Well to understand why I play this super control deck we have to go back through my history of Magic. I actually learned how to play the game in the first Mirrodin Set. It was 2003 and at that point I was in 6th Grade. I played a lot of YuGiOh and Pokemon at that time. Seeing him playing the game intrigued my greatly. After he finished the game I asked him what it was and how to play. He got a few cards together and gave me a green deck with ramp and beaters. I was hooked. Pretty much dropped every other card game I played and even some video games to dedicate my time to Magic. Even though I was new I learned quickly and eventually became a formidable opponent for my friend. But without a source of income I couldn't buy new cards and the game got left to the wayside for a little.
2 years pass. I meet a new friend in school. We exchange some pleasantries and hang out a couple times. After a little he mentions to me that he plays Magic. Excited as I was when I first learned I ran home grabbed my deck and ran back. It was like I never stopped playing. This was when I was introduced to Slivers. The deck was strong and I was no match. Every once in a while we would play but I could rarely beat him.
I play Damia, Sage of Stone because I love the chance to get a huge draw engine on board in a control deck. is one of the most degenerate card drawing creatures ever printed. Create a 4/4 Deathtoucher, make it the three best colors in all of Magic, give it an insane draw ability, tack on the legendary supertype, and you get an amazing General. This primer is not just going to be a primer for my deck. It's the collaborate mixture of all the Damia decks to make the most efficient one.
Well Damia isn't the only BUG general. There is actually two more. So I want to talk about them real quick.
-The Mimeoplasm- He is very strong in a Combo/Voltron strategy. But is VERY weak to grave hate and removal.
-Vorosh, The Hunter- Pretty much the worst BUG general. He is only good as a Voltron Good stuff general.
-4UGB- 7 mana is a lot. But with green's ramp you can make 7 mana turn 5 pretty consistently. This is the biggest wrench in our plan.
Damia?
Playing Damia means you like the most of the following...
- Having enough answers for anything threatening.
- Having slow thought provoking games.
- Being able to play against any game and hold a decent fight.
- Piloting a difficult deck.
Dismiss Damia as your general of choice if you...
- Want an aggressive build to win with a huge general.
- Get tired of tutoring every turn or two.
- Don't like drawing cards.
Scavenging Ooze - This is really a game breaker for this deck. It hoses Graveyard decks like a champ. This card alone can just ruin some of the more explosive graveyard decks. Karador, Mikaeus, Grimgrin, The Mimeoplasm, Geth, Vish Kal, Sedris, and 5 color Oath. Not to mention it hoses Sharuum and Glissa, the Traitor pretty well. When I see these decks I try to search for Ooze pretty quick as he'll ruin their day. He's even great late game when you eat everyone's graves and gain 10 life and get a 12/12 out of it.
Phantasmal Image - Legendary killer. At 2 mana it's hard to pass up. With Volrath's Stronghold you can lock many decks out of the game. Big ones including Uril, Mayeal, and Kaalia turning their decks into much slower decks.
Vendilion Clique - Broken cards are broken. I used to underestimate this soooooo badly. It's instant disruption, it has evasion, it beats. This let's you peek at their hand while getting a 3/1 flyer out of the deal to pound their face in while you leave counters back up. In a pinch you can target yourself to get a draw out of it. Turn 3 Clique followed by a turn 4 Jace can put some opponents so far behind they won't catch up ever.
Liliana of the Veil - This is how we win a lot of control matches. Not to mention combo is pretty much hurt by an early Liliana. It makes everyone discard a card. While we get to turn that symmetrical effect and turn it asymmetrical. With Damia out that's one more card we get to draw. Turning our discards into "loots". Some of the Tron decks can't even play through this as they'll only ever have 1 or 2 creatures on the battlefield. And she is a 4 turn clock if uninterrupted which is hard to come back from.
Sylvan Library - One of the most debated cards in the Damia lists. the lack of synergy with our general does make it unappealing but do you really need those cards? And if Damia falls you have a back up plan to get back in the game quickly. Aeon said it best I think with "I've learned to play them in their appropriate roles. I don't like to disrupt game development early so I aggressively tutor to find Library or Arena asap. Mid game they either get destroyed, or more likely I blow them up myself with my own Dust, Disk, Deed, or Stone. Damia only comes in late, and by then Library and Arena have done their job."
My filters Ancestral Vision, Ponder, Preordain, Brainstorm, Impulse, Fact or Fiction and Blue Sun's Zenith - These are all amazing. They aren't ever dead cards. Early game they give you something to do. Mid game they let you search for answers and gas without looking scary with a tutor. Late they filter your deck and you run through it much quicker. With all these and the fetches you effectively run a 75 card deck as opposed to a 99 card deck.
Life from the Loam - AMAZING late game engine. This compiled with Forbid is almost impossible to beat once you've drained their resources and are trying to find a win condition.
There are sooooo many interactions in this deck that it's unreal. But these are just a few I thought I would mention that I use regularly.
Forbid + Life from the Loam/Damia, Sage of Stone = A soft lock for the game. It's frustrating when I land this combo. Not for me but for my opponents. Just stick a beater down and go to town.
Eternal Witness + Capsize = Recurring my graveyard for 9 mana is expensive. But when I'm getting tutors and counters I'm probably winning. This is a win more interaction but it ends games.
Volrath's Stronghold + Phantasmal Image/Phyrexian Metamorph = My general killer combo. It's a little slow but once I do this to them they either have to deal with it or stop casting their general. Which means their deck most likely is weaker.
So if you looked through the deck carefully you'll see a distinct lack of auto win combos. Why? Because I don't like how the deck plays. I've been playing Damia since the day the Commander decks where released. A bunch of friends and I all bought some and picked a general and played it right out of the box. (After we sleeved them of course) to get a feel on the direction we wanted to build them. I've been playing it every week. Tuning it slowly. Testing "bad" EDH cards even if they didn't fit the roles of the deck. Took out good cards for bad ones to see interactions. And as I've been playing I've played almost every card I can to get a feel of what the deck is capable of. I know that Palinchron is probably the best combo card you can put in Damia. It's such an enabler it's unreal. I had it in my deck in early iterations to auto win. But every time I put it in my deck It's the only card I think about getting with tutors. One day I even drew a Palinchron and won that turn. I felt like I didn't deserve it. My friend had the superior board state. He had played very well to get to that point and I on the other hand played sloppy from it being late. Since then I've dedicated this list to be combo less. It allows me to value every card when I tutor. It becomes a different match every game. And with my card choices I can win ANY way. I've won via Mill, General Damage, Swarm, and Lock. Now I can win with poison. And I'm happy this way. So please don't suggest an instant win combo. I like my Tempo / Control variant.
