Will of the Masses: A Precon Tweak

 

Today's fix is from a post by Sejjie that can be found here: http://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=1193660

 

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Will of the Masses Modifications

 

I quit yugioh a couple years ago and have decided its time to get back into a tcg. I picked up the M15 intro deck "Will of the Masses" and an M15 booster box. Where would I go from here? Ideally I would like to start making changes to the intro deck and see how far I can push it, but I am not sure what to change out =/

 

Creatures (19)

2 Sunblade Elf

2 Selfless Cathar

1 Wall of Mulch

2 Oreskos Swiftclaw

2 Midnight Guard

2 Living Totem

2 Will-Forged Golem

1 Phytotitan

2 Siege Wurm

2 Seraph of the Masses

1 Hornet Queen

 

Spells (16)

1 Gather Courage

1 Naturalize

1 Titanic Growth

3 Raise the Alarm

2 Devouring Light

1 Nissa’s Expedition

1 Sanctified Charge

1 Meditation Puzzle

2 Triplicate Spirits

1 Overwhelm

2 Feral Incarnation

 

Lands (25)

13 Forest

12 Plains

 

I do like the idea of having some Elvish Mystic, Verdant Haven, Plummet, but as I said, not sure what to change out. Maybe throw in some multi colored lands?

 

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I wrote an article recently about taking your first deck and tweaking it. It can be found here: http://www.pojo.com/magic/Deck%20Garage/Mattedesa/2014/7-16.shtml

 

In it, I talked about getting to know your deck and slowly making changes over time. Obviously, I can't do that in one article about this deck, but what I aim to do today is take you through some of the things I think you would find if you were to play this deck a lot over a few weeks and make some suggestions about how we could fix it.

 

The first thing I think we would notice is that it is inconsistent and unpredictable. That is the nature of any deck that has a lot of 1 and 2-of's. That's how intro decks are put together to give the new player a variety of cards to try out. But, when it comes to making the deck better, we need to focus on knocking out some of the cards that under-perform and adding ones that can pick up the slack.

 

First, here are the cards that I don't think quite carry their weight:

 

-1 Nissa's Expedition

 

By the time we're done here, you won't have a great deal of high mana cost cards, so paying 5 for two extra lands won't be a very useful play.

 

-1 Meditation Puzzle

 

Spending a card, no matter the cost, to do nothing but gain life is rarely a good play. You'd be better off playing a blocker to prevent that damage each turn instead of gaining it once. Or, even better, kill their creature so it can't deal damage to you in the first place!

 

-1 Overwhelm

 

While giving all your creatures +3/+3 may seem amazing at first glance, the cost is too high. Then, if you have to convoke creatures to help you cast it, you've just tapped the creatures you want to attack with!

 

-2 Feral Incarnation

 

Similarly to Overwhelm, the cost is just too high. If you have enough creatures to convoke to make the card playable, three additional creatures isn't probably what you need.

 

-1 Phytotitan

 

While this is a cute trick to keep bringing him back, there are better ways to spend 6 mana than for a creature that's going to die almost every time it goes to combat.

 

-1 Naturalize

 

Sometimes there are big targets for Naturalize, but if there aren't, this card is completely dead in your hand. I'd rather play something that's always useful.

 

-2 Living Totem

 

4 mana for a 2/3 creature is very underwhelming, even if it gives someone +1/+1 when it enters. If you had ways to replay this card over and over, it might be worth it, but I've got more efficient uses of our mana in mind. 

 

-1 Titanic Growth

 

Not a bad card, but I like Gather Courage better in this deck. I'll explain why later.

 

-2 Selfless Cathar

 

I wouldn't blame you for keeping this guy around. The +1/+1 to everyone is a nice threat to keep on the board, but I think we can do a little better.

 

-2 Oreskos Swiftclaw

 

A 3/1 for 2 mana isn't bad at all. If your opponent is slow with the blockers, you can get in for some quick damage. However, if your opponent is savvy at all, they'll have some quick blockers that hold the Swiftclaw at bay. His 1 toughness is a real drawback.

