Legend Deck!

[Hiskrtapps]

I would like to show you this deck.
It's quite good and quite original (or maybe not?), and I wanted your opinion!
It's designed for casual play (T1), and maybe adding counters could raise it at a tournament quality level.

Creatures
2 Kaervek the Merciless
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Loyal Retainers
2 Razia, Boros Archangel
2 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Sakashima the Impostor
1 Teneb, the Harvester
2 The Unspeakable

Spells
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Careful Study
2 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Frantic Search
3 Goryo's Vengeance
2 Ideas Unbound
2 Night's Whisper
1 Time Walk
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Windfall
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Enchantments
4 Animate Dead
        
Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire

Lands
1 Bayou
2 Bazaar of Baghdad
2 Karakas
3 Polluted Delta
2 Tundra
4 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island

Use Careful Study, Frantic Search, Bazaar of Baghdad and Ideas Unbound to discard your legends creatures into graveyard, and draw cards at the same time.
Then put them into play with Loyal Retainers, Animate Dead and Goryo's Vengeance.

This Deck is quite fast. In few turn you can put into play 2-3 legends, that are very strong creatures by themselves.

Cards of this deck work very fine together. For Example:
play Goryo's Vengeance to keep The Unspeakable. So when you damage opponent with it you can keep again the Goryo's Vengeance (or Ideas Unbound if you have it into your graveyard), and if you have Karakas in play you can use it on The Unspeakable.

Remember you can splice Goryo's Vengeance into your arcanes, and that you can play it during your opponent attack.
Put Kaervek the Merciless into play to stop your opponent play spells, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner to defende your creatures and any other other legend.

Any creature of this deck has a specific role.
Good deck in my opinion, fast and very strong.

Sometimes it has some problems with some opponent permanents. Any suggestion to avoid this? Maybe adding counters like I said before can help?

Thx

[yespuhyren]

It's designed for casual play (T1), and maybe adding counters could raise it at a tournament quality level.

I just want to make sure you realize that casual and vintage are not the same things.  This will never and can never be tournament worthy of vintage.  BUT.  I'm sure if you play casual tournaments, you can have some fun with it.  Try posting it here in the casual boards, as you will get little to no good constructive criticism in here.  We just can't give you any info because its just not ever going to be a T1 viable deck.

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?board=3.0

Thats the casual forum.  You will have better luck there

Jason

[Harlequin]

Now that we're in the proper forum, I have some suggestions on cards to consider.

Firsly, you might be well off to try and find some "Greater Good" decks that were competative in T2 back in Kamigawa Block. 

The basic premis of the combo was:

1) Draw/Discard a legend.  Primarily Kokusho, the Evening Star.  Or any of the other "Star" Legendary Dragons (kiaga was good too).  This could also be aided by Time of Need

2) Animate it with Vengance or Footsteps of the Goro. 

3) Sac the Legend to Greater Good.  Draw 5 cards, and inevitably draw another Footsteeps or Vengance.

You only had to recur Kokusho 4 times to win the game.

As a secondary win condition I think the deck ran Sakura -> Ink Eyes.  I may be mish-mashing some decks though.

------------------------------------

In the Eternal world.  You probably want to look at Legacy Reanimator. If you don't want to play straight re-animator ... then I personally would go with some combo of Greater Good + Shallow Grave/Vengance (like the old T2 deck).

2 Bazaars are good.  But if you want to make the deck more competative, you probably want to run at least 3 bazaars and 3 Squee, Goblin Naboo.  If your already running squee, you might want to opt to run Survival of the Fittest (possibly in place of some bazaars). 

If you want an alternate win;  you might look at Show and Tell or Hypergenesis/Eureka, and couple that with Time of Need.

As far as creature choice, the eternal world is your oister.   

For a Greater Good deck.  I would stick to legends that have good Come into play and/or leave play abilites.  Or have some sort of hit effect.

- Teneb / Bladewing, The Risen --
Both these guys are cool if you want to "perm-out" your guys.  I would take either of these guys over Reya in this type of deck.   

- Nichole Bolas --
This guy has probably one of the nastiest single hit abilites in the game.  (and hes a dragon if you decide to go with Bladewing,  but keep in mind you need to pay the on upkeep cost).

- Kokusho, the Evening Star --
Fantastic Leaves play ability, if you attack with him as well... you end up with a total life swing of 15 net points. (dragon)

- Kiaga, the Tide Star --
Particularly amazing if you opt to run Eureka or Show and Tell.  (dragon)

- Reussai, the ... red star --
I don't know this guy's name, but the red dragon is also good if your going to run Eureka for the same sort of reason. (dragon)

- Ink Eyes, Oni something or other --
Fairly neat guy.  Not only does he help you increase the size of your army, but he can ninjitsu up a creature after you vengance/Shallow grave it... possibly save it from the brink.

- Dragon Mage (or) Magus of the Jar --
Both serve a similar purpose.  Dragon mage is a dragon (bladewing) and hits for 5 when you animate him.  Magus of the Jar only costs 5 mana, so he may be worth hardcasting in the early game, and because the hands get reverted ... he doesn't help your opponent as much. Neither are legendary so vengance is no good here.  Also its good to note that the dragon can be seriously burtal along side Nichol Bolas.

[Hiskrtapps]

Hi Harlequin,

first of all, thanks for your answer.
You send me a lot of suggestions!

I think Greater Good is a great card. I want to try it. The problem is that green in my deck is not a business color.

