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Sorceress
Deck file: 0074.dck
Plays: Red
Life: 4/6/8/10
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: Lightning Bolt
Special ability: can summon a Goblin Lord (so you get to duel him instead of the Sorceress)

Original Sorceress deck:
.164 23 Mountain
.123 3 Iron Star
.85 4 Firebreathing
.425 4 Hurr Jackal
.399 4 Bird Maiden
.72 4 Dwarven Warriors
.115 2 Hurloon Minotaur
.67 2 Dragon Whelp
.583 4 Blood Lust
.295 3 Ball Lightning
.159 2 Meekstone
.813 2 The Brute

.vNone
.223 2 Shatter
.813 1 The Brute
.vBlack
.223 2 Shatter
.813 1 The Brute
.vBlue
.199 1 Red Elemental Blast
.223 2 Shatter
.vGreen
.223 1 Shatter
.813 2 The Brute
.vRed
.223 2 Shatter
.813 1 The Brute
.vWhite
.238 1 Sunglasses of Urza
.223 2 Shatter

"As you can see, the deck is happy to use Dwarven Warriors to attack, and then use Firebreathing to pump the creature, now unblockable, for some serious damage. Blood Lust will help this plan. Then add some creatures from Ball Lightning to Hurr Jackal, and you have your deck.

The first thing I want to do is pull The Brute from the deck. It’s not on theme, and it’s not that good. Not only will playing it not work with the Dwarven Warriors, but it could even stop you from untapping through a Meekstone.

I add two Dragon Whelp and one Nalathni Dragon

I do not like the Iron Star, but most colors have a lower level deck with the lucky charm in it, so I’m not pulling it. Not much change here, just an attempt to bring the deck into line."

Abe´s original deck list has one more Meekstone and one more Ball Lightning than my deck list. I have two Shatter instead (in the vNone version). I keep my original deck (including sideboards) and apply Abe´s changes on that. I think Nalathni Dragon is cool, so I add one more of that, and one less Whelp.

Modified Sorceress deck:
.164 23 Mountain
.85 4 Firebreathing
.425 3 Hurr Jackal
.399 4 Bird Maiden
.72 4 Dwarven Warriors
.115 2 Hurloon Minotaur
.67 3 Dragon Whelp
.583 4 Blood Lust
.295 3 Ball Lightning
.159 2 Meekstone
.895 2 Nalathni Dragon
.123 3 Iron Star

.vNone
.223 2 Shatter
.425 1 Hurr Jackal
.vBlack
.223 2 Shatter
.425 1 Hurr Jackal
.vBlue
.223 2 Shatter
.199 1 Red Elemental Blast
.vGreen
.223 2 Shatter
.425 1 Hurr Jackal
.vRed
.223 2 Shatter
.425 1 Hurr Jackal
.vWhite
.223 2 Shatter
.238 1 Sunglasses of Urza

Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Beast Master

Summoner (Green henchman)
Deck file: 0030.dck
Plays: Green, with a splash of White
Life: (11/13/15/17)+X (Life increases over the course of the game. I´ve seen him/her with as much as 27 life)
Frequent advantage: Verduran Enchantress
Frequent special reward: Never gives any reward at all

Original Summoner deck:
.91 20 Forest
.188 4 Plains
.485 2 Colossus of Sardia
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.143 4 Lifelace
.30 1 Channel
.35 3 Circle of Protection Green
.116 4 Hurricane
.277 4 War Mammoth
.89 3 Force of Nature
.64 2 Disenchant
.108 2 Healing Salve
.756 4 Radjan Spirit

.vNone
.97 3 Giant Growth
.vBlack
.97 2 Giant Growth
.142 1 Lifeforce
.vBlue
.97 2 Giant Growth
.253 1 Tsunami
.vGreen
.97 3 Giant Growth
.vRed
.97 3 Giant Growth
.vWhite
.97 2 Giant Growth
.64 1 Disenchant

"This deck is more clever than the earlier ones. It tries to play a CoP: Green and then prevent the damage from failing to upkeep a Force of Nature or prevent damage from a Hurricane. It even runs Lifelace to turn a Fireball Green or an opposing creature Green so it can prevent the damage from the CoP.

Frankly, this is about as clever as you are going to get. It has Flying Carpet, which combines well with Hurricane. Healing Salve works well too. Birds of Paradise don’t however.

The first tweak is a simply one. I pull four forests for a full set of Savannah.

This seems like a deck that would really benefit from some removal beyond the 2 Disenchants. I yank two Birds for a pair of Desert Twisters.
I yank the final two Birds for Cyclones. With CoP: Green in the deck already, this seems like a solid addition.

Some of the cards I would want to add are not here, like Aisling Leprechaun. I also had to double check Alchor’s Tomb before realizing it worked on your creatures only.

Finally, I pull a Radjan Spirit for a Forest."


No, no, the deck gets too slow! Much of the early threat from this deck comes from the prospect of a 3rd turn Mammoth, or a 4-5th turn Force. Abe is perfectly right that Birds combines poorly with Hurricane, so I am going to add Llanowar Elves instead. They do not combine well with Cyclone, but I figure that by the time you drop a Cyclone, you know what you are doing...

I had no Flying Carpets in my original list, but they are a great idea. Abe has no Giant Growth in either of his decklists. I want them, because they are great with the Tramplers.

