Naya Hexproof FTW

Standard* fijord

SCORE: 10 | 20 COMMENTS | 2629 VIEWS | IN 3 FOLDERS


Broliver says... #1

Here are a few suggestions from the ungodly amount of times I've playtested Smash Things for Stupid Damage

tl;dr: Mainboard Selesnya Charms, consider more Chained to the Rocks either mainboard or sideboard, consider swapping out Gift of Orzhova for something else because it's an outclassed enchant and the cost for it is tedious, swap Ajanis for the more practical Boros Charm, and you should probably pick up another Blood copy for your deck.

Selesnya Charm mainboard is going to be your most versatile tool. If I had to recommend any card, it'd be that. As a means of exiling, it's great at taking out gods. You can also summon the token and sac. that for Devour Flesh and Away. You can also do a push with the +2/+2 Trample if you want.

Chained to the Rocks is one of my favourites as a means of removal. It'll hit quite a lot of threats and as an aura, it will benefit Ethereal Armor. I actually mainboard 4 of them. Removal is pretty important.

I don't think Gift of Orzhova is that great of a card to be honest. Other enchants like Unflinching provide stronger buffs in addition to lifelink, and I've found that I've hardly needed flying to be able to push through the damage required for a lethal blowout. Furthermore, double white kind of sucks; that's a fault in Ajani, Caller of the Pride as well. 3 Cost Double White can make things difficult when it comes to trying to load in other spells in a turn as well. From personal experience, Gift is not strong enough as an enchantment to outpace most decks; your other enchantments are stronger and will push you through easily in addition to your instant abilities like Ghor-Clan and Boros Charm.

Speaking of Boros Charm, instead of the 2 copies of Ajani, I opt for 2 more Boros Charms. The 2 cost Boros Charm double strike allows for a Turn 4 Boros Charm + Ghor Clan load where the 3 cost Ajani does not (unless I guess if you have a Caryatid out). I've never found the need to have a mana dork out, so I'm actually curious.

Finally, Blood is pretty fun. I like the card; it's had its moments. It doesn't fit in my 75, but if it's been working for you, I think 2 copies would be better than 1.

March 9, 2014 2:14 p.m.

Broliver says... #2

My apologies, I'm blind. You have 4 Boros Charm . In that case, what would you say about taking out all the Ajanis and the Flesh / Blood for 3 Selesnya Charms? :x

March 9, 2014 2:18 p.m.

fijord says... #3

Thanks Broliver for the suggestions and input! The Sylvan Caryatid is mostly in the deck as an early blocker/ mana fixer. I usually never have to tap them for mana unless Im really getting mana screwed or casting multiple spells.

For the Selesnya Charm I used to play those in my Junk Hexproof deck, but never really used them much, they always seemed like dead draws half the time. I think I exiled an active god once, never had a chance to flash in a knight to save me from Devour Flesh , and the +2/+2 trample helped marginally. Its not a bad card by any means, I just havent seen many times when I wished I had one in hand. Against decks with Devour Flesh I will swap in Skylasher , its more or less the same thing, except that Skylasher is relevant against Mono Blue decks, which I havent actually seen any recently. Overall, I dont see the Selesnya Charm bringing more value than Ajani, Caller of the Pride 's -3 ability to grant me flying and doublestrike. That combo, especially with Ghor-Clan Rampager has won me multiple games.

As for needing double white to cast Ajani, or Gift of Orzhova , I have never ran into issues getting the mana to do so. Speaking of, Im a little hesitant to get rid of Gift of Orzhova , especially since lifelink is a crucial part of this deck. Ive been playing many Green monster decks that will dump out a ton of creatures on the field, and more often than not be able to block my attack, even with a Madcap Skills , then turn around and swing in for crazy damage.

I will agree that more Chained to the Rocks are needed in the deck, I actually only own one at the moment. So as soon as I can trade for more Ill be finding places in my deck for them.

With regards to Blood , its a fun card, I wouldnt mind swapping it out for something, and at the same time I wouldnt mind adding one more. It has won me two games so far, but I think I would have won those games either way with or without it. It could have played a crucial role in my Game 3 match against a Junk deck, while we were battling it out for 1st place. I got mana screwed and was sitting on three lands and a Sylvan Caryatid . If I didnt have to bloodrush an attacking creature, I could have just won on the spot by Ghor-Claning and then using Blood on my 7/7 Witchstalker , but that was sadly not the case. Its a good card, but its not essential.

