{From Right Field is a column for Magic players on a budget or players who don’t want to play netdecks. The decks are designed to let the budget-conscious player be competitive in local, Saturday tournaments. They are not decks that will qualify a player for The Pro Tour. As such, the decks written about in this column are, almost by necessity, rogue decks. The author tries to limit the number of non-land rares as a way to limit the cost of the decks. When they do contain rares, those cards will either be cheap rares or staples of which new players should be trying to collect a set of four, such as Dark Confidant, Birds of Paradise, or Wrath of God. The decks are also tested by the author, who isn’t very good at playing Magic. He will never claim that a deck has an 85% winning percentage against the entire field. He will also let you know when the decks are just plain lousy. Readers should never consider these decks "set in stone" or "done." If you think you can change some cards to make them better, well, you probably can, and the author encourages you to do so.}
I have an acquaintance that was thinking of getting back into Magic with Time Spiral. He loved the throwback flavor. Then I got this e-mail.
Romeo,
I think I’m gonna wait until this block rotates out of Standard. Sure, Akroma’s back, and I can probably run another U/W Control deck to many victories over little kids and you. But, they reprinted Thallid. Thallid?!? WTF? Sorry, man. See you in two years.
Owen
Frankly, I was disappointed and hurt. I love Thallid. I love all of the Fungi. Just like that time that I simply could not stop myself from dating that chyk with the short fuse, big temper, and rock-hard body, I love them for the wrong reasons.
How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Spores…
I should love this tribe because they have some great abilities. They can regenerate creatures. They can kill creatures. They can pump creatures up. They can make more creatures. They’re Green. Some of them are very efficient.
None of those reasons are why I love ‘em. I love them because…
… please, forgive me…
… I’m only a weak-willed writer…
I love them for…
The puns.
There. I said it. I love them for the sheer breadth, if not depth, of puns I can use when talking about them. Yes, puns. Wit for the witless. Humor for the less-than-brilliant. Puns.
I’m weak. I can’t help myself. I want to build a deck of Thallids and talk about what “fun guys” they are. When the deck doesn’t work, I can be a “spore” loser. We can have “fun with fungi.” I could go on and on, but I respect you too much for that.
All of this silliness begs the question, is the fact that you can make bad puns about a set of cards a good enough reason to build a deck around them?
Well, duh, yeah, of course. Any reason is a good reason to build a deck. Whether or not the deck is good… that is another completely different question.
I’ve bitten off a large chunk of Magic here, like trying to eat an entire Portobello mushroom in one bite. As with the current group of Merfolk, the (oh geez) crop of Fungi in Standard isn’t very big. Hopefully, in the next couple of sets, they will grow like… well, you know. On the other hand, there are significantly more Fungi than Merfolk. Did you know that the Fungi even have a Lord… kinda. Thelon of Havenwood is one bad mutha-
Shut yo’ mouth!
I’m just talkin’ ‘bout Spores.
He gives each of our slimy pals a keen boost, and he’s not too shabby himself, clocking in as a 2/2 for two mana. Okay, so he’s no Watchwolf, but he’s no Nut Collector, either.
Another hurdle to overcome with the Fungi is the fact that we’re essentially locked into Time Spiral cards alone. Okay, we’re not really. Support spells and lands can come from anything Standard legal. The Fungi, though, those are nothin’ but TSP. Luckily, we have some superb support spells to add in.
Oh, and, Mistform Ultimus is a Fungus, too.
Just kidding. Gah.
Building and Refining the Deck
Sadly, this is where it kinda falls apart. This might be a good time to explain a few things about the mechanics of doing a column like this. This is a weekly column. And by “weekly” you can check my archives and see that, for the past five or so years (except for one two-month “break”), it’s been every single freakin’ week. Mostly. Weekly for me doesn’t mean writing weekly for two months and then taking two months off, and then writing two columns and taking another few months off. It means every single week for five and a half years. With that kind of schedule, not every column’s gonna be a winner. Sometimes, being a bad example serves a purpose, too. Given the fact that writing this column is not what pays my bills, you should understand that all of the writing, designing, play testing, et al, are done in my “free time.” Since there isn’t actually a lot of that, that often leaves me with a deck that has taken up most of the week and fallen a bit short on the “won’t embarrass me at the local tourney” scale. You need to know about those too.
