Mechanic Based Decks: Absorb

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squire1

14 May 2010

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So after I wrote the article on how to tag decks, I started writing descriptions of many of the tags. This act got me really thinking about deck building and exactly how one could build a deck around some of the tags. The point of the tagging article was that tags should explain the focal points of a deck, not just list card types and abilities included in your deck.

Continuing along this line of thought, I decided to create a set of articles that focus around building decks with a focus around each keyword ability for a couple of reasons. Firstly I would like to demonstrate what should be thought of as an ability focused deck. Secondly, I wanted to be as descriptive as possible in the mindset of a deckbuilder working on experimenting with different themes. No one has all the answers, especially me. Many of you may have different ways of doing things and I expect that many will disagree with some of the decisions that I make while building. Please feel free to comment and debate upon the article to this effect. I am hoping that newer player will learn much about different ways of conceiving a theme deck from this article.

As with all decks it is also important to keep in mind the intentions of the creator. My intentions with this and following articles is to build casual theme decks based around the ability or concept specified in the beginning of each article. In addition, I have been playing long enough that I have no desire to stop using cards I am used to though, the power 9 is a bit excessive, so the format for most of my decks will be legacy. I hope that you all enjoy this.

Absorb

So the theme I am working around here is the absorb keyword ability. Absorb is a static ability. A creature with absorb X has the static ability that when a source deals damage to that creature, that damage is reduced by X. I have chosen absorb because I will be working through the ability keywords in alphabetical order. Unfortunately for me, I have started with a difficult one, as there is only one card in print that has this ability.

So where to go from here. I really have one card to consider if I am to focus a deck this ability. Well my first step is usually to brainstorm.

Brainstorming

When brainstorming I find it important to start with the basics. The card I am focusing on has a casting cost of 1W, 4. Now this is a bit high of a cost and if I really want to get it out I may need to consider some ramp or at least a good amount of mana in deck. In addition, I will need to either have whit as one of my deck colors or have a consistent way to produce white mana. This is not the only way to get this card out, but it seems not really worth resorting to Show and Tell or Polymorph type tactics.

Next, it is a sliver. This instantly has me thinking of tribal as an option. The strength of the card is not that it has absorb 1, but that it gives all slivers absorb 1.

Lastly I consider the abilities in question. This creature gives all slivers absorb 1. This ability also stacks meaning that each creature can have multiple instances of absorb. Meaning that each sliver will have the ability to reduce the damage it is dealt by one for each Lymph Sliver in play, meaning a max of a reduction of 4 damage from any source. To exploit this ability I am thinking a couple of different directions.

Idea 1

The first thing I think about is what other slivers can play off of this ability. Psionic Sliver is the first that comes to mind because if every sliver I have can do 2 damage without dying, that can get pretty good. That said if I only have one Lymph Sliver out the Psionic Sliver will still die when I tap it. So maybe we need to consider some more defense, using Sinew Sliver, Plated Sliver, and watched sliver. Ok I like that idea, let’s build on that later.

Idea 2

My next thought is to use this in conjunction with other creatures that defuse or transfer damage to other creature; however, I do not want to lose the ability of giving other creatures absorb 1 so I am thinking Hivestone. In addition, using cards like Warrior en-Kor and Shaman en-Kor will help disperse the damage. These with Hivestone and Lymph Sliver will allow for a superior defense, being able to transfer damage to a myriad of creatures. I am still in need of a win condition though. So I am thinking maybe something like Luminarch Ascension. Ok i am now happy with that concept, so let’s get back to that later.

Idea 3

The last idea I have is to use the ability to reduce the negative effects of cards that are otherwise fantastic. Here I am thinking Pyrohemia and Pestilence. These cards should allow me to sweep the board while keeping my side intact from Lymph Slivers and the added security of Sedge Sliver. In addition, maybe a few pro-red/black creatures. Ok that is a good start here, moving on.

Note that I actually brainstormed. I had a vague idea of how to exploit the ability in question and searched out cards that fit with what I wanted the decks to do. Also keep in mind that brainstorming is not the time to plan your whole deck. It is the time to think about how the overall concept will work. What are the main components needed? What cards fill those roles? Do they fit or can I make them fit? There are a lot more cards to go in a deck and there is time for that in the next step. For this step try coming up with 3-5 cards that really force the point of your deck.

