by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist
The Magic Origins Intro Pack Take to the Sky has you really do just what it says. It's made up of a combination of Flash and Flying creatures with some interesting Auras searchable using the 2 copies of Totem-Guide Hartebeest in the deck. It features two rares, Alhammarrett, High Arbiter and Soulblade Djinn. While the Arbiter is underwhelming, the Djinn may be better than some people think.
Let's take a look at this evasive deck:
Creatures (22)
3 Faerie Miscreant
2 Sigiled Starfish
2 Yoked Ox
2 Nivix Barrier
2 Watercourser
2 Tower Geist
2 Charging Griffin
2 Thunderclap Wyvern
2 Totem-Guide Hartebeest
1 Alhammarret, High Arbiter
1 Soulblade Djinn
1 Aven Battle Priest
Non-Creature Spells (13)
2 Healing Hands
2 Hydrolash
2 Claustrophobia
2 Suppression Bonds
1 Negate
1 Turn to Frog
1 Celestial Flare
1 Stratus Walk
1 Murder Investigation
Lands (25)
14 Island
10 Plains
1 Evolving Wilds
Let's take a look at this evasive deck:
Creatures (22)
3 Faerie Miscreant
2 Sigiled Starfish
2 Yoked Ox
2 Nivix Barrier
2 Watercourser
2 Tower Geist
2 Charging Griffin
2 Thunderclap Wyvern
2 Totem-Guide Hartebeest
1 Alhammarret, High Arbiter
1 Soulblade Djinn
1 Aven Battle Priest
Non-Creature Spells (13)
2 Healing Hands
2 Hydrolash
2 Claustrophobia
2 Suppression Bonds
1 Negate
1 Turn to Frog
1 Celestial Flare
1 Stratus Walk
1 Murder Investigation
Lands (25)
14 Island
10 Plains
1 Evolving Wilds
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Alhammarrett, High Arbiter is the featured card in the deck. But for a 5/5 flyer that costs 5UU to cast, all he does is reveal your opponents' hands and you get to choose one and your opponents can't cast spells with that name. It's basically a way over-costed Meddling Mage. But the Mage was only two mana., and yeah, it required guessing which card to pick, but it was a powerful card when it was legal in Standard.
Soulblade Djinn, on the other hand, is a bit more interesting. He has a sort of "super" Prowess ability, giving all of your creatures, including himself +1/+1 each time you cast a non-creature spell. While a 4/3 flyer for 3UU isn't fantastic, the effect makes the Djinn worth playing.
Onto the other creatures.
Soulblade Djinn, on the other hand, is a bit more interesting. He has a sort of "super" Prowess ability, giving all of your creatures, including himself +1/+1 each time you cast a non-creature spell. While a 4/3 flyer for 3UU isn't fantastic, the effect makes the Djinn worth playing.
Onto the other creatures.
Faerie Miscreant is pretty interesting as a one-drop. It's a 1/1 flyer, and if you control another Faerie Miscreant when you cast it, you get to draw a card. Sigiled "Scryfish" Starfish lets you tap to Scry 1, which is useful for setting up draws. Yoked Ox is a 0/4 for one White. Besides the Miscreants, this creature lineup isn't off to an exciting start.
Nivix Barrier is a 0/4 for 3U with Flash. When it enters the battlefield, a target attacking creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn. That doesn't seem worth 3U for a combat trick. Watercourser is a 2/3 flyer for 2U that has the ability to get +1/-1 for a single Blue mana. Therefore it could be a 4/1 each turn for two Blue mana. It makes it awfully fragile but it's an ability that can be played before damage calculation in combat.
Tower Geist provides a bit of card draw for 3U. It's a 2/2 flyer that lets you look at the top two cards of your deck when it enters play. You put one card in your hand and the other card in the graveyard. Charging Griffin is a 2/2 flyer for 3W that gains +1/+1 whenever it attacks. Neither of these cards are too strong.
