Angelic Help

[tylenol]

hey guys. So, I recently bought FtV: Angels and I'd like to build a deck around the cards that come on it.
So, I was told that it kinda plays itself, and that I could easily win games with those cards as they are imba, but I think it is too slow to play if I just throw that bunch of angels in a deck. Being more especific, I'd like some help to quicken my game, whether with some quick creatures to slow my opponent game or just keep me alive, whether with some cards that allow me to put them on the battlefield (Omniscience style).
I'm not actually thinking of using all angels. It could be a mono White deck, but I was thinking of using black, white and red (So I could use both Akroma and Tariel).


1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
1x Serra Angel
1x Platinum Angel
1x Archangel of Strife
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Aurelia, the Warleader
1x Exalted Angel
1x Baneslayer Angel

1x Entreat the Angels

I'm really new to this kind of gameplay, and I never tried a White deck, so I really have no idea of what cards could help me out here.

I hope I asked this question on the right place =) and I hope you all could give me an insight to this deck.

Thank you!

[jrsthethird]

hey guys. So, I recently bought FtV: Angels and I'd like to build a deck around the cards that come on it.
So, I was told that it kinda plays itself, and that I could easily win games with those cards as they are imba, but I think it is too slow to play if I just throw that bunch of angels in a deck. Being more especific, I'd like some help to quicken my game, whether with some quick creatures to slow my opponent game or just keep me alive, whether with some cards that allow me to put them on the battlefield (Omniscience style).
I'm not actually thinking of using all angels. It could be a mono White deck, but I was thinking of using black, white and red (So I could use both Akroma and Tariel).


1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
1x Serra Angel
1x Platinum Angel
1x Archangel of Strife
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Aurelia, the Warleader
1x Exalted Angel
1x Baneslayer Angel

1x Entreat the Angels

I'm really new to this kind of gameplay, and I never tried a White deck, so I really have no idea of what cards could help me out here.

I hope I asked this question on the right place =) and I hope you all could give me an insight to this deck.

Thank you!

It sounds to me like you're more of a casual player. This forum is geared towards creating decks that are competitive in Legacy tournaments, whether it's against 20 people at your LGS (Local Game Store) or against 2000 people at a Wizards Grand Prix. Legacy is a very fast format, so much that most decks only run 2 or 3 spells that cost more than 3 mana. It's very hard to make a deck with a bunch of 5/6 mana Angels competitive here. It's awesome that you're excited to try new things and I think you should take a look at the Commander format (also known as EDH - Elder Dragon Highlander). It's a very popular multiplayer format (but people also build 1 vs. 1 decks) that Wizards releases a special set every year for.

The idea is, you pick a Commander (a Legendary creature that you can cast at any time if you have the mana), and that determines the colors of your deck. Then you build a deck of 99 cards around your Commander, and the catch is, you can only use one copy of any card that isn't a basic land. That actually sounds great for you because then you won't need to hunt down 3 copies of the rest of your Angels. You can play one of everything you just bought.

If you want to play with all of them, it looks like you would have to choose Tariel as your Commander. If you want an even more powerful Commander, I recommend picking up Kaalia of the Vast:

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=236473&type=card

She works great with a deck full of Angels, and you can throw in some Dragons and Demons too and have a blast. She's pretty hard to find, and costs about $30, but it's worth it IMO. There are plenty of Dragons, Demons, and Angels that only cost a dollar or two so you can fill in the rest of the deck rather cheaply. If you don't want to spend $30 on one card right away, try building a deck with Tariel and upgrade when you have the chance.

This is actually a great time to jump into the Commander format, because this weekend Wizards just released a new set of Commander decks (these are about $35, either at your LGS or at Walmart/Target). These are 100 card decks that are ready to play right out the box, and each deck has 15 cards that you can't get anywhere else. The decks this year are enemy-colored, so if you want a jumping-off point to use all your Angels, you can try the B/W deck Call the Spirits. You'll have to change the Commander if you want to play Tariel and other red cards, but if you buy the deck and swap in some white Angels you'll have a good start. Each deck also has a really good start to mana fixing, as well as cards like Sol Ring that speed up your mana production and let you cast the big, monster spells.

