I'll be impressed if anyone can...

[Secret Asian Man]

Okay, this might not be the best way to start off my CPA membership, but...

I bought my first pack of Odyssey a few days ago. My rare was Graceful Antelope. Now, ever since Stronghold, I've traditionally built a deck around the first rare I obtain of the set. This wasn't difficult for me at all before, mainly because of my incredible luck (SH: Grave Pact, EX: Survival, US: Time Spira,l UL: Never bought any, UD: Negator, MM: Port, NE: Evincar, PY: Latulla, IN: Skizzik, PS: Guilt, AP: Monger). But, as you can understand, I'm having some trouble trying to think up a deck that uses the crap rare to end all crap rares...Graceful Antelope, the uber-crap-rare of Odyssey.

The only strategy that I can think of would be U/W mana starvation/control. And I don't have the courage to tackle the daunting task of making a decklist that starts with "4x Graceful Antelope".

Somebody help me! I don't want to end my tradition now...

~Ray

 

[Mikeymike]

Second thing: Graceful Antelope isn't all bad, there are definitely worse rares in the set *cough* Obstinate Familiar and Battle of Wits *cough*. Its ability is actually kind of unique and especially annoying.

What format deck do you want to build: Type 1, 1.5, 2, Extended, casual, or Multiplayer?

In any deck, I would recommend Dream Thrush and/or the crappy little 0/2 merfolk to force them to get that initial plains and to continue the mana denial theme.

I'll post some more ideas after you figure out what format you are going to build for.

 

[CAMDEX]

What does Graceful Antelope do? If I knew that, I could probably make a deck (casual) for you man.

 

[Istanbul]

Think 'Shimmering Mirage' to get him through to make his first Plains. After that, he transforms a land each turn.

 

[Duel]

*grins* anyone read Alongi? He's holding a "break this card" contest for Graceful antelope. That'll give you what you need.

 

[Gizmo]

Its actually kind of annoying. Needs prot from removal, and some sort of evasion first time through. Otherwise he`s fine.

 

[Secret Asian Man]

This deck is going to be purely casual (discounting the astronomical improbability that I find it works really well, in which case I might adapt it for Type 2). This is what I have so far, following the U/W Mana Starvation/Control model:

Creatures:
4x Graceful Antelope
4x Reef Shaman
4x Dream Thrush
Any creatures with Plainswalk that I can find (hahahahaha)

Spells:
4x Phantasmal Terrain
4x Counterspell
2x Disrupt
2x Force Spike

Land:
4x Rishadan Port
2x Coastal Tower
9x Island
9x Plains

This is purely tentative, and depends on what other cards I can find that fit into the deck. Any and all suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,
~Ray

 

[FoundationOfRancor]

From a purely card designer perspective, Graceful Antelope is a very, very, very cool card.

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

I take it you are planning to make this an extended deck... good. That improves your options.

Cards dealing with plainswalk somehow:
Righteous Avengers (4W for a 3/1 Plainswalk - from Legends, so it would be hard to get)
Aysen Highway (3WWW Enchantment, all white creatures have plainswalk - from Alliances, also hard to get)
Illusionary Presence (1UU, 2/2, cumulative upkeep U, during your upkeep choose a kind of landwalk and this gains it until end of turn. - Ice Age, and the cumulative upkeep may turn you off)
Zodiac Rooster (1G, 2/1 Plainswalk - but it's from Portal Three Kingdoms, which was never printed in the US, so you might have trouble getting it if you live here)
Spitting Slug (1B, 1/1, 5: During your upkeep it gains a kind of landwalk of your choice until end of turn. Legends also)
Traveler's Cloak (2U, Enchant Creature from IN - Enchanted Creature has a type of basic landwalk of your choice. When Traveler's Cloak comes into play, draw a card.)
And then, the worst enemy of your deck (well, the worst enemy besides a good deck) : Great Wall.

Great Wall
2W
Enchantment
Creatures with plainswalk may be blocked as though they did not have this ability.

You might want to pack some enchantment removal to deal with this.



I had a really stupid idea of what you could use as a finisher - Flashfires.

 

[artifact]

That cards isn't in Alliances. It was in Homelands.

