I actually really like this deck! Seems fun and competitive.

Thanks! It was hard not to explode while making it it. :P

Looks fun, and I can't even give a suggestion. +1

Meh.

I really dig this deck and kudo's to you for typing out all those details! +1

Respect for a well-made description.+1.

I really like this deck, but it appears you would run into some speed issues with all the dual lands. I would think that a lot of the aggro decks in the current meta would be a challenge namely RDW, rakdos, and white weenie. Your thoughts ?

@RAWWWB

Thanks for the comment. I've played this deck against a few aggro decks so far and the results were quite favorable. For the most part most of my creatures are usually a turn ahead in efficiency and wall a lot of early game threats either by their own merit or just with the potential for a trade. Considering that I run 0 non-basics I had my own concerns about the amount of life I would pay into my own Shocklands to keep up tempo, but, honestly, I have not had a problem with that so far.

The three decks I played against at my last FNM were a really lean RDW with all the trimmings, a cool Azorius heroic deck built around Meletis Astronomer s and a pseudo-mirror where they were playing Selesnya aggro starting with Experiment One and curving out at Advent of the Wurm . I played against Selesnya earlier in the evening and it was fairly lopsided even though we played many of the same threats (Loxodon Smiter , Voice of Resurgence et cetera.). I 2-0ed that game because I was playing more effecient removal, and, as such, was able to keep him on the defensive and force him to try and trade with my threats. At that point things like Selesnya Charm , Boros Charm and Brave the Elements really carried the day as he was never able to profitably force something because I simply used something I had as a counterplay to his own trick. It was a good clean game but I feel like this deck has a natural advantage because it is more diverse in its threats.

With the Azorius matchup it was a bit tense as Meletis Astronomer really hammers away with card advantage in an aggro mirror as it keeps card parity decidedly in their favor in terms of raw efficiency. The games went 2-1 due to game one packing a Gods Willing -ed Battlewise Hoplite with several Ethereal Armor s on it to seal the game. Games two and three went to me as despite both games him hitting three Gods Willing I had lots of answers between Chained to the Rocks , Banisher Priest and Selesnya Charm in addition to just mass blocking after a Brave the Elements .

As for the RDW matchup I was worried about how it started out (it went 2-1 my favor). Game one I lost as I kept a 2 lander (a pair of scry lands) and didn't see a third land until something like turn 8 or 9. In game two I boarded in Fiendslayer Paladin and Ready / Willing as my primary counters to his strategy. Game two was mine with a pair of Boros Reckoner s holding the fort until I drew into a Fiendslayer Paladin with an Eidolon of Countless Battles on it (I had one left in the main) and game three was close because he got to go first (he took me to 4) but following combat I swung for 11 and left two blockers up and cast Ready / Willing (Willing) thus sealing the game in my favor.

I've yet to play against Rakdos aggro, Boros aggro and mono-white weenie but I have played the last two archetypes consistently for nearly the entire time I've played Magic (this Standard included as well) and apart from opposing Brave the Elements or a long game Mizzium Mortars (which I can answer at least) I am confident that this deck can perform under pressure considering how naturally threatening each creature can be in relation to their counterparts in other decks. It wouldn't be a cake-walk for sure but nearly everything in this deck is both removal resistant and efficient enough to force 2 for 1s just to trade with them in many circumstances.

Anyway, thanks again for the comment!

@trf6, @sirkeifer, @Jdawn24, @ProfessorDucky

Thanks a bundle for the +1 and comments, very much appreciated.

Without any basic lands you lack the ability to be explosive without taking a good chunk of life.

Yeah, I'm actually on board with that. I'm not sure Ready / Willing is enough of a reason to splash black...

@ThatRedGuy, @ProfessorDucky

If I were not playing those black sources I would end up with a total of 4 basic lands. 1 Mountain and 3 Plains (replacing Blood Crypt and 3 Godless Shrine s). While it is true that I don't have many lands that don't hurt me I do not think that replacing 4 of them is going to truly make that much of a difference. Beyond that I have taken the mentality that life in MTG is a resource. In some decks it definitely would be beyond too much with how much you could end up taking to cast spells but here all the creatures hit hard and early on top of being very challenging to get through for other aggressive decks. As it stands I play Ready / Willing because it has Ready as a card. I play 4 extra shocklands because Ready has Willing attached to it.

For a deck like this one I've usually had an issue with the fact that there is little to no flexibility. If you don't have the draws turn out quick enough it is frequently extremely challenging to make an impact late game. To be able to take a card like Ready / Willing and be able to use it proactively if I'm ahead, reactively if I'm behind and to also be able to fuse it in the long game to try and keep myself in it I feel more than fully justifies its inclusion and the black sources I keep around with it. Even following that I feel it has proven its worth in the games I've boarded it in, I do appreciate the concerns and critiques but this is something that I am presently loathe to change and I feel has proven its place in my own playing and playtesting.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the comments, I really do appreciate them.

Obviously, if it works for you, it's worth it. I see the value of Ready / Willing as a card, however my thought was that you may be taking 2-4 damage in some games with no upside. I understand that life is a resource, but I still don't think it should be wasted, and running these additional shocklands could result in a waste. The usefulness of Ready / Willing also depends on your meta. If you are running into a lot of devotion decks, those few points might work against you, but in a meta dominated by control and blitz aggro decks, it could be well worth the risk. Since I haven't playtested the deck, I can't tell you how to make your mana base. You've clearly put a lot of effort into this deck, and it's paid off.

@ProfessorDucky

I can wholly understand the concerns with it potentially being wasted life or even just 'unwisely spent' life. They definitely make sense and if I didn't feel that Ready / Willing had multi-matchup potential versatility I would be in agreement with you and Red about it being unwise. Anyway, yeah, I'm kinda flogging a dead horse at this point as I tend to ramble when I'm defending a point. haha Also, I appreciate the comment about the effort involved, it is always nice when that sort of thing is recognized.

P.S. -- Indeed they are. I think I'm gonna spend some of this evening adding cards to it en masse (life has been really getting in the way of that recently) so if you wanted certain things added to it I would be only too happy to help.

Oh, actually I was looking for the promo printings of Lingering Souls and Remand for my deck The Fæther, and having some trouble getting those uploaded myself.

Thanks a lot for doing that :D. Actually, Celestial Colonnade and Grisly Salvage would be nice, too.

@ProfessorDucky

Alright, I can do this, no problem. There may be some delay (potentially) in them actually appearing as they have to be approved first but I should have them in the queue at least before 9am PST.

Thanks!

+1 for the fantastic formatting... Wow... :D

Ummm You board out Dryad Militant in every match. Might be time to look for a replacement.

Experiment One might be a good replacement for Dryad Militant , since every other creature in the deck evolves it. It can quickly become a 4/4, and will usually be at least a 2/2 the first time it swings.

Also. What is the Blood Crypt for? Black mana doesn't seem to be needed anywhere, so why not just run a basic Mountain ?

I just saw Ready / Willing in the SB, nevermind.

If not Experiment One , since it looks like your mana base is more white than anything else... how about two copies of Precinct Captain ? That guy can become a beast if it isn't dealt with.

Noice deck! Question though, how do you deal with those pesky pro-white threats Stormbreath Dragon ,and Blood Baron of Vizkopa ? I recommend sideboarding 2-3 copies of Mizzium Mortars or Celestial Flare . Keep up the blitz though dude! +1

Why are you main boarding godless shrine... and 1 of blood crypt... You would be better off using basic lands... and then siding the shrine and crypt in if you want to use your only card that requires the swamp...ready/willing. Other than that seems solid.

KillTheIslandUser, read up in the comments, we already discussed this.