What's up, fellow Planeswalkers!?
This is a Pauper deck built for zandl's SOI Standard Poor-Man Challenge
Any and all suggestions are welcome, but I will have already submitted it to the contest, so I can't make changes. But please leave any feedback you feel would be helpful. It's greatly appreciated :D
So, the purpose of the deck is to hit hard, hit fast, and avoid being blocked. It relies heavily on Prowess-type and unblockable abilities. I named it Unstable Power because the deck is crazy offensive, but lacking considerably in defense. You can do insane amounts of damage in a single turn, but then your creatures go back to being mostly weenies. So it's very... unstable. Eh?... get it?
I'll just... try to break down the card choices a little bit before I show myself out.
CREATURES
4x Stormchaser Mage -- This is pretty much the star of the deck. Since the challenge allows for Uncommons, he was an absolute must. In fact, he was the card I developed the idea around. Anyway, he's a two-drop with an impressive toughness of 3, Prowess triggers, and flying that can attack the turn he comes out. He embodies everything the deck stands for with Power, Speed, and Evasion.
4x Elusive Spellfist -- Definitely one of my favorite cards in this type of deck. He may only have a Pseudo-Prowess ability with just getting +1 to attack, but because he becomes unblockable, he doesn't need the boost to toughness. Also, the 3 toughness he does have protects him from a considerable amount of Common/ Uncommon burn spells
4x
Village Messenger
-- Dear god it hurts that Monastery Swiftspear is gone. But, this guy actually does a good job of replacing her for a Turn 1 drop, IMO. If you can get him out Turn 1, he will swing for damage before your opponent has a chance. It may be small, but as any veteran MTG player knows, one damage can make it or break it. Chances are, if he's dropped on Turn 1, your opponent won't get a chance to cast a spell, so he'll transform next turn. You'll have a 2/2 Menace to keep beating them down with until they play 2 spells.
3x
Jhessian Thief
-- Prowess is a big component of this deck, so running out of cards happens often. With Jessie's Girl, not only can I get Prowess triggers for more damage, she'll keep me drawing cards as well.
2x
Ember-Eye Wolf
-- This card smoked me at Pre-Release. His firebreathing effect is better than I think most people give it credit for. In this deck you can actually pay to get +1... technically. Paying 2 mana for 2 attack can really help him out. I've seen him get really big attack late game. This is also why he's at 2. In early game, he doesn't help as much.
1x
Uninvited Geist
-- This creepy dude is actually pushing the boundary on how much CMC I want my cards to have in this kind of a build. But, his Skulk ability can really help out late game. You can swing for 2, their big attackers can't block, then you can pump him with spells after blockers have (not) been declared. Then, he'll turn into a permanent 3/3 that can never be blocked. He'll definitely hurt them. His higher CMC and specialized usage keep him at 1.
1x
Pyre Hound
-- He officially goes over my comfort zone for CMC. 3 is what I wanted to keep it at, but this tourney got me to thinking. In a late game, you'd definitely have enough mana to bring him out, and what little non-creature spells you would have left would give him permanent attack boosts. I figured it might be a lifesaver. Plus, dat Trample is noice, boi!
INSTANTS
The instants are here to serve several purposes. First of all, they all are excellent Prowess triggers during both your turn and your opponent's turn. Secondly, we have a counter spell in here to stop a play or two. Thirdly, we have boost spells to make us more dangerous after Blockers have been declared for Skulkers and more dangerous in general.
4x
Titan's Strength
-- What Stormchaser is for Creatures, this card is for Instants. It has both speed and power. If you play Titan's Strength on a creature with Prowess, you are giving them +4 attack for just . It may be for one turn, but that can cause serious damage.
4x
Rush of Adrenaline
-- Not as good as Titan's Strength, but a really good card nonetheless. If your opponent has enough gumption to block something you are swinging with, this card will pump it, trigger Prowess (hopefully), and then Trample over them.
4x
Brute Strength
-- While it may be more expensive than Titan's Strength, it does grant Trample along with the +3 attack. It has the boost of Titan's Strength and the extra ability of Rush of Adrenaline. It's very important to swing for a lot of damage as much as possible because the deck doesn't have much defense.
2x Uncaged Fury -- Much like Monastery Swiftspear, I am still in mourning over
Temur Battle Rage
. This card is not nearly as good simply because it is a 3 drop, but it does give an additional +1/+1. That's why there is only 2 and not 4. Early game, this card doesn't help as much as other pump spells.
2x
Void Shatter
-- Thrown in to make sure you can stop anything that might pose a threat. Make sure to leave enough mana on their turn to stop what they're doing, then they could be wide open on your turn to pump. Only 2 because it's double is asking a considerable amount for us, and we're not a control deck.
SORCERIES
Speed is everything, and sorceries are little slow for me. That's why we only have this particular one.
4x Slip Through Space -- Grants the unblockable immunity, lets us draw a card, and can trigger Prowess. . . all for one mana. One of the best card to come out of Oath of the Gatewatch for sure. You can manage to dish out a lot of damage with this card. Drawing is very important, too, because it is really easy to run out of cards in this build.
LAND
It's been really difficult to balance Mana Bases since the Fetch Lands went away. Not that it would matter because it's Pauper, but... just saying.
9x Mountain and 9x Islands -- So the land breaks down the way it does because the Mana Costs are almost even between Red and Blue.
2x
Highland Lake
-- Well... honestly... I felt I need some dual lands, and this was the only non-Rare one I could think of. Not sure if it would be better to just take it out, but 4 is way too much. You can manage a one-land hand, but not if it is one of these.
1x Rogue's Passage -- Generic mana can't really hurt because it will most always be used. And, in late game, you may need that second ability to get an unblockable creature when you don't have Slip Through Space any more.
FINAL WORDS
Thanks to anyone who read my thoughts all the way through. Once again, I may not be able to make changes because I will have already submitted it, but please feel free to make comments and suggestions! Happy dueling, Planeswalkers!
