Tribal deck - Super weak against board wipe? well not really
WHY REVISIT THIS DECK:
- New Cards who this with the printing of Elvish Warmaster and Realmwalker, the deck has a rejuvenated look into what the initial deck build had to offer. These 2 new cards in my opinion pushed the power level of this deck. Elvish Warmaster eliminating the need to play subpar cards while also serving as a pump outlet, increasing threat density and deck space. While Realmwalker - well I think the card just screams tribal and need no explanation.
WHAT THE DECK INTENDS TO DO:
- Swarm the deck intends to abuse it's card synergy function by overwhelming the board on as early as turn 3. Mimicking what essentially is a legacy deck through the card value engine interaction "heritage druid-Realmwalker" combo.
WHAT IT CAN ALSO DO:
- Deal Direct Damage what these types of deck lacks are reach, they are most efficient in putting pressure on the board but once the game reaches a state of equilibrium or combat damage is nullified, then we have an issue. However because we have Shaman of the pack in this build that will not be an issue. This also hasten the game state towards our favor since it can deal damage while we are on our "build stage" when we are trying to vomit out our deck.
- Rebuild Having access to collective company gives us an edge against board wipes given that these are played on instant speed. Mostly these are also used to boost reach of this deck by enabling us to deterministically gain board presence or acquire lords in a pinch.
- Disruption Package Since we have access to black we are able to play the all mighty disruptor thoughtsieze and (in my opinion) on of the best removal printed in the form of Assassin's trophy. these 2 in the sideboard really gives this deck an edge on how it can perform post board, given that this is were these type of decks falter.
HOW TO MULLIGAN:
Game 1
- Do not gold fish The deck is a synergy deck, though there will be explosive openings for these type of archetype, "going-off" on turn 2 is usually depending if the opponent has an early board interaction. Given the current Modern climate, they usually will. So Hand density is a factor given that we want to swarm our opponent.
- Prioritize 1 Lands + multi 1 drop The deck is land light, so you will expect opening hands with 1 land, with potentially drawing your second land on turn 3-4. However, Since we are elves - mana is built within our creature (12 of them to be exact are 1 drops) these type of situations shouldn't be an issue. So don't be afraid to keep a 1 lander with multiple 1 drops.
- Its a trap In connection to my last point, do not fall for trap hands with 1 land + 1 drop + on curve. Meaning that your entire hand depends on that mana dork surviving turn 1. DO NOT FALL for these types of hands. Do the right thing and mulligan, unless you are extremely certain that the opponent cannot interact on turn 1 or 2.
WHAT THE MAIN DECK USED TO LOOK LIKE:
VERSION 2 upgrades
- 1x Elvish Champion [Out] Win more are the type of cards I usually avoid with any decklist. I understand that this is supposedly a form of pseudo-combo with Yavimaya but since we already have our reach, we do not need to push our combat damage that far.
- 1x Realwalker [in] statistically we win more games with a board state that has this in play, better if we have it as early as turn 2. So adding the 4th copy is an immediate point to look into.
WHAT THE SIDEBOARD USED TO LOOK LIKE:
VERSION 2 upgrades
- 2x Dampening Sphere [Out] Tron has been hated for too long, (and rightfully so given it's power and threat capability) but dedicating 2 card slots for a deck that is prepared for these type of hate, wouldn't be very beneficial for us.
- 2x Dismember [Out] initially is a great answer against hammer threats but with the current landscape being predominantly red, loosing too much life is not ideal.
- 1x Nihil Spellbomb [Out] I understand the thought process but I think we do have better options than just 1 un-fetchable artifact
- 1x Creeping Corrosion [Out] similar to the Nihil Spellbomb, i think we have better options. I would probably go with fracturing gust instead of this. that 1 extra mana won't make that much of a difference given we are elves.
- 1x thoughtsieze [In] we will be leaning heavy on this card, this is a very versatile answer to most of the problematic cards that our opponent can bring to the table. Disrupting them on key turns, secures us the win.
- 1x Assassins' Trophy [In]The better answer to any permanent threat that being a tron land or a reanimated creature. An excellent addition to our SB plans
- 2x Reclamation Sage [In] On the fence with this one, but it synergizes well with our Realmwalker engine. Though there are still other routes we can take, I am experimenting with this one
- 2x Scavenging Ooze [In] Same as my reclamation point, this one is coco-friendly. Instead of having the Spellbomb, it also is able to absorb life against mono red so i do bring these bad boys in (given that our dorks will naturally be roasted) having a 5/5 ooze is almost unbeatable for RDWs.
DECK STATS:
Version 1: 7W - 6L (54% Win Rate)Worst performance of the Deck. We played against Living End, Elemental and Wall deck (believe it or not). though we lost over all - I felt that the deck has something to offer so we went with version 2
Version 2: 12W-14L (46% Win Rate)Better! we only lost totally against Crashing football Deck mostly to cascade. which made us re-evaluate our current SB plan. Considering adding in Void Mirror to counter these "free" effects
