lunar_eternal_blue
09-02-2011, 07:54 PM
I have played around with Bant quite a bit, and this is a brew that developed around playing cards that are particularly good against popular decks right now. Mainly NO Rug/NO Bant, Merfolk, Stoneblade, and Hivemind. Bant colors have access to hate for plenty of other archetypes, so it is easy to adapt. However, I found that cards like Aven Mindscensor and Spellstutter sprite have the potential to be really good right now, so I wanted to build around them and their synergies. Here's my starting list:
4 Aven Mindscensor
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Scryb Ranger
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Birds of Paradise
2 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Windswept Heath
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Savannah
3 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
2 Wasteland
1 Mutavault
1 Tower of the Magistrate
1 Forest
Card choices:
Noble Hierarch: One of the best cards in the format IMO. Color fixing, acceleration, and very relevant exalted triggers all in one. Also, hitting 3 mana on turn 2 is very helpful for taking advantage of Mindsensor.
Birds of Paradise: See above, minus the exalted triggers. These used to be Zeniths and I had a Dryad arbor, but in this deck I actually like birds more, as I think it is better than Dryad arbor and this deck doesn't really take advantage of Zenith as much as other decks do. Also, the flying is nice if you have a sword out.
Swords to Plowshares: Staple. Best removal in the format. At least in IMO, even with misstep out there.
Knight of the Reliquary: Doesn't seem to fit the deck too much, but I think she's (I think it's a she anyway) is the best creature in the format. Also, this deck does need some backbone with all of the little fliers. Provides so much utility with the land package, can get huge fairly easily, gives shuffle effects for brainstorm, and is good with Scryb Ranger.
Aven Mindscensor: Really good right now with all of the Natural Orders and Stoneforges around. Plus, so many decks run fetchlands. And it screws over other random stuff too. On its own, it has always been a bit too weak for me, but in this deck there are many ways to get it on turn 2 (which is really helpful for trying to stop fetches), it plays well with all of the flash creatures, and carries equipment very nicely.
Spellstutter sprite: Another card that is usually too weak on its own, especially without other flash creatures, but this card is right at home here, with plenty of options to do things on end step if no target for the faerie is cast. Also, very nice to have against Hivemind.
Scryb Ranger: This card is so fun. It does many tricks, too many to list. Great synergy with pretty much everything in the deck. I was already playing them before I realized that it was a faerie for Spellstutter sprite too. Also really nice against Merfolk, which is one of the harder matchups for this deck compared to the others that I listed.
Stoneforge Mystic: Grabs swords, which go good on most of the creatures in this deck, and of course on his own can be a threat with batterskull. Too good not to run. I could see running 4, but 3 has been fine for me.
Brainstorm: If you play blue and shuffle effects then you play 4 Brainstorm. I don't think I needed to say that though. As a plus, this deck runs a lot of shuffle effects.
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: He seems odd, I know, but he was actually one of the inspirations for this deck. With all of the fliers, this guy can cause you to draw quite a few cards. He is by no means essential, but he has been quite good and I like him.
Equipment: I like this equipment package. Sword of War and Peace was in my board too. It could be main though. I think Fire and Ice is the best overall, but Feast and Famine is really good in this deck too, with all of the flash for taking advantage of the untap effect. Batterskull is in there more as a backup, or if lifegain is needed. Jitte is great too, and sometimes is needed just for tempo purposes.
Utility lands: Tower of the Magistrate is good not only for batterskull, but this deck is hurt pretty bad by Jitte with all of the 1 toughness, so this is really nice to have. Any deck with Knight should run this anyway. I also used it once against reanimator to chump block a sphinx of steel wind forever with a mindscensor, which I never expected to do. I don't play karakas right now, but it is always an option, along with Maze of Ith. The Mutavault was more of an experiment, and it can easily be replaced, as I didn't find myself using it much for spellstutter sprite and this deck doesn't really do much with manlands. Wasteland count could be increased too.
Manabase: I think 8 fetches is the right number. I'm not too sure about the dual configurations, but this worked for me. The blue duals could be decreased a bit if you fear Merfolk. This deck has many ways to get rid of them though, mainly Knight and Scryb Ranger (at instant speed even!) I am always afraid of not running basics, as I have been blood mooned randomly too many times. One forest is all I think this really needs though. Birds and Hierarchs make basics less needed.
Sideboard: Pretty dependent on the meta, and Bant provides many good options. I like Krosan Grip now actually, as with all of the flash it fits in nicely. I had strayed away from it for awhile with counterbalance dying off, but it's nice against Batterskull, as there are no shenanigans in response. I also like Paths for extra removal. Other than that, I run an enlightened tutor side board with silver bullets. The side board for this deck isn't too much different than other bant decks, and it should be tuned to the meta.
Other Options: Vendilion Clique is on the top of my list to try in here. As I mentioned earlier, I used to play zeniths, but I don't think they do much in this deck. The utility lands and the manabase could be adjusted, but other than that I don't think I would change too much.
