Final Golgari Thoughts

CDW

When decay meets girl.

        Having taken a little hiatus and played in the Montana State TCG tournament in Billings, we are back in the saddle.   A post will be written up concerning the games and the major decks types played there.  But today, we'll be wrapping up our Golgari based brew, before moving on to new Magic horizons.  

       The honest truth about the original brew was the deck performed poorly during play testing.  It was caught between being an aggro and midrange deck and as a result was unable to do either efficiently.  The direction we will be taking the deck today will be toward aggro.  

Golgari Evolution 

Creatures:29

Experiment Onex4

Elvish Mysticx4

Kalonian Tuskerx4
Scavenging Oozex2

Lolteth Trollx4

Renegade Krasisx4

Boon Satyrx4

Polukranosx3

Instants:10

Golgari Charmx4

Abrupt Decayx3

Putrefyx3

Lands:21

Overgrown Tombx4

Golgari Guildgatex3

Forestsx10

Swampsx4

        Analysis:

        

        Ahhh, that already feels better.   Here we have a much faster and leaner version of Golgari aggro.  Unfortunately we had to remove Reaper of the Wilds since she does not lend herself to the deck's new game plan.  We've also lost Nylea, god of the Hunt and Desecration Demon from the deck for the same reason.  So why does Polukranos  get the pass?  First he's not board dependent like Nylea, who forced the old deck version to overextend into mass removal against control or decks armed with a plethora of kill spells. He also has the ability to get huge mid to late game and act as another kill spell with his monstrous ability.  He acts as a better form of pressure for a green aggro deck than Desecration Demon, due to the deck's heavy green mana base and unlike the demon he is not as reliant on your opponent's decision making.   His final benefit is the ability to easily evolve any Renegade Krasises that have already been evolved once.

        Our color combination gains us access to excellent aggro creatures, such as Experiment One, Kalonian Tusker and Lotleth Troll.  Boon Satyr is able to dodge mass removal and can be a potent late game combat trick.  Scavenging Ooze has replaced Varolz, the Scar-Striped due to its great synergy with the Lotleth Troll, turning discarded or killed creatures into a resource.   Our rogue creature choice is the Renegade Krasis.  This three drop has a sort of "lord" effect when it evolves.  For those unfamiliar with the term "lord" in the context of magic, it is a creature whose presence buffs the rest of your creatures.  The Krasis turns our effecient early creatures into a formidable team.

       While Golgari lack access to burn spells ,we're used to seeing in aggro decks, our non-creature spells are very potent.  Abrupt Decay and Putrefy are two very flexible removal options and golgari charm allows us to hit enchantments, remove small blockers and most importantly protect our creatures against mass removal.            

Final Thoughts:

          This more streamlined and focused version of Golgari feels very good.  One has to wonder if Kalonian Hydra or Dreg Mangler should be in the list.  I chose not to put them in because Kalonian Hydra may be hard to reliably cast in a deck with twenty-one lands and boon satyr is just plain better than Dreg Mangler. But play testing may prove otherwise.  Updates on this deck will be posted in the future for fellow Golgari lovers.  However for now we'll give the subject a rest and put the deck aside for a bit.  

       Also I would like to note GW Aggro took first at the Montana State Championship in Billings against a field featuring many midrange and dirty Esper Control decks.  Knowing Esper failed to take first warms my heart boys and girls and as usual good luck this coming FNM.