MTG Standard Naya Midrange-ish

[the3rdH0kage]

I love how my decks are never a set thing. They are always [insert theme] then playstyle then add -ish. But anyway decided to make a Naya Midrang-ish deck. I know I run to many singletons, but I just don't have copies. and this is only a 1st draft, I plan on making a final one soon. Thinking of Avacyn or Giselas because I can mana ramp a little, but I'm making that better also.

Anyway enough stalling. Here is the link.

http://www.mtgmintcard.com/mtg_deck...d.php?deck_num=13765&chart=Color#.URCANx3LRIE

 

[Kamotz]

Here's my initial impression: you're doing a lot of different things at once, and it's hurting you. You have Midrange elements, Aggro elements, and then some more random stuff. You have a lot of inconsistencies in terms of your card-base. Are you going Predator Ooze aggro? Naya Humans? Naya Weenies? Right now you're actually running a majority of Aggro-type creatures. The only things that aren't really aggro are the Foundry Champion, Aurelia, and Collective Blessing. I mean...you can definitely go Naya Aggro. A human variant just won 1st at a SCG Standard Open.

It depends really on what you want to do and how...meticulously you want to do it. I say "meticulous" because "competitive" is too...elitist, I think. You can make a good deck without planning for it to win a PTQ or a GP and fall into netdecking territory. You can make something original and good. It just needs to be well-planned and well thought-out.

The real issue, however, is your mana base. My Naya deck goes all-out with the nonbasics. 9 Shocklands and 5 Taplands (along with 2 Caverns, 2 Kessig Wolf Run, and 2 Slayers' Stronghold)...and only 3 basics...and even with that I still sometimes struggle to hit the right color combinations without Farseek assistance.

Artifacts: neither is very good. No need for them.

Green: Without a full suite of either Arbor Elf or Avacyn's Pilgrim, neither is very effective on their own. I prefer the Pilgrim overall just because it means you're always getting the extra mana and not just sometimes. Predator Ooze and Blessings of Nature don't quite seem like they fit here. Ooze is no doubt very good, but shines in decks built specifically for it like BG Aggro. Rancor is also a strong Aggro card, since it's essentially a cheap, reusable enchantment.

Multi: This is where your aggro-midrange decision seems most...unsure. You run a lot of cheap swarm-y creatures and 3 big things. It depends on which way you want to go, really, but I'd take the full set of Smiters over the Skyknights, and reconsider the Dryad Militant and Halberders for other more midrange-y creatures and spells. Selesnya Charm is very good, Aurelia is a Bomb. Not sure if Foundry Champ is good enough, but you can test him out. And Collective Blessing is actually better in a load-up and swarm strategy (just make sure you hold back mana for BOROS CHARM in case of a board-wipe). I'd cut Burning-Tree completely since there's nothing you have that actually uses the RG mana cost.

Red: This is pretty much straight-aggro except for Chandra and Thunderous Wrath (which was actually played in some RDW variants at the start of the season). Chandra is best in a spell-heavy build, which you don't have (The good Midrange Walkers in these colors now are Domri and either Garruk). And I'd prefer cheaper burn than Thunderous Wrath.

White: Not much to say, other than that Odric works well in a more aggro/swarm mentality build. Entreat is less good with cards like Sever the Bloodline, Detention Sphere, and Homing Lightning in the format, and Herald of War is only good if you have enough ways to get her out fast, keep her out, and take advantage of the reduced cost. Right now, the only creature's she's facilitating are Odric (by 2), Zealous (by 4--most efficient), Skyknight (by 1), and Aurelia (by 2)...none of which is that impressive.

It looks like you're trying to actually build Naya Aggro. Which is certainly doable. Without building the deck for you, I'd suggest looking into cards like Firemane Avenger, Ghor-Clan Rampager, Boros Charm, Boros Reckoner, and Boros Elite. Those work very nicely.

