MTG Salvation

I'm new to Magic in general, and still newer to EDH. Having learned that most people around here play that format though, I've cobbled together a deck based on what I hear online. My idea was a token-based spirit tribal deck, so I spent the money for a Geist of Saint Traft, and also picked up a few cheapish cards that generate spirit tokens, but for the most part, this deck is simply scrounged together from extra cards in my roommate's collection.

Having played it a couple of times, I find that it doesn't play like a spirit token deck at all: it plays like a Traft Kills Everything deck, while the other cards are useful mainly for their control abilities and protecting or boosting Traft.

Having already spent $12 on the commander I don't really want to spend much more, but what adjustments would you make? So far it has played only against mono black midrange and performed well, but as a novice it's hard for me to guess how it would do against other opponents.

Anyway, here's the list by converted mana cost:


One thing I'm considering is dropping some higher-cost creatures in favor of more bread-and-butter counters and/or enchantments to boost Traft.

Thanks for any feedback!

Hey Red, glad to see you joining in the format

A couple of things you're probably going to want to get figured out before you go much further is what format you're playing in, and whether you're going to be playing a lot more online or irl. The list you have up there looks like a decent Geist deck for a slightly midrange, casual meta that is playing multiplayer.

If you're looking to do the 1v1 French scene, then it depends on whether you're playing irl or online. if you're playing online on one of the free clients (Cockatrice etc) then there's no $$ threshold, and the scene there for French is pretty solid and supportive.

If you're playing irl it's going to be kind of hard to find tournaments that are within a good distance, and if you do get to one the decks represented are going to be pretty finely tuned for the most part, so a budget list isn't generally speaking going to have that strong of a showing.

So, TL:DR lol, : The list that you have there seems more casual/multiplayer oriented, and if that's the scene you want to try first (It's generally a lot more forgiving than 1v1) then I would recommend posting this list in the multiplayer thread there to get some more focused feedback.

If you really want to play 1v1 then you'll want to take a look at the French rules (If you haven't already) and probably start plying online to get a feel for what the deck can do and what cards you absolutely must have to make it a viable deck, then start buying from there.

that's my advice, at least. Thanks for coming by, let me know what you want to do

Artifacts are your friends. Equipment and Mana Rocks. Equips help your typical "Voltron" strategy. Loxodon Warhammer jumps to mind. Inquistor's Flail and Fireshrieker are cheap, but good choices. Mana Rocks always help. Azorious Signet or Keyrune, Basalt Monolith, or almost anything that ramps up into your higher cost cards.


I see you have a few enchantments that go right onto Geist. That's not a problem because of his Hexproof. I recommend Ethereal Armor as a cheap boost. Bruna, Light of Alabaster could go in your 99 as a backup for Geist.

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I need to recognize that the deck is basically about Traft hitting things and focus on shielding him from combat damage so he can do his thing, rather than having other bombs in there. Ethereal Armor's a good idea.

hi,

I am also new to the format but having played with Geist of St. Traft on some tournaments, I would recommend adding cheap counterspells

Quote from takoy

hi,

I am also new to the format but having played with Geist of St. Traft on some tournaments, I would recommend adding cheap counterspells

I believe that is a personal choice. Of course it's also a competitive strategy.

@Knight, if you were to include countermagic, here are some of the usual suspects:

• Counterspell - Basic hard counter, easy to find.
• Force of Will - Exotic hard counter, hard to find and expensive, but worth it.
• Pact of Negation - Play no, pay later hard counter. Just remember to actually pay later.
• Memory Lapse - Screw their next draw, and tends to make them waste a turn.
• Remand - Tempo screw, replaces itself, a lot like Memory Lapse.
• Delay - Tempo screw, best used for time-critical spells like removal or combat tricks.
• Force Spike / Mana Tithe - These are more useful early than late but still manage to occasionally screw up critical spells late game. Better than you might think.
• Daze - Have a counter up even when tapped out. The loss of tempo from the returned land is negligible.
• Mana Leak - Best known "taxation" counterspell, solid enough for here.
• Miscalculation - When this becomes irrelevant, cycle it for something else.
• Rune Snag - Not quite as good as Miscalculation since you can't cycle it, but same effect. Occasionally makes them pay more against other blue decks.
• Spell Snare - Very strong for such an oddly specific and narrowly targeted counter, but it's very good. Mostly prized for it's efficiency.
• Mental Misstep - see above.
• Spell Pierce - Pretty good for stopping those early mana rocks or late X spells.

Some of the less common choices might include:

• Forbid - Reusable hard counter, but the buyback is a bit hard to use continuously. Bident of Thassa or Coastal Piracy would help though.
• Absorb - Hard counter, with a 3 life bonus.
• Render Silent - Says "No" twice, once to their spell, and once to future spells that turn. Heh.
• Cryptic Command - The question one should ask about this card is "What doesn't it do?"
• Negate - Creatures-only decks are extremely rare in EDH, most decks will have plenty of choice targets
• Dissipate / Faerie Trickery - Some spells are too dangerous to even let them stick in the 'yard. Answer found. Bin hate can serve a similar purpose.
• Condescend - Comes with a neat little bonus, scry away.
• Power Sink - This will also shut them down much like Render Silent
• Syncopate - Another one that RfGs the spell. Screw recursion!
• Remove Soul / Essence Scatter - If these are a dead draw, something is up.

Some other interesting Tech options include

• Angelic Renewal - Undoes (partially since it doesn't save auras and requires a re-equip) target action that saw one of your creatures die (probably Geist)
• Standstill - Punishes the next guy to cast a spell. You're not exactly eager to cast spells after you stick Geist right? Make them feel the same way, or at least get some benefit out of it.
• Hesitation - Counters the next spell cast. Not as good as Standstill, but still pretty good.

Some other cards you may want to consider if you plan to step into the French arena:

• Cavern of Souls - You shall not counter my general! Which people routinely attempt to do.
• Expedition Map - Find any utility land (Cavern).
• Tolaria West - Find any utility land (Cavern) or Pact.
• Hall of the Bandit Lord - Ever wished your general or another guy had haste? This land does that for you. The price is negligible. Life is a resource and you only need 1 point to win.

If you plan to take on the non-French competitive arena.

• Hinder / Spell Crumple - The tuck counters. Screws general reliant decks pretty hard.
• Oblation - Targeted tuck, handy for dealing with opposing generals, or anything else causing problems. This usually cripples a lot of decks, so the 2 cards is typically a pittance for what you've done.
• Hallowed Burial / Terminus - Non-targeted mass tuck. Doesn't care about shroud/hexproof/indestructible.
• Sol Ring - Classic EDH staple. Auto-include for most decks. Price should be dropping in about 2 weeks with the release of the new commander decks.
• Sensei's Divining Top - Smooths draws and gets you a card a little sooner than you normally would. Not a true draw, more like a draw on credit. The ability to rearrange your top 3 cards is pretty strong.
• Mana Drain - Just about the best counter ever printed, and the most expensive.

Quote from Omega Furnace

[very helpful and detailed response]

Hey, thanks! I had stopped checking the thread when you posted this. I will look in detail at some of these cards - in particular Cavern of Souls is one of the few pricey cards that I'm tempted to spring for.

Ya Memory Lapse, Miscalculation, Mana Leak, Spell Pierce, Negate, Spell Snare, Power Sink, Force Spike, Counterspell, and Delay are all under $2 a piece and easy pickups for any budget. These cards provide a good job of keeping the path open while swinging with Geist while also being useful at shutting down all avenues of your opponents game plan.