I really appreciate your input, you made some great points and some good suggestions. Keeping them in to mind I have changed up a lot of stuff which I am going to playtest for the time being.
September 17, 2015 10:33 p.m.
I really like this deck, and I've been playing around with a similar concept. I am worried that the land count seems a bit low given that this deck really hits its stride when it hits its 4th and 5th lands. How has your curve gone in testing?
4 Thoughtseize mainboard also seems a bit harsh on your life total. Have you considered a 2/2 split between it and Inquisition of Kozilek?
October 15, 2015 3:28 p.m.
Cool deck!
1) Can you tell me more about your decision to run Butcher of the Horde over Falkenrath Aristocrat? I've really liked Falkenrath so far due to the combination of indestructibility and haste. I'm toying around with abandoning a human subtheme and using Butcher but I think I'd still miss the relative safety & reliability that indestructible offers. Have you tried both?
2) How useful has Monastery Mentor been? It seems like he'd be most viable in a shell with more control to protect him, in here I see him as bolt bait even with the 4x thoughtseize. Perhaps Brimaz, King of Oreskos would slot in better here? Or has the mentor been pretty consistent?
Alternatively, have you considered Abbot of Keral Keep? He's essentially a quasi-3-drop since you want to play him on T3 to be able to play his ETB exiled card. And he'd still get lots of helpful Prowess triggers. I've really enjoyed him so far in my WIP mardu aristocrats build. He gives helpful card advantage up front so get some value even if he gets sac'd right away, and if he stays on the board he gets pumped up to 3/2 or 4/3 pretty regularly. I overlooked him initially but he's been great.
The only other thing here I'm not sold on yet is Bitterblossom. I think to get much value out of it you need to drop it T2, and you only have two copies in your deck so the odds of that happening are pretty low. It's much more likely to be a mediocre topdeck, and 3x -> 4x Lingering Souls is a more reliable and explosive way to poop out tokens IMO. Mogg War Marshal is another possibility, giving 3 bodies for 2 mana, all at once.
Lastly, I'd like to echo Tata's comment that 4x Path is probably too much. You could probably get by with 2 paths MB, 2 on the side. I personally love Boros Charm and will keep two copies main board for my own build.
October 19, 2015 5:51 p.m.
When I first started this deck I ran Falkenrath Aristocrat and lots of human options. It was a good deck by most accounts but I've the humans were often a weak link and I've enjoyed playing Butcher of the Horde for it's option to lifelink and stronger body. Monastery Mentor is a recent addition and it has worked out well, it has it's obvious weaknesses but it has won me games where without it I wouldn't have. I have put some consideration into trying Abbot of Keral Keep but I don't feel that it would fit in the deck all that well without removing something more valuable. Bitterblossom is something that I have considered removing as if it's not played on turn 2 it is generally a dead card, it's a fairly new addition which has done great in some instances but it can also drain away my life somewhat uncontrollably to little effect. I will try bumping back up to 4 Lingering and removing them. I've been hesitant to scale down Path to Exile because of it's value and effectiveness in removing so many problem cards. I'll try scaling down to 3 for now and playtest that for a bit. Thanks for your feedback! :)
October 20, 2015 2:35 a.m.
OperaGhost says... #15
Needs Dragons, a horde is never complete without dragons
Tata says... #9
It looks like too much removal.
I'd increase the number of creatures/wincons in your deck by cutting a few cards.
I'm not a big fan of Crackling Doom and I don't think you need 4 paths if you have 2 terminates.
Sorin, Solemn Visitor is not a good planeswalker imo unless you have many spirits or Bitterblossom.
Ajani Vengeant would be a better maindeck decision for this kind of strategy.
I'd cut Ghost Quarter from the main and put those in your sideboard if you really dislike playing against tron. Are is there another reason?
A top-end finisher like Baneslayer Angel or Thundermaw Hellkite would be awesome.
September 17, 2015 3:11 p.m.