Community

CREATURES
2 Artisan of Kozilek
2 Bogardan Hellkite
4 Brackwater Elemental
1 Corpse Connoisseur
2 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Golgari Thug
1 Hellspark Elemental
2 Looter il-Kor
1 Nether Traitor
1 Paleoloth
4 Reassembling Skeleton
2 Rotting Rats
1 Trespasser il-Vec
2 Valley Rannet
1 Waning Wurm
1 Yore-Tiller Nephilim

SPELLS
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Darkblast
1 Life from the Loam
1 Lightning Axe
1 Living End
1 Mana Cylix
3 Naya Charm
2 Recollect
2 Soul Manipulation
1 Soulblast
1 Through the Breach
2 Torrent of Souls
1 Vigor Mortis

Notes: Mana not included, but obviously include 5 colors worth and plenty of black.  The main goals would be to use Through the Breach, Yore-Tiller Nephilim, Vigor Mortis, or Torrent of Souls on a huge creature from the graveyard.  How they get there depends on the method, but such a creature might be as big as Artisan of Kozilek or Bogardan Hellkite, or as fun-sized and reusable as Hellspark Elemental.  Plenty of things allow you to dump in your own graveyard or dredge and plenty of things bring cards back.  This deck started much bigger and included more big creatures and reanimations, but this was the 'smaller' 75-card version.  Mana was really difficult.  Needs 5 colors because of Yore-Tiller Nephilim and green dredge things.  Could be jund-colored for smoother mana.

LANDS
Kabira Crossroads
22 Plains
Sejiri Steppe

CREATURES
Apex Hawks
4 Assault Griffin
2 Baneslayer Angel
Caravan Escort
2 Slite Vanguard
Emeria Angel
2 Knight of Cliffhaven
2 Kor Hookmaster
2 Squadron Hawk
3 Stormfront Pegasus

SPELLS
Ajani Goldmane
Armored Ascension
Brave the Elements
Brittle Effigy
Condemn
2 Excommunicate
2 Honor of the Pure
3 Journey to Nowhere
Luminarch Ascension
4 Pacifism

Notes: Had its moments in playtesting, but could only win a fast game.  Levelers were slow, and too few finishers.

LANDS
Dread Statuary
9 Forest
10 Mountain
Raging Ravine

CRATURES
2 Artisan of Kozilek
Birds of Paradise
2 Emrakul's Hatcher
Hellkite Charger
Inferno Titan
3 Kozilek's Predator
4 Llanowar Elves
Lord of Shatterskull Pass
Primeval Titan
3 Sylvan Ranger
2 Ulamog's Crusher
Vengevine

SPELLS
Blade of the Bloodchief
4 Burst Lightning
Chandra Nalaar
Cultivate
Explore
2 Fireball
2 Growth Spasm
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Surreal Memoir
Sword of Vengeance

SIDEBOARD
4 Demolish
2 Dragon's Claw
Leyline of Punishment
4 Mold Shambler
Plummet
Punishing Fire
Pyroclasm
Summoning Trap

Notes: This did better than the mono white version, but I wasn't convinced enough to take it to FNM.

Last night I tried the new standard against my brother.  I played a green-blue mana ramp and counterspells deck.  My hope was to get to the big guns, play them, and protect them with counterspells.  The final game was the biggest, the board was getting very clogged, he had eternity vessel locked in at 17, and our biggest guns weren't able to get through until I laid down goliath sphinx.  His green deck didn't have an apparent answer so he tried an all-out attack with a tapout Strength of Tajuru post-blockers.  I used cancel to muck up his plan and he conceded.

My next contraption is a 'grixis ascensions' deck, since I have 2 Pryomancers, 1 Bloodchief, and 1 Archmage Ascensions.  It can be a slow starting, but awkwardly synergistic bunch.

Surakar Spellblade is one of the cards that can feed all three Ascensions.  Attack for 2, draw a card, and instants power up its X ability while they feed Pyromancer Ascension.

Hideous End in multiples can power up Pyromancer Ascension or Bloodchief Ascension with its 2 damage.  Plus, post-Bloodchief it also lifelinks 2 more from the dead card.

Into the Roil slows the game down, and adds card draw for Archmage.  Plus, it can power Pyromancer Ascension.

Shoreline Salvager is a 3/3 for 4 that can draw me a card if it deals damage to the opponent.  Bloodchief and/or Archmage!

Even Cancel has its uses, multiples can power Pyromancer Ascension (just when you thought you would Naturalize it, think again!) or the countered spell can feed a powered-up Bloodchief Ascension.

Ponder is cheap fodder for Pyromancer and helps find more puzzle pieces.  More expensive, Foresee also fills this role.

