I'll start this thread by providing one of my "secrets".

To enhance "aggro" capabilities, after I construct a deck, I consider which effects of instants/sorceries can be nearly replicated by a creature.

For example, I might replace

Solemn Offering http://magiccards.info/m11/en/32.html
[Sorcery, 2W (3)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment. You gain 4 life.
"A relic donation is suggested."
"The suggestion is mandatory."
—Temple signs]

With

Devout Witness http://magiccards.info/mm/en/17.html
[Creature — Human Spellshaper 2/2, 2W (3)
{1}{W}, {T}, Discard a card: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
The Cho-Arrim fought Mercadia's decadence with more than just swords.]


Its a tradeoff of 4 life vs. a 2/2 creature that can turn any card you draw into a

Disenchant  http://magiccards.info/tsts/en/6.html
[Instant, 1W (2)
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.]

As the game progresses, a 2/2 creature is more important to an aggro deck than a one-time life gain of 4.

And to further effect, the 4 point life gain can be accomplished by another creature, this one with lifelink, which is a common ability among white creatures.

------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the place to come for deck construction advice.

Love the idea of this thread.  Thank you.

Ok I am in the process of building a BUW deck and need some help with lands.  Advice would be much appreciated.

In reply to LAGO (msg # 3):

Try using a few Guildgates and a copy or two of Shimmering Grotto (http://magiccards.info/pc2/en/126.html) never goes astray

In reply to LAGO (msg # 3):


I don't know if you are limiting rares, but

Rupture Spire  http://magiccards.info/pc2/en/124.html
Transguild Promenade  http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/249.html

Creeping Tar Pit http://magiccards.info/wwk/en/134.html has won games for me, since its unblockable and can only be killed as a creature when its animated.

Evolving Wilds  http://magiccards.info/ddk/en/33.html
Terramorphic Expanse  http://magiccards.info/pc2/en/129.html
Esper Panorama  http://magiccards.info/ala/en/223.html

A while ago I created a tab on my own version of my spreadsheet that contains all lands, and I have included 5 columns which I have populated with the type of mana they produce.  A simple filter can then provide me with all lands that can produce the required colours.

So for BUW, I find just the following:

Arcane Sanctum http://magiccards.info/ala/en/220.html
Arcane Sanctum enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {W}, {U}, or {B} to your mana pool.

Dromar's Cavern http://magiccards.info/ps/en/138.html
When Dromar's Cavern enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you return a non-Lair land you control to its owner's hand.
{T}: Add {W}, {U}, or {B} to your mana pool.

As Jeff has pointed out there are plenty of "Fetch Lands"

Esper Panorama http://magiccards.info/ala/en/223.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Esper Panorama: Search your library for a basic Plains, Island, or Swamp card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

Terramorphic Expanse http://magiccards.info/cmd/en/291.html
{T}, Sacrifice Terramorphic Expanse: Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

Evolving Wilds http://magiccards.info/roe/en/228.html
{T}, Sacrifice Evolving Wilds: Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

Thawing Glaciers http://magiccards.info/ai/en/189.html
Thawing Glaciers enters the battlefield tapped.
{1}, {T}: Search your library for a basic land card, put that card onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle your library. Return Thawing Glaciers to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next cleanup step.

Terminal Moraine http://magiccards.info/ps/en/142.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{2}, {T}, Sacrifice Terminal Moraine: Search your library for a basic land card and put that card onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

And there are then a large number of lands that can produce any colour, some with more restrictions than others:

Ancient Ziggurat http://magiccards.info/cfx/en/141.html
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast creature spells.

Cavern of Souls http://magiccards.info/avr/en/226.html
As Cavern of Souls enters the battlefield, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered.

Unstable Frontier http://magiccards.info/cfx/en/145.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}: Target land you control becomes the basic land type of your choice until end of turn.