In order to fit in my Elves, I have pulled a Colossus, a CoP:Green, a Salve and a Lifelace. Also, instead of having 15 Forests and 5 Plains, I have 13 Forests, 3 Plains and both Moxes of appropriate colours. Combined with the Elves, that should be enough mana production.

Modified Summoner deck:
.91 13 Forest
.188 3 Plains
.212 4 Savannah
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.143 3 Lifelace
.30 1 Channel
.35 3 Circle of Protection: Green
.116 4 Hurricane
.277 4 War Mammoth
.89 3 Force of Nature
.64 2 Disenchant
.108 2 Healing Salve
.756 3 Radjan Spirit
.419 2 Flying Carpet
.405 2 Cyclone
.409 2 Desert Twister
.149 4 Llanowar Elves
.165 1 Mox Emerald
.167 1 Mox Pearl

.vNone
.97 3 Giant Growth
.vBlack
.97 2 Giant Growth
.142 1 Lifeforce
.vBlue
.97 2 Giant Growth
.253 1 Tsunami
.vGreen
.97 3 Giant Growth
.vRed
.97 3 Giant Growth
.vWhite
.97 2 Giant Growth
.64 1 Disenchant

Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Kiska-Ra

Thought Invoker (Blue henchman)
Deck file: 0232.dck
Plays: Blue
Life: (11/13/15/17)+X (Life increases over the course of the game. I´ve seen her with as much as 27 life)
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: Never gives any reward at all

Original Thought Invoker deck:
.126 22 Island
.422 4 Giant Tortoise
.195 4 Psychic Venom
.156 3 Mana Short
.69 3 Drain Power
.44 2 Control Magic
.191 3 Power Sink
.190 3 Power Leak
.326 4 Ghost Ship
.494 2 Energy Flux
.185 4 Phantom Monster
.817 2 Time Elemental
.154 1 Mahamoti Djinn

.vNone
.256 3 Twiddle
.vBlack
.256 3 Twiddle
.vBlue
.256 3 Twiddle
.vGreen
.256 2 Twiddle
.144 1 Lifetap
.vRed
.256 2 Twiddle
.265 1 Volcanic Eruption
.vWhite
.256 3 Twiddle

"This is the main henchman for the Blue Archmagi. This is supposed to be the second most powerful deck in Blue’s arsenal and so powerful and nasty, you don’t even get an ante if you win.

I like the Giant Tortoises, Phantom Monster, Mahamoti Djinn, Control Magic, Time Elemental and even Ghost Ships. What I think is jank is the whole Psychic Venom your land and then Drain Power, Power Sink, Twiddle and Mana Short you for damage. The worst offender here is Power Leak.

-3 Power Leak
+1 Ancestral Recall
+1 Mox Sapphire
+1 Sol Ring

While the other two themes work (good creatures and the Venom + tapping), Power Leak does not work for me. This deck lacks good mana as well as power, so I added some mana and a Recall. Now it has some power.

The one good thing about the deck is that is does have a bit of an Aggro-Tempo feel with its Creatures and Tapping elements. Mana Short and Power Sink can lock down a player’s mana and keep them from doing things. Time Elemental can lock a player’s mana for the game until the Elemental is killed.

The two elements are not as disparate as they might, at first, appear. I’ve lost games to a Phantom Monster that I can’t answer because my spells get Power Sinked and then when I drop a Serra it gets stolen or tapped and I lose.

I think the above deck is better (jiansonz' comment: he´s referring to the Shapeshifter deck), but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Here is the lightly modified deck."

Modified Thought Invoker:
.126 22 Island
.422 4 Giant Tortoise
.195 4 Psychic Venom
.156 3 Mana Short
.69 3 Drain Power
.44 2 Control Magic
.191 3 Power Sink
.326 4 Ghost Ship
.494 2 Energy Flux
.185 4 Phantom Monster
.817 2 Time Elemental
.154 1 Mahamoti Djinn
.1 1 Ancestral Recall
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.230 1 Sol Ring

.vNone
.256 3 Twiddle
.vBlack
.256 3 Twiddle
.vBlue
.256 3 Twiddle
.vGreen
.256 2 Twiddle
.552 1 Acid Rain
.vRed
.256 2 Twiddle
.265 1 Volcanic Eruption
.vWhite
.256 3 Twiddle

Test Gauntlet result: Lost 1st duel to Ape Lord

Troll Shaman
Deck file: 0261.dck
Plays: Red
Life: 8/10/12/14
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: Life status carried over to the next duel (ouch!)
Special ability: Can turn invisible in the Shandalar outdoor terrain

Original Troll Shaman deck:
.164 22 Mountain
.528 2 Strip Mine
.145 2 Lightning Bolt
.42 2 Conservator
.84 3 Fireball
.235 4 Stone Giant
.110 4 Hill Giant
.104 2 Gray Ogre
.261 4 Uthden Troll
.813 3 The Brute
.628 3 Eternal Warrior
.115 2 Hurloon Minotaur
.445 2 Oasis
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar

.vNone
.223 2 Shatter
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.vBlack
.223 2 Shatter
.246 1 Throne of Bone
.vBlue
.223 1 Shatter
.199 1 Red Elemental Blast
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.vGreen
.223 2 Shatter
.288 1 Wooden Sphere
.vRed
.26 1 Burrowing
.223 1 Shatter
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.vWhite
.128 1 Ivory Cup
.29 1 Celestial Prism
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia

"This deck is a little… odd. It runs Conservator and Oasis but nothing like Earthquake to help prevent the damage. With The Brute, Oasis, Uthden Troll and Conservator, this would have been a nice Earthquake deck.
This deck obviously intends to be a mid-range deck, with creatures that start at 3 and end at 6.

