Solitary Fiends

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

The crew at MTG Realm received a care package from Wizards of the Coast which included an Avacyn Restored and some booster packs.  Intro Packs are a great way to get your head into the latest Magic the Gathering expansion and be able to take this standard constructed format deck out for a spin at a Friday Night Magic event at a game / hobby store near you.

The Intro Pack we got was 'Solitary Fiends' which is a Blue / Black preconstructed, ready-to-play product from Gathering set Avacyn Restored.  This theme deck focuses mainly on the 'loner' motif.  There are several cards in this newest set which provide an advantage when you have exactly one creature on the game table.

Anywhoos - here's the short video of us doing a dissection and cracking some packs . . . 
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Here's the decklist . . .

Solitary Fiends - Blue/BlackCreatures
Lone Revenant x1 (FOIL)
Havengul Skaab x1
Renegade Demon x2
Marrow Bats x2
Mist Raven x2
Undead Executioner x2
Corpse Traders x1
Fettergeist x2
Crypt Keeper x1
Alchemist's Apprentice x3

Other Spells
Demonic Rising x1
Homicidal Seclusion x1
Into the Void x2
Triumph of Cruelty x1
Essence Harvest x2
Frost Breath x2
Crippling Chill x2
Doom Blade x2
Peel from Reality x2
Tormentor's Trident x2
Swiftfoot Boots x1
Predator's Gambit x1

Land
Swamp x13
Island x11

This loner theme is rather interesting and we will be taking it to task over the next few weeks with other intro packs we've bought.  We were a bit tentative about this strategy but after reviewing the cards at length, we feel that with some very minor changes (accounting for our personal tastes), we can get a lot of fun from this deck. 

We like that Demonic Rising orders up a 5/5 flying Demon while Revenant fills your hands with extra cards.  Bonuses are available with enchantment such as the Predator's Gambit aura (+2/+1 and intimidate) and Homicidal Seclusion (+3/+1 and lifelink).  We are thinking of a bit more control here so we do not get too beat up by an opponent's board presence by increasing the number of threat shut-down  cards like Frost Breath and Crippling Chill or perhaps a different bouncer other than Peel from Reality.

We will not likely take this for a spin at a Friday Night Magic Event, chosing a more superior Event deck over this BUT we definitely will be keeping this build together for quite some time for gaming at the kitchen table. 
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Finally,
If you are looking to see what is popular, from the folks over at MTG Mint Card, here are the ten most sold single cards for last month . . .
1. Huntmaster of the Fells / Ravager of the Fells
2. Kessig Wolf Run
3. Hellrider
4. Delver of Secrets / Insectile Aberration
5. Forbidden Alchemy
6. Drogskol Captain
7. Tragic Slip
8. Intangible Virtue
9. Skaab Ruinator
10. Dungeon Geists
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