Some of you may know that my first EDH deck was a little silly, in that it was both Penta-Colored, and very expensive, what with all the rares and mythic rares it would have required. I decided to make something a little more reasonable (though still expensive), but much more tricky at the same time.
This deck will be centered around taking other people's stuff, whether it's through copying, reanimating, redirecting, or just plain old Blatant Thievery ;).
The only things I'm unsure about are if I have the right creatures for copying, and if I have enough mana acceleration, as I've had a bit of trouble finding some non-green mana ramping cards. I was thinking about counterspells too, but what I REALLY want is to never destroy a spell without copying/taking it. To do otherwise would be very wasteful.
Commander: Jhoira of the Ghitu: I finally settled on this commander for her cost and general utility. If I have her on the field, I'll be less likely to lose if I'm consistently drawing expensive cards. She also goes well with a number of other cards, which I will get into later on in this list.
Creatures:
More to come!
Cards I've removed for one reason or another:
Commanders Nicol Bolas: Even in the previous rendition, he didn't really fit with the theme, or mechanics of the deck. He was expensive, and a huge target.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind: Even with Izzet colors, this felt off. He was too expensive, and while he would give me card advantage, that's all he did.
Creatures: Consecrated Sphinx: Flying with some card advantage is great, but he's really vulnerable to removal, and rather expensive.
Inferno Titan: While he would fit one of the colors of this deck, I felt I could make room for something other than a fancy beat stick. I may bring him back later, but for now, he'll stay out of the deck.
Izzet Guildmage: This is nice card, but I don't have enough 2 CMC instants or sorceries to justify having him in the deck.
I think I've got something now. I had to bump the land count down to 35, but I now have 6 mana rocks in addition to the landcycling. I also added the two enchantments that BryanM mentioned, which can get insane if left alone.
I'm more than a little worried about the land count, as many have said that it should be around 37 to 40. Do my artifacts and creatures balance that out, or do I still need to rearrange some things?
Oh crap. I thought I had more red spells than that. Thanks for catching that.
Problem isn't red spells, it spells that can be cast during your upkeep. You might also want to swap Conjurer's Closet for some piece of equipment, as you don't have a lot of ETB abilities for it to exploit.
One fun way to gain control of everything is with Guile, but you might have to adapt your list too much to include counterspells. if you're interested, though, there are plenty of cool counters on Grixis colors, like Soul Manipulation.
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Commander:GB Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord (list) - U Talrand, Sky Summoner - GRU Maelstrom Wanderer
You might also want to swap Conjurer's Closet for some piece of equipment, as you don't have a lot of ETB abilities for it to exploit.
Conjurer's Closet isn't for the ETB abilities; it's for keeping what I take control of with temporary spells, as well as having permanent tokens created by Mimic Vat.
One fun way to gain control of everything is with Guile, but you might have to adapt your list too much to include counterspells. if you're interested, though, there are plenty of cool counters on Grixis colors, like Soul Manipulation.
That seems like it would fit in the deck pretty nicely. I think I can find a place for it, and some counterspells.
Conjurer's Closet isn't for the ETB abilities; it's for keeping what I take control of with temporary spells, as well as having permanent tokens created by Mimic Vat.
Hmm... I get the taking permanent control part, but the thing with tokens doesn't really work as they stop existing when they leave the battlefield.
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Commander:GB Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord (list) - U Talrand, Sky Summoner - GRU Maelstrom Wanderer
Alright, I've got some counterspells into the Sideboard. Now all I need to do is find a way to fit the cards from the Maybe Board in there. Evil Twin + Conjurer's Closet? Prototype Portal + ANY Mana Rock/Phyrexian Metamorph/Duplicant? Reverberate + Isochron Scepter? I can't just give those up!
Alright. MAJOR overhaul here. It turns out that Black with getting in the way of a lot of what I was trying to do. I added a lot more counterspells and artifacts.
