Xenagos ascends, and revelry falls upon the world. While essentialy being a R/G monsters deck, it has some important differences:
1: With 2-3 less Planeswalkers, creatures become more, and more available
2:
Ember Swallower
is a strong, but very understimated card, since the loss of three lands can be dealt with in a deck like this one, with 24 lands and mana devices, but not so well in a Mono black devotion or an Esper control
3:
Scavenging Ooze
is a three-must-have in this deck, since it protects very well against life drain and becomes a real huge monster.
I brought the deck to my local store for the Game day....
The first opponente had a Mono black devotion, and in the first match I beated him easily with the aid of
Courser of Kruphix
,
Polukranos, World Eater
and two-of
Stormbreath Dragon
s. The second match was harder, and I managed to keep play (and 20 life) with a 7/7 (and growing)
Scavenging Ooze
aided by a
Courser of Kruphix
, but my opponent cast in brief succession
Desecration Demon
,
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
for six life, then killed my ooze with
Doom Blade
and so I was doomed. In the decisive match, the game was almost the same, but he also made me discard
Xenagos, God of Revels
and later
Plummet
with a double
Thoughtseize
. My ooze kept my life at 20-21, while mty courser gave me mana. Unfortunately I only drew bad cards the turns after, like three
Sylvan Caryatid
and two
Elvish Mystic
, which I all cast. To my horror, he cast
Desecration Demon
, and after I had killed it with another
Plummet
drew before he cast another one! I had no answers to that and to his two
Pack Rat
s, so I was forced to sacrifice my elves, one at a time (and then I was grateful to have drawn so many) to prevent the demon from swinging for 6-7.Fortunately the time had ended and I survived until the last turn, and so it was a hardly-conquered draw.
The second and the third opponents were easy to beat 2-0, I just say they were a W/U fast heroic deck (
Mizzium Mortars
was his death) and a slower R/B minotaur deck (again the Mortars).
In the last match, I ended up fighting with a friend of mine with a block constructed deck......and it was Mono Black. I was utterly terrorized by another confrontation with black, but I went against my own fears.
The first game was an easy and fast win, made easier by the fact that my opponent went mana fluid. The second one I lost miserably, being assaulted by
Master of the Feast
and
Herald of Torment
to death. The last match was the most decisive one, the one for the win. And here
Xenagos, the Reveler
, the great god Pan, brought me to the win. To omit the beginning of the game, I ended up at six life against a
Master of the Feast
fat guy, while I had
Polukranos, World Eater
, three satyrs produced by Xenagos,
Xenagos, the Reveler
himself, and a
Ghor-Clan Rampager
in hand. In his turn, he attacked and killed Xenagos, then cast yet another
Master of the Feast
!! I started to grow desperate, because I had to deal him 11 damage in one turn to win, while the next turn I would be dead. I was also scared because he had three mana open and one card in hand (
Hero's Downfall
, I thought). Nonetheless, I decided myself for an all in. I attacked with the three satyrs and Polukranos. He blocked
Polukranos, World Eater
with
Master of the Feast
. I gave Polukranos monstrous for three tapping seven. It resolved. I discarded the
Ghor-Clan Rampager
for the last two mana, giving it +4/+4 and trample. And I dealt him 15 damage, winning the Game Day (and a beautiful playmat).
