{"ops":[{"insert":"There’s usually not much to say in the primer of a deck like elf-ball. They all want to win either by generating an enormous army of elves boosted by anthems, or by generating a large amount of mana and casting an X spell (I forwent the overused "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Exsanguinate"}},{"insert":" in favor of the little-seen, single-printing only "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Squall Line"}},{"insert":" , which will also neatly wipe the elf-free skies).\n\nSo what’s so different about this deck? Not a ton, but consider for strategy in your own deckbuilding and play:\n\nYou don’t need "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":" or other artifact mana in an elf deck. In fact I’d argue a case that such cards are actively worse than a mana elf, which can be pumped and which triggers many paths to victory in the deck. It’s pretty hard to get a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Golgari Signet"}},{"insert":" to attack for infect damage with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Triumph of the Hordes"}},{"insert":" ."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"It’s usually correct to balance victory paths so you have an A, B, and C. The closer they are to one another, the better. The elf deck is unusually tight between its A (anthems wide), its B (at least one of those X spells can give your elves fear), and its C (Triumph of the Hordes)."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Nightshade Harvester"}},{"insert":" is an underrated card. Way too many players count on landfall (or at least ramp) nowadays to ignore the punishing aspect of this card. Wizards needs to make more cards like these."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Harald will be unlikely to deal full commander damage to anyone. His role is to help with “next elf up” - let him die and recast him again easily with mana creatures."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nStandard strategic approach notes and disclaimer(s) for all my decks:\nI just started (in May 2026) uploading all of my (200+) decks into Archidekt. This is going to be a slow process so if you’re seeing notes that refer to other decks that you can’t find, give me a short moment and I’ll have more stuff up soon."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I generally aim for high synergy, short of optimization. (Tier 3+, if you track that sort of thing.)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I like games that last 8-12 turns and aim to demonstrate the deck’s synergy within that timeframe."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I prefer to win but don’t relentlessly pursue that goal, because I am an adult who enjoys playing games with friends. So you’ll occasionally see silly cards. Enjoy them!"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I have 200+ decks and do not want to bore my friends, so my goal is to have NO non-land card in more than 3-4 decks. If you’re wondering why a certain “obvious staple” isn’t in this deck list, that’s probably why."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I’m continuously updating (each deck gets a look at newer cards every six months) so of course there may be changes around the margins. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThanks for checking out my deck(s). Peace.\n\nAnthony Alongi\nProgenitor of Multiplayer Magic Content Creation\nFormer Columnist for Wizards of the Coast, StarCity Games, The Dojo\nFormer Podcaster (Elder Dragon Statesmen) with the Late, Great Sheldon Menery\n\n"}]}