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Thread: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

  1. #1
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    Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    This deck is getting too much attention on MTGSal to get any cohesive design push.

    The new card that is getting all the hype:


    This card is actually really cool. It does lots of things, from enabling you to pretty much 1 hit kill with Knight of the Reliquary to turning every mana dork in your deck into a Lotus Cobra. It also just lets you find good stuff easily with scry, or taps down defenders. A lot of different directions could be taken with this style of deck, but I think 2 important things are necessary for it to be good:

    1. The deck functions well without Retreat, and doesn't rely on any combo too much.

    2. The deck can spend the mana well if it does get a Retreat and doesn't rely on KotR to win.

    One of the coolest things a deck like this could do is Turn 1 Mana dork, Turn 2 Retreat to Coralhelm, Turn 3 fetchland -> 6 mana. I think building around this curve is necessary in the deck being good. We want 6cmc game changers. The one I'm thinking of is Primeval Titan since we'll already have a couple utility lands in the deck for KotR to work with.

    Aside from that you can turn 2/3 a Knight of the Reliquary and then next turn drop Retreat to Coralhelm and go through your entire lands in your deck

    The list I'm thinking of is something like this:

    4 Noble Hierarch
    4 Birds of Paradise
    3 Courser of Kruphix
    4 Knight of the Reliquary
    3 Dragonlord Ojutai
    3 Primeval Titan
    1 Eternal Witness

    4 Retreat to Coralhelm
    4 Path to Exile
    2 Negate
    2 Simic Charm
    3 Primal Command

    4 Misty Rainforest
    4 Windswept Heath
    1 Horizon Canopy
    2 Temple Garden
    4 Breeding Pool
    2 Stomping Ground
    1 Kessig Wolf Run
    1 Ghost Quarter
    1 Treetop Village
    2 Forest
    1 Plains
    1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
    1 Dryad Arbor

    Where do you guys think we should take this deck? Sun Titans perhaps? It's pretty cool to have a deck that just has an instant win but plays like a normal bant deck until then.
    Last edited by Phoenix Ignition; 09-24-2015 at 01:55 PM.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    No lands in your deck and a bunch of mana with Knight could lead to an instant win with goblin charbelcher. Its janky, but kinda cool.
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  3. #3

    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    As mentioned in the spoiler thread, Jace, Vryn's Prodigy and Hangarback Walker can be good at taking advantage of the untap effects.

    Commune with the Gods could work for you since it will find either piece. Of course that could ruin the surprise.

    Other possibilities for tap creatures

    Fatestitcher is a good utility tap card.

    Jace's Archivist could be funny...

    Tideforce Elemental also combos to grow the knight

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Hmm, maybe Jace or Hangarback... I'm not a fan of just having Hangarback to exploit the untap, but since the plan is to generate a lot of mana anyway then maybe it's worth using. I guess I'm leaning more towards not using Hangarback just because without Retreat it's going to be very underwhelming, whereas other cards will be better.

    Jace might be worth it, but I think a big part of him being good is having the instants to fuel his -3 ability. Right now I'm running almost none.

    And I don't think we can really get rid of every land in the deck... as funny as belcher may be.

  5. #5

    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    ...
    Jace might be worth it, but I think a big part of him being good is having the instants to fuel his -3 ability. Right now I'm running almost none.
    Yeah, it would require a different approach to the game with more proactive instants and sorceries like commune and serum visions or something.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    I've done a little testing with the list posted above and maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been winning on turn 3 really consistently. My experience thus far has been that Primeval Titan hasn't been necessary. I also didn't really care for the Dispels in the main. I figure Dispel is there primarily to protect your Knight of the Reliquary from removal. If that's the case, then I think Vines of Vastwood or Apostle's Blessing are probably better options. I'm also not really impressed with Bant Charm. One card that I do like which I slotted in in place of 2 of the Rhox War Monk is Undergrowth Champion. As you start to combo of with KotR, you generate mana and can cast the Champion. If Champion is in play, your opponent has to answer your KotR immediately. Otherwise, you're left with a huge Champion as well. My last concern/thought is that it'd be nice to run more basic lands or, dare I say it, possibly some of the BFZ "battle/tango" lands, as generating mana during the combo with shocklands means paying a lot of life. I'm almost tempted to run a Crucible of Worlds in the list as well, as comboing off and then not winning leaves you without the ability to trigger further landfall or generate much mana.

