MP - Call of the Wild, help me out

[Mikeymike]

I've been throwing this deck idea around in my head for awhile now, but I think I need a little help polishing off the edges - I don't know what to support the combo with.

4 - Call of the Wild
4 - Scroll Rack (3?)
3 - Worldy Tutor (4?)
2 - Volrath's Stronghold

And maybe brainstorm but I don't want to dedicate too many slots to setting up the Call and I think Worldly Tutor is better.

So its G/B, I can run a few Deed's since I'm running 4x each of my combo and I'll be packing big creatures. And 1 Monger won't hurt

Call Creatures
1 Spirit Monger
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Phantom Nishoba
1 Sabertooth Nishoba
1 Iridescent Angel
2 Thorn Elemental
1 Masticore
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Spike Weaver

Other utility
4 Yavimaya Elder (fills my hand for Scroll Rack)
2 Pernicious Deed

Cool Restricted Spells
1 Beserk
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Zuran Orb (or a creature based life-gainer)
1 Regrowth

So if I run 24 lands that leaves me 5 slots. More creatures? More utility? Better card drawing to power Scroll Rack?

What are your thoughts? Yeah I'm talking you! The only thing I'm attachted to is the combo so feel free to include anything you think.

 

[Jigglypuff]

I think the deck could be helped by putting another utility creature. How about Man-o'-War or maybe Uktabi Oragutan? Or how about setting up recursion through Volrath's Stronghold and using some saccable creatures? Maybe you could combine the Hunting Grounds deck and this deck together and you'd have a really tough deck to beat.

(- Steve -)

 

[Tabasco]

Maybe a Morphling would also be a nice addition, I mean, what can't Morphling do??

 

[Jigglypuff]

Morphling can't make the Cubs win baseball games. Clement got screwed over again by his useless teammates.

Another thing about Morphling is that his best abilities require blue mana and I don't want to mess up the mana base by introducing a third color. Heaven forbid it, but I'll leave Morphling out of this build. I put together this deck by combining parts of your CotW deck, my CotW deck, and your Hunting Grounds deck.

4 Call of the Wild
4 Worldly Tutor
3 Library of Leng (works well with Greater Good)
4 Reclaim
2 Pernicious Deed
3 Greater Good
4 Yavimaya Elder

1 Scrivener
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Iridescent Angel
1 Staunch Defenders
1 Verdant Force
1 Man-o'-War
1 Mystic Snake
1 Cloudchaser Eagle
1 Nekrataal

4 Volrath's Stronghold
4 Bayou (Pine Barrens, Llanowar Wastes, etc.)
4 Swamp
14 Forest

This deck has a rather high mana requirement since CotW costs 4 mana to activate, so I included 4 Elders and more land than I normally would put in a deck. The deck can get a recycling loop going with the Stronghold's and the Reclaims. The Scrivener can get the Tutors and the Reclaims back and then be recycled to do it all over again. The Verdant Force and the Angel are your finishers; you may not need both in the deck. The Man-o'-War and the Nekrataal are your creature control; the jellyfish should be sufficient for most situations and you can use the Nekrataal for creatures you don't want to bounce (like an opponent's Flametongue) I think the deck would play pretty well in MP but it would be extremely vulnerable to enchantment removal.

(- Steve -)

 

[Istanbul]

"Hi, my name is Soothsaying. I'm a blue Mercadian Masques uncommon, and to a very real degree, I'm BETTER than Scroll Rack."

 

[Chaos Turtle]

I'm not sure if this is something that you can fit into your deck, but:

Phyrexian Tower + certain Nightmare creatures is a combo. It just gets better when you can bring the creatures back with the Call of the Wild + Volrath's Stronghold combo.

Permanently removing a creature, land, card in hand from the game every turn is good, right?

Actually, Greater Good + Nightmare creatures is a combo too. Only it digs for cards instead of providing mana.

I'll bet you could make a deck that exploits all these synergies.

Heck, try that trick with a Petradon to permanently RFG two lands per turn. (The others of course are Faceless Butcher, Mesmeric Fiend, and Petravark...oh, and Gravegouger against certain decks like Oath and yours).

Hmm... what about Academy Rector?

 

[NorrYtt]

A couple really bad Masques rares Game Preserve and Rishadan Pawnshop would be amusing.

