I picked this up today. Even with the very limited card pool it's fun to play, although I don't like the campaign system where you have to play the same opponents over and over again to unlock new cards, meaning I have to grind for a day or two before I can even get into the online dueling. I've already finished all the puzzles, but there was no reward for that beyond an achievement. I really hope they'll add new cards and decks in the future.

Necromagus has XBL? :o

Right, I'm a bit further into the game and I've found two major problems with the game:

 

 

 

- The game goes from the main phase to the attack phase automatically, unless you can play a card. This means that in certain scenarios, it's possible to tell that an opponent is holding an instant that could seriously affect how the attack plays out (Holy Day for white opponents, Giant Growth for green opponents, Shock/Incinerate for red opponents, etc.).

 

 

 

- For some reason the game doesn't allow you to pick how you want to pay for spells. This can be a huge pain in multi colour decks. For example, if I want to play a Rampant Growth with two forests and a swamp in play, I have no way of telling the game to use only one forest, in case I need the other one to play Giant Growth later.

Bump, because I'd love to have some new opponents and because I've begun writing the following guide for Gamefaqs:[hide=Ears of the Elves Deck Guide]

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                                   By Sjapp



================================================================================



TABLE OF CONTENTS - Use the search function of your browser for easy navigation.



[*ABOUT] 1.  About this guide

[*HSTRY] 2.  Version history

[*ELVES] 3.  About the Ears of the Elves deck

  [*DL] 3.1 Deck list

  [*IC] 3.2 Individual card discussion

[*PLING] 4   Playing the Ears of the Elves deck

  [*MU] 4.1 Matchups

[*CRDIT] 5   Credits and stuff

[*CNTCT] 6   Contact information



[*ABOUT] 1. About this guide ===================================================



This guide was written for the Ears of the Elves deck, one of the unlockable 

decks available in the Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers Xbox Live

Arcade game. I've chosen to write this guide because in my opinion it's one of

the best decks in the game. It offers a solid combination of a well-balanced

creature base and potent utility spells, including some of the most reliable

removal spells available in the game.



This guide will provide an analysis of the available cards and the matchups 

against the other decks in the game. It will not offer a tutorial or a glossary,

As the tutorial and glossary provided by the game covers everything you need to

start playing.



[*HSTRY] 2. Version history ====================================================



July 01, 2009

Version 0.5: Guide first submitted. Card list complete. Creature analysis 

complete.



[*ELVES] 3. About the Ears of the Elves deck. ==================================



The Ears of the Elves deck is, as the name suggests, a tribal deck built around

elves. It's unlocked by successfully completing the second round against Nissa 

Revane in the twelfth battle of the single player campaign. The deck combines 

green's powerful creature cards with black's potent removal to form a well-

balanced deck that doesn't match up unfavourably to any single deck and is, in

my opinion, the best deck to complete the single player campaign with.



[*DL] 3.1 Deck list ============================================================



To discuss the cards in this deck, I will use the following format:



(A/B)x  <(cost)>





<{power/toughness}>



A is the number of copies of this card available in the starting deck. B is the 

number of copies that can be unlocked by beating CPU opponents. Additional 

strategies for each individual card will be covered in the next section of this 

guide. The cards will be listed in the following order: type, cost, name.



================================== Creatures ===================================



(3/0)x Elvish Eulogist (G)

Creature - Elf Shaman

Sacrifice Elvish Eulogist: You gain 1 life for each elf card in your graveyard.

{1/1}



(2/0)x Elvish Visionary (1G)

Creature - Elf Shaman

When Elvish Visionary comes into play, draw a card.

{1/1}



(2/0)x Gaea's Herald (1G)

Creature - Elf

Creatures can't be countered.

{1/1}



(0/1)x Talara's Batallion (1G)

Creature - Elf Warrior

Trample

Play Talara's Battalion only if you played another green spell this turn.

{4/3}



(4/0)x Elvish Warrior (GG)

Creature - Elf Warrior

*vanilla*

{2/3}



(0/1)x Lys Alana Scarblade (2B)

Creature - Elf Assassin

Tap, Discard an Elf card: Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X 

is the number of Elves you control.

{1/1}



(4/0)x Farhaven Elf (2G)

Creature - Elf Druid

When Farhaven Elf comes into play, you may search your library for a basic land 

card and put t into play tapped. If you do, shuffle your library.

{1/1}



(0/1)x Imperious Perfect (2G)

Creature - Elf Warrior

Other elf creatures you control get +1/+1.

(G), tap: Put a 1/1 green Elf Warrior creature token into play.