    I definitely think this deck is REAL and is worth exploring.

  7. #7

    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by CaptainTwiddle View Post
    I've done a little testing with the list posted above and maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been winning on turn 3 really consistently. ....
    Are you finding a Kight and a Return in your top 10 cards naturally? That should only happen once every five games or so.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by rufus View Post
    Are you finding a Kight and a Return in your top 10 cards naturally? That should only happen once every five games or so.
    Yeah, I've had KotR in most of my openers. My one game that went long was against Abzan, as they simply had removal for my Knights...all except the last one. I should mention (as I forgot in my last post) that I put 2 Summoner's Pact in the list in place of some Primeval Titans. In place of the Dispels I'm currently trying 1 Apostle's Blessing, 1 Vines of Vastwood, and 2 Spell Pierce.

    I'm thinking of trying 1-2 Drift of Phantasms as well, as a means of tutoring for KotR and/or Retreat to Coralhelm.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    First off, where did people get the word "tango" from? I don't understand it and I've seen it used everywhere.

    Next, the reason for Prime Time was that I don't assume I'll always hit a Knight with my Retreat and then I have something to both dump mana into and prepare for the long game. He finds your Kessig which will make any attacker a lethal threat and also your utility lands. I wanted a big mana dump that made immediate impact because with 8 mana dorks you're going to get some flooding and being able to always grab Kessig is worth it. Also, mana dork + retreat gives you 6 mana turn 3, so I think that's worth incorporating into the build.

    I think it's imperative we treat this like a normal deck that just happens to have an Oops I win button because to do otherwise would be to forget that literally every removal will kill an early KotR and if we make it to late game that means our combo didn't work. Both cards are great in their own way and without each other so by making a deck that works either way I think we get to play the best of both worlds.

    Undergrowth Champion seems really unnecessary. They're going to blow up your KotR if they can immediately anyway, and if they can't then you should have won with him, right? What scenario do you get to where Knight goes off with Retreat but Undergrowth is also required? There are a lot of Landfall creatures people keep throwing around that I think are useless since you should win when you go off anyway.

    Lands are kind of up in the air, but I liked Rhox for his ability to both let us play shocks and to use bant's natural exalted triggers to their full potential. He's also pretty hilarious with Kessig, and extremely annoying for red tempo/burn/sligh strategies. Naya zoo seems to be more popular now.

    I could see Drift of Phantasms as maybe a 1-of, but I do like the idea of not relying on the combo too heavily.

    Dispel could be whatever. Spell Pierce is fine, Apostles blessing seems unnecessary since you're hoping to go off with Kessig on board anyway and you'll have huge trample damage by then.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    First off, where did people get the word "tango" from? I don't understand it and I've seen it used everywhere.
    "Tango" refers to the expression "it takes two to tango," since it takes 2 basic lands for them the come into play untapped.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Next, the reason for Prime Time was that I don't assume I'll always hit a Knight with my Retreat and then I have something to both dump mana into and prepare for the long game. He finds your Kessig which will make any attacker a lethal threat and also your utility lands. I wanted a big mana dump that made immediate impact because with 8 mana dorks you're going to get some flooding and being able to always grab Kessig is worth it. Also, mana dork + retreat gives you 6 mana turn 3, so I think that's worth incorporating into the build.
    That's fine and well, I just think that 4 Primetime may be excessive.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    I think it's imperative we treat this like a normal deck that just happens to have an Oops I win button because to do otherwise would be to forget that literally every removal will kill an early KotR and if we make it to late game that means our combo didn't work. Both cards are great in their own way and without each other so by making a deck that works either way I think we get to play the best of both worlds.
    Agreed 100%. Maybe a 1-of Eternal Witness just for value and to get back a KotR or Retreat that may have met an untimely Abrupt Decay.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Undergrowth Champion seems really unnecessary. They're going to blow up your KotR if they can immediately anyway, and if they can't then you should have won with him, right? What scenario do you get to where Knight goes off with Retreat but Undergrowth is also required? There are a lot of Landfall creatures people keep throwing around that I think are useless since you should win when you go off anyway.
    You may be right on this. My initial thoughts on it's value during the combo are sort of irrelevant, as any reasonable opponent will just kill the KotR immediately if they can. That said, if you're playing a "fair" game, Champion is fairly hard to deal with and has synergy with KotR.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Lands are kind of up in the air, but I liked Rhox for his ability to both let us play shocks and to use bant's natural exalted triggers to their full potential. He's also pretty hilarious with Kessig, and extremely annoying for red tempo/burn/sligh strategies. Naya zoo seems to be more popular now.
    The War Monk does play nicely with exalted and is big enough to shrug off a Lightning Bolt, so it's a fine choice. I'm wondering if maybe a single copy of Rafiq of the Many or Baneslayer Angel may be a reasonable inclusion to help when you don't have the combo. Also, mana dork + Retreat only gives you 6 mana on turn 3 if you play a fetchland that turn. Any other land would give you 5 mana, which makes me like Baneslayer a bit.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    I could see Drift of Phantasms as maybe a 1-of, but I do like the idea of not relying on the combo too heavily.
    I'll definitely test this as a 1-of. Drawing 2 would feel super bad most of the time.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Dispel could be whatever. Spell Pierce is fine, Apostles blessing seems unnecessary since you're hoping to go off with Kessig on board anyway and you'll have huge trample damage by then.
    Apostles Blessing is just versatile. It can save a creature from removal or allow a large KotR to swing through unblocked when you don't have Kessig Wolf Run or even if you do, it may allow for a kill when they could otherwise chump enough damage to survive.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by CaptainTwiddle View Post
    "Tango" refers to the expression "it takes two to tango," since it takes 2 basic lands for them the come into play untapped.
    Oh, huh... well that's... huh. Okay.

