[Deck] Solitaire (Enchantress)

[Dack]

Played Enchantress to a 5-4 in Madrid. Meeeh, I'm kinda frustrated, actually don't wanna talk about it. The night before the tournament a had very intense discussion with 3 fellow Russian/Venezuelanian players at our hostel about Enchantress, one of them making Day 2. Let me say their liste derivate from what we have been discussing here quite a lot. Maybe I'll find the time to talk about it once I can recover...just returned home. My girlfriened would kill me if she knew I was posting here instead of going to bed...

Hi Julian, I'm very looking forward your sharings on the discussion with your Enchant players. The fact that the deck could take new directions is kinda interesting ^^
Hope you'll post soon.

[dontbiteitholmes]

Threw this deck through the test loop about 10 matches last night. Have to say I hadn't really played this deck much post Goyf, though I did play it heavily pre-Goyf and it has changed quite a bit. First off I used to speak highly of Explorations and extra lands + a couple extra slots over fast mana like ESG and sprawls, but now with combo actually being good and the end game getting about 1/2 a turn faster then it used to I have to agree it's probably best to go that route now. Here's my current list.

Edit- list removed to prevent decklist clutter and new list reposted farther down page.

Random thoughts:
First of all I have to say this deck is very meta dependent and this version was designed to run an unknown gauntlet. If you play the same people all the time like NOVA people are prone to do you can really streamline the deck much better.
Have to say Runed Halo worked out rather well MD, won way more games then I should have with Angel tokens and no Enchantress effects out. Sigil is so boss, cut it down to one for a while but bumped it back to two after seeing it win games sans draw engine.
Mirri's Guile is still as good as it ever was. It's really much easier to keep a hand with Guile and no Enchantresses then if it was any other card, which makes me think it really belongs in the deck. I was one of the first to run Guile and I still say 3x is a good idea, Guile turn 1 with a fetch in hand is no joke. Really it's hard to stay in the game without digging with this deck and MG is digging enchantments 9-11 giving you good saturation.
Haven't had much use for Oblivion Ring yet MD but I'd hate to need it and not have it against a PITA counterbalance or something equally annoying. Thinking maybe switching out 1 with 1 Ground Seal from SB is the right move.
Prison over Grass #4 has also worked out pretty well. Out of 10 matches there has yet to be one time were I wished it was Elephant Grass instead and on the flip side it won me 2 games where Grass would have failed.
This deck has so many tight spots I'm constantly looking to cut something to make it better. Right now I'm looking at the MD Oblivion Ring, Karakas, and maybe one Wild Growth as slots that could be better spent.
Karakas seems like it might be a little too cute. Already once I wished it was a savannah or forest and I feel like I'm running a non-basic to deal with a card that only 2 decks play and it would be better to have a basic to avoid Wasteland or another Savannah to have a non basic that is better in 19 out of 20 games then Karakas. Both of those situations seem like they are going to come up about 50 times as often as me playing against a Reanimator deck and miraculously drawing my one Karakas just when I need it with no way to tutor it up (and Teeg is almost a non issue since he affects all of 3 cards in my deck and can be dealt with other ways).
Also someone said something about Wheel of Sun and Moon. I just think Ground Seal is better in almost every way for our purposes. Ground Seal affects cards that are already in the GY, it stops most of the GY cards I fear most (Reanimation, LFtL), and you draw a card just for playing it. If I was going to play Wheel I would say Relic or even Leyline would be better choices.
I thought Shusher was good tech so I'm giving that a shot. Not so sure about my idea of Spheres. It slows me down a lot too and I'm not sure how much they'll help. Maybe Mindbreak Trap is a better choice? Thoughts?

[Dr.AgOn]

I like your list, but the Sideboard sucks. City of Solitude easily replaces Shusher; it does the same and is an Enchantment. The Spheres are bad, too. You Slow yourself down too much. If I were you, I would take out the Spirit Guides and replace them with 2 Enlightene Tutor and à maindeck Choke or something

[The_Red_Panda]

I like your list, but the Sideboard sucks. City of Solitude easily replaces Shusher; it does the same and is an Enchantment. The Spheres are bad, too. You Slow yourself down too much. If I were you, I would take out the Spirit Guides and replace them with 2 Enlightene Tutor and à maindeck Choke or something

City can be countered, Shusher cannot. They are very, very different. I can't speak for the spheres, as I've never tested them personally, but ESG is a wonderful card, and not one I'd be willing to cut. Choke maindeck is iffy. It does nothing to zoo, but is incredible force bait in lots of other matchups.

