One thing to note is that Jalira ignores legendary creatures. That allows you to play useful stuff like Venser, Shaper Savant and not have to worry about flipping it at a "bad" time. Speaking of legendary stuff, Meloku, the Clouded Mirror and Jalira are BFFs.
No Fanatic of Mogis? Each copy is worth 5 damage to each opponent...seems like it could be good. Also, Purphoros, God of the Forge is a big fan of random token production. Both make nice win conditions if/when you're going "infinite" with KikiJiki.
Right now I am running Quietus Spike but it tends to panic people into looking for removal, I guess I need some lower profile stuff. I figure once I get the wand it will be much lower profile, and might not hit removal as easily. I also have Sword of Vengeance and Loxodon Warhammer i could throw in.
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Don't forget about Behemoth Sledge - it may actually be a better warhammer depending on what your creatures look like. There's also no difference between 5 and 4 power when it comes to commander damage kills either...it's going to take 5 hits no matter which you run.
Spell Crumple is an upgrade over Hinder. I also don't think you really need the Terramorphic Expanse/Evolving Wilds...you're honestly better off with basics in a 2 color deck since they don't come into play tapped. You can always replace them with "real" fetches down the line as your budget allows.
I've been looking to put this deck together for a while now and finally decided to pull the trigger. The general game plan is to cast Skullbriar on turn 2 and start getting in there for commander damage. A more detailed discussion of some of my card choices will follow the list.
I've tried to limit my ramp options to cards that can be cast turn 1. This allows me to use my mana efficiently while also allowing me to recast Skullbriar on turn 2 should he meet with removal. In addition, the elves help to buff Immaculate Magistrate in the mid game, and turn into cheap extra +1/+1 counters with Varolz, the Scar-Striped in play.
1. Sword of X and Y - These are excluded because I feel like they're too expensive for the effect they provide. Should you want to include them anyway, Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Feast and Famine are likely the best two for this deck.
First of all, your formatting is pretty hard to read. Try using the [ deck] and [ /deck] tags (without the spaces) and sorting the cards by type (e.g. lands, creatures, etc.). Additionally, there are quite a few typos in the card names which makes viewing them difficult.
In terms of competitive-ness, this deck seems to lack focus. Are you trying to kill via Skullbriar beats, or are you planning to cast a bunch of fatties and hope to get there?
A few suggestions:
Sorin Markov is cute, but he ultimately does nothing. Sure, you can set someone's life total to 10, but 10 is not zero. Further, he places a pretty heavy demand on your mana base to produce this negligible benefit...so it's not really worth it. I would consider replacing this with Pernicious Deed as it is stellar removal.
Cream of the Crop is another card that doesn't seem very effective here. You're not really looking to manipulate the top of your library like someone playing Intet, the Dreamer, and it doesn't actually draw you any cards. I would suggest replacing this with Necropotence as it is a much better advantage engine.
Black Sun's Zenith is quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to your Skullbriar, so why are you running it? Gaze of Granite, while semi-expensive mana wise is a much more versatile replacement that doesn't hurt Skullbriar nearly as much.
Varolz, the Scar-Striped is Skullbriar's BFF. If you're unclear on the interaction between the two - you let Skullbriar build up some counters. When he is killed, put him in the graveyard instead of the command zone. From there, use Varolz to scavenge all of those counters onto some other creature, returning Skullbriar to the command zone in the process. Skullbriar never loses his counters, and you end up with another big dude in the process.
Lotleth Troll is another obvious inclusion. Not only does he have a way to get larger on his own, but he also acts as a discard outlet for unwanted creatures and has regenerate. Further, he has trample...which makes him an excellent target for Varolz and scavenge.
Electrolyze is one of my favorite cards...but I definitely see the argument for lighthouse being the cut. I'll revisit this once I actually acquire a copy of Ral for sure.
Knight hasn't been in all that long, and I don't think anyone has actually played it. We'll see how things play out while I work on picking up a copy of Voice. It may be that I'm just overly attached to Wake and am valuing it too highly too...I really need to start keeping more main deck data as the multicolor section gets tighter and tighter.
I'm torn on Sin Collector too. I often see a white/black discard/weenie deck get played, and he seems ok there. I like that it's potentially more than a one time use thing with cards like flickerwisp and Kor Skyfisher, but at the same time you might just whiff. I'm going to give him a shot here and just replace it if it turns out to be terrible. Of your suggestions, Desolation Angel is the most likely to make it.
Thanks for your suggestions!
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Don't forget about Behemoth Sledge - it may actually be a better warhammer depending on what your creatures look like. There's also no difference between 5 and 4 power when it comes to commander damage kills either...it's going to take 5 hits no matter which you run.
