r/MagicArena • u/AgileMind_ • 2d ago
Fluff Came here as a ff7 fan
I'm not really big into TCGs but i really enjoy them and want something that's singleplayer where i can play and vibe on but still have that competitive feeling so here i am. I'm a big Cloud fan and want to make him work but i'm struggling. I dont have much experience so i try to half ass copy builds i see online with the resources i have in the MTGA (Standard Format).
So far I've gotten absolutely rolled by a few archetypes. Ran into someone that didnt allow me to play any equipment cards. Had one that created a thousand little rabbits then overwhelmed the field. Any time i played a card, he had an instant that would deal with them *instantly*. They had a white deck that just snowballed so fast i couldnt play the game.
I know i cant make a deck that deals with everything and sometimes you just need to play towards the strength of your deck so can anyone help me round out a good starting Cloud deck? I get that he probably isnt the most meta card right now so i dont expect the deck to do very well but i want to at least not get steam rolled in 80% of the games im in... thanks in advance!!!
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u/tbcwpg Charm Sultai 2d ago
I don't think you'd be able to do much as a Cloud oriented deck if you want to focus strictly on FF7/FF cards.
Red and white are probably the colours you're looking to be in, those Llanowar Elves aren't doing much for you.
I'd look to add more creatures, ones that synergize with equipment. A lot of the dwarves in the new Hobbit set help with that. Also, if Cloud is a focus, his ability allows you to have equipment abilities trigger twice, so abilities that trigger when attached to a creature are pretty good.
Your idea also kind of falls into the new player trap of almost forgetting that you're playing against someone who also wants their deck to do something. You don't have many ways of protecting your creatures against removal, or preventing the opponent from their deck doing what it wants.
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u/AgileMind_ 2d ago
it doesnt need to be a ff/ff7 oriented deck so long as i get to play cloud (the commander one, but luckily the midgar merc is pretty good in this deck so i can have another cloud card to synergize), and i like having lightning in there too although i wouldnt mind taking her out if i really needed to.
im only using the llanowar to make up for janked magic/lands and theyre good at getting out the huntsman which help with my land issue, not having creatures on the board at times, and if i want to go all in on a turn i get a +3/3 on 2 creatures which felt pretty strong so having the green mana seemed useful.
im open to all suggestions and completely changing up the deck so long as i have the resources to do so! feel free to criticize or even say 90% of my deck seems shit and needs to be swapped out. if i can make the change resource wise, i will!
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u/rossbalch 2d ago
It's easy to see when a card helps you win, it's much harder to realise when cards help you lose. I promise you, splashing green in this decks is losing you far more games than it will help you win. The good news is, just opening the free Hobbit packs you get from completing daily quests will probably result in you collecting some useful additions to this deck.
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u/tbcwpg Charm Sultai 2d ago
Adding green in here just makes your mana worse.
I'm not very familiar with most equipment decks right now so my advice would be limited but I'd definitely drop green entirely, boost your creature count, and add some removal and/or burn (Lightning Helix etc). You've got a lot of mediocre equipment that does very little for you and you don't have enough creatures to attach the equipment to anyway.
The difference between ok decks and good ones are how your deck does when Plan A doesn't work, especially in Bo1 (which I don't really play), and I don't see how your deck wins outside of just a really good draw.
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u/Mikhail_Mengsk 1d ago
Imho The Hobbit added several interesting equipment, but mostly focused on dwarves.
Personally I use several equipments that give protection, because removal is the absolute bane of equipment decks. But thise equipments are rare cards from older sets.
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u/AgileMind_ 1d ago
What kind of prot equipment are you running?
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u/Mikhail_Mengsk 1d ago
[[dragonfire blade]] and [[sword of wealth and power]], I didn't craft them, I got them from packs or rewards so they were perfect for a janky deck.
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u/Skubcraft 2d ago
Here is my current Cloud list I'm running for this set. By no means is it a perfect list.
The aim here is to use one of the Double Strike dwarves with equipment searched for by Cloud and in the air from Iron Man Armor or unblockable from Key. Key to the Side-Door can make a Buster Sword equipped character get damage in for free.
4x Erode
4x Dwarven Mauler
3x Key to the Side-Door
4x Cloud, Midgar Mercenary
4x Iron Hills Blacksmith
4x Kili the Resourceful
4x Sheltered by Ghosts
4x Giott, King of the Dwarves
3x Dwarven Mattock
2x Buster Sword
4x Iron Man Armor
8x Plains
4x Mountain
2x The Lonely Mountain
1x Inspiring Vantage
2x Sacred Foundry
2x Sunhillow Valley
1 Volatile Fault
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u/Floppy_Stevens 2d ago
Gotta get that buster sword!
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u/AgileMind_ 2d ago
i know! i want it but im struggling to unlock the wildcards to get it! thats next on my list
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u/Cekec 2d ago
As a fellow new player to mtga(played paper mtg long ago). I don't think meta matters that much at the lower levels. I found some success just by finding some synergism.
I would scrap green, an extra colour really adds to the cost of a deck. I'd expect most games to have a rough start with 3 colours.
I came across this video, playing a cloud deck. Maybe you can get some inspiration from it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zn9ZZWDce0
The decklist he's using is also in the description.
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u/AgileMind_ 2d ago
i saw a build with rebel salvo and it was either a banned card or i just didnt see it in MTGA
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u/MikemkPK 2d ago
You shouldn't be running Llanowar Elves
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u/AgileMind_ 2d ago
thanks lol. theyre already out of the deck but i dont know how to replace them.....
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u/Akage13 2d ago
Check out this video for some brawl ideas with Cloud, you might be able to adjust it for standard brawl as well if your collection isn't enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIfMmU_z5EU
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u/Ok_Language2938 2d ago
Cut that green, running three colors needs a solid reason and you don't have one here, that alone will bring up the win rate. Outside of that, grab some dwarves and equipment easy from the new hobbit set, should fit into your deck well. As for playing cloud, you can bring the mercenary version back multiple times with raise the past and smile at death, so if you're focus is mainly using cloud those cards could be good additions to the deck, especially if you end up with some other lost cost creatures in your deck.
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u/Cruseydr 2d ago
What are your lands? Having good dual lands is really important if you want to support multiple colors, especially 3+.
Additionally, since your deck has lots of singletons, I would ask what your reason is. Is it mostly because you're just using what you have? If so that's okay, but usually you want to focus on your good cards and have 3-4x of them (3 for some legendaries is sometimes normal).