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1 year ago ::
Mar 27, 2012 - 8:19PM
#41
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I think there's a typo in the article. When you list example cards for each of the archetypes, you put Delver of Secrets  in Aggro-control. I think delver should have been an example card for every category...you know, right next to goyf
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1 year ago ::
Mar 28, 2012 - 10:42AM
#42
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Date Joined:
Feb 14, 2011
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Why oh Why is helvault  not 1 to activate the first ability instead of 1 and tap. ARG!
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1 year ago ::
Mar 28, 2012 - 1:39PM
#43
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Date Joined:
Mar 28, 2012
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H.V.C. (Helvault Control)
Creatures (10)
4 Fiend Hunter
4 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 Precursor Golem
Artifacts (14)
4 Glint Hawk Idol
3 Helvault
3 Origin Spellbomb
4 Shrine of the Loyal Legions
Enchantments (3)
3 Oblivion Ring
Sorceries (3)
3 Day of Judgment
Instants (3)
2 Dispense Justice
1 White Sun's Zenith
Planeswalkers (2)
2 Gideon Jura
Lands (25)
4 Buried Ruin
2 haunted Fengraf
1 Phyrexia's Core
18 Plains
Sideboard (15)
3 Act of Aggression
2 Celestial Purge
1 Divine Offering
2 Etched Champion
2 Revoke Existence
2 Shrine of Burning Rage
3 Timely Reinforcements
Performance:
The deck has actually preformed surprisingly well. Given the time constraints I've only play-tested about 10 Tournament Practice rounds and 5 Constructed ques. In this test sample I have boasted a positive result against Delver variants (60%) as well as various aggro decks [U/B Zombies, R/G Aggro, etc.] (55%). I faced 1-2 ramp variants and lost both of those matches to the redundancy of Primeval Titan/Inkmoth/Kessig. Control match-ups seem slightly unfavorable too, but I did manage to beat a U/B control deck with Shrine of Burning Rage and Shrine of Loyal Legions G3!
Metagame trends:
Delver is obviously always going to be a concern. I feel like the deck is positioned so that the match-up is favorable. Delver is Delver though, there is always a chance to lose. Mono-white decks always struggle with control for some reason and this deck is no different. Control decks still have BSZ, spot removal, Liliana, and Nephalia Drownyard to end games and deal with your threats plus there card advantage is much stronger.
Card Availability:
Not much to say here. Straying away from dual lands could be beneficial. Splashing another color would lead people away from the deck, given the high prices of some SOM duals and such.
Important INFO!:
The tricks this deck has to offer are endless and OH so fun. Obviously the main synergy of the deck is to utilize Helvault with your Fiend Hunters and Leonin Relic-Warders. The basic trick is to put the first ability on the stack and then use Helvault to remove the creature before that ability resolves triggering the second ability. This creates a flip flop in the resolving and the creature/artifact/enchantment never ends up coming back. You need 1 extra mana to do this and you lose a guy but it is well worth it. Why? Leonin Relic Warder then exiles Helvault later in the game giving you guys with fresh abilities etc. Anyways, there is also synergies with Leonin Relic Warder+Precursor Golem+Helvault creating extra tokens etc. Glint Hawk Idol has been very important, creating a clock against control and forcing Lingering Souls decks to over commit their board (Glint Hawk blocks spirits wonderfully), only to succumb to a DoJ. Haunted Fengraf is awesome with Fiend Hunter and Precursor Golem. The main key to this deck is to get to the late game. The longer the game goes the more you get to exploit synergies and even use a fresh Helvault for the [7Tap] ability. Maybe incorporate more Metalcraft. Dispense Justice is a card I've always liked and it gets around Hexproof. It definitely needs some fine tuning though so proceed to discuss!
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1 year ago ::
Mar 29, 2012 - 1:00PM
#44
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Date Joined:
Jun 21, 2010
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Finally, one more note on lands: your mana base is not the place to make sacrifices. If you're trying to be budget-friendly, lands are the one area I would absolutely not compromise. The other cards in your deck that you spent days trading for won't help you if your three-color mana base comprised only of all basic lands can't cast them.
I get what you're trying to say, that your color-intensive strategy can't be done without Duals, Enemies, etc. It's true, but honestly you shouldn't start with the land. The reverse is just as worse, if you spend all your budget on the landbase for the deck, then you no longer have any of it to spend on powerful cards to play.
The key to budget, IMO, is to sacrifice consistency instead of power. If your deck is less consistent, but cheaper, you can still win the game by making the right decisions, biding your time, and outplaying an opponent. However, if you are severally lacking in any real power plays, your strategy being left with only weak options, then you get beat all the time by decks that are more powerful, even if you are more consistent than they are.
Look at the Event Decks, they never start with the manabase or add to it much more than basics. They focus instead on a given strategy, and see if they can play around the color requirement (or ignore it with monocolored builds).
Deathfed was three colors, but it had Mulch  , Viridian Emissary  , and Forbidden Alchemy  , right? But that's now what solved the deck's problem. What solved it is that the deck was actually only UG, all of it's cards required 1 mana of its color (cards for 1G, 2U, 4G, G, etc.). It focused on Green, then shifted into Blue, and later in the game found time to nab a Swamp for the lategame flashback of 6B. It was a successful strategy, it wasn't short on power (it can ram you with massive Tramplers as well as literally dozens of tokens), and it made the best it could with consistency. Sometimes it didn't work, but it was detailed in its approach to the goal, and succeeded. You can make multiple colors happen with basic lands.
So as an extreme budget player, I never have the money to spend on Woodland Cemetery  ; I rarely have the money for Birds of Paradise  , and it turns out Llanowar Elves  can be just as good. Just like the Event Deck creators, I have to do without. It proves that your manabase, your source of consistency, is a place available to cut. But your deck idea has to take that into consideration, and be able to adjust because of it.
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1 year ago ::
Mar 29, 2012 - 2:43PM
#45
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When I see Helvault, I automatically think Grand Architect. Something like: 4 Grand Architect
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phantasmal Bear
4 Treasure Mage
3 Dungeon Geists
3 Spellskite 2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Helvault
4 Mana Leak
3 Disperse
3 Ratchet Bomb
2 Batterskull
20 Islands
4 Buried Ruins
Mono blue to cut down on the costliness, though Batterskull and Wurmcoil are somewhat expensive. The deck functions as a medicore midrange aggro deck without Grand Architect, and with him, it becomes quite the force. Running 2 Wurmcoils because they're Treasure Mage targets along with the Helvault that I never want to see anywhere near my opening hand. Disperse acts as a way of countering removal on Helvault or one of your creatures, blows out people who rely on anthems, and buys you time against Hero of Bladehold and flipped Delvers. Ratchet Bomb in for tokens and the like, Batterskull is in just as a nod to its power and to this deck really needing a way to stabilize from an aggressive Delver start.
I didn't get a chance to test this deck (because I really only play at FNM), but it seems like fun. I'm also late for the contest, but whatever, I hope people try it for funsies.
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