Bonsai: Doran the tiny tree leader!

Tiny Leaders Aefinn

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AffinityJesus says... #1

I've had this same idea that I've been meaning to do for a while now, & this list looks pretty similar to what I had in mind. A few suggestions though; Skinshifter, Tower Defense, Village Bell-Ringer because who doesn't like a good trap, Kin-Tree Invocation, Veteran Armorer, Accorder's Shield could be worth while, Mentor of the Meek because who doesn't like to draw off every creature they play, & board wipes like Drown in Sorrow & Infest, considering how low a curve everyone's forced into, & how few to none of your creatures will die. & on that note, every mode on Golgari Charm is extremely relevant, & Zealous Persecution could just win by wiping their board & beefing your dudes. Priests of Norn might serve as a good alternative line of attack, needing only two hits with a small buff. Finally, you may consider Immortal Servitude, assuming tiny leaders allows X cmc cards like that (I'm not fully clear on the rules). Hope this was of some help!

January 20, 2015 5:28 a.m.

Aefinn says... #2

Thanks AffinityJesus! Many valid suggestions. As far as I know, Immortal Servitude is legal because X is 0 when calculating CMC.

January 20, 2015 6:12 a.m.

dantekratos says... #3

in this format, I'm a huge fan of Black Sun's Zenith as boardwipe. it deals with everything. :p

January 20, 2015 11:37 a.m.

dantekratos says... #4

also. a creature that needs 3 green in a 3 colour deck is going to be hard to cast most of the times. I should go for an other creature with high thougness.and Abrupt Decay would fit perfectly instead of Mortify or Putrefy. I know it's an expensive card. but you're still going to be in 100$ range like you want it to be.

January 20, 2015 11:40 a.m.

Aefinn says... #5

Thanks dantekratos. I actually had Abrupt Decay in this deck but I removed it because of the price tag (since then I have managed to get the price down even more so basically I could add it back but I think I'll rather stick with Mortify and Putrefy because I can use those for other than destructing creatures too.

Imho Black Sun's Zenith is not a valid option if I don't have Melira, Sylvok Outcast. And I don't think that is a valid combo in EDH deck where Melira isn't the general. So yes, it deals with everything. Including my creatures. For this kind of action I have Icky -1/-1 counters, modern golgari deck.

January 20, 2015 12:08 p.m.

dantekratos says... #6

that's what a boardwipe is. to wipe the board if needed. and in your colours it's very easy to have some reanimation spells. like Immortal Servitude. or Return to the Ranks, Reanimate, Animate Dead...

January 20, 2015 12:20 p.m.

AffinityJesus says... #7

Your welcome! & dantekratos, I think more of his point against Black Sun's Zenith is that it's a board wipe that costs more than board wipes like Infest or Drown in Sorrow, & weakens his creatures permanently as well as kills theirs, which would be a little silly to run when you could just as well run board wipes that kill their creatures for less, more or less just as efficiently, lets your creatures retain their power(toughness) in the following turns (appose to slowing yourself down), & allows you to save your reanimation spells for when they wipe/kill your stuff their self, which they would have a greater need of doing so with them packing at least 4 power each. Nice suggestion with Return to the Ranks, though, I might use that.

January 20, 2015 9:37 p.m.

Aefinn says... #8

I think I would rather use Martial Coup even though the manacost for it is higher but there is no drawbacks.

January 21, 2015 1:43 a.m.

winterflame6 says... #9

the new Brave the Sands is strictly better than Serra's Blessing :)

January 25, 2015 3:51 p.m.

Aefinn says... #10

winterflame6, very true. Thanks!

January 25, 2015 3:53 p.m.

TheFanatic says... #11

Oblivion Ring is likely better than Arrest, and I would replace Accorder's Shield with Slagwurm Armor. Eland Umbra may be better than Alpha Authority because although it does not provide hexproof, it makes your guy a much larger threat while still making him hard to kill. Disfigure is usually better than Tragic Slip in decks with no sacrifice effects. Swords to Plowshares is even better if you can fit it into your budget.

January 25, 2015 4 p.m.

winterflame6 says... #12

Arrest is good for shutting down their commander and it won't be able to come back unless they find a way to kill it themselves

January 25, 2015 4:04 p.m.

Aefinn says... #13

Thanks TheFanatic. Valid suggestions but I beg the differ on some of those things. As winterflame6 stated, Arrest is better because you can use it on generals. Accorder's Shield also gives vigilance. But I think I should add Slagwurm Armor too. I completely disagree with Eland Umbra (even though I might it too), Alpha Authority is there for Doran and it is completely for hexproof reasons. Tragic Slip is way better. You are saying it like creatures wouldn't die without sacrifice. But yeah, still multiple valid suggestions.

January 25, 2015 4:16 p.m.

AffinityJesus says... #14

I personally prefer Condemn over Tragic Slip, Disfigure, Swords to Plowshares, etc. so I can tuck their general, although it's more conditional. But they're all pretty solid spot removals for this format, all the same. A couple other cards I've recently considered for this are Bar the Door (although strictly worse than Tower Defense, it can act as a second one) & Vault of the Archangel to make your line of 1/4's, 1/5's still intimidating in case Doran's tucked into your library or something. Also, on the whole Alpha Authority debate; for hexproof, Lightning Greaves is strictly better, though a bit pricey. But Swiftfoot Boots is almost just as good, & much cheaper.

January 25, 2015 5:17 p.m.

winterflame6 says... #15

don't forget Dismember and edict effects Diabolic Edict

January 25, 2015 6:45 p.m.

Death_The_Kid says... #16

if you do not like Black Sun's Zenith I use Gaze of Granite instead. Also it kills A lot more if need be. Reanimate might be useful also

January 27, 2015 2:59 a.m.

Aefinn says... #17

Thanks for suggesting Death_The_Kid. Imho Gaze of Granite is even worse because it certainly kills my creatures too and that if the reason why I didn't like Zenith. Reanimate is a valid option and I had it but I also took it off because I try to keep this budget.

January 27, 2015 5:42 a.m.

Death_The_Kid says... #18

true it kills your own stuff but sometimes in times of need you know? Also you can adjust the X so maybe it wont kill ALL your things lol

January 27, 2015 5:46 a.m.

Aefinn says... #19

Death_The_Kid, true but there is already many one shot kills in this deck like Mortify. But yeah. I'll keep that in mind because it can be a valid option against token decks.

January 27, 2015 6:16 a.m.

Death_The_Kid says... #20

keep in mind you can have a 10 card side board

January 27, 2015 6:22 a.m.

Aefinn says... #21

True. Never used sideboards though (mostly because I only play casual with friends and there hasn't been a reason for alternative meta) but maybe I should start doing that :)

January 27, 2015 6:29 a.m.

Death_The_Kid says... #22

i use sideboards really when i cant decide what card i wanna use in a deck lol

January 27, 2015 6:30 a.m.

Nevermore maybe, to lock out an opponent's general?

Personally I'd like to see another board wipe or two, but that's just me.

+1 for the idea... I think I may brew Anafenza with board-wipes to deal with token decks, since it's prevalent in this format.

January 29, 2015 4:27 a.m.

winterflame6 says... #24

Toxic Deluge is a pretty sweet tiny leaders boardwipe; it's not really budget though. but, it's not horribly expensive though, either

January 29, 2015 7:33 p.m.

Aefinn says... #25

Because it's until end of turn and my creatures are based on high thoughness stats it would be perfect for this deck! A bit pricy but perfect. I'll definitely add that as a possibility.

January 30, 2015 12:08 a.m.

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