Sam_McGee1 says... #4
I know they're both more expensive than you want to hear but Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Spirit of the Labyrinth are your answer's to control (specifically grixis, azorius, and american) because of controls nature to need to draw massive amounts of cards to come up with answers/ their few and far between win con's spirit of the labyrinth is a handy tool. Also I run almost a mirror match of this deck except I run Celestial Flare mainboard for the precinct captains and I have 2-Elspeth instead of 2-Ajani and Elspeth is really the key against control because of the fact that she brings an army with her to be dealt with her -4 can get ride of alot of control win con and if you do get her emblem off it doesn't matter if your dudes are only on the field for two turns they still likely do lethal damage
February 2, 2014 11:42 a.m.
AlexanderSixsan says... #5
Dalektable you dont need elspeth this deck is amazing do what you want! i use to run another kind of mono white deck but found this i dont regret it. I managed to beat a $200 jund with all the kill spells they had.
February 2, 2014 4:53 p.m.
How to annoy control? get some more Brave the Elements and Gods Willing , and put in 4 Silence . Here's a deck that's been doing really well at my FNM, and it's reallly really cheap: The Weenie Brigade.
February 3, 2014 7:17 p.m.
Dalektable says... #7
xantos Silence isn't necessary and id i added more Brave the Elements and/or Gods Willing they would have to take the place of more creatures which i do not want to do.
February 3, 2014 7:40 p.m.
It's definitely not neccessary, but if you're trying to win before control really gets rolling, I feel it's the way to go.
February 3, 2014 8:36 p.m.
The issue with Silence against a control deck, is that control is full of instants, and any number of instants can be popped down in reaction to it. Or they could just wait until your turn to use them. What's the point in Silencing them during their turn, if they Cyclonic Rift your Hopeful Eidolon , with Ethereal Armor and two-stack Ordeal of Heliod , the moment you attack? Better to have something else to drop, to be safe, in that matchup, I think.
February 5, 2014 3:14 a.m.
Tuckman315 says... #10
So now you put spirte of the labyrinth and eidolon I'm the maby borde befor you sed no lol see they are good cards for side borde espeshuly spirte I just got 2 sprites and put them in my side borde and when I went up agents mono blue it helpt me a lot
February 7, 2014 5:19 p.m.
Tuckman315 says... #11
Why did you git ride of all the comments well now I'm first lol still love the deck all tell you how it goes I, triying it out agen with the new cards you addid we will see hope I do good also check out my mtg YouTube Chanel tuckman315
February 7, 2014 5:21 p.m.
Dalektable says... #12
Tuckman315 I cleared the comments so that it wouldn't be so cluttered, i do it every so often so that it looks nicer. If i kept all comments this deck would easily have 200+
February 7, 2014 5:47 p.m.
deathtouch_roadrunner says... #14
My experience is that white needs a 2nd color to win vs. control. Best bet in color is Heliod + Elspeth, but that's not budget or aggro.
The next best thing vs control if staying mono white is lots of token generation and bestow combined with Auramancer s. Probably Indestructibility , Precinct Captain , Vanguard of Brimaz , Nyxborn Shieldmate , Eidolon of Countless Battles , Hopeful Eidolon , maybe Hero of Iroas are good picks to try. While it's very likely to stall without splashing a 2nd color, if you can force some plays through the counters you can keep up constant pressure, recycle some guys, and have presence after a board wipe. Top splashes of not super expensive stature are probably blue for Meletis Astronomer and maybe Ephara's Enlightenment or Bident of Thassa .
As someone who played a very similar list for a while, I could never find a way to keep it in the game vs. control.
February 11, 2014 1:53 a.m.
very popular homebrew, I made one myself when I preordered cards out of Theros. I run green options vs control match ups.
February 17, 2014 10:23 p.m.
Hey, Dalek... Just a thought, and I'm not sure if I even like the idea, but... What do you think of Eidolon of Countless Battles taking the place of Spear of Heliod ? Reason being, I've had a few games lately with my similar build that have ended up with the Spear's main usefulness being towards enchantment count, it being Spear + 1 or 2 stacked creatures.
May you always draw two Ethereal Armor s! ;)
February 18, 2014 3:29 p.m.
