This next E-mail I must admit I struggled with.  For one, there's a LOT going on here, and sifting out the best elements was difficult as removing one match in a pile without disturbing the others.  And for another, it bears striking similarities to the last deck I fixed, Storm Season.  But I resolved to fix it anyway.

Hi,

 

I could really use your help...and, your honesty.  I created the following deck (which I've named Vallox3), and have had some mild success with it.  True, it's a trick deck, but every card seems to work with every other card pretty well (at least for its intended uses).  First, your honesty; can a deck like this ever be tweaked to actually be a competition deck?  Secondly, how can I improve this thing?

 

Here's the deck:

 

Vallox2

 

(23) creatures:

Arkardar Valkyrie - 3

Darien, King of Kjeldor - 2

Juniper Order Ranger - 3

Loxodon Heirarch - 3

Martyr of Sands - 2

Order of the Stars - 2

Ronom Unicorn - 2

Sakura - Tribe Elder - 3

Soul Warden - 3

 

(19) non-creatures:

Wrath of God - 3

Storm Herd - 2

Kodama's Reach - 3

Congregation at Dawn - 2

Proper Burial - 2

Debtor's Knell - 2

Faith's Fetters - 3

Selesnya Signet - 2

 

(18) lands:

Selesnay Sanctuary - 4

Plains - 7

Forest - 7

 

So, in a nutshell, this deck has some fun with a few things.  First, a Loxodon/Valkyrie combo.  By sacrificing my Loxodon at the end of a turn, while targeting it for return through the Valkyrie, I get +4 life per turn...add a Proper Burial and Soul Warden on top of that, and I get 9 life per turn.  Now, throw in Juniper Order on top of that, and I get +1/+1 for it every turn.  Why the gain of life?  2 reasons: to outlast my opponent, plus, to take the hit when Darien is there (once again, a *LOT* of pumping for my Juniper Order Ranger as the tokens come in), as well as a big bonus when I get Storm Herd out (coupled with Soul Warden, and Juniper Order....well....it's a lot of wide eyes).

 

OK...the rest of the cards:

 

Obviously, this is a very slow deck.  I need a bit of acceleration (Kodama, Sakura, and the Signets help there).

 

In order to last until the mid-game, I have a couple of cheap, but very useful creatures.  Martyr of Sands really adds a lot of life early on.  Order of the Stars keeps me a little protected.  Faith's Fetters not only gives me life, but neutralizes some of the early threats.  Finally, Wrath of God is my table clearer to take out swarms (or big threats), and allows me to start my engines.

 

This leaves a few cards, such as Ronom Unicorn.  Enchantments are a major source of pain (ranging from Faith's Fetters on my creatures, to global enchantments).  Ronom is there to help take care of them (and coupled with the Valkyrie later in the game, is a way of clearing all enchantments fairly quickly...all while pumping my Juniper Ranger).  Congregation at Dawn is my mid-game caller...so I can get my engine working.  And, finally, as creature removal is pretty common, I have Debtor's Knell to bring things back if I end up losing creatures along the way (once again, helping me out with Juniper, Proper Burial, etc...). 

 

All in all, it's a blast to play.  In fact, I have not seen another deck like this around...so there is always some surprise when I start up the engines.  Unfortunately, fun decks don't seem to be overly competitive.  What can I do to make it worthy of competition (I'm serious, so if I have to purchase, then so be it).  Since I want to keep it in Standard format, I'm looking towards the future (the fewer from the Kamigawa block, the better).

 

Thanks in advance,

Verge