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By: bdgp009, Ernesto Almeda Jr.
Mar 18 2015 12:00pm
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 Casual Play # 7: The Decks You Think But Never Made

                                                

Hello again to the patrons of MTGOTraders and the readers of PureMTGO. This is a special article for me because it’s the first time an article series of mine will be published for the 7th time. Our PureMTGO editor might argue with me because he has published seven of the Going Silver Black article but four of those are card reviews and I count all the reviews as one article.

When I was in high School I asked my friend Marco why the 7th birthday is considered to be a special birthday. He said “When a child reaches the age of seven he/she has passed the critical stage of having the diseases that is fatal to a person. That is the reason for the big celebration that we do during the 7th birthday. If that is the case I hope the seventh article of Casual Plays meant that it would prosper more and become a permanent part of PureMTGO!

With that short and nostalgic memory let me present to you the seven decks to complete our casual plays celebration.

 STANDARD

Ensoul Artifact
by bdgp009
Creatures
2 Colossus of Akros
4 Ornithopter
2 Witness of the Ages
2 Jeskai Elder
10 cards

Other Spells
2 Briber's Purse
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
4 Frost Walker
2 Heart-Piercer Bow
2 Hero's Blade
3 Hewed Stone Retainers
4 Renowned Weaponsmith
2 Pilgrim of the Fires
1 Haunted Plate Mail
1 Scroll of the Masters
4 Ensoul Artifact
2 Jeskai Sage
2 Treasure Cruise
32 cards
Lands
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Dismal Backwater
10 Island
18 cards
 
Ensoul Artifact

 

I have fought this type of deck so many times in the casual room but I never had the chance to feature it. I read a budget article last week that also features an Ensoul Artifact deck variant. The one I had built is mostly based on the power of Ensoul Artifact alone and because of that I have included a lot of zero to cast artifact spells to ensure that a turn two Ensoul Artifact is possible. Of course the best target for Ensoul Artifact is our indestructible land, Darksteel Citadel.

 

Legends
by bdgp009
Creatures
2 Zurgo Helmsmasher
1 Tymaret, the Murder King
1 Daxos of Meletis
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
8 cards

Other Spells
4 Hero's Blade
2 Ojutai, Soul of Winter
2 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
2 Atarka, World Render
2 Dromoka, the Eternal
2 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
2 Daghatar the Adamant
2 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
2 Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
2 Yasova Dragonclaw
2 Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Spear of Heliod
1 Bident of Thassa
1 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
30 cards
Lands
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Mystic Monastery
1 Nomad Outpost
1 Opulent Palace
1 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Bloodfell Caves
1 Blossoming Sands
1 Dismal Backwater
1 Jungle Hollow
1 Rugged Highlands
1 Wind-Scarred Crag
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Thornwood Falls
1 Swiftwater Cliffs
1 Scoured Barrens
1 Forest
1 Mountain
2 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Island
22 cards
 

 

These days legends seem to be a dime a dozen in the Standard format so I tried to see if a legendary deck can win in the just for fun room. The rule for making this deck is to have at least 20 legendary creatures with all the legendary artifact enchantments of Theros. The creation of (Hero’s Blade) seems to be truly made for this type of deck.

 

MODERN

 

I made this deck a long time ago when the Casual Plays article hadn’t been born yet.  I tried and revisited the soul sisters deck and add a little tweak by using Chalice of Life as a win condition. I tried to join Blippy’s Overdrive with it but sadly it did not start because Blippy is in Love (I mean he’s seeing someone or was in vacation in Tinyville). 

 

PAUPER

Dimir Delver
by bdgp009
Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
4 cards

Other Spells
4 Gurmag Angler
3 Jeskai Sage
2 Sultai Emissary
2 Chainer's Edict
2 Doom Blade
4 Forbidden Alchemy
2 Negate
2 Vendetta
1 Dispel
2 Mana Leak
2 Counterspell
1 Force Spike
2 Preordain
1 Ponder
2 Treasure Cruise
1 Altar's Reap
1 Crypt Incursion
2 Brainstorm
27 cards
Lands
4 Dismal Backwater
6 Swamp
8 Island
2 Dimir Guildgate
20 cards

 

This deck has suddenly crashed in with the big boys of Pauper format has been seeing a lot of success in the dailies. I even have a top 4 with it in Pauper Classic Tuesday PRE. This version of mine is a more casual build because I tried to see if it can win without its key cards Mental Note and Thought Scour. I must be very lucky with it because I actually won a constructed match against the actual Dimir Delver.

