MTG Salvation

I wasn't sure what to call this deck, but I just decided to go with Snakeform. Pretty much the majority of the cards in the deck have the same effect as Snakeform, which is turning a target creature into a weak creature (with no abilities in most cases) or something along the same line. So here's my attempt, but I need some help finding a better wincon than Plated Slagwurm. Critique is always helpful, thanks in advance.

I want to make a deck with Bloodthrone Vampire and Reassembling Skeleton that uses a combo similar to the Quillspike/Devoted Druid infinite damage combo. In order to do that, I'd need another card that could produce 1B as I sac a creature, which in this case is Reassembling Skeletons. I can't seem to find the right card, so does anyone know of any cards that could make this combo work? Please and thank you!

Quote from AEIOUsometimesY

Throw in some Paradise Mantles and have some fun.

But wait, would my creatures provide one mana of any color in addition to their original mana ability?

Quote from ScottNorwood

Well it sounds like you'd rather have a sweet mono-green ramp/beatdown deck instead of a Helix Pinnacle deck. I think you're trying to build 2 different decks right now.

It seems like it, doesn't it? I just have a bad habit of making a backup wincon so good that it becomes equal to, if not better than the primary wincon. So I'll need to back off on the beatdown part of this deck and focus on the Johnny aspects.

Quote from ScottNorwood

I just made a Helix Pinnacle deck a couple months ago. It was an infinite combo deck, running land enchantments like Fertile Ground and Dawn's Reflection, land untappers such as Arbor Elf and Krosan Restorer, and Staff of Domination. You just needed to get one land to make at least 5 mana when it taps and you could make infinite mana, use the Staff to draw through your deck to the Helix if you don't already have one, gain infinite life, and tap all their creatures down during their last turn.

I ran Trolls of Tel-Jilad (you can power them out early, put some pressure on your opponent, and it lets you use your elves as chump blockers because you can just regenerate them), Moment's Peace, and Patron of the Orochi in it, too. Your deck seems more aggressive than mine was, though.

My way is obviously weak against any kind of land removal, but if you're making a Helix Pinnacle deck, it's obviously casual anyways. Hope that gave you some ideas.

Oh man, I kinda like how you set yours up, though. Your lands produce more than they should, and there're untappers to produce even more. I guess my main goal for this deck is to get the Oracle out so I'd start popping out lands like crazy, while the elves with the mana abilities would just be providing mana for the Pinnacle. Hopefully I'd have my Baloths out and I'd be sweating out Beast tokens like nothing was happening so I'd have a good amount of blockers. Then if I deem the Pinnacle strategy hopeless, by then I should have enough mana to make an INSANE Protean Hydra, slap a Fists of Ironwood on it and just let it work. Just stuff like that. Thanks for your input, though

Quote from Jaxck

Why you don't have four copies Doubling Season I have no idea. That card is a Helix staple! Plus combos very nicely with Rampaging Baloths, Protean Hydra, and Khalni Hydra. Garruck too. To get it in, I'd take out the Greenweavers. They're just more expensive Llanowars when you have a Treespeaker out. I'd also (odly enough) take out two Forests in exchange for a second pair of Doubling Cubes.

EDIT: On second thought, take out the Fists to put back in those two Forests and a couple of Elvish Archdruids. Elf ramp to Pinnacle (or really big Hydra).

Sorry, I'm on a bit of a budget. If I had the money, I'd have bought full playsets of Doubling Seasons, Bitterblossoms, Thoughtseizes, Cryptic Commands, and who knows, maybe even a Black Lotus. (no sarcasm intended, I promise :D)

And as much as I'd like to take the Fists out, it's my only way of giving the Protean Hydra trample. I want to add in Rancor, but that card put me over my budget. D:

The deck has a very slim chance of fulfilling its true purpose, which is getting up to 100 for the Helix Pinnacle. With so many cards for mana ramp, hopefully it'll be a little easier. But if I don't make the win with the Pinnacle, I'd let my Baloths and Hydras take over... hopefully.

