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Elves of the Swarm (Budget)

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Hour of Devastation - Updated: 7-1-2017 —July 1, 2017

Hour of Devastation(HOU) spoilers are over and the entire set has been revealed. This update is about what cards in HOU I think could make the main deck or sideboard of this deck. I thought I was pretty much set on Energy Elves being Temur using the energy theme until the next set Ixalan, but a green card or a Golgari split card in HOU may change things. Are mono-green or Golgari Elves set for a return? Amonkhet is a plane with no Elves, but besides that the first set Amonkhet gave this deck some great cards with the standouts being Glorybringer and Magma Spray a long with some fantastic sideboard cards in Manglehorn and Rhonas the Indomitable. For a set that didn't have any Elves I feel this deck did benefit from Amonkhet.

HOU continues with no Elves, but has some spells that look surprisingly powerful with them that could possibly make this deck or be the base for new strategies now as well as later on. The Gatewatch is finally defeated by Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh and their defeat cards look like great sideboard cards, color hate is finally back in Standard. Other than the defeat cards, removal in red looks good in fact the few standouts in the set are removal spells. Let the Devastation begin!

Spells that give trample to all my creatures as well as other abilities are finally back. These spells are traditionally used with Elves to give them enough reach to win a game, attacking with a large army of Elves with trample lets the damage that's even blocked still get through. Since Battle for Zendikar Elves have had an Elf that can pump them all Tajuru Warcaller the problem is there was no way for these Elves to also get trample which they need along with the pump for it to be a viable strategy. Not having enough Ally Elves was also a problem with using Warcaller, but I won't go into that. Overcome is the new Overrun and I can see it being a terrific spell with Elves especially with Rishkar, Peema Renegade because he and other Elves with counters can help to cast it. This spell alone could possibly make mono-green Elves viable. Because Overcome also pumps all my creatures it can be the curve topper that Elves need to be able to successfully push damage through. Elves have a lot of pieces already in Standard, but they lacked that extra push they need to dominate board states, Verdurous Gearhulk has tried so has Decimator of the Provinces, but both so far have failed. Overcome as well as another split card in HOU could possibly fill these needs.

Drive / Despair is another spell that gives all my creatures trample while also giving them if they do damage the ability to draw for each one. Drive doesn't pump my creatures like Overcome does instead it only costs which is amazing. This is a powerful two drop spell because it effects all my creatures and not just one. An Elf swarm followed by Drive seems very fun and very good. Drive is a split card with Despair as the aftermath side. Despair cost and could be just as good as Drive and since it's also a two drop spell for four mana I can cast both on the same turn. Giving my army of Elves trample and menace with the ability to draw cards and make my opponent discard cards at the same time seems pretty devastating for only four mana. Drive with Despair has the makings of a build around card for the very reason that as a four drop spell it has the ability to win a game or put me so far ahead that it will not matter. Drive is a sorcery, but both parts of the card are fine being cast on my main phase rather than at instant speed because they're both for attacking. This is not a trick spell that I want to surprise my opponent with on their turn. The only problem with Drive and/or Despair are they require creatures in my control to do anything. If I don't have a creature and I top deck this it's bad. Could Drive in combination with Despair mean the return of Golgari Elves?

Appeal / Authority is yet another split card that can give an Elf trample. It's different because it doesn't give all my creatures trample only one, but it also pumps the creature, it can pump it a lot. The biggest appeal of Appeal is it only costs . For one mana it's effect is very good, but it's not instant, it's a sorcery which hinders it a lot because this card should be used as an instant trick targeting the lone attacking creature who isn't blocked. Appeal is like Strength in Numbers, but with a small difference it doesn't care that my creatures are attacking, the amount of pump is equal to all creatures I control which is much better. Authority is the aftermath side and other than being white is also a good spell for only two mana. It too is a sorcery just like Appeal which hurts it a lot for what it does.