 


IS THIS CASUAL? 

I have met and lost a lot of games with a deck that is using the power of dash cards like Mardu Strike Leader, Vaultbreaker, Mardu Scout, Goblin Heelcutter, Mardu Shadowspear and (Kologhan, the Storm’s Fury).  This time I am the one that will look at it on the other side and see if I can win as much as my opponents with it. Of course I have the rule that I must use at least 20 cards with the dash mechanic on it.

KTK Dash
by bdgp009
Creatures
1 Zurgo Helmsmasher
1 cards

Other Spells
4 Mardu Scout
2 Flamerush Rider
3 Mardu Strike Leader
4 Mardu Shadowspear
3 Vaultbreaker
3 Goblin Heelcutter
2 Alesha's Vanguard
4 Mardu Ascendancy
4 Mardu Charm
4 Crackling Doom
4 Murderous Cut
1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
1 Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
39 cards
Lands
2 Bloodfell Caves
2 Scoured Barrens
2 Wind-Scarred Crag
4 Nomad Outpost
2 Plains
4 Mountain
4 Swamp
20 cards
 

 

Deckbuilding:

Creatures:

1. Mardu Strike Leader-the power of this warrior of creating 2/1 warrior tokens have surpassed expectation and is actually included in a lot of standard decks since it came out.

2. Vaultbreaker- This 4/2 creature can suddenly win you the game with his conditional drawing power when he attacks. I have experience doing seven damage with it after it made me draw Collateral damage in one of my Draft games.

3. Goblin Heelcutter- The power of this goblin berserker to scare a creature away (I am assuming that is what it does) and make them unable to block is wonderful especially in a stalled board.

4. Mardu Shadowspear- This warrior that can hurl shadow spears directly at your opponent is a very good starter with its one Black CMC.

5. Mardu Scout-an instant 3 damage on your second turn.

6.( Alesha’s Vanguard)-I add them because I also added Alesha in this deck.

7. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death- I believe that the power of Alesha can suddenly help the deck but the reason why she is included is because she is the legend of the Mardu color.

8. Kologhan, the Storm’s Fury- The only dash legend is of course included.

9. Zurgo Helmsmasher- This mythic legend is one of the win conditions of this type of deck.

Other Spells:

1. Mardu Ascendancy- To add more offense .

2. Crackling Doom, Mardu Charm, and Murderous Cut- added for removals.

Conclusion: 

Last week I have written that my criteria does not seem to judge the casualness of a deck so starting this week I will be telling my conclusion on how I have felt while using the deck for the Is This Casual section. The KTK Dash deck that you are seeing is very casual and can never be used in an actual KTK Block tournament.  The main reason is due to five cards that are included in most of this deck variant that I have not included in mine. These cards are (Sarkhan, the Dragon Speaker), Ashcloud Phoenix, Shaman of the Great Hunt, Brutal Hordechief and Sorin, Solemn Visitor.

Would You Like To Join a KTK Block Pure Clan PRE (Player Run Event)? 

After the release of Dragons of Tarkir I want to see a tournament that will show which Clan is the most powerful in a casual way. 

Mardu Clan
by bdgp009
Creatures
4 Mardu Hordechief
1 Zurgo Helmsmasher
1 Ashcloud Phoenix
3 Butcher of the Horde
3 Ponyback Brigade
12 cards

Other Spells
3 Mardu Strike Leader
4 Mardu Ascendancy
3 Mardu Shadowspear
4 Mardu Woe-Reaper
4 Mardu Charm
4 Sandsteppe Outcast
2 Harsh Sustenance
2 Crackling Doom
2 Outpost Siege
28 cards
Lands
4 Scoured Barrens
4 Wind-Scarred Crag
4 Bloodfell Caves
4 Nomad Outpost
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
1 Plains
20 cards
 
Mardu Ascendancy

 

The deck on top conforms to the following rules:

1. It has 20 cards that have the clan on its name-The deck you can see has 20 or more cards that has Mardu on its name.

2. It has 10 cards that have all the colors of its clan-Other than the 20 cards with Mardu in its name the deck must have 10 other cards that is using all the color of the clan. If you have already use 20 cards that have Mardu on the name, cards like Mardu Ascendancy  can be included in the 10 cards that uses the clan colors.

