Balancing my 2 decks against eachother.
Deck Help forum
Posted on Sept. 10, 2021, 1:47 a.m. by JonasNutt
I play MTG with my girlfriend and have made a cool white token generation deck. I want to make a blue counter deck with decent scry power. I just want them to be fairly even, not one recks the other all the time. I would love some input on my blue deck Jace's "nope" they are the only decks on my profile JonasNutt .
gavriel1136 says... #4
Just from glancing at the two decks, they don't seem very balanced, with the blue deck being much stronger. Right off the bat, with so many counterspells plus boardwipes, you're gonna frustrate the heck out of the white deck.
Additionally, the blue deck has really good early plays that grow stronger, while the white deck mostly has high CMC plays (I do see you added a few Raise the Alarm, which is good).
With so many high CMC spells, those counterspells hurt even more, making it difficult to do anything.
Lastly, the blue deck has more boardwipes, and better ones than the white deck. Especially for a token deck, particularly one that is focusing on one-time token making effects, this is devastating. These one-sided wipes in combination with your 12 counterpells means that the white deck will likely never get to do anything ever.
Here are my suggestions: For white, add more low-to the-ground token makers. Also add repeatable token effects, like Castle Ardenvale or Thraben Doomsayer. Maybe throw in a better boardwipe or way to protect from so many counterspells, like with extra utility cards with flashback or escape.
P.S. Shalai literally does nothing for the deck since blue deck has no spells that target anything she protects. I know you were thinking of her pump effect, but that is incredibly mana intensive. I'd replace her with an anthem, especially a 2 CMC or 3 CMC one.
For the blue deck, I recommend lowering the number of counterspells. I think having 2 of each is PLENTY. Focusing on sea creatures is fine, maybe have only 1 boardwipe in the entire deck, since they can be a little too devastating.
I guess the core issue with the blue deck is that the white one has no way to interact with it. There is no anti-counterspell suite, white doesn't have ways to untap to undo Sleep, and you aren't running any type of removal that 'Protection from X' could be helpful with. For the decks to be fun, you both need threats that the other can answer.
I know this was long, feel free to ask any questions.
September 10, 2021 9:08 a.m.
TheBubbaEA says... #5
After playing one match against eachother, the blue deck feels much better. Obviously this is only 1 game so it’s not a clinical deep dive.
Whites general gameplay is to go a bit wider faster with the “white weenie” strategy, but this white is much slower and needs to commit all of its mana to a single card which the blue deck laughs at. Against a green deck that plays 1 big threat after 3/4 turns, yeah this white deck could compete.
The blue deck needs less counter/board wipes or the white deck needs to become much quicker.
September 10, 2021 12:54 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #6
I agree with Gavriel, except for one thing. The white deck could run a couple of Call to Glory to untap all creatures (also gives pseudo-vigilance and the element of surprise). The curve on the white deck is way too high, and there are too many counterspells in the blue deck. Repeatable token generation is definitely the way to go. Consider things like Populate, Growing Ranks, Sundering Growth. To interact with big threats from the blue deck, Oblivion Ring definitely could find a place. To give white a "sleep" effect, I like Blinding Light. And the Whelming Waves do seem especially cruel against the white deck. If you keep them in, you also need to give white a nasty edge to play. Celestial Dawn would wreck the blue deck entirely. You could also include things like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Conqueror's Flail, Grand Abolisher or Silence to give white a competitive edge against all the counterspells (and they're all pretty expensive, because they are so effective).
Rhys the Redeemed would be an awesome include for the white deck. You might also look for things that make bigger scarier tokens, like 4/4 angels Moonsilver Spear or Seraphic Greatsword. Or low to the ground anthems like Honor of the Pure. Plus a little card draw in there somehow. Not white's strong suit, but something like Mentor of the Meek might work.
September 10, 2021 2:04 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #7
Although maybe I'm reading Celestial Dawn wrong, which I could be. So you might disregard that part... There is also Lapse of Certainty which might work against the wave, but only temporarily as they will draw it next turn, so you need to either win right away, or have some way to make it be milled or discarded, neither of which are likely in white - but could be managed with artifacts, although this is getting pretty convoluted to work around a single card. Mana Tithe is another option, but easy to plan around.
September 10, 2021 4:15 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #8
Here are a few mono white decks that I run that might be better suited to the blue deck:
E Pluribus Unum - Out of Many, One
Storm Herd (now without Storm Herd)
I think today I may also see about building a mono-white allies deck and see how that goes. I have a blue and white Sephara, Sky's Blade deck that I could convert to mono white if that interests you.
September 10, 2021 4:26 p.m.
libraryjoy says... #9
So two new options for you as well:
Also some options to add to your anti-control suite is Judge's Familiar and Tithe Taker.
gavriel1136 says... #2
It's really funny you say that! The two decks I have, which I usually play with my GF are Siona, Captain of the Pyleas with an emphasis on token production, and partners Eligeth, Crossroads Augur + Siani, Eye of the Storm with an emphasis on flying and scrying!
September 10, 2021 8:47 a.m.