Arithmetic Lesson

Pioneer darleen

SCORE: 171 | 237 COMMENTS | 33986 VIEWS | IN 131 FOLDERS


1st Place: Origins Game Day —Aug. 9, 2015

A friend of mine piloted this deck to a 1st Place victory at Origins Game Day.

ceji3 says... #1

i recommend Valorous Stance main board. Id also cut any non heroic creatures or non bolster/prowess/outlast creatures for more buff spells.

Sideboard, i would say Abzan Advantage and Back to Nature against whip of erebos, etc. the bolster effect is relevant. My sideboard for abzan aggro is-

2x Abzan Advantage

1x Back to Nature

2x Bile Blight

1x Dark Betrayal

2x Drown in Sorrow

2x Glare of Heresy

1x Hunt the Hunter

2x Murderous Cut

2x Valorous Stance

February 9, 2015 2:25 p.m.

ceji3 says... #2

if u wanna take a look at my deck for ideas, it is

What to do with a Graveyard Full of Junk

February 9, 2015 2:26 p.m.

LoPro77 says... #3

Nature's Panoply can be a nice card to add in. Combining Phalanx Leader Harden Scales and Nature's Panoply can really make a lot of creatures big in a hurry.

February 10, 2015 6:19 p.m.

darleen says... #4

LoPro77, Nature's Panoply was in the deck, but I swapped it out for Feat of Resistance. I still benefit from the Heroic trigger, and I can use it as a defensive move if needed.

February 10, 2015 6:42 p.m.

LoPro77 says... #5

That is a very valid point and a great way for defense. My friend runs a similar deck and he likes to strive Nature's Panoply. While it may be a little spendy, if he strives it on two Phalanx Leaders and one Hardened Scales all of his creatures get +4/+4. Its a nice combo but that defence could also be a critical move too. Either way deck looks solid!

February 10, 2015 7:14 p.m.

I would probably add another Hardened Scales.

February 11, 2015 5:03 p.m.

omnipotato says... #7

The +1/+1 counter theme is cute but you need some raw speed and power. Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Soldier of the Pantheon, Fleecemane Lion, Warden of the First Tree. Crux of Fate and Duneblast don't make sense in this deck. You want to be overwhelming the opponent, not destroying your own creatures. You desperately need untapped nonbasic lands like Mana Confluence and Llanowar Wastes

February 13, 2015 5:35 p.m.

burghurkhang says... #8

It looks like you have quite a bit of tap lands, which is going to slow down your tempo greatly. Look into getting pain lands instead, like Llanowar Wastes or Caves of Koilos. You also have a lot of one of's and pricey enchantments, and you need to stick to what you're trying to accomplish. Are you ramping into big things? Then get 4x Caryatids and drop the expensive enchantments. Opt for Valorous Stance instead of Banishing Light, add an extra Falconer and Phalanx Leader, drop the Skyguards and General and Guide, add in Gods Willing x 4 and Fabled Hero's.

February 13, 2015 7:43 p.m.

Merxvell says... #9

Why not swap out Dromoka, the Eternal + Whisperer of the Wilds for two Preeminent Captain. Since a decent amount of your trigger creatures and creatures are soldiers it would add a ton of speed to the deck. It would also allow a creature such as Elite Scaleguard to activate their effect, since it's entering the battlefield, without having to pay 5 mana.

February 14, 2015 11:13 p.m.

Fix the mana base a bit, making it more pro-white, but nice deck.

February 19, 2015 2:07 p.m.

JANKYARD_DOG says... #11

Inspiring Call at least side if not main. You have enough effects to throw out counters on everything it could save you from mass removal effects.

April 3, 2015 7:29 p.m.

qikink says... #12

Since quite a few of your threats are 2 drops, I think you should move your mana acceleration to turn 1. Switching Whisperer and Caryatid out for +2 Elvish Mystic would be a good move.

April 3, 2015 7:36 p.m.

revwildo says... #13

I'm working on a similar deck for standard, I prefer Favored Hoplite to Lagonna-Band Trailblazer and I agree with Mj3913, Inspiring Call is huge game against control. When they End Hostilities, Crux of Fate, or Anger of the Gods and your side survives AND you get to draw a grip of cards they're gonna have a hard time coming back from that.

