Decklist. Need Advice. . . .

[element98106]

This is my deck list:

creatures:  10

4x Birds of Paradise
2x Serra Avatar
2x Weatherseed treefolk
2x Worldgorger Dragon

spells:  21

1x Balance
1x Berserk
1x Crop rotation
3x Disenchant
1x Enlightened tutor
4x Fling
2x Gaea's Blessing
4x Gamble
4x Swords to Plowshares

enchantments:  6

4x Sneak Attack
2x Sterling Grove

artifacts:  3

1x Lotus Petal
1x Mox diamond
1x Sol Ring

lands:  20

1x Diamond Valley
4x Forest
3x Mountain
4x Plateau
4x Savannah
4x Taiga

Let me explain how the deck works.

The deck revolves around Sneak Attack and Fling. I usually get a kill in turns 3-5. With this combo, you can play a massive creature early in the game. Even if the creature is blocked, you can cast Fling to sac the creature for direct damage to opponent equal to power of creature. I chose creatures that I could sac more than once. Weatherseed Treefolk and Serra Avatar both return to my hand and deck. If I cast a World gorger Dragon, it removes the Sneak attack from the game, letting me keep the dragon in play permanently. I also included a berserk acting as a 5th fling. I put plenty of tutoring ablility in the deck with 4 gamble, 1 elnlightened tutor, and 2 sterling grove. The gamble works well with the avatar and the treefolk. The problem i have is with opp. enchantments and artifacts. I cant' find room for more removal. I've removed creatures before, but that presents the problem of not having no creatures in hand when i cast sneak attack. Any advise would help me out, I would also like to hear your general opinion of this deck, thanks

[The Atog Lord]

Hi, and welcome to The Mana Drain. I'd like you to help us help you. We have a rule here that says whenever you post a decklist for advice, you need to tell us more about the decklist -- not just what needs help, but also how it works. For example, looking at your list, I have a difficult time figuring out what it is supposed to do. World Gorger Dragon I am familiar with, but not in this context. You'll be able to get much better help with your deck if you help us help you by writing more about your deck.

So, please use the edit function to  add in some comments. Thanks!

-- The Atog Lord

EDIT Thanks for updating this.

[technogeek5000]

If your playing sneak attack then phage the untouchable, and mindleech mass seem better then what you have.

mindleech mass 5UBB
creature
Trample
When mindleech mass deals damage to a opponent you may choose a card in that players hand and play it without its mana cost.
6/6

Super awesome game winning tech, this seems better then worldgorger dragon as it takes your opponents greatest cards like yawgmoth's bargain, will, tutors, etc... Plus phage when she hits is a automatic game win. Also you might want to take out some basics and put in fetchlands to smooth out your mana base.

Putting a card into play is not the same as playing it, so putting Phage into play with Sneak Attack would lose the game.
-Godder

[Harlequin]

If I cast a World gorger Dragon, it removes the Sneak attack from the game, letting me keep the dragon in play permanently

I don't think that is technically true.  However, WGD does do some interesting things with SA.  The ability of sneak attack is both an ability, followed by a delayed trigger.  Much in the same way you would still get the cards from Necropotence if it was removed between you paying life, and your ends step - your WGD still has that delayed trigger looming over his head.

Interestingly enough though, you can use WGD to "perm-out" -other- creatures you bring in durring the same turn.  So lets say I pay for a Serra's Avatar, then swing.  After that is done I can then pay another to bring in WGD who removes the Avatar (along with everything else).  Now when the turn ends the delayed triggers start attempting to kill things.  The Avatar is not in play so that one misses.  Then the WGD gets sacced and the Avatar comes back into play and will no longer have the sacrifice trigger looking to kill her.

======================================================

For what it's worth, here is the deck I would play in multiplayer casual if I had a Zodiac Dragon.  I tweeked it to reflect some of the cards in your manabase.  I would probably play with fetchlands.  At any rate here is the list:

Enter the Dragon.dec

4  City of Brass
4  Tiaga
4  Badlands
2  Volrath's stronghold
3  Sol, Petal, Diamond
4  Birds of paradice
2  Quirion Elves
2  Reflecting Pool (or gemstone mine, or something)


35 
4  Sneak attack
4  Surviaval of the fittest
2  Vamp, Dt
2  Sterling Grove
2  Greater Good
1  Entomb
1  Wheel of Fortune

4  Animate Dead
2  Shallow Grave

2  Naturlize

1  Squee
1  Genesis

1  Scion of the Ur-Dragon
1  Nicol Bolas
1  Bograda Hellkite
1  Angel of Despair

2  Bladewing, the Rizen
1  Kokusho, the evening star
1  Kiaga, the Tidestar
1  Teneb, the Harvister
1  Zodiac Dragon


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

There is alot of really fun stuff going on in this deck.  When the deck is running like clockwork you have Survival -> dump A dragon -> find Bladewing the risen.  Sneak in Bladewing, then animat the dragon.  If it's Teneb then you have a good flow of dragon power.  The other really powerful effect is to Sneak attack in that Scion of the Ur-Dragon and copy him into either Kiaga or Kokusho, then use the leaves play ability to do fun stuff.  Lastly, you have Sneak attack + greater Good.  Greater Good is for lack of a better word - insane - once you have sneak attack down.

