Anecdote:
You're in WW1. The enemy has begun their long march out of their trench into No-Man's Land. Tahngarth, Talruum Hero, Captain Sisay, and Gerrard Capashen make their advance. But it is a sad day for them, as the only man needed to defend your trench is Volrath the Fallen.
[IMG]http://magiccards.info/scans/en/ne/75.jpg[IMG] Oracle:
Oracle Text: 1B, Discard a creature card: Volrath the Fallen gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the discarded card's converted mana cost.
Now, back with the story:
Volrath begins by hurling a Grave Titan at the enemy. This inflicts significant losses. The next piece of ammunition to enter the gun is a Rune-Scarred Demon. The long chain of ammunition continues, and next up is a Reiver Demon. The enemy's losses increase, and the scene looks like Galipoli. But Volrath doesn't stop- an Avatar of Kozilek decreases the enemies' life down to 21. Lastly, Volrath brings out the 1-hit KO. Draco flies out of the gun and lands flatly on the opponents, dealing exactly 22 points of damage.
Now enough with the WW1 references.
History:
This deck is based off of Abe Sargent's list @ gatheringmagic.com http://www.gatheringmagic.com/abe-sargent-edh-elder-dragon-highlander-deck-list-01172013-volrath-commander.
Normally, I'll make decks and within a month I scrap them. Having played Commander for 3 1/2 years, there were very few Commanders that I had stuck with. I felt like I had done almost everything *gasp*. Then I found Volrath; the land of possibilities. I had been looking for a Commander that acted like a cannon (a glass one at that). The thing about Volrath that makes him unique is that while he himself is a glass cannon, you can take advantage of his pitfall (you have to discard) and turn that into an advantage.
I, however, have made a few important changes. I quickly realized that Volrath can be compared to Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter with the exception that Volrath doesn't have to sacrifice the creatures; discarding them allows for quicker wins. Over the next few weeks, I began browsing and mising. A list soon came together, with help from Abe. Whilst his list was a good starting place, we weren't exactly on the same page. Now, I have transfromed Volrath into something of my own.
You may enjoy Volrath if:
- You like winning out of nowhere.
- You love watching other people watch in suspense as they can only meekly guess at your next move.
- You like fatties.
- You don't want to spend billions of $$$$.
- You love being risky and just gunning for it (no pun intended).
You will not like Volrath if:
- You don't like attacking.
- You love goodstuff.
- You hate surprises.
- You don't like to be reliant on your Commander, or have your Commander be a win condition.
(The CMC of the creatures are listed next to them)
Strategy: Playing Volrath:
This is always my go-to. In the likely event he gets removed, I resort to casting fatties- in true Timmy Style. Volrath can be one big bag of tricks, but it is not essential that he stays on the table. Your fatty package alone can win the game in conjunction with many of the mana-doublers in the deck. You need to be risky sometimes to win. Don't be afraid to pitch half your hand if you see an opportunity to wipe someone from the face of existence. Especially if you have ways of recurring your creatures; then its an upside
Mulling it over:
You need at least 3 lands, or at least 2 lands and a way to get lands (like Armillary Sphere). This usually ensures for a good game for you.
What's wrong with this? You have Draco and 3 lands! But think of it this way; every card in that hand is very mana intensive. Your earliest play will be turn 6, which is Volrath. If Volrath gets killed, you are again left with no action until turn 8, by which you might be dead. You can't keep hands like this. I would put the Cacodemon, the Eldrazi, and Geth back for two more cards.
What is good?
- Instant speed recursion. Being able to recur something (either back to your hand or back to the battlefield) is very useful. Imagine the following scenario: Opponent has one creature left to block. You have in hand: Reiver Demon, Grim Harvest. You can attack with Volrath. If a) your opponent blocks, dump Reiver Demon to Volrath to kill the opposing creature, or b) your opponent doesn't block; you discard Reiver Demon to pump Volrath by 8, then instantly recur the Demon to discard him again to kill your opponent and c) If the creature your opponent has untapped is important (say, a commander), then you can discard the Reiver Demon before combat to discourage a block and then attack and when no blocks are declared, instantly recur Reiver Demon then kill said opponent.
