This thread contains scenes of graphic content, strong language and the use of flaming dragons and mangled bodies to decimate, desecrate, and humiliate any and all enemies of our great lord Prossh, Skyraider of Kher! If you are over the threshold of SISSY and agree to allow these ideas to be forced into your consciousnesses, then you may ENTER.
Special thanks to Xaios for the awesome banner!
Prossh, Reaper of Jund
Welcome to the land of Prossh. Prossh is... let's say hungry? Ravenous, in fact. He wants to eat ALL THE THINGS. And once he's om nommed, he gets huge, and muscly, and veiney, and... well, your opponents life totals? Lawl. You see, this is a Jund deck. It's built around abusing Prossh's abilities and his OVERPOWERED color selection to their excess, be it an infinite kobold loop through the use of Food Chain, spamming a mass of tokens and winning off a Beastmaster Ascension or a good old fashioned ramp-into-ExsanguinateVICTORY.
Feverous: See? This is why you play a Huge, Manic, Flaming Jund Dragon as your general. Because you CAN. And because it's the right thing to do. Who doesn't want horrendously painful paths to take to demolish your opponents lifetotals, humiliate them in front of their friends, and forevermore crush their hopes and dreams? WE ALL DO. Which totally fits, I mean, this is Jund we're talking, right?! Right.
bighaben:Woah, woah, woah...let's just calm down for a second. I must apologize for my friend, he's a little overzealous and singleminded in his approach to destroying the opponent. It's all about control, and synergy. We defeat our opponents through our cunning superiority, and stand defiant to any opposition by surgically striking any threats until we're ready to DESTROY our opponents...ahem...sorry. The point is to remain calm, cool, and collected until we are ready to pounce. We will use some of the same core techniques but our approaches to the destruction of our enemies are vastly different. I don't do things because I can; I do things because we should. Prossh is the best Jund general, period, no questions asked, okay! If you do ask questions you'll find I can be very menacing and extremely CONVINCING. Ohhh...sorry, you can ignore that last sentence. You can ask all the questions you need to ask, after all how will you learn to defeat our enemies? Without a doubt, Prossh is an excellent choice for Jund, and Jund is an excellent choice for commander so the decision is easy. Now that we are done with our introductions and if you're ready, which you should be, read on as we have much to go over.
Okay, seriously, why play Prossh?
Obviously we can't convince you through brute force. (OH, yes we CAN)Up until recently Jund has been one of the weaker sources for a general, leaving you pretty much with just Kresh the Bloodbraided, the old Legends rares, and maybe Darigaaz, the Igniter? Darigaaz is for a different kind of deck, whereas Kresh is a contender for a good Jund general, he is outclassed by Prossh in nearly every way as Prossh has a built in sac outlet, and combos easily offering a much more competitive build. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund was utterly ruined by the recent change to the Legendary rule, and is not even worth looking at anymore. Other Jund legendaries released with the 2013 Commander release seem relegated to support for Prossh and thus Prossh has risen to king of the Jund world. Jund is a powerful color combination that is extremely versatile, and offers a lot of powerful cards as well as strong synergies. There is a reason Jund is continuously seen in the competitive magic world and it's no wonder an excellent Jund general will allow us to crush our opponents with one of the most powerful color combinations in Magic. So, we decide on Prossh for his supremacy in color, over others in the Jund world, and his competitive yet fun edge. So, please take a deep breath, and delve into the power hungry nature of the Jund side of the color pie and reap the benefits of your decision.
You will like Prossh if:
You like to combo
Love a dedicated removal suite
Love eating small creatures like they're candy (Lots of sacrifice effects)
Like an active general at your side
Love creature based card advantage
You will not like Prossh if:
If blue is a prerequisite to a fun game of Magic.
If digging for a combo isn't your thing.
You hate giant flying creatures that destroy your own field as much as others.
You don't like risk taking
You hate kobolds (No one likes a scrooge)
Feverous:HUARGH. BLEACK! GET THAT SANITY OUT MAH THREAD. This is about PROSSH, REAPER OF JUND!!! Not some dinner making, homemaker fantasizing, calm, cool, collected NINNY!!! No no no no, this won't do. AT ALL. Here's the reasons to play Prossh as the leader of your vast armies of DEFILEMENT!!!
So, why play this incarnation of Chaos and Destruction?
You like smash! Or in other words, winning in a single turn through massive attack damage or an infinite combo. ROAR!
You have no reverence for the life of Kobolds You're gonna be saccing those little bastards a lot, better get used to it!
You Love the Jund shard and completely agree that it brings the perfect balance of Destruction, Chaos, and Advantage into any game.
You want people to ban your list and ask you not to come play anymore, because this deck is that ruthlessly effective. (They, clearly, are sissies incarnate. They exist in many forms. Our job is to find them, and CRUSH THEM)
You enjoy winning. Seriously. Prossh EATS FACE. Regularly. As regular as you hope your partners time of the... well... you get the picture. (Oh yeah, that just happened.)
Why Not?! (There really aren't too many reasons I can think of. Prossh can't, either. Move along, move along)
You are more of a subltle player, relying on subterfuge and not huge, splashy plays. (Lawl)
You like cleanliness and order in your fantasy outlets. (Again with the sissiness. GET OUT OF MAH THREAD)
You appreciate some nice cheese, a fine wine, and sitting back with a control suite letting others do your work for you. (Sissy + Lazy. The creed of all players with U in their deck. Blegh)
You believe that infinite combos are inherently "unfair" and "ruin the spirit of EDH". (Please feel free to jump into Prossh's mouth. You clearly have no spine, therefore it'll be easier for him to digest you.)
You don't enjoy winning. Regularly. As regular as you really hope your partners... well... yeah... (Yup. 2 in a row. GET ON MAH LEVEL)
bighaben:: Since I am the calm, cool, and collected one I will take charge of thread organization. Normally, at this very point you'd see a nice decklist revealing the hidden secrets of the primer you stumbled upon. By now you should realize this is not a normal primer post. The thread is laid out so that the first post contains the general Prossh stuff, why you should play it, and what cards we share. Basically, take the first post as an intro to Prossh in general, and what the core elements of your deck should look like. After, the primer splits and essentially becomes two different primers with very different strategies on how to pilot Prossh. So, please read the following section which will go into great detail on the cards we share, and the general goal of both decks. For some this may be all you need to set your mind in motion and get the general gist of what a Prossh deck should look like. Afterward, for your convenience, and because we both truly think both styles of Prossh are fun and viable options you'll see our decklists, and detailed explanations of how they individually work. For ease of navigation a table of contents with links to each decklist is provided to the right, but we recommend reading on to the end of this post before moving on to read the decklists in detail.
The Heavies
Feverous: Right. SO. You still want to play Prossh, eh? Fool. This is a finely tuned gathering of the most powerful, fear-inspiring aspects of death and irreverence that you have never seen. It will take that puny excuse for a mind you claim to own and twist it to insanity, grinding into mush the last vestiges of hope and confidence you possessed. YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE. But, for the sake of humor, let's take a look at the key aspects of fear, irreverence, and destruction that will soon have you in a gibbering heap on the floor, crying for your mommy and your bottle...
bighaben: Essentially the following cards are the cards we share in our decks. We can have similarities in our approach even if we do not share madness. These are the cards you do play, every single time. Going without these is starting to border on the insanity my friend suffers from, but not in a good way. So, this is the part where you sit down, listen, and don't question anything, even if you do prefer me over him! Here's the list, remember, no exceptions! Though we understand (or at least I understand) if you want to avoid some cards due to being combo oriented, or budget concerns. The great thing about Prossh is he is versatile, that's why we have a collaborative thread, so tinker away! But seriously, you need good reasons not to run these cards.
Purphoros, God of the Forge: bighaben: You don't play Prossh without this guy, you just don't. The synergy is amazing, and the damage is gravy. You will pack away games with this card, no matter what version of the deck you play. Feverous: Yeah. Uh. This is a God. A GOD! And he serves US in our quest for complete annihilation of all our enemies. This card is the nuts in this deck. It enables an infinite damage combo, puts a ton of damage on the board, and in a pinch serves as a kobold booster. DUMB.
Skullclamp: Feverous: This, without question, is the #1 card your opponents should fear to see. If you get to untap after casting Prossh and drop this guy, you're drawing 10 cards. Most decks just can't stand up to that amount of card advantage, so just go to town. Absurd. Math may be for sissies, but this one makes the numbers just sliiiiiide in your favor. bighaben: My deck produces so many X/1 creatures that not running this card would signal that I'd have to be held back from 2nd grade. It's that elementary. Not running Skullclamp means I can't read, it means I can't do basic arithmetic, so I run this card. The draw power is insatiable, and you will never regret dropping this onto the field, the only downside is that your opponents will love destroying it.
Craterhoof Behemoth: bighaben: When you want to stop durdling around, and actually want to punch someone's face this card usually does the trick. It works well because we make creatures, not because those creatures don't have power. That's all I need. A win condition that doesn't rely on the power of my creatures to work? DONE. This guy will teach any opponent that starts to feel safe with you at the table, with reminding them they are always wrong. Feverous: Wincon! Craterhoof is usually Tooth and Nail target #1 as long as Prossh is on the field, and that's usually game over on the spot. It's huge, it's hasty, it makes gives your kobolds enough steroids to fail every test given in the major leagues... Insane.
Beastmaster Ascension: Feverous: Moar wincons! This is your 2nd best source of damage in the deck after Craterhoof Behemoth. It's absurd how much damage this can put out. Even without kobolds, in the late game when all you have is mana dorks, this gives you enough damage to smash the rest of the tables FACE! Absurdly good card. bighaben: This card I traded away to all the bad players at the shop when Worldwake came out....I was wrong. The moment I slid this into my deck my viewpoint changed, instantly. See? Smart, calm people can easily change our opinions with some empirical evidence. This card does 40 damage, that's right, 40 damage, with a single swing with Prossh and his army, that's too good not to pass up. I can't believe I ever built Prossh without this card, and that mistake is now rectified.
Food Chain//Goblin Bombardment: Feverous: The Combo. If you get these 2 out at the same time and manage to cast Prossh it's game over. Food chain and Prossh is an infinite mana to cast creatures combo and infinite kobolds that can then be sac'd to the bombardment to kill the table. This is here because it's an effective secondary wincon (Primary being Ascension, Craterhoof, or Animosity) but it can definitely be cut if your meta isn't a fan of infinite combos. bighaben: See? This is where our decks differ, but are also oh-so-similar. He calls these cards a mere secondary win condition, I say it's the primary win condition. You use the other cards as your secondary win condition! You run these regardless, because you win with these. Big dumb creatures can't always get you what you want in Prossh, but abusing thousands of little creatures, well, that'll always work. (This is extremely evident if you read Prossh.)
Survival of the Fittest: bighaben: I don't run this card. Say what? You said, NO EXCEPTIONS, in the intro to this section. You know what? Rules are meant to be broken, you break them when it makes sense, of course, and in my deck it does. I don't run nearly as many creatures as my friend, so it's a far weaker card in my deck. As you will see, he will make a compelling argument for the card, but I just can't run it as efficiently as him. You need to make a good argument against running a card like Survival so it's in this part of the list. That's right, you're telling ME why you're not running this card, because if you're wrong, well, you're not making an exception to the rule today. Feverous: As my esteemed (Pssh, esteemed? ROFL) co-author pointed out, this isn't meant for every deck. His list is just a little inferior to mine, so he doesn't run this one ^.^. Seriously, this is arguably the strongest (legal) enchantment ever printed in magic, and will singlehandedly win you the game if it sticks. Just try to make sure you're dropping it with enough mana available to take advantage of it, canny opponents will be aware of how absurdly powerful this is and try their best to kill it as soon as possible. (Also, kidding about the inferiority of bighaben's list. Sort of. )
Tooth and Nail: Feverous: The #1 tutor target for the deck, and the single strongest sorcery ever printed for Green, and maybe the best ever printed in terms of overpowered-ness. Usual targets are either Craterhoof Behemoth/Eternal Witness to get the TaN back to hand, or Witness/Runescarred Demon if you don't have a huge board to get something to help you get a huge board. Absurdly powerful card. If you want to insta-win you can always also run Mikaeus, the Unhallowed/Triskelion combo to kill the table if the spell resolves. (Infinite damage combo) bighaben: This card transcends into the realm of too good not to run. I may not run many creatures, but the ability to grab Purphoros, God of the Forge and Avenger of Zendikar is too good not to pass up. There are other reasons to play this card, heck, who says you even have to entwine this puppy? An all star for a reason, and you shouldn't be questioning us anymore, so why am I convincing you at this point?
The Not-So Heavies - We share these cards so you should consider sharing them too:
Lands
Phyrexian Tower - bighaben: A sac outlet that can be searched for, and also used for more mana? I want, you want. One of the best utility lands for this deck, and bonus props at having a method to sac prossh as well. Feverous: This is here to serve as a slight accel, but more importantly to help keep Prossh from getting tucked. There isn't really any reason you should be tapping this when he's on the field, this deck reallllly doesn't like Terminus. *shudder
Kessig Wolf Run - Feverous: Win! This allows for 1 shots with Prossh! Making him even more huge, veiney and angry is always fun, and trample to boot?! YES PLEASE! bighaben: I cannot agree with my insane friend more, this just makes for insta-kills out of nowhere. A great utility land that shouldn't be missed.
Creatures
Eternal Witness - bighaben: Best recursion creature in magic? Yes, I will play. You need these kind of effects, and Eternal Witness is cream of the crop. Feverous: This is a must include in any deck running Green. It gets back whatever you want, is recurrable, and edible. Must include!
Solemn Simulacrum - Feverous: Straight utility. Gets a mana, and draws a card when it dies. Extra points if you're running Diabolic Intent! bighaben: There is nothing I love more than a creature that does something that comes into play, and when it leaves play. Especially with sac outlets everywhere.
Skullmulcher - bighaben: My friend suggested this card to me, and I put it in. Never coming out. This card allows our deck to win faster, and fills our hand pretty much whenever we draw it. Feverous: This is one of the desperately needed hand refills. Allows you to draw your deck with a Food Chain out, allows for massive draw anytime you have tokens, is huge, is recurrable... Allstar in here.
Sorceries
Demonic Tutor - Feverous: This is straight goodness. No black deck goes without a 2 cmc open tutor. if you don't run this... Well, I'm sorry you're stupid. Plain and simple. bighaben: As you will soon see, my deck is a combo deck, which means I want this even more than Feverous does, and he already wants it pretty bad.
