The Essential Update!

**kerbythepurplecow** · November 2nd, 2010, 04:57 PM

I was worried about pissing off the whole table with Exsanguinate, but I guess I was looking at it wrong. You wouldn't use it until you could at least kill off a player. You'd be in a great position coming out of it. Good stuff.

The Sentinel seems great, but he's six mana. That's a lot for a 3/3. The flash makes him really interesting though. Vigilance means he can always swing.

**kerbythepurplecow** · November 4th, 2010, 01:26 PM

Having a hard time with the P.Titan spot. Oros? Teneb? C.Colossus?, Sol'Kanar, Silvos?

**cmorndorf** · November 7th, 2010, 12:34 AM

OROS. He's never used. Ever.

**TheAbe** · November 11th, 2010, 04:28 PM

In addition to Sword of Vengeance, we might also want to look at Nim Deathmantle. Both are amazing equipment.

I'd rather have a Sword of Vengeance out than a Behemoth Sledge (except for when I'm low in life). It's very easy to compare them side by side. Both cost three to play and three to equip.

Sledge - +2/+2,. trample, lifelink - That's great! It's a great card.
Sword of Vengeance - +2/+0. trample, first strike, haste, vigilance

Compare - both give trample, and both give two in the front. The differences:

Lifelink and 2 defense
First strike, haste, and vigilance

Is the defense as important if I have first stirke? Getting in a extra hit with my creatures by equipping them with the sword each time I play another is great. Vigilance is a great ability in multiplayer, the creature stays around. How often do you fail to attack with the Sledge creature because you need to keep it back as a blocker?

**TheAbe** · November 11th, 2010, 04:56 PM

Having said that, I still think there is a place for the Sledge and perhaps the Deathmantle, in the deck.

The deck has teh following equipment:

Skullclamp - which is about drawing cards, not pumping the creature
Sword of Fire and Ice - played for the card advantage, although the abilities are nice
Umezawa's Jitte - played for the abilities
Sunforger - which is played because of the card advantage, although the pump is very nice
Behemoth Sledge

So we aren't running a lot of great equipment for the abilities (Lightning Greaves, Sword of Kaldra, Argentum Armor, and so forth) and we pulled Loxodon Warhammer too. We are literally saying that Sledge is the best equipment ever based on just the abilities it gives the creature. (I'm not sure I buy that)

Recommendations:

Leave in all of these cards above.

Pull Dead/Gone for Sword of Vengeance
(I really like it a lot, but I think it's a bit underpowered these days, especially since we aren;t seeing too many 60 card decks anymore, with their aggro-ness)

Pull Chrome Mox, Black Lotus, Lotus Bloom for Exsanguinate, Darksteel Sentinel, Primeval Titan

Pull Forbid for Leyline of Anticipation

Pull Magus of the Jar for Time Reversal

Pull Treefolk Harbinger for Genesis Wave

Pull Elspeth for either Liliana or Sarkhan Vol (do we need more Red after pulling out Dead Gone? If so, here's your Red back)

Pull Demonic Collusion for Sunblast Angel (how often are you really buying this back anyway?)

Pull Fabricate for Diabolic Tutor (Wouldn't you rather pay one more mana to tutor for anything?)

Pull Sakura-Tribe Elder for Cultivate (that may get some hate posts! STE is almost always a glorified Rampant Growth that can block once in a while before it goes. Cultivate is card advantage every single time you play it.)

Pull Doran for Sun Titan (What's Doran doing here? What does he make better? wall of Blossoms? Commander Eesha? Indomitable Ancients? Is that really enough to play?)