Mono white Extended/Legacy/Vintage
Deck Help forum
Posted on Jan. 25, 2013, 3 a.m. by 1337sauce
I have built several interesting decks in the day ranging from super lifegain, to extreme lifegain, to basic lifegain. Most of these decks served the purpose of keeping me alive quite well in multiplayer but did not win tourneys.
I am in need of help building a mono white deck that stands a strong chance at winning a tourney, as all I play is white, and for sake of assumptions, assume I have all mtg white cards ever made (worth having) under $10 a card. & a few worth over (ex: land tax)
I have 1 signature card I always like to run a pair of (benevolent unicorn), aside from that, aim at a low mana curve - my average deck curved at 5, and I was vulnerable for a period and had to make due with rest for the weary, order of the stars, or heroes remembered for example. I play angels and unicorns first and foremost, I do not mind spirits or humans, and on the off chance anyone would pay the mana cost for elephants/loxodons, I own elephant graveyards.
I am considering, after looking up a few classic decks, running land tax(s), library of alexandria (x1), zuran orbs with lodestone baubles, white knights, order of the white shields, equinox(s), armaggeddons, cleansing, reciprocate, brave the elements, path to exile, erase, library of leng, tabernacle at the pendrall vale, door of destinies, iona's judgment, restoration angel, grand abolisher, etc...
AS you can tell, I need help!!! Offer suggestions if you can, give me direction, help me to cement in a few more cards besides my beloved unicorn.
This deck is by no means made for a standard tournament, and if at all possible to fit into extended rather than vintage, (mirage allowed in extended still?) that would be ideal.
Thank you in advance.
Perhaps I wasn't entirely clear, this deck is NOT intended for modern play, it is intended for legacy/vintage if, as you say, extended no longer exists. I have pieced together a deck idea deck:mono-white-ideas and I hope that works to link it. Absolutely zero of the cards are set in stone besides the unicorns, as they are my signature, and have saved my life more times than any other mtg card.
January 25, 2013 5:50 p.m.
Also - here is a link to a deck I built a little while ago, to show why I may need some help, and to show my usual build style MegaLifeGain
January 25, 2013 6:18 p.m.
If you want a competetive mono white deck, don't play legacy or vintage. Saying that the unicorns are your signature is cute, and shows you are a very casual player. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, until you try to play difficult formats with restrictions that will not let you win. If you want to force yourself to play mono white, you can go to some local tournaments and get crushed, be my guest.
Saying that those damned unicorns have saved your life in many scenarios makes me wonder if you are even playing with the card correctly, you do realize that it only nerfs spells, not permanents? So only burn spells are affected?In legacy, (I won't even get into vintage) the only thing I can think of is the occasional matchup where they mainboard lightning bolt, which isn't unreasonable, but at the same time, the unicorn does next to nothing. If you really want to get into a competitive scene, you need to realize that bad cards are bad.
I think you might want to consider just playing modern, because it is a much easier format to get into, and I don't think you have the right mindset to play legacy right now.
January 26, 2013 2:53 a.m.
I have been playing mtg 15+ years, I am well aware of the rules of the game, regardless of breaks here and there from magic where I was either too busy with college or the like. Point being, this is not about "getting into" the game, I have played A LOT of magic in the past, most of it about 6-8 years ago. A (2) converted mana cost card which is a 1/2 and a universal -1 from certain sources of damage, is not useless and gets an 80%+ rating on most sites. Granted, I need to find a copy of the 1996 official mtg rules, to see intended text vs current text interpretations. The fact of the matter is, it's not a terrible card, and when playing a red deck comes in handy, which is why I am considering silver knights in the deck as well. Why all white decks focus exclusively on black is beyond me. I'd worry about green and blue more than red or black, but that's just experience with games and changes in mtg over the last 10 years.
January 26, 2013 3:51 p.m.
You're experience is all casual though, and it really shows.
In legacy, the unicorn gets outclassed by almost every two drop or one drop in the format, it useful against one combo deck, that doesn't even see a lot of play right now, and that is grapeshot storm. You never want to mainboard a card that only hoses on deck in the format, because legacy is an incredibly diverse format, and you will play a lot of different decks. If you really want the unicorn, you can put it into your sideboard, and side it in against grapeshot if you really want.
And it completely is about getting into the competitive scene, because you purposefully said you want to start entering "tourneys" and winning.
You also clearly have no idea what's being played in legacy, you might want to do a ton of research before you actually try to build a deck.
And the problem with vintage is it is a very skill intensive format, and mono white does not even stand a chance for a second in any vintage matchup.
January 27, 2013 1:39 p.m.
Thank you, I will sideboard 1 unicorn for use against those decks which it is useful against. You are correct in asserting all of my play has been casual, with the exception of one type 2 match in the zendikar block, as there were a few usable cards at the time. That being said, you seem like someone who has done quite a bit of research in terms of deckbuilding, given my usual play style, which I hope you can sort of figure looking at my decks (not the mono white ideas deck) what direction would you have me go to be competitive? The point being, I have no idea what to do. Land destruction, control, weenie, etc. What do you see as a good fit for me?
January 29, 2013 11:02 a.m.
Quite honestly, I still have to go with modern Matyr, the deck I mentioned earlier.
If you really want to play legacy, a really cheap deck to build is affinity, it isn't the best deck, but it is playable. If you aren't worried so much about the price of a deck, Jund and BUG are decks that are doing fairly well. Cards like deathrite shaman, abrupt decay, bloodbraid elf are fairly easy to play, and have had a huge impact on the format as of lately. (maybe not so much bloodbraid elf)
January 29, 2013 6:50 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #10
A Vintage deck will blow you out of the water before you play anything. Even most Legacy decks will either stop you from playing anything or kill you and your field before you can continue playing things. I'm not trying to be an ass, but that's the reality of competitive eternal formats. Lifegain isn't really viable in Legacy and Vintage, and you don't really like the format your play style is best suited for - Modern.
If you're going to homebrew something for an eternal event, you're going to need years of competitive experience. Casual play doesn't teach you enough. If you still want to play competitively, I suggest looking at some of the reports from recent events to see if you like any of the strong decks in those formats. SCG has a database of the top decks from their events.
Glen654 says... #2
You sir, are looking for a deck called "Matyr" or "Soul Sisters". It is a mono white modern deck, that focuses on playing efficient, cheap creatures, and racing your opponent. I think it's in a strong position right now due to the increase in jund decks, which it has a strong match up against. Here is a link to someone's matyr build I found online:http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=4190&d=224485
Keep in mind you don't need to play elspeth, I haven't seen a build that ran her before, you might want to do some research on the deck before you put it together.Extended isn't a format anymore, but modern is a format people do play, although a lot of people (like me) resent the format a bit.
One last thing, Benevolent Unicorn is unplayable for a competitive scene.
January 25, 2013 1:29 p.m.