Dumpsterac1d
05-03-2017, 11:36 AM
Currently developing a deck that makes use of Sphinx's Tutelage to deck an opponent with the abundance of draw the Enchantress engine allows.
Current List as of 5/14/17:
MB:
10 Forest
3 Back to Basics
4 Argothian Enchantress
2 Mirri's Guile
4 Enchantress's Presence
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
4 Root Maze
6 Island
2 Mana Chains
4 Elephant Grass
3 Sphinx's Tutelage
4 Seal of Removal
2 Seal of Primordium
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Wild Growth
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
SB:
4 Pithing Needle
2 Carpet of Flowers
2 Static Orb
1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 City of Solitude
2 Chill
About the deck
Thoughts on G/W Enchantress
White allows access to Solitary Confinement, Enlightened Tutor, Sterling Grove, Replenish, and Sigil of the Empty Throne, which are usually thought of as essentials in the deck since they provide recursion, search, protection, and a win condition.
My argument/general feeling about this plan is that it's not aggressive enough and it's not fast enough. Much of the time we are waiting, trying to do our thing, and relying on Solitary AND at least two Enchantress effects to come down to keep the engine going. This is not reliable in the slightest, and good G/W enchantress decks, at least in the current meta, would be well to put 4x Leyline of the Void, 4x Rest In Peace, and 4x Helm because the way the deck protects itself is far too fragile. The removal we have access to in White is either 2-3CMC (Oblivion Ring, Journey to Nowhere) or it's not an Enchantment and doesn't allow us to draw cards (Swords to Plowshares). Leovold, Emissary of Trest is also quite the blowout, and we need something that can allow us to keep some kind of prison around while eliminating their options. I think this deck has the potential to be faster, more effective against a different metagame that might emerge post-top where speed is essential, and gives us far different and possibly better cards to sideboard with.
GU Enchantress:
Normal Enchantress:
Argothian Enchantress
Enchantress's Presence
Wild Growth
Utopia Sprawl
Elephant Grass
Mirri's Guile
Sylvan Library
Green Sun's Zenith
Obviously these are essential, it's the engine, ramp, and useful protection. Mirri's Guile is a little better than Sylvan Library, but Sylvan "Draws" the cards to your hand, which combos with our wincon. Leo sucks with Library, so I'd opt for Guile at the moment.
Blue Prison/Removal:
Back to Basics
Root Maze
Seal of Removal
Mana Chains
Seal of Primordium
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
The prison here is focused on slowing our opponent down to a level where we can compete.
Back to Basics hits quite a large chunk of the meta and can be devastating against Eldrazi, Lands, etc.
Root Maze I've found is faster than one-sided alternatives, and good at nullifying the tempo loss of being on the draw, with the right hand (which would include a ramp spell, an Enchantress, and Maze). It also makes fetches REALLY BAD.
Seal of Removal can sit in play and allows us to "cycle" the card while still using its effect against the optimal creature. Same with Seal of Primordium.
Mana Chains is very good at getting rid of problem creatures, a lot of the time, an opponent simply will not pay the upkeep cost and let their creature die.
Erayo is a great tempo card and it's fairly easy for the deck to generate "4 storm". Doesn't play into the main appeal of the deck, so it's just a 1-of. It's a slot that could be replaced by a Static Orb or a Pithing Needle?
Win Conditions:
Sphinx's Tutelage
Kiora, the Crashing Wave
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
*alternatively*
Psychosis Crawler
Chasm Skulker
Sphinx's Tutelage is a pretty great wincon for this deck. It doesn't require attacking or blocking, mills very fast, and in very small cases can be used to draw cards and mill on the opponent's turn (probably more useful with Top in the meta, but oh well). One thing I don't particularly enjoy is if an opponent is on Sneak + Show or any of it's variants, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn will undo any mill. I haven't acquired them, but two or three Surgical Extractions in the SB would be great at responding to that trigger should it ever arise. Regardless, there is some bonus that your opponent likely won't have access to the cards you're milling from them, albeit small.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave is the kind of non-Enchantment spell we can certainly run. It offers card advantage, a win condition, and protection.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is for cycling the deck, almost exclusively, although in long games it can be cast. Emrakul was good as well for this, but without having access to things like Serra's Sanctum, the discount on mana cost matters.