Just a few cards I think would be fantastic in this deck. Agree? Don't agree? Have another card in mind? What should I cut? I love feedback. Yawgmoth's Will - Flashback everything? Sign me up.... Once I find one.
Intuition - A tutor in all reality. This deck could really abuse this.
Mana Drain - One of the best counterspells ever. Also one of the most expensive. This might take a while because of money.
Well after three games this past month getting Briberied my Ulamog out of my deck I knew it was time to switch it up. Figured I needed some other card that can win games and I decided Batterskull for testing right now. I'm unsure how much I'll like it but the one game I got it out I felt untouchable once I started swinging with a 7/5 Flying, Vigilant, Lifelinker. Then when they killed that with a wrath the table scooped when I returned it and recast it to swing with a 4/4. At this time I had Jace, Liliana, and an active Forbid Loam lock on. Not to mention a ton of life.
Since Ulamog came out I took out T&N because it was ment for Ulamog and some other utility. Now I put in Chord of Calling as it costs less and is an instant.
Then the Inkmoth Nexus for Ancient Tomb is a meh call on my part. But I'm sticking to my guns for a couple games.
Testing Mystic Remora. Seems good. My biggest fear is the upkeep cost. So we will see. Let's hope.
Ok. I'll retest Primus a little more. I imagine when I get T&N it'll be a little better when I combine it with Terastodon.
The deck needs to start moving towards a combo to end the game. Oddly enough I think it'll be a more fun deck for everyone else playing. Since all I do is control the board to a halt and kill everyone with my creatures or Geth'ing up everyone's creatures/Artifacts with a Seedborn Muse on board and mill people out. But that takes sooo long sometimes.
If you want to combo, then I'd keep both Liliana and Insidious Dreams. Still add Mystical Tutor because it fetches the Dreams. At the end of their turn, you cast Insidious Dreams and and get Tooth and Nail and Exsanguinate...maybe a counter spell to protect you next play. Tooth goes and gets Palinchron and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger for infinite mana, and cast a fat Exsanguinate for a quick easy win.
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“Here fell Ishi-Ishi, King of the Flaming Pebbles, Scourge of the Mountain Kami, Lover of Goats. May his shell never burn.” - Cave inscription
If you want to combo, then I'd keep both Liliana and Insidious Dreams. Still add Mystical Tutor because it fetches the Dreams. At the end of their turn, you cast Insidious Dreams and and get Tooth and Nail and Exsanguinate...maybe a counter spell to protect you next play. Tooth goes and gets Palinchron and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger for infinite mana, and cast a fat Exsanguinate for a quick easy win.
I don't want my way to win to be Combo. I want to lock the board out and then instead of slowly winning just end the game so I can move onto the next game.
But I will be writing upa Primer to this hopefully soon.
I'd run Rune-Scarred Demon over Insidious Dreams; having a 6/6 body (and being easier to recur) is better than stacking your next draws. Are you running Living Death as a reanimator spell, or as a board wipe? Either way, I think there are better alternatives, such as Life's Finale(board wipe), and Victimize. Sheoldred, Whispering One can also be used to do both. Otherwise, it looks solid.
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MTGO: Stillenacht288
Modern:
Footsteps Hulk
Ascendency Combo
Restore Balance
Ad Nauseam
EDH:
Ghave Lands
Narset Combo
I'd run Rune-Scarred Demon over Insidious Dreams; having a 6/6 body (and being easier to recur) is better than stacking your next draws. Are you running Living Death as a reanimator spell, or as a board wipe? Either way, I think there are better alternatives, such as Life's Finale(board wipe), and Victimize. Sheoldred, Whispering One can also be used to do both. Otherwise, it looks solid.
I don't really like the Demon in this deck. I played with it for a while and It just always seems like a dork. Plus my curve is already pretty high and I need to survive the early game as much as possible.
As for Living Death it's a board wipe to get around indestructible creatures. As I will be having a hard time if one gets on board. But I would like to change it as I'm always afraid of my opponents getting benefits from it. I'll try Life's Finale for a little bit though and see how it works.
Made a couple changes in the change log. And also fixed the cards thinking about cutting and additions.
Really like this build
Running Leyline and Orerry seems redundant. Is flash even really important in this build?
Likewise Burgeoning & Exploration seems redundant.
Nihil Spellbomb is good as it draws a card, but since you're not Trinket Mage toolbox'n, have you considered Tolaria West into Bojuka Bog to address GY abuse? You already have Reap and Sow + bounce lands to get more mileage out of the Bog, (and speaking of bounce lands, they are particularly good with cycling lands late game)
You dropped your boots. Why holding onto the Darksteel Plate?
Just a few suggestions:
-Leyline
-Orrery
-Burgeoning
-Plate
-Spellbomb
Really like this build
Running Leyline and Orerry seems redundant. Is flash even really important in this build?
Likewise Burgeoning & Exploration seems redundant.
Nihil Spellbomb is good as it draws a card, but since you're not Trinket Mage toolbox'n, have you considered Tolaria West into Bojuka Bog to address GY abuse? You already have Reap and Sow + bounce lands to get more mileage out of the Bog, (and speaking of bounce lands, they are particularly good with cycling lands late game)
You dropped your boots. Why holding onto the Darksteel Plate?
Just a few suggestions:
-Leyline
-Orrery
-Burgeoning
-Plate
-Spellbomb
Thank you very much. It's really become my favorite deck to play because there are a lot of different ways to approach playing it. And the versatility that BUG gives you and the draw engine that is Damia is just insane. And I'm trying to find a local EDH tournament to try this out and see how I do.
The Leyline/Orrery are kind of odd now that I look at it closer. I just left them in there because I had planed on getting the T&N chain in the deck. I think I will take one or both out.
And the redundancy that is Exploration/Burgeoning on the other hand is on purpose. I want my late game spells to come online as fast as possible. They both do essentially the same thing and I like that.
Darksteel Plate is a habit. It goes in almost every deck that I have. It's my Boots 3.0.
And as for Nihil Spellbomb I'll keep an eye on it. It's kind of a meta call but I'll try it out. The Reap and Sow is going to become a Crop Rotation when I find mine.
