****** DENTATA!!! Tell me I'm not the only one who noticed.
Anyways, this is one of my PDH decks that I've been working with for several months and I just wanted to share it with everyone and maybe get some advice as to how I can make it better. The deck is very control oriented and wins by sitting behind tokens and then swinging and pumping the dudes who get through.
I've gone very heavily into the creature recursion aspect, so I favor creatures over any other type of spell. I'm wondering whether or not I should go deeper in, because there are still creatures like sensor splicer and voice of provinces that I feel I could fit in, especially since I feel there are some cards that are under-performing. Totem-guide Hartebeest isn't too useful since I only have two aura enchantments in my deck, however, those enchantments are fairly useful and I'm reluctant to cut a tutor from my deck. If anyone has any useful auras, I'd love some suggestions. I'm also unhappy with my evasion package since the usual wincon is to swing en masse and those are definitely under consideration as well. And undertaker kinda sucks, thinking of taking her out.
some cards I'm thinking of adding:
abyssal gatekeeper - recurrable sac sounds good cinderhaze wretch - I play him and suddenly everyone's hand is gone, however I'm afraid that would paint a nice big target on me gelid shackles - only costs one mana to take abilities abilities and one blocker, but in order to really use it I'd have to get some snow lands which would be a pain voice of provinces - relatively large flying body and a token Capashen unicorn because disenchant on a stick is awesome. Kami of False hope + disturbed burial or grim harvest = permafog.
To be perfectly honest, I think the biggest problem with this deck is trying to run a token strategy without access to green. Having said that, I run a Vizkopa Guildmage deck so I hope I can contribute with something. A few things I find missing:
Crypt Rats. You run Pestilence, so why not? I'd also consider Evincar's Justice and Gangrenous Zombies. Sweepers are good for your strategy because you sac everything to pump what gets through and then you sweep with your champion left standing.
If you're running Cloudshift, I'd definetely run Whitemane Lion too like you're considering (I ended up only running the Lion since it also protects against pestilence effects and comes with a surprise body). I wouldn't cut Hartebeest: Faith's Fetters, Cho Manno's Blessing and Casting of Bones is plenty utility. Maybe consider Shade's Form as well for a really diverse package.
I'd also recommend Stinkweed Imp as recursive removal that can dredge into Cenn's Enlistment, Ray of Distortion or Grim Harvest.
I think there are many cuts to be made. I wouldn't run the weaker token generators like Attended Knight/Songbirds. I think Spellduster and Scarecrow are too expensive fodder too. Victim of Night and Murder can probably safely be cut, especially if you're adding Imp. Definetely cut Undertaker. I'd probably cut Cadaver Imp too. Viscera Seer? Cut it for Phyrexian Rager. Cloudshift, Fanatical Devotion (competes with the ****** for resources), Whispersilk Cloak and the entire evasion package could easily go. Your beaters will be chumped and seem counter-intuitive to your strategy - I'd rather run Guardian of the Guildpact, though I agree that Unruly Mob seems to good to pass up for this deck.
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It looks like a good start. Is there a specific reason why you're not running Ashes to Ashes? Kor Skyfisher would compliment Whiteman Lion in letting you to replay your creatures with ETB triggers. Additionally I think Cadaver Imp (and Gravedigger) would be better than some of the creature recursion spells (Recover & Shattered Crypt in particular). Other utility creatures you might want to consider based on what you're playing against:
I do think that a token strategy can work, you just need to include as much of the token stuff as you can and try to abuse it as much as you can. Fanatical devotion lets me redirect kill spells, and in this deck that's insane, so that definitely isn't getting cut. cadaver imp is staying in for the fact that it's a creature and easily recurrable. stinkweed imp is just more rattlesnaking and my deck already does that.
@ zombieshakespeare: oh my god. I really want to run that unicorn, because, well, unicorns. I just wish it targeted artifacts. Other than that, kami of false hope seems awesome to just permafog with in combination with disturbed burial/grim harvest. I actually used to have ashes to ashes in here, but then I started playing with a drogskol captain deck and that card would just be dead whenever my opponent dropped their commander or even just bounced a creature, so it got cut. I'm also not really trying to bounce/flicker with cloudshift/whitemane lion so much as just protect my creatures with some added utility if needed, and I dont need any more evasive creatures or anything so I dont think kor skyfisher is a good fit.
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Currently trying to think up a way to abuse giant oyster
It's been a while and I've made some changes to my list so I figured I'd post them up.
Some overall trends I'm trying to implement is a more plentiful creature base, so I can build up to critical mass easier, with more evasion, since I've found slamming my tokens into other creatures isn't the most effective way to do things.
