Afterlife Glory

Standard Tilwin

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neutral says... #1

Have you thought about possibly adding in Chained to the Rocks ?

October 14, 2013 6:19 p.m.

Tilwin says... #2

neutral actually I did. It's just that right now I have only 6 Mountain in the deck, and that's probably the biggest drawback of the Temple of Triumph . Perhaps if I replaced the Godless Shrine with Sacred Foundry ...
I'm curious how many times have people ended up having a Chained to the Rocks in their hand but not be able to cast it due to not having any Mountain on the battlefield?

October 15, 2013 2:33 a.m.

neutral says... #3

Do you really find having 8 temples all that helpful? I have found the more i have in my deck the less i actually want to see them. I have been playing around and i think that with having access to two different temples its best to only run 3 of each at the most.

I have a friend that ran 3 Chained to the Rocks in a similar deck and never seemed to have a problem.

October 15, 2013 7:53 p.m.

Tilwin says... #4

neutral sorry for the late response. You do have a point... I need more shocklands here and as it seems I am investing into getting them, I will include them here.
Chained to the Rocks also seems to work pretty neat too, especially against those pesky gods - I ran into a blue devotion deck last week and it ended up nasty because I simply couldn't do anything against a Thassa, God of the Sea
Temples are amazing and I love to draw into one even lategame - that's the beauty of them. Lategame if you draw a shockland, you're going to be like "meh, another land", but with a temple you can go scry and end up avoiding drawing next turn "yet another land".
Thank you for the constructive feedback. I appreciate it a lot!

October 25, 2013 5:47 a.m.

neutral says... #5

I see your point on the scry land. I might have to give them another shot in one of my decks and yeah the gods can become a nuisance if left unanswered.

October 26, 2013 8:07 a.m.

Magnvs says... #6

The deck seems great and seems quite fun to play with! However I can't help but feel suspicious of the Rakdos Keyrune . My suggestion would be to try out trading them for another copy of both the Fiendslayer Paladin and the Boros Reckoner . Also, would Elspeth, Sun's Champion perhaps fit in this deck?Cheers! +1

October 29, 2013 7:02 p.m.

neutral says... #7

Have you thought about maybe 2 Mutavault instead of 1 Plains and 1 Swamp ? Then you could trade out the Rakdos Keyrune s for something that might be more useful like Boros Charm so your creatures can survive Anger of the Gods or any other damage removal? Just a thought i had looking at your deck again. Unless of course you get a lot of value out of Rakdos Keyrune then you can completely ignore this.

October 29, 2013 8:01 p.m.

Tilwin says... #8

Magnvs you are right. The keyrune is something, but Desecration Demon is nuts... especially with Whip of Erebos or/and Aurelia, the Warleader . So you sacked a creature to tap it? No problemo, Aurelia says "let's do it again".
Elspeth, Sun's Champion just doesn't work here. She's strong, I agree on that, but her second ability turns all my power creatures into sushi, and her 1/1 tokens are not something I can work with.

neutral thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I am having enough mana problems as it is now. Mutavault would only make things worse. Anger of the Gods is no problemo for me. The only creature that suffers from it is Fiendslayer Paladin . Aurelia, the Warleader , Obzedat, Ghost Council and now Desecration Demon all laugh in its face and demand more burn to surrender. As for Boros Reckoner , well he sure is a team player that knows how to reflect received damage right into the face of my opponents (or maybe some resilient creature that simply refuses to die, even though the gods say GTFO).

On another note I still ain't sure I made the right decision to give up Merciless Eviction . It makes short work of enchantment-heavy decks. Opinions?

October 30, 2013 4:24 p.m.

Magnvs says... #9

I must personally speak against using Mutavault in any three coloured deck. Seems too risky to me.

October 30, 2013 4:35 p.m.

yak300 says... #10

This color combination is my favourite! Decks like these are pretty competitive atm, I play it myself and regularly make it to Top 3 at my local store tournaments.

Here's some input out of my experiences with my own deck:

I would totally cut the Fiendslayer Paladin s, as you have way enough early creature control. Compared to the other creatures you're running, they are pretty weak in my oppinion, even it they have "hexproof" from black & red. I would add 1 more Boros Reckoner and two Rakdos Keyrune s instead, as somebody suggested before. In my deck RBW Control (advice welcome) I run them to, and the keyrunes are totally worth playing them. They get you the missing colored mana if needed, or they are a decent blocker because of first strike. But mainly, I was able to use them to attack, as usually the board is otherwise empty. The fact they are not a creature in your opponents turn makes it more difficult to handle for you opponent.

You have enough spells to controll aggro, especially when you are playing Blind Obedience in MB. You could consider playing it SB only.

