“Blog Elemental” was the article tag I used when writing on a daily basis, and goodness knows that these behemoth articles of mine aren’t going to be dailies. As a result, I’ve decided to switch up my tagline. It just so happens that Taco Bell, my current employer, uses the term “tribal knowledge” incessantly, so using it here makes me smile.
Thanks to everyone who posted in the Forums about my second Standard Tribal Wars article. You all provided good, solid comments, both about the format in general and about Azorius Spirits specifically.
As people discussed the Spirits available in White and Blue, three new deck ideas surfaced. Bazaar of Baghdad said that his own Azorius Spirit deck used the card-drawing goodness of Tallowisp to go along with Kami of False Hope and Proclamation of Rebirth as a soft lock. He also added Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Azorius Herald, Kami of Ancient Law, Nikko-Onna, Soulsworn Jury, and Guardian of the Guildpact (more on this card in a moment). I’m not sure what Tallowisp was fetching in terms of Auras, but that sounds like a good foundation for a deck.
MyFeetStink suggested starting with Hokori, Dust Drinker, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Ghostly Prison, Condemn, Soulsworn Jury, and Kami of Ancient Law to build a prison-esque Spirit deck. The obvious synergy here is between Hokori and Augustin IV, throwing in Ghostly Prison for pure evil. I agree that this makes for an interesting deck, especially if adding Azorius Signet. If you decide to make this deck, though, please don’t play against me.
agrammalech, meanwhile, decided that Celestial Kirin was probably really good in Tribal Wars since a lot of the best creatures are either two or three mana. His suggestion was to start with Kirin and Shining Shoal and go from there. Again, I think this is a great starting point for a deck. I even wondered aloud whether Shining Shoal might be better for my deck than Condemn (I later decided to stick with the mana-efficiency of Condemn).
Feel free to take these ideas and run with them. There are other good suggestions in last week’s Forums if you missed them. Of course, if you hit on a good White/Blue Spirits deck or have an idea different from what I’ve discussed so far, please post it in the Forums so that we can all praise your hard work.
For my Azorius Spirits deck, I was convinced to try two cards that I had previously overlooked. The first is Guardian of the Guildpact, which people swore was awesome. I wasn’t so sure initially. I mean, aren’t Putrefy, Mortify, and Lightning Helix the three most potent creature-kill cards in the Standard? Aren’t split cards everywhere, as well as Guildmages and innumerable gold creatures? Four mana is a lot for a 2/3. Then again, if he works he’s another unblockable beauty and impenetrable defense while I set up. I decided to give the Guardian a tryout based on others’ testimonials.
The other card I missed was Azorius Chancery. After complaining about the many activation costs and the general mana-hunger of my deck, I should have given the White/Blue bounceland a look. I didn’t, which was an oversight. On a related note – although no one mentioned it – I realized that I probably needed twenty-five lands instead of twenty-four.
An interesting wrinkle in Tribal Wars deckbuilding is how cramped the decks feel for space. If you assume around twenty-four land and you must have twenty-creatures of a particular type, there simply isn’t a lot of room for all of those powerful support cards you want to use. As a result, I couldn’t substitute Guardian of the Guildpact for anything but Soulsworn Jury. I couldn’t drop a Dragon for a land. Adding cards turned out to be a real headache.
Here is what I decided:
OUT: 3 Soulsworn Jury
OUT: 1 Plains
OUT: 1 Condemn
IN: 3 Guardian of the Guildpact
IN: 2 Azorius Chancery
Swapping Soulsworn Jury for Guardian of the Guildpact felt fine, except that it upped my mana curve and made the deck feel unwieldy. This further underscored the need for a twenty-fifth land, so I made the tough choice to drop a Condemn – the only card that felt at all expendable – and a Plains for two Chanceries. As a result, here’s my updated deck:
Creatures (24)
- 4 Waxmane Baku
- 2 Yosei, the Morning Star
- 3 Keiga, the Tide Star
- 4 Kami of Ancient Law
- 4 Azorius Guildmage
- 4 Azorius Herald
- 3 Guardian of the Guildpact
Lands (25)
Spells (11)
In my next ten games with this deck, I went 12-0 before finally losing to Green/Red Centaurs. It was absurd. I became one of those obnoxious guys in the Casual Decks room, yelling “I’m undefeated, baby! Someone try to stop me! I AM THE TRIBAL CHIEF!!!!! COME CHALLENGE THE CHIEF!!!!!”