Bolas kicked the shit out of the Gatewatch and their sweet defeat cards welcome color hate back to Standard. All the defeats other than Nissa's Defeat all look like excellent sideboard cards that will change Standard for the better. Chandra's Defeat makes playing red creatures a real liability and is great to kill Glorybringer at instant speed. Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Chandra, Flamecaller are some of the best Planeswalkers in Standard this defeat can kill them for only one mana at instant speed. Jace's Defeat is a new better Gainsay which will be great at combating Control with Torrential Gearhulk. Nissa's Defeat is the worst of the cycle and is the only one that doesn't do something to a creature. A green Planeswalker or Nissa, Steward of Elements or enchantment will really have to become a force in Standard for this defeat to do anything. Not sure why it's the most mana expensive, three mana and a sorcery.

It's interesting because green is now the safest of the colors in Standard to play because none of the Defeats in the cycle can kill green creatures and Nissa's Defeat is in my opinion really not a threat at all to green.

These two defeats Gideon's Defeat and Liliana's Defeat are unfortunately not in Temur colors which sucks as they are some of the best of the cycle. Gideon's Defeat exiles an attacking or blocking white creature which can include Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or Gideon of the Trials if it attacks for one mana at instant speed. This isn't very viable right now with Ally of Zendikar since he can just make tokens and never attack, but when he rotates at the next set then of the Trials is kept in check by this defeat. Other than swarming aggro strategies with black or tokens such as Zombies Liliana's Defeat alone can keep black creatures in check. For only one mana this defeat can kill Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh or Liliana, Death's Majesty, it's the only defeat that can outright kill Bolas that alone makes it pretty powerful and depending on the playability of the new Bolas this defeat might be a staple in Standard sideboards.

Red got two very good removal spells in HOU. Abrade may become a staple card in Standard red decks as long as Mardu Vehicles is such a powerful deck. It's really excellent to combat Vehicles because it can kill either the Vehicle such as Heart of Kiran or the creature that's going to crew it for two mana at instant speed. One the problems in the matchup is if the Mardu Vehicles player thinks it's not safe to attack with Heart they will not crew it which is a problem if I'm holding a Harnessed Lightning and not artifact removal. Abrade is a real answer to this problem because it can kill either a non-crewed Heart or a creature in the matchup. I will start out with main decking Abrade in place Magma Spray because these options are too good to pass up.

Hour of Devastation the namesake card of the set depicting the defeat of the Gatewatch by Bolas looks good. Other than Glorybringer, red doesn't have a lot of answers to Planeswalkers that can hurt/kill them. This Hour helps with that was well as doing five damage to each creature which is on par for five mana.

Two cards from the Last cycle have peaked my interest, Rhonas's Last Stand and Bontu's Last Reckoning. The Last cycle are cards depicting the last hurrah of each of the Amonkhet Gods before they die. Last Stand and Last Reckoning are the best of the cycle because both have the ability to turn on their represented Gods although not on curve because they do this then the drawback of not getting to untap my lands the next untap step is some what relieved. These spells are very up in the air right now because of the not letting my lands the next untap step untap. This might very well make these spells unplayable, playtesting will determine this. Creature ramp such as Rishkar, Peema Renegade are not effected by this restriction, using creatures to pay the mana cost for Last Stand can then untap the next untap step. It's possible that Last Stand in combination with Rhonas the Indomitable, Rishkar and Elf ramp can be the starting of a core for a mono-green Elves beat down version of Energy Elves.

The green Last makes a 5/4 Snake token for only which are huge stats for only two mana. If non-black aggro becomes a problem in Standard then I can see this spell being an excellent at defense because four toughness is hard for aggro to deal with and getting a four toughness creature possibility turn two is a nightmare for aggro. I say non-black aggro because Fatal Push owns the Snake token for only one mana giving my opponent the upper hand in this exchange.

It's more likely that I lose to Last Reckoning much more than play it, haha, but if I'm choosing to play black again then it seems very good in the sideboard for swarming aggro matchups where tokens are a problem such as Zombies. Both Last Stand and Last Reckoning actually have some synergy with each other. For five mana I can first wipe the board and then second put a 5/4 creature in play. If I already have Rhonas in play before doing this then I have recovered very fast from a board wipe.

Unsummon is back in Standard! Any time that there's one mana instant removal even if it's pseudo removal like bounce it will see play. I expect Unsummon to see a lot of play because it's very good in any matchup where my opponent is putting counters on their creatures especially Golgari Energy midrange with Winding Constrictor. Unsummon is also excellent to combat the Gods of Amonkhet, Rhonas, who are indestructible and the new HOU Gods who are even more overcosted mana if they're just getting bounced.

