1) You love to feel like the Archenemy at the table beginning very early.
2) You love winning occasionally in the Combat Phase.
3) You love Kiki-combos more than life itself.
4) You want to play casually with the same deck you compete with.
5) You live the Gruul life.
Why you would hate this general:
1) You hate combos of any kind, even when you don't HAVE to use them to win.
2) Extra combat phases make you sick to your stomach.
3) You hate turning anything sideways to win.
4) You want to play a more control oriented strategy.
5) You believe Red is not a (viable) color in EDH.
Other RG Generals compared to us:
We do have some competition for a RG only general and here are a few of the more popular ones (adding as people ask why Xenagos instead of [x] general):
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed - This guy. I love him, if Xenagos wasn't printed I'd have made and sleeved up Ruric Thar Primal Surge EDH in 0 seconds flat. Why not play him then? You can't play any type of non-creature without worrying about getting smacked for 6 damage while the big guys is out. Xenagos has about the same explosive power without the same risk to yourself, plus with extra combat phases, we actually outpace Ruric Thar's clock and can easily evade his ability due to our high creature count. Did I mention that Torpor Orb also doesn't blow us out as bad as him?
Wort, the Raidmother - Queen of token based strategy in the color combination and beats us in this respect, but that's where it pretty much stops. We play such a high amount of fatties with Trample Wort finds herself throwing a lot of here 1/1s under the bus at some point to avoid large amounts of damage, and due to the fact our General comes down a whole turn sooner puts us in a winning race. Plus, she can only double Instants and Sorceries which limits what she can do as she needs to try and find a balance between the two, and RG isn't exactly known for it's various good creature control options.
Discussion on my Meta
My local meta, as you might suspect from some of the card choices on my list, isn't filled with the most hyper competitive decks ever imagined. I know the tuned decks and the untuned ones. Which I have to worry about most when I sit at a table, and who I can let build, knowing I can crush them at any instant. I also have two house rules I have to play by, which are as follows:
1) Paris Mulligans - This was the biggest factor in me NOT playing a combo-oriented deck. Not getting to Partial Paris weakens Combo decks and their ability to function properly and punishes them by making them mull down to try and get a good starting hand. I've tried to change this, but the abundance of non-combo players outweighs the combo players, and the proprietor is on the anti-combo side, so I gotta deal with it.
2) 20 Poison instead of 10 - This make cards like Putrefax as horrible in my list as any other general's. Luckily Blightsteel isn't affected by this, I just target him with Xenagos and he still one shots people. It keeps me from making a turn 4-6 kill possible with the previously mentioned Horror, unfortunately.
These are a few of the regulars decks by current commander, function and my current thoughts and feelings about them. I'll separate them all as they are into how I approach them while at the table:
Use Extreme Caution
These decks scare me the most, when I see them and their controllers, I have to Mulligan aggressively to hit specific interactive cards or I'll be dead by turn 6.
Sydri, Galvanic Genius - This deck, despite not playing the other half of it's combos, literally kicks ass if he's allowed to have ANY time to build. Artifact heavy to a fault, but dangerous once he gets going. I have the advantage here though as I have creature tutors and Hellkite Tyrant and Bane of Progress depending on what he resolves, while his first Flying creatures comes in at 7 mana and normally taps out every turn starting from turn one to turn 6.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV - Stax control. This guy is the only person that has Torpor Orb, and he plays nothing to search it out THANK YOU MY GOD! Still, Stasis, Static Orb, and Winter Orb are difficult to deal with while putting up with the extra tax from the Arbiter, especially when he resolves Torpor Orb. I normally don't have to worry about it too long as other people *strangely* prioritize it after I show them a Bane of Progress. But when I do have to worry, my deck pretty much loses any kind of momentum to play Archenemy and I die.
Dangerous
These decks have combo pieces littered in their deck that can be scary, but doesn't bother me too much as their decks lack the consistency to use them properly.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Living Death Dredge combo. Fortunately I would win this match most days if I get an early Survival of the Fittest as I get the most advantage from his Living Death resolving around turn 10, but even when I don't an average hand has him dead by turn 6. The real thing that worries me is the Prophet of Kruphix and Deadeye Navigator he runs, past that, it's manageable.
Caution
These decks don't worry me, but I have to be mindful of their board states cause they have no qualms with hitting me even if it puts them in danger.
Erebos, God of the Dead - Big mana life drain. This is the guy who comes to the LGS using a rather glass cannon version of a mono-black deck. He lacks the good black tutors, so I normally don't have to care too much. His most scary aspect though is his combo of Magus of the Coffers and Umbral Mantle for infinite mana into a game ending Exsanguinate. As long as I keep either off the table (or simply never allow the latter to equip to the former), the other two normally can keep him contained.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - Big mana fatties. He hasn't even built this deck properly as he uses almost every 1 and 2 drop mana dork imaginable, and no creature tutors, but I still have to worry cause he has nearly killed me once before, before I got off my single Board Wipe which shut him down for the rest of the game as he kept drawing no fatties and all mana dorks. I don't know why he doesn't listen to me cause this used to be the mono colored Commander I was using before I added red (and by extension Xenagos) on Cocktrice. Vorinclex is so much better than this.
Laughable
Everyone else - Pretty much there is a casual crowd of about 10 that come and go. I'm not that worried by them either. I have killed them even when their boardstates quadruple mine and have killed other people. They avoid me simply off the merit of my Commander.
Blightsteel Colossus - 22 Points of Trampling Infect damage the turn he comes down when pointed at someone with an empty board, or only 2 toughness worth of creatures, normally spells the end of them at my table. Not much more to say about him than this. He ends people's games, and the only one legal that can do this.
Removal
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre - When cast him I get a Vindicate which normally helps me put myself into a winning position. One of my few Torpor Orb answers, so quite integral to my plots.
Woodfall Primus - Comes in, blows up a noncreature, attacks for 12 Trampling damage and gets ready to die to blow something else up after a wipe and attack for 10 on my next turn. I'd rather it be Sylvan Primordial, but we can't always get what we want, now can we?
Bane of Progress - Comes in and Annihilates every annoying little Enchantment and Artifact that may or may not be restricting me from doing things, then attacking for somewhere in the ball park of 10-18. I once hit a Artifact player for the full 40 of his life. This guy does big things, and I like that.
Steel Hellkite - Attacks for 12, and can blow up cards with a specific CMC. Great vs Token and Stax strategies as both play with permanents with a largely similar CMC of 0 and 3 respectively. Another one of my Torpor Orb answers.
Duplicant - Gets rid of problematic cards for me. Mostly Indestructible creatures or Praetors that a graveyard player just doesn't wanna let die. Swings for a nice range as well based on what he exiles.
Deus of Calamity - This guy shuts out most non-Green decks from the game by just continuously aiming at them. Also gets rid of problematic lands that people like to use the Cabal Coffers, Gaea's Cradle, and other types of problematic cards.
Acidic Slime - Comes in and gets rid of what annoys me the most and then sits back like a rattlesnake making people second guess sending something in to attack with.
Reclamation Sage - Much like Acidic Slime, this comes in and does away with something annoying. Doubles as Skullclamp fodder. So much advantage at that point.