I swapped out liliana's shade and armillary sphere for orzhov cluestone and prismatic lens because simply putting lands into my hand wasn't cutting it. Prismatic lens was chosen over mind stone because it lets me filter to black mana for pestilence effects. auramancer is getting swapped out for griffin dreamfinder due to the more relevant body. However, if dreamfinder still doesn't make enough of an impact, it might get cut entirely. Remember the fallen is getting cut for dawnglare invoker. My deck just doesn't have enough artifacts to make RTF better than death's duet or recover and I recently got my ass handed to me by a guy playing the invoker, so it's going in. Whispersilk cloak is getting pulled to test out coalition honor guard. Whispersilk cloak is one of the few protection spells I run that doesn't synergize well with the rest of the deck and coalition honor guard doesn't exactly synergize, but it's another body and it's protection that's tutorable with dimir house guard. Honestly, if I like it enough, I may even run standard bearer.
Some cards I'm trying to include are: Capashen unicorn because disenchant on a stick sounds great to me. I'm just concerned about it being too slow. Kami of False hope vwould be great in combination with disturbed burial and grim harvest for sweet permafogging. I can't figure out what to cut though.
Anyways, this is one of my PDH decks that I've been working with for several months and I just wanted to share it with everyone and maybe get some advice as to how I can make it better. The deck is very control oriented and wins by sitting behind tokens and then swinging and pumping the dudes who get through.
Here's the list by function:
1 maw of the obzedat
ramp/land fixing
1 expedition map
1 orzhov cluestone
1 orzhov signet
1 pilgrim's eye
1 prismatic lens
1 twisted abomination
1 wayfarer's bauble
tokens
1 attended knight
1 captain's call
1 cenn's enlistment
1 dread drone
1 icatian crier
1 seller of songbirds
1 sensor splicer
persist/undying
1 butcher ghoul
1 doomed traveler
1 myr sire
1 wingrattle scarecrow
creature removal
1 faceless butcher
1 faith's fetters
1 oblivion ring
1 perilous myr
1 undead executioner
1 unmake
1 victim of the night
1 crypt rats
1 dawnglare invoker
1 gangrenous zombies
1 pestilence
1 ray of distortion
1 reliquary monk
1 kor sanctifiers
1 seal of cleansing
1 solemn offering
recursion
1 cadaver imp
1 death denied
1 death's duet
1 disturbed burial
1 griffin dreamfinder
1 grim harvest
1 recover
1 shattered crypt
1 urborg uprising
draw/card filter
1 casting of bones
1 darksteel pendant
1 moriok replica
1 phyrexian rager
1 read the bones
tutor
1 brainspoil
1 dimir house guard
1 shred memory
1 totem-guide hartebeest
protection
1 angelic renewal
1 antler skulkin
1 cho-manno's blessing
1 cloudshift
1 coalition honor guard
1 fanatical devotion
1 shade's form
1 undying evil
1 whitemane lion
1 guardian of the guildpact
1 thraben sentry
other
1 nihil spellbomb
lands
1 bojuka bog
1 command tower
1 esper panorama
1 evolving wilds
1 opal palace
1 orzhov basilica
1 quicksand
1 terramorphic expanse
13 plains
14 snow-covered swamps
Any suggestions or comments?
some card selection notes:
some cards I'm thinking of adding:
cinderhaze wretch - I play him and suddenly everyone's hand is gone, however I'm afraid that would paint a nice big target on me
gelid shackles - only costs one mana to take abilities abilities and one blocker, but in order to really use it I'd have to get some snow lands which would be a pain
voice of provinces - relatively large flying body and a token
Capashen unicorn because disenchant on a stick is awesome.
Kami of False hope + disturbed burial or grim harvest = permafog.
change log:
9/2/13
toxic nim > guardian of the guldpact
unruly mob > mesmeric fiend
bladed pinions, kitesail, and dirge of dread > sensor splicer, shade's form, and whitemane lion
undertaker > remember the fallen
orzhov cluestone > liliana's shade
viscera seer > phyrexian rager
rattleblaze scarecrow > wingrattle scarecrow
2/23/14
Auramancer > griffin dreamfinder
remember the fallen > dawnglare invoker
whispersilk cloak > coalition honor guard
armillary sphere and lilliana's shade > orzhov clustone and prismatic lens
BPauper Glissa EDHG
WMaw of the Obzedat PDHB
Crypt Rats. You run Pestilence, so why not? I'd also consider Evincar's Justice and Gangrenous Zombies. Sweepers are good for your strategy because you sac everything to pump what gets through and then you sweep with your champion left standing.
Liliana's Shade. Also, Kor Cartographer is definetely better than Noble Templar. I find plains-only competent land fetch to be a waste as I'd rather accumulate swamps for pestilence effects though. You probably want Bojuka Bog, Expedition Map and Nihil Spellbomb in there too.
Reliquary Monk: One of the best disenchant effects for your deck.
