New to Highlander - first deck please advise!

[expandertron]

Hi all,

This is my first attempt at a Highlander deck as I think it sounds really fun as a format.

Please can you advise how you think this deck list looks?

It's red and white only. It's currently 99 cards so I need to add one more!

LAND (41)

Jungle Shrine
Mishra's Factory
Gemstone Mine
Ghitu Encampment
Reflecting Pool
Exotic Orchard
Mutavault
16  Mountain
14  Plains
Rugged Prairie
Battlefield Forge
Stalking Stones
Strip Mine

CREATURES (23)

Akroma, Angel of Fury
Bull Cerodon
Flameblast Dragon
Battlerace Angel
Vithian Stinger
Flametongue Kavu
Gorilla Shaman
Stillmoon Cavalier
Mangara of Corondor
Mogg Fanatic
Order of Leitbur
Platinum Angel
Serra Angel
Archon of Justice
Figure of Destiny
Spitemare
Akrasan Squire
Sigilled Palladin
Knight of the Meadowgrain
Ranger of Eos
Soul Warden
Twilight Shepherd
Knight of the White Orchard


SPELLS (35)

Firey Fall
Aura of Silence
Puncture Blast
Austere Command
Rift Bolt
Ajani Vengeant
Martial Coup
Disenchant
Banefire
Shattering Spree
Inferno
Ajani Goldmane
Prison Term
Sceptre of Dominance
Hallowed Burial
Fireblast
Firebolt
Hell's Thunder
Incinerate
Chandra
Land Tax
Lava Burst
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Helix
Boros Signet
Nevinyrral's Disk
Pyroclasm
Firespout
Cenn's Enlistment
Moonglove Extract
Volcanic Fallout
Path To Exile
Demonfire
Feudkiller's Verdict
Wrath of God


Comments much appreciated!!!!!!!

Expandertron

[Mythrandir]

hey, welcome to our forum.

First you should take a good look on this thread: http://www.magicplayer.org/forum/index.php?board=2.0 it contains the rules of the format and the banned list, you´re playin a strip mine and that´s banned, according to our list.

So here goes a quick review of your deck:

Lands:

you´re playin too many lands. I play 39 and that's in a 5CC, which is very mana/color intensive. you could definitely cut it to 34-36.

- strip mine (banned)
- exotic orchard (you only need R/W), way to conditional.
- battlefield forge (i think you´ll be good without it)

+ fetchs that search for W / R
+ wasteland
+ plateau
+ sacred foundry
+ flasgtone of trokair
+ karakas
+ onslaught cycle lands for R/W

and depending on what you want with your deck (it seems a bit unfocused)
+ maze of ith
+ tabernacle of pendrell vale (bit pricy)
+ vesuva
+ kor haven
+ rishadan port

Creatures:
I think you need focus better on your creatures, for example you play lots of fatties and things like soul warden. you either take an aggro approach (with some late threats) or try a more control (and then "it´s ok" to play fatties) strategy and then cut the weenies

so, it´s a bit hard to tell you what to cut without knowing your strategy

but i´l avoid things like 2 CMC with WW in it. if noy playin entirely aggro oriented

cards that i´d definitely cut:

- serra angel (exalted angel is way better)
- vithian stinger
- gorilla shaman
- order of leitbur
- soul warden

- others (depending on the strateegy)

cards to consider:

brion, stoutarm
duergar hedge mage
eternal dragon (fatty + mana fetcher for a dual)
balefire liege
magus of the moon (nonbasic hate is important)
kitchen finks

spells:

- fiery fall
- shattering spree
- inferno
- prison term (faith fetters is better IMO)

cards to add/think

more mana artifacts, your mana curve is  bit high, so i´d probably give these a try (talismans, mind stone, coalition relic)
+ sword to plowshares
+ sensei diving top
+ decree of justice
things like blood moon, Price of progress are quite good
+ enlightened tutor
+ tithe
+ HIDE/seek

you might try a different approach with some LD: (geddon, global ruination, cataclysm, etc)

Also you need some kind of grave hate which is very important in HL. try phyrexian furnace, tormod crypt, scrablling claws, beckon apparition.