(0/1)x Rhys the Exiled (2G)

Legendary Creature - Elf Warrior

Whenever Rhys the Exiled attacks, you gain 1 life for each Elf you control.

(B), Sacrifice an Elf: Regenerate Rhys the Exiled.

{3/2}



(2/2)x Elvish Champion (1GG)

Creature - Elf

Other Elf creatures get +1/+1 and have forestwalk.

{2/2}



(0/1)x Jagged-Scar Archers (1GG)

Creature - Elf Archer

Jagged-Scar Archers's power and toughness are each equal to the number of Elves 

you control.

Tap: Jagged-Scar Archers deals damage equal to its power to target creature with

flying.

{*/*}



(2/2)x Moonglove Winnower (3B)

Creature - Elf Rogue

Deathtouch

{2/3}



(0/1)x Immaculate Magistrate (3G)

Creature - Elf Shaman

Tap: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature for each Elf you control.

{2/2}



(1/0)x Lys Alana Huntmaster (2GG)

Creature - Elf Warrior

Whenever you play an Elf spell, you may put a 1/1 green Elf Warrior creature 

token into play.

{3/3}



(2/0) Elven Riders (3GG)

Creature - Elf

Elven Riders can't be blocked except by Walls and/or creatures with flying.

{3/3}



(0/1)x Nath of the Gilt Leaf (3BG)

Legendary Creature - Elf Warrior

At the beginning of your upkeep, you may have target opponent discard a card 

at random.

Whenever an opponent discards a card, you may put a 1/1 green Elf Warrior 

creature token into play.

{4/4}



============================ Instants and Sorceries ============================



(3/1)x Eyeblight's Ending (2B)

Tribal Instant - Elf

Destroy target non-Elf creature.



(3/0)x Essence Drain (4B)

Sorcery

Essence Drain deals 3 damage to target creature or player and you gain 3 life.



(4/0)x Giant Growth (G)

Instant

Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.



(2/0)x Naturalize (1G)

Instant

Destroy target artifact or enchantment.



(1/0)x Overrun (2GGG)

Sorcery

Creatures you control get +3/+3 and gain trample until end of turn.



================================== Artifacts ===================================



(0/4)x Wurm's Tooth (2)

Artifact

Whenever a player plays a green spell, you may gain 1 life.



(1/1)x Coat of Arms (5)

Artifact

Each creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature that shares a creature type 

with it.



[*IC] 3.2 Individual card discussion ===========================================



This section of the guide consists of a detailed look of each card in the deck; 

what are the card's strengths and weaknesses, when should it be played, what 

other cards from the deck does it combine well with and is it worth including in

the deck.



================================== Creatures ===================================



Elvish Eulogist



Elvish Eulogist seems to exist for one reason: To give the 

deck something to do on its first turn. However, it can be quite a lifesaver 

late in the game, when your graveyard is filling up. To use it to the best of 

its ability you'll need to familiarize yourself with the finer details of 

timing.

If you want to use its ability when blocking, you'll have to activate it after 

you assign it as a blocker but before you end the blockers phase. If you want to

activate it in response to a direct damage spell, you'll have to activate it 

before the spell resolves, meaning before the circle around your life total runs

out. Remember that you can freeze this timer at any moment by pressing X.



Elvish Visionary



Elvish Visionary is a decent play at any moment in the game for the very simple 

reason that it allows you to thin your deck. Elvish Warrior is generally the 

better creature to play at any time and Gaea's Herald is more important against 

the mono-blue deck, but there's rarely any situation where drawing an extra card

is anything but an advantage. The one exception where Elvish Visionary should be

played before Elvish Warrior is when you are stuck with two lands.



Gaea's Herald



Against any deck but the mono-blue one, this is basically a 1/1 body for 1G. 

It's not very cost-efficient, but like most other decks this deck doesn't have 

many creatures with a converted mana cost of 1. Against the mono-blue deck it's 

invaluable though, as it severely handicaps your opponent's ability to stifle 

the growth of your army.



Elvish Warrior



A 2/3 body for two mana is a great deal. The extra point of toughness makes a 

huge difference at times, as it's shock resistant. Furthermore, it can stand 

without fear against a whole host of early threats that have two power, such as 

Youthful Knight and Rip-Clan Crasher.



Lys Alana Scarblade



This card is the only reusable removal that this deck offers, but it comes with 

a cost that is, in my opinion, far too steep. After all, the entire deck (and 

this card) revolves around getting as many elves on the field as possible. I 

would strongly advise against including this card in your deck, unless you are

desperate for more removal. You can discard Eyeblight's Ending to activate its 

effect, but there are very few creatures that Eyeblight's Ending can't remove at

a far lower cost.