    That's fine and well, I just think that 4 Primetime may be excessive.
    Quite likely. I really like the whole Kessig plan with mana dorks, I think it provides awesome synergy since it works well with Coralhelm (or without, if you go far enough on lands). I haven't hand much testing with this deck yet so I'm pretty sure numbers will change some here and there. Especially the lands.

    Agreed 100%. Maybe a 1-of Eternal Witness just for value and to get back a KotR or Retreat that may have met an untimely Abrupt Decay.
    So really my goal is to get enough good cards in the deck that if they Abrupt Decay the Retreat to Coralhelm then we're pretty much going to win because of it. Mana dorks can clog things up, so that's my only real worry in terms of grindy games. Knight will likely be the main target of removal, so I'm just kind of building the deck around other stuff having a much better chance to live.

    The War Monk does play nicely with exalted and is big enough to shrug off a Lightning Bolt, so it's a fine choice. I'm wondering if maybe a single copy of Rafiq of the Many or Baneslayer Angel may be a reasonable inclusion to help when you don't have the combo.
    Ooooh a deck where I can finally play Rafiq?? Now it gets interesting. What about Chord of Calling in place of some of the other stuff? Hits KotR, Rafiq (and wouldn't that be a funny target pre-combat?), a Pridemage if necessary, even Prime Time, letting me run fewer but still have him for when KotR inevitably eats a removal. Potentially just running a Primal Command may be the best option, it can really win you games against a lot of decks and is a 5 cmc threat.

    Also, mana dork + Retreat only gives you 6 mana on turn 3 if you play a fetchland that turn. Any other land would give you 5 mana, which makes me like Baneslayer a bit.
    This is a good point, I was planning on having a high fetchland count just for KotR without Retreat and for when Retreat lands when I have manadorks, but I think the manabase is going to be a big issue for this deck. Thragtusk or Baneslayer could fit here pretty nicely, I wonder what other 5cmc fatties are out there for us.

    Apostles Blessing is just versatile. It can save a creature from removal or allow a large KotR to swing through unblocked when you don't have Kessig Wolf Run or even if you do, it may allow for a kill when they could otherwise chump enough damage to survive.
    Yeah, also possible. Sejiri Steppe might be worth trying out for that scenario as well, though it doesn't protect her before summoning sickness wears off.

