WG Auratog

Ah yes, another article on casual decks. How ironic that it rhymes with another thing people love, eh? Today`s casual deck resulted from some glorious ‘accidental inspiration’. I sort of stumbled upon the idea as I was browsing old cards, reading about their interactions and going from there. I think doing this can be really beneficial to brewers - not just for casual players. When you browse old cards, you discover new ones, thereby creating a catalogue of information. Seeing a card can in turn flash you back to another/others, inspiring a deck premise to build upon. But enough about the process(es) of deck building, let’s jump right into today’s deck: WG Auratog!

One of my favourite aspects of Magic the Gathering is the collecting. I really enjoy finding old rares and trying to figure out how and/or why the designers deemed the card to warrant its rarity. Take today’s deck for example; which started with only 1 card – Femeref Enchantress. This is a card that has been on my radar for some time. Why? Because it obviously has some potential applications, as it is an engine for enchantment-type card advantage. The question then becomes how. How do I abuse this to win games?

Femeref Enchantress is pretty unique in that it requires enchantments to go to the graveyard from play. This means that you then require another ‘engine’ to do so; the more efficient the better.  Enter Auratog. In the right deck, the ‘tog is amazing. It’s an engine and a win condition in one! Of course, Rancor certainly helps.. Being a creature without evasion does make it somewhat vulnerable however, which is why the deck contains the little-known Avoid Fate. I chose Avoid Fate instead of an enchantment because it has the advantage of surprise, and can protect any of your permanents, not just your creatures.

This is not a speedy deck that wins right away; it requires time to build a substantial enchantment-y board presence before going in for the win with Auratog. While that certainly does not make this a control deck, it does mean that slowing down the game becomes a factor. 4 copies of Elephant Grass and 4x Swords to Plowshares are in the deck to help ensure this happens. It is also important to remember that when you no longer want to pay for Elephant Grass, you can sac it to Auratog instead.

I chose not to include Steely Resolve, but it was removed late into the deck construction. The reason was because the deck needed some trimming, and the Shroud could potentially work against the deck. Auratog could sac Resolve when need be, but that would mean losing one of its sources of protection. In the end, it just didn’t seem worth the slot(s) in the deck. Perhaps you feel differently though. I encourage you to try it out and see what you prefer. Happy Brewing!

WG Auratog

Land

4 Savannah

4 Forest

1 Plains

4 Windswept Heaths

3 Fetch lands

4 Wasteland

Total: 20

Creatures

4 Auratog

4 Femeref Enchantress

4 Argothian Enchantress

Total: 12

Spells

4 Rancor

4 Wild Growth

4 Swords to Plowshares

4 Elephant Grass

4 Avoid Fate

3 Mirri’s Guile

3 Gaea’s Touch

1 Nature’s Chosen

1 Replenish

Total: 28

Sideboard

4 Orim’s Chant

4 Tormod’s Crypt

3 Naturalize

1 Disenchant

1 Moat

2 Aegis of Honor