Zedd's M:tG decks - The Johnny is strong with this one!

[Zeddicuus]

Haha! I'm still alive! I have been lurking as I haven't been following the last few sets very good (been very busy with various home renovations to have time/spare cash to get the cards I want). However, I figured I might as well post something new!

This deck was designed differently than I typically do (if anything I design can be called 'typical' in terms of M:tG). A coworker and I play on our breaks. lately he's been bringing fast moving 1 vs 1 decks that have been giving my creative MP decks quite the run for their money.

This deck is what I created in retaliation. It doesn't use the normal cute tricks I tend to favour, nor does it use an obscure rulings or combos to pull of something ridiculous.

It is, effectively, a new version of a deck I dubbed "Snuff" a couple of years back. I think that decklist is even in the early pages of this ridiculously long tribute to my weird decks.

Anyways, here's the list:

Deck Name: Snuff V2.0

Lands: 19

3x Dragonskull Summit
1x Graven Cairn
1x Lavaclaw Reaches
8x Mountain
6x Swamp

Artifacts: 2

1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Isochron's Scepter

Instants: 18

4x Lightning Bolt
2x Backlash
2x Bituminous Blast
4x Incinerate
3x Terminate
1x Sulferous Blast
2x Parallectric Feedback

Sorceries: 21

3x Blightning
3x Hymn of Tourach
2x Browbeat
2x Rift bolt
2x Chainer's Edict
2x Damnation
2x Cry of Contrition
1x Fireball
1x Pyroclasm
1x Exsanguinate
1x Barter in Blood
1x Chain Reaction

Deck Size: 60

I think the deck speaks for itself. You use as much discard/burn as you can to destroy the opponent's options. if he/she drops a critter or two, you destroy it.

It's a far cry from most of my decks, with tend to have multiple strategies and win conditions depending on the situation. This deck is much more straight forward compared to those decks in that regard.

It's not as creative as my other decks though, and requires far less thought and planning compared to previous builds I had in the past.

Comments and card suggestions/alterations are always welcome!

[LiaThistle]

I don't really know what resources you have, but from what I can tell, you're hoping to generate card economy through some of your bigger spells, and your smaller spells hold down the fort until you can start that economy going. Towards the end, once the economy has shifted in your favor, you start turning the smaller spells and whatever other burn you have at the opponent, hoping to drop their life total down to 0 before they get it to a total that you simply can't deal with (which is probably MWLife exclusive).

Am I mistaken?

[Zeddicuus]

That's a pretty accurate summary you have there, Lia.

It's mostly designed in terms of local meta, as many decks in this area are creature heavy instead of instant/sorcery heavy. Lots of smaller creatures in particular. This lends extra weight to cards that destroy multiple creatures at once.

As you stated, anything with lifegain will really mess with this deck, particularly if they are instant or sorcery speed.

As for resources, was there something in particular you had in mind I could have missed? I don't have a super extensive collection, but it's fairly decent and if I don't have an exact card odds are I have something that may be equivalent. I roughly have the colour requirements covered (I would prefer more dual lands, but hey I work with what I have), I have cheap early removal and massive removal and a variety of burn spells and hand disruption spells to keep an opponent's options down.

Cost wise the deck is fairly cheap to run, with the high cost being the Bituminous Blast, Fireball or Exsanguinate.

Any thoughts are always appreciated.

[LiaThistle]

I would consider a singleton giant fatty. Blightsteel C, Darksteel C, Emrakul, or one of the other better Eldrazi.

Most likely, I'd replace a Parallectric Feedback. I'd prefer to replace both, but you already have most of the other spells I'd consider.

[Zeddicuus]

replace the feedback eh? hmm.... I'll see what I can find that would be suitable. a single fatty might be handy, I have a couple of Hunted Dragons kicking around. Cheap cost and the Knights don't mean squat when I can just wipe them out.

[epiclevelwarrior]

How attached are you to the creatureless setup you have going now?

It seems to me that by going entirely creatureless, even with your high volume of removal, you open yourself up to getting poked by whatever stays alive with no option not to.

I might go with some creatures that double as removal. Murderous Redcap immediately comes to mind. He gets to kill something and play blocker, then do it again. Much more efficient than the average weenie in an aggro deck.

Ember Hauler is a similar, cheaper, but more color intensive option.

Keldon Marauders are a bit of a different tack, but similarly put pressure on your opponent's creatures in a way your deck current doesn't.

Either Ravenous Rats or Augur of Skulls seem like they'd be superior to Cry of Contrition. The 1st turn drop seems less important than the double duty the creatures could pull.

Lia is right that Feedback is probably not worth running.

Depending on what you run into Hit// Run (just Hit really, you can't play Run) could be worth it as removal that is also damage. Maybe for the Chainer's Edicts if you rarely find yourself ramping to 7, otherwise maybe the backlashes since they don't actually remove anything.

