Atog Combos

A member over at the Wizard's forums sent me this rather silly deck based on those strange atog creatures. I told him I would post it here and now I am: Monoredburn's Atog Combos:

Creatures - 16
x4 Auratog
x4 Chronatog
x4 Phantatog
x4 Thaumatog

White Spells - 12
x4 Chronomantic Escape
x4 Island Sanctuary
x4 Spirit Loop 

Green Spells - 8
x4 Rancor
x4 Aspect of Mongoose

Lands - 24
x8 Forests
x8 Islands
x8 Plains 

How it works:
Auratog, Phantatog, and Thaumatog love gobbling enchantments. luckily for you, the ones in this deck keep coming back! If your opponent wins through creatures, then use the Chronomatic Escape and the Chronatog to keep them from ever attacking you. Just skip your turn on their turn and sit back and watch them flail about until they give up and scoop. 

I've never tried it, but I hope you get a kick out of this deck.

Happy Gaming!
RagingGoblin

Top Cards from Return to Ravnica

With the new set just released in stores, I wanted to celebrate a little by posting a review of what I feel are some of the top cards from Return to Ravnica; only I'm not skipping to the rares and mythics (because for the most part they're supposed to be the best). Instead, I will be picking what I feel to be the best card from each rarity. For the most part, my decision isn't based on any specific format, but more of the ease at which you could build a deck around it.

Top Common:  Goblin Electromancer

When I first saw this card in the Izzet vs. Golgari decks, I instantly took a liking to him. He's the perfect union between goblin's speed and Talrand's love of spells. The last time Wizards made a u/r goblin, it was more an unholy spawn of a goblin and a merfolk.Without his ability, he's a "bear", putting him just on mana curve. With it, however, I can see wondrous shenanigans happening. He's a list of what his effect reduces:
Normal cmc
Flashback
Overload
Anything with "x" in the cmc
Miracle
Need I say more?



Top Uncommon: Selesnya Charm

Charms have always been a great choice for anyone wanting options, and this one is sure to be worth it no matter what you use it for. First off, there's the boost and trample, which can turn almost anything into a valuable threat or prevent a chump block. Then there's the exile of a big baddie. For two mana, this not only gets rid of the problem, but makes sure it stays gone. Third (and probably my favorite use of it) is the 2/2 knight token with vigilance. If that was a creature he would be a bit ahead of the mana curve. But he's not, it's actually an instant creating him, which basically gives him flash as well. He might end up as just a chump blocker, but he can also be that surprise creature that you need to win.

Top Rare: Abrupt Decay

This choice probably doesn't come as a shock to most of you. There's just something about an uncounterable kill spell that can target any non-land cheap permanent that just screams "use me". There's just so many artifacts, enchantments, creatures, planeswalkers that you can hit with this card; all while Mr. BluePlayer sits there with his counters and weeps. About the only thing I don't like about it is the price tag. $20 a pop means this card is essentially tournament decks only. Hopefully it drops to a more reasonable price once the hype is over, though I doubt it. Still, a girl can dream, can't she? 



 

Top Mythic: Armada Wurm

One 5/5 trample wurm for 6cmc is pretty bad, but what if you got 2 wurms for that price? Now that seems like a good deal. I'm a big fan of creatures that come with a token buddy, since it feels like you get twice the staying power from the spell. Now your opponent has to kill/unsummon both to make it feel like you just wasted that spell. Let's not forget about bouncing him yourself to get that token again, or when he finally dies slapping him onto something like a Mimic Vat and making a big fat wurm factory. His cost is a bit mana heavy, but that seems to be the theme of this set. Still, green has plenty of ways to get the mana you need to drop him and go to town. 




So there you have it! Those are my choices for the top cards from each rarity in Return to Ravnica. Overall there were many excellent candidates for this post, and it was hard to narrow it down to just these four. Please leave a comment telling me if you agree/disagree with any of my choices. Just be civil about it, okay? Also don't forget to Like, tweet, google + it, what have you.

Happy Gaming!
Raging Goblin  

Mono-Blue Aggro Deck

When you think of blue, you tend to think about control cards like Cancel and Mana Leak. Small utility creatures and stalls until you can get a big game-changing brute. This is not the case with the deck I'm about to show you. This deck is pure aggro. Allow me to present to you: Illusions.