[GrimJack]

To confirm my experience, I played in SCG 5k in Richmond last weekend, and I am positive that Chrome Mox is way to go rather than ESG. First turn Runed Halos and or Argothian really make or break the archetype. Heck, I even won in Round 1 vs. ANT with my Chrome Moxen. I can't hype them enough. Plus, after you lock in with Solitary and are drawing far too many, its nice to convert them into extra land drops with your surplus cards before discarding. If I had to give grades, Chrome Mox A+, ESG B-.


Meanwhile, I ran two City of Solituide MD (list above) and it was dominating. Better than Choke, which is better to SB in 2x for Game 2. It gave me Game 1 answers against Countertop/NOBant, which honestly is a "Bye Round" now against Enchantress. However, with the emergence of Reanimator taking ahold of the meta, Ground Seal maybecome a MD necessity. More so than Wheel. Iona is going to become a prevelant problem, I believe.

[(nameless one)]

Hello guys!

I dont really have any Duals or Onslaught Fetches. How terrible this deck would be if I ran just basic lands/Serra Sanctum/Horizon Canopy?

[GrimJack]

You could probably get by with it. The deck already runs 10 basics as it is. You would be hurting though without some fetching abiilty for Taiga though when you want to cast Words of War. I find myself fetching for basics a lot anyways to protect against Wasteland. (Dont want to lose 2 for 1 with a Utopia Sprawl on a Savannah.)

I dont think using all basics would be terrible per se, but definitely could be better. You would struggle at the major events.

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

Chrome Mox is terrible when you have to mulligan. And the deck mulligans a lot.

I'm thinking of replacing the Library with a Lignify. The decks Library is good against just aren't seeing much play right now, and it'd be nice to have both answers to Iona MD, as well as another card to help vs. Zoo.

[anonymos]

So between the well placing in Madrid, the "sky is falling" attitude of some in the community forums over it, and local experience that the matchup really isn't very nice to us, how many slots do we want to dedicate to Reanimator for the next little bit of SCG tournies? I'm kind of thinking 3 Wheel and a couple Lignify to go with my maindeck O rings.

[dontbiteitholmes]

So between the well placing in Madrid, the "sky is falling" attitude of some in the community forums over it, and local experience that the matchup really isn't very nice to us, how many slots do we want to dedicate to Reanimator for the next little bit of SCG tournies? I'm kind of thinking 3 Wheel and a couple Lignify to go with my maindeck O rings.

Yeah I think if you expect Reanimator at least 1 MD Lignify and the Karakas seem necessary. Really don't want to go overboard, granted the deck is a problem. Unfortunately I didn't realize it before but Exhume doesn't target so Ground Seal isn't as effective. I still think 1x Ground Seal MD might be a good call just in general. Sucks that there is no best answer for Reanimator. Wheel doesn't affect cards already in the GY, Ground Seal doesn't stop Exhume, Relic and Tormod's aren't enchantments and can't be tutored or protected by Grove, and Leyline can't be hardcast. I think Wheel might actually be the worst option since you certainly can't count on it before turn 2. That means Daze, Force, Thoughtseize, Entomb in response, or Tutor for an answer all trump you and that's almost 1/3 of their deck. Atleast with the artifacts you can drop them turn 1 before Seize and Entomb in response doesn't work and atleast with Crypt you are shielded from daze.

[ClearSkies]

How about Humility? or is that too slow?

(Still combining with the other anti-creature cards)

[Sevryn]

Yeah I think if you expect Reanimator at least 1 MD Lignify and the Karakas seem necessary. Really don't want to go overboard, granted the deck is a problem. Unfortunately I didn't realize it before but Exhume doesn't target so Ground Seal isn't as effective. I still think 1x Ground Seal MD might be a good call just in general. Sucks that there is no best answer for Reanimator. Wheel doesn't affect cards already in the GY, Ground Seal doesn't stop Exhume, Relic and Tormod's aren't enchantments and can't be tutored or protected by Grove, and Leyline can't be hardcast. I think Wheel might actually be the worst option since you certainly can't count on it before turn 2. That means Daze, Force, Thoughtseize, Entomb in response, or Tutor for an answer all trump you and that's almost 1/3 of their deck. Atleast with the artifacts you can drop them turn 1 before Seize and Entomb in response doesn't work and atleast with Crypt you are shielded from daze.

Agree with (exactly) one MD Groundseal. Worst case it cantrips for two mana. Best case it kills an entire angle of the other deck (shutting off Life from the Loam, for example). However, drawing two in the same game is terrible, because it is 4 mana invested to do nothing. And yes, Exhume gets around Ground Seal, but Reanimator can only run 4 Exhume, so GS is still good against them.

