Dark Design

Friday, 17 December 2010

Whiite Weenie Christmas?

 This one's from regular contributor MAXFAN... What I like most about it is the number of 'sideboard' cards in the main deck... Some folks will tell you that the likes of White Knight and Kor Firewalker don't belong in the main deck because they are colour specific, but those same people seem to forsget that they are both still decent 2 drops and if you happen to be playing Red or Black, you've just given yourself a massive advantage... So I for one applaud MAXFAN'S  innovation and leftfield thinking. Anyways enough from me here's the deck...Gordon Vader....

This is what I currently have going on in Standard.

I love to play white weenie, but I hate the Quest for Argentum Armor deck. It might have something to do with the fact that I once lost six consecutive coin flips attempting to break a Sorcerer's Strongbox. This is the deck I've built to have better consistency. You could play it without the dual lands, but Stirring Wildwood is insanely good and you'd lose a couple sideboard cards. Just be sure to activate the man-land before you cast Brave the Elements or use Ajani.

The goal is to continuously draw two mana creatures that threaten to end the game by themselves or with one other creature in play by making them large with Honor of the Pure and/or Ajani Goldmane. If large is not enough, give the team protection with Brave the Elements for the win.

The Kor Firewalker might look a bit odd mainboard, but it wins free Game 1's. White Knight is good enough as a 2/2 First Striker even if the protection from black never becomes relevant.

Tajuru Preserver and Oust in the sideboard are for the green ramp decks, Leyline for red and black as you'd expect, Revoke for decks packing good artifacts, and more Journey to Nowhere for other random creatures.  Depending how many colorless creatures are running around in your meta, you might change out the Brave the Elements for more Journeys in the maindeck.  Also, if you have Day of Judgments, there are matchups where it should be coming in.

Creatures (26)
4 x Student of Warfare (this card is certifiably nuts, get them!)

Other spells (11)

Lands (23)
8 x Plains

Sideboard (15)
3 x Oust

"Max Fan"

Thursday, 16 December 2010

Proliferhate...

As it’s nearly Christmas you may have noticed we haven’t been as prolific as usual. So apologies if we’ve been a bit slack, but we’re going to make it up to you now with a brand new deck. It’s quick, it’s brutal and the entire thing will cost less than a single ‘Jace The Pocket Melter.’

I have to give a nod to my good friend Jim for the foundations of this deck. He’s still promising to submit his original list and when he does I’ll stick it up, but Adventures in the Meta can’t wait forever so I’ve decided to make my own version with a few twists....

I call it Proliferhate... but I’m open to better names...

You will need


8 Mountains
8 Islands 
As the deck is entirely colourless why not have some fun and play some Jedi Mind Tricks on your opponent. I've gone for blue and red so they'll be more likely to play with caution. 

The Mazes will take out dragon lords and superpumped unblockable posoinous monkeys. whilst you can actually pump the sanctuaries with the overseers and then proliferate the counters.  

So what does it do? 

Well this deck is really three decks in one.  It’s one part ramp, one part aggro and one part control and the key to the deck is proliferation.  

So what’s the plan ?
Start as you mean to go on with an early Ornithopter and either the Elixir or preferably a Voltaic Key. Turn two either drop a Chalice for 1 or the Overseer. The Thopter will get in the way of any early beats with its 2 toughness and because it flies, if it needs to get in the way of a Plague Stinger it can. By the third turn you have many options.  
What you are ultimately trying to do is to swing in with artifact creatures and to use proliferation and Voltaic Keys to mega charge all your attackers. There’s also a couple of sneaky tricks hidden in the deck and  with any luck your opponent will be too busy dealing with 6/7 flying thopters to notice them. 

Grafted Exoskeleton may seem an odd choice for the deck, but not only does it give your critters a +2 +2 bonus, it’s also fuel for the throne and more importantly it can be a single turn win. If you can get it on Triskellion not only does it turn him into a virtual Contagion Engine, but you can simply give your opponent poison counters with his ability  add some proliferation and you could easily take game in a single turn... 
EG. Let’s say he comes in with 3 counters, you have the throne, 2 keys, an overseer and the exoskeleton play.  First equip it with the Skeleton and give your opponent a poison counter, next tap the overseer and reset Triskellion  to 3 counters , next sac the overseer to the throne  and proliferate Triskellion up to 4 and give your opponent another counter.  Next untap the throne with a key and tap it again this time saccing the key. Your opponent will now be on 3 counters and Triskelion will have 5 counters use the last key on the throne and boom!  Your opponent will have 4 poison counters and Triskelion will have the last 6 he needs to finish the game. Ok it’s unlikely, but this is the one turn version, if you do it over a few turns and you’ll find it’s easy, and don’t forget you can swing with him too and use the counters to take out any defenders.

Grafted ExoSkeleton really? None of my other creatures have infect? 
Why not and it doesn’t matter that your other creatures don’t have infect.  By the time you can equip and play the ExoSkeleton, you’ll either be pinging with the toxic Triskelion or swinging in with a massive flying thopter. Either way it’s bad news for the other side, and don’t forget with the ExoSkeleton on Triskelion, the counters will stick and with the amount of proliferating you’ll be doing, walls and titans will fall by the wayside while you ramp into the Stratosphere and push your opponent to the limit. 

We all have to make sacrifices and this deck is no different and you may have to chuck everything in the bin to get what you want, but don’t worry too much about it, because your deck is running a natural safety net. With the Elixir of Immortality, your deck is a never ending loop of little martyrs, all ready to bounce back out of the graveyard and pick up the banner once again.

Match ups? 

V’s elves – With double tapping Overseers and Indesctructible mega charged Myrs and Pro green Champions, yYou should be able to hold own until Triskelion’s big guns come out. In stalemate the Exo Skeleton could easily give you the win.
  
V’s Eldrazi Ramp. – Go in fighting and don’t be afraid to throw away triskelion in an attempt to stop your opponent from ramping.  If you’re iucky you can pull off the ultimate nose rubs and kill Emrakul with a 15/16 Ornithopter ( I haven’t quite pulled this off but I did manage to kill one with two 9/10 thopters.)  

V’s Valakut -  Agaiin it will be down to pace. Keep your creatures massive and swing swing swing...

V’s Blue Whte Control – Your Myrs will beat Day of Judgment and the Champions will beat Jace and Gideon.  And don’t forget Infect works on Walkers too.  

V’s Infect – Block everything and you’ll win... Save Triskellion for anything that gets a distortion strikeor use your Mazes