All things Wolven

Standard Deck Help forum

Posted on March 26, 2016, 12:26 p.m. by clayperce

If you want to talk about Wolves and Werewolves in Standard, you're in the right place!

If you're looking for other formats, please drop by Werewolf EDH for Commander or Modern Wolves for Modern.

  • You're 100% welcome to post here asking for help on anything Wolven, though you may want to set up a separate thread as well, in the Standard Deck Help forum.
  • Please don't hesitate to post your deck in large format (it makes it easier for others to find the decks that are asking for help).
  • Here's the syntax for a large format deck ... just copy-and-paste, replacing the "gruul-wolves-soi" part with the "slug name" from your deck's URL: 
    [[deck-large:gruul-wolves-soi]]

FNM (6 Jan 2016)

  • 1st Place (3-0): just-another-jundyard-dog-rec-12-5 by VexxValentine ($$$$)

FNM (23 Sep 2016)

Game Day (13-14 Aug 2013)

FNM (29 Jul 2016)

FNM (15 Jul 2016)

FNM (8 July 2016)

  • 1st Place (3-0): deck:naya-wolves-and-humans-bring-on-the-pain by snarlmkiv (Naya, $$)

Tues Standard (5 July 2016)

FNM (1 July 2016)

FNM (25 May 2016)

FNM (6 May 2016)

GAME DAY (30 Apr - 1 May 2016)

FNM (29 Apr 2016)

FNM (22 Apr 2016)

Some great posts that will otherwise be totally buried as the thread grows ...

Want to add a note about the thread to your deck description? Just copy-and-paste this:

... the [All things Wolven](http://tappedout.net/mtg-forum/standard-deck-help/all-things-wolven/) thread!

Want to add a subscription button to your deck description? Just copy-and-paste this:

<a class="btn btn-default" href="/subscriptions/subscribe/67/62030/?return_url=/mtg-forum/standard-deck-help/all-things-wolven/">Subscribe to the All things Wolven thread</a>

We look forward to reading your comments and looking at your decks! Good luck (and good skill) on your builds!

P.S. No worries if you just want to lurk. Please just click the Subscribe button here or underneath the Comment window. Thanks!

Subscribe to this thread

clayperce says... #1

Kizmetto,
Ooh, I like your idea of Hermit of the Natterknolls against Blue control!

March 27, 2016 10:56 a.m.

clayperce says... #2

Two more decks to add to the Gauntlet:

BR Vampires
I played a real game (well, proxies) against this deck yesterday, and it was a close match-up (1-2, but michael921 is a much better player than I). Key take-ways were ...

deck chart

Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard)

Standard* michael921

SCORE: 9 | 13 COMMENTS | 1260 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

BW Control
Have y'all seen Argeaux's latest yet? I think it's going to be a REALLY touch match-up. All the Instant and Sorcery disruption Turns 1-4 are going to make it really hard to smash in, and if the deck makes it to Turn 5-6, we're dead. Any ideas? Land destruction maybe?

deck chart

Cast a Shadow [SOI BW Control]

Standard* Argeaux

SCORE: 30 | 17 COMMENTS | 3357 VIEWS | IN 21 FOLDERS

March 27, 2016 10:58 a.m.

Argy says... #3

I've got some ideas.

Start prayin'.

March 27, 2016 11:06 a.m.

TheInsanelyMadWizard says... #4

My Contributions:

deck chart

Best $75+ You Can Spend On A Rakdos Deck

Modern TheInsanelyMadWizard

SCORE: 9 | 14 COMMENTS | 900 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

deck chart

Where Are Your Gods Now?(Possible T3 WIN)

Modern* TheInsanelyMadWizard

SCORE: 3 | 22 COMMENTS | 210 VIEWS

March 27, 2016 11:08 a.m.

Argy says... #5

I made some suggestions but then realised they wouldn't work.

Please delete this.

March 27, 2016 11:12 a.m. Edited.

clayperce says... #6

Argeaux,
Start prayin' = literally lol!

Sorry, but I dont think I can remove comments from a thread (for whatever reason that only works on decks) :-(

March 27, 2016 2 p.m.

Kizmetto says... #7

i've got 3 Thunderbreak Regent in sideboard for flying,Collected Company cant hit it but its own static ability of bolting when targeted is pretty good. Quicker clock for us. Also eats removal like a beast.

