NOTE: I won't be running Thoughtseize in the mainboard. It'll stay in the sideboard because its just not what I need in most match ups in standard. Its also not what the deck intends to do, it detracts from the focus of our game plan.
This deck started as a Naya midrange (pre Innistrad rotation) build that was set to draw cards off of Garruk, Caller of Beasts, ramp to a small degree, Win by overwhelming with efficent/two for one style creatures like Huntmaster of the Fells
, Thragtusk, and Voice of Resurgence with Archangel of Thune and Scavenging Ooze to anthem and overwhelm the board. With a chunk of those cards now gone, but some key elements still in rotation, I've decided to give it another go and trade in the red (burn and reach) for black (removal and disruption). Keeping that in mind, I do want to try and keep it somewhat centered around the Archangel with good stand alone cards that play well without her. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. (Also trying to figure out much more catchy name)
Feel/Goal of the deck: We're trying to lay down efficient creatures that are either hard to remove, or just don't REALLY stay dead if given the chance (We're looking at you Anger of the Gods). While we're doing this, we're playing the tempo game with the aggro decks by creating some pretty unfavorable trades and slamming a piece of spot removal or two. Hopefully if we've played smart, we've now reached our peak, the mid and late game. This is the time we attempt to resolve our Garruk, Caller of Beasts. He wins games in this deck. Against aggro we just draw far too much fuel, and against Control he says wraths just don't cut it anymore and you're not allowed to counter my Kalonian Hydra sir.
Card Choices:
Archangel of Thune: She is a pretty key player in this deck. she creates an anthem to our board state, staves off the aggro decks as we net some life gain, and she has evasion. Not bad.
Kalonian Hydra: He's not worthy of a 4 of with a deck that runs just so many 5 drops, but a 5 cost trample body that can plausibly swing for upward of 8 the turn after he comes down AND he doubles all my +1/+1 counters earned from Thune makes him another relevant card.
Blood Baron of Vizkopa this guy fits one of them themes of the deck as far as its creatures want to be. He's a relevant body, he's pretty hard to remove, and he interacts nicely with Thune. Again, not truly worthy of a 4 of since there is already so many 5 drops but he is very relevant.
Xathrid Necromancer: Now I know what you're thinking... "I don't see any other humans. So why this guy?" Well it's pretty simple really. He dies twice. To be truly done with him you have to trade, and then trade again. When that Supreme Verdict lands he walks again and thats very relevant.
Voice of Resurgence: He is... just... He's voice. Reasons.
Scavenging Ooze: He's a 2/2 for two that just gets bigger, better, and scarier as the game goes on. Every removal spell makes this punk bigger and so does every trade and chump block. The life gain becomes relevant in stabilizing AND in setting up my counter attack with thune and friends.
Sylvan Caryatid: This little guy just serves so many functions in this deck. He blocks, dodges almost all the removal, and most importantly: he fixes my colors and ramps me out the bigger and scarier things.
Hero's Downfall: There's a pretty big lack of removal in the format right now, but this thing will cut most relevant creature's down to size. It doesn't have the restriction of Doom Blade and the upside of being able to smack Elspeth, Sun's Champion about the head say "No. Bad. Stahp."
Abrupt Decay: Good early removal against aggro, and it does pretty well at moving those Detention Spheres out of my way...
Garruk, Caller of Beasts: Hail to the chief, the caller of continuous beats! This guy is what makes the deck good. and I mean REALLY good. He is what makes your army more enduring than other creature decks against Esper. He is what makes it so you don't just fizzle out like your opponent playing mono red. Despite the fact that this is an "Archangel Aggro" deck, the Caller of Beats is the real MVP here.