Ulvenwald Tracker - My big thing fights your thing you didn't want to block with. Pretty much that in a can. Doubles as Skullclamp fodder in a pinch.
Blasphemous Act - Currently my only board wipe in the deck. It does it's job well, and can't wait for more good board wipes like this in future sets.
Reap and Sow - Blows up a Utility land and fetches me mine. What's not to love?
Vandalblast - This card has shut out games for me due to some people playing Mycosynth Lattice before Darksteel Forge. Most other times though it gets rid of everyone else's mana rocks and such while allowing me to keep mine.
Grab the Reins - Instant speed get rid of your Indestructible guy and fling. Unusual removal, but very relevant when used properly, like when you're being swung at by and Inf/Inf dude.
Chaos Warp - A surgical tool good for getting rid of pesky things that are otherwise Indestructible or outside my ability to destroy in whatever capacity.
Beast Within - I would do this trade almost any day of the weak, especially when what I get rid of could/will end the game with me not winning. I like winning, this helps me do it. The 3/3 is barely relevant when compared to what I blow up.
Mana Ramp
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - My only big mana card in the deck simply due to his power and the fact he's also resource denial, which slows down my opponents and accelerates me way beyond into the late game. Works well with my robust land ramp package as well.
Oracle of Mul Daya - Flips the top card of my deck so all can see, which has come in handy for politics from me to last an additional turn to put someone ahead a little. If the card happens to be a land, I just got past one bad draw, if it's another, she's ramping me a turn, which helps me keep me ahead in mana. Overall I like the card, just wish I could make a land be the top card all the time.
Solemn Simulacrum - This card is so good he might as well have been Green. Ramps you off four mana into five, then draws you a card when he dies. Solid card even in the color.
Farhaven Elf - Gets us a basic of either color on turn three putting us on four. Works wonderfully. I Especially like doing this turn two off a Forest and a Sol Ring. Doubles as Skullclamp fodder.
Yavimaya Dryad and Wood Elves - Gets us a Forest, which could be our Shock (and eventually Dual) land. Both double as Skullclamp fodder.
Sakura-Tribe Elder - Sacs itself to grab us a basic so we can fix our mana early, or use him late as a cheap chump blocker for any non-Trample creature to nab us a land in the process.
Skyshroud Claim - Nabs two Forests out of the deck, which can be our Shock (and eventually Dual) land. This is insane fixing for our deck putting us at 6 mana afterwards off four mana, and thins the deck a little more.
Kodama's Reach or Cultivate - Both do the same thing, which is allowing us to fix our mana on turn 3 and make sure we get our land drop on turn 4. There is no reason to play one and not the other. None.
Nature's Lore - Nabs a single Forest, which can be our Shock (or eventually Dual), fixing our mana. Put us at 3 lands on turn 2.
Exploration - Good early game, this allows us to quickly pull ahead on a land heavy hand so we can play the fatty that was sitting in our opening hand sooner than most people can deal with. Late game it allows us to toss lands down faster when we go crazy with Skullclamp/Skullmulcher.
Sol Ring Easily one of, if not the best, mana rock in the game. Easily the only for sure auto-include of any EDH list.
Myriad Landscape - This card is insane in mono-colored decks and great in dual color, letting you get multiples of your starved color on turn 3 if you played this on turn 2, without needing ANY green mana available. That is great for when we have otherwise snap-keep hands with only red mana in it.
Card Draw and Card Selection
Skullmulcher - Great card when we've got a few utility creatures and tokens on the field and need some cards. Can swing for some large numbers if my board get particularly overrun.
Yamimaya Elder - Pretty much guarantees our next two land drops, while fixing our mana. And the times we get to use his sacrifice ability, we get to get a card out of it. All win/win unless he gets exiled which I've yet to see happen to him so far.
Eternal Witness - Lets us get out a card that hits the yard that we would otherwise need later, or reuse something if we messed up or had to do something else. Good Skullclamp fodder afterwards. Regrowth on a stick op.
Tooth and Nail - This card ends the game for us most times if it's allowed to resolve nabbing us Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts. We literally play aggressive to strip our opponents of answers to resolve this for the win.
Harmonize - 4 mana for 3 cards is an OP effect in Green. I'd do this all day, even if it is Sorcery speed.
Chord of Calling - Allows us to search and play cards when we need it most when we otherwise wouldn't be able to. Also gives some purpose to Plant tokens if Avenger gets taken out before we can drop a land into play.
Survival of the Fittest - This card allows us to pitch dead cards early and late game to find gas to fuel our game plan. If someone tries to remove it, use it to go find Eternal Witness and play it some more next turn. Worth every penny imo.
Green Sun's Zenith - It's literally +1 of every Green creature in the deck. This is so good, it's banned in Modern. Enough said, right?
Worldly Tutor - Go search out your next draw on the player before you's End Phase for a single broccoli. This is an awesome play when you need to find that game ending creature, or something to get rid of annoyances or what have you.
Skullclamp - This card interacts positively with EVERY card in the deck. Got a fatty? Equip it with this to give it +2/+0 (+1 for it being equipped, then another because of the Xenagos modifier taking that +1 into account, which also negates the -1) when it attacks. If it dies, draw 2. Got a x/1 utility creature? Equip it to this to kill it off for 1 generic and draw 2. This is insane. So much so, I added a bad token making land just to help abuse this effect.
Extra Combat
Hellkite Charger - This card is great. I love casting it with the full 11 mana available when the game goes long enough and swinging that turn for 30 damage by itself to someone's life total, which at that point should close out that player's game. During other points in the game he is a very respectable 10/10 Flying.
Seize the Day - Since we swing with single threats most of the game, this affect is actually beneficial to us, and the fact it has flashback makes it more so. With Blightsteel Colossus, it normally takes out two players, three if we cast then flash it back. I like this card getting countered the first time because we didn't truly lose it and most of the time people forget about it and we win after we take out the first person then flash this back next turn. Or take out two in one turn, then let us have an aggro match with the guy that might have been behind the whole game.
Savage Beating - Love this card absolutely. For 7 mana it can make a lot of very, very nice plays, most normally take out one or two players from the game completely.
Aggravated Assault - A repeatable effect which can exceed even the reach of any of thee above given 15 mana, with 6 being red sources. Love, love, love it.
Haste Enablers
Ogre Battledriver - I dislike this card. In the Web of War was bad, and this is worse for being on a creature. The only good part is with 10 lands, it makes Avenger of Zendikar do a total of 37 damage with a full swing and land drop. This would be Urabrask the Hidden if I could find one for trade/sale.
Feldon of the Third Path - A decent card so far, allowing me to reuse some of my fatties and give them haste if Xenagos becomes unreachable for a time. My dream though is to use him to recur Wurmcoil Engine endlessly and have an over abundance of the 3/3 Wurm tokens.
Lightning Greaves - More meant for Xenagos than other creatures when I enable him to be a creature, the 0 equip cost is what got this card it's slot over Swiftfoot Boots, but a bit of a nonbo with Xenagos and other creatures Equipped with it. I'd run both though if I had the room.
Token Producers
Avenger of Zendikar - Makes tokens and does damage with either Purphoros, God of the Forge or Ogre Battledriver. If hard cast off lands with the other God it'll deal 14 damage to each opponent, more if I keep dropping more and more lands. Unfortunately I need 20 lands in play to auto-win this way, but it helps. With the Battledriver, it's 37 damage to one opponent under the situation described above.