... You made my day there sir. And my response to your army is... RUN AWAY!
Slightly more seriously(but not by much), a card that might (and this is a big might) work against control is Colossus of Akros , which would fit in your quest to be very offbeat and odd. Haunted Plate Mail and Trading Post are cards I might advise. Haunted Plate Mail dodges mass removal and will require instant speed removal, most of the time. And if you use more artifacts, Trading Post can be weirdly useful. It can give cards, creatures, and return artifacts, and lets you gain 4 life if they try to remove a creature.
If you don't want to change your deck hugely, Gift of Immortality will require two removal spells for whatever you stick it to. It also triggers heroic, so it's a pretty good thing to stick on your Fabled Hero (although it doesn't trigger heroic afterward). Auramancer (as has been said) might be a card you want, but it also seems too slow and too needy of the correct timing for it to be hugely helpful, especially into a hand of counters. A handy thing if your meta has much burn is Acolyte's Reward , which is very good in mono-white. It also targets, and redirecting damage in combat is super fun. Hero of Iroas is odd to me, and I don't know how good it is or isn't, but I know you have an enchantment theme, so... shrug It's also a 2/2 for two and has heroic, so it is an effective creature alone.
Cards I would simply advise because of power would, firstly, be more Brave the Elements , Dryad Militant , and Mutavault if you don't want to change your deck's play by much but give more consistency and power. I would advise Brave the Elements over Gods Willing . Brave the Elements can protect your team, allow the finishing attack, or just allow profitable blocks against massive creatures. Gods Willing lets you protect one creature, make a profitable block, and scry 1. Targeting is important in some decks (my own heroic W/U deck would rather target than do all of the above), but your deck seems to lack heroic except Fabled Hero . Dryad Militant is just a two power one drop that can have a relevant ability (not very often, but sometimes). Mutavault is a man-land. It dodges mass removal, it's not hard to activate, it can play decent defense... It's good. And your deck is only one color, so I would say it isn't hard to have a colorless land.
I do like your theory and your ideas, but I do have to say deathtouch_roadrunner has a point; adding a second color would give you lots of cards that could get you there. Xathrid Necromancer , Bident of Thassa , Assemble the Legion and Boros Reckoner , and cards that can come from and with them could vastly improve your chances against control.
Wrapping up;
Cards I would suggest to add for giggles:
Cards I would suggest more seriously:
Changes I would make without changing much of the deck list:
Cards I might remove:
Fortify Strong, and can save against Anger of the Gods , but seems... lacking, somewhat.
Ordeal of Heliod Gaining 10 life can be strong, and it fits your enchantment theme, but you sacrifice it and it doesn't add much damage to kill your opponent.
Gods Willing I do see uses for the card. I have 4 in my own heroic U/W casualness. But in this deck, I think Brave the Elements is just better.
I don't have or play the deck and I don't know what sort of play you're going for. You're free to discard all of my ideas like a turn ten top-decked Charging Badger to Erebos's Emissary . But I hope you appreciate the hour+ I spent searching up all these cards.
P.S. If you read through all of this, start to finish, no skipping, the first time through, you deserve a cookie.
February 18, 2014 8:11 p.m.
Dalektable says... #18
nana8901 Thank you for such a detailed and thought out response! Now, i'll be honest i don't like most of the suggestions you had but let me explain why. I've been playing this deck for a long time now, and i know how it runs and many of these cards don't exactly fit the bill.
Colossus of Akros Much much much too slow
Haunted Plate Mail Again, too slow and i'd rather be playing other things.
Trading Post It's a fun card, but doesn't really fit the deck.
Gift of Immortality Interesting idea, but i don't think so. It's good protection but so is a Gods Willing
Auramancer Too slow, would rather be playing other creatures
Acolyte's Reward This one i like but i don't see a place to add it in.
Hero of Iroas Not enough utility, it would work sometimes but there are better two drops it would work if it was more enchantment heavy.
Brave the Elements I used to run four of these, but after lots and lots of testing i've found that a Gods Willing will help just as much and the scry can be very important late game.
Dryad Militant Not relevant ability, would be better in a normal white weenies build.