Naya-Bant
1 Celestial Colonnade
4 Forest
2 Island
2 Jungle Shrine
2 Kazandu Refuge
3 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Raging Ravine
3 Seaside Citadel
2 Sejiri Refuge
1 Sunpetal Grove
2 Terramorphic Expanse

CREATURES
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Cliffrunner Behemoth
1 Flameblast Dragon
1 Hellkite Charger
2 Mold Shambler
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Rhox War Monk
1 Stun Sniper
4 Vithian Stinger
3 Woolly Thoctar

SPELLS
1 Blade of the Bloodchief
1 Burst Lightning
2 Canopy Cover
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Gorgon Flail
3 Journey to Nowhere
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Mage Slayer
3 Naya Charm
2 Quest for Pure Flame

Notes: Just wanted to make a deck with Woolly Thoctar and Rhox War Monk.  It was hard to get the right mana combination with 4 colors, of course.

KITHKIN 9-6-2009

LAND
22 Plains
Calciform Pools

WHITE
Avian Changeling x2
Charge Across the Araba
Kinsbaile Balloonist x2
Goldmeadow Stalwart x3
Ballynock Cohort x2
Aven Riftwatcher x2
Wizened Cenn x2
Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile
Kithkin Harbinger x2
Ajani Goldmane
Dust Elemental x2
Springjack Knight
Goldmeadow Harrier
Welkin Guide
Whitemane Lion x2
Militia's Pride
Honor of the Pure
Knight of Meadowgrain
Reveillark
Meadowboon x2
Resplendant Mentor
Eiganjo Free-Riders
Armored Ascension

BLUE-WHITE
Thistledown Liege

ARTIFACT
Veteran's Armaments x2

Notes: Here's another one from the old file.  I want to put a deck like this back together to show the guys.  It's mostly straight forward white weenie but there are a few tricks I remember about these cards.  Eiganjo Free-Riders is the oddball here, making lots of cards have extra value.  Aven Riftwatcher is a powerful card on its own, and also a really powerful card to combo with.  Eiganjo Free-Riders makes it return to my hand each turn, basically a flying wall that gains me 4 life for 3 mana each turn.  Whitemane Lions can also return the riders, even after declaring it as a blocker.  Reveillark is really powerful on its own as well, but even more so with Eiganjo Free-Riders.  The riders can also return lions for more tricks later.  Dust Elemental might not always find 3 targets on turn 4 but it usually does find them eventually.  I won a lot of games with Ajani, Charge Across the Araba and Armored Ascension with this deck.

Long story short, I went to FNM and played with my Jund deck.  I lost the first two rounds then won the last two, making my day even at 2-2.

1. Red Deck Wins.  I learned that maybe I should just let Searing Blaze eat my Putrid Leech instead of trying to pay life to spare it - against RDW.  Then when I took out my Infests and Volcanic Fallouts, I was nose to nose with a couple of Kiln Fiends.  Bad sideboarding... but at least I got the dragon's claw in against mono-red.  I almost won that first game, but somehow I did sneak away with one game.  I went 1-2.

2. A naya deck with big creatures, canopy covers, totem armors, Uril, and Kor Spiritdancer.  Bloodbraid Elf into Woolly Thoctar, not good for me.  I went 0-2.

3. Red-Green eldrazi spawn-generating deck.  This was actually a good matchup for me because whenever he used his spawn to chump block or sac for mana, I got bonuses from Blade for the Bloodchief etc.  And on a few occasions I was able to Infest/Volcanic Fallout away a bunch of his spawn.  He wasn't happy: 2-1.

4. Blue-White levelers.  In the first game it was a bloodbath.  I wiped out so many of his levelers with board sweepers that he was just demoralized by the end.  He kept drawing mana after I got Chandra down and so I started pinging his life - he conceded.  Second game, I got no good draws and lost.  Third game, he had a risky starting hand: plains, 2 student of warfare and "4 2-drops" he said.  No mana came for him, and I had 2 removal for his two students.  I started swinging with whatever and he conceded again. 2-1.

2-2 in matches, 5-6 in games.  The only changes I made to the decklist were to take out the obelisks and put in more panoramas instead.  After a couple of early games where I had some mana flood in the late game, I started siding out one panorama for other useful stuff.

