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andrew77
08-05-2009, 04:06 PM
My local store has recently started running highlander tournies and I have been working on building a deck. There doesn't seem to be much of an online community for highlander since everyone just plays EDH and I would really like some input on my deck. Anyway here is my list....

34 lands
24 plains
1 dust bowl
1 horizon canopy
1 karakas
1 mutuavault
1 mishra’s factory
1 flagstones of trokair
1 wasteland
1 eiganjo castle
1 rishadan port
1 blinkmoth nexus


20 1cc
Isamaru
Savannah lions
Elite vanguard
Figure of destiny
Aether vial
Icatian javeleneers
Weathered wayfarer
Suntail hawk
Akrasan squire
Goldmeadow harrier
Ramosian sergeant
Burrenton forge tender
Mother of runes

Cursed scroll
Land tax
Swords to plowshares
Harm’s way
Bonesplitter
Steelshapers gift
Path to exile

21 2cc
Honor the pure
Winter orb
Seal of cleansing

8.5 tails
Kami of ancient law
Ronom unicorn
Whipcorder
Serra avenger
Soltari priest
Soltari monk
Silver knight
Sigiled paladin
Knight of the white orchid
Auriok champion
Leonine skyhunter
White knight
Samurai of the pale curtain
Knight of the meadow grain
Defiant falcon
Knight of the holy nimbus
Azorious guildmage

16 3cc
Glorious anthem
Sword of fire and ice
Sword of light and shadow
Oblivion ring
Grafted wargear
Aura of silence
Tangle wire

Aven Mindscensor
Spectral procession
Griffin guide
Paladin en vec
Stillmoon cavalier
Kitchen finks
Mirror entity
Pianna nomad captain

9 4cc
Armageddon
Ajani goldmane
Elspeth
Hokori dust drinker
Ranger of eos
Parallax wave
Cataclysm
Wilt leaf liege
Ravages of war

1 6cc
Exalted angel


Anyway from the testing I have done the deck works quite well. I am mostly wondering if you guys think I am not playing something I should be. The cards that have been fairly unimpressive thus far are the following... ajani goldmane, pariah, rishadan port, pianna nomad captain. Jotun grunt was also quite bad so it was cut.

The other question I have is if it would be worth adding some more expensive spells like cloudgoat ranger, reveilark, and stonehewer giant. Maybe even baneslayer angel. I have also considered running kor haven and battle screech, but cannot find room for either.

diffy
08-05-2009, 04:38 PM
Which banned list/rules set do you use? If you currently don't have a banned-list, or if stuff like Intuition and Gifts Ungiven aren't on it, there's no reason not to play a really silly combo deck. That, or something equally stupid, but with Survival of the Fittest.
Other than that, have a look around here (http://www.magicplayer.org/index.php?id=decks) - it's the official German Dortmund-Banned-List-Highlander-Format's Deck-Archive. The Dortmund banned-list is the most widely used banned-list for Highlander play in Germany, and, although the list is not universally accepted (for example, Karlsruhe uses this (http://majin.covers.de/mtg/phpBB2//viewtopic.php?t=411) list because it features less random 1-card wins), many large events utilizing it have been held in the last couple of years. As a consequence, the format is rather mature - the archive could therefore be of some good inspirational use.

If you want to stick with that White Weenie deck of yours, here (http://mtgthesource.com/forums/showpost.php?p=362370&postcount=10)'s a post I wrote on the subject in the Casual/Cavius subforum (how about someone move this over there, by the way?). It should cover most of the stuff you need to know in order to make the deck at the very least decent.
Also, do always keep in mind that, as your tournament scene matures, White Weenie will become even stronger because people will realize that Red Deck Wins (aka. Goblin-Aggro) is one of the best decks in the format - now guess who has a good matchup against RDW? Right. White Weenie (the build may need some small modifications because my suggested list is rather tweaked against control, but nothing too drastic).


About your specific questions:



The cards that have been fairly unimpressive thus far are the following... ajani goldmane, pariah, rishadan port, pianna nomad captain.

You're doing it wrong. Ajani easily is one of the best cards in the deck: Anthem-effects are broken, and a recurring Anthem-effect is even better, but a recurring Anthem effect that also happens to completely annihilate any kind of offense your opponent should have is utterly ridiculous.