- Artifact Ramp. Earlier Volrath, the better!!!
- Removal. Because removing their last blocker for a clear path for the Machine Gun to fire into is better.
- Card draw. You almost always want more gas.
- Expensive stuff I don't have. I would love Vampiric Tutor, Sword of _ and _, Damnation, and others, but don't have them on me.
Fatties:
Each fatty is in there because it provides me with some piece of utility (with the exception of Draco) because then they'll never be dead draws.
Why am I not playing card X?
A- I don't have enough money for it.
B- Haven't thought of it yet.
C- Haven't gotten around to testing it.
No Exsanguinate?- This card requires very little effort to win the game- the only thing that can stop it is a Counterspell. Volrath + Draco requires that you keep a 6-drop in play.
No Necropotence? If you read the "fine print", you will find that Necro completely disables reanimation. Therefore, I can't run it.
Changelist:
7/10/13:
+ Reanimate, Animate Dead, It that Betrays, Necromancy, Living Death
- Duplicant, Dark Hatchling, Visara the Dreadful, Hypnox, Darksteel Colossus
Maybe you'd want some more recursion engines for your creatures? Putting them back into your hand with Oversold Cemetery and Phyrexian Reclamation, for example.
The thing with Cemetary is that it takes a while to get going. I have, however, thought of putting Tortured Existence in the deck. The only problem here is that Its only really good when you're exchanging a 4-drop for an 8-drop, but most of the time all you have in hand is 6 and 7 drops.
Just won the first game I'd ever played with it today.
Notes:
Eldrazi shuffling your graveyard doesn't allow for recursion of your discard targets.
A 31/27 Volrath with trample, first strike, haste, and vigilance usually wrecks someone.
I'm thinking that those Eldrazi come out.
That game was crazy.
It was Jarad vs. Ragequitting opponent vs. Slobad
Game starts out with Slobad ramping hard into Midn's Eye, and Jarad ramping hard into fatties.
I started out missing a land drop t3, but thankfully cracking Armillary Sphere t4. T5 I cast Nevinyrral's Disk, but it gets blown up.
Slobad has just cast Imperial Recruiter grabbing Kiki Jiki to copy Precursor Golem, Jarad has Grave Titan and Woodfall Primus out in addition to 11 lands and two other fatties.
Random opponent ragequit due to his poor board state (like mine).
I have a measly Volrath and a Cabal Coffers (9 total).
The following turn, I draw a Swamp and drop a Sword of Vengeance and equip it to Volrath, then discard It that Betrays and Ulamog of Infinite Gyres, making Volrath a 31/27 first striker/hasty/trampler. Slobad promptly dies.
Now its just Jarad and I.
Jarad has spent a few of his resources fighting Slobad, and only has two cards in hand, one after I cast Syphon Mind. In my hand I have Puppeteer Clique and Beacon of Unrest. I drop Coffers and reanimate his dead Grave Titan that he had to use to block my Volrath attack that turn, Beacon reanimated a fatty from my grave. He conceded,
and Volrath emerged as the victor coming back from land screw (albeit not bad landscrew).
I played Volrath a while back, so a couple of quick suggestions.
I know this is sort of built as a glass cannon type of deck, but holy cow, all your dudes cost a ton. Even if they're meant to be tossed to Volrath's ability, and you never plan on actually casting Draco or whatever, you gotta expect that eventually your Commander may get tucked or blown up enough that casting him becomes difficult. Although creatures like Drana and Geth won't make Volrath hit quite as hard, they can still be cast earlier and be valuable on the battlefield. Versus something like It that Betrays, which will rarely hit the table.
If you're going ok, you will toss a couple of cards to Volrath. You will need additional draw to help fill up your hand. Promise of Power, Phyrexian Arena, Graveborn Muse and Bloodgift Demon can all help you out here. The creatures can even be tossed to Volrath when necessary.