I might switch out Flesh / Blood and a Gift of Orzhova for two Selesnya Charm just to see how they do? Ill give it a try for next FNM. Once again, thanks for the input!

March 9, 2014 4:09 p.m.

diatryma says... #4

hmm... Alpha Authority ... because with madcap skills you get hexproof unblockable +3/+0 for 4 mana so why not. I know your creatures are hexproof but the unblockable bit is what makes it fun.

March 10, 2014 3:36 p.m.

ninjaq16 says... #5

Maybe Fleecemane Lion ?

April 9, 2014 6:29 p.m.

fijord says... #6

Hey ninjaq16, thanks for commenting. I have considered Fleecemane Lion , problems Ive had with him before however is he just dies. I know thats not a great argument, but in my deck especially, he would be the only thing targetable by my opponents removal. Need a out for that was useless Mizzium Mortars ? Heres a target, same goes for Doom Blade etc. Worse is when theyre smart and wait for you to try and monstrous him, which effectively makes you waste an entire turn. And again, IF he makes it to montrous, he can still die the way everyone else dies on my team, usually from Celestial Flare or Devour Flesh , nothing worse than sacking an indestructible hexproof guy with two auras on him.

April 9, 2014 7:57 p.m.

Schuesseled says... #7

I'm thinking for JOU you need to grab those new hexproof archers in place of the caryatids and Mana Confluence to replace as many scry lands as possible.

April 21, 2014 7:55 p.m.

Asher18 says... #8

April 21, 2014 7:59 p.m.

fijord says... #9

Everyone keeps suggesting Alpha Authority and I just dont understand why? Every creature other than the occasional knight token or the rare Ghor-Clan Rampager will have hexproof, and the "cant be blocked by more than one creature'' really doesnt cut it as deserving a spot in the deck, even when comboing with Madcap Skills . As for replacing the Sylvan Caryatid yes, I definitly plan on adding in the new Bassara Tower Archer . Ive been waiting for some two drop hexproof guys. I am a little sad its not an enchantment creature though. And as for Mana Confluence , Ill probably add it in, not sure if in place of the temples though, I am kinda a fan of the scry mechanic, but we'll see! Thanks for commenting!

April 21, 2014 9:37 p.m.

Dude, Bassara Tower Archer is the best thing to happen to green in JOU. I run a SUPER similar deck but, I have more mana fixing in my creatures and I almost always top 4 at my fnm. I feel Ajani, Caller of the Pride slows you down and the lack of Chained to the Rocks hurts your swinging potential. Considering you have four Ethereal Armor and four Madcap Skills although the skills to pay the bills make your scout almost unblockable she isn't quite totally unblockable. But, chaining a polycrackers Polukranos, World Eater to swing in for the win past their double d Desecration Demon is the most delightful feeling ever. Check out my deck, Naya Aggro 3.0

April 30, 2014 9:51 p.m.

fijord says... #11

Thanks man, you might be right about not having enough Chained to the Rocks , but Ajani, Caller of the Pride if anything wins me games. His flying doublestrike is a real kicker to your opponents face. I used to sun Sylvan Caryatid as my two drop, but now with the amazing Bassara Tower Archer thats no longer necessary. Sad part is I have used my Caryatids on more than one occasion to fix mana for me, so I hope this doesnt hurt me too much in the long run. Really excited to test this out, need to work on the SB however, need something to remove Godsend if someone feels janky and decides to play it.

May 1, 2014 2:21 a.m.

NerdPounder says... #12

I like this build! All of your numbers look solid, it's obvious you've put a lot of thought into it. I love the Ajani's in here, that card is sweet in either an aggro or hexproof deck. One card for the sideboard you might not have thought about it Hammer of Purphoros . I've watched a lot of the Naya Hexproof decks on camera, and I keep thinking "if they had the Hammer out right now, this would be unwinnable for the other guy". Not only does it give your dudes haste, but it feeds you a steady supply of guys to feed to Devour Flesh and Desecration Demon . If your opponent taps out for a removal spell, and you untap and attack for 4 with a Ghor-Clan Rampager that you just summoned, they're probably going to lose if we're being honest. You top out at 4 for a spell you rarely hard-cast anyway, so you don't need a lot of lands to operate smoothly, and I think you would rather have 3/3s with haste. You could probably take out the Skylasher for it, seeing as 2/2s that die to Supreme Verdict, or a burn spell from UWR or a killspell from Esper aren't how you beat rev decks, and your Mono-Blue matchup should be fine anyway if you draw Unflinching Courage, and the Archer provides you with reach for their fliers, especially when buffed up.