 

We've taken out a bunch of cards - now what should we put in instead? You mentioned that you bought a box of M15 boosters, so I'll limit my selections to M15 cards since you'll probably have most of these already. 

 

+2 Sunblade Elf

 

He's one of the All-Stars of your deck. First turn, play a Forest and this guy. Second turn, play a Plains and attack for two. You want this to happen as often as possible. Plus, late game, the threat of pumping up your team by +1/+1 can be scary.

 

+3 Gather Courage

 

I mentioned earlier that I like this better than Titanic Growth. While it only gives you +2 instead of +4, the fact that you can essentially play it for free is going to be very valuable. Your opponent will see you with no untapped lands and think you can't do any tricks. You'll surprise them by tapping a Sunblade Elf to give another creature +2/+2. 

 

+2 Devouring Light

 

Outside of killing creatures with combat damage, this is the only way your deck has of killing creatures. You want the full set to take care of whatever annoying creatures your opponent has in your way.

 

+4 Elvish Mystic

 

You mentioned wanting some of this guy, and I agree. With him and the Sunblade Elf, you should usually have something useful to do on turn 1. The Mystic is a better mana helper than Verdant Haven because it comes down so cheaply.

 

+2 Wall of Mulch

 

I went back and forth about the wall, but decided in the end to recommend more of him. If your opponent is off to a fast start, he can hold them at bay for a while. Also, he's a cheap green creature to help with convoke. Later in the game, you can recycle him for a different card for only 1 mana. Keep in mind you can sacrifice him for a card in response to a time when he would die anyway.

 

+2 Soul of Zendikar

 

All the other cards I've recommended so far are commons or uncommons. The Soul, as a mythic rare, might be hard to get, but I think he fits your deck well. For one, you mentioned wanting Plummet in your deck, making me think you are scared of opposing flying creatures, and rightly so. But Plummet is a dead card if your opponent has no fliers. Adding a creature with reach is a better answer. It can hold fliers at bay all day, but more importantly is a scary attacker with a useful ability. If these guys are too hard to get a hold of, Netcaster Spider is a creature with reach that you should have some of. 4 power when blocking fliers is good enough to take out most of them. If not, block with him and convoke out a Gather Courage to make it 6 power.

 

-1 Plains

 

As for the land, you suggested some multicolored land, and I think that's smart. M15 doesn't have any Green/White dual lands, but the Temple of Plenty from Born of the Gods or Temple Garden from Return to Ravnica are great choices if you can get them. But for now, since I'm going to just recommend taking out 1 Plains since we have decreased the percentage of white cards and dropped the average mana cost of your cards. If you get any dual lands, by all means, add them in in place of some basic lands.

 

If you were to make these changes, the deck would look something like this:

 

 

Creatures (22)

4 Sunblade Elf

4 Elvish Mystic

3 Wall of Mulch

2 Midnight Guard

2 Will-Forged Golem

2 Siege Wurm

2 Seraph of the Masses

2 Soul of Zendikar (or Netcaster Spider)

1 Hornet Queen

 

Spells (14)

4 Gather Courage

3 Raise the Alarm

4 Devouring Light

1 Sanctified Charge

2 Triplicate Spirits

 

Lands (24)

13 Forest

11 Plains

 

 

Your best strategy is to get out some quick Sunblade Elfs, Walls, and Elvish Mystics. Then, in a few turns, you'll have the mana (or convokable creatures) to put out the heavy hitters. Midnight Guard could be fun. Use him to convoke a creature out, and he untaps as soon as it come into the battlefield. Then, he's available to convoke again or attack with! You might find he's worth having more of.

 

I hope you have fun in your switch from Yugioh to a clearly better game :)

 

- mattedesa

 

P.S. - Send in your decks - I'm looking for more to fix! Yes, you. You that think I'll never take the time to fix your deck. You're just the person I'm looking for! I enjoy helping people like you!