Zero to Sixty: Hamlet Humans

   I've wanted to build something with 4x Hamlet Captain ever since he was spoiled. I just never got around to it... until now. This is a fairly standard-looking and straighforward GW Humans list, but it does have some interesting things going on, I think.

Hamlet Humans

4x Avacyn's Pilgrim
4x Hamlet Captain
3x Mayor of Avabruk
2x Skinshifter
3x Wild Beastmaster
3x Champion of Lambholt
4x Champion of the Parish
3x Fiend Hunter
1x Angel of Glory's Rise

4x Gather the Townsfolk
2x Cathars' Crusade
1x Increasing Devotion
4x Sigil Blessing

2x Temple Garden
2x Brushland
2x Selesnya Guildgate
2x Gavony Township
1x Wooded Bastion
1x Razorverge Thicket
7x Forest
5x Plains

   So clearly we're looking at an aggro deck. But there are some small synergies built into it that give the deck a little flavor and make it more fun and interesting to play. One of the simplest examples is the Turn 1 Champion of the Parish into Turn 2 Gather the Townsfolk, swinging for 3 on the second turn. As long as you can follow that up for the next few turns, you should quickly overwhelm most opponents.

   When you don't get the blazingly aggresive starts, Champion of the Parish can provide mass evasion for your team to help you punch through blockers, while Wild Beastmaster provides mass pump to just overpower said blockers. Those two cards are the main reason 4x Sigil Blessing is in this deck. Blessing targeting either of those guys is a HUGE play, especially if you're able to do it by Turn 5 or so.

   For the long game, Angel of Glory's Rise or Increasing Devotion let you rebuild from a Wrath in one big turn, while Cathars' Crusade and  helps your weenie army of Humans compete with much bigger creatures. You don't have a lot of answers to problems - dealing with creatures usually means sneaking past or overpowering them. But we do have Fiend Hunter for real problematic things like a Windborn Muse or something.

   If you have trouble with other permanents, like say a Worship or Ghostly prison, you can always turn to War Priest of Thune or Ray of Revelation. Path to Exile is always a fine choice for more creature removal if needed. To fight a Wrath-heavy environment, there are plenty of options from Ghostway to Faith's Reward to Rootborn Defenses. Spare from Evil is a great, on-theme card if you find yourself outmatched against another tribal deck.

Other cards I considered or tried out in this deck include: Accorder Paladin, Thraben Doomsayer, Unflinching Courage, Nearheath Pilgrim, Steward of Valeron, and from M14, Imposing Sovereign makes a great metagame choice.

Enjoy!