JustJoshingU says... #2
SaberTech do you know what else I can take out for the suggestions you gave me?
December 21, 2014 10:04 p.m.
Well, the number of cards I thought you should take out should match up to the number of cards I suggested that you could add, but the next few cards I would be inclined to take out of the deck would be: Magmatic Force (although its ability is good for keeping small utility generals under control), Mossbridge Troll (offers not utility to the deck but it does have a good chance to survive a wrath spell), and Mayael's Aria (I have played a number of games against Mayael decks but I can't say I've ever seen this cards really do much during a game).
I'm not sure what to take out after that. The non-creature spells left in the deck are almost all pretty standard support spells (although I do find Defense of the Heart to be unreliable) and your creature selection pretty much comes down to personal preference.
I could link you to my own Mayael deck if you are interested to see the route I took, but the list is a little outdated and your deck actually gave me a few ideas that I would like to try.
December 21, 2014 10:55 p.m.
JustJoshingU says... #4
SaberTech I would like to say that I appreciate all of your suggestions! So far they are making the deck look a lot better. I do see that I should take out Magmatic Force, Mossbridge Troll, and Defense of the Heart. Anything else you could suggest that would be suitable replacements?
December 21, 2014 11:01 p.m.
JustJoshingU says... #5
SaberTech I am interested in seeing what route you took.
December 21, 2014 11:04 p.m.
I'm not sure what your price range is, but I would be inclined to suggest Scroll Rack to help manipulate your hand and the cards on top of your library, Sylvan Library for more library manipulation and card draw, and Worldly Tutor.
I also like using Survival of the Fittest, Genesis, and Sneak Attack in my deck but my version has more graveyard interaction than your does so I'm not sure how well those would work out for you.
December 21, 2014 11:08 p.m.
Oops, you already put in Sylvan Library, my bad. Siege Behemoth has worked out well for me as another way to help punch damage through. Or you could look at Soul of the Harvest to help with card draw.
December 21, 2014 11:21 p.m.
JustJoshingU says... #10
SaberTech Thanks man! I do want to add Soul of the Harvest and Scroll Rack but am not sure what to take out.
December 21, 2014 11:28 p.m.
Yeah, without some playtesting it's getting hard to tell what to cut. When I hit this point with my own decks I start looking at whether I have multiple cards that do similar things and removing the least efficient ones. You run both Spearbreaker Behemoth and Vagrant Plowbeasts but the Spearbreaker is definitely the better of the two so you could remove the Plowbeasts for Soul of the Harvest.
For Scroll Rack you could maybe remove either Green Sun's Zenith or Natural Order. The Zenith is useful early in the game to help you grab mana dorks but it doesn't help you cheat out your larger green creatures for cheap. Natural order can cheat out big guys, but requires you to sack another creature to do it, which can be costly since you don't have that many cheap creatures to begin with so it may require you to sac a large creature. The choice is up to you as to which one you think matches your play style better. The reason why I think Scroll Rack should replace one of these tutors is because your deck benefits more from being able to repeatedly put creatures that get into your hand back onto the top of the library than it does from being able to tutor up and put one creature onto the battlefield.
December 21, 2014 11:46 p.m.
JustJoshingU says... #12
SaberTech I also looked at Verdant Force more and thought that Avenger of Zendikar was better for that slot. Lastly, I really want to make room for Kessig Wolf Run. That would be a great addition.
December 22, 2014 12:59 a.m.
The Avenger of Zendikar sounds like a good switch. The deck is looking pretty good. The only issue I can see is that because of the creatures the mana curve for the deck is really top heavy. The deck is reliant on having your general out and does not have a lot of cards to help protect her. When you playtest it you may find that you will need to drop some of the creatures for more mana ramp.
December 22, 2014 2:14 a.m.
JustJoshingU says... #14
SaberTech I just play tested the deck and saw that my creature spells, other spells, and lands were pretty consistent. Maybe that was just a lucky draw. I don't really know, but what would you recommend for more mana ramp? I had Sylvan Caryatid pop into my head. How does that one sound?
December 22, 2014 2:53 a.m.
Actually, when building Commander decks with green in them I prefer spells that take lands from your library and put them into play because they not only ramp but they also thin your deck, which is really beneficial for Mayael. You already have some good ramp spells in your deck so the next one I would look at if you wanted include is Nature's Lore since it can help you grab dual lands like Savannah. Sakura-Tribe Elder is another good option. And if you want more artifact mana I would recommend Thran Dynamo, which is a little expensive at 4 mana but if you can get it to stick until your next turn that 3 extra colorless mana is huge when you are trying to cast your larger creatures.
There are also enchantments like Exploration and Burgeoning which are more situational but can also lead to some explosive early turns. Oracle of Mul Daya is effective for helping you filter through the top cards of your deck as long as you aren't afraid of letting opponents know what you will be getting next. Using Scroll Rack and Sylvan Library to manipulate the top of your library in conjunction with Oracle of Mul Daya is often quite effective.