Overall I like this deck and I think it has a lot of potential against the popular decks right now, and it has a strong enough game plan and synergy to beat random stuff too. Unfortunatly legacy has been rather slow in my area lately. Please let me know what you think!
4 Aven Mindscensor
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Scryb Ranger
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Birds of Paradise
2 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Windswept Heath
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Savannah
3 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
2 Wasteland
1 Mutavault
1 Tower of the Magistrate
1 Forest
Card choices:
Noble Hierarch: One of the best cards in the format IMO. Color fixing, acceleration, and very relevant exalted triggers all in one. Also, hitting 3 mana on turn 2 is very helpful for taking advantage of Mindsensor.
Birds of Paradise: See above, minus the exalted triggers. These used to be Zeniths and I had a Dryad arbor, but in this deck I actually like birds more, as I think it is better than Dryad arbor and this deck doesn't really take advantage of Zenith as much as other decks do. Also, the flying is nice if you have a sword out.
Swords to Plowshares: Staple. Best removal in the format. At least in IMO, even with misstep out there.
Knight of the Reliquary: Doesn't seem to fit the deck too much, but I think she's (I think it's a she anyway) is the best creature in the format. Also, this deck does need some backbone with all of the little fliers. Provides so much utility with the land package, can get huge fairly easily, gives shuffle effects for brainstorm, and is good with Scryb Ranger.
Aven Mindscensor: Really good right now with all of the Natural Orders and Stoneforges around. Plus, so many decks run fetchlands. And it screws over other random stuff too. On its own, it has always been a bit too weak for me, but in this deck there are many ways to get it on turn 2 (which is really helpful for trying to stop fetches), it plays well with all of the flash creatures, and carries equipment very nicely.
Spellstutter sprite: Another card that is usually too weak on its own, especially without other flash creatures, but this card is right at home here, with plenty of options to do things on end step if no target for the faerie is cast. Also, very nice to have against Hivemind.
Scryb Ranger: This card is so fun. It does many tricks, too many to list. Great synergy with pretty much everything in the deck. I was already playing them before I realized that it was a faerie for Spellstutter sprite too. Also really nice against Merfolk, which is one of the harder matchups for this deck compared to the others that I listed.
Stoneforge Mystic: Grabs swords, which go good on most of the creatures in this deck, and of course on his own can be a threat with batterskull. Too good not to run. I could see running 4, but 3 has been fine for me.
Brainstorm: If you play blue and shuffle effects then you play 4 Brainstorm. I don't think I needed to say that though. As a plus, this deck runs a lot of shuffle effects.
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: He seems odd, I know, but he was actually one of the inspirations for this deck. With all of the fliers, this guy can cause you to draw quite a few cards. He is by no means essential, but he has been quite good and I like him.
Equipment: I like this equipment package. Sword of War and Peace was in my board too. It could be main though. I think Fire and Ice is the best overall, but Feast and Famine is really good in this deck too, with all of the flash for taking advantage of the untap effect. Batterskull is in there more as a backup, or if lifegain is needed. Jitte is great too, and sometimes is needed just for tempo purposes.
Utility lands: Tower of the Magistrate is good not only for batterskull, but this deck is hurt pretty bad by Jitte with all of the 1 toughness, so this is really nice to have. Any deck with Knight should run this anyway. I also used it once against reanimator to chump block a sphinx of steel wind forever with a mindscensor, which I never expected to do. I don't play karakas right now, but it is always an option, along with Maze of Ith. The Mutavault was more of an experiment, and it can easily be replaced, as I didn't find myself using it much for spellstutter sprite and this deck doesn't really do much with manlands. Wasteland count could be increased too.
Manabase: I think 8 fetches is the right number. I'm not too sure about the dual configurations, but this worked for me. The blue duals could be decreased a bit if you fear Merfolk. This deck has many ways to get rid of them though, mainly Knight and Scryb Ranger (at instant speed even!) I am always afraid of not running basics, as I have been blood mooned randomly too many times. One forest is all I think this really needs though. Birds and Hierarchs make basics less needed.
Sideboard: Pretty dependent on the meta, and Bant provides many good options. I like Krosan Grip now actually, as with all of the flash it fits in nicely. I had strayed away from it for awhile with counterbalance dying off, but it's nice against Batterskull, as there are no shenanigans in response. I also like Paths for extra removal. Other than that, I run an enlightened tutor side board with silver bullets. The side board for this deck isn't too much different than other bant decks, and it should be tuned to the meta.
Other Options: Vendilion Clique is on the top of my list to try in here. As I mentioned earlier, I used to play zeniths, but I don't think they do much in this deck. The utility lands and the manabase could be adjusted, but other than that I don't think I would change too much.
Overall I like this deck and I think it has a lot of potential against the popular decks right now, and it has a strong enough game plan and synergy to beat random stuff too. Unfortunatly legacy has been rather slow in my area lately. Please let me know what you think!