My LGS has a Commander night every week, only $6 to enter. The winner gets 4 packs, and everyone else gets a pack for participating. Really casual and laid back. They're actually doing a precon-only event this week, so everyone is on equal ground. I would ask your local game store about Commander and see if they have any events or locals who play there.

Lastly, there is a Commander forum here but I don't think it's very active. The folks over at MTG Salvation might be able to help you a bit more:

http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh

And this is the official website for Commander:

http://www.mtgcommander.net

Good luck!

[tylenol]

It sounds to me like you're more of a casual player. This forum is geared towards creating decks that are competitive in Legacy tournaments, whether it's against 20 people at your LGS (Local Game Store) or against 2000 people at a Wizards Grand Prix. Legacy is a very fast format, so much that most decks only run 2 or 3 spells that cost more than 3 mana. It's very hard to make a deck with a bunch of 5/6 mana Angels competitive here. It's awesome that you're excited to try new things and I think you should take a look at the Commander format (also known as EDH - Elder Dragon Highlander). It's a very popular multiplayer format (but people also build 1 vs. 1 decks) that Wizards releases a special set every year for.

The idea is, you pick a Commander (a Legendary creature that you can cast at any time if you have the mana), and that determines the colors of your deck. Then you build a deck of 99 cards around your Commander, and the catch is, you can only use one copy of any card that isn't a basic land. That actually sounds great for you because then you won't need to hunt down 3 copies of the rest of your Angels. You can play one of everything you just bought.

If you want to play with all of them, it looks like you would have to choose Tariel as your Commander. If you want an even more powerful Commander, I recommend picking up Kaalia of the Vast:

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=236473&type=card

She works great with a deck full of Angels, and you can throw in some Dragons and Demons too and have a blast. She's pretty hard to find, and costs about $30, but it's worth it IMO. There are plenty of Dragons, Demons, and Angels that only cost a dollar or two so you can fill in the rest of the deck rather cheaply. If you don't want to spend $30 on one card right away, try building a deck with Tariel and upgrade when you have the chance.

This is actually a great time to jump into the Commander format, because this weekend Wizards just released a new set of Commander decks (these are about $35, either at your LGS or at Walmart/Target). These are 100 card decks that are ready to play right out the box, and each deck has 15 cards that you can't get anywhere else. The decks this year are enemy-colored, so if you want a jumping-off point to use all your Angels, you can try the B/W deck Call the Spirits. You'll have to change the Commander if you want to play Tariel and other red cards, but if you buy the deck and swap in some white Angels you'll have a good start. Each deck also has a really good start to mana fixing, as well as cards like Sol Ring that speed up your mana production and let you cast the big, monster spells.

My LGS has a Commander night every week, only $6 to enter. The winner gets 4 packs, and everyone else gets a pack for participating. Really casual and laid back. They're actually doing a precon-only event this week, so everyone is on equal ground. I would ask your local game store about Commander and see if they have any events or locals who play there.

Lastly, there is a Commander forum here but I don't think it's very active. The folks over at MTG Salvation might be able to help you a bit more:

http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh

And this is the official website for Commander:

http://www.mtgcommander.net

Good luck!

I am a casual player indeed, but I wanted to take it to the next level and start playing tournaments at my LGS. It seems to me that it is way more enjoyable than playing for fun with my friends (that usually destroys my decks with their Alpha and other imba cards hahaha)

I actually thought of commander the moment I saw I had a bunch of 1x of high cost monsters, and a legendary angel that allowed me 3 different colors on the deck. That's actually why I bought it, thinking that if I couldn't participate on legacy tournaments, I could at least play commander with them. All of my friends play commander right now, but I've never tried it. Maybe I'll abandon this Legacy idea and focus on commander.
Thank you so much! :)

[jrsthethird]

