Budget B/W aggressive deck with Exalted and Enchantment synergies going on.
Exalted is nice and all, but the mechanic makes for a very predictable and easily countered deck. And most of the creatures are terrible on the defense. The aim for this deck is to add a little more flexibility and versatility.
I'm a casual player and not willing to part with a lot of money, so ridiculously pricey cards like Silverblade Paladin, Sublime Archangel, Isolated Chapel, Godless Shrine etc. are out.
So far, I've been very inspired by joniho's deck BW Budget Exalted (help!).
The maybeboard consists of past and present contenders. Keeping them there for reference.
Suggestions are very welcome.
Spells
*
Creatures
Typhoid Rats
: Offers some great utility. A scary blocker - and with Ethereal Armor (first strike + deathtouch + any amount exalted bonus) a very lethal attacker/blocker.
Duty-Bound Dead
: Light blocking and cheap exalted trigger.
Aven Squire
: Exalted trigger and offers some early evasion, but overall a mediocre card.
Knight of Glory
,
Knight of Infamy
: Exalted triggers and would-be attackers.
Fencing Ace
: A glass cannon, but double strike has great synergy with exalted (twice the bonus). Need to be somewhat careful with him and be sure he can survive long enough to connect with opponent's life total.
Vampire Nighthawk : The real all-star and workhorse of the deck. As with
Typhoid Rats
, adding Ethereal Armor makes it almost unstoppable - and a prime removal target :)
Desecration Demon : Feed the demon or feel its wrath!
Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis
is the obvious choice for a curve topper, but at 6 mana. Desecration Demon is 4 mana, hits as hard, offers similar kind of board control. It is itself not as controllable, but way more fun. Do not expect to drop him often.
*
Enchantments
Ethereal Armor : First strike and a guaranteed +1/+1 with room to grow makes this a very good one drop. First strike lets the deathtouchers dominate the battlefield. The +x/+x provides a little more resilience to the otherwise mostly fragile creatures early game, but can get beefy as Oblivion Ring and
Angelic Benediction
starts to roll out.
Oblivion Ring : Spot removal and powers Ethereal Armor.
Angelic Benediction
: Expensive mana-wise. The board control ability can be handy, but situational. Nevertheless it provides a exalted trigger that's difficult to remove and powers Ethereal Armor.
*
Other spells
Cloudshift
: Mainly to assure Desecration Demon a second wind.
Essence Harvest: Works great in conjunction with exalted, doubling the damage following an attack of a boosted creature.
Faith's Shield
: Lots of utility here - protects from combat damage, makes attackers unblockable, removes harmful auras, counters abilities.
Questions
Not sure about the creature composition. I might need some with less fragile back-ends?
Could add some Pacifism to further power Ethereal Armor.
Having at least a couple of enchantments down is vital for Ethereal Armor. I'm considering adding a few
Orzhov Charm
to be able to save them if need be. But might not be worth it.
Suggestions are welcome!