Supreme Will is the blue card in the same cycle as Abrade. This cycle is only Grixis colors, there's no green or white card in this cycle. Two of the three in the cycle are very good, in my opinion some of the best cards in the set because they give me options. Like Commands and Charms having options on a single card is very powerful. The biggest thing Will has going for it is the single blue in it's mana cost. The option to counter something unless my opponent pays three additional mana in the early to mid game or later on when that's not helpful I can use the same card to dig four cards deep for something to help me stabilize or win a game.

Uncage the Menagerie just misses the playability meter for me and I'm confused why Wizards choose to make it so under power as compared to what it could of been. Uncage is a green mythic of the set, but unfortunately it's a little too restrictive for what it does. First I can only search for creatures who's mana cost equals X, not X or less which would of been so much better, next I can only get one of each creature, they have to be different and last the creatures I get go into my hand not right onto the battlefield. These are a lot of restrictions for a mythic spell. Five mana is the best this card can do; this lets me search for three possible different three drops and put them into my hand. The problem is three drops are what Elves lack right now in Standard, in fact there's only one, Rishkar, Peema Renegade. If Wizards ever prints another three drop Elf lord or Shaman of the Pack equivalent at the same mana cost then Uncage can become much better. The best thing Uncage has going for it in this deck's case is at five mana it can get Rhonas the Indomitable, Tireless Tracker and Rishkar, Peema Renegade or Rogue Refiner and put them all into my hand. This seems good for five mana, but at this stage of the game do I really have time to spend five mana that doesn't effect the board in any way? A better case scenario although also not ideal is ramping and playing Uncage turn four as a five drop spell. Giving me a good turn five play?

Mirage Mirror is another playability miss because it doesn't effect the board in any way the turn it's played unless I have five mana. For it's mana cost of three I get nothing and have to wait until turn four to use it's ability. Mirror should of entered the battlefield as a copy of something than for two mana it can copy and change into something else later. It's copy ability doesn't include enter the battlefield effects of the permanent it's copying since it's already on the battlefield and doesn't re-enter when copied. Mirror could be nice to copy a lord such as Lord of the Accursed, but Elves don't have a lord in Standard. If and when Elves get a lord then maybe I can revisit Mirror, but most likely not. I may be missing a huge broken interaction with Mirror and other cards in Standard, but I just think it's too slow for what it does.


Randsome says... #1

Interesting update and thoughts - essentially this is now an "elves-themed" Temur energy variant.

But this:I can even play Rishkar and tap him to crew Harvester before I use his counters trigger which allows me to then put a counter on Harvester.- doesn't work that way. When Rishkar ETB you have to specify the targets that are already there, but Harvester is an artifact still at that time so it can't be targeted.

May 20, 2017 6:51 p.m.

Randsome says... #2

Also, what are ur thoughts on how would an up-to-meta Sultai Constrictor-Skyrider deck look like nowadays?

May 20, 2017 6:53 p.m.

multimedia says... #3

Hey Randsome, thanks for your feedback.

Rishkar, Peema Renegade and Aethersphere Harvester work together because both their abilities use the stack. Rishkar's ETB trigger and Harvester's crew activated ability both go on the stack. Crew is an activated ability. Once both abilities are on the stack I can choose what order they resolve. When a creature enters the battlefield it can be tapped to use another activated ability that requires a creature to be tapped such as crew. When Rishkar ETB before I resolve his trigger I can tap him to crew Harvester, the crew ability then also goes on the stack. Once both Rishkar's trigger and the crew of Harvester are on the stack I can order them to happen in any way I choose. Choosing to resolve the crew of Harvester on the stack first makes Harvester a creature. I can then resolve Rishkar's trigger second which lets me put a counter on Harvester since Harvester is now a creature.

The same thing happens with the stack when another Rishkar ETB when one is already on the battlefield. Both the legendary rule and Rishkar's ETB trigger go on the stack. I can choose which order I want them to happen. Choosing Rishkar's trigger first lets me put counters on other creatures even one of the Rishkars. Second I resolve the legendary rule which then kills one of my choice of Rishkar.

An updated Sultai Energy Elves list:


May 20, 2017 8:21 p.m.

