MTG Strategist

In the midst of dorking around with Jaya, I ran across an idea that was fairly idiotic, but wanted to capture it before it slipped away into the back alleys of my mind.  I'm not saying this is a good idea...in fact...it is a clear candidate for my 'Improbable Win Condition' segment.  This one relies on some interesting, less-used cards.  The two primary cards that make this deck happen are...  These two high-cost spells have an interaction that is pretty funny when it works.  With both on the battlefield, you can pay 4 at the end of your opponent's turn or at the beginning of your upkeep, dropping your life total to 4, then you can exchange your life total for theirs.  When you untap, you can again exchange your life total with Evra and return to your previous life total. Playing this with Fling is probably a good idea, but I've kept it mono-white to start. The beginning of the deck is here: Let me know what you think.

Okay.  Thanks everyone for some great suggestions.  There were three lines of thought.  The first was to add cards to the current deck, keeping it creature-less and black/red.  The second was to keep it the same colors but to add creatures.  The third was to add blue and make it more of a control-based deck.  All three have there merits.  But starting with the first suggestion, I added some cards to the fight that could help us make the most out of Jaya.  The biggest addition being Chandra, Torch of Defiance. The reason for the addition is pretty straight forward.  She can complement Jaya's mana adding ability with her own.  She can draw fire and destroy stuff.  Plus...adding a positive strong female role model to the deck for Jaya to emulate is probably good for team building.   The second addition that was suggested was actually a second win condition.   Fight with Fire can deliver a massive hit to your oppone...

Welcome to a new deckbuilding segment I like to call, "Against My Good Judgment." Here we will take less-played cards and attempt to make them playable.  First up... So Jaya has been sitting on the bench staring at me.  Her parents are in the stands watching and waiting to see when I'm going to put her in.  It's the 8th inning and we're ahead by 28, so..... This week I will be attempting to put together a playable Jaya Ballard deck.  The one below has played successfully against Saprolings.   But it has a long way to go.  It uses early game creature removal, hand disruption and board wipes to keep my opponent off the offensive.  Then it reaches for Jaya.  Jaya helps us to cast multiple spells.  Jaya is not our win condition however...just a facilitator of a win.  Our win condition is Revel in Riches.  That coupled with Brass's Bounty.  This might change in playtesting, but it came out in two consecutive games consistentl...

In honor and appreciation of my 666 subscribers and because I think it would be funny... I submit for your approval....the 666 Deck (queue Motley Crue...Shout at the Devil!!) I'll give you a second if you want to let the song play out in your head. What you see below is my tribute to reaching 666 subscribers.  This is a Modern devil deck.  It is tribal only in the sense that almost all of the creatures are the same type (there is one demon), but really the creatures operate independent from one another.  Each has a talent that enhances the deck's destructive power, but there aren't a lot of co-dependent synergies.  This element makes the 666 Deck stand out a bit from other tribal decks.  Whereas you can take out a tribal lord in other decks thus diminishing the team, you cannot do that to this deck.  It also has some surprises if you go up against heavy removal.  But let's get started. Center stage is Vexing Devil. This is probably the most ...

Every once in a while, when you get fed up with crushing people's souls with control, it's good to get back to your roots and play a fun creature-based deck.  Today, for your consideration, I offer Kicking and Screaming, a kicker based ramp deck that is guaranteed to entertain you while your heartless friends drag their tired old control decks to FNM to be greeted with long exhales. While the overall goal is to get Grunn the Lonely King out with his kicker, the deck has other kicks that make it fun from turn 1. From turn 1, you have both ramp and removal.  Llanowar Elves-epic ramp and Shivan Fire, a pertinent card that can be kicked for later game removal. In the 2 mana spot, you have card draw with Tormenting Voice and the elf with all the kick...Elfhame Druid.  You can tap him/her for 2 green to support your kick strategy.  Untamed Kavu can be a turn 2 play or kicked later on to provide a vigilant 5/5 with trample. In the 3 mana spot, we have the...

Since the release of Brawl and the pre-release of Dominaria, I have been surfing a deckbuilding tidal wave that has prevented me from posting anything for a bit.  As I attempt to get a grip on the new meta, several things have come to light (partial quote from the Dude). 1. Control in Brawl is the most popular (and dare I say...most effective) strategy that I have come up against. This might be because, over the course of two weeks and close to 10 Brawl deck prototypes, I went up against Baral decks (this is no exaggeration) at least 80% of the time.  The second most encountered deck was The Scarab God and the third was Vona, Butcher of Magan.  The rest were assorted planeswalkers (mostly Angrath) and fringe cards...and one very interesting Mudrotha, the Gravetide deck. What does this mean?  I think it shines a light on a huge limitation in Brawl.  The beauty of EDH is  the nearly unlimited selection of Commanders.  When playing Standard...