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Cost
Salt Score
Overview:
This bird tribal deck leverages flying creatures and anthem effects to swarm opponents, utilizing Ishai's growth potential and Esior's protective tax. The strategy focuses on building a wide board of evasive creatures, enhancing them with +1/+1 counters and global buffs, and closing games through combat damage. While lacking infinite combos, it employs card draw engines and moderate interaction to sustain momentum.
Primer:
Core Strategy: The deck aims to deploy flying creatures early (T1-T3), establish anthem effects like Empyrean Eagle and Coat of Arms, and swing for lethal. Key phases:
- Early Board Development: Play 1-2 mana birds (Suntail Hawk, Healer's Hawk) to set up aerial presence.
- Anthem Stacking: Cast buffing pieces (Skycat Sovereign, Dictate of Heliod) to amplify damage.
- Card Advantage: Use Bident of Thassa and Reconnaissance Mission to refuel when attacking.
- Protection/Recovery: Sephara, Sky's Blade and Promise of Tomorrow mitigate board wipes.
Mulligan Priorities:
- Keep hands with 2-3 lands (prioritize untapped sources).
- Ensure at least one 1-2 mana flier and a card draw engine (e.g., Curiosity or Mask of Memory).
- Reject hands lacking early plays or color fixing.
Key Tips:
- Protect Anthems: Prioritize Esior, Wardwing Familiar to deter targeted removal on key pieces like Kangee, Aerie Keeper.
- Exploit Evasion: Use unblockable fliers to trigger Staggering Insight and Curious Obsession for consistent draws.
- Timing Matters: Cast Dusk // Dawn strategically to reset opponents’ boards while preserving your low-power birds.
Weaknesses:
Critical
- No Infinite Combos: Relies entirely on combat; folds to repeated board wipes.
- Slow Recovery: Minimal recursion outside Promise of Tomorrow; rebuilds poorly after mass removal.
Moderate
- Mana Fragility: 12 taplands and slow fetches (Terramorphic Expanse) hinder early tempo.
- Limited Interaction: Only 3 counterspells (Forbid, Nimble Obstructionist, Judge's Familiar) and situational removal.
Minor
- Predictable Wincons: No alternate victory paths beyond combat; easily disrupted by flying hate (Archetype of Imagination).
Most Important Cards:
- Empyrean Eagle
- Coat of Arms
- Skycat Sovereign
- Sephara, Sky's Blade
- Distant Melody
- Dictate of Heliod
- Kangee, Aerie Keeper
- Bident of Thassa
- Reconnaissance Mission
- Promise of Tomorrow
Attribute Ratings:
Speed: 3/10
Requires 4+ turns to establish lethal pressure; no fast mana or combo kills.
Resilience: 4/10
Partial recovery via Promise of Tomorrow and card draw, but folds to back-to-back wipes.
Consistency: 5/10
Moderate card selection (scry/filtering via Augury Owl) but lacks tutors for key anthems.
Interaction: 3/10
Minimal counterspells and situational bounce (Keeper of the Nine Gales); reactive tools are sparse.
Rating Justification:
The deck executes a clear tribal plan with synergistic payoffs but lacks the speed, redundancy, and interaction to compete above casual tables. Its turn 8-10 combat wins and vulnerability to common disruption place it squarely in precon-level tiers.
Power level: 3.5 - 4.0
Esior, Wardwing Familiar & Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
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