This deck hits very fast and hard. You'll notice there is no counter removal in this deck at all and there is a very good reason for that. It's a quote from a profesional player saying "control is hard, you gotta have the right answer to the right threat, at the right time. Aggro is easy because there is no such thing as a bad threat". I Ran all the fun stuff, like Ranger's Guile,
Mortal's Resolve
, and even did Temur for a short time for
Temur Charm
and Stubborn Denial. here is a link to my Temur deck that is almost this deck temur monsters / burn. sure, if you manage to have the creature you want on the field, and that card in hand when its going to die, it works. here is my take on counter removal though, it boils down to 4 scenarios:
i have counter removal in hand, and a creature. thats good.
i have counter removal, but none in hand, so i loose my creature, then draw it later when its useless. thats the worst.
i have no counter removal, they destroy my creature, so i replace him. thats ok
i have no counter removal, they dont destroy my creatures, and i get to flood the board with big guys, thats the best.
Option 4 is the best out of all of them, and its playtested eactly that way. option 3 is barely worse than option 1, and option 2 is the thing i hated most aobut trying to keep things alive. So i said screw it, been rampaging through FNM's since i did that. only lost to a few gimicky things i wasnt prepared for in game 1. I did make a Temur counterpart to this deck i've been using the past few weeks and its done well. Temur Monsters / Burn (Top 3, 2 in a row)
Don't forget to +1 if you like it. Helps others see it to help them.
card explanations:
Sylvan Caryatid, and Courser of Kruphix are all pretty staple in any green mid ranged deck. no need to explain those.
Elvish Mystic: after FRF the meta is gonna shift back to more speed orriented feel. this guy really bolsters that feel. can land a T3 Stormbreath Dragon or Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker for a lot of evasive pressure.
Polukranos, World Eater: this guy almost needs no explanation either. 5/5 for 4 with possible board clear later. i only run 3 due to him being legendary, and i hate having 1 out and 1 in hand. i'm considering 3 though due to his high removal rate.
Stormbreath Dragon: shits on abzan, honestly that alone is almost enough. also does well vs jeskai and mardu since they all 3 utilize
Banishing Light
. the monsterous is easy to use with ramp. great card.
Genesis Hydra: 4 is possible, but drawing them early can lead to a crapy start, so i run 3 with 1 in the side for games i'm allowed to ramp. casting him for 7 mana is usually easy by turn 5, and that plays anything in the deck.
Fanatic of Xenagos
: for 3 mana, the only thing that competes with him is Savage Knuckleblade. since i dont run blue, which i could easily with just 2 islands, fanatic is a much more reliable pick. wether they decide to haste him or not, he can apply masive pressure if played early.
Bow of Nylea
: the utility this offers is great. can combine with Lightning Strike to hit a flier for 5 damage, can beef a creature each turn, gain you life every turn (which is normally its use), or can put valuable cards back into your deck, with Wooded Foothills and Genesis Hydra the deck gets shuffled often mixing them in for possible draws.
Xenagos, the Reveler: mana ramp, token spawn and a nasty ultimate ability that can turn a longer game if he hits it. just compliments the deck in many ways.
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker: a psuedo Stormbreath Dragon with indestructible. can use his -3 to snipe a pesky creature, and when you get low on cards in a longer game, pop his ultimate to gain a massive card advantage. i usually ult him when i have the 2nd in hand, only to play another and get that sigh from your opponent.
Lightning Strike: a great form of early removal, or a great finisher later.
Crater's Claws: a great mid/late removal, or a rediculous finisher. can easily ramp this up to the double digits of damage. won many games due to this card.
Stoke the Flames
: Lightning Strike on steroids or an instant speed Crater's Claws. i toyed with putting these in for a while and they have worked well since. Tokens from Xenagos, the Reveler make great mana dorks for this too. Seems like an odd fit but can be a good finisher. by the time turn 4-5 hits i feel lightning strike lost its luster, this helps pick up those pieces.
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx: can really catapult you into a clean finish, or pull you ahead in a close matchup. due to Courser of Kruphix and other ramp, even drawing it early can bring loads of mana. later can be used for massive Polukranos, World Eater monsterous counts, Genesis Hydras, or Crater's Claws. due to this, i've been able to play Stormbreath Dragon and monsterous him in the same turn for massive damage.
Destructive Revelry: artifacts or enchantments, AND 2 damage for only 2 mana. vs a lot of decks, thats a hell of a bargain.
Feed the Clan: this can give you those oh so precious turns in longer games vs burn decks, or vs an aggro deck can net you 10 more life for 2 mana early due to
Fanatic of Xenagos
. it can also be used to bait an all in from an opponent who is low, thinking they have the finish, only to have all their blockers tapped and fall short of the win, allowing you to finish them the next turn.
Anger of the Gods
: just craps on fast decks. when facing heavy aggro this is a brick wall.
How to sideboard:
Vs Aggro
bring out:
2 Crater's Claws, 2
Stoke the Flames
, and 2 Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Add in:
1 Lightning Strike, 3
Anger of the Gods
, and 2 Feed the Clan
Vs Mid-Range
This is almost always situation to the deck type:
Vs Abzan/Sultai demand you to add in Destructive Revelry since they use Whip of Erebos so heavily.
Vs Temur swap 2 Lightning Strike out, and add 2
Stoke the Flames
as you'll have faster ramp than them and those will help finish the game faster. Gruul just craps on Temur.
Vs Mardu can vary as well, but mostly you want to add in Lightning Strikes for
Stoke the Flames
again to remove Goblin Rabblemaster before he does anything.
Vs Jeskai take out 2 Elvish Mystic, too much burn for them to live. add in 2 Feed the Clan. they'll want to stoke you and
Jeskai Charm
you for a finish, Feed the Clan is a big middle finger in the air to them.
Vs Control/Burn
The amount of control heavily varies, and you gotta play it game by game. most of the time adding in Lightning Strike,
Stoke the Flames
, and taking out things like Elvish Mystic that fall to mass removal
