MTG Strategist

I haven't added Lifecrafter's Bestiary, but you can see where it would fit. I suppose the next view should be a permutation.

I like this depiction of the deck: This just shows what turn you are able to play each card, assuming you use it as it hits your hand (not realistic...just a building instruction).  It shows good overlap with creatures, enchantments and instants/sorceries.  I think it's time to play test.  I'm fairly certain that I can lose at least half of my games with this deck.  I'll let you know what happens. 

Here's where I'm at so far.  I like Renegade Rallier in the 3 spot because Cryptolith and Throne are key parts of the deck.  I think Lifecrafter's Bestiary would allow for some good card advantage...that's the next addition I believe.  Now comes the part where I stare at it for a day.  Herd of Cats CMC       1 Sacred Cat Wily Bandar Blossoming Defense 2 Cryptolith Rite Throne of the God-Pharaoh Oath of Ajani 3 Renegade Rallier Prowling Serpopard   4 Anointed Procession     5 Regal Caracal Engineered Might   6 Ajani Valiant Protector     Creature Enchantment Instant/Sorcery

So... Any thought of putting Oath of Nissa and Saheeli Rai into the Cat Deck as a second win condition is now gone.  Makes it easier, I think.  On that note... I believe that the loss of Felidar Guardian is a good thing for Standard.  Let's see what comes out of the woodwork.  It could even be the mighty Cat Deck we're working on, but probably not.  Either way, it opens the door for new and exciting decks...or old ones that were overshadowed.  Either way, I think we're in for an exciting few weeks of Magic. 

Since we'll have a lot of mana to spend (if Cryptolith Rite makes it to the field), here are my non-cat ideas for inclusion in the deck: I'll start looking at removal. And answers. And everything else missing from this strategy. Ajani is technically a cat...right?

After seeing the limited abilities of the Cats in Standard...I have decided to herd the cats toward a collective goal.  Constant non-combat damage and to drop a bomb in the late game (maybe Ulamog). By using Cryptolith Rite and Throne of the God-Pharaoh: In addition to our flood of Cats, we'll be able to tap them for mana and then each turn will net us some life loss on our opponents.  Additionally, adding Anointed Procession will help us bulk up our cat tokens...both from our embalmers as well as from the Regal Caracal (enters with 2 tokens). That narrows down our one-drops a little: Sacred Cat (embalm + lifelink).  This is starting to resemble a deck. 

Here come the cats.  I like to boil down creatures to the smallest factor.  I try to ignore mana color until the very end.  Luckily there's only two colors here: green and white. Behold the Standard Cats:

 Here's the plan...to build an optimization model that can configure the highest probability of minimizing your own life loss, maximizing damage to your opponents and minimizing the number of turns needed to achieve a win.  I'm going to start with a 4th degree non-parametric model that layers a Markov Chain to account for game state.  Or.... We can talk about cats. Either way, I'm good.  After starting my sole prerelease at Villainous Lair, located in sunny San Diego ( www.villainouslair.com ), I found that I had a strong desire to play Regal Caracal: I had no other cats; I had no synergy; I had nothing that related to this creature...but the desire to play the cat was there.  Why am I possessed by this card?  I need to get this out of my system.  Cat Deck....you are my next project.  Stand by for the cats.

Have you ever mulled over something alone to the point that you needed to write about it?  Welcome to my outlet.  Look...I have no real expectation that anyone will ever read what I write, but I love writing and I love playing MTG.  Since my career as an author isn't taking off and I need to do something that makes me feel connected to a community that is made up of people who generally don't interact socially unless they're holding seven cards in their hands, I decided to write this blog.  It feels really old school.  "Hey man, did you read my blog?"  Awesomely bad.  Either way, I plan on using this as a way of dumping my thoughts out regarding MTG game play.  But first, there's some stuff you should know about me.  I'm the only one in my family that plays this game.  If I go to FNM, I generally outrank anyone else in the room who might happen to be in the military.  I don't like to talk about my job in these situations because I w...