March 27, 2016 9:31 p.m.

Axinoim says... #8

Argeaux

Just playtested your deck Cast a Shadow [SOI BW Control] with my (Gruul) Werewolf Tribal SOI... It didn't go so well. If I couldn't get anything going by turn 5 it was over for me xD

Great deck, +1 from me.

March 27, 2016 9:53 p.m.

Axinoim says... #9

What are some tips on how to flip my werewolves? It seems no matter what deck I play I just can not get them flipped :/

March 27, 2016 10:45 p.m.

Argy says... #10

Thanks Axinoim.

What people need to do to beat my deck is to get more than one Creature out per turn, and be able to replenish the field after a board wipe.

Past aggro decks would do that by playing Dragon Fodder and Hordeling Outburst.

Having an Enchantment on the field that spits out Tokens would also work.

Not sure if there are any cards around that do these things.

Of course, if you're playing , you just Counter stuff.

March 27, 2016 10:45 p.m. Edited.

NotSquishedYet says... #11

Argeaux - I find myself intrigued that most of my decks do just that - or something close, at least. I'd appreciate some gameplay feedback on how the newer ones do - mind running the gauntlet?

I feel like they'll either work perfectly or fail horribly at the job. It's a bit awkward. :/

March 27, 2016 11:02 p.m.

Argy says... #12

The other thing that works is to continually recur Creatures from the graveyard ala Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor.

March 27, 2016 11:45 p.m.

NotSquishedYet says... #13

Exactly. The less jank Jund list does that at every turn, plus some. I just don't know if it's really enough...

March 28, 2016 12:10 a.m.

clayperce says... #14

Axinoim,
Really, the only reliable way to flip a Werewolf is to not cast anything on your turn.

Because of that, I recommend evaluating Werewolves based on just their front face. You can certainly consider their back face for an Opponent's turn, but it's just a lucky bonus if you see it any other time in the game.

March 28, 2016 8:09 a.m.

Axinoim says... #15

clayperce

Ah, gotcha. Need to work on my deck than D: Feel like Part the Waterveil would be helpful here lol

March 28, 2016 8:15 a.m.

Ryjo says... #16

TappedOut has gotten all of the cards in the database I needed so I wouldn't need to proxy the list, so here it is:

deck chart

nWo Wolfpack

Standard* Ryjo

7 VIEWS

I am going for a more midrange Werewolf deck, where I can take advantage of some of the larger Werewolves.

March 28, 2016 9:59 a.m.

Axinoim says... #17

deck chart

(Gruul) Werewolf Tribal SOI

Standard* Axinoim

SCORE: 1 | 264 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

Deck Update:

Thanks to all the great info on this forum I updated my deck. I started to look at the werewolf cards at face value and not the flip side. Thanks for that clayperce! Added the following cards;

New Cards Added. Show

deck chart

(Gruul) Werewolf Tribal SOI

Standard* Axinoim

SCORE: 1 | 264 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER

VS

deck chart

Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard)

Standard* michael921

SCORE: 9 | 17 COMMENTS | 1441 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

MATCH ONE:

This match was even all the way to end, creatures trader along with life equally until the end. I was able to win it by clearing the board with Fiery Temper and swing for the win. Game ended on Turn 11 I think?

MATCH TWO:

Just a straight forward beatdown from my side. Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard) just got mana screwed. My deck won. Game ended on Turn 7.

MATCH THREE:

Again, another beatdown from my side. Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard) mana screwed once more. My deck won, game ended on Turn 6 or 7.

MATCH FOUR:

This I should have lost Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard) came out swinging fast and hard got my life down to 14 by Turn 3. I was able to clear the field with 2 Fiery Temper and some 2 other creatures. Got my field built back up before Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard) could. I won in the end by Turn 12 or 13.

I'm glade I side boarded Tears of Valakut, it came in handed agaisnt Heir to the Night & Drana, Liberator of Malakir. If not for Tears of Valakut I would have lost a lot more matches.

Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard) is a very fast deck. I was always one turn away from not drawing the right card or making a mistake to lose it. I wish I had some input on what could make this deck better, but I don't. All my wins came down too this, I got the cards I needed when I needed and the other deck didn't.

