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Elessar's Socks
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:30 am
Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 349 Location:
Total Magic beginner here. Smile I’ve been looking up cards and playtesting them against myself for kicks, so feel free to suggest any cards you like. Advice on how many lands to run and the general mana curve would be very much appreciated.

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The first deck is a bit top-heavy, but after the shaky start it can explode with Saprolings courtesy of Saproling Symbiosis, and generate life with Patron of the Kitsune.

4 Brushland
1 Eiganjo Castle
14 Forest
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers

4 Birds of Paradise
3 Patron of the Kitsune
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Utopia Mycon
2 Verdant Force

4 Aura Mutation
3 Copy Enchantment
4 Fists of Ironwood
4 Natural Order
4 Saproling Burst
4 Saproling Symbiosis

If I draw Natural Order I can usually get a Verdant Force down by turn 3; the next best thing would be a Utopia Mycon, if one isn’t out already. The Mycon sacrifices Saprolings to add mana of any color, which is great for squeezing out Bursts and Symbioses in a chain reaction, as well as casting off-color spells. Copy Enchantment is primarily there to combo with Bursts. The deck lacks global creature pumps so if the Verdant Force is held up, the win will probably depend on sheer numbers.

The deck I’ve mostly been testing against runs 4x Pestilence so I’ve needed some form of enchantment removal. Aura Mutation lets me make use of my own enchantments if I don’t have a more pressing target.

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The second deck fits the mana curve better (I think), and this time I’m stocking Overrun instead of Saproling Symbiosis. Less Saproling generation, but hopefully an earlier kill. I’ve kept heavier hitters like Verdant Forces and Bursts though so I wouldn’t be relying on Overrun as the kill card too much.

4 Brushland
1 Eiganjo Castle
16 Forest
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers

4 Birds of Paradise
2 Eternal Witness
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Utopia Mycon
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Verdant Force

4 Aura Mutation
4 Fists of Ironwood
4 Natural Order
3 Overrun
3 Saproling Burst

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In both cases I’m trying to lean toward speed so I cut cards like Squirrel Nest and Doubling Season which I thought were too slow. Still, there have been quite a few cards I’ve been switching in and out. Any thoughts especially on Selesnya Guildmage, Thelonite Hermit, and those multi-colored dragons like Rith and Treva? Which deck is currently stronger?

Thanks for any advice!
Felipe Musco
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:50 am
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 2434 Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
You have 12 accelertors, so you might get away with playing 20 lands, but I can’t see myself playing with less than 21 nowadays: hitting land drops every turn is a big deal. If you’re in extended, and want to play both white and green cards, I’d suggest adding at least 1-2 plains, 4 Temple Garden and 4 Windswept Heath, for starters. Also, for quick saproling shennanigans, I’d go for 2-3 Sprout Swarm, and I’d lose Overrun for Garruk Wildspeaker, more versatile. I’m also not a very big fan of auras, since it’s begging to get 2-for-1’ed, unless you’re playing on something like Silhana Ledgewalker or Troll Ascetic.
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Elessar's Socks
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 7:15 pm
Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 349 Location:
Thanks for the suggestions, FM! I’ll try them out.

I like the Fists because it gets 2 Saprolings on the turn 2--one to chuck as a blocker, and one to sacrifice to Natural Order or Utopia Mycon if necessary. A trampling Birds of Paradise is more like a side bonus... or maybe just an unnecessary side effect. Laughing

I’ve also been looking at Scatter the Seeds, which seems like a better bargain than Sprout Swarm after turn 2, and maybe even Supply//Demand for mid- to late-game. Am I missing something about how Sprout Swarm fits in better?

I haven’t taken a look at the Lorwyn set yet so Garruk Wildspeaker completely escaped me. Whoa, new card type! Fits in even better than Kamahl, I think. Thanks for the heads-up!
Felipe Musco
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 7:42 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 2434 Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
Sprout Swarm has buyback, so you can make it a 4G instant to make a 1/1. Looks like a lot, but since it has convoke, and it’s an instant, you can tap lands and creatures eot to help pay for it (INCLUDING buyback), so basically, for each 5 green creatures you have out, you gain 1 more without even having to tap a land. You can see where this is going...
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NBarden
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:42 am
Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...
No Thallids? Thallids make awesome saproling decks. Especially with Deathspore Thallid, which allows you to start chucking Saprolings to kill low toughness creatures.