    There will be a lot of versions of this deck to try out I'm sure. I won't probably test in depth until I get the Retreat in the mail since my favorite place to test is the weekly tournaments and I don't really like playing with proxies.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Ooooh a deck where I can finally play Rafiq?? Now it gets interesting. What about Chord of Calling in place of some of the other stuff? Hits KotR, Rafiq (and wouldn't that be a funny target pre-combat?), a Pridemage if necessary, even Prime Time, letting me run fewer but still have him for when KotR inevitably eats a removal. Potentially just running a Primal Command may be the best option, it can really win you games against a lot of decks and is a 5 cmc threat.
    Chord might be good. I'm wondering if it may be too mana intensive for the spots where you need/want it. Only one way to find out, I suppose. Primal Command is such an amazing card. It's sometimes a bit clunky, but it always has 2 relevant modes. As for Rafiq, I jammed a few games with him as a 1-of and wow, he is AMAZING when he doesn't eat removal immediately. As we've learned from Amulet Bloom, double striking Primeval Titan is a good way to win games.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    This is a good point, I was planning on having a high fetchland count just for KotR without Retreat and for when Retreat lands when I have manadorks, but I think the manabase is going to be a big issue for this deck. Thragtusk or Baneslayer could fit here pretty nicely, I wonder what other 5cmc fatties are out there for us.
    I totally forgot about Swagtusk. I'm thinking he might be better in the board, but still, amazing option for the deck.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Sejiri Steppe might be worth trying out for that scenario as well, though it doesn't protect her before summoning sickness wears off.
    Yeah, hard to say. There will be situations where it's good, but if they target the Knight in response to its activation or in response to the Steppe's trigger, it didn't do much good.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    There will be a lot of versions of this deck to try out I'm sure. I won't probably test in depth until I get the Retreat in the mail since my favorite place to test is the weekly tournaments and I don't really like playing with proxies.
    Indeed, there is a lot of room to tweak this deck (go figure, you build something with two different coordinating toolboxes and it leads to lots of room for innovation). I'm thinking a Slayers' Stronghold would be nice in here, at least until we get another land that can provide haste. This may be the most fun deck I've worked on in awhile.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    I've found for decks that run 6+ mana dorks that Primal Command is really damn good and not terribly clunky. Usually I play it in an Abzan Shell with 1 of Grave Titan and Massacre Wurm along with Seige Rhinos for unstoppable value against decks like Jund, but haven't thought too much about Bant options for single target tutors that can somewhat win games. Sun Titan is interesting, could even bring back dead KotRs. Maybe even synergize with a deck playing a lot of Ghost Quarters for Prime Time to hit.

    Dragonlord Ojutai is another tempting option. I've seen D.O. absolutely wreck face in UW control decks lately. Adding Exalted to a 5 power flier sounds pretty nice too. Letting us untap with a living threat is more synergy with running Dispel/Apostle's Blessing/Spell Pierce/etc, not having to worry about immediately getting Terminated on a 5cmc.

    Nice to see Bant getting some long deserved attention though.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Dragonlord Ojutai is another tempting option. I've seen D.O. absolutely wreck face in UW control decks lately. Adding Exalted to a 5 power flier sounds pretty nice too. Letting us untap with a living threat is more synergy with running Dispel/Apostle's Blessing/Spell Pierce/etc, not having to worry about immediately getting Terminated on a 5cmc.
    I've played a few more games and Primal Command seems to be pulling its weight. Dragonlord Ojutai actually seems really sweet. It plays really well with Slayers' Stronghold and we could even try to fit a Minamo, School at Water's Edge into the list (although, with the 8 mana dorks, any non-green producing land is more or less colorless in your opener).

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post

    ...

    One of the coolest things a deck like this could do is Turn 1 Mana dork, Turn 2 Retreat to Coralhelm, Turn 3 fetchland -> 6 mana. I think building around this curve is necessary in the deck being good. We want 6cmc game changers. The one I'm thinking of is Primeval Titan since we'll already have a couple utility lands in the deck for KotR to work with.

    ...
    Could Sovereigns of Lost Alara + Conscription be the 6CMC "game changer" here? Maybe with a few copies of Geist and Sigarda thrown in?

    Putting Conscription Geist or any hexproof creature is obviously pretty good, and it also turns your pile of mana creatures into potential threats. Geist has always felt bad in Bant as opposed to WUR because even though you can cast him on turn 2 you basically had only 4 Paths for removal so random blockers were pretty good against you unless you had a bunch of exalted triggers. Now with Retreat you can probably tap blockers for days and just Geist people out of the game. Another card I think can fit well with this plan is Simic Charm. It can protect Knight/Retreat/Conscription/non-hexproof dude with Conscription, push damage, and Unsummon can come in handy too.