If you don't play this in multiplayer (and I don't see this deck working well in that envrionment) I might replace Exanguinate with Earthquake effects (either quake itself or Fault Line depending on what you have access to) since life gain matters less and Exsanguinate isn't nearly as degenerate. I also could see earthquake effects or more Sulfurous Blasts over the Pyroclasm and/or Chain Reaction since you want your spells to be dealing damage as well as wiping the board and you don't care all that much if you take some damage into the bargain since your volume of burn almost garuantees you win that kind of race.

How quickly do you run out of hand playing this? If it happens frequently you might look into Keldon Megaliths for a mountain or two since late game reach can be a deciding factor.

[Cannibalistic-Insanity]

Seems a little brute forceish to me but that seems to work a lot of times. you considered maybe thunder dragon or bogardan hellkite to me they seem to fit into your idea or just burning every thing with as much force as you can get out. although for any deck there a little high cost and almost always late game.

[LiaThistle]

Neither of those really fit, as there's entirely too much out there that kills them. BSC and Emrakul typically end the game in one swing, as well as being immune to almost all forms of removal. DSC isn't quite as finishing as either of those, but is still a fast finish, and in some cases, can still race lifegain decks (those with arbitrary lifegain combos usually not - but those are hardly the competitive decks he's up against).

Thunder Dragon and Bogardan Hellkite just don't compare given that, even if you can get both right now for ~$20 USD.

[epiclevelwarrior]

If we're talking single play there's very little chance this deck is going to see 10-15 mana. Of course, there's not a huge chance it'll see 7 either. It's got 19 land and essentially no draw. If reach is what the deck needs (and that may well be the case), smaller creatures (Pyre Zombie is an alternative to those already mentioned), or recursive burn (Hammer of Bogardan/ Keldon Megaliths) seem more likely to be relevant than giant expensive dudes.

[LiaThistle]

Which is why I was suggesting a singleton. I'm not sure how long that deck takes, and seeing more than 10 lands could be doable, depending on the deck it goes up against.

[Zeddicuus]

Wow, thanks for all the replies I'll do what I can to fill in the gaps:

After several plays, it's rare for this deck to see more than 6 lands in a game. It it a bit under the average for the number of lands in a deck, but the majority of the deck is fairly low cost so it typically plays 1-2 spells per turn, depending if I can draw off the Browbeat or just deal damage with it. Because of this lack of lands, playing a mana intense fatty seemed impractical as I'd most likely never get to cast them. I do not own any Eldrazi but I have a few dragons I could test in it. Thing is, once I get my economy set up I don't really need the large creatures as I continually kill off whatever is cast until I get my burn. I suppose I could go Hunted Dragons as the Haste and large body offset the 2/2 knights they create.

As to being attached to the setup with a lack of bodies, I'm not overly attached to it. I just did it to mess around with a guy at work who had never considered building a deck without creatures. Adding a few would not bother me at all. I originally considered the Murderous Redcaps for the exact reasons you stated, Epiclevelwarrior. I'm still debating tossing them in, possibly replacing Feedback with them.

Cry of Contrition was, to be honest, put in as a WTF play. The guy I play against at work has only been playing for nearly 2 years now so Ravnica is well past what he has seen. The Haunting works surprisingly well on him since a lot of his decks are creature heavy. It's not uncommon for me to cast it turn 1, Haunt a creature on him then kill the creature Turn 2. It's stripping him of options faster than he can play. Again, I considered Ravenous Rats in this case as well. The problem I have is the 2 CMC which would bog down the deck from using Terminates, Incinerate and the like as fast as I'd like. I'll definitely tinker with it and try tossing them in and see what happens though.

As for the Feedback, I'm using them mostly because the guy loves his big spells. It's not uncommon for me to be able to use it to deal at least 6 damage or more on him. It's a card I can easily replace, as I've mentioned in a few slots above as the player learns the lesson I'm working on. Not the most efficient card in there, for sure and one I will definitely replace soon as my point is quickly getting across, heheh.

The removal of Exsanguinate is a good idea. It's handy, but the obvious pros of earthquake do outweigh it. It was not something I considered at the time for some stupid reason.

This deck was definitely not designed for my usual play environment, which is Casual Multiplayer. I would run out of cards long before I could establish a win condition against 2 opponents.

Lots of good suggestions I'll have to test out and report back on how they work.

[Zeddicuus]

Alright, with New Phyrexia out the door, they've given us a couple more angels.

This is probably the first time I've made a post about new angels being released in quite a while. So far I've silently taken them into account and worked to see if they're viable for my deck or just part of the Angel collection I've been working on (Currently missing 3 of them out of about 96).

So anyways, I figured why not? Why not post here about the new Angels that are released and possibilities in a Casual Multiplayer Environment. Is that fancy new Chancellor of the Annex really awesome?