I think it wants to use cards to protect itself, hence the Shaman side of the creature. Regeneration, Oasis, Conservator, cards like Dancing Scimitar and Hurloon Minotaur with higher defenses than power, and so forth. And yet, there are no walls. It doesn’t want to play too much defense.

With a well-rounded card selection, including Fireball, Lightning Bolt, and Shatter, it intends to go the long game, and it is one of the better prepared decks out there. Now let’s help it out a bit more.

I pull Eternal Warriors and The Brutes, freeing up six card slots. I’m not sure what Eternal Warrior is doing here.

I add two Pyrotechnics. These are great at generating card advantage and help in the long game.

I add a second Shivan.

Two Ydwen Efreets are added. They are 3/6 attackers for RRR and can block sometimes.

A third Bolt is added.

I then pull two Gray Ogre for two Cave People. Good on defense, can swing like a Gray Ogre on offense, and can give a creature mountainwalk.
The result is a nice little deck with some strong long game possibilities."

I can only applaud Abe´s job here. Well done.

Modified Troll Shaman deck:
.164 22 Mountain
.528 2 Strip Mine
.445 2 Oasis
.145 3 Lightning Bolt
.42 2 Conservator
.84 3 Fireball
.235 4 Stone Giant
.110 4 Hill Giant
.261 4 Uthden Troll
.115 2 Hurloon Minotaur
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.752 2 Pyrotechnics
.465 2 Ydwen Efreet
.306 2 Cave People

.vNone
.223 2 Shatter
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.vBlack
.223 2 Shatter
.246 1 Throne of Bone
.vBlue
.223 1 Shatter
.199 1 Red Elemental Blast
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.vGreen
.223 2 Shatter
.288 1 Wooden Sphere
.vRed
.26 1 Burrowing
.223 1 Shatter
.224 1 Shivan Dragon
.vWhite
.128 1 Ivory Cup
.238 1 Sunglasses of Urza
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia

Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Astral Visionary

Tusk Guardian
Deck file: 0414.dck
Plays: Green and White
Life: 10/12/14/16
Frequent advantage: Timber Wolves
Frequent special reward: Ivory Tower

Original Tusk Guardian deck:
.91 12 Forest
.188 12 Plains
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.97 4 Giant Growth
.112 4 Holy Strength
.409 2 Desert Twister
.277 4 War Mammoth
.213 3 Savannah Lions
.620 2 Elder Land Wurm
.826 3 Tundra Wolves
.247 3 Timber Wolves
.89 2 Force of Nature
.616 2 Divine Transformation
.485 2 Colossus of Sardia
.14 1 Berserk

"As you can see, the original deck rocked a lot of animals, plus War Mammoths. There are no intelligent creatures here, like Elvish Archers or Benalish Hero. This should be an easy fix.

I began my changes by cutting 2 Colossus, 2 Force of Nature for 4 War Elephant. I also added dual lands and Elephant Graveyards. I also swapped the Elder Land Wurms for basic Craw Wurms. Both are wurms, but the Craw Wurm is much better for this deck, which needs to attack."


I do not like removing all the four biggest creatures. That will greatly lower the knockout threat of Berserk + huge creature. Like the Summoner, this deck sometimes manages a turn 4-5 Force of Nature, which can be scary. I´d like to keep it that way, and I am also keeping one Colossus. That leaves me less room for the slightly smaller creatures, so I add only one Craw Wurm and two War Elephants.

Modified Tusk Guardian deck:
.91 9 Forest
.188 9 Plains
.212 4 Savannah
.414 2 Elephant Graveyard
.15 4 Birds of Paradise
.97 4 Giant Growth
.112 4 Holy Strength
.616 2 Divine Transformation
.409 2 Desert Twister
.213 3 Savannah Lions
.826 3 Tundra Wolves
.247 3 Timber Wolves
.277 4 War Mammoth
.463 2 War Elephant
.49 1 Craw Wurm
.89 2 Force of Nature
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.14 1 Berserk

Test Gauntlet result: Won 1 duel, then lost to Necromancer

Undead Knight
Deck file: 0016.dck
Plays: Black
Life: 6/8/10/12
Frequent advantage: 'First Strike', which means that the Undead Knight gets first move AND draws an 8th card during the first move.
Frequent special reward: 'First Strike' in the next duel (although the game now calls it 'First Move').