Mutavault As stated in the description, though its not listed, i am on a budget. Therefore i can't drop 35 dollars on a single card.
Fortify is for MBD which is HUGe in the meta. They recently got Bile Blight and Drown in Sorrow which would ruin me. The spot for it is needed.
Ordeal of Heliod There has been a lot of debate on removing this card, and honestly i think it has come down to preference. I like it, the lifegain has been incredibly relevant in tons of match ups.
Lastly, i am very aware that adding a second color would give a lot of good uses. I wish i could splash for blue, red or black. (Blue for D sphere and azorius charm, Red for Boros Charm and Chained to the Rocks , and black for Xathrid Necromancer and removal) However, again i'm on the budget of a highschool sophomore. Adding a second color would most likely nearly the double the price of the deck. Anyways though, although i didn't accept most of your suggestions i do appreciate the well thought out and researched comment. But i've been playing this deck since rotation and by now know pretty well what is needed, and many of these things would either slow down the deck or there is a better option. But once again, thank you!
P.s you owe me a cookie.
February 18, 2014 9:09 p.m.
Not entirely related ,but I am curious to see what journey to nyx will hold in store for mono-white.P.S. does the cookies offer work for bystanders?
February 18, 2014 9:15 p.m.
I know I've already suggested Silence , but you still seem to be having problems against control. I have a deck a lot like this, and I find the one-turn advantage can seriously help you out and give you a few wins. Try playtesting a playset.
February 18, 2014 9:31 p.m.
Dalektable says... #21
xantos I haven't actually really. I haven't had a match since all of the changes ive made in FNM, but playtesting has worked well. But if i were to add a playtest, what could i replace?
February 18, 2014 9:45 p.m.
You can definitely take out the Gift of Orzhova - in a control matchup, the lifelink and flying will not be very useful. And then maybe one of your larger creatures - Fiendslayer Paladin ? You don't really need much lifelink since he won't be doing much damage till late game - by which point you've probably lost anyway.
February 18, 2014 10:18 p.m.
Dalektable says... #23
xantos No no no, what would i replace in the sideboard?
February 18, 2014 10:47 p.m.
Thanks for responding in a thought out way as well. I do like your response to each card I suggested. You seem to have a lot of experience with what you want the deck to do and how to do it. I'd actually like it if you could give me an idea of your meta, and maybe difficult matches? You talk about control in the description, but are there other decks and/or cards that seem troublesome? I'm probably a bad person to ask (My schedule only recently opened up for FNMs), but I'm trying to make my weird decks play correctly, so I know lots of cards.
Also, hey sophmores! Budget stuff for the win!
Running another color doesn't mean paying more than, say, $5 per card, mostly less. Blue gives cheap draw like Ordeal of Thassa , Fate Foretold , and other whatnot. If you want late-game gas, a one-of Opportunity has saved me in games (all casual multiplayer, but still). Red has Magma Jet , Lightning Strike , and other burn. Green has... hm... for enchantments, I suppose it would give access to Unflinching Courage ... Moving on. Black does Read the Bones and other fun whatnot.
Dual lands are easy to get, with guildgates at common, but it would slow down your deck and it will reduce consistency. It really does depend on what you want the deck to do and your meta.
P.S. I said deserved. But since you ask, my Invisible Stalker is going to find your house, sneak in, and watch you sleep for ten minutes before putting an invisible cookie in your sheets. See if you can find the cookie before it crumbles... hehehe... HaHaHAHAHAAAA... MUAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAcoughcoughcoughwheeze Need... air...
February 19, 2014 9:37 p.m.
Dalektable says... #25
nana8901 That's the problem though is the dual lands. I don't want to sacrifice consistency and slow down the deck, so i would need scry and shocks which are expensive.
Jrjersey01 says... #1
Tuckman315 He doesn't not need spirit Of the labyrinth. Dalektable will try to race it and win before the can cast their draw spells. The eidolon and hero are for a little bit slower aura deck. 9/10 times he will not be bestowing Hopeful Eidolon . The Eidolon of Countless Battles is a card that usually only works with a Hero of Iroas on board.
January 31, 2014 3:52 p.m.