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Windfall
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« on: January 19, 2004, 02:31:56 pm » |
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Hello everyone. Since TMD did not preserve the casual forum articles, I wanted to reproduce my thread discussing Fleetfoot Panther and its uses in casual play. I stress this issue very seriously: this is a good deck and is very fun to play.
I created my first Fleetfoot Panther deck about a year and a half ago before I owned power and I loved it then. Then I randomly went crazy with Magic and bought power, later black bordering everything I owned. My newest build of Fleetfoot Panther.dec has really grown on me. I've tuned it over time with various cards I pluck from the T1 card pool and it's become quite a deadly weapon in my hands. It has answers to everything in strange combos that pop up here and there.
I will start with my current build, and follow it with the card choices. Following that, I'll discuss how to play this deck and mention the combos I have found in testing. This will be a long read, and I hope that those reading it will enjoy every paragraph.
The list and card choices
60 cards (25 mana sources)
GUwr control (utility)
//Creatures 14
4 Fleetfoot Panther
4 Wall of Blossoms
1 Spike Weaver
1 Thornscape Battlemage
1 Teroh's Faithful
1 Mystic Snake
1 Yavimaya Ants
1 Stampeding Wildebeests
//Draw & Search 6
2 Eladamri's Call
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Sylvan Library
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Time Walk
//Toolbox 7
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Crystal Shard
1 Aura Shards
1 Emerald Medallion
1 Regrowth
//Counters 8
4 Counterspell
4 Mana Drain
//Accelerants 5
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
//Lands 20
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Krosan Verge
4 City of Brass
4 Tundra
4 Tropical Island
3 Savannah
The creatures are all designed to work well with each other or the toolbox. There are a lot of creatures, and to get work done, I use creatures rather than instants. This helps me vs. Duress hugely. Also, I have a great tutor to fetch these answers at instant speed (later).
Fleetfoot Panther is a cornerstone of the deck. Since the deck was created because of him, I naturally include four. I have never wanted less and have never really needed more. It is just the right number. He can gate any creature in the deck at instant speed, negating removal. Also, he's a huge surprise blocker (3/4 is amazing). The card advantage I get out of this cat is unmatched sometimes. 3 mana is such a low cost for such benefits, and it's crying out to be abused.
Wall of Blossoms is the deck's draw engine. You can see from the list that there are several ways to generate card advantage from it. It is usually the Panther's best friend in that the Wall comes down turn 1 and is followed by a Panther later. It's strong vs. aggro and vs. control the steady source of cards it provides is like playing with multiple Libraries.
Spike Weaver is my secret weapon vs. aggro. 3/3 is nice, as is the ability to generate fog effects. The bounce makes him difficult to kill, and every time he comes back into play, he has 3 more counters. He's a bomb vs. Tog and it's often my answer to flying creatures as well. Don't forget that moving counters around is very strong when done at the right times.
Thornscape Battlemage is the best battlemage in Planeshift for a couple of reasons. I used to run three of them, but recent additions have slowly cut the number down to just one. I don't see him getting cut unless something far superior presents itself, however. 2/2 is okay, but his strength lies in artifact destruction and the shock effect. You can see that the R kicker is the only red in the deck. That two damage is often crucial in removing two permanents for one and killing goblins. Since it is recurring damage, it is also useful to kill opponents with if they have more blockers than I have Swords. Do not underestimate this guy. Paired with the Panther, he generates massive card advantage.
Teroh's Faithful serves many purposes. He is my bomb vs. Sligh first and foremost. 1/4 is too hard for Sligh to kill without multiple cards, and when he takes lethal damage, I bounce it. The four life negates burn, so Sligh won't be able to make up for its wasted resources. Secondly, the life gain helps since I use a full set of painful Cities. It is also nice when I use Sylvan Library to draw more cards. Finding the Faithful is often an early goal vs. red and even fast aggro.
Mystic Snake you ask? Absolutely. This guy is so cool and has one of the best arts ever. Another instant creature and another counterspell. Being green, he works with Fleetfoot too. Mystic Snake will often create a counterwall that the opponent has to take pains to remove. If you don't need the counterspell, he still beats for 2 damage.