Maelstrom Pulse - bighaben: This card is so amazing at destroying pretty much anything, but has added bonus as well, i.e. kill tokens. I wouldn't play Jund without this all-star removal card. Feverous: Straight answer. Doesn't get a land, but can get Avenger of Zendikar Tokens, or any army of tokens for that matter. Also awesome if a bunch of people not you all have Sol Ring's out. Hilarious shenanigans, ensue!
Toxic Deluge - Feverous: Sometimes you just need an answer, and this literally gets around everything except a counterspell. Kills Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre... Just about anything you can think of. Awesome answer for hard to deal with threats. bighaben: My deck runs Grave Pact, which is awesome with sac-outlets and tokens. But Toxic Deluge just does it all better, so there is literally no reason not to run this card.
Instants
Vampiric Tutor - bighaben: Wait this thing is Demonic Tutor, costs 1 less, and is instant. Uhm....YES you play this. Granted it has a bit of a drawback, but if you think about it as you're drawing the exact card you want next turn, then it's not really a drawback is it? Feverous: Arguably the best tutor ever printed for black, this is just straight goodstuff. One of those cards you never leave home without.
Abrupt Decay - Feverous: Blue is annoying. Uncounterable removal is more annoying, for the blue player. Which is our goal, I mean, who doesn't love trolling blue mages? I love trolling blue mages! bighaben: Everyone in Jund colors hates blue. I'm no exception. This little card does a lot more than it initially seems it will, so play it.
Putrefy - bighaben: One of my favorite little removal spells, playable because it instant speed. The no-regeneration clause is even more awesome. Feverous: - Flexible, instant speed answer for 3 cmc? Deal.
Krosan Grip - Feverous: - See Abrupt Decay. bighaben: Don't see Abrupt Decay, you play it for similar reasons, but this card is powerful because of the split-second interaction. Remember? We don't like blue, which you'll notice is mentioned in our Abrupt Decay section.
Artifacts
Expedition Map - bighaben: I like getting my utility lands, and this is a great method to do so. Weaker in my deck, much more of an auto-include in Feverous' deck. Feverous: This gets me the other half of my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth/Cabal Coffers combo, or gets either of us the Phyrexian Tower to help prevent Prossh from getting tucked
Sol Ring - Feverous: ...Duh. bighaben: Yah....duh. I mean, not the #1 most played commander card because it looks pretty on your finger.
Chromatic Lantern - bighaben:3 is actually reasonable for a mana-rock that taps for colored mana. And this actually does more? Feverous: man fixing and ramp? Awesome! There aren't too many 3 color decks, or even 2 color decks that I can think of that shouldn't play this guy.
Enchantments
Fecundity - Feverous: I hear card draw is good, and being able to draw 6 cards as soon as Prossh hits is huge. Just make sure to only drop this when you're able to take full advantage, it's a symmetrical effect and you don't want your opponents drawing cards if you can help it. bighaben: This card is pretty amazing, but heed the warning my friend gives. It can bite you in the back. That being said, this is a card we can take advantage of much more efficiently than other decks will, so we can play it, and should.
Combo-School
Both of our decks can combo, so please read this section for detailed explanation on how to combo with Prossh.
bighaben: Prossh's combo suite is very fragile, so some care must be taken when attempting to go for the win. Be sure you don't get blown out, as the combos are all sorcery speed, and are easy to stop. We have many options available to us very early so we can attempt to combo while most players are still building. This section goes into detail about how the combo's work in this deck, and how you should go about with the combo depending on the situation. Feverous: Yeah, what he said! Seriously though, big's a lot better at this than I am. I have it in here, and abuse it to it's fullest when I'm presented the opportunity, but my wincons are mainly based on SMASH. This guide's awesome though, so pay attention!
THE Combo: Prossh, Skyraider of Kher + Food Chain- This is simply infinite mana for creatures. Play Food Chain, and later on play Prossh, if it's the first time you cast Prossh you'll get 6 0/1 Kobolds, and Prossh himself. Sacrificing Prossh to Food Chain will net 7 mana of any single color. You only need 1 more mana to cast Prossh from here, but since we need to produce 3 colors to cast Prossh we'll have to sac an 2 creatures in addition to Prossh. Here is a step by step process showing how it'll go down.
1st cast (Prossh costs 3BRG: Prossh + 6 Kobold tokens
-Sacrifice Prossh, and 2 Kobold tokens to produce 7xG and then R+B=9 total mana.
-We have 4 kobold tokens remaining.
2nd cast (Prossh costs 5BRG: Prossh + 8 Kobold tokens + 4 remaining previously=Prossh and 12 Kobold tokens
-Sacrifice Prossh for 7xG and then 3 kobolds for R + BB=10 total mana. We can now cast Prossh again.
-We have 9 kobolds remaining
3rd cast (Prossh costs 7BRG: Prossh + 10 Kobold tokens + 9 remaining=Prossh and 19 Kobold tokens
-Sacrifice Prossh for 7xG and 5 kobolds for RR + BBB=12 total mana, we can now cast Prossh again.
-We have 14 kobolds remaining.
4th cast:
So on and so forth.
bighaben:From here we can easily generate more than enough kobolds to cast Prossh, and do something with all these extra kobolds we have in surplus, which we'll cover later. The power of this combo is that it is extremely efficient, offering an explosive increase with every re-cast of Prossh. Unfortunately, we are forced into only casting creature cards with this mana, but we can address this issue later. Feverous: So, now I've got these bajillion tokens able to be produced, a gakillion mana able to be spent... what now?! Well, now we get to ... NOM DAMAGE LIFE DRAW ROAR SMASH!!! That's actually what happens. Really. I swear.
Feverous: These are the horrible, painful, terrible things you get to do to your opponent through the use of Food Chain, laughing maniacally all the way to their graves. It's AWESOME. GET THERE. bighaben: So, as you can see Food Chain is extremely central to how the deck wins, and there are many paths to victory once the combo goes off.
Drawing your Deck- See Skullmulcher with any infinite creature combo you can combo off enough to cast Skullmulcher, eat enough tokens to his Devour ability to produce a huge creature, and draw your entire deck. (Never draw more than your deck of course!) Leaving enough kobolds behind to be able to re-cast Prossh and continue the combo should go without saying. From here we can cast whatever we draw to produce the last piece of our combo engine for the win. This can also be done with infinite mana with Skullclamp or Carnage Altar though they are a little more clunky. Remember: Food Chain can only cast creatures, so be sure to leave a few mana open before doing this to be able to cast your kill condition! You can also throw in Burning-Tree Emissary as a way to convert Food Chain mana into GR to cast Goblin Bombardment for the win allowing for a potential early win with Food Chain when you only have access to 3BRG.
By utilizing this method we can combo a few turns earlier, it just takes a little more forethought to avoid accidentally losing the game.
Feverous: Realize that you're not through this yet. You're not even close. We've outlined the amazingness that Prossh offers, and the absurdly OP cards that make this list go, and make Prossh able to slaughter any and everything that stands in his path. BUT. Now is the time to make a choice. A choice between sanity, and insanity. Between order and chaos. Between... bighaben and Feverous. I, of course, know what you'll choose. I see that ravening in your eye, that glint of the edge of insanity that has you salivating at the thought of making you playgroup cry, and scream, and beg you never play your list again. I can feel the pull of the Dark Gods at your soul, tugging you into the blissful oblivion that is destruction incarnate. I KNOW YOUR DESIRES. I KNOW YOUR SOUL. And I will provide that outlet that you so crave. For my list, and the ultimate in transcendent irreverence and defilement.
bighaben: As you can see we share a very different outlook on Prossh, so a choice must now be made. I highly recommend you take the calm, reserved side of Prossh, the side that prefers to wait for his enemies to make a mistake, and then pounce. We must repress our inner demons, and our appetite for mindless destruction. Instead focusing on using our power in a meaningful and above all logical way. Of course, both our decks are excellent choices for the utter obliteration of our opponents...oh sorry...*cough* I mean, excellent choices for the defeat of our opponents, but we all know, you want to follow me.
*Of course the choice is also to read both decklists, which I actually recommend doing, and building your own deck from which you prefer, or a hybrid of the two.
Welcome, WELCOME!!! To the best Prossh, Skyraider of Kher thread in the known universe! Seriously, insanity aside for just a moment (I have periods of lucidity. On occasion. Kinda >.< ) I need to put a huge thank you to bighaben for allowing me to work with him on this thread. It's been a ton of fun, he was a pleasure to work with, all that. Thanks again! Now, to the meat: (Who doesn't like meat? I like meat. Prossh loves meat. You, if you're here, clearly also like meat.) Why this list? bighaben already has a list to go off of! Why you make me think, I no wanna think! THINKING BAD!
Well, thinking bad, agreed. Doing, good. This list is a lot less about thinking, and a lot more about doing. Seriously. The post above is an excellent list if you want a lot more control in your game (big's just trying to be blue, without the blue. Silly big ) It wins through attrition, proper resource management, and then either a huge swing, a massive amount of direct damage, or a combo, usually later in the game when opponents' lifetotals and resources are nearing complete exhaustion.
This list, on the other hand, don't give no hoots about what your opponents are doing. Sure, on occasion there a few things that can make it a little harder to smash their faces in (Platinum Angel, Avacyn, Angel of Hope etc) and this list has a couple of answers to those types of problems. But, mainly this is a list tailored towards complete and utter annihilation of all that oppose you in as short an order as you can, through a very simple process of utter resource advantage. You're going to drop more dudes, more lands, draw more cards, deal more damage, and generate more mana than 95% of the decks you face. This is what leads to your victory.
Average CMC=3.02 Median total cost $665.32 Deckstats analyzer/sample hand here.
So, why play this incarnation of Chaos and Destruction as opposed to the one detailed above?
You're more of a Smash N' Grab type of player, as opposed to a cunning strategist (BwahaHaHaHAHAHA)
You enjoy shows of overwhelming force, as opposed to subtleties of removal and tactics. (Heh, yeah. Tactics? PSSSHH)
You appreciate the manic edge of insanity, and are ok with giving in to it on a regular basis. (Muahahahahahaha...)
You want people to realize that you are the superior deckbuilder/piloter, and for them to bow down before your mighty visage!
You enjoy winning. Yeah, saying it twice. Either list you play will probably win, this deck is nuts.
Why Not?!
You actually enjoy a strong control suite in your decks. (Really? for JUND? GET OUT!)
You like thinking through your opponents next play, and having an appropriate counter for it (Ugh. Just KILL THEM, don't THINK ABOUT IT!)
You prefer non-creatures over creatures (What is Prossh gonna eat, then?! YOU MONSTER!)
You believe that A manic, flaming JUND DRAGON is the proper outlet for tactics, strategy, and all things NOT HERE.
You don't enjoy winning. Really, saying it twice. This deck STOMPS FACE.
Whelp, now that we've gotten that out of the way... Some of the things I've personally tested that just... didn't make it.
Has Beens, and Didn't Make It's
I know, I know. There's, like, a million different Jund generals, and a million more ways to play Prossh, right? WRONG. This isn't your grandmothers' kitchen table token list. This isn't your little sisters "Ooh, I want a tribal dragon deck cause dragons are cute!" deck. And this most certainly isn't a durdle/casual/funsies deck. There isn't any true competition. This. Is. Jund!
For the sake of argument, and for the sake of appeasing those that would spit on this list like a frenchman would after being offered american fries, here's a list of Has Beens and Didn't Make It's.
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund - Alright, so maybe this guy is pretty much a badass. I mean, he's got Tyrant of Jund right in his title. He's huge, he's hasty, he lawls at other dragons and lets them know to get on his level. He also gets wrecked by the new legends rule and a Clone. This is bad. He's your hasty death general, not theirs! Unfortunately, this has put the plug in Ol' Karrthus here.
Shattergang Brothers - So there's what, 1923745 different cards about dragons nomming goblins? Lawl. These chumps like to think they have the destructive power down, but FEH. They're gobbos! Plus, it's not a devastation tide staring you in the face when these guys hit the board. It's a grindy, whiny, mess of a gamestate that these guys make. That's not what we want. When our general hits the board, people need to start reaching for the next deck to play, because it is, at that point, OVER.
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper and Kresh the Bloodbraided - These are somewhat similar. In that they're WEAK. Puny little humans thinking to stand to the might of Dragons?! Pshaw. Sure, it's a great idea to destroy the board. Lets waste all our resources to make our general work! Genius idea. Rofl. Prossh makes his own army. He needs not an army made for him. Nuff' said.
Alternate Prossh options:
So there's probably a million things to do with Prossh. Having that many warm bodies to nom is a heady feeling, one that mages the multiverse over will be trying to dig their greedy little paws into. In my verse, though, this is really the only true way to run Prossh. Aggro/combo, with a hint of chaos and sacrifice to spice things up. I feel it's the most effective path to victory, which is what I wanted the deck to be based on. If that's not your style, well... ***off. Or, keep reading, I guess...
The other 2 main archetypes that I can see as being successful are Stax and Tokens. Stax, because it can take huge advantage of Prossh's abilities to pump out a massive amount of creatures, and tokens because... well, duh.
Again, not the most successful. But, if you want to be a sissy and take a non-vicious, angry-dragon-and-powers-of-destruction-to-your-face-route, be my guest.
Pansy.
Evolution? Feh. Try Re-Re-REVOLUTION
This deck started out a looong, long time ago. It was actually my first EDH deck. Little did I know, then, about the awesome destructiveness that Wizards was to bless me with in the form of Prossh. No, back then I had lil' ol' Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund as the leader of an army of dragons. He was huge, veiny, angry, hasty... Everything I thought I wanted! And man, those were the innocent days. Back when EDH was still EDH, when Clones didn't steal my Karrthus from under my nose, when Dragons were still cool and hip and scary... Sigh. I know, I know, waxing nostalgic on the eve of Prossh's domination. I must have had some blue in my magic somewhere, I'm turning into a... well... you get the picture.
Anyways, that was a dragon tribal deck to start out with. It underwent a ton of changes as my playgroup got more and more skilled at winning games, eventually evolving into a heavy ramp/control build focused on getting enough mana to Exsanguinate everyone to death, or Savage Beating/Seize the Day Karrthus in for a win. It was a fun deck, but easily disrupt-able and I tabled it in favor of some other lists. (Namely the Isamaru, Hound of Konda list in my sig). I loved it, I had a lot of sentimentality about it... It just wasn't winning as many games as I'd like, and I'm all about the winning. Clearly.
