Selesnya Defense

Standard AndyReveler

SCORE: 39 | 57 COMMENTS | 7094 VIEWS | IN 17 FOLDERS


Thaze112 says... #1

You certainly have a good core of cards but I would suggest finding something better than Call of the Conclave . It would seem that there is A LOT more powerful options for two currently. Also Soldier of the Pantheon is one of the best one drops. I would consider finding room for that somehow.

December 21, 2013 2:20 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #2

Thanks man, idk about that tho, you cant go wrong with a 3/3 for 2, at the very least it almost always evolves Experiment One . The only other two drops id like in here (besides voice of course) would be Scavenging Ooze or Imposing Sovereign . I definitely agree with Soldier of the Pantheon tho, just dont know what id take out. I for sure plan to at least side board a set for blood baron.

December 25, 2013 12:10 a.m.

I think you should go down to 22 land considering you highest drop is only 4CMC and thats your 4x Advent of the Wurm . If you drop the 2 lands you can add another Boon Satyr and another Unflinching Courage . :)

January 18, 2014 8:53 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #4

will try that out, thank jew

January 19, 2014 4:12 a.m.

almerican says... #5

Very clean, very simple, very effective, and genius because I believe this is the first time I've seen it +1 from me

Have you gotten to test it against Mono-U? I wonder if Skylasher may be more effective just because with 22 land I wouldn't expect a huge Hydra

January 21, 2014 11:23 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #6

Thank you almerican I strived to keep this deck simple and straight to the point without being mostly 1 and 2 drops.

Mono blue beats me the same as anyone else, tokens...but, its usually 50/50 with me against them, if they dont get what they need early and i do then theyre on the defense, but if they manage to survive my early attacks and get their devotion decently early, then I'm out raced. If they don't win that way then they just hold off until they can Cyclonic Rift everything and then its no contest, but its usually 50/50 like i said. I mostly see Skylasher being used in just blocking the two fliers Cloudfin Raptor and Nightveil Specter , i usually dont side in the hydra against mono blue and save it for U/W or Esper, in both cases i dont see Skylasher being as useful, but ill definitely consider it as a Skylasher with Unflinching Courage sounds like it could potentially save me

January 22, 2014 2:07 a.m.

Nigrescence says... #7

I like this just because you run Soul Tithe for removal. You are awesome.

January 25, 2014 3:08 a.m.

Angel84 says... #8

You need witchstalker, with unflinching courage rocks

January 25, 2014 3:54 a.m.

jedijoe99 says... #9

I know decks can be very expensive but I don't think budget should be $112

January 25, 2014 12:21 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #10

While I am a huge fan of Witchstalker Angel84, I just feel Loxodon Smiter s strength and toughness just make more of a difference that I chose the elephant over the wolf. Sure the elephant can die to Doom Blade , but it can block things wolfy can't, and not only that, but its uncounterability is just as relevant as wolfys hexproof against Esper as I found out at last nights FNM (the wolf can be sacrificed and be killed a la Anger of the Gods tho). I'm currently experimenting with Skylasher right now in place of my usual Mistcutter Hydra , if i feel its just not working out, i will happily sideboard some wollfys as more Esper trouble is always appreciated.

January 25, 2014 1:51 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #11

It's a budget Selesnya deck, and not only that, but a highly competitive budget Selesnya deck jedijoe99, but the thing that makes it really budget friendly is that, drumroll please...it doesn't run a set of Voice of Resurgence ! A set of that card alone makes up the cost of this entire deck! So I am essentially running a Selesnya deck that cost me half of what it should, but still manages to be very competitive. Sure it doesn't cost between $20-$50 like a "true" budget, but its not easy coming up with a competitive budget deck that isn't red aggro or white weenies. Really tho, the most expensive card in this deck is the Temple Garden which you can just choose to exclude.

January 25, 2014 2:13 p.m.

Jacksonskier says... #12

Don't know what to say besides that I like it. Would you suggest +2 Guildgates +1 Forest +1 Plain, or +2 Forest +2 Plain, when I remove the shock lands?

January 31, 2014 7:35 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #13

Idk....its kinda hard to say...i guess for sure id run the 4 guild gates Jacksonskier, as much as i dont like them cause they slow the deck down, they are needed since alot of cards have double color cost, so they are necessary for mana fixing

January 31, 2014 8 p.m.

APPLE01DOJ says... #14

February 3, 2014 12:12 a.m.

AndyReveler says... #15

thats a mighty fine suggestion APPLE01DOJ, for sure its a way better late game draw as well as a decent early one. I will test it out, tho atm, i only have 3 and they're in my jund deck.

