If there's anyone on this site that's been following my decks, they'd notice I'm a big tribal fan. Probably no card shows up in my decks more often than Cavern of Souls. :-)
Some tribes are easy and obvious: Vampires, Zombies, Elves, Goblins, Humans, a few others. Not to take away from those decks at all (I have tribal decks for them all that I love), but some of them practically build themselves. Others take a bit of work.
I've been exploring some tribes that actually had more support in the past then they do now, but still continue to get some powerful helpers in most every recent block: Warriors, Archers, obscure tribes like that. Now it's time for an actual race that's a bit reversed: they've been around for quite a while, popping up in most blocks throughout time but only recently getting the help they needed to really push themselves into something resembling a true tribe. Thanks mainly to Innistrad block, we can now attempt a bona fide Wolf deck.
Wolves have been sprinkled throughout Magic's history, but never really came to the fore until Innistrad. Not only did nearly half of all the game's Wolves appear in the block, but they also got their first two Lords: Mayor of Avabruck (or, more accurately, Howlpack Alpha), who not only boosts Wolves but also keeps on producing more, and of course Immerwolf, who is the main reason to splash red here, pairing not only well with Wolves by further boosting them, but also making sure your Alpha doesn't get transformed back to a lowly Mayor.
Around them, it's really just a matter of plucking the best Wolves you can find:
- A playset of Timberpack Wolf seemed rather obvious.
- Young Wolf is arguably one of the best one-drops you can find in green. It's a great opening play in this deck.
- I wouldn't have reached into red just to get Pyreheart Wolf, but since we're already there, it's never a bad option, especially with all the Wolves you may have out at once.
- The Wolfir from Avacyn Restored were pretty much must-includes: Avenger is a blocker extraordinaire, and Silverheart is a way to push many other Wolves over the top. For example, pair him with Rot Wolf to make a really tough choice for the player: risk corruption or lose creatures and let you draw cards? Bond Silverheart with the seemingly innocuous for a nearly unblockable beater. Or side in Lone Wolf to get lots of damage through, guaranteed.
- Raised by Wolves can also REALLY smash face. It can easily pump a creature to insane levels. Pair it with Rancor for a potential game ending threat, no matter what blockers are thrown in the way.
And reaching beyond just Wolf creatures, there is some awesome support. Master of the Wild Hunt keeps the battlefield stocked with Wolves and provides an interesting method for wiping out troublesome creatures. Garruk Relentless can stock the field with TWO different Wolf tokens and has plenty of other flexible uses in addition. Rancor is never a bad option, and Moonmist, while normally only seen in Werewolf decks for obvious reasons, is just as awesome here. One-sided damage in key combat phases? Yes, please!
Sideboard has Wolves that are good against certain decks (especially Tel-Jilad Wolf) and some options for more drawn-out games that can break stalled tables wide open.
What do yo think? Hopefully you have a sudden urge to howl. :-)