Original Undead Knight deck:
.239 22 Swamp
.113 3 Howl from Beyond
.259 3 Unholy Strength
.8 4 Bad Moon
.419 2 Flying Carpet
.16 4 Black Knight
.70 2 Drudge Skeletons
.214 2 Scathe Zombies
.93 2 Frozen Shade
.81 2 Fear
.795 2 Spirit Shackle
.719 2 Lost Soul
.413 3 El-Hajjaj
.365 2 Marsh Gas
.174 2 Nightmare

.vNone
.242 3 Terror
.vBlack
.24 3 Bog Wraith
.vBlue
.242 3 Terror
.vGreen
.3 3 Animate Dead
.vRed
.225 3 Simulacrum
.vWhite
.930 2 Brass Man
.176 1 Obsianus Golem

"You knew this deck was going to be here. Weenies and Bad Moons play well together. What you may not have expected is the accompanying cards. Some are not good.

Obsianus Golem? Marsh Gas? These are not great additions. The basic concept is undead and knights. So, let’s push that theme.

-1 Golem
-2 Flying Carpet
-2 Marsh Gas
+4 Cyclopean Mummy
+1 Lost Soul

The Mummies are great additions because they are both undead and a two powered, two drop. That makes them fit very well in the aggro Bad Moon deck. This would be a great deck for Dark Ritual, but so many other Black decks run them, I need a few that don’t.

I’m not a fan of cards like Scathe Zombies in this deck. For example, I’d rather run the 2/1 swampwalk Lost Soul over the 2/2 ability-less Zombies. However, they fit the theme, so I don’t want to push too much.

The problem is that I cannot simply print the best Mono-Black Aggro decklist available. That would be something like this:

Best Mono-Black Aggro Deck I Can Come Up With for Shandalar
22 Swamp
4 Bad Moon
4 Unholy Strength
4 Dark Ritual
4 Black Knight
4 Cyclopean Mummy
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Erg Raiders
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 Mox Jet
1 Black Lotus
2 Stone-Throwing Devils
4 Hasran Ogress

Or perhaps it would be something similar. Anyway, I cannot build that deck. I have to stick with this one. Themed – Undead, Knight, Aggro. No Erg Raiders, no Devils, and no Ogresses.

-2 Fear
+2 Hypnotic Specter

If Shades count as undead, then Specters should too.

-3 El-Hajjaj
+2 Walking Dead
+1 Unholy Strength

El-Hajjaj doesn’t meet the theme. It might be good in a deck with Bad Moon and Unholy Strength and Howl from Beyond, but it is not on theme."

My original decklist didn´t have an Obsi Golem in the maindeck - I had a third Terror instead. I still want to keep that around, so I have to pull one card from Abe´s modified deck. I chose a Lost Soul.

Sideboard modification: I have added 1-2 Terror to all sideboards that didn´t have it (except against Black, of course). I left one Brass Man against White. I assume it´s a defense against the dreaded White Knight.

Modified Undead Knight deck:
.239 22 Swamp
.113 3 Howl from Beyond
.259 4 Unholy Strength
.8 4 Bad Moon
.16 4 Black Knight
.70 2 Drudge Skeletons
.214 2 Scathe Zombies
.93 2 Frozen Shade
.795 2 Spirit Shackle
.719 2 Lost Soul
.174 2 Nightmare
.606 4 Cyclopean Mummy
.117 2 Hypnotic Specter
.839 2 Walking Dead

.vNone
.242 3 Terror
.vBlack
.24 3 Bog Wraith
.vBlue
.242 3 Terror
.vGreen
.242 2 Terror
.3 1 Animate Dead
.vRed
.242 2 Terror
.225 1 Simulacrum
.vWhite
.242 1 Terror
.930 1 Brass Man
.176 1 Obsianus Golem

Test Gauntlet result: Lost 1st duel to High Priest

Vampire Lord
Deck file: 0220.dck
Plays: Black
Life: 12/14/16/18
Frequent advantage: Vampire Bats
Frequent special reward: Life status carried over to the next duel (ouch!)

Original Vampire Lord deck:
.239 22 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.157 3 Mana Vault
.3 4 Animate Dead
.280 4 Weakness
.220 4 Sengir Vampire
.460 4 Sorceress Queen
.589 4 Carrion Ants
.835 4 Vampire Bats
.382 2 Uncle Istvan
.242 2 Terror

.vNone
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vBlack
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vBlue
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vGreen
.16 3 Black Knight
.vRed
.287 3 Winter Orb
.vWhite
.16 3 Black Knight

"The Vampire Lord is one of three opponents with a similar theme (the others are Arch Angel and Elementalist). The goal is to drop a five mana creature on turn 2 with Mana Vault (and in this case, turn three with Dark Ritual).

The goal is to power out a Vampire, and then ride it to victory. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things getting in the way of that.
For example, what is the Howling Mine doing here? This deck does not feature Icy Manipulator or Island Sanctuary. It does not have Mana Flare or a bunch of mana from another source to play all of its cards drawn. I’m not sure why there are Howling Mines in here at all.

It’s very difficult to figure out where to take this deck. I like the Vampires, Mana Vaults, Rituals, Bats, Terrors and Animate Deads. Each of those cards fits the theme of Vampires. How far do we continue the theme?

I am not a fan of Carrion Ants over Frozen Shade. I suspect they are in here to use Mana Vault over. The problem is that the AI almost never untaps the Vault, so it doesn’t get used later. Therefore, the mana in it is not reliably used. If I add Frozen Shades instead, that would not be a mistake.

Here are the cards I question – Sorceress Queen, Carrion Ants, Uncle Istvan, Weakness, Howling Mine.

