Ajani: The Walter White Special

Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest MtGPQ Deck Strategy & Planeswalker Discussion
1

Why name a deck after Walter White?

Because nothing stops this train, that’s why. Absolutely nothing.

The list:

Battlefield Forge
Chasm Guide
Infectious Bloodlust
Lantern Scout
Exquisite Firecraft
Swift Reckoning
Serene Steward
Resolute Blademaster
Kor Entanglers
Smite the Monstrous

The idea is to get creatures on the board quickly and continually deny your opponent anything via ability one + swift reckoning, or ability two to kill anything six health or less. It also synergizes with Serene Steward, since a gain life effect triggers with Ajani’s second ability even if you’re at full health. Exquisite Firecraft can be used in a pinch to wipe something else off the board if your opponent has a very fast turn or a bunch of cascades and puts out a board without you being able to stop it. Smite the Monstrous is also another solid piece of removal, as well.

The dream trio in this deck is Resolute Blademaster, Lantern Scout and Serene Steward. Get those three out and you win. The difference between Ajani and Ally Gideon, though, is that Ajani’s abilities are much more effective at locking down your opponent’s board in order to keep MVPs like Blademaster alive, and Ajani’s first two abilities are insanely cheap for what they do.

This deck also completely shuts down the terror of Undergrowth Champion by disabling it every turn with ability one, letting you continue to chip away at your opponent’s HP.

I’ve only ever lost with this deck against a goblin aggro Chandra that got an amazing start and I drew no answers good enough to stop it. Everything else has been a breeze.

And the craziest thing is that this isn’t even the final version of the deck: Once I get Zada, Hedron Grinder, the plan is to sub her in for Kor Entanglers, and exchange Battlefield Forge with First Strike. If I can make those changes, I think this deck will go from monstrous to nigh-unbeatable.

Credit must also be given to span_argoman, who theorycrafted this deck a while back, before I’d gotten Ajani to level 60 in order to test him out in Quick Battles without losing ribbons. I finally got him there today, and this deck did not disappoint.

2

Here’s an update with an alternate build, centering around ramping out a ridiculous board and smashing your opponent into smithereens with it.

Alchemist’s Vial
Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper
Cinder Glade
Battlefield Forge
Iroas’s Champion (Now: Abbot of Keral Keep)
Desolation Twin
Infectious Bloodlust
Swift Reckoning
Exquisite Firecraft
Smite the Monstrous

Pretty straightforward deck. Use Alchemist’s Vial to cycle, disable without needing loyalty, and buff Noyan Dar. Use supports to gain a ridiculous amount of mana and drop your heavy hitters before your opponent has even set up a board. And if they have, use your abilities and hard removal to fix that. Then start smashing them in the face for a ton of damage a turn. You could even have a board consisting of Iroas, Noyan Dar and the first half of Desolation Twin and it would still be incredibly strong; just continually refuse to let the second twin spawn. Between how easy it is to buff Noyan Dar and how much damage Iroas usually does even before buffing it with infectious bloodlust, sacrificing one 10/10 body isn’t actually that bad in the long run.

UPDATE: I took out Iroas for Abbot of Keral Keep, and it’s taken this deck to the next level. Getting discounts on any card in your deck is potentially devastating, and the synergy with Noyan Dar is immense.

3

Back with another list, this time for the aggro fans out there. This deck is focused on flooding the board and then quickly winning the game with a combination of removal and large amounts of damage.

The list:

Akoum Hellkite
Demolish
Exquisite Firecraft
Abbot of Keral Keep
Smite the Monstrous
Swift Reckoning
Infectious Bloodlust
Desolation Twin
Volcanic Rumbler
Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper

The average win time on this deck so far in QB is 4 minutes, with only control decks pushing it up to 5. Demolish is not always useful, but when the opponent does play supports, it’s incredibly powerful as a swing card to get you your tempo back and get rid of your opponent’s ability to persistently buff their creatures, disable yours, or convert gems turn after turn.