Farhaven Elf



This is yet another 1/1 body, but one with a great ability. I can recall more 

than one game where, after dropping elves on both turn one and two, a turn three

Farhaven Elf allowed me to drop a Coat of Arms on turn four, turning all three 

elves into 4/4 monsters. Of course this is a perfect storm scenario, but its 

mana-fixing abilities should never be underestimated, especially early in the 

game. More often than not a turn three Farhaven Elf has given me my first Swamp.

Even late in the game this card has its uses, as it will allow you to thin your 

deck of land and increase the odds of topdecking something useful.



Imperious Perfect



A 2/2 body for 2G is already better than most cards of the same cost in this 

deck offer, but it only gets better after that. Its first ability boosts the 

power and toughness of all other elves you control, and unlike the Elvish 

champion it won't come back to bite you in the rear in the mirror matchup. Its 

second ability will allow you to create an elf warrior token every turn, and 

because of its first ability these will be 2/2 for (G), which is a great deal. 

You should never attack with this creature and only block in life and death 

situations, as it's just too valuable to risk. 

Again, using its ability is all about the timing. Tokens are affected by 

summoning sickness, so you should always activate the ability on your opponent's

turn. Unless you are in need of more blockers I suggest you wait until after the

attack phase, as the threat of a Giant Growth could keep your opponent from 

attacking at all.



Rhys the Exiled



The first legendary creature of the Ears of the Elves deck weighs in at a hefty 

(for an elf at least) 3/2 and comes with two solid abilities. The first allows 

you to gain a boatload of life and the second makes him incredibly hard to kill.

Of course the Regenerate ability comes at the price of sacrificing an elf. What 

this means is that every time you want to regenerate Rhys, you'll have to ask

yourself: "Is the elf I'm about to sacrifice more important for my game than 

Rhys is?"

More often than not the answer will be no. As a general rule, the only elves 

more valuable than Rhys are cards like Imperious Perfect and Immaculate 

Magistrate. A lot of the elves in this deck are 1/1 bodies with limited 

usefulness, and these can be sacrificed to save Rhys without second thought. 

These are elves like Elvish Eulogist, Elvish Visionary and Farhaven Elf. The

fact that it's a reasonably large body at a good cost alone is reason enough to

include it in your deck.



Elvish Champion



One of the most important elves in the game. Its ability boosts the power and 

toughness of all elves, and makes them unblockable against any deck that plays

forests, meaning literally half the decks in this game.

This also makes Elvish Champion a double-edged sword. Each of the decks packing 

green packs at least one elf (usually of the Farhaven or Civic Wayfinder kind). 

Of course your elves will always outnumber theirs, unless it involves the 

dreaded mirror matchup. In that case it simply becomes a race to see who can 

build up the largest army the fastest. Unless you are absolutely certain that 

you can stay ahead in this arms race, I wouldn't risk playing this card. In all 

other scenarios getting this thing on the board should be your highest priority.



Jagged-Scar Archers.



The archers are pretty much the only creature this deck can put up against an

opponent's flying creatures. Their power and toughness rises and falls with the

number of elves you have in play, which shouldn't be a problem most of the time.

There is only a small number of truly threatening creatures with flying in play,

and all of them can be dealt with if you remember to hold back an Eyeblight's 

Ending. This is a pretty decent creature to include, as it can get pretty big on

its own and has an ability that could potentially save your hide.



Moonglove Winnower



Deathtouch is always a fun ability. It does exactly what you'd expect from the 

name: Any creature that gets damaged by it dies. That means that its ability 

won't work on creatures with first strike and more than 3 power or with 

protection from black. Both are extremely rare in this game, which means that a

single Moonglove Winnower can scare of anything that doesn't fly. A large body 

combined with an ability that can hold off even the biggest (non-flying) threats

makes this a very useful creature to have on the board.



Immaculate Magistrate



Another elf with an extremely useful ability. Not only does the Magistrate boost

your creature's power and toughness, it boosts your creatures permanently. This 

card can be great to put more pressure on your opponents, either by boosting a 

blocked creature to make it survive combat or by boosting an unblocked creature 

to deal extra damage.

The former is almost always preferable, as you should always try to keep as many

elves on the field as possible. Playing this ability to save your creatures 

rather than deal more damage generally pays off big time in the long run.



Lys Alana Huntmaster



The second token-pooper of this deck, which activates whenever you play an elf 

spell, which includes all your creatures and Eyeblight's Ending. This creature 

is invaluable in most situations for all the obvious reasons, and makes Coat of 

Arms just a little more deadly. This card's ability to build up a huge army 

makes it a prime target for removal, so time it well if you think an incinerate 

or terror is coming. Dropping it late in the game, then dropping some cheap 

elves right after it, can be a game winning play against most opponents.



