Ghost Dad's Circus Stampede

Standard* mrbloo1848

SCORE: 71 | 64 COMMENTS | 19523 VIEWS | IN 35 FOLDERS Top 8: 05/10


miracleHat says... #1

why did you drop Lingering Souls ?

February 18, 2013 11:40 a.m.

Long_Con says... #2

Ray of Revelation can shut down Blind Obedience pretty efficiently.

February 18, 2013 11:51 a.m.

xCloudx says... #3

Might just be preference on my part, but in playtesting, I've found that Centaur Healer performs just slightly better than Smiter. Granted you're only getting a 3/3 out of it but the 3 lifegain early game can't be ignored and late game you're paying 3 for ~6 lifegain plus a chump blocker.

With Trostani out, a case could be made for Loxodon as you're gaining 4 (vs. 6 from centaur healer) and I'd say the 2 life tradeoff is negligible in that scenario, due to the greater P/T. With Rhox on the field though, you're looking at 0 lifegain out of the Loxodon.

Again, could just be preference on my part. They're very similar in this type of deck and I feel that a case could be made for either.

One other note that I think needs to be mentioned with Lox vs Healer. Lox CANT be countered. Which at first sounds good, unless you plan on dropping Trostani/Rhox/Ghost Dad next turn. If they have a counter, they could possibly be bated into countering a Centaur Healer. With Lox, they don't even have the option. Just a little thought for you.

February 18, 2013 11:59 a.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #4

I'm guessing you're talking about mainboarding Centaur Healer . In which case, you do have a point and I'll be testing it but the 4/4 body is pretty relevant in the current meta.

Also, I won't be seeing Blind Obedience very often in an event throughout the rounds. It's just that I was playing against just one deck multiple times and that card happened to screw me over, but if they do become more common, I can considering putting enchanter removal in my sideboard but as of now I can use Oblivion Ring and Abrupt Decay to deal with them.

I dropped Lingering Souls because there's no room for them and having to side them out against reanimators due to Rest in Peace is rather inefficient. If you can suggest what to take out to make rom for the cards, I'm all ears.

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

February 18, 2013 2:09 p.m.

miracleHat says... #5

well, i gues you do have a point about Lingering Souls , have you thought about Arbor Elf /card:Avacyn's Pilgrim?

February 18, 2013 3:38 p.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #6

I prefer to stay away from creature-based ramp mostly because of where the current meta and my local meta is. The format is currently aggro-oriented and thanks to that, most decks are packing a suite of removals and efficient board-sweepers and spending the board slots on what is usually a few turns of ramping at the risk of being unexpectedly screwed out of the one or two mana that you have been saving your bombs for is just going to hurt in the long run. I really don't want to give anyone the option of being able to decide how I curve and I think I am pretty good where I am in terms of ramping and curving.

I love mana dorks as much as the next guy and they can definitely accelerate my deck enough to secure my board position before being overwhelmed but the current meta really limits their usefulness below the point of justifying running them.

February 18, 2013 5:53 p.m.

Ertl says... #7

I hope this helps. Take a peak at deck:you-cant-touch-this-troll.

February 18, 2013 7:29 p.m.

smash10101 says... #8

+1 for the name

February 18, 2013 11:51 p.m.

Wow seeing this deck tells.me I am not the only one who sees how good Trostani and Obzedat live oneanother, lol. Any way I like the deck +1 from me. Check out ky Morglen Life Gain Deck if ya can you will like it!

February 20, 2013 7:27 p.m.

redsoxfan3244 says... #10

Nice Name, and Nice Deck!!!!

February 20, 2013 9:46 p.m.

SwiftDeath says... #11

+1 for a great deck build and using vraska she is such a good control walker but never see's top 8. hoping my deck does well in fnm as well. let me know what you think Junk Control.

February 23, 2013 12:13 a.m.

Great deck. +1 ! Love both Obzedat, Ghost Council and card:Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and any deck with both deserves a +1.

February 24, 2013 3:11 a.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #13

Thanks, guys! I couldn't take it to FNM this past Friday because I went out of town to visit a friend so I got about a few more days to test them yet! I have a feeling Vraska the Unseen will do better than Ajani, Caller of the Pride and I hope she keeps her spot!

February 24, 2013 9:58 a.m.

tempest says... #14

sorry if this had been mentioned already but Vampire Nighthawk ?

February 25, 2013 10:19 p.m.

Mekhami says... #15

Should have Chalice of Life  Flip as an alternate win condition. It seems very plausible.

February 26, 2013 1:44 a.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #16

I had Vampire Nighthawk competing for the three-drop spot against Loxodon Smiter and smiters ended up doing more work, having 4 toughness and uncounterable and all that.

