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Magic: The Gathering |OT|

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Sorry if it was posted and I missed it.
 
So I'm a complete RTTP noob to this game. Just started playing again after about a 12 year magic hiatus.

Trying to make a semi-competitive/mostly casual GWR Aura Aggro deck for relatively cheap. Here's what I've put together. I really know next to nothing of the current meta, so I'm looking for any helpful advice I can get!

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gwr-aura-test/

Just remember I'm trying to keep this on a budget. Right now I can fill in the holes of cards I don't have with about $45.
 
HappyBivouac said:
So I'm a complete RTTP noob to this game. Just started playing again after about a 12 year magic hiatus.

Trying to make a semi-competitive/mostly casual GWR Aura Aggro deck for relatively cheap. Here's what I've put together. I really know next to nothing of the current meta, so I'm looking for any helpful advice I can get!

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/gwr-aura-test/

Just remember I'm trying to keep this on a budget. Right now I can fill in the holes of cards I don't have with about $45.
Click to expand...

Blue has a ton of good Aura-related cards. Bruna, Light of Alabaster goes well with your theme, and is a cheap (price-wise) legendary creature. Plus you get Arcanum Wings.

But I can see you're basing it around Uril, so I guess you won't want those. Check out the recent GW Planechase deck; it's based around Auras too, and has a couple of new cards that would work well: Indrik Umbra is a big stompy Aura you can use late-game, Felidar Umbra can be shifted around your creatures to give them lifelink and protection. Rancor is very efficient and reusable (though it's not new for the set). Elderwood Scion is a good target for your Auras by making them cheaper and being slightly harder to destroy with instants/sorceries, and Krond the Dawn-Clad provides removal when equipped (though his mana cost will be a headache in a 3-colour deck).

So yeah, look into that Planechase deck. The Zendikar block (mostly Rise of the Eldrazi) contains a lot of Aura-related cards too.
 
narcosis219 said:
Man, they put some effort into those limited "dual color" uncommons, and then they go and reprint shit like door to nothingness and battle of wits. What are they even thinking. It's not good for limited OR standard. STOP TAKING UP RARE/MYTHIC SPOTS WITH SHITTTTTTTTT
Click to expand...

It's not all about Limited and Standard.
 
Wichu said:
Blue has a ton of good Aura-related cards. Bruna, Light of Alabaster goes well with your theme, and is a cheap (price-wise) legendary creature. Plus you get Arcanum Wings.

But I can see you're basing it around Uril, so I guess you won't want those. Check out the recent GW Planechase deck; it's based around Auras too, and has a couple of new cards that would work well: Indrik Umbra is a big stompy Aura you can use late-game, Felidar Umbra can be shifted around your creatures to give them lifelink and protection. Rancor is very efficient and reusable (though it's not new for the set). Elderwood Scion is a good target for your Auras by making them cheaper and being slightly harder to destroy with instants/sorceries, and Krond the Dawn-Clad provides removal when equipped (though his mana cost will be a headache in a 3-colour deck).

So yeah, look into that Planechase deck. The Zendikar block (mostly Rise of the Eldrazi) contains a lot of Aura-related cards too.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Those are definitely worth considering.

My main concern, and I guess a difficult question, is this: Is the deck too slow for the current meta?
 
HappyBivouac said:
Thanks! Those are definitely worth considering.

My main concern, and I guess a difficult question, is this: Is the deck too slow for the current meta?
Click to expand...

Competitively, yes. You can't use it in the 'standard' format, as that only allows cards from the last two blocks/core sets (with the release of core set 2013, this means only cards from M12/ISD/DKA/AVR/M13 are allowed), and eternal formats (ones which don't rotate sets out periodically) are very fast-paced due to the huge range of cards allowed. You'd never get the chance to cast something like Eldrazi Conscription in a competitive game.

Auras by their nature are slow, since you need at least two cards to use them (the Aura itself plus a permanent to attach it to). More dual lands will do wonders for speeding up the deck, but they're often quite pricy. Since you're using green, you could try using a couple of cards to search out lands and put them into play; this gives you more mana to cast your Auras, and helps ensure you have the right types of land. Birds of Paradise, which you're already using, has a similar effect (except that being a creature, it's more vulnerable to removal). I think you have slightly too few lands in here (especially for a three-colour deck); try swapping out an Aura or two for a couple more lands.

If you can get a playgroup who are more casual, it should be fine. I personally love cards with large mana costs but awesome effects, so I wouldn't play competitively myself.

The best way to improve the deck IMO is to get a bunch of cards that go with the deck, then swap them in for cards that don't see much play or prove to not be too useful.
 
ultron87 said:
I just didn't want anyone to miss out on the possibility 3 wonderful months of Rancor + Infect in Standard.
Click to expand...

Yep, already revamping my infect B/G infect deck. Ichorclaw Myr + Rancor swinging for 3 each turn will be dirty. Oh you want to block it? 5/3 with trample coming at ya.
 
Alternate win conditions are always funny.

Test of Endurance reprint PLZ.
 
There was one point at time when Battle of Wits was actually pretty decent on a competitive level in standard back during Kamigawa / Ravnica.

