that combat damage needs to be dealt to create just one token that needs to wait a turn to attack. Paladin should be able to give me a little more bang for my buck.
Other things I'm considering:
Godo, Bandit Warlord ~ while 6 is certainly a lot of mana for this deck, it could be justified.
Taj-Nar Swordsmith ~ equipment fetches are just so nice, but Stoneforge is better.
Price of Glory ~ A little blue hate card I've always liked.
Splinter Twin and Midnight Guard - I like this combo a lot. It's got the potential to win games out of nowhere and can be tutored for.
Draw engine is Skullclamp with Mentor of the Meek and Glimpse of Nature as backups.
The question of what commander to use has been a bit of issue. Karametra and Rhys both have some major perks. Input appreciated.
Green and white isn't exactly my forte. The sheer number of elf options alone is overwhelming. However, I think I've stumbled upon some interesting combos and little known gems here. Let me know what you think!
1x Karametra, God of Harvests
1x Rhys the Redeemed
ELFBALL OF DOOM
One Drops
1x Heritage Druid
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Quirion Ranger
1x Boreal Druid
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Wirewood Symbiote
Others
1x Seeker of Skybreak
1x Imperious Perfect
1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader
1x Elvish Archdruid
1x Wood Elves
1x Lys Alana Huntmaster
1x Priest of Titania
1x Viridian Joiner
1x Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Wirewood Channeler
Combo Support
1x Umbral Mantle
1x Lightning Greaves
OTHER RAMP/BOOSTERS
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Sol Ring
1x Earthcraft
1x Aluren
1x Seedborn Muse
1x Path to Exile
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Oblation
1x Beast Within
1x Return to Dust
1x Austere Command
1x Retribution of the Meek
1x Aura Shards
LAND DESTRUCTION
1x Global Ruin
1x Cataclysm
1x Armageddon
1x Winter Orb
CARD DRAW/HAND CONTROL
1x Skullclamp
1x Mentor of the Meek
1x Abundance
1x Glimpse of Nature
1x Regal Force
TUTORS
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Steelshaper's Gift
1x Idylic Tutor
1x Elvish Harbinger
1x Fierce Empath
1x Crop Rotation
1x Chord of Calling
1x Eladamri's Call
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Fauna Shaman
1x Skyshroud Poacher
1x Tooth and Nail
Basics
9x Forest
8x Plains
Duals
1x Command Tower
1x Sunpetal Grove
1x Temple Garden
1x Horizon Canopy
1x Sungrass Prairie
1x Wooded Bastion
Utility
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Flagstones of Trokair
1x Riftstone Portal
1x Strip Mine
1x Wirewood Lodge
Fetch/Cycling
1x Windswept Heath
1x Krosan Verge
1x Secluded Steppe
1x Tranquil Thicket
RECURSION
1x Eternal Witness
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Life from the Loam
1x Regrowth
1x Hymn of Rebirth
GAME ENDER
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
Two of green's greatest strengths are ramp and creature tutors. I don't see nearly enough of either.
One neat thing you can do is use Birthing Pod to sac Prossh, grabbing Chancellor of the Forge. Next turn, you can get Craterhoof Behemoth for the win.
Also Tooth and Nail is currently in your enchantment section. And "spells" should be called "sorceries" Remember that everything that isn't a land is a spell.
My paper deck is coming along. I just acquired the three Praetors in Jund's colors. It plays great even without 2/3 of the power cards listed in the OP so I know it's pretty good as is.
I'm liking Exsanguinate a fair bit as a finisher and a lifegain "hate compensator". It's awesome with Mana Echoes, but we've also got the ramp to make it worth our while.
As I increase my pool of cards to playtest with, I'll keep this updated, thanks for your interest.
As always, ideas are appreciated
I'm very surprised to see Windfall get cut. I don't agree with you that it's the weakest handcycler. It's nearly as good as Wheel of Fortune early game and it scales lategame. Due to my rapid fire spell casting I almost always have less cards in hand than my opponents - at least when Windfall is needed. I'd argue that Fact or Fiction is indeed much weaker, at least for our purposes. I feel its 4 cmc is too high for what it gives us. It doesn't work with Niv, nor does it grant us any of the handcycling benefits that Windfall does.
What do you think about Counterbalance? I find it to be pretty amazing in more competitive playgroups. Otherwise, it draws a lot of hate. With your top deck manipulation stuff, it's nice.
Nothing new to report for the deck. Sadly, MTG hasn't been a big player in my life recently due to lack of a playgroup. New sets look like fun!
I'm open to discussing possible additions from the new sets but nothing has popped out at me.
This is a pretty good policy to have and helps to take the edge away from a more competitive playgroup.
What is "fun" and "fair" is entirely subjective, and one day you may find that you enjoy playing a competitive deck yourself. I personally find it to be a lot funner, but only if my opponent's are equally equipped.
I'm going to say right now that without tutoring, you won't be able to compete with the high rollers. Not unless you run a lot of Stranglehold effects.
But both Krenko, Mob Boss and Purphoros, God of the Forge are powerful mono red commanders. I personally don't find mono colored decks to be all that fun though.
Naya(RGW) is probably what I would build if I wanted to hate against the competitive players with land destruction and play big creatures. Boros is really fast and fun deck too (link in sig) but it demands a low average cmc.
Jund (BRG) is powerful too. You've got access to a lot of the best creatures, removal, and ramp spells. I like Prossh, Skyraider of Kher quite a lot.
Surrak Dragonclaw could indeed be a fun deck. And Heartwood Storyteller would be a powerful player. Green has plenty of powerful creature tutors that are also creatures like Fauna Shaman, Fierce Empath, Momir Vig, Simic Visionary, and Yisan, the Wanderer Bard. I could see Craterhoof Behemoth being a powerful win con here.
But really man, it's hard to shut down competitive decks without being competitive yourself... it just doesn't work that way. Slotting in a ton of hate and stax cards will just make you a bigger jerk than the other guys IMO and YOU will be the one hated out.
Infinite combos are optional however and can certainly be stopped. And that's what removal and control is for.