Most Legacy decks cost upwards of $1000, many in the $2-3k range. It's a huge investment to be competitive. There are budget options; most notably Burn, where a competitive deck can cost you under $500 (and most of the cards are playable in Modern too). Here is a list that you can easily remove the Taiga and green splash:

http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/326194#paper

The killer in Legacy is the mana base, so it might be worth taking a look at Modern instead. Shock lands are around $10 apiece, while the Legacy dual lands are $40-200 apiece. Most Burn cards are legal in both formats so a quick swap and you'd be ready to play at a Modern or Legacy LGS event. It's a good gateway deck to not only let you play for less, but it also gives you experience with the format and you can see all the other decks in action and see where you want to go next.

[tylenol]

Most Legacy decks cost upwards of $1000, many in the $2-3k range. It's a huge investment to be competitive. There are budget options; most notably Burn, where a competitive deck can cost you under $500 (and most of the cards are playable in Modern too). Here is a list that you can easily remove the Taiga and green splash:

http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/326194#paper

The killer in Legacy is the mana base, so it might be worth taking a look at Modern instead. Shock lands are around $10 apiece, while the Legacy dual lands are $40-200 apiece. Most Burn cards are legal in both formats so a quick swap and you'd be ready to play at a Modern or Legacy LGS event. It's a good gateway deck to not only let you play for less, but it also gives you experience with the format and you can see all the other decks in action and see where you want to go next.
I see. I didn't realize how expensive Legacy was. So, what is actually more expensive, Modern or Standard? I remember that I tried to build a Standard deck and gave up because of the price (but back in that time I didn't work, so today I'm actually willing to expend more money on it).
I have played against some burn decks, it's pretty nice actually, and I will look at some other modern decks.
Thanks for all the tips, you really helped me. Now I know I won't be playing Legacy in a near future :)

[Echelon]

Wait a second - don't forget Manaless Dredge is a thing! And it's probably the cheapest deck in the entirety of legacy at this point.

Sure, it scoops to random hate, but takes as many people by surprise. With a little bit of luck the deck can do incredibly well!

[jrsthethird]

I see. I didn't realize how expensive Legacy was. So, what is actually more expensive, Modern or Standard? I remember that I tried to build a Standard deck and gave up because of the price (but back in that time I didn't work, so today I'm actually willing to expend more money on it).
I have played against some burn decks, it's pretty nice actually, and I will look at some other modern decks.
Thanks for all the tips, you really helped me. Now I know I won't be playing Legacy in a near future :)

First off, we're in the midst of the most expensive Standard format of all time, so I would not recommend starting there at all. The cheapest Standard decks are priced similarly to cheaper Modern decks. Once Khans rotates out in the spring it might be worth thinking about again.

Typically, a Standard deck is cheaper than Modern (most of the time), but because of the rotating format (which will be happening twice a year now instead of just in the fall), you will continually have to buy/trade for new pieces every few months as new cards come out and new sets rotate in. Additionally, it's a fast-changing format and subject to massive price swings. Not to mention most of the cards in Standard don't see play outside of the format and they tank in price after rotation. Your $300 Standard deck might be worth $50 in a year if none of the cards have a lasting impact.

Basically, if a Standard card doesn't have an impact on Legacy, Modern, or casual multiplayer/Commander, it's going to be garbage in two years from now. It's usually cheaper to buy in at the start, but you have to either rebuy twice a year, or be on top of trends and get off the old cards while they still have value. I don't recommend this for someone who is just getting familiar with competitive Magic.

Modern, on the other hand, has a higher initial investment, but the cards never rotate, so the price swings (and subsequent feel-bads) are not as drastic. Manabases are still expensive in Modern, considering the cost of fetchlands, but nowhere near as crazy as Legacy. You can still find some competitive, cheap decks. Making an investment in Modern is going to be cheaper in the long run, since once you get a deck you don't have to keep changing it every 6 months due to rotations. It's also a very wide-open format right now so there are constantly new decks coming out that are off the radar but totally competitive. MTG Salvation has a much better and more active Modern forum than the dead one here.