I also support Magnvs oppinion, Mutavault should not be played, as it can prevent you to play your reckoner in turn 3 because of the colorless mana...

The rest of the deck looks solid, the other stuff you could change is personal preference only and dependent from your local meta...

November 5, 2013 5:57 a.m.

Tilwin says... #11

yak300 thank you for the really constructive feedback. I see our decks run on the same idea though a bit differently.
I love Fiendslayer Paladin because he is good to have if I happen to get mana screwed. His first strike and 2/2 makes him pretty much a Precinct Captain , but the lifelink makes the difference - and I really need all the life I can gain - I've learned the hard way how awful playing against a deck that stacks up Fog and Volcanic Geyser can be. Plus most removal in standard right now is either black or red (or both) so he gets some sort of protection. Boros Reckoner on the other hand is vulnerable to pretty much any form of pinpoint removal that does not deal damage.
Initially I had Rakdos Keyrune setup, and it was sort of doing its job, but I wasn't that glad to draw it or have it in my initial hand. It's really slow, halts my 3rd turn when I could put other things on the table. I was just not very happy with it as compared to Fiendslayer Paladin . Plus I did not run that often into color screw due to the combined presence of temples and shocklands (which I am aware I have to step up to 4, but I'm slowly buying the cards, and as I do so I am including changes in the deck).
I am not sure yet about Blind Obedience . Its extort is pretty neat, and sometimes I end up stacking two on the battlefield early game. At first it may seem a bummer, but then when I get the chance to double extort each turn it becomes pretty neat. Plus I don't always end up with Anger of the Gods in my starting hand to save the day and then I need to stall the game. That being said, I feel Blind Obedience can be useful both early and lategame.
Mutavault is way too expensive for the effect it provides... or so I feel. So I agree that it should not come into this deck.
What I did like about your deck was the presence of Slaughter Games . I might consider replacing my Sin Collector s with them, as they do such a better job against control due to their non-counterable nature. Plus the Sin Collector s don't make that much of a difference late game when my opponent has already depleted their hand or the heavy creatures are on the board.
I also am not sure whether I should give Blood Baron of Vizkopa a shot. I don't have any as of now, they are really expensive, but in mirror matches do pretty good job. Just not so sure what I would replace in sideboard with them. I totally love Obzedat, Ghost Council and it does such an amazing job once it hits the board (especially when I already have the whip there) to remove any of the two copies.
Thank you for the great feedback, totally appreciate it. If I get a fourth Boros Reckoner I might actually experiment with your suggestions. thumbs up

November 6, 2013 6:21 a.m.

yak300 says... #12

Tilwin Yea, Slaughter Games is there against control mainly. I had some nasty matchups against Esper control last week, and Slaughter Games saved my day. I was able to get rid of most of their counters, as they can't react to it. You can simply take out their counters and then slowly get your creatures out without having them countered. Not to mention it is always useful against any deck that relays too much on a specific card...

If you can manage to get some, I highly recommend getting some Blood Baron of Vizkopa , even if it's only for SB against mirror. The protection makes it pretty difficult for some deck to deal with him. Decks that come to mind are: Esper, Golgari, and Mono Black devotion are decks i usually face in my meta.Its lifelink is a welcome plus that can get some life back from Read the Bones and Thoughtseize . Still I could not decide for my deck if I want to run more Barons or more Desecration Demon s, as both cards have their own characteristics. That's why I play 2 each...

Obzedat, Ghost Council is a creature I underestimated for too long. Against control it's a bomb if you manage to resolve it, as control decks usually can not interfere with creatures on instant speed once they have resolved. If they could (in their turn) Obzedat is in exile and strikes back when it is safe again. Sometimes i manage to miss the exile trigger though :P

The best combo is with the Whip of Erebos , as you can use Obzedats ability to evade the exile of the Whip, leaving you with a 5/5 creature + 2 life every turn for 4 mana as long as it does not get killed in combat somehow.

November 6, 2013 11:29 a.m.