I also added some Eldrazi, because the theme of this deck is taking the power of your enemies and using it against them; this, of course, led to the idea of using the power of monsters as old as the universe to fight other monsters as old as the universe... and anyone else who gets in your way.
Eventually, I'll make a sideboard full of Eldrazi cards so that the Spawnsire's ability won't go to waste.
It That Betrays really would work better thematically, but Spawnsire's ability, while used rarely, was just too good to pass up. I suppose I could include both, but I'm really not sure about having two creatures that expensive...
I decided against Reverberate so I could keep more counterspells. Reiterate does the same thing, but can be placed on Isochron Scepter, and copied by Izzet Guildmage.
EDIT: I decided to go with It That Betrays. The big combo I was looking at anyway was It That Betrays + All Is Dust. I suppose I could throw in Eldrazi Conscription for some extra madness, but that may not be necessary.
I've made yet ANOTHER change to the Commander. I have bobthefunny to thank for that one, as he mentioned R/U's less than stellar mana acceleration. The way I see it, I'm killing two (possibly three) birds with one stone: I've got a MUCH cheaper commander. Those expensive opening hands won't lose me the game as often. AND I've found an excellent place for Jhoira's Timebug (or maybe Clockspinning).
The thought of getting out a super early It That Betrays, Insurrection, or Eldrazi Conscription is giving me goosebumps over here.
Yay, Jhoira. Suspend shenanigans here we go! Aeon Chronicler is a big hit in Jhoira. Draws you a lot of cards while suspended. Detritivore too, although that one might attract a bit of hate from you opponents.
I see you added Guile. Your counterspell suite seems nice, although I'd like to suggest adding a Delay as that card is really interesting in multiplayer.
Regarding the Eldrazi cards you want to add, Artisan of Kozilek might be better than Eldrazi Conscription. The artisan himself is almost as big as conscription, and he gets you card advantage.
Finally, now you have Jhoira as your general and a Leyline of Anticipation in your 99, that Braid of Fire you had in there while Bolas was at the lead starts to look interesting, as you have some ways to use the mana you get during your upkeep.
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Commander:GB Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord (list) - U Talrand, Sky Summoner - GRU Maelstrom Wanderer
Okay, now my suggestion for Charisma seems kind of dumb. While it is still a great card, it really works best with Niv, and it seems he is no longer your commander, or even in the deck anymore?
I will try and think of a few things that work well with Jhoira, she's an awesome commander.
I could keep Charisma, as it still works with Gelectrode.
It does, but keep in mind it's sort of a fragile play. Gelectrode isn't exactly a sturdy creature and without some sort of haste enabler or sacrifice outlet you could have to give the stolen creatures back before you get to swing with them. Although, of course, if that as much as delays your opponents until your Jhoira-suspended fatties kick in, it's already profit, but even then I'd rather have a Gorgon Flail for that purpose.
Goblin Sharpshooter is great against any token deck on its own as well.
Supposing they haven't got any anthem effect on. Overall Sharpshooter is a great card, but I'm not sure if it's worth the $7 difference from Gelectrode.
Not at all. I'm just having trouble giving up cards to make room for them.
Oh, the eternal problem of building a Commander deck. When you start building it, 99 cards seems to be almost infinite space. Later when it's near completion you notice there isn't room for almost half the cards you'd like to play.
Back to the issue of what to cut for them, I was originally going to suggest Izzet Guildmage (didn't see many copiable spells in there), but perhaps it would be a better idea to cut something more expensive to keep your mana base more linear.
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Commander:GB Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord (list) - U Talrand, Sky Summoner - GRU Maelstrom Wanderer
You aren't sure where to take the deck, which is fine, but that also means you might end up going back on your steps at certain points or that others might follow yours. That is fine. But to help with the process, I'd give suggest you keep the old decklists, especially when you do major overhauls. You can keep them in a spoiler in the OP so people can still access them without it taking huge amounts of room.