There aren't nearly enough tutors right now in standard to pull it off. Replacing Diabolic Tutor with that new scrubby tutor is a total jerk move too but still BATTLE OF WITS IS BACK.
 
Because I may be (temporarily) cashing out some money cards, I decided to throw together a R/G deck with Huntmaster, Bonfire, BoP and Strangleroots.

Surprisingly, it's pretty effective.
 
Its no good in any kind of tournament format but for casual play I just had a really fun idea involving running Battle of Wits in a regular 60 card deck, using Spawnsire of Ulamog to cast like 160 common Eldrazi and then using an effect to shuffle all creatures into their owners libraries or something
 
The_Technomancer said:
Its no good in any kind of tournament format but for casual play I just had a really fun idea involving running Battle of Wits in a regular 60 card deck, using Spawnsire of Ulamog to cast like 160 common Eldrazi and then using an effect to shuffle all creatures into their owners libraries or something
Click to expand...

I like that the plan for winning in this case is not to attack with 160 creatures, but to shuffle them into your library. :D
 
ultron87 said:
I like that the plan for winning in this case is not to attack with 160 creatures, but to shuffle them into your library. :D
Click to expand...

Right, exactly! The whole point is that the Spawnsire lets you bring them in from outside the game for free. Wish effects are the only way to "grow" your deck mid-game and AFAIK the Spawnsire is the only Wish effect that's "unlimited"
 
Ravager61 said:
Battle of Wits encourages no player interaction. You might as well be playing solitaire. That's just how it comes off to me.
Click to expand...

What?

Battle of Wits is not a combo deck at all. Combo decks are the ones where there is almost no player interaction. Battle of Wits decks are just typically 240 card control decks with a ridiculously fun win condition.
 
Ravager61 said:
If you're playing a battle of wits deck that is not trying to win using battle of wits, you're doing it wrong.
Click to expand...

Uh...? If you're trying to play a battle wits deck at all I would argue you're doing it wrong. :p Most of us are talking standard and there's only so much tutor/draw to get to it which is where the problem comes in and can't be the only win condition.
 
spawn031 said:
Why would they reprint battle of wits? The nostalgia.
Click to expand...
The last few core sets have been them experimenting with how to design a good "intro product" and it looks like they've decided that they can afford (and even should) to put in some bizarre cards like Battle of Wits and Door to Nothingness that new players can encounter and go "what the fuck?"
 
The less terrible vanilla rares like Goliath Sphinx there are the better and moving back to the fun category is always welcome. Uninspired rares are no fun at all.
 
Wichu said:
Competitively, yes. You can't use it in the 'standard' format, as that only allows cards from the last two blocks/core sets (with the release of core set 2013, this means only cards from M12/ISD/DKA/AVR/M13 are allowed), and eternal formats (ones which don't rotate sets out periodically) are very fast-paced due to the huge range of cards allowed. You'd never get the chance to cast something like Eldrazi Conscription in a competitive game.

Auras by their nature are slow, since you need at least two cards to use them (the Aura itself plus a permanent to attach it to). More dual lands will do wonders for speeding up the deck, but they're often quite pricy. Since you're using green, you could try using a couple of cards to search out lands and put them into play; this gives you more mana to cast your Auras, and helps ensure you have the right types of land. Birds of Paradise, which you're already using, has a similar effect (except that being a creature, it's more vulnerable to removal). I think you have slightly too few lands in here (especially for a three-colour deck); try swapping out an Aura or two for a couple more lands.

If you can get a playgroup who are more casual, it should be fine. I personally love cards with large mana costs but awesome effects, so I wouldn't play competitively myself.

The best way to improve the deck IMO is to get a bunch of cards that go with the deck, then swap them in for cards that don't see much play or prove to not be too useful.
Click to expand...

Wow, standard is only two blocks and core sets these days? They're really trying to squeeze that money out of their playerbase aren't they?
 
HappyBivouac said:
Wow, standard is only two blocks and core sets these days? They're really trying to squeeze that money out of their playerbase aren't they?
Click to expand...

That's literally how it's been for as far back as I remember (I started playing during Mirage block). If anything, they expanded it by allowing a brief stint where two core sets are legal.

Furthermore, they've introduced a new non-rotating format, Modern.
 
HappyBivouac said:
Wow, standard is only two blocks and core sets these days? They're really trying to squeeze that money out of their playerbase aren't they?
Click to expand...

Nah, just supporting a diversity of formats. There's also modern, which is every set back to 8th edition, and extended, which is the last four years' worth of sets....and legacy, block constructed (for any given block) and vintage as well.

There's a reason standard is the most popular constructed format, though. People like to play around with new cards and strategies without old, proven strategies stifling their play environment.
 
echoshifting said:
Nah, just supporting a diversity of formats. There's also modern, which is every set back to 8th edition, and extended, which is the last four years' worth of sets.

There's a reason standard is the most popular constructed format, though. People like to play around with new cards and strategies without old, proven strategies stifling their play environment.
Click to expand...

Yeah, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Modern still heavily Combo dominated? I know it was at induction
 
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