Dragon Broodmother - I love this card a lot. It makes me happy on the inside having this last a few turns in a 4 player pod. I drop it, attack for 8, then next turn I have one 7/7 Dragon Token, and the Mother swinging for 18 damage. The next turn 25 (2 7/7 Tokens, and the Mother) and the next turn 32, then 39... It gets out of hand fast enough for me to not care. Though at the same time, if I hit Skullclamp, I could get 2-8 cards per turn by not sacrificing any of the tokens. Still, a 5 turn clock for pretty much the whole table with Xenagos sitting on the table is good.
Garruk, Primal Hunter - Makes 3/3 Beasts and draws me 12+ cards when I need it. That's utility that's really unbeatable.
Xenagos, the Reveler - This guy normally only makes his Hastey 2/2 creatures, but there are enough times when I've ticked up his loyalty and made enough mana to play an early Ulamog and close out a game swiftly after. My Christmas Land is getting to Ult' him into Porphoros, Avenger, and Kiki-Jiki while on 9 lands.
Kher Keep - The previously mentioned bad land. Guarantees a Purphoros trigger each turn, and 2 additional cards per turn with Skullclamp, or one with Skullmulcher. It cemented it's place in my list when I got to use it to gain me 3 cards per turn cycle in 2 games back to back, both times being the sole reason I pulled out a victory.
Assorted Creatures
Craterhoof Behemoth - What more can I say about this card that hasn't already been said, right? Makes impossibly amazing plays with little set-up, what's *not* to like?
Atarka, World Render - A new card from Fate Reforged that is just amazing when paired with Xenagos. Doing 12 damage without him, but 24 when with him makes for some very swingy games and in the game I got to use her completely took the guy I pointed her at twice before getting removed after proving she wasn't jank. If you have her, and aren't using her, shame not only on you, but your whole household and future spawns, because remember those numbers with Dragon Broodmother? Yeah, double them. That's this card's power.
Wurmcoil Engine - 12 damage alpha strikes are well and good, but they're doubly so when you gain 12 life off it. This card quickly becomes unbearable after a while, not to mention my Christmas land dreams with this card and Feldon.
Hellkite Tyrant - I am in a Artifact deck heavy meta. If this thing connects, and often does, I take all of them from my opponents, which usually puts me so far ahead after a few whacks around the table that I pretty much laugh about it. I love this card.
Silklash Spider - I hate this card, but it keeps the skies clear for my dudes to swing overhead later. Will become a Balefire Dragon when I get him. (What is with this guy and not being able to find new Mythics, but having all these high priced Rares that see Legacy play? >-> That's what you're thinking, ain't cha?)
Zealous Conscripts - Steals anything if I really want or need it. It also allows me to not care about planeswalkers and ult them for people. Combos out with Kiki-Jiki.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Allows me to play strong synergy plays or combo out. Fairly high utility card because of this.
Purphoros, God of the Forge - I love the extra damage this card creates just by doing what comes naturally, playing creatures. Also makes for some big life total swings with Avenger and grinds people down with Kher Keep and Dragon Broodmother (Like her clock needed to be increased, am I right?). Also a nice team buff that helps me not play cards like Moonveil Dragon and still get the most out of Xenagos' ability.
Brooding Saurian - A tutorable Homeward Path on a stick. Triggers on EOT unlike the Path, but still keeps people from getting any real use out of my creatures if they Bribery or take control of my creatures. Unfortunate that it doesn't get me Xenagos back if they don't play Red or Green.
Unmentioned Lands
Command Tower - Gives me both colors and comes in untapped. Unfortunately it doesn't gain the basic land types related to the mana it can tap for or else I'd call it Taiga 2.0. Good regardless.
Wooded Foothills - In Color Fetch. The only one because it makes no sense to me to run the other 5 (or was it 6?) just because they share a solitary color I can run without having Taiga. I will get it!
Stomping Ground - Obvious inclusion. Goes well with most of my land tutors as well.
Rootbound Crag - After turn one, this is basically Taiga without the tutor-ability.
Temple of the False God - 2 extra mana is a very real advantage, though I don't like how prohibitive it is. It's still good cause we're almost guaranteed to hit 4 other lands to turn this on before we have to worry.
Reliquary Tower - I like the hand limit getting dropped. I usually need this card if I get a Skullclamp draw engine going.
Arcane Lighthouse - I like this can help me get around hexproof and shroud when I need to, and can tap for mana when I don't. Solid utility, but useful only under very specific circumstances.
Homeward Path - I like my creatures. I like being the only one who can use them too. Don't you?
Kessig Wolf Run - Give my non-Trample guys Trample for and boost their Power by +X? I was sold before I even considered Skarrg.
Mosswort Bridge - I like the Hideaway. The fact I can activate this very soon is amazing.
Basics
13 Forests and 8 Mountains played because it feels like the right number. I've yet to have color problems even though I play a high amount of triple Green and Red creatures.
Quicksilver Amulet - I love the card, I really do, but due to the amount of Artifact heavy decks that run about my meta, Bane of Progress happens to be in the top 10 of my most resolved creature spells in the list, and due to a lack of control, he always tends to get the Amulet, and playing it afterwards normally gets it countered. So tl;dr version: Good early game, but I tend to have to blow it up, and bad late game as it tends to get countered quickly.
Terastodon - This card is great, but not as great as Woodfall Primus. 9/9s without trample that make blockers tend to be bad for me.
Rapacious One and Living Hive - Token strategy cards indeed. Both generate tokens to feed to Skullclamp or Skullmulcher for card advantage, and one gives us a faster clock, while the other gives us more mana. I took these out simply because Living Hive takes 5 turns to kill out a table of 3 other players sitting at 40 life assuming every hit connects. But the thing is damage starts falling off quickly the more damage that gets deflected, negated, or simply blocked. Rapacious one though suffered from his tokens fueling only the generic mana portion of spells, which helps for a time, but at the same time overextends my board state. In the end, both were only really good after about 2 mostly unblocked swings IF I had Craterhoof in my hand. Good cards, just I think Atarka and Dragon Broodmother are better cards in the end.
Fauna Shaman - Though not specifically in this deck, I do own and have used Fauna Shaman. I never felt like casting her was the right play at any point in any game as I had to wait until I untapped with her in order to use her limited Survival of the Fittest effect. Too slow, too limited is why you don't/won't see her in this list or any list I ever post up.
By sell me, I mean give me reasons these cards should be in my list. I tinker with the notion, but I'm holding back due to it either having too low an impact, or my meta might not be impacted enough by it.
Akroma, Angel of Fury - I love Akroma. She is a wonderfully powerful white angel in a deck a friend of a friend played. Red Akroma I'm almost equally impressed with except that Black is a common color in my meta due to the fact black kill spells tend to be cheaper than White removal and good Blue counters, so I'm hesitant to add the 8 mana beater into the deck.
