Ultra-budget: Bramblewood Fight Club

Modern Sagarys

SCORE: 249 | 235 COMMENTS | 28786 VIEWS | IN 212 FOLDERS


DreadnoughtMTG says... #1

So, I really like the deck. Simple beasty dudes trampling through for massive damage is glorious. Have you given any thought to Setessan Oathsworn instead of Staunh-Hearted Warrior? Same 2 counter boost with a cheaper mana cost. It could help to speed you up a bit with little detriment. Good Luck!

March 25, 2015 5:34 p.m.

Sagarys says... #2

Ya know, I actually hadn't considered that. And I don't know why, because it totally makes sense! Swapping in 4 Setessan Oathsworn for the Staunch-Hearted Warrior.

Thanks dude!

March 25, 2015 6:40 p.m.

SpatulonMk3 says... #3

Hmm...maybe replace Savage Punch with Epic Confrontation? It gives you better early game removal.

March 28, 2015 9:53 a.m.

SpatulonMk3 says... #4

Oh, and Foe-Razer Regent. Can't forget that.

March 28, 2015 9:54 a.m.

Sagarys says... #5

I actually just picked up two copies of Epic Confrontation in a booster yesterday. I considered adding them for the awesome art alone. I think you're right though, being able to use it on the 1, 2, and 3 drops is a little faster. I'll play test with them.

The Foe-Razer Regent is insanely awesome, but I think it might be a little too slow for this deck. Which makes me sad...

March 28, 2015 10:04 a.m.

SpatulonMk3 says... #6

Maybe you could take out the Tuskguard Captains for some mana ramping (you know, your typical Elvish Mystic-type creature) creatures, as the Captains seem redundant with the Bramblewood Paragons.

March 28, 2015 11:04 a.m.

LupineShadow says... #7

If you're going to replace the Tuskguard Captains I suggest Whisperer of the Wilds, more than likely you're going to have ferocious active and the two mana would be nice.

March 29, 2015 1:12 a.m.

LupineShadow says... #8

Sorry, forgot to mention it in my previous post. But maybe consider a place for Wild Defiance it is a little mana heavy compared to the spells and creatures that you're mostly running, but it is amazing in a fight deck.

March 29, 2015 1:19 a.m.

Sagarys says... #9

The Tuskguard Captain is a pretty integral part of the curve. With a Bramblewood Paragon out, it's a 3/4 with Trample for 3 and its pump is cheap enough to be useful. The synergy of the Warrior type and the +1/+1 counters is what makes the deck strong. If I were going to include the Foe-Razer Regent, I'd probably trim a Battlemaster and add him as a fallback in the long game.

The Trample buff can be redundant, but it also acts as insurance that you're more likely to maintain Trample even versus removal.

I do like Wild Defiance though. I'll play test it a bit.

March 29, 2015 2:30 a.m.

Sagarys says... #10

@LupineShadow I tested out Wild Defiance in a few games. It's certainly useful, but most of the time I was forced to choose between casting it or laying down another 3 drop creature, or between casting it and going for an early fight removal. It's a sweet card, but I think it doesn't quite fit the curve for this deck's strategy.

@SpatulonMk3 I also tested Foe-Razer Regent - (I don't actually own him, but I was playing with friends so I subbed in a random card to pretend it was him) - he's situationally useful to the current strategy of the deck, but too slow in its current form. Like Wild Defiance, he's really good in theory, but he's more of a creature you build your deck around. To be able to use him effectively, I'd have to alter the deck's current strategy too much. Right now, the deck is really aggro - it comes out swinging (literally). Foe-Razer is bad ass, and I've already got an idea for a deck to build around him, but for this deck, he's gonna ride the pine.

Thanks for the suggestions though guys, I really appreciate it!

March 30, 2015 1:52 p.m.

LupineShadow says... #11

Sorry Wild Defiance didn't pan out, but + 1 from me.

March 31, 2015 1:54 a.m.

LupineShadow says... #12

And actually this just jumped to mind, but I was curious if you'd playtested Solidarity of Heroes in place of Giant Growth I realize that extra 1 mana can mean a lot, but I feel like drawing one early game isn't so bad for this deck with everything producing counters and Bramblewood Paragon adding one more besides. Late game though with the mana for the strive cost it could get out of hand really quickly.

