I am a beginner, need help!
Deck Help forum
Posted on Jan. 27, 2015, 5:29 p.m. by yetimas
Hello,
I am in great need of help. I am a casual player and would like some constructive criticism about my deck. I would like to point out that as well as being new to the game, I am also new to this website. deck name: Amazo deck.
(also, I dont know how to link my deck in a forum post)
Kind regards,
Yetimas
the tournaments where I am living are pretty casual, no formal tournaments. It would be good to have one deck that is competitive and can be played in competition anyway though. The deck is a combination of Commander 2014 green, and some packs I got from a booster box.
January 28, 2015 8:42 a.m.
Even though the tournaments themselves may have a casual atmosphere, they may not be a casual format of "bring whatever cards you want." Typically, tournaments and organized play (even if they're informal events) involve a specific format (Standard, Modern, Legacy, Vintage, EDH, Pauper, etc.) You'll want to make sure your deck is legal for whichever format your store uses.
For more information, read here on the different formats, then come back to us with more information. A Standard deck is much different than an EDH or Legacy deck, for example, in regards to what kind of strategies you should use.
It will be easier to help you if we have something beyond "people play pretty casually." That often means different things to different people, which is one of the reasons formats exist. My guess is your area mostly plays Standard with some Elder Dragon Highlander (also known as "EDH" and "Commander").
January 28, 2015 9:18 a.m.
I think I deviated from Standard since a lot of my cards are from 2014 Commander Guided by Nature. I also have some cards from Fate Reforged Booster packs.
Maybe Modern format looks more interesting to me. So I would be very grateful if I could get some tips on which cards to take out and which cards to put in.
I am in Oslo and although they do have some events, as I talked to the store owners, most of the ones that actually happen are booster draft.
January 28, 2015 12:22 p.m.
@yetimas: Fate Reforged is Standard legal since it's from Khans block. Some of the cards in the Commander sets are Standard and/or Modern legal, but only if they're reprints of cards already legal in those formats. Otherwise, they're only legal in EDH, Legacy, and Vintage.
Drafting is a great way to improve your skills, build up a collection, and be on equal footing with the other players around you. If you have the money, I'd strongly suggest picking it up. Here and here are some great guides on how to get started.
As far as your deck goes and what you should change, this is a bit tricky because your cards come from different sets (it's something people have been complaining to Wizards of the Coast about, since they don't make it very clear the Commander and Conspiracy sets aren't always Standard or even Modern legal). The easiest way I guess we can get you started would be to break down what's legal in what format out of the cards you have. From the "Guided By Nature" deck you bought and the packs you opened, we have the following:
Cards originally from Theros Block, Khans Block, or M15 (Standard Legal):
1x Elvish Mystic1x Reclamation Sage1x Evolving Wilds2x Cloudform1x Frontier Siege1x Temur Runemark3x Thornwood Falls1x Hunt the Weak3x Map the Wastes1x Abzan Kin-Guard1x Arashin War Beast1x Archers of Qarsi1x Rakshasa's Disdain1x Reality Shift1x Temporal Trespass1x Return to the Earth1x Supplant Form2x Aven Surveyor1x Destructor Dragon2x Lotus Path Djinn1x Temur War Shaman2x Mindscour Dragon2x Whisperer of the Wilds
- Note that 99.9% of the time, cards legal in Standard are also legal in Modern unless they get banned. This happens rarely, with the most recent examples being Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, and Deathrite Shaman.
