Scourge of Skola Vale
Standard forum
Posted on March 10, 2014, 1:58 p.m. by APPLE01DOJ
What does every one think of this card?
I'm still play testing it, but so far it rocks.
What u'r going to Doom Blade my 16/16 attack Kalonian Hydra ? I'll just Tap this trampling Scourge of Skola Vale and attack u with it as 20/20 trample next turn. :)
best played in a simic deck that way you can use blue spells to untap it like Kiora's Follower , Prophet of Kruphix and Hidden Strings
March 10, 2014 2:41 p.m.
BUG would be best, as you can untap a Desecration Demon with Kiora's Follower after they tap it down via a sac, then you can switch gears and Skola if they react further. But really the combo is Desi + Follower. Skola is optional LoL
March 10, 2014 2:59 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #5
Well gufymike just about everything in my deck is removal bait. If they hit this sucker instead of a pumped ScOoze or Lotleth Troll or in place of a Desecration Demon I'd be happy. (haven't had to use him in any real matches yet)
Thing is, my deck's tech is a little bit more advanced than creature/removal/swing/win and often has several different routes to take each turn. I feel Scourge of Skola Vale hitting the field will serve as a shield and allow for an extra "wrong" decision once in a while.
lol I think this guy will be the next Desecration Demon 1$ now, 10$ next block.
March 10, 2014 3:03 p.m.
IF Scourge of Skola Vale had hexproof, i would be inclined to agree.
March 10, 2014 3:17 p.m.
Skola definitely seems more like an Archbound Ravager than a Spellskite .
March 10, 2014 3:20 p.m.
@Lord007 seriously, people need to come up with better deck names right?!
I saw the trouble you had linking gray merchant, I just had the same prob with linking Arcbound Ravager
March 10, 2014 3:22 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ I don't disagree with your assessment on his value later on after rotation. I do think this is 'doing too much' if your deck is like that. The more you complicate your deck, the more you complicate it, the worse you're doing for yourself and make it just that much harder for you as your opponent. This already tells you're going in the wrong direction with it. Most decks that are winning right now are very simple, even the most complicated of the control decks are relatively simple and straight forward. There is a reason for this, the game is already complicated with a ton of decisions to make per play. The easier you can make it for yourself the better, so you don't misplay. The goal is to the deck tight enough that it is robust enough to handle most disruption and simple enough it autopilots itself, so you don't make mistakes in game.
March 10, 2014 3:26 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #10
The thing is the versatility of my deck makes it capable of winning against all the new top decks. MBD/MUD/Esper Control/Jund/U/W Control/MGD/G/R Monsters.
Out of all the top decks it doesn't stomp any save (MUD) but is capable of pulling 2 out of 3 wins against all the above mentioned. Jund running Anger of the Gods is definitely the hardest to deal with. Scourge of Skola Vale seems like it would be fairly well positioned against Anger of the Gods . (obviously not a T3 Anger). I'm referring to my Golgari deck.
Interesting enough, I own a second standard deck for when I bring people with me to FNM that is super straight forward 32 creature spells 4 removal 24 lands. G/W Midrange. Deck is super solid and wins a lot of games but not like the Golgari deck does and when I pilot both decks against each other, the golgari deck consistently comes out on top.
Funny thing, the G/W deck stomps the hell out of my modern deck. Loxodon Smiter shits all over Smallpox and Liliana of the Veil lol
March 10, 2014 3:57 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #11
I've been playtesting it in a BUG counters deck and it definitely does work. As others have said, it is best suited as a shield for other threats higher up the curve. Also, I like its synergy with RTR's Scavenge creatures like Dreg Mangler and Deadbridge Goliath , and of course Corpsejack Menace can make it ridiculous.
March 10, 2014 4:39 p.m.
@APPLE01DOJ You brought up about 6 top tier brews and Offhandedly mentioned that you happen to own a simpler GW, deck is not addressing the issue gufymike pointed out about your GB deck being overly complicated, or unfocused.
March 10, 2014 4:48 p.m.
Corpsejack Menace is the definition of kitchen sink, aka a win-more card, if your already doing something that makes +1 counters, wasting resources to get corpsejack out first just so you can double the +1 counters is very clunky, slow, and begs to be 2 for 1'd. In casual he's great, as most kitchen sinks tend to shine in formats that reward creativity as opposed to the quickest kill possible.