Creatures - 22
x4 Jace's Phantasm
x4 Krovikan Mist
x4 Lord of the Unreal
x4 Illusory Angel
x4 Chronozoa
x2 Phantasmal Dragon

Blue Spells - 8
x4 Piracy Charm
x4 Unsummon

Enchantments - 4
x4 Favorable Winds

Equipment -6
x4 Trepanation Blade
x2 Swiftfoot Boots

Lands - 20
x4 Faeire Conclave
x16 Island

How it works:
The deck is pretty simple: play aggro. The deck is filled with cheap-costing illusions that (for the most part) don't have that ugly "target me and I die" effect. Lord of the Unreal helps protect and boost all your illusions, and favorable winds is a natural choice because, well, look at all those fliers! Chronozoa is just a silly card and can help you with getting the upper hand when it comes to the number of creatures you have. Also he buffs the Krovikian Mist every time it splits. The Trepanation Blades aren't the best way to mill, but it's the most aggressive way I could find to get those 10 cards needed in your opponent's graveyard to turn the Jace's Phantasms into 1-drop killing machines.

Pricier, but better:
First thing I would do is swap out those Phantasmal Dragons for something nicer like Phantasmal Image (if you don't mind the "target" drawback) or Palinchron. Also replacing the Trepanation Blades with something like Sword of Body and Mind can ensure you get those 10 cards in their graveyard, and you get a puppy from it too! Other than that, the deck feels pretty solid to me.

Hope you enjoy seeing a refreshing use for those islands, and as always...

Happy Gaming!
RagingGoblin

Mono-Green Timbermare Deck

While answering a question on the wizard's forums about cards that interact well with Roaring Primadox, I came up with a deck that revolves around Timbermare and Wild Pair. Instead of the Primadox, I'm using Stampeding Wildebeests  to bounce my creatures.

Creatures - 21
x4 Timbermare
x4 Elvish Visionary
x4 Llanowar Elves
x4 Stampeding Wildebeests
x2 Wood Elves
x2 Sylvan Ranger
x1 Craterhoof Behemoth

Green Spells - 10
x4 Vitalize
x4 Vines of Vastwood
x2 Fog

Enchantments - 9
x3 Quest for Renewal
x3 Wheel of Sun and Moon
x3 Wild Pair

Lands - 20
x20 Forest

How it works:
The Wildebeests are used to bounce your "utility" creatures for mana/cards until you can get a Wild Pair and/or Timbermare. Basically you bounce the 'mare before you have to pay the echo cost, thus saving your pony from the graveyard. Cards like Vitalize and Quest of Renewal untap your creatures for you, and the fogs are there just in case. Oh, and the Craterhoof's stats match the Timbermare, so you can grab it with a pony, vitalize to untap your field, and swing massive.

Pricier, But Better:
Since I have not tried this deck out, it's hard to say what would be a better fit. One card I can suggest is Green Sun's Zenith to help get the combo out a little faster. Also re-balancing the creatures to fit another Craterhoof Behemoth in can't hurt. To add a bit of variance with the lands, you could add a playset of Treetop Villages to the deck. I'll have to test this deck out some before I can complete this part.

If you have any constructive critiques on this deck, let me know in a comment okay? Also if you test it out let me know how it does.

Happy Playing!
RagingGoblin

Pauper G/W Enchantments

I'd like to show you my simple yet effective pauper deck that revolves around totem armors and other great enchantments. The deck also has cheap-yet-useful creatures and ways to bounce and replay your enchantments when a better creature comes along.

Creatures - 20
x4 Gladecover Scout
x4 Elvish Visionary
x4 Aura Gnarlid
x4 Courier Hawk
x4 Kor Skyfisher
x2 Auramancer

Aura Spells - 18
x4 Spider Umbra
x2 Lignify
x2 Snake Umbra
x4 Hyena Umbra
x2 Pacifism
x4 Ethereal Armor

G/W Instants - 4
x4 Sigil Blessing

Lands - 18
x2 Selesnya Sanctuary
x8 Plains
x8 Forest

What it does:
The deck revolves around beefing up your small creatures and aura gnarlid with cheap enchantments, while you hinder your opponent with lignify and pacifism. Kor skyfisher is perfect for moving an enchantment from one creature to another, or bouncing useful creatures like the visionary or auramancer. Totem armors make up the majority of the enchantments in this deck, and they help keep your creatures alive and swinging.