March 31, 2015 2:13 a.m.

Sagarys says... #13

@LupineShadow - Now there's an interesting play. I don't know if I'd want to replace Giant Growth just because of the versatility and protection it offers.

But I did just recently cut some land and randomly added those two Bond Beetles because I couldn't think of anything else at the time. I could see playing two copies of this over those. As early as turn 4, this is a game changer. Hit an non-pumped Heroic with it, the Heroic trigger resolves first, then this doubles the counters. And Centaur Battlemaster becomes a 9/9 the first time you hit him with this.

I'm gonna toss two copies in and test it out. Thanks for the suggestion!

March 31, 2015 9:50 a.m.

libraryjoy says... #14

I haven't tried this out, but I've got to say that if almost all your creatures are 3-drop and above, you probably want to include some ramping - Elvish Mystic, Llanowar Elves, Whisperer of the Wilds - anything to have some kind of board presence early on and get your big guys out faster. It's not probably an awesome, efficient card draw, but I like Snake Umbra. Especially in a deck that attacks a lot and has trample, would trigger the heroic and protect with the Totem armor.

March 31, 2015 11:54 a.m.

libraryjoy says... #15

Edit - Didn't see that the Paragons were a 2 drop - I thought they were 3 or 4 (and I run them in elf decks, so I should know better). It looks like you've tried the mana-ramp thing and cut it, so ignore that suggestion. The Snake Umbra still stands though. The more I think about it in this deck, the more I'd like to see how it runs... If nothing else, it'd be a great sideboard option.

March 31, 2015 12:01 p.m.

Sagarys says... #16

Thanks for the input libraryjoy. Yeah the deck is fairly good at establishing early board presence. Wasteland Viper can lock down the board for the first couple turns, and can even be targeted to fight if needed.

Snake Umbra is pretty cool. With trample, I could see it being a pretty strong card draw engine. I'll have to give it a test. Thanks again!

March 31, 2015 12:13 p.m.

Sagarys says... #17

Thank you to everyone that has checked this deck out and thanks again to everyone that's upvoted it. It's now (near the bottom of) the Top decks hub - that's awesome! Please, if you haven't already, give the deck a +1 if you like it. Thank you thank you thank you!

March 31, 2015 1:37 p.m.

MarioLL says... #18

Hi Sagarys. Ive played a couple of games with your Fight Deck. Here are my thoughts.

23 Forest is too much. Often at the end of a game I was staring at 7-8 of them on the battlefield. 2-3 less should be fine.

Wasteland Viper was pretty useless. Although, I didn't play against Aggro decks. In games I won my life points didnt matter at all. The point was to play Battlemaster on turn 5, untap with it on board, then pump him and swing for victory. If you need some early threat, I recommend Charging Badger.

As another two drop Bassara Tower Archer could be good. Its hexproof protects against burn spells and combat tricks like Divine Verdict or Doom Blade. If you want a Warrior, then Swordwise Centaur fits the bill.

By adding a two drop with , you can use Aspect of Hydra, which serve as - at least - additional copies of Giant Growth.

Solidarity of Heroes is a sweet but surprisingly undereffective card. If played on a clear Battlemaster, it pumps him to 9/9. The same effect can be achieved by Giant Growth, which costs less. Try Titanic Growth or even Phytoburst. To make a trampler, Unnatural Predation also works.

Mutagenic Growth and Gather Courage can add much needed final points of damage for free. They perform better than Become Immense, because they provide almost the same buff numbers, but are far easier to play.

As a way of protection against sweepers and heavy control/discard, I would add two copies of Hunter's Prowess. It refills your hand with new cards to keep pressuring an opponent.

March 31, 2015 2:14 p.m.