While I'm at it, here's what I'd cut from the deck (in no particular order):

Eiganjo Castle (sadly worse than a Snow-Covered Plains all too often - Scrying Sheets is just that good once you run out of gas)
Aether Vial (your curve is low enough for this to be not worth the card disadvantage)
Icatian Javelineers (1/1s without evasion aren't worth it if they don't have an amazing ability. The one point of damage doesn't kill much in Highlander, therefore, the ability isn't amazing.)
Akrasan Squire (you'll be attacking with hordes)
Goldmeadow Stalwart (I guess this is supposed to be Goldmeadow Harrier?)
Burrenton Forge-Tender (again, a 1/1 without evasion and only a marginal effect - just don't)
Mother of Runes (in my opinion not aggressive enough to warrant a slot)
Harm’s Way (bad tricks are bad, and you don't want them to clog up your hand - you need your removal to be able to remove blockers, no more, no less)
Seal of Cleansing (you don't want to draw this, ever - it's not nearly aggressive enough. Besides Crumbling Sanctuary and Umezawa's Jitte, there are also not so many non-Enchantments out there you fear)
Sigiled Paladin (see Akrasan Squire)
Auriok Champion (you're supposed to be an aggro deck, remember?)
Pariah (see above)
Aura of Silence (see Seal of Cleansing)
Tangle Wire (three mana, no guaranteed damage - next)
Aven Mindscensor (underpowered)
Griffin Guide (two for ones will loose you the game, and the gain you get for the risk is rather minimal too)
Paladin en-Vec (see that thing about you being an aggro deck: no evasion and below-power-curve stats don't make the cut)
Kitchen Finks (see above)
Exalted Angel (just too clunky/expensive in order to be any good against Aggro or Control - can come in if you're expecting some midrange type of decks though)



The other question I have is if it would be worth adding some more expensive spells like cloudgoat ranger, reveilark, and stonehewer giant. Maybe even baneslayer angel.

If you're not expecting an aggressive metagame, sure, go ahead and include some expensive stuff that creates some sort of card advantage (Reveilark, Cloudgoat Ranger, Captain of the Watch etc.) or some fatties if you expect some midrange (Exalted Angel, Baneslayer Angel etc.) over some of those pesky one drops with evasion, if, however, people around your neck of the woods should already have understood that Aggro is indeed one of the best archetypes in Highlander (consistency is King - Highlander doesn't change this), leave the expensive guys at home.

andrew77
08-05-2009, 06:24 PM
Which banned list/rules set do you use?

We use the banned list and rules from http://www.highlandermagic.info/



Eiganjo Castle (sadly worse than a Snow-Covered Plains all too often - Scrying Sheets is just that good once you run out of gas) I don't have room for more nonbasics in my list and the snow engine seems quite slow and weak since I would only be running 24/25 snow lands.



Aether Vial (your curve is low enough for this to be not worth the card disadvantage) Vial is too good to cut. It is especially good with winter orb effects or post armageddon/ravages.



Icatian Javelineers (1/1s without evasion aren't worth it if they don't have an amazing ability. The one point of damage doesn't kill much in Highlander, therefore, the ability isn't amazing.) Maybe this is a metagame thing, but against my friends decks his ability is quite useful.



Akrasan Squire (you'll be attacking with hordes) He has been alright in testing. Maybe soltari foot soldier over him.



Goldmeadow Stalwart (I guess this is supposed to be Goldmeadow Harrier?) Yep its harrier



Burrenton Forge-Tender (again, a 1/1 without evasion and only a marginal effect - just don't) Forge tender has been pretty weak.



Mother of Runes (in my opinion not aggressive enough to warrant a slot) I'm a huge fan of this card. I doubt I will cut her.



Harm’s Way (bad tricks are bad, and you don't want them to clog up your hand - you need your removal to be able to remove blockers, no more, no less) I like it more than something as slow as unmake, but it hasn't been all that spectacular.



Seal of Cleansing (you don't want to draw this, ever - it's not nearly aggressive enough. Besides Crumbling Sanctuary and Umezawa's Jitte, there are also not so many non-Enchantments out there you fear) Lots of pesky artifacts/enchantments in my meta.



Sigiled Paladin (see Akrasan Squire) He has been quite solid. I'd rather run him over a 2/1 flier



Auriok Champion (you're supposed to be an aggro deck, remember?) I agree, champion should go if pariah goes, but what replaces her?



Pariah (see above) agreed



Aura of Silence (see Seal of Cleansing) I like it more than seal of cleansing since theres at least 2 artifact decks in my meta.



Tangle Wire (three mana, no guaranteed damage - next) Its been amazing in testing.



Aven Mindscensor (underpowered) One of the few three drops I liked in testing.



Griffin Guide (two for ones will loose you the game, and the gain you get for the risk is rather minimal too) The only way its a 2 for 1 is if the critter gets rfg'd or something like that. Otherwise its been quite good.



Paladin en-Vec (see that thing about you being an aggro deck: no evasion and below-power-curve stats don't make the cut) I'll replace him once I find a better three drop.



Kitchen Finks (see above) Will replace if I find a better three drop, but he has been fairly solid in testing.



Exalted Angel (just too clunky/expensive in order to be any good against Aggro or Control - can come in if you're expecting some midrange type of decks though)
I like the angel a lot. It has been great in testing.