Okay, I didn’t actually say that in the room. But I thought it really, really loudly.
The Guardian was as good as advertised, standing as a stout blocker or swinging in unhindered all evening. In fact, the deck is starting to get into “I feel guilty playing this against unsuspecting decks” territory, so I’m officially retiring my Azorius Spirit deck. It may still need some optimizing, but this is as far as I’ll take it.
It’s time for a new deck.
The Next Tribe: Druids
I’ve tackled a big tribe and at least a partial view of what’s possible there. Rest assured I’ll be visiting this tribe again before all of those yummy Kamigawa Spirits leave Standard. For now, though, I want to turn my sights to what building a Tribal deck around a smaller tribe is like.
I said in my first Tribal article that the “Wildcard” tribes – those tribes smaller than most but with some variety in them – were probably going to be the cutoff point for rogue deckbuilders. Let’s take a peek inside this category and see what sort of decks are waiting to be built.
Right away, I eliminated the primarily White and Blue tribes – Fox, Moonfolk, Birds – from consideration, because they felt too close to my previous deck. Dragons were too pricey for my current mood, and again too similar to my last deck. Monks, Demons, and Mutants were cool, but I felt confident that others will direct attention in their direction. Horrors and Berserkers didn’t excite me for some reason. That left Rogues and Druids. I thought for sure I’d pick Rogues, but the list of Standard Druids perked me right up. Yavimaya Enchantress, Verduran Enchantress, and Gatherer of Graces are all Druids?!
Druids it is.
Druids in today’s Standard seem to be hanging out in gardens and forests, taking care of nature and dancing naked. They’re a graceful, peaceful lot of weenies, sometimes allying with guilds, and usually of Human or Elvish stock. I’m not entirely sure what would make them angry enough to band together and wage a Tribal War, but I’ll defer to Wild Cantor’s flavor text and say that it’s probably about deforestation.
Just like last time, once I’ve picked the tribe it’s time to look at what the nucleus of my deck will contain. For Tribal decks, I translate “nucleus” to mean the first twenty creatures of my tribe. Unlike last time, though, I don’t feel the need to limit my colors. Why? Well, for one thing Druids are mostly Green. For another, my choices are so limited it makes more sense to pick what cards I want and let them dictate my color base.
Here are all of the Standard-legal Druids, separated by casting cost. Once again I’ve italicized those creatures I’m considering first, either because of power level or because I like them.
1-cost Druids: Elves of Deep Shadow, Groundskeeper, Llanowar Elves, Promised Kannushi, Wild Cantor.
2-cost Druids: Gatherer of Graces, Coiling Oracle.
3-cost Druids: Civic Wayfinder, Ley Druid, Silhana Starfletcher, Verduran Enchantress, Vesper Ghoul, Yavimaya Enchantress.
4-cost Druids: Stone-Seeder Hierophant.
Druid-enablers: Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Not even Coat of Arms helps Druids, since the lack of token-producers means that other tribes will benefit more than the Druids will.
What do I make of this list? Two basic observations:
- I essentially see two different types of Druids. There are Druids who love mana and/or land, and there are Druids who love enchantments. The only Druid that doesn’t fit either mold is Promised Kannushi, who has a Spirit fetish.