In other words, many times, I am forced by sheer necessity to say “here’s what I’ve been testing. It’s not that great.”
This week, here’s what I’ve been testing. It’s not that great.
I hated writing that because last week’s deck, the Merfolk-tastic Just Barge on In, was also “not that great.” I’m sorry to do that to you two weeks in a row, but it was either that or write another “what I believe” piece.
I know how you hate those.
Anyway, I’m probably being too hard on the Fungus Tribe. It might be that with plenty of work and more time, the deck could be awesome. I just ran out of time. Let me put it this way. This is the final version. It was number nine:
Creatures (26)
- 3 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Elves of Deep Shadow
- 4 Deathspore Thallid
- 3 Savage Thallid
- 4 Sporesower Thallid
- 4 Thallid Germinator
- 4 Thelon of Havenwood
Lands (23)
Spells (11)
Cards Not in the Deck
At one point, the deck had Doubling Season in it. I wish I could have found a way to keep it in here. When it did its thing, the Fungi just went crazy. Think about Sporesower Thallid, any other Thallid(s), and the Doubling Season being on board at the same time. Essentially, you’re getting two free Saprolings every turn since the other Thallid is getting two counters from itself and two from the Sporesower, give you enough to make a Saproling, which turns into two Saprolings. The problem was that Doubling Season ended up looking like a “win more” card. It only really did well when I had a pretty good board position. When it wasn’t all guns and roses, I really wanted a creature instead of the Doubling Season.
Stonewood Invocation isn’t in here, either, even though the deck looks primed for it. In one sense, it is. Mono-Green pretty much equals Stonewood Invocation. Only one thing held me back: mana. This deck wants to tap out to cast creatures. Leaving up four mana isn’t a good thing. One mana for Avoid Fate? Sure. Four mana? Not really.
I’ll bet the biggest question mark is about Thallid itself. Where is the original, one-mana Fungus? The deck was already heavy at the one-slot with mana bugs. Thallid was actually a hindrance more than a help.
The Choices We Make
Why did the cards that made it into the deck make the final cut? Good question!
Deathspore Thallid – At first, this deck was mono-Green. I didn’t like it. There were a bunch of weenies that just hosed this up. Like, oh, Stuffy Doll. In stepped Deathspore Thallid to take down the weenies. I didn’t even have to mess with the manabase because I already had some Black in there for Thelon’s activated ability. Speaking of whom…
Thelon of Havenwood – This guy looks like a no-brainer, but it took a while to convince me. I kept thinking that other mana acceleration (Utopia Tree?) would be better. The thing is he’s more than just a way to pump your guys up. Thelon’s a way to pump your guys up in an over-the-top, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert kind of way. That +1/+1 for each Spore counter gets downright silly when the Sporesower Thallid is on board.
Moldervine Cloak – The Cloak does two things. First, there’s the obvious. The Enchanted creature gets +3/+3. The second thing is dumping Fungi into the graveyard when it’s Dredged. That fuels Thelon’s activated ability. Putting Spore counters on all Fungi is nothing to sneeze at (geez, I’m really sorry; I thought I was over it), especially when Thelon’s on board.
Sporesower Thallid – If this guy weren’t a Fungus, you’d still have to consider him in Green-based beatdown decks. As a 4/4 for four mana and no drawbacks, he beats well. Sure, he’s no Loxodon Hierarch or Cytoplast Root-Kin, but he’s also an uncommon. Moreover, he’s not worse than they are in combat. Add in that Spore / Saproling ability, and he’s tons of fun. So, Fungus deck or not, you should think about adding this guy to your Green beatdown decks. Why he’s in here should not be a mystery.
Avoid Fate – This card is quickly becoming one of my favorite Green cards in Standard. I could list everything that it does, but I’d still miss something. Lemme just tell you this story. I was playing against a R/W deck. When I countered a Faith’s Fetters that he was attempting to put on a Savage Thallid, he conceded. It wasn’t that I had lethal damage on board. He clearly just wasn’t ready for someone who could foil his strategy of gaining life and neutralizing a threat. The situations in which this card has been the MVP are countless. I’ve stopped Repeals targeting Thelon that would have essentially wiped my board out. (Think of how much the Fungi would have lost while my opponent could have blocked in a way that would have cost me everybody.) I’ve countered Condemns and Mortifies that, had they hit, would have meant me losing the game. Instead, I won. If you don’t have four copies of Avoid Fate and you like playing Green, get them now.
