MTG Salvation

I just had to do this. I was excited and couldn't go to sleep yet after seeing this general spoiled.

Voltron Style with LD, removal, and counters. This time I decided to use the MTGS 1v1 Ban List.
After making the list by functionality I think I may need a few less mana stones a maybe a few more removal spells or counters, but I gotta get going so I'll tweak it some more later. I won't be testing this list much at first though. I still like Animar more and will be playing him mostly I believe.

I am pretty sure you meant Shivan Reef instead of Shivan Oasis.

This deck really needs Sunforger, arguably the strongest equipment in Commander if the deck can make it shine.

Needs more value creatures.

No Vendilion Clique?

Sunforger+Master Warcraft/Overblaze/Order::Chaos/Emerge Unscathed/Psychotic Fury makes for lots of General Damage, and that's not even mentioning the other goodies you have access to. I'm currently working on refining my tool box and will post the deck soon.

Yeah, this guy is my new favorite, my total go-to for general damage needs. I agree with Sunforger, you're in RW, there is no question about it, play the best damned equipment in the format. Nice call on the sweeps too, Razia's Purification, Cataclysm, Armageddon, hell might as well play Ravages of War while you're at it. Although I could understand you not wanting to drop the $150 for one. *wink*

Also a little shocked at the lack of other great, quality creatures. Mulldrifter, Frost/Sun/Inferno Titan, the aforementioned V-Clique. Karmic Guide is always a trooper, and of course Mnemonic Wall is great for recurring any counterspells, sweepers, or burn of the like you want. There are so many amazing 1337 creatures(if even just for the utility of them) I can't imagine going an almost creatureless route to play this guy, even if all I care about is doing 21.

edit: Hell for draw, just run Memory Jar + Academy Ruins. Seems fair to me >_>. Also, make sure you have your Crucible of Worlds handy for all that mass-LD, because on 37 lands you're gonna get shafted; you'll be hard pressed to make your 5th and 6th land drop.

2nd edit: This guy is a warrior, so play Obsidian Battle-Axe for haste and power boost.

Quote from 3drinks

Yeah, this guy is my new favorite, my total go-to for general damage needs. I agree with Sunforger, you're in RW, there is no question about it, play the best damned equipment in the format. Nice call on the sweeps too, Razia's Purification, Cataclysm, Armageddon, hell might as well play Ravages of War while you're at it. Although I could understand you not wanting to drop the $150 for one. *wink*

Also a little shocked at the lack of other great, quality creatures. Mulldrifter, Frost/Sun/Inferno Titan, the aforementioned V-Clique. Karmic Guide is always a trooper, and of course Mnemonic Wall is great for recurring any counterspells, sweepers, or burn of the like you want. There are so many amazing 1337 creatures(if even just for the utility of them) I can't imagine going an almost creatureless route to play this guy, even if all I care about is doing 21.

edit: Hell for draw, just run Memory Jar + Academy Ruins. Seems fair to me >_>. Also, make sure you have your Crucible of Worlds handy for all that mass-LD, because on 37 lands you're gonna get shafted; you'll be hard pressed to make your 5th and 6th land drop.

2nd edit: This guy is a warrior, so play Obsidian Battle-Axe for haste and power boost.

Well I don't play online much so Ravages of War would be included if this were an Online list. Or if I ever decide to drop the $$$ on it.

I like the suggestions, but thats like 12 cards that could go in (not counting Ravages of War) and possibly more considering what cards could go in for the Sunforger package.



I need suggestions on cuts at this point. So far the things I'd first consider for taking out are:

• Spirit en-Dal great for getting in general damage. Not so great on her own.
• Rhystic Study probably better in multiplayer or if I have more single target LD spells.
• Zephid's Embrace Shroud is good but flying doesn't really guarantee swings will get through.
• Sunder I like throwing them off of their mana, but they can recover more easily with lands in hand instead of in their GY.
• Assault Strobe Its good but I think I could part with it for something else
• Stone Rain Good but I don't have enough single target LD to really need it in here, most of my LD are sweepers. Also it only has one option.
• Wheel of Fortune Could be replaced by Memory Jar package.
• Coldsteel Heart It EtB tapped. Only complaint I have for it.
• Lotus Petal One time use.
• Sphere of the Suns Three time use.

Also I fixed Angelic Rebirth which is now correctly listed as Angelic Renewal.

Hes a really cool general and I like what your doing with the deck but it seems awkward to go Aura and Equipment, your cutting into the resources you could be using for one or the other.

I personally like Equipment for these colors, so stuff like Stonehewer Giant,Steelshaper's Gift,Fabricate

If you wanted to do Auras you should look into Three Dreams, Kor SpiritDancer and Flickerform

Also if your going down Mass LD you'll need more Mana rocks

Quote from A.D.D Hahaha

Hes a really cool general and I like what your doing with the deck but it seems awkward to go Aura and Equipment, your cutting into the resources you could be using for one or the other.

