The deck itself is almost complete, with a solid strategy behind it. One that, I think, is becoming increasingly prevalent and predominant in Magic nowadays: creature power. The main damage this deck is designed to do is in creature form, basically. From Prickly Boggart...
...to the perennial favorite, the Black Knight...
...the core of the strategy is the core of all weenie deck strategies: continually hammer away at the enemy with a large number of cheap, efficient, low-cost creatures. However, like most modern weenie decks, I recognize the need for big beef.
What do you think the damn Gleancrawler is for?
I still have more than a few kinks to work out, though. For one thing, I lack big beef. The deck currently only has three creatures with a power or toughness that's higher than 4. That's two Plague Slivers and the aforementioned Gleancrawler. The bigger problem is that, unlike the smaller creatures that are easier to get rid of, they lack evasive capabilities. Then again, that's probably why I intend to grab the following creatures, which serve to add both more beef to the deck and possess much-needed evasive capabilities:
Dread
Demigod of Revenge
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Oona also adds something else that the deck needs: alternatives. The problem with a creature-focused deck is that it falters very quickly if the game degenerates into a stalemate. Unfortunately, this deck is prone to getting into stalemates with the decks I've played it against, but most especially stalls when taking on a creature deck that can match its pace. The big beef that I intend to put in have some way to avoid conventional blockers, but Oona also has the additional power to both deprive my opponents of options (library burn) and generate token creatures for me. Both have the potential to break a stalemate in my favor, though the former can also double as a win condition on high enough mana.
Another weakness the deck has is a common one when faced with a red deck that focuses on hitting the player: it can't hit back. The only real ways that my deck, in the current form, can hit back is through Choice of Damnations or Maga, Traitor to Mortals. The latter relies heavily on mana and the former needs to be timed perfectly to maximize the "screw over" effect. In other words, I need more ways to hit the player directly without relying on creatures.
For that purpose, I turn to both old and new school Magic.
The first solution is the simple, effective, classic Drain Life. The more modern version, Consume Spirit, works too. As for new school, I took a look around and the most likely to be readily available means for me to cause loss of life for my opponent (and potentially gain some for myself) comes from the upcoming set Shadowmoor, where Oona and the Demigod are coming from too. For that purpose, I feel I need to grab Ashenmoor Liege (more than one, if possible) and Rite of Consumption. It helps that Rite works so deviously well with a late-game Maga for some massive damage. I'm thinking of getting a Corrupt or two if I can find them, too.
It'll take some time before I can put everything together, but I should make a big leap towards completing this sometime either by the end of this week or by early next week - depending on how soon I can get my hands on a little something.
Of course, once this black menace to society is done, I intend to work on something a little les twisted and malignant: a green/white elf deck.
And now, I leave you with my personal favorite among the upcoming set's cards, Fists of the Demigod:
Because I like the art.
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