Please Help: Elves vs Vampires
Modern Deck Help forum
Posted on Dec. 19, 2021, 8:18 p.m. by Eismoritz
Hi everyone, I need some help with my elves deck.Elf Deck Most of the time I play against my brother who plays his vampire deck. Mono Black Vampires (Modern) Most games I lose because of a turn 1 Guul Draz Assassin that instantly kills all my elves as I try to play them. Also a turn 1 Dark Ritual puts me at a huge disadvantage before I even get to play a card. Do you have any ideas to counter or deal with this vampire deck as a mono green elf deck? I prefer not to splash colors and I rather stay modern legal with affordable cards. However, any ideas are welcome. Thanks
wallisface says... #3
Your brothers deck you linked doesn’t have either of those cards, but:
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Dark Ritual isn’t modern legal. Assuming you guys are sticking to that format, he shouldn’t be playing that card
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Guul Draz Assassin needs to be level 2 before it can start doing anything (and remember level-creatures start at level 0). So the earliest he can tap it to -2/-2 something is his 3rd turn (which also means he’s done almost nothing else). Elves have lots of lord-effects that grow themselves bigger, and based on your list you’re already running a lot - so getting your creatures to 3 toughness before he can snipe them all should be pretty easy. Other than that, having interaction to kill/fight his creature should be enough.
December 19, 2021 9:29 p.m.
RNR_Gaming says... #4
Lords and Collected Company could alleviate some of that pressure. The buff can protect against your creatures getting sniped and Collected Company provides excellent boardstate development.
December 19, 2021 9:40 p.m.
I run a GB elf deck in modern. One of the strongest cards is Heritage Druid. He lets you power out several elves turn 2, usually too many to kill off. He works great with Dwynen's Elite and Elvish Warmaster who also works great with Elvish Archdruid. Going wide is what elves specialize in, which works great with Shaman of the Pack. Going fast and wide will help you outspeed the vampires. Realmwalker let’s you cast several elves off the top a turn, especially with Heritage Druid. The best card advantage engine however is Collected Company. It’s amazing. To see how the deck plays, you can test out That Stupid Elf Deck.
Some great cards I use against decks with lots of removal is Shapers' Sanctuary and Veil of Summer. Helps you in grindy games.
December 19, 2021 10:59 p.m.
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December 20, 2021 2:20 a.m.
First of all, thanks to you all who gave me some help. I'll try to add Prey Upon and some more elves that buff each other. By the way, as for the Dark Ritual that my brother plays, we play without any format, however I'd like to keep my deck modern.
December 20, 2021 9:04 a.m.
What about something like Walking Ballista? I feel like you will always have a ton of mana in this deck and if you remove one assassin, you probably can outpace the next one trying to level up.
Also, Pendelhaven can help a lot as a strictly better land that can put your elves out of range of assassin. It would be great with fight things like prey upon, which was suggested too. Pendy is only legal in older formats, but if that's not an issue, it's an awesome land. And if you go fights, there is always Ulvenwald Tracker who will also give you creature triggers for Beast Whisperer
December 20, 2021 10:09 a.m.
Thanks for your suggestions Niko, but the thing with Walking Ballista is that I think it takes too long until I can actually use that card. If my elves are sniped on turn 2 or 3 I cannot really ramp up mana to play that card. Pendelhaven semms to be a really cool card, and I consider taking in Ulvenwald Tracker too, but since it's not an elf, I don't think it is a very good choice in my deck. Still, thanks for your suggestions.
December 20, 2021 12:49 p.m.
Eismoritz Anytime : ) Good luck with the deck. My big brother historically destroys every deck I make, so I hear you on this one.
legendofa says... #2
Cards like Blossoming Defense and Snakeskin Veil give your creatures hexproof plus a little toughness buff. Rabid Bite and Blizzard Brawl or Prey Upon give you some removal options.
If he plays T1 Guul Draz Assassin, T2 level up, you might be able to just outnumber that, with T1 Elvish Mystic, T2 Elvish Mystic and Llanowar Elves. This isn't an unreasonable start and gives you a significant board and mana advantage. With a playset each of Llanowelves, Mystics, and Arbor Elfs, you should be able to make a fast, reliable start and get around the Assassin play. Dark Ritual gives a big shot of mana for one turn, but Elves are capable of sustaining that level of mana production. Good luck!
December 19, 2021 9:25 p.m.