This is my Jenara deck that I recently made. I stopped playing Commander a couple months back and have just recently got back into it. This list is rough and is using some of the few cards I have had on hand, so if anyone could help improve the list, that would be awesome! My current themes with this deck is as follows:
-Toolbox theme: I want to be able to dig and have an answer for any current threat or situation. With the current cards I have, it seems to be leaning toward a creature toolbox.
-Dinosaur Subtheme: Hence the title, I want a couple dinosaur themed cards in here for flavor. Not that many though, just a few! I also don't just want to fill the slots with Vanilla Dinos, I want the deck to be able to perform to par with other decks in my meta. Wizards, Y U NO PRINT MORE DINOS????
-Say no to combos!: Comboing is a unfortunate theme in my meta. While I don't mind Comboing out, I especially don't like not being able to do anything about it. So, I want cards that can stop Infinte swarm, hose out certain combo pieces, or simple stop the Infinity train right then and there.
-Legendary Subtheme: This is kinda my personal twist in the list, but I really like Legendary creatures and Planeswalkers, and the flavor they add to a deck, so ou may notice an abundance of legendary creatures.
With all of that said, it gives a more clearer idea of how I want to build this deck. Of course the deck will take time, but i have never played Bant before, so this should be fun! I am currently using ISBpathfinder's deck as a guide to help me out (found here) but any advice would be really awesome! Thank you!
This is more of a personal checklist of cards I need for the deck. These are cards that are going into the list, but I have either not gotten them yet or cannot find them. Bant Charm
*More soon!*
*Under Construction*
This is a small reference to the Dinosaurs either in or soon to be in the build.
Since I was deeply saddened by the lack of response to my own Jenara list, I guess it would be hypocritical of me not to give some input here.
I noticed a few things off the bat:
Land base:
Riptide Laboratory - I think I only see one target here, namely Teferi. Not worth the colorless when your manabase is already (no offense!) suboptimal.
Treetop Village - manlands are usually bad in EDH because they don't scale to the number of opponents. Inkmoth is the only possible exception in my book. Not worth the CIPT clause.
I think that if you want to include huge fatties like Avacyn and Vorinclex, you need more ramp, ESPECIALLY if combo decks are a problem in your meta. You only have two ramp creatures currently. I would recommend adding STE and Farhaven Elf, probably over KOTR and Yavimaya Elder, if you want to stick with the creatures-only package. You don't run an abundance of back-breaking lands like Cradle, so KOTR isn't probably necessary.
Instants/Sorceries
Not a fan of Primal Command or Praetor's Council. Command is just overcosted for what it actually gets you, and while Praetor's Council's effect is insane, it's just very slow.
Also not a fan of Brainstorm (it's better if you have fetchlands, and even then I prefer a beefier draw spell) or Long Term Plans. Consider Green Sun's Zenith or Chord of Calling if you want more tutors (you might also replace alter of bone with one of these).
A few counterspells wouldn't go amiss if you want some multipurpose combo breakers. The free ones are good if you can afford them (Pact is usually better than Force by a pretty large margin), Tuck counterspells are great if voltron is a problem (which you indicated is not the case), value counterspells like Cryptic Command and Arcane Denial (criminally underused, especially if you don't own/want to buy cryptic).
Spin Into Myth is good at what it does, but really is more of a mono-blue spell because they don't have better answers. You're in bant, so you do have better answers: Bant Charm does everything Spin Into Myth does and more, and it's cheaper. Just be careful of color issues.
Creatures:
If your meta is slow enough to consider the 6+ CMC creatures you currently have, consider adding Deadeye Navigator. If you pin him to Avenger, Sylvan, or even Hornet Queen, the game swings massively in your favor. I would also suggest Karmic Guide and Reveillark as general staples. You have fauna shaman in your list. Early game you might find Vorinclex dead in your hand, but if you can Fauna Shaman him away into Karmic Guide then reanimate him for 3 cmc cheaper, you've got a bargain.
A few misc additions that I assume have been neglected due to budget:
Survival of the Fittest - your second Fauna Shaman. Or rather, Fauna Shaman should be your second survival, because this is better in almost every way.
Sylvan Library - I'm happy to see this card on turn 1 and turn 18. It's fantastic.
I think the general idea here should be: add a bit more ramp, lower your curve where possible, add some counterspells if you want to police combo, and play to bant's strengths: utility creatures, ETB effects, and recursion. Hope this helped.
I'm disheartened by the distinct lack of dinosaurs in this deck.
