@Kryder

DJ says Skyrider Elf is always a terrible card in every deck it's ever been put in. What do you think about that?

You gotta quote me correctly on that one... what I said is that skyrider elf is a terrible card in every deck I (DJ) have ever put it in. I don't like it, and I've yet to find the right home for it.

But, I still wanna here Kryder's answer. :-D

I'm still running that deck, Kryder. I'll let you know how I find the changes. Kiora has been underwhelming, I think she's optimal in a BUG deck with graveyard stuffs

I think those elves make sense

@ Mega-instigator/DJ - So far, so good with the Skyrider Elf. I don't just jam her down if I don't need to; the deck is still a control deck that can now aggro a bit better, so I try and get it out there as a 4/4 or 5/5, which is bigger than all but 1 flyer in the game that I recall, and it is seldom played.

@ Barney - Yeah, Kiora has been ok, but with so many spells and low-number of creatures overall, I've been pitching too much I needed to win. Plus, he Ultimate, while strong, doesn't just win the game like Nissa's can, and her abilities don't really protect her, like Gideon and Ob Nixilis can. So, she had to go...pretty sure I won't miss her often.

The one card I'd really like to put in but it is difficult to put in at the moment is Rolling Thunder. Spent too many games looking for Red #2 to cast it.

if you could get skyrider elf to be a turn 4 5/5 flyer you're balling

turn 3 3/3 flyer is pretty effective too

My problem with the card? It always causes me to tempo myself.... It'll always be bigger next turn. This may be a deficiency in me, not the card.

it's always about the need, though. If you are an aggro-ish deck, drop that sucka as soon as you get it.

I play control with this deck. If I don't necessarily need it turn 2 for defense/offense, I just hold on to it. Also helpful is whether or not I can actually cast it, which may be the case with a 5 color deck.

Having played with the deck, Kryder's comments about Kiora and the 4th Spectrum are really spot on, I felt the exact same way. I just don't think removing Thunder is ever going to be correct in a deck like this. In fact, I've been wanting to increase the Red in the deck just to include more copies of it, instead of cutting the card. It is THAT good.

Concur. That was a tough cut, but I've had a few too many games where I get my red Moss'd and I end up holding Rolling Thunder.

IF I were to put in more Red, I'd probably remove Black entirely and replace with the Rolling Thunders, which might be the better overall choice.

I think rolling thunders are important. I played your deck last night a bunch and Obi was giving me lots of trouble

Obi gives you lots of time to deal with him...and you've got lots of ways to get at him, now and before.

But cutting Black for Rolling Thunders may be the better answer. I'll probably give it a shot tonight when I get back home...had to deal with DC traffic for a few days, so I've been off grid.

I'll miss Obi and those languishes if you cut black tho

Plus, you've got those skyriders in there now and flying 5/5's r sexy.

Yeah, i just wasn't drawing help against Obi in my games against him. He never got to ultimate, I dealt with him before then, but he was drawing so many cards, it was killing me. I'd get down a wanderer and he'd kill it. I'd eventually get down a Greenwarden but then he's back up to 4 and kills it again. ugh. My Pilgrim's Eye weren't bothering him enough either. Rolling Thunder would have been boss.

Here's the deck that took me to rank 40:

4 x Gatecreeper Vine
4 x Rolling Thunder
3 x Pilgrim's Eye
1 x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 x Radiant Flames
2 x Woodland Wanderer
2 x From Beyond
3 x Brilliant Spectrum
4 x Mwonwuli Acid-Moss
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 x Planar Outburst
2 x Angelic Edict
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited
1 x Greenwarden of Murasa
1 x Oblivion Sower
2 x Nissa's Renewal
1 x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger

3 x Plains
2 x Island
2 x Swamp
2 x Mountain
3 x Forest
1 x Lumbering Falls
1 x Sunken Hollow
2 x Cinder Glade
2 x Canopy Vista
2 x Woodland Cemetery
2 x Rootbound Crag
3 x Evolving Wilds


A little bit about the deck.