Then, they spoiled Prossh, and all of a sudden I was in love. I read about the Food Chain combo, I saw the interactions with Purphoros, God of the Forge, I saw someone play Shared Animosity/Beastmaster Ascension and the deck was born, fully fledged and ready to play in my head. I already had most of the major ramp stuff and land fixing in the Karrthus shell, I just took out a ton of removal and replaced it with threats that worked well with Prossh. That was the start on my path of glory and domination, and I haven't looked back since.
From there it's been evolving to be faster and faster, and as deadly as I can make it. I've been steadily chipping away at the easier to deal with control elements (Innocent Blood/Grave Pact/Tribute to the Wild etc) to make it come out a little faster, have a little bit more threat stability and be able to win more consistently (Mainly through fixing some of the mana issues, putting a couple more ramp spells in like Joraga Treespeaker and Manaweft Sliver, and learning how not to drop my threats until I'm ready to win the game.)
So here it is today. I still need a Gaea's Cradle, the 3 duals, and a couple more fetches to be really where I want it, but as is it's pretty freakin strong as is. Hope you enjoy. Well, that's not entirely true. I don't really care. But, if you don't... **** OFF, Prossh don't need you. He's got other **it to take care of. like... my opponents. Muahahaha
- This list is pretty hungry for mana, you can never really have too much. I tried to stay about even between my creature, artifact, and sorcery accel. These are 5 of the best artifact accels in the format, so they're in here. The Monolith is really what you want to see early game, right after the Sol ring, it's absurdly good @ T3 Prossh. MOAR MANAZ
Expedition Map - Sometimes you just really need to answer an opponents' land, so this gets your Strip Mine. Sometimes a graveyard needs exile, theis gets Bojuka Bog Or it can just get good ol' Command Tower if you're off a color. Number 1 tutor target for this lil' gem, however, is the other half of the Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth/Cabal Coffers synergy. Those 2 cards jsut eat face, they're absurdly good together.
Lightning Greaves - Shroud is, really, kinda stupidly good, and the 0 to equip is huge. Can mess with a Seize the Day, but you usually have tokens to switch it around to if that gets to be a problem. Also, not being an idiot and trying to 'Day your shrouded death general is also key. DON'T BE AN IDIOT.
- These are all your 1 drop accel creatures. They're here to get Prossh out a little faster, then act as fodder for any of the other sac outlets the deck runs. They don't know it yet, but they're about to get ... NOMMED.
- This is the 2 drop accel slot. Sakura can block and sac in response to help prevent early game damage, the Cobra works insanely well with the fetches, and a T1 Joraga allows a T3 Prossh. These are pretty simple. Drop, ramp, eat. Simple. I'm sure you can do that, right? Lawl.
[CARD]Yavimaya Dryad
Wood Elves[/CARD] - Annnddd.... MOAR RAMP! If you haven't noticed, this is a ramp deck, and these are your 3 drop creatures. These guys got the slot because of their wording, "search for a Forest and put it onto the battlefield" which means they A: Actually ramp you by putting it on the field (No, Borderland Ranger is not ramp. Sorry.) and B: Get your Stomping Ground or Overgrown Tomb
Solemn Simulacrum - One of the more effective 2 for 1's, this guy is awesome, and should be run in just about any EDH deck that I can think of. Also awesome with a Diabolic Intent.
Acidic Slime - Art/Ench hate is really important in this format, and this guy gets the job done. Extra points to the 'Slime for getting a problem land as well ^.^ .
- I hear card draw wins games! Seriously, this deck draws more cards than most blue decks I've seen. These are 2 creatures that help fuel that. Skullmulcher is here to eat tokens, Disciple is here to eat Prossh after he's eaten token. Num, Kobolds!
Duplicant - Another answer to horrible cards that are impossible to answer. Remember that it imprints, not clones, and it doesn't take advantage of an +1/+1 counters. Still one of the best 2 for 1 creatures in the game, exile effects are king in this format.
Rune-Scarred Demon - This is a favorite target of Tooth and Nail to get you the gamebreaking card you really want to see, or a good way to get the TaN in hand. Really solid creature, and a decent threat on it's own.
Sylvan Primordial - Multiple-card permanent advantage is huge, so this guy still keeps its slot. Sylvan is one of the most hated cards in the format, just make sure people know you don't have any way to flicker him and it'll be a little bit easier to survive the hate. Or, just laugh at their whining and one shot them with Prossh, either way works. T3 Sylvan is a pretty nasty play though, prepare to get hated out the next game if that happens. Also gets forests, so remember the shocks.
- Card draw wins games. The Fecundity is absurd with Prossh, it's going to draw you at least 6 cards that turn if not more. Arena is one of the best sources of steady card advantage in the game, so it's in as well. Don't drop the Fecundity until you're either able to cast Prossh the same turn or already have him and a million tokens out, you want to limit the amount of advantage your opponents get off it as much as possible.
Survival of the Fittest - Arguably the strongest (legal) enchantment ever printed in magic, this will singlehandedly win you the game if it sticks. Just try to make sure you're dropping it with enough mana available to take advantage of it, canny opponents will be aware of how absurdly powerful this is and try their best to kill it as soon as possible.
Sylvan Library - Sensei's Divining Top #2 plus card draw. One of the other ridiculously strong enchantments for green, this should be played in every green deck ever.
- Split Second is huge for EDH, sometimes there are just problems that have to be dealt with now without giving your opponent a chance to respond. These 2 get the job done for their specific permanent types.
Putrefy - Sometimes things just need to die, and having an answer is the difference between winning and losing. This is a pretty flexible instant that can make sure you're the one winning, and your opponent's the one losing.
Vampiric Tutor - Absurdly powerful card. Tutors win games, and this is one of the best 2 ever printed.
Planeswalkers (4)
Garruk, Primal Hunter - This is there usually for the card draw, which is always huge. Can make beasts in a pinch though if necessary. Fun to sac a bunch of kobolds to Prossh and draw 11+ cards, really pisses your opponents off .
Garruk Wildspeaker - This guy serves the 2 amazing primary purposes of ramping you and also serving up a win con. Overrun'ing your army of Kobolds is always a good thing. Untaps Cabal Coffers as well, which if you have the Urborg already out is an absurd amount of mana.
Sarkhan Vol - 2nd haste outlet, also allows stealing of hard to deal with creatures, also allows pumps to army of kobolds, and the ultimate is just 3 boosts away. Really amazing card. Gets around Avacyn, Angel of Hope too. Steal her, swing with her, sac her. GET THAT WHORE OFF MAH TABLE!.
Sorceries (12)
Damnation - Sometimes the board just needs to be answered, especially if someone wraths your board then overextends. This solves that problem.
Explore - I originally put this in after my playgroup figured out how absurd Cabal Coffers+Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth are together. At that point anytime one of them dropped it was immediately destroyed the turn before I could draw the other one. This card allowed me to drop both in the same turn after I had tutored for them. Now that the deck is a little more evolved the Cabal/Urborg combo isn't usually the primary tutor target, so this can be used when it seems prudent.
Exsanguinate - Wincon! This card just wins, period. It's not very fun, and (hopefully >.<) not very interactive. (Curse you Twincast!!! *Shakes fist) But it won't make you any friends. Also good if you're the first target and get pummeled pretty hard early game, this can bring some semblance of life back into your gameplan.
Maelstrom Pulse - Any non-land permanent is huge. I consider it a must have for any B/G deck in existence.
Praetor's Counsel - Arguably the 2nd most over-powered sorcery ever printed for green, this card will also singlehandedly win you the game if it sticks. Obviously this is a late game card, and by that time you'll have 1-2 tutors, 1-2 removal, a decent creature, some ramp and a couple lands in the yard, and this just nets you a million cards. Amazing.
Profane Command - Awesome 2 for 1. Usually done to kill/recur a pair of creatures, but also serving as a kill spell if someone's low or fear to make your kobold army punch through? Yes please.
Seize the Day - This is a tertiary wincon for Prossh. He can sac the tokens to make himself either a 3 shot or a 2 shot, and this makes it happen in a turn. There if you can't seem to land a Tooth and Nail or any of the other wincons, or if you get Prossh out super early and just need a single player dead.
Skyshroud Claim - Ramp is good! Also gets forests, so shocks can be had, and also gets them untapped, which is super nice.
- Cavern's not as useful as in other decks because you still get the Kobolds if Prossh gets countered, still nice to have. Boseju keeps your TaN from getting countered though which is huge.
Homeward Path - I want my creature! I cast it for a reason! Give it back!
Maze of Ith - Not the most vital card, but I'm always happy to see it. Sometimes you just need to not take some damage.
Bojuka Bog - In this format graveyards are mostly just an extension of a players' hand. This is really good late game, just try to save it til then if you can.
Reliquary Tower - This deck draws a million cards. Literally. I've actually decked myself with this list. The tower is there to help you keep those cards you're drawing.
Strip Mine - Sometimes a land just needs to be dealt with.
Thespian's Stage - Copy lands! Just useful utility lands, it's nice to copy something someone else has that's amazing, or copy something you have that you just really want.
- C-C-C-Combo! These 2 together net an absurd amount of black mana. This is an amazing bit of synergy, and what the Expedition Map is usually fetching.
Well, you made it this far. Congratulations. You probably think you're something special, right? WRONG. There is nothing special about you. Should you be proud that you're not a spineless, bootlicking control player bent on the desecration of anything pure in it's Violence, Defilement, and Irreverence?! INCORRECT. This is the part where the real aficionados of Destruction, Death and Pain get to salivating, and the has beens quietly shuffle away, tail tucked between what's left of their rapidly shrinking nether bits.
Prossh. Prossh wins. How, you might ask? ROFL. Read the EFFIN CARD. A 5/5 Dragon that flies for 6? That can eat things to get BIGGER? That brings food with him?! That scales with how many times he's been curbstomped?!?! Oh yeah. That I can do. It starts, as all good battles start, with serfs. Wood Elves. Lotus Cobra. Elves of Deep Shadow. These are the minute tears in the mana-fabric of your game, ripping away the veils of cowardice and landstarvation to allow Prossh to roam free, reigning destruction and death on all who oppose you. You burn the little guys, break their backs to get Prossh flying above as quickly as dragonly possible. This can happen as soon as T3, and consistently happens T4-5. Oh yeah. GET THERE.
What then, you might ask? WHAT THEN?!?! You have a HUGE, Flying Dragon that gets BIGGER! What more do you want?! Oh, that's right. Chaos. Desecration. Defilement. ... Vampiric Tutor into a ... Craterhoof Behemoth. Oh, wait, all the little kobolds are now huge kobolds? They had a moment. A brief flash of glory, before being ground into paste under the talons of Prossh. Sure, I'll take a 13/13 trample flying dragon, a 13/13 trample hasty behemoth, and 6 8/9 screaming, raging, steroid pumping kobolds. But wait, that's not enough? You only dealt 74 damage in a turn?! Seize the Day. Kobolds leaping up to serve the greater glory of Prossh, sacrificing themselves for the humiliation of your foes. Sac to make him even huger. And again, EVEN HUGER. OR! Got that Beastmaster Ascension/Shared Animosity in hand?! GO TO TOWN. This is where the deck usually kills the table. Prossh lands, makes an army. Army gets a buff. Buffed army eat\s opponents. Next game. But sometimes...
So the game has lasted more than 7 turns you claim? FEH. What are you, new?! LTP. If that's the case, though, we haz... COMBO. Food Chain (Aptly named, don't you think? ) = Infinite mana to cast creatures and infinite kobolds. Why don't we throw a God in the mix? That's right. Purphorous, God of the Forge is even at the beck and call of Prossh, Reaper of Jund. Yeah, you heard right. We call even the Gods to serve us in war. Food Chain + ol' Purphy=infinite damage on the board. GG. Lawl. Also! Get that Xenagos, the REveler. We love drunken planeswalkers, and you know what they say about randy satyrs, don't you? O.O. Get that infinite R/G mana and cast your deck! Literally, that usually happens, and your opponents can slink away to the next table.
The game has lasted, and lasted, and lasted. Everyone present hates you with the fiery burning passion of... that thing you get tested for every 6 months. Bah. They want you dead. There's a hectic gleam in your opponents eyes, a glint of that edge of insanity, the ravening that happens in face of utter and complete annihilation. They'll sacrifice anything, even their own chance at victory for just one shot at your lifetotal. This, this is what Prossh revels in. Casting again and again, making more and more sacrifices to the greater glory, burning the hand, resources, lands... Praetor's Counsel. It ends the game. Singlehandedly. This is your late game tutor target. If you get to untap with this in hand... LOL. Next game? Oh, that got countered?! Here's my draw engine that I held in hand most of the game. Disciple of Bolas coming to serve his new master, drawing you 20 cards and gaining you the life you so desperately need. Fecundity churning kobold bodies into fresh resources to destroy the opposition. Draw Draw Draw!!!!!
Your Counsel has been countered, your Tooth and Nail exiled, your general cast a million times, your Seize the Day had a Jester's Cap thrown at it, what to do, what to do? WIN. That's what this deck is about. WINNING. Exsanguinate your opponents last life totals! Drop a Beastmaster Ascension and go to town with mana dorks! Profane Command someone into oblivion, getting your Eternal Witness into your Praetor's Counsel again! This list is absurdly overflowing with wincons, and they can't deal with them all. Just keep casting and casting and casting until you win. Literally, this deck just casts huge, game breaking spells until everyone is dead. It's manic, it's destructive, it's.... PROSSH.
"But Waaah, someone's playing counterspells!!! ERMAHGHERD." Really? You're afraid of a little counterspells?! LAWL. Fecundity. Disciple of Bolas. Garruk, Primal Hunter. Skullclamp. Boseju, Who Shelters All. Cavern of Souls. Phyrexian Arena. Sylvan Library. the trick to beating U is presenting a "Target Rich Environment". This deck draws so many cards it's absurd, and has enough mana to cast most of it. Yeah. It's that good. Blue doesn't stand a chance. Just outdraw them, an/or make your killspells uncounterable.
