It’s Lorwyn Theme Week here at MDV, and that means scads of material and new articles. Unfortunately for me, this means I've got to be working hard to put out new material! Fortunately for all the budget deck builders out there, I'm excited to say that we have quite a few good rares and uncommons that a deck can be built around.

Raiding the Dollar Bins this week is going to be looking at some of the fun, interesting, and crazy rares from Lorwyn, and building some decks out of them that hopefully won’t hurt your pocketbook.

So what does Lorwyn do? Well, my friends, Lorwyn transports us back into the realm of Tribal. Tribal themes are something that casual decks are constantly built around, and whether that theme is Merfolk, Humans, Clerics, or Soldiers, Tribal lets players develop amazing decks that play well, and normally for pretty cheap. Let me let you in on a little secret; cheap is my specialty.

This week, instead of making decks out of completely new cards, I’d like to throw around some completely new decks, and then mix in some old favorites from the last time we did Tribal in Onslaught block. I think the results will surprise.

My first deck this week abuses a land of a cycle of rare land cards in Lorwyn, and uses a very interesting tribe from Lorwyn to do it. Let’s take a look.

This deck abuses one of my favorite commons from Lorwyn: Smokebraider. Smokebraider is amazing on turn two, and can lead to a turn three Nova Chaser or turn four Hostility. The idea of the deck is to use Flamekin Harbinger to find the necessary Elementals for your deck to do what it needs to do – ultimately, attack for the big 20. You can get this accomplished by an early Nova Chaser, a turn four Furnace of Rath, swaths of Elemental creatures, and periodic burn spells aimed at your opponent’s head.

One of the most interesting interactions in this deck is Nova Chaser and Spinerock Knoll. Most of the time, if you attack with Nova Chaser, because of its trample ability you’ll be able to deal around seven damage; and, if that’s the case, you’ll be playing some card for one Red mana, and whether it’s a simple Flames of the Bloodhand, or a game ending Hostility, one Red mana is a pretty good deal.

Things to Remember

1) Hostility works extremely well with Furnace of Rath. Furnace of Rath doubles damage, which in turn, through Hostility, doubles the amount of 3/1 Elemental tokens you’ll have in play. It’s a win-win situation.

2) Use burn to win the game, as well as clear out opposing blockers. It’s important to remember that your burn spells are not just creature removal. If you need to, use your burn to bring your opponent that three life closer to zero.

3) Be careful using champion. Champion is a very strong ability if you can resolve it. However, there are times where championing a creature is very unsafe. Try to minimize your chances of losing big by having two Elementals in play before you try to play Nova Chaser. Understand how your opponent’s deck works, and try and make good decisions on whether or not to champion based on that information.

Card Suggestions

Fortunately for such a burn-oriented deck, the choices are nearly endless. Cards like Char, Demonfire, and Sudden Shock will all work extremely well in this deck, and can replace any of the burn spells I’ve put into this list. I’ve tried to keep your burn common, but there are plenty of good burn spells out there; play the good ones that you’ve got, and use commons for the rest.

Other Elementals work well with Smokebraider; take a look into cards like Mulldrifter, Shriekmaw, and any of the greater rare Elementals from Lorwyn like Vigor or Guile. I also enjoy Ashling the Pilgrim. She’s in theme with the deck, and she’s a great creature.

One thing that’s been fairly evident since Onslaught was printed is that Elves is one of the most powerful tribes, and the reason for that is the mass of amazing common Elves. When it’s easy to get a hold on cards like Wellwisher, Timberwatch Elves, and Wirewood Herald, it makes sense that Elves is a cheap, and powerful tribe. Lorwyn makes this even clearer; Elves are back in style!

Unfortunately, it appears that all Elves care about in Lorwyn is style; and of course, breeding like bunny rabbits. Cards like Elvish Promenade and Gilt-Leaf Ambush are Elf cards that make oodles of Elf tokens, and creatures like Imperious Perfect and Lys Alana Huntmaster make even more Elf tokens with their abilities. But what does that mean to someone playing Elves?

I’ll tell you what it means: One huge Elvish Vanguard.

In one word: Multiply. Use early Wirewood Heralds and Elvish Harbingers to find your powerful Elves like Elvish Vanguard and Wellwisher, and then go to town. Use Heedless One and Elvish Vanguard as a strong offensive, or just attack with swarms of 1/1s and win by large numbers. Lys Alana Huntmaster and Imperious Perfect make more tokens, which pump Heedless one and Elvish Vanguard, and Timberwatch Elf punishes your opponent for not blocking your men correctly.

