I would like to begin today by saying that this deck came to be because of the competitive advancement of my playgroup. Our group started out very casual and over the last few months we have advanced ourselves to some pretty mean decks. About the only thing that hasn't really happened yet is land destruction. I used to play Riku of Two Reflections and then changed the deck to Maelstrom Wanderer. I still have that deck around, but I needed something a little more versatile. That is when the Geist came to be.
The general theme of the deck is pretty obvious. Play Geist, equip as many swords, use counter magic and sweeps to keep the blockers/shenanigans at bay, and swing for kill.
So far this plan has worked rather well and there are obvious things that I need to add. Which brings us to...
Card choices:
This section is going to be about cards that maybe wouldn't be in a Geist deck, but I have chosen and I will explain why (cards here are up for suggestions to cut if a suitable replacement is suggested).
Ghostly Prison/Propaganda/Windborn Muse: Making people pay mana to attack me is a good way to encourage people to attack each other. Also in some cases these can bait out destruction spells so you can drop something else.
Grand Abolisher: He allows me to play magic on my turn and other people can't? Just say no to countermagic! I was thinking about using Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in this spot, but he is in another deck and he brings the curve up a bit. It is debatable here which is best. Maybe cut something else to put Teferi in here too.
Open the Vaults: I tend to rush out as many swords as I can as quickly as I can. A well placed Akroma's Vengeance can really screw me over. I know I have a Sun Titan but why not have a card that brings them all back. Also, as opposed to Roar of Reclamation, it brings back those cool steal enchantments.
Artisan of Kozilek: I like the Eldrazi. Arguably, I will be replacing the Artisan once I get an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. I kind of like the thought of punishing people for leaving me in the game too long.
How I interact with others:
Well the deck runs 7 board sweeps, 12 counters, and 4 cards that exile things. This gives me a lot of options. If someone spews tokens, I sweep. If someone tries to play a big insane spell, I counter. If someone plays a Darksteel Forge or something like Avacyn, Angel of Hope, I exile it...
Cards I would like to fit in and/or cards I haven't bought yet:
Sword of War and Peace: I have all the other swords... why not throw this one in there too.
Umezawa's Jitte: Another obvious card when it comes to an equipment based deck.
Rewind/Cryptic Command: I would like to have a better counter package in the deck, but the cards above are all I have. I was also contemplating Lay Bare, but I don't have that either.
Dispatch: Another 1CMC instant exile (if I have 3 artifacts, which I should) and there is no downside. I want to throw this in, but currently they are in my sideboard for my affinity deck.
Mystical Tutor/Enlightened Tutor: Tutor for win is what I always say... but my Mystical Tutor is in another deck and I don't own an Enlightened Tutor.
Darksteel Plate: Why not make my general (or whoever is carrying the swords at the time) indestructible?
Also I will upgrade the land as it becomes available. Since it is only a 2 color deck I don't feel expensive lands are "needed" right away.
The problems I see and help I seek:
The major issue I see is that I want to be as aggressive as possible but also holding back mana to counter. It seems to go against itself, but in EDH I don't need to be that fast.
The reason I am posting this decklist:
Mainly for record keeping purposes and to see the evolution. I will post and edit as changes are made to see where the deck goes in the future.
Also, I would like to see some discussion and debate and general help as to what I should put in and what I should take out. I don't really build my own decks because I feel I suck at deck construction and this is one of my first decks that I haven't just looked up a decklist and built straight from that.
With that in mind... Any suggestions and discussion are openly welcomed and encouraged.
Changes:
7/1/12
- Plains/Island
+ Exotic Orchard/Emeria, the Sky Ruin
7/2/12
- Mind Control/Control Magic/Steal Artifact/Luminarch Ascension/Wall of Omens/Guard Gomazoa/Gomazoa/Wall of Denial/Deadeye Navigator/Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
+ Journey to Nowhere/Trailblazer's Boots/Swiftfoot Boots/Mental Misstep/Mana Leak/Negate/Spell Pierce/Ponder/Preordain/Fiend Hunter
- Dreamstone Hedron/Windborn Muse
+ Island/Serra Ascendant
I would like to begin today by saying that this deck came to be because of the competitive advancement of my playgroup. Our group started out very casual and over the last few months we have advanced ourselves to some pretty mean decks. About the only thing that hasn't really happened yet is land destruction. I used to play Riku of Two Reflections and then changed the deck to Maelstrom Wanderer. I still have that deck around, but I needed something a little more versatile. That is when the Geist came to be.
And without further ado...