"But Waaah, someone blew up all my lands!!!" Ok, this is the only valid concern you've actually voiced so far. Mid-late game, Armageddon hurts. Fortunately, that's a vicious card that most players don't play. If you do get hit, a respectful nod at your opponent is in order. Mass LD is up there with the other "highbrow" strategies that require careful playing around, and if Prossh had a weakness (Which he clearly does not) it would be this. If you have someone with balls enough to play something like Ruination/Cataclysm, however, the solution is simple. If you happen to lose a game to it, and now know of it's presence... Play around it. "ERMAHGERD, WHAT?!?! You can play around mass ld?! LIES." Yeah, you can. Just don't be an idiot. Don't ramp as hard as possible. Slowroll your plays by a turn or two. Make sure to keep a land or 2 in hand. It's easy. Then rofl as they land their LD, drop the resources you held in hand and proceed to stomp their face. Bang. Done.
Prossh's Consultations from Below
Unfortunately, Prossh can't actually depend on you to have any sense or intuition about how to annihilate, desecrate, and humiliate his enemies. Therefore he's cooked up a nasty little guide on how to use your tutors. Consistency is key in this format, and tutors give that consistency. So, a guide:
Early Game Tutor Targets: This is really, really vital. Usually if you have an opening hand with Vampiric Tutor you're going to go for the Sol Ring. It's just too good of an accel to pass up. If you happen to have that already in hand with a tutor and a land (Man, lucky bastard) Go for a hand refill, either Disciple, Fecundity, or 'Clamp. This allows for as early a Prossh as possible, then a hand refill to get back what you burned to drop him.
Mid Game Tutor Targets: These are usually wincons, so: Craterhoof, Animosity, Ascension, Food Chain, or Tooth and Nail (If you have the mana for it). You want to try to kill the table here, and these are what does it.
Late Game Tutor Target: Notice how that's singular? Yeah. Praetor's Council/ This is your single best late game tutor target, and if it lands it wins you the game, singlehandedly. I cant' describe how dumb this card is.
Archetype Combat:
So. You think you've mastered Prossh? THINK AGAIN. Prossh is the master, forevermore until the end of all, and nothing. You might have an inkling, a glimmer of understanding of the awe-inspiring power that this deck encases. But that... is not nearly enough. For as there are always those that will spit on fries, so will there also be those who think to stand to the might of Prossh.
Control: The bane of all violence, destruction and mayhem, control is the archetype that Prossh loves most to stomp into a fine, bloody mush. How, you might ask? A combination of 2 elements. Card draw (duh) and a Target Rich Environment. This list spills forth so much mana, and so many resources that control players can't hope to deal with it all. The trick is drawing out the control spells on the threats that you want dealt with first, then dropping gamebreakers immediately after. Oh, counter my Fecundity? Sure. Tooth and Nail, entwined. Rofl. Things like that. Just drop 2 gamebreaking threats in the same turn, every turn, and they can't hope to keep up. How do you get the ability to do that, you might ask...
Aggro: This, honestly, is a bit of a laugh. If it's a mediocre aggro deck, jsut race them, you'll win. Plain and simple, there's not much to it. The amount of card advantage and creature overwhelmi-ness is too hard for them to deal with. If it's a really good aggro list, maybe with some disruption thrown in to keep you off your threats, tap them out then drop the combo with Food Chain and kill them on the spot. Easy-peasy. Combo: This is a race, and one that you can win a little less than half the time, if it's good, dedicated combo. The tridk here is saving up your kill spells and mana for the things that stomp you hard, be it Hermit Druid, Sharuum, the Hegemon, or Omniscience. You almost need to play a control route here, while still trying to go off faster than they can. If it's Ad Nauseam combo, it's pretty hard to beat, just try to kill their mana rocks.
Mulligans.
Yeah, this is important. No, you shouldn't skip past. PAY ATTENTION!
Alright, here's the deal. Prossh is a wincon, right? RIGHT. So, the goal is to... That's right, get him in play. ERMAHGHERD. Hard concept, right? So, let's think. Do we want him in play slow, or fast? The answer, children, is FAST. We want Prossh in play FAST, that faster the better. And the way to do this all revolves around how well you mulligan. Let's take a sample hand:
This is actually a pretty strong starting hand. except for 1 thing... the lack of a T1 or T2 ramp spell. This deck desperately needs those. Other than that, having the clamp, and the Urborg/Coffers combo in hand is absurdly good for a starting hand. Mull the Garruk, the Expanse, the Putrefy, draw.
This hand is awful. No ramp, and nothing but 1 removal spell. Pitch everything but the Urborg and a Forest.
Sensing a theme here? Yeah, it's called ramp. You pretty desperately need a T1-T2 ramp in hand, that's what Powers these amazing destructive abilities of the deck. A perfect hand looks like:
The elf wasn't right in a lot of hands without me having access to the 2 G/x dual lands, so it got a cut. I have Acidic Slime so the stomphowler seemed redundant, and Tribute wasn't nearly target-able enough. I needed more creature removal, my playgroup figured out how busted this deck is and I'm now public enemy #1 lol, so in comes the Pact. Command is a really solid 2 for 1 and can offer a kill shot if necessary, or make my bajillion tokens have fear. The Caratyid is replacing the Elf as a more flexible 2 drop ramp spell.
Yeah, so. In a multiplayer game the Terastadon wasn't furthering my plans of complete world domination, it just got rid of pesky permanents. I figure the best way to get rid of said permanents is to just kill the player that owns them. Imma focus more on that. Battledriver and Urabrask jsut weren't doing much, so they're out. I don't like buildup turns. Fleshbag's in the same vein as the 'don.
Terminate is there cause sometimes you just need an instant speed creature kill or you die. The other 3 are ramp, cause hey, who doesn't like T3 Prossh?
And... more cuts. The land base is still kinda tricky, and people keep countering my gamebreaking spells (Tooth and Nail, OP? Says who O.o) hence the Boseiju. Mystic is more ramp, and wilds/expanse are holding their slots til I get some room in my budget for the duals. Te other 3 cuts ere just removal, and I don't seem to need that much. Most of the time opponents are forced to answer me, not the other way around.
Finally got mah hands on a Deluge, ectstatic to put it in. That cards' bonkers, it answers just about everything that's crazy un-answerable (Avacyn, Gaddock, Eight and a Half tails, etc) so out came Terminate, in went the Deluge.
I found that I just didn't need the tokens that BB produced with Prossh as my general, and it was never really something I wanted to see, so it's out. The fleshbag is just kind of indispensable, especially with the amount of tutors we can run, so it's testing in place of the BB.
For this deck the cradle is about the best single land card in the game that I could play, and I totally got a pretty good deal on one today Been meaning to put it in for a while, and now that I have one, yippee!!!
Well, Sylvan's banned, and I hear that Xenagod allows for a 1 shot with Prossh the turn he comes into play, so it's taking that slot. Yay gods!
About Me
I've been playing MTG for about 13 years now, since when I was in 6th grade and moved to Columbus, OH. (C-Bus, represent!) There I fell in with a group of guys that I would play Magic with weekly for the next 7 years or so. The first deck I ever played was a mono-green creature simple deck with Giant Growth as a finisher XD.
From there, I moved to Springfield, MO in Nov of '08 and found a group of guys that played semi-competitively in standard and block. I played a couple of standard tournaments during the Alara block, then found EDH. From then on it was head over heels in love, and I have focused the entirety of my play resources to this ever-changing, amazing format.
If you ever find yourself heading my way, please shoot me a PM and I'd love to sit down and play a game or two with you!
What made me choose EDH? (Or Commander, if you're a Vicious Fanboy)
Elder Dragon Highlander is a unique take on the, IMO, very essence that got us all into Magic in the first place. There was that mysterious draw that I had to the cards, the interactions, and the game play when I was first introduced that (thankfully) has never quite left me. This escalated into pure excitement when I got to crack my first pack, and then a competitive glow that emerged as I began playing some higher-end tournaments. But I noticed over time that there seemed to be an endless stream of cash going from my hand to Wizard's coffers with all the new releases, just to stay competitive. I didn't have that many funds to support it, and I really wanted to get back to the days of simple fun, getting to try new cards and new ideas week by week. Net-dec is not my favorite format
In came EDH, and it's been a blissful affair ever since. It's the only format I've found that allows everyone to really get into the nooks and crannies of the magic world, while still having a competitive feel. It allows degenerate combos, hilarious shenanigans, topdecksfor-the-win, and a million million other amazing, fun, awesome interactions. This is the spirit of EDH for me, and that's why it's the only format I play.
bighaben's Prossh, What's for Dinner?
The Sane Side of Awesome
The Kher Ridges of Dominaria are said to house a creature so terrifying that few speak its name, or venture too close to the labyrinth that is Kher Keep. But as a planeswalker you have little need to heed warnings of death and destruction as you venture deep into the ridges to seek out the legendary Kher Keep. Upon finding and entering the keep one finds misfit creatures that can barely be considered goblins let alone a symbol of fear. They mill about on their daily business. Some cook, some tend their young, but all worship a figure yet unseen. The ground seems to rumble every so often reacting to some terror in the distance. Kher Keep becomes more ominous with every step taken deeper into its depths. Finally, back outside, this time on top of the keep you see the legendary Prossh, his disciples surround him by the thousand. You have entered his domain, his kingdom, and it is his decision on whether you live or die. Are you going to be the victim, or the master? You decide.
So, what happens when you have a desire to build a Jund control deck? Why, you build it, duh. About the time I was making preliminary design decisions around a Jund deck that would be supported by deathtouch shenanigans and Goblin Sharpshooter when Prossh was revealed along with the commander 2013 box set. I was sold instantly, Prossh would be my next Jund control style deck. The problem was he lent himself heavily toward a combo oriented build, so the end result was a mix of control, and combo. As release finally approached I decided to focus heavily on the combo aspect, using control to buy us some time. The cute interaction of Basilisk Collar and Goblin Sharpshooter was gone, but in its place were much more awesome interactions like Prossh with Grave Pact. Additionally, I decided I wanted my first truly competitive deck and was actively seeking out competitive deck building strategies. The result is the deck you see today with a tuned and efficient mana base, a low CMC, and a focus on synergy and powerful plays. The result is a deck that is very much able to handle threats on the board, dish them out, or win outright. The deck will make your opponents tremble, and that, that is why we play Prossh, is it not?
The list of my friend is an IV drip of threats that are relentless, and heavily focused on just destroying his opponents. His deck is very red in nature, all up-front, and all-in. My deck sits back and looks at the situation then decides the next step from there. We have answer cards, and ways to deal with others threats readily so we can wait for the perfect moment. We play a much more focused combo/control deck, that will win if an opponent slips up. You can think of our decks as reversed with his being focused on creature based wins, and resource explosions with combos as a back-up plan. I'm of course the opposite, my goal is to combo first, and then if that fails play the resource game. He'll describe my deck as blue, and that is not far from the truth.
You will like this version of Prossh if:
If you want a combo-focused deck.
Love a dedicated removal and control suite (Jund is amazing for this).
Tactical strikes are better than all-in rushes.
Love living on the edge of your seat.
You will not like this version of Prossh if:
If digging for a combo isn't your thing.
You like putting all your eggs in front of you attached to a time-bomb that anyone can see coming, and then laughing maniacally as they fail to disarm it in time.
You hate giant flying creatures that destroy your own field as much as others.
You're some Smash N' Grab kind of player that prefers to leave tactics to the blue players.
Deck Strategy and Card Choices
Being in Jund colors gives us access to excellent control strategies, so we're going to be taking advantage of that for sure. Of course, we are not going to ignore the combo-licious nature of Prossh and will be focusing on this aspect to win. The blend of the two ensures we can put together a combo without dying to powerful and ever changing board states. We keep the Converted Mana Cost (CMC) as low as possible, chock full of answers, and card advantage engines. For this reason there are many auto-include cards that should be included in every Prossh deck. This section focuses on these cards around the central strategy of this deck.
The Strategy
Commander/EDH is full of silly things, and usually these silly things are fueled by single cards that act as enablers. Our goal is to keep these off the field as long as possible. We can answer big threats such as problem enchantments, big creatures, or enabling cards. If we keep the board free of threats we can shove a combo out and hopefully win quite fast. Our low CMC will often mean we can do both in the same turn, or in the first important turns. Also, we can use Prossh in all his magnificent glory to do nasty, dirty things. We run limited board wipes, but focus heavily on the power of Prossh to block token swarms, or to devastate the board through a Grave Pact. The most important thing to remember is that we get Kobolds whether Prossh is countered or not, and thus we can abuse them willingly. Coupled with our powerful targeted removal we should have no problem building up to win with Food Chain, or any other combo options, in a big single turn play that will leave your opponents toasted. Now that the general strategy has been spilled, below are some must-include cards and why they are essential to the strategy of the deck.
Playing the Deck
Now that we've got the nuts and bolts out of the way, we can actually look at how this deck performs in the real world. Below is a primer split into early-game, mid-game, and late-game as an almost step-by-step guide on how a typical game will play out.
The Mulligan
First, we can mulligan pretty aggressively as we have a low cmc so we can dig a bit for a perfect hand. You want a little bit of control elements in your hand, as well as some decent ramp options. So, you want to look for mana rocks, ramp, and removal spells, preferably of the more general kind. We don't need our win-cons in our hand as they can be tutored for, or drawn into. We need to establish a board presence and keep up with our opponents as priority number one. Of course, keeping a hand with access to a win condition is fine as well, but don't feel bad about keeping a hand without access to a win con. As for the land make-up, you want at least one forest in your hand. Our deck is extremely green in nature, and not having a forest is going to be a problem, and it will be a problem fast. Access to black is secondary and red is tertiary but having a way to get access to black and red is important. Keep the expensive cards out of your hand, they can be tutored for later. Auto-keep hands look like this:
(Forest, Rootbound Crag, Farhaven Elf, Beast Within, Phyrexian Tower, Hero's Downfall, Skullmulcher.)
(Forest, Verdant Catacombs, Food Chain, Demonic Tutor, Solemn Simulacrum, Forest, Terminate)
The Early Game
The early game is a resource acquisition game. Our general is not cheap, it costs 6 mana, and only gets better the more we cast him. We need plenty of ramp, best in the form of mana rocks, but also in creatures such as Farhaven Elf. This is also important because we are playing a three color deck, and thus hitting the specific lands we need to cast our spells is very important, and doing so quickly is paramount. We can be blown out by a rapid start from an opposing player so if you need to destroy something rather than establish your board, DO SO. Nothing is worse than losing to a Mana Crypt you could have answered on turn 2 with an Abrupt Decay. Finally, it is important to note we will rarely be able to cast Prossh in the early game, unless we have our own broken opener, such as a turn 1 sol ring. Prossh is our answer to early creature strategies, so if you need chump blockers you are largely forced to look to Prossh. This is fine, but don't cast Prossh too many times, making him cost more than we can afford will be the death to our combo strategy, and our plan B's are not super reliable.