With Wasteland, fetches, Strip Mine and Glacial Chasm in the list, Crucible of Worlds is a pretty glaring omission too.
1 Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
//Creatures
1 Arbor Elf
1 Elves of Deep Shadow
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Bramblewood Paragon
1 Lotleth Troll
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Hunting Moa
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1 Corpsejack Menace
1 Forgotten Ancient
1 Immaculate Magistrate
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Acidic Slime
1 Ant Queen
1 Shriekmaw
1 Duplicant
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
//Instants
1 Crop Rotation
1 Savage Summoning
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Go for the Throat
1 Beast Within
1 Dismember
1 Krosan Grip
1 Putrefy
1 Momentous Fall
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Reanimate
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Profane Command
1 Regrowth
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Beseech the Queen
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Bramblecrush
1 Damnation
1 Harmonize
//Artifacts
1 Expedition Map
1 Infiltration Lens
1 Mana Vault
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Contagion Clasp
1 Culling Dais
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Ring of Kalonia
1 Crucible of Worlds
//Enchantments
1 Rancor
1 Wild Growth
1 Animate Dead
1 Canopy Cover
1 Sylvan Library
1 Necropotence
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Doubling Season
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Vraska the Unseen
//Lands
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gilt-leaf Palace
1 Homeward Path
1 Llanowar Wastes
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Strip Mine
1 Tainted Wood
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wasteland
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Yavimaya Hollow
11 Forest
9 Swamp
I've tried to limit my ramp options to cards that can be cast turn 1. This allows me to use my mana efficiently while also allowing me to recast Skullbriar on turn 2 should he meet with removal. In addition, the elves help to buff Immaculate Magistrate in the mid game, and turn into cheap extra +1/+1 counters with Varolz, the Scar-Striped in play.
Kokusho, the Evening Star is included as a backup plan should something go wrong with Skullbriar.
Notable Exclusions:
1. Sword of X and Y - These are excluded because I feel like they're too expensive for the effect they provide. Should you want to include them anyway, Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Feast and Famine are likely the best two for this deck.
2. Pernicious Deed - Sadly, I just don't own one.
Any suggestions are welcome!
Phyrexian mana counts as its color for EDH purposes.
In terms of competitive-ness, this deck seems to lack focus. Are you trying to kill via Skullbriar beats, or are you planning to cast a bunch of fatties and hope to get there?
A few suggestions:
Sorin Markov is cute, but he ultimately does nothing. Sure, you can set someone's life total to 10, but 10 is not zero. Further, he places a pretty heavy demand on your mana base to produce this negligible benefit...so it's not really worth it. I would consider replacing this with Pernicious Deed as it is stellar removal.
Cream of the Crop is another card that doesn't seem very effective here. You're not really looking to manipulate the top of your library like someone playing Intet, the Dreamer, and it doesn't actually draw you any cards. I would suggest replacing this with Necropotence as it is a much better advantage engine.
Black Sun's Zenith is quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to your Skullbriar, so why are you running it? Gaze of Granite, while semi-expensive mana wise is a much more versatile replacement that doesn't hurt Skullbriar nearly as much.
Varolz, the Scar-Striped is Skullbriar's BFF. If you're unclear on the interaction between the two - you let Skullbriar build up some counters. When he is killed, put him in the graveyard instead of the command zone. From there, use Varolz to scavenge all of those counters onto some other creature, returning Skullbriar to the command zone in the process. Skullbriar never loses his counters, and you end up with another big dude in the process.
Lotleth Troll is another obvious inclusion. Not only does he have a way to get larger on his own, but he also acts as a discard outlet for unwanted creatures and has regenerate. Further, he has trample...which makes him an excellent target for Varolz and scavenge.
Champion of Lambholt is another potential inclusion here due to it's ability.
Predator Ooze is an excellent target for scavenge, it's hard to kill, and it gets bigger on it's own.
Forgotten Ancient is another one of Skullbriar's BFFs, along with his pal Corpsejack Menace.
Electrolyze is one of my favorite cards...but I definitely see the argument for lighthouse being the cut. I'll revisit this once I actually acquire a copy of Ral for sure.
Knight hasn't been in all that long, and I don't think anyone has actually played it. We'll see how things play out while I work on picking up a copy of Voice. It may be that I'm just overly attached to Wake and am valuing it too highly too...I really need to start keeping more main deck data as the multicolor section gets tighter and tighter.
I'm torn on Sin Collector too. I often see a white/black discard/weenie deck get played, and he seems ok there. I like that it's potentially more than a one time use thing with cards like flickerwisp and Kor Skyfisher, but at the same time you might just whiff. I'm going to give him a shot here and just replace it if it turns out to be terrible. Of your suggestions, Desolation Angel is the most likely to make it.
Thanks for your suggestions!