Ok so I have just recently found this forum and I must say, I have learned a lot from it. Before DotP 2013, I didn't know that MtG existed, so I am very new at this game. What I would like to do is post some of my decklists and get some commentary on them from the community. Help a n00b out here! I'll start with my favorite two decks and perhaps I'll post the others later on... we'll see.
The idea here is to stabilize early (hence 3x hatchling and 3x fog bank) and start producing drakes. Bribery and RoR as well as anything on Panoptic mirror are certainly other win cons, but I find drakes to be the most reliable to set up a win. I like grav shift over favorable winds because of the negative effect it has on opposing ground forces. Future sight is a BEAST, always happy to see it.
I used to play a Wild Pair-oriented version of this deck but found that I was usually losing by the time I got it out so I revamped it to have a much lower curve. Joraga warcaller is one of my favorite cards because of the effect he can have on all the other weenie elves in here. I included the ring of kalonia for either him (+1/+1 to all elves every turn? yes please!), or spawnwrithe. I didn't think much of him before, but he immediately impacts the board when he's down. People may scratch their heads over no taunting elves or acidic slimes, but I find the former unreliable and the latter overcosted for its effect. Erratic Portal is the best card in this deck game. Seriously.
I play on Xbox and my GamerTag is Hakeem928... shoot me a request if you want to play!
I can't get over how easy that was to post! I'll post my other two most common decks here as well. I do play them all, but these four are far and away my favorites.
I have great success with this deck, especially since Archive Trap has become a lot more reliable to cast for free. Counter magic and bounce spells control the tempo while I mill and set up a draw engine + jace's erasure or get a sword onto a (non-mind-controlled) creature. Clone is so versatile and kills legendaries, same with body double. Mind control is somewhat removal. I win nearly as often by depleting their health as I do depleting their library. Works great for me except against Rakdos. Screw you Demigod.
As a Crosswinds deciple I suggest running heavy control. Use your opponents deck against them. Drop the Hatchlings, Invocations, Drakes, Spiketail,Sphinx, Sky Summoner. The only flyers you want are the Fog Bank 's. Run all of Rite, Bribery, Archaemancer, Warps. I also run Thievery, although most will argue it's for 2hg only (they do have a point). Never be too quick to play a Bank, especially if you opponent either has nothing on the battlefield or just a little pinger. Leave your mana open for a Leak or a Leak bluff. This is all personal preferance, but it has worked out very well for me.
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt. - Mark Twain
+2 Befoul - with 2 color decks becoming the norm, it's still always great for busting up a land in case you face black +1 Exsanguinate - mini-Corrupt +2 Icy Manipulator - Stalling the game waiting on the next bomb, or with (or without) befoul, great for hosing up mana +1 Nightmare - Flying un-bribe/mind controllable critter that just gets bigger
Dread and a Shade were the 2 I ran prior to the expansion, while the befouls were mostly in the sideboard.
Let me tell you what I think of your Ancient Wilds deck. Please keep in mind that it's only how I play the deck, I'm not saying it's the only way to go, it's just my opinion.
First of all, I agree about Wild Pair , it's incredibly awesome to play a 1/1 elf and then fetch for Gigantomancer but in a 1v1 duel, it just doesn't work this way, first if you have Wild Pair and you still have cards to abuse it in your hand, it means you have some other kind of card advantage going on and you usualy won't need Wild Pair to win. The other scenario is when you aren't winning and you draw a useless Wild Pair because casting it gives you nothing unless you have 8+ mana and another creature to cast in the same turn. If you're losing, Wild Pair is not going to save you.
Another note on Wild Pair, I think the only reason to play with would be to consistantly bring Yeva with your Primadox and Thragtusk but I find it way too slow (turn 7 yeva, as long as you save your 4/4 or 5/3 until turn 7, which means you have to stabilize with something else) and if you want to actually play Wild Pair, you need to run 2-3.. that's a lot of room in the deck.
Joraga: If he's a 1/1 for G, it's pretty useless... if you play it for 5 or 7 mana, there are often better drops. I find that boosting the elves is not how I win with this deck. The elves will often be dead already because I need them as blockers during the first few turns in order to stabilize. I wouldn't play it.