So, in conclusion our early game is simply to stop others from winning, or establishing the board that they will win with all while digging for a combo. The early game is where others will be establishing, but we establish in our hand so we can hide our true intentions behind our removal spells, so hide yourself well to avoid being the target of realy-game resource removal.
Mid-Game
Our combos are mid-game combos, so this is the time we are going to be aiming to win. Hopefully by turn 6-7 you have drawn a tutor of some kind, or part of a win condition and are ready to set up for the win. (Skip to the next paragraph for information on mid-game without a combo.) If this is the case, you want to use your removal to buy time to cast Prossh, and go infinite. The goal will be to get a Food Chain to stick, and then combo off with it. Just be careful, if you go off too early you may find you're without an actual win condition, and please please please remember Food Chain can only cast other creatures. Skullmulcher can solve these problems with ease though, just cast him, draw your deck and you'll find you can drop an Urabrask the Hidden an Anvenger of Zendikar and go to town. Ideally, you will want to cast prossh with some mana left over so you can cast Goblin Bombardment or Phyrexian Altar to be able to transfer that Food Chain mana into mana you can use on things that are not creatures. This is a trap of the mid-game combo attempt, as I myself have occasionally combo'd off only to find myself a mana or two short of actually putting a game away.
Without a combo we play like before, and try to control the other players. Only with more resources we can begin to dig for a combo. I'd advise against casting Prossh too much in this situation as you may need him to win. That being said casting him once or twice to generate kobolds for an engine is an excellent plan of attack. Cards like Skullmulcher, Skullclamp or Carnage Altar can help us dig down. If a huge creature swarm is present, you can board wipe, and drop Prossh next turn to set up some chump blockers, or to start a card advantage engine. Dropping something like Blood Artist can help gain some life, and generate a lot of value. The key to the midgame is still to focus on board control, but now we have access to Prossh and all he offers us to give us a lot oomph. Just use him sparingly. We need to be weary of the late-game though, and thus we should really be focusing on comboing as soon as possible. Play carefully though, this is decision time, and a high stress time. This is why Prossh is fun to play, as there are many lines of attack in the mid game.
Late-Game
The late game is where Prossh becomes a little schizophrenic as he will struggle a bit against the big things other decks can do in the late game, but also push a board presence. This is big game magic now, so we'll play the big game ourselves. Establishing a Dictate of Erebos with a large amount of creatures, and a sac-outlet can be devastating in this stage of the game, so if you see it then use it to your advantage. If a combo was not possible, this is the time to use Prossh aggressively to kill players, he is an excellent commander and dealing commander damage. Just always keep a few kobolds behind to use for fodder.
The late game is generally for when we couldn't combo so focus on our alternate win conditions. Viscous Shadows can knock a few greedy players out when Prossh is bloated after being played several times. Keep an eye, this is the time where the game could literally end at any point, usually someone is far ahead, and that person needs to be reigned in so make your plays carefully, and focus on getting a card advantage engine to keep up. It is important to note that this deck becomes quite weak in the late-game, as we are a combo focused deck. We can win without a combo, but we have the propensity to become staggeringly behind in the late game, especially without mass-land Destruction, or resource denial strategies. This is the risk we play with this style of Prossh, but I find it makes it a little more fun. All this being said, we can still be a threat in the late-game, but we are much more versatile and threatening in the early and mid-games.
Fighting the Archetypes
Combo: - A dedicated combo deck is a problem, and the more focused your opponent is the closer it'll be to a coin flip. We have removal spells, if they start setting up a combo with permanents, you know what to do. If they are going to combo without permanent set up, or all in one turn, it's a race, and you better win it. If it's the Tier 1 combo deck (ad nauseum, hermit druid), we just aren't built to beat that, we can win, but they'll have to have a bad hand. The best bet in this matchup is to play the political game, and get your opponents on your side and 3v1 the combo player. This is generally easier with combo, because combo decks can have very loud and obvious commanders.
Aggro: - As long as you are not target #1 this should be the easiest of match ups. Let the aggro player run out of gas, and then just combo off, they aren't likely to stop you. Just watch out for pesky mana being open, or you may find yourself at the wrong side of a removal spell. Hopefully, your opponents have exhausted their resources dealing with the aggro player paving your path to victory. Usually, in this match up, I'll just sit on my removal spells, killing anything that comes after me, telling others to kill each other. That's where they go wrong and die to me a few turns later. If you are target #1, removal is key, just take out their big threats. Aggro decks live on the board, and thus, we can easily stop them, and even add a bit of politics by being particularly picky about when you destroy a threat.
Control: - Control is iffy, if they are packing a heavy control deck you have almost no chance of winning. You just won't get past their counterspells, but that's a problem most people will have so try to team up with your opponents to exhaust the control player of answer cards, and slip in a game winning situation. My deck is a lot better against stax then most would think, we generally attack with one creature if we do attack, and we don't care about being tapped out once Prossh is on board. Stax is not a relevant threat in my meta, so I don't pack the right answers, but sliding in some mass enchantment/artifact removal if it is a problem in your meta will go a long way in this match up.
Ramp: - This strategy is very prevalent in all EDH games, but the dedicated ramp strategies will be easy picking for us, as long as we keep up. The focus should be ramping, and taking out threats, we play the control deck here. If we can outrace them into a game winning position, then go for it if you think they won't mess with you. Look for them to tap out as they acquire more resources, and then just win. There is a small window where my deck can win when everyone is still tapping out every turn to build their boards. Look for it, aim for it, and hit it. This deck does have the ability to drop a huge threat, and against a ramp focused strategy it may be best to drop a threat before they can rather than aim for the combo. Our low CMC really helps here as we can generally ramp, and have a removal spell ready on the same turn, and quite reliably too. Just be cautious, waiting for the right moment is all about judging the situation, and knowledge of your opponents decks.
Card Choice Packages
These cards are broken up into packages, meaning you'll find a card advantage package, win package, etc,... The packages below will only include a small portion of the deck aiming to detail the idea and purpose of the package rather than just list all the cards that are included. While some of these cards are mentioned in the first post, they lack context with my thread, so you'll see some repeated explanations. Additionally, when thinking about adding something to the deck, check this section to make sure that the future card fits into one of these packages, if not you may have to consider if the card really fits with the goal of the deck.
These cards all ensure victory by killing your opponents with your Kobolds. Drop Goblin Bombardment, produce an arbitrary large amount of Kobolds, and then toss them at your opponents heads for silly amounts of damage. Also, Hornet Queen and Avenger of Zendikar can both become extremely deadly with with any of these cards in play allowing for alternate wins without necessarily needing Prossh or a combo. Tooth and Nail for Purphoros and Avenger in the late game and it's likely you'll take at least a player or two out. This decks win conditions are very much a one time thing, so use them wisely. Card Advantage Package
Skullclamp is a beast of a card advantage engine, but Skullmulcher can do absurd things as well. He can become huge with a large amount of Kobolds, while fueling your hand with tons of new cards in a single turn. Toss a Soul's Majesty on him and you draw even more cards! Fecundity is a dangerous card that fits Prossh well, you just drop it on the turn you intend to win as it is great for digging down reliably while comboing. Carnage Altar is great, as with so many 0 or 1 power creatures running around our deck, something like Greater Good is lackluster, and thus Carnage Altar is a little more reliable. Token Package
Here are some great ways to power out a lot of creatures quickly, and sometimes with teeth! Our goal is more quantity than quality here, so these cards are the best. Awakening Zone is cheap and also provides much needed mana, and Tooth and Claw can add a 50% increase to Purpohros, God of the Forge damage. It's important to watch what kind of token producers you slide in, cards like Saproling Symbiosis are great but if you pack too many you'll find you have too little creatures to actually make these kind of cards good. I stick with one, and try to put in more proactive token generators to make sure I don't have a dead Saproling Symbiosis or Skullmulcher. Removal Package
This is the area for most customization, but the theme should be obvious. Cheap, targeted removal. It's what Jund colors do best as you can destroy every kind of permanent in our colors with ease, and usually at instant speed. Keeping it cheap is ideal as we can answer many things while still keeping mana open to do things we want. This prevents over extension, and has the added bonus of allowing us to answer early game threats that can cripple a game of EDH before it even begins. We can be slow and clunky at times, so a versatile control package is necessary to push us into the mid to late game. Ramp/Mana Fixing Package
It should be noted how important mana rocks are for ramping and fixing our mana, so do not ignore these. As for more traditional green ramp strategies it is best to use creatures so we can have more fodder for Prossh, or our sac engines. So, we select green creatures with Enter the Battlefield effects so we can ramp, and have lots of fodder after. Something like Farhaven Elf is an excellent example of a card that in most decks would be dead once it hits play but in ours offers a plethora of options. Solemn Simulacrum is thus perfect for our deck as it does something coming in and when going out.
The nitty-gritty card explanation details:
Below is a list of every card, and why it is here over other cards. This is detailed, and long, but needed if you want to make some customization to the deck and are unsure how important the card is to the deck.
Lands
Most lands will not need explanation, but a few standouts here: Inkmoth Nexus- Win condition with Kessig Wolf Run. Simply, a redundant out-of-nowhere kill against a player with infect, you need Kessig to make Inkmoth a 10/10, but with lots of mana this isn't a problem. Kher Keep- A simple token generator, that isn't too expensive. Mostly here for flavor but has some utility. Rouge's Passage - Allows Prossh to be unblockable, a nice utility land, but isn't necessary. Other utility lands can easily fit into place here as needed. Kessig Wolf Run- See Inkmoth Nexus, still a nice pump with infinite mana to just kill someone outright. Raging Ravine- Serves two purposes, mana fixing, and as a infinite mana sink. Really just a backup, and can easily be replaced with something else such as a painland or other dual in similar colors. Phyrexian Tower-An excellent sac outlet that also helps hit pesky BB or BBB costs. Wouldn't play this deck without it.
Creatures Craterhoof Behemoth-This card will win games, it's very expensive, and thus sits at the top of our curve, but that is okay, it is clearly a win condition card. This is for the time you can cast Prossh for 14, and next turn just win. Also a good Tooth and Nail target, all around, an all star in token strategies, and no exception in Prossh. Avenger of Zendikar-A very powerful card, that also creates tokens. Is simply deadly in the late game when paired with Viscious Shadows or Purphoros, God of the Forge Hornet Queen-A fun card, this card can be replaced, but does a good job at putting some defense on the board, in the air, where the deck is a little weak. It's expensive, but since we are heavy in green, it is not too detrimental to our goals. Skullmulcher-A card advantage all-star. This card works beautifully as a way to dig down 5-10 cards, or as a way to draw your deck after going infinite with Prossh, an excellent and often overlooked card that does wonders in any token deck. Very few, if any replacements for him. Urabrask the Hidden- This card wins games, but serves little other purpose. An excellent card to play after playing out your deck off a Food Chain combo. Can be replaced, but the deck will lose some ability to win as a result. Mitotic Slime-Only here because it works well with sacrifice effects. This card plus our win conditions is bonkers. Can be replaced by Mycoloth, but Mycoloth is dependent on other creatures already being in play, which are deck can be a little weak at producing when Prossh isn't being cast. Mitotic Slime is in to address this problem. Wickerbough Elder-Answers on creatures is always best in this deck, but this card can be replaced with an cmc 4, or even cmc 5 creature that can destroy something with ease. The Elder does leave a nice body behind however. Solemn Simulacrum-Ramps, and draws. This card does a lot of what we want in that it's a creature that ramps nicely on curve, and then does something when we sac it. Excellent value in a sac-oriented deck. Reaper of the Wilds-A new card that was slotted in to replace the clunky Shattergang Brothers. The scry effect is interesting, but needs more looking in to know if it stays or goes. Burnished Hart- Excellent mana ramp spell, but has a huge mana commitment, and is vulnerable to removal before you can kill it. Clunky in our deck, will likely be replaced soon. Wood Elves or another mana rock seems likely. Farhaven Elf-The kind of ramp we like, this leaves a body behind and ramps meaning we can utilize the body for value later, perhaps to Skullclamp. Eternal Witness-An recursion all star! She's great in any green deck, but is excellent in ours as it can be sacrificed for value, or skullclamped. Sakura-Tribe Elder-I always have a place in my heart for the little tribe elder. This card is essentially a rampant growth on a body, so feel free to block with it, and sac in response. Damage doesn't go on the stack anymore, but he's still great. At very worst, in the late game, he can be attached to skullclamp to draw some cards. Blood Artist-Pure value, and dangerous with all our sac-shenanigans. An excellent little 2-drop that can do a lot of grunt work.
