TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS
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| He kind of looks like Cptn. Picard with the bald head. |
"AVACYN, MAKE IT SO!" DECK
To check out my other decks, hit the link below:
This article serves two purposes: To share the nerd entertainment around with anyone who might find it interesting and, in this case, to prove how taking the theme of an intro pack, especially a more recent intro pack, can not only make a passable deck, but also a powerful and fun deck n a reasonable budget for a college student like myself.
Today's deck is my standardized version of my Avacyn Restored deck that has been combined with cards legal in the upcoming standard format (as in October Mirrodin and M12 will be kicked out standard). Green and white is my favorite color combination, being the combo of the first deck I ever built, and this deck is built around angels, the subject of the first intro pack I ever bought for M12. And its worth mentioning that I actually bought my first themed deckbox and playmat to go with this deck.
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| A fantastic intro pack. I can't recommend these enough to new players and newcomers to recent sets. |
APPROX. EXPENSE: $23
You can find Magic Cards in super stores (Ex. Walmart, Target) but the best place you can buy your cards, meet other players, and play in events is at your local comic book store or hobby shop. I buy most of my cards at The Comic Cellar. Here is a link to its Google Maps location at 3620 Austin Peay Highway #2 Memphis, TN 38128.
And here is a link to Comic Cellar's Website
Before I get into breaking down this version of the Avacyn deck (check the link at the top to see the index of other decks) I want to address something minor but serious. I haven't done a deck article in a couple months and my last MTG article in about a month because I've been busy working on my own custom card set, playing lots of retro games, and generally haven't had that many chances to play since my parent's bar opened and my circle of friends imploded. Expect a couple of Naya decks, possibly even a commander deck, to pop in the near future. And, as Return to Ravnica is just around the corner, you can expect a ton of articles in the fall, my Planeswalker pals, so chins up and let's dig into...
MY STANDARD WG ANGEL DECK
"AVACYN, MAKE ITS SO!" DECK
Not much has changed and I can still quote the last article...mostly:"The deck was constructed in Standard, mostly with cards from Innistrad block & M12 (that were reprinted for M13). The decks themes include but are not limited to: angels, humans, mana-get, and flickering. It is a white-green affair, with white angels from M12 and Innistrad and humans from Innistrad. The white cards make up the muscle and removal and the green cards set up mana ramp and do a few other nifty tricks
For those of you who don't know, flicker-effects are card effects that involve exiling one of your own cards and returning it to the field either immediately or at the end of the turn. The reason you would do this is to take advantage of cards with entrance effects or to remove negative counters, enemy enchantments, and other annoyances."
This version of the deck sets up a more uniform strategy, doesn't waste as many turns with getting me so much mana and nothing to do with it. This involved replacing several slow or inefficient cards with old standards and more of the beast that make this deck a real nuisance to deal with. Learn some mana math to help with building your decks, HERE.
As I always mention, I am just a casual player and I play with what I have available to me. Thanks for reading and please comment.
Please leave comments & suggestions.
To check out the contents of the deck, click "READ MORE" below.
Contains 60 Cards
CREATURES
(27 Creatures: 21 White Creatures, 6 Green Creatures)
Deck contains. 4.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Here we have removal with a twist. What's better than putting creature in the graveyard? Exiling them. What's better than exiling them? Putting them at the bottom of the library so your opponent can't summon them from the graveyard and you can get back any cards you might lose. The best part? Casting it for a miracle cost of one mana. Still dig this card's utility and wish I had more but one isn't bad. P.S. Anyone notice the art looks like Avacyn's staff?
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| "Denizens of Innistrad, lend us your energy!" |
Deck contains. 4.
Reasons? This
cheap human is perfect for building the tempo to this deck for that
sweet mana ramp. Dropping one of these turn one, sets you up for a
potential three mana drop on turn two, or better as the turns go on. The
main reasons to add mana ramp to this deck were to set up for quicker
bombs. A couple of pilgrims can allow you to drop an Angelic Overseer on
turn 3 or an Avacyn, Angel of Hope on turn 6. He doubles as a cheap
chump block. I probably need another full set of these for the future...call is a wise investment. Plus, he is bald like Captain Picard and that's a plus.
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| "Lawbreakers, law makers, let us fight them all. Why not." -Blake's 7 |
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? This cheap human is perfect for building the tempo to this deck. He slows down your opponents monsters and he can buff Angelic Overseer. Two of these babies are enough to trip up your opponent for a few turns.This buy combos really well with Avacyn's Pilgrim. He will unfortunately have to be kicked out in October, but he will be comfortably replaced by some new nifty bit of white control, like another Oblivion Ring and, should the tempo allow it, a Sublime Angel or some other ridiculous new threat.
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| "...We go out as a old knights of the Cross to redeem more [souls]. Like them we shall travel towards sunrise and; like them, if we fall, we fall in good cause." -Van Hellsing, Bram Stoker's Dracula |
Deck contains. 4.
Reasons? This
card is a blast. First Strike, Vigilance, and 2/2 for 2 White would
already be a steal. Add in protection from three powerful tribes and it
becomes a one of the most efficient non-spirit related creature cards in
the block. The flavor and art of this card makes it all the better. This card makes my opponent double take every time and considering that zombie and vampire decks are slowly regaining some vogue, it is still a wise investment, and a perfect way to build tempo for this deck in the early game.