I used to like Briarpack Alpha because it can be a cool combat trick, but after running it for a while, I noticed that its uses are limited and you need to keep 4 mana open to cast it. It's often hard to keep 4 mana open if you got something else to do. If you have Yeva in play, I'd always like to have him in my hand, next to my other creature that I would otherwise play, that way I could have the +2/+2 if I need it, otherwise, I often have better to do with my mana. I know this is far fetched, but I would say his use is similar to Beast Within , except that the latter is much more versatile. The wolf is a good surprise blocker and can save one of your creature, but it's way too situational, most of the time, the threat that I would like to use it against will either be too strong or it will have evasion anyway, so Beast Within is the best answer, if only we could run 4.
Fauna Shaman I used to think this card was a must but it often ends as a 2/2 for 1G... maybe that's how I should play it, and trying to scare my opponent. I just find that the situations in which I actually want to discard one of my creature to fetch another to be too rare, too situational. It's still an awesome card, maybe I should run it, it's just that most of the time I'd rather play my Elvish Visionary and draw another card or play my Wood Elves . However, it can be a life saver to discard a useless Primadox (with nothing on board to bounce) and go fetch a Spider against that big flyer... I'm not sure what I would replace in my list to run it thought, there is not too many low mana cost options that you can get rid of.
Soul of the Harvest This one makes me think of Wild Pair, it triggers when you cast a creature and gives you card advantage, it also comes with a big body, so it's a faster card than Wild Pair. I'm not sure if I run it (it's a 1 of, so I rarely see it) but I really like this card.
Roaring Primadox I did not always run this one but these days I like to abuse of the bounce engine and 2 portals is not enough. I really wish we had something like Primadox that triggers when he comes into play instead of triggering at the beginning of your upkeep. Playing 4 of this guy is definitely too much since it's not something you will cast on turn 4 with only 1 other creature in play. I often took that risk / made that mistake. You end up losing lots of tempo because it makes it too tempting for your opponent to get rid of your elvish visionary (or whatever you have there) and then the Primadox gets back in your hand as a dead card. I like to run 1-2.
I know this is quite incomplete, there are some awesome cards that I did not talk about, such as Portal, Natural Order, Eternal Witness, Vengevine, these are auto includes imo. I also like Pelakka Wurm.
As a Crosswinds deciple I suggest running heavy control. Use your opponents deck against them. Drop the Hatchlings, Invocations, Drakes, Spiketail,Sphinx, Sky Summoner. The only flyers you want are the Fog Bank 's. Run all of Rite, Bribery, Archaemancer, Warps. I also run Thievery, although most will argue it's for 2hg only (they do have a point). Never be too quick to play a Bank, especially if you opponent either has nothing on the battlefield or just a little pinger. Leave your mana open for a Leak or a Leak bluff. This is all personal preferance, but it has worked out very well for me.
I used to play it just like that, but I found that I either won in spectacular fashion (one time I had 10 celestial forces and 5 rhox faithmenders: 960 life gained each upkeep... or having Blatant Thievery imprinted on the mirror with Cast through Time on board and stealing 2 perms each turn) or I just fizzled and died because I had nothing on the board. I find playing the drake version much more consistent, though the control game is very fun. Actually, the entire reason I rebuilt the deck this way was to better handle Rakdos. That's a tough match for the control build and you will see it a lot.
I should have specified that I play 1v1 99% of the time. I can imagine the control build is quite strong in 2HG.
Oh yah, I would also drop the Mage's. Crap card really.
She's been surprisingly useful for me. Early she trades with opposing creatures (something the banks/hatchlings cannot do). Mid-game she's a chumper if you need one to survive another turn or two. And late she can help you dig through your deck for that spell you need. I can understand not including her, but I find her versatile no matter when I draw her. If I were to cut any of the low-cost creatures it would be the Hatchlings. They're in there strictly for Goblin and other weenie rushes.
I have thought about cutting one of them for another Time Warp..... hmmm.
Oh yah, I would also drop the Mage's. Crap card really.
Really? I've seen lots of people run with Azure Mage s. It's a turn two 2/1 which could be worse for a deck with no 2-drop creatures other than Fog Bank and a single Spiketail Hatchling , and it serves a late game purpose for those times when you're drawing nothing but land.
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Let me tell you what I think of your Ancient Wilds deck. Please keep in mind that it's only how I play the deck, I'm not saying it's the only way to go, it's just my opinion.
First of all, I agree about Wild Pair , it's incredibly awesome to play a 1/1 elf and then fetch for Gigantomancer but in a 1v1 duel, it just doesn't work this way, first if you have Wild Pair and you still have cards to abuse it in your hand, it means you have some other kind of card advantage going on and you usualy won't need Wild Pair to win. The other scenario is when you aren't winning and you draw a useless Wild Pair because casting it gives you nothing unless you have 8+ mana and another creature to cast in the same turn. If you're losing, Wild Pair is not going to save you.