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Sorceries and Instants Tooth and Nail-One of the best green cards in the format, get Avenger of Zendikar and Purphoros, God of the Forge to deal stupid amounts of damage in the late game, amongst other things. Soul's Majesty-Excellent card to draw something off a bloated Prossh after an attack, or a Skullmullcher. Suffers a bit from its conditional nature, but still solid. Easily replaceable by your favorite card draw cards such as Harmonize. Saproling Symbiosis-This is here for more tokens after playing more tokens. Plays well after dealing out some damage with an Avenger of Zendikar hitting play. Conditional, but can really pack a punch in the right situation. Toxic Deluge-Something to get rid of pesky indestructible creatures. I have Avacyn rampant in my meta, and this answers her, at a big cost, but it's cheap and thus can answer many other things as well at any point in the game. This one is mostly a meta choice, and can be replaced with a tutor, or a good removal spell in its place. Beast Within-Instant speed removal that hits a lot of different things. It's also cheap. The 3/3 doesn't really matter, and thus is a solid answer card. Krosan Grip-This can get rid of very pesky enchantments or artifacts right from under a control player. Not very good except for its Split Second ability which makes it versatile and reliable. You could run Vandalblast in this slot, or even Nature's Claim but this card is just slightly more reliable than the other two mentioned. Chaos Warp-One of the best red removal spells, this thing being instant really helps. Save this for the big threats, as taking care of small threats with this card is lackluster sometimes. Great against control where they are very likely to hit a spell instead of a permanent. Can be a meta choice to remove it, but I think it's right to play it nearly 100% of the time. Hero's Downfall-Takes care of pesky planeswalkers, which this deck will have a problem with. We create mostly 0/1's, we don't hit planeswalkers easily. Otherwise good at clearing out a powerful creature at instant speed. Malestrom Pulse-One of the best BG removal spells around, this thing can wipe away a field of tokens with ease, or destroy a plethora of pesky permanents. Putrefy-This card is versatile, and a fantastic example of the power of Jund, here we have instant speed creature and artifact destruction, two of the most threatening permanent types in the format. Cultivate-Good at fixing lands, and ramping. A little expensive, but the ability to grab one of our 2 mountains is always helpful. Diabolic Edict-A small utility card that can answer some early threats, great against a lone creature that can hold the board on their own. You could possibly replace this card, but it being instant makes it very playable. Sylvan Scrying-Another way to get any land we want, great to grab Kessig Wolf Run or Phyrexian Tower. Not a must-play card, but I run it mostly to grab my utility lands. As our utility lands aren't crucial to winning, this card could be replaced, but it really depends on what you want to do. Abrupt Decay-This card is excellent at stopping a potentially explosive start for an opponent. Many are scared of its harsh restriction of 3 or less, but it actually stops a lot of things. I think you'll be won over by it the more you play it. The can't be countered turns it from good, to fantastic. Black Sun's Zenith-Another board wipe that can hit indestructible creatures, or just an early creature token swarm. If you find you can deal with this problem just fine, you can cut this card, but for me it's a meta call. Dreadbore-Another removal spell that is cheap and can kill a problem creature or planeswalker (which is sometimes a problem.) Sorcery speed is a big strike against this card, but it is still playable. Regrowth-Recursion is an excellent form of card advantage, and this is the cream of the crop in green. Bring back tutor spells, or lost combo pieces to be back in the game. Should go in every green deck, and this is no exception. Demonic Tutor-Tutor for an answer, or a win condition, this card is a must play in any combo deck. Terminate-A better Dreadbore, I would cut Dreadbore, long before cutting Terminate solely due to instant speed. Vampiric Tutor-Another tutor, keep it around for the same reasons you keep Demonic Tutor around. Green Sun's Zenith-Can grab a few key creatures, as our deck is mostly green. Also, can fetch a tucked Prossh. Iffy due to the lower creature count in the deck, but we have more than enough reasons to warrant running it. Noxious Revival-Another recursion card, that I like because it can be played for free. You lose your next draw, but you do get what you want.
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Non-Creature Permanents Xenagos, the Reveler-Currently an experimental card, it reads good, and is new so going to try it out. Can easily be replaced. Vicious Shadows-An excellent I-kill-you card. Players won't see this coming, and even better if you can drop it and then follow it up with an Avenger of Zendikar or a fat prossh. Dictate of Erebos-This card does a lot when you have a large amount of creatures and a sac engine. Nothing can keep a board cleared better than this. It's expensive and a little risky, but an excellent late game strategy to hold off until a delayed combo card comes around. Can be replaced if you don't want to rely on the strategy, but it is fun. Tooth and Claw-This card is merely here to up the ante in a lot situations. This card is best with Purphoros, God of the Forge when you just want to do 50% more damage. The card also goes infinite with cards like Doubling Season if you can squeeze it back into the deck. Pernicious Deed-An excellent removal spell that can wipe away a lot of explosive starts, particularly tokens which we have a rough time dealing with. This card can also wipe away any fast mana rock start an opponent may be blessed with. Purphoros, God of the Forge-One of the pillars of the deck. There is not a Prossh deck in the world that does not want this card. Able to do 14 damage on a single cast of Prossh to each opponent is just silly, and that's just the beginning. Ashnod's Altar-Goes infinite with Phyrexian Altar but is excellent as a sac engine all on its own. Chromatic Lantern-An excellent mana rock which we need to fix our mana and keep up with other ramp decks. If mana rocks are good, then this one is playable. Darksteel Ingot-Simply another mana rock, a little expensive, but indestructible is worth it. Phyrexian Arena-Continual card advantage. It's a little slow, but the fact we run black secondary means we can afford to cast it, and take advantage of the minimal card advantage you gain. If you don't like this card, you can run something in its place, but I like it enough. Phyrexian Altar-A better Ashnod's Altar, in some ways. This card combos easily, and is an excellent source of value with all our koblods running around. Food Chain-Another Pillar to the deck, this one is pure combo all the way. You can run Prossh without Food Chain, but this two card combo is hard to ignore. Awakening Zone-Token creation, as well as some psuedo-ramp. Never underestimate an Awakening Zone out for 2-4 turns. Fecundity-This card does wonderous things, but only if you control it. Usually good to drop when you're ready to dig for a ton of cards to win, dangerous at other times. Beastmaster Ascension-In as an experiment, I played this in my test deck and instantly fell in love the potential damage this thing can threaten with. Yah, a single cast does offer 40 power on the board, if that's not insanely good, then it's at least worth a close look.
The Signets Golgari Signet, etc,...I like the signets for color fixing, and as ramp. If you don't like them they can easily be replaced by other ramp strategies, such as through sorceries, but I think having these slots dedicated to mana fixing and ramp are still crucial. Goblin Bombardment-An alternate win card, this thing does wonders with tons and tons of creatures. Usually a cheap win condition, to drop after going infinite with Prossh in some fashion. Carnage Altar-A sac outlet that replaced Greater Good which suffered from not having high powered creatures in the deck. This is experimental at this stage as the deck needs some good card drawing. Sol Ring-The most played non-land card in commander for a reason. Expedition Map-Used primarily to dig up utility lands, or if we really need a dual land. Skullclamp-We produce almost exclusively 0/1's or 1/1's so this card is an all-star.
Combo School (cont.) (link to combo school in first post:Here)
Why a Second Combo School?
My deck is far more focused on the combo aspect, and thus requires further explanation. Below you'll find an additional combo that my deck has, that my friends does not, as well as a suggested combo, because I think it's good enough to explore further if you want to run Doubling Season
Combo 1:
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher + Phyrexian Altar + Ashnod's Altar-This is just infinite mana, pure and simple. This works very similar to the previous combo. Just sac Prossh, and 2 kobolds to Phyrexian Altar for BRG and 3 kobolds to Ashnod's Altar for 6 to generate 6BRG, enough to cast Prossh again with 1, and 1 kobold left over. By sacing an extra kobold each cycle we keep the same ratio of extra mana and creatures, so we can have access to infinite mana.
First cast of Prossh-6 kobolds, and 1 Prossh.
-Sac Prossh + 2 Kobolds to Phyrexian Altar for BRG, then sac 3 kobolds to Ashnod's Altar for a grand total of 6BRG.
-We have one kobold remaining
-We now cast Prossh again for 5BRG with 1 "floating" and 1 kobold left in play.
Second cast of Prossh-8 kobolds, 1 Prossh, 1 kobold already in play=9 kobold's, and Prossh.
-Sac Prossh + 2 kobolds to Phyrexian Altar for BRG then sac 4 kobolds to Ashnod's Altar for a grand total of 8BRG.
-We have 3 kobolds remaining.
-We can now cast Prossh again for 7BRG with 2 "floating" and 3 kobolds left in play.
And so on and so forth.
(Note: This is not in the deck, but it's good enough that you should consider it at least) Tooth and Claw + Doubling Season + either:Purphoros, God of the Forge, or Vicious Shadows-This outright kills your opponent.Doubling Season is key here. We start with two tokens to sacrifice to Tooth and Claw where we normally get a solitary 3/1 Carnivore, but with Doubling Season we get 2 3/1 Carnivore's, which means we can do it again. Each time a creature dies in this combination we can trigger Vicious Shadows, or Purphoros, God of the Forge when the new tokens come into play, for damage. (Just be sure they have a card in their hand for Vicious Shadows).
Some other cards to consider: Doubling Season-This card is excellent, and plays well with Prossh, currently not in my deck as it is often a dead card, just as often as it is an active card. Could easily slide back in if you want to have another combo, or if you're focused more on creatures, which is easily viable with Prossh. In the Web of War-An interesting card that seems made for Prossh while you're comboing out. I haven't added it into the deck due to a heavier Red color commitment, and it's only good when you combo and we have other ways of winning. Maybe worth a try in a deck aiming to take a slightly different direction than I have. Champion of Lambholt-This card can do some nutty things when we go infinite. Just need a way to pump your army and you got a deadly kill condition. It's also just good with all the creatures entering the battlefield, and may be a good win condition coupled with In the Web of War. Warp World-A fun card, that I would put in a more casual list. We generate a lot of extra bodies with Prossh, so Warp World in a more permanent heavy deck can mean we pull way ahead. This card reveals why Prossh is such a versatile general, not so great in the deck in this primer, but an excellent potential card in a different incarnation of the deck. Fresh Meat-An excellent little card that I don't play because it feels win more, and thus wastes a slot. Still, if your build is more token oriented, as in it doesn't heavily rely on tokens from Prossh, than this card becomes interesting. Would totally be worth a slot if you are short a few cards, as it does enable some fun stuff. It is a great method of turning infinite 0/1's into 3/3's as well.
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11/10/2013
- Warstorm Surge + Vicious Shadows -Warstorm Surge seemed good initially, but lack of high power creatures makes this a dead card, kobolds are 0/1's, they do nothing with Warstorm Surge.
- Stalking Vengeance + Regrowth -A forgotten key recursion card slots into a spot that had the same problems as Warstorm Surge.
- Chancellor of the Forge + Awakening Zone - Excellent but a HUGE red requirement so it gets cut by a more durdley token creation engine.
-Disciple of Bolas + Xenagos, the Reveler - Purely experimental, seeing how Xenagos is.
- Winding Canyons + Forest - Winding Canyons seems unnecessary with fewer creatures, and we need some more forests.
- Mountain + Swamp - We have plenty of ways to produce R so out comes a Mountain for a needed Swamp.
12/28/2013
- Golgari Guild Gate + Twilight Mire -Strictly Better
- Shattergang Brothers + Reaper of the Wilds -Shattergang was clunky, Reaper seems more fluid
- Mycoloth + Mitotic Slime -Experimenting, Mitotic Slime seems better with Prossh
- Butcher of Malakir + Black Sun's Zenith -Just better at killing creatures
- Doubling Season + Toxic Deluge - Counter intuitive, but Doubling Season doesn't have enough oomph without a lot counter shenanigans, and we need more board wipes. Yes, I understand it's bonkers with Prossh, but this was a tough choice, and Doubling Season often doesn't last, or is a dead card on the field.
- Greater Good + Carnage Altar -Greater Good had some okay targets mostly relying on making big creatures through sac effects like Skullmulcher, but was dead on board most of the time with so many small power tokens, carnage altar is an experiment that fits a similar role despite the higher cost.
- Lavaclaw Reaches + Forest - Purely a mathematical change, we actually had too many way to produce R and B so slot in a basic forest. Overall this set of changes helps filter out some weaker or sub optimal cards while also lowering the CMC a little more and making it a little easier to hit mana requirements reliably. The biggest weakness for the deck up until this point was dealing with large amounts of creatures, or indestructible hard hitters like Avacyn, Angel of Hope so we slot in some answers to these problems.
1/16/2014
-Yavimaya Elder + Beastmaster Ascension- Yah, Yavimaya Elder doesn't really ramp, and it's card draw is attractive but really not enough. Took out only because of the poor ramp ability, and that's why the replacement is not a ramp card, but rather a card that should help us win a little more often.
-Woodfall Primus + Craterhoof Behemoth-The behemoth is a beast of a creature, and while Woodfall Primus is a good card, I swapped him out for an easy conversion. This is a minor update, and it may be that I put Woodfall Primus back in and take Hornet Queen out. A very tiny update before BNG is released and may offer some changes to the deck. I mostly wanted a quick change, and this actually doesn't change the CMC or the delicate balance of color management in the deck. I really feel we'll up our ability to win in the late game with these changes, and definitely make our deck much more explosive without sacrificing our control elements, or our ability to hit our colors.
5/17/2014
-Grave Pact + Dictate of Erebos - Almost entirely a mana cost thing, while it would be nice to run both, I don't have space. The lack of a third B makes a huge difference, and coupled with the flash makes me think I'd rather run the Dictate over the Grave Pact.
I second the Vicious Shadows angle. However I don't like Fecundity, anything that is giving your opponents more chances to slam into a board wipe is a no no for a token deck.
Kind of surprised you would cut Xenagos seeing as you pay 4 mana to play him, but if he was following any larger token producer he is a net gain. You can run a Nim Deathmantle loop if you are looking for a win condition, or just infinite tokens, which would go to support the idea of In the Web of War, or Ogre Battledriver.
Also I am not a fan of the lower costing token producers, they don't really do anything. By the time Bloodline Keeper is online you would have played Avenger 2 turns prior. Also Ashnods Altar turns on the big guys considerably sooner.
Viscous Shadows will be added for sure. Coat of Arms is sweet, and I regret having looked over it. I am not 100% sure it will make the cut but it's on the extremely short list now.
Awakening Zone is a shoe in, probably will cut Chancellor for it. Avenger stays for now as it can do really awesome stuff and is tutorable with T&N and Greens Sun Zenith.
Any suggestions on card advantage engines?
Will probably slide Xenagos in if I can make the room.
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Updated the deck, and spruced up the first post. Hoping to add some fancy pictures soon.
Deck needs some help against flyers, and I'd like another card advantage engine or two. Silklash Spider seems like the answer, but I'd like something else if possible.
Also, I guess counterspells are never a thing I'll be able to beat.
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After some play testing the past week I have determined that Greater Good is not as one would have thought to be in this deck! Any thoughts on a good replacement card.
Drawing card is still an issue in this deck, and would love some suggestions on how to get more consistent draw effects without taking up too many slots. I want to avoid cards like Read the Bones if I have to.
Also, need more alternate win conditions, something easy to tutor but still offers good cards to the deck. The problem is, if Prossh gets tucked the deck is kinda screwed, so need some answers for that scenario. Yes, there are tutors, but I'm running them on the low end for many different reasons.
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Slate of ancestry and carnage altar, wheels, sylvan library, necropotence, gravestorm, null profusion, phyrexian arena. Honestly, that new one dark prophecy might be good if you're willing to take some damage, and you are.