I like Venser and the Archmage so I will have to look into getting them. And I really dislike Recurring Insight in my deck. In the early couple iterations of this deck and it was always overkill. I'll look into putting it in though.
Capsize seems good though. I need to get one.
Honestly how do you feel about Sylvan Library? I hate that it doesn't work with my general. But I guess it lets me get control as soon as possible.
So for tomorrow...
-Orrey
-Lightning Greaves
-Plate
Thank you very much. It's really become my favorite deck to play because there are a lot of different ways to approach playing it. And the versatility that BUG gives you and the draw engine that is Damia is just insane. And I'm trying to find a local EDH tournament to try this out and see how I do.
BUG is a really strong color combination and honestly a sub-optimal BUG build outlcasses what many people are trying to do. I have spent a lot of time and energy on my deck and I very rarely feel pressured against most decks.
The Leyline/Orrery are kind of odd now that I look at it closer. I just left them in there because I had planed on getting the T&N chain in the deck. I think I will take one or both out.
Beware cards like Leyline and Orrery. The problem is that they don't really do anything on their own. They don't generate card advantage and the ability they grant you isn't game-breaking like Seedborn Muse(which, consequently, you really need to take full value of them). They seem really good, but if you are in a position to truly abuse them, you are winning already. They don't really do anything for you if you are already on the back foot.
And the redundancy that is Exploration/Burgeoning on the other hand is on purpose. I want my late game spells to come online as fast as possible. They both do essentially the same thing and I like that.
I have been curious about this. I currently only run Exploration because it is quite strong with fetchlands + Crucible of Worlds. However it might be worth consideration because I am running Life from the Loam and that can put a ton of lands into your hand.
Darksteel Plate is a habit. It goes in almost every deck that I have. It's my Boots 3.0.
And as for Nihil Spellbomb I'll keep an eye on it. It's kind of a meta call but I'll try it out. The Reap and Sow is going to become a Crop Rotation when I find mine.
I personally don't think that a creature based version of this deck is that strong, which makes most equipment kind of useless. It really isn't a big deal to have Damia killed and you shouldn't build your gameplan around her in the first place. It is nice when you can keep her alive but I don't always count on it.
Some form of graveyard hate is necessary in every EDH deck. I think Bojuka Bog is the best choice for this deck, but Nihil Spellbomb is good too. Trinket Mage is certainly worth a slot as he always gets either Sol Ring or Top, both of which you want to see almost every game.
As for Crop Rotation, I don't really feel like the deck needs too much land tutoring. If you run more card draw/selection effects like Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, and Impulse you will have a much easier time finding what you need which means that you can less ramp, fewer answers, etc. They may not fit your playstyle, but if you really want to optimize the deck and make it as good as possible you are doing yourself a serious disservice in not including them. Once I included them in my deck, I have never looked back. They are just that strong.
I like Venser and the Archmage so I will have to look into getting them. And I really dislike Recurring Insight in my deck. In the early couple iterations of this deck and it was always overkill. I'll look into putting it in though.
Capsize seems good though. I need to get one.
Recurring Insight is overkill. Go for more, smaller effects instead. Venser and Glen Elendra are strong choices as well.
Honestly how do you feel about Sylvan Library? I hate that it doesn't work with my general. But I guess it lets me get control as soon as possible.
Sylvan Library is really, really good. It is a second, sometimes better, Top. Don't be afraid to burn through your life total to get some cards either. It really doesn't matter because you will lock down the game before combat damage becomes a thing.
Just some general notes:
- You don't have any ways to counter activated/triggered abilities. Sometimes you won't be able to counter everything that is cast and you will need to deal with it once it is on the board. I would certainly run Voidslime but beyond that, Stifle and Trickbind are worth consideration as well.
- Pernicious Deed, while expensive, is one of the best cards in the deck. It is just so good against so many strategies, that I think it should be a priority pick-up for you. I prefer it to Oblivion Stone 90% of the time (though I do run both).
- You seem to have a lot of big, expensive creatures. After playing this deck for a long time, I can say with confidence that the deck gets better as your curve gets lower. Once your curve gets to a reasonable place, you don't need to run as much ramp which means that you have more space for action in your deck. This change benefits you through out the game as you draw more things that you can cast early on and you aren't drawing into useless ramp spells late game.
The goal of a control deck in multi-player is to stabilize early without drawing attention to yourself. Ideally you have won the game but most people don't realize it because you have been burying them in a mound of small card advantage. It doesn't really matter when you actually get everyone to zero, because there is a point in every game where you have such a dominating board presence that you are almost untouchable.
I'm going to try Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm over Recurring Insight, Thirst for Knowledge, and Compulsive Research. Is Recurring Insight overkill? I was of the "goodstuff" mentality when I included it into the build, but I think I like it because I HATE relying on Damia to refill my hand.
Pernicious Deed looks great. I am already running O Stone, Damnation, All is Dust, Evacuation, and K Leviathan though. Suggestion on where to fit in? (Link in Sig).
As for Sylvan Library, early game it gets tutored before Phyrexian Arena does, which maybe makes the Arena redundant? I like both as I run Muddle the Mixture AND Perplex, but..
The only thing in your reply I can't wrap my head around is the statement about cutting ramp spells. I run x4 - Tribe Elder, Exploding Veggies, K Reach, and Cultivate. Are you saying that these can phase out as Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm come in and drop the curve??
Pernicious Deed looks great. I am already running O Stone, Damnation, All is Dust, Evacuation, and K Leviathan though. Suggestion on where to fit in? (Link in Sig).
I only run Damnation, Oblivion Stone, and Pernicious Deed as board wipes. Evacuation is great in a creature heavy meta, but I don't currently run it. That is not to say it is bad, just overkill for me. All is Dust doesn't hit artifacts and I think that is the main appeal of a board wipe. Many decks rely on artifacts and punishing them for that is a good thing. Kederekt Leviathan is good, but again, I found him unnecessary. I would cut a few of those to make room for more counter/cantrips/removal/etc.
As for Sylvan Library, early game it gets tutored before Phyrexian Arena does, which maybe makes the Arena redundant? I like both as I run Muddle the Mixture AND Perplex, but..
I don't think Phyrexian Arena is redundant. It works with every one of our draw engines, Damia included, and I think it is one of the better card draw spells in the deck. I think running both is just fine.