Tilwin says... #13

yak300 then I get two copies of Slaughter Games I guess. I've been officially convinced :P
The thing with Obzedat, Ghost Council is that he is almost impossible to remove as long as I don't blindly strike with it. Against control he is a monster as long as he resolves - perhaps Silence might be slightly better than Slaughter Games in the first place to avoid countering. Even against aggro he is a god. I've played against an aggro red that kept popping Burning-Tree Emissary and Chandra's Phoenix ... but they deplete their hand quickly and then in the lategame they are out of responses - hence Obzedat can enjoy quite a lot of freedom, sometimes striking past potential defenses removed via overloaded Mizzium Mortars .
As you said, with Whip of Erebos it becomes almost impossible to remove, unless your opponent has enough removal to destroy it before the end of your turn - case in which he would get exiled due to the whip's replacement effect. Keep in mind though that exiling is still a problem - so Selesnya Charm and Syncopate are its worst enemies. Not to mention that izzet decks can do some really nasty things with Turn / Burn and/or Quicken + Anger of the Gods .
Desecration Demon is another exceptional card with Whip of Erebos . Even if your opponents kick him out of the battlefield, let them attack you with their bomb, then as a response to them declaring attackers, bring the demon back - he can no longer be tapped and a 6 power lifelinker is no child's play.
I might consider Blood Baron of Vizkopa but I do not know what to replace. Maybe Aurelia, the Warleader , because most of the situations where she's brought me a victory I was pretty much ahead of the game anyway.

November 6, 2013 1:56 p.m.

Namron88 says... #14

the whip is only sorcery speed eff so you would not be able to use its eff during their turn or combat

November 9, 2013 1:01 a.m.

Namron88 says... #15

but it is awesome to force an extra sac during your attack step if you bring the demon back during your mainphase plus if there is already one on the field it would double sac or get a guaranteed hit with life gain it is one of my favorite cards to reanimate with the whip i wish it was instant speed eff since most of the god weapons are but this one would be much more powerful if it was

November 9, 2013 1:04 a.m.

Tilwin says... #16

Namron88 artifacts do not suffer from summoning sickness, and tap abilities can be played as instants. Hence, you can use the ability of Whip of Erebos even on your opponents' turns if you want at any point when you have priority, or immediately after it hits the battlefield (considering you have 8 mana out of which 4 black of course).
This means that during the "declare attackers phase" the opponent declares the attackers, after which there is a round of priority. That's when you can bring the Desecration Demon back, without the risk of it being tapped through sacrifying. Hence you have a 6/6 lifelink flying blocker. Not bad... Of course, at the end of your opponent's turn it will be exiled for good.

November 9, 2013 4 a.m.

Tilwin says... #17

Namron88... oh darn, I just re-read the rules and saw it can be played as sorcery as it is specified in the card's rulings. Now that's a shame really... would've made one hell of a combo.

November 9, 2013 4:02 a.m.

Namron88 says... #18

Yup says so on the card you don't want a judge called on you do ya lol

November 9, 2013 10:22 a.m.

Pcbino says... #19

This deck, I really like it. Just because I find these colours really cool.

How much does Aurelia, the Warleader do for you? And did you think about using Elspeth, Sun's Champion ? I know she is expensive, but she is also really, really good.

Other than that I'm not really sure if I can help you improve. How is your mana draws? If you can't include Shocklands, have you tried Guildgates for more dual mana - even if they might be slow. But if you don't have a problem with your mana base, there is no need to include Guildgates.

Also, did you consider using Hero's Downfall ? I find it really strong and at instant speed it can quickly remove certain threats you don't want lingering on the board. - Of course, the problem about Hero's Downfall is it's price and it's dual black mana cost.

Other than this, I don't really have any thoughts about it, but I will try against my Esper deck later today and see how either fare against the other.

November 11, 2013 9:36 a.m.

Tilwin says... #20

Thanks Pcbino. Great to see you enjoy my deck.
Aurelia, the Warleader is absolutely insane with the creatures I currently have. If she hits the board along with a Desecration Demon and/or Obzedat, Ghost Council /Whip of Erebos it's going to be complete carnage. At some point I used to run Tajic, Blade of the Legion instead of Fiendslayer Paladin and striking with a 12/12 indestructible was absolutely formidable. I did consider using Elspeth, Sun's Champion instead but I haven't gotten my hands on any copy as of now.

Mana draw is not particularly problematic. It would be nice if I could get full 4 copies of all shocklands and that's going to be the next upgrade. I already run 6 temples, so more guildgates would slow the deck down quite a lot in times when I really need mana to respond - especially against aggro decks.

Hero's Downfall is once again powerful, but between it and Dreadbore I preferred the latter. Hero's Downfall is much more powerful in decks where it is more productive to leave open mana for counters or other instants (like Sphinx's Revelation ) - Grixis control benefits more from Hero's Downfall , and Esper control has no access to Dreadbore . Being able to extort along with the Dreadbore is the reason why I chose it.

I'm not that sure about Fiendslayer Paladin right now. I might take your example and experiment with High Priest of Penance . The lifelink is very useful though because of the drain I suffer from Read the Bones and Thoughtseize . We'll see.