- The only non-Green Druid is Vesper Ghoul, who also happens to be the single worst Druid in Standard. I don’t even think a Green/Black Druid deck (using Elves of Deep Shadow and Putrefy) would come anywhere near Vesper Ghoul. This means that pretty much every Druid deck is either going to be Mono-Green, or at least heavily based in Green.
Putting these two observations together, there are at least three deck ideas that sound cool but that I won’t be pursuing. First, I like the idea of a “Druid-Ball” deck, meant to generate ridiculous amounts of mana for a big, game-ending Demonfire or somesuch. The deck would probably have Llanowar Elves, Ley Druid, Silhana Starfletcher, and Civic Wayfinder, in addition to Sakura-Tribe Elder, Kodama’s Reach, and similar types of cards. This allows you to not only play a card like Demonfire, but also huge spells like Orochi Hatchery, Supply/Demand, Verdant Force, and the like.
There also seems to be a deck that could use Ley Druid and Stone-Seeder Hierophant to do… Something. The only land I can see wanting to untap again and again is Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree, but I suppose this could get out of control quickly if you used Druids plus Seedborn Muse. I’m not sure what else the deck would include, except maybe Glare of Subdual. It’s a half-formed idea, but I think there’s something there.
Finally, I like the idea of a five-color “good stuff” Druid deck, using Elves of Deep Shadow, Silhana Starfletcher, Civic Wayfinder, and awesome cards from the other four colors. Faith’s Fetters, Putrefy, Mortify, or all of the above could supply the creature control, along with bad boys like Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Loxodon Hierarch, and who knows what else. Split cards would be in abundance, I’m sure. The idea is that the Druids provide the mana consistency for all of your favorite cards, whatever they may be.
But no, I’ve already tipped my hand on this one. I want to make an Enchantress deck. That means my automatic Druids are:
4 Gatherer of Graces
4 Yavimaya Enchantress
4 Verduran Enchantress
I need eight more Druids to form an army. For awhile I was enamored with the idea of including Coiling Oracle, but as I played out the rest of the deck in my head – Moldervine Cloak, Infiltrator’s Magemark, Shielding Plax, Flight of Fancy – what I saw was a deck that drew lots and lots of cards but didn’t do a lot to disrupt an opponent’s gameplan. As a result, I decided to leave Coiling Oracle on the bench this time around.
Civic Wayfinder is a card that I suspect I like slightly more than everyone else. 2/2 creatures with comes-into-play abilities for three mana tend to attract me; I love Uktabi Orangutan, Man-o’-War, Auramancer, Phyrexian Rager, Eternal Witness, the Planeshift Battlemages. I know everyone likes these cards, but I really like them. With the Wayfinder in particular, I like the mana consistency tied to a respectable body, along with thinning a land out of my library. He’s definitely a four-of in my deck.
With my last Druid, I find myself contemplating either Llanowar Elves or Silhana Starfletcher. On one hand, the Starfletcher helps out on defense while I set up my gameplan, and it’s a better body to suit up with Auras. On the other hand, I already have twelve three-mana creatures and don’t really need a fourth. In fact, Llanowar Elves actually helps me cast these creatures a turn earlier. It’s not as helpful on defense, but it may be better offensively since it can attack for two turns before the Starfletcher ever sees play.
Here is my druidic nucleus:
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Gatherer of Graces
4 Civic Wayfinder
4 Yavimaya Enchantress
4 Verduran Enchantress
I don’t expect these choices are hugely controversial, but if you have a different way you would approach the first twenty Druids, please speak up in the Forums. Would you have followed Coiling Oracle into Green/Blue? Elves of Deep Shadow in Green/Black? Am I missing something obvious? Share your thoughts, and I’d love to discuss it in the Forums.
Druidic Toys
Of all the Auras available to my Enchantress deck, I think the no-brainer is Moldervine Cloak. It makes any of my creatures – even Verduran Enchantress – scary, but particularly Gatherer of Graces and Yavimaya Enchantress. It’s also reusable, which is not something you can say for a lot of creature enchantments. In other words, I think no matter which way I take my Druid deck, I can’t imagine excluding Moldervine Cloak.