Cards originally from Mirrodin Block and 8th. Edition or later (Modern Legal):
1x Drove of Elves1x Elvish Archdruid1x Silklash Spider1x Soul of the Harvest1x Sylvan Ranger1x Elvish Skysweeper1x Elvish Visionary1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood1x Essence Warden1x Terastodon1x Thornweald Archer1x Terramorphic Expanse1x Gargoyle Castle1x Grim Flowering1x Hunting Triad1x Overrun1x Collective Unconscious1x Overwhelming Stampede1x Praetor's Counsel1x Ghost Quarter1x Haunted Fengraf1x Tornado Elemental1x Fresh Meat
1x Beastmaster Ascension1x Harrow1x Wolfbriar Elemental1x Wood Elves1x Wren's Run Packmaster1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader1x Farhaven Elf1x Immaculate Magistrate1x Imperious Perfect1x Joraga Warcaller1x Llanowar Elves1x Lys Alana Huntmaster1x Masked Admirers1x Primordial Sage1x Rampaging Baloths1x Seer's Sundial1x Swiftfoot Boots
Cards printed before 8th. Edition/Mirrodin Block or in stand-alone sets (Legacy, Vintage, EDH Legal):
1x Creeperhulk1x Grave Sifter1x Lifeblood Hydra1x Priest of Titania1x Siege Behemoth1x Sylvan Safekeeper1x Thunderfoot Baloth1x Timberwatch Elf1x Titania, Protector of Argoth1x Titania's Chosen1x Wellwisher1x Song of the Dryads1x Wolfcaller's Howl1x Havenwood Battleground1x Jungle Basin1x Myriad Landscape1x Slippery Karst1x Tranquil Thicket1x Crystal Vein1x Desert Twister1x Sylvan Offering1x Wave of Vitriol1x Whirlwind1x Assault Suit1x Commander's Sphere1x Emerald Medallion1x Loreseeker's Stone1x Moss Diamond1x Predator, Flagship
Cards banned in Modern, Legacy, and Standard (despite being printed in sets that would otherwise be legal in those formats):
1x Skullclamp1x Sol Ring
These two are only legal in EDH and Vintage. Skullclamp is unrestricted in Vintage (meaning you can play the usual 4 copies of it), while Sol Ring is restricted (meaning you can only have one in your deck).
Whew! Holy shit is that a lot of text and cards and information. By the looks of what you have, you have a good start on a solid Elf deck for Modern. Essentially, you'll want to play a bunch of elves that tap for mana to churn out more elves, then cast spells that make your army bigger. Or you drop a giant threat onto the battlefield. Let's cut this down to 60 cards:
1x Silklash Spider1x Drove of Elves1x Elvish Archdruid1x Elvish Mystic1x Reclamation Sage1x Sylvan Ranger1x Elvish Skysweeper1x Elvish Visionary1x Essence Warden1x Thornweald Archer1x Wolfbriar Elemental1x Wood Elves1x Wren's Run Packmaster1x Ezuri, Renegade Leader1x Farhaven Elf1x Immaculate Magistrate1x Imperious Perfect1x Joraga Warcaller1x Llanowar Elves1x Lys Alana Huntmaster1x Masked Admirers1x Primordial Sage1x Rampaging Baloths1x Soul of the Harvest1x terrastodon1x Tornado Elemental----------------------------------------------------------26 Creatures
1x Frontier Siege1x Hunting Triad1x Overrun1x Collective Unconscious1x Overwhelming Stampede1x Hunting Triad1x Beastmaster Ascension1x Harrow1x Temporal Trespass1x Return to the Earth----------------------------------------------------------10 Other Spells
1x Ghost Quarter1x Evolving Wilds1x Terramorphic Expanse3x Thornwood Falls1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood2x Island15x Forest----------------------------------------------------------24 Lands
I'll be back later with a list of cards you should look into getting, but this should give you a good start. The first cards I'd look into right off the bat would be getting 4 copies of Elvish Mystic, Imperious Perfect, Joraga Warcaller, Llanowar Elves, Arbor Elf, Elvish Archdruid, and 1 or 2 Craterhoof Behemoth.
January 28, 2015 7:22 p.m.
@sylvannos
Thank you very much for your input.
I have bought a few cards online, basically I got them with an idea from a website I found:
http://mtgfundecks.com/?page_id=640
But sure if you have some other ideas about the G/U deck, they are more then welcome.
thanks again.
January 28, 2015 8:58 p.m.
So I did some searching on MtG Top8 for a list of Elf decks that did well in a tournament. Note that these are mostly from small events, but that's probably what you're looking for. Also note that Deathrite Shaman and Green Sun's Zenith have been banned in Modern, so some of these decks may require some modification. Here's the list:
- Elves! by Brandon Ridgway
- U/G Combo Elves by eyalorel
- U/G Combo Elves by Schmidt Philipp
- Elf Ball by Spanos Giorgos
- Chord of Calling Elves by Daniel Padilla
- Chord of Calling Elves by __SipItHolla
- Elves by Alexander Beiersdorfer
The main ones I think you should look at are the U/G versions that use Beck / Call to draw a ton of cards and chain elf creatures together. It's a much more powerful draw engine than Zameck Guildmage and Lorescale Coatl because your opponent can't prevent you from drawing cards by killing your creatures. Once you resolve Beck / Call, any time a creature comes into play, you draw a card. In comparison, your opponent can Lightning Bolt your Lorescale Coatl in response to its ability before you can get the +1/+1 counter.