Nivix Barrier is a 0/4 for 3U with Flash. When it enters the battlefield, a target attacking creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn. That doesn't seem worth 3U for a combat trick. Watercourser is a 2/3 flyer for 2U that has the ability to get +1/-1 for a single Blue mana. Therefore it could be a 4/1 each turn for two Blue mana. It makes it awfully fragile but it's an ability that can be played before damage calculation in combat.
Tower Geist provides a bit of card draw for 3U. It's a 2/2 flyer that lets you look at the top two cards of your deck when it enters play. You put one card in your hand and the other card in the graveyard. Charging Griffin is a 2/2 flyer for 3W that gains +1/+1 whenever it attacks. Neither of these cards are too strong.
Thunderclap Wyvern may be the best creature in the deck besides Soulblade Djinn. It's a 2/3 flyer with Flash and Flying for 2WU. It also gives your other flying creatures +1/+1. It can be used as a combat trick or played on your opponent's turn for maximum effect.
Totem-Guide Hartebeest is good at what it does. It's a 2/5 for 4W that lets you get any Aura card from your deck, reveal it, and put it into your hand. The choices that it has in this particular build aren't the most wonderful, but it's fine for tutoring up a card that you may really need at some point.
Lastly, there's Aven Battle Priest, which costs 5W for a 3/3 flyer. When it enters the battlefield, you gain 3 life. Meh.
The overall theme in this deck should be obvious - these creatures for the most part are simply not very efficient. The Miscreants, Wyverns, and the Djinn are the only creatures that would be worth building around here. The Enchantment sub-theme, as you'll see, isn't all that wonderful given the cards you're offered.
The non-creature spells are for the most part very defensive. Healing Hands is a Sorcery that costs 2W and gains a target player 4 life. It does also draw you a card. Hydrolash for 2U gives all attacking creatures -2/-0 until end of turn and also draws you a card. I definitely like Hydrolash more than Healing Hands, as who wants to cast that at Sorcery speed unless you're in desparation mode? Hydrolash is at least a decent combat trick.
Claustrophobia is the first Enchantment we'll look at, and it's fine. For 1UU, you tap the enchanted creature and it doesn't untap during its controller untap step. This is a card that's actually seen some Constructed action in the past, specifically in Mono-Blue Devotion due to its 2 Blue mana symbols. If there's any card in here to stay, it's this one.
Suppression Bonds is an overpriced Pacifism, except that it can hit and nonland permanent. It costs 3W to cast and the enchanted permanent can't attack, block, or use its activated abilities. This is one of those cards that's fine in Limited, but when you're building a 60-card deck, you want more value for your mana.
Negate counters a target noncreature spell. It's pretty basic. Turn to Frog is a cute combat trick that's been a Limited All-Star in its previous printings. It's a great way to deal with a problematic creature. Perhaps it's not Constructed playable, but it's a fun card that does its job well.
Celestial Flare is a defensive card that's seen play in the past. It costs WW and forces a player to sacrifice an attacking or blocking creature. The fact that this card can be used on offense or defense makes it fairly valuable.
Totem-Guide Hartebeest is good at what it does. It's a 2/5 for 4W that lets you get any Aura card from your deck, reveal it, and put it into your hand. The choices that it has in this particular build aren't the most wonderful, but it's fine for tutoring up a card that you may really need at some point.
Lastly, there's Aven Battle Priest, which costs 5W for a 3/3 flyer. When it enters the battlefield, you gain 3 life. Meh.
The overall theme in this deck should be obvious - these creatures for the most part are simply not very efficient. The Miscreants, Wyverns, and the Djinn are the only creatures that would be worth building around here. The Enchantment sub-theme, as you'll see, isn't all that wonderful given the cards you're offered.
The non-creature spells are for the most part very defensive. Healing Hands is a Sorcery that costs 2W and gains a target player 4 life. It does also draw you a card. Hydrolash for 2U gives all attacking creatures -2/-0 until end of turn and also draws you a card. I definitely like Hydrolash more than Healing Hands, as who wants to cast that at Sorcery speed unless you're in desparation mode? Hydrolash is at least a decent combat trick.
