Hello there! This is the GB version of the Changelings centered decks I'm trying to build. One of the best combination of colours I've tried for this Changeling deck idea.
Mainboard
Creatures:
- The Changelings creatures are the enablers of the whole deck:
Changeling Outcast
provides great unblockeable damage when combined with the Slivers,
Universal Automaton
is a usually a nice chump blocker and it is really easy to cast,
Woodland Changeling
has really nice body, perfect against
Electrickery
, it is a good offensive or deffensive creature; finally,
Venomous Changeling
can trade with big guys like
Gurmag Angler
and
Ulamog's Crusher
.
-
Cateran Brute
gets more changelings, as well as
Cateran Persuader
. The first one can also bring various copies of the other one, allowing to build a whole Changelings factory really, for only spending smalls amount of mana. The Changelings entering will trigger the others ETB effects, like gaining life and drawing cards. These Mercenaries are the main mechanism of the deck.
-
Predatory Sliver
and
Muscle Sliver
give all the Changelings +1/+1, the primary win condition of the deck. Instead of having the whites
Griffin Rider
and
Sinew Sliver
, we get 8 Slivers, give much more presence on the board to the whole deck.
-
Wirewood Savage
is a very interesting addition that green allows. Using it can be extremely fun and it can let us gain huge card advantage, but it might be a little slow. This deck is strong against aggro decks because of the lifegain and the bodies first, and the card advantage and recursion after the first turns. On the other hand, it has big troubles against really heavy control, long term decks. So, the idea would be to beat them before they can be fully armed, and
Wirewood Savage
is not actually going in that direction. Anyway, until now, the card draw has been surely enough to keep this guy in the deck.
-
Shepherd of Rot
provides reach, works very nice against combat damage or combat step locks, and it shouldn't be really painful because of the lifegain, though this version right now is not as centered in the lifegain as older ones. I've been changing the amount of
Shepherd of Rot
a lot, from 0 to 2 mostly, and I'm still testing. Anyway, the card is really nice.
Other cards:
- For the recursion, I'm using
Return from Extinction
since bringing back Slivers or Mercenaries is usually very important, and this sorcery can also get them with a Changeling.
Ghoulcaller's Chant
and
March of the Drowned
can be used too.
-
Seraph Sanctuary
let's you gain tons of life really easily, escaping usually to the range of some aggro decks. Also, I never felt like colorless mana was giving trouble.
-
Crop Rotation
can bring
Seraph Sanctuary
and allow the lifegain. It's very nice against aggro. And on the other hand, it can actually bring to the battlefild an unexpected
Bojuka Bog
to exile some annoying graveyards at instant speed (against Tron, TortEx, etc). This one is the only expensive card in the deck. If you don't want to spend too much,
Morsel Theft
is another really nice option that provides lifegain, damage and replaces itself for only two mana when casted by Prowl (because of the Changelings dealing combat damage).
As in the Orzhov version, this is not a quick aggro deck, and usually it will need some turns to get it to work. Anyway, it is faster than his Black and White brother. Besides, the really good the late game with the card advantage and lifegain can be overwhelming to non interactive decks. The idea would be to balance the deck in order to be able to survive the first turns against aggro decks and then just use the huge amount of gas to defeat them later. On the other hand, it should be proactive and aggressive enough to try to beat late game control decks quickly enough.
Sideboard
It was created following the idea of the deck:
-
Crown of Suspicion
can be a global +2/-1 if it is sacrificed when enchanting a Changeling, very nice against Elves and Goblins. Be careful as it will give the +2/ buff to all the surviving creatures, even your opponent's.
-
Shepherd of Rot
for more reach and speed against control/lock decks.
-
Scroll of Avacyn
for Goblins/Burn.
The rest are quite simple. Other meta sideboard cards could be used of course, depending on the local metagames.
Maybeboard
This is quite big. Elves like
Timberwatch Elf
,
Wellwisher
could be used; Treefolks, Allies, and any other tribe you can think. Even things like
Birchlore Rangers
to cast
Goblin Grenade
sacrificing a Changeling.
Conclusions
Until now, I believe this is probably the best version of the deck. It has lost some lifegain, wich is bad, but the whole Slivers deal gives a lot of speed, and combining with
Shepherd of Rot
I've been able to even steal a few games against Tron. Exact numbers of cards can change of course, but I believe the idea is already settled up. I've played a lot with this one and his Orzhov brother and believe me, they feel really good. I think this could be easilly considered Tier 2. Unluckiliy, the actual meta has Tron as really big deal, and that match up is very bad, but eventually that will change. Even if it doesn't, if aggro strategies start growing as a counter to the slow decks, decks like this one could be in the third position, being good against aggro, and bad against late game control.
Finally, the deck is really cheap. The only expensive card is
Crop Rotation
, but could be replaced easily. Besides being cheap, I believe it is fun enough to bring it to your LGS and surprise a few friends.
With all this being said: Thanks you all for reading, any feedback would be really useful. See you around!
