pie chart

Ulvenwald Aristocrats

Casual BG (Golgari)

UnrestAssured


Sideboard


Maybeboard


This is a casual budget deck with a grindy, synergistic playstyle.

Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat/Grim Haruspex/Catacomb Sifter/Ulvenwald Mysteries like to watch creatures die.
Nantuko Husk/Bone Splinters/Fleshbag Marauder/Voldaren Pariah  /Eliminate the Competition ensure that they will, while removing creatures or forcing blocks.
Blisterpod/Carrier Thrall/Elvish Visionary are cheap and replace themselves.Evolutionary Leap + Ulvenwald Mysteries lets you chump-block with a Soldier token, then replace it with a nontoken creature.
The game plan is to durdle for a while, build up an advantage by chump blocking via death triggers and sacrifices, until the opponent is worn out and you can finish with Husk/Priest/Pariah.
Ulvenwald Mysteries is great in multiples, but if you draw too many you're defensive early on, so I'm only running 3.

Matchups

Ulvenwald Aristocrats fares well against many aggro decks by playing reusable chump blockers (Blisterpod, Carrier Thrall, Ulvenwald Mysteries) and trading favorably with your death triggers, but Renegade Freighter and Smuggler's Copter are a huge problem if you don't find a Reclamation Sage quickly.

You can often beat midrange decks, but you need to be aggressive (hit them in the face with a fed Nantuko Husk when you get the chance), or many of them will outscale you. Delirium's own board clutter isn't usually a threat to you, but Mindwrack Demon and Emrakul, the Promised End are.

Controlling decks are an issue since things get awkward without Zulaport Cutthroat, Nantuko Husk or Ulvenwald Mysteries, but you may wear them down with your aggressive self-replacing creatures. If they get to play their own threats you're in trouble, because you're probably not running enough removal to deal with their counterspells.

You can beat ramp decks if you have enough removal for their evasive creatures, but if they can draw enough new ones, you're in trouble. Emerge is a tough enemy in particular, because of Decimator of the Provinces.

Threats

Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is a nightmare. Thalia, Heretic Cathar prevents your Scion and Soldier tokens from doing their job. Evasive creatures are very dangerous to this deck because 1/1 blockers won't protect you from Flying and Trample. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar is a pain because most of your creatures don't get past his tokens and Blood Artist/Zulaport Cutthroat drain doesn't work against planeswalkers.

Sideboard


Smothering Abomination is a liability, but works fine in matchups where you don't lose many creatures to trades or removal. Tenacious Dead is a Husk's favourite meal and nice in slow games.
Minister of Pain kills tokens. Brood Butcher is repeated removal, but slow and thus situational. I'm choosing Reclamation Sage for artifact/enchantment removal here, but Root Out is good as well. Blossoming Defense protects your value creatures. (Display of Dominance is very useful in niche cases, but usually the one-mana option is better.) You might want a way to protect enchantments as well.
Sifter of Skulls provides great value in slower matchups, but I prefer a fourth copy of Ulvenwald Mysteries for its self-synergy.

Variations

If you're willing to spend more, Tireless Tracker and Westvale Abbey   provide pressure and extra synergy via Tireless Tracker + Ulvenwald Mysteries / Westvale Abbey + Zulaport Cutthroat .

For more of a toolbox playstyle, you can use Eldritch Evolution and Woodland Bellower.

If you want to focus more on clues, consider Briarbridge Patrol, Confront the Unknown and Root Out. (Byway Courier didn't make the cut but is worth a mention.)
If you're going that route, Bloodbriar can grow to monstrous sizes. That said, it often gets chump blocked, and you'd usually rather have more utility.
Depending on your taste, you might want Gatecreeper Vine/Primal Druid, Young Wolf and Shambling Goblin/Festering Newt as your sac fodder instead.

Suggestions

Updates Add

Comments

Date added 8 years
Last updated 7 years
Key combos
Legality

This deck is Casual legal.

Rarity (main - side)

4 - 4 Rares

18 - 6 Uncommons

21 - 5 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.56
Tokens Clue, Demon 5/5 B, Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Human Soldier 1/1 W, Morph 2/2 C, Zombie 2/2 B
Votes
Ignored suggestions
Shared with
Views