Pricier, but better:
Obviously since this is a pauper deck, there is a lot of room for improvement. If you wish to break the pauper theme, here are a few suggestions. Kor Spiritdancer is another solid aura-target, and she rewards you with cards for playing auras! Rancor is a perfect aura for any green deck. It's cheap, powerful, and brings itself back to your hand if the creature eventually dies. Bear Umbra and Felidar Umbra follow the umbra theme that this deck is already leaning towards. Retether would be perfect after a mass enchantment wipe, allowing you to put yours back onto the field.

Whether you keep it pauper or not, I hope this deck is as enjoyable for you as it is for me.

Happy Playing!
RagingGoblin

Mono-Red Bloodthirst

Tonight I want to share with you a nice little deck that I found in the forums over on Wizard's site. The deck was build by AzazelWandering with some help of another poster on the forum, VRdragoon. Between the two of them they built a nifty modern format mono-red deck that is focused on the bloodthrist ability.



Creature Spells - 26
x4 Goblin Fireslinger
x4 Goblin Arsonist
x4 Bogardan Lancer
x4 Stormblood Berserker
x4 Pyreheart Wolf
x4 Blood Ogre
x2 Gorehorn Minotaur

Red Spells - 11
x3 Lightning Bolt
x4 Forked Bolt
x4 Arc Trail

Lands - 23
x23 Mountain


What it does: 
Activating bloodthrist is an easy thing for red to do, and this deck has several ways on getting those necessary points of damage through. Spells like Forked Bolt and Arc Trail are perfect for when you don't want to choose between shooing the player or hitting a creature they control, and a casual red deck with no lightning bolts is almost absurd! The creature choices are pretty solid and seem to have a nice variety of added effects. I've liked Stromblood Berserker ever since I first saw it. Any 2-drop that can easily become a 3/3 just by hurting my opponent before I drop it is a keeper in my book. Goblin fireslinger had to of been made for this style of deck, especially since it did come out in the same set that brought this mechanic back. I feel that creatures with the bloodthrist ability seem to prefer being cast during the second main phase after you attack, which is a phase a few of us tend to forget about.  

 The best thing about this deck, and all the others on his thread, is that it costs under $15 to put together. If you would like to see some of the other decks him and other posters on that thread have come up with, just check it out Here. 

Happy Playing!
-RagingGoblin

Duel Decks: Izzet vs. Golgari review

Today I want to talk a little bit about the new Duel Decks that Wizards has made. At the suggested price of $19.95, these decks are sure to not disappoint when it comes to value. Each deck has it's fair share of  sweet cards like Iscohron Scepter and Eternal Witness. Overall the individual cards in each deck make it a smart choice to snatch this up. Each deck has a unique play style that may take a bit of getting used to. Unfortunately when I tried them out, I was having horrible luck with both, so I won't be reviewing too much on the actual gameplay.

  

With the Izzet deck strategy insert they give 3 possible play-styles: aggro with cheap spells and creatures like Wee Dragonauts and Kiln Fiend, early control then late game power, and throwing a solid spell on Isochron Scepter and rolling with it. With the scepter out and a dragonaut or both, you're almost guaranteed to be swinging 3/3's over jarad's head every turn. Two great cards to imprint are fire/ice or the izzit charm, both of which give you several options every time to use it. Creatures like Galvanoth and goblin electromancer help all the higher casting cards in the deck either become a little less painful to play, or completely free. Several of the spells in the deck allows you to draw a card, which helps a lot early game and could become even more painful for your opponent with Niv-Mizzit, the Firemind in play. I would have liked to see some cards to help stack my deck so there's a better chance of pulling the card I needed, since these decks run mostly one copy of each card.    


