Thoughts n other trappings

Hello readers! Good news on the GP front, our own JDNoice went 7-0-1 on day 1 of GP Sydney, coming 5th at the end of the day! That is TREMENDOUS considering his humble deck, with consistent numbers of power-commons, as opposed to ANY outrageous obvious bombs (Rat Pack, we hate you).

Though I'm here to post a look into my thoughts when digging through cards. It started as a way to simply look over creatures from standard, to see what decks didn't present themselves. It basically involved going through Gatherer (great resource) and writing down all the cards that stood out, that WEREN'T obvious (so don't bother listing Snapcaster, we know he's good) and including a small note on the deck or idea that jumps out at you. So I'll give you the list, skim over it, and see what I mean. Then I'll highlight a silly card that's actually bloody strong.


12 mana dorks (deathrite needs a land
4 denial mans (judge's familiar)

Ash Zealot gets in there
Augur draws you a spell (info revealed)
Blood artist wrath-bombs (soft to Terminus)
Dawntreader as slow bad rampart growth
Deadly Recluse (GREAT answer to dragons)
Deranged assistant (milling and biger mana dork == potential for blue Rites)
Flinthoof Boar (gets in there, green gruul version
Fog Bank holds the fort but no against ETB dragons
Goblin Electromancer saves 1mana a turn (5 turns, 5 mana) check out spells
Mayor of Avabruck (turn 2 aggro play, esp for junk Rites with Grsly Salvage for

instant OPs EOT casting
Mindshriker (cast Azoriouis Charm on their Wurm, then activate)
New prahv guildmage eats a long game (detain until team fly for win)
Precinct captain ( set up 2 drop, allows 2/1 griffin to attak, then turn 3

Goblin with THREE ATATCKERS ability
vhitu-ghazi guildmage (team up Bant mages)

arctic aven (forgotten good racing threew drop u/w
armored skaab (blue/white rites)
axebane guardian (standard guardians)
Fiend Hunter ('target creature, soft to removal)
guttersnipe (u/r goblin spells deck)
harbor bandit (u/b finisher)
hover barrier
Immerwolf (+Magehunter hardish lock)
loxodon smiter (turn 2 4/4, with mana dorks)
lyev skynight (get there until bant takes over)
mwonvuli beast tracker
thraben doomsayer (drop after successful terminus, hurts hey?)

krenko? no goblinds deck in standard
yeva

acidic slime
azors elocutors
bitterheart witch (mwonvuli onto deck, grisly/mulch, block kill curse of deaths

hold
bloodgift demon
Fiend of the Shadows (mirror breaker, play THEIR deck for YOU
geist-honored monk
hypersonic dragon
rakdos ragemutt (break mirror for win, otherwise great)
silklash spider (in mirror v junk reanimator)
voidwielder
vorapede (too Green)

Bruna? deck
captain of the watch (geist-honored monk fuel)
goldnight redeemer (token deck keepaliver
isperia
markov warlord (finisher in any deck, red splash easy)
mikaus the unhallowed
necropolis regent (better in Modern off of scout's warning passage blockers
sphinx of chimes

eldarscale wurm
gisella, blade of goldnight

stormtide in u/w reanimator as finisher n giggles

So that's it order of cost. No mention on the only 11 drop Worldspine Wurm, because there's no Instant speed ressurection in standard (though Modern enjoys some Makeshift Mannequin).

Two cards popped out, and one newish deck idea. Mwonvuli Beast Tracker was always an interesting card, and very forboding. Get a huge range of creatures, but put them on top of your deck. Well, that's not normally very good, because I'm sure most ppl want their creatures now. I assume the waiting a turn is what made the card unplayable in the first place, but when you put MBT into the already popular (and mostly fun) Junk Reanimator it becomes quite palatable.

For starters, we can suddenly play a bunch of one-of's that are really good in certain situations. Silk Lash Spider is great at eating the sky and holding off 5/6 Angel beats, then nuking the skies. Acidic Slime is good at dealing with problem permanents. Etc etc, just click on this link: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&type=+[%22Creature%22]&format=|[%22Standard%22]&text=|[reach]|[deathtouch]|[trample]+![soulbond]|[hexproof]&name=+![%22mwonvuli%20beast%20tracker%22] or copy and paste if that doesn't work.

Once you've got the critter you want, you need to Mulch or Grisly Salvage it into the bin. That's quite easy enough, because both allow you to miss, unless you flip no creatures BUT your target. Then reanimate as usual.

This gives the deck an amount of consistency QUICKER than all the rest. Sure, you can play varying versions. There are 8 milling spells as default, being the playset each of Mulch (look at 4, keep the lands) and Grisly Salvage (revealed 5, keep 1 land/critter). Those splashing for red also get Faithless Looting, which I agree with entirely. It only looks 2 deep when you cast the first half, but the ability to keep "Fatty hands" really improves the deck, and it's very easy to turn 1 Faithless Looting and set up an Unburial Rites and FATTY OF CHOICE on the first time! Do they have the Rest in Peace now, or not? The second casting gets you another two, but seeing there's four Faithless Looting that's PLENTY of secondary casting during each turn of the game that you can't reanimate for the win.

So you've got the normal 8, the red splashed 12, or the Mwonvuli Beast Tracker Exactsies. This can act as searches 13-16 in the right build (hell, the mana cost is NOT a problem) and with the right set up you can get your turn 5 into turn 6 Rites win pretty nice. It can even play mini-Brainstorm, allowing you to safely hide your most desired fatty on top on your deck, while your clever opponent Rakdos Charms your graveyard away (not knowing your plans to EOT Grisly Salvage, dumping in Critter X, and casting Rites from hand next turn.

Sweet. Potentially strong, and DIRECT. That thing we like in Magic, yeah?

Peace all, happy new years.