[Deck] Gods and Walkers

[morgan_coke]

Hi all, I've been away from magic for a couple years, and I just started getting back into it. I needed a new deck to play, wasn't a huge fan of any of the ones I saw that are good/popular right now, so I figured I'd whip up my own using some of the newer cards that have come out lately. This is my first draft, as the name implies, it's based around the Theros "God" cards and planeswalkers. Plus a lot of really good stuff in the appropriate colors. This is only a first draft, so I'm very open to suggestions and ideas.

Gods and Walkers v1.0

Creatures
4x Deathrite Shaman
4x Tarmogoyf
4x True-Name Nemesis

Planeswalkers
3x Liliana of the Veil
3x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sorceries
3x Thoughtseize

Instants
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
3x Abrupt Decay

Gods
2x Thassa, God of the Sea
2x Erebos, God of the Dead

Enchantments
2x Back to Basics

Artifacts
4x Mistvein Borderpost

Lands
2x Verdant Catacombs
3x Misty Rainforest
3x Polluted Delta
1x Underground Sea
1x Bayou
1x Tropical Island
2x Forest
3x Island
2x Swamp

Sideboard
2x Back to Basics
4x Spell Pierce
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Thoughtseize
3x Damnation (Toxic Deluge?)
2x Tormod's Crypt
2x Surgical Extraction

Mistvein Borderpost is probably the weirdest most non-Legacy card in this list, but it adds devotion to both gods, works under Back to Basics, and can pitch to Force of Will. I considered Winter Orb over Back to Basics given the borderposts and Deathrites, but BtB seemed stronger and more synergistic given the borderposts already extant requirement of basic lands.

I don't know if two of each good is too few or just right, the devotion isn't going to happen immediately, but in midgame your opponent will suddenly start using abrupt decays on your borderposts just to keep the Gods in check, which is pretty hilarious.

The deck as constructed is a mid-rangey "no bad matchups" style that's built for the long game. The only glaring weaknesses I see off the top of my head are an inability to kill rather than just immobilize lands, and the lack of ability to destroy any artifacts or enchantments that cost more than 3 (leylines, dreamhalls, hive mind, etc.) I'm really unsure on the sideboard, I basically went "spare copies of everything you might want more of maindeck, plus creature swarm, graveyard, and spell/combo hate". Again, not remotely sure if that's the right choice, totally open to suggestions.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Thanks.

[YamiJoey]

Erebos doesn't really do anything. It's a lot of mana and life for what plenty of other cards do better.

You should almost certainly be playing Sensei's Divining Top if you want to play Thassa. Top turns Thassa into "Draw a Card".

[FTW]

Welcome back to Legacy!

Back to Basics isn't that good anymore. People have a lot more MD Enchantment removal via Abrupt Decay and MD mana sources through nonbasic hate via Deathrite Shaman. The two of them mean punishing nonbasics with 3cc enchantments is not nearly as powerful as it used to be. Also, with the printing of Delver of Secrets, all those 3-color blue-based aggro-control decks with vulnerable manabases (like Canadian Threshold's progeny RUG Delver) can just drop a turn 1 threat and ride it to victory before B2B comes down. Blue decks got clocks (and teeth), so durdling doesn't beat them anymore. Even Merfolk may not run B2B. That's where the format is.

Worse, you're a 3-color deck. 3-color decks should not run Back to Basics. Just a run a more stable manabase for yourself. Otherwise you will lose to yourself by fetching basics and not being able to cast the right spells as efficiently.

Also, Mistvein Borderpost sucks in a format with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Yep. She makes your ETB-tapped dual cost 1 more to play, tempo-screwing you even more. It also dies to Abrupt Decay, letting that card get even more broken by killing your mana sources! You running Borderposts makes it truly an uncounterable instant Vindicate. Don't make their Abrupt Decays better. Plus, because TNN decks run equipment, everyone is running artifact destruction in spades. A recent top8 Goblins list I saw ran 3 maindeck Tin-Street Hooligan as a meta call. Don't give opponents free Sinkholes.