So, let's take a look.



Where do I start with this one...

I ignored the first part of the block of game text as the odds of having one in your hand are heavily against you. Odds are much higher that you'll simply end up drawing it later on. Oh well. If you get it in the opening hand, awesome. Just don't count on it. Also, if you pull a move like this, odds are the other players will paint a bullseye right on your forehead.

Flying is mandatory. Can't have an Angel without flying. At least, if they do pull it off they better have a damn good reason.

So... First ability is kinda crappy, second ability had to be there...But oh that third ability. As if dealing with a 5/6 flyer wasn't bad enough, the opponent is forced to make sure they have that one extra mana to play anything. While in the late game this will probably be completely irrelevant, if you can accelerate it out fast enough you could really cause problems for an opponent with something like this.

Guaranteed dead if any opponent has removal in their hand and enough land to pull it off so make sure to take advantage of it while you can. That advantage won't last.

As for putting in a deck, I have mixed feelings about this. I feel that, overall, there are other Angels that serve the 7 slot far more effectively. Arbiter Angel comes to mind, as well as Angel of Despair if you dip into Black. Not to mention the 6 slot ones such as Admonition Angel, Deathless Angel and even Victory's Herald.

Is there really a reason to put this in with that kind of firepower at a mana point lower? That third ability is nice, sure...but again, due to high cost it probably won't appear until the late game, when its third ability may not be enough.

personally I'd consider putting at least 1 in my deck, just to mess with people. But I feel that 2 or more would be a waste of valuable slots.



This one is far more to my liking. You know in Multiplayer people are going to play lands. It's a guarantee in Casual Multiplayer as not many players will use the more degenerate combos in such an environment. It's body is decent as a 3/3 in the 5 slot.

Sure, it's not Battlegrace Angel nor a Baneslayer Angel. But it sure beats the pants off the Angel of Mercy, Copperleaf Angel and Melesse Spirit. You know you'll gain a crapload of life off her if she sits around long enough. Even if lifegain isn't your strategy, the amount you gain off this may be enough to push the game to your favour. Angel decks are mana heavy and the early game you're going to take quite a few shots. Getting this out early in an MP match will help you regain the life you lost building up your land/ artifact accelerant base and may give you the edge you need to take command of the game.


Overall, I feel that Shattered Angel is a more worthwhile addition to an Angel deck designed for multiplayer than the Chancellor of the Annex. I'd love to hear other people's views of this and see what you all think on the matter.

[LiaThistle]

Shattered Angel has a bigger bullseye on it for me than the Chancellor, if for no other reason that in multiplayer, unless I'm pulling a degenerate combo, the 1 extra isn't likely to bother me; with 1 card draw per turn, and often, 1 card played per turn, having extra mana is almost expected. Very rarely are there big turns in multiplayer, and those decks that do said big turns pretty much win once.

So, while the Shattered is more likely to see play and be useful, the (eventually massive) life shift as well as the Boltable toughness make it a more targeted victim.

[Zeddicuus]

That's about how I looked at it. I'm seriously pondering putting a Shattered Angel into the deck when I get a hold of them. Quite a few players in my area have them now and are willing to trade one for a couple of uncommons.

I have been unable to buy any of the newest set after dropping a crap ton of money into my house. Maybe some time soon I can pick up a few packs. Bank account needs to stop crying first.

I got a hold of a Chancellor of the Annex at least. Cost me my Mana Barbs but I'm OK with that as it was a card I'd never use anyways. So now I'm just missing the Shattered Angel and the DCI version of the Exalted Angel!

[Zeddicuus]

Some of the new Commander Angels are up on MTGSalvation!





The art for these two are, just like the other cards spoiled so far, absolutely amazing. I am particularly liking the ability of the Archangel of Strife for Multiplayer beyond Commander as it affects everyone equally. It might even get to attack once or twice before someone wises up and kills it. It's P/T isn't too bad for 7 mana either, particularly for the environment it was made for.

Basandra's ability is nothing to sneeze at either though as it keeps out those pesky shenanigans during combat! The forcing an opponent's creature to attack is an interesting ability, as it's sure to draw out this little weenies that are vital to some combos. Her P/T to CMC is equal to that of Serra Angel. Not too shabby. This one makes me ponder adding Red to my deck. Wouldn't be hard to alter my Angel deck to accomodate R/W...

Definitely want to get both of these for my collection. I'm hoping they're in the same Commander deck myself. Might actually pick one of them up if that's the case just to get those two.

One of the other Legendary Creatures, "Skullbriar, the Walking Grave" is very interesting. While his own ability makes him grow very slowly, what is stopping you from finding other means to add those +1/+1 counters that he keeps after death?

Has anyone else heard/read about other cards specific to the Commander decks yet?