|
| |
|
MDV Featured Article:
[ Back ] [ Home ] [ Up ] [ Next ]
MDV Featured Article -
Duck, Duck, Druid! -
by John Streetz - posted 3/7/06 - discuss
here
|
This isn't so much an article as it is an interesting
approach to Druids and decks you never thought you'd see. There are quite
a few druids, any some of them are bad and/or difficult to master. I am
obviously not talking about cards like Llanowar Elves (which is one of the
newest members to the Druid family) or Hermit Druid. I'm talking about cards
like Stone-Seeder Hierophant or Wood Sage or [name that druid].
Thankfully, Death_By_Beebles already covered Wood Sage this
week. So, with that in mind, let's move on. I plan on posting a
picture of the card and then follow it with a deck that uses at least 4 copies
of the card. Obviously, I will only being using Druids to do this
experiment and I may or may not be providing a deck description.
Here we go!
Zoologist is one of those cards
that's over costed and difficult to use well. With a casting cost of 3G
and a small power/thoughness of 1/2, this Druid dies way too easy. Plus,
with an activation of 3G, you're better off playing Elvish Piper (who isn't a
druid). Let's see what decks I can find on the net for this guy:
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
  Whispering
Winds.
A deck with Zooligist |
Land: 22
11 Islands
11 Forests
Creatures: 34
4 Keeper of the Nine Gales
2 Crookclaw Elder
2 Dreamborn Muse
3 Dream Thrush
2 Sage Aven
3 Aven Windreader
4 Zoologist
4 Quirion Explorer
4 Battlefield Scrounger
4 Krosan Tusker
2 Wild Mongrel |
Spells: 4
2 Ice Cave
2 Words of Wind |
|
by Time Waster's Guide?
...My other justification for shedding
my hand of cards willingly arrived with Dreamborn Muse, out of the
Legions set of game-altering Muses. The obvious solution to Dreamborn
Muse's ability is to either want cards in your graveyard (Incarnations,
Flashback, Reanimation) or to get rid of your hand so you aren't
affected. Obviously, I chose the latter option, and set about finding
ways to bypass the need for a hand of cards. The card I chose to help me
bypass this situation is the Zoologist. Once in play, his formidable
ability circumvents both the need for a hand of cards in a
creature-based deck and the spell-based countering abilities of Ice
Cave. "Draw a card/cast a spell" becomes peek at deck/use Zoologist"
under this model. I won’t mention the Zoologist much more for the rest
of the article, but keep him in mind. He’s not spectacular, but he’s the
only thing that helps to ensure that the deck keeps going after Ice Cave
hits the table. Let's work it out.
You may have noticed that the framework I established above with Ice
Cave, Dreamborn Muse, and Zoologist is quite rickety. Add the fact that
I only included 2 Muses and Caves, and the situation gets downright
worrisome. My answer for that problem lay largely in birds. Whether it's
deck management via Sage Avens, land type modification with Dream
Thrush, pure card drawing through Crookclaw Elder (Yes, I did say I'm
designing a No-Hand Magic deck. I'll get to that in a minute) or an Aven
Windreader peeking at the deck to help the Zoologist find creatures, the
birds are the real workhorses of the deck's semi-consistency.
Blue's better half does its fair share of the work, however. Quirion
Explorers help to guarantee that you'll have the colored mana you need
to survive Ice Cave (Birds of Paradise would have worked here even
better, but I'd hit my limit for rares). Krosan Tuskers cycle to expand
your supply of land (once again, we're drawing cards. I'll take care of
it. Be patient), and Wild Mongrels do their best to keep you alive
against early game threats while you set up. The real stars of green,
however, are the Battlefield Scroungers. If Dreamborn Muse or the
Zoologists begin to get rowdy, the Scroungers are eager and ready to
pick up the pieces, possibly even during an assault against enemy
forces. When I mentioned above my intent to refine the library recycling
techniques I'd begun in Wrath of the Snidd, these guys were what I
meant. In comparison to the slow, often clunking every-round-or-else
style of the Anurid Scavenger and Gurzigost, the Battlefield Scrounger
can moderate the size of your graveyard with elegance, doubling their
power and toughness at the drop of a hat and at your option. They do
have to threshold first, but remember that our intent isn't to maintain
a tidy graveyard...we simply don't want to deck ourselves or lose
precious rares to the rapid pace library recycling decks are intended to
set.
