It seems that the 5 mana deck is good but very slow, relying on growth cards to speed the mana growth process. I've been able to win with faster decks a few times online. Also, anyone have impressions of the expansion decks, and those in the first deck pack? I just bought 2 and 3, and I have the expansion. Just wondering which decks are worth my time to grind out the unlockable cards.(I'm pretty fond of Golgari)
Golgari is an excellent deck - pretty close to a stock tournament deck known as 'Rock', with some powerful and versatile removal (I can't believe they gave you Pernicious Deed) and really big scary men. Troll Ascetic is a proper beatstick as well. It's definitely one of the Top 5 decks in the game, and one of the decks you pick if you're genuinely trying to win. I don't like the Selesnaya deck because it doesn't do enough to disrupt the opponent, although I recognise that if it gets Parallel Lives down it can quickly swarm opponents. Rakdos is a pretty standard aggressive deck that has a killer card in - the Demigod of Revenge. If they draw two Demigod of Revenge it beats pretty much anything. The rest of a the deck is full of cards that you'd rather not play - I spent ages trying to find a Rakdos list that was good because I felt there was one, but however you build it there are only 55 good cards, and 5 are forced to play 5 cards that you don't really ever want to draw. Izzet is a decent control deck - I'd put it as the second best on the list. It can't beat big creatures because all the removal is based on burn spells, so a Pelakka Wurm causes it fits, but there are enough ways of trading positively with your opponent and getting ahead on cards to make it a serious deck (Prophetic Bolt, Arc Lightning, Electrolyze, Thunder Dragon). Azorious is the unusual one, because I think it's the only case where a Duels 2013 deck has inspired a real life deck. In the past month the Modern PTQs have seen the surprise rise of a deck known as 'Slippery Bogle' which revolves around playing a 1/1 Hexproof creature on your first turn then stacking a load of creature Aura's on it. It features the key cards from the Azorious deck (Kor Spiritdancer, Daybreak Coronet) and I'm pretty sure that deck only exists because somebody played this deck on Duels and decided to make it in real life. Anyway, Azorious is very different to other decks so worth exploring for that reason alone. Often it wins or loses games on the quality of it's opening hand so Mulligans are important - if you get a creature and a couple of good enchantments you win. If you get all creatures or all enchantments you lose.
It's for that reason that my deck packs pretty much ALL the mass removal. I tested it vs Krenko a lot and the 5 colour deck is definitely favourite in the matchup. The only match I lost online was to Goblin Grenade, when I was about to win. Odric doesn't really stand a chance because you've got ways of killing Honor of the Pure. I lost to double Demigod vs Rakdos, but any deck loses to double Demigod. Haven't tried vs Gruul. I'm pretty sure the 5c deck is right up there with the best decks. The one I'm worried about is Jace's Millstone deck - all the land filtering you do makes your deck smaller, which helps him out.
This is a game I just played vs Odric, to illustrate how strong you are vs creature rush... Forest Plains, Elite Vanguard Island, Rampant Growth for Mountain Plains, Attack for 2 (18), Squadron Hawk Island, Cultivate for Swamp and Plains Plains, Attended Knight, attack for 3 (15) Plains, Savage Twister for 2 Plains, Squadron hawk, Squadron Hawk Forest, Cultivate for Swamp and Plains Plains, attack for 2 (13), Crusader of Odric, Squadron Hawk Cultivate for Island and Mountain, Mountain, Savage Twister for 1 Flickerwisp Allied Strategies for 5 cards, Broodmate Dragon Flickerwisp, exile token Dragon Forest, Maelstrom Pulse two Flickerwisps, attack for 4 (16) Crusader of Odric, Fiend Hunter to exile Broodmate Dragon Plains, Vindicate Fiend Hunter (return Broodmate and Token), play Broodmate Dragon #2 Oblivion Ring a dragon token (topdecked to survive a turn) attack for 12 (4), Terramorphic Expanse for Mountain Plains, attack for 1 (12) Swamp, attack for 12 (-8) Game over. I had a Pernicious Deed in my opening hand that I never needed to use, so was in no danger of losing at any point. Between Cultivate and Allied Strategies I'd drawn 50% more cards than my opponent... you can't beat that kind of firepower.
