Selesnya Heroic Explosion (Very Fast & Aggressive)
Standard*
SCORE: 33 | 29 COMMENTS | 6044 VIEWS | IN 18 FOLDERS
danglosson says... #2
Thanks zheii! Yeah I had considered Abzan Falconer for evasion over Cavalry Pegasus since Falconer wouldn't have to attack like the Pegasus does. However, the problem is mana cost. I really want to avoid going above 2-drops and even then I prefer as many 1-drops as possible to cast as much as I can per turn as well as faster than my opponents. I'm willing to slip in 1-2 3-drop cards but I'd rather not if I don't have to. Additionally it's so easy for me to gain 10 life off of Ordeal of Heliod I'm not too concerned about my creatures gaining lifelink.
September 15, 2014 4:38 p.m.
sharkfynn10 says... #3
I have been playing around with Hardened Scales
and Forced Adaptation
in a G/U Simic deck and find their interaction in play testing to be quickly phenomenal. Anyway since I won't be moving that mix to a heroic build maybe it will help you out in G/W.
September 20, 2014 9:36 a.m.
danglosson says... #4
Thanks sharkfynn10 unfortunately Forced Adaptation is no longer an option in Standard once Khans of Tarkir is released so I can't use it if I want my deck to be Standard legal otherwise you're right it would be a great choice!
September 20, 2014 12:02 p.m.
Honestly the only thing I can find I dislike with this deck is the lack of removal. I would put in Banishing Light over Solidarity of Heroes
September 25, 2014 2:05 p.m.
danglosson says... #6
Pointnine my only reservation with running Banishing Light is the mana cost. Chances are I will indeed add 2-3 in my sideboard but I want to keep the decklist to 2 or less mana so as to keep the deck both fast and as consistent as possible.
Solidarity of Heroes overall is a mediocre save for a deck list like this one. In play testing I've been able to turn my non-heroic Cavalry Pegasus into a 20/20 flyer at instant speed to boot. It works far too well in this list for me to consider taking it out.
September 25, 2014 7:11 p.m.
Son-of-Mace says... #9
Funny cause about 99% of the value of this deck is fetchlands, Without them you could build this for free at your local hobby store
October 18, 2014 3:15 p.m.
TheLaughingJackal says... #10
You should check out my mine you might get some ideas Ivory Legion
October 18, 2014 3:30 p.m.
Son-of-Mace says... #11
You should check out my sultai crocodiles Diving Lessons
October 18, 2014 3:52 p.m.
Arwin_Rand says... #13
I +1'd as well as someone who has tried to make heroic work for a long while now. Kudos. I'll probably build this at some point and I might not even really mod it frankly. This looks very solid as is.
October 21, 2014 1:54 a.m.
Son-of-Mace says... #14
With all the removal in standard i get fed up with all my fatties being wiped and built a heroic deck to combat that, maybe you could get some ideals from my azorious Anti-removal Heroes
October 21, 2014 6:39 a.m.
Invisible_Hand. says... #15
I think Setessan Tactics would be a nice replacement for Savage punch, it targets several cards for quite cheap, and can remove certain creatures.
I also recommend the Seeker of the Way because prowess is activated every time heroic gets activated.
Check out my similar deck: The Way of the Counter
October 22, 2014 12:32 a.m.
danglosson says... #16
Invisible_Hand. I do like the Seeker of the Way idea but I'm not sure it's optimal, I'll playtest and consider the prowess ability.
I originally had Setessan Tactics in my list but I found that having to tap my creatures in order to fight was very problematic because 90% I'm wanting to attack and usually forcing my opponent to block my 13/13 while holding up 1 white mana with a protection spell in hand or even Ajani's Presence is just as profitable because often it forces a block or they can just take 13 damage. This was the primary reason I made the change to Savage Punch although with my most recent update I'm changing that as well.
October 25, 2014 11:11 a.m.
jsmith7645 says... #17
Just a thought but have you considered Akroan Skyguard ? It has flying and heroic so it may be able to cover some of your flying weakness.
October 30, 2014 12:21 a.m.
Matthewp741 says... #19
I love it. I'm running a very similar deck most of which took inspiration from yours. I'm not really sure about Hero of Leina Tower however. You explained your use of her as a late game bomb, but in my experience play testing the deck with her I didn't really like her. Most of the time I didn't have extra mana to dump into her heroic. I'm trying out Fabled Hero as my late game bomb. I'm also considering High Sentinels of Arashin .
October 30, 2014 2:41 p.m.
danglosson says... #20
Matthewp741 Well so far I've found using Hero of Leina Tower has been solid at any stage of the game. True she is slower than the optimal Favored Hoplite or round bootied Lagonna-Band Trailblazer but I am able to dump excess mana into her ability so often that it certainly becomes worth while. Especially if my primary threat was just removed because she allows me to quickly recover if we're on say Turn 6. Also, if I have a base 1/1 and 5 mana with a Solidarity of Heroes in hand I can target her, dump the 3 excess mana and swing with a 7/7 which some scenarios is better than a base 1/2 Favored Hoplite who would only become a 3/4. In other words, she is a rare for a reason...a pretty lame one outside of this deck but a rare nonetheless.
