Buffs vs Ramp
Deck Help forum
Posted on May 29, 2013, 10:18 p.m. by UmbrotheUmbreon
So I have two decks rated at 12: Death by the Headcrusher! and Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction. One is about +1/+1 counter buff and the other is all about ramping fatties out early.
So T/O community, which is the better deck? Which deck appeals more? Lets solve the mystery together! :D
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #3
It mixes sorcery ramp with creature ramp, and throws control in it as well. Farseek is unneeded.
May 29, 2013 11:22 p.m.
Well, I playtested both and Swaying to the Symphony of Destruction won 2-0. So it gets the +1!
May 29, 2013 11:25 p.m.
I'm all about ramping, so I vote for that one. I also second the opinion that Farseek would be a good option there, though. it just works soooooo well.
May 29, 2013 11:27 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #6
Farseek is a great ramp card, but suited more for 3+ colors. Harrow , Urban Evolution , Plasm Capture , Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger , and Overgrown Battlement do a good enough job ramping.
May 29, 2013 11:32 p.m.
Your early game ramp cards are Coiling Oracle and Overgrown Battlement . One can whiff (especially with only 22 lands) and the other won't do anything until turn three. The deck would also benefit from Birds of Paradise and possibly Llanowar Elves .
I would honestly cut Overgrown Battlement
and Fog Bank
for a two-drop ramp card (such as Farseek
or Nature's Lore
), up the land count, and toss in Birds of Paradise
. Turn three Urban Evolution
just seems good to me.
May 29, 2013 11:58 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #8
I originally had Llanowar Elves and Farseek in the deck, but it just wasn't enough. For starters, the Elf is more easily killed than the Battlement. The Battlement can generate more mana in due time. As for Coiling Oracle , even if I don't get a land I still get a draw, which will bring me closer to land. That makes it useful no matter when it's played.
22 lands is enough. I had 24 in there originally but the highest I really need is 15, and the Twincast +Harrow combination gets more a good chunk of land. The Overgrown Battlement s also give me a ton of mana.
May 30, 2013 12:13 p.m.
Just saying I play tested the deck. It doesn't cast anything until after turn five besides walls and Coiling Oracle . Seems too slow when you could be dropping something big by turn four.
May 30, 2013 5:53 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #10
Were you using the walls for mana? Each Battlement adds G for each defender on the field. With all four out, you could hard cast Emrakul turn 5 or 6. The walls make a good defense, so it stops aggro dead. Not to mention the deck IS listed casual. Hitting big stuff turn 5 or later is a good thing in a format where you are trying to have fun more than win.
May 30, 2013 6:05 p.m.
Yeah, I added G for each creature with defender.
Say you cast Overgrown Battlement on turn two. Turn three, you can cast two more critters with defender. HOWEVER, Overgrown Battlement doesn't start tapping for more than two until turn four.
To continue the example:
Turn one: LandTurn two: Land, Overgrown Battlement Turn three: Land, Fog Bank , Overgrown Battlement Turn Four: Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
Okay, so that's pretty good, but needs two Overgrown Battlement , three lands, and another creature with defender.
Compare that to:
Turn one: Land, Birds of Paradise Turn two: Land, Harrow Turn three: Land, Urban Evolution OR Plasm Capture .Turn four: still play Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
So what's the difference? One hand requires very specific cards, while the other can more consistently ramp. What happens if they Terror your Fog Bank or Echoing Truth your Overgrown Battlement s? Right now your deck isn't that consistent.
May 30, 2013 7:51 p.m.
UmbrotheUmbreon says... #12
I can see your side, but I feel more comfortable with using the Overgrown Battlement s. The reason is that even though they are creatures, Birds are a lot easier to kill than the Battlements. A simple Geistflame can kill Birds, so lets go with the other forms of removal that can't kill Overgrown Battlement that can kill Birds of Paradise
Shock , Lightning Bolt , Lightning Helix , Electrolyze , Annihilating Fire , Incinerate , Pillar of Flame , Searing Spear .
In comparison, the Battlements are stronger at surviving than birds are, and against control the Birds die just as easily as the Battlements. The difference is Birds of Paradise can only ever tap for one, while Overgrown Battlement can tap for more if you can get more of them out. Lets compare the tables
4x Birds of Paradise vs 4x Overgrown Battlement
It would take all four Birds just to equal the value of one Battlement.
sylvannos says... #2
I like the ramp deck better, but it needs more ramp spells, to be honest (such as Farseek ).
May 29, 2013 10:48 p.m.