Filling the concept

The next step I indulge in is to fill out these concepts we mapped in the brainstorming process. I like to try and leave at least 8-10 card slots open at the end of this process for the next step. So if we assume 18-24 lands, dependant upon deck, and 8-10 open slots for later; that leaves 34-26 cards that need to be in each deck by the end of this step. Let's go through each idea at a time and fill the concept in.

Idea 1

Here I decided to use Lymph Sliver and Psionic Sliver. In addition, I stated that more defense could be useful with cards like Sinew Sliver, Plated Sliver, and watched sliver. I would also like to exploit the Lymph Sliver even further I think by using a Clone. I also looked through slivers and see a desirable synergy between Psionic Sliver and Essence Sliver. The life gain here will help to make this deck last till we can get everything ready to win. I think that I will take out watched sliver for Metallic Sliver to give some earlier creature play. That gives me 7 creatures: Lymph Sliver, Psionic Sliver, Sinew Sliver, Plated Sliver, Clone, Essence Sliver, and Metallic Sliver for a total of 28 cards if we have for each of them, right in our desired sweet zone. Happy with this for now, time to move on.

Idea 2

For this one I went in the direction of a strong defense. The win condition was Luminarch Ascension. Lymph Sliver, Hivestone, Shaman en-Kor, and Warrior en-Kor were some major features. I thought about Wall of Hope or Wall of Resistance a bit but if they are slivers too due to Hivestone then they would not be as useful because the damage to them would be reduced. I think that Holy Day will help with the ascension. hedron-field purist seems to really fit here. That is it for right now. I think that I would like to leave the rest of the room for answers. That leaves us with 7 cards: Luminarch Ascension, Holy Day, hedron-field purist, Lymph Sliver, Hivestone, Shaman en-Kor, and Warrior en-Kor. At 4 cards each, that gives us 28 cards. Good for now, moving on.

Idea 3

Here I wanted to use Lymph Sliver to offset the effects of Pyrohemia and Pestilence. I say that use both here but only 2-3 of each. The reason why I would use both is because I am pretty sold on making this a 3 color deck to make full use of Sedge Sliver as well. This deck is also a great place for Wall of Hope, so to further offset the disadvantage of Pyrohemia/Pestilence. Spitemare or stuffy doll would also work well here. I would go with [[spitemare only because it allows me to further damage creatures that may not be killed by a smaller wave from Pyrohemia/Pestilence. After that I say add a big beater that will not fall to these effects either, say 1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath. That is all I am really set on here. That gives me 7 cards: 4x Lymph Sliver, 3x Pyrohemia, 3x Pestilence, 4x Sedge Sliver, 4x Wall of Hope, 4x Spitemare, 1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath for a total 23 cards. While the 23 cards is a bit shy of the 26 minimum stated earlier, but I think that I will need the room for utility later.

Something to keep in mind here is the cards that I considered but left out. I will keep these in mind for when I am building a sideboard as they may be appropriate to sub in.

Fears, Threats, and Contingencies

At this point I feel like my decks are shaping up how I want them, but I have left slots in them for both land (which I will get to later) and answers. All decks have weaknesses. The point of this portion of deckbuilding, I like to try and think about what I might be up against and what I can do to minimize the threats those decks may have. As I am planning in legacy, it is near impossible to narrow this process down to the specific cards that may threaten my deck because there are too many to worry about all of them. For that reason, I like to think of it in a broad scope. Fist analyzing whether the major threats I will face are creature or spell based, then narrowing as to what type of creature or spell may cause the biggest problems. This is one of the most important parts of deckbuilding for effectiveness. The truly great players are able to balance these answers in an eloquent way that will easily snub the competition. Again, I am not a professional and I am designing for casual play; that said, I do want to win. So let us examine the threats to and answers for each of my ideas so far.

