Gauntlet of Might.dec

[MarkPharaoh]

My school has a Trading Card Club but other then me, the players are prewtty oblivious to competitive Magic so I am trying to make decks that are consistent and fun to play and good enough to win but still give my opponent a pretty good shot at winning the game as well.  So, what's more fun then swinging with a hasted Shivan Dragon for 15+?  Beats me, heres the deck:

// Gauntlet of Might

// Lands
    25 Mountain

// Creatures
    4 Granite Gargoyle
    4 Shivan Dragon
    4 Two-Headed Giant of Foriys
    4 Dragon Whelp
    4 Storm Shaman
    4 Molten Hydra

// Spells
    4 Gauntlet of Might
    3 Fireball
    4 Lightning Greaves

I tried to keep a theme of oldshcool cards, mostly A/B so I can use CE.  I decided to run a new card, Lightning Greaves because it's that freakin amazing in this deck.  I added cards like Fireball and Molten Hydra to deal with opposing creatures and/or to finish my opponent off.  I'm sure this can be improved with cards like Kumano but he's new and has the new card face which looks so ugly next to my CE cards.

So, is there anything old from like Urza Block and back that could be thrown into this deck to make it a little bit better or this about as good as it's going to get with my guidelines?

[Upinthe]

I'd suggest making another exception for Chartooth Cougar to give you some land fetching. Either that or go with Fellwar Stones

Why is there no Sol Ring?

[thorme]

Firecat Blitz goes really, really well with Gauntlets - somewhat newer, but it does use the old card face.

[Jacob Orlove]

Oh man, does anyone have one of Hengewolf's old lists? You'd get uber props for playing that. :D

[SimpleHiker]

There is a lot of old school fun you can add to this deck.

Raging River
Fork
Mana Flare
Ball Lightning
Jesters Cap
Icy Manipulator
Balduvian Horde
Gorilla Shaman
Helm of Obedience
Pillage
Hammer of Bogardan

Just start browsing mtgpics.com set lists...

SH

[MarkPharaoh]

Thanks for the replies!

@upinthe:  I don't like cougar as I never really have problems with mana since I have 25 straight lands and no one plays LD here.  Sol Ring is iffy, yes it does accel, but I think the cons outweigh the pros.  If it added more mana from Gauntlet and work with firebreathing I would run it in a heart beat.  No matter, I will throw it in and see how it works out.

@thorme:  Firecat looks like a good idea, no idea where I would find Asian Foils ones to keep the sexiest going but them seem like additional Fireball effects that can flashback in a pinch, i'll try them out by either cutting Fireball/Granite/or Shaman.

@Jacob:  Wow, hearing his name brought back memories of him and his argument for CE being legal .  I don't have his GoM list but I would imagine it was close to the list I run due to his love for CE cards

@Those cards are cool and all, but I don;t think they fit the strategy for this deck.  This deck is all about playing defensive creatures like Shaman and Granite until Gauntlet comes online to make huge tempoing swinging turns.  Throwing in random Mill effects or ultility just isn't as fun, even if it would make the deck better overall .  Thanks for those suggestions though, i'll do a bit more research on MWS.

[dandan]

I'm not saying it's a good idea but in my Gauntlets deck (I only have 2) I run Okk (because I want to) and Reckless Charge. Then that lonely Okk becomes a threat as it can be joined by a Hasted fattie with an additional +3/+0 (with Gauntlets out and 2 mountains your creature just got +7/+1)

I find Mogg Fanatic is a reasonable wall as it can take out X/2s and is cheap. I have never been too excited about the gargoyles even as defensive creatures. To me a Mijae Djinn is a pretty impressive 6/3 wall and occasionally attacks. Ydwen Djinn might not block either but then again it might (I confess to turning them sideways - it only seems natural)

I think you'll find that those Greaves have the new card face and are not Red. Try Reckless Charge, it really is a beating from nowhere. To me, thematically, Red's best defence is the threat of savage retaliation.

[MarkPharaoh]

I will not play Okk just for the fact that I hate the name  but I really like the idea of Charges and will try them out next time, thanks dan

EDIT:  I will also take a look intyo the Djinns but Granites have served their purpose and their artwork on a BB card is to die for.

[dandan]

Having dusted off my Gauntlets deck and played a few games with it I can safely say:

1. My deck was constructed with Okk in mind rather than Gauntlet. So sue me. Hell this is casual. As a result I am sure our decks play in a totally different way. My deck only defends on turns 1 and 2 then attacks from that point. The Gauntlets are hardly key to the strategy but they don't hurt.
2. Although boring and not in theme, Lightning Bolt does a fine job of keeping you alive until the end game.
3. Those Charges are very very good in aggressive builds. They don't do a lot in defensive builds.
4. I think firebreathing is not necessary. It is nice as it is game-ending if not dealt with but then again so are most fat Red creatures that stay alive for more than a turn
5. Ball Lightnings are fun (I told you I wasn't very defensive)
6. Earthquake really does solve most of the early game problems. I notice that in your deck Earthquake is rather unlikely to harm any of your creatures.
7. Orgg, Eron the Relentless, Ball Lightning, Ancient Hydra, Mijae Djinn and Shivan Dragon are all fun to play with and allow you to attack with Okk. I like to have a variety of creatures in casual decks.