How do you feel about Brutal Hordechief? I feel like he's a better way to close out the game than the lord, or might of the masses, and is a solid chord target

PenguinCrusader I disagree pretty strongly. The first problem with Brutal Hordechief is that he's not an elf. This means he is not hit with Sylvan Messenger and will not add to Shaman of the Pack's life loss. The next problem is that his ability is basically Foul-Tongue Shriek, and I explained above why I prefer Might of the Masses. He also costs 3 more mana than shriek. Yes his ability happens every turn after you play him, but your poor little 1/1 and 2/2 elves are not going to survive to attack several turns in a row. I am not running red or white, so his activated ability is worthless to me. All in all, I'd much much much rather have Dwynen or Might.

Ever considered Bow of Nylea?

I've been playing a variation of your deck, i have to say the added Might of the Masses wincon has greatly increased my winrate. Thanks for the inspiration!

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/22-07-15-evil-elves/

Thanks for posting this! Great budget deck. Going to try this deck out at FNM and Origins Game day.

How do you think it fairs against Burn and Thopter decks? Would Nissa, Vastwood Seer  ^Flip make this better? And would you replace Sylvan Messenger with Chord of Calling/Collected Company

Thanks again! :)

I feel the best way to answer your question is to link to a deck tech fairly recently released by the Mana Source. I agree almost completely with their list. If you have no budget limits, this is the deck to build.

This is the Mana Source's Elf Tribal Deck

If you don't want to watch the video, I'll answer your specific concerns. They run a playset of Nissa, Vastwood Seer  ^Flip. I love Wedge's explanation as to why, it's worth the watch. The one thing I disagree slightly with is the lower number of Sylvan Messengers. I understand they just didn't have room for more, but this card is one of the best ways to snowball out of control, or even recover.

Definitely a good watch... I also like the use of Nissa as a scapegoat to draw removals.

Funny you say that about sylvan messengers. Just played a round where I played 4 messengers and the only reason I won was by drawing 2 shamans at the last minute with them. They're capable of changing the outcome in a heartbeat (although it's a little like playing roulette).

I'll let you know the results of this weekend. Hopefully it helps with this deck build.

Went 2-1-1(Draw) last night at fnm.

First deck I was up against was UR and was no contest, as his deck basically waited until turn 5 to do anything. Win 2-0.

Second was a seige rhino combo deck. Was tied 1-1 and had 1 health left, he had 12. Had 1 shaman in my hand, drew another one; played both for the win.

Next was W/U/B counters. Won first game quick. Absolutely destroyed me the next 2. Bad draws and good control from him prevented me from doing almost anything.

Last game was mono green. Don't know the archetype but there was lots of Polukranos, World Eater and Nylea, God of the Hunts. Won the first round with a shaman at the last minute. Second game was drawn out but he eventually brought out Ugin, the Spirit Dragon and cleared the field. Last game ended in a draw.. (my next card was MotM).

All in all a very good experience for my 2nd time at FNM and only 2nd week playing magic. More than happy with this build :)

This deck is just really good when it gets going. I haven't had time to check the sideboard yet, but this is really fast.

After running my elf deck at gameday i have actually dropped Collected Company from the team, right now trying with maximum Chord of Calling and Sylvan Messenger, also playtesting Foul-Tongue Shriek in place of Might of the Masses. Its not quite the same trick but i find lifegain to be quite relevant in my aggro heavy meta.

Bow of Nylea might be worth a look.

Can i recommend you a Woodland Bellower Pros its a 6/5 body while acting as a Cord for your deck to bring Shamans out. It will still be in standard seeing as it came out in Origins. Cons I believe its a six cost with no convoke, so you can only use Mystic, or the 2 converted mana cost mana dork that atm i cant remember.

DukeSteele Yes, Chord of Calling is a very good option. Same for Foul-Tongue Shriek. If they work better for you, go for it. (I'm still sticking with Might of the Masses because it has allowed me to save a creature and kill an opponent's creature during Dromoka's Command induced fights, and It will count creatures with summoning sickness, allowing me to get more from it quicker)

Dontknowgabe While Woodland Bellower would be awesome if I was able to play it, the problem is playing it. Especially because Gnarlroot Trapper can't contribute to summoning it, I just don't see it realistically coming out consistently.

I would like to see Whip of Erebos in a deck like this.

Poprox I have seriously considered and even tested Whip of Erebos. The idea of whipping back a Shaman of the Pack is very tempting. In my personal testing it hasn't been quite fast enough, but I highly encourage you to try your own elf-whip deck and tell me about it. :)

That is a very wise assessment of Might of the Masses VS Foul-Tongue Shriek, i agree you see swifter and perhaps even more versatile benefits from the former rather than the latter. The jury is still out for me, i will keep playtesting both! Dromoka's Command is a real pain the ass.

Whip of Erebos is too slow i feel, playtested it and didn't really work. Recursion via a lone Liliana, Defiant Necromancer  ^Flip was a method i have enjoyed but i'm still not sure it is competetive.

I run a lone Woodland Bellower and actually use him to get Reclamation Sage more often than Shaman of the Pack although maybe thats why i still lose quite a bit... LOL! :p

OK, so i tested with Whip of Erebos a bit, and i find i like to hit Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen more often then Shaman of the Pack. Gather the Pack is helpful there. I think it might be interesting if somebody does Abzan elves for Rally the Ancestors. Yes, whip is slow, but it kind of fits the deck if you play cards like Woodland Bellower. It turns the deck from aggro to mid-game. Using Stain the Mind for any large threats or even Dromoka's Commands.

Would like to see how you change this for rotation. What are you planning to replace the mystic with? This seems like an easy deck to run and have decided to try it out for my 9 year old to learn magic with.

Nialo For rotation I'll be swapping 4 Elvish Mystic for 4 Beastcaller Savant. There is a small chance that will change, but it seems like it will be a very straightforward swap. I'm not quite sure what my sideboard will look like post rotation.

That would be awesome if you used my deck to teach your 9 year old! I think elves are fairly straightforward without being boring, and just plain fun. :)

njnjk

Definitely glad I found this as I was concerned about losing some of the wincons from m15 and theros. Thanks for the updated ideas! +1

Zulaport Cutthroat for your sideboard? Whilst not an elf, he can make board wipes incredibly punishing for your opponents given the amount of creatures you can lay down on the field in a short space of time.

Twilgrimm, Zulaport Cutthroat is not a bad option, but for the time being I like my sideboard how it is. He is definitely something to keep in mind though, especially if he fits your playstyle or local meta.

Plummet in the side for dragonlords, otherwise looks good.

Personally, would drop one visionary for another Nissa.

i took the deck for a few rounds and so far i would cut CoCo from the deck. You have too many creatures which cant be targeted by it. instead i would refill ruinous path to 4 and put in 2 read the bones for card advantage. on the lands front you really need evolving wilds. Not because of manafixing but so you thin your deck faster. Also there are some Nissa shenanigans you can do with it.

Egad, I love this deck! Real consistent, and has good answers to most matchups! Will definitely consider running a build like this!