I just playested your deck a couple times.

I am always disappointed to see Oran-Rief, the Vastwood in my hand, since it comes into play tapped, and you can't use it for mana until the next turn, and if you dropped it on turn 1, it seems like a lost turn.

also, Wirewood Lodge was worth much as a mana source since it wasn't the kind of mana source that I wanted. It don't drop your Llanowar Elves or Heritage Druid . you should REPLACE Wirewood Lodge with Quirion Ranger , which is an elf drop, and an untapper.

Let me explain to you a trick that comes up often enough to note.

Turn 1: Forest into Llanowar Elves or Fyndhorn Elves

turn 2: tap Forest to play Quirion Ranger , float 1 with Llanowar Elves , return Forest to your hand to untap Llanowar Elves , replay Forest , and you now have 2 elves, 3 mana, and 5 cards in your hand to spend it on.

Wirewood Lodge doesn't achieve these tricks, and it's not an elf creature either

Aluren came up surprisingly often(3 out of 4 times) , but was often quite underwhelming. The most utility I got out of it was to drop 2 cards that would have cost me 4 mana anyways.(emptying my hand)

It also doesn't kick Joraga Warcaller

i love hove much people love to tell you that you are wrong.

i guess some people are a little bit TOO serious about their elves.

they probably think they ARE elves.

that makes sense. you gotta protect your own kind.

Yeah, What's wrong with these people giving all this "feedback" on the effectiveness of design decisions.

Maybe we should all be yes-men and just say that everything is perfect.

Hunting Triad is a great card. Similar to mine... And mines been doing really well in my group... Elf Proto

Its ok.

I'm just pointing out that he isn't conforming to some preconceived notion of exactly how other legacy decks are.

Maybe he just wants his deck to play a bit different. Not every elf deck has to be exactly the same. He obviously has looked into the net decks and chose to go a slightly different direction.

I think advice is fine, but it should be constructive towards the deck builders goals. Not simply telling him he is doing it wrong because 2000 other uncreative deck builders online said differently.

I take inspiration from other decks all the time, but I always add in cards I enjoy playing because I genuinely find it fun to play, which may make me slightly less competitive but it keeps me interested and it also keeps me creativity flowing. Copying a net deck and some cut and paste method is a good way to atrophy the brain mechanic.

A good Standard deck that is mono green elves, that I personally have played against is Kaento's Screw it, I'm going Elves deck. Take a look at it.

Not bad. +1

Hey everyone!

Thanks very much for all of the thoughtful comments! Really, I appreciate ALL pieces of constructive advice and feedback that you guys have to offer.

A quick response to the recent discussion. I will follow up with an update soon this week.

As locustPLAGUE has kindly mentioned, Mentor of the Meek (thanks for the great suggestion!) indeed helps greatly to facilitate the acceleration properties of the deck, by providing a constantly replenishing supply of cards to the player. Unfortunately, however, since deck is aimed toward a mono-green approach, I cannot make as much use out of this card as I would like to.

Deathseraph has provided a very interesting foresight into the alternative acceleration potentials of this deck. The use of Seeker of Skybreak (thanks for the great recommendation!) to precipitate mana, and possibly even creature acceleration, is an extremely potent idea. The card indeed works symbiotically with the mechanism of the deck. However, it is regrettable that the card is a two-drop. Since the creature quota is currently filled, I would have to either forgo an Elvish Archdruid /Priest of Titania itself, or otherwise replace a one-drop with the Seeker of Skybreak . In light of the current mana curve, I am not quite sure as to how this may affect the deck's mechanism and speed, and so for now I think I'm going to delay that replacement until I've given it further consideration. Meanwhile, thanks for another great suggestion, deathseraph!

Sam_I_Am has alerted me to the potentially encumbering effects of Oran-Rief, the Vastwood . I can't believe that I have overlooked that potential weak point for the past week, and now that I see where it may come from, I agree with this point of view. I think I might have to replace a copy of that land with a more effective alternate. Currently, I'm still considering as to what that component can be, but thanks very much for raising the alarm, Sam_I_Am!

I have considered very seriously the possibility of replacing Wirewood Lodge with a combination of one-drop creatures that achieve the same (or better) effect. The utilization of Quirion Ranger and a mana-producing Elf together presents an interesting strategy for early game. However, since the combo requires to use of two creatures, one being an available, mana-producing Elf, the mechanism may be slightly more difficult to pull off. Additionally, the combo would set back the production of a Forest that round, which would probably hinder the mana acceleration slightly. When repeated, there is a possibility that the effects of impeded landfall may further pronounce this issue. However, I greatly appreciate this suggestion from Sam_I_Am, and this recommendation definitely deserves more consideration.