3. The last 10 remaining cards can be colorless cards or cards that uses the clan colors- Mardu uses Red,Black and White while Jeskai uses Red, White and Blue.

4. The Deck has an exact 20 land cards. This rule is included so no one can say that they have mana problems because of the number of lands they have used.

5. Only one copy of a mythic card can be included-The deck above only have one Ashcloud Phoenix and one Zurgo Helmsmasher. This is to make sure that a deck won’t be too powerful because of the mythic cards.

6. There will be no Sideboard- the same with the reason for Tribal deck. This rule will make sure that the deck is still a Pure Clan after sideboarding 

As of now this is just my wishful thinking talking but I hope I can find sponsors and a good host for this dream PRE.

DECK from the FUTURE

Tough Nest
by bdgp009
Creatures
4 Archers' Parapet
4 Bloodfire Mentor
2 Monastery Flock
2 Dragon's Eye Savants
2 Embodiment of Spring
4 Disowned Ancestor
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
22 cards

Other Spells
3 Jeskai Barricade
1 Crux of Fate
2 Duneblast
2 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
2 End Hostilities
2 Barrage of Boulders
2 Death Frenzy
4 Assault Formation
18 cards
Lands
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Dismal Backwater
1 Bloodfell Caves
1 Rugged Highlands
1 Blossoming Sands
1 Mystic Monastery
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Nomad Outpost
1 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Opulent Palace
2 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
2 Island
2 Forest
20 cards
 

 

Of course the star of this deck is Assault Formation and the creatures that I will include are creatures that have strong toughness. I saw a deck that uses the power of walls in one of my drafts and after the release of Dragons of Tarkir we will see if this kind of deck will be a viable contender in Standard or KTK Block.

Here are the Videos:

Ensoul Artifact: A battle against a casual Rakdos heroic deck.

Legends: A battle against a Boros token deck.

Soul Sister's Chalice: A game against a Tribal Treefolk Deck

Dimir Delver: A mirror match in the constructed queue.

KTK Dash: A battle against a Mardu variant deck. Hello to MEETCH, my opponent, because he is a very cool guy even though I lost in our games.

Pure Mardu Clan: This battle against a manifest variant is epic and it seems to be better than the one I featured in my last article.

 

Ensoul Artifact Overkill!: Since I still can't play with my future deck I am showing this battle of my Ensoul Artifact deck against a mythic filled deck that I dread to see in the just for fun room. It is not an overkill though because of the mythics but rather an attack by Polukranos, World Eater registered 400 plus damage in the replay. Can someone enlighten me how it happened because I am at a loss.

 

 

That's all for this special edition of causal plays. Peace Out MTGO peeps!

4 Comments

Have you thought about by Dawwy at Thu, 03/19/2015 - 03:48
Dawwy's picture

Have you thought about putting Ghostfire Blade in the first deck? It works well with all that animated artifacts.

Also sign me up for KTK pure event!

For KTK pure, would a deck be by Misterpid at Thu, 03/19/2015 - 09:50
Misterpid's picture

For KTK pure, would a deck be allowed to use a card with another clan in its name? For example, would a Mardu deck be allowed to use Abzan Advantage?

It looks like from the way by Paul Leicht at Fri, 03/20/2015 - 11:03
Paul Leicht's picture

It looks like from the way the rules are written that you have to stick to the color id of the clan so in the case of Mardu, Red, White and Black + colorless. Since Abzan Advantage has only one color and that color is legal then the card is legal. However, note that this card won't count toward either the multicolor requirement nor the named requirement.

Sorry if my reply to the by bdgp009 at Sun, 03/22/2015 - 07:53
bdgp009's picture

Sorry if my reply to the comments are so late ghosfire blade is surely a good addition for the ensoul artifact deck. As I said about the KTK Pure event I am still thinking of a host and sponsors. I hope I can find them before the DTK release event is over. Misterpid yes abzan advantage can be used in a Mardu clan but it would count as one of the 10 last spell that you are going to use.