March 10, 2014 4:48 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #14
Sorry, I'm a pothead, I tend to loose focus and points during discussion.
I was bringing up the comparison (based on my own experience) that a simpler less decision based deck does not make it a better deck, just simpler to pilot.
My deck has a very clear game plan to achieve the desired result but there are a lot of different possible interactions a long the way. For instance, do I animate my Mutavault to chump block with it so that Deathrite Shaman can exile it giving me a black mana source to regenerate my Lotleth Troll chump blocking or do I just chump block with DRS? and spend the 1 mana I would have used to animate the Mutavault to regenerate the Lotleth Troll ?
My deck for reference... 50 #'s of Grade A Beef -Golgari- Standard
My deck has a +1/+1 counter theme and heavily utilizes the graveyard. It benefits from having stuff in the grave for utility which is good because Grisly Salvage finds my win-con Kalonian Hydra which is also compatible with all my creatures (even SB) save Deathrite Shaman which is used for mana ramp and to feed off the grave, fitting the them in other ways.
I don't feel it's overcomplex for the sake of being complex, just that there is more options than should I play Voice of Resurgence or Fleecemane Lion
March 10, 2014 5:14 p.m.
You know what I think would make this guy really scary? one word: vigilance. Vigilance would make this guy so much more of a pain in the ass. It makes combat so much more difficult to account for when he can buff himself while attacking I think one of the best dudes to pair with him is Heliod, God of the Sun as he gives him fodder to feed and also gives him vigilance.
March 11, 2014 12:11 a.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #17
@Behgz: I'm not about to argue that Corpsejack Menace
is a super-competitive card, but explain how it begs for a 2-for-1? The way I see it, you still have a 4/4 at the end of the day even if your counter-producer is removed.
Also, in a counters deck, he can certainly speed things up and/or be the difference between winning and losing; for example, many creature decks can handle an 8/8 Kalonian Hydra on its first attack, but good luck stopping a 24/24. Or perhaps you want to nearly double your draw from Prime Speaker Zegana . And since this thread is about Scourge of Skola Vale , teaming Scourge and Corpsejack can lead to scary results very quickly while diverting attention away from your win cons. A card doesn't have to be on mtgtop8's top 100 to be playable; it's all in the application.
March 11, 2014 5:10 a.m.
If Scourge's ability was a mana ability it would be a very playable card in my eyes
March 11, 2014 7:42 a.m.
Lets say you have Burst of Strength you could just cast it on your derp and make it bigger, instead you wait, get out Corpsejack Menace ,then go for the Burst of Strength. A savvy opponent will have seen the +1 counters coming a mile away and will have prepared an appropriate 2-1 for your corpse jack and what ever derp you were planning to beef up. *See Far / Away , Supreme Verdict , even a Turn / Burn . Corpsejack Menace is very clunky, slow and begs to be 2 for 1'd.
You could argue that the opponent had an appropriate answer for this sitch regardless of how you stack the corpsejack/derp, but really its about coming to the match with a well prepared 75, and a deck list including a corpsejack is not going to be Top Tier.
Although Corpsejack Menace is only a single card that can be removed, he almost always works in tandem with other creatures and +1 counter generating abilities, if you have a corpsejack, then cast three Burst of Strength on him and then move to combat and swing with him, and I Azorius Charm the corpsejack back to the top of your library, you better believe that's a mega 2 for 1, all day long.
March 11, 2014 2:23 p.m.
@JenisPoke if Scourge of Skola Vale didn't have to tap to activate it's ability, it would be closer to broken than playable, in most formats. I personally think giving it hexproof and possibly mythic rarity would've made it a more playable card.
March 11, 2014 2:26 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #21
Burst of Strength begs to be 2-for-1'd, not Corpsejack Menace. Same goes for any buff. Creatures that generate their own counters (or have an ability like Scavenge), such as the examples I listed, can take advantage of CJ's ability without risking a 2-for-1. Again, I agree that it won't be making appearances in tier 1 decks since it's a very synergistic card, but a rogue Golgari / BUG brew can make it extremely effective and speed up the clock for a midrange deck.
gufymike says... #2
IT's a good card, no lie about that. But the tap part makes it lack luster. I like it better in limited, cause if scourge is out, it's dead before you can use it.
March 10, 2014 2:05 p.m.