By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
I have an admission. I have recently decided that I would dust off my old MTGO account and resurrect it. The intent behind me opening up my MTGO account again was ostensibly to get some more repetition at drafting. I’ve gone and started a few drafts and have fared reasonably well and opened up some very sweet cards. However, by the time I convert any rares into tickets the pool of residual cards is too poor to take on the Standard decks running around these days. However, they are perfect for building a perfectly reasonable Standard Pauper deck and that is exactly what I have done.
In the drafts I have played I seem to usually end up playing G/X meaning that my card pool has a fair amount of Green. That suits me just fine. So, I was browsing through my collection online and noticed I had a pretty reasonable U/G deck. The deck reminded me of a U/G Flash deck I built from RTR/Theros standard that I really liked to play and so I pieced it together. I have been running it against other home brews and decks that lack some of the firepower of full on Standard decks and have been faring reasonably well. It suggests the deck has a certain amount of play that can have it hang around with more robust builds and grab a win. Here’s the deck list.
This deck doesn’t really want to play on its own turn, like any Flash deck, but the reality is that the creature pool generally lacks a variety of common Flash creatures apart from the Cloaked Siren. The way this usually plays out is that you cast your creatures on your turn, and then at Instant speed bounce their stuff or get their critters when they block by pumping your creature. It can do some pretty mean things and set your opponent back with some sizable Tempo plays quite easily giving you an edge to resolve your threats, load them up, and smash face.
The creature package should really have MORE War-Wing Siren as they are just about the best card in this deck. The 1/3 flier with Heroic does an awful lot of work and can get very big very quickly. It becomes a 5/5 if you Bestow the Nyxborn Wolf on it. That’s a full on Dragon. It’s a 4/6 if you cast a Feral Invocation. There are plenty of ways to target this creature, meaning it can get out of control super quickly and really turn up the heat on your opposition.
The other piece that I wish I more of is the Pheres-Band Tromper. This guy is an all-star if you can give him flying with a Stratus Walk because every time he untaps he just gets bigger. Connect a few times with him and you will quickly erase any deficit.
The Asp, the Siege Wurm, and the Benthic Giant are just general all-purpose fatties that plug up the ground and can go on the offensive once you’ve bludgeoned them and need to finish them off.
Of the rest, the Centaur Courser are lacking in punch and other abilities, but in a deck where you need some fodder or just to keep some more pressure up, these guys make for good pals. Sedge Scorpion is the ideal first turn drop and trades with almost anything acting as a real deterrent. I really like the Scry on the Sigiled Starfish to help smooth out those rough patches. The last guy I want to talk about is the Nyxborn Wolf which is probably my favorite common from Born of the Gods. This innocuous Bestow creature really packs a mean punch at +3/+1. Suit up anything with this guy and you have an instant threat. I would happily trade the pair of Coursers for a pair of these guys to round out the deck, but I’m not quite there yet.
On the whole, the deck performs quite well against decks that are of a similar power level, which seems to make it an ideal casual brew where the focus is more on having fun than on winning every single time. There is no doubt this deck suffers from some inconsistency because of the lack of play sets and the relative high variance, but considering it is made up of spare parts it seems to overcome that. And of course, since we all like to win, even if we’re playing around the kitchen table, the fact that this can just about steal a win out of nowhere is also a nice treat.
If this is something that catches your fancy give it a try and let me know what you think. I think it’s fun and surprisingly tricky to balance out the need to go aggressive with the need to hold up your mana for tricks. There is no doubt this sort of strategy is not a full on aggro assault and so patient players are more likely to come out ahead. However, it is fun, interactive, cheap, and deceivingly powerful. Give it a whirl. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
Thanks for reading and until next time keep it fun, keep it safe…keep it casual.
By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
@bgray8791 on Twitter
Skybind- A 5 mana (2 white and 3 colourless) enchantment with Constellation. This is an interesting card because it now can allow for repeatable Enter the Battlefield triggers on one of your creatures. This could be really handy way to abuse Eidolon of Blossoms or another fun ETB trigger. You could also use it as a way to remove a troublesome blocker from your opponent’s board for the turn in order to get in there for some more damage. My honest assessment is that this is too expensive to see much play in limited or constructed, but could see play in an enchantment-based EDH deck for some silly results.
Skyspear Cavalry- This is a 5 mana (2 white and 3 colourless) for a 2/2 flying, double striking human soldier. This will be a fine limited card and will pack a mean bite with something bestowed on it, but by itself as a 2/2 for 5 mana is a little overcosted. I would like this one better if it had vigilance and not double strike (and be a tad cheaper!), but this will be a solid card in limited and will do good work.
Solidarity of Heroes- This one looks like a fun card to abuse with a Heroic deck. For 1 green and a colourless you get to double the number of +1/+1 counters target creature has on it. You can also target more creatures with Strive by paying an additional 1 green and 1 colourless for each additional target. The Strive cost is really no different than casting multiple copies of this spell, making it reasonably affordable and a good way to exploit the Heroic ability on your team. It will also be a fun way to make one of the Hydras we saw earlier in the spoiler season into something HUGE for a relatively inexpensive investment. This could be a fun combat trick, but be wary of it because in limited it could sit dead in your hand waiting for a target.
Spiteful Blow- a 6 mana (2 black and 4 colourless) Sorcery that destroys target creature and target land. Let’s be honest, if Sip of Hemlock saw play in Limited when Theros dropped, so will this. This is powerful removal and the ability to set your opponent back by destroying a land could also be huge to keep them off their splash land, off of their last drop to hit 7 for a big fatty, or just slow them down. Sure, it’s steep at 6, but people will play it, and people will pay it. You just may not want 3 copies of this one in your deck…you may never see your 6th land drop.
