Maldur Sven Vedukor
02-17-2007, 02:38 AM
There are some wake related topics, but their titles aren't suitable. They talk about a particular building of wake. My decklist is here (http://mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4901).
This is a general wake thread.
The general strategy of the deck is surviving until wake hits the board and then you win.
The points I want to discuss are:
1) How to survive until wake hits the board
2) Draw engine
3) How many counters
4) Win conditions
5) Removal
6) Acceleration
7) How to gain tempo
I'll try to explains the possible cards the deck could run.
The basics
Mirari's Wake: The soul of the deck. It can generate a lot of mana and it's the heart of the deck. When it's the board and we have a win condition, you win. It quadruplies the effect of decree of justice.
The wishes
Burning Wish: It fetches sorceries. It fetches a lot of useful tools and win conditions.
Cunning Wish: It works like burning wish, but it's an instant and fetches instants. Its advantages are instant speed and being blue, but its disadvantages are higher casting cost and instants are less powerful than sorceries.
Living Wish: It fetches creatures and lands. It can fetch tabernacle and some win conditions, but in this deck is less useful than cunning and burning wish.
Acceleration
Exploration: It allows we to gain much tempo. If used correctly we'll be able to play a 2nd turn fact or fiction, a 3rd turn wake, etc.
Mox diamond: It allows we to have 2 mana on your first turn, but it doesn't accelerate too much. Not recomendable because it generates card disadvantage and we'll lose a land drop.
Chrome mox: Not recomendable by the same reasons of mox diamond.
Sakura tribe elder: We may search for a basic land and put it into play tapped. We can use it as a blocker. It's too slow for legacy, and since it can't search for a dual and the land comes into play tapped, it isn't very good.
Three Visits: Simmilar sakura tribe elder, but it can be used to search a dual that comes into play untapped.
The draw engine
Brainstorm: Improves our hand quality. Ir explains itself.
Fact or fiction: It's a good draw engine. It's pretty strong and we draw a good quantity of cards.
Impulse: It digs 4 cards in our library, so we can take a land drop, a counter, etc.
Life from the Loam: Another good draw engine. Works very well with fetchlands and cycling lands. It's less vulnerable to counters than fact or fiction, but it needs more cards. It allows us to use Wastelands, manlands and other useful lands. Also it gives us some protection against land destruction.
Intuition: Works well with Life from Loam. Fetches everything of the loam engine.
Cycling lands: They're a part of the loam engine.
Eternal dragon: It's a recursive land search. We can search for a dual and also we can return it to your hand and then play a 5/5 flying dragon.
Land grant: A free land drop, but it allows our opponent to see our hand. It's suicide against decks that run cabal's therapy.
Crucible of worlds: With it and fetchlands we'll never miss a land drop. It doesn't work well with cycling lands, but it's permanent. Also gives us some protection against land destruction.
Deep analysis: Works well with intuition and other stuff like solitary confinement and life from the loam. It has 4cc, but it's 2cc flashback makes it nice.
Accumulated Knowledge: Works well with intuition. Remember the Intuition-Accumulated Knowledge draw engine.
Horn of greed: It may work well with loam engine or crucible and exploration.
Compulsion: It's tutorable and we can cycle everything until we find the win cconditions. It seems to be good in mid or late game.
There are other useful draw engine cards i don't remember.
Tutoring
Enlightened tutor: We can search for wake or mirari and we can run a good toolbox. It makes the deck more solid.
The counters
Force of will: A manaless counter. It's the best counter in legacy and we can use it when we have no mana. We need to run a good amount of blue cards to support it.
Counterspell: The basic counter. It costs we UU, but it's nice.
Mana leak: It's a soft counter, but it doesn't cost we UU.
Forbid: If we have a loam engine or another stuff can support it, it's great in mid and later game.
The removal
Swords to plowshares: It's 1cc makes it the best single creature removal. It's a good answer to 1st turn lackey, and is widely used to remove creatures.
Lightning bolt: This is also a good answer to 1st turn lackey. Has a more narrow use than swords to plowshares, but against small creatures works well.
Wrath of God: Cleans the board, but its sorcery speed and its 4cc makes it less playable against fast decks. Also it can destroy mongoose.
Pyroclasm: It's like a 2cc wrath against goblins, but also it has sorcery speed and it's playabilty is more narrow than wrath.
Starstorm: A instant vesrion of pyroclasm. It's more costed and it costs us two red mana.
Slice and dice: It's cantrip, uncounterable and it has instant speed, but its playability is very narrow.
Quicksand: A land answer to lackey. It works well against white weenie. Works well with loam engine.
Powder Keg: Helps a lot against vials and mongooses. Also it can destroy meddling mages and werebears.