Yavimaya Ants are pretty strong here. The upkeep is inconsequencial due to the fact that it usually kills before it becomes a problem. On top of that, you can bounce the creature before paying the upkeep. You don't loose speed this way because it has haste.
Stampeding Wildebeests are natural in a deck like this. The problem I found is that two is too many. I cut down to one and I like it. It's a beatstick as well as an answer to many problems. It can generate card advantage fairly easily while at the same time biting off quarters of your opponent's life total.
The draw and search is strong. I can run the standard blue power, but running green and white gives me access to juicy search tools. I don't think I need to explain why I run Ancestral Recall or Time Walk. They're both amazing in this deck for obvious reasons.
Eladamri's Call is the best card ever! Okay, not really, but I can't believe it took me so long to find this gem. In this deck, it's absolutely perfect. Let me explain the benefits of this card: it's an instant speed tutor; it puts the card in hand (no card or tempo loss); it allows me to cut multiples of utility creatures (freeing up maindeck space); it's only two mana; it shuffles. Since the creatures are the primary weapons in this deck, the Calls are a natural fit. Calling in response to a Duress is also strong because Duress cannot hit creatures.
Sylvan Library is as good as ever here. Against non-aggressive decks I can afford to pay life to force an advantage. Also, this deck draws two cards a turn on average, which reveals new cards every time Sylvan is activated. In a deck that digs deeper than one card a turn, Sylvan rocks. I also run five shuffle effects, which is usually enough to filter out bad cards from the top if I have no draw engine going.
Enlightened Tutor was always a maybe for me. But, due to my most recent changes, this Tutor is acceptable despite disadvantages.
The toolbox makes the deck run smoothly. These cards, combined with the creatures' utility power, create a synergy that is seldom matched by opposing decks. The harmony makes the deck feel like an ecosystem.
Swords to Plowshares is the best removal in the game, simply put.
Crystal Shards are amazing! Before Mirroden, I used Umbillicus and Erratic Portal. Once people discovered Umbillicus's power, they began to play with cards to make it hurt them less (0cc artifacts, comes-into-play effects, etc.) so I had to make a change. Erratic Portal was okay but 4cc was steep. The 3cc of the Shard makes all the difference in the world. This artifact saves creatures instantly like the Fleetfoots. Since most of the creatures in this deck are more dangerous in hand than in play, the Shard wreaks havoc on opposing strategies.
Aura Shards is very powerful. For zero mana, I can destroy any artifact or enchantment as a bonus to playing a creature. The deck plays lots of creatures, so opposing artifacts and enchantments don't hurt me at all. I kept Enlightened Tutor so I could play with just one Aura Shards. More than that would be terrible. Often, this card functions as land destruction, and everyone knows that mana denial is one of the most effective strategies to winning games.
Emerald Medallion works well with almost every creature here. Since I like to create a card-drawing engine with Wall of Blossoms, playing it for only G is nice. Take a look at the list and visualize how many casting costs are reduced by this gem. Since playing everything over and over again is what this deck does, it needs lots of mana to do it. To reduce the stress of tempo loss by bouncing my own permanents, I use the Medallion to help me cast everything for less mana. Makes sense to me!
Regrowth is the only recursion I run. It is usually all I need.
Countermagic is an important part of T1. In fact, I'm a strong believer that many magic games revolve around countermagic. It's all about playing around it and getting rid of it. I run countermagic mainly to stop opposing countermagic, but I can't say that I don't mind having it in every matchup I've played.
Vanilla Counterspell is the best option I have for a second sure-fire counterspell here. I cannot run Force of Will; I don't have enough blue cards to pitch. In most matchups, the Counterspells give me a reactive solution to a threat without losing card advantage, and I like that.
Mana Drain is an amazing card, and I have plenty of mana sinks. Why not use it?
The Mana sources could be the weakest part of the deck. In most casual games, there are enough sources (25) and accelerants to survive Wastelands, but NBLH in Blood Moon could cause serious problems. Of course, I don't encounter Blood Moon in casual play, so I haven't really worried about it. With Moxen, I could get around a Moon with Aura Shards in play but that's a lot of work to do if I don't have the Shards or the G/W Moxen.
Despite the fact that it's all non-basic, the manabase is solid. Sometimes I can run short on green mana if the opponent is wise enough to cut me off from it.