Diversifying the color of your removal is crucial. Most Reanimator pilots will call white due to the threat of Oblivion Ring, and it is actually important to run some number of O.Ring so that this fear is well-founded. However, running 1 Lignify MD means IF they call white, you can hopefully draw through your deck until you find it, and then drop a Confinement to end it all. The MD Karakas is pretty tech, giving you one more answer that you can draw into.

Wheel of Sun and Moon is somewhat weak against Reanimator. Perhaps it is stronger in decks that can power it out with ESG on turn 1. Game 2 being immediately reduced to "do you have force of will?" is pretty strong, I think. ESG definitely needs a spot in the deck, IMO, because it also gives Daze nightmares in addition to the stronger turn 1 plays.

[dontbiteitholmes]

Agree with (exactly) one MD Groundseal. Worst case it cantrips for two mana. Best case it kills an entire angle of the other deck (shutting off Life from the Loam, for example). However, drawing two in the same game is terrible, because it is 4 mana invested to do nothing. And yes, Exhume gets around Ground Seal, but Reanimator can only run 4 Exhume, so GS is still good against them.

Diversifying the color of your removal is crucial. Most Reanimator pilots will call white due to the threat of Oblivion Ring, and it is actually important to run some number of O.Ring so that this fear is well-founded. However, running 1 Lignify MD means IF they call white, you can hopefully draw through your deck until you find it, and then drop a Confinement to end it all. The MD Karakas is pretty tech, giving you one more answer that you can draw into.

Wheel of Sun and Moon is somewhat weak against Reanimator. Perhaps it is stronger in decks that can power it out with ESG on turn 1. Game 2 being immediately reduced to "do you have force of will?" is pretty strong, I think. ESG definitely needs a spot in the deck, IMO, because it also gives Daze nightmares in addition to the stronger turn 1 plays.

Yeah that's exactly my thoughts on Ground Seal. It hurts a lot of decks that otherwise give you big problems G1 and worst case it draws a card. It's not in there because of Reanimator specifically but it helps in that matchup as well which makes it even more relevant.

I think 4x Sterling Grove MD is also a good thing to have vs. Reanimator since you can drop the Sterling Grove then crack it when you need to and have the option of scooping Lignify or another answer depending on the situation (if they drop a creature other then Iona you might want O Ring or Moat to save your Lignify). I still say Wheel is the worst SB option. Even if you run ESG most decks only run 3 so the chances of you drawing ESG and Wheel in your opening grip is not something you can rely on. In this situation Relic or Crypt are still better since if you go 2nd you can still sneak in Crypt through Daze or Relic through Daze with ESG then ESG can really give the opponent a surprise if you active it when they see you tapped out and think it is their last chance to go off and go balls out only to see Relic break in response to Reanimation. Even Leyline once again is better since if you manage to mull into it, if you can manage to get a Sterling Grove down they are left with only Show and Tell to get a creature down and then they still have to account for you breaking the Grove to get an answer on your next turn as well as whatever you drop into play for free with Show and Tell.

[Sevryn]

I think 4x Sterling Grove MD is also a good thing to have vs. Reanimator since you can drop the Sterling Grove then crack it when you need to and have the option of scooping Lignify or another answer depending on the situation (if they drop a creature other then Iona you might want O Ring or Moat to save your Lignify). I still say Wheel is the worst SB option. Even if you run ESG most decks only run 3 so the chances of you drawing ESG and Wheel in your opening grip is not something you can rely on. In this situation Relic or Crypt are still better since if you go 2nd you can still sneak in Crypt through Daze or Relic through Daze with ESG then ESG can really give the opponent a surprise if you active it when they see you tapped out and think it is their last chance to go off and go balls out only to see Relic break in response to Reanimation. Even Leyline once again is better since if you manage to mull into it, if you can manage to get a Sterling Grove down they are left with only Show and Tell to get a creature down and then they still have to account for you breaking the Grove to get an answer on your next turn as well as whatever you drop into play for free with Show and Tell.

The only problem with Grove is that you have to drop it before Iona comes out because it doesn't matter what color they call, you aren't going to play Grove after that. I currently run 4x Grove and 1x Enlightened Tutor maindeck. I'm considering dropping to 3x Grove MD and putting the fourth in the board just to make a little bit more room for other stuff MD.

Wheel is the worst option against Reanimator. HOWEVER, it is godly in the dredge matchup and at least decent against Loam decks. It also makes you invulnerable to Painter/Stone combo decks, if those see play in your meta. It's not the bee's knees against Reanimator, but it's already in my sideboard so I bring it in. Reanimator is a tough matchup for the same reason that all of Enchantress's tough matchups are tough: they demand interaction in the first 2 turns of the game. Enchantress is just bad at this, so I'll come back to just diversifying the color of your creature removal so you never just scoop to Iona.

