Cards N’Flux: Innistrad and Humans
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to a belated… okay seriously belated, edition of Cards n’Flux. I have been away for quite some time due to school and a few other things, but the good thing is I’m back in the States and will hopefully be able to start writing for you all once again. So, what topic have I decided to talk about on my return? Something I have not done in a long time. Today we are going to be talking decks and how you can approach a concept or strategy in different ways.
Humans on the plane of Innistrad fight day and night against the forces of werewolves, vampires, and other creatures of the night. The worst part is even after they live their life to the fullest and survive the trials of life, they may not even gain the sleep they deserve being forced to rise to due some necromancer’s bidding. As such, the Humans of Innistrad have learned to strike first, fight hard, and not to relent until the enemy is defeated. This type of strategy is best exemplified in Champion of the Parish. Coming onto the battlefield as 1/1, for every human you add to the field he gains a +1/+1 counter. This means he can become a big threat rather quickly if every turn you play a human. He is definitely a good starting card for our human deck.
Champion of the Parish is a good card, but it needs some help. If every turn you force yourself to play a human, then it will not be long before your hand is empty. We need to find a way to deal with this rather big problem otherwise we will just stifle ourselves in the later games. The good news is Innistrad has provided us with a pretty good card to solve this problem. Mentor of the Meek is a 2/2 that while on the field, if you play creature with 2 or less power if you pay one extra mana of any color, you can draw a card. Now, I’ll be the first to say I did not like this card. It slows you down and prevents you from bringing the pressure as constantly as you would want. However, after playing with the mentor, I know it is far more useful to have consistent card advantage than to always fueling my Champions. If you want to build a human deck, seriously consider this card.
Okay, we have an early threat, now we need some power. Well there are quite a few things we could use to fill this slot. If we wish to go mono-White we have Elite Inquistor who is a 2/2 with First Strike and Vigilance. He also has protection from Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies, but as we look at the current standard metagame, with its Solar Flares and Kessig Wolf Run decks, it does not look like those protections will be important. Another great card for mono-White is Mirran Crusader, the infamous 2/2 with double strike and protection from Green and Black. Mono-White can also justify using Honor of the Pure, but it does not have great synergy with Mentor of the Meek.
Now some of you are probably thinking, “But Corlando, mono-White is so last season. It what to have a bit more color in my fashionable human deck.” Alright, there are quite a few things you could do if you want to add something color to your decks. For example, let us say you want to throw some Red in your bland white deck making it a Red/White deck or Boros as it is sometimes called. There are quite a few cards you could take a look at. First card, of course, Stormblood Berserker. A 1/1 with Bloodthirst 2 that cannot be blocked except by two or more creatures, can anyone else say no brainer? Another fun card would be Curse of the Stalked Prey, a two mana enchantment which gives your creatures a +1/+1 counter if they deal combat damage to a player. Throw in some Proliferation spells like Volt Charge and Tezzert’s Gambit, for card draw, and you have the makings of a real fun deck.
Continuing on the Boros Humans deck idea, what other cards could we possibly throw in? Well there are plenty to put in this kind of aggressive deck. For example you can play Reckless Waif on turn 1, a 1/1 for only one Red mana. Now, if you have been following Innistrad talk at all, you will no doubt know that Reckless Waif is in fact a Werewolf meaning if you or your opponent go a turn without casting a spell, then she flips over and transforms into a 3/2. Now some people might not like the idea of having Werewolves in a Human centric deck. I for one can understand this desire to keep the deck pure human, but what happens if you play a Reckless Waif on turn 1, your opponent does nothing their first turn causing your Reckless Waif to flip into a 3/2, and with your second turn you play a Curse of Stalked Prey? You get a pretty fast clock for one mana. Plus, if we want to run some Champions in this deck, the thing to remember is Champion’s ability triggers when they enter play meaning there will be no consequences if they flip into werewolves.
