Overview:
A tribal Spider deck helmed by Shelob, Child of Ungoliant that focuses on defensive control through deathtouch creatures while generating value through Food token copies of defeated creatures. The deck aims to win through attrition and combat damage while maintaining board control.
Primer:
The deck operates primarily as a defensive control strategy, utilizing Spiders' natural defensive capabilities (reach, deathtouch) enhanced by the commander's abilities. The core gameplan involves establishing a defensive wall of deathtouch creatures while slowly accumulating value through Food tokens created from creatures that die to Spider damage. These Food tokens can provide both life gain and potential offensive capabilities through cards like Greta, Sweettooth Scourge and Marionette Master.
The deck includes a robust ramp package to ensure consistent deployment of its creatures and key pieces. The secondary strategy involves utilizing the Food tokens generated by the commander's ability alongside payoffs like Gyome, Master Chef and Savvy Hunter. The deck can pivot between defensive control and aggressive strategies depending on board state, with cards like Revel in Riches providing alternative win conditions through treasure generation.
Weaknesses:
- The deck is heavily reliant on creature-based strategies and can struggle against heavy board wipes.
- While the deck has answers to flying creatures through reach, it lacks explosive power and can be outpaced by faster strategies.
- The commander's ability requires creatures to both be damaged by spiders and die in the same turn, which can be difficult to orchestrate consistently.
Most Important Cards:
- Lolth, Spider Queen
- Marionette Master
- Gyome, Master Chef
- Arachnogenesis
- Revel in Riches
- Arasta of the Endless Web
- Ohran Frostfang
- Heroic Intervention
- Culling Ritual
- Greta, Sweettooth Scourge
Attribute Ratings:
- Speed: 4/10
- Resilience: 6/10
- Consistency: 5/10
- Interaction: 6/10
Rating Justification:
This deck falls into the optimized casual category due to its focused strategy but relatively slow execution speed. While it has good defensive capabilities and interaction through deathtouch creatures, it lacks the explosive power or fast mana needed for higher power levels. The deck's ability to generate value over time and protect itself puts it above precon level, but its win conditions typically require multiple turns to execute.
Final power level rating: 5.0 - 5.5
The deck shows clear optimization in its strategy and includes several powerful interaction pieces, but its tribal theme and reliance on combat damage for its primary gameplan keeps it firmly in the casual optimized range. It can consistently execute its gameplan but typically won't threaten wins before turn 10 without exceptional draws.
Shelob, Child of Ungoliant