Words of Wind is the final component we need to complete the set. For
claiming to attempt a No-Hand Magic deck, I've included a large number
of card drawing effects, and this is why. (Aside from wanting a way to
help set up my combos quickly.) The ability to replace all those card
draws with a control effect reeks of raw power, particularly when it
combos so efficiently with Dreamborn Muse and Ice Cave. Yes, once again,
you end up with cards in your hand. If you hadn't guessed it already,
that's the reason I have Wild Mongrels included. Ditch your cards if you
like. Or keep them and recast the pernaments you've bounced back to your
hand if you think you can get past your own Ice Cave. Focusing too much
on how to manage the cards in your hand and achieve No-Hand Magic misses
the point of Words of Wind entirely, however. With Ice Cave and
Dreamborn Muse in play, very few decks are capable of meeting the
control threat that Words of Wind presents. I also like the theme Words
of Wind provides us with. I can almost imagine a wind mage feeding a
raging tempest with the assistance of his Aven wizard allies, while the
supporting green troops huddle in the covering depths of their forest.
|
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
 Frontier
Hierophantry.
Casual Land deck using
Stone-Seeder Hierophant |
Lands:
18 Forest
6 Mountain
Creatures:
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Carven Caryatid
4 Stone-Seeder Hierophant |
Other Spells:
4 Howling Mine
4 Fertile Ground
3 Overgrowth
3 Explosive Vegetation
3 New Frontiers
4 Burning Wish
3 Fireball |
|
by Chris Millar
Hierophant + New Frontiers... It's land-tastic!
Those familiar with the Beacon of Creation + Blasting Station combo will
know how this works. Imagine this scenario, if you will. You have an
active Hierophant and five lands in play. You tap all of your lands,
then untap one with the Hierophant, then tap it again. You decide to
play New Frontiers with X = 5. Your opponent tries to bluff counter
magic, but he's playing White, so you don't fall for it. When the New
Frontiers resolves, you put five lands in play. The Hierophant's untap
ability will trigger five times. Let the first trigger resolve. Untap
your Hierophant. Use it to untap another land. Let the next trigger
resolve. Lather, rinse, repeat. At the end of this sequence, you should
have five lands and a Stone-Seeder Hierophant untapped. You've
essentially played New Frontiers for free!
Now imagine the same scenario as above, except that one of those lands
is a Mountain enchanted with an Overgrowth. Instead of untapping a
different land with the Stone-Seeder Hierophant, you could untap the
same land (tapping it for the three-mana in between untappings,
naturally). You would be able to play New Frontiers with X = 9 (Five
lands plus Overgrowth is seven mana, and with the Hierophant to untap
the Overgrowth'd land, you can get ten mana). The Hierophant will
trigger nine times, allowing you to tap and untap the Overgrowth'd land
nine times, resulting in twenty-seven mana in your mana pool. Now you
can send a nice big Fireball straight for your opponent's head, nugget,
and/or dome. You will even have enough mana to Burning Wish for one and
then cast it. Burn, baby, burn! |
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
You-Can-Du-It!
Casual deck using Viridian
Joiner |
Lands:
3 Forest
5 Island
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
4 Lonely Sandbar
2 Tranquil Thicket
Creatures:
1 Pentavus
4 Silver Myr
2 Triskelion
2 Elvish Aberration
4 Vine Trellis
4 Viridian Joiner |
Other Spells:
3 Aether Spellbomb
4 Power Conduit
2 Riptide Replicator
4 Serum Tank
4 Decree of Silence
4 Fabricate |
|
by Nate Heiss
The main reason I added green to the deck is because
of a discussion I had with Mike Turian about the deck, wondering if I
missed any good mana acceleration for Decree of Silence. Out of some
corner of his mind he came up with Viridian Joiner. I'm not sure why it
popped into his head at that point, but it made a lot of sense. And, not
only does green get you Viridian Joiner, but it also allows you two
other quality mana accelerators--Vine Trellis and Elvish Aberration.