Aside from that, it looks fun. Like Tazriel said, you need to lower your curve a little tho. You have a ton of dudes over 6 mana and very little ramp. Even if you're just looking at good old fashioned Cultivate and Kodama's Reach, you need some more ramp. You can't just ignore Green's greatest strength. I would probably just pick 2 guys that cost over 6 mana that you really like, and replace the rest with ramp. Just my opinion.
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Most recently looking at Morinfen!
Other than that, just what the others have said - you're too top-heavy, you don't have enough ramp, and if you need to drop a Gaddock Teeg how many of your cards are dead with no way to get rid of them? 13? A few too many IMHO.
Worldly Tutor is another OK tutor in this deck, considering how many utility creatures you have that you may need to tutor up; with all your CIPT creatures it's a criminal shame not to run Stonecloaker, Whitemane Lion, or Restoration Angel; adding some more 1cc artifacts and/or artifact lands and a Trinket Mage would certainly help if you wanted to keep your Riptide Laboratory. Snapcaster Mage, too? Tolaria West would be a backup to the Knight of the Reliquary.
If you want to stay top-heavy, you could do worse than Fierce Empath for another creature tutor - might well run him over Worldly Tutor, but I'd rather have both!
I think taking this in the direction of a Bant Goodstuff Flicker deck would not go amiss.
Since I was deeply saddened by the lack of response to my own Jenara list, I guess it would be hypocritical of me not to give some input here.
I noticed a few things off the bat:
Land base:
Riptide Laboratory - I think I only see one target here, namely Teferi. Not worth the colorless when your manabase is already (no offense!) suboptimal.
Treetop Village - manlands are usually bad in EDH because they don't scale to the number of opponents. Inkmoth is the only possible exception in my book. Not worth the CIPT clause.
I think that if you want to include huge fatties like Avacyn and Vorinclex, you need more ramp, ESPECIALLY if combo decks are a problem in your meta. You only have two ramp creatures currently. I would recommend adding STE and Farhaven Elf, probably over KOTR and Yavimaya Elder, if you want to stick with the creatures-only package. You don't run an abundance of back-breaking lands like Cradle, so KOTR isn't probably necessary.
Instants/Sorceries
Not a fan of Primal Command or Praetor's Council. Command is just overcosted for what it actually gets you, and while Praetor's Council's effect is insane, it's just very slow.
Also not a fan of Brainstorm (it's better if you have fetchlands, and even then I prefer a beefier draw spell) or Long Term Plans. Consider Green Sun's Zenith or Chord of Calling if you want more tutors (you might also replace alter of bone with one of these).
A few counterspells wouldn't go amiss if you want some multipurpose combo breakers. The free ones are good if you can afford them (Pact is usually better than Force by a pretty large margin), Tuck counterspells are great if voltron is a problem (which you indicated is not the case), value counterspells like Cryptic Command and Arcane Denial (criminally underused, especially if you don't own/want to buy cryptic).
Spin Into Myth is good at what it does, but really is more of a mono-blue spell because they don't have better answers. You're in bant, so you do have better answers: Bant Charm does everything Spin Into Myth does and more, and it's cheaper. Just be careful of color issues.
Creatures:
If your meta is slow enough to consider the 6+ CMC creatures you currently have, consider adding Deadeye Navigator. If you pin him to Avenger, Sylvan, or even Hornet Queen, the game swings massively in your favor. I would also suggest Karmic Guide and Reveillark as general staples. You have fauna shaman in your list. Early game you might find Vorinclex dead in your hand, but if you can Fauna Shaman him away into Karmic Guide then reanimate him for 3 cmc cheaper, you've got a bargain.
A few misc additions that I assume have been neglected due to budget:
Survival of the Fittest - your second Fauna Shaman. Or rather, Fauna Shaman should be your second survival, because this is better in almost every way.
Sylvan Library - I'm happy to see this card on turn 1 and turn 18. It's fantastic.
I think the general idea here should be: add a bit more ramp, lower your curve where possible, add some counterspells if you want to police combo, and play to bant's strengths: utility creatures, ETB effects, and recursion. Hope this helped.
Thank you so much =D
The land base is pretty meh, I do agree, but what would be good utility lands to run? Also, what other ramp do you specificly suggest for ramp cards?