 

The Golgari deck, on the other hand, has a straightforward play-style: dredge. The deck's main goal is to fill your graveyard asap and pull out all the good stuff with cards like Eternal Witness or get some lands back with Life From the Loam. Because of this, the deck has it's own form of scry. My favorite combo in this deck is eternal witness, golgari thug, and Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord. With those three out you can continuously dredge and pull out whatever creatures you want into your hand, all while jarad punishes your opponent (that is, until they dissipate one of them). While I love it's effect, I'm not sure how well gleancrawler fits in the deck. On the one hand, it can be amazing with jarad or e.t, allowing you to kill your own creatures or attack without a care in the world. On the other hand, it shuts down your ability to dredge and fill your graveyard. Another card I feel doesn't fit the deck quite right is Dreg Mangler. The new Golgari theme from RTR seems a bit counterproductive since you want a full and happy graveyard.    

As is usual with the pre-built decks wizards puts out, each deck has a few cards that need to be swapped out for something better. First thing I would do to tweak the Izzet deck is give it a common goal instead of trying to balance 3 play-styles at one. I personally would keep a bit of the aggro and add in some cheaper draw cards, with plenty of deck stacking options like Preordain or Augury Owl. Another amazing card to add is Curiosity. Enchanting  Niv-Mizzit, the Firemind with it would lead to an instant victory, which is probably why they changed the dragon's abilities for RTR.With the Golgari deck I would throw in more cheap creatures that want to die like Sakura-Tribe Elder and add in a simple sac engine like Thoughtpicker Witch. That plus more dredge cards can help you fill your graveyard quite nicely. Also to help with the drawback of Twilight's Call giving your opponent back his stuff, throw a Bojuka Bog or two in to keep their graveyard empty (Tormod's Crypt works too). Each deck can also work well as starting "seeds" for a pair of Commander decks, which can also make the costly cards in both more useful. We actually did just that and found them to be a lot more fun to play that way then as normal 60-card decks! 

All-in-all these are pretty fun decks and I can see both of them becoming very powerful with only a few tweaks. If you're still debating on getting one I would strongly suggest it, if only for the value of the individual cards themselves. Check out the official decklists on the Wizard's site here.

Happy Playing!
-Raging Goblin

Mono-Black Vampires

-obligatory 1st post comment-

Okay, now to business. Here I have a nice mono-black vampire deck with enough control to keep your opponents in check. Most of the deck features cards from the Zendikar block, but it has a few cards that venture into other planes.


Creature Spells - 22
x4 Guul Draz Vampire
x4 Pulse Tracker
x4 Blood Seeker
x3 Vampire Hexmage
x2 Kalastria Highborn
x3 Vampire Nighthawk
x2 Bloodline Keeper



Black Spells - 16
x4 Doom Blade
x4 Feast of Blood
x4 Urge to Feed
x2 Unearth
x2 Footbottom Feast


Artifact Spells - 2
x2 Blade of the Bloodchief

Lands- 20
x2 Leechridden Swamps
x18 Swamps


What it does:
With a plethora of ways to slowly drain the life out of your opponents early on, it's going to be easy to get at least some damage in each round. The deck can hold it's own against more than one opponent, thanks to the Pulse Trackers pinging everyone but you and the Blood Seekers keeping tokens, goblins, and elves at bay. Kalistia Highborn can make it rather unpleasant for your opponents to block or attack, since you can retaliate for just one mana. Speaking of mana, even some your lands can potentially drain their life away!
While the tokens for the flip cards aren't pretty, Bloodline Keeper makes for a solid addition to this deck. He can build an aerial army single-handed then flip and command his tokens and your Vampire Nighthawks to bring death from above. Vampire Hexmage is great for killing off enemy planeswalkers, or just holding your blades until the nighthawks hit the field.

Pricier, but better:
Replacing the Footbottom Feasts with 2 more Unearth's might be a good idea, since they can bring just about every creature back to life (and for one mana too). Also swapping the Bloodline Keepers for Vampire Nocturnus could save you the trouble of building a flying army by making your existing vampires into such. One final tweak I would do is replace some (if not all) of the Doom Blades with Go for the Throat, since it helps avoid the protection black seems to have against black decks.

Hopefully, this deck will be as big of a hit at your table as it is at mine.

Happy playing!
-Raging Goblin