Claustrophobia is the first Enchantment we'll look at, and it's fine. For 1UU, you tap the enchanted creature and it doesn't untap during its controller untap step. This is a card that's actually seen some Constructed action in the past, specifically in Mono-Blue Devotion due to its 2 Blue mana symbols. If there's any card in here to stay, it's this one.
Suppression Bonds is an overpriced Pacifism, except that it can hit and nonland permanent. It costs 3W to cast and the enchanted permanent can't attack, block, or use its activated abilities. This is one of those cards that's fine in Limited, but when you're building a 60-card deck, you want more value for your mana.
Negate counters a target noncreature spell. It's pretty basic. Turn to Frog is a cute combat trick that's been a Limited All-Star in its previous printings. It's a great way to deal with a problematic creature. Perhaps it's not Constructed playable, but it's a fun card that does its job well.
Celestial Flare is a defensive card that's seen play in the past. It costs WW and forces a player to sacrifice an attacking or blocking creature. The fact that this card can be used on offense or defense makes it fairly valuable.
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We now get to the main Enchantments in the deck that you'll want to seek out with Totem-Guide Hartebeest: Stratus Walk and Murder Investigation. The first one gives the Enchanted creature flying and draws you a card when it enters. But that creature can no longer block any creatures except those with flying. While that's not a serious problem, what in this deck would you enchant with it? The Hartebeest?
The other Enchantment, Murder Investigation, is much more interesting. It's a reprint from Gatecrash. You Enchant a creature you control, and when it dies you get X 1/1 soldier creature tokens where X is that creature's power. On the High Arbiter or Soulblade Djinn, that's going to make you a fair number of tokens, especially if their power is being boosted in any way.
Improving the Deck
This one is a tough one to figure when it comes to beefing it up. So many creatures in the deck are vastly underpowered when it comes to their contemporaries. In Limited this deck might stand up, but as is, it's just not going to cut it against any sort of optimized Constructed deck.
Basically you would cut the entire deck outside of a few of the better creatures. The Enchantment sub-theme may still be worth it, but you don't really need to invest in Hartebeest to make that plan work. But is there a decent "Take to the Sky" themed deck using only cards from Khans of Tarkir forward?
Be prepared, it won't be cheap:
Creatures (23):
4 Faerie Miscreant
4 Stratus Dancer
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
4 Thunderclap Wyvern
2 Archangel of Tithes
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Icefall Regent
2 Soulblade Djinn
Non-Creature Spells (13)
4 Mastery of the Unseen
2 Claustrophobia
4 Cloudform
4 Lightform
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
Lands (24)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tranquil Cove
8 Island
8 Plains
The other Enchantment, Murder Investigation, is much more interesting. It's a reprint from Gatecrash. You Enchant a creature you control, and when it dies you get X 1/1 soldier creature tokens where X is that creature's power. On the High Arbiter or Soulblade Djinn, that's going to make you a fair number of tokens, especially if their power is being boosted in any way.
Improving the Deck
This one is a tough one to figure when it comes to beefing it up. So many creatures in the deck are vastly underpowered when it comes to their contemporaries. In Limited this deck might stand up, but as is, it's just not going to cut it against any sort of optimized Constructed deck.
Basically you would cut the entire deck outside of a few of the better creatures. The Enchantment sub-theme may still be worth it, but you don't really need to invest in Hartebeest to make that plan work. But is there a decent "Take to the Sky" themed deck using only cards from Khans of Tarkir forward?