I liked Makeshift Mannequin in my deck. It can actually put those legendary Eldrazi you dump into play from your graveyard while the reshuffle trigger is on the stack.
Big Game Hunter can be tossed to Volrath, and his madness cost payed to get rid of a threat on the board. Vengeful Pharaoh is another interesting creature worth looking at.
Oblivion Stone is nice for dealing with problem enchants. Just some ideas.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Check out my articles about EDH on MTGO HERE
Most recently looking at Morinfen!
I actually find that I have enough draw. But I agree that the curve is way too high, and am currently looking at different alternatives; Makeshift Mannequin is something I like especially.
You're in WW1. The enemy has begun their long march out of their trench into No-Man's Land. Tahngarth, Talruum Hero, Captain Sisay, and Gerrard Capashen make their advance. But it is a sad day for them, as the only man needed to defend your trench is Volrath the Fallen.
[IMG]http://magiccards.info/scans/en/ne/75.jpg[IMG]
Oracle:
Oracle Text:
1B, Discard a creature card: Volrath the Fallen gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the discarded card's converted mana cost.
Now, back with the story:
Volrath begins by hurling a Grave Titan at the enemy. This inflicts significant losses. The next piece of ammunition to enter the gun is a Rune-Scarred Demon. The long chain of ammunition continues, and next up is a Reiver Demon. The enemy's losses increase, and the scene looks like Galipoli. But Volrath doesn't stop- an Avatar of Kozilek decreases the enemies' life down to 21. Lastly, Volrath brings out the 1-hit KO. Draco flies out of the gun and lands flatly on the opponents, dealing exactly 22 points of damage.
Now enough with the WW1 references.
History:
This deck is based off of Abe Sargent's list @ gatheringmagic.com
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/abe-sargent-edh-elder-dragon-highlander-deck-list-01172013-volrath-commander.
Normally, I'll make decks and within a month I scrap them. Having played Commander for 3 1/2 years, there were very few Commanders that I had stuck with. I felt like I had done almost everything *gasp*. Then I found Volrath; the land of possibilities. I had been looking for a Commander that acted like a cannon (a glass one at that). The thing about Volrath that makes him unique is that while he himself is a glass cannon, you can take advantage of his pitfall (you have to discard) and turn that into an advantage.
I, however, have made a few important changes. I quickly realized that Volrath can be compared to Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter with the exception that Volrath doesn't have to sacrifice the creatures; discarding them allows for quicker wins. Over the next few weeks, I began browsing and mising. A list soon came together, with help from Abe. Whilst his list was a good starting place, we weren't exactly on the same page. Now, I have transfromed Volrath into something of my own.
You may enjoy Volrath if:
- You like winning out of nowhere.
- You love watching other people watch in suspense as they can only meekly guess at your next move.
- You like fatties.
- You don't want to spend billions of $$$$.
- You love being risky and just gunning for it (no pun intended).
You will not like Volrath if:
- You don't like attacking.
- You love goodstuff.
- You hate surprises.
- You don't like to be reliant on your Commander, or have your Commander be a win condition.