I personally like Equipment for these colors, so stuff like Stonehewer Giant,Steelshaper's Gift,Fabricate

If you wanted to do Auras you should look into Three Dreams, Kor SpiritDancer and Flickerform

Also if your going down Mass LD you'll need more Mana rocks

The aura's I'm running are sooo good on him though. I don't see a reason to run only one or the other.

Now granted I probably will be cutting Zephid's Embrace simply because it isn't as cut throat as the others, but Unquestioned Authority and Bestial Fury are just too good especially since they cantrip. Asha's Favor is amazing since Ruhan doesn't need pumps with a 3 turn clock and now he can attack and defend with flying and first strike. Steel of the Godhead is probably cuttable as lifegain isn't that important nor are the pumps as I previously stated its really there to make him unblockable which I can accomplish in other ways. So if I cut 2 that will leave the deck with only 3 auras but each of which are simply amazing on Ruhan.

Enlightened Tutor, Steelshaper's Gift, and Stoneforge Mystic are already in there. The only other card I'd consider for tutoring equipment is Stonehewer Giant. Fabricate just seems unnecessary. I don't need every single tutor available. Speaking of artifact tutoring Tezzeret the Seeker is also an option, and he is better than Fabricate since he can untap the mana stones.

Now as for the mana rocks. How many do you recommend because I'm already at 10 not counting Lotus Petal which I think is pushing it on how many deck slots I wanna use for mana rocks.

I Bow to your reasoning
For the mana rock I was more surprised by the lack of Mana Vault and sol ring

you might like Battle Mastery

and I personally like firebreath so things like Shiv's Embrace, Ghitu Firebreathing.

Quote from A.D.D Hahaha

I Bow to your reasoning
For the mana rock I was more surprised by the lack of Mana Vault and sol ring

you might like Battle Mastery

and I personally like firebreath so things like Shiv's Embrace, Ghitu Firebreathing.

Yea, I usually build my EDH decks for local play but this one is going by MTGS 1v1 banlist so I can't use Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, or Crucible of Worlds.

However, Mana Vault could potentially go in as a way to ramp out my equipment or other mana rocks. It doesn't really fit for my general since he only has 1 in his cost. It would definately be good if Tezzeret the Seeker gets put in.

I don't like Battle Mastery because Ruhan only needs to kill in 3 hits, it's an aura, and gives him no evasion. Since I'm only likely to get a few attacks in I'd rather have a cheap effect to double his damage output like Fatal Frenzy, Assault Strobe, Psychotic Fury, or Double Cleave. Mostly though I like giving him evasion to make sure my attacks always count.

Firebreathing is mana intensive and I'm usually going to blow up all the lands after Ruhan is in play if my opponent gives me the chance. So I'm not a fan of firebreathing in this deck.

I don't like auras that aren't Rancor because they are bad, and prone to card disadvantage. We're already putting all of our eggs in one basket with the voltron theme, let's not muck things up even more. If it's double strike you're after, Fireshrieker fits the bill nicely. Surestrike Trident can help get damage through when the ground is all mucked up, though admittedly I like it more in Infect. If only this guy were green, because Rancor is sure lookin' nice on him...

If your RWU deck is based on anything except for tutoring for, playing, and abusing both Sunforger and Wild Research in tandum, your doing it wrong.

Quote from 3drinks

I don't like auras that aren't Rancor because they are bad, and prone to card disadvantage. We're already putting all of our eggs in one basket with the voltron theme, let's not muck things up even more. If it's double strike you're after, Fireshrieker fits the bill nicely. Surestrike Trident can help get damage through when the ground is all mucked up, though admittedly I like it more in Infect. If only this guy were green, because Rancor is sure lookin' nice on him...

True and I understand that fact which is why I said I'll probably be cutting Zephid's Embrace and Steel of the Godhead. They just don't offer enough of what I'm looking for. I only put them into the initial list because I was excited about building the deck and it was 2am so I've had time to rethink some of my card choices. I need to update the list, but I've been tired and hot in my home due to all of the Smoke passing over it from Arizona (meaning we couldn't turn on the AC or we'd pull the smoke in) so I just haven't had a chance to update the list yet. I'll try to do it later tonight.

Auras that cantrip are acceptable in my opinion which is why I want to keep Unquestioned Authority and Bestial Fury.

However one aura that I'm excited about in Magic 2012 is:

Not sure if I'll use it in this deck though. I think it definitely has a place in Uril and Zur decks though. Maybe in Rafiq decks as well.