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I've carefully examined the decklists linked in both gbjfrtswym and ramen44's comments, looking for any new ideas that I have overlooked and can incorporate into the deck. The lists were excellent and very well put together in my opinion, and two cards stuck out distinctly in my mind: Primordial Hydra and Voice of the Woods .

The former presents an extremely powerful endgame option. As an 'X-mana' creature, the creature can be powered up to an indefinite amount of strength and toughness. Its potential of doubling in size every upkeep allows it to become twice as strong on the turn that it first attacks (second). Lastly, Primordial Hydra 's Trample renders the creature a dangerous force to be reckoned with. When given ten or more '+1/+1' counters, the Hydra has the potential to finish off your opponent on the next turn! As such, I will probably add this creature onto the maybeboard this week, since it can definitely become a potent endgame component.

The latter card, Voice of the Woods , is an excellent strategy for catalyzing creature acceleration. However, since the creature is a five-drop, the replacement may upset the speed and function of the deck a little bit. This option, in the meantime, deserves further consideration.

I have not yet addressed every suggestion made available since my last post. I will respond to all of them in the next update, expected soon this week. Meanwhile, please keep in mind that I am not trying to present an opinion as to the direction anyone should take when assembling a similar or related deck. I am only trying to expand my research and knowledge in this matter, and to add what I either know or can educationally guess to the forum of information propelled by this discussion.

Thanks for all of your valuable advice and feedback! As I am still relatively new to Magic the Gathering, I would very much appreciate any further suggestions and/or constructive criticism that you may have to offer.

Great deck, really awesome ideas especially with the crazy mana abilities. Big creatures are a must, though. I feel I must say that Aluren serves no purpose in this deck because you have no way of getting yourself to cast instants without paying their mana costs. Literally Aluren has no purpose. You would get it out and it would just sit there.Great deck otherwise though!

are you kidding me Bum? Aluren is a beast in here!

If you're looking for more ideas, and like the big creatures side of things, one respected elf strategy is to quickly ramp up to a Natural Order for a Progenitus . Progenitus has protection from everything. That means that he can't be Damaged, Enchanted, BLOCKED, nor Targeted by anything. He is a 2-turn clock.

any elf deck deck should easily be able to produce 4 mana by turn 3, and if you're lucky enough have Quirion Ranger , Heritage Druid , and any mana dork such as Llanowar Elves or Fyndhorn Elves in your hand, you can do it by turn 2.

Now cards like Aluren can enable faster wins, if you've cast Glimpse of Nature , or if you're gonna cast Coat of Arms , next turns and need more mana to drop more elves from your hand, but normally, Natural Order into Progenitus is more desirable.

Also, If you want to look at what My elf deck looks like you can check out Hybrid Elves

Take note of the number of lands, and if you think it's not enough for that deck, try play-testing it to see how it feels

When does he cast instants without paying there mana costs?

Wait misread the card disregard all of that.

Thanks for all of the thoughtful comments! I value greatly all of your suggestions.

Without further ado, an update!

9/9/2011-

There were a number of new weak points identified in this week's update. One of them is the lands conundrum, generously noted by Sam_I_Am. This problem was hopefully addressed by replacing a copy of Oran-Rief, the Vastwood with card:Gaea's Cradle. I've also removed one of the land from the sideboard, opting to replace it with a single copy of Naturalize . The deck was missing a crucial component in being unable to defend itself against opposing artifacts and enchantments. With this addition, the sideboard is now more well-rounded. However, this slot is still very much flexible and up for suggestion, as is a number of other cards listed on the sideboard.

I've tried address all of the feedback in a comment further up this week.

In recent developments, there hasn't been a general consensus on whether Riptide Replicator should be replaced on the mainboard by Emrakul, the Aeons Torn , or if the current configuration is a better alternative. As such, I'll delay action regarding this situation until (hopefully) next week.

The Progenitus strategy developed by Sam_I_Am is an extremely interesting endeavor. An unblockable 10/10, this creature is extremely potential as a game finisher. The only minor problem I can see is that it requires the sorcery Natural Order in order to be played successfully. Nevertheless, this creature looks to be extremely effective in my opinion, and is definitely worth considering, and Sam_I_Am's deck is well worth looking at. To keep matters short, I'll address the information that I have gained from viewing this deck in another comment later on next week.

To keep this update short, I'd like to conclude by offering a quick explanation for my choice of Aluren last week.