Oh, a fun deck I love is Conspiracy Thallids. Running it with Thallids and Orochi Hatchery in extended is awesome. Sporesower Thallid and then Sporoloth Ancient means that you start turning out a creature per Thallid per turn. And 1 every two turns for the rest. Its more of a fun deck, but maybe you should check it ouit.
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Elessar's Socks
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:28 am
Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 349 Location:
Y’know, I’ve been so tempted to equip a Saproling with Umezawa’s Jitte, except I figured there had to be a better way of spending 2 mana every turn upon its inevitable death. XD

Thallids would require a complete overhaul but I’ve been meaning to try those, too--was missing Sporoloth Ancient, though. I knew there had to be a way of generating Saprolings every turn, instead of sitting on my butt waiting for Wrath of God to hit! Hey, they seem compatible with Utopia Mycon, too!

And thanks for the explanation on Sprout Swarm, FM. Unless I have an obscene amount of land, spending 3G to generate a Saproling for each creature in play, or 3GG to copy each creature seems more worthwhile, though, so I’m still sort of still scratching my head at that.

On the flipside... does anyone ever run Sprout? Razz
Felipe Musco
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:31 am
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 2434 Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
Not following the 3GG "copy each creature"... Also, well, I’d recommend checking out Doubling Season for this deck. And again, the idea is not to spend 4G a turn to make a saproling, but to make 3-4 saprolings a turn by means of convoke. See, if you have 4 saprolings and 4 lands out, you can automatically make 2 more. Then, next turn, supposing you draw no land, you could make 2-3 more (by convoking Sprout Swarm without buyback, if you have another one in hand). Then, you can make 3 more a turn, etc. Of course, this works wonders with Thallids, as they ALSO up the count of saproling-making, and Essence Warden, since you gain a healthy life cushion to sit on while making saprolings.
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NBarden
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:11 pm
Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...
I hate Wrath of God. Its no fun at all.

Same with Damnation. Razz And Magus of the Disk for that matter. What’s the point of running heavy aggro if they can wipe the board each time you mount a sizeable enough offense to do any damage? Rar. Evil or Very Mad
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Elessar's Socks
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:54 pm
Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 349 Location:
*LOL*, for a while I was running 3-4 Fecundity, but that seemed too reactive. Maybe my deck wasn’t built right to make the best use of it. Agreed, though--wiping the table isn’t nice if you’re not the one enjoying it. Not talking

The aforementioned deck I’ve been testing against (not Extended legal) runs Juzam Djinn as a nice early beatstick (ahh... such a good card!!), with either Skittering Horror as backup or Skittering Skirge to lay on pressure from the skies. On turn 3-4 Pestilence comes into play and sticks around clearing the board, and soon after Avatar of Woe drops to either deal with problematic biggies or smack me for 6. If the board is stalled, I’m hit with multiple Drain Lifes. Evil or Very Mad I’m almost afraid to bring it in for review, because after you guys are through with it I don’t think a single Saproling can take a peek without incurring unspeakable horrors. I want to beat at least that, though. Razz

Anyway, I’m testing Thallids at the moment, but it’ll be awhile before I’m happy enough with it to toss it on the table. Goodness, I’ve always been a fan of dragons and other monstrous Creatures of Doom, and here I am tinkering with fungi.

Regarding Sprout Swarm, I’m starting to see its merits. I overlooked at least that you can buy back and use the same copy over multiple turns. What I was confused about was that with Saproling Symbiosis if I had 4 Saprolings and 4 lands out, I can make 4 more. Then next turn if I had another copy I can make 8 more, which seemed like a much better deal. I guess it’s the difference between a consistent and steady rise, as opposed to a riskier explosive growth? If the table is cleared Saproling Symbiosis can’t even produce a single Saproling.

Ack, and I could’ve sworn I wrote the title down... 3GG was referring to Parallel Evolution.
Felipe Musco
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:41 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 2434 Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
Elessar’s Socks wrote:

The aforementioned deck I’ve been testing against (not Extended legal) runs Juzam Djinn as a nice early beatstick (ahh... such a good card!!), with either Skittering Horror as backup or Skittering Skirge to lay on pressure from the skies. On turn 3-4 Pestilence comes into play and sticks around clearing the board, and soon after Avatar of Woe drops to either deal with problematic biggies or smack me for 6. If the board is stalled, I’m hit with multiple Drain Lifes. Evil or Very Mad


Juzam Djinn = Plague Sliver
Slittering Skirge = Oona’s Prowler
Skittering Horror = Hidden Horror (+Dread Return + Avatar of Woe)
Pestilence = Damnation or Pyrohemia
Drain Life = Consume Spirit (although Disintegrate will do, as well)

Why Extended? Standard is more broken than ever! Razz
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