Shimmering Grotto http://magiccards.info/lw/en/273.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{1}, {T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

School of the Unseen http://magiccards.info/ai/en/186.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{2}, {T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Tendo Ice Bridge http://magiccards.info/bok/en/165.html
Tendo Ice Bridge enters the battlefield with a charge counter on it.
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}, Remove a charge counter from Tendo Ice Bridge: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Mirrodin's Core http://magiccards.info/ds/en/165.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}: Put a charge counter on Mirrodin's Core.
{T}, Remove a charge counter from Mirrodin's Core: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Pillar of the Paruns http://magiccards.info/di/en/176.html
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast multicolored spells.

Rupture Spire http://magiccards.info/ddh/en/75.html
Rupture Spire enters the battlefield tapped.
When Rupture Spire enters the battlefield, sacrifice it unless you pay {1}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Forbidden Orchard http://magiccards.info/v12/en/6.html
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.
Whenever you tap Forbidden Orchard for mana, put a 1/1 colorless Spirit creature token onto the battlefield under target opponent's control.

Vesuva http://magiccards.info/v12/en/14.html
You may have Vesuva enter the battlefield tapped as a copy of any land on the battlefield.

Archaeological Dig http://magiccards.info/in/en/320.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}, Sacrifice Archaeological Dig: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Saprazzan Skerry http://magiccards.info/mm/en/328.html
Saprazzan Skerry enters the battlefield tapped with two depletion counters on it.
{T}, Remove a depletion counter from Saprazzan Skerry: Add {U}{U} to your mana pool. If there are no depletion counters on Saprazzan Skerry, sacrifice it.

Glimmervoid http://magiccards.info/mi/en/281.html
At the beginning of the end step, if you control no artifacts, sacrifice Glimmervoid.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Primal Beyond http://magiccards.info/mt/en/149.html
As Primal Beyond enters the battlefield, you may reveal an Elemental card from your hand. If you don't, Primal Beyond enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast Elemental spells or activate abilities of Elementals.

Tarnished Citadel http://magiccards.info/od/en/329.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Tarnished Citadel deals 3 damage to you.

Grand Coliseum http://magiccards.info/on/en/319.html
Grand Coliseum enters the battlefield tapped.
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Grand Coliseum deals 1 damage to you.

Reflecting Pool http://magiccards.info/tp/en/328.html
{T}: Add to your mana pool one mana of any type that a land you control could produce.

Gemstone Mine http://magiccards.info/tsts/en/119.html
Gemstone Mine enters the battlefield with three mining counters on it.
{T}, Remove a mining counter from Gemstone Mine: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. If there are no mining counters on Gemstone Mine, sacrifice it.

Undiscovered Paradise http://magiccards.info/vi/en/167.html
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. During your next untap step, as you untap your permanents, return Undiscovered Paradise to its owner's hand.

Lotus Vale http://magiccards.info/wl/en/165.html
If Lotus Vale would enter the battlefield, sacrifice two untapped lands instead. If you do, put Lotus Vale onto the battlefield. If you don't, put it into its owner's graveyard.
{T}: Add three mana of any one color to your mana pool.

Then there are more unusual ways of getting multi-coloured mana:

Springjack Pasture http://magiccards.info/eve/en/179.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{4}, {T}: Put a 0/1 white Goat creature token onto the battlefield.
{T}, Sacrifice X Goats: Add X mana of any one color to your mana pool. You gain X life.

Rainbow Vale http://magiccards.info/med/en/179.html
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. An opponent gains control of Rainbow Vale at the beginning of the next end step.

Crystal Quarry http://magiccards.info/od/en/318.html
{T}: Add {1} to your mana pool.
{5}, {T}: Add {W}{U}{B}{R}{G} to your mana pool.

Exotic Orchard http://magiccards.info/pc2/en/117.html
{T}: Add to your mana pool one mana of any color that a land an opponent controls could produce.