Psychosis Crawler and Chasm Skulker are both "ok". I like how big the Skulker can get, but if all the opponent needs to do is to block with a token to stop it, it's pretty foul. It also basically dies to Jace's bounce ability. There would need to be a Rancor in order to make either of these creature's inclusion worth it, or some way to sac the Skulkers to generate tokens. Crawler gets around this because it causes loss of life, but I've found that the times where I can safely cast it, the opponent is already down 15-20 cards, and a Tutelage in play would kill just as fast.
Mana and Fixing:
Forest
Island
Yup. No nonbasics.
Sideboard
4 Pithing Needle? Yes. Yes, four. There are too many things to name that we can't really answer naturally with what we have access to. Recently used it to stop Liliana, Deathrite Shaman, Jace, Factory, etc etc.
Carpet of Flowers is too good not to include. Makes our matchup against "fair" decks much better.
Static Orb is really great. It's almost better than Back to Basics because it can be cast with any color of mana, and we don't need to untap anything except our lands, which will likely tap for 2+ each anyway. If the opponent is on basics, get this card. Not optimal since we like to combo off and need most of our mana available, but it has a very similar effect against monocolored basic land decks.
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant: not sure if this is good or not. I hardly want to cast it since it doesn't generate cards, and the decks i'd want to side it in for will most likely have an answer to it. Open slot...
Blue Elemental Blast is a little Meh, but it has killed/countered enough things that it's still in the SB.
Chill Resolve this and you will win against burn and goblins. Very good card. Good chance that if you died in G1 against a burn spell that this will do enough, regardless if the deck is U/R or whatever.
City of Solitude is there because if someone knows our game and are playing blue, they will likely ignore every spell except our Enchantresses and possibly our B2B. This will likely get countered as well, but if they let it resolve, we're free to do our thing unimpeded.
More SB notes: Would like to find something that is good against Elves. Was considering seeing how Overburden responded, but I have a feeling it will be easy for them to just ignore it. Dredge is also pretty difficult because they are fast and there isn't always an Elephant Grass. Will see about Grafdigger's Cage. Also would like to try Surgical Extraction. Might be a good thing, 4x Surgical, 4x Pithing Needle game plan? ;) Would also really like to try Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale.
Play Notes:
This deck, as formulated above, has been mildly successful in testing, and It's getting much better as I know more about how to play it. It is NOT as "draw your entire deck" as G/W Enchantress, and that is a very important thing to note. The deck is about making tempo plays, keeping opponents from doing much while we assemble the engine and mill them.
The absolute best hand will consist of Forest, Forest, Island, Wild Growth, Root Maze, Mirri's Guile, Argothian Enchantress. The absolute best turn 1 and 2 in the blind is:
Turn1:
Play Forest, Cast Utopia Sprawl or Wild Growth targeting tapped Forest, Pass.
Turn 2:
Play another Forest or Island, tap the enchanted forest to cast Argothian Enchantress (plays around Daze), cast Root Maze, draw a card, Pass.
On the play with this sequencing, by the end of turn 2, we're a total of 2 mana ahead and have already drawn a card from an Enchantress effect. With Root Maze, we will remain 2 mana ahead for the opponent's turn and our next turn. If the opponent kept a hand of fetches, we'll likely be 3 mana ahead by turn 3. If we find Back to Basics in short order, there is little someone playing nonbasics and fetches can do and some will scoop when they see the lock and us drawing cards, playing Seal of Removal, etc. On the draw the plan is the same except we're at mana parity with our opponent (and if their hand is dependent on fetches, we'll likely come out ahead.
