Elves of the Swarm (Budget)
Standard
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Collected Company —Aug. 19, 2015
Added 2x Collected Company to the main deck.
Collected Company is too powerful of a card to not play in this deck. Since the beginning of Origins in standard I have been against playing Company with elves. This was mostly because Company couldn't get Sylvan Messenger and I believe in standard Messenger is the key together with Shaman of the Pack that makes elves work.
As I have playtested Company more with Messenger and Chord of Calling I'm finding out that having 4 different ways to find and get Shaman of the Pack is excellent. Having 4 ways that are all different at how you go about getting Shaman makes it much harder for your opponent to disrupt your game plan. Company and Chord work very well together. End of turn Company and then use those elves with others on the battlefield and Chord for a Shaman or another creature that will help your board state. Company can also help at recovering from board wipes, refilling the battlefield with elves. This gives me 6x 4 drops main deck that are good at this. Company can also just auto win the game for you if you hit 2x Shaman, this is rare, but it can happen. Having this luxury is nice.
I'm now using this spell package that finds and gets Shaman:
4x Sylvan Messenger
4x Chord of Calling
2x Collected Company
1x Woodland Bellower
I’m still going with 4x Messenger and Chord because they are best spells to find and get Shaman, but I'm also including 2x Company and 1x Bellower as the third and fourth spells. Only 2x Company because I am only playing 20 lands with 4x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Flip to help make my land drops. I’m still relying on Elvish Mystic and Gnarlroot Trapper to help me cast my spells. Trapper can’t be used to cast a Company.
To make room main deck for 2x Company I have decided to cut some of the fat, streamlining the deck more. Moving Gilt-Leaf Winnower to the sideboard which is replacing 1x Ultimate Price. Completely removing 1x Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen for now. I have been unimpressed with Dwynen, if she gets to attack she is very good, but this never seems to happen. Dwynen is also not really needed now that I am playing 2x Obelisk of Urd which is the more powerful card.
UPDATE Aug 31, 2015
2x Collected Company is turning out to be just right the right number of Companies. I have playtested 3x Company, but I've found 3x to be too many, many games I would have only 3 land and 1x Gnarlroot Trapper with other elves on the battlefield which means I could not cast Company. I have removed 1x Woodland Bellower from the main deck, Bellower is just not needed. Being a 6 drop creature that can't be found with Sylvan Messenger or put into play with Company. He also takes 9 mana between lands and convokeing him with Chord of Calling, this is just too much.