Balefire Dragon is something I've been meaning to grab for the deck. Also, Oracle is in the deck, I just missed her and assumed I missed a land, but have since fixed that. Sylvan Library is on the wish list as well for when I win my next tournament. Even though I play only 18 non-permanents, Primal Surge normally doesn't generate enough advantage and the fact I can only rely on giving one creature haste, most games I lose the ones I didn't get to use to a board wipe before my next untap step. And yes, I've played it. It's awesome. Just not awesome here. Quicksilver Amulet is a normally good card, but I simply just don't have the room for it. Uncounterable discounted creatures are nice, it's just I more often than not I have to cast Bane of Progress around turn 4-6 as I am in an artifact heavy meta with 2 Daretti's, 1 Keranos, 1 Jhiora, 1 Arcum Daggson and 1 Sydri out of about 17 different players. I always sit down with one Artifact based deck in any given pod. Otherwise, it would have been in here YEARS ago. Akroma and Utvara are not necessarily needed in the deck. Akroma due to my meta containing 6 Black decks and 2 being regulars, though Utvara might become a replacement to Broodmother at some point, though she is a pet card of mine, which is why he also isn't in the deck (plus Devouring 6/6 Dragon tokens feels worse than 1/1 Dragon tokens to draw cards, plus the synergy with Skullclamp). So basically yeah...
What about Skarrg, the Rage Pits, Fire-lit Thicket (or Taiga for that matter), or Ruric Thar, the Unbowed? I don't think you're running enough dragons for the fate reforged guy to be worth the 7 cmc. I also didn't see Urabrask the Hidden or Fauna Shaman in the ole 99, these should be auto-includes, IMO. Both of the PW's are also irrelevant to Xenagos the commander. Neither of them are worth the time in this deck as they're not creatures. You could just as easily run creatures with those desired effects on the PW Xenagos and Garruk. In fact, I'm surprised that there isn't a Glimpse of Nature/Primordial Sage/Soul of the Harvest effect or two in here. I'd think that if you were going to even include PW's, you'd want Domri Rade and Garruk Wildspeaker. Xenagos, as a commander, doesn't need very much to win. Tutor up a fatty, cheat/ramp it out, swing for lethal or annihilator lock. I usually go for Balefire Dragon, It that Betrays, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, or Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Why lolly-gag when you could just go in for the kill? This IS competitive, right?
tl;dr: You don't need to run so many non-creatures. You have the means of doing nearly everything you need/want to do already on creatures. You should restrict your noncreature spell count to 10-12. You could drop every one of those ramp sorceries for a creature that does it better, for example. Birds of Paradise, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Sylvan Caryatid, Courser of Kruphix, etc. Or pile on more fatties.
Taiga's on the to get list, I just don't list it cause it should be obvious that it's coming in at some point. Fire-Lit Thicket though... eh, I'm not much of a fan of the filter lands and while I don't have the same defense as I normally would in a 3 color deck, that being that it doesn't tap for one or the other without me cycling mana for it potentially forcing me to use my only available 3 color mana source on turn two to get it, I just don't feel it's a necessary purchase as this will at one point become a three color deck. Skarrg happens to have the unfortunate place of being beaten for it's slot by Kessig Wolf Run and a second would rarely ever be useful to me. Also, I try to keep my things that tap for colorless at a minimum. Atarka has more than earned her place as even though I only run 4 other Dragons, she swings by herself for 24 damage with Xenagos on the field, which is something that is rather spectacular and puts it in the damage range of Ulamog and Blightsteel (though she doesn't auto-kill them in one unblocked hit, but with the 20 poison house rule, he doesn't do it often either) for pure damage. Urabrask will be replacing Ogre Battledriver as soon as I find one in trades (literally the In the Web of War on a stick is there because I don't have the red Praetor yet, people love that guy). As for Glimpse of Nature, it's a combo card, which this deck, with it's high mana curve, it could never dream of pulling it off. Primordial Sage/Soul of the Harvest and the Glimpse also kinda tend to want to over extend a board into a wipe. Again, as in my previous comment, I can only ever rely on giving one (1) creature haste and the double power boost, so having more than that puts me at risk of turning Xenagos and/or Purphoros into creatures to have them cloned or mind controlled in some way, shape, or form, which is not a good thing as well as losing a multitude of otherwise good single threats to a board wipe. I like to force wipes to make them as close to a 1 for 1 against me as possible, and yes, that's about what they become just to attempt to control me once I start dropping threats. Both planeswalkers also have there niche role, as Garruk can be a Greater Good that doesn't require me to sac my threats or ditch extra and fill my hand with 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, or 22 more cards, and Xenagos makes Gaea's Cradle class worthy amounts of mana in a combination of Green *and* Red mana, and with a board filled with utility creatures and tokens, can lead to me dropping my massive threats much sooner than expected. Domri Rade's +1 lacks usefulness. Maybe if I was at 60 creatures in deck he would be useful with a 60% chance of revealing a creature off it. Tbut the fight is the only thing worth looking into him for, and having played him before in EDH in a Ruric Thar EDH during Ravnica block, I can say he's rather lackluster and I'd probably only play him to live the dream of Ult'ing him. Garruk Wildspeaker has the unfortunate place of just looking like some mild ramp and overrun or beast token occasionally. I'm rarely in a position where he can benefit me as my lands normally only tap for 1 mana ever/ and with my ramp package I find myself with more mana than needed most games anyways. And I do just go for the kill in this deck, I force removal, wipes, and spot removal til everyone is out of things to react with anymore and drop Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts to make infinite Zealous Conscripts and attack for the win. My ENTIRE aggro game is to open a single moment where I can do this and win without worry through tutoring for it, normally with an entwined Tooth and Nail. Which is part of the reason Mana dorks and nonland mana ramp is absolutely trash, as I force all kinds of wipes and removal and if I were to rely on the things that are easier to remove, I slow my game plan down. A land drop is worth 3 Mana Dorks/Rocks in the long run. Also, on the note of Azusa, she is good, but only if Courser or Oracle are on the field, and in all honesty, I'd rather have the Oracle over all three other options. Deck space is rather tight ya know.
Also, Adding in some more to the article after I take a shower and unwind from my day at work.
Private Mod Note
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2) You love winning occasionally in the Combat Phase.
3) You love Kiki-combos more than life itself.
4) You want to play casually with the same deck you compete with.
5) You live the Gruul life.
2) Extra combat phases make you sick to your stomach.
3) You hate turning anything sideways to win.
4) You want to play a more control oriented strategy.
5) You believe Red is not a (viable) color in EDH.
Other RG Generals compared to us:
We do have some competition for a RG only general and here are a few of the more popular ones (adding as people ask why Xenagos instead of [x] general):
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed - This guy. I love him, if Xenagos wasn't printed I'd have made and sleeved up Ruric Thar Primal Surge EDH in 0 seconds flat. Why not play him then? You can't play any type of non-creature without worrying about getting smacked for 6 damage while the big guys is out. Xenagos has about the same explosive power without the same risk to yourself, plus with extra combat phases, we actually outpace Ruric Thar's clock and can easily evade his ability due to our high creature count. Did I mention that Torpor Orb also doesn't blow us out as bad as him?
Wort, the Raidmother - Queen of token based strategy in the color combination and beats us in this respect, but that's where it pretty much stops. We play such a high amount of fatties with Trample Wort finds herself throwing a lot of here 1/1s under the bus at some point to avoid large amounts of damage, and due to the fact our General comes down a whole turn sooner puts us in a winning race. Plus, she can only double Instants and Sorceries which limits what she can do as she needs to try and find a balance between the two, and RG isn't exactly known for it's various good creature control options.