Current List as of 5/14/17:
MB:
10 Forest
3 Back to Basics
4 Argothian Enchantress
2 Mirri's Guile
4 Enchantress's Presence
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
4 Root Maze
6 Island
2 Mana Chains
4 Elephant Grass
3 Sphinx's Tutelage
4 Seal of Removal
2 Seal of Primordium
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Wild Growth
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Kiora, the Crashing Wave
1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
SB:
4 Pithing Needle
2 Carpet of Flowers
2 Static Orb
1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 City of Solitude
2 Chill
About the deck
Thoughts on G/W Enchantress
White allows access to Solitary Confinement, Enlightened Tutor, Sterling Grove, Replenish, and Sigil of the Empty Throne, which are usually thought of as essentials in the deck since they provide recursion, search, protection, and a win condition.
My argument/general feeling about this plan is that it's not aggressive enough and it's not fast enough. Much of the time we are waiting, trying to do our thing, and relying on Solitary AND at least two Enchantress effects to come down to keep the engine going. This is not reliable in the slightest, and good G/W enchantress decks, at least in the current meta, would be well to put 4x Leyline of the Void, 4x Rest In Peace, and 4x Helm because the way the deck protects itself is far too fragile. The removal we have access to in White is either 2-3CMC (Oblivion Ring, Journey to Nowhere) or it's not an Enchantment and doesn't allow us to draw cards (Swords to Plowshares). Leovold, Emissary of Trest is also quite the blowout, and we need something that can allow us to keep some kind of prison around while eliminating their options. I think this deck has the potential to be faster, more effective against a different metagame that might emerge post-top where speed is essential, and gives us far different and possibly better cards to sideboard with.
GU Enchantress:
Normal Enchantress:
Argothian Enchantress
Enchantress's Presence
Wild Growth
Utopia Sprawl
Elephant Grass
Mirri's Guile
Sylvan Library
Green Sun's Zenith
Obviously these are essential, it's the engine, ramp, and useful protection. Mirri's Guile is a little better than Sylvan Library, but Sylvan "Draws" the cards to your hand, which combos with our wincon. Leo sucks with Library, so I'd opt for Guile at the moment.
Blue Prison/Removal:
Back to Basics
Root Maze
Seal of Removal
Mana Chains
Seal of Primordium
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
The prison here is focused on slowing our opponent down to a level where we can compete.
Back to Basics hits quite a large chunk of the meta and can be devastating against Eldrazi, Lands, etc.
Root Maze I've found is faster than one-sided alternatives, and good at nullifying the tempo loss of being on the draw, with the right hand (which would include a ramp spell, an Enchantress, and Maze). It also makes fetches REALLY BAD.
Seal of Removal can sit in play and allows us to "cycle" the card while still using its effect against the optimal creature. Same with Seal of Primordium.
Mana Chains is very good at getting rid of problem creatures, a lot of the time, an opponent simply will not pay the upkeep cost and let their creature die.
Erayo is a great tempo card and it's fairly easy for the deck to generate "4 storm". Doesn't play into the main appeal of the deck, so it's just a 1-of. It's a slot that could be replaced by a Static Orb or a Pithing Needle?
Win Conditions:
Sphinx's Tutelage
Kiora, the Crashing Wave
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
*alternatively*
Psychosis Crawler
Chasm Skulker
Sphinx's Tutelage is a pretty great wincon for this deck. It doesn't require attacking or blocking, mills very fast, and in very small cases can be used to draw cards and mill on the opponent's turn (probably more useful with Top in the meta, but oh well). One thing I don't particularly enjoy is if an opponent is on Sneak + Show or any of it's variants, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn will undo any mill. I haven't acquired them, but two or three Surgical Extractions in the SB would be great at responding to that trigger should it ever arise. Regardless, there is some bonus that your opponent likely won't have access to the cards you're milling from them, albeit small.
