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06.07.02
- Hey,
Aaron! This is the first block deck that I have ever
built, so I could use your help. This deck is called
Jolly Green Giant, and the idea is to play Ernham Djijn,
then play a Devestating Dreams for four. It clears the
board, allowing Ernie to swing for the win.
4x Werebear
4x Ernham Djinn
4x Patchwork Gnomes
4x Wild Mongrel
2x Druid Lyrisist
4x Devestating Dreams
4x Firey Temper
4x Violent Eruption
2x Simplify
3x Browbeat
1x Hollostic Wisdom
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Ah, shades of Ernham-Geddon.... only in the more
aggressive shades of R/G! While the deck above
appears solid (I'm assuming there's 24 lands in there
somewhere) I have just a few thoughts on how to make the
deck better.
First off... a rant.
JAIME WAKEFIELD IS ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE AS WE SPEAK!!
Why the heck is no one playing Gurzigost?!?
Let me just run the numbers by you in case you haven't
noticed him collecting dust in all those trade binders:
Gurzigost
Creature -- Beast
6/8
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Gurzigost
unless you put 2 cards from your graveyard on the bottom
of your library.
GG, Discard a card from your hand: You may have
Gurzigost deal its combat damage to defending player
this turn as though it weren't blocked.
OK, I'll admit that's a lot to read... so I'll break it
down for all you unable to interpret the above...
IT'S A 6/8 FOR ONLY 3GG THAT HAS EVASION!!!!!
The creature type says it all... he's a Beast and then
some. I really don't see his drawback as much of a
drawback at all... no one actually plays with Threshold
in constructed anyway so who cares if Gurzigost makes
you put two cards from Grave back into your deck?
Madness is by far the most powerful mechanic in Odyssey
Block. Not only that, Red and Green IMO got the
best Madness spells!! Not only do these spells
work just fine all by themselves... they are truly
wrecking balls when combined with the obvious Wild
Mongrel, but they also work with Gurzigost!!
Another underrated card that works wonders with Madness
is Devastating Dreams. While it is random
discard... there's nothing better than Sweeping the
board of all creatures and lands for little more than RR
thanks to Madness.
So where am I going with this? My point is that
while Ernie is an old favorite, he is no longer the
stuff. There are so many other green creatures out
there right now that truly are more powerful and
worthwhile than the Green Djinn. Phantom Centaur
makes another good case as he has to be killed by
conventional means 3 times... and he doesn't give
opposing creatures Evasion like Ernie does either!
Anyway... here's a rough draft of what I feel could
truly abuse some of the best creatures and Madness
spells in Odyssey Block.
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Barbarian Bully
4 Arrogant Wurm
4 Phantom Centaur
3 Gurzigost
4 Fiery Temper
3 Violent Eruption
3 Browbeat
3 Devastating Dreams
4 Mossfire Valey
12 Forest
8 Mountains
Browbeat makes for a great way to either take a huge
chunk out of the opponents life early... or late when
you get to draw three cards it helps to fuel all the
discarding to Mongrel/Bully/Gurzigost/Devastating
Dreams. Just remember that discarding those cards
is part of the casting cost for Devastating Dreams... be
careful to not let the opponent counter it and really
ruin your day.
Also, a quick apology as I realize I've been writing
about R/G a lot lately. I get like this where I go
in spurts and play very specialized deck styles.
Last year I was very into B/U
"counter/discard" strategies... lately I've
been very successful with R/G "smash you in the
face" strategies. I'll try to be a bit more
diverse in the weeks to come. =)
Hope this helps... have fun!
Aaron
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