Last night I lent my werewolf deck to Mike, a friend who was coming back to play Magic after a long hiatus.  He played in a four-rounder and managed a 0-3-1 record.  His first round matchup was against a Jund werewolf deck piloted by none other than another good friend named Pong.  Mike lost when he played a Daybreak Ranger instead of letting his Scorned Villager to transform.  He could have done it without losing tempo because he had a Wolfir Avenger to flash in should Pong burn the Villager.  After that loss, Mike's confidence was shaken and he suffered two more losses before drawing with a Bant Control deck which I defeated a week ago.

     I brought up what happened to Mike as an eye-opener for me as a deck designer and for the future of werewolves.  As a designer, it was imperative that the cards in the deck be powerful and not just cute.  Watching Mike agonize over plays told me that he felt the cards in his hand were not effective at handling the threats he was facing.  This pointed to a flaw in the sideboard, too.  As a werewolf fanatic, the onus was on me to consider the changing landscape of Standard and incorporate new threats or answers.  For instance, with the rise of werewolves in our local game store, tech for the mirror became more important as when Pong used Sever the Bloodine in sideboarded games against Mike.

     All these served to warn me of complacency.  It was time to shake things up and to arrive at a better, strong werewolf deck. 

Werewolves Rising

     I've been hearing from people how werewolves is on the rise, that more people are playing it.  In fact, at the local game store I frequent, the dealers have been selling numerous copies of Mayor of Avabruck and other "lycans."  This could pose a problem as I would need to dedicate sideboard slots for the mirror match which would then affect my chances against other popular decks.

     So far I'm comfortable running my "Growth" version of werewolves, burning people out in a sense with Titanic Growth and Giant Growth.  This isn't such a hot idea with zombies and Selesnya on the loose but I have to make sure that I can beat Thragtusk and Angel of Serenity in game one so that I can have some leeway in the followup games.  If the metagame shifts back to zombies then I will probably maindeck Moonmist again.  In the meantime, it's just in the sideboard for the aggressive decks in the field.

     I played against Carlos' UWR Humans and I lost a game en route to winning three or four against him.  The werewolves rampaged against his smaller guys even though I take heavy damage every game in the first couple of turns.  He even maindecked Elite Inquisitor which kept me stymied in the game that I lost.  I could have blocked it with a Wolfir Silverheart but he cast Feeling of Dread.

     It's time to play werewolves again.  I'll make a few changes to the deck later and then try it out at Regran.  I hope that I can sell enough to cover the tourney fee.
   
     With the shift to zombies again, it should be easier for me to win.  The question is whether my sideboard is good enough to meet the threats presented by aggressive strategies.  I know that control and ramp will die to the zombie apocalypse.  I just hope that I can win my games even at two life points like I always do against the undead.

     I'm actually excited to go into battle again.  I haven't written a tournament report in a while immersed as I have been in selling cards to get pieces for my Rakdos and Golgari decks.  This should be a good day for both testing out my favorite tribe's chances in the new metagame and for trading in cards.  I am looking forward to strengthening the project decks mentioned above.

     I haven't been playing a lot lately because my focus is on selling cards.  It has been a wonderful experience so far and I hope to sell more in the coming days.  Aside from enjoying the interactions with other people, selling has allowed me to acquire cards for deckbuilding projects.

     Take for instance my Golgari deck.  I have bought a playset of Lotleth Troll and tinkering with this bad boy has revealed just how powerful it is.  Sure it's vulnerable but if the opponent doesn't have the right answers then it can finish things in a hurry.  Regeneration and Trample in a creature? Get out of here!

     I have three decks thus far and though I know it will be tough to invest money in them it is very tempting to do so.  Seeing my friends borrow and enjoy the decks yesterday have opened my eyes to the possibilities inherent in the Golgari and Rakdos tribes.  I hope that I will be given the opportunity to improve them with prudent trades and acquisitions before the month is over.  Otherwise I will just sell them.

     My werewolves have also seen action in the hands of my friends.  They have been amazed by its power.  Third turn Huntmaster of the Fells followed by a fourth turn Wolfir Silverheart can do that.  I am encouraged by their liking of the deck so I will probably play it before the month is out.