The rest of my colors now depend on what colors I want to use. Right now I have all Mono-Green Druids. Staying Mono-Green means using Blanchwood Armor and Moldervine Cloak, which is enough to win all sorts of games. After that I probably go Fists of Ironwood, and either Shielding Plax or Privileged Position, then call it a day. This deck sounds solid enough, but it also sounds really boring. I suppose I could add a copy or two of Wurmweaver Coil to spice things up, but even that doesn’t excite me as much as it should. Oddly, if Civic Wayfinder is a card I like more than others, Blanchwood Armor is one I like less. For style reasons, then, I find that I really want to add a second color.
There’s White, of course, which allows for Faith’s Fetters, Auratouched Mage, Flickerform, Ghostly Prison, Promise of Bunrei, Three Dreams, and all sorts of other goodies. If I hadn’t just made a White/Blue deck using some of these cards, I would probably be tempted in this direction if only to use the Auratouched Mage–Flickerform–Fists of Ironwood trick. Right now, though… Nah.
As I alluded to earlier, I could drop Llanowar Elves for Elves of Deep Shadow and use Putrefy. That’s a darned good start, but where do I go from there? Maybe Seal of Doom, Riot Spikes, Phyrexian Arena, or Necromancer’s Magemark. These all sound promising. It doesn’t tickle me nearly as much as Red, though.
In Red, I get Galvanic Arc and Seal of Fire. Not only are these cards splashable and relatively cheap to cast, they are creature removal and enchantment all in one. In addition, they can end the game after a few hits with a big Druid, something that can’t be said for, say, Seal of Doom. Any card that helps me win outside of the combat phase is comforting since I have a feeling that many Tribal decks will be trying to neutralize combat (something my last deck attempted to do, for example). These two cards alone make a Green/Red Druid deck sound fantastic to me.
The other semi-obvious Aura available to me is Fists of Ironwood, which looks great on my two beaters, Gatherer of Graces and Yavimaya Enchantress. Actually, Fists of Ironwood looks great on any creature with Moldervine Cloak and can even look good on an opposing creature if it gives me some Saprolings to enchant.
My last card is Riot Spikes, which doesn’t excite me nearly as much as the other cards in the deck but is a) cheap, which is important once I have a Verduran Enchantress on the board, b) able to enchant all of my creatures except Llanowar Elves, and c) doubles as creature removal. I wanted to use Shielding Plax, but the idea that all of my Auras were three mana made me queasy. What’s interesting about Riot Spikes is that it makes my deck a lot more aggressive than I had intended. With it, Seal of Fire, and all of the quick creatures available to me, it looks like I very well might be the beatdown.
One question is whether using all of my non-creature slots for enchantments is a good idea. I feel okay about it right now because so many of the cards kill creatures and because Fists of Ironwood is almost as good as a creature card. Still, it’s worth watching whether I get caught with a lot of creature enchantments trapped in hand without creatures to enchant.
Here, then, is my first-draft Druid deck:
Creatures (20)
Lands (20)
Spells (20)
Right after I made this deck, I read Chris Millar’s recent article. It’s amazing that his Centaur deck and my Druid deck look so similar. It’s now my personal mission to track Chris down so we can play them against one another. If I succeed, I’ll definitely let you know.
Speaking of playing my deck…
Playing The Deck
Standard Tribal officially kicked off last week, and not auspiciously. First, the Magic Online update on June 22nd mistakenly allowed Umezawa’s Jitte back into the format for a week until the next update. When I first heard this I was horrified, but the good news is that I haven’t yet seen a Fork of Doom during this Week of Doom. Still, we’ll all have to wait until June 29th for a truly Jitte-free environment.