LANDS
1 Ancient Zigurrat
1 Boros Garrison
3 Forest
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Kazandu Refuge
5 Mountain
1 Naya Panorama
5 Plains
1 Raging Ravine
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Teetering Peaks
1 Terramorphic Expanse

CREATURES
Birds of Paradise
Bloodbraid Elf
Boartusk Liege
Boggart Ram-Gang
Boros Swiftblade
Cerodon Yearling
Civic Wayfinder
Cliffrunner Behemoth
Coal Stoker
Farhaven Elf
Giant Solifuge
Goblin Bushwhacker
Hearthfire Hobgoblin
Inner-Flame Igniter
Knight of Meadowgrain
Kor Hookmaster
Loam Lion
Nip Gwyllion
Raging Goblin
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Seedcradle Witch
Silhana Ledgewalker
Simian Spirit Guide
Skyknight Legionnaire
Tolsimir Wolfblood
Watchwolf
Wild Cantor
Woolly Thoctar

SPELLS
Ajani Goldmane
Burst Lightning
Glory of Warfare
Journey to Nowhere
Lash Out
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Helix
Moldervine Cloak
Oblivion Ring
Pacifism

Notes: Extended, singleton, 60-card decks.  I was 3-0 and 1st place, undefeated in 6 games!  I played plenty of side games also, and only lost a couple of those.

In one side game, I cascaded from bloodbraid elf into Woolly Thoctar.  In another case, I had to use Ancient Ziggurat's mana to play a Wild Cantor, then sacrifice it immediately to play a non-creature.  In one game, Raging Goblin did about 10 of the damage since we both had answers for each other's creatures.

In one side game, my opponent played Jace, the Mind-Sculptor and bounced my Skyknight Legionnaire, but then realized his mistake.  I replayed the 2/2 Flyer with haste but didn't see how Jace would give me so many problems.  Instead of taking him out right there and then (2 loyalty left) I just attacked his life, thinking I would be able to get some momentum.  Instead, he messed with my top card enough times to keep me mana-screwed and I ended up losing.

Norin the Wary.  Enough said, right?

As I was looking through cards with Norin in mind, one stuck out: Honor-Worn Shaku.  It would be great in EDH or multiplayer, as I would be able to untap the artifact for mana on each player's turn (pretty much).

As I tried to find red cards to work with Norin, it just didn't work out.  I don't think it would be nearly as fun to make an EDH deck around Norin.  I will just stick with extended combos using him.  Some fun thoughts:

Mage Slayer!  Once both are down, equip cost doesn't make Norin vanish, and attacking would put both cards' triggers on the stack.  I can deal damage to my opponent and then have Norin disappear instead of facing any kind of blockers!  Then I just need to re-equip him each turn to repeat.

Other Equipment.  Obsidian Battle Axe adds to Norin's Power without needing to re-equip (Norin the Wary is a Warrior).  Explorer's Scope lets Norin look for a land without the unfortunate consequences like needing to face blockers.

Exalted.  Angelic Benediction comes to mind, although making creatures tap if I am not even going to be blocked seems redundant, except in multiplayer.  Other exalted cards could make Norin bigger for that Mage Slayer swing.

ABILITIES to pump Norin's power like Naya Battlemage.  It needs to be ABILITIES and not auras or spells because Norin is too wary of casting.  Glory of Warfare has the right colors.

All this sounds like a Naya-colored deck to include Norin (Red), Mage Slayer (Red+Green) and a bunch of the exalted cards (+White).  Time of Need and Chord of Calling can find the boy if needed.

LANDS
5 Forest
2 Jungle Shrine
2 Kazandu Refuge
5 Mountain
6 Plains
1 Raging Ravine
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Turntimber Grove

CREATURES
3 Akrasan Squire
2 Aven Squire
1 Ayumi, the Last Visitor
2 Bramblewood Paragon
1 Norin the Wary
1 Ornithopter
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Seedcradle Witch
4 Soul Warden
2 Topan Ascetic
1 Ursapine

SPELLS
2 Adventuring Gear
1 Ajani Goldmane
2 Chord of Calling
2 Congregation at Dawn
2 Explorer's Scope
1 Glory of Warfare
1 Intimidation Bolt
1 Mage Slayer
2 Recollect
2 Time of Need

Notes: Pretty much the way I drew it up, with some broadening to make a few more cards make sense.  Ornithopter and Ayumi are a couple more bodies to carry equipment.  If losing to Norin the Wary beatdown is embarassing, losing to Ornithopter beatdown must be almost the same feeling.  Ayumi is also a target for Time of Need, in case I get stuck with Norin in my hand, then at least it's not a dead card.  The curve is low, so Seedcradle Witch is a great mana sink.  Topan Ascetic has good synergy with an exalted strategy.  I really wanted to use Quest for Renewal with Topan Ascetic, but that will have to be a strategy for another day.

As I was going through BDM's limited pool I noticed an RoE card that I hadn't seen before: Stomper Cub!  It's 5/3 Trample for 3GG, and COMMON!  There hasn't been a 5- power common green creature with trample since Lorwyn (as I've discussed previously), and that one was a 5/7 Trample for 7.  Easily my favorite card of RoE, Stomper Cub!