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The last deck in my series is certainly not the least. If you like the Teeth deck, but didn’t think it was quite evil enough, Scales might be the deck for you. It comes chock full o 'big creatures and plenty o’ ways to make your opponents angry that they’re playing you. This deck has definitely caught on in popularity, and I've been seeing it used about as much as any other deck.

Strengths

• Decent variety of spells/creatures.
• Good disruption cards.
• Some direct-damage and insta-kill cards.
• Many strong creatures.
• Usually good Mana flow.

Weaknesses

• Potential for getting mana-screwed.
• Not much for boosting

General Strategy – Stockpile and Scorch.

Scales’ strength lies in getting out its big, mean dragons… and there are a few of them. Luckily, there are a decent number of opportunities for getting extra mana with four each of Civic Wayfinder and Rampant Growth. In fact, for whatever reason, this deck seems to regularly get really good "mana" flow. I don't know why it would be any different than Claws, but I rarely have quite the same problems with Scales as I do with that deck.

The trick for you is to stick around long enough to get to the point where you can get your big beasties out. The nice thing is that you’ll also have a few decent roadblocks to throw at your opponent, though fliers can be a major pain early on. You can really thwart an opponent, though, with Blightning. Get two of those early, and you’ve got a good shot to make it long enough to get out some nasty dragon action.

You've also got a lot of options to just throw blockers at grounded opponents with your Sprouting Thrinax and Dragon Fodder cards.

Killer combos and card-specific notes

Gravedigger and…

Gravedigger’s ability to bring back creatures from the graveyard can come in really handy. If you’re getting a little mana starved, try to sacrifice Civic Wayfinder by attacking or defending when you know he’s gonna die. Then, bring him back to life for an extra land.

My favorite Gravedigger combo, though, is with Broodmate  Dragon. Bait your opponent into killing off the main dragon (not the "marker" that comes with it). Then, bring Broodmate back, and now you’ve got three 4/4 dragons instead of two. Ouchie.

Sprouting Thrinax

This guy is a real pain. A 3/3 creature for three mana is pretty decent as it is. However, putting him out there also puts your opponent in a quandary of whether to attack. Going from one to three attackers/blockers isn’t an easy decision to make. This is another pretty good pairing with Gravedigger, as you can rack up an army of annoying Saprolings that can hold off your opponent until your big guns arrive, or give you a lot more attacking options.

Dragon Roost

Get this out with enough mana to use it, and you’ve got a freaking badass creature factory. Plus, if you happen to have Crucible of Fire in play at the same time... yeesh for your opponent.

Violent Ultimatum

Tricky to get the right mana out to use this, but can completely devastate an opponent. Wings deck has three Glorious Anthems out? Not any more. Or, uh oh, here come three badass creatures from the Teeth deck! Never mind… there they go!

Threaten

Though it only lasts for one turn, the ability to take over an opponent's creature can open up some pretty sweet options for you. Imagine taking over a Royal Assassin long enough to use him to kill off an opponent's biggest creature, for example.

Flameblast Dragon

This guy is a good creature at 5/5 with flight, but his direct-damage ability is just devastating. To get him out in the first place, you have to have a fair amount of mana out as is. So, each turn you attack, there's a good shot that you're going to kill a creature with his ability, or lay an extra heaping of blah-dow on your opponent.

Deck matchups

Teeth of the Predator (Green)

This one might prove to be a slugfest. You’re both going at a very similar strategy, which is to hold out until you can get your big creatures out. In the meantime, Teeth probably has some better mid-level creatures. But you’ve got Terror and Blightning to thwart your opponent. Plus, your big creatures have flight. You've also got ways to counter Blanchwood armor, which is nice.

Hands of Flame (Red)

If Hands has any mana troubles, you should have a major advantage. After you get past your Thrinax, your creatures will mostly outslug their creatures. And you’ve definitely got air superiority. Hands does have some thorns, like Goblin King can make those piddly goblins into a Mountainwalking pain in the butt. If you don’t lose early, though, you’ve got a good shot.

Wings of Light (White)

If you can make this battle lag, you should be able to win. Even if Wings gets a lot of health, or some boosting, your big dragons should be able to take care of ‘em. Pacifism can be a beeyatch, but you can consider using Naturalize on it… Though you might want to save that for Glorious Anthem.

Eyes of Shadow (Black)

This is a pretty even match. Your Terror will be useless, as will theirs for many of your creatures – though you still have a few that can fall victim. Blightning can offset the Mind Rot advantage a bit. Their strong creatures can often stand up to many of yours. This should be a good one.

Thoughts of the Wind (Blue)

You’ve got a significant creature advantage, though Wind always has some tricks up its sleeve. If Wind is able to counter a Dragon Roost or Persuade a big creature, it could do some major damage to your plans. Though most of the abilities on your creatures require red or black mana, so they’ll generally have no option to use those abilities even if they do take a creature over. Get in licks early with Civic Wayfinder, Plague Beetle, and the crew, and he’ll probably be weak enough to succumb with a couple swats from a bigger dragon.

Claws of Vengeance (Red, White, Green)

For some reason, it seems like Scales always has the advantage here. You’ve got a bunch of ways to thwart Claws, but Claws doesn’t have as many options to reciprocate. Plus, when you’ve got your big baddies out, they’re bigger and badder than your opponent’s.

Ears of the Elves (Black & Green)

As always, a tough matchup. The main issues are that the Elves can get quite a force as you’re building up to your toughest dragons. Also, Elvish Champion = Forestwalk, and that’s really bad news for you. However, you've got Terror and a couple direct-damage spells to take out the key elves. And you also have Naturalize to thwart the Coat of Arms. When you get fliers out, the advantage will likely shift in your favor, as the Elves may not be able to do anything about it.

Scales of Fury (Black, Red, Green)

Another same-deck matchup means that the best draw will often win. Terror loses some of its power because many of the opposing creatures are black. As usual, Blightning can cause a major disruption here. If you can somehow manage to stop your opponent from getting out one of the three mana colors they need, it can make for a frustrating match for them.

Oh, so you’re a tough guy, eh? “Yeah, Jaycurl… I know all this dumb stuff you’ve been posting for the last few days. I could beat you blindfolded!” Well, Mr. Smartypants, if you’re so awesome, it’s time to try out your skills with the Claws of Vengeance deck. Even if you’re not arrogant, and you’d like a challenge – or you just like the colors of Italy’s flag – Claws may be the deck for you.

Do you spend a lot of time outdoors, trying to become one with nature? Do you like big, intimidating monsters... and hugging trees? If so today’s deck is the deck for you. Teeth of the Predator combines quick addition of mana, big creatures, and some useful boosting cards.