Savage Thallid – A five-power creature for five mana is nice and efficient. When it can also Regenerate almost all of your other creatures, he’s a must-have guy.
Squall Line – I’ve bragged on this card a lot in the past few months. I will continue to do so. Squall Line does two things for you. First, it wipes out annoying fliers. Other than the Deathspore Thallid and hoping that they block, you don’t have any way to do that. Second, it can be a finisher since it hits players, too. (I guess I could add a third: it’s an Instant. Blue really hates this card.) You should have four of these, too.
Kicking the Tires
The most important question, though, is how does it play? The answer is, as usual, “it depends.” Getting an early mana bug (Llanowar Elves or Elves of Deep Shadow) allows all sorts of shenanigans, including a fourth-turn Sporesower Thallid with mana available for Avoid Fate. Pyroclasm early on can hurt, but the Germinator can save one or more guys. Remember, the Germinator doesn’t give +1/+1 to Fungi only. You can pump up any creature. (True story: I killed a Skulking Knight with it.)
Don’t overextend, though. I tended to get creature happy. One Sporesower Thallid is great with the Germinator and Thelon. Two is so much better. Unless Wrath of God hits. Ugh.
Don’t forget to Dredge. Put Fungi in the ‘yard early and often. Thelon will reward you for that.
Speaking of rewards, protect the Savage Thallid. That Regeneration is awesome right now. Sure, Putrefy and Wrath of God say that creatures can’t be Regenerated. Mortify doesn’t, though. Neither does most of the burn out there. Combat doesn’t stop Regeneration. Put differently, Regeneration, especially when it costs you only a Saproling, is the shizzle, my brizzle. I find the Savage Thallid’s ability so useful that I would rather use Avoid Fate to save it than the Sporesower. Yes, really.
I tend to hold Thelon in my hand because he’s not very good all by his lonesome. Sure, he’s a 2/2 for two mana, but I want more than that in this deck. For example, if I can play Deathspore Thallid on turn 2 (or the Germinator on turn 2 thanks to an Elf), I’ll do that over Thelon. That way I can drop Thelon on the next turn and get a Fungus bonus while attacking. Thelon is rarely my second-turn play.
Other than that, I don’t really know what to tell you. The deck was fairly erratic, beating stuff that it didn’t seem likely to beat (“Did I just beat Boros Deck Wins? Really?!?”) while losing to other rogue decks. (R/G/W Slivers ate this for lunch.) Mono-Red decks beat up the Fungi… except when they didn’t. Mono-Blue couldn’t get over Avoid Fate unless Teferi was out. My hope is that we’ll get more Thallids in Planar Chaos. A 2/1 for two mana would work. Maybe a 3/2 for three mana. Those would be nice. According to the Orb of Insight, the word Fungus shows up five times. Does that mean five Fungus cards? Four Fungus cards and one that mentions Fungus in its rules text? Or one card called “Fungus Fungus Fungus Fungus Fungus”? Who knows?
Speaking of the Orb of Insight, Merfolk shows up three times. Might those be the cards that help the Merfolk deck? Could be…
The word “Regenerated” shows up four times. Typically, that word only appears with the words “can’t be,” like on Wrath of God. We know about Damnation. What other three cards might have “can’t be regenerated” on them?
“Sliver” shows up twenty-four times. I know that doesn’t mean there are twenty-four Sliver cards. Heck, it’s not unusual for a Sliver to have the word Sliver on it five times. For example:
Sexxxy Sliver
BW
Creature – Angel Sliver
2/2
Flying
Sacrifice a Sliver: Target Sliver gains flying until the end of the turn.
“I’m a Sexxxy Sliver, too.”
Back to Thallids, though. Again, I want to apologize, both for all of the horrible puns and the average-at-best deck for a second week in a row. I promise, next week, a better deck or no deck at all. Or not.
Chris Romeo
FromRightField-at-Comcast-dot-net