No Burn? No Problem!

     Over the course of three tournaments, twelve matches, and thirty-one games, I have learned several things about werewolves that will surprise most people, eliciting strong reactions which I hope will lead to meaningful discourse over how best to proceed with my favorite tribe.  The first is that burn has no place in the deck because of the popularity of lifegain.  You won't see Pillar of Flame or Brimstone Volley because these cards don't advance the way werewolves want to win even though you could be saying to yourself with good reason that these direct damage spells do a lot against zombies and control decks respectively.  The second is that Full Moon's Rise is the most important spell so you don't let it get countered by blue mages and you never cash it in unless necessary.  This unassuming enchantment boosts power and grants trample and regeneration to all werewolves.  Supreme Verdict, Mizzium Mortars and chump-blocking simply won't cut it.  Only Terminus and Sever the Bloodline defends against the pack and even then, it's easy to rebuild with a sandbagged Huntmaster of the Fells or a sideboarded Garruk Relentless.  The third and most important lesson is to use Moonmist on offense.  With thirty creatures in the main, casting this instant is almost always backbreaking if not lethal most of the time.  The current metagame is teeming with creatures and this Fog-variant trumps them all not just because it can negate combat damage but also because it transforms your meek humans into game-ending monsters.

     I know my build is controversial because it ignores the common wisdom of using RG's traditionally strong cards like Pillar of Flame, Brimstone Volley, Strangleroot Geist, Hellrider, etc.  Yet I am convinced by my two top four finishes this week that I have designed something that exploits the holes in the prevailing metagame.  I won't deny that it's unconventional but it is effective and that's all that matters to me as a deck designer.