4 Volrath's Strongholds are too many. You could play some Mirage sac lands to go find Bayous and a couple Treetops to make Cartographer worth running. She's in my G/B RecSur and see gets me back Bad River, Wasteland, Treetop, Bayou, Volrath's Stronghold, or Gaea's Cradle.

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

About Soothsaying: Scroll Rack is fabulously less expensive.
(I should know, I've used Soothsaying too.)
Maybe Soothsaying is better because it's blue though

I think Game Preserve would be amusing, but pointless.

CT: I'm pretty sure none of those nightmare tricks works. Sacrificed creatures do leave play, right?

I do think Haunted Crossroads would be at least as good as Volrath's Stronghold though.

 

[Jigglypuff]

TICM: They do work (some of them): Faceless Butcher, Hypnox, Mesmeric Fiend, Petradon, Petravark, Gravegouger (if I forgot any, let me know)

What you do is bring the Nightmare into play and put the ability on the stack. Then you sacrifice the Nightmare to the Tower. That triggers the Nightmare's leaves-play ability. When that resolves, the game will try to bring back the thing that was taken away but since the ability hasn't resolved, there is nothing to bring back and the ability does nothing. Then the Nightmare's CIP ability resolves and removes something from the game, never to return since the Nightmare is already out of play. This trick also works with the life-loss ones but they don't really have any effect because the targeted player would gain the life first (as per the leaves-play ability) and then lose the life (as per the CIP ability). Hope that explanation wasn't too confusing.

As for Soothsaying, it costs a lot more mana to have the same effect as Scroll Rack, especially because you will likely have a lot of cards in your hand thanks to the Greater Good and the Elder.

(- Steve -)

 

[Mikeymike]

Like an idiot, I specifically picked up 1 copy of Hypnox to put into this deck but I of course forgot to include it in my list, der.

Regarding Soothsaying, as awesome as that card is, its not as good a Scroll Rack in here for a few reasons.
1 - its blue, causing a pretty decent change to the mana base of an already 3 color deck
2 - its more expensive to activate, and this deck is already mana intensive with CotW and the Stronghold
3 - it doesn't help me get rid of the creatures already in my hand.

Haunted Crossroads - I thought about it, but there is more enchantment destruction in our group than there is land destruction, although both are pretty common. I figure 1 copy of Cartographer can help me with that (as well as getting Strip Mine back and Safekept lands)

Game Preserve is very freaking cool, but I worry about what my opponents might be able to pull. It does work well as a backup to CotW (and with Scroll Rack/Tutor), I think I'll run 1 copy for gits and shiggles.

Rishadan Pawnshop - neat way to protect my ench/arts. Hmm, if I have room it might be worth a look.

Greater Good is DEFINITELY going in here, for that ugly Hypnox combo and simply b/c it will help tremendously in here with all the big creatures. I was lacking another good way to dig through the deck, I just have to be careful I don't deck myself.
By the way, you guys do realize that if I get beat up for doing Hypnox combos every turn I'm coming after all of you right ?

So Far
Non-creatures - 19
4 Call of the Wild
4 Scroll Rack
3 Worldy Tutor
3 Greater Good
2 Perncious Deed
2 Reclaim
1 Game Preserve

Creatures - 17
4 Yavimaya Elder
1 Hypnox
1 Avatar of Woe (Too tough not to include)
1 Phantom Nishoba
1 Iridescent Angel
1 Thorn Elemental/Verdant Force
1 Scrivener
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Spike Weaver
1 Cloudchaser Eagle
1 Uktabi Orangutan
1 Nekrataal
1 Cartographer (Stronghold protection, fetches sacked lands and Strip Mine)
1 Mystic Snake (Jigglypuff you sneaky bastard)

Mana - 24
1 Sol Ring
2 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Strip Mine
4 Bayou
4 Tainted Forests (haven't tried them yet, worth a shot)
6 Forest
6 Swamp

One problem I definitely see, I need better mana production.

Maybe only 2 Greater Good?
Is the 1 Game Preserve worth running? (it would be fun)
Feldon's Cane necessary? (Let me deck myself before I include it in here)
What to I cut for Man-O-War?

The Good
I own all of these cards minus 1 Game Preserve

The Bad
Proxying Scroll Rack, Proxying Deed, Proxying 6 mana sources, etc. etc.

