Counters With Counters

Standard zombiewarfare

SCORE: 5 | 15 COMMENTS | 897 VIEWS


Sideboard —Oct. 22, 2015

Reconfigured the sideboard. Plan is against control side in Dragonlord Dromoka the two lands and the extra Feat and Stances. Surge of Righteousness, Silkwrap, and Surrak, the Huntcaller come in against aggro. Silkwrap also some in against Hangarback Walker and Deathmist Raptor though I am still not entirely sure that is a better choice than Unnatural Aggression since that can be a permanent answer. On an empty board, however, it doesn't give me an answer and, with the exception of Undergrowth Champion, Unnatural Aggression will be a 2 for 1 in my opponents favor against the Raptor so that tips me towards Silkwrap.

JeanGordon says... #1

I love this deck, it countains many answers to different kind of situations and this can be a win condition! Personally I wouldn't go with woodland bellower for the only reason that its too expensive for a aggro deck, having it in your oppenning hand can be a problem taking the place of something faster and, with managorger hydra and undergrowth champion you got your big guys. I would insted put collected company wich have similar effect but less expansive and can be cast as an instant for suprise blockers or whatever. While keeping your 4 scythe leopard in your main board I would try to introduce 2 or more servant of the scale because it trigger your hardened scale as it enter the battlefield and a second time when it dies as you move the counters. I think those tips could make your (already very competitive) deck a bit more competitive.

It is my point of view!!

Ps: Sorry if some sentences may look weird, english is not my primary langage :)

October 20, 2015 3:06 a.m.

monkeynutts85 says... #2

Are you finding you can cast a Dromoka's Command? I found when testing a variation of this deck that the +1/+1 counter was easy option, but struggled in a lot of situations to find a second option. I would -1 Dromoka's Command and +1 Feat of Resistance

I'm also not a fan of Swell of Growth. I find Retreat to Kazandu is a better option. It works with landfall, adds +1/+1 counters, which triggers with Hardened Scales

I personally run Feed the Clan in the SB over Dragonlord Dromoka. You won't get near 6 mana with a 23 base and by the time you do your either being controlled or crippled by aggro, whereas Lifegain is good even if it is 5. If you get a creature to Power 4 then you get 10.

October 20, 2015 7:39 a.m.

zombiewarfare says... #3

@monkeynutts85 I find the fight mode is relevant frequently and there are enough enchantments around that the sac enchantment mode is randomly good. I have thought of cutting back to 3. Dragonlord Dromoka is there for the control match as she really wrecks control. I have thought of cutting a couple other cards to make room for lands in the side to move to a more midrange plan against control. Thanks for the input.

October 20, 2015 7:54 a.m.

zombiewarfare says... #4

October 20, 2015 9:38 a.m.

paulbmoore1980 says... #5

I would say you are in a good position here. Your highest drop creature is 3 cmc and your biggest cmc spell is Become Immense which has delve. That being said, you could probably get away with 22 lands and be OK...
Here are some things to consider. 1/3 of your creatures require landfall to make them bigger. Play on that. Add 4 Evolving Wilds. It provides a slower type of mana fixing, but like fetches, allows for 2 land drops on a turn.
I agree with monkey nuts...Retreat to Kazandu works well here...also, Hardened Scales needs to be a 4 of...
I would also suggest Woodland Wanderer. You are running 2 colors normally, and Beastcaller Savant can tap for any color meaning that the Wanderer could enter at worst as a 4/4 and at best a 7/7. Try swapping out Den Protector to test with it and see how it works.
Having creatures with trample makes Become Immense better and as far as Swell of Growth and Natural Connection go, I think you would be better suited to running either Nissa's Pilgrimage or Animist's Awakening to drop some serious mid game landfall triggers.

October 20, 2015 1:14 p.m.

zombiewarfare says... #6

paulbmoore1980 Thanks for the detailed feedback. I took the suggestion of Retreat to Kazandu and dropped the Swell of Growths and Natural Connections. I also went to a full four of Scales which felt like I was really going all in on counters at which point Servant of the Scale feels like the better one drop. I added two Valorous Stances to increase the flexibility of the deck. I like the idea of Woodland Wanderer and could even see dropping a forest for a single Cinder Glade to help pump him reliably. I don't own any yet and plan to use this deck at FNM this week so I will see how it performs as it stands right now and work on getting a pair of the Wanderers. Cheers to all of you for the input!

October 20, 2015 4:17 p.m.

paulbmoore1980 says... #7

zombiewarfare- Cool! Just thinking out loud here. If you are willing to drop 1 forest for a Cinder Glade, would you consider dropping another for Prairie Stream? The reason why I ask is because...
1. Both the Glade and Stream can be fetched by your Windswept Heaths
2. It gives you yet another color of mana to add to Woodland Wanderer
3. At that point you won't really need the mana fixing of Beastcaller Savant which gives you an extra 4 maindeck slots to play around with, which is huge!

I am going to run 1 copy of Glade and Stream myself to test out, and I am honestly considering running 1 Swamp. I know what you are thinking, but get this...a basic swamp can be fetched by Evolving Wilds, still triggers landfall, gives me all 5 colors to abuse Woodland Wanderer (meaning he comes into play as a 7/7 Vigilance Trampler) and still has relevance by allowing me to pay for the activated abilities of Warden of the First Tree!

October 20, 2015 5:54 p.m.

BigPoppaHads says... #8

Hey dude, thanks for the feedback on my deck! That was just a super quick update after rotation and I haven't spent a whole lot of time working on that deck since, as I no longer have it assembled. Hardened Scales is still a super fun card to play though!

I'd say Beastcaller Savant doesn't exactly fit the beatdown strategy very well, though I understand it's there to help grow Woodland Wanderer. I just don't think the potential payout is high enough to take up 4 slots. I'd say Hangarback Walker is a must in any Scales deck. T1 Hardened Scales into T2 Hangarback Walker is a scary thing for opponents to be facing down.

October 20, 2015 9:57 p.m.

BigPoppaHads says... #9

I'd also suggest running a couple Abzan Falconer to get your guys through when the ground gets locked up. Really sweet top-deck in a board stall situation. It's actually won me many games.

October 20, 2015 9:59 p.m.