Lastly Zodiac Dragon is also just kinda fun.  You can Ur-Dragon -> Zodiac Dragon to get the Ur-Dragon back in your hand when it dies ... I think.


Lastly, If you can't get Sneak Attack online... but you have Survival, then you can Dump a dragon -> blade wing -> blade wing for -> anything.  Then animate or Shallow grave the Bladwing to animate the first dragon for good.  (then eat bladewing to greater good before he gets RFGed!)

So the deck can really work well with either Sneak attack or Survival.  Also I really like Dragon Mage and Nicol Bolas.  If you can get both of them online at the same time... thats just backbreaking.

Dragon Mage and Greater Good make me think the deck ought to be running some of the Spirit Guides.  but .. maybe not.

[Shake]

I'm seeing some odd stuff.

Zodiac dragon could have been a contender, but oracle came along.  It's return to hand only triggers when it is put into the graveyard from play.  The same goes for the treefolk, so they might not be such a great target for gamble.  I guess they'd still be fine for sneak attack though.  Genesis seems like a good bet if you don't pull off the quick win.

If you add a genesis, and then you play so utility creatures for enchantment and artifact hate you could have some more flexibility.    To access the toolbox you could play Eldimari's Call or survival of the fittest.

I feel I may be mucking up the quick win of the deck for flexibility.  I suppose you could make a mess of it by cutting back to one sneak attack, adding academy rectors and survival of the fittest and a single greater good.  That would be fun, allow your tool box, and make the deck feel casual in the worst possible way, setting up interactive dynamic games.

The better idea would probably be answering opposing enchantments and artifacts by winning. 

Add Through the Breach rather than your white search cards, that should let you cut white completely, you don't need disenchant, or STP.  They're too responsive in what seems to be a combo deck.  If you really like them you'd be better off switching to green equivalents.  Naturalize, maybe stomphowler or Veridian Shaman or zealot.  If you've got a problem with affinity get some furnace dragons.

I think we need to know about what specific artifacts and enchantments are giving you a hard time.  Pithing needles? Enchantress decks?

Cut the treefolk and the world gorger dragons for Dragon Tyrants.  With one pump and a fling they win the game.  Other good creatures would be symbiotic wurm and crater hellion.

Add seething song, rite of flame, or simian spirit guide.  You've built a combo deck that you want to make into an aggro deck.  Take out the responsive controlling elements and just make the deck faster, or set up some real fun interactive longevity into the deck with Academy Rectors, Survival, Greater good, Squee, Genesis, and a tool box.

Oh, and what’s with the crop rotation?

creatures:  12

2x Serra Avatar
4x Dragon Tyrant
4x Symbiotic Wurm
2x Dragon Mage

spells:  19

1x Wheel of fortune
1x Final Fortune
1x Berserk
4x Fling
4x Gamble
4x Through The Breach
4x Right of Flame
3x Seething Song
1x Regrowth

enchantments:  4

4x Sneak Attack

artifacts:  5

1x Lotus Petal
1x Mox diamond
1x Sol Ring
1x Chrome Mox
1x Mana Vault

lands:  20

1x Diamond Valley
4x Forest
3x Mountain
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Dwarven Ruins
4x Taiga

Or the Fun version with Survivals.

creatures:  17

4x Birds of Paradise
4x Acadamy Rector
1x Serra Avatar
1x Weatherseed treefolk
1x Genesis
1x Loxodon Heirach
1x Harmonic Sliver
1x Duplicant
1x Stomp Howler
1x Squee
1x Rafellos
1x Yosei the Morning Star

spells:  9

1x Balance
4x Gamble
4x Swords to Plowshares

enchantments:  8

1x Greater Good
1x Sneak Attack
2x Sterling Grove
4x Survival of the Fittest

artifacts:  5

1x Lotus Petal
1x Mox diamond
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Grim Monolith

lands:  21

1x Diamond Valley
4x Windswept Heath
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Plateau
4x Savannah
4x Taiga

[element98106]

Thanks for the great idea's Shake. Appreciate you taking the time to compose 2 decklists. I have most of the cards suggested so I will try both decklists and make the necessary adjustments to my deck. Thanks again!

The artifact posing the biggest threat for me is actually the Isochron Scepter/ orim's chant or counterspell combo. Since I play creature cards with the Sneak Ability, the counterspells don't really affect me. The orim's chant can sometimes present a problem though. I've thought about adding Aura Shards to the deck (or at least sideboarding it) instead of the sterling groves.

[Shake]

The most used card against scepter chant in r/g is ancient grudge, it's instant so they'll have to tap out, and the flashback can get around counters.  Try it in the sideboard.  In the long game you could use blinkmouth well if you're playing a slower toolbox version of sneak attack.  Another way around countrol decks if you cut your color requirements to two or one coulor is to play rishadan ports or wastelands to tie up their mana the turn before you go off.