My local meta, as you might suspect from some of the card choices on my list, isn't filled with the most hyper competitive decks ever imagined. I know the tuned decks and the untuned ones. Which I have to worry about most when I sit at a table, and who I can let build, knowing I can crush them at any instant. I also have two house rules I have to play by, which are as follows:
1) Paris Mulligans - This was the biggest factor in me NOT playing a combo-oriented deck. Not getting to Partial Paris weakens Combo decks and their ability to function properly and punishes them by making them mull down to try and get a good starting hand. I've tried to change this, but the abundance of non-combo players outweighs the combo players, and the proprietor is on the anti-combo side, so I gotta deal with it.
2) 20 Poison instead of 10 - This make cards like Putrefax as horrible in my list as any other general's. Luckily Blightsteel isn't affected by this, I just target him with Xenagos and he still one shots people. It keeps me from making a turn 4-6 kill possible with the previously mentioned Horror, unfortunately.
These are a few of the regulars decks by current commander, function and my current thoughts and feelings about them. I'll separate them all as they are into how I approach them while at the table:
Use Extreme Caution
These decks scare me the most, when I see them and their controllers, I have to Mulligan aggressively to hit specific interactive cards or I'll be dead by turn 6.
Sydri, Galvanic Genius - This deck, despite not playing the other half of it's combos, literally kicks ass if he's allowed to have ANY time to build. Artifact heavy to a fault, but dangerous once he gets going. I have the advantage here though as I have creature tutors and Hellkite Tyrant and Bane of Progress depending on what he resolves, while his first Flying creatures comes in at 7 mana and normally taps out every turn starting from turn one to turn 6.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV - Stax control. This guy is the only person that has Torpor Orb, and he plays nothing to search it out THANK YOU MY GOD! Still, Stasis, Static Orb, and Winter Orb are difficult to deal with while putting up with the extra tax from the Arbiter, especially when he resolves Torpor Orb. I normally don't have to worry about it too long as other people *strangely* prioritize it after I show them a Bane of Progress. But when I do have to worry, my deck pretty much loses any kind of momentum to play Archenemy and I die.
Dangerous
These decks have combo pieces littered in their deck that can be scary, but doesn't bother me too much as their decks lack the consistency to use them properly.
Jhoira of the Ghitu, Keranos, God of Storms, and Arcum Dagsson - All these are listed under the same line because they all do the same thing. Get Darksteel Forge, Mycosynth Lattice, and Nevinyrral's Disk on the field and make the game unplayable. I have to draw Chaos Warp in these games before they go off, or hit them with Hellikite Tyrant.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Living Death Dredge combo. Fortunately I would win this match most days if I get an early Survival of the Fittest as I get the most advantage from his Living Death resolving around turn 10, but even when I don't an average hand has him dead by turn 6. The real thing that worries me is the Prophet of Kruphix and Deadeye Navigator he runs, past that, it's manageable.
Caution
These decks don't worry me, but I have to be mindful of their board states cause they have no qualms with hitting me even if it puts them in danger.
Erebos, God of the Dead - Big mana life drain. This is the guy who comes to the LGS using a rather glass cannon version of a mono-black deck. He lacks the good black tutors, so I normally don't have to care too much. His most scary aspect though is his combo of Magus of the Coffers and Umbral Mantle for infinite mana into a game ending Exsanguinate. As long as I keep either off the table (or simply never allow the latter to equip to the former), the other two normally can keep him contained.
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - Big mana fatties. He hasn't even built this deck properly as he uses almost every 1 and 2 drop mana dork imaginable, and no creature tutors, but I still have to worry cause he has nearly killed me once before, before I got off my single Board Wipe which shut him down for the rest of the game as he kept drawing no fatties and all mana dorks. I don't know why he doesn't listen to me cause this used to be the mono colored Commander I was using before I added red (and by extension Xenagos) on Cocktrice. Vorinclex is so much better than this.
Laughable
Everyone else - Pretty much there is a casual crowd of about 10 that come and go. I'm not that worried by them either. I have killed them even when their boardstates quadruple mine and have killed other people. They avoid me simply off the merit of my Commander.
The General List (in descending cmc order)
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
Creatures [34]
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Atarka, World Render
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Bane of Progress
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Dragon Broodmother
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Duplicant
1 Silklash Spider
1 Deus of Calamity
1 Skullmulcher
1 Acidic Slime
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Brooding Saurian
1 Ogre Battledriver
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Feldon of the Third Path
1 Eternal Witness
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Yamimaya Elder
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Yavimaya Dryad
1 Wood Elves
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
Sorceries [11]
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Reap and Sow
1 Seize the Day
1 Harmonize
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Nature's Lore
1 Vandalblast
1 Green Sun's Zenith
Instants [7]
1 Savage Beating
1 Grab the Reins
1 Chaos Warp
1 Krosan Grip
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Worldly Tutor
Enchantments [3]
1 Aggravated Assault
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Exploration
Artifacts [3]
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
Lands [39]
1 Command Tower
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Stomping Ground
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Rugged Highlands
1 Kazandu Refuge
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Temple of the False God
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Kher Keep
1 Homeward Path
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mosswort Bridge
13 Forest
8 Mountain
The List (by primary purpose)
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
"You Lose"
1 Blightsteel Colossus
Removal
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Bane of Progress
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Duplicant
1 Deus of Calamity
1 Acidic Slime
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Reap and Sow
1 Vandalblast
1 Grab the Reins
1 Chaos Warp
1 Krosan Grip
1 Beast Within
Mana Ramp
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Yavimaya Dryad
1 Wood Elves
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Nature's Lore
1 Exploration
1 Sol Ring
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Skullmulcher
1 Yamimaya Elder
1 Eternal Witness
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Harmonize
1 Chord of Calling
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Skullclamp
Extra Combat
1 Hellkite Charger
1 Seize the Day
1 Savage Beating
1 Aggravated Assault
Haste Enablers
1 Ogre Battledriver
1 Feldon of the Third Path
1 Lightning Greaves
Token Producers
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Dragon Broodmother
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Kher Keep
Assorted Creatures
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Atarka, World Render
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Silklash Spider
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Brooding Saurian
1 Command Tower
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Stomping Ground
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Rugged Highlands
1 Kazandu Refuge
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Temple of the False God
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Homeward Path
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mosswort Bridge
13 Forest
8 Mountain
"You Lose"
Blightsteel Colossus - 22 Points of Trampling Infect damage the turn he comes down when pointed at someone with an empty board, or only 2 toughness worth of creatures, normally spells the end of them at my table. Not much more to say about him than this. He ends people's games, and the only one legal that can do this.
Removal
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre - When cast him I get a Vindicate which normally helps me put myself into a winning position. One of my few Torpor Orb answers, so quite integral to my plots.
Woodfall Primus - Comes in, blows up a noncreature, attacks for 12 Trampling damage and gets ready to die to blow something else up after a wipe and attack for 10 on my next turn. I'd rather it be Sylvan Primordial, but we can't always get what we want, now can we?