I will say that the deck you linked looks fun. I love Zameck Guildmage. There was this really cool Sultai deck when he was still legal in Standard that used Cloudfin Raptor, Young Wolf, Strangleroot Geist, Rapid Hybridization, and Lotleth Troll to make a really cool draw engine that pumped out large creatures. For reference, here are two versions of that deck:
- Bant Aggro by eindhoven
- BUG Persist by Thomas McVeigh
These two decks are out of date since they rotated out of Standard, but they're also still viable in Modern, especially if you're playing in a more casual environment. The main additions would be Pongify on top of Rapid Hybridization, fetch lands, and Tarmogoyfs.
January 29, 2015 5:41 p.m.
Thank you sylvannos for the list.
I will wait for the shipment of my cards and if I am satisfied I will order your suggestions.
Regards,yetimas
January 31, 2015 9:04 a.m.
@yetimas: Good luck with your deck! You picked just the right time to start playing Magic because you can jump right into Modern since fetches and shocks are so cheap right now.
Let us know if you have any other questions. Or when you get your deck together and are able to start playtesting/competing in tournaments.
January 31, 2015 4:29 p.m.
made some additions. it is officially modern legal, not sure how good the deck is though...
February 6, 2015 7:59 p.m.
Btw, thanks for the great help @sylvannos!
Should you or someone else find something I could change or add into my deck I would be very grateful.
Find my deck here: Amazo deck .
February 10, 2015 6:28 p.m.
@yetimas: Your deck is looking a lot better. It's more focused and has a strategy.
I noticed you cut Immaculate Magistrate and a lot of elves from your list, though. It seems like they'd be something you'd want to interact with Zameck Guildmage. I also don't know if I'd keep Arashin War Beast, Lotus Path Djinn, Nulltread Gargantuan, and Vassal Soul in the deck over Reclamation Sage, Elvish Archdruid, Wolfbriar Elemental, or Soul of the Harvest.
Arashin War Beast is often going to be a plain, vanilla 6/6 without any abilities. Soul of the Harvest has a lower mana cost, trample, and draws cards when you decide you want to draw cards, not when your opponent decides to chump block.
Lotus Path Djinn and Vassal Soul are pretty high in mana cost for what they do. While Lotus Path Djinn can get bigger, it will mostly be on your opponent's turn (not when you're attacking) because your instants are mainly counterspells. While Elvish Archdruid and Reclamation Sage don't have flying, their abilities far outweigh evasion.
Even with a handful of elves in the deck, Elvish Archdruid leads to powerful openings like: turn one Elvish Mystic -> turn two Elvish Archdruid -> turn three Rampaging Baloths. You now have a 6/6 and two 2/2s. Plus, if you play a land, you get a 4/4. Your opponent is dead on turn five unless they kill something or play a blocker.
Reclamation Sage gets rid of pesky artifacts and enchantments, such as your opponent's Palace Siege or Sword of Fire and Ice. It then sticks around as a 2/1. If it manages to kill one of your opponent's creatures, you traded your one Reclamation Sage for two of your opponent's cards (known as "card advantage," one of the game's most important concepts).
Nulltread Gargantuan seems like he'd be good....three mana for a 5/6 and all you have to do is put Shorecrasher Mimic on top of your deck? Then you get to play Cloudform and guarantee you'll hit a creature? But you have to think in terms of card advantage. How many more cards have you drawn and played than your opponent? Since each player is limited to one draw step per turn unless they play something that says otherwise, players who draw more cards and keep more cards in play are going to be the ones most likely to win. When you play Nulltread Gargantuan, you're undoing one of your draw steps. If your opponent kills him, you're trading two of your cards for one of theirs. Worse, if your opponent killed everything with something like Anger of the Gods or Supreme Verdict, you can't even play Nulltread Gargantuan to help recover.
Lastly, have you been able to play anyone with your deck yet?
February 12, 2015 4:12 p.m.
I managed to play with a friend yesterday. Apparently my deck is pretty good now.
That is probably thanks to Loxodon Warhammer, giving a creature the lifelink ability.
Will discard some of the cards you suggested and add some of the elves, though I might argue that Nulltread Gargantuan is still pretty good.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I really appreciate it.
golffore297 says... #2
You can link decks by surrounding what is in the last part of the URL on a page with 2 sets of brackets like so : [ [ amazo-deck ] ] and don't put the spaces in so it becomes: Amazo deck .
Also, what kind of criticism do you want? Make it more fun? More playable at a tournament? A fun deck for FNM?
January 27, 2015 5:33 p.m.