    I guess the downside of Sovereigns VS Prime Time is that it takes more slots up, is clunkier (drawing Conscription kinda sucks) and is probably an easier plan for the opponent to interact with.

    Another card I'm wondering might have a place here is the new Kiora. I don't know if there's room for her, but all the abilities seem relevant.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    I'm really hesitant about Sovereigns, I think our 5-6 drop slot needs to have an immediate impact for when it eats a Terminate/Path/Liliana trigger or whatever. Ojoutai can at least avoid everything except sweepers/edicts and Thrag/Titans have an immediate impact. Drawing Eldrazi Conscription is pretty terrible too, as you said.

    I'm kind of shying away from Geist in this deck, I guess I really shouldn't be since getting through blockers is what Retreat does and having exalted is great too, but I just think we can do better right now.

    New kiora doesn't seem as good as something like old Elspeth. Jumping a creature, especially KotR or Rhox or Primetime, seems like it'd be one of the best planeswalker modes out there for us. Tokens are always decent too.

    Minamo is pretty sweet with Dragonlord Ojutai, somehow I've been missing that interaction. Probably unncessary since we could just save a fetchland with Retreat, making Ojutai even more enticing.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    I'm really hesitant about Sovereigns, I think our 5-6 drop slot needs to have an immediate impact for when it eats a Terminate/Path/Liliana trigger or whatever. Ojoutai can at least avoid everything except sweepers/edicts and Thrag/Titans have an immediate impact. Drawing Eldrazi Conscription is pretty terrible too, as you said.

    I'm kind of shying away from Geist in this deck, I guess I really shouldn't be since getting through blockers is what Retreat does and having exalted is great too, but I just think we can do better right now.

    New kiora doesn't seem as good as something like old Elspeth. Jumping a creature, especially KotR or Rhox or Primetime, seems like it'd be one of the best planeswalker modes out there for us. Tokens are always decent too.

    Minamo is pretty sweet with Dragonlord Ojutai, somehow I've been missing that interaction. Probably unncessary since we could just save a fetchland with Retreat, making Ojutai even more enticing.
    My problem with Primeval Titan is it doesn't seem "unfair" enough. There are no Amulet/Valakut shenanigans or the like here and I don't know how good the Wolf-Run plan actually is in a format with efficient removal like Modern. I think Sun Titan might actually be higher impact in this sort of shell. Granted, my only experience with Prime Time/Wolf-Run is from Standard, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

    Without testing I don't know how viable Geist actually is in conjunction with Retreat, but I think its worth exploring. I still suspect you would need to play other cards that make Geist good, which might not make him worth running.

    I hadn't noticed the Retreat interaction with Ojutai. That plus Knight for Minamo makes Ojutai look very appealing in this shell. I think you want another big win con though since you can't play too many copies of Ojutai.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Well the real point of Prime time is that he turns every mana dork you own into a need-to-be-removed threat. Kessig + 6 lands is pretty scary pretty fast, so if your opponent isn't blowing removal on your mana dorks you're going to be killing them pretty quickly. One of the best ways to beat a control deck is to make them waste removal on your mana dorks, I've won games off of Assault Formation with Birds of Paradise because being able to hit for 2-3 damage a turn does warrant removal.

    Primal Command is another great card for an additional threat. It would allow us to just play 1 of a large number of threats, when we figure out which ones are the best. Ojutai is great but there could be better finishers out there. Ojutai + kessig wolf run makes me smile.

    EDIT: updated OP with decklist I think is better than previous. Still no real testing yet.
    Last edited by Phoenix Ignition; 09-20-2015 at 04:50 PM.

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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    I'm kind of shying away from Geist in this deck, I guess I really shouldn't be since getting through blockers is what Retreat does and having exalted is great too, but I just think we can do better right now.
    Agreed 100%.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    New kiora doesn't seem as good as something like old Elspeth. Jumping a creature, especially KotR or Rhox or Primetime, seems like it'd be one of the best planeswalker modes out there for us. Tokens are always decent too.
    I put an Elspeth, Knight-Errant in the one flex slot I had left after retooling and she has been amazing for all the obvious reasons.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phoenix Ignition View Post
    Minamo is pretty sweet with Dragonlord Ojutai, somehow I've been missing that interaction. Probably unncessary since we could just save a fetchland with Retreat, making Ojutai even more enticing.
    I came to the same conclusion, that just fetching a land and using the Retreat to untap things is better than running Minamo, as this deck sometimes wants to keep 1 land hands and that only works if the land produces green.