 

[the3rdH0kage]

I'm trying to get a set of Pilgrims, I know I probably won't get the shocks. But I am getting a sunpetal soon. I have already edited this deck and I am thinking if I can get a set of Pilgrim then I'll keep Auerlia in. I should be able to get her out quick. and I have already edited a bit. I'll edit later and update link.

 

[Kamotz]

It's not really the Pilgrims and Aurelia that give me pause. It's the fact that you're trying to play a midrange game with a mostly-aggro build.

 

[ven?]

I mainly do pokemon tcg competitive play (and some Friday night magic on the side, just for fun), but alot of what he says makes sense consistency wise, playing cards like Arbor Elf and Avacyn's Pilgrim (which I'd have to go for pilgrim because of my love for my murder deck and I only play white and black so green is pointless for me), I'd have to say playing about 2-3 of that one single card helps alot with stuff like draw consistency of getting that card more efficiently and so forth. At this point I would just have to say, consider one over the other aggro or not, because even if you'd like the option, one should always be played as a tech over the other instead of being played equally in any kind of deck because when you always go 50/50 I notice, doesn't matter what kind of deck you build flops compared to the one you made that specifically was made for aggro or midrange (idk what that is), also playing those one off techs with the midrange or aggro specific deck always catch's you're opponent off guard, and always making it unknown until the last possible moment is a great tactic I love to use when playing magic. So for instance with my deck I play zombie/angels, so for when people first off don't know my deck, I'll always play either only swamp or only plains, then last minute, 1 plain attack my opponent (he blocks with a ridiculous numbered monster) then divine verdict. So pick one, it'll help you out in the long run.

 

[Kamotz]

He can certainly play 4 Arbor Elf and 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim. That isn't the issue. In a deck without Farseeks, Shocklands, and Taplands, that might actually be a smarter play. He has the early-game set of midrange creatures and spells with cards like Loxodom Smiter, Avacyn's Pilgrim, and Arbor Elf (if the numbers were increased). The rest, however, falls quite closer to the Aggro side of things. You generally don't want a deck to try and do two things at once...and if you do, they need to do both of those things VERY well.

Naya is generally a creature-heavy set of colors, which means it can go either Aggro or Midrange very easily. In an Aggro context, it combines the speed and aggressiveness of RW Aggro with the explosiveness of RG Aggro and staying-power of WG Aggro. It's normally on the slower end of the Aggro spectrum, makes up for it with versatility and power.

When it comes to Midrange, it's all about surviving against Aggro and racing Control. It means you need bigger, more resilient creatures than Aggro can send out, and a faster clock than Control can handle. The strategic term used against an Aggro deck is "stabilize"--meaning the point when you're able to gain back enough life to put the game out of reach, or assemble enough of a board presence to put them on the defensive. That's why cards like Thragtusk, Loxodon Smiter, Centaur Healer, Huntmaster of the Fells, and Boros Reckoner are all very good against Aggro. They're either gaining you life, putting out extra blockers, are bigger than your opponents equivalent threats, or have abilities that make them reconsider attacking. Getting these creatures out quickly is where cards like Avacyn's Pilgrim, Arbor Elf, and Farseek come in.

You're not playing any (or enough) of those Naya Midrange staples, so that needs some work. The first thing I'd do is get the Centaur Healers, because they're commons, cheap, and gain you life. Loxodon Smiters are good too, and not all that expensive. Thragtusk is also dropping in price now. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the meta has learned to deal with him. At the same time, however, he's quite necessary against Aggro decks. The 5 life is very relevant.

Another staple is Restoration Angel...barring that, however, I think you might be able to make do with Cloudshift. It isn't as good, but you make do with what you can. Some cards that I've found useful are also Rhox Faithmender and Trostani.

 

[the3rdH0kage]

I'll take these comments into some consideration when I rebuild this build lol. I built a R/B/W deck that I think I'll play for a few FNMs to test out and stuff. But when I do rebuild this it will Naya midrange with maybe a splash of black for some quick spells that have field presence.