Sagarys says... #19

@MarioLL - This write up is awesome. Thank you so much! I've got some serious thinking to do now. I haven't experienced the same issue with Wasteland Viper but I can totally see it happening. I do like the idea of adding something like Swordwise Centaur which could play off the Bramblewood Paragons to drop as a seriously undercosted big body. I totally agree with the land issue. I already trimmed it down from an initial 25, but I agree with you and have been considering trimming it a little further. Some of your suggestions are awesome. I'm gonna sit down and crunch some numbers here in a bit and see if I can't refine the deck a bit. When I do, I'll make sure to throw you some credit. I hope you enjoyed playing the deck. I find it super fun.

Thanks again!

March 31, 2015 2:20 p.m.

MarioLL says... #20

Sagarys, I'm glad I could help you! I'll be happy to see your another version of the deck.

I have played with Aggro decks a bit (GW) and found 20 lands enough to produce 5 of them on turn 5-6. This is the turn the game should end for a good Aggro deck :)

Take care!

March 31, 2015 2:31 p.m.

MarioLL says... #21

Sagarys, I've played four matches against Aggro decks. The fight package performed very good, especially with Setessan Oathsworn. Maybe, maybe, it'd be better to switch Centaur Battlemasters for Staunch-Hearted Warriors? Such scenario happened: two fight spells on Oathsworn, he grew big, killed two creatures, cleared the path, then entered combat to deal direct damage. Fantastic!

I think in Aggro matchups, Viper is okay. At least, until opponent stops being scared of losing a creature to it.

Solidarity of Heroes still underperformed.

One mana buffs can be better in aggressive games, but in defensive ones Titanic Growth protects against most of burn spells. It's probably a thing for sideboard.

Ok, that's all from me!

March 31, 2015 2:57 p.m.

Sagarys says... #22

Man, thanks again MarioLL. Your feedback has been amazing. I've got a big pile of notes to take with me for playtesting. I have to say, I'm willing to test... to consider... taking the Centaur Battlemaster out for the Staunch-Hearted Warrior. I love the Battlemaster dearly, but I'll admit that I've run into some instances where he's just sitting in my hand. The Warrior is faster, and using that extra turn to make her bigger could even out, but my main concern is that at 2 starting toughness, she's a little more vulnerable to burn removal when she first comes down. That and her scaling isn't nearly as frightening. I'll definitely test it out. Maybe splitting 2 and 2 of each of them. We'll see.

March 31, 2015 6:29 p.m.

Sagarys says... #23

I do agree though that since I swapped the Setessan Oathsworn in (thank you for that suggestion DreadnoughtMTG), he's become the workhorse of the deck. He comes down turn 3, usually as a 2/2 thanks to Bramblewood Paragon, and gets big enough to handle most creatures fast. When I first started piecing this deck together, I had no idea how well it would be able to keep your opponent's board clear of effective blockers.

In a game today, I was playing a mono-red land destruction burn deck and I got stranded with 1 land and Tuskguard Captain out. After a couple Outlasts, he was able to Fight and Trample the whole board down and I ultimately won. It's a lot of fun to play. Especially if you describe the individual fights like a D&D encounter :P

March 31, 2015 6:35 p.m.

MarioLL says... #24

Sagarys, I like the Battlemaster too. Two copies may be good, to use as a surprise creature after a sweeper.

Staunch-Hearted Warrior's 2 toughness problem in a Burn matchup can be fixed by free buffs from the sideboard: Gather Courage or Mutagenic Growth. Also I remembered Ranger's Guile: for it gives +1/+1 and hexproof until end of turn, as well as heroic trigger.

I also remembered the worst nightmare of defensive decks: Rancor!

March 31, 2015 9:20 p.m.

Sagarys says... #25

MarioLL - lol yes, I had considered Rancor when I was first planning the deck. It ended up feeling a little redundant with all the other sources of Trample though. We'll see where this deck ends up. If I dump a Trample source, maybe I'll toss it in.

As for Centaur Battlemaster, I think you're right. I'm going to swap 2 out and add two Staunch-Hearted Warriors. It makes for a smoother curve, and with Bramblewood Paragon out, the Warrior will at least start with 3 toughness. Still burnable, but it will at least require a stronger burn spell.

Then I'm going to test out some of your other recommendations and see what works best in my playgroup. Did we ever settle on an ideal number of lands?

March 31, 2015 10:07 p.m.

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