Agreed. Vicious Shadows and Fecundity should absolutely never be cut in a deck like this. Sure the Fecundity helps the opponent, but you'll probably get so much more mileage out of this card than your opponent to make it worth including.
I don't run Disciple, but the other cards mentioned here are great. Also remember that if you have any token doubler out (there are 3: Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, Primal Vigor) then Phyrexian Altar becomes another Food Chain.
I 100% disagree with this statement. You have to remember that if his general gets tucked, which is very common in EDH (especially in multiplayer), that he needs backups. Not to mention having 7cc token producers like these are great when you also run Birthing Pod. Then the following turn, you can Birthing Pod them into Craterhoof Behemoth. Not to mention the Avenger tokens get +1/+1 counters on landfall and the Chancellor tokens have haste.
I 100% disagree with this statement. You have to remember that if his general gets tucked, which is very common in EDH (especially in multiplayer), that he needs backups. Not to mention having 7cc token producers like these are great when you also run Birthing Pod. Then the following turn, you can Birthing Pod them into Craterhoof Behemoth. Not to mention the Avenger tokens get +1/+1 counters on landfall and the Chancellor tokens have haste.
I did end up cutting Chancellor of the Forge solely for the RRR in its mana cost, but I largely agree with this as well. I kept Avenger in for this reason. If I can find the slots I'd love to add in a Pod package, but it'd require quite a few drastic changes to the deck, though I may try it at some point. What I may end up doing is building an entirely different Prossh deck that focuses heavily on creatures rather than control and see how it goes. Adding in Craterhoof, and making it a toolbox deck with a pod package.
Quote from pokken »
Slate of ancestry and carnage altar, wheels, sylvan library, necropotence, gravestorm, null profusion, phyrexian arena. Honestly, that new one dark prophecy might be good if you're willing to take some damage, and you are.
Sylvan Library is on the short list of cards to add. I have a lot of card advantage cards in the deck already, but many of them revolve around having lots of creatures in play. I'm fine with this, but I'd also like some card drawing that dosen't involve creatures which has been tough. Sometimes I just need to power through a dry spell, and drawing carnage altar or slate of ancestry isn't going to help.
Dark Prophecy is alright, I don't like its mana cost being BBB
Great thread, there's definitely a few ideas here I intend to employ.
One thing I don't understand is when GrimPow said that a token-doubler and Phyrexian Altar creates another Food Chain. Is there another card that I'm missing?
Edit: oh I guess he just means with Prossh. That would make sense..
Great thread, there's definitely a few ideas here I intend to employ.
One thing I don't understand is when GrimPow said that a token-doubler and Phyrexian Altar creates another Food Chain. Is there another card that I'm missing?
Edit: oh I guess he just means with Prossh. That would make sense..
Glad you enjoyed the thread. And you are correct, but you can do much more with token doublers. Token doublers are nutty in this deck without Prossh, but in this case you are relying heavily on the power of these token doublers. Tooth and Claw can produce infinite creatures with them for example, and with something like Blood Artist or Purphoros you just win. (Note this combo dosent produce extra creatures just creates a lot of dead creatures and creatures coming into play.)
For this reason I am likely adding Parallel Lives in my next pass of the decklist.
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Dark Prophecy is alright, I don't like its mana cost being BBB
I would be more worried about it being in play when we want to chain sacrifices of the commander. There is an upper limit on the number of times you can kill your creatures (your life total) and I would hate to be in a situation where I have Dark Prophecy in play while I am at a relatively low life and I want to combo out, but can't.
I find that hitting triple colored cards across all the colors in my deck to be annoying and extremely difficult to deal with. I usually focus on one color, and splash the other two and consistency and mana shortage problems melt away. That's what I did with my prossh deck, it's focused primarily on green, splashes a moderate black, and a very light red. Usually, I just have to hit a single mountain and I'm off.
I do like the idea of a token-based creature Prossh list, and will be looking into building one to go along side my current combo-Prossh list. Thanks for the list, I'll take a look at it for some inspiration.:)
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Made some changes to the deck, and made some significant additions to the first post.
Right now I'm looking for some unique cheap creatures producers, and also some good ideas for another Prossh deck centered around creature tokens and not so much combo-ing.
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Hey all. bighaben has been kind enough to allow me to co-author this thread with him as we apply for Primer status. If you looked at my thread before, please refer to this one from here on out. If you have questions, me and bighaben will be answering them to the best of our abilities.
Any thoughts on Yavimaya Elder? Neither of you run it and it seems so suited for such a deck. Also any spoilers look interesting?
I actually just cut the card today. It doesn't actually ramp which is what I want from my creatures that get lands. It's good for color fixing, but my deck is running just fine. The card draw is interesting, but does cost 2, and thus wasn't really enough to warrant keeping it around.
As for spoilers, not really for my deck, but I'm keeping an eye out for something juicy. Sadly, I don't think we're getting a Purphoros, God of the Forge kind of insane card out of the set. I tend to not make decisions on new cards until after I've seen them played though, so we'll see.
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Like big said, it doesn't really do anything to further your boardstate, and a 5 cmc investment for the 4 cards you get isn't that great. If I burn 5 mana I want at least 6 cards if not more.
Xenagos looks interesting as he offers a 1 shot with your first Prossh cast for 1 opponent (Cast Prossh, sac 6 kobolds to make Prossh 11/5, trigger Xenagos for a 22/5 hasty general) But I don't know if it's going to get a spot. WOuld be fun if I was running Overwhelming Stampede though, which is a possible include in the deck. I think I could see that taking the place of Shared Animosity in my list.
I have a question/issue with Skullmulcher. I tried him in my list, and was largely disappointed, though I could be playing it wrong. Do you just slam him and draw all the cards regardless of board state? Whenever I've got a good amount of tokens on board (think 4+), I'm usually looking for something like Craterhoof or Chancellor of the Forge to push my board into instant-kill range, or to hold back for tricks with Goblin Bombardment or Vicious Shadows. It's the same thing with Dragon Broodmother and devouring (usually not) tokens.
It depends on what list you're running. Big's list is more oriented towards token synergy, so the Skullmulcher isn't nearly as strong. In my list, it's kind of an all or nothing play and you desperately need the hand refills. Kobolds are just fodder for other things, there isn't too much token synergy. Usually I'm not tutoring up the Skullmulcher, it's something that I draw, but I also run the Survival of the Fittest and It's nice to be able to drop a createrhoof, swing for a ton o' damage, then Mulch all the tokens away after to refill my hand.
So no, it's not generally a tutor target, and it's not generally a "drop right away" card. It is an amazing zource of card advantage in the deck however, which is what wins msot of my games. I'll drop it if I just need a hand refill at the time and don't have anything else to do with my tokens, or after I've already done something with my tokens and they're just sitting there.
I use it almost purely as a method to dig for a kill during a combo. If I have food chain and Prossh with a skullmulcher in hand I can combo draw my entire deck and win.
If nothing else I can use it to draw during a dry spell, as it does draw cards nicely if you do not mind losing some 0/1 kobolds which in that situation the card draw is likely more useful.
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Annnddd... Thread is done, other than minor tweaking to be done at our leisure. Thanks again to bighaben for letting me work on this with him, I think it turned out really, really nicely ^.^
Applying for Primer status, hopefully those gods smile upon us favorably ^.^ Keep firing away with questions, we'll answer any and every!
Also, considering making a couple of cuts for Vicious Shadows and/or Overwhelming Stampede. Also, Triumph of the Hordes is a hilarious wincon. "Oops, you just took 12 infect? Ooh, so sorry, next game" types of things always just get to me
My LGS definitely had a Gaea's Cradle in stock today. Totally bought it >.< I'm so excited!
Also, looks like that new Xenagos god is going to be replacing my Seize the Day, it just seems a lot stronger. Other than that I'm not really seeing anything out of BoTG that excited me. big, anything you see that you're going to give a try to?
This thread contains scenes of graphic content, strong language and the use of flaming dragons and mangled bodies to decimate, desecrate, and humiliate any and all enemies of our great lord Prossh, Skyraider of Kher! If you are over the threshold of SISSY and agree to allow these ideas to be forced into your consciousnesses, then you may ENTER.
Special thanks to Xaios for the awesome banner!
Prossh, Reaper of Jund
Welcome to the land of Prossh. Prossh is... let's say hungry? Ravenous, in fact. He wants to eat ALL THE THINGS. And once he's om nommed, he gets huge, and muscly, and veiney, and... well, your opponents life totals? Lawl. You see, this is a Jund deck. It's built around abusing Prossh's abilities and his OVERPOWERED color selection to their excess, be it an infinite kobold loop through the use of Food Chain, spamming a mass of tokens and winning off a Beastmaster Ascension or a good old fashioned ramp-into-Exsanguinate VICTORY.
Feverous: See? This is why you play a Huge, Manic, Flaming Jund Dragon as your general. Because you CAN. And because it's the right thing to do. Who doesn't want horrendously painful paths to take to demolish your opponents lifetotals, humiliate them in front of their friends, and forevermore crush their hopes and dreams? WE ALL DO. Which totally fits, I mean, this is Jund we're talking, right?! Right.
bighaben: Woah, woah, woah...let's just calm down for a second. I must apologize for my friend, he's a little overzealous and singleminded in his approach to destroying the opponent. It's all about control, and synergy. We defeat our opponents through our cunning superiority, and stand defiant to any opposition by surgically striking any threats until we're ready to DESTROY our opponents...ahem...sorry. The point is to remain calm, cool, and collected until we are ready to pounce. We will use some of the same core techniques but our approaches to the destruction of our enemies are vastly different. I don't do things because I can; I do things because we should. Prossh is the best Jund general, period, no questions asked, okay! If you do ask questions you'll find I can be very menacing and extremely CONVINCING. Ohhh...sorry, you can ignore that last sentence. You can ask all the questions you need to ask, after all how will you learn to defeat our enemies? Without a doubt, Prossh is an excellent choice for Jund, and Jund is an excellent choice for commander so the decision is easy. Now that we are done with our introductions and if you're ready, which you should be, read on as we have much to go over.
Okay, seriously, why play Prossh?
Obviously we can't convince you through brute force. (OH, yes we CAN)Up until recently Jund has been one of the weaker sources for a general, leaving you pretty much with just Kresh the Bloodbraided, the old Legends rares, and maybe Darigaaz, the Igniter? Darigaaz is for a different kind of deck, whereas Kresh is a contender for a good Jund general, he is outclassed by Prossh in nearly every way as Prossh has a built in sac outlet, and combos easily offering a much more competitive build. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund was utterly ruined by the recent change to the Legendary rule, and is not even worth looking at anymore. Other Jund legendaries released with the 2013 Commander release seem relegated to support for Prossh and thus Prossh has risen to king of the Jund world. Jund is a powerful color combination that is extremely versatile, and offers a lot of powerful cards as well as strong synergies. There is a reason Jund is continuously seen in the competitive magic world and it's no wonder an excellent Jund general will allow us to crush our opponents with one of the most powerful color combinations in Magic. So, we decide on Prossh for his supremacy in color, over others in the Jund world, and his competitive yet fun edge. So, please take a deep breath, and delve into the power hungry nature of the Jund side of the color pie and reap the benefits of your decision.
You will like Prossh if:
Feverous: HUARGH. BLEACK! GET THAT SANITY OUT MAH THREAD. This is about PROSSH, REAPER OF JUND!!! Not some dinner making, homemaker fantasizing, calm, cool, collected NINNY!!! No no no no, this won't do. AT ALL. Here's the reasons to play Prossh as the leader of your vast armies of DEFILEMENT!!!
So, why play this incarnation of Chaos and Destruction?
Why Not?!
(There really aren't too many reasons I can think of. Prossh can't, either. Move along, move along)
The Heavies
Feverous: Right. SO. You still want to play Prossh, eh? Fool. This is a finely tuned gathering of the most powerful, fear-inspiring aspects of death and irreverence that you have never seen. It will take that puny excuse for a mind you claim to own and twist it to insanity, grinding into mush the last vestiges of hope and confidence you possessed. YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE. But, for the sake of humor, let's take a look at the key aspects of fear, irreverence, and destruction that will soon have you in a gibbering heap on the floor, crying for your mommy and your bottle...
bighaben: Essentially the following cards are the cards we share in our decks. We can have similarities in our approach even if we do not share madness. These are the cards you do play, every single time. Going without these is starting to border on the insanity my friend suffers from, but not in a good way. So, this is the part where you sit down, listen, and don't question anything, even if you do prefer me over him! Here's the list, remember, no exceptions! Though we understand (or at least I understand) if you want to avoid some cards due to being combo oriented, or budget concerns. The great thing about Prossh is he is versatile, that's why we have a collaborative thread, so tinker away! But seriously, you need good reasons not to run these cards.
The Not-So Heavies - We share these cards so you should consider sharing them too:
Phyrexian Tower -
bighaben: A sac outlet that can be searched for, and also used for more mana? I want, you want. One of the best utility lands for this deck, and bonus props at having a method to sac prossh as well.
Feverous: This is here to serve as a slight accel, but more importantly to help keep Prossh from getting tucked. There isn't really any reason you should be tapping this when he's on the field, this deck reallllly doesn't like Terminus. *shudder
Kessig Wolf Run -
Feverous: Win! This allows for 1 shots with Prossh! Making him even more huge, veiney and angry is always fun, and trample to boot?! YES PLEASE!
bighaben: I cannot agree with my insane friend more, this just makes for insta-kills out of nowhere. A great utility land that shouldn't be missed.
Creatures
Eternal Witness -
bighaben: Best recursion creature in magic? Yes, I will play. You need these kind of effects, and Eternal Witness is cream of the crop.
Feverous: This is a must include in any deck running Green. It gets back whatever you want, is recurrable, and edible. Must include!
Solemn Simulacrum -
Feverous: Straight utility. Gets a mana, and draws a card when it dies. Extra points if you're running Diabolic Intent!
bighaben: There is nothing I love more than a creature that does something that comes into play, and when it leaves play. Especially with sac outlets everywhere.
Skullmulcher -
bighaben: My friend suggested this card to me, and I put it in. Never coming out. This card allows our deck to win faster, and fills our hand pretty much whenever we draw it.
Feverous: This is one of the desperately needed hand refills. Allows you to draw your deck with a Food Chain out, allows for massive draw anytime you have tokens, is huge, is recurrable... Allstar in here.