The only thing in your reply I can't wrap my head around is the statement about cutting ramp spells. I run x4 - Tribe Elder, Exploding Veggies, K Reach, and Cultivate. Are you saying that these can phase out as Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm come in and drop the curve??
Skyshroud Claim > Explosive Vegetation by such a wide margin it isn't funny. Even if you don't run duals, the fact that you can get tempo off Claim makes it far superior.
Some amount of ramp is great because it provides fixing, card advantage, and it allows you to stabilize earlier. But many players focus entirely too much on ramping. If you focus on ramping, you need big expensive spells, and in turn you need more ramp. The problem with this cycle is that ramp is particularly weak in the late game, and you really have to draw ramp into fatties otherwise your hand is filled with dead cards. Damia favors you playing more spells per turn which is really hard whenever every card in your deck is Terastodon or Ulamog.
Thanks for the insights.
(sorry if this convo qualifies as "hijack'n". It seems relevant. Netiquette is not my strong suit")
At the moment All is Dust works well with my Rings + Basalt combo, and I am adding Grim Monolith soon too, (wouldn't want to sweep my own pieces).
So far I've been able to deal with pesky artifacts effectively with O Ring, Beast Within, Putrefy, Krosan Grip, and Relic Crush. If those prove to not be enough in my group, All is Dust will probably become Nevinyrral's Disk or maybe just Nature's Claim.
K Leviathan will become the Deed asap, although I will miss him as a T&N target. He also works well with Draw/Dump filter spells + Reanimate or Beacon of Unrest, but eh..
I've been considering Skyshroud Claim for a while, but without Watery Grave and Overgrown Tomb it just feels "less than optimal" which sorta undermines the build. $45 is brutal to pony up for those two, but I might do it since I am dedicated to BUG for league play anyways. I see your point though about the tempo advantage when just fetching forests. I'll work it in..
As for having a few "silver bullets" that defy the low curve cost, would you suggest changing Terastodon for Vorinclex and then find a spot for Palinchron for the T&N combo? (I'm currently T&N'n for Glen Elendra + Consecrated Sphinx/Rune-Scarred to support the Rings combo.)
I have found that the Rav Bounce Lands to be underwhelming in this deck, I rarely wanted to play them and never searched for them with Primeval Titan. I am currently replacing them with new-style duals.
Thank you all for your insight. As I've been reading your builds rather intensively to perfect my build. But I love to hear from you guys and discuss stratagies to make Damia a top notch deck.
And some of my cards are filler. But I picked up a T&N, Deed, and a Reanimate. But it changed something like this... Woodfall Primus > Tooth and Nail - Tooth and Nail is awesome. 'Nuff said. But Primus I was never happy to draw. Ever. Late game I should be in control. Early game I can't cast it. So if I have a problem with a Non creature permanent I'll grab Terastodon and some other card with T&N instead of relying on Primus.
Veldalken Orrery > Pernicious Deed - Removal is removal. And card advantage is card advantage. I used to run BSZ as a mass removal and this just seems better. I said a little bit ago that Orrery would be coming out when I had a suitable spot for it.
Mystical Tutor > Reanimate - Tutor wasn't the kind of Tutor I want. And I need to actually start cutting some tutors. And being able to rebuy a creature from any graveyard is awesome. As the one game I had it I played my Sphinx, Cloned it with Metamorph then Reanimated an enemies Sphinx and Snapcasted it for flashback to buy a second one in a graveyard. But it seems awesome.
Going to be busy this weekend but I plan on updating you guys. Just a couple quick things.
Love Blanket - I like the Burgeoning. It's much better than Exploration in early game if you have 3+ lands in hand. But since I don't have your Crucible + Fetch box to get all my lands they both serve the same purpose of ramping me to turn 4 or more by turn 2. Try it out, you never know if you'll like it.
I'm slowly cutting the utility creatures and putting in actual spells. I have a couple on my cut list when I get some of the better spells. Though I know I should cut Ulamog, there are a few mill decks around me and I hate to see some of my best spells lost forever. Down the road I'll be cutting stuff and Ulamog will be phased out when I can deal with early mill effects as well as being a finisher when I get the Forbid lock in place.
I am trying to get my hands on a Pongify and Voidslime. They are on my wishlist. Pongify for Loaming Shaman, and Voidslime for Rewind.
But when I get a chance to update about my thoughts on everything I will.
Thanks for the insights.
(sorry if this convo qualifies as "hijack'n". It seems relevant. Netiquette is not my strong suit")
K Leviathan will become the Deed asap, although I will miss him as a T&N target. He also works well with Draw/Dump filter spells + Reanimate or Beacon of Unrest, but eh..
I've been considering Skyshroud Claim for a while, but without Watery Grave and Overgrown Tomb it just feels "less than optimal" which sorta undermines the build. $45 is brutal to pony up for those two, but I might do it since I am dedicated to BUG for league play anyways. I see your point though about the tempo advantage when just fetching forests. I'll work it in..
As for having a few "silver bullets" that defy the low curve cost, would you suggest changing Terastodon for Vorinclex and then find a spot for Palinchron for the T&N combo? (I'm currently T&N'n for Glen Elendra + Consecrated Sphinx/Rune-Scarred to support the Rings combo.)
- Well we can always use my thread to discuss BUG so that I can avoid my temptation to endlessly threadjack every Damia list I see. I wrote that whole primer for a reason!
- Kedrekt Leviathan is good, but only truly great off Tooth and Nail. I found that he was always win more for me, I would already be ahead and have him as a back up plan that I never needed. I also abhor expensive spells.
- Skyshroud is still good without duals, but much better with them. The manabase of this deck is pretty expensive, but awesome once it is tweaked out.
- I think don't think the TandN combo is necessary. You should run one or another infinite mana combo. Running two just means that you are consistently hitting combo pieces that you don't really need. Again, Damia drawing you cards is almost always more than enough to win. I have Time Warp in my deck mainly as an after thought. Yeah, it is an infinite win combo, but honestly it doesn't matter most of the time.
I have found that the Rav Bounce Lands to be underwhelming in this deck, I rarely wanted to play them and never searched for them with Primeval Titan. I am currently replacing them with new-style duals.
- I have really liked Bojuka Bog in my build, has it not worked out for you? I am thinking of running Tormod's Crypt in addition because it can be fetched with Tolaria West + Trinket Mage and it only pops one graveyard. With Snapcaster in the deck, I am focusing a bit more on my graveyard and I don't want to get rid of all my hard work with Relic of Progenitus.
