Last week I talked about a budget deck I built some time ago. Today, we start our first deck evolution. For people who missed my last article, here are the rules I use for budget deckbuilding.
– Take a Standard Legal Intro Pack
– Play at least 5 games between making changes.
– Change no more then 5 cards
– Stay within 15-20 MTGO tickets.
Seems easy enough. Let’s talk about the deck that we’ll be transforming this month. I looked through the different decks of Avacyn Restored and found Solitary Fiends the most interesting. Having only one creature on the battlefield has several drawbacks, so going in, planning on playing only 1 creatures seems like an interesting challenge. The Soulbond deck also looked interesting, but I think I’ll save that for a later article.
Note that I did not look at the M13 decks. Firstly, when I started with this deck, they weren’t out yet. Secondly, the Core set Intro packs are often not build around a central mechanic/tactic but more around the 2 colors that get mashed up. I might do a M13 deck in the future, but for now I’ll just use the set for its great tools.
The Deck:
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Solitary Fiends 1.0 |
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| 11 Island 13 Swamp 24 lands 3 Alchemist’s Apprentice 17 creatures |
2 Crippling Chill 1 Demonic Rising 2 Doom Blade 2 Essence Harvest 2 Frost Breath 1 Homicidal Seclusion 2 Into the Void 2 Peel from Reality 1 Predator’s Gambit 1 Swiftfoot Boots 2 Tormentor’s Trident 1 Triumph of Cruelty 19 other spells |
At First Glance:
According to the description of the deck “our nefarious scheme is to have exactly one creature on the battlefield”. How it wants to do this with 17 creatures in the deck beats me. Now every intro pack is a mix of different ideas, themes as I like to call them. Some are large and have a lot of cards working towards it, others have only a few cards part of that theme. A good way to get a feel for a new deck is to try and identify these themes. Your asking yourself, what does this deck want to do? When looking at the Solitary Fiends deck, I see the following themes:
Minor Theme – Loners: It’s kind of our nefarious scheme, so it seems weird that this is only a minor theme. Only 7 cards want us to have just one creature on the battlefield, or lose their drawback when their the only creature (Fettergeist and Havengul Skaab). Now 7 may not seem like much and to be honest, it isn’t. but, granted, a lot of cards are geared towards helping this strategy out. For example…
Minor Theme – Sacrifice: 5 creatures are capable of sacrificing either themselves or creatures in general. This produces some useful effects, but it can also help to bring down the creature count to 1 (in theory). Plus, Undead Executioner doesn’t mind being sacrificed, as it’s also a removal spell. One of many actually.
Major Theme – Removal: Originally, I had the Loners theme pinned as Major, but it looks like a little duckling compared to the removal suite. Mist Raven, Undead Executioner, Doom Blade, Peel from Reality, Into the Void, and, to a lesser degree, Crippling Chill and Frost Breath all take care of creatures your opponent my have played. They can also be used to reduce your own creature count in a pinch, though unless it’s bounce, that seems really bad.
Minor Theme – Big Threat: If your going to put all your eggs in one basket, you better bring enough eggs to put the Easter Bunny to shame. This deck seems to agree with this twisted logic. Several cards enhance a creatures stats. No doubt the plan is to put these all on your one creature and swing with it. I especially like Swiftfoot Boots here. If I’m going to rely on a single creature, I would hate it to see him die to a simple Brimstone Volley.
Price: When using bots, this puppy was an absolute steal! For less then a ticket (in my case, 0.96 ticket) I managed to get all the cards in the deck in one go. Just add basic lands and we’re off. Still I’m assuming you bought this from the MTGO store and sold the booster in it. That should bring the starting cost to 10 tickets.
Games:
Enough talk, let’s see these loners in action.
Game 1: R Burn
I get a Alchemists Apprentice out with a lot of removal in my hand. This however seems useless as my opponent plays a Shrine of Burning Rage. He still plays a few creatures, but even a solo Lone Revenant can’t pull me back into the game. Note: if they don’t play creatures, all that removal is dead weight.
W:L 0:1
Game 2: R/G Werewolfs
She gets off to a good start with a Village Ironsmith that turns into a Ironfang quickly, followed by a Kruin Outlaw and Mayor of Avabruck. I only manage to play Undead Executioner, Doom Blade and Corpse Traders before I am overrun with wolves.