The Joiner is a very good recipient for +1/+1 counters, since it'll help
you accelerate out the Decree much faster. You may be asking yourself
where these counters are coming from so early in the game, and the
answer is: Serum Tank. Serum Tank generates many more counters than you
might expect--especially with eight artifact lands in the deck.
For example, imagine the following scenario: Turn 2 you play a Power
Conduit. Turn 3 you play a Joiner. Turn 4 you play a Serum Tank, move
the counter over to the Joiner, and play a Myr or a Vine Trellis. On
turn 5 you have 8 mana and are ready to play Decree of Silence. This
means you effectively win the game on turn 5, unless your opponent is
able to win with what she already has on the board. That's where cards
like Aether Spellbomb, Triskelion, Pentavus, and Riptide Replicator come
in handy.
The Fabricate portion of the deck remained somewhat intact (it's a way
to reduce the cost of the deck). It gives you lots of options without
needing four copies of the more expensive artifacts in your deck.
Riptide Replicator is usually the best one to get, as you can usually
generate lots of mana and can move charge counters onto it with the
Conduit, making ever-bigger tokens.
|
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
 Psycho
Squirrel Shotgun.
Casual Deck using Nut Collector |
Land:
12 Forest
10 Swamp
Creatures:
4 Squirrel Mob
4 Nut Collector
4 Seedborn Muse
|
Other Spells:
4 Reclaim
4 Chatter of the Squirrel
4 Kodama’s Reach
4 Whispersilk Cloak
4 Overrun
4 Squirrel Nest
4 Death Match |
|
by Vatiidall |
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
Promised
Kannushi.
Casual Combo Deck using
Promised Kannushi |
Land:
9 Swamp
14 Forest
Creatures:
4 Promised Kannushi
4 Elder Pine of Jukai
4 Thief of Hope
3 Deathknell Kami
4 Sakura Tribe-Elder
3 Sensei’s Divining Top |
Other Spells:
4 Aluren
4 Tangleroot
4 Ashes of the Fallen
3 Spawning Pit |
|
by Alex Lee
This deck is similar to the Aluren
decks of extended, but operates on a completely different engine.
Instead of Cavern Harpy, Wirewood Savage, etc., you use Ashes of the
Fallen to make Promised Kannushi a Spirit. Then by using Aluren, you can
start an endless soulshift chain of a larger creature getting the
Kannushi, and the Kannushi starting the cycle again. But it still needs
a way to sacrifice creatures, and Spawning Pit fills that role as well
as a win condition. Another way to win is to have Thief of Hope in play
to deal infinite damage.
Tangleroot is there for you to have mana to pay for Spawning Pit. If you
have Promised Kannushi and Elder Pine of Jukai, two Tangleroots can
replace Aluren, because by playing both spirits, you make four green
mana, the amount you need to play them both.
The Sakura-Tribe Elder and Sensei’s Divining Top smooth your mana, and
each also serves another purpose. By having Ashes of the Fallen in play,
you can revive the Elder with Soulshift from the Elder Pine or Thief of
Hope. The Top can use the extra mana from Tangleroot so you don’t take
mana burn. |
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
 Hidden
Cultivator.
Casulal deck using Nantuko
Cultivator |
Lands (24)
Mostly Plains
Mostly forests
Few Island
Creatures:
4 Groundskeeper
4 Nantuko Cultivator
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Maro
2 Dawnstrider
3 Llanowar Knight
3 Gaea’s Skyfolk |
Other Spells:
4 Land Tax
3 Hypochondria
3 Trade Routes
3 Creeping Mold
2 Zuran Orb |
|
by Steve Dickinson
Ok, the explanation of how the deck
should play. You’ll drop the bears early to provide some early offense
and defense. The Taxes should keep your hand stocked with lands,
allowing you to throw down a huge Maro and then your Cultivators will
come in late in the game and kick butt. The Groundskeepers are there to
allow you to return lands to your hand after losing them to land
destruction or to your Cultivator. The Dawnstriders are mostly for
emergencies, in case a creature swarm comes down that you can’t handle.
|
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
Fugitive
Verduran.