Maybe they kept Howling Mine because of its flavor (Howling?). Let’s push flavor in this modification.

-4 Carrion Ants
+2 Howl from Beyond
+2 Drain Life

Drain Life like a Vampire, rar!

-4 Sorceress Queen
+4 Will-o’-the-Wisp

One of the forms a vampire can take is that of gas or moonlight, hence the Wisp.

-4 Weakness
+2 Terror
+1 Mana Vault
+1 Drain Life

This is just a chance to shore up the theme."


Nice changes overall, but I do not buy taking out all the Queens. They are there partly to make huge creatures smaller so the Vampires can feed. So I only bring in two Wisps.

Modified Vampire Lord deck:
.239 22 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.157 4 Mana Vault
.3 4 Animate Dead
.220 4 Sengir Vampire
.460 2 Sorceress Queen
.835 4 Vampire Bats
.382 2 Uncle Istvan
.242 4 Terror
.113 2 Howl from Beyond
.68 3 Drain Life
.286 2 Will-O'-The-Wisp

.vNone
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vBlack
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vBlue
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vGreen
.114 3 Howling Mine
.vRed
.287 2 Winter Orb
.114 1 Howling Mine
.vWhite
.16 3 Black Knight

Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Winged Stallion

War Mage (Red henchman)
Deck file: 0229.dck
Plays: Red
Life: (11/13/15/17)+X (Life increases over the course of the game. I´ve seen him with as much as 27 life)
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: Never gives any reward at all

Burn, burn, burn...

Original War Mage deck:
.164 23 Mountain
.157 4 Mana Vault
.318 2 Fellwar Stone
.145 4 Lightning Bolt
.84 4 Fireball
.75 4 Earthquake
.229 2 Smoke
.295 4 Ball Lightning
.65 4 Disintegrate
.155 4 Mana Flare
.396 2 Aladdin's Ring

.vNone
.490 3 Detonate
.vBlack
.490 3 Detonate
.vBlue
.199 1 Red Elemental Blast
.490 2 Detonate
.vGreen
.490 3 Detonate
.vRed
.490 3 Detonate
.vWhite
.29 1 Celestial Prism
.490 2 Detonate

"Each color has a henchman that is supposed to be their most powerful. These guys will come at you a bit later in the game and they won’t even play for ante. The Red servant is the War Mage, and this is the highest ranked mono-Red deck, since the Red Archmage is playing other colors.

Here is the original deck. As I mentioned before, there are other decks that pack Mana Flare, and this is one. With Fellwar Stone, Mana Flare and Mana Vault, this deck has a whopping 35 cards that make mana or increase your mana. After that, it’s just X spell, X spell, X spell, and Bolts, with some Ball Lighting, Smoke and Aladdin’s Rings for backup.

I like this deck, but it is just a bit too weak, and I think it needs some massaging.

This deck does have some questions. For example, why is Fellwar Stone included in the deck? Why is Wall of Stone in the deck when Wall of Fire would be better, allowing to mana sink extra red Mana?

I pull 2 Wall of Stone for 2 Wall of Fire. There are not too many creatures that the Wall of Stone will stop but will kill the Wall of Fire – Craw Wurm, Personal Incarnation, Fire Elemental, that’s pretty much it. I mean, you won’t be swinging into Elder Land Wurms or having islands for Sea Serpents. No one currently runs Juzam Djinn in their deck (which will change later). Also, the Wall of Stone will survive a bigger Earthquake, but again, I think this deck would prefer a regular outlet for extra mana than a bigger defense wall.

I yank the Fellwar Stones for a Wheel of Fortune and a Pyrotechnics."


I do not know where Abe gets the Walls of Stone from. In my experience, the only creature this deck has ever had is Ball Lightning. Instead of the Walls, my deck list has two additional Detonate (against most colours).

I make one modification to all the sideboards: I yank one Detonate and add an Orcish Catapult from the Astral set:

Orcish Catapult
XRR
Instant
Randomly distribute X 0/-1 counters among a random number of random taget creatures.

A (pretty much) creatureless deck with lots of mana has to be a great place for this card, eh? Even when you do not have enough mana to kill a huge creature, you can probably weaken it enough so you can kill it on the next turn, when it´s smaller.

(BTW, all of the Astal cards now each have at least one place in my Shandalar decks (Kiska-Ra has Pandora´s Box as starting advantage so often that I almost see it as part of his deck...), except for Power Struggle, but I get to experience enough of that in the 1-2 dungeons it´s always in, thankyouverymuch!)

Sunglasses still pwn Celestial Prism in red vWhite sideboards, so that´s an obvious fix for the red henchman. Geez, even the lowly Sorceress understood this from the beginning...