Not really looking for much improvement, but if something needs to be said then please don't hesitate. If this deck doesn't work out the way I hope, I'll probably convert it into a Landfall deck.

Awesome. Thanks

Awesome, thanks so much everyone.

Now, before I leave this thread to die, I have one last question. Say I tap four Forests, my Treespeaker and just for kicks, a Greenweaver Druid. That gives me eight mana. Now, say that I have Doubling Cube out, and I use it. I tap the three required for the Cube, leaving me with five mana left. The Cube doubles that mana to ten, right? I'm not looking at any of this the wrong way?

Wait, alright. I think I understand a little more, but let me see if I really do. So if I have Omnath out and I tap my Joraga Treespeaker for mana, since I haven't used the mana for anything, does the two mana stay there until I decide to use it?

Omnath, Locus of Mana has that ability that says "Green mana doesn't empty from your mana pool as steps and phases end." So say a turn after I summoned it, I use six green mana to cast something. Does that six mana stay in my mana pool indefinitely instead of emptying out, allowing me to reuse the six mana next turn? Sorry about all this, I don't completely understand Omnath.

Quote from Wingedkagouti

Molten Firebird will make its controller skip his/her next draw phase whenever it goes to the graveyard. It's the perfect gift to pass on with Bazaar Trader, especially since Dominus is bigger and also flies.

But when it goes to the graveyard, doesn't its ability bring it back to me instead of my opponent? Considering that it says "its owner" instead of "you", there is a specifically defined person in context.

Quote from domogrue

Goblin Bombardment is a great little sac outlet after you steal creatures. Bazaar Trader only has a few targets that it really synergizes with and I think your deck is more about stealing cards then giving them away. I'd focus on one or the other, which means either building around Bazaar Trader or focusing exclusively on your Threaten effects.

If anything, I'd focus more on stealing cards. But I'd want to have a backup in case my opponent doesn't have much to steal. If anything, I'd sideboard the backup wincon.

Quote from domogrue

I don't really get what Molten Firebird is doing. Also, I feel there are other phoenix cards that have better and less awkward graveyard recursion, if that's what you're aiming for. Still, instead of a 5 mana 2/2 flier, why not something that's big on its own and a little more synergistic?

I looked at Molten Firebird again, and I thought it made the opponent skip their draw phases. I read that wrong, so I'll have to make that revision.

Quote from domogrue

Guys with devour might also work well (Thunder-Thrash Elder, Caldera Hellion). But since a lot of your win condition cards are very expensive, and you have very few creatures, stuff like Volcanic Fallout and Earthquake are good for your early game for keeping things from out-aggroing you too quickly. They can also help burn out an opponent early game too if you've been good with your threatens, flings, and other spells.

I'll need to fit in a couple of those, then. I'm not too big on the Devour, but Volcanic Fallout and Earthquake sound pretty good.

EDIT: Greater Gargadon. Use creatures you steal to feed the machine, then bust him out for great justice. Problem with Threaten+Fling is that it's a bit mana intensive, so if you find turn 3 with the GG suspended, a good threaten target, and a threaten spell then it's good to have the GG around to sac to.[/QUOTE]

YESSS. That sounds crazy fun. Gargadon's in! Thanks.

Not Control as in the deck type. Control as in "gain control of permanents", "Target player gains control of target artifact, creature, or land you control", etc. It needs a little more of a wincon in the event that my opponent doesn't have something I can kill himself with. Any suggestions for a second wincon?



Any ways on making it better? I was thinking of splashing blue or maybe a little black, but I don't know where to go with that.

Awesome, thanks.

Alright, thanks for the Bloodghast clarification. But you're giving me two different answers for the Warren Instigator, and I'm a little confused. Is there a section in the rulebook that clarifies situations like this?