The second bummer is that – maybe because of this mix-up, or maybe because people still have yet to warm to the format – games are hard to find. I’ve waited just as long (around a minute) for a game as I did before the format switched over, which is unsettling. I hope people start showing up to clash tribe versus tribe soon. Goodness knows there’s enough diversity and fun in the decks being played right now.
In fact, let’s check in what sort of decks I faced with my Druid deck in the Casual Decks room:
Game 1: Green/White/Black Plants
I dropped a quick Seal of Fire, which killed his Vinelasher Kudzu while it was only a 2/2. Civic Wayfinder found me a second Forest to play Verduran Enchantress. After that a Riot Spikes, Seal of Fire, and Fists of Ironwood all drew me cards while my opponent struggled to find more than three mana. His fourth land came way too late. As I stomped in for the win he showed me a hand full of Photohydras, Vulturous Zombies, and Crime/Punishment.
Game 2: Black/Green Imps
This game was silly. I had Llanowar Elves. My opponent had Bog Imp. I played Verduran Enchantress. It died to Putrefy. He put Moldervine Cloak on the Imp. I put Moldervine Cloak on my Elf. He put a second Cloak on the Imp. I played Civic Wayfinder and Fists of Ironwood, with two Galvanic Arcs in hand. I would have won on my next attack, but he played Wildsize to kill me, showing me a hand of three Foul Imps. Curse you, Chris Millar! As far as I can tell, this was the exact deck he posted in the Forums for my first article.
Game 3: Green/Black Spirits
What’s up with the Black/Green decks? Anyway, he had Loam Dweller, Kodama’s Reach, and Carven Caryatid while I had Llanowar Elves, Verduran Enchantress, and Moldervine Cloak on my Elves. I drew a card off Seal of Fire and a second Cloak, while my opponent used Soulless Revival to get back his (speedbump) Caryatid. Kagemaro, First to Suffer blocked my big guy and died to clear the board of creatures, so I played Yavimaya Enchantress and a second Elves. I dredged a Cloak, played it on my Enchantress followed by Fists of Ironwood, which killed my opponent even though he replayed his Caryatid followed by Long-Forgotten Gohei.
Game 4: White/Red/Green Humans
This game was brutal, and not in a good way. I had a fine start with Llanowar Elves and Verduran Enchantress. My Enchantress died to Lightning Helix, though, and somehow in no time a Boros Swiftblade enchanted with Moldervine Cloak was beating me down. Kird Ape and Skyknight Legionnaire followed, and there was no time for me to catch my breath before I died. Didn’t someone say last week that there would be no beatdown decks in the format? Human Zoo seems perfectly good to me.
Game 5: White/Red Humans
Hey… I finally see a repeat deck, or at least a repeat tribe. His was a basic Boros Human deck, complete with Sunforger. I had a quick Gatherer of Graces and Yavimaya Enchantress, compared to his Veteran Armorer and Soul Warden. His Glorious Anthem made me nervous, but I drew Galvanic Arc to kill his Armorer, then Riot Spikes to make my Gatherer a 5/3 first-striker and my Enchantress a 5/5. A second Enchantress showed up while my opponent played another Armorer and Sunforger. Too little, too late, though, and I stormed in for the win.
Game 6: Blue/Red Wizards
I felt great about my hand, dropping Llanowar Elves, Verduran Enchantress, Civic Wayfinder, and Verduran Enchantress on the first four turns. The problem was that I never saw an enchantment. My opponent played Wee Dragonauts, then Wojek Embermage. Okay, I thought, my Elves are going to die next turn, but if I get a single enchantment on my Gatherer this game is mine. Then he put Followed Footsteps on the Embermage. Okay, I thought, I have one turn to draw an enchantment. Nope. I checked my library after conceding and wouldn’t see an Aura (Galvanic Arc) for four more turns.
