|
| |
 By:
Andrew, the Green Elf, Whitlatch (and hopefully edited very well by Adam
Whitlatch)
If you read the title and couldn’t figure out what I am going to be writing
about, you probably aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Or the
brightest crayon in the box. You’re probably not the fluffiest
kitten in the litter, and you aren’t exactly the wimpiest elf in the forest
.......................................................crap. Shouldn’t
have said that last one.
Anyhow, Skullclamp is one of those cards that seems to be making an impact in
that T2 format. Yadda yadda yadda. Worth 5 bucks. Yadda
yadda yadda, 2 cards for one. Yadda yadda yadda. As
degenerative as Necro. Yadda yadda yadda. Same old same old, right? Well
since I’m not a T2 player, I could care less what Mr. Budde says about Clamp
and Raveger being degenerate. In Extended, Clamp probably isn’t
going to make an impact since my good ol’ nemesis, Mr. Deed, keeps any deck
that needs Clamp in check. Skully may be great against God himself
and his wrath, but when it comes down to a simple Bomb, it itself is also
destroyed.
Of course the Deed of Perniciousness isn’t going to stop me from making a
“cute” little Extended deck. I’ve got three Skullclamps and
I’ll be damnded if I don’t use them in something. The only
problem is, where to start? The obvious answer is to use them in a
good deck. Nuts to that, so I’ll just use them in an Elf
deck. After a while of toying around, this is the monstrosity that I
created:
Extended Elf-Clamp You!:
Creatures:
4 Llanowar Elves (these in an elf deck....what?)
4 Wirewood Herald (a tutor and 2 extra cards? That sucks)
4 Wirewood Hivemaster (makes the deck)
1 Caller of the Claw (random search target. Pretty good after a bit
of clamping)
4 Elvish Warriors (2/3 for two. Efficient for what it is)
3 Wirewood Symbiote (more insects, the better)
4 Birchlore Rangers (can do insane things with this)
1 Taunting Elf (another search target)
1 Viridian Zealot (yet another search target)
Non-attacking and killing spells:
4 Skullclamp (most non-important card n the deck)
4 Enlightened Tutor (gets that one crappy card)
1 Paralax Wave (random tutor card)
1 Fecundity (random tutor card*)
1 Steely Resolve (*)
1 Shared Triumph (*)
1 Seal of Cleansing (*)
Lands:
4 Chrome Mox (They’re just discardable, counterable lands)
7 Forests
1 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
4 Brushland
1 City of Brass
This deck does a lot. I mean a lot. By third turn you can
have an empty hand, and then have an overflowing hand on fourth turn. Too
bad one of the things it doesn’t really do is win. Sure it is
blazingly fast, and it can recover from practically any mass removal spell in
the game, but it doesn’t really win. It just draws cards. But
really, isn’t winning overrated?
The whole point of this deck is pretty straight forward. Get an
insect-clamp engine going, and then try to swarm them. Herald and
Enlightened Tutor does add some reliability to the deck, along with what ever
cards you can Clamp here and there.
There are a few different ways that this deck CAN win(not saying that it will,
though). The two most obvious ways are the elf swarm and the insect
swarm. Shared Triumph and Taunting Elf both help out those
strategies. The other way is more suicidal, but pretty fun. All
you have to do is Clamp all your non-token creatures, and play one big Caller of
the Claw. If they have an answer, like a countering spell, you lose
almost every creature you have though. Of course you still have a
full hand of clamped cards, but it gives your opponent time. If they
don’t have an answer, though, the game could very well be yours.
Well, there isn’t too much more that I can say about this pile of elves. All
I can say is, prepare to play against it because I am actually considering
playing this deck at an Extended tournament. Why you might ask? Well
my netdecks haven’t been giving me too much good luck lately, and it may be
time to return to my roots and play a roughish elf deck. Hmmmmm..........that
sounds too much like the heart of the cards...........damn you, you spikey
yellow haired bastard
|