There you go, a quick list of things to ponder. Like i said earlier try to better focus your deck by defining a strategy, it´s easier to build a deck that way. Think in terms of aggro; aggro-control, control, any particular strategy, combo? LD? Weenie? etc.

Hope it helps

P.S, Also this thread should have been posted on the deck clinic and not here

[expandertron]

Thanks a lot - a lot of good info n this post!

A lot of the cards you mentioned I would love to put in the deck and intend to put in - when I get them! Alas my pool is limited as I have only been playing for 10 months.

These are the cards I would ideally want and these are the cards I am using instead of them:

DON'T HAVE - WANT                         Replacement

  City of Traitors                                 Jungle Shrine
  Forbidding Watchtower                                 Mishra's Factory
  Karakas                                         Reflecting Pool
  Kor Haven                                         Exotic Orchard
  Plateau                                         Rugged Prairie
  Sacred Foundry                                 Battlefield Forge
  Akroma, Angel of Wrath                         Bull Cerodon
  Eternal Dragon                                 Flameblast Dragon
  Magus of the Disk                                 Mangara of Corondor
  Shard Phoenix                                         Archon of Justice
  Solemn Simulacrum                                 Mindslaver
  Soltari Crusader                                 Figure of Destiny
  Soltari Guerrillas                                 Spitemare
  Soltari Lancer                                 Akrasan Squire
  Soltari Monk                                         Sigilled Palladin
  Soltari Priest                                 Knight of the Meadowgrain
  Soltari Visionary                                 Ranger of Eos
  Voice of All                                         Twilight Shepherd
  Arc Lightning                                         Firey Fall
  Earthquake                                         Inferno
  Ensnaring Bridge                                 Ajani Goldmane
  Faith's Fetters                                 Prison Term
  Hammer of Bogardan                                 Hell's Thunder
  Jayemdae Tome                                         Chandra
  Rout                                                 Firespout
  Sacred Mesa                                         Cenn's Enlistment
  Sensei's Divining Top                                 Moonglove Extract
  Serenity                                         Volcanic Fallout
  Urza's Rage                                         Demonfire
  Worship                                         Feudkiller's Verdict

I have a lot of cards from recent sets you see so have tried to replace the cards I don't have by cards which have similar effects.

The article I used as a base for my deck was the 2nd deck in Ron Vitale's article that can be found here:

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/feature/393

...but I tried to make it more modern and use more modern cards if appropriate (and also where I did not have cards!)

I hope to do some trading at the CON Release tomorrow to get some cards that I need that are essential; for the deck (Akroma, Eternal Dragon, etc)....

The strategy is burn burn burn but is summed up best by what Ron says:

"Get some shadow creatures into play, wipe your opponent's creatures away with all the burn, and attack away. For the times that you just can't keep control of the board, wipe everything away and start fresh..."

Obviously I need to get the shadow creatures and will prob by them this weekend!

Any other comments you can make are appreciated Mythrandir! ('Olorin you were in your youth in the West that forgotten...!!!')

[Mythrandir]

well, if i understood your post the card you replace is in front of the card you want? well, there are some which i don´t agree:

- Mishras factory is better than watchtower IMO.
- karakas has a rally good important, it can keep denying your opponenet legendary creatures, and it can save yours from wog, etc.
- i think you should try out the shadows the, but even then don´t cut figure of destiny! it's a bomb"
- jayemdae tome is really different from chandra. PW are very powerful, in HL games, and it fits quite well, the burn, burn strategy.
- i actually prefer demonfire over urza's rage.

let me just say that the deck in th article seems kind of slow, its mana curve is a bit high, and it would probably have a hard time against pure aggro.

I would definitely try and lower it or add mana acell, like mana artifacts.