Forsaken City http://magiccards.info/ps/en/139.html
Forsaken City doesn't untap during your untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may exile a card from your hand. If you do, untap Forsaken City.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Meteor Crater http://magiccards.info/ps/en/140.html
{T}: Choose a color of a permanent you control. Add one mana of that color to your mana pool.

Rhystic Cave http://magiccards.info/pr/en/142.html
{T}: Choose a color. Add one mana of that color to your mana pool unless any player pays {1}. Activate this ability only any time you could cast an instant.

Thran Quarry http://magiccards.info/sus/en/1.html
At the beginning of the end step, if you control no creatures, sacrifice Thran Quarry.
{T}: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

@Jeff: Not limiting rares at all.  Thanks for pointing out creeping tar pit.

@Matt: Talk about thorough!  I'm going to dig into these after work.

In reply to Jeff (msg # 1):

in that example out of the 3 in an agro deck i wouldn;t run any in my main deck and place disenchant in my sideboard. If your running white agro Oblivion rongs would serve you better across the board by running 4 of them in your main deck you have all your targeted removal needs.

I know that wasn;t the point of what you were saying but i personally would not look at placing creatures into an agro deck like that.

instead when building an agro deck look at two things Cost of creatures, issues those creatures could come up against Emergency long game win

When looking at creatres ask yourself one thing does it cost 3 mana or less if not then you need a very very good reson for keeping it. If it has haste its near enough a must have and if it has an aditional effect allt he better. Stay cler of low power creatures but low toughness creatures are fine. your aim is to atack evry round especially at the start while your opponant is building up. then pack some creature removal and your done. enchantments and planswalkers shouldn't get a chance to be played so have their removal in the sideboard for emergencies.

Finally have a soingle card that will actually help you in the late game incase it gets delayed that long. Late game survivability is what kills agro decks. so having some burn for x or mass removal can really help.

Sorry about the post length just ended up spilling my mind for no reason.... I'm not disagreeing with the intital post in theory but be careful with this advice for agro decks as A) you don;t want enchanment removal main decked and b) you are better served  by low cost high hiting creatures.  tha a multi function adaptable creature

Right now I'm working on building a Modern-legal red/white deck focusing on using cards like Spark Elemental and Ball Lightning to rapidly deal damage. My original concept was to run them past a Silverblade Paladin to give doublestrike and maybe toss on an equipment.

Right now I'm using 4 Boros Guildgates, a playset of the white and red Artifact lands, and Boros Keyrunes to ensure I have Metalcraft to make Puresteel Paladin work.

The equipment I'm using at the moment is Sunforger and Ogre's Cleaver. Sunforger boosts the damage, afterward I can use it's unequip ability to search out and cast Koth of the Hammer or Fling; I'm saccing the creature anyway, might as well get extra damage out of it.

I've never played with red before, but it should do pretty decent, I think. nothing above 3 cost, after all, aside from Koth.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:01, Sat 27 Apr 2013.

In reply to Max (msg # 9):

I have a similar themed deck but in B/R that runss off of BloodChief Ascention http://magiccards.info/zen/en/82.html and if they are Playing any land fetch i finish them off with an archive trap http://magiccards.info/zen/en/41.html from my sideboard

So the Black side of it is pointless but you might want to look at the following Cards

Goblin Guide http://magiccards.info/zen/en/126.html

Hell's thunder http://magiccards.info/ala/en/103.html

Lightning Helix http://magiccards.info/ddh/en/23.html

Boros recruit http://magiccards.info/rav/en/243.html

Boros Swiftblade http://magiccards.info/pch/en/82.html

Sunforger http://magiccards.info/rav/en/272.html

Brute Force http://magiccards.info/pc/en/116.html

If you have enough Multi coloured Creatures you might want to go with a Psychotic Fury http://magiccards.info/di/en/68.html

I would also say that ball lightning is a trap its 3 red cost means you won't be able to play it consistently in a 2 coloured deck turn 3.

With 4 of those cards you pretty much have a god hand.