As far as Fabled Hero or High Sentinels of Arashin I have problems with both in this specific low-curve aggro deck list.
Fabled Hero 's double white mana cost is a nuisance as is 3 converted mana cost period in this list (hence only 2 main board & 3 side). Now double strike is very powerful but I just don't want to waste 3 mana casting a 2/2 that I can't do anything with whereas I can be swinging for near lethal with a one-drop if I'm on the play by that point with a near optimal hand. Also, my creatures get so big, so quickly that I just don't need double strike. It's, in my opinion, too greedy. Honestly getting a turn 2 5/5 is often all you need to win the game if you play your protection instants correctly and have decent card draw.
High Sentinels of Arashin has the same mana cost issue. 3W mana is just too much. Also the activated ability costs 3W as well and that's just too much when I could case 4 spells with that much mana! Lastly, in a previous update I mentioned my reasoning for not running flyers and that is because this deck doesn't care about blocking most of the time and for attacking I just can't get through with flying in this format because most of the major threats in current standard are flyers. Look at this list: Mantis Rider , Sorin, Solemn Visitor vampire tokens, Herald of Torment , Prognostic Sphinx , Ashcloud Phoenix , Wingmate Roc and Stormbreath Dragon not to mention most green devotion decks are running Arbor Colossus . I personally think trample is the better route currently and that's why I chose, for the time being, roll with 2x Tuskguard Captain in my main board.
I'll go check out your list! Thanks for the input!
October 30, 2014 4:08 p.m.
Matthewp741 says... #21
Are you usually making all your land drops every turn? I feel like Hero of Leina Tower is only good if you have that excess mana and a buff in hand. Which doesn't always happen for me. Plus with 4 of in the deck I would often get her early game and never want to use her.
October 30, 2014 4:32 p.m.
danglosson says... #22
Matthewp741 This standard format is burn heavy currently so I have to play around that often in the first 2 turns. This means, I have to play with caution the first couple of turns more often than I'd like with the exception being Lagonna-Band Trailblazer who after 1 target dodges every burn spell save Fated Conflagration which isn't very common to see anyways.
This would be even harder if the creature was a 2 drop like Akroan Skyguard . The mana math ends up being the same by in the first few turns regardless with the primary exception being that I actually get to swing my Hero of Leina Tower . I'll write out 2 scenarios that show when on the play with a mediocre hand how Hero of Leina Tower 's power can easily be higher than Akroan Skyguard 's and for an aggro deck every little pip of power matters because you'll certainly lose games with your opponent only having 1 or 2 life remaining.
Hero of Leina Tower scenario (on the play)
Turn 1: Land, Hero of Leina Tower
Turn 2: Land, -> combat cast Warriors' Lesson before damage is dealt and then pay 1 into Hero of Leina Tower 's ability. Making her a 2/2
Turn 3: Land, -> combat cast Nature's Panoply before damage is dealt and pay 2 into her ability making her a 5/5.
Akroan Skyguard scenario (on the play)
Turn 1: Land
Turn 2: Land, Akroan Skyguard
Turn 3: Land, combat cast both Warriors' Lesson and Nature's Panoply before damage is dealt giving me a 4/4.
The great thing about Akroan Skyguard is that he is a flyer, which is certainly relevant. I just find myself getting through with protection spells far more often but my flyers were getting stopped by Mantis Rider 's & the expected but inevitable Stormbreath Dragon . Nothing is more lame than getting lethal damage chump blocked by a vampire token (especially one with lifelink) or even worse Ornithopter ...
Also it's very important to note that I like having a creature who can swing through a Stormbreath Dragon if I find myself stuck in the late game. Not to mention if I can manage to drop a Tuskguard Captain somewhere late after stalling out. I can now get damage through and kill Stormbreath Dragon assuming my opponent is forced to block in order to live.
October 30, 2014 6:18 p.m.
DaigarStrasis says... #23
Farmers off to War is my G/W Heroic deck, it does surprisingly well. Abzan Falconer is a true beast!
November 1, 2014 8:57 p.m.
Love the list! Would Aegis of the Gods help protect you from Deflecting Palm?
November 2, 2014 4:52 p.m.
Very nice deck!
Abzan Falconer perhaps? Not sure if it's better than Tuskguard in this instance or not, but either trample OR flying on a 14/15 creature sure would be nice. :D
zheii says... #1
I really Like this deck. It might also be useful to slip in some more of the Abzan synergy cards which award special abilities to any creatures with +1 counters on them. e.g. Abzan Battle Priest which gives lifelink or Tuskguard Captain which gives trample, though they're 4 and 3 drops which might be too pricy for your curve. Ainok Bond-Kin is a 2 drop which gives them all first-strike though, which could be pretty awesome.
September 15, 2014 12:40 p.m.