Bane of Progress - Comes in and Annihilates every annoying little Enchantment and Artifact that may or may not be restricting me from doing things, then attacking for somewhere in the ball park of 10-18. I once hit a Artifact player for the full 40 of his life. This guy does big things, and I like that.
Steel Hellkite - Attacks for 12, and can blow up cards with a specific CMC. Great vs Token and Stax strategies as both play with permanents with a largely similar CMC of 0 and 3 respectively. Another one of my Torpor Orb answers.
Duplicant - Gets rid of problematic cards for me. Mostly Indestructible creatures or Praetors that a graveyard player just doesn't wanna let die. Swings for a nice range as well based on what he exiles.
Deus of Calamity - This guy shuts out most non-Green decks from the game by just continuously aiming at them. Also gets rid of problematic lands that people like to use the Cabal Coffers, Gaea's Cradle, and other types of problematic cards.
Acidic Slime - Comes in and gets rid of what annoys me the most and then sits back like a rattlesnake making people second guess sending something in to attack with.
Reclamation Sage - Much like Acidic Slime, this comes in and does away with something annoying. Doubles as Skullclamp fodder. So much advantage at that point.
Ulvenwald Tracker - My big thing fights your thing you didn't want to block with. Pretty much that in a can. Doubles as Skullclamp fodder in a pinch.
Blasphemous Act - Currently my only board wipe in the deck. It does it's job well, and can't wait for more good board wipes like this in future sets.
Reap and Sow - Blows up a Utility land and fetches me mine. What's not to love?
Vandalblast - This card has shut out games for me due to some people playing Mycosynth Lattice before Darksteel Forge. Most other times though it gets rid of everyone else's mana rocks and such while allowing me to keep mine.
Grab the Reins - Instant speed get rid of your Indestructible guy and fling. Unusual removal, but very relevant when used properly, like when you're being swung at by and Inf/Inf dude.
Chaos Warp - A surgical tool good for getting rid of pesky things that are otherwise Indestructible or outside my ability to destroy in whatever capacity.
Krosan Grip - Stops a lot of very powerful infinite combos like Mind Over Matter + Temple Bell.
Beast Within - I would do this trade almost any day of the weak, especially when what I get rid of could/will end the game with me not winning. I like winning, this helps me do it. The 3/3 is barely relevant when compared to what I blow up.
Mana Ramp
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger - My only big mana card in the deck simply due to his power and the fact he's also resource denial, which slows down my opponents and accelerates me way beyond into the late game. Works well with my robust land ramp package as well.
Oracle of Mul Daya - Flips the top card of my deck so all can see, which has come in handy for politics from me to last an additional turn to put someone ahead a little. If the card happens to be a land, I just got past one bad draw, if it's another, she's ramping me a turn, which helps me keep me ahead in mana. Overall I like the card, just wish I could make a land be the top card all the time.
Solemn Simulacrum - This card is so good he might as well have been Green. Ramps you off four mana into five, then draws you a card when he dies. Solid card even in the color.
Farhaven Elf - Gets us a basic of either color on turn three putting us on four. Works wonderfully. I Especially like doing this turn two off a Forest and a Sol Ring. Doubles as Skullclamp fodder.
Yavimaya Dryad and Wood Elves - Gets us a Forest, which could be our Shock (and eventually Dual) land. Both double as Skullclamp fodder.
Sakura-Tribe Elder - Sacs itself to grab us a basic so we can fix our mana early, or use him late as a cheap chump blocker for any non-Trample creature to nab us a land in the process.
Skyshroud Claim - Nabs two Forests out of the deck, which can be our Shock (and eventually Dual) land. This is insane fixing for our deck putting us at 6 mana afterwards off four mana, and thins the deck a little more.
Kodama's Reach or Cultivate - Both do the same thing, which is allowing us to fix our mana on turn 3 and make sure we get our land drop on turn 4. There is no reason to play one and not the other. None.
Nature's Lore - Nabs a single Forest, which can be our Shock (or eventually Dual), fixing our mana. Put us at 3 lands on turn 2.
Exploration - Good early game, this allows us to quickly pull ahead on a land heavy hand so we can play the fatty that was sitting in our opening hand sooner than most people can deal with. Late game it allows us to toss lands down faster when we go crazy with Skullclamp/Skullmulcher.
Sol Ring Easily one of, if not the best, mana rock in the game. Easily the only for sure auto-include of any EDH list.
Myriad Landscape - This card is insane in mono-colored decks and great in dual color, letting you get multiples of your starved color on turn 3 if you played this on turn 2, without needing ANY green mana available. That is great for when we have otherwise snap-keep hands with only red mana in it.
Card Draw and Card Selection
Skullmulcher - Great card when we've got a few utility creatures and tokens on the field and need some cards. Can swing for some large numbers if my board get particularly overrun.
Yamimaya Elder - Pretty much guarantees our next two land drops, while fixing our mana. And the times we get to use his sacrifice ability, we get to get a card out of it. All win/win unless he gets exiled which I've yet to see happen to him so far.
Eternal Witness - Lets us get out a card that hits the yard that we would otherwise need later, or reuse something if we messed up or had to do something else. Good Skullclamp fodder afterwards. Regrowth on a stick op.
Tooth and Nail - This card ends the game for us most times if it's allowed to resolve nabbing us Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts. We literally play aggressive to strip our opponents of answers to resolve this for the win.
Harmonize - 4 mana for 3 cards is an OP effect in Green. I'd do this all day, even if it is Sorcery speed.
Chord of Calling - Allows us to search and play cards when we need it most when we otherwise wouldn't be able to. Also gives some purpose to Plant tokens if Avenger gets taken out before we can drop a land into play.
Survival of the Fittest - This card allows us to pitch dead cards early and late game to find gas to fuel our game plan. If someone tries to remove it, use it to go find Eternal Witness and play it some more next turn. Worth every penny imo.
Green Sun's Zenith - It's literally +1 of every Green creature in the deck. This is so good, it's banned in Modern. Enough said, right?
Worldly Tutor - Go search out your next draw on the player before you's End Phase for a single broccoli. This is an awesome play when you need to find that game ending creature, or something to get rid of annoyances or what have you.
Skullclamp - This card interacts positively with EVERY card in the deck. Got a fatty? Equip it with this to give it +2/+0 (+1 for it being equipped, then another because of the Xenagos modifier taking that +1 into account, which also negates the -1) when it attacks. If it dies, draw 2. Got a x/1 utility creature? Equip it to this to kill it off for 1 generic and draw 2. This is insane. So much so, I added a bad token making land just to help abuse this effect.
Extra Combat
Hellkite Charger - This card is great. I love casting it with the full 11 mana available when the game goes long enough and swinging that turn for 30 damage by itself to someone's life total, which at that point should close out that player's game. During other points in the game he is a very respectable 10/10 Flying.
Seize the Day - Since we swing with single threats most of the game, this affect is actually beneficial to us, and the fact it has flashback makes it more so. With Blightsteel Colossus, it normally takes out two players, three if we cast then flash it back. I like this card getting countered the first time because we didn't truly lose it and most of the time people forget about it and we win after we take out the first person then flash this back next turn. Or take out two in one turn, then let us have an aggro match with the guy that might have been behind the whole game.