Starfall- a 5 mana (1 red and 4 colourless) instant that deals 3 damage to target creature and if that creature is an enchantment creature it also deals 3 damage to that creature’s controller. 5 mana for a 3 damage is very expensive, and even with the extra 3 damage if you hit an enchantment creature it is still hard to swallow. In comparison, Searing Blood was a much more cost effective 2 mana for a similar ability. This will get run in Limited and will hit all sorts of Enchantment creatures, so you will need to be ready, but that’s where this one will stop seeing play.
Stonewise Fortifier- A “bear” with a plus. This is a 2 mana (1 white, 1 colourless) for a 2/2 creature that can prevent all damage done to Stonewise Fortifier by target creature by paying 5 mana (1 white, 4 colourless). You will play this in Limited as a ‘Bear” and will rarely trigger the ability. Bring on the Travelling Philosopher, Stonewise Fortifier, Oreskos Sun Guide “bear” deck in limited!
Supply-Line Cranes- This is a 5 mana (2 white and 3 colourless) for a 2/4 bird. When Supply-Line Cranes enter the battlefield you may put a +1/+1 counter of target creature. This is fine limited card and you could quite possibly be a 3/5 by the time you distribute the counter, or target something else for more value. It will do good work and has a solid body, but won`t scare anyone.
Swarmborn Giant- I actually rather like this guy. As a 6/6 for 4 mana (2 green and 2 colourless) he is significantly overpowered relative his casting cost. I`m not a big fan of his drawback because if you get swarmed by a small, yet aggressive deck, well, goodbye Giant, so you won`t invest the mana in the Monstrosity cost unless you are pretty sure you can control the board and combat. The fact that he gets reach when he has been made Monstrous is also very good. Don`t overlook this guy, but you can`t rely on him to fend off your opponent…he`s going to need some help.
Akroan Skyguard Heroic decks just got ANOTHER key tool to keep up the beat down. The problem with Heroic decks is that you are compelled to be very aggressive to get the job done. When you play aggressive and attack, stuff dies…like your Akroan Skyguard, Favored Hoplite, Battlewise Hoplite etc. This 3 mana 2/3 with Heroic allows you to go and return target creature with a converted mana cost of 2 or less from your graveyard to your hand. ALL RIGHT! All this means is that Heroic decks now are a little more resistant to removal and make you kill their stuff all over again. With a solid body and a good ability this will make for a solid mid round pick for Heroic decks.
Thassa’s Devourer- This is 2/6 enchantment creature elemental for 5 mana (1 blue and 4 colourless) that also has Constellation. I like the body and the mana cost because with just a single blue he could be splashable. I HATE the Constellation ability because it mills. U/B mill decks may want this guy, but I`m just not a fan of mill…it just isn`t enough of a premium for me. It feels like this was just sort of a throw away addition to this card.
Thassa’s Ire- 1 Blue gets you an enchantment that, for 3 colourless and a 1 Blue, you can tap or untap target creature. This will be fun and can be a useful way to take out pesky blockers, or to protect yourself if things start going sideways. It doesn’t tap meaning you could use it multiple times at instant speed, but the activation cost is expensive. This will be a late pick for decks with Blue, but I love the art and it is quite flavourful.
Tormented Thoughts- Oh boy…Hand destruction. Watch out. For 3 mana (2 colourless and a black), and as an additional cost sacrifice a creature, target player discards cards equal to the power of the creature sacrificed. In limited this could be very powerful, but tricky to time. There may be games where your opponent is holding a full grip of cards and you can slice that in half with a well played Tormented Thoughts, but I suspect that it will sit dead in your hand for much of the game as there are other things you would rather spend your mana on. However, I never discount hand disruption because it can be super crippling.
Triton Cavalry- 4 mana (1 blue, 3 colourless) 2/4 merfolk with Heroic. The raw stats on this one make him playable in Limited because they are comparable to Giant Spider which is a Limited staple. The Heroic ability, to return target Enchantment to its owner’s hand is also very useful to bounce Bestow creatures or other enchantment permanents (See you later Gods!). This will be a fine card and will probably make most decks with Blue.
Triton Shorestalker- 1/1 for 1 Blue and unblockable? Yes…this will see play. Voltron him up with a Bestow creature and suddenly the clock is ticking for your opponent. The lack of Hexproof suggests that Wizards has learned from the Invisible Stalker “mistake” because unblockable, untouchable creatures really suck the fun out of the game. However, he`s still a very solid card and will undoubtedbly see play in Limited.
War-Wing Siren- a 1/3 Siren Soldier with Flying for 3 mana (1 blue and 2 colourless) with Heroic so that it gets a +1/+1 counter when targeted will be a fine creature and can be splashed in a variety of decks. A solid body, evasion, and the ability to grow to be a bigger threat gives this lots of upsde. This will be a reasonably high pick for anyone playing blue sitting in your draft pod.
Wildfire Cerberus- This is a 4/3 Hound for 5 mana (1 red and 4 colourless) with Monstrosity where for 7 mana it deals 2 damage to each opponent and all of their creatures. This will be a fine card and with a single red in the casting casting cost could be splashed. I really like the mini board wipe effect that takes out `bears` and one toughness creatures when this goes Monstrous. Again, this will be a solid pick and won`t disappoint.