Yup, I beat a guy online with that deck. Although I also lost to the same guy when he was able to play a few big creatures and I didn't have enough mind control/clone spells available. I think Jaces deck might be my favorite. I really like the Golgari. The AI once used pernicious deed in combo with two blood artists and about 8 creatures total on the field to beat me in one turn, when I had 16 life. There's a lot of opportunities with the deck, that's for sure. How should I build it though?
Good to see everyone's enjoying the Mana Mastery and Rogues' Gallery decks! FYI, if anyone's interested in connecting with more members of the Duels iPad community, there's a new thread in the official forums where people are listing their usernames. It might be a good way to put your Magic skills to the test.
FoolishEarthling Or if you're in Europe and coming to GP London then I'll be on coverage, come say hi!
I need some help from some pros, I'm getting killed by Odric in the revenge campaign. What do I need to do to beat this guy, he is to quick. I've been trying with the new mana deck but its just not working for me.
Try to slim down the higher cost cards in the goblin gang deck and use it. It might take a few tries, but the goblin gang is the fastest deck I've come across so far. Also you might want to look into Chandra's fire deck which has a lot of skills that can burn away multiple enemies
Mr Burkhart? The Revenge Odric is probably the end of game boss for Duels 2013 - he hits like a truck, always has removal for your men, and doesn't lie down. Krenko tests your speed more, but Odric just keeps asking questions until (most) decks run out of answers. Anyway... if you've fully unlocked the 5 colour deck then this matchup is pretty easy because you've way more board sweepers than he has ways of making dudes. If you're missing stuff like the Jund Charms from your unlock pile I imagine it's a bit more awkward. If I remember from when I first faced Odric the Chandra deck has good game once it's unlocked, otherwise one of your best plans is to go on the offense or to play a deck with Enchantment removal to attack his Oblivion Rings and Journey to Nowhere - one of your best plays is to convince him he can attack by playing possum then removing an Oblivion Ring/Fiend Hunter at instant speed to give yourself a blocker and eat his guy. But like I said, the 5c deck is one of your best options in the matchup (as I demonstrated back a page). He just walks headlong into all your board sweepers all day long. Easy meat.
I need your help again, this time Krenko. Who should I use and what strategy. I have all decks and cards. He drops so many cards so fast, then pumps them up, plus sacrifices for direct damage, I barely last 4 rounds.
Chandra FTW. I'm pretty sure I ran through just her deck in the campaign and revenge campaign, and eventually beat everyone. Also if you haven't already, trim your deck down to about 60-61 cards so you can get whatever you need sooner... As for strat... uhh burn everything he throws at ya haha.
I am new to magic and need help. What is the best deck to use against Golgari in the expansion campaign... He is the only one I cannot seem to beat.
Goblin seems to work fine, as with any deck. Best tip I can give you is to use the deck that you are comfortable with. Having a good deck build as well as knowing how to use it properly is crucial. And also, do not start a game with a bad hand. Quit and start the game again until you are happy with your hand (example, first turn goblin guide and second turn instigator and third turn chieftain with a goblin grenade to boot). Good luck.
Is there any way to get more time when searching my deck for a card online. I was playing with obedient dead and just needed the card to deal damage to my opponent for the number of swamps I had out, which would have won me the game, but instead I couldn't find it and had to go with a grave Titan
There isn't unfortunately. It shouldn't affect you often, though - just get better at recognising the cards you want from a quick browse
yeah I just didn't know what the card was called, since I had just started using obedient dead. idk how i feel about that deck, it doesn't seem as effective as a lot of other decks I've used. I might try out mana mastery, since most of the people I've been playing online have used it and beaten me with almost every deck but Jace's mindstorms. Would it be worth unlocking and checking out Grim Procession? I'm trying to find one that's as effective as Jace's mindstorms, but I'm not sure which ones to get. And mana mastery seems like kind of a cop out because everyone online uses it.
There's definitely a lot of Mana Mastery around, and I get the feeling nobody actually wants to play against it. Not many stick around for a second game, and if they do it's because they switch to Mindstorms and try to mill me out (that doesn't work either, but they try). The Golgari and Orzhov decks are good. Krenko is maybe the best deck in the game, and if you want a real challenge try the infinite turn combo deck of Crosswinds!