Another note on Wild Pair, I think the only reason to play with would be to consistantly bring Yeva with your Primadox and Thragtusk but I find it way too slow (turn 7 yeva, as long as you save your 4/4 or 5/3 until turn 7, which means you have to stabilize with something else) and if you want to actually play Wild Pair, you need to run 2-3.. that's a lot of room in the deck.
Joraga: If he's a 1/1 for G, it's pretty useless... if you play it for 5 or 7 mana, there are often better drops. I find that boosting the elves is not how I win with this deck. The elves will often be dead already because I need them as blockers during the first few turns in order to stabilize. I wouldn't play it.
I used to like Briarpack Alpha because it can be a cool combat trick, but after running it for a while, I noticed that its uses are limited and you need to keep 4 mana open to cast it. It's often hard to keep 4 mana open if you got something else to do. If you have Yeva in play, I'd always like to have him in my hand, next to my other creature that I would otherwise play, that way I could have the +2/+2 if I need it, otherwise, I often have better to do with my mana. I know this is far fetched, but I would say his use is similar to Beast Within , except that the latter is much more versatile. The wolf is a good surprise blocker and can save one of your creature, but it's way too situational, most of the time, the threat that I would like to use it against will either be too strong or it will have evasion anyway, so Beast Within is the best answer, if only we could run 4.
Fauna Shaman I used to think this card was a must but it often ends as a 2/2 for 1G... maybe that's how I should play it, and trying to scare my opponent. I just find that the situations in which I actually want to discard one of my creature to fetch another to be too rare, too situational. It's still an awesome card, maybe I should run it, it's just that most of the time I'd rather play my Elvish Visionary and draw another card or play my Wood Elves . However, it can be a life saver to discard a useless Primadox (with nothing on board to bounce) and go fetch a Spider against that big flyer... I'm not sure what I would replace in my list to run it thought, there is not too many low mana cost options that you can get rid of.
Soul of the Harvest This one makes me think of Wild Pair, it triggers when you cast a creature and gives you card advantage, it also comes with a big body, so it's a faster card than Wild Pair. I'm not sure if I run it (it's a 1 of, so I rarely see it) but I really like this card.
Roaring Primadox I did not always run this one but these days I like to abuse of the bounce engine and 2 portals is not enough. I really wish we had something like Primadox that triggers when he comes into play instead of triggering at the beginning of your upkeep. Playing 4 of this guy is definitely too much since it's not something you will cast on turn 4 with only 1 other creature in play. I often took that risk / made that mistake. You end up losing lots of tempo because it makes it too tempting for your opponent to get rid of your elvish visionary (or whatever you have there) and then the Primadox gets back in your hand as a dead card. I like to run 1-2.
I know this is quite incomplete, there are some awesome cards that I did not talk about, such as Portal, Natural Order, Eternal Witness, Vengevine, these are auto includes imo. I also like Pelakka Wurm.
I hope this helps at least a little.
I like your points except for the Primadox and the Wolfbriar. If the Primadox had a 'may' in his ability I would include it no question, but as it stands it has hurt me as often as it has helped. The Wolfbriar's ability ensures he's relevant late into the game and if you have a portal up and running the tokens can get out of hand fast.
Soul of the Harvest is nice, I ran him for quite some time but I found that gaining card advantage starting on turn 7 was too late, so in my eyes he was 6/6 trample for 6. Not bad but not auto-include. If I were to cut the Joraga, I would probably pick this up.
And about Joraga, most of the time he is only a 1/1 for 1 but he's rarely seen as a threat and survives late into the game. Bouncing him and recasting to swing with your now-beefy army is fun, so that's why he's in there. He's a gimmick that I happen to like these days. I will probably cut him and the ring soon because I now think there may be better options. Hard to deny the fun-factor here though!
You are right about the Briarpacks, but I don't know what to grab in place of them. I haven't had much success with Taunting Elf, perhaps I could go that route as a 1 of and keep 1 Briarpack? Wheels are spinning. I do like combat tricks, however, and I feel he outclasses Giant Growth. Pitching a vengevine into the yard mid-combat and seeking your briarpack only to flash it in and recur Vengevine (or 2!) at the same time is pretty sweet, however rare.
And I forgot the fauna shaman... pitching vengevine into your yard to grab the creature you need now is always a great play (see above). It's like a second copy of all your best creatures, IMO. I can't see me giving this one up.