February 3, 2014 10:33 a.m.

tbabb632 says... #16

Personally, I think this deck needs a little bit of an overall in regards to your mana curve. Your 3 drop spot is very heavy. Here are the changes that I would make :

-4 Unflinching Courage mainboard -2 Spear of Heliod -1 Rootborn Defenses

In favor of :

+4 Soldier of the Pantheon +2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride +1 Plains

As far as the sideboard goes, I would structure it like this :

2 Glare of Heresy - for Detention Sphere , Elspeth, Sun's Champion , etc.4 Banisher Priest - for your Gruul matchups, as well as ways to deal with Master of Waves , Gods, lots of pesky threats...great removal.2 Plummet - Literally your only way in this colors to deal with Stormbreath Dragon , I have died too many times playing G/W and getting stomped by this guy.2 Pithing Needle - No explanation necessary4 Unflinching Courage - for your aggro match ups...as good as this card is, it really does not belong in the main board in my opinion. Lifelink is nice, but not necessary in most match ups. Selesnya Charm does the same thing minus the lifelink, and is instant speed which makes for great combat tricks.

I also recommended Ajani, Caller of the Pride here because it is literally a win condition in of itself. I think if you are going more of a weenie strategy with a green splash, then Spear is better....but I think in a build with Loxodon Smiter , Boon Satyr , and Advent of the Wurm , Ajani is much more valuable.

Anway...those are my thoughts, obviously Brimaz, King of Oreskos , and Voice of Resurgence are amazing cards here but I know you said they are out of your budget. I think even without them this deck has the potential to be a very competitive build. Hope this helps!

-Tim

February 5, 2014 11:32 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #17

Thanks for your suggestions tbabb632, im a bit iffy about more one drops, i usually end up siding out Experiment One for Soul Tithe depending on what im playing, but i wouldnt mind testing Soldier of the Pantheon out as I know its a good card. I honestly like Spear of Heliod better because it puts my creatures out of burn range and because i do occasionally use it as removal, although, there have been times where the bored is stalled and i could use a flying double striker, so ill try out Ajani, Caller of the Pride in place of the spear, and in place of a Boon Satyr and Loxodon Smiter to see if i can get away with playing both. As far as mana goes, I hardly ever get screwed in that i don't have enough, if anything i get more flooded than screwed, so ill probably leave that alone, especially if i decide to run with the pantheon soldiers, in either event, ive got some testing to do!

February 6, 2014 12:05 a.m.

fnmfan1997 says... #18

i recommend ready instead of Rootborn Defenses . you simply don't have enough tokens to make the latter worth it, so why not get the same effect and untap all your creatures? Just a suggestion. Also try Brimaz, King of Oreskos or Eidolon of Countless Battles in your 3 drop slot? Both are very good cards for their cost in such a creature heavy deck instead of Loxodon Smiter who doesn't really do anything special? Also try out Gods Willing to make a creature indestructible or virtually unblockable. I personally adore the card! Other than that great job playing around a lack of voices! Massive props to you so. +1!Also make sure to checkout my deck or leave suggestions of you want over at http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/the-perfect-curve-2/

February 21, 2014 12:26 a.m.

AndyReveler says... #19

Thanks for your comment fnmfan1997, i've been wanting to try out Ready / Willing for a while now, but i honestly almost always have at least a centaur to populate and half the time a wurm (and rarely the odd white knight), against aggro decks it might be better than Rootborn Defenses , but against control decks this is where it shines more and having 2 indestructible wurms really pisses off the opponent who just tried to boredwipe or Doomblade. I do wanna try Brimaz, King of Oreskos in place of Loxodon Smiter , tho loxodon smiter can block him no problem as ive recently done and the other way around just give the person a 1/1 which my deck can handle. i would only run Eidolon of Countless Battles if i was gonna run more creatures and more one and two drops as my deck typically only has 2-3 creatures out at a time normally. Gods Willing i will try out in place of Soul Tithe as having something help me finish the game faster sounds great, Thank you for your tips!

February 21, 2014 2:15 a.m.

GabsLaguardia says... #20

have you ever considered swapping Experiment One for Soldier of the Pantheon ?

And btw, great deck. I've been trying to work on something similar...+1 for you =D

March 4, 2014 12:26 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #21

thanks for the suggestion GabsLaguardia, I've considered it, i just really like the evolve/regenerate ability Experiment One has, it's really good against black and control, tho i honestly just use him as kill spell/bounce spell bait because he grows pretty quickly and that scares my opponent, its rare that they ignore him. I do like that he blocks multicolored creatures without worry and dodges things like Abrupt Decay , but i also don't like it cause then that spell gets used on one of my other creatues, and like i said, experiment mostly there to take a hit for the team. Once ravnica rotates out, ill probably play Soldier of the Pantheon in its place as there's no better one drop right now.

March 4, 2014 2:20 p.m.

Nigrescence says... #22

Just here to say that I like this deck, and glad to see that it is doing well.

March 4, 2014 3:42 p.m.

AndyReveler says... #23

Thank you Nigrescence, I really appreciate it. I've worked so hard to make Selesnya work without Voice of Resurgence and/or Brimaz, King of Oreskos and it's finally paying off!

March 4, 2014 5:08 p.m.

Jantz says... #24

What about Soldier of the Pantheon ? Not instead of Experiment One , but instead of Call of the Conclave ?

March 5, 2014 2:35 a.m.

Nigrescence says... #25

I think Call of the Conclave is the better choice simply because the creature is larger.

I think Soldier of the Pantheon might be a good sideboard choice though for either of them though.

March 5, 2014 3:11 a.m.

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