Since I haven't posted my decklist in a while, here is what it is in case anyone is curious:

// Lands
4 [ON] Windswept Heath
2 [9E] Plains
10 [SHM] Forest
1 [B] Taiga
2 [US] Serra's Sanctum
1 [LG] Karakas
1 [B] Savannah

// Creatures
4 [US] Argothian Enchantress
3 [AL] Elvish Spirit Guide

// Spells
4 [ON] Enchantress's Presence
3 [JU] Solitary Confinement
3 [IN] Sterling Grove
3 [VI] Elephant Grass
1 [CHK] Ghostly Prison
4 [DIS] Utopia Sprawl
2 [6E] Wild Growth

2 [ALA] Oblivion Ring
1 [LRW] Lignify
1 [OD] Karmic Justice
1 [OD] Ground Seal
1 [TE] Mirri's Guile

1 [ON] Words of War
1 [CFX] Sigil of the Empty Throne
1 [TSB] Sacred Mesa

1 [MI] Enlightened Tutor
2 [UD] Replenish


// Sideboard
SB: 1 [MI] Enlightened Tutor
SB: 1 [IN] Sterling Grove
SB: 1 [OD] Ground Seal
SB: 1 [UD] Replenish
SB: 2 [VI] City of Solitude
SB: 2 [8E] Sacred Ground
SB: 2 [6E] Warmth
SB: 1 [PLC] Seal of Primordium
SB: 2 [8E] Choke
SB: 2 [SHM] Wheel of Sun and Moon


The only comment I would really add to this is that my meta is not very blue heavy but has a fair amount of permanent sweepers, which is why I have the maindeck Karmic Justice. For most metas I would replace this with a maindeck City of Solitude.

[anonymos]

This sounds like a terrible idea to me. I think it's just because I'm thinking a lot about various options. We've got Utopia Sprawl already. Would it be possible for us to use Planar Void? I think it's honestly a terrible idea, but it'd fix the problem forcing them to get their 1 show and tell. It also only costs 1.

[Droxis]

Is there any particular reason why lotus petal was taken out of the running for acceleration? It does what ESG can do sans the hidden factor and it can pop for any color in a pinch. Makes playing more runed halo MD a bit easier. It buffs goyf, I realize, but I don't feel that is enough of a reason to warrant exclusion.

[jiazhouhuaqiao]

Lotus Petal is about as good as ESG, you yourself have noted the tradeoff: the ability to make W (or R or U) versus the ability to up Daze.

The only real argument is ESG/ Petal vs. Chrome Mox.

Enchantress is a mana hungry strategy.

I am still working on the Titania's Song/ Aura Shards/ Petal angle.

Petal is the better choice for the Squirrel angle with Nantuko Shrine...

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

The what angle?



Petal is good if you're running a lot of off-color stuff obviously. If you're not, then it's pumping Goyfs for no good reason. It's a judgement call you have to make for your particular list.

[dontbiteitholmes]

Played around with the decklist some, here's my current build.

// Lands
7 [P3] Forest
1 [LG] Karakas
2 [US] Serra's Sanctum
4 [ON] Windswept Heath
1 [R] Taiga
2 [A] Savannah
1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
2 [MM] Plains

// Creatures
4 [US] Argothian Enchantress

// Spells
1 [SHM] Runed Halo
1 [LRW] Lignify
2 [CFX] Sigil of the Empty Throne
2 [UD] Replenish
4 [IN] Sterling Grove
3 [VI] Elephant Grass
4 [ON] Enchantress's Presence
1 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
1 [ON] Words of War
4 [DIS] Utopia Sprawl
1 [CHK] Ghostly Prison
3 [JU] Solitary Confinement
1 [LG] Moat
3 [TE] Mirri's Guile
1 [OD] Ground Seal
1 [DK] Blood Moon
3 [TE] Lotus Petal

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [IA] Circle of Protection: Red
SB: 1 [WL] Aura of Silence
SB: 3 [SHM] Vexing Shusher
SB: 1 [8E] Sacred Ground
SB: 1 [OD] Karmic Justice
SB: 1 [TE] Choke
SB: 1 [MR] Rule of Law
SB: 3 [ZEN] Mindbreak Trap
SB: 1 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 [DK] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 [SHM] Wheel of Sun and Moon