Remember the Fallen and Mine Excavation are other considerations for the recursion category. Phyrexian Ravager for more card draw.
If you're running Cloudshift, I'd definetely run Whitemane Lion too like you're considering (I ended up only running the Lion since it also protects against pestilence effects and comes with a surprise body). I wouldn't cut Hartebeest: Faith's Fetters, Cho Manno's Blessing and Casting of Bones is plenty utility. Maybe consider Shade's Form as well for a really diverse package.
I'd also recommend Stinkweed Imp as recursive removal that can dredge into Cenn's Enlistment, Ray of Distortion or Grim Harvest.
I think there are many cuts to be made. I wouldn't run the weaker token generators like Attended Knight/Songbirds. I think Spellduster and Scarecrow are too expensive fodder too. Victim of Night and Murder can probably safely be cut, especially if you're adding Imp. Definetely cut Undertaker. I'd probably cut Cadaver Imp too. Viscera Seer? Cut it for Phyrexian Rager. Cloudshift, Fanatical Devotion (competes with the ****** for resources), Whispersilk Cloak and the entire evasion package could easily go. Your beaters will be chumped and seem counter-intuitive to your strategy - I'd rather run Guardian of the Guildpact, though I agree that Unruly Mob seems to good to pass up for this deck.
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toxic nim > guardian of the guldpact
unruly mob > mesmeric fiend
even though it is awesome for the deck, it'll just get chumped, so I'm swapping it out for mesmeric fiend which will help out with the control direction I'm taking
bladed pinions, kitesail, and dirge of dread > sensor splicer, shade's form, and whitemane lion
undertaker > remember the fallen
orzhov cluestone > liliana's shade
viscera seer > phyrexian rager
rattleblaze scarecrow > wingrattle scarecrow
for lower cost
Also, once I get the cards, I'm going to swap kithkin spellduster for reliquary monk, noble templar for expedition map, murder for crypt rats, and victim of the night for gangrenous zombies.
I do think that a token strategy can work, you just need to include as much of the token stuff as you can and try to abuse it as much as you can. Fanatical devotion lets me redirect kill spells, and in this deck that's insane, so that definitely isn't getting cut. cadaver imp is staying in for the fact that it's a creature and easily recurrable. stinkweed imp is just more rattlesnaking and my deck already does that.
@ zombieshakespeare: oh my god. I really want to run that unicorn, because, well, unicorns. I just wish it targeted artifacts. Other than that, kami of false hope seems awesome to just permafog with in combination with disturbed burial/grim harvest. I actually used to have ashes to ashes in here, but then I started playing with a drogskol captain deck and that card would just be dead whenever my opponent dropped their commander or even just bounced a creature, so it got cut. I'm also not really trying to bounce/flicker with cloudshift/whitemane lion so much as just protect my creatures with some added utility if needed, and I dont need any more evasive creatures or anything so I dont think kor skyfisher is a good fit.
BPauper Glissa EDHG
WMaw of the Obzedat PDHB
Some overall trends I'm trying to implement is a more plentiful creature base, so I can build up to critical mass easier, with more evasion, since I've found slamming my tokens into other creatures isn't the most effective way to do things.
I swapped out liliana's shade and armillary sphere for orzhov cluestone and prismatic lens because simply putting lands into my hand wasn't cutting it. Prismatic lens was chosen over mind stone because it lets me filter to black mana for pestilence effects.
auramancer is getting swapped out for griffin dreamfinder due to the more relevant body. However, if dreamfinder still doesn't make enough of an impact, it might get cut entirely.
Remember the fallen is getting cut for dawnglare invoker. My deck just doesn't have enough artifacts to make RTF better than death's duet or recover and I recently got my ass handed to me by a guy playing the invoker, so it's going in.
Whispersilk cloak is getting pulled to test out coalition honor guard. Whispersilk cloak is one of the few protection spells I run that doesn't synergize well with the rest of the deck and coalition honor guard doesn't exactly synergize, but it's another body and it's protection that's tutorable with dimir house guard. Honestly, if I like it enough, I may even run standard bearer.
Some cards I'm trying to include are:
Capashen unicorn because disenchant on a stick sounds great to me. I'm just concerned about it being too slow.
Kami of False hope vwould be great in combination with disturbed burial and grim harvest for sweet permafogging. I can't figure out what to cut though.
Some cards on the chopping block are:
Undead executioner because faceless butcher is tutored just as easily and is strictly better. I'm considering swapping it out for celestial flare or tragic slip.
Darksteel pendant just isn't doing the job. I need more card advantage and less durdling. Debating altar's reap or maybe street wraith? I could always just throw sign in blood back in.
If anyone has any suggestions for my deck, please, they are welcome and appreciated.
BPauper Glissa EDHG
WMaw of the Obzedat PDHB