MTG Salvation

This is my latest attempt at an aggro control deck that uses early creatures, cheap disruption, backed up by card advantage to tempo the opponent out of the game and kill them before they can stabilize. The "Grow" in the title comes from the fact that many of the creatures in this deck are cheap, easy to cast creatures, but grow to ridiculous sizes just for playing Magic-- even the general grows, not that you need to cast him. Since this is a 3 color aggro deck, there are very few spells in the deck that require double mana of any one color, so that would explain why some key cards aren't here.



This deck is just about as synergistic as it can get, so it's a tun of fun and there are generally lots of ways to solve a particular board state and even hard-core control decks will have problems keeping card parity once an engine + disruption package comes online.

I really want to fit Stupor in here without dropping any of the current disruption; currently I'm eying Genesis for the cut, as I really don't expect many of my creatures to die with disruption, I have other means of card advantage, and I'm not sure there are many times I'd want to tap mana before my draw step.

That's all I've got for right now, but I'm really excited about this deck. I'd love some suggestions and feedback as long as you plan to take into account what this deck is trying to do(i.e. No suggesting extremely hard to cast or expensive cards unless they are the stone-cold nuts).

Looks like fun

Journeyer's Kite seems a little out of place in this deck; once you get to 3 mana you're already able to cast more than half the cards in your deck, and you don't have a lot of high-end stuff that you want to make sure you're hitting land drops to reach.

If you're considering Stupor, how about the strictly-better Mind Twist instead?

Petrified Field might be a card to consider as well, if you want to be able to get one of your utility lands with Realms Uncharted without needing to have Life from the Loam or Crucible of Worlds.

Simic Guildmage seems a little weak with only 4 creatures in the deck that reliably get +1/+1 counters (plus Spiritmonger and Vorosh). However, the combo with Glen Elendra Archmage is pretty fantastic so I could see keeping it for that reason.

Thanks for the reply, Shazaam. Yeah, Journeyer's Kite is a little strange, but it's really nice with Sensei's Divining Top, Scroll Rack, and Psychatog. It's less about using it to cast my spells and more about using it as part of a crazy card advantage engine.

Good call on Mind Twist. That was certainly a lapse in judgement on my part.

Personally, I'd like to cap my colorless lands at what I've got now, but PF is definitely something I didn't think about and I will keep it in mind.

I still think Guildmage is worth it, because it can make more creatures threatening, rather than having a giant Lorescale(for example) that gets chumped and a bunch of little guys, not that all the other creatures are tiny anyway. But yeah, the Archmage combo is what sold me on it, for now at least.

Man, now that I'm thinking about it, I need to find a spot for Wild Mongrel.

Edit: This hurts me a little, but: - Genesis, - Treetop Village, + Wild Mongrel, + Mind Twist

-Simic Guidmage, - Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, - Realms Uncharted, - Diabolic Edict, - Swamp

+ Lotus Cobra, + Sylvan Library, + Jace, the Mind Sculptor, + Into the Roil, + Forbid

I think that most of these will be upgrades, but it's rough cutting cards at this point, and I had a hell of a time trying to squeeze Jace2 in. I'm going to be playing my first games with this deck irl, so I'll post my initial findings with the deck afterwards.

Could you find a way to play vampire nighthawk and grave titan and liliana vessinto this deck? They're my favourite cards.

Nighthawk you could probably make a case for, but I probably wouldn't because it's body doesn't make up for its difficult casting cost in this 3 color aggro deck. The other two don't really stack up in this deck--I mean, I was on the fence about Jace 2.

Preordain is *usually* better than ponder (I admit I may not be in your deck with mind sculptor and scroll rack, but just in case you missed it)

Also, I really like counter+draw cards in a deck like this (cryptic command esque, maybe even dream fracture)... but they may have too many water symbols

Quote from Lentini

Preordain is *usually* better than ponder (I admit I may not be in your deck with mind sculptor and scroll rack, but just in case you missed it)

Also, I really like counter+draw cards in a deck like this (cryptic command esque, maybe even dream fracture)... but they may have too many water symbols

I would not agree with Preordain being better than Ponder. Seeing 3 cards is a lot more than seeing two. Though Preordain can technically dig a little deeper than Ponder if you Scry both cards to the bottom, the information you're getting off of Ponder is better than Preordain, imo.

Yeah, both counters you mentioned are too restrictive in their mana cost for this deck. In this deck, I'd rather overwhelm the opponent with lots of smaller spells and maintain card advantage and tempo over them than trying to "haymaker" them out of the game.

Thanks for the responses guys, my decks could use any fresh eyes they can get.

Have you considered Cytoplast Root-Kin? This card is quite good with persist. You may want to consider some of the Dissension graft creatures and some of the Stronghold Spikes.

I know that you want to keep the curve low, but it might be better to include Woodfall Primus.

Also, sometimes sacrifice outlets come in handy, so Carrion Feeder may suit your deck well.

Note how well these three cards work together

I found the choice of Spirit Monger a but odd - considering your general. How has this card worked out for you?