 

[Istanbul]

Also, you mean Giant Slug. Spitting Slug was a green first-striker in The Dark.

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

Oops, sorry. I wasn't paying attention.


Anyway, what do people think about the idea of Flashfires?

 

[Secret Asian Man]

Okay, here's my updated StarvaLope (hahaha...get it? Starvation/Antelope...ugh) decklist.

CREATURES (15)
4x Graceful Antelope
4x Order of Leitbur
3x Reef Shaman
2x Wall of Swords
2x Dream Thrush

SPELLS (23)
4x Counterspell
4x Enlightened Tutor
2x Disenchant
2x Aysen Highway
2x Phantasmal Terrain
2x Force Spike
2x Disrupt
2x Flashfires
2x Traveler's Cloak

LAND (22)
4x Rishadan Port
3x The U/W Painland, forget what it's called
2x Coastal Tower
2x Battlefield Forge
2x Shivan Reef
5x Plains
4x Island

Suggestions still welcome...need all the help I can get with this deck that will probably be a lot of fun to play, but is still a total DAWG ;-)

Thanks,
~Ray

 

[Istanbul]

-4 Enlightened Tutor
You don't run enough enchantments or artifacts to make this worthwhile.
+4 Mystical Tutor
This, however, fetches all *kinds* of stuff.

-2 Phantasmal Terrain
-2 Aysen Highway
Phantasmal Terrain, for our purposes, is directly inferior to Shimmering Mirage. And you don't need to give all of your creatures Plainswalk; the important one already has it.
+4 Shimmering Mirage
Cantrip. Pushes the Antelope through for that all-important first hit. Very good in this deck.

-2 Dream Thrush
You already have seven ways to push your Antelope through IF they aren't already playing white.
+2 Sunweb
What you're lacking is defense.

-2 Battlefield Forge
-2 Shivan Reef
-$20, and pain....
+2 Abandoned Outpost
+2 Seafloor Debris
+$1, and no pain.

-2 Traveler's Cloak
-2 Force Spike
This deck needs more countermagic.
+4 Syncopate
...this should do the job.

 

[CAMDEX]

I got a idea! R/W/U Land Double-Team (Denial and Destruction)

Uncle Sam

Creatures
4 Graceful Antelope
4 Avalanche Riders
4 Dream Thrush
4 Keldon Firebombers

Spells
4 Demolish
4 Divine Sacrament
4 Stone Rain
4 Price of Glory

Artifacts
4 Mirari

Lands
12 Mountain
8 Plains
4 Shivan Reef

The mana is a bit touchy( if anybody can fix it, please, by all means, do), but the idea is simple. Price of Glory...'nuff said. Blow up lands, anything you don't blow up turn into plains with Antelope, and then slowly lock the opponent down until he screams for mercy. It should be easy to reach threshold. You're not gonna need the extra 2 of the Riders unless you really have to have it. It's very important that you start off with the Riders and Stone Rains to hamper the opponent, then hit with the combo of...

Graceful Antelope-Dream Thrush. Yes, Thrush-a-lope!
The most obvious weakness is to Haunting Echoes, because everything is 4 of something.
LOCK DOWN, HERE WE COME!

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

Keep in mind, when you take out cards like Dream Thrush, Flashfires gets worse.

Obviously that isn't the backbone of the deck, but I felt it needed to be said.

 

[Istanbul]

If Graceful Antelope gets through steadily, all of their lands are Plains anyway.

If not, you've already lost; Dream Thrush won't help.

Either way, Dream Thrush is just a random extra 1/1 with a moderately cool ability that, while helpful, simply falls under the category of 'extra'...it's either winning more or useless, neither of which are situations you want to be aiming for.

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

I was basically talking about the fact that Dream Thrush can prevent destruction of your own plains.

But you're probably right, it is just sort of extra.

 

[Mikeymike]

Dream Thrush deserves a little more credit in this deck. It comes out quickly, meaning it can screw with your opponent's mana quickly, prep a land for the Antelope, or clean your own mana base if you are running a 2+ color deck.

 

[rkoelsch]

Another card to consider is political trickery. It actually works well with Flashfires donating a plains that would be destroyed by flashfires and gaining a land for you.