- I think the High Market/Novijen, Heart of Progress suggestion sounds a bit too best-case-scenario for me. The deck is really hungry for colored mana and I am wary of cutting colored mana sources for a combo.
- Ditto on the bouncelands, they are hateful to your tempo.
- I have really liked Bojuka Bog in my build, has it not worked out for you? I am thinking of running Tormod's Crypt in addition because it can be fetched with Tolaria West + Trinket Mage and it only pops one graveyard. With Snapcaster in the deck, I am focusing a bit more on my graveyard and I don't want to get rid of all my hard work with Relic of Progenitus.
I hate when I draw the Bog, its clunky and if it shows up early game its effect is useless. Like I said, if you have a way to get it into play at instant speed ([/c]Knight of the Relequary[/c]) then it is good, but in this deck, I don't like it.
- I think the High Market/Novijen, Heart of Progress suggestion sounds a bit too best-case-scenario for me. The deck is really hungry for colored mana and I am wary of cutting colored mana sources for a combo.
I have not had a problem with running them, but I will agree that Novigen is only playable with Glen Elendra Archmage. Have found that High Market to be good at stopping bad stuff from happening to creatures that I control (General Tucking for example) and feel it should be in most decks.
I hate when I draw the Bog, its clunky and if it shows up early game its effect is useless. Like I said, if you have a way to get it into play at instant speed ([/c]Knight of the Relequary[/c]) then it is good, but in this deck, I don't like it.
I think you might be missing out on the value of Bog. All GY hate requires flash if you want to remove bins instantly. Where Bog is often better than say Nihil Spellbomb or Relic of Progenitus is that not only does it NOT take up a spell slot, it can come into play off of a non-basic fetch sorcery like Primeval Titan and Sylvan Scrying OR be tutored for with Tolaria West and Expedition Map.
I play it with bouncelands, and although the Damia consensus here is that this is less than optimal, it's saved my ass before.
In short, Bog can be abused quite effectively. The loss of tempo due to it's coming into play tapped is a very small penalty considering it's power when used to it's full potential. IMO, it's the best GY removal option for Damia builds that truly capitalize on the power of lands, which they should!
(Relic is good too as it also cantrips, but when facing really well tuned and persistent GY decks, it's often not enough.)
...and especially when you're in those colors. Your friends are doing it wrong if they ALL run red, white/red, white, or colorless decks. Exotic Orchard is basically a second Command Tower (or should be).
So After a while with school I'm back. I'll soon be updating this list with my current deck. Hopefully at the end of the day. With cards on my wish list and new ideas with the deck. Also I'm planning on turning this into a Primerish.
3. Darksteel Ignot: would probably be better off as coalition relic because it can provide two mana of any color which is a big deal in a three color deck.
I would definitely take out living death for all is dust like you mentioned. I could see it being more useful if you ran survival of the fittest or something but as it stands it doesn't seem too good. Another card to consider is insidious dreams instead of demonic collusion. You can cast it in response to Damia's ability and build a god hand.
Grim Monolith doen't go infinite with Thran Dynamo. It goes infinite with Power Artifact. So does Basalt Monolith. Rings of Brighthearth also make Basalt go infinite, but not Grim Monolith. Unfortunately, Power Artifact and Rings of Brighthearth have little use outside the combo, and Grim Monolith is pricey. Mana Reflection and Basalt Monolith are good adds though.
Outside of trying to combo for infinite, I think the best colorless ramp option is Mana Vault, as it produces x2 more mana than it costs to cast.
I typed that wrong. I'm on an iPhone so that happens a lot. What i mesnt to say was to consider Thran dynamo in place of Dreamstone hedron if grim monolith is too expensive.
i play damia irl and vedalken orrery is must have by my opinion. It does the same as leyline but damias strongest cards are seedborne muse, leyline of anticipation, vedalken orrery and winding canyons.
I play Damia in real life also. Orrery is "Ok" but in this type of deck it won't fit. I had both in for a while. Then I cut Orrery because it's worse than Leyline. And after a while Leyline just seemed like overkill. And it became Jace.
...and especially when you're in those colors. Your friends are doing it wrong if they ALL run red, white/red, white, or colorless decks. Exotic Orchard is basically a second Command Tower (or should be).
Good point. Once I get one I'll be switching it around. At worst it's usually a UG land.
Otherwise the new decklist is up and on it's way to becoming a Primer. (Hopefully) Though I do have to thank Aeon-Pheonix, Love Blanket, and togorian25 for a lot of help. Sorry I forgot but nutterbutter has helped a lot also!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damia?
Well then Damia tell us what you know.
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
-Mana Vault
-Mana Crypt
-Scroll Rack
-Sword of Feast and Famine
-Sword of Fire and Ice
-Sword of Light and Shadow
-Garruk Relentless
-Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
-Garruk, Primal Hunter
-Vraska the Unseen
+Curse of the Swine
+Rapid Hybridization
+Pongify
+Faerie Trickery
+Havengul Lich
+Whip of Erebos
+Reanimate
+Praetor's Grasp
+Muddle the Mixture
+Impulse
-Primeval Titan
-Exploration
-Mystic Remora
-Necropotance
-Mox Diamond
-Regrowth
-Arcane Denial
-Mystical Teachings
-City of Brass
-Inkmoth Nexus
-Cephalid Coliseum
+Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
+Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
+Karn Liberated
+Blue Sun's Zenith
+Scroll Rack
+The Abyss
+Cyclonic Rift
+Time Warp
+Ancestral Vision
+River of Tears
+Creeping Tar Pit
-Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
-Tooth and Nail
-Ancient Tomb
-Ancestrial Visions
+Batterskull
+Chord of Calling
+Inkmoth Nexus
+Mystic Remora
Well after three games this past month getting Briberied my Ulamog out of my deck I knew it was time to switch it up. Figured I needed some other card that can win games and I decided Batterskull for testing right now. I'm unsure how much I'll like it but the one game I got it out I felt untouchable once I started swinging with a 7/5 Flying, Vigilant, Lifelinker. Then when they killed that with a wrath the table scooped when I returned it and recast it to swing with a 4/4. At this time I had Jace, Liliana, and an active Forbid Loam lock on. Not to mention a ton of life.