With werewolves and humans on the mind, why don’t we switch over to another color and see what else we can build? Green has quite a few good humans in it, whether it’s the supporter human Acayan Pilgrim, a 1/1 that taps for white mana, or the Hamlet Captain, a two mana 2/2 that gives all attacking or blocking creatures +1/+1 as long as it blocks or attacks as well, there are several good creatures here. One of the greatest humans any Green/White deck could play would be Mayor Avabruck who gives all humans under his leadership +1/+1. Plus if he happens to flip into his Alpha Howlpack form, you will be getting free 3/3 tokens. However, one of the greatest advantages of going for a Green splash instead of Red is the advantage of Gavony Township. Gavony Township is one of the five power lands from Innistrad and allows you to spend your excess mana on giving all creatures you control a +1/+1 counter. This turns your little 1/1 Acaryan Pilgrim into a 2/2 and can quickly put your opponent in a really bad position. Combine this power with the power boosts from Hamlet Captain and Mayor of Avabruck and you can easily make an army out of three or four creatures.
Alright enough talk, let’s build some decks. First let’s look at a Monowhite version:
Innistrad White Weenie:
Creatures:
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Elite Inquisitor
4x Doomed Traveler
3x Mentor of the Meek
3x Hero of Bladehold
3x Fiend Hunter
3x Elite Vanguard
Enchantments:
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Angelic Destiny
3x Bonds of Faith
Lands:
21x Plains
This is pretty much straight forward. Put some early threats on the board and swing your heart out. Hero of Bladehold and Angelic Destiny are both really strong finishers in this kind of deck. However, one of the best cards is Bonds of Faith. Being able to either enchant one of your humans and give it +2/+2 or enchant one of your opponent’s creatures and Pacify it is just really awesome. With the White deck built, we can now move to our Boros Version:
Innistrad Boros:
Creatures:
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Stormblood Berserker
4x Reckless Waif
3x Gideon’s Avenger
3x Mirran Crusader
3x Hero of Oxid Ridge
3x Accorder Paladin
Enchantments:
4x Curse of Stalked Prey
3x Oblivion Ring
4x Volt Charge
3x Tezzeret’s Gambit
Lands:
4x Clifftop Retreat
9x Plains
9x Mountains
I just want to start by saying, I do not really know how good this deck could be. The potential is definitely there if you want to swing early and keep boosting your attacking creatures with more +1/+1 counters. The thing I love is the potential for Gideon’s Avenger to just get out of hand. If your opponent attacks once while he is on the field, you can just proliferate and make him a true threat without having to rely on your opponents to pump him. The same kind of fun can be had with Champion of the Parish. Turn 1 Champion, Turn 2 attack triggering blood thirst for your Stormblood Berserker, Turn 3 either Volt Charge their face or creature and swing for seven. Take a look at this deck, it might be a real fun way to swing hard, fast, and unrelentingly.
Our final deck for this edition is the Green/White Human deck:
Innistrad Militia:
Creatures:
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Mayor of Avabruck/ Howlpack Alpha
4x Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4x Hamlet Captain
4x Mirran Crusader
3x Hero of Bladehold
2x Mentor of the Meek
Spells:
3x Oblivion Ring
3x Bramblecrush
3x Hunter’s Insight
2x Overrun
2x Angelic Destiny
Lands:
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Ravorverge Thicket
3x Gavony Township
5x Plains
6x Forest
This deck can be a lot of fun. You have the potential to really ramp into some early game threats. Think about it, turn two Mirran Crusader or Mentor of the Meek followed by a turn 3 Hero of Bladehold or Angelic Destiny. Plus, if you manage to get a small army out thanks to all the low casting costs, you can blow your opponent out by rumbling over them with an Overrun. The best part is, if you find yourself without a hand for some reason, you can simply use your otherwise wasted mana activating Gavony Township, creating even bigger threats for your opponent. I highly recommend this deck if you like decks that make even the little guys something that can kill your opponent.
Well that is what I call a successful day at the workbench. Three possible decks we could use to fight the horrors of Innistrad with our tenacious humans. If any of you happen to have a suggestion for a deck or want to submit a deck, feel free to do so below right after you get done with the Closing Questions Section:
1. What is your opinion of Champion of the Parish? Good, bad, or far too much like allies?
2. Which one of these decks above do you like the most and why?
3. Did you like this type of article and would you like to read more of these in the future?
Thank you all once again for being patient with me over the several weeks I have been away. Life seems to be doing all it can to stifle my writer’s spirit, but I will fight on forever as I hope you all do. And as you all fight on through the difficulties and trials of life, I hope you all remember, “Etherium is Limited. Innovation is not.” This is Corlando signing out.