Casual Combo deck using
Fugutive Druid |
Lands:
20 Forest
Creatures:
4 Verduran Enchantress
4 Fugitive Druid
4 Ravenous Baloth |
Other Spells:
4 Yavimaya Enchantress
4 Ancestral Mask
4 Wild Growth
4 Whip Silk
1 Sylvan Library
4 Rancor
3 Elephant Guide
4 Enchantress's Presence |
|
by Jumping Mage |
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
Anti-artifact.
60 Card Anti-Artifact Casual
Deck |
Lands:
22 Forest
Creatures:
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Giant Spider
4 Ironroot Treefolk
4 Killer Bees
4 Argothian Pixies
4 Argothian Treefolk
4 Citanul Druid |
Other Spells:
4 Wooden Sphere
2 Tranquility
4 Giant Growth |
|
by Trynn |
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
Fruit
Loops & Tracers.
Casual Infinite Deck using
Nantuko Tracer |
|
Lands:
4 Polluted Delta
3 City of Brass
3 Swamp
7 Island
5 Forest
Creatures:
4 Nantuko Husk
4 Nantuko Tracer
4 Birds of Paradise |
Other Spells:
4 Compulsion
4 Aether Burst
4 Memory Lapse
4 Circular Logic
4 Counterspell
3 Cunning Wish
3 Verdant Succession |
|
by Unknown |
| |
[back
to top] |
|
|
Cantiref
Enchantroyf.
Casulal deck using Femeref
Enchantress |
Lands:
5 Plains
7 Forest
4 Brushland
4 Elfhame Palace
4 Windswept Heath
Creatures:
4 Auratog
4 Cantivore
2 Endless Wurm
4 Femeref Enchantress |
Other Spells:
3 Cessation
1 Cleansing Meditation
1 Defense of the Heart
2 Enchantress's Presence
4 Rancor
2 Rune of Protection: Black
1 Rune of Protection: Green
2 Rune of Protection: Red
2 Seal of Cleansing
4 Seal of Strength
|
|
by Mark Gottlieb
Travis Martin decided it was high time
someone broke Cantivore (or at least put it to good use), and that
someone was him. The main deck interaction was between Cantivore,
Femeref Enchantress, and enchantments that sacrifice themselves, such as
Seal of Cleansing. Travis's deck was also full of Runes of Protection,
which act like cantrip Cantivore-specific Battlegrowths.
I took that idea and bent it around to the side, because the first thing
I did was add Auratog to the deck. Auratog is clearly on good terms with
both Cantivore and Femeref Enchantress. Next, I added Rancor and
Cessation to serve as Auratog food. Those two enchantments are greatly
beloved by the Enchantress—but Cantivore doesn't like them much at all.
So that's a bit of dissynergy… um, asynergy? unsynergy? antisynergy?…
but I can live with it as long as I'm drawing tons of cards off the
Enchantress by repeatedly sacrificing and replaying Rancor with the
Auratog. I also replaced the Phantom Nishoba that Travis hoped to fetch
with his Defense of the Heart with Endless Wurms. Something kooky that I
kept in was Cleansing Meditation. At threshold, and with an Enchantress
in play, the card says “Destroy all enchantments your opponent controls
and draw a card for each enchantment you control. Oh, and move your
local enchantments around if you want.” Can't argue with that. |
Thanks for checking out these decks. This may be
continued....
~Streetz~
You can discuss this article in the MDV forums
here.
Most Popular
Articles of 2006
The Games People Play - Tactical Magic.
If I worked at R&D
The Beginner’s Guide to Rogue
Druid Week Primer
Opting In: Ravnica
MDV Idol: Finale!
Avatar Week Primer
Delusions of Mediocrity: Getting Stuffy in Here.
Raiding Ravnica: Guildmages and You!
Lands-More than Mana: Part One
|