I need a better way to record match stats, does anyone have one? Outside of opening word or notepad and typing it all out turn for turn.

March 28, 2016 11:48 a.m.

Axinoim says... #18

I feel really silly for saying this, but user Ryjo just informed me that you couldn't use Madness unless a card made you discard it. The playtest I posted above should be ignored as Fiery Temper played a big part in all 4 matches, not just from my deck, (Gruul) Werewolf Tribal SOI but also Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard).

I will playtest again later and re-post again. Sorry for any confusing this may have caused.

Side-Note

What combo do you guys/gals think would be better in an all Aggro Werewolf deck?

or

Thoughts?

March 28, 2016 1:56 p.m.

clayperce says... #19

Axinoim and Ryjo,
That's a really good point about Madness, and thanks for bringing it up ... it's not totally obvious from the cards alone.

I'm not sure on the combos, and could really argue it either way. I think Fiery Temper + Lightning Axe might be a little better though, because even if you don't have the combo in hand, Fiery Temper to a Planeswalker (redirecting the damage via rule 306.7) is good value.

March 28, 2016 2:35 p.m. Edited.

flyingthing says... #20

Axinoim, I dont see what combo you mean with Fiery Impulse + Moonlight Hunt . For those, I'd say maybe run only 2 Moonlight Hunts and 4 Fiery Impulse, since Hunt situational, but potentially stronger than impulse.

March 28, 2016 2:43 p.m.

clayperce says... #21

AverageBoss,
I just now saw your earlier comment about Skin Invasion / Skin Shredder. Literally lol. Big fleas, indeed. :-D

March 28, 2016 3:18 p.m.

Axinoim says... #22

flyingthing

Maybe the wrong use of wording when it came to combo for Fiery Impulse + Moonlight Hunt . I just meant which two burn spells worked better in a full Aggro deck.

March 28, 2016 3:26 p.m.

Axinoim says... #23

clayperce

That's a good point about redirecting the damage to a Planeswalker via Fiery Temper, brings to the field what the other cards can't. Even if one couldn't get the combo of Fiery Temper + Lightning Axe off, Fiery Temper is only a 3 drop. Though it does cost which may make it hard to drop on T3.

March 28, 2016 3:30 p.m.

wasianpower says... #24

What do you guys think about Jund werewolves, splashing black for discard so there will be more turns where your opponents can't cast spells?

March 28, 2016 4:33 p.m.

polydamas says... #25

I made a CoCo Pups deck. What do you think? Also, does anyone know when TO will update the flipcards? I can't really test my deck yet.

March 28, 2016 4:40 p.m.

clayperce says... #26

polydamas,
Here's the timeline.

(I actually had it in the OP and just edited it out. Sorry about that!)

March 28, 2016 4:54 p.m.

polydamas says... #27

So, the flip cards will be out later today hopefully?

March 28, 2016 5:03 p.m.

clayperce says... #28

wasianpower,
Definitely doable. Anything from just a splash (I have absolutely not tested, but it seems like it'd be easy with Deathcap Cultivator) to a a full-up build. I've thought about it myself, just for Duress and Kolaghan's Command.

I don't think anyone's found the REALLY good Werewolf synergy yet though in Jund ... there are a lot of Jund Midrange Goodstuff decks popping up that include Werewolves, but it looks like they're more about powerful 3-drops for CoCo than building Werewolf synergy. Not that that's a bad thing at all, just may not be what you're looking for ... :-)

March 28, 2016 5:08 p.m.

Axinoim says... #29

What about this card to try and stop the other player from casting spells on their turn?

Show

March 28, 2016 6:27 p.m.

Pethrax says... #30

Black doesn't really work with Werewolves synergistically, because black focuses on killing, the grave, pain and sacrificing. Wolves focus on "the pack" working together, buffing each other, and attacking. Two very different styles, hard to put together, but like previously said, jund good stuff decks kind of work just on the value of each individual card, so the werewolves there are just there to be good, not to be the focus, cough cough Huntmaster of the Fells  Flip cough cough

March 28, 2016 6:46 p.m.

Wolfninja says... #31

Here's my version of a CoCo Wolf deck:

Would appreciate some feedback on it, thanks.