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| "Come with me if you want to live." -Kyle Reese, The Terminator |
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? And here we have a flicker friend. I think the main reason they brought back the Ranger, in a standard environment with Lanowar Elves and Dawntreader Elks
is to take advantage of flicker effects. He is a key component in
guaranteeing mana gets to my hand every turn. I can either flicker him
with a Cloudshift, the cheap and efficient route, or I can bounce him back to my hand with an Emancipation Angel. I still like this guy, but I wouldn't turn down a more efficient way to get mana in this deck in a human variant. For now, he keeps the humans ratio reasonable enough to make the Angelic Overseer's quite tricky to remove.
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| "Good night, sweet prince:/ And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." -Horatio, Shakespeare's Hamlet |
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? I got
one of these in the pre-release and I became enamored with the
possibilities (and the gorgeous card art). In this deck, it mostly
serves as a powerful 3 drop that can return a Borderland Ranger to aid in mana ramp, allow me to return a Fiend Hunter to
my hand to change targets, or save a card with -1 counters or some
other affliction. Emancipation Angel has a place in my deck until I can find a more effective angel in her price range but, for now, she does the job and helps set up combos. Less is more, though.
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| "In the name of Avacyn, I cast you out!" |
Deck contains. 4.
Reasons? This card is a quirky one. I am probably going to have some trouble explaining why this is a handy substitute for Oblivion Ring, in some fashion. First, it gets a 1/3 human on the field for 1 more white mana than an Oblivion Ring. Combo'd with a Cloudshift,
he can permanently exile targets. To do so, you simply cast Fiend,
target the creature, then instantly interrupt with a Cloudshift. The
second part of Fiend Hunter's abilities will be unable to resolve, the
card targeted will be permanently exiled, and when Fiend Hunter returns
to the battlefield you can choose a new target. If you have any
questions, or can clarify, google and/or comment. This card is still fat and I expect it to stick around (I also gotta hope there is some more flicker set-up in store for white).
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| "Hark the herald angles sing, glory to the released Queen!" |
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? I also got one of these at pre-release and this probably helped prompt me to go mono-white. It is undeniably superior to Honor of the Pure,
because, for two more mana, you get a 3/3 flying angel that's secondary
ability that is filled with anti-black spell sentiment. And this card is still so terribly worth the investment now that Honor of the Pure is going out and her efficiency really makes it easy to her appeal in a lot of decks.
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| "Seeing, contrary to popular wisdom, isn't believing. It's where belief stops, because it isn't needed any more." -Terry Pratchett |
Deck contains. 4.
Reasons? This
card's art is just glorious. And, considering she has 16 humans to combo
with for an indestructible, hexproof beast, this card is simply
devastating at the right time. She is simple, violent and fun. And with her, four is more.
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? Now here is the most reliable muscle in this deck. I really hope they reprint Serra Angel in
M13 because she pretty much sets the standard to compare other angels (guess what they did).
She is fair, effective, and efficient. This warrior angel is a fantastic
blocker and even more fantastic attacker. This really is one of my favorite cards of all time and its easy to see why she has been around for so long and will continue to have a lasting presence in MTG for years to come.
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| "Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn!" -Galadriel, Tolkein's Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Now,
here is the namesake of the deck and to be honest, she is difficult to
justify in this kind of deck. I've played about ten games with the deck
and haven't cast her once. Then again, the threat is effective and, if
games get dragged out, and she hits the field, you are pretty much
guaranteed victory against most decks. She also encourages a splash of
green to get the mana to cast her. Honestly, anyone would tell me to pull Avacyn out of this deck, but I like to build decks for fun, not just to win.
Enchantments, Instants and Sorcery
(11
Cards: 3 White Enchantments, 4 White Instants, 4 White Sorceries)
Reasons? The trick is to bounce often and bounce well. This card is great for shifting the targets of Fiend Hunter,
permanently exiling cards, and saving cards from destruction. Remove
the target before it gets destroyed or exiled. A handy card, cheap, and a
perfect fit. Although, it demands combination with something like Borderland Ranger. This card really is an underused card to build a strategy around...
Deck contains. 3.
Reasons? One
of the best removal cards ever printed, it is fantastic for targeting
what your Fiend Hunters can't. Definitely worth side-boarding a couple
more to deal with enchantment and artifact heavy decks. Screw all the Banishments and Green enchantments, Oblivion Ring makes this deck feasible and just plain mean.
Deck contains. 2.
Reasons? Hello,
white Unburial Rites. Here we have a card that, in a mono white deck,
is incredibly useful. Would you rather hard cast Avacyn or hope your foe
puts her into the graveyard and then summon her for five with two +1/+1
counters? This is the best recursion I've seen for white.
Deck contains. 1.
Reasons? Here we go! An even niftier way for Avacyn to become even more useful and, also fun, with recursion like Defy Death I am not terribly squeamish to pull the trigger on this baby.
Reasons? Here we have removal with a twist. What's better than putting creature in the graveyard? Exiling them. What's better than exiling them? Putting them at the bottom of the library so your opponent can't summon them from the graveyard and you can get back any cards you might lose. The best part? Casting it for a miracle cost of one mana. Still dig this card's utility and wish I had more but one isn't bad. P.S. Anyone notice the art looks like Avacyn's staff?
LANDS
( 22 Cards: 7 Forests, 15 Plains) |
| Contains: 7 |
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| Contains: 15 |
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| THE FIRST HAND HASN'T CHANGED CUZ I ALREADY INSTINCTUALLY KNEW WHAT CARDS WERE GONNA END UP BEING MOST USEFUL! |
