Angry Tradewind Survival

Before its banning in Legacy, Survival of the Fittest was an interesting engine that allowed a variety of different play styles and deck construction. Among these, was the idea of a tool box-type strategy, relying on SotF to search for answers as required. While researching another article, I stumbled across today’s deck, which I thought would be fun to write about. The really cool thing about it, was that one of the first versions that I found was actually tailor made for this format! Its name? Angry Tradewind Survival.

Let’s start by talking about the namesakes of the deck, and the amazing things they make possible. Survival of the Fittest is the search engine of the deck, and allows you to search for whatever creature the situation might require. Combined with Squee, Goblin Nabob allows you to gain card advantage as well, as you are not losing a card in hand to discard. Tradewind Rider’s uses aren’t always as obvious, but allow for a LOT of awesome plays. Just remember that it can return any permanent into play, not just yours OR your opponents’..

Mana. Because of SotF, the deck consumes a lot of green mana. As a result, several creatures in the deck are used to help boost your mana output. Wall of Roots is a great example of getting more from your rampers, because it can also act as a good defender against early aggro. Rofellos doesn’t really need explaining.. he’s awesome at what he does.

Win conditions. The deck sort of has 2 main win conditions. The first being death by a thousand cuts.. aka beat them down with the large number of creatures. The other is a lot more devious: Gilded Drake and Tradewind Rider are good friends, as are Rider and Deranged Hermit. Mystic Snake and Rider are also pretty close. Just think about these options.

Once again, I have chosen to write about a deck that has so many interactions and strategies that I can’t/won’t be writing about each one in this article. As always, I encourage you to try the deck and tinker to find what works for you. Happy Brewing!

Angry Tradewind Survival

Land

5 Forest

2 Savannah

1 Taiga

4 Tropical Island

4 Windswept Heath

3 Wooded Foothills

Total: 19

Creatures

4 Tradewind Rider

4 Birds of Paradise

1 Quirion Ranger

3 Wall of Roots

1 Squee, Goblin Nabob

1 Genesis

1 Anger

2 Gilded Drake

1 Spore Frog

1 Elvish Lyrist

1 Uktabi Orangutan

1 Mystic Snake

1 Seedborn Muse

1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary

1 Deranged Hermit

Total: 24

Spells

4 Survival of the Fittest

4 Brainstorm

4 Force of Will

3 Enlightened Tutor

2 Stifle

1 Eladamri’s Call

Total: 17

Sideboard:

2 Spike Feeder

1 Goblin Sharpshooter

1 Dense Foliage

1 Enlightened Tutor

1 Back to Basics

2 Choke

1 Seal of Cleansing

1 Man-o’-War

1 Worship

2 Naturalize

2 Null Rod

Aluren

“Hey babe, are you a fishing model? Because I find you to be quite allurin’ ”. I am now going to take a moment to apologize to everyone.. these introductions can be hard sometimes! However, with that out of the way, I want to talk about a deck that has a lot of history in the game: Aluren.

Aluren as a card has been around for a pretty long time, but it took a bit more before becoming a viable combo-type deck. In fact, the earliest reference that I found for it came in the form of Raisin Bran – of course, referencing the days when combo decks were named after breakfast cereals. The deck was very cool, and so I don’t want to talk about it as I may choose to do so in its own article some day.

Alright, so with that pointless paragraph out of the way, let’s move on to the actual deck, shall we? Man-o-War is an all-star in Aluren, combining with Cavern Harpy and cards such as Wall of Blossoms and Raven Familiar to dig through your library to find the win condition(s) you need. The loss of life resulting from Harpy is negated by Spike Feeder and Soul Warden, which also happens to be part of the combo to win.

How to win. As I mentioned before, there are several combo pieces that work in tandem with each other (and the separate combos). The actual win condition however, is the combination of Soul Warden and Maggot Carrier. I included 2 of each to be safe, but the numbers for them are at your own discretion. With Aluren in play you want to ‘cast’ Soul Warden, then Carrier – followed by the loop of Carrier and Harpy.

I don’t want to write about too many of the cards I omitted in this brew, because as I mentioned before, they are prevalent in other Aluren-based combos. I do want to mention Wirewood Savage however, as it is great with Harpy to just cycle through your deck to find the win conditions. Happy Brewing!

Aluren

Land

1 Island
2 Polluted Delta
2 Windswept Heath
3 Wooded Foothills
4 Bayou
4 Tropical Island
4 Forest

Total: 20

Creatures

1 Spike Feeder
3 Man-o'-War
4 Cavern Harpy
4 Raven Familiar

3 Wall of Blossoms
4 Wall of Roots

2 Soul Warden

2 Maggot Carrier

Total: 23

Spells

4 Aluren

4 Brainstorm

4 Force of Will

1 Chain of Vapor

3 Intuition

1 Duress

Total: 17

Sideboard

1 Cabal Therapy
1 Wall of Blossoms
2 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Hydroblast
2 Pernicious Deed
3 Eladamri's Vineyard
2 Elephant Grass

1 Stern Proctor