Idea 1

In this deck so far I can't see creatures being a huge issue, as a slew of Psionic Slivers that do not die, due to the Lymph Sliver, should be able to handle most creatures just fine. I may put some spot removal (i.e., Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, or Oblivion Ring) in the sideboard though for indestructible creatures. Planeswalkers could be an issue but not too bothered by them and some Oblivion Rings in the sideboard will take care of that. I would say that what I most fear here are spells, removal spells to be more specific. Sweeper would crush this deck. Mill decks and disruption could also be issues. For mill, I will sideboard a Feldon's Cane. Now in this deck I am luck to have blue as a major color, which allows me to stop the rest of the spells I fear. If I want to leave room for about 22 lands then in this deck I have 10 spots for my contingency cards. So 4x Counterspell is a no brainer as it will stop nearly anything that I am afraid of. I would then say maybe 3x Force of Will since i may be tapped out at some points with so many 5 CMC cards. With 3 spots left I also consider that I need some draw power. I will go with 3x Divination, but put some negates in the sideboard. Okay, just land left here. Moving on for now.

Idea 2

In this deck I have a very strong defense building buy defusing damage and gaining life. The win condition here is Luminarch Ascension. I have two concerns here, sweepers and flyers. Again I have 10 spots if I want 22 lands. Since this deck is all white we have limited countering capabilities. For flyers, I already have Holy Day to help but an additional 4x Dawn Charm will help and can counter burn damage as well. Other than that I would say that maybe some counterspells could help, so I will go with a barrage approach and put in 2x Mana Tithe, 2x Rebuff the Wicked, and 2x Lapse of Certainty. I will most likely put a 4x oblivion ring in the sideboard and a couple each of Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile. Ok that is ok for right now.

Idea 3

In this deck I should have regeneration from the Sedge Sliver, life gain from Wall of Hope and no small creature issues from Pyrohemia/Pestilence. In this case I have specific worries, big beaters and Disenchant effects. If I again assume 22 lands, I have 15 spots left. I am playing B/R/W here so counters are not usually an option but there are a few. For the beaters I will go with 3x Terminate, 3x Vindicate, and 2x Oblivion Ring, which will keep planewalkers under control as well. So with 7 spots left I will add in 4x Dash Hopes and 3x Molten Influence. The sideboard will likely have Burnout, Mana Tithe, and Stuffy Doll. That looks pretty good, onto land!

Land

Now when it comes to land in my decks people constantly badger me about how expensive my land base is. Well in legacy it should be, there is no substitute for the right lands. They are a free drop every turn and your deck functions based on them. Land is important and yes I have owned most of the old ones that I use here; anyway, this is casual play. Proxy if need be, just use the best ones.

Idea 1

I have 22 land slots to consider. First off, I am playing tribal here and better than that slivers, 4x Mutavault is a must. I am playing multicolored U/W so 4x Tundra, 4x Hallowed Fountain, and 4x Flooded Strand. That leaves 6 spots left. Split it for basics. I hate getting pathed with all nonbasics. 3x Island and 3x Plains. That will do it for this deck.

Idea 2

Now I have a monowhite deck with 22 land slots. Pain lands to thin, 4x Arid Mesa and 4x Flooded Strand. I think that 4x Mutavault will be nice here as well. Adding 2x Kor Haven might help against a stray creature, but may get throw to sideboard. The rest all Plains.

Idea 3

In this deck we have 3 colors for our 22 slots. I will start with the basics, 4x Badlands, 4x Plateau, and 4x Scrubland. With 10 more slots I 2x Bloodstained Mire, 2x Marsh Flats, and 2x Arid Mesa. With the lands so far I am not worried about getting the right color mana. I am also going to put in 3x Mutavault. I also would like to put in 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth for good luck and to make Pestilence sing. For other mana sources I will fill the sideboard with 2x Plains, 2x Mountain, 2x Swamp (just in case of Path to Exile) and dark ritual (because it’s awesome, and I have my biases). Now this one is done.

Finishing

Well I think that I have done a decent job building decks around the absorb ability. These decks focus on utilizing the ability and would not work, at least not nearly as well as without it. But they do need names so:

Idea 1

Psionic nodes

Idea 2

Lymphinarch's Defension

Idea 3

Biology gone bad

The next step is to playtest them. I only play against one person at the moment so not sure when that will happen. But there they are the finished decks please take a look. Feel free to comment on the article or on the deck themselves and give it try yourself. No contest here but, I would like to see how others exploit the ability. Maybe with Experiment Kraj, who knows