Randsome says... #4

multimedia, thanks for your feedback as well)

1) As for the deck: it seems kinda close to my initial thoughts, which kinda reinforces my opinion on playing it. Would u replace Balistas with direct Planeswalker removal - Ruinous\Never? I kinda lack those and amn't that into STD to buy them for what they cost nowadays =_=

Also, what are the defining differences between strengths and weaknesses for both Sultai and Temur takes on this archetypes? Both seem pretty well equiped with removal, Constrictor rapidly boosts direct power through counters and Temur wins with energy utilizing - something like that?Also, another black's plus is Energy Bob, i think. Would u play it there if we aren't directly tied to elves?

2) As for the rules: while some premises and final results are correct, it seems u have a few things mixed up there:2.1 As soon as Rishkar hits the table his ability goes on the stack and it demands to chose targets from among creatures that are already there. Sure, in response to this trigger u can crew Aether with him which will produce a stack like this: Rishkar's ETB --> crewing harvester. And result would be: Harvester becomes a creature, but it doesn't matter for counters as targets for them are already assigned. This would work if u have another creature on the table when u are playing Rishkar, which'll produce a sequence like this: play Rishkar --> crew Aether with a creature already on the table --> Rishkar resolves --> Rishkar's ability goes on the stack with targets on Rishkar\another creature and Harvester --> counters are placed as we intend.

2.2 While legendary rule does demand that u choose one creature with a particular name to be left alive, it's a State Based Action (if i remember correctly those are named like that) and they don't use stack, so u don't have a chance to respond - as soon as second Rishkar hits the table u have to chose one of them to be left alive, another one dies and u get to decide where to put counters. So if u somehow managed to have three Rishkars ETB under ur control at the same time, as the first thing to do u'll have to chose one to stay and only after that u'll have to define targets for all three counters triggers. So u won't have a chance to crew a vehicle with new Rishkar while deciding to leave the old one on the battlefield.

Though, u don't have to believe my words just like that and i suggest u consult a judge u know on these, as this technicalities might cost u the game sometime.

May 21, 2017 6:17 a.m.

multimedia says... #5

Randsome, Walking Ballista is very good with Winding Constrictor and seems like an auto include in a deck using the snake, but if you don't want to get Ballista's then you could use it's slots for anything really, Negate is even an option. Never / Return or Ruinous Path are fine in it's place, but I don't think you really need any more removal main deck, 4x Fatal Push and 3x Grasp of Darkness is enough. Aethersphere Harvester is good at pressuring Planeswalkers. Saying this I would definitely sideboard 1-2x Never or Path as some Planeswalker removal. I would also sideboard 4x Transgress the Mind which can hit any Planeswalker.

Some possible cards you could use in Ballista's place who go with the theme and with the snake are:

If you want to go away from Elves then both Longtusk Cub and Glint-Sleeve Siphoner are excellent energy 2 drops. You could replace Sylvan Advocate and/or Skyrider Elf with any combination of them.

As far as strengths and weaknesses of Sultai and Temur I think it really comes down to which kind of deck you want to play. Even though Sutali has energy I consider it more of a counters deck because the power of Winding Constrictor is in counters not energy. Temur is more of an energy deck that's also using counters, but energy is the main theme. If you like energy play Temur and if you like counters than play Sultai.

Sultai Strengths and Weaknesses:

    Strengths
  • Better manabase having access to 7-8x fast lands that can make green mana.
  • More powerful curve of Winding Constrictor, Rishkar, Peema Renegade and Verdurous Gearhulk. By itself a curve of Constrictor into Rishkar can be game winning.
  • Better sideboard options for Marvel matchups and control matchups. Transgress the Mind and Negate can both stop Marvel. Transgress can hit Torrential Gearhulk.
  • Less reliant on energy if keeping Elves.

    • Weaknesses
  • Constrictor is a huge target for removal and unfortunately the deck very much relies on him to be alive without him the power level drops a lot.
  • Problematic removal options, other than Fatal Push all other removal has double black casting cost. Push is ok, but not great right now in Standard.
  • No cheap removal that exiles the creature it kills.
  • Not as versatile or as many creature options in black.
  • Access to no three mana sweeper that does 3 damage to all creatures. Yahenni's Expertise is as close as it gets.

