Simic Elfhoof? Believe it (Top 4 FNM)
Standard*
SCORE: 9 | 11 COMMENTS | 2113 VIEWS | IN 1 FOLDER
The Greatest Compliment for a Johnny —Aug. 22, 2013
Let me just say after a few tournies with this deck that it has easily become my favorite deck I've built since returning to Magic. I have never had this much fun or success with an Elf or Biomancer deck, but the deck continues to rack up impressive wins and ridiculous board states. But tonight, I must share that I was totally flattered by something else-
A friend of mine, who is a Spike to the T (he has been playing Jund for a while, that sick GWB Junk Tokens deck with Voice & Varolz, & Reanimator before that) told me that he has essentially BOUGHT my deck after seeing me play it and intends to use it in upcoming tournaments. Since he's 1000x better player than I, he'll probably even be able to show me a thing or two about how to play it, but seriously, there's no better feeling for a Johnny than for someone who looks at everything from a competitiveness standpoint to see your janky shit and decide its worth buying & playing. Exact words- "There are basically no answers if you get what you need, which is hard not to do." He says he might not run the Scholar =(, but it will be Simic Biomancer Elfhoof. Can't wait until the mirror match (basically roll dice to see who wins).
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #2
Absolutely I love Soul for exactly that reason- it's a huge threat for a guy you don't need to win, but he can be a separate win condition himself if not removed(esp. when paired with a Silverheart). For my opponents who had forgotten about him, I always enjoy their raised eyebrows and "seems good..." remarks.
You're probably right about the side, esp. Windstorm. I just have no answer for cards like Thundermaw Hellkite and other powerful flyers, which is bad since they can get at my Garruks. This hasn't come around except once in tournament play, but I have a Strionic Resonator Naya deck that can get some cheap wins with him and Aurelia, the Warleader . I may be freaking out because that deck has an insane amount of hasty & flash flyers. Also had a game I pulled out but was a little too dramatic against some Lingering Souls and Intangible Virtue. Maybe Fog Bank since that would also be useful v aggro?
I will say tho that Bramblecrush is actually a very handy card (a new & imo improved Acidic Slime since it can target planeswalkers). My meta is huge and most people change decks from time to time, but there are a lot of Spikes, so I try to keep up with Top 8 lists and stay flexible. But it's useful against Maze's End, a nasty surprise v opponents with Enchantment removal (O-Ring, Sphere, etc.) like WB Control that also rely on Jace for draw power, and at worst can be used to destroy a land to throw off their curve. I've sided it in a couple times with this deck and a few times with others and it always seems to find some useful purpose (got me an Archdruid back from an O-Ring to set up a Hoof on Friday). But I could probably stand to cut one out.
August 20, 2013 8:36 p.m.
On second thought I actually may give that Cyclonic Rift a spin since I love that card and had honestly not even considered it, but on top of a cheap bounce it's almost another Hoof! Good tip!
August 20, 2013 8:40 p.m.
I just thought of something: if you're still concerned over flyers and flying tokens (i.e. Intangible Virtue s all over spirit tokens, you know what's a great fix for that? Silklash Spider . So not only will you still be getting your Windstorm, but you'll also be able to field a creature at the same time. And that 7 toughness will go a long way against Thundermaw, and even at 2 power it'll be able to bring down Aurelia during her second combat phase!
But yes I'd try Cyclonic Rift for sure, because you can always ramp into its Overload cost with as many dorks as you're running. And I see your logic behind Bramblecrush, as it is very versatile when you apply it to the situations you mentioned.
ragnil says... #1
I must say this deck does indeed seem just filthy when it's churning out its goodies like you say. And I agree with your choice on the full play-set of Garruks for the card-draw and cheat-in applications. I only run two in mine since I have a play-set of Domri to help with my card advantage.
I do have a question on your sideboard though: why Bramblecrush and Windstorm ? Are they more of a local-meta thing? I see how you're putting them in to cover your basis without lack of solid removal, but their costs just seem too high for your deck, regardless that you can afford it with your mana elves. Why not look into more blue removal like Cyclonic Rift or Spell Rupture ? With the latter you should be able to effectively counter whenever you have any of your pumped creatures or fatties out, and the former is a good way to clear the board when you have the mana. Plus, they're both cheap to play!
I don't know if this happened to you, but during my local FNM I hardly was able to keep Soul of the Harvest on the battlefield: for a card that hasn't seen any tournament-play (at least recently), oftentimes my opponents were too frightened of its body and ability to even leave it on the battlefield, forcing them to spend removal to get rid of it rather than some of the more integral combo pieces. This card's a win-win!
August 20, 2013 11:50 a.m.