Without further ado, the list:
6 Volrath the Fallen
Creatures (24):
4 Crypt Ghast
4 Solemn Simulacrum
5 Puppeteer Clique
5 Shriekmaw
5 Chainer, Dementia Master
5 Magus of the Coffers
6 Dread
6 Harvester of Souls
6 Necropolis Regent
6 Nirkana Revenant
6 Geth, Lord of the Vault
6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
8 Reiver Demon
8 Avatar of Woe
9 Artisan of Kozilek
10 Dread Cacodemon
11 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
11 It that Betrays
12 Blightsteel Colossus
12 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
16 Draco
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Liliana Vess
Artifacts (20):
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Bonehoard
1 Caged Sun
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Expedition Map
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Sol Ring
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Champion’s Helm
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Journeyer’s Kite
1 Jet Medallion
1 Expedition Map
1 Grim Harvest
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Decree of Pain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Syphon Mind
1 Death Denied
1 Corpse Dance
1 Reanimate
1 Living Death
Enchantments (4):
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Dauthi Embrace
1 Animate Dead
1 Necromancy
Lands (39):
33 Swamp
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Crypt of Agadeem
1 Volrath’s Stronghold
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Eye of Ugin
(The CMC of the creatures are listed next to them)
Strategy:
Playing Volrath:
This is always my go-to. In the likely event he gets removed, I resort to casting fatties- in true Timmy Style. Volrath can be one big bag of tricks, but it is not essential that he stays on the table. Your fatty package alone can win the game in conjunction with many of the mana-doublers in the deck. You need to be risky sometimes to win. Don't be afraid to pitch half your hand if you see an opportunity to wipe someone from the face of existence. Especially if you have ways of recurring your creatures; then its an upside
Mulling it over:
You need at least 3 lands, or at least 2 lands and a way to get lands (like Armillary Sphere). This usually ensures for a good game for you.
Make sure you don't have a hand that is similar to the following: Swamp, It that Betrays, Draco, Swamp, Swamp, Dread Cacodemon, and Geth, Lord of the Vault.
What's wrong with this? You have Draco and 3 lands! But think of it this way; every card in that hand is very mana intensive. Your earliest play will be turn 6, which is Volrath. If Volrath gets killed, you are again left with no action until turn 8, by which you might be dead. You can't keep hands like this. I would put the Cacodemon, the Eldrazi, and Geth back for two more cards.
What is good?
- Instant speed recursion. Being able to recur something (either back to your hand or back to the battlefield) is very useful. Imagine the following scenario: Opponent has one creature left to block. You have in hand: Reiver Demon, Grim Harvest. You can attack with Volrath. If a) your opponent blocks, dump Reiver Demon to Volrath to kill the opposing creature, or b) your opponent doesn't block; you discard Reiver Demon to pump Volrath by 8, then instantly recur the Demon to discard him again to kill your opponent and c) If the creature your opponent has untapped is important (say, a commander), then you can discard the Reiver Demon before combat to discourage a block and then attack and when no blocks are declared, instantly recur Reiver Demon then kill said opponent.
- Artifact Ramp. Earlier Volrath, the better!!!
- Removal. Because removing their last blocker for a clear path for the Machine Gun to fire into is better.
- Card draw. You almost always want more gas.
- Expensive stuff I don't have. I would love Vampiric Tutor, Sword of _ and _, Damnation, and others, but don't have them on me.
Fatties:
Each fatty is in there because it provides me with some piece of utility (with the exception of Draco) because then they'll never be dead draws.
Why am I not playing card X?
A- I don't have enough money for it.
B- Haven't thought of it yet.
C- Haven't gotten around to testing it.
No Exsanguinate?- This card requires very little effort to win the game- the only thing that can stop it is a Counterspell. Volrath + Draco requires that you keep a 6-drop in play.
No Necropotence? If you read the "fine print", you will find that Necro completely disables reanimation. Therefore, I can't run it.
Changelist:
+ Reanimate, Animate Dead, It that Betrays, Necromancy, Living Death
- Duplicant, Dark Hatchling, Visara the Dreadful, Hypnox, Darksteel Colossus
Here's the list I hope to assemble:
6 Volrath the Fallen
Creatures (20):
4 Crypt Ghast
4 Solemn Simulacrum
5 Shriekmaw
5 Chainer, Dementia Master
5 Magus of the Coffers
6 Necropolis Regent
6 Nirkana Revenant
6 Geth, Lord of the Vault
6 Kokusho, the Evening Star
6 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
7 Rune-Scarred Demon
8 Reiver Demon
9 Artisan of Kozilek
10 Dread Cacodemon
11 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
11 It that Betrays
12 Blightsteel Colossus
12 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
16 Draco
Planeswalkers (2):
1 Liliana of the Dark Realms
1 Liliana Vess
1 Mana Crypt
1 Bonehoard
1 Caged Sun
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Expedition Map
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Sol Ring
1 Sword of Vengeance
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Champion’s Helm
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Mana Vault
1 Jet Medallion
1 Expedition Map
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Grim Harvest
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Decree of Pain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Syphon Mind
1 Death Denied
1 Corpse Dance
1 Reanimate
1 Living Death
1 Makeshift Mannequin
Enchantments (4):
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Dauthi Embrace
1 Animate Dead
1 Necromancy
Lands (39):
32 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Crypt of Agadeem
1 Volrath’s Stronghold
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Eye of Ugin
(The CMC of the creatures are listed next to them)
However, I believe that the deck needs some more early game action. I am looking for more cards to help me with this.