Things to Remember

1) Wellwisher and Imperious Perfect are best used at your opponent’s end of turn phase. Don’t use Imperious Perfect’s or Wellwisher’s ability in your turn. Wait until your opponent says that he or she is done, and then use these powerful Elves. It keeps your good creatures from being nailed by cards like Assassinate and Glimmerdust Nap. If you’re playing multiplayer, wait until the person whose turn is right before yours ends their turn.

2) Try not to attack with Timberwatch Elf. It seems fairly common sense, but you need to make sure you don’t attack with Timberwatch Elf. Its ability is always more powerful than its one power attack.

3) Wirewood Herald should die more often than stay alive. Don’t feel bad if your Wirewood Herald has to chump block a creature early in the game; you are playing him for his ability, not for his Elf-ness. Use him as bait, and get your more powerful Elves ready to go.

Card Suggestions

There are plenty of other amazing Elves out there that I didn’t pick for this deck; Taunting Elf lets you push through all your damage with Elvish Vanguard and Heedless One, and Ambush Commander lets you put a lot of pressure on your opponent in conjunction with Timberwatch Elf. Bloodline Shaman will almost always net you an extra card, and Elvish Champion makes your little men bigger and gives them Forestwalk. To make things short, there are tons of great Elves out there for you to play. Let your play style and budget pull you to the cards that you like the most.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Raiding the Dollar Bins article without me building a deck around a goofy rare; the rare for this edition is Hoofprints of the Stag.

Hoofprints of the Stag is an interesting card because it trades long-term effects for a powerful ability. After X amount of turns, I’ll get a 4/4 with flying. It’s a great rare, but in its current form, is a bit too slow for my taste. Let’s get cracking on this card, and see what we can do with it.

The easiest way to win with this deck is to find a Hoofprints of the Stag as quickly as possible, and then use your Walls to keep away predatory creatures while you bide your time and draw enough cards to make your Elemental win condition. Jushi Apprentice and Mulldrifter make fine additions to this deck by netting you more cards, and by decreasing the amount of time it takes to get a 4/4 flying Elemental creature.

Things to Remember

1) If you can’t get Hoofprints of the Stag, Tomoya makes a good secondary win condition. If your opponent has countered all of your Hoofprints, or has made them unusable with something like Meddling Mage, Tomoya the Revealer is another win condition. Only use him in the most desperate situations though; this deck wasn’t meant to win with him.

2) Enlightened Tutor is cheaper and quicker than Transmute, but more vulnerable. If you know your opponent is playing a lot of counterspells and you don't draw a Tutor till later in the game, try and bait him with seemingly key spells like Compulsive Research and then push through your Enlightened Tutor. Transmute isn’t a spell, so unless your opponent is packing Stifle, you shouldn’t have to worry about not getting your card.

Card Suggestions

One thing this deck lacks is removal; Wrath of God, Oblivion Ring, and Condemn are all great White removal spells, and can be substituted for Mulldrifter or Ghostly Prison fairly easily.

Card drawing creatures are good for this deck. Try Arcanis the Omnipotent or Magus of the Jar for a fun time. These creatures will accelerate your Elemental production significantly.

Well, I’m spent. Now that my new Casual secrets have been spilled, get out there and use them! Discuss my decks in the forums, or suggest other cards I might have missed. Above all, enjoy the rest of MDV’s Lorwyn Theme Week.

Until next time, never forget that Casual Magic bliss is merely a dollar bin away.

~Death_By_Beebles~

Alex Hoffman has been parading around with the pseudonym of Death_By_Beebles for three years now. He’s a writer for Magic Deck Vortex, and can often be found tinkering with his latest decks while working on 3CB scores. He is the author of Raiding the Dollar Bins and the Going Blind series at MDV, and the recent startup series Pauper Chronicles. Alex likes kittens, reading, and generally enjoying life. He doesn’t like Brussels sprouts. You can send him deck ideas, combos and suggestions at deathbybeebles@yahoo.com.

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Articles Spotlights from 2007:
Lorwyn Theme Week Intro & Schedule of Events
Blink And Bounce: Timing is Key
Going Blind: XCB Metagaming - A Prolonged Conclusion.
The Science of Magic: Genetic Engineering, Part Two.
Shifting Lineaments: Casual Metagaming (Pt. 2).
The Dungeon Of Malefict: Pure Evil!
Land Week Introduction & Schedule.
Combofusion: Legends Timeshifted.
One Card to Rule Them All: Coastal Piracy
Irrational Love: Chimeras. The Lego's of Magic.