March 28, 2016 8:52 p.m.

clayperce says... #32

MangaVentFreak13,
Way back on post #21, you were talking about an Aggro deck that used Vessel of Volatility for additional mana acceleration (on top of Cryptolith Rite) and Vessel of Nascency for additional draw. Have you built the deck? Because I'd love to playtest it.

The extra mana from Vessel of Volatility might be overkill, but it could also be really nice after boardwipe. And Vessel of Nascency for additional gas is intriguing.

Thanks!

March 29, 2016 6:51 a.m.

Lunatic88 says... #33

I Believe in the OLD innistrad Block the werewolves worked better together, as it turns out Most of these wolves down really pump up each other like Kruin Outlaw  Flip and Mayor of Avabruck  Flip use to.

The only Synergy the wolves really have is that the deck would value the flipping mechanic, and promotes construction to allow that more often.

March 29, 2016 7:05 a.m.

MangaVentFreak13 says... #34

clayperce, Here you go! It needs more playtesting so I'd be happy to hear what you think.

March 29, 2016 2:23 p.m.

clayperce says... #35

Everyone,
I did some playtesting against BW Control and wanted to pass on a few thoughts:

  • I was (pleasantly) surprised at how often Werewolves actually flip. I actually got to see the back faces of a couple!
  • I think Hermit of the Natterknolls  Flip and Silverfur Partisan are going to cause some grief. Sure they're going to soak up removal, but at least we'll get cards/tokens on the way out. Of note, Silverfur Partisan is much better as a four-drop (with an Instant of our own in addition to our opponent's removal spell) than as a three-drop.
  • Languish and the big Planeswalkers are just as bad as you'd expect. :-(
  • We're in a rough spot with all the powerful 3-drop Werewolves though, against Transgress the Mind. :-(

More to follow of course, but it's a start at least!

March 29, 2016 2:29 p.m. Edited.

Axinoim says... #36

I find werewolves to do pretty good against ramp decks. As long as you finish it before they finish the ramp.

March 29, 2016 2:50 p.m.

clayperce says... #37

Lunatic88,
Howlpack Resurgence? The Vildin-Pack Alpha  Flip face of Geier Reach Bandit?

I mean, I get what you're saying. I'm bummed we don't have an Immerwolf. But there's still another set to go in the block too.

March 30, 2016 2:12 a.m.

Lunatic88 says... #38

My Deck Currently still needs some work, but play testing sees me always coming out 2nd and never really hitting mark when it comes to flow, i get the early aggression but the lack of interaction between wolves is making it harder to force them out early enough before getting Cleaned out.

deck chart

Pedigree Puppies

Standard* Lunatic88

4 COMMENTS | 69 VIEWS

March 30, 2016 2:27 a.m.

Katarkind says... #39

I'll be brewing up a vamp deck for ya'll to test against here sometime tomorrow since i know it's going to be a thing once the set is released.

March 30, 2016 2:51 a.m.

Kizmetto says... #40

Phew just finished playing 3 games against

deck chart

Gruul Wolves (SOI Full Aggro)

Standard* clayperce

SCORE: 80 | 27 COMMENTS | 11710 VIEWS | IN 62 FOLDERS

to see how the Coco shell would fare against the Zada "Mirror" match. Lets just say having control to flip your own or their werewolves at will is interesting. I wrote up three match ups on their page if you wanna get in depth look and how they played out. I tried my very best to be non biased, and the zada combo /nearly/ got off. strangely though, both decks struggled to get to their 'spice' card, collected company and zada hedron grinder receptively. so interesting to see how the decks fared without their 'main' cards.

posting here for relevancy!

March 30, 2016 8:49 a.m.

AverageBoss says... #41

Just a few thoughts of my own after playtesting a few builds.

  1. The werewolves you take should be worth it to you for their front side, while the back should be considered a nice bonus that pops up every now and then.

  2. Don't be afraid to flip your wolves back to human in exchange for other benefits.

  3. Duskwatch Recruiter and his reverse is imo one of our most important werewolves. His front gives us something to do with our mana in the form of limited card advantage, but does not count as a spell, allowing everything to transform. His reverse side makes all our creatures cheaper.

  4. Keeping the mindset #2 above combined with the advantages of #3, you can have an early game look like this:

*Turn 1: Village Messenger  Flip -> swing for 1 -> hopefully transforms during opponents turn.