The deck does not usually play the mana denial route, and it only runs two strip effects. The reasons are because it is nice to have an answer to stupid lands like LoA, Volrath's Stronghold, Academy, Bazaar, Workshop, etc. Any more and I would weaken my colored mana base too much.
Library of Alexandria was not always in this deck, but ever since I changed it to play more like control than aggro, it's been good to me. I must say that it's very important in the Psychatog matchup. If I get a turn one LoA, I have a much better chance of success.
Krosan Verge is amazing in that it gets two cards for one (card advantage), thins the deck, and shuffles.
Cities of Brass are nice too. They give me red mana to use with the Battlemage's kicker, but that does not happen every game. Usually, they are Tropical Islands five through eight while at the same time offering white mana if I need it.
Playing this deck and useful tricks
Playing the deck is a matter of patience and knowledge. It has answers to just about every situation I can think of aside from Obliterate. In order to play this deck and love it as I do, you must understand how the cards work together and know what answers are still in your library. This deck is all about land drops and card advantage. The card draw is usually slower than Tog's AK bursts, but if it is unchecked, the extra card from a Wall of Blossoms or LoA every turn will bury the opponent in cards. Usually, a control deck will not counter Wall of Blossoms until they realize what it can do, and by then you have a counter or two to protect it (or you have drawn into another one).
You want your opponent to spend resources destroying your creatures, so you can bounce them with a surprice Panther or Crystal Shard. Then, when you play the creature again, the CIP effect will trigger, ruining your opponent's postion. On top of that, you'll have two creatures (if you used a Panther) beating down. These advances in position will eventually dominate the opponent.
You may have already noticed several interesting combos as you've read through this article. Just to make sure nothing was missed, I want to touch on all the combos I've found in playtesting. Some may be obvious, and some may not. A quick wrap of of the combos may give players ideas that will come in handy during play the first time they play this deck. It's useful to know your weapon well.
//Combos with Mystic Snake
+ Crystal Shard - counter for 1GUUU every turn.
+ Stampeding Wildebeests - Forbid with buyback anyone?
+ Eladamri's Call - fetch and counter for 1GGUUW.
//Combos with Wall of Blossoms
+ Crystal Shard - card draw engine.
+ Stampeding Wildebeests - card draw engine.
//Combo with Time Walk
+ Krosan Verge - it may appear silly, but you'd be surprised at the advantage untapping those lands can give you.
//Combo with Aura Shards
+ Fleetfoot Panther - end of turn, cast Panther, bounce himself, disenchant something, rinse and repeat. I've killed fully powered MUD decks with this combo alone.
//Combos with Mana Drain (not really combos, but helpful)
+ Crystal Shard - pay 3 to bounce something if you don't want to burn, otherwise, Shard is a common spell to Drain into.
+ Spike Weaver - pay 2 to move a counter to himself to avoid mana burn.
//Combo with LoA
+ Sylvan Library - if you can afford to pay life to get a full hand of seven, do it. The Sylvan will be greatly improved if you draw an extra card from LoA every turn.
The future of Fleetfoot Panther
I welcome all comments on my deck. But before jumping to conclusions, make sure you understand what it can do. Either come to Michigan and play against it or play with it for awhile. I've become pretty good with it because I've been using it for some time. I hope other people can do the same and love it as I do. I don't want comments from people that only play serious T1. I play in tournaments too and I realize this deck isn't equipped to deal with combo. I would like this thred to explode into serious discussion, but I'm not sure there are enough people like me out there. One can always hope, right?
As far as card suggestions, please do not suggest Survival of the Fittest. I have no need for it, nor do I want to make room for them. Also, I don't want to discard any creatures to find creatures unless it's a Squee, and that's yet another card I have to cut. I'm happy with the draw/search as it is, and I hate Survival decks.
Also, as I mentioned above, without serious changes, Force of Will does not work.
About a year ago, I used Birds of Paradise for acceleration. That was before I had power. Moxes are better. Trust me on this one.
Someone suggested I try out Eladamri's Vineyard, which still sticks in my mind as interesting. I think if I did that I'd want to cut the counters down and go with a strictly aggro approach, but I don't think I would like it as much. We'll have to see about that one.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed typing it out. But now that my fingers are about to fall off I think I'll get ready for work.
~Mark B.
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