W:L 0:2
Game 3: G/W Golem Ramp
I open pretty weak with only a Alchemists Apprentice, but slowly work my way up as my opponents drops ramp after ramp spell. I expect him to drop some game finisher, so stall his Llanowar Elves with Ice Breath. Once they finally untap, he plays… Phyrexian Hulk? I did not see that coming, but it still needs a solution. At this time Renegade Demon shows up on my side and we stare at each other for a while. In the end I lose this stalemate when my opponent starts dropping Splicers and I realize why it’s a Phyrexian Hulk.
W:L 0:3
Game 4 B/U Control
We both barely play anything until I drop a Fettergeist, which dies to Geth’s Verdict quickly. He then drops three Phyraxian Oblitorators in the course of a couple of turns. I manage to keep them off however, with Frost Breath and Mistraven. This gives me time to use flyers and Essence Harvest to race my opponent before the Horrors stomp me into the ground. Demonic Rising stays in my hand, bit worth playing the entire time.
W:L 1:3
Game 5 Mono Green Aggro
Things look really bad as my opponent drops green beater after green beater. My fortune turns however, when I manage to drop Fettergeist with Homicidal Seclusion. I try to race and almost make it thanks to Essence Harvest and Into the Void, but a Miracled Revenge of the Hunted wins my opponent the game, just on the wire.
W:L 1:4
Ok, for the first 5 games that wasn’t bad. The deck pulled back from several bad starts and even won 1 game. It still needs a lot of work however, so I’m going to try and address some things that I noticed.
Out:
2 Undead Executioner: Thought this is a nice card to sacrifice to Corpse Trader, the fact that it can’t remove itself from the board to enable my loners really stings me, especially because there are creatures that do a similar thing but mesh better with the rest of my deck
1 Havenguul Skaab: This really is the worst loner in my mind. A 4/5 for 6 is really easy to get for both black and blue, so the drawback is uncalled for. I could see this working with creatures with comes into play abilities, but right now, this is simple not that kind of deck.
2 Marrow Bats: Though their 4 power is really useful, the fact that they are a 4/1 flyer for 5 mana just makes them way to expensive. Their ability is so pricy in life points that I don’t really see myself using it other then very incidentally. I have a much better 4 power flyer in mind.
In:
2 Demonic Taskmaster: When I first read through the decklist of Solitary Fiends, I was really surprised to see this guy missing. But that’s the fun of Intro Packs. Spotting the flaws in them and improving on them.
He’s a mirror to Fettergiest power and toughness wise, but this is tempered by the fact that the Taskmaster sacrifices your other creatures, instead of just taxing them. Still, this guy can end the game in 5 attacks on its own, even faster with…
1 Homicidal Seclusion: I almost won game 5 thanks to this card. I think lifelink is the best way to effectively race with one creature and this gives that creature 3 extra power to boot. The fact that it doesn’t stick to my creature and thus remains around if said creature dies also helps.
2 Fume Spitter: This one-mana wonder really fits in this deck well. He can come down early, scare some 1 toughness creatures away and then get lost once I want only one creature on the board. Plus, even if he can’t kill his target, he can at least decrease it’s strength permanently.
+0,27 tickets
Total: 10,27 tickets
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Solitary Fiends 1.1 |
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| 11 Island 13 Swamp 24 lands 3 Alchemist’s Apprentice 2 Fettergeist 1 Lone Revenant 16 creatures |
2 Crippling Chill 1 Demonic Rising 2 Doom Blade 2 Essence Harvest 2 Frost Breath 2 Homicidal Seclusion 2 Into the Void 2 Peel from Reality 1 Predator’s Gambit 1 Swiftfoot Boots 2 Tormentor’s Trident 1 Triumph of Cruelty 20 other spells |
Small changes for now, but I want to check the core of the deck out before I start making major changes.
Game 6 G Beatdown
I see only 3 cards of my opponent, but Dunegrove Elder enchanted with Rancor really ends the game before it actually begins. Primordial Hydra does show up, but that I simply remove it with Doom Blade. In the end I don’t manage to stop the Elder and die on turn 5.