*Turn 2: Duskwatch Recruiter -> most likely swing for 2 with Moonrise Intruder  Flip.

*Turn 3: Use Duskwatch Recruiter ability or wait for the opponents turn to cast an instant or flash spell.

*Turn 4: Assuming Krallenhorde Howler is still face up, you can now play four 2 drop creatures, or two 3 drops, or two 2s and a 3. That is quite the uptick in board presence. You could also cast a creature or two and still have mana left over to cast an instant on their turn.

March 30, 2016 9:25 a.m.

Censuring says... #42

Alright so ive started playtesting my deck through the gauntlet here.

First match was against:

deck chart

Drana Joins the Vampire Army (SOI standard)

Standard* michael921

SCORE: 9 | 17 COMMENTS | 1633 VIEWS | IN 7 FOLDERS

. With my deck winning 2-1

Game 1: I win with 3 life remaining on turn 12. Sorin stabilized me with his -X and vent beatdown gaining me life just helped out. Lighting Ax was just terrible with hardly any creatures to target and dispel protecting my vents.

Game 2: I win with 5 life left curving kalitas into gideon into jace into sorin was easy after that.

Game 3: I lost on their turn 5. It curved perfectly with olivia and i barely got off a removal spell before i was dead.

Match 2 I played

deck chart

Gruul Wolves (SOI Full Aggro)

Standard* clayperce

SCORE: 80 | 27 COMMENTS | 11710 VIEWS | IN 62 FOLDERS

. Was able to win 2-1.

Game 1: I won at 19 life on turn 10 though that is pretty misleading. Werewolves were stuck on green mana only, til turn 4. Turn 3 partisan was landed and taken care of by grasp leaving a token behind. Turn 4 i dropped kalitas and it was over from there.

Game 2: I won at 25 life on turn 8. Kalitas and gideon smashing is a helluva clock. Creatures were taken care of and wolves hand just started loading up with combat tricks without creatures out.

Game 3: Was absolutely brutal for me. I died turn 5 taking 19 that turn alone with 5 tokens produced from the partisan. The deck is really powerful even without absurd zada turns. clayperce it may just have been my draws so I invite you to test yourself

March 30, 2016 9:41 a.m.

AverageBoss says... #43

Wow. clayperce and I came up with very similar Vampire builds.

deck chart

Vampire Madness

Standard* AverageBoss

124 VIEWS

The only thing different is a handful of our creatures.

Also, here is the current build on my non-CoCo, pure werewolf deck:

deck chart

SOI Werewolves

Standard* AverageBoss

SCORE: 3 | 1 COMMENT | 235 VIEWS

I don't think it will ever be as effective as the Zada and/or CoCo variants. But it has proven fun and thematic so far.

March 30, 2016 10:02 a.m.

Kizmetto says... #44

hah love the flea reference. nice to throw on an opposing dork or like... Jace, Vryn's Prodigy  Flip.

March 30, 2016 10:19 a.m.

Axinoim says... #45

Question;

How does one sleeve doubled-faced card?

Sure I could see buying extra copies of the card and sleeving them with the flipped side up. But, this would be costly, Arlinn Kord anyone? Using a token would be lame and you wouldn't get to show off that sweet werewolf art.

Ideas?

March 30, 2016 6:21 p.m.

polydamas says... #46

I'd use resealable doublesleeves. That way you don't have to mess around trying to get those pesky loose sleeves back in the other sleeve. It is a lot easier. You can find them online.

March 30, 2016 6:24 p.m.

Axinoim says... #47

Thank you, polydamas

March 30, 2016 6:45 p.m.

MangaVentFreak13 says... #48

Everyone else gave their vampire tribal build so here's mine:

it's missing 3 cards, which is mentioned in the description. But other than that, it seems pretty fun to play. Hope you like!

March 30, 2016 7:06 p.m.

polydamas says... #49

Beware Twilight Skies for Vampires Descend Tonight

Here is my Vampire decklist

March 30, 2016 7:27 p.m.

Kizmetto says... #50

So what do people thing are a RG werewolf (no specific build) 's greatest weakness/ worst match up is?

mirror matches are very interesting.

also seconding Duskwatch Recruiter  Flip being a very important werewolf.

March 30, 2016 10:08 p.m. Edited.

Please login to comment