Modified War Mage deck:
.164 23 Mountain
.157 4 Mana Vault
.145 4 Lightning Bolt
.84 4 Fireball
.75 4 Earthquake
.229 2 Smoke
.295 4 Ball Lightning
.65 4 Disintegrate
.155 4 Mana Flare
.396 2 Aladdin's Ring
.282 1 Wheel of Fortune
.752 1 Pyrotechnics

.vNone
.490 2 Detonate
.869 1 Orcish Catapult
.vBlack
.490 2 Detonate
.869 1 Orcish Catapult
.vBlue
.199 1 Red Elemental Blast
.490 1 Detonate
.869 1 Orcish Catapult
.vGreen
.490 2 Detonate
.869 1 Orcish Catapult
.vRed
.490 2 Detonate
.869 1 Orcish Catapult
.vWhite
.238 1 Sunglasses of Urza
.490 1 Detonate
.869 1 Orcish Catapult

Test Gauntlet result: Won 8 duels, then lost to Undead Knight

Warlock
Deck file: 0055.dck
Plays: Black
Life: 8/10/12/14
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: Dark Ritual

"One of the earliest foes you will face is this lowly servant of the Black Archmage. The Warlock features some obviously card combinations but the power of two of the cards included can kill you, even though it is supposed to be a chump deck. Let’s take a look."

Original Warlock deck
.239 23 Swamp
.55 4 Dark Ritual
.68 4 Drain Life
.113 4 Howl from Beyond
.117 4 Hypnotic Specter
.413 4 El-Hajjaj
.742 4 Pit Scorpion
.532 4 Tawnos' Wand
.93 2 Frozen Shade
.371 4 Murk Dwellers

.vNone
.242 1 Terror
.81 2 Fear
.vBlack
.246 3 Throne of Bone
.vBlue
.242 1 Terror
.81 2 Fear
.vGreen
.58 1 Deathgrip
.81 2 Fear
.vRed
.42 1 Conservator
.81 2 Fear
.vWhite
.100 1 Gloom
.81 2 Fear

"I really like this deck. It is a great early example of consistency in deck building with lots of 4x cards included. Among those are a play set of Dark Ritual and the ultimate Dark Ritual creature of all time, Hypnotic Specter. That can simply end games.

The theme of this deck is simple. It wants to play creatures that have 2 or less power, and then use Tawnos’s Wand to make them unblockable. The deck is looking for creatures that have value when they hit, like Hypnotic Specter, which forces a random discard, or Pit Scorpion which gives a poison counter. El-Hajjaj will give you life. Murk Dwellers will become a 4/2. Frozen Shade can be pumped and Howl from Beyond makes any creature big post-Wand.

Then the deck finishes with 3 Terror and 4 Drain Life. It is a very elegant deck. You know what it wants to do. It is one of the better examples from the game because the concept isn’t overpowering, but the execution is very modern.

I really respect it. It’s not running anything clunky, like Carrion Ants, which we could be easily fixed. There are no Throne of Bones or anything cluttering up the deck. There are even enough lands.

The deck is so good, in fact, that there is no modification that can be made. I mean, you could add Demonic Tutor and Mox Jet, but not at this level of deck. There are not any major cards to add from the expansions. Therefore, there will be no modified Warlock deck, just an updated one."

I agree with that. This deck does not need any fixing. Note that Abe talks about 3 Terrors, where I only have one in some of the sideboards. I like the Fear cards, so I am leaving them in.

Test Gauntlet result: Won 2 duels, then lost to Prismat.

Whim - Blue Dragon
Deck file: 0991.dck
Plays: Blue, Black and White
Life: 18/20/22/24
Frequent advantage: None in particular
Frequent special reward: Power Struggle

Original Whim deck:
.126 7 Island
.188 6 Plains
.239 6 Swamp
.166 1 Mox Jet
.167 1 Mox Pearl
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.17 1 Black Lotus
.195 4 Psychic Venom
.69 2 Drain Power
.256 2 Twiddle
.191 4 Power Sink
.209 4 Royal Assassin
.227 2 Siren's Call
.388 2 Word of Binding
.159 2 Meekstone
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.221 2 Serra Angel
.525 2 Shapeshifter
.560 1 Alabaster Potion
.485 2 Colossus of Sardia
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.699 2 Kismet
.136 1 Kormus Bell
.864 1 Whimsy

This enemy´s deck is centered around tapping, and punishes tapping and tapped permanents. Whim uses Meekstone and Kismet to make life hard for decks with big creatures, and the Kismet + Royal Assassin combo has obvious power. Like some other blue foes, he has the Psychic Venom + Power Sink combo.

Other than the obvious land fix, I make one small but significant change:

-1 Twiddle
-1 Word of Binding
+2 Icy Manipulator

Icy Manipulator is more versatile than WoB, and more consistent than Twiddle. Having a Manipulator out in combo with Psychic Venom or Royal Assassin is bad news for the opponent.

The other cards still have their uses (Twiddle is cheap and versatile, and WoB can clear the way for a killing multi-attack) which is why I am not removing them completely.

Modified Whim deck:
.126 3 Island
.188 2 Plains
.239 2 Swamp
.254 4 Tundra
.258 4 Underground Sea
.216 4 Scrubland
.166 1 Mox Jet
.167 1 Mox Pearl
.169 1 Mox Sapphire
.17 1 Black Lotus
.195 4 Psychic Venom
.69 2 Drain Power
.256 1 Twiddle
.191 4 Power Sink
.209 4 Royal Assassin
.227 2 Siren's Call
.388 1 Word of Binding
.159 2 Meekstone
.119 2 Icy Manipulator
.550 4 Yotian Soldier
.221 2 Serra Angel
.525 2 Shapeshifter
.560 1 Alabaster Potion
.485 1 Colossus of Sardia
.589 2 Carrion Ants
.699 2 Kismet
.136 1 Kormus Bell
.864 1 Whimsy

Test Gauntlet result: Lost 1st duel to Ape Lord (damn, that monkey has indeed ended several runs...)