The Command and Council is a personal meta call. There is a Lazav deck and a Mimeoplasm deck that have been running amok with wrecking face and mass milling (I didn't know mass mill was possible either) and these two cards help me alot. The Command shuffles my graveyard back in while fetching me a creature, and the Council is another way to save my graveyard, however I don't like how it doesnt replenish my library, so i can take out the Council, but the Command is gonna stay.
Better tutors, got it!
I love tuck counters, so I'lll probably add those.
Bant Charm > Spin into Myth. Check!
I do need to slim down the creature curve, so who would be ideal to cut? I am also going to add a sub Dinosaur theme (hence the title) so There will be some more cheap dudes running around. If I do end up narrowing my curve, should I get rid of the Pod? The Guide and Lark combo would be nice, but no one here has them and I don't wanna buy them online. So if I run into some, absolutely!
Survival is another one of those where no one has it and I refuse to purchase. Same with the Library.
So basic idea, if I understand: More ramp, less heavy creatures, some counters, and make more Bant (which was my problem in the first place). Awesome, thank you so so so much!!!
I'm disheartened by the distinct lack of dinosaurs in this deck.
Aside from that, it looks fun. Like Tazriel said, you need to lower your curve a little tho. You have a ton of dudes over 6 mana and very little ramp. Even if you're just looking at good old fashioned Cultivate and Kodama's Reach, you need some more ramp. You can't just ignore Green's greatest strength. I would probably just pick 2 guys that cost over 6 mana that you really like, and replace the rest with ramp. Just my opinion.
Well, I am still working on the dinosaur part, but here are the dinosaurs I am in need to add:
Thoughts? I also am having trouble on what to specifically cut. I agree with the too many big dudes, so which ones can go? Also, what if my ramp can be more creature based? What other creatures can fill the rolls?
One short thing, I do believe Sublime Archangel will be an underachiever here. Just saying, it's not worth a spot in most decks, aside from token decks.
Other than that, just what the others have said - you're too top-heavy, you don't have enough ramp, and if you need to drop a Gaddock Teeg how many of your cards are dead with no way to get rid of them? 13? A few too many IMHO.
Worldly Tutor is another OK tutor in this deck, considering how many utility creatures you have that you may need to tutor up; with all your CIPT creatures it's a criminal shame not to run Stonecloaker, Whitemane Lion, or Restoration Angel; adding some more 1cc artifacts and/or artifact lands and a Trinket Mage would certainly help if you wanted to keep your Riptide Laboratory. Snapcaster Mage, too? Tolaria West would be a backup to the Knight of the Reliquary.
If you want to stay top-heavy, you could do worse than Fierce Empath for another creature tutor - might well run him over Worldly Tutor, but I'd rather have both!
I think taking this in the direction of a Bant Goodstuff Flicker deck would not go amiss.
Mindbreak Trap too slow No but really, I tested it a couple of times, and it is much too clunky in my hand. I'd rather have a card that could be versatile, yet answer combos when they come around.
Hmmmm understood!
I like the Cloaker and the Angel. Are they both worth it though? Since my creatures are more utility rather than ETB? The Labratory isn't that important and can be cut.
Goodstuff Bant? With a slight Dino-theme? Sounds good! Thank you everyone!!!
***
I posted my list of desired dinos, along with agreements and disagreements with the suggestions. Can we narrow it down to a specific list of what must go and what must come in? Thank you everyone again
This is my Jenara deck that I recently made. I stopped playing Commander a couple months back and have just recently got back into it. This list is rough and is using some of the few cards I have had on hand, so if anyone could help improve the list, that would be awesome! My current themes with this deck is as follows:
-Toolbox theme: I want to be able to dig and have an answer for any current threat or situation. With the current cards I have, it seems to be leaning toward a creature toolbox.
-Dinosaur Subtheme: Hence the title, I want a couple dinosaur themed cards in here for flavor. Not that many though, just a few! I also don't just want to fill the slots with Vanilla Dinos, I want the deck to be able to perform to par with other decks in my meta. Wizards, Y U NO PRINT MORE DINOS????
-Say no to combos!: Comboing is a unfortunate theme in my meta. While I don't mind Comboing out, I especially don't like not being able to do anything about it. So, I want cards that can stop Infinte swarm, hose out certain combo pieces, or simple stop the Infinity train right then and there.
-Legendary Subtheme: This is kinda my personal twist in the list, but I really like Legendary creatures and Planeswalkers, and the flavor they add to a deck, so ou may notice an abundance of legendary creatures.