Game 7: Green/Black Spirits
I think this was the same guy and deck as in Game 3. I once again had Llanowar Elves and Verduran Enchantress, while my opponent had Loam Dweller and Elder Pine of Jukai. Riot Spikes killed his Elder Pine, and Seal of Fire killed Loam Dweller. I put Fists of Ironwood on my Elves and drew into Gatherer of Graces. Rend Flesh killed my Elves after I put Fists of Ironwood on my Gatherer and attacked. He played Kodama’s Reach. I played two Seals of Fire and that was game.
Game 8: Mono-Green Elves
Poor opponent. He showed up with an eighty-card deck and got stuck on two lands and an Elvish Skysweepers. Given his slow start, I felt good about taking the time to play two Verduran Enchantresses. After that I had two ridiculous turns full of Seals of Fire, Riot Spikes, Moldervine Cloaks, Galvanic Arcs, and Fists of Ironwood. A Spikes killed his Elf, then a second Spikes killed his newly-cast Elves of Deep Shadow. After that a 3/5 first-striking Enchantress and an army of Saprolings swarmed him.
Game 9: Green/Black/Red Spirits
Here we go: I found myself with a bunch of Auras without any creatures. I played two Seals of Fire right away, which kept whatever creature my opponent had in hand. I then played Civic Wayfinder, but it died to a Glacial Ray spliced onto Kodama’s Reach. A 7/7 Kagemaro, First to Suffer showed up and whacked me around twice. I got a Llanowar Elves with Moldervine Cloak, and it took that plus both Seals to kill his big Spirit. Elder Pine of Jukai showed up, but I killed it with Riot Spikes. After that my opponent decided to sit back and splice two Glacial Rays at my face. I died with two Galvanic Arcs and a Fists of Ironwood in hand.
Game 10: Mono-White Clerics
He had a first-turn Soul Warden, which I killed with Riot Spikes. I then had Llanowar Elves, Verduran Enchantress, and Gatherer of Graces. He played Kitsune Mystic, but I drew Seal of Fire to clear it away. A second Spikes then made my Gatherer 4/2. It got in one attack before falling to Pacifism, so I played Moldervine Cloak on my Elves, followed by Fists of Ironwood and another Elves. My opponent was at two life, so I attacked with both Elves and both Saprolings. He tried Chastise on my Cloaked Elves, but I sacrificed my Cloak with Gatherer, putting him at only three life as I cruised through for three damage. His only card in hand was Blessed Orator.
6-4 is a fine start, but a few things are making me nervous about this deck.
First, I have no way to deal with opposing artifacts or enchantments. I can deal with most creatures just fine – killing the little ones and out-muscling the big ones – but what if my opponent drops Worship? Or Glare of Subdual? Or puts Faith’s Fetters on a Druid with three Auras on it? In fact, looking at that list helps me realize that it’s really enchantments that scare me more than artifacts (although Loxodon Warhammer would be mighty un-fun). This means that most of Green/Red’s answers – Hearth Kami, Viridian Shaman, Tin-Street Hooligan, Wreak Havoc – aren’t going to be a good solution. Instead, I need to look at Naturalize or similar effects if I want to feel safe.
Second, I am probably two to four creatures too light. I can get caught with Auras in hand but no creatures on the table, but just as problematic is the fact that I often load up a single creature with Auras because it’s all I have. I’ve made the “I’m putting all of my eggs in one basket” comment a few too many times during games, usually right before an opponent killed my über-creature.
Third, the problem is once again room. Sure I’d like to add Naturalize and more creatures, but I can’t drop land for it, nor can I drop any of my existing creatures. This means that I’m cutting into my enchantments to fill these gaps, and I can’t see having less than four copies of most of them. At the very least, Moldervine Cloak, Seal of Fire, and Galvanic Arc are sacred cows. That leaves Fists of Ironwood and Riot Spikes, both of which are looking at me pleadingly.