Just saying.
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This deck will be centered around taking other people's stuff, whether it's through copying, reanimating, redirecting, or just plain old Blatant Thievery ;).
The only things I'm unsure about are if I have the right creatures for copying, and if I have enough mana acceleration, as I've had a bit of trouble finding some non-green mana ramping cards. I was thinking about counterspells too, but what I REALLY want is to never destroy a spell without copying/taking it. To do otherwise would be very wasteful.
Anyway. That's enough talking, here's the deck.
1 Jhoira of the Ghitu
Card Draw:
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Spellbound Dragon
Stealing & Copying:
1 Cryptoplasm
1 Duplicant
1 Memnarch
1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
1 Mindclaw Shaman
1 Echo Mage
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Sakashima the Impostor
1 Sakashima's Student
1 Dominus of Fealty
1 Djinn Illuminatus
1 Guile
1 Sphinx Ambassador
General Utility:
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 Draining Whelk
1 Gelectrode
1 Etherium-Horn Sorcerer
Eldrazi:
1 It That Betrays
Mana Acceleration:
1 Solemn Simulacrum
Planeswalkers:
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
Sorceries:
1 Stitch in Time
1 Deep Analysis
1 Acquire
1 Insurrection
1 Knowledge Exploitation
1 Rite of Replication
1 Act of Treason
1 Bribery
1 All Is Dust
Instants:
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Redirect
1 Word of Seizing
1 Reverberate
1 Grab the Reins
1 Dissipate
1 Hinder
1 Cryptic Command
1 Spell Crumple
1 Remand
1 Clockspinning
1 Traumatic Visions
1 Fiery Fall
1 Corrupted Conscience
1 Confiscate
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Braid of Fire
Artifacts:
1 Mindslaver
1 Conjurer's Closet
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Mimic Vat
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Planar Portal
1 Izzet Signet
1 Expedition Map
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Mirari
1 Voltaic Key
1 Prototype Portal
Lands:
1 Ghitu Encampment
1 Faerie Conclave
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Creek
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Rupture Spire
1 Command Tower
1 Mirrodin's Core
1 Academy Ruins
1 Steam Vents
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Vesuva
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Maze of Ith
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Dark Depths
5 Islands
5 Mountains
1 Gather Specimens
1 Blatant Thievery
1 Treachery
1 Rewind
1 Delay
1 Chancellor of the Spires
1 Jhoira's Timebug
1 Detritivore
1 Spelltwine
1 Omniscience
Why Is This Card Here?:
Commander:
Jhoira of the Ghitu: I finally settled on this commander for her cost and general utility. If I have her on the field, I'll be less likely to lose if I'm consistently drawing expensive cards. She also goes well with a number of other cards, which I will get into later on in this list.
Creatures:
More to come!
Cards I've removed for one reason or another:
Commanders
Nicol Bolas: Even in the previous rendition, he didn't really fit with the theme, or mechanics of the deck. He was expensive, and a huge target.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind: Even with Izzet colors, this felt off. He was too expensive, and while he would give me card advantage, that's all he did.
Creatures:
Consecrated Sphinx: Flying with some card advantage is great, but he's really vulnerable to removal, and rather expensive.
Inferno Titan: While he would fit one of the colors of this deck, I felt I could make room for something other than a fancy beat stick. I may bring him back later, but for now, he'll stay out of the deck.
Izzet Guildmage: This is nice card, but I don't have enough 2 CMC instants or sorceries to justify having him in the deck.
Artisan of Kozilek: This was a really difficult decision, but I needed to make room for Sphinx Ambassador.
Enchantments
Mind Control: Why did I ever choose this over Confiscate?
More to come!
I'm more than a little worried about the land count, as many have said that it should be around 37 to 40. Do my artifacts and creatures balance that out, or do I still need to rearrange some things?