I'll think about Chalice of Life  Flip . I'm feeling iffy about it as I don't really need an alternate-alternate-win-con. My planeswalkers are my alternate win-cons. I'll definitely keep it in mind though since I do love the card.

Thanks for all the +1's guys!

February 26, 2013 3:07 a.m.

ChiefBell says... #17

Knight of Infamy stalls a lot of the current aggro. As does Human Frailty .

One idea for board clear is to run Vampire Nighthawk with Predatory Rampage or Revenge of the Hunted . Could also be done without deathtouch as well but it's a lot better with deathtouch for sure.

February 26, 2013 5:53 a.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #18

I like Knight of Infamy , but he belongs in a more aggro deck. If I want a two-drop that can efficiently stall the board, I have the option of High Priest of Penance (which I might actually give him another chance for a spot).

I'm seriously considering Terminus as my board sweep of choice, but I have a feeling it will hurt me more than it does them since against aggro, my overall creature quality is higher. Worst comes to worst, if I really need a sweep due to prevalence of aggro, I probably will end up with Merciless Eviction or even Mutilate .

The thing is, a lot of people that are running aggro or weenies are splashing to get access to Boros Charm so combat- and destruction-based sweeps aren't always so reliable.

February 26, 2013 3:25 p.m.

ChiefBell says... #19

Not always but just keep an eye on the mana they leave open. You can guess what they're about to do. With planeswalkers out board clear that clears everything can be ok but I still feel like the green board clears are criminally overlooked ant can be used to great effect.

February 26, 2013 4:17 p.m.

glenn69 says... #20

Really appreciate all the documentation that you are leaving for this deck. I haven't built many of my own, but I am learning from the process that you are laying out for everyone to read.

Thanks for your diligent notes. +1 for that alone.

March 4, 2013 midnight

Mekhami says... #21

This is a deck that I want to play very, very badly. I wish Magic cost less money t.t

March 4, 2013 12:25 a.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #22

Thanks, glenn69! This is probably the list I've put the most amount of effort into and I just want to see this baby place at least once at my FNM because I know it has the capability to. My documenting the changes I make also helps me keep track of why I have certain cards on the list and also helps people help me. I am glad that you are learning from what I'm doing and I hope that, like me, you will find a fun list that you just want to brew up. It's a cruel, cruel world out there in the current meta T_T.

Mekhami, if you are looking into playing and want a relatively budget deck that is guaranteed to do decent at a local tournament, try RDW. Most lists are super cheap since they run only basic lands and the only money cards are Hellrider and Boros Reckoner (the latter being a bitch to get now, glad I got a set when he was cheap) and you can even run it without the latter. Of course, the list won't be as interactive as this list, but don't listen to anyone that say "Myes, RDWs don't take skills". True, RDWs are stupidly simple. However, in order to compete with the current meta full of midrange that are great at stalling and then shifting to offense, you have to play your cards right.

I have a RDW list of my own that I used before I got this list past proxy stage: Overheat. It's pretty damn cheap for a deck that can run with the big boys. Heck, it has better FNM records than this one (so far!)

March 4, 2013 11:20 a.m.

Mekhami says... #23

I definitely don't wanna play RDW =P I'm a staunch opponent of it, haha.I can handle the price range of the deck I posted, but not twice that with your deck =P That's the big difference.

March 4, 2013 11:24 a.m.

C4bl3 says... #24

There is a fair amount of life gain in this deck, it seems to warrant Vizkopa Guildmage. Just a thought.

March 6, 2013 1:35 a.m.

mrbloo1848 says... #25

Running Vizkopa Guildmage pretty much is asking to also run Exquisite Blood for the infinite combo, which a.) I try to stay away from since it costs a lot of mana to pull off and I can spend those mana bringing on the beats instead. and b.) the list is extremely tight where it is and changes are limited to small cuts and adds. Any bigger change and I'll have to do an overhaul.

Also, when you think about it, in order to use Vizkopa Guildmage's ability to deal damage to your opponent, you must have your 1WB for the activation, plus however many that's needed to make the life gain happen. In this case, the cost is usually 4-5 mana (other than the inherent lifelink on Vampire Nighthawk and the vampire tokens), which means the entire process will probably gain me about 4-5 life and dealing 4-5 damage for 7-8 mana, which is inefficient and hard to pull off. By the time I have that many lands open, I can better utilize those lands by playing my creatures and leaving mana open for combat tricks and removals.

Trust me, I've thought long and hard about the card and the things it can do. Heck, this deck even had more life gain shenanigans when Rhox Faithmender and Trostani, Selesnya's Voice were still in the mainboard.

Thanks for the comment though!

March 6, 2013 2:02 a.m.

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