Kiora, the Crashing Wave is the kind of non-Enchantment spell we can certainly run. It offers card advantage, a win condition, and protection.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre is for cycling the deck, almost exclusively, although in long games it can be cast. Emrakul was good as well for this, but without having access to things like Serra's Sanctum, the discount on mana cost matters.
Psychosis Crawler and Chasm Skulker are both "ok". I like how big the Skulker can get, but if all the opponent needs to do is to block with a token to stop it, it's pretty foul. It also basically dies to Jace's bounce ability. There would need to be a Rancor in order to make either of these creature's inclusion worth it, or some way to sac the Skulkers to generate tokens. Crawler gets around this because it causes loss of life, but I've found that the times where I can safely cast it, the opponent is already down 15-20 cards, and a Tutelage in play would kill just as fast.
Mana and Fixing:
Forest
Island
Yup. No nonbasics.
Sideboard
4 Pithing Needle? Yes. Yes, four. There are too many things to name that we can't really answer naturally with what we have access to. Recently used it to stop Liliana, Deathrite Shaman, Jace, Factory, etc etc.
Carpet of Flowers is too good not to include. Makes our matchup against "fair" decks much better.
Static Orb is really great. It's almost better than Back to Basics because it can be cast with any color of mana, and we don't need to untap anything except our lands, which will likely tap for 2+ each anyway. If the opponent is on basics, get this card. Not optimal since we like to combo off and need most of our mana available, but it has a very similar effect against monocolored basic land decks.
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant: not sure if this is good or not. I hardly want to cast it since it doesn't generate cards, and the decks i'd want to side it in for will most likely have an answer to it. Open slot...
Blue Elemental Blast is a little Meh, but it has killed/countered enough things that it's still in the SB.
Chill Resolve this and you will win against burn and goblins. Very good card. Good chance that if you died in G1 against a burn spell that this will do enough, regardless if the deck is U/R or whatever.
City of Solitude is there because if someone knows our game and are playing blue, they will likely ignore every spell except our Enchantresses and possibly our B2B. This will likely get countered as well, but if they let it resolve, we're free to do our thing unimpeded.
More SB notes: Would like to find something that is good against Elves. Was considering seeing how Overburden responded, but I have a feeling it will be easy for them to just ignore it. Dredge is also pretty difficult because they are fast and there isn't always an Elephant Grass. Will see about Grafdigger's Cage. Also would like to try Surgical Extraction. Might be a good thing, 4x Surgical, 4x Pithing Needle game plan? ;) Would also really like to try Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale.
Play Notes:
This deck, as formulated above, has been mildly successful in testing, and It's getting much better as I know more about how to play it. It is NOT as "draw your entire deck" as G/W Enchantress, and that is a very important thing to note. The deck is about making tempo plays, keeping opponents from doing much while we assemble the engine and mill them.
The absolute best hand will consist of Forest, Forest, Island, Wild Growth, Root Maze, Mirri's Guile, Argothian Enchantress. The absolute best turn 1 and 2 in the blind is:
Turn1:
Play Forest, Cast Utopia Sprawl or Wild Growth targeting tapped Forest, Pass.
Turn 2:
Play another Forest or Island, tap the enchanted forest to cast Argothian Enchantress (plays around Daze), cast Root Maze, draw a card, Pass.
On the play with this sequencing, by the end of turn 2, we're a total of 2 mana ahead and have already drawn a card from an Enchantress effect. With Root Maze, we will remain 2 mana ahead for the opponent's turn and our next turn. If the opponent kept a hand of fetches, we'll likely be 3 mana ahead by turn 3. If we find Back to Basics in short order, there is little someone playing nonbasics and fetches can do and some will scoop when they see the lock and us drawing cards, playing Seal of Removal, etc. On the draw the plan is the same except we're at mana parity with our opponent (and if their hand is dependent on fetches, we'll likely come out ahead.