I love Treasure Cruise. Yet few decks in standard actually harness it’s power, often choosing the double blue casting Dig Through Time. I’d like to change that.
This deck is based on the same logic as the Temur Cruise deck. Cheap spells, aggressive creatures, and Delve spells to gain the power to close out the late game against more midr-range/control decks.
Kolghan’s Command is a peculiar card. Although on first notion, the under-powered Blightning might not seem to be good enought to merit an inclusion, the fact is that Frost Walker dies often and often trades on early with the likes of Fleecemane Lion/Courser Of Kruphix is a definite reason to include it I think, although not as a four of.
Although Thoughtseize is not the most budget friendly card, it would absolutely SHINE in this deck. Duress in the Sb makes a reasonable impression against Esper Dragons Black also allows Tasigur, the Golden Fang to be played, which adds a body big enough to handle Rhinos, Monsterous Fleecemanes and Coursers, while often costing just a measly black mana. 4 of them will set you back 15-16 tickets, which is a good investment – this card sees so much play, it is not going to get cheaper any time soon. It is also a great play after a board wipe – quickly letting you get back into the game, with the ability to get cards to boot.
Shaman of the Great Hunt and Brutal Hordecheif are both solid game-enders, and its hard to see which one is better. The Shaman hits the moment it comes into play, whereas the Hordechief can seriously destroy the creature based Den Protector decks found now in standard. Just imagine the curve – Swiftspear, Fodder, outburts, Hordechief, t5 activate – unopposed, a curve that deals a whopping 35 Damage. There’s enough leeway there to account for a Courser or Rhino. Because of Esper Dragons, I prefer the Shaman because it hits instantly, although the Hordechief could potentially see some play in this style of deck as well.
The List:
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Frost Walker
3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Shaman of the Great Hunt
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Wildslash
4 Stoke the Flames
4 Treasure Cruise
2 Kolghan’s Command
2 Ultimate Price
23 Land
4 Polluted Delta
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Shivan Reef
4 Mountain
2 Island
1 Swamp
SB
3 Negate
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Island
2 Outpost Siege
2 Ultimate Price
1 Brutal Hordechief
4 Duress
An alternative to this would be straight up U/R Cruise, utilizing some more evasion and recursion:
4 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Lightning Beserker
4 Frost Walker
4 Dragon Fodder
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Flamewake Phoenix
3 Shaman of the Great Hunt
2 Ashcloud Phoenix
4 Wildslash
4 Stoke The Flames
2 Treasure Cruise
2 Dig Through Time
23 Lands
4 Evolving Wilds
4 Shivan Reef
4 Saltwater Cliffs
7 Mountain
4 Island
Of course, Thunderbreak Regent would be a great addition, but also sort of costly at 4 tickets a pop. Alternatively, Dragon Whisperer could make a solid addition to the deck – The mana seems up for it, and it’ll give you something to do late-game. But most importantly, Flamewake Phoenix is just such a solid card, its hard to see why its played so little. It comes back against control, hits the moment it lands, and evades early blockers; and its a great fit for a deck that wants to get the opponent life-total low enough untill winning isnt an if but a when.
So whichever list you take for a cruise, I certainly will be delving to draw three in an aggressive shell, hopefully leading to some packs in the dailies.
spikeonadiet 