Since Ulamog came out I took out T&N because it was ment for Ulamog and some other utility. Now I put in Chord of Calling as it costs less and is an instant.
Then the Inkmoth Nexus for Ancient Tomb is a meh call on my part. But I'm sticking to my guns for a couple games.
Testing Mystic Remora. Seems good. My biggest fear is the upkeep cost. So we will see. Let's hope.
- Azusa, Lost but Seeking
+ Vendillion Clique
- Survival of the Fittest
+ Dissipate
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
Between the Mimeoplasm and Scavaging Ooze, you should have decent graveyard hate to help when you cast Living Death keeping your opponents from getting the better benefit. Maybe try adding some more etb creatures so LD has more impact for you. Stuff like Duplicant, Grave Titan, Mulldrifter, or Sower of temptation.
The deck needs to start moving towards a combo to end the game. Oddly enough I think it'll be a more fun deck for everyone else playing. Since all I do is control the board to a halt and kill everyone with my creatures or Geth'ing up everyone's creatures/Artifacts with a Seedborn Muse on board and mill people out. But that takes sooo long sometimes.
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
I don't want my way to win to be Combo. I want to lock the board out and then instead of slowly winning just end the game so I can move onto the next game.
But I will be writing upa Primer to this hopefully soon.
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
I'd run Rune-Scarred Demon over Insidious Dreams; having a 6/6 body (and being easier to recur) is better than stacking your next draws. Are you running Living Death as a reanimator spell, or as a board wipe? Either way, I think there are better alternatives, such as Life's Finale(board wipe), and Victimize. Sheoldred, Whispering One can also be used to do both. Otherwise, it looks solid.
Footsteps Hulk
Ascendency Combo
Restore Balance
Ad Nauseam
EDH:
Ghave Lands
Narset Combo
I don't really like the Demon in this deck. I played with it for a while and It just always seems like a dork. Plus my curve is already pretty high and I need to survive the early game as much as possible.
As for Living Death it's a board wipe to get around indestructible creatures. As I will be having a hard time if one gets on board. But I would like to change it as I'm always afraid of my opponents getting benefits from it. I'll try Life's Finale for a little bit though and see how it works.
Made a couple changes in the change log. And also fixed the cards thinking about cutting and additions.
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
Running Leyline and Orerry seems redundant. Is flash even really important in this build?
Likewise Burgeoning & Exploration seems redundant.
Nihil Spellbomb is good as it draws a card, but since you're not Trinket Mage toolbox'n, have you considered Tolaria West into Bojuka Bog to address GY abuse? You already have Reap and Sow + bounce lands to get more mileage out of the Bog, (and speaking of bounce lands, they are particularly good with cycling lands late game)
You dropped your boots. Why holding onto the Darksteel Plate?
Just a few suggestions:
-Leyline
-Orrery
-Burgeoning
-Plate
-Spellbomb
+Venser, Shaper Savant
+Glen Elendra Archmage
+Sylvan Library
+Capsize
+Recurring Insight
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Thank you very much. It's really become my favorite deck to play because there are a lot of different ways to approach playing it. And the versatility that BUG gives you and the draw engine that is Damia is just insane. And I'm trying to find a local EDH tournament to try this out and see how I do.
The Leyline/Orrery are kind of odd now that I look at it closer. I just left them in there because I had planed on getting the T&N chain in the deck. I think I will take one or both out.
And the redundancy that is Exploration/Burgeoning on the other hand is on purpose. I want my late game spells to come online as fast as possible. They both do essentially the same thing and I like that.
Darksteel Plate is a habit. It goes in almost every deck that I have. It's my Boots 3.0.
And as for Nihil Spellbomb I'll keep an eye on it. It's kind of a meta call but I'll try it out. The Reap and Sow is going to become a Crop Rotation when I find mine.
I like Venser and the Archmage so I will have to look into getting them. And I really dislike Recurring Insight in my deck. In the early couple iterations of this deck and it was always overkill. I'll look into putting it in though.
Capsize seems good though. I need to get one.
Honestly how do you feel about Sylvan Library? I hate that it doesn't work with my general. But I guess it lets me get control as soon as possible.
So for tomorrow...
-Orrey
-Lightning Greaves
-Plate
+Sylvan Library
+Capsize
+Bojuka Bog
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
BUG is a really strong color combination and honestly a sub-optimal BUG build outlcasses what many people are trying to do. I have spent a lot of time and energy on my deck and I very rarely feel pressured against most decks.
Beware cards like Leyline and Orrery. The problem is that they don't really do anything on their own. They don't generate card advantage and the ability they grant you isn't game-breaking like Seedborn Muse(which, consequently, you really need to take full value of them). They seem really good, but if you are in a position to truly abuse them, you are winning already. They don't really do anything for you if you are already on the back foot.
I have been curious about this. I currently only run Exploration because it is quite strong with fetchlands + Crucible of Worlds. However it might be worth consideration because I am running Life from the Loam and that can put a ton of lands into your hand.
I personally don't think that a creature based version of this deck is that strong, which makes most equipment kind of useless. It really isn't a big deal to have Damia killed and you shouldn't build your gameplan around her in the first place. It is nice when you can keep her alive but I don't always count on it.
Some form of graveyard hate is necessary in every EDH deck. I think Bojuka Bog is the best choice for this deck, but Nihil Spellbomb is good too. Trinket Mage is certainly worth a slot as he always gets either Sol Ring or Top, both of which you want to see almost every game.
As for Crop Rotation, I don't really feel like the deck needs too much land tutoring. If you run more card draw/selection effects like Preordain, Ponder, Brainstorm, and Impulse you will have a much easier time finding what you need which means that you can less ramp, fewer answers, etc. They may not fit your playstyle, but if you really want to optimize the deck and make it as good as possible you are doing yourself a serious disservice in not including them. Once I included them in my deck, I have never looked back. They are just that strong.
Recurring Insight is overkill. Go for more, smaller effects instead. Venser and Glen Elendra are strong choices as well.
Sylvan Library is really, really good. It is a second, sometimes better, Top. Don't be afraid to burn through your life total to get some cards either. It really doesn't matter because you will lock down the game before combat damage becomes a thing.
Just some general notes:
- You don't have any ways to counter activated/triggered abilities. Sometimes you won't be able to counter everything that is cast and you will need to deal with it once it is on the board. I would certainly run Voidslime but beyond that, Stifle and Trickbind are worth consideration as well.
