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Pojo's MTG
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BMoor's Magic
The
Gathering
Deck Garage
Today's deck is
actually very close to me in a way. It's very
similar to the Standard deck I was bringing to FNM
all this past summer. The card choices are a bit
different (I didn't use Spectral Force), but the
strategy of cheap evasive dudes + Auras +
counterspell backup remains the same.
And like Derek
here, my deck took a hit when Ravnica rotated out.
I just decided to abandon the deck, play in some
Lorwyn Sealed, and use the spoils plus the Llanowar
Elves and Giant Growths from the old deck to build
an Elf deck. But surely the archetype as it existed
can be salvaged?
Hi BMoor, Well, Derek, I'll do whatever I can, seeing as how I've been puzzling over this one myself for a bit. Thankfully, you've already speculated a bit on what might work for you. Unfortunately, your specualtions aren't all that sound. Let's handle them one at a time.
Silhana
Ledgewalker -> Llanowar Elves?
Well, the Elves
would definitely be
 good
here, but I'm not sure if it's the Ledgewalkers they
should replace. The 'walkers were your small, quick
beater that could put on a Cloak and bash for 4 or
more a turn without fear of blocks or kill spells.
Really there's nothing left in Standard beyond Troll
Ascetic that can replace it. The Troll should
definitely come into the maindeck (unless the double
green is too much for you that early). But as for
another quick beater?
I thought about
it, and it occurred to me that you might want to use
an Elf with deathtouch. Deathtouch doesn't really
make a creature harder to block, but it makes an
opponent much less likely to block with a creature
they value. Your big choices here are Thornweald
Archer and Wren's Run Vanquisher, and even though
the Vanquisher is bigger, I'd recommend the Archer.
You don't want to bend your deck around too much to
include more Elves, and I doubt you want to pay five
mana for a 3/3 with deathtouch.
Your other option
is Looter il-Kor, a creature you suggested as a
replacement for Plaxmanta. More on this later, but
turn two Looter into turn three Cloak was a play I
often enjoyed making.
Moldervine Cloak -> Keen Sense?
Drawing cards is
important, but Keen Sense just isn''t powerful
enough for you here. You want to be able to buff
your creatures, not win the control race on the back
of a Theiving Magpie. You won't win that race, my
friend. You need a buff spell.
Sadly, Moldervine
Cloak was the last decent one. There's always
Blachwood Armor, yes, but in a two-color deck? Of
course, it's better than your other options.
Petrified Plating? As much as I'd love to see it
work, I know it doesn't. Epic Proportions? Too
expensive to play on anything but Spellwild Ouphe.
Your choices are basically down to either Blanchwood
Armor, Unstable Mutation, or... I guess Epic
Proportions? Go with the Mutation.
Plaxmanta
-> Looter il-Kor?
I agree that
Looter is an excellent addition here. But does it
do the same thing as Plaxmanta? Plaxmanta is at its
heart two things: a creature with flash, and a
counterspell. If it's the counterspell you want,
then Cancel is probably the right choice, or
possibly Dismal Failure or Discombobulate. If it's
a flash creature you want, then I recommend
Briarhorn. It's a bit more expensive, but you can
pay the Evoke and just use it to mess up combat
math, or wait and get a surprise 6/6 blocker.
Gilt-Leaf Ambush also makes a decent way to put a
dude in the path of an incoming attacker, with the
added bonus of Scry 1 and a chance to kill anything
you block with it. If it's protecting your
creatures you're all about, however, then try Robe
of Mirrors. It works great with Auramancer's Guise,
but Scryb Ranger can't untap a creature with shroud.
Remand ->
Cancel?
Yeah, this one
you're probably right about. There still isn't
really any decent countermagic in Standard for two
mana. There's Familiar's Ruse, but you may not want
to bounce a creature you've already Aura'd up if
you've only got one. There's Faerie Trickery, which
is really only different from Cancel if your
opponent's playing graveyard recursion or Faeries.
And there's Spellstutter Sprite, who only works if
you've got multiple Faeries out.
Actually, you've
already got Faeries in the deck. Sure, Spellstutter
would rarely be able to counter something that cost
more than 2 (she counts herself, remember), but even
so you'd be getting a 1/1 flyer at instant speed.
Maybe this is your replacement for Plaxmanta?
Voidslime
-> Trickbind?
I have to ask
what it is you want to counter. But if it's for the
sideboard, it's probably "just in case". Fair
enough. Trickbind is the pick here.
Although I
wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't bring up
another Voidslime analog: Mystic Snake. For one
more mana, you get to exchange ability hate for a
2/2 body. In your deck, you want a good supply of
creatures. But you probably also want the option to
stifle abilities too, so feel free to stick with the
Trick.
After that, it
looks like any changes you could make to this deck
have been covered. a shame all my clients don't
write their own reviews... ;-)
Good luck!
~BMoor
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a
few points of damage. In terms of pumps, I use
Moldervine Cloak due to its decent dredge ability,
and Auramancer's Guise since it stacks quite well
with the Cloak, and also acts as an alternative to
leave Spectral Force untapped. Lastly, Plaxmanta is
in there for mass creature protection, but I'm
wondering if its a good idea to replace Plaxmanta
with Looter il-Kor for better card draw.