Turn 1 Mountain goblin Guide Swing for 2 damage
Turn 2 Plains Boros swiftblade Swing with goblin guide for 2 damage
turn 3 Mountain Play brute Force On Boros Swiftblade Swing for 10 total with both creatures they have 6 life left If you have another brute force at this point you have won.
Tutn 4 you have basically won now attack for 4 damage total and any burn spell will finish them off.

Of course that means you have to get very very lucky.

my advice is have nothing above 3 cost period. your aim is to finish quickly. you will not have any long game survival power with this type of deck so don't even think about putting any in. UIf you have the mana to play Koth then you will have lost the game anyway by that point unless they are on 2/3 life then there is no point to playing Koth as a simple burn spell will do the job and can be played earlier in the game.

T1 Mountain, Vexing Devil
T2 Mountain, Boros Swiftblade, Swing with Devil (unless they paid four life)
T3 Reckless Charge, Brute Force, Swiftblade kicking ass (14 damage :P)
T4 Lightning Bolt, flashback Reckless Charge....

Swiftblade is going to be an autoinclude. I think running Fencing Ace and Swiftblade, boosts and burn spells is pretty good for a RDW

but the goal of the deck was to use Spark elementals and their ilk, not just to be good aggro. At college we usually have huge multiplayer, so the game is going to get to turn 8 or so guaranteed. In that case, I was more going to focus on. . .

wait

I could give a hoard of token double strike with Concerted Effort.

BRB DECKBUILDING

The issue you will have is that any creature that comes into play for 1 turn then is sacced is basically a weaker burn spell.

Why use Spark elemental when you can use Lightning bolt. the main reason is you can use spark elemental Twice. ball lightning tou can use once for roughlt the same amount of damage and any creature with first strike will kill them dead. You need to diversify.

do not play veking devil in multiplayer. someone will allways take the damage. In single player they will too but at least then it gets you closer to winning. in multiplayer it just looses your board presense.

Another aspect to condider is card advantage. you are going to empty your hand quickly this is never a good idea. so you need some card draw.

off the top of my head the only cards i can think of for cheap card draw are.

Browbeat http://magiccards.info/query?q...p;v=card&s=cname

and  desperate ravings http://magiccards.info/query?q...p;v=card&s=cname

but there might be some in white i haven;t considered.

Just thought I'd throw a quick thought in. Vexing Devil, at least in my mind, is not a turn 1 card. It's a card you use for a morbid trigger with a bonus. It's not necessarily a great card, but it has its uses and certainly doesn't deserve all the hate it receives.

Does anybody know of a card that givesa player other than myself an unlimited hand size?

Not off the top of my head, why would you want to? Wouldn't forcing them to discard be better for crushing them?

Best I can think of is to have something, and either Donate, or Bazaar Trader.

It would probably be more efficient, but I have a quirky idea for a deck I want to try out.

all the no maximum hand size stuff is only you. so yeah you need to donate it.

Although i would be interested in what thwin condition idea is

Is there a card that makes someone draw to their maximum hand size? That would end the game like that. I don't remember one, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

In reply to red2wedge (msg # 19):

that wouldn't work as worded as if they have no maximum hand size then they would draw no cards as they no longer have a maximum hand size

think of it this way if done by a computer

Target player draws up to their maximum hand size

Maximum hand size =7
Cards in hand =3

Player draws 4 cards

compared with

Target player draws up to their maximum hand size

cards in hand =3

Invaid request variable maximum hand size does not exist
This message was last edited by the player at 10:44, Wed 22 May 2013.

Yeah, funny that you word it such, since I'm a computer engineer (along with nuclear, electronic, mechanical, and chemical).

I was just trying to figure some way to use it for a win condition. I guess we'll have to wait to see what he comes up with.

Whats a good artifact to replace Sol Ring http://www.mtgvault.com/card/sol-ring/CMD/ in a colorless Artifact deck?

Sol Ring Is a colorless artifact isn't it?

yes but it is banned in some play styles and illegal in others. Trying to make a LEGAL colorless artifact deck for legacy/vintage.