With all of that said, it gives a more clearer idea of how I want to build this deck. Of course the deck will take time, but i have never played Bant before, so this should be fun! I am currently using ISBpathfinder's deck as a guide to help me out (found here) but any advice would be really awesome! Thank you!
3 Jenara, Asura of War
Creatures (30)
2 Fauna Shaman
2 Gaddock Teeg
2 Grand Abolisher
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Saffi Eriksdotter
2 Wall of Omens
3 Dauntless Escort
3 Eternal Witness
3 Knight of Reliquary
3 Wood Elves
3 Yavimaya Elder
4 Emeria Angel
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Sakashima the Imposter
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Sublime Angel
5 Acidic Slime
5 Knight-Captain of Eos
5 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
6 Consecrated Sphinx
6 Darien, King of Kjeldor
6 Sun Titan
6 Vigor
7 Avenger of Zendikar
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Hornet Queen
7 Sylvan Primodial
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
8 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
4 Birthing Pod
Instants (10)
1 Brainstorm
1 Mystic Tutor
1 Swords of Plowshares
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Eladamri's Call
3 Beast Within
3 Krosan's Grip
3 Long-Term Plans
4 Fact or Fiction
5 Spin into Myth
Sorcereis (8)
2 Altar of Bone
4 Supreme Verdict
5 Primal Command
5 Time Warp
6 Austere Command
6 Terminus
8 Praetor's Council
Enchantments (6)
2 Angelic Renewal
3 Aura Shards
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Rhystic Study
6 Martyr's Bond
3 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
4 Elspeth, Knight Errant
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
5 Garruk, Primal Hunter
5 Venser, the Sojourner
Lands (37)
0 Command Tower
0 Exotic Orchard
0 Hallowed Fountain
0 Glacial Fortress
0 Breeding Pool
0 Hinterland Harbor
0 Temple Garden
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Reliquary Tower
0 High Market
0 Alchemist's Refuge
0 Riptide Labratory
0 Treetop Village
0 Evolving Wilds
8 Forest
7 Island
8 Plains
This is more of a personal checklist of cards I need for the deck. These are cards that are going into the list, but I have either not gotten them yet or cannot find them.
Bant Charm
*More soon!*
*Under Construction*
This is a small reference to the Dinosaurs either in or soon to be in the build.
Epic Signature by the one and only Ace in Ace of Spades Studio
Proud member of the Spirit of EDH
BGW Teneb, the Harvester [Primer]
R Márton Stromgald
WUB Dakkon Blackblade
GR Atarka, World Render
{Writing and Rants}
WUBRG The Primeval Dragon's influence on EDH
I noticed a few things off the bat:
Land base:
Riptide Laboratory - I think I only see one target here, namely Teferi. Not worth the colorless when your manabase is already (no offense!) suboptimal.
Treetop Village - manlands are usually bad in EDH because they don't scale to the number of opponents. Inkmoth is the only possible exception in my book. Not worth the CIPT clause.
I think that if you want to include huge fatties like Avacyn and Vorinclex, you need more ramp, ESPECIALLY if combo decks are a problem in your meta. You only have two ramp creatures currently. I would recommend adding STE and Farhaven Elf, probably over KOTR and Yavimaya Elder, if you want to stick with the creatures-only package. You don't run an abundance of back-breaking lands like Cradle, so KOTR isn't probably necessary.
Instants/Sorceries
Not a fan of Primal Command or Praetor's Council. Command is just overcosted for what it actually gets you, and while Praetor's Council's effect is insane, it's just very slow.
Also not a fan of Brainstorm (it's better if you have fetchlands, and even then I prefer a beefier draw spell) or Long Term Plans. Consider Green Sun's Zenith or Chord of Calling if you want more tutors (you might also replace alter of bone with one of these).
A few counterspells wouldn't go amiss if you want some multipurpose combo breakers. The free ones are good if you can afford them (Pact is usually better than Force by a pretty large margin), Tuck counterspells are great if voltron is a problem (which you indicated is not the case), value counterspells like Cryptic Command and Arcane Denial (criminally underused, especially if you don't own/want to buy cryptic).
Spin Into Myth is good at what it does, but really is more of a mono-blue spell because they don't have better answers. You're in bant, so you do have better answers: Bant Charm does everything Spin Into Myth does and more, and it's cheaper. Just be careful of color issues.