- Pernicious Deed, while expensive, is one of the best cards in the deck. It is just so good against so many strategies, that I think it should be a priority pick-up for you. I prefer it to Oblivion Stone 90% of the time (though I do run both).
- You seem to have a lot of big, expensive creatures. After playing this deck for a long time, I can say with confidence that the deck gets better as your curve gets lower. Once your curve gets to a reasonable place, you don't need to run as much ramp which means that you have more space for action in your deck. This change benefits you through out the game as you draw more things that you can cast early on and you aren't drawing into useless ramp spells late game.
The goal of a control deck in multi-player is to stabilize early without drawing attention to yourself. Ideally you have won the game but most people don't realize it because you have been burying them in a mound of small card advantage. It doesn't really matter when you actually get everyone to zero, because there is a point in every game where you have such a dominating board presence that you are almost untouchable.
I'm going to try Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm over Recurring Insight, Thirst for Knowledge, and Compulsive Research. Is Recurring Insight overkill? I was of the "goodstuff" mentality when I included it into the build, but I think I like it because I HATE relying on Damia to refill my hand.
Pernicious Deed looks great. I am already running O Stone, Damnation, All is Dust, Evacuation, and K Leviathan though. Suggestion on where to fit in? (Link in Sig).
As for Sylvan Library, early game it gets tutored before Phyrexian Arena does, which maybe makes the Arena redundant? I like both as I run Muddle the Mixture AND Perplex, but..
The only thing in your reply I can't wrap my head around is the statement about cutting ramp spells. I run x4 - Tribe Elder, Exploding Veggies, K Reach, and Cultivate. Are you saying that these can phase out as Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm come in and drop the curve??
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
I only run Damnation, Oblivion Stone, and Pernicious Deed as board wipes. Evacuation is great in a creature heavy meta, but I don't currently run it. That is not to say it is bad, just overkill for me. All is Dust doesn't hit artifacts and I think that is the main appeal of a board wipe. Many decks rely on artifacts and punishing them for that is a good thing. Kederekt Leviathan is good, but again, I found him unnecessary. I would cut a few of those to make room for more counter/cantrips/removal/etc.
I don't think Phyrexian Arena is redundant. It works with every one of our draw engines, Damia included, and I think it is one of the better card draw spells in the deck. I think running both is just fine.
Skyshroud Claim > Explosive Vegetation by such a wide margin it isn't funny. Even if you don't run duals, the fact that you can get tempo off Claim makes it far superior.
Some amount of ramp is great because it provides fixing, card advantage, and it allows you to stabilize earlier. But many players focus entirely too much on ramping. If you focus on ramping, you need big expensive spells, and in turn you need more ramp. The problem with this cycle is that ramp is particularly weak in the late game, and you really have to draw ramp into fatties otherwise your hand is filled with dead cards. Damia favors you playing more spells per turn which is really hard whenever every card in your deck is Terastodon or Ulamog.
(sorry if this convo qualifies as "hijack'n". It seems relevant. Netiquette is not my strong suit")
At the moment All is Dust works well with my Rings + Basalt combo, and I am adding Grim Monolith soon too, (wouldn't want to sweep my own pieces).
So far I've been able to deal with pesky artifacts effectively with O Ring, Beast Within, Putrefy, Krosan Grip, and Relic Crush. If those prove to not be enough in my group, All is Dust will probably become Nevinyrral's Disk or maybe just Nature's Claim.
K Leviathan will become the Deed asap, although I will miss him as a T&N target. He also works well with Draw/Dump filter spells + Reanimate or Beacon of Unrest, but eh..
I've been considering Skyshroud Claim for a while, but without Watery Grave and Overgrown Tomb it just feels "less than optimal" which sorta undermines the build. $45 is brutal to pony up for those two, but I might do it since I am dedicated to BUG for league play anyways. I see your point though about the tempo advantage when just fetching forests. I'll work it in..
As for having a few "silver bullets" that defy the low curve cost, would you suggest changing Terastodon for Vorinclex and then find a spot for Palinchron for the T&N combo? (I'm currently T&N'n for Glen Elendra + Consecrated Sphinx/Rune-Scarred to support the Rings combo.)
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
With Woodfall Primus you want to run Oran-Rief, The Vastwood, High Market. If you also run Glen Elendra, add Novijen, Heart of Progress. Get all that out with Seedborn Muse and you are going to just wreck face.
I have found that the Rav Bounce Lands to be underwhelming in this deck, I rarely wanted to play them and never searched for them with Primeval Titan. I am currently replacing them with new-style duals.
Also, you can check the list in my sig for Ideas.
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Darien and his Loyal Army
Marrow-Gnawer tribal rats
Elesh Norn / Sharuum / Damia - Retired
And some of my cards are filler. But I picked up a T&N, Deed, and a Reanimate. But it changed something like this...
Woodfall Primus > Tooth and Nail - Tooth and Nail is awesome. 'Nuff said. But Primus I was never happy to draw. Ever. Late game I should be in control. Early game I can't cast it. So if I have a problem with a Non creature permanent I'll grab Terastodon and some other card with T&N instead of relying on Primus.
Veldalken Orrery > Pernicious Deed - Removal is removal. And card advantage is card advantage. I used to run BSZ as a mass removal and this just seems better. I said a little bit ago that Orrery would be coming out when I had a suitable spot for it.
Mystical Tutor > Reanimate - Tutor wasn't the kind of Tutor I want. And I need to actually start cutting some tutors. And being able to rebuy a creature from any graveyard is awesome. As the one game I had it I played my Sphinx, Cloned it with Metamorph then Reanimated an enemies Sphinx and Snapcasted it for flashback to buy a second one in a graveyard. But it seems awesome.
Going to be busy this weekend but I plan on updating you guys. Just a couple quick things.
Love Blanket - I like the Burgeoning. It's much better than Exploration in early game if you have 3+ lands in hand. But since I don't have your Crucible + Fetch box to get all my lands they both serve the same purpose of ramping me to turn 4 or more by turn 2. Try it out, you never know if you'll like it.
I'm slowly cutting the utility creatures and putting in actual spells. I have a couple on my cut list when I get some of the better spells. Though I know I should cut Ulamog, there are a few mill decks around me and I hate to see some of my best spells lost forever. Down the road I'll be cutting stuff and Ulamog will be phased out when I can deal with early mill effects as well as being a finisher when I get the Forbid lock in place.
