Inpromptu Deckbuild #1: Gift of the Gods

So, I'm looking for a format which will properly frame the deck-builder's mindset into text form. As I've attempted before on this blog to frame my mindset, some decisions seem iffy even to me (and have even brought around changes to the decks - see my updated Wrath of Keranos build. So I'm shaking up the blog bag - I'm going to brew a deck right now, and transcribe my thought process to text.

For this deckbuild, I want to build around untapped power. Something that may be under-appreciated in standard, not quite as dominant as Master of Waves. For the locus of my deck-brew, I would like to present the epitome of Theros' untapped power - Gift of Immortality. When this card got spoiled people went nuts (I remember it well, it was my first spoiler season that I was a contributor on the MagicTCG subreddit for) but, in the wake of Esper, Mono-B and Mono-U decks, the Gift from the Gods did not see much use. So, wh
at could it use?

The first thing that comes to mind is 'What does this card synergise with'? My gut tells me enter the battlefield effects, so I'll work with that. After a quick look around the current standard format (No BNG just yet, patience) more or less any colour combination is amazing. Going Orzhov would allow the destructive Ashen Rider or more subtle Sin Collector, Azorius would allow Lavinia or just about any other detain creature there is. In white hybrids though, the cards I'm most excited to look at are Viashino Firstblade or Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, making me lean towards Boros or Selesnya. The Firstblade creates seemingly unrelenting aggro, but is janky with the Gift's effect; it would have to die in my main phase 1 in order to have its effect be of use. So, Trostani it is.

I have an idea, I have a theme. I'm pretty sure I want it standard - if not I'd have a few more ideas from standards past. But, keeping with Standard, what would we do? Trostani gives life gain and can populate, we could work off of that, but bearing that in mind, we want something to work with the Gift. What are our options?

It doesn't take long to find a fitting combo piece - Armada Wurm, Selesnya Battering Ram instantly springs to mind. Take time to think of all the interactions between these 3 pieces. An immortal wurm recurring indefinitely would create 10 toughness worth of life gain per recursion from Trostani, as well as providing a token which we can sink mana into to populate. The interactions are delicious.

Now that we have a combo core, my thoughts turn to the mana curve. Sets of 3, 4 and 6 CMC - hardly healthy. We need to quicken the curve, by adding in some weenies to stop our faces getting caved in before we can drop our combo. With the idea of constant big creatures hitting the board, I looked into the Simic mechanic, Evolve, for inspiration. Immediately I found Experiment One; renowned aggro beatstick and evolve outlet, he sees copious use in a lot of strategies involving big creatures as the front runner. Or shambler. Or however an ooze moves. Glorious.

Add in sets of each, and we're at 16 cards. Add in land (assumed 24, we aren't playing aggro - which could legitimately run less) and we're at 40. Boy, that went fast. But, we're not quite done yet. In case of spanners in the works- primarily Naturalize - I want to run Auramancer. In a deck so dependent on the combo of Gift of Immortality, losing even one would be a hefty loss to us. Hey, even slap a Gift onto the Auramancer - infinite recursion!

Next, getting to that 6 land as quickly as possible to drop our Gatecreeper Vine. Allows the grabbing of land on entry and - best of all - allows infinite grab with a Gift attached. Not that you'd necessarily want gatecreeper to have one, but it certainly breaks those land veins apart and thins our deck to find more land. He's not exactly the most durable fellow either - he's often killed early game, but is a valuable source of stall against weenies - even evolves Experiment One, whats not to love?
Wurm into play is a perogative. For this, taking note of the gaping hole at 2 CMC, I suggest

On the other hand, the deck's now at 48, and is all creatures. Lets see what spells can offer the Immortal Selesnya Engine. Immediately before looking anywhere I know i'll want Advent of the Wurm, which produces half an Armada Wurm. Not exactly Giftable, but will allow Trostani to do something while we twiddle our thumbs waiting on the big guy himself.

As much as I hate on it, artifact/enchantment hate is important, love it or hate it. I could go naturalize but while looking through cards Sundering Growth may be
helpful. This could be moved to the sideboard but at this point it may be useful. Populate is a godsend as well.

Speaking of enchantments to hate on, I have an idea. With Trostani providing us so much lifegain, why not supplement this constant stream of life gain with Angelic Accord? Token spawning providing life, which then provide tokens... that provide life. You get the picture. Props to synergy during sundering growth at this point, populating in your opponents turn would cause an angel to spawn at your opponent's end step too.

That makes 60 cards, but one last minute gem in the sorcery section catches my eye - Call of the Conclave. A 3/3 on turn 2 is nothing to sniff at - even less a 3/3 that can be populated. This is a kneejerk last addition into the mainboard, opting to lower the numbers on Trostani and Armada Wurm to 3 each, as the high CMC pieces are a nightmare if drawn in the early game; and Trostani, being legendary, has the disadvantage of only being allowed onto the board one at a time. Sundering Growth, being a situational addition, is reduced to a 2 of so it's less likely to be drawn when unneeded.

With the cards sorted, I look to tweak the mana base. With a purely basic set of land, the split of mana symbols of the deck is almost equal, white having 4 more than green. In which case, I alter the skew so it is 11 forests to 13 plains, to ensure I draw the right colours when I want to. In terms of nonbasic land, I obviously want Temple Garden. Its flexibility is unparalleled, so I cut down 2 of each basic for a full set. Also, I know I said no BNG, but the scryland from BNG, Temple of Plenty, will do wonders in this deck. In order to keep the balance of lands equal again, I remove 2 of each for a full set. And the deck is done.

I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did, and I hope this fulfils its purpose - to give people an insight into the mind of a deck builder. The decklist of the made deck in today's article is available here. Happy Deckbuilding!