The win conditions
Decree of justice: The best win condition we can run. It's the reason to run burning wish. There's nothing like an end of turn cycled decree. It only can be countered with stifle and you put lots of 2/2 soldiers into play. Otherwise you can hardcast it.
Sacred Mesa: The second best win condition. It's pretty good since it's tutorable with enlightened tutor and a permanent and these 2/2 pegasi have flying, then it eat only a card slot. Wake boosts it very well.
Manlands: These cards work well with loam engine. They can be a fast clock like Mishra's Factory or a big 4/4 like Nantuko Monastery
Crush of wurms: It gives us three 6/6 creatures and it has flasback. It works well with mirari and burning wish, but is a lot slower than decree or sacred mesa.
Darksteel colossus: Well, this is an indestructible 11/11 with trample. Also it can be tutored.
Hunting Pack: It's an instant and it has storm. We can put some 5/5 beasts into play with an end of turn hunting pack and it's not vulnerable to counters since it has storm.
Brainfreeze: We know how this card works very well, because is one of the solidarity's win conditions.
Stroke of genius: We can use it as draw engine or as in condition too.
Kaervek's torch: This may be another additional win condition. Massive direct damage seems to be good as an additional win condition.
Wurmcalling: It may be considered since it has buyback.
Toolbox, tech or board
Solitary confinement: It's very nice against both aggro and combo. A 2nd turn confinement locks goblins, then we have the control. The only disadvantages are that forces us to skip our draw pahse and to discard a card every turn.
Propaganda: Not so powerful like confinement, but terribly slows down aggro decks, without the bad effects of confinement. Works well with tabernacle.
Chalice of the void: This card is awesome. It's very nice against combo, but also can be used against some fast aggro decks.
Meddling mage: Very useful card, specially for combo hate.
Arcane laboratory: Combo hate.
True believer, Ivory mask, Glided light: More combo hate.
Tabernacle at pendrell vale: Makes creatures more costly. Can be used with loam engine.
Mirari: Works well with wishes, and with instants and sorceries.
Moment's peace: It's basically a time walk against goblins. It helps us to survive against aggro decks. Also its flashback makes it very useful. Also there are Constant Mists (it has buyback), Orim's chant (also it can be used against combo) and Tangle.
Sacred Ground: Excellent against mana denial.
Well, these are the options i remember :smile: . I want to discuss what are the best card choices.
I need your suggestions. Criticism is welcome but only constructive criticism :wink: .
This is a general wake thread.
The general strategy of the deck is surviving until wake hits the board and then you win.
The points I want to discuss are:
1) How to survive until wake hits the board
2) Draw engine
3) How many counters
4) Win conditions
5) Removal
6) Acceleration
7) How to gain tempo
I'll try to explains the possible cards the deck could run.
The basics
Mirari's Wake: The soul of the deck. It can generate a lot of mana and it's the heart of the deck. When it's the board and we have a win condition, you win. It quadruplies the effect of decree of justice.
The wishes
Burning Wish: It fetches sorceries. It fetches a lot of useful tools and win conditions.
Cunning Wish: It works like burning wish, but it's an instant and fetches instants. Its advantages are instant speed and being blue, but its disadvantages are higher casting cost and instants are less powerful than sorceries.
Living Wish: It fetches creatures and lands. It can fetch tabernacle and some win conditions, but in this deck is less useful than cunning and burning wish.
Acceleration
Exploration: It allows we to gain much tempo. If used correctly we'll be able to play a 2nd turn fact or fiction, a 3rd turn wake, etc.
Mox diamond: It allows we to have 2 mana on your first turn, but it doesn't accelerate too much. Not recomendable because it generates card disadvantage and we'll lose a land drop.
Chrome mox: Not recomendable by the same reasons of mox diamond.
Sakura tribe elder: We may search for a basic land and put it into play tapped. We can use it as a blocker. It's too slow for legacy, and since it can't search for a dual and the land comes into play tapped, it isn't very good.
Three Visits: Simmilar sakura tribe elder, but it can be used to search a dual that comes into play untapped.
The draw engine
Brainstorm: Improves our hand quality. Ir explains itself.
Fact or fiction: It's a good draw engine. It's pretty strong and we draw a good quantity of cards.
Impulse: It digs 4 cards in our library, so we can take a land drop, a counter, etc.
Life from the Loam: Another good draw engine. Works very well with fetchlands and cycling lands. It's less vulnerable to counters than fact or fiction, but it needs more cards. It allows us to use Wastelands, manlands and other useful lands. Also it gives us some protection against land destruction.
Intuition: Works well with Life from Loam. Fetches everything of the loam engine.
Cycling lands: They're a part of the loam engine.