You explained me very well like Greater Good decks work. Sure it seems a very powerful deck, but I think it's not stronger then mine, because it seems not so fast like mine is.
Then it seems to me that Greater Good decks (GG) doesn't solve problems that my deck could be with opponent permanents. I think my deck and GG share the same advantages and disadvantages.
My greater weapon to control my opponent is Kaervek the Merciless, that is my stronger win condition.

But you said me a lot of ideas and you cited a lot of cards that maybe can be integrated in my deck. First of all, like I said before, I wanted to try Greater Good.

The big difference between the two decks is that I kill attacking my opponent with legends, GG instead, kill him with abilities of creatures, like the Stars.

Now don't think I'll go to a "dragon version" of the deck, because it will change the play philosophy of my game and I don't want to do that; by the way I want to consider every single card you suggested to me.

1) Kokusho, the Evening Star

I now that a very powerful card and It work well with Greater Good. So first of all, I had to integrate Greater Good in my deck if it's possible. Then the problem is, like I said to you before, Kokusho could represent for me another win condition. So I think I will try it.

2) Footsteps of the Goro. 

Footsteps of the Goryo doesn't give haste to my creature.. I just had seen it before. But I can consider adding it eliminating white and Loyal Retainers (only in the case I would add green and Greater Good)

3) Sakura -> Ink Eyes.

Sakura? What is Sakura? (I don't know it).
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is a good creature, but there are legends stronger than it and it's ninjutsu ability is too expansive.

Shallow Grave

That's a card I had absolutely to reconsider. I preferred Goryo's Vengeance before because it's an arcane (the Unspeakable it's good with arcanes).

2 Bazaars are good.  But if you want to make the deck more competative, you probably want to run at least 3 bazaars and 3 Squee, Goblin Naboo.

2 bazaar are enough for me. I prefer start with a mana land and careful study, and then put bazaar in play later in the game. I tryed with 3.
Squee Goblin instead, I think is not the solution.. too weak.

If you want an alternate win;  you might look at Show and Tell or Hypergenesis/Eureka, and couple that with Time of Need.

In putting creatures in play I had no problems, so I think I don't need these cards.

As far as creature choice, the eternal world is your oister.

Can you explain me better what Eternal World is. (I don't know it)

- Teneb / Bladewing, The Risen --
Both these guys are cool if you want to "perm-out" your guys.  I would take either of these guys over Reya in this type of deck.

Reya is a must, of course. Between Teneb and Bladewing I prefer the first one. So I can choose my creatures even if they aren't dragons.

- Nichole Bolas --

Sure it's a great card. I had to try it.

- Kiaga, the Tide Star --
Particularly amazing if you opt to run Eureka or Show and Tell.

Mmmmh... no. If my opponent has not creatures, his abilities is usefullness.. no.

- Reussai, the ... red star --
I don't know this guy's name, but the red dragon is also good if your going to run Eureka for the same sort of reason.

Same for Kiaga.

- Dragon Mage (or) Magus of the Jar --
Neither are legendary so vengance is no good here.

I can't use them. I need legends.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. You said to me a lot of cards I have to try.


PS: sorry for my english!

[Harlequin]

Yeah no prob...

I'll jump right in with my stuff (forgive me if its a bit out of order)

Can you explain me better what Eternal World is. (I don't know it)

Legacy and Vintage are considered the "Eternal" formats.  So I was saying that when you shift the scope of playable cards out of T2 and into T1 (or Legacy) there is a great range of cards. 

@Footsteps:
I would definately not run footsteps of the goro.  That was in referance to the old T2 Kamegawa deck.  So, yeah I agree.  3 mana for a temporary creature (not hasted) creature is terrible.  Better cards certainly exsist.

@ "Sakura"
The card I was talking about was Sakura Tribe Elder.  Again, this is more about the T2 deck.  I wouldn't nessisarily run it in an Eternal deck.  The idea is that he's a cheap creature that will give you something to ninja out.

@Reya / some other points:
Reya I think is an entirely different deck.  As I see it, there are really two ways to go about a "re-animation" deck.

1-st way:  Classic Reanimator
Animation of choice: Animate Dead, Reanimate, Necromancy
Creatures of Choice: Reya, Creatures with long lasting effects (like Kreavek, Platinum Angel), 6/x haste (Razia/Akroma/Spirit of the Night).
Other cards: Almost strictly U/B.  Blue gives you Careful Study, Frantic Search, Thirst for Knowledge, Compulsive reasearch, Merfolk Looters etc.  Also it can often have space for Duress and/or Force of will.
Basic Goal -- get some creatures in play and make them stick.  Swing for the win over a few short turns
Limitations -- You have to swing to win, and it takes a few turns usually.  Also enchantment destruction may shut you down.

2nd way: Animation Combo.
Animation of choice: Shallow Grave, Goro's Vengance
Creatures: "one hit wonders" (nichole bolas, dragon mage), and powerful CIP/LP abilties like the Stars, Bladewing, etc.   OH- Sundering Titan!  Not legendary, but certainly hoses the board well.
Other cards: Something to make those creatures worth it... Greater Good, Fling, Berserk, Momentary Blink  (not only perm's them, but reactivates thier comes into play and leaves play abilites), Diabolic tutor.
Goal -- Win now!  Each animation is imediately crippling, and potentially game ending.  Vengance -> Kokusho -> attack -> fling is 15dmg for
Limitation -- Vengance limits what creatures you can play ... and shallow grave gives you no real choice in who you animate.  Also this deck tends to not have room for spell disruption like duress or Fow.