Tempered Steel was
incredibly disappointing last week,
and I still needed to make some more Extended videos on a limited card diet. Fortunately Nathaniel Chafe came to save the day with his very easy to
build Naya deck found here.
Winning a PTQ is no small victory, so the deck clearly has some merit. I shuffled up his 75 and played in some eight-man events to warm up to the
sorcery-speed, haste-fueled beatdowns. Win after win after win later, I was convinced that this deck is a major player in the metagame and present to
you my most updated list.
Creatures (34)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Woolly Thoctar
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 1 Qasali Pridemage
- 4 Bloodbraid Elf
- 2 Cunning Sparkmage
- 1 Stoneforge Mystic
- 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
- 4 Vengevine
- 4 Fauna Shaman
- 1 Inferno Titan
Lands (25)
Spells (1)
Just looking at the list and playing a few games, you come to the conclusion that four Ravines is too many and that more Copperline Gorges would be
needed. The deck is still a red source short, due to Noble Hierarch making it difficult to cast Woolly Thoctar turn 2, and I would look to somehow
improve it with a fourth copy of Copperline Gorge.
Linvala seems rather suspect, but it’s possible you’ll play a mirror match where it shines.
Overview
Round One: Naya vs. Faeries
Round Two: Naya vs. Faeries
Round Three: Naya vs. Jund
Round Four: Naya vs. Mono Red
Some ideas to look to improve the deck with:
Mul Daya Channelers might be okay in lieu of Woolly Thoctar. With seven fetchlands, Knight of the Reliquary, Stoneforge Mystic, Bloodbraid Elf’s
cascade, and Fauna Shaman activations to shuffle, it’s possible that you’ll get her to be the 2/2 or 5/5 you desire. This change would also warrant the
inclusion of more six-drops to take advantage of a mana burst, so Cloudthresher or Sun Titan could be included.
Fulminator Mage may also be a good tutor target.
Tunnel Ignus may help against Scapeshift if it’s prevalent in your area.
Ranger of Eos over the Linvala main deck is also a possibility, allowing you to really not lose to Mono-Red with access to two Forge-Tenders nearly
every game.
Gaddock Teeg may also be good enough for main deck inclusion, buffing the Wargate matchup significantly.
Spitebellows is a card that could also replace the Linvala in the main deck, but I don’t know if there are really that many creatures you want to blow
a Fauna Shaman search to kill, especially since you can get the Sparkmage combo to do a better job.
Including this Daily Event, I ended the day with a match record of 13-0, winning three eight-man events played as practice beforehand. This deck
certainly gets the Mike Jacob seal of approval. I might even be able to afford a deck with Cryptic Commands for next week.
No one can fight the tide forever
DarkestMage