Savage Beating - Love this card absolutely. For 7 mana it can make a lot of very, very nice plays, most normally take out one or two players from the game completely.
Aggravated Assault - A repeatable effect which can exceed even the reach of any of thee above given 15 mana, with 6 being red sources. Love, love, love it.
Haste Enablers
Ogre Battledriver - I dislike this card. In the Web of War was bad, and this is worse for being on a creature. The only good part is with 10 lands, it makes Avenger of Zendikar do a total of 37 damage with a full swing and land drop. This would be Urabrask the Hidden if I could find one for trade/sale.
Feldon of the Third Path - A decent card so far, allowing me to reuse some of my fatties and give them haste if Xenagos becomes unreachable for a time. My dream though is to use him to recur Wurmcoil Engine endlessly and have an over abundance of the 3/3 Wurm tokens.
Lightning Greaves - More meant for Xenagos than other creatures when I enable him to be a creature, the 0 equip cost is what got this card it's slot over Swiftfoot Boots, but a bit of a nonbo with Xenagos and other creatures Equipped with it. I'd run both though if I had the room.
Token Producers
Avenger of Zendikar - Makes tokens and does damage with either Purphoros, God of the Forge or Ogre Battledriver. If hard cast off lands with the other God it'll deal 14 damage to each opponent, more if I keep dropping more and more lands. Unfortunately I need 20 lands in play to auto-win this way, but it helps. With the Battledriver, it's 37 damage to one opponent under the situation described above.
Dragon Broodmother - I love this card a lot. It makes me happy on the inside having this last a few turns in a 4 player pod. I drop it, attack for 8, then next turn I have one 7/7 Dragon Token, and the Mother swinging for 18 damage. The next turn 25 (2 7/7 Tokens, and the Mother) and the next turn 32, then 39... It gets out of hand fast enough for me to not care. Though at the same time, if I hit Skullclamp, I could get 2-8 cards per turn by not sacrificing any of the tokens. Still, a 5 turn clock for pretty much the whole table with Xenagos sitting on the table is good.
Garruk, Primal Hunter - Makes 3/3 Beasts and draws me 12+ cards when I need it. That's utility that's really unbeatable.
Xenagos, the Reveler - This guy normally only makes his Hastey 2/2 creatures, but there are enough times when I've ticked up his loyalty and made enough mana to play an early Ulamog and close out a game swiftly after. My Christmas Land is getting to Ult' him into Porphoros, Avenger, and Kiki-Jiki while on 9 lands.
Kher Keep - The previously mentioned bad land. Guarantees a Purphoros trigger each turn, and 2 additional cards per turn with Skullclamp, or one with Skullmulcher. It cemented it's place in my list when I got to use it to gain me 3 cards per turn cycle in 2 games back to back, both times being the sole reason I pulled out a victory.
Assorted Creatures
Craterhoof Behemoth - What more can I say about this card that hasn't already been said, right? Makes impossibly amazing plays with little set-up, what's *not* to like?
Atarka, World Render - A new card from Fate Reforged that is just amazing when paired with Xenagos. Doing 12 damage without him, but 24 when with him makes for some very swingy games and in the game I got to use her completely took the guy I pointed her at twice before getting removed after proving she wasn't jank. If you have her, and aren't using her, shame not only on you, but your whole household and future spawns, because remember those numbers with Dragon Broodmother? Yeah, double them. That's this card's power.
Wurmcoil Engine - 12 damage alpha strikes are well and good, but they're doubly so when you gain 12 life off it. This card quickly becomes unbearable after a while, not to mention my Christmas land dreams with this card and Feldon.
Hellkite Tyrant - I am in a Artifact deck heavy meta. If this thing connects, and often does, I take all of them from my opponents, which usually puts me so far ahead after a few whacks around the table that I pretty much laugh about it. I love this card.
Silklash Spider - I hate this card, but it keeps the skies clear for my dudes to swing overhead later. Will become a Balefire Dragon when I get him. (What is with this guy and not being able to find new Mythics, but having all these high priced Rares that see Legacy play? >-> That's what you're thinking, ain't cha?)
Zealous Conscripts - Steals anything if I really want or need it. It also allows me to not care about planeswalkers and ult them for people. Combos out with Kiki-Jiki.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Allows me to play strong synergy plays or combo out. Fairly high utility card because of this.
Purphoros, God of the Forge - I love the extra damage this card creates just by doing what comes naturally, playing creatures. Also makes for some big life total swings with Avenger and grinds people down with Kher Keep and Dragon Broodmother (Like her clock needed to be increased, am I right?). Also a nice team buff that helps me not play cards like Moonveil Dragon and still get the most out of Xenagos' ability.
Brooding Saurian - A tutorable Homeward Path on a stick. Triggers on EOT unlike the Path, but still keeps people from getting any real use out of my creatures if they Bribery or take control of my creatures. Unfortunate that it doesn't get me Xenagos back if they don't play Red or Green.
Unmentioned Lands
Command Tower - Gives me both colors and comes in untapped. Unfortunately it doesn't gain the basic land types related to the mana it can tap for or else I'd call it Taiga 2.0. Good regardless.
Wooded Foothills - In Color Fetch. The only one because it makes no sense to me to run the other 5 (or was it 6?) just because they share a solitary color I can run without having Taiga. I will get it!
Stomping Ground - Obvious inclusion. Goes well with most of my land tutors as well.
Rootbound Crag - After turn one, this is basically Taiga without the tutor-ability.
Rugged Highlands and Kazandu Refuge - Place holders for Taiga and Gruul Turf. Hey, turf is advantage, giving you two technical lands on the next turn.
Strip Mine - Because there is no such thing as too much land hate with as many broken lands as there is printed.
Tectonic Edge - Because Wasteland is expensive.
Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse - Because Wooded Foothills is one of a kinda, but both can fetch either color.
Temple of the False God - 2 extra mana is a very real advantage, though I don't like how prohibitive it is. It's still good cause we're almost guaranteed to hit 4 other lands to turn this on before we have to worry.
Reliquary Tower - I like the hand limit getting dropped. I usually need this card if I get a Skullclamp draw engine going.
Arcane Lighthouse - I like this can help me get around hexproof and shroud when I need to, and can tap for mana when I don't. Solid utility, but useful only under very specific circumstances.
Homeward Path - I like my creatures. I like being the only one who can use them too. Don't you?
Kessig Wolf Run - Give my non-Trample guys Trample for and boost their Power by +X? I was sold before I even considered Skarrg.
Mosswort Bridge - I like the Hideaway. The fact I can activate this very soon is amazing.
Basics
13 Forests and 8 Mountains played because it feels like the right number. I've yet to have color problems even though I play a high amount of triple Green and Red creatures.
Terastodon - This card is great, but not as great as Woodfall Primus. 9/9s without trample that make blockers tend to be bad for me.
Rapacious One and Living Hive - Token strategy cards indeed. Both generate tokens to feed to Skullclamp or Skullmulcher for card advantage, and one gives us a faster clock, while the other gives us more mana. I took these out simply because Living Hive takes 5 turns to kill out a table of 3 other players sitting at 40 life assuming every hit connects. But the thing is damage starts falling off quickly the more damage that gets deflected, negated, or simply blocked. Rapacious one though suffered from his tokens fueling only the generic mana portion of spells, which helps for a time, but at the same time overextends my board state. In the end, both were only really good after about 2 mostly unblocked swings IF I had Craterhoof in my hand. Good cards, just I think Atarka and Dragon Broodmother are better cards in the end.
