World after Worldwake (Part Two)

Read Part One: http://spiralmtg.blogspot.com/2010/01/world-after-worldwake-part-one.html

TO THE KOR

Who am I kidding? There is no way an equipment-based Kor deck will dominate Standard any time soon. The problem with building a Kor deck is that you have to have lots of equipment in your deck. Maybe around 10. See, for it to work, you need multiple pieces of equipment in the battlefield. Kor tend to be selfish with their weapons; they don't want to share. Creatures like Kor Duelist, Armament Master, and Kitesail Apprentice each want to have their own toy in order to be effective.

Another problem with this deck is that it needs a Jitte-level equipment in order to be competitive. Looks like we have to settle with Trusty Machete in the meantime.

Just for the heck of it, I still designed a Kor deck for casual games. I'll be play-testing this deck once Worldwake is released. Then I'll be donating it to my little brother afterwards.

Of Kors

4 Kor Duelist
4 Kitesail Apprentice
4 Armament Master
4 Kor Outfitter
4 Kor Hookmaster
4 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Kor Aeronaut

4 Trusty Machete
4 Blazing Torch
2 Quietus Spike

4 Sejeri Steppe
4 Dread Statuary
14 Plains

Yes, that's Blazing Torch. Weird, huh? Perhaps splashing Green for Behemoth Sledge might work, although I'd rather not invest too much on this deck.

EXPLORE POSSIBILITIES

As dull as it may appear, the card Explore got me excited. This was the card I was waiting for, the missing piece to complete the deck I've been working on since Zendikar was released. While not as reliable as Rampant Growth's mana acceleration, Explore's cantrip makes up for it. It's a simple and elegant card that, together with Rampant Growth, will help any Ramp deck, like the cheap but effective Valakut deck:

Valakut Ramp

4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Bogardan Hellkite

2 Chandra Nalaar
2 Comet Storm
4 Rampant Growth
4 Explore
4 Harrow
4 Khalni Heart Expedition
4 Expedition Map
4 Lightning Bolt

12 Mountain
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Forest
4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

The Valakut deck should be treated more as a Ramp deck than a combo deck. That way, it becomes less vulnerable to hate. I therefore inserted more threats in the form of Siege-Gang Commando, Bogardan Hellkite and Chandra Nalaar (instead of defensive land-destruction cards like Lavaball Trap and Goblin Ruinblaster) so I could survive games wherein my Valakut gets destroyed or turned into an island via Spreading Seas. Comet Storm is obviously good in this type of deck. But Dragonmaster Outcast, even with all that mana acceleration in the deck, still seems too fragile.

I have been playing with a Cascade-based Pyromancer Ascension deck for a long time now. It's a fun deck to play with as it is unlike any other deck. Explaining the mechanisms of this deck requires a separate article altogether... let's just say it's unpredictably predictable. If I can get it to be competitive, I would be extremely proud. But I can't seem to perfect the deck because it still lacks the much needed card-drawer. Enter Explore:

Pyro-Cascade

4 Enlisted Wurm
4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Bituminous Blast
4 Blightning
4 Naya Charm
4 Explore
4 Violent Outburst
4 Captured Sunlight
2 Pyromancer Ascension

4 Jungle Shrine
4 Savage Lands
2 Arid Mesa
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Marsh Flats
2 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Swamp
3 Plains
3 Mountain
3 Forest

I used to have Rampant Growth instead of Explore in this deck. The problem with Rampant Growth is that it always gets cascaded even late in the game when I already have all the mana sources I need. With Explore, I get some mana acceleration early in the game, and have it work as a card-drawer (with Pyromancer Ascension in play) later on. I have another version of this deck which uses only Naya colors and contains Day of Judgment and Worldwake man-lands.

KNOW THY ELF

Joraga Warcaller and Arbor Elf will validate Elves as a legitimate competitive tribe, up there with Vampires. Together with Elvish Archdruid and Llanowar Elves, these two Worldwake cards will make Elf decks more consistent.

Mono-Green Elves

4 Llanowar Elves
4 Arbor Elf
4 Nissa'a Chosen
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Joraga Warcaller
4 Master of the Wild Hunt

4 Vines of Vastwood
3 Nissa Ravane
3 Eldrazi Monument

2 Gargoyle Castle
4 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
16 Forest

There is beauty in this deck's simplicity and harmony. There are no random singletons, and almost all cards have synergy with one another.

There are other, non-Elf, Green cards from Worldwake worth noting. Maybe sometime this week, I'll be designing a mana-monster Omnath deck, or a mono-green tokens deck featuring Bestial Menace and Wolfbriar Elemental. For now, I have to say good-bye. See you soon... hopefully by then I would have come up with a decent Ally deck!

(To be continued...)