Winged Stallion
Deck file: 0127.dck
Plays: White and Blue
Life: 14/16/18/20
Frequent advantage: Mesa Pegasus
Frequent special reward: TELEPORTED (just like when you use Leap of Fate - so it can be good or bad, depending on where you had planned to go next)

Original Winged Stallion deck
.188 12 Plains
.126 12 Island
.114 3 Howling Mine
.127 3 Island Sanctuary
.161 4 Mesa Pegasus
.183 2 Phantasmal Forces
.221 2 Serra Angel
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.153 4 Magical Hack
.134 2 Karma
.144 2 Lifetap
.749 4 Psionic Entity
.111 3 Holy Armor
.112 3 Holy Strength
.782 2 Segovian Leviathan
.64 1 Disenchant

.vNone
.45 1 Conversion
.48 2 Counterspell
.vBlack
.48 3 Counterspell
.vBlue
.48 3 Counterspell
.vGreen
.48 3 Counterspell
.vRed
.45 2 Conversion
.48 1 Counterspell
.vWhite
.48 3 Counterspell

"Karma, Magical Hack, Lifetap, Segovian Leviathan – this deck obviously is playing with Magical Hack. Then Island Sanctuary and Howling Mine to give you a way of preventing attack. It’s a little weird, but we can manage.

The first thing I want to do, other than dropping in Tundra, is to add Moat. Moat does what this deck wants to do, and then we can pull the handful of ground creature to make way. The result would be a much more streamlined and stronger deck, but there is a problem.

I’ve read on other sites that the AI refuses to play Moat. They will add Moat to decks with no non-flyers, and it won’t play it. They’ll have no creatures at all, and it won’t play it. The AI refuses to play Moat, so there’s no sense going in that direction.

Why is Psionic Entity in this deck? It’s not a tim deck, it’s not a deck that is concepted as a psychic or mind deck. What’s it doing in here, besides sucking? Mesa Pegasus is in here because it’s the Winged Stallion deck, so I get that. But the Entity is nothing. I suppose the deck wants to play Holy Strength or Holy Armor on the Entity and then tim away, but that is sucktastic.

-4 Psionic Entity
+2 Angry Mob
+1 Disenchant
+1 Ivory Tower

The Angry Mob actually fits the theme. The Tower is great in this Howling Mine laden deck. The extra Disenchant is nice too.

-1 Holy Strength
-1 Holy Armor
+2 Swords to Plowshares

This is for obvious reasons. Now the deck looks much better."

Abe´s original list does not have any Counterspells, and has 62 cards in total. One Conversion in the maindeck. My version has 64 cards, and both the mentioned spells in the sideboards. I tinkered a little with the sideboards, so all versions except vBlue and vWhite have at least one Conversion.

Modified Winged Stallion deck:
.188 10 Plains
.126 10 Island
.254 4 Tundra
.114 3 Howling Mine
.127 3 Island Sanctuary
.161 4 Mesa Pegasus
.183 2 Phantasmal Forces
.221 2 Serra Angel
.931 2 Dancing Scimitar
.153 4 Magical Hack
.134 2 Karma
.144 2 Lifetap
.111 2 Holy Armor
.112 2 Holy Strength
.782 2 Segovian Leviathan
.64 2 Disenchant
.293 2 Angry Mob
.503 1 Ivory Tower
.240 2 Swords to Plowshares

.vNone
.45 1 Conversion
.48 2 Counterspell
.vBlack
.45 1 Conversion
.48 2 Counterspell
.vBlue
.48 3 Counterspell
.vGreen
.45 1 Conversion
.48 2 Counterspell
.vRed
.45 2 Conversion
.48 1 Counterspell
.vWhite
.48 3 Counterspell

Test Gauntlet result: Lost 1st duel to Centaur Shaman

Witch
Deck file: 0056.dck
Plays: Black
Life: 4/6/8/10
Frequent advantage: Will-o'-the-Wisp
Frequent special reward: Extra gold
Special ability: Can summon a Warlock or an Undead Knight (so you get to fight one of those guys instead of the Witch)

Original Witch deck:
.239 23 Swamp
.246 3 Throne of Bone
.173 4 Nevinyrral's Disk
.268 2 Wall of Bone
.70 4 Drudge Skeletons
.286 4 Will-O-The-Wisp
.661 2 Greed
.483 3 Clay Statue
.376 3 Diabolic Machine
.259 4 Unholy Strength
.55 2 Dark Ritual
.215 3 Scavenging Ghoul
.68 2 Drain Life

.vNone
.280 3 Weakness
.vBlack
.280 3 Weakness
.vBlue
.280 3 Weakness
.vGreen
.280 3 Weakness
.vRed
.280 3 Weakness
.vWhite
.100 1 Gloom
.280 2 Weakness

"Another of the early foes you will face also runs a powerful card that can easily ruin you. This makes facing the early Black foes much more dangerous than the other colors.

Like the Warlock, the Witch’s deck is very simple. It wants to play regenerators, and then it wants to drop Nevinyrral’s Disk. Once it does that, it wants to clear the board, regenerate its creatures, and then beat you down.

