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1 year ago ::
Dec 16, 2011 - 1:38AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Sep 26, 2011
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So I've been tossing an idea around in my head for some time now, but I can't really get it to come to fruition. I've always liked the Phyrexian cards, in particular cards like Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite  . I've been trying to think of a way to build a Phyrexian W/U, W/R or W/G deck that includes him and several other of the cards I've liked but that doesn't just turn into another Infect deck. I've tossed a couple ideas back and forth, but still haven't come up with any solid. I know it won't be the most terribly effective deck in today's format, but I think it would be more fun than giving into another Wolfrun deck, etc. This is about as far as I've gotten. Lands Island  x9 Plains  x9 Glacial Fortress  x4 Creatures Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite x2 Inquisitor Exarch  x4 Phyrexian Metalmorph  x2 Oculus  x2 Suture Priest  x4 Spells Due Respect  x4 Gitaxian Probe  x4 Apostle's Blessing  x2 Artifacts Norn's Annex  x2 Obivously, any help actually making/refining this deck would be appreciated.
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1 year ago ::
Dec 16, 2011 - 10:25PM
#2
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Date Joined:
Oct 28, 2011
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You can make some really nasty decks based around Elesh Norn, Tempered Steel  , and a bunch of good cheap artifact creatures. I'm actually in the proccess of theorycrafting a deck that dips into this strategy a bit. Some good artifacts I've heard recommended: Vault Skirge  Porcelain Legionnaire  Signal Pest  Shrine of Loyal Legions  Glint Hawk Idol  You might also want to try adding in Suture Priest instead of the Exarch, and use the life gain you get to fuel a bunch of Phyrexian-Mana-Based cards like the Souleaters, [/c]Moltensteel Dragon[/c], or even a Phyrexian Metamorph  to give you a clone of Elesh to double it's effect. It's All about paying health instead of mana to mass up an army of cheap creatures, buffing them up, and gaining your life back with cards like Vault Skirge and Suture Priest. It's just one strategy that's out there, but it's a thought.
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1 year ago ::
Dec 17, 2011 - 9:08AM
#3
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If youre going for a sort of "enter the battlefield" effect deck, you will want to run Venser, the sojourner  . Use him with Stonehorn dignitary  to hose agro. The priest and exarch arent really effective because the only way to spam them would be with illusions. It would probably just be better to use some bigger dudes, because this probably wont be a white weenie build.
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1 year ago ::
Dec 17, 2011 - 6:50PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Jun 17, 2011
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If you want to play Elesh Norn and you don't want to play Naya Wolf-Run, I think that you're probably best off playing some form of Wxx Birthing Pod  variant. Bant Pod seems to be the most popular right now (as it can abuse Birthing Pod with Venser), but I've also seen WG pod, Teneb (WBG) Pod, and a weird but cool Oros (WBR) pod deck that showed up at our weekly constructed tournament (FNM is draft, but there is constructed on Thursdays). Also, I hate to sound like an *** but, if you want to build a deck around a flavour-based theme (such as Phyrexia) opposed to a strategic theme, the odds are that the end product won't be very good. For example, in your list, you limit yourself entirely to phyrexian water-marked cards, and as a result you end up with an unfocused mess of a list (to make an example from your list, cards like Inquisitor Exarch pull you towards an aggro-based gameplan, whereas cards like Norn's Annex and Occulus push you towards a more control-based strategy). So really instead of saying to yourself "I want to build a deck around cards with the flavour X (ex, Phyrexian, Mirran, etc)", you should instead by asking i) "I want to build a deck around this specific card or interaction between cards (ex, Elesh Norn, Birthing Pod, Deciever/Twin combo from Zen/Scars standard)", ii) "I want to build this style of deck (aggro, control, combo, hybrid)" or iii) "I want to build a deck around this mechanical theme (tribal mechanics such as humans, tokens, mill, self mill, reaminator, infect, etc)". Generally speaking, doing so will not only help you put together a better list yourself, but when you take your idea to the forums, it will better help guide others to making your deck better.
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1 year ago ::
Dec 17, 2011 - 7:37PM
#5
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Date Joined:
Oct 26, 2011
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^I agree with all that. The worst starting lists you can have for standard are the "I want to play a [insert tribal name here] deck" ideas. Some of these can be powerful, but it's not because of the tribal quality, it's the actual mechanic that unifies the tribe. A good example is the G/W Humans idea. It's powerful because the humans are all cheap, and they got some "lord" type creatures/abilities ( Champion of the Parish  , Gavony Township  , Mikaeus, the Lunarch  ). It's really an aggro deck that happens to be in the colors that have humans as the effecient creatures. Really, I'd go as far to say that there is only really two successful types of starting ideas in that the style of deck (aggro, control, combo, etc.) and around mechanics. In my book, building around an interaction often just means you want to exploit a mechanic. ... a Phyrexian Metamorph to give you a clone of Elesh to double it's effect...
This doesn't work like I assume you're thinking it does. You can't clone/copy Elesh Norn because it's a legendary creature. The Metamorph (or other copy) and Elesh would instantly kill each other because of the legendary rule. So you don't "double the effect". I'm no rules expert, so I'm not even entirely sure that you could use it as a sweeper (i.e. all your opponent's creatures get -4/-4 the instant the Metamorph enters, they all die and then Elesh and the Metamorph kill each other).
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1 year ago ::
Dec 18, 2011 - 5:51AM
#6
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I'm no rules expert, so I'm not even entirely sure that you could use it as a sweeper (i.e. all your opponent's creatures get -4/-4 the instant the Metamorph enters, they all die and then Elesh and the Metamorph kill each other).
Yes you can. After you ether play a second copy of Elesh, or use a copier (ie Metamorph or Phantasmal Image  ), her static abilities apply briefly acting as a one sided sweeper prior to both copies going to the graveyard.
If you have any doubts, check her ruling on the gatherer.
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1 year ago ::
Dec 18, 2011 - 8:18AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Oct 26, 2011
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I thought it worked that way, I just didn't want to say it without knowing for sure. And I was too lazy to acutally look around for any rulings on it...
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