Elvish Riders



I love this thing. At 3/3 it's one of the largest bodies in the game, and the 

ability makes up for the fairly high cost. Against a large amount of decks this 

creature is virtually unblockable, and it can be a great way to put your 

opponent on the clock. Of course there are handful of creatures that can shut

this down (most dragons, Angelic Wall), but a little support can go a long way 

to turn this thing into a game-ending monster.



Nath of the Gilt-Leaf



At 4/4 the second legendary creature of this deck is also the largest. That 

alone makes it worth playing, but it also has the kind of spectacular abilities 

you should expect from your legendary creatures. Its ability to make opponents 

discard cards at random can be a great way to frustrate your opponent, and more 

elf warrior tokens are always welcome. Unfortunately this ability becomes 

useless once your opponent goes into topdeck mode, but it's still a card that 

I'd include without a moment's hesitation.



============================ Instants and Sorceries ============================



Eyeblight's Ending



This card has everything that you could want from a removal spell. Instant 

speed, reasonable cost and a wide range of targets. Of course it's utterly 

useless against the mirror matchup, but other than that it will always have a 

target.



Essence Drain



Slower, more expensive and less lethal than Eyeblight's Ending, but it still has

its uses. If it won't kill a creature outright, you'll have to try to get some 

more damage onto it. The best way to do this is to try and goad your opponent 

into blocking with it. Of course this will only work if your opponent isn't 

already beating you over the head with it, in which case your best hope is 

probably drawing an Eyeblight's Ending.



Giant Growth



This is undoubtedly one of the most versatile cards in the deck. It can save a 

creature from dying to combat damage, in which case it usually also ends up 

destroying the blocking or blocked creature that's on the receiving end of a 

creature boosted with this spell. Furthermore, it will save a creature from 

burn, and finally it will allow unblocked creatures to deal more damage.

How you should play this card all comes down to what your opponent has on the 

board. Most of the time you'll want to use it to save your creatures and take 

out your opponent's most threatening creatures. After all, your ability to keep 

your elves on the board directly determines your chances of victory. There are

exceptions to this of course. When I was holding three Giant Growth on turn 

three and my Elvish Warrior was attacking a defenseless opponent, I didn't 

hesitate to throw them all out at once. These situations are extremely rare 

however, and you should only use Giant Growth if you're absolutely sure your 

opponent isn't about to drop something huge on your head in the next few turns.



Naturalize



This card is about as straightforward as it gets. Most decks don't have enough 

artifacts and enchantments to make this choice very difficult. The sole 

exception to this is the black deck, which has several painful artifacts and 

enchantments. Most of the time your choices will be simple: anything but the two

mana life giving artifacts. Pacifism is another low priority target, but one you

could chose to take it out if it's a creature that could win you the game by 

attacking or blocking.



Overrun



At 2GGG it's difficult to cast, but with a few elves in play it will usually 

leave your opponents on the ropes, if not flat out knocked out. With all the 

options this deck already has to boost the power of your elves, the ability to 

give them all trample is especially delicious.



================================== Artifacts ===================================



Wurm's Tooth.



I personally never use this card, as there are far more useful things you can do

with two mana. At its best, it'll be a nice but unnecessary bonus. At its worst,

it'll simply be delaying the inevitable. There are so many better things this 

deck could be doing with two mana, so leave them out.



Coat of Arms



On the other end of the usefulness spectrum, we have this tremendously important

card. Of all the victories that were won by a single card, this card was 

responsible for the most of them. Of course this card works for all creatures, 

which means your opponent will get the same advantage. None of the other decks 

are as purely tribal as the elf deck however, so if you have more creatures on 

the board than your opponent you can generally play this without thinking twice.

Of course this all changes with the dreaded mirror matchup. To play this card

'safely', the board will have to meet two conditions: You should control more 

elves than your opponent, or you should control more strong elves than your 

opponents. I will go into more detail in the matchup section.



[*PLING] 4. Playing the Ears of the Elves deck =================================



Coming soon!



[*MU] 4.1 Matchups =============================================================



Coming soon!



[*CRDIT] 5. Credits and stuff ==================================================



* Wizards of the Coast for creating what has been the best trading card game for

over fifteen years now.



* http://www.network-science.de/ascii/ for allowing me to create the sweet Ascii

header



[*CNTCT] 6. Contact information ================================================



I can be reached on jappe73 (at) hotmail.com for suggestions, corrections and 

praise. You will be fully credited in the credits section of this guide.

Challenges and insults will be ignored.

[/hide]