Choice explanations
4x Sterling Grove- Had it at 3 for a while but it's just too good of a card and 4 is the right number I feel. Tutor is crucial and all your enchantments having shroud is important for truely locking an opponent out of the game. I feel like if I ran 3 I would want #4 in the SB to bring in and I would end up bringing it in almost every time.
3x Lotus Petal- ESG was good, but Petal stops Daze as well just not as sneaky when it does it. Decided to go Blood Moon main making Petal the clear choice.
1x Ghostly Prison- When it's better then Elephant Grass it's better in a big way. I still feel good about this after much playtesting, Prison is super solid and doesn't require an upkeep.
1x Runed Halo- This card sits in my hand more then any other card in the deck but it's really good in certain situations and vs. certain decks.
1x Ground Seal- Ground Seal main deck is like having a gun in a bad part of town. It's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it, and chances are sooner or later your going to need it.
1x Lignify- Needed to have a chance vs. Reanimator and hits Goyf.
1x Oblivion Ring- Hits creatures and random crap like Chalices and Counterbalance (just don't forget to cross your fingers).
2x Replenishes Total!?!?!- Yeah I had 3 before between main and side then found myself never siding in the 3rd vs. most decks. Having Shusher really cuts down on the amount of cards that end up in the GY vs. counter and if they play Deed or w/e I still have 2x Replenishes and 1x Karmic Justice to make them think twice. If a lot of people played Deed, Disk, or started siding in Traquility effects for whatever reason I would go back to 3.
3x Mirri's Guile- Many times this is just just as good as Enchantress in opening grip, especially when I run fetches. Comes down turn 1, lets me dig, works under Confinement, where's the bad part again? Seriously I can't suggest Guile enough, cut cards and run 3 and test a couple games and see how it works for you before you judge.
4x Sprawl 0x Wild Growths- Wild Growth was just not doing it for me. I cut them all and added 2 silver bullets and land #20 and really feel the deck works much better. Still have 4x Sprawls and 3x Petals giving me a boost when I need it.
1x Blood Moon- I was just looking for 1x silver bullet and I wanted the card that would affect the largest chunk of problem decks and landed on Blood Moon since it hoses basically everything and can easily shut an opponent out of the game if they are careless with their fetches once they see you are playing Solitaire. Really it could be in the SB but it's just as good game 1 vs. a lot of decks as it is G2 and G3 so it makes the MD cut.
3x Vexing Shusher SB- This card is great. Yeah I know, "But what about City of Solitude?" City of Solitude gets countered and comes down about 1/2 a turn slower. City of Solitude gets blown up by Grips and Disenchants, but what are they going to do about Shusher? They can either bring in creature hate to kill 3 cards in my deck or risk having all their counters/chalices/counterbalances become obselescent. It's a real catch 22 for most decks and really either way they choose to go you still come out on top.
1x Relic, 1x Wheel, 1x Crypt- Combined with the 1x MD Ground Seal gives me 4x cards that between the 4 deal with any possible GY problems and diversity in the sideboard has obvious strengths and weaknesses as well as possible mindgames which are never bad. Overall I think the diversity makes the SB stronger here and makes "answering my answer" just a little harder for decks that rely on GY games.
3x Mindbreak Trap- Simply put combo is by far the worst matchup. Mindbreak Trap gives me a possible out and makes the opponent have to worry about more then just permanents when comboing out forcing a combo player to be careful which leads to more time for you hopefully to make something happen on your side of the table. Over Ethersworn which slows you down too giving the opponent time to answer, Mindbreak encourages you to go balls out. The more cards you draw the more chance you have of drawing Traps and enchantments that will lock the game. Still an uphill battle but I thought long and hard, "Hmm, what card would I least like Solitaire to play if I was playing vs. it with combo?" Trap won that mental argument by a wide margain.
Every other card shouldn't need much explaination. Thoughts?
Also

@ Spatula, why do you play Sacred Mesa over Sigil #2? Seeing as how Mesa requires 2w upfront and 1w mana investment before your next upkeep and 1w every subsequent turn and Sigil costs 5 once then makes huge angel ass until you win and doesn't lose to Pithing Needle I only see a few circumstances where Mesa is the better choice and almost none of them involve it being the best card in my deck to tutor unless I'm mistaken. Is there something I'm not seeing?

@ jiazhouhuaqiao, I can't tell if you are serious are joking, but if you are serious what are you talking about? Either LOL or that sounds like a terrible deck.

[SpatulaOfTheAges]

The what now? I'm not playing Mesa OR Sigil. If I was going to play either, however, it would be Mesa, since neither one is really useful except vs. control, and Sigil still requires extra cards invested to start producing threats.

And you know what gets played a lot more than Pithing Needle? Engineered Explosives.