1 Geist of Saint Traft
Creatures:
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Invisible Stalker
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Silverblade Paladin
1 Clone
1 Dungeon Geists
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Restoration Angel
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Sphinx of Magosi
1 Frost Titan
1 Sun Titan
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Drogskol Reaver
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
Sorceries:
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Revoke Existence
1 Fabricate
1 Day of Judgment
1 Wrath of God
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Solar Tide
1 Phyrexian Rebirth
1 Austere Command
1 Open the Vaults
1 Flusterstorm
1 Mental Misstep
1 Spell Pierce
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Counterspell
1 Negate
1 Mana Leak
1 Stoic Rebuttal
1 Dissipate
1 Spell Crumple
1 Cancel
1 Last Word
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Evacuation
Equipment:
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Trailblazer's Boots
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Body and Mind
Artifacts:
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Expedition Map
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Propaganda
1 Oblivion Ring
Land:
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Buried Ruin
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Command Tower
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Halimar Depths
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Temple of the False God
13 Plains
12 Island
How it plays:
The general theme of the deck is pretty obvious. Play Geist, equip as many swords, use counter magic and sweeps to keep the blockers/shenanigans at bay, and swing for kill.
So far this plan has worked rather well and there are obvious things that I need to add. Which brings us to...
Card choices:
This section is going to be about cards that maybe wouldn't be in a Geist deck, but I have chosen and I will explain why (cards here are up for suggestions to cut if a suitable replacement is suggested).
Ghostly Prison/Propaganda/Windborn Muse: Making people pay mana to attack me is a good way to encourage people to attack each other. Also in some cases these can bait out destruction spells so you can drop something else.
Grand Abolisher: He allows me to play magic on my turn and other people can't? Just say no to countermagic! I was thinking about using Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in this spot, but he is in another deck and he brings the curve up a bit. It is debatable here which is best. Maybe cut something else to put Teferi in here too.
Open the Vaults: I tend to rush out as many swords as I can as quickly as I can. A well placed Akroma's Vengeance can really screw me over. I know I have a Sun Titan but why not have a card that brings them all back. Also, as opposed to Roar of Reclamation, it brings back those cool steal enchantments.
Artisan of Kozilek: I like the Eldrazi. Arguably, I will be replacing the Artisan once I get an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. I kind of like the thought of punishing people for leaving me in the game too long.
How I interact with others:
Well the deck runs 7 board sweeps, 12 counters, and 4 cards that exile things. This gives me a lot of options. If someone spews tokens, I sweep. If someone tries to play a big insane spell, I counter. If someone plays a Darksteel Forge or something like Avacyn, Angel of Hope, I exile it...
Cards I would like to fit in and/or cards I haven't bought yet:
Sword of War and Peace: I have all the other swords... why not throw this one in there too.
Umezawa's Jitte: Another obvious card when it comes to an equipment based deck.
Rewind/Cryptic Command: I would like to have a better counter package in the deck, but the cards above are all I have. I was also contemplating Lay Bare, but I don't have that either.
Dispatch: Another 1CMC instant exile (if I have 3 artifacts, which I should) and there is no downside. I want to throw this in, but currently they are in my sideboard for my affinity deck.
Mystical Tutor/Enlightened Tutor: Tutor for win is what I always say... but my Mystical Tutor is in another deck and I don't own an Enlightened Tutor.
Darksteel Plate: Why not make my general (or whoever is carrying the swords at the time) indestructible?
Also I will upgrade the land as it becomes available. Since it is only a 2 color deck I don't feel expensive lands are "needed" right away.
The problems I see and help I seek:
The major issue I see is that I want to be as aggressive as possible but also holding back mana to counter. It seems to go against itself, but in EDH I don't need to be that fast.
The reason I am posting this decklist:
Mainly for record keeping purposes and to see the evolution. I will post and edit as changes are made to see where the deck goes in the future.
Also, I would like to see some discussion and debate and general help as to what I should put in and what I should take out. I don't really build my own decks because I feel I suck at deck construction and this is one of my first decks that I haven't just looked up a decklist and built straight from that.
With that in mind... Any suggestions and discussion are openly welcomed and encouraged.
Changes:
- Plains/Island
+ Exotic Orchard/Emeria, the Sky Ruin
7/2/12
- Mind Control/Control Magic/Steal Artifact/Luminarch Ascension/Wall of Omens/Guard Gomazoa/Gomazoa/Wall of Denial/Deadeye Navigator/Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
+ Journey to Nowhere/Trailblazer's Boots/Swiftfoot Boots/Mental Misstep/Mana Leak/Negate/Spell Pierce/Ponder/Preordain/Fiend Hunter
- Dreamstone Hedron/Windborn Muse
+ Island/Serra Ascendant
- ProvokeD
Legacy:
WUBRG Manaless Dredge GRBUW
Modern:
BRG Jund GRB
EDH/Commander:
WUG Rafiq of the Many GUW
Legacy:
WUBRG Manaless Dredge GRBUW
Modern:
BRG Jund GRB
EDH/Commander:
WUG Rafiq of the Many GUW