I also like Avatar of the Resolute and High Sentinels of Arashin for creatures that can be huge in relation to their cmc.

Also, you may want to try Ordeal of Nylea for ramp since it triggers heroic and puts counters on your dudes. Oh, and why aren't the Blossoming Sands, Temple of Plenty instead? scry 1 is so much better than gain 1 life.

It's also worth noting that if you have 2 Enduring Scalelords in play and a +1/+1 counter is placed on one of your creatures, the scalelords will continuously trigger each other until you choose not to put a counter on one of them effectively making them infinitely huge.

April 3, 2015 8:33 p.m.

Saberxbro says... #14

Solidarity of Heroes and Inspiring Call seem to be missing here.

April 4, 2015 6:12 p.m.

There's a lot of great cards to choose from in this archetype. Keep brewing it until the haters learn to do math.

Akroan Skyguard has done a lot of work for me by getting up in the air right quick.

Solidarity of Heroes is an unmistakable finisher - remember that heroic triggers first, then Hardened Scales, then the spell resolves, then Hardened Scales again. And you can queue up Phalanx Leader to trigger before the other creatures.

April 5, 2015 10:53 a.m.

willsm87 says... #16

Nice deck +1

April 6, 2015 5 p.m.

Talus21 says... #17

I'm going to recommend Ajani Steadfast. I run him in a similar deck myself. His negative gives all creatures +1 counters. Doesn't trigger heroic though. His +1 isn't bad either giving your chosen target creature vigilance to bolster your defense.

+1 from I like +1 counter decks.

April 6, 2015 5:12 p.m.

TheRedMage says... #18

Maybe I am missing something but isn't Dromoka's Command just better than Abzan Advantage?

April 6, 2015 5:18 p.m.

Goodie! I love Selesnya! My favorite 2 color combination! I'll start with the subtracts.

I would take out Whisperer of the Wilds. That slot would be better filled by Sylvan Caryatid if you can afford the set or [Elvish Mystic]/Voyaging Satyr if you can't. That's the only card I would absolutely take out.

As for the adds I really the cards that are in the deck already. I would bring some your cards to 4 of's.

If you're going to play Enduring Scalelord at all you have to play 4. If you have 2 on the board you can go infinite because they trigger each other.

I would bring Dromoka, the Eternal to 3 if you bring the Scalelords to 4. They pair up amazingly with each other.

Since my suggestions are pretty mana heavy I would bring Sylvan Caryatid to 4 or play 4 Voyaging Satyrs. I prefer Voyaging Satyr here because you can make him huge and attack with him.

I would bring Feat of Resistance to 4. The protection plus the +1/+1 counter makes it perfect with what your deck is doing.

I would also bring the land count to 23 or 24. Good luck with your deck. I'll probably build something similar in the future. Good Luck! :)

April 7, 2015 12:21 p.m.

Mandalorian says... #20

Most of my would be suggestions have already been listed like Avatar of the Resolute and Solidarity of Heroes but I would also consider Dromoka's Commmand and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes.

May 8, 2015 9:14 a.m.

nhallen37 says... #21

I play a deck similar to this, you can see it here: Abzan Midrange: Bolstering and Outlasting. The only thing I would recommend is an End Hostilities or Duneblast, at least in sideboard. Ajani, Mentor of Heroes is the only other thing I'd really recommend. Great job!

May 8, 2015 11:20 a.m.

DerpyEfalant says... #22

I think you need the 20-sided dice. About 20 of those would be good. XD +1 Upvote

May 8, 2015 6:35 p.m.

CheeseBro says... #23

May 9, 2015 10:56 a.m.

darleen says... #24

omnipotato thanks for the suggestions. I have made some changes since you commented. Unfortunately, I am on a bit of a budget so Mana Confluence is slightly out of my range. And I am not using any Theros block cards in order to prepare for when it leaves Standard. With that in mind, what do you think of this deck now?

May 9, 2015 12:17 p.m.

darleen says... #25

burghurkhang thanks for the suggestions! I did put Valorous Stance in place of Banishing Light. I have made some other improvements too.

What do you think of my deck now? Please bare in mind that I do not want to use any Theros Block cards because I didn't play during Theros and I don't want to invest in cards that are leaving Standard soon.

May 9, 2015 12:20 p.m.