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
EDIT: Whoops, Reclamation is already there.
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
Notes:
Eldrazi shuffling your graveyard doesn't allow for recursion of your discard targets.
A 31/27 Volrath with trample, first strike, haste, and vigilance usually wrecks someone.
I'm thinking that those Eldrazi come out.
That game was crazy.
It was Jarad vs. Ragequitting opponent vs. Slobad
Game starts out with Slobad ramping hard into Midn's Eye, and Jarad ramping hard into fatties.
I started out missing a land drop t3, but thankfully cracking Armillary Sphere t4. T5 I cast Nevinyrral's Disk, but it gets blown up.
Slobad has just cast Imperial Recruiter grabbing Kiki Jiki to copy Precursor Golem, Jarad has Grave Titan and Woodfall Primus out in addition to 11 lands and two other fatties.
Random opponent ragequit due to his poor board state (like mine).
I have a measly Volrath and a Cabal Coffers (9 total).
The following turn, I draw a Swamp and drop a Sword of Vengeance and equip it to Volrath, then discard It that Betrays and Ulamog of Infinite Gyres, making Volrath a 31/27 first striker/hasty/trampler. Slobad promptly dies.
Now its just Jarad and I.
Jarad has spent a few of his resources fighting Slobad, and only has two cards in hand, one after I cast Syphon Mind. In my hand I have Puppeteer Clique and Beacon of Unrest. I drop Coffers and reanimate his dead Grave Titan that he had to use to block my Volrath attack that turn, Beacon reanimated a fatty from my grave. He conceded,
and Volrath emerged as the victor coming back from land screw (albeit not bad landscrew).
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
Read this, particularly the section on Strategy (where most people fall short). If the thread doesn't answer all those questions, it's not a Primer.
Then read this to help with your formatting and presentation.
Then read some of the existing primers for examples of implementation of the above.
Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
I know this is sort of built as a glass cannon type of deck, but holy cow, all your dudes cost a ton. Even if they're meant to be tossed to Volrath's ability, and you never plan on actually casting Draco or whatever, you gotta expect that eventually your Commander may get tucked or blown up enough that casting him becomes difficult. Although creatures like Drana and Geth won't make Volrath hit quite as hard, they can still be cast earlier and be valuable on the battlefield. Versus something like It that Betrays, which will rarely hit the table.
If you're going ok, you will toss a couple of cards to Volrath. You will need additional draw to help fill up your hand. Promise of Power, Phyrexian Arena, Graveborn Muse and Bloodgift Demon can all help you out here. The creatures can even be tossed to Volrath when necessary.
I liked Makeshift Mannequin in my deck. It can actually put those legendary Eldrazi you dump into play from your graveyard while the reshuffle trigger is on the stack.
Big Game Hunter can be tossed to Volrath, and his madness cost payed to get rid of a threat on the board. Vengeful Pharaoh is another interesting creature worth looking at.
Oblivion Stone is nice for dealing with problem enchants. Just some ideas.
Most recently looking at Morinfen!
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en
Been testing this out on cockatrice and its been running smoother since I lowered the curve a little. Update incoming
Here's the link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autocardanywhere/eobkhgkgoejnjaiofdmphhkemmomfabg?hl=en