Be prepared, it won't be cheap:
Creatures (23):
4 Faerie Miscreant
4 Stratus Dancer
3 Silumgar Sorcerer
4 Thunderclap Wyvern
2 Archangel of Tithes
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
2 Icefall Regent
2 Soulblade Djinn
Non-Creature Spells (13)
4 Mastery of the Unseen
2 Claustrophobia
4 Cloudform
4 Lightform
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
Lands (24)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Tranquil Cove
8 Island
8 Plains
Bear in mind this is not an optimized list, but it basically follows the mana curve of the previous deck, although the mana symbol requirements in this build are more intensive. That's why 4 copies of the white/blue fetchland are included, as well as 4 of the white/blue tapland Tranquil Cove. The Cove will gain you 1 life upon playing it, which should make up for the slower pace of this deck.
Faerie Miscreant remains in the deck as the potential card draw is too good to ignore, and we want to have an early drop in the game. Stratus Dancer is brought in to basically serve as a flying body with Negate attached to its Megamorph side. Silumgar Sorcerer fits into the original theme of the deck, but it can Exploit itself or another creature to stop a creature spell from being cast. Already these flyers all do something pretty good.
Thunderclap Wyvern is maxed out since EVERY creature in this deck flies, so why not? Archangel of Tithes is a hot card from Magic Origins, and while its triple White mana cost may be tricky, the fact that it can so badly mess up your opponents ability to both attack and block, it's worth including.
Faerie Miscreant remains in the deck as the potential card draw is too good to ignore, and we want to have an early drop in the game. Stratus Dancer is brought in to basically serve as a flying body with Negate attached to its Megamorph side. Silumgar Sorcerer fits into the original theme of the deck, but it can Exploit itself or another creature to stop a creature spell from being cast. Already these flyers all do something pretty good.
Thunderclap Wyvern is maxed out since EVERY creature in this deck flies, so why not? Archangel of Tithes is a hot card from Magic Origins, and while its triple White mana cost may be tricky, the fact that it can so badly mess up your opponents ability to both attack and block, it's worth including.
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I shouldn't have to say why Dragonlord Ojutai is good, being one of the best control finishers in the game. It also gives you the card filtering that Tower Geist gave you, but on a bigger body and you don't discard the other cards. It's also a pain to remove. Also, Icefall Regent acts as a third and fourth Claustrophia on a body that's tricky to remove, as well. Soulblade Djinn gets another copy.
The non-creature spells is where this deck gets interesting. We have 4 copies of Mastery of the Unseen. These make more sense when combined with the Enchantments Cloudform and Lightform.
All of these cards deal with the Manifest mechanic, which takes the top card of your deck and turns them into 2/2 creatures. Cloudform gives those manifested creatures flying and hexproof, while Lightform gives them flying and lifelink. Mastery of the Unseen allows you to Manifest the top card of your deck for 3W, but more importantly, when you get to flip your Stratus Dancers or Manifested creatures, you gain a whole ton of life.
Sigil of the Empty Throne is in here as a one-of to be a late-game win condition, making a 4/4 angel every time that you play an Enchantment, of which there are plenty in this deck. It's possible that it could get manifested and never be anything but a 2/2 creature, but that's OK. The two copies of Claustrophobia remain. But more often that not, you'll manifest a creature that you can flip over later.
How this deck would actually work would require some serious testing, but it keeps the spirit of the original intro pack entirely. How would you go about improving the Take to the Sky intro pack?
All of these cards deal with the Manifest mechanic, which takes the top card of your deck and turns them into 2/2 creatures. Cloudform gives those manifested creatures flying and hexproof, while Lightform gives them flying and lifelink. Mastery of the Unseen allows you to Manifest the top card of your deck for 3W, but more importantly, when you get to flip your Stratus Dancers or Manifested creatures, you gain a whole ton of life.
Sigil of the Empty Throne is in here as a one-of to be a late-game win condition, making a 4/4 angel every time that you play an Enchantment, of which there are plenty in this deck. It's possible that it could get manifested and never be anything but a 2/2 creature, but that's OK. The two copies of Claustrophobia remain. But more often that not, you'll manifest a creature that you can flip over later.
How this deck would actually work would require some serious testing, but it keeps the spirit of the original intro pack entirely. How would you go about improving the Take to the Sky intro pack?
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