Unlike the Warlock deck, however, this deck needs some help. Greed sucks in his deck, as does Unholy Strength and Throne of Bone.

This deck needs a focusing on its primary goal. Let’s do that.

-4 Unholy Strength
+4 Walking Dead

Adding these regenerators to the deck makes it much stronger.

-2 Greed
+2 Swamp

This deck needs some serious mana, and mana problems are the bane of its existence. It needs 25 lands at least. Greeds are bad because the AI doesn’t use them well, and they die to the Disk. That ends up being double bad.

-3 Weakness
+1 Scavenging Ghoul
+1 Clay Statue
+1 Swamp

Again, this is an attempt to strengthen the deck. Weakness is good versus opposing regenerators, but you should be able to out flank them post-Disk. The Ghouls are virtual essentials because they can regenerate mana free.

I’d like to remove the Thrones. All of the colors have a low powered deck with the lucky charm for that color, but in this deck, they are particularly poor in form. However, there really isn’t a better option for where to put them, so I am leaving them in.

I would add Khabal Ghoul if I thought the computer would play it right (wait until post-Disk, drop it, make a 4/4, 5/5, or some such.) Instead, I’ll wait and include Khabal Ghoul for a different deck (jiansonz' comment: the Nether Fiend deck)."


I do not agree with the removal of the Unholy Strength cards. Nevinyrral´s Disk is just one way of winning. Beefed up early regenerators is another. The Witch has 10 life at most, and an early player is also in that neighbourhood. Many of the duels against Witches are over long before any Disk has been activated. Unholy Strength can give her some quick wins against unprepared players. They are also good for post-Disk beating.

I pull out a Swamp, a Walking Dead, a Ghoul and a Machine.

Modified Witch deck:
.239 25 Swamp
.173 4 Nevinyrral's Disk
.268 2 Wall of Bone
.70 4 Drudge Skeletons
.286 4 Will-o'-the-Wisp
.483 4 Clay Statue
.376 2 Diabolic Machine
.55 2 Dark Ritual
.215 3 Scavenging Ghoul
.68 2 Drain Life
.246 3 Throne of Bone
.259 4 Unholy Strength

.vNone
.839 3 Walking Dead
.vBlack
.839 3 Walking Dead
.vBlue
.839 3 Walking Dead
.vGreen
.839 3 Walking Dead
.vRed
.839 3 Walking Dead
.vWhite
.100 1 Gloom
.839 2 Walking Dead

Test Gauntlet result: Won 3 duels, then lost to Sedge Beast

So, that brings us to the end of the Shandalar Enemy Decks Overhaul Tour. I hope you enjoyed it.

New versions of the files in the first post have been uploaded, and the links have been edited. I have also added my Playdeck folder, so you can playtest your own decks in my updated Shandalar decks environment - with the difference that there will be no advantages, all enemies have 20 life and they use the generic (and slightly boring) vNone sideboard version.


I sure enjoyed writing this, and during this project, I have now completed a 2nd Gauntlet tour with the updated decks. After writing a deck post, I treated myself to the reward of playing a Gauntlet with it. Here are the Top 5 decks this time around:

Arch Angel: Won 32(!) duels, then lost to Astral Visionary
Morgane - the Great Druid: Won 23 duels, then lost to Goblin Warlord
Crusader: Won 16 duels, then lost to Lord of Fate
Kzzy´n - the Dragon Lord: Won 16 duels, then lost to Arch Angel
Undead Knight: Won 16 duels, then lost to Arch Angel

Thanks jiansonz! This is awesome, NTM stickied.

Thanks for the kind words.

As I hinted at in some posts, comments and suggestions about the decks will be much appreciated. Some changes you thought were especially cool, or some that weren´t good? Some expansion card that would be perfect that I have simply overlooked? Etc.


I´ve played another Shandalar campaign now, taking better notes on enemy special advantages and rewards. I have updated my deck posts with what I now know, and I will continue to do so.

Some new things I found out:

- Sorcerer can give you a duplicate card of your choice. That makes it 5 enemies that I know can do this (the others being Conjurer, Mind Stealer, Elementalist and Shapeshifter).

- Conjurer apparently also has the "Why don´t you try this deck!" ability. I knew from before that the High Priest can do it. I think it´s fun when this happens.

Some cards are better in Shandalar than in the dueling section, and some are worse. In the current version of Shandalar, if you summon a lone Zombie Master, it already has Swampwalk and B:Regenerate. The Swampwalk works, but the Regeneration does not work.
It´s the same with Lord of Atlantis and Goblin King - they are now 3/3 and landwalking even when alone.

Khabal Ghoul apparently counts as a zombie, so it gets a boost if the same player has a Zombie Master out. Again, the Swampwalk works, but not the Regeneration.

Old Man of the Sea is worse than in the dueling section. In Shandalar, his power must be greater than that of the creature he wants to gain control over. In the dueling scetion, it only need to be equal to it. Big difference.

Shandalar has an older rule when it comes to blocking. Blockers that tap before damage is dealt do not deal damage in Shandalar, but they do in the dueling section. So if you block a Black Knight with a Mishra´s Factory, and the Factory then pumps itself, it will actually kill the Knight in the dueling section, but they will both survive in Shandalar.