Any tips for making an EDH deck based on Niv Mizzet?

Depends... do you mean:

Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius - (Legendary Dragon Wizard, 5/5, 2UURR (6)
Flying
Whenever Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius deals damage to a player, you may draw a card.
{U}{R}: Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius deals 1 damage to target creature or player.)
[http://magiccards.info/rtr/en/183.html]
    He has no patience for minds that do not inspire him or explode by trying.

or

Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind - (Legendary Dragon Wizard, 4/4, 2UURR (6)
Flying
Whenever you draw a card, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
{T}: Draw a card.)
[http://magiccards.info/mm2/en/182.html]

Either way, it would tempt me to build a dragon or wizard related themed deck.  There are plenty of cards that go well together for dragons, and certainly plenty of wizard related cards that go well together.  Dual Red/Blue lands are a must of course.

Do a search on the database for cards that are either just blue, just red or multicoloured and are also wizards and then pick out ones that work well together...  do the same for dragons and see if there is enough to build on one or the other...

Obviously Firemind and a bunch of draw cards would be the basicest combo. Look for stuff that helps you mess with other people too while you're at it.

Also HE does the damage directly, so it would count as commander Damage I guess. That's useful!

I have The Firemind

It wouldn't count as Commander damage - since that has to be "Combat" damage...

Really?

Huh.

I never looked at it that closely I guess. All my commanders have been the Combat damage types.

Thoughts on deck construction:

* Land is the most important consideration in building your deck. Period. You have to have the right mana to cast your spells, you want to consistently hit your land drops, and the format will dictate quite clearly what sort of options are available to you in terms of color fixing and utility lands. Never skimp on your land. Never cut a land for "just one more spell." In general, the player who makes the best use of their mana will win.

* Look for cards that can help you smooth your draws out. Scrying, shuffling, and card draw are the most obvious ways to manipulate your deck, but don't forget activated abilities. You want at least a few activated abilities in your deck, because land floods happen to everyone and having an activated ability to spend your mana on will help you get through a painful land flood. If possible, try to get lands with activated abilities (like man-lands or utility lands) as these won't force you to give up card space in your deck.

* Don't think of your cards in terms of 1-4 copies of specific cards. Think of them in terms of 8-12 similar cards. 8-12 early plays. 8-12 game-closers. 8-12 pieces of removal or disruption. 8-12 utility spells. The more spells you have that can combine roles, the more flexible and powerful the deck will be, and the less reliant you are on having a specific card to win, the better your deck will perform.

* General rule of thumb: you want 4 copies of a card you want to see many games in a row (and possibly multiples at once). You want 3 copies of a card that you want to see often, but generally only once a game. You want 2 copies of a card that is more niche but that you want to see with some regularity. The longer a game goes on, the easier it is to draw into a copy of this card, so this is a great place for game closers on the more expensive side of your mana curve. The miser's copy (a single copy of a specific card) is of debatable use. It's for a card you'd rather draw late than early, and it's not critical to your deck's winning (though it might be a good turn-around card).

* In singleton formats like Commander, you should still be thinking of your cards as groups of similar effects, rather than a pile of specific single cards.

Hey, what do you guys think of this Populate oriented deck?

Forest x10
Plains x10
Sunpetal Grove x4
Grove of the Guardian x2
Avacyn's Pilgrim x4
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice x1
Druid's Deliverance x2
Sundering Growth x2
Call of the Conclave x4
Wayfaring Temple x4
Armada Wurm x4
Growing Ranks x2
Intangible Virtue x2
Wake the Reflections x3
Emmara Tandris x1
Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage x3
Elvish Mystic x4
Gatecreeper Vine x4
Entreat the Angels x2
Cloudshift x4
Thragtusk x2
Kazandu Tuskcaller x2
Wasteland Viper x2

Interesting...  I'll have a closer look tomorrow at some of the cards I don't immediately recognise. :-)