W:L 1:5
Game 7 B/W/G Enters the Battefield deck:
I mulligan down to 5 and get stuck at 3 lands and once my opponent plays Acidic Slime, that goes down back to 2. I concede when it’s very clear I am not recovering. These games just happen. Chalk it up to bad luck and move on.
W:L 1:6
Game 8 U/G/W Control
I manage to get out a Demonic Taskmaster and start swinging, but it gets taken out by Oblivion Ring. This leaves me with a Alchemist’s Apprentice against his Solemn Simulacrum and Cryptoplasm. Eventually I get enough lands out to play Renegade Demon and Homicidal Seclusion. This lets me race back. He tries to stop me with his creatures, but the mass of removal in my hand lets me pull back in this game.
W:L 2:6
Game 9 R Burn
I manage to get out a Fettergeist with Swiftfoot Boots, a perfect weapon against red burn. We go back and forth a lot, but in the end my opponent burns me out with him at 1 life. Had I played Homicidal Seclusion 1 turn sooner, I could have won this one.
W:L 2:7
Game 10 B Control
I get out a few creatures that start pounding on her empty board. She plays Black Sun’s Zenith however, leaving me with none. I then have to watch as I draw lands and Doom Blades as my opponent develops the board. Once Grave Titan comes down, it’s over for me and I get stomped into the ground in 2 turns.
W:L 2:8
Not much better then the first 5 games, but let’s see if we can’t improve that.
Out:
2 Peel from Reality: In a deck with a lot of creatures with “enters the battlefield” effects, this card woul be great. Sadly I am not playing many of those cards and thus this is just a suboptimal Disperse. Plus, it only buys time. The creature will be back next turn.
2 Tormenter’s Trident: Yes, it can make even a simple creature into a decent threat, but the “must attack” part really hampers its use ability. I’ll probably want to use removal, but I’ll look at some useful once later down the line.
1 Triumph of Cruelty: Though it has gained me some card advantage in a few games, the problem with this card is that it doesn’t do anything if I don’t have any creatures. And even if I have creatures, if my opponent has bigger ones, it’s still dead weight. I would rather play something that actually does something when I play it.
1 Swamp: For color shift purposes.
In:
1 Demonic Taskmaster and 1 Fettergeist: I have lost several games where I didn’t have a creature to play, so I want to add a few more. Originally, I thought that the deck had to many creatures, but a lot can get rid of themselves, so it shouldn’t be a problem. More heavily beating loners seemed like something the deck needed right now.
1 Alchemist’s Apprentice: This little fellow has been great every time I draw him. He might only be 1/1, but the fact that he can chump block like a pro really helps. Plus, he almost always replaces himself, which means even if you don’t need him, you can just play and sac to move on. I might end up playing more Crypt Creepers instead of this guy, but for now, my money is on the Apprentice
2 Tribute to Hunger: I lost a game to Dunegrove Elder because nothing in my deck could deal with it. This should help even those odds. I considered Geth’s Verdict first, but realized that it’s double black could be a problem. Also, the life gain can really help win me races or restore some previous damage done. Finally, I want to keep this deck away from M12 and Mirrodin if possible, so it’s still Standard Legal when Return to Ravnica roles in. I won’t let it stand in the way of clearly superior choices, but when in doubt, it might be the deciding factor.
1 Island: See Swamp above.
+0,30 tickets
Total: 10,57 tickets
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Solitary Fiends 1.2 |
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| 12 Island 12 Swamp 24 lands 4 Alchemist’s Apprentice 3 Fettergeist 1 Lone Revenant 19 creatures |
2 Crippling Chill 1 Demonic Rising 2 Doom Blade 2 Essence Harvest 2 Frost Breath 2 Homicidal Seclusion 2 Into the Void 2 Peel from Reality 1 Predator’s Gambit 1 Swiftfoot Boots 2 Tribute to Hunger 17 other spells |
The deck is still undecided on whether it wants to be aggro or control, but I think I’ll find out next week. Still, I think this entry is long enough as it is.
Will the Taskmasters get along with the Apprentices? Will the Creepers take over the lower curves? And will Nefarox make a guest appearance? I have absolutely no idea, but let’s find out next week, shall we?
Vedalken Treehouse 