Standard Junk Walkers
Deck Help forum
Posted on Aug. 5, 2012, 5:29 p.m. by harrydemon117
I took this deck to a 3-1 finish on FNM this past weekend. Anyone have any suggestions for some improvements? I'm thinking that Woodland Cemetery s would be better over the Evolving Wilds but as of right now I don't have any. I'm looking for more critique on the creatures/spells
harrydemon117 says... #3
I took this to a 3-1 at my FNM this last week. I wont' be able to make it this week but HOPEFULLY the week after. This is looking solid!
August 7, 2012 8:59 a.m.
I'm running a similar-ish Esper list that took down my FNM last week at 4-0-1. The mana base looks good. Maybe lose the Evolving Wilds , pick one or the other of the utility lands, and go find some Isolated Chapel s. That'll help things. Also, running only 24 lands in a list like this is super greedy. Go up at least one if not two.
I don't know why you're running Rampant Growth or Naturalize . You can just chump for days with Lingering Souls until you hit the lands you need to wipe the board. Get some Terminus in there and really do some damage.
Karn is really only needed against other long game/control decks. Also, you're not running any spot removal at all which you'll need to survive until your board wipes and planeswalkers come online in a world full of flipped Delvers and aggressive green creatures. All in all I'd go:
-1 Vault of the Archangel, -3 Evolving Wilds, -1 Naturalize, -3 Rampant Growth, -1 Karn (to the Sideboard)
+1 Woodland Cemetery, +3 Isolated Chapel, +1 Razorverge Thicket, +2 Terminus, +2 Tragic Slip, +1 Go for the Throat
I like the Celestial Purge in the side as well as Acidic Slime . I'm using Divine Offering out of the side to deal with problematic artifacts. The lifegain is nice but you could go with it or Naturalize . You might also be well served to skip the utility lands entirely and run Ghost Quarter main if you've got a lot of Kessig Wolf Run and Inkmoth Nexus floating around in your meta like I do.
My list is here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/esper-walkers-restored/
Just for reference.
August 8, 2012 1:11 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #5
The Rampant Growth s are for 2 things: turn 3 walker and/or mana fixing (not to mention get to Karn faster)
I have 2 Isolated Chapel s already, but as I only have 4 to 5 lands that can come before it and allow it to come into play untapped it was killing me at first. That was before I added the Rampant Growth s though, so maybe I can do away with the Evolving Wilds .
as far as Divine Offering over Naturalize i disagree. THe life gain is great but in the aggro matchups artifacts usually aren't a problem and swords only come into play in late game scenarios when the walkers should be online. Also, Naturalize allows me to target card:Curse of Death's Hold, Oblivion Ring , Honor of the Pure , etc as well as being able to hit artifacts as a secondary option.
I will put the Isolated Chapel s in for sure and put in 2 x Ghost Quarter main as these will allow me to tutor for a land i need if i don't need to kill an opponent's Inkmoth Nexus etc. I DO llike the Tragic Slip idea or maybe even a Dismember
August 9, 2012 2:47 p.m.
About Divine Offering , I was just suggesting it was a thing to think about. Naturalize will almost always do better for you since you're running green. Tragic Slip is great and I've considered running a one-of Dismember in the deck as well. The main reason I haven't is the same reason it hasn't been played for ages. It doesn't kill titans.
Speaking about Isolated Chapel s entering the battlefield tapped, how are you starting off your play? If I have enough lands that I don't feel like I need to dig for one (read 3 or more in my starting hand here) I will often lead off with one of those enters tapped lands knowing that the only things I can ever want to do with one mana are Tragic Slip or Ponder . Even entering tapped, if you're on the play a turn one Chapel will let you Slip a bird or other mana dork after you play your second land.
In response to the ramp, I don't think you need it. It's true that you're still running Karn main and he's sort of big. But you're the control deck. You're supposed to want a long game. There's no need to hurry in my opinion.
August 10, 2012 2:28 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #7
I see what you're saying. I think I may bench Karn Liberated to the sideboard and bring in something else instead.
As far as how I play the mana, I was meaning more turns 4 and 5 when I would draw the Isolated Chapel and not have a plains or a swamp in play so it would come into play tapped. I was almost relying on either Evolving Wilds , Rampant Growth , or a turn 3 Borderland Ranger to ensure I could play everything untapped for the rest of the game.
I'm thinking that taking out the Razorverge Thicket s might be good as with only having two chances are slim that I will seen one by my 3rd land. What do you think?
August 10, 2012 9:59 p.m.
The fastlands are tricky. I run three Seachrome Coast and one Darkslick Shores . They're often great, sometimes annoying. I've never been terribly bugged by lands entering tapped. You just hold off your opponent, take a couple hits, reach your endgame and go for broke. We could have better options for three color mana bases. But it works out.
August 12, 2012 11:55 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #9
Unfortunately for GBW the only duals are: Razorverge Thicket . The untappable Isolated Chapel , Sunpetal Grove , and Woodland Cemetery are good but I don't have any of the cemeteries.
When Return to Ravnica is released we will probably see more dual lands, but unfortunately that's the same time some of my deck list will rotate out ;)
August 13, 2012 7:35 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #10
Ok so I have altered the deck a bit. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend FNM for a little bit, so I'll run some tests against some other well known decks and see how it plays out
August 17, 2012 2:35 p.m.
harrydemon117 says... #11
All right so I went 2-1-1 in this last FNM. I beat Naya Pod 2-0, GW aggro 2-0, drew to a UG self mill (which one more turn would have been his demise as he was at 1 life point).
My only loss was to a BR Zombies build (0-2 actually), and would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have
harrydemon117 says... #2
I NEVER had less than 2 cards in my hand at any given time and I always seemed to have the answer I needed in hand as well. Fixing the mana base here is my main concern, but if anyone has any other suggestions to improve deck quality i'm all ears!
August 5, 2012 5:31 p.m.