Temur Strengths and Weaknesses:

    Strengths
  • Can still function without losing a key card in other words there's no Constrictor. Less reliant on a nice curve.
  • More cards make and use energy. The energy theme is front and center.
  • Magma Spray is a very good removal spell right now in Standard.
  • Harnessed Lightning is unconditional creature removal that with energy can kill easier than Fatal Push.
  • Access to three mana 3 damage to all creatures sweepers.
  • Glorybringer adds an additional power level to the top end.

    • Weaknesses
  • Worst manabase having to use reveal lands from Shadows Over Innistrad which can be problematic at times.
  • Worst sideboard options for Marvel and control matchups. Other than Negate and other counterspells.
  • Relies much more on energy to overall function.

In my opinion red is better as the third color for this deck than black right now because of Magma Spray, Harnessed Lightning, Glorybringer and Radiant Flames. These cards do more for the deck than Winding Constrictor, Fatal Push, Grasp of Darkness and Transgress the Mind can. I like the combination of Spray and Harnessed over Push and Grasp because Spray can exile Scrapheap Scrounger and/or Dread Wanderer, especially Scrapheap because he's such a menace in Mardu. Spray also hits a ton of creatures in both Zombies and Mardu making it not just for the recursive creatures.

Creatures that Spray can't kill Harnessed can due to the amount of energy the deck can make. Glorybringer is great at pressuring or killing Planewalkers and gives me another flying threat. Putting counters on Glorybringer is also nasty fun. Flames in combination with Spray is very potent vs Zombies. I've found that I really need a sweeper to consistently beat Zombies because the battlefield can be flooded with them very fast. Red has access to two three mana sweepers that can deal 3 damage to all creatures, Flames and Sweltering Suns. Doing 3 damage is important because of Lord of the Accursed. Black has Yahenni's Expertise which can kill 3 power creatures, but it costs four mana instead of three. Flames can also only do 2 damage to each creature if I only use two different colors of mana to cast it. It's flexible this can be relevant as a one sided board wipe.

Push is a great removal spell, but the strong presence in Standard of both Aetherworks Marvel and Zombies takes it down a notch. Zombies wants you to spend a card to kill a single Zombie this is giving them an advantage. Spray is some what taking away this advantage even though I'm still spending a card to kill a single creature the creature is exiled which is relevant. Marvel plays all three drops except Servant of the Conduit and higher and very few creatures. Push is still excellent in the Mardu Vehicles matchup because it can kill Heart of Kiran, but so can Harnessed.

Thanks for the tips on using the stack. You're right I can't tap Rishkar, Peema Renegade the turn it's played to crew Aethersphere Harvester and then put a counter on Harvester with Rishkar's trigger. I would have to use another creature to first crew Harvester and then play Rishkar. I've been doing this Rishkar and Havester play for a while now and no one has said it's wrong, haha... My mistake is I didn't know that if an ETB trigger has to have a target(s) the target(s) must be declared the moment the trigger goes on the stack. I was declaring targets when the trigger resolved from the stack which is wrong.


May 22, 2017 1:45 a.m.

multimedia says... #6

I've done a swap of the number of Glorybringer and Verdurous Gearhulk. 4x Glorybringer gives me better odds to draw it and get it into play turn four or five. I've also increased the number of Mountain to 3x cutting 1x Forest to make room. Glorybringer is double red so having another red source that doesn't come into play tapped really helps.

The difference between the Dragon and Gearhulk is the Dragon's haste. Creature removal is good right now and I get more value faster out of the Dragon than Gearhulk. I've also found the Dragon to be much better than Gearhulk in both Mardu Vehicles and Zombie matchups, especially Mardu as a great way to deal with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. Gearhulk is also an artifact, the Dragon isn't, which is relevant.

I was sideboarding a third Glorybringer, but I don't need to do that anymore, I cut it for a third Manglehorn. I like Manglehorn in both Marvel and Mardu Vehicles matchups, especially Mardu because it can kill Heart of Kiran and slow down Scrapheap Scrounger.

Small Summary, Sideboard Cards for Matchups (Look for a more in depth guide in the Sideboard Card Choices section soon):


May 25, 2017 8:33 a.m. Edited.

