I'll start by recognizing that there are several decks out there that run alot of similar card choices. Where most of the other decks that i have seen all play out more or less like Rock style control/aggro decks with limited or inconsistent success I have tuned this list for several months and have had considerable success with it in tournament play including multiple top 8's in large events.
The deck I have been running wasn't really about Survival and although obviously losing Survival wasn't ideal I still have had just as much success without Survival using more or less the same card base I had been playing.
There are 3 key areas of deck design I focused on while designing this deck: Tempo, Card Advantage, Silver Bullet Options.
Tempo/Mana Base
Any deck in Legacy that wants to be competitive and isn't running Blue needs to be fast, you need to be aggressive and able to race the combo decks in the format and be able to overrun aggro decks.
10 Forests - Basics are critical to winning in a format full of Wasteland, I have won numerous rounds just by dropping 2-3 basics from my hand
1 Plains - Needed for control decks that run Firespout and Wasteland, otherwise not needed
3x Savannah
4x Windswept Heath
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
2x Quiron Ranger
The 8 Mana Men are critical to winning, always having 3 colored mana on turn 2 is amazing on top of needing to keep the creature count as high as possable for Fauna Shamans and triggering Vengevines. I have killed several people with a Bird equiped with a Sword of Fire and Ice on top of the only thing better than a turn 3 attacking Vengevine is when its pumped with exalted. The deck only requires 1 Quiron Ranger to function, I play 2 just to increase chances of drawing it vs Aggro and Combo decks, the second one is boarded out vs control.
Card Advantage/Threats
Card Advantage is the only consistent way to beat Control Decks and is usually the deciding factor in winning Aggro-Control mirrors.This deck packs more Card Advantage then most control decks in the format and should over run most Aggro and Aggro-Control decks in the format and with the large amount of mana accell in the deck it does it fast enough to still race even the best hands from alot of decks.
The Stoneforge Package: (god am I glad I bought my Jap foil ones for 20$ before this thing got popular)
4x Stoneforge Mystic - I would never reccomend running any less then 4, they can be sided out vs combo
3x Equipment - Any more seems to clog up the deck at times, I do side some out from time to time
1x Jitte - mostly for life gain but its obviously powerful
2x Sword of Fire and Ice - personally I just like this the best but one sword could be replaced for something else without a negative impact. I prefer SoFI because it does the most damage and has the most card advantage.
4x Tarmogoyf - General beater and important for playing vs Firespout
4x Fauna Shaman - Silver Bullet tutor and leads to Vengevine win if unchecked
4x Vengevine - Card Advantage/ Hasty attacker
4x Eternal Witness - Amazing Card Advantage/ Used to trigger Vengevines. Witness makes Fauna Shaman a game breaker.
4x Swords to Plowshares - General removal, when played correctly more isn't needed and paired with Fauna Shamon chained out Eternal Witnesses is usually enough to beat most creature based decks.
Silver Bullets/Flex slots for Meta-Gaming
These slots can be filled with anything and are best suited for hate cards for your own Meta. The core design I use allows for 5 slots here although the second Quiron Ranger could be cut in a control heavy Meta to create a 6th slot.
Options I have used and found successful:
Gaddock Teeg/Aethersworn Cannonist/Phyrexian Revoker- Great MD if you expect combo
Harmonic Sliver/Pride Mage/Kataki Wars Wage- Great tutorable removal
Loaming Shaman- Ichorid Hate/General Graveyard Hate
Spore Frog/ Windborn Muse - Ichorid Hate/Aggro Hate
Peace Keeper/ Mangora/ Gilded Drake -Show and Tell/ Emerakul/ Cascade Hate
Obstinant Baloth/Spike Feeder - Burn Hate
Thrun/ Dosan/ Caller of the Claw - Control Hate
The deck is highly refinable within these few slots to have a large impact on certain match ups. As long as these slots are filled with creatures the deck will function, the deck will have enough men to run Fauna Shamans and enough men to trigger Vengevines.
Sideboard
Pretty much anything can be run here and the deck should still function fine. I pack mine with Combo hate and some Silver Bullet creatures I don't want to run in the MD and it works well enough for me. I have had alot of luck running 4x Leyline of Sanctity plus Teegs and Cannonists as combo hate in the SB. On top of that I usually have some extra Artifact/Enchanment removal and then either some Graveyard Hate or Control Hate in the last couple slots. As long as you don't board too many cards and dilute the MD the SB is pretty much just personal preference.
Cards not Included
Knight of the Reliquary - I get asked why I dont run this all the time and honestly I don't like the card. The only thing I see it as being good for is finding Karakas. It has no place in this deck despite my opinion on it because it would make graveyard hate crush the deck. Right now the deck has enough yard recursion to benefit from it but if you have Fauna Shaman and the have a Crypt out you can easily start getting Stone Forge Mystics and just win with Equipment. As it is now the deck doesn't really care about Grave Hate and I wouldn't reccomend opening it up to it.
Sensei's Divining Top- Too slow for this deck even with the explosive mana it can produce, also just not needed as almost every card except getting land flooded is relevent.
Natural Order - Seemed great in theory but in actuality it just diluted the deck and was win more most of the time. Also doesnt work well with Teeg and if it gets countered was very bad in the control match ups.
Match Ups
Zoo - Almost a bye, you can easily keep up with the speed they have and your card advantage should crush them. If they are on the play they may pull ahead early but as long as you don't keep a poor hand this should be an easy win.
Goblins - This is a great match up, this deck is faster and has better card advantage.
Merfolk - This is probably the decks best match up possable, swarm them with creatures and crush them with Equipment. To date I believe I am undefeated in tournament play vs this deck
Ichorid - This all depends on what is in those flex slots in the MD. If you made room for a Spore Frog or a Teeg this is where the silver bullets shine. This match up is favorable mostly because of Ichorids inconsistency, if they get crazy fast starts and you dont have any hate cards they will probably beat you. The longer the game goes the better yuour chance of winning. If its expected I would come with some hate cards for it, Windborn Muse is usually a game breaker.
Tendrils - This is all about how much hate you pack. I pack alot and beat this deck pretty hard on a regular basis, If you are unprepared for the deck your only reliable option is mull to a fast hand and hope you get lucky. No matter what this deck should have Teeg in it somewhere, I have beaten Tendrils before just by casting Teeg and attacking so even without hate it is still winnable.
Counterbalance/Firespout/Control - This is the decks worst match up and I still rate it at about 50/50. The only real problem is Firespout, if they dont see it they wont win. If they do see it and you aren't super overextended you can recover and still take the game most of the time. Multiple Firespouts are very difficult to beat at times. With careful play this match up is very beatable. If you are expecting to face vs these control decks I strongly reccomend a few hate cards SB that can greatly swing the game for you.
Choke
Back to Basics
There is a white enchantemnt that gives all creatures Pro Red, sorry cant remember name right now for some reason.
Sylvan Library
Thrunn
Even Armageddon if timed right can end the game in your favor
Magus of the Moon/Blood Moon
The key is too either beat them with an enchanment that they most likely wont have any removal for or catch them off gaurd and hit their Mana Base. As the decks only really played match up that can be difficult I am researching into ways to improve it now. Thrun has been huge and if you can get any Vengevine tricks going its usually enough to get there.