May 15, 2014 7:51 p.m.

fijord says... #13

Thats not a bad suggestion. Though I must say, typically I dont need or even want hexproof, since most of my creatures are pretty meh straight out of my hand. But I could definitely see this coming in against control matchups, because haste is valued there, as well as being able to sac unneeded lands to make dudes. Skylasher is a tough cut, since I also like him against mono black/orzhov, since he allows me an additional creature to flash in early to sacrifice to a Devour Flesh , but I think I might just give it a try.

May 17, 2014 2:08 a.m.

NerdPounder says... #14

Yeah I think if you're playing Skylasher as sac fodder, the Hammer provides that with some added utility, and it survives Supreme Verdict. A straight Monoblack list can't interact outside of a Thoughtseize, and you said in your thing that you got killed by Bant Control, well this can kill a Kiora on the spot if they've wiped your board already.

May 17, 2014 3:09 a.m.

NerdPounder says... #15

Can I make another sideboard suggestion? I don't want to be annoying but I have ideas, lol

May 17, 2014 3:21 a.m.

fijord says... #16

by all means, Im always open to suggestions, especially if you can put up a good argument on why its better than something else lol

May 17, 2014 5:54 p.m.

NerdPounder says... #17

I was just going to say that having Deicide , Unravel the Aether , and Glare of Heresy all in the sideboard is really reduntant, since they mostly all target Detention Sphere most of the time anyway. Your fear of Godsend is a little unfounded, most people don't play that card unfortunately. You also just don't want to board in too many reactive cards in general. I would probably replace two of those cards with Banishing Light (because it helps Ethereal Armor!) and answers all of the cards you said you wanted to answer with them while only taking half of the spots in your sideboard.

You said you lost to some aggro strategies, and this suggestion will sound really weird at first, so hear me out. You could play Anger of the Gods as a 1 or 2 of in your sideboard. If you have it in your hand, you don't have to play your creatures until after you cast it, and the thing is they will never see it coming. They saw Naya Hexproof game 1, they'll be trying to flood the field to outrace you before Unflinching Courage takes the game over, if you can turn 3 Anger and get even just a 2-for-1 (or hopefully take out a playset of Burning-Tree Emissary , haha), turn 4 drop a creature with an aura or protection mana up, you'll be in the money. There will also be times where your dudes are just out of Anger range, so you can wipe their board and swing in for a lot of damage. Idk, I would probably want to play it if I knew I had a really aggro-heavy meta, with your lifelink enchantments you can outpace them even if you have to take a turn or two off scrying to get max value out of your card.

Other than that, I think Scavenging Ooze is really good in some matchups, even though he is not hexproof, and Aegis of the Gods shuts off Devour Flesh, so those could be placed in some of those spots if you refuse to play Anger of the Gods in a creature deck, haha.

May 17, 2014 11:28 p.m.

fijord says... #18

My deal with Deicide /Unravel the Aether /Glare of Heresy is actually multifaceted. Unravel the Aether is standing in until I get another Deicide , but the idea is all four of them will hit Detention Sphere and any other white enchantment for that matter (gods included), the Glare of Heresy really isnt in only for Godsend , but for Elspeth, Sun's Champion as well, and any other cards I might face with mono white. Its not usually a tough match for me, but having the added removal really helps. As for using Anger of the Gods sideboarded in against aggro, I would rather just side in something like gift of orzhova to give me additional life gain rather than put my precious few creatures at risk. Aegis of the Gods is tempting, but it just dies to all the unused removal cards that my opponent has in their hand. Many mono black players still keep in Hero's Downfall after sideboard to deal with planeswalkers. Scavenging Ooze is also pretty neat, and in general a great card, if I started to see more graveyard strategies, then I would have no issues with adding him in, he grows nicely, gains me life, and kills my opponents graveyard.

May 18, 2014 3:45 a.m.

Markbass says... #19

Best post JOU version of this I've seen. If I could afford all the shock lands Id be playing this instead of GW Hexproof

May 22, 2014 10:27 a.m.

fijord says... #20

Thanks! This is a blast to play, and sad to say, it really does need the shock lands. I normally never buy cards, opting instead to trade for them, but since I wanted to get into modern as well, I decided to invest in them. Its totally worth it if you can afford them.

May 22, 2014 8:07 p.m.

Please login to comment