Doran_The_ButtFighter says... #7

Love it! I've been doing a bit of playtesting, and I find that there is a lot of unused energy at the end of matches that goes to waste. Have you noticed anything similar while playing?

May 25, 2017 10:55 p.m.

multimedia says... #8

Doran_The_ButtFighter, thanks for the upvote.

Since adding Rogue Refiner the energy production is very good and I too have had games where a lot of energy is not used. Although, I would rather have a lot of extra energy then not enough. Not having to choose what I want to use energy on instead having enough for everything I want to do makes game play much smoother and more fun.

It's possible that including a couple of cards that can use all the extra energy could be beneficial such as Confiscation Coup or a single Aetherworks Marvel.


May 26, 2017 2:02 a.m.

Doran_The_ButtFighter says... #9

multimedia what are your thought on Bristling Hydra and/or Whirler Virtuoso? I think if Marvel is added, it might as well be a Temur Marvel deck, but that isn't what this list is trying to do.

May 26, 2017 10:41 a.m. Edited.

multimedia says... #10

Doran_The_ButtFighter, I agree It's best to stay away from Marvel, this is not a Marvel deck. The main reason I mentioned Coup is because it gives us an effect that the deck currently doesn't have. Virtuoso and Hydra are other options for sure. I would learn more towards Virtuoso because it can generate more value with Thopters which have flying. Hydra could also be a sideboard card.

Are you thinking of including one of these cards main deck? If so what are you thinking about cutting for it? Right now I feel the main deck is pretty set with only Verdurous Gearhulk and Magma Spray as the flex spots.

A possible direction to go is to sideboard in Virtuoso when sideboarding out Skyrider Elf. I tend to take out some Skyrider Elf in matchups where I know Fatal Push is my opponent's main removal spell. I do this because wasting energy and a turn to fully converge Skyrider to just have it killed by Push for one mana is pretty bad.

Without having to use energy to converge Skyrider then even more energy is not used. Virtuoso is good vs Push because it's a 3 drop, revolt needs to be triggered before Push can kill it. Our opponent is not going to want to use Push to kill a 1/1 Thopter giving us an advantage. I could see 2-3x Virtuoso in the sideboard to start with and bring them in when Skyrider is taken out. It's possible that Virtuoso is also better than Magma Spray because it does make and use energy and that energy can produce tokens who can be blockers. Spray is here to combat aggro, but Virtuoso can also do this. Delay aggro with Thopters until we can Radiant Flames. Flames does kill Virtuoso and all Thopters though, that's a problem. Your thoughts?


May 26, 2017 9:03 p.m.

Variux says... #11

How is this deck working out for you lately?

June 11, 2017 6:55 p.m.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #12

I'm thinking of bringing this deck into FNM, how has it been doing? Is it still viable?

June 18, 2017 8:41 p.m.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #13

Well, the budget version multimedia

June 18, 2017 8:42 p.m.

multimedia says... #14

ACDAMAN, thanks for the upvote. I just updated Budget Energy Elves for you.

Since Aetherworks Marvel has been banned this deck is very viable. One of the top decks right now is Temur Energy Midrange; think of this deck as a variation of it with Elves. Glorybringer is very good right now.

The only real difference between this deck and the budget version is the budget has a worse manabase using Evolving Wilds and Cinder Glade with no Botanical Sanctum or Game Trail. I recommend spending some extra money to use the manabase here instead of the budget version manabase.

Tireless Tracker is replaced with Mouth / Feed in the budget version which is obviously not as good, but a fine budget replacement for the Midrange matchups such as Temur Energy and Golgari Energy you want draw in.

I've choosen to main deck Magma Spray because you need it vs Zombies and that deck is very popular right now and the worst matchup. If Zombies aren't a problem at your FNM then you can either cut entirely or move all Spray to the sideboard. Here's a small guide of how I would change the main deck to reflect different most popular matchups at FNM:

  1. If you're expecting a lot of Midrange decks like Temur Energy or Golgari Energy then replace Magma Spray with Mouth / Feed. In these matchups having a mass draw spell is much better than a spell that only does 2 damage to a creature.
  2. If you're expecting a lot Aggro like Zombies and Mardu Vehicles then keep Spray main deck with a fourth in the sideboard.
  3. If Control dominates FNM then replace Spray with more Bristling Hydra; likewise if you find that you're losing to Control then add more Hydra either main deck or sideboard.
  4. The 4x Negate in the sideboard is for Control, but if no Control then you can cut some Negate for other cards.