In addition to being able to play all of the deck's creatures without paying their mana costs, Aluren is most in its ability to employ them as if they had 'Flash'. This grants an opportunity for the player to acquire a 'Pseudo-Haste' attribute for his/her creatures.

Although the advantages granted by cards such as Glimpse of Nature would not apply to the capability granted by Aluren , creatures such as Priest of Titania and Rhys the Redeemed will be able to utilize their activated abilities more immediately if they are played on the End Phase of the opponent's last turn. In addition to being able to play the card for free, the player will then be granted the advantage of being able to utilize his/her creature's mana/creature acceleration abilities to accomplish a certain task without having to wait another turn. Just something to think about!

I understand today's update was a little shorter than the last. I'll continue trying everything I can to make this deck as best as it can be.

Thanks to everyone in the meantime for your awesome feedback!

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One more thing, I don't know if anyone has yet realized this, but I try to update the description every time that I make an update to the decklist. If (and only if!) you have the time, I would very much appreciate it if you could check that out as well!

I will update this deck periodically (weekly or biweekly) until I feel that it has reached its maximum potential. As I am still relatively new to Magic the Gathering, I would very much appreciate any further suggestions and/or constructive criticism that you may have to offer.

First off, That's not how flash works. If you flash in your Priest of Titania , it still has to wait a turn. before it's cured of summoning sickness. The general rule, is that if the creature was in your control from the beginning of your turn, then it doesn't have summoning sickness.

Also, Unless you're drawing cards during your opponent's turn, if you can play cards at the end of your opponent's turn, then you could have played them during your previous turn.

Keep in mind that flash is indeed a nice ability to have, It means that you can drop in a lord after your opponent declared blockers, or you can drop somebody to block for you. You can block with an elf, and then drop a Wirewood Symbiote to save that elf. If it's a Elvish Visionary , then yes, you can draw cards on your opponent's turn and any number of other tricks, but you give your opponent that ability too.

Yes, Progenitus requiring Natural Order to be played is a problem, but it is a very small one. It's only a problem if Progenitus is in your hand A lot of Natural Order decks have Brainstorm to put him back in the deck, Fauna Shaman will also succeed in doing this (note progenitus's second ability)

Remember, you only need 1 Progenitus in your deck to make this work. Think of every Natural Order as a Progenitus with a cost of 4 mana and sacrifice a creature. (you might notice that I don't run this combo in my deck, It's just an idea, a tried and tested idea that's been proven to work)

Now, as for Naturalize , that will get rid of pesky Moat s, Solitary Confinement s, and others, but for things like Engineered Explosives , Pernicious Deed s, or even Arcbound Ravager s, you'll want Krosan Grip , because They won't be able to use any of the enchantment's abilities in response to the cast, It's also uncounterable.

I am guessing this deck is supposed to be competitive in a tournament setting.

No elf deck besides Glimpse of Nature and 30 one drop elves with 4 Heritage Druid s has ever done well in a tournament. 18 Lands, 4 Heritage Druid , 4 Glimpse of Nature , and 34 one-drop elves are the only way to make a competitive elf deck.

You can either have 5 or 6 really powerful elves on the field turn 6, which is your deck, or you can have 20 to 30 weak elves turn two. Then turn three you lose, before you ever use any of the "strong" cards in this deck.

Just a comment on Helix Pinnacle : no deck wins with it unless they have an infinite mana combo. Your deck does not and thus it makes no sense.

The main problem this deck has is that it has this wild conception that legacy games go past turn three or four, which they don't.

@mozerdozer, I don't know how you normally stack your elf decks, but it's not necessarily that easy to have Heritage Druid AND Nettle Sentinel AND Glimpse of Nature AND another 1-drop, AND 2 land AND some other creature in your opening hand at the same time, AND not glimpse into 2 lands.

I've playtested this deck a few times, and more than half the time It will be able to swing for well more than lethal on turn 4, which is actually relatively fast.

And your claim that no deck except for combo-elves has ever done well in a tournament is just plain wrong, There are elf decks that win with Stoneforge Mystic , Emrakul, the Aeons Torn , Mirror Entity , Natural Order , and Regal Force all the time.

Right now, this deck plays a lot like what Merfolk plays like, and Merfolk do well in legacy too.

@mozerdozer It has also become clear to me that you just recently learned about the combo-elf deck, since your first comment dismissed Heritage Druid as being worse than Joraga Treespeaker and your second comment dismissed Glimpse of Nature , and also your tendency to not understand the difference between what can happen, and what normally does happen.