Going into the season, I was expecting Golgari Control to continue ruling the top with all the fun sacrifice-based synergies in those colors. I posted a deck that felt very good, "the real deal" I believe I called it. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. That deck folded far too easily to any kind of ramp strategy. I wanted something to counter that.

I used the excellent list provided by megabeast as a starting point. Testing it I identified a few cards that seemed weak. Mainly, Jaddi Offshoot is good at shoring up aggro, but in a deck with a mana base this fragile, I swapped Offshoots for Gatecreepers because tutoring for the right color is far more important here than gaining life. The Pilgrim's Eyes are there for a similar reason, being a tutor for any color of land that also serves as a chump blocker body.

Of the planeswalkers in the original list, I got rid of Kiora since she can't protect herself the turn she comes out, unlike Gideon and (sort of) Ob. Also, in this deck there are too few creatures to use her properly - her -2 all too frequently led to dumping important spells into the graveyard.

I went down to 3 Spectrums instead of 4, but I have to praise this card since in this deck it is absolutely busted. Draw 4 discard 2 is more powerful than any other draw option. It digs deep into the deck and refills after I spend the first few turns dumping a hand full of land onto the battlefield. Instead of the fourth Spectrum I'm running the third Rolling Thunder since it's a win condition in itself.

I got rid of Languish. In my experience, including it taxes the mana base too much. Besides, in the current meta the creatures to worry about either have toughness under 3 or over 5, so Radiant Flames does Languish's job fine enough.

Currently, my win-loss rate is 36-14 with this deck. Before I started playing it, I was languishing (heh) in the 25-30 rank range, but this baby shot me right up there... to a very disappointing profile pic of a Carrier Thrall. Really, I thought the rank 40 picture would be some kind of world-eating monstrocity, not some infested vampire. Anyway.

The deck beats other ramp decks fairly easily, bar the occasional mana screw and enemy Mossing away important lands. It holds its own against aggro pretty well, but struggles with the explosive goblin into full moon starts. It can also be overwhelmed by swarm strategies like Thopters and Elves. However, given all that, it's still a very resilient and very enjoyable deck. At its core, it's about playing the best cards every color has to offer! Who doesn't like that?

Welcome to the Conflux Club, Johnny-Come-Lately!

How did you get 4X Rolling Thunder in there? I assume that is a misclick as that would put you up to 61 cards.

Overall, looks pretty good. I'd drop black entirely, tbh, and put in Jace to replace Ob for President. I haven't missed him when I did that and went down to 4 colors.

Inspired by Mega's stream last night

Rainbow Ramp

1 x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 x Gatecreeper Vine
1 x Ravaging Blaze
2 x Rolling Thunder

3 x Pilgrim's Eye
1 x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
3 x Natural Connection
2 x Radiant Flames

2 x Woodland Wanderer
4 x Brilliant Spectrum
2 x Languish
1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
1 x Kiora, Master of the Depths

2 x Prism Array
2 x Planar Outburst
1 x Angelic Edict
1 x Ob Nixilis Reignited

1 x Nissa's Renewal

2 x Gaea's Revenge

2 x Plains
1 x Island
2 x Swamp
2 x Mountain
5 x Forest
1 x Smoldering Marsh
2 x Cinder Glade
2 x Canopy Vista
2 x Woodland Cemetery
2 x Hinterland Harbor
1 x Azorius Guildgate
1 x Boros Guildgate
1 x Dimir Guildgate
1 x Rakdos Guildgate

You traded out Ulamog for Kiora eh?

Also..

So, you traded in Ulamog, Winner of Games for Kiora, Master of not getting you a spell?

In a deck with 13 creatures and 23 non-creatures?

Seems legit.

I need the lands man

and being honest here forgot bout mog

Lolz...ok,that explains that.

Advice...drop fish lady in 5cc...the deck relies on it's spells, and it gets you right in the feels when you bin something you needed when you use her -2. I would suggest using Disciple of the Rings instead.

Also, why would you call it a ramp deck with almost no ramp?

I really, really enjoy this deck. Played it for days. Very good results. It is also very good in 2HG.
I only made 1 Change: -1x Gaea's Revenge, +1x Ulamog.

More of These decks please!