 

[rkoelsch]

Hypnox cip ability only if played from the hand not if it is put into play. They wanted to make everyone want a card no one can use.
I am surprised no one pointed this out earlier. Don't put Hypnox in.

Color= Black Type= Creature - Nightmare Horror Cost= 8BBB TO(R)
Text (TO): 8/8, Flying. ; When ~this~ comes into play,if you played it from your hand , remove all cards in target opponent's hand from the game. ; When ~this~ leaves play, return the removed cards to their owner's hand.

 

[Mikeymike]

Ack! Nice catch rkoelsch, thanks for the heads up. Looks like everyone got a little drunk with power there. I suppose he is to be saved for a Quicksilver Amulet deck.

-1 Hypnox
-1 Greater Good (b/c its not as important any longer)

Is there an artifact that anyone knows of that takes a creature YOU control and puts it back on top of your library? Kind of a cross between Eratic Portal and Rishadan Pawnshop.

 

[Jigglypuff]

Sorry I didn't catch that one earlier Mikey. What kind of rules guru am I? But I will now redeem myself.

Hypnox won't trigger if it comes into play via Quicksilver Amulet because the Amulet puts it into play. You actually have to play it and pay the mana cost to get Hypnox's effect. The only way to bypass the mana cost is to play it via Dream Halls or to play a Volrath's Shapeshifter when a Hypnox is the top card of your graveyard.

(- Steve -)

 

[Mikeymike]

or to play a Volrath's Shapeshifter when a Hypnox is the top card of your graveyard.

Aha! Have to catch you again, the Shapeshifter doesn't trigger b/c it never comes into play when it becomes Hypnox - it just becomes Hypnox. The reason this doesn't work is the same reason why Phyrexian Dreadnought does.

 

[Jigglypuff]

Sorry Mikey, I don't get caught that often.

503.5. A copy card that comes into play "as a copy" of another permanent will come into play with any copied abilities of that permanent. If the copy gains any abilities that modify the comes-into-play event (such as "comes into play with" or "as [this] comes into play" abilities), those abilities will take effect. Also, any comes-into-play triggered abilities of the copy will have a chance to trigger.

The Shapeshifter comes into play as a copy of Hypnox and triggers its ability, because you did play it (the Shapeshifter/Hypnox) from your hand.

As for the Dreadnought, I'm not quite sure about whether you have to sacrifice or not. I would say no, because it comes into play as a Dreadnought, before the ITWCIP ability can trigger.

(- Steve -)

 

[Mikeymike]

Want to make sure we are referring to the same thing

I'm saying the Shapeshifter is in play already and you are dumping a Hypnox.
Are you saying the Hypnox is in the GY and then you play a Shapeshifter.

Duh, I just re-read the original post - ignore me.

 

[Jigglypuff]

Yeah, I was saying that you have a Hypnox in the GY and you play the Shapeshifter. Then I assume that the Dreadnought thing you were referring to in your post was about dumping a Dreadnought into the GY when you have a Shapeshifter in play and you don't have to sacrifice. The Full English Breakfast trick. Man, do I miss that deck.

(- Steve -)

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

A shapeshifter being blue.
Mikeymike: There is no such artifact, but there is a creature with such an ability.
The ability is blue.
Soothsaying has been suggested before, and is blue.

..
Maybe blue wouldn't be such a bad idea.

That nightmare trick is stupid. Oh well..

 

[Mikeymike]

It always comes back to blue doesn't it?

Actually, Nightscape Apprentice does it, and if I'm running Yavimaya Elder I suppose it wouldn't hurt to throw in a few islands (and cut back on the Tainted lands).

-1 Game Preserve (since I don't own 1)
-1 Greater Good
-1 Hypnox

+3 Nightscape Apprentice (only 2 and 1 Soothsaying?)

I think that should do it for now.

 

[Jigglypuff]

I honestly wouldn't put in a Soothsaying. Scroll Rack is much less mana-intensive and you can keep your hand full with the Elders and the Greater Goods (that you keep pulling from the deck ).

EDIT: Okay, I thought of an idea that might help you not deck yourself. Why not add some Gaea's Blessings to the deck? You could easily trigger the reshuffle effect with CotW. Just something to think about.

(- Steve -)