Minotaur deck. Pretty simple. Post-RTR-Rotation Standard. Basically the gist of the deck is to spit out minotaurs and swing.
Like I said. Simple.
The Very Detailed Breakdown (All major strategies and tips covered):
**
Gnarled Scarhide
- The only one drop minotaur. Play it or be stupid. A 2/1 aggressor. Never bestow him. There's literally no point. Minotaurs want a wide range of attackers, not a strong core. They will get stronger - there's no need to manipulate them into it. He also becomes a free drop with
Ragemonger
in play.
**
Deathbellow Raider
- A reliable two drop that should be the grunt of any Minotaur deck. Always make sure to take advantage of his regeneration ability early game when there still isn't a lot going on. Leave the mana open and swing first, then drop new Minotaurs on Main Phase 2. The only exception would be if there were a Minotaur who's state-based effect would be exceptionally helpful (and sometimes essential) to Raider's swing. Examples: Felhide Petrifier /
Rageblood Shaman
/
Kragma Warcaller
. Some opponents will completely ignore his regeneration until effective use of it is made. This will more often than not send them into a mind game from there on out - always watching the mana pool with that every turn swing. Take advantage of it.
**Felhide Petrifier - Deathtouch. Enough said. It will cause just about any creature-based deck to hesitate on blocks or sacrifice their creatures to keep themselves alive in desperation. Usually they'll look for a way to kill the Petrifier as soon as possible so keep duplicates in hand. (This doubles as them expecting combat tricks). Also take advantage of
Deathbellow Raider
and his regeneration when swinging with deathtouch. If the opponent is pressured into blocking often they will adopt the philosophy of "If I'm going down, you're going down with me" and use their larger creatures as walls. If not at first, they may eventually be forced too.
**
Rageblood Shaman
- A very reliable minotaur. Gives all "OTHER" minotaurs +1/+1 and all Minotaurs have trample.Trampling minotaurs is scary already. Beefed up trampling minotaurs is scarier. He will most often be the least aggressive of the Minotaurs as his state-based effects are too valuable at times to risk. Having two in play is incredibly ideal should it resolve, as the two Shamans will feed each other that precious +1/+1 and all others will now be +2/+2. With two
Ragemonger
in play the Shaman also becomes a one mana drop, which can allow for a very quick and shell shocking flooding of the field given the right hand. This combo can also be responsible for a crushing turn 5 win (one of numerous paths to such a victory in this deck).
**NOTE: Felhide Petrifier + Rageblood Shaman
creates a dreaded Deathtouch + Trample combo. Not many players are fully aware of how this functions. Mostly because they don't fully understand the Deathtouch mechanic. Deathtouch basically says "Your creature(s) is/are now X/1" (Has 1 toughness). Always take that view when considering Deathtouch during combat. (Note that I'm not literally saying creautures' toughness base stats are reduced to 1) This combo will cause the first (one) point of damage to kill the defending creature. Trample's effect is now considered, meaning all remaining power except that one Deathtouch hit will be carried over to the defending player. It doesn't matter if the blocker is a 1p/21t Defender. As long as it doesn't have Hexproof and/or Indestructible, or doesn't kill the Minotaur first with First-Strike it will be affected by this. Consider this all with the full offensive power of Minotaurs and even seasoned veterans with meta decks will stop and hesitate at this combo.
**
Ragemonger
- He makes all other Minotaurs dramatically cheaper to cast. This means faster field flooding and more angry bulls chasing down the opponent sooner. He makes
Kragma Warcaller
a 3 drop. Turn 4 cast. He makes
Gnarled Scarhide
a free drop. He makes
Ragemonger
a 1 drop. Two
Ragemonger
make
Rageblood Shaman
a 1 drop.
Deathbellow Raider
becomes a 1 drop. It's pretty simple to understand. (-NOTE-
Ragemonger
does NOT make Mogis, God of Slaughter a 2 drop. Mogis is not considered a Minotaur, despite appearances. He is a "God" type enchantment creature. He receives no bonuses of any Minotaurs.)
**
Kragma Warcaller
- The trump card of Minotaurs. Pure aggressive power. When played in combination with the other state-based Minotaurs (specifically
Rageblood Shaman
trample) there is now a huge chance to bleed damage through past blockers to the opponent. All minotaurs now have Haste due to his state-based action, which means the field can be flooded and the process of incessant swinging begins (ideally). Imagine this: Assuming land every turn - Turn 1
Gnarled Scarhide
- Turn 2
Deathbellow Raider
- Turn 3
Ragemonger
- Turn 4
Kragma Warcaller
&
Deathbellow Raider
- All swing for 20 damage (4 damage a piece). That's turn 4 by the way.
**Felhide Spiritbinder - A new addition and replacement of
Kragma Butcher
. Meant to provide a slightly thicker late game bull and also use Inspired ability to create clones of Minotaurs for more field presence. Ideally used to clone
Kragma Warcaller
and/or
Rageblood Shaman
to double effects.
**Mogis, God of Slaughter - Almost never played as an actual creature, although when it happens it is incredibly beneficial, however it is highly advised he is saved for a blocker thanks to his Indestructible ability (and most other Minotaurs will often be swinging out). His triggered ability is incredibly useful in decreasing opponents board presence and/or life total, basically putting them on a time clock while an ever growing threat builds in front of them. He is ideal against control decks who often run few or no creatures at all, meaning burn burn burn. Again, Mogis is NOT subject to any state-based effects of the other Minotaurs since he is a GOD enchantment creature. Not a Minotaur creature.
**
Cruel Feeding
- An occasional chance for Lifeliink to regain some lost life during longer and more dangerous games as well as an extra +1/+0 boost. Added purely to add a lifegain option for desperate moments. Can also function as the extra power needed to finish off the opponent. Since it is intended for mid to late game, and by that point, the mana pool is often very open, there is an increased chance for Striving into other minotaurs for more lifegain and more damage.
**Hero's Downfall - Derp. Kill things. Moving on. (Fun fact: The art features a Minotaur hoof crushing a soldier)
**Magma Jet - Was later added in place of Lightning Strike for Scry option as to control what comes next and get unneeded cards like excess land or non-essential Minotaurs out of the way.
**Titan's Strength - Fairly self explanatory. Nice heavy power boost to any Minotaur who isn't blocked. Can also occasionally be used as a saving grace for a Minotaur under fire. Added bonus of Scry option. Can be used in combo with
Gnarled Scarhide
on turn 2 to swing for 5 power.
SIDEBOARD:
**
Dark Betrayal
- Self explanatory. What's swapped out depends on the matchup. I personally have never had a set tradeout.
**Drown in Sorrow - Used against weenie decks and Boss Sly. Can wipe out that vicious red deck board presence right after they hit their peak and lose steam while keeping most Minotaurs on the board. Also allows for that lovely Scry.
**Harness by Force - Included after one too many struggles with R/G Monsters and Mono-Green. Take their big creatures to your benefit and hit them where it hurts. This card has literally been the difference between victory and defeat before.
**
Stain the Mind
- Counter-control or anything else that is just annoying. Convoke doesn't heed to summoning sickness. So flood the field thanks to
Ragemonger
and then convoke right away to remove those board wipes, Banishing Light, and Dissolve
**Thoughtseize - Counter-control. Same idea as
Stain the Mind
. Just cheaper and faster.
Thanks for reading and viewing this deck. Please upvote it and playtest it a few times. It can be quite reliable and surprising. Feel free to post suggestions and questions.
P.S. No I'm not going to use Obelisk of Urd - too costly. No I'm not going to use Boros Reckoner. He's rotating soon. Shut up about it.