I don't see why you need to run any equipment at all. I could see running Greaves or Cloak, but that's about it. Ruhan is probably one of the fastest killing generals in the format right now because of his mana cost - you don't need to pump him or try and protect him with overcosted swords. I personally would load the deck up on a few things: acceleration and counters. When you combine that with the LD and removal suite offered to you with white and red, this deck can be very quick and extremely formidable. Needless to say, I would build the deck with this as the spine:

~20+ counters (I would keep the CMC of all counters < 3)
~7-8 massive LD spells (Geddon, Ravages, Wildfire, Burning of Xinye etc)
~15+ mana rocks (it's worth it to accelerate extremely quickly with this deck and to break parity with your geddon spells)
~10 removal spells (cheap stuff to get rid of Hermit and other pesky generals, ie Bolt and Swords)
The rest you can fill with utility, card draw, and tutors.

That's how I would build it. I don't see why you would want to speed up the clock of a general who already 3-shots and can't be profitably blocked, who just also happens to be in VERY good 1v1 colors.

Quote from MCR

I don't see why you need to run any equipment at all. I could see running Greaves or Cloak, but that's about it. Ruhan is probably one of the fastest killing generals in the format right now because of his mana cost - you don't need to pump him or try and protect him with overcosted swords. I personally would load the deck up on a few things: acceleration and counters. When you combine that with the LD and removal suite offered to you with white and red, this deck can be very quick and extremely formidable. Needless to say, I would build the deck with this as the spine:

~20+ counters (I would keep the CMC of all counters < 3)
~7-8 massive LD spells (Geddon, Ravages, Wildfire, Burning of Xinye etc)
~15+ mana rocks (it's worth it to accelerate extremely quickly with this deck and to break parity with your geddon spells)
~10 removal spells (cheap stuff to get rid of Hermit and other pesky generals, ie Bolt and Swords)
The rest you can fill with utility, card draw, and tutors.

That's how I would build it. I don't see why you would want to speed up the clock of a general who already 3-shots and can't be profitably blocked, who just also happens to be in VERY good 1v1 colors.

I like this idea. I think you've got a point on the equipment slowing the deck down. So I'll try to rework it tomorrow morning while I'm in my nice and cool office. My room is currently the hottest in the house thanks to my computer. So I'm barely in here for long until they put out the stupid fire in Arizona so the smoke stops covering New Mexico and I can FINALLY have my house Air Conditioned again (smoke free that is).

Okay I made a lot of changes based on MCR's advice and the deck should perform much more quickly now and is very straightfoward. I think the only alternate win-condition is Jace.

I'll try to make a 2nd list of the deck based on card function now.

Have you considered Ressurection or Second Sunrise?

Quote from lorendarcy

Have you considered Ressurection or Second Sunrise?

Not really no.

Resurrection is slow and doesn't follow the gameplan of kill quickly. Also I have very few creatures to target with this and I don't think there would ever be a reason to put my general in the graveyard instead of simply putting him back into the command zone. Also Karmic Guide seems better for this purpose since it is also a flying blocker. Or another much cheaper option is Angelic Renewal which I cut for the current version of the deck. Really if I were to add back in some creature recursion it would be Angelic Renewal for how cheap it is.

Second Sunrise is a little bit better of an option as I can recover from board sweepers with it at the end of my opponent's turn. Otherwise I don't think its necessary. In 1v1 people are sweeping quite as often. They usually just run cheap removal or counter magic.

I think it will do you some good to add Steelshaper's Gift and Stoneforge Mystic to search for an early game greaves. Also, you may want to consider adding Nim Deathmantle to help keep your general around mid/lategame.

Also, you may want to add some cheap burn spells in here to deal with chump blockers. And Daze is an awesome counterspell. Not sure about the new counter with storm, but I'm sure its worth some testing.

Quote from Virtus

I think it will do you some good to add Steelshaper's Gift and Stoneforge Mystic to search for an early game greaves. Also, you may want to consider adding Nim Deathmantle to help keep your general around mid/lategame.

Also, you may want to add some cheap burn spells in here to deal with chump blockers. And Daze is an awesome counterspell. Not sure about the new counter with storm, but I'm sure its worth some testing.

Added back in the gift and mystic. Took out some mana rocks and Bestial Fury (simply cause I haven't bought one yet). Also I put in Chain Lightning for another cheap removal.

I would love to use Path to Exile but it gives them a land which is not something I want to do with this deck. Also Pongify would be nice but I don't want to give them a chump blocker. However it does deal with a general or other more problematic creature. So I may still try this one out.

Another card I'm considering for a cut is Emerge Unscathed as it may not make Ruhan unblockable and I have counters to protect him.

EDIT: Also I haven't tested this list yet but I can't wait to see how Combust works out. Seems like it can hit all the relevant generals and is uncounterable. (i.e. Sygg, Doran, Clique, Rafiq, Zur, Azami, Sisay, Arcum, etc...)

If you do end up running titans you could add in Crush Underfoot , Giant's Ire , even Jötun Gruntfor grave hate

Needs more Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion.

It can potentially be a Timewalk. Boseiju, Who Shelters All, and the land from that cycle that give Haste can all be pretty important to what you're trying to do with this guy 1v1.