December 22, 2014 3:37 a.m.
JustJoshingU says... #16
SaberTech on behalf of your suggestions I have found room for Oracle of Mul Daya, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Burgeoning, and I personally added Crucible of Worlds, unless I should trade that out for Thran Dynamo. I also need to find a way to include Nature's Lore.
December 22, 2014 3:48 a.m.
I'm curious about why you chose to include Hellkite Tyrant in you deck. I think that it's a neat idea and I should look to see if it has a place in my own deck as a way of stealing my opponents' mana rocks before I blow up all the lands on the board. What gave you the idea to include it?
December 22, 2014 11:15 p.m.
JustJoshingU says... #18
SaberTech I'm glad that you brought this up. I drew into my Hellkite Tyrant very early in game around turn 3. I had my general out and used the ability. I got a lucky draw which gave me a bunch of mana rampers. After my Tyrant hit the board, I took control of my opponent's Chromatic Lantern, anothers turn 1 Sol Ring, and stole my other opponent's Expedition Map. That's not only why I added him. I added him because he was a lot cheaper to cast than the other dragon I had in the deck. His ability is always after he deals combat damage, which is better than one use of an ETB effect.
December 22, 2014 11:32 p.m.
I wouldn't dismiss ETB effects. Creatures are fragile so when you cast a creature with an ETB effect you know that you at least get something for your mana, even if your creature doesn't survive to the next combat step. Mayael's ability can help cut down on the amount of time a creature is sitting on the board before it can attack though, so she does make creatures with combat damage triggers a little easier to use.
Regardless though, Hellkite Tyrant's ability to steal an opponent's mana artifacts does help you cast your own expensive creatures so it is an interesting choice for your deck and it is a useful card to combat artifact decks.
December 23, 2014 12:26 a.m.
JustJoshingU says... #20
SaberTech I'm not trying to dismiss the ETB abilities, it's just the other dragon I had in here wasn't meeting my required taste. Hellkite just does it for me. He gets the job done. Especially can provide me protection for my Commander (if my opponents control any artifacts like Lightning Greaves on the field before I get mine out).
December 23, 2014 12:59 a.m.
Sorry, I didn't mean for that comment to come across as patronizing. I intended it to just be light conversation but I can see how that short first sentence threw off my intended tone and made it come across as harsher than I meant it to. That was just a conflict of the whole "trying to keep my comments short" vs "taking the space to properly express my tone" dilemma that comes with internet comments. I wasn't trying to dismiss your card decision, I like it, I was just speaking out in defence of ETB effects since I am a combo player and enjoy making use of them.
December 23, 2014 1:10 a.m.
JustJoshingU says... #22
SaberTech ah man, no problem at all. I knew what you were talking about the whole time. It never came off to me as patronizing. I have MASS respect for combo players and combo strategies because I run some in this other deck that I have. It's more of a casual play style than what else I have.Wandering Into Something Good
December 23, 2014 1:21 a.m.
JustJoshingU says... #25
inkslingerxx miss Aurelia, the Warleader has been in the main deck ever since the beginning. Thanks for the other suggestions. See anything that shouldn't be here?
SaberTech says... #1
I think that there are a few creatures in your deck that just seem less useful than your other ones, although I've only recently tried running a Mayael deck so consider my perspective limited.
Although Elvish Piper's ability is useful for this deck I find that usually the summoning sickness makes it too slow and it tends to get killed off before it can do anything. Hamletback Goliath really suffers from not having trample and usually just gets chump blocked until someone can kill it. Mycoid Shepherd is a decent body for its cost but the life you get from its ability tends to be of minimal value, so there is probably a creature with a more useful ability that you could put in that spot. As game changing as Novablast Wurm can be, without haste it tends to get killed off and it is rather counter productive to your deck's theme of dropping a bunch of big creatures to stomp your opponents out. Razia, Boros Archangel is fragile for its cost but I can see how it might be useful since it has haste. Rith, the Awakener's ability takes up mana that is usually better spent on Mayael's ability and casting your support cards. And I've always considered Titanic Ultimatum to be a "win more" card in a Mayael deck but that is just speculation on my part.
There are a few cards that I could recommend for your deck. Bloom Tender has worked well in my Mayael deck. Craterhoof Behemoth could replace Titanic Ultimatum. Iroas, God of Victory and Vigor help protect your big guys from deathtouch creatures. Sigarda, Host of Herons helps protect against Grave Pact and other sacrifice shenanigans. Spellbreaker Behemoth could replace Mycoid Shepherd and makes it easier to hard cast creatures past counterspells. Quicksilver Amulet could replace Elvish Piper (I know that it takes more mana to use but it survives wrath effects and can be used even if you are having mana color troubles).
December 21, 2014 9:42 p.m.