Fauna Shaman - Though not specifically in this deck, I do own and have used Fauna Shaman. I never felt like casting her was the right play at any point in any game as I had to wait until I untapped with her in order to use her limited Survival of the Fittest effect. Too slow, too limited is why you don't/won't see her in this list or any list I ever post up.
Sylvan Library
Burgeoning
Urabrask the Hidden
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth (Waiting for MM2015 to drop first)
Taiga (this should have been an obvious)
Akroma, Angel of Fury - I love Akroma. She is a wonderfully powerful white angel in a deck a friend of a friend played. Red Akroma I'm almost equally impressed with except that Black is a common color in my meta due to the fact black kill spells tend to be cheaper than White removal and good Blue counters, so I'm hesitant to add the 8 mana beater into the deck.
Balefire Dragon is something I've been meaning to grab for the deck. Also, Oracle is in the deck, I just missed her and assumed I missed a land, but have since fixed that. Sylvan Library is on the wish list as well for when I win my next tournament. Even though I play only 18 non-permanents, Primal Surge normally doesn't generate enough advantage and the fact I can only rely on giving one creature haste, most games I lose the ones I didn't get to use to a board wipe before my next untap step. And yes, I've played it. It's awesome. Just not awesome here. Quicksilver Amulet is a normally good card, but I simply just don't have the room for it. Uncounterable discounted creatures are nice, it's just I more often than not I have to cast Bane of Progress around turn 4-6 as I am in an artifact heavy meta with 2 Daretti's, 1 Keranos, 1 Jhiora, 1 Arcum Daggson and 1 Sydri out of about 17 different players. I always sit down with one Artifact based deck in any given pod. Otherwise, it would have been in here YEARS ago. Akroma and Utvara are not necessarily needed in the deck. Akroma due to my meta containing 6 Black decks and 2 being regulars, though Utvara might become a replacement to Broodmother at some point, though she is a pet card of mine, which is why he also isn't in the deck (plus Devouring 6/6 Dragon tokens feels worse than 1/1 Dragon tokens to draw cards, plus the synergy with Skullclamp). So basically yeah...
What about Skarrg, the Rage Pits, Fire-lit Thicket (or Taiga for that matter), or Ruric Thar, the Unbowed? I don't think you're running enough dragons for the fate reforged guy to be worth the 7 cmc. I also didn't see Urabrask the Hidden or Fauna Shaman in the ole 99, these should be auto-includes, IMO. Both of the PW's are also irrelevant to Xenagos the commander. Neither of them are worth the time in this deck as they're not creatures. You could just as easily run creatures with those desired effects on the PW Xenagos and Garruk. In fact, I'm surprised that there isn't a Glimpse of Nature/Primordial Sage/Soul of the Harvest effect or two in here. I'd think that if you were going to even include PW's, you'd want Domri Rade and Garruk Wildspeaker. Xenagos, as a commander, doesn't need very much to win. Tutor up a fatty, cheat/ramp it out, swing for lethal or annihilator lock. I usually go for Balefire Dragon, It that Betrays, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, or Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre. Why lolly-gag when you could just go in for the kill? This IS competitive, right?
tl;dr: You don't need to run so many non-creatures. You have the means of doing nearly everything you need/want to do already on creatures. You should restrict your noncreature spell count to 10-12. You could drop every one of those ramp sorceries for a creature that does it better, for example. Birds of Paradise, Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Sylvan Caryatid, Courser of Kruphix, etc. Or pile on more fatties.
On the note of noncreature spells, consider Sneak Attack and Asceticism too.
Taiga's on the to get list, I just don't list it cause it should be obvious that it's coming in at some point. Fire-Lit Thicket though... eh, I'm not much of a fan of the filter lands and while I don't have the same defense as I normally would in a 3 color deck, that being that it doesn't tap for one or the other without me cycling mana for it potentially forcing me to use my only available 3 color mana source on turn two to get it, I just don't feel it's a necessary purchase as this will at one point become a three color deck. Skarrg happens to have the unfortunate place of being beaten for it's slot by Kessig Wolf Run and a second would rarely ever be useful to me. Also, I try to keep my things that tap for colorless at a minimum. Atarka has more than earned her place as even though I only run 4 other Dragons, she swings by herself for 24 damage with Xenagos on the field, which is something that is rather spectacular and puts it in the damage range of Ulamog and Blightsteel (though she doesn't auto-kill them in one unblocked hit, but with the 20 poison house rule, he doesn't do it often either) for pure damage. Urabrask will be replacing Ogre Battledriver as soon as I find one in trades (literally the In the Web of War on a stick is there because I don't have the red Praetor yet, people love that guy). As for Glimpse of Nature, it's a combo card, which this deck, with it's high mana curve, it could never dream of pulling it off. Primordial Sage/Soul of the Harvest and the Glimpse also kinda tend to want to over extend a board into a wipe. Again, as in my previous comment, I can only ever rely on giving one (1) creature haste and the double power boost, so having more than that puts me at risk of turning Xenagos and/or Purphoros into creatures to have them cloned or mind controlled in some way, shape, or form, which is not a good thing as well as losing a multitude of otherwise good single threats to a board wipe. I like to force wipes to make them as close to a 1 for 1 against me as possible, and yes, that's about what they become just to attempt to control me once I start dropping threats. Both planeswalkers also have there niche role, as Garruk can be a Greater Good that doesn't require me to sac my threats or ditch extra and fill my hand with 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, or 22 more cards, and Xenagos makes Gaea's Cradle class worthy amounts of mana in a combination of Green *and* Red mana, and with a board filled with utility creatures and tokens, can lead to me dropping my massive threats much sooner than expected. Domri Rade's +1 lacks usefulness. Maybe if I was at 60 creatures in deck he would be useful with a 60% chance of revealing a creature off it. Tbut the fight is the only thing worth looking into him for, and having played him before in EDH in a Ruric Thar EDH during Ravnica block, I can say he's rather lackluster and I'd probably only play him to live the dream of Ult'ing him. Garruk Wildspeaker has the unfortunate place of just looking like some mild ramp and overrun or beast token occasionally. I'm rarely in a position where he can benefit me as my lands normally only tap for 1 mana ever/ and with my ramp package I find myself with more mana than needed most games anyways. And I do just go for the kill in this deck, I force removal, wipes, and spot removal til everyone is out of things to react with anymore and drop Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts to make infinite Zealous Conscripts and attack for the win. My ENTIRE aggro game is to open a single moment where I can do this and win without worry through tutoring for it, normally with an entwined Tooth and Nail. Which is part of the reason Mana dorks and nonland mana ramp is absolutely trash, as I force all kinds of wipes and removal and if I were to rely on the things that are easier to remove, I slow my game plan down. A land drop is worth 3 Mana Dorks/Rocks in the long run. Also, on the note of Azusa, she is good, but only if Courser or Oracle are on the field, and in all honesty, I'd rather have the Oracle over all three other options. Deck space is rather tight ya know.
Also, Adding in some more to the article after I take a shower and unwind from my day at work.