Think of it like this Spray is to combat Aggro, Mouth is to out card advantage Midrange and Hydra can be an unkillable nasty threat vs Control. If one of these archetypes dominates your FNM more than the rest then you can adjust to reflect this.


June 19, 2017 12:51 a.m. Edited.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #15

multimedia Thanks! I have a lot of lands that I could use... and I used to play a Sigarda deck so I've got the Tireless Trackers and a few other things that I could use.

Thank you for responding so in depth!

June 19, 2017 1:03 a.m.

multimedia says... #16

ACDAMAN, that's good you have Tracker she along with the manabase: Sanctum, Trail and Fumarole are really the only large price differences between this deck and the budget version. What's your FNM like? Does one deck or a couple dominate or is there a variety of decks?

Good luck at FNM!


June 19, 2017 1:15 a.m.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #17

multimedia Haven't been to FNM in a few weeks, but the last few times control dominated, and a few Marvel decks which probably cycled to other Energy decks. There was also a zombie deck, but I think I'll just focus on the controls.

June 19, 2017 1:31 a.m.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #18

multimedia Going out to buy the cards I need now! I bought a SOI deckbuilder kit a while ago, so I think I've got the lands I need!

June 19, 2017 2:53 p.m.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #19

multimedia So I bought the cards, got most of them + a few lands that I need. Missing a Manglehorn and 4 Rogue Refiners.

Any replacements for Rogue Refiner?

June 19, 2017 6:08 p.m.

Variux says... #20

ACDAMAN, you could try to use Empyreal Voyager. Flying, trample, gains energy equal to the amount of damage it does. Same CMC as Rogue Refiner, minus the card draw which is a big upside.

multimedia, how has the deck been performing as of late?

June 19, 2017 6:18 p.m.

multimedia says... #21

Variux, I'm having fun playing the deck. It had a terrible Marvel matchup, but Marvel is now banned so this deck is much more viable since it has a good matchup vs Temur/GB Energy and Mardu Vehicles. Zombies are a problem.

ACDAMAN, sounds great, that was fast. As far as lands go 4x Aether Hub, 4x Botanical Sanctum are the most important. You can get away with not using Game Trail if they are not of your price range or you can't get them, but I recommend 4x Trail also. Rogue Refiner is a must and are very cheap.

Replacements for Refiner are Tireless Tracker, you said you had 3x Tracker if so just main deck them. There's also Whirler Virtuoso; I used Virtuoso for a while, but he was ultimately cut for other cards. However, he's a fine energy producer replacement for Refiner. A recommend 2x Tracker and 3x Virtuoso if you're choosing this route. Another option is to increase the amount of Bristling Hydra to 3-4x for more energy and main deck Tracker for draw.

Manglehorn is less needed if you don't expect any Mardu Vehicles with Heart of Kiran and Aethersphere Harvester at your FNM. Mardu is the real reason for Manglehorn in the sideboard.


June 19, 2017 7:52 p.m. Edited.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #22

multimedia Thanks! I'll test that out!

June 19, 2017 8:11 p.m.

scotchtapedsleeves says... #23

multimedia I copied your deck and edited it a bit, can you check out the manabase and see if it's ok?

June 23, 2017 5:01 p.m.

multimedia says... #24

I just updated the Deck Strategy section here with a writeup including a new Gameplay portion which I'm not quite done with, but it's a start.

I have some bad news it looks like Ixalan the set after Amonkhet doesn't have Elves. Although not offical yet pictures of the entire rare and mythic rare sheet of cards were leaked and there's not one Elf present. Not having a rare Elf in the set is a pretty good indicator that Elves are not on Ixalan. Dinosaurs and Merfolk appear to be the tribes in green.

If I'm right about no Elves in the Ixalan set then we will have to wait a long time before any new Elves are in Standard until Dominaria, the next set after Ixalan. It releases in April 2018...


June 24, 2017 7:46 a.m.

Inexist93 says... #25

Hey I have a love of elves as much as you do! And was wondering if you had a sec if you could check out my standard dec?

June 26, 2017 10:40 p.m.