    Here's the list I've been jamming since last night. I'm very happy with it. The sideboard is loose and not finalized by any stretch.

    Bant Retreat
    CREATURES
    1 Baneslayer Angel - some decks just can't beat Baneslayer
    4 Birds of Paradise
    2 Courser of Kruphix - super helpful when you've taken a lot of damage and assemble the combo, as it keeps you alive
    1 Dragonlord Ojutai - a total bomb. Sigarda, Host of Herons could fill a similar role, but Ojutai's Anticipate is generally better
    1 Fauna Shaman - with so many 1-of bullets, why not a 1-of tutor for them?
    4 Knight of the Reliquary
    2 Lotus Cobra - this snake does broken things and makes it really easy to get sufficient Wolf Run mana
    4 Noble Hierarch
    2 Primeval Titan
    2 Qasali Pridemage
    1 Rafiq of the Many - this deck is looking to 1-shot kill and Rafiq makes it happen
    2 Rhox War Monk
    SPELLS
    1 Dromoka's Command - utility at its best (not much cant walk away from a fight with KotR or Prime Time)
    1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
    4 Path to Exile
    1 Primal Command - utilitutor
    4 Retreat to Coralhelm
    LAND
    3 Forest
    1 Plains
    3 Breeding Pool
    1 Dryad Arbor - mostly insurance against Liliana of the Veil in grindy matchups
    1 Horizon Canopy
    1 Kessig Wolf Run - necessary in many games, even if just for the trample, but usually a pump for a few as well
    4 Misty Rainforest
    1 Slayers' Stronghold - a real powerhouse here; haste + vigilance (see Amulet Bloom)
    2 Stomping Ground
    2 Temple Garden
    4 Windswept Heath

    Sideboard
    1 Ancient Grudge
    1 Bojuka Bog
    1 Creeping Corrosion
    1 Dromoka's Command
    1 Eternal Witness
    2 Ghost Quarter
    1 Glissa Sunseeker - this might be too "fun," but going machine gun on Affinity feels nice (Glissa does a reasonable Goblin Sharpshooter impression
    1 Kitchen Finks
    1 Plow Under
    1 Ray of Revelation
    1 Scavenging Ooze
    1 Selesnya Charm
    1 Thragtusk
    1 Thrun, the Last Troll

    The only card I'd really like to fit into the maindeck yet at this point is Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. It would probably have to be the 24th land, as its colorless mana production is limiting. It's also a little awkward to generate the sufficient mana at times, as you're almost exclusively in the market for it the same turn that you're activating Slayers' Stronghold, though Primeval Titan's attack trigger can untap 2 mana dorks via Retreat (or a KotR, which will work out the rest).
    Last edited by CaptainTwiddle; 09-20-2015 at 05:08 PM. Reason: spacing issues

  20. #20
    Here I Rule!!!!!!!!!!
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    Re: Bant Retreat to Coralhelm

    How has Rhox been? I want to up the Primal commands since they're devastating against most slow decks, and can be played turn 3 without much trouble here. It gives us game against Tron if we don't see our combo, and +7 life against burn is game over if they don't Skullcrack in response. If I'm running that many Primals I think it's safe to drop Rhox.

    Primal would also take over Fauna Shaman's slot, who seems fine but not as good as Primal due to the swiss army knife style of the card.

    Is lotus cobra necessary? 8 Mana dorks is already going to be gumming up the works if we hit mid/late game, and doesn't accelerate us into our 3 drop which is the main problem I have with it. My main focus is to not have too many dead cards in here.

    Have you ever used Slayers Stronghold for the haste? It seems very niche since you'd need 3 lands in addition to whatever you're casting. +2/+0 is fine, but all lands must be scrutinized since the manabase is going to be very important to the combo.

    Speaking of, have you ever run into a situation where Liliana hits something other than a mana dork? I'm just wary of the hands where you have to play Dryad Arbor early and it just eats a bolt, or even worse a Pyroclasm.

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