After pouring over options in Standard, the best solution I could find is Indrik Stomphowler. It’s expensive for a deck only using twenty lands, but there are three things I like about it. First, it gives me an answer for opposing artifacts and enchantments. Second, it’s another creature to enchant with all of my Auras (this gives Stomphowler a nod over the mana-efficient Naturalize). Finally, it gives my little-bodied tribe a naturally big body later in the game. Whereas my Druids often need multiple enchantments to be a significant threat, Indrik Stomphowler looks good with a single Fists of Ironwood or Galvanic Arc on it. Heck, even Riot Spikes looks pretty sweet on my new Beast.
Speaking of Riot Spikes, I think it’s the thing Indrik Stomphowler replaces. Four Stomphowlers feels like overkill, but one or two copies won’t come up often enough to matter. I’d like three copies of the Beast, but that leaves me a lone copy of Riot Spikes. Does one copy of Riot Spikes make sense, or is there more shuffling around I should do with my deck? That last card could be…
- Birds of Paradise, to act as a fifth Llanowar Elves.
- Utopia Sprawl, which is a fifth Elves and an enchantment to boot.
- Dowsing Shaman, to give me a late-game way to recycle my enchantments.
- Burning-Tree Shaman, another big body in a deck without significant activation costs.
- Land, either a Forest, Gruul Turf, or Skarrg, the Rage Pits to ease my mana, especially in light of my new fattie.
- Bramble Elemental, for a fun Aura trick.
- Naturalize, to give me at least one low-cost, instant-speed answer to artifacts and enchantments.
- Dosan the Falling Leaf, because what the heck do I do on my opponent’s turn anyway?
There are other options, of course, but those are the ones that most tempt me. If I missed anything that’s making you pound the table in frustration, feel free to speak up in the Forums.
The cards that seem least appropriate as a single copy are Burning-Tree Shaman, Dosan, Dowsing Shaman, and Bramble Elemental. The others on the list act as analogues for cards already in the deck (Riot Spikes a fifth Seal, Birds and Sprawl a fifth Elves, Naturalize a fourth Stomphowler), so seem fine as single copies. Of the land, I like Skarrg best because it also doubles as a spell. Choices, choices.
For me, that final slot is a decision between keeping a lone Riot Spikes, adding a lone Utopia Sprawl, or adding Skarrg, the Rage Pits. I can make decent arguments for all three. In the end, I’m concerned enough about my mana with the addition of Indrik Stomphowler and I don’t want to cut too deeply into my enchantments. Utopia Sprawl it is.
That makes my next iteration look like so:
Creatures (23)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Verduran Enchantress
- 4 Yavimaya Enchantress
- 4 Civic Wayfinder
- 4 Gatherer of Graces
- 3 Indrik Stomphowler
Lands (20)
Spells (17)
With this configuration I went 7-3 in my next ten games. On the surface, this doesn’t look like much of an improvement. The decks I played, though, were significantly more polished in this second set of games, and the niggling dread that I could lose at any moment never crept into my belly thanks to Indrik Stomphowler. The deck still doesn’t feel quite right, but I’m at a loss as to how to fix it. I’m even at a loss as to how to characterize what it needs. I still load up single creatures with Auras, and there is usually at least one turn when I realize a Pyroclasm or Hideous Laughter will wreck me. Neither of these feel like acute issues, though. It’s something about the deck running out of steam quickly without Verduran Enchantress that bothers me.
If you have any ideas on how to improve the deck, I’d love to hear them in the Forums. Just be sure that you talk about what to take out of the deck as well, since as I said one of the trickiest things about Tribal decks is finding room for new additions.
Same drill next time: I’ll update this deck based on Forums feedback, and I’ll dive into a new tribe. This article format has been working for me, but if you’d like to see something different, feel free to suggest changes.
Oh, and because I keep forgetting to say this in my articles, I’m currently playing under the name StudentDriver. Don’t ask about the name… Suffice it to say, I didn’t choose it.
Think hard and have fun,
-jms