Creatures:
If your meta is slow enough to consider the 6+ CMC creatures you currently have, consider adding Deadeye Navigator. If you pin him to Avenger, Sylvan, or even Hornet Queen, the game swings massively in your favor. I would also suggest Karmic Guide and Reveillark as general staples. You have fauna shaman in your list. Early game you might find Vorinclex dead in your hand, but if you can Fauna Shaman him away into Karmic Guide then reanimate him for 3 cmc cheaper, you've got a bargain.
A few misc additions that I assume have been neglected due to budget:
Survival of the Fittest - your second Fauna Shaman. Or rather, Fauna Shaman should be your second survival, because this is better in almost every way.
Sylvan Library - I'm happy to see this card on turn 1 and turn 18. It's fantastic.
I think the general idea here should be: add a bit more ramp, lower your curve where possible, add some counterspells if you want to police combo, and play to bant's strengths: utility creatures, ETB effects, and recursion. Hope this helped.
Aside from that, it looks fun. Like Tazriel said, you need to lower your curve a little tho. You have a ton of dudes over 6 mana and very little ramp. Even if you're just looking at good old fashioned Cultivate and Kodama's Reach, you need some more ramp. You can't just ignore Green's greatest strength. I would probably just pick 2 guys that cost over 6 mana that you really like, and replace the rest with ramp. Just my opinion.
Most recently looking at Morinfen!
Other than that, just what the others have said - you're too top-heavy, you don't have enough ramp, and if you need to drop a Gaddock Teeg how many of your cards are dead with no way to get rid of them? 13? A few too many IMHO.
Worldly Tutor is another OK tutor in this deck, considering how many utility creatures you have that you may need to tutor up; with all your CIPT creatures it's a criminal shame not to run Stonecloaker, Whitemane Lion, or Restoration Angel; adding some more 1cc artifacts and/or artifact lands and a Trinket Mage would certainly help if you wanted to keep your Riptide Laboratory. Snapcaster Mage, too? Tolaria West would be a backup to the Knight of the Reliquary.
If you want to stay top-heavy, you could do worse than Fierce Empath for another creature tutor - might well run him over Worldly Tutor, but I'd rather have both!
I think taking this in the direction of a Bant Goodstuff Flicker deck would not go amiss.
Thank you so much =D
The land base is pretty meh, I do agree, but what would be good utility lands to run? Also, what other ramp do you specificly suggest for ramp cards?
The Command and Council is a personal meta call. There is a Lazav deck and a Mimeoplasm deck that have been running amok with wrecking face and mass milling (I didn't know mass mill was possible either) and these two cards help me alot. The Command shuffles my graveyard back in while fetching me a creature, and the Council is another way to save my graveyard, however I don't like how it doesnt replenish my library, so i can take out the Council, but the Command is gonna stay.
Better tutors, got it!
I love tuck counters, so I'lll probably add those.
Bant Charm > Spin into Myth. Check!
I do need to slim down the creature curve, so who would be ideal to cut? I am also going to add a sub Dinosaur theme (hence the title) so There will be some more cheap dudes running around. If I do end up narrowing my curve, should I get rid of the Pod? The Guide and Lark combo would be nice, but no one here has them and I don't wanna buy them online. So if I run into some, absolutely!
Survival is another one of those where no one has it and I refuse to purchase. Same with the Library.
So basic idea, if I understand: More ramp, less heavy creatures, some counters, and make more Bant (which was my problem in the first place). Awesome, thank you so so so much!!!
Well, I am still working on the dinosaur part, but here are the dinosaurs I am in need to add:
Thoughts? I also am having trouble on what to specifically cut. I agree with the too many big dudes, so which ones can go? Also, what if my ramp can be more creature based? What other creatures can fill the rolls?
Understood =D Sublime shall go out
Mindbreak Trap too slow No but really, I tested it a couple of times, and it is much too clunky in my hand. I'd rather have a card that could be versatile, yet answer combos when they come around.
Hmmmm understood!
I like the Cloaker and the Angel. Are they both worth it though? Since my creatures are more utility rather than ETB? The Labratory isn't that important and can be cut.
Goodstuff Bant? With a slight Dino-theme? Sounds good! Thank you everyone!!!
***
I posted my list of desired dinos, along with agreements and disagreements with the suggestions. Can we narrow it down to a specific list of what must go and what must come in? Thank you everyone again
Epic Signature by the one and only Ace in Ace of Spades Studio
Proud member of the Spirit of EDH
BGW Teneb, the Harvester [Primer]
R Márton Stromgald
WUB Dakkon Blackblade
GR Atarka, World Render
{Writing and Rants}
WUBRG The Primeval Dragon's influence on EDH