Eternal dragon: It's a recursive land search. We can search for a dual and also we can return it to your hand and then play a 5/5 flying dragon.
Land grant: A free land drop, but it allows our opponent to see our hand. It's suicide against decks that run cabal's therapy.
Crucible of worlds: With it and fetchlands we'll never miss a land drop. It doesn't work well with cycling lands, but it's permanent. Also gives us some protection against land destruction.
Deep analysis: Works well with intuition and other stuff like solitary confinement and life from the loam. It has 4cc, but it's 2cc flashback makes it nice.
Accumulated Knowledge: Works well with intuition. Remember the Intuition-Accumulated Knowledge draw engine.
Horn of greed: It may work well with loam engine or crucible and exploration.
Compulsion: It's tutorable and we can cycle everything until we find the win cconditions. It seems to be good in mid or late game.
There are other useful draw engine cards i don't remember.
Tutoring
Enlightened tutor: We can search for wake or mirari and we can run a good toolbox. It makes the deck more solid.
The counters
Force of will: A manaless counter. It's the best counter in legacy and we can use it when we have no mana. We need to run a good amount of blue cards to support it.
Counterspell: The basic counter. It costs we UU, but it's nice.
Mana leak: It's a soft counter, but it doesn't cost we UU.
Forbid: If we have a loam engine or another stuff can support it, it's great in mid and later game.
The removal
Swords to plowshares: It's 1cc makes it the best single creature removal. It's a good answer to 1st turn lackey, and is widely used to remove creatures.
Lightning bolt: This is also a good answer to 1st turn lackey. Has a more narrow use than swords to plowshares, but against small creatures works well.
Wrath of God: Cleans the board, but its sorcery speed and its 4cc makes it less playable against fast decks. Also it can destroy mongoose.
Pyroclasm: It's like a 2cc wrath against goblins, but also it has sorcery speed and it's playabilty is more narrow than wrath.
Starstorm: A instant vesrion of pyroclasm. It's more costed and it costs us two red mana.
Slice and dice: It's cantrip, uncounterable and it has instant speed, but its playability is very narrow.
Quicksand: A land answer to lackey. It works well against white weenie. Works well with loam engine.
Powder Keg: Helps a lot against vials and mongooses. Also it can destroy meddling mages and werebears.
The win conditions
Decree of justice: The best win condition we can run. It's the reason to run burning wish. There's nothing like an end of turn cycled decree. It only can be countered with stifle and you put lots of 2/2 soldiers into play. Otherwise you can hardcast it.
Sacred Mesa: The second best win condition. It's pretty good since it's tutorable with enlightened tutor and a permanent and these 2/2 pegasi have flying, then it eat only a card slot. Wake boosts it very well.
Manlands: These cards work well with loam engine. They can be a fast clock like Mishra's Factory or a big 4/4 like Nantuko Monastery
Crush of wurms: It gives us three 6/6 creatures and it has flasback. It works well with mirari and burning wish, but is a lot slower than decree or sacred mesa.
Darksteel colossus: Well, this is an indestructible 11/11 with trample. Also it can be tutored.
Hunting Pack: It's an instant and it has storm. We can put some 5/5 beasts into play with an end of turn hunting pack and it's not vulnerable to counters since it has storm.
Brainfreeze: We know how this card works very well, because is one of the solidarity's win conditions.
Stroke of genius: We can use it as draw engine or as in condition too.
Kaervek's torch: This may be another additional win condition. Massive direct damage seems to be good as an additional win condition.
Wurmcalling: It may be considered since it has buyback.
Toolbox, tech or board
Solitary confinement: It's very nice against both aggro and combo. A 2nd turn confinement locks goblins, then we have the control. The only disadvantages are that forces us to skip our draw pahse and to discard a card every turn.
Propaganda: Not so powerful like confinement, but terribly slows down aggro decks, without the bad effects of confinement. Works well with tabernacle.
Chalice of the void: This card is awesome. It's very nice against combo, but also can be used against some fast aggro decks.
Meddling mage: Very useful card, specially for combo hate.
Arcane laboratory: Combo hate.
True believer, Ivory mask, Glided light: More combo hate.
Tabernacle at pendrell vale: Makes creatures more costly. Can be used with loam engine.
Mirari: Works well with wishes, and with instants and sorceries.
Moment's peace: It's basically a time walk against goblins. It helps us to survive against aggro decks. Also its flashback makes it very useful. Also there are Constant Mists (it has buyback), Orim's chant (also it can be used against combo) and Tangle.
Sacred Ground: Excellent against mana denial.
Well, these are the options i remember :smile: . I want to discuss what are the best card choices.
I need your suggestions. Criticism is welcome but only constructive criticism :wink: .