Let me know how this works against Esper. It's one of the worst matches for Chavest control. Depending on the number of creatures I would probably swap from the sideboard Anger of the Gods with Slaughter Games and Mizzium Mortars with Chained to the Rocks after the first match.

November 11, 2013 9:57 a.m.

Pcbino says... #21

I forgot you could reanimate Aurelia, the Warleader with the whip and give you two attack phases. That is really strong to be able to swing for at least 6 damage (if you have nothing else) in one turn out of nowhere. And having just a single creature more on the battlefield will obviously be even better.

That was my concern as well, if the guildgates would slow too much. But it's also really bad to sit with a red and a white mana and wanting to play Dreadbore , but only white/red mana is showing up. But I completely get your point about not wanting to be too slow.

If Esper had accecs to Dreadbore along with Hero's Downfall .. Wauw. That would be nuts.

I think both Fiendslayer Paladin and High Priest of Penance are good options, where High Priest of Penance is more for anti-aggro I think, due to having a chance of 2-for-1 the encounter.

I'm curious, why would you sideboard Chained to the Rocks in? The 3 creatures used in Esper is all impossible to get to for Chained to the Rocks . AEtherling just blinks, Obzedat, Ghost Council is never there on your turn and Blood Baron of Vizkopa has pro white.

November 11, 2013 2:36 p.m.

Tilwin says... #22

Especially if that other creature is relevant like Desecration Demon , Obzedat, Ghost Council or maybe even Blood Baron of Vizkopa .
This deck is way slow as it is. Worst case scenario, I can play my lands as guildgates instead of shocking myself. There is of course the downside of Burning Earth that can completely shut me down unless I have some quick responses. So yes, three colored decks are a pain and can be ocassionaly countered.
Well... You do have a very good point there. I was considering Chained to the Rocks for Fiendslayer Paladin , Lifebane Zombie and/or Desecration Demon . But you do have a point there... hmm... maybe I do need to find some room for Hero's Downfall after all. Thanks for the tip!

November 12, 2013 6:45 a.m.

Tilwin says... #23

Okay guys, we're back to ground 0. I just played a match against a Selesnya deck yesterday and was on the brink of loss. My opponent had tons of big buffed creatures like Advent of the Wurm or Armada Wurm , plus that awful Selesnya Charm that took care of my Desecration Demon and Obzedat, Ghost Council . Any ideas on how to have more responses to handle so many creatures?
That Armada Wurm pops 2 bodies I cannot deal with anything but Dreadbore and Chained to the Rocks right now. But sacrificing 2 cards for 1 is such a bad deal and lategame I barely have removal standing.
On a sidenote I am starting to hate Magma Jet . It has been more of a pain than a gain lately, not being able to remove much. So... any suggestions?

November 14, 2013 2:15 a.m.

Pcbino says... #24

Hey again Tilwin. I tested against my own Esper deck (played 4 games) and so far Esper wrecked havoc in the ranks of Chavest. I didn't sideboard though, so it would obviously have looked differently if it was possible to sideboard in TA's decktesting.Overall the draws for both sides was pretty equal, except for one game.

Blood Baron of Vizkopa was pretty much the wonder in my deck. If "you" didn't have Mizzium Mortars or 2 Anger of the Gods in hand, there was nothing you could do.

I just have too much removal for you to stabilize. I would probably see to getting another Mizzium Mortars (at least for side) and some Pithing Needle against AEtherling or PW'ers (or other annoying stuff, like Fleecemane Lion )I feel Magma Jet was only used for digging, but of course, it's more used against an aggro deck than Esper Control.

November 14, 2013 8:27 a.m.

Tilwin says... #25

Pcbino you have a point here. Nothing here can deal with Blood Baron of Vizkopa other than strictly red removal. It's the problem of Chavest, sharing the same weakness with Esper. That's why I have Blood Baron of Vizkopa of my own in sideboard. I would probably remove in a matchup against Esper the two Aurelias for them.

You have a point about Magma Jet . Same as I mentioned above, it has been a horrific removal not being able to help me much. Against the Selesnyan matchup it has been such a huge disappointment I probably need something more powerful here. Hero's Downfall is becoming quite important for me to consider including it in main.

Slaughter Games is there to help too against control. I probably need to play with the sideboard counts a little bit because this is getting ridiculous. Chained to the Rocks hasn't been as amazing as I expected it to be, but then again, against Selesnya and Esper it's not that useful. It works best against devotion decks that run powerful gods and against annoying creatures such as Voice of Resurgence .

So when I get home I will play with the numbers and cards a bit because I am running into two powerful matchups here - Esper and Selesnya. Any other suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks for the experiment. Really awesome of you.

November 14, 2013 8:40 a.m.

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