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
Problem isn't red spells, it spells that can be cast during your upkeep. You might also want to swap Conjurer's Closet for some piece of equipment, as you don't have a lot of ETB abilities for it to exploit.
One fun way to gain control of everything is with Guile, but you might have to adapt your list too much to include counterspells. if you're interested, though, there are plenty of cool counters on Grixis colors, like Soul Manipulation.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
Conjurer's Closet isn't for the ETB abilities; it's for keeping what I take control of with temporary spells, as well as having permanent tokens created by Mimic Vat.
That seems like it would fit in the deck pretty nicely. I think I can find a place for it, and some counterspells.
Hmm... I get the taking permanent control part, but the thing with tokens doesn't really work as they stop existing when they leave the battlefield.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
And Guile can do fine in the sideboard actually. If and when I run it, I can replace the copying and redirecting Instants with counterspells.
I also added some Eldrazi, because the theme of this deck is taking the power of your enemies and using it against them; this, of course, led to the idea of using the power of monsters as old as the universe to fight other monsters as old as the universe... and anyone else who gets in your way.
Eventually, I'll make a sideboard full of Eldrazi cards so that the Spawnsire's ability won't go to waste.
I decided against Reverberate so I could keep more counterspells. Reiterate does the same thing, but can be placed on Isochron Scepter, and copied by Izzet Guildmage.
EDIT: I decided to go with It That Betrays. The big combo I was looking at anyway was It That Betrays + All Is Dust. I suppose I could throw in Eldrazi Conscription for some extra madness, but that may not be necessary.
I collect pre-release Stone-Tongue Basilisk
Hm. Yeah, I'll see if I can find a place for that.
Oh my GOD that is good.
The thought of getting out a super early It That Betrays, Insurrection, or Eldrazi Conscription is giving me goosebumps over here.
Aeon Chronicler is a big hit in Jhoira. Draws you a lot of cards while suspended. Detritivore too, although that one might attract a bit of hate from you opponents.
I see you added Guile. Your counterspell suite seems nice, although I'd like to suggest adding a Delay as that card is really interesting in multiplayer.
Regarding the Eldrazi cards you want to add, Artisan of Kozilek might be better than Eldrazi Conscription. The artisan himself is almost as big as conscription, and he gets you card advantage.
Finally, now you have Jhoira as your general and a Leyline of Anticipation in your 99, that Braid of Fire you had in there while Bolas was at the lead starts to look interesting, as you have some ways to use the mana you get during your upkeep.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
By the by, does Guile work with Delay?
I will try and think of a few things that work well with Jhoira, she's an awesome commander.
Goblin Sharpshooter is great against any token deck on its own as well.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
Thank you and, yes, it does.
It does, but keep in mind it's sort of a fragile play. Gelectrode isn't exactly a sturdy creature and without some sort of haste enabler or sacrifice outlet you could have to give the stolen creatures back before you get to swing with them. Although, of course, if that as much as delays your opponents until your Jhoira-suspended fatties kick in, it's already profit, but even then I'd rather have a Gorgon Flail for that purpose.
Supposing they haven't got any anthem effect on. Overall Sharpshooter is a great card, but I'm not sure if it's worth the $7 difference from Gelectrode.
Oh, the eternal problem of building a Commander deck. When you start building it, 99 cards seems to be almost infinite space. Later when it's near completion you notice there isn't room for almost half the cards you'd like to play.
Back to the issue of what to cut for them, I was originally going to suggest Izzet Guildmage (didn't see many copiable spells in there), but perhaps it would be a better idea to cut something more expensive to keep your mana base more linear.
Pauper: UR some horrible homebrew izzet deck
You aren't sure where to take the deck, which is fine, but that also means you might end up going back on your steps at certain points or that others might follow yours. That is fine. But to help with the process, I'd give suggest you keep the old decklists, especially when you do major overhauls. You can keep them in a spoiler in the OP so people can still access them without it taking huge amounts of room.
Just saying.