I am trying to get my hands on a Pongify and Voidslime. They are on my wishlist. Pongify for Loaming Shaman, and Voidslime for Rewind.
But when I get a chance to update about my thoughts on everything I will.
Thank you guys on all the suggestions.
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
- Well we can always use my thread to discuss BUG so that I can avoid my temptation to endlessly threadjack every Damia list I see. I wrote that whole primer for a reason!
- Kedrekt Leviathan is good, but only truly great off Tooth and Nail. I found that he was always win more for me, I would already be ahead and have him as a back up plan that I never needed. I also abhor expensive spells.
- Skyshroud is still good without duals, but much better with them. The manabase of this deck is pretty expensive, but awesome once it is tweaked out.
- I think don't think the TandN combo is necessary. You should run one or another infinite mana combo. Running two just means that you are consistently hitting combo pieces that you don't really need. Again, Damia drawing you cards is almost always more than enough to win. I have Time Warp in my deck mainly as an after thought. Yeah, it is an infinite win combo, but honestly it doesn't matter most of the time.
- I have really liked Bojuka Bog in my build, has it not worked out for you? I am thinking of running Tormod's Crypt in addition because it can be fetched with Tolaria West + Trinket Mage and it only pops one graveyard. With Snapcaster in the deck, I am focusing a bit more on my graveyard and I don't want to get rid of all my hard work with Relic of Progenitus.
- I think the High Market/Novijen, Heart of Progress suggestion sounds a bit too best-case-scenario for me. The deck is really hungry for colored mana and I am wary of cutting colored mana sources for a combo.
- Ditto on the bouncelands, they are hateful to your tempo.
I have not had a problem with running them, but I will agree that Novigen is only playable with Glen Elendra Archmage. Have found that High Market to be good at stopping bad stuff from happening to creatures that I control (General Tucking for example) and feel it should be in most decks.
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Darien and his Loyal Army
Marrow-Gnawer tribal rats
Elesh Norn / Sharuum / Damia - Retired
I think you might be missing out on the value of Bog. All GY hate requires flash if you want to remove bins instantly. Where Bog is often better than say Nihil Spellbomb or Relic of Progenitus is that not only does it NOT take up a spell slot, it can come into play off of a non-basic fetch sorcery like Primeval Titan and Sylvan Scrying OR be tutored for with Tolaria West and Expedition Map.
It's also pretty good if running Realms Uncharted with a Life from the Loam + Crucible of Worlds engine.
I play it with bouncelands, and although the Damia consensus here is that this is less than optimal, it's saved my ass before.
In short, Bog can be abused quite effectively. The loss of tempo due to it's coming into play tapped is a very small penalty considering it's power when used to it's full potential. IMO, it's the best GY removal option for Damia builds that truly capitalize on the power of lands, which they should!
(Relic is good too as it also cantrips, but when facing really well tuned and persistent GY decks, it's often not enough.)
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti
1. Dreamstone Hedron as you mentioned: Too expensive for ramp and too expensive for draw since you have BU. If you just want ramp consider grim monolith since it can go infinite with mana reflection or Thran dynamo. If you just want draw there are countless better options, some of which are Phyrexian arena, fact or fiction or even necropotence since you run Urborg, tomb of Yawgmoth.
2. Explosive vegetation and reap and sow would probably be better off as cultivate and kodama's reach since you have the chance of one of the lands not being tapped that turn. Exploration type cards make these even better.
3. Darksteel Ignot: would probably be better off as coalition relic because it can provide two mana of any color which is a big deal in a three color deck.
I would definitely take out living death for all is dust like you mentioned. I could see it being more useful if you ran survival of the fittest or something but as it stands it doesn't seem too good. Another card to consider is insidious dreams instead of demonic collusion. You can cast it in response to Damia's ability and build a god hand.
Thank You Rivenor/Miraculous Recovery Studios!
GGGSKamahl's Band of Monstosities SGGG
RRRSFreaki-Kiki, The Goblin DoucheSRRR
BBGGNath, Raper of Hands and Spewer of Tokens!GGBB
BUGDamia, Sage of AnswersBUG
WIPs
BBBXiahou Dun, the Bitter Stax Enabling BastardBBB
On Break
BBBSKagemaro, First to RetireSBBB
BBBThe Walking DeadBBB
UUUSTeferi Combo PrimerSUUU
Grim Monolith doen't go infinite with Thran Dynamo. It goes infinite with Power Artifact. So does Basalt Monolith. Rings of Brighthearth also make Basalt go infinite, but not Grim Monolith. Unfortunately, Power Artifact and Rings of Brighthearth have little use outside the combo, and Grim Monolith is pricey. Mana Reflection and Basalt Monolith are good adds though.
Outside of trying to combo for infinite, I think the best colorless ramp option is Mana Vault, as it produces x2 more mana than it costs to cast.
Modern
RBig RedR
GMean GreenG
WWW AlliesW
BGScavengeBG
WUVenser SilenceWU
EDH
RWAurelia 1 vs 1RW
GWURoonGWU
GWSaffiGW
Thank You Rivenor/Miraculous Recovery Studios!
GGGSKamahl's Band of Monstosities SGGG
RRRSFreaki-Kiki, The Goblin DoucheSRRR
BBGGNath, Raper of Hands and Spewer of Tokens!GGBB
BUGDamia, Sage of AnswersBUG
WIPs
BBBXiahou Dun, the Bitter Stax Enabling BastardBBB
On Break
BBBSKagemaro, First to RetireSBBB
BBBThe Walking DeadBBB
UUUSTeferi Combo PrimerSUUU
I play Damia in real life also. Orrery is "Ok" but in this type of deck it won't fit. I had both in for a while. Then I cut Orrery because it's worse than Leyline. And after a while Leyline just seemed like overkill. And it became Jace.
Good point. Once I get one I'll be switching it around. At worst it's usually a UG land.
Otherwise the new decklist is up and on it's way to becoming a Primer. (Hopefully) Though I do have to thank Aeon-Pheonix, Love Blanket, and togorian25 for a lot of help. Sorry I forgot but nutterbutter has helped a lot also!
Thank you so much mchief111 for the amazing art!
BUG is the Jund of EDH!
Modern: Jund, Grixis Delver, Bant Eldrazi, TitanShift
Commander: Brago, Yidris, Mizzix, Marath, Atheros, Daretti