     So I bought the two Return to Ravnica Event decks and tweaked them a little with cards from my own binder.  Against casual decks, they performed better than I expected.  The Rakdos deck was fast, featuring a set of Lightning Mauler that gave haste to monsters like Desecration Demon and Rakdos, Lord of Riots.  Burn spells fried many a mage to a fine crisp which brought back memories of when I piloted Demigod Red some years ago.  The Golgari deck was more an attrition-type strategy, grinding out victories with small guys and then clogging the board with Vraska the Unseen.  Both decks played differently and I had fun piloting them both in lieu of my werewolf deck which was on hiatus.

     Of the Event Decks, I think these two are the best.  They have decent cards, some power, and lots of synergy.  It's easy to add cards and the possibilities are numerous.  I probably won't buy another pair but I can certainly recommend the products to my friends.

     I had a friend insist that Rancor deserved a slot in werewolves.  Of course, he was wrong because he didn't understand how the tribe works, how Full Moon's Rise already grants trample and a power boost.  Yet he maintained that he was right even though he couldn't back up his claim.

     Rancor is better in Selesnya, in decks that have overpowered creatures needing trample to get damage through.  Put the aura on a Strangleroot Geist or a Loxodon Smiter and you have a winner.  Put it on a 1/1 Mayor of Avabruck who really doesn't want to die because he needs to generate tokens later on and increase everybody's power/toughness stats and you are out of your mind.  This is why Rancor has no place in werewolves. 

     Another friend said add burn.  Well, their werewolves have burn.  Lots of it actually.  And they get two at least.  I don't have burn and I have the same winning percentage as them.  So burn isn't necessary in the deck.  It can help but in a world where Thragtusk gains an opponent five life points and Angel of Serenity has 6 toughness, direct damage isn't that effective.

     This is the reason why I have Full Moon's Rise.  To make sure that my damage does get through and negate whatever lifegain the opponent has in his deck.  This is the reason why I have 26-30 creatures at any given time because the best way to reduce an opponent from 20-0 is via combat.  This is why I maintain that the only kind of burn I might consider in a werewolf deck is Bonfire of the Damned.  Other than that, I prefer using Giant Growth and Titanic Growth because they help my creatures survive combat and continue to punish the opponent for relying on lifegain.  Because if he is gaining life then he isn't dealing damage.  I feel that I am winning in that scenario.  Have you ever seen me cast Titanic Growth on my Nightfall Predator and fight Angel of Serenity?  So much fun!

     Werewolves can win in this metagame but it needs to be built right.  No Rancor, no burn.  Okay, maybe a little burn.  But that's it.  Rely on the pack and the pack will see you through the end. In style.

Change Up

     I want to try something different with the deck this week.  While adding Giant Growth and Titanic Growth allowed me to race many of my opponents the past couple of days, I would like to take the classic route of Moonmisting everyone now that Silver Paladin and zombies are back in the fray.  Reckless Waif is going back in and Scorned Villager is on hiatus until I figure out where exactly in the metagame are my werewolves positioned.

     The list:

     Creatures: 30

     4  Reckless Waif

     4  Wolfbitten Captive

     4  Mayor of Avabruck

     4  Daybreak Ranger

     4  Kruin Outlaw

     4  Huntmaster of the Fells

     4  Instigator Gang

     2  Immerwolf

     Spells: 7

     4  Full Moon's Rise

     3  Moonmist

     Lands: 23

     4  Rootbound Crag

     3  Kessig Wolf Run

     8  Forest 

     8  Mountain

     Sideboard: 15

     1  Moonmist

     3  Blasphemous Act

     4  Wolfir Avenger

     3  Grafdigger's Cage

     3  Ground Seal

     1  Tormod's Crypt

     In Game Ones, this build is all about overpowering the opposition with a pack of wolves protected by Full Moon's Rise and eventually transforming for the alpha strike via Moonmist.  Game two is adding defense against swarm or graveyard strategies and countermagic.  Blasphemous Act can sweep tokens made by Lingering Souls or various planeswalkers like Sorin, Lord of Innistrad or Garruk, Primal Hunter.  Act can also decimate Selesnya armies who overextend themselves right into a mass removal effect that only targets them as Full Moon's Rise grants regeneration.  Wolfir Avenger pressures blue decks with their bounce spells by providing a cheap beater with flash.  The regeneration isn't too shabby either.  There are seven cards against reanimator strategies as Angel of Serenity and Unburial Rites are proving to be difficult spells to fight effectively.