Sorceries
Demonic Tutor -
Feverous: This is straight goodness. No black deck goes without a 2 cmc open tutor. if you don't run this... Well, I'm sorry you're stupid. Plain and simple.
bighaben: As you will soon see, my deck is a combo deck, which means I want this even more than Feverous does, and he already wants it pretty bad.
Maelstrom Pulse -
bighaben: This card is so amazing at destroying pretty much anything, but has added bonus as well, i.e. kill tokens. I wouldn't play Jund without this all-star removal card.
Feverous: Straight answer. Doesn't get a land, but can get Avenger of Zendikar Tokens, or any army of tokens for that matter. Also awesome if a bunch of people not you all have Sol Ring's out. Hilarious shenanigans, ensue!
Toxic Deluge -
Feverous: Sometimes you just need an answer, and this literally gets around everything except a counterspell. Kills Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre... Just about anything you can think of. Awesome answer for hard to deal with threats.
bighaben: My deck runs Grave Pact, which is awesome with sac-outlets and tokens. But Toxic Deluge just does it all better, so there is literally no reason not to run this card.
Instants
Vampiric Tutor -
bighaben: Wait this thing is Demonic Tutor, costs 1 less, and is instant. Uhm....YES you play this. Granted it has a bit of a drawback, but if you think about it as you're drawing the exact card you want next turn, then it's not really a drawback is it?
Feverous: Arguably the best tutor ever printed for black, this is just straight goodstuff. One of those cards you never leave home without.
Abrupt Decay -
Feverous: Blue is annoying. Uncounterable removal is more annoying, for the blue player. Which is our goal, I mean, who doesn't love trolling blue mages? I love trolling blue mages!
bighaben: Everyone in Jund colors hates blue. I'm no exception. This little card does a lot more than it initially seems it will, so play it.
Putrefy -
bighaben: One of my favorite little removal spells, playable because it instant speed. The no-regeneration clause is even more awesome.
Feverous: - Flexible, instant speed answer for 3 cmc? Deal.
Krosan Grip -
Feverous: - See Abrupt Decay.
bighaben: Don't see Abrupt Decay, you play it for similar reasons, but this card is powerful because of the split-second interaction. Remember? We don't like blue, which you'll notice is mentioned in our Abrupt Decay section.
Artifacts
Expedition Map -
bighaben: I like getting my utility lands, and this is a great method to do so. Weaker in my deck, much more of an auto-include in Feverous' deck.
Feverous: This gets me the other half of my Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth/Cabal Coffers combo, or gets either of us the Phyrexian Tower to help prevent Prossh from getting tucked
Sol Ring -
Feverous: ...Duh.
bighaben: Yah....duh. I mean, not the #1 most played commander card because it looks pretty on your finger.
Chromatic Lantern -
bighaben: 3 is actually reasonable for a mana-rock that taps for colored mana. And this actually does more?
Feverous: man fixing and ramp? Awesome! There aren't too many 3 color decks, or even 2 color decks that I can think of that shouldn't play this guy.
Enchantments
Fecundity -
Feverous: I hear card draw is good, and being able to draw 6 cards as soon as Prossh hits is huge. Just make sure to only drop this when you're able to take full advantage, it's a symmetrical effect and you don't want your opponents drawing cards if you can help it.
bighaben: This card is pretty amazing, but heed the warning my friend gives. It can bite you in the back. That being said, this is a card we can take advantage of much more efficiently than other decks will, so we can play it, and should.
Combo-School
Both of our decks can combo, so please read this section for detailed explanation on how to combo with Prossh.
bighaben: Prossh's combo suite is very fragile, so some care must be taken when attempting to go for the win. Be sure you don't get blown out, as the combos are all sorcery speed, and are easy to stop. We have many options available to us very early so we can attempt to combo while most players are still building. This section goes into detail about how the combo's work in this deck, and how you should go about with the combo depending on the situation.
Feverous: Yeah, what he said! Seriously though, big's a lot better at this than I am. I have it in here, and abuse it to it's fullest when I'm presented the opportunity, but my wincons are mainly based on SMASH. This guide's awesome though, so pay attention!
THE Combo:
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher + Food Chain- This is simply infinite mana for creatures. Play Food Chain, and later on play Prossh, if it's the first time you cast Prossh you'll get 6 0/1 Kobolds, and Prossh himself. Sacrificing Prossh to Food Chain will net 7 mana of any single color. You only need 1 more mana to cast Prossh from here, but since we need to produce 3 colors to cast Prossh we'll have to sac an 2 creatures in addition to Prossh. Here is a step by step process showing how it'll go down.
bighaben:From here we can easily generate more than enough kobolds to cast Prossh, and do something with all these extra kobolds we have in surplus, which we'll cover later. The power of this combo is that it is extremely efficient, offering an explosive increase with every re-cast of Prossh. Unfortunately, we are forced into only casting creature cards with this mana, but we can address this issue later.
Feverous: So, now I've got these bajillion tokens able to be produced, a gakillion mana able to be spent... what now?! Well, now we get to ... NOM DAMAGE LIFE DRAW ROAR SMASH!!! That's actually what happens. Really. I swear.
Food Chain+ Now we have the combo, how do we win with the combo? We have tons of creatures coming into play each turn, so the answer is to abuse them!
Purphoros, God of the Forge/Goblin Bombardment = Infinite Damage!
Xenagos, the Reveler = Infinite R/G Mana!
Skullmulcher/Fecundity = Draw your deck!
Haste Enabler (Anger/Urabrask the Hidden/Fires of Yavimaya = Huge fast Prossh!
Feverous: These are the horrible, painful, terrible things you get to do to your opponent through the use of Food Chain, laughing maniacally all the way to their graves. It's AWESOME. GET THERE.
bighaben: So, as you can see Food Chain is extremely central to how the deck wins, and there are many paths to victory once the combo goes off.
Drawing your Deck- See Skullmulcher with any infinite creature combo you can combo off enough to cast Skullmulcher, eat enough tokens to his Devour ability to produce a huge creature, and draw your entire deck. (Never draw more than your deck of course!) Leaving enough kobolds behind to be able to re-cast Prossh and continue the combo should go without saying. From here we can cast whatever we draw to produce the last piece of our combo engine for the win. This can also be done with infinite mana with Skullclamp or Carnage Altar though they are a little more clunky.
Remember: Food Chain can only cast creatures, so be sure to leave a few mana open before doing this to be able to cast your kill condition! You can also throw in Burning-Tree Emissary as a way to convert Food Chain mana into GR to cast Goblin Bombardment for the win allowing for a potential early win with Food Chain when you only have access to 3BRG.
By utilizing this method we can combo a few turns earlier, it just takes a little more forethought to avoid accidentally losing the game.
Feverous: Realize that you're not through this yet. You're not even close. We've outlined the amazingness that Prossh offers, and the absurdly OP cards that make this list go, and make Prossh able to slaughter any and everything that stands in his path. BUT. Now is the time to make a choice. A choice between sanity, and insanity. Between order and chaos. Between... bighaben and Feverous. I, of course, know what you'll choose. I see that ravening in your eye, that glint of the edge of insanity that has you salivating at the thought of making you playgroup cry, and scream, and beg you never play your list again. I can feel the pull of the Dark Gods at your soul, tugging you into the blissful oblivion that is destruction incarnate. I KNOW YOUR DESIRES. I KNOW YOUR SOUL. And I will provide that outlet that you so crave. For my list, and the ultimate in transcendent irreverence and defilement.
bighaben: As you can see we share a very different outlook on Prossh, so a choice must now be made. I highly recommend you take the calm, reserved side of Prossh, the side that prefers to wait for his enemies to make a mistake, and then pounce. We must repress our inner demons, and our appetite for mindless destruction. Instead focusing on using our power in a meaningful and above all logical way. Of course, both our decks are excellent choices for the utter obliteration of our opponents...oh sorry...*cough* I mean, excellent choices for the defeat of our opponents, but we all know, you want to follow me.
bighaben or Feverous*
*Of course the choice is also to read both decklists, which I actually recommend doing, and building your own deck from which you prefer, or a hybrid of the two.
Set Reviews
Fate Reforged:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/511349-bighaben-and-feverous-prossh-skyraider-of-kher?comment=250
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
The Dark Edge of Insanity
Welcome, WELCOME!!! To the best Prossh, Skyraider of Kher thread in the known universe! Seriously, insanity aside for just a moment (I have periods of lucidity. On occasion. Kinda >.< ) I need to put a huge thank you to bighaben for allowing me to work with him on this thread. It's been a ton of fun, he was a pleasure to work with, all that. Thanks again! Now, to the meat: (Who doesn't like meat? I like meat. Prossh loves meat. You, if you're here, clearly also like meat.) Why this list? bighaben already has a list to go off of! Why you make me think, I no wanna think! THINKING BAD!
Well, thinking bad, agreed. Doing, good. This list is a lot less about thinking, and a lot more about doing. Seriously. The post above is an excellent list if you want a lot more control in your game (big's just trying to be blue, without the blue. Silly big ) It wins through attrition, proper resource management, and then either a huge swing, a massive amount of direct damage, or a combo, usually later in the game when opponents' lifetotals and resources are nearing complete exhaustion.
This list, on the other hand, don't give no hoots about what your opponents are doing. Sure, on occasion there a few things that can make it a little harder to smash their faces in (Platinum Angel, Avacyn, Angel of Hope etc) and this list has a couple of answers to those types of problems. But, mainly this is a list tailored towards complete and utter annihilation of all that oppose you in as short an order as you can, through a very simple process of utter resource advantage. You're going to drop more dudes, more lands, draw more cards, deal more damage, and generate more mana than 95% of the decks you face. This is what leads to your victory.
Average CMC=3.02 Median total cost $665.32 Deckstats analyzer/sample hand here.
So, why play this incarnation of Chaos and Destruction as opposed to the one detailed above?
Why Not?!
Whelp, now that we've gotten that out of the way... Some of the things I've personally tested that just... didn't make it.
Has Beens, and Didn't Make It's
For the sake of argument, and for the sake of appeasing those that would spit on this list like a frenchman would after being offered american fries, here's a list of Has Beens and Didn't Make It's.
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund - Alright, so maybe this guy is pretty much a badass. I mean, he's got Tyrant of Jund right in his title. He's huge, he's hasty, he lawls at other dragons and lets them know to get on his level. He also gets wrecked by the new legends rule and a Clone. This is bad. He's your hasty death general, not theirs! Unfortunately, this has put the plug in Ol' Karrthus here.
Shattergang Brothers - So there's what, 1923745 different cards about dragons nomming goblins? Lawl. These chumps like to think they have the destructive power down, but FEH. They're gobbos! Plus, it's not a devastation tide staring you in the face when these guys hit the board. It's a grindy, whiny, mess of a gamestate that these guys make. That's not what we want. When our general hits the board, people need to start reaching for the next deck to play, because it is, at that point, OVER.
Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper and Kresh the Bloodbraided - These are somewhat similar. In that they're WEAK. Puny little humans thinking to stand to the might of Dragons?! Pshaw. Sure, it's a great idea to destroy the board. Lets waste all our resources to make our general work! Genius idea. Rofl. Prossh makes his own army. He needs not an army made for him. Nuff' said.
Alternate Prossh options:
So there's probably a million things to do with Prossh. Having that many warm bodies to nom is a heady feeling, one that mages the multiverse over will be trying to dig their greedy little paws into. In my verse, though, this is really the only true way to run Prossh. Aggro/combo, with a hint of chaos and sacrifice to spice things up. I feel it's the most effective path to victory, which is what I wanted the deck to be based on. If that's not your style, well... ***off. Or, keep reading, I guess...
The other 2 main archetypes that I can see as being successful are Stax and Tokens. Stax, because it can take huge advantage of Prossh's abilities to pump out a massive amount of creatures, and tokens because... well, duh.
If you go the stax route, you would probably cut all the main wincons like Shared Animosity, Beastmaster Ascension etc etc, any non-creature ramp, and replace them with things like Braids, Cabal Minion, Smokestack, Tainted Aether, Desolation, Grave Pact, etc etc.
If you went Tokens, you'd probably run a couple more planeswalkers, and things like Doubling Season, Parallel Lives and Primal Vigor, with a couple more cards like Overrun and Overwhelming Stampede.
Again, not the most successful. But, if you want to be a sissy and take a non-vicious, angry-dragon-and-powers-of-destruction-to-your-face-route, be my guest.
Pansy.
Evolution? Feh. Try
Re-Re-REVOLUTION
Anyways, that was a dragon tribal deck to start out with. It underwent a ton of changes as my playgroup got more and more skilled at winning games, eventually evolving into a heavy ramp/control build focused on getting enough mana to Exsanguinate everyone to death, or Savage Beating/Seize the Day Karrthus in for a win. It was a fun deck, but easily disrupt-able and I tabled it in favor of some other lists. (Namely the Isamaru, Hound of Konda list in my sig). I loved it, I had a lot of sentimentality about it... It just wasn't winning as many games as I'd like, and I'm all about the winning. Clearly.
Then, they spoiled Prossh, and all of a sudden I was in love. I read about the Food Chain combo, I saw the interactions with Purphoros, God of the Forge, I saw someone play Shared Animosity/Beastmaster Ascension and the deck was born, fully fledged and ready to play in my head. I already had most of the major ramp stuff and land fixing in the Karrthus shell, I just took out a ton of removal and replaced it with threats that worked well with Prossh. That was the start on my path of glory and domination, and I haven't looked back since.
From there it's been evolving to be faster and faster, and as deadly as I can make it. I've been steadily chipping away at the easier to deal with control elements (Innocent Blood/Grave Pact/Tribute to the Wild etc) to make it come out a little faster, have a little bit more threat stability and be able to win more consistently (Mainly through fixing some of the mana issues, putting a couple more ramp spells in like Joraga Treespeaker and Manaweft Sliver, and learning how not to drop my threats until I'm ready to win the game.)
So here it is today. I still need a Gaea's Cradle, the 3 duals, and a couple more fetches to be really where I want it, but as is it's pretty freakin strong as is. Hope you enjoy. Well, that's not entirely true. I don't really care. But, if you don't... **** OFF, Prossh don't need you. He's got other **it to take care of. like... my opponents. Muahahaha
Munitions
Here's a brief look at the cards that I run in my own list that are (Mostly) separate from big's list.
Artifacts (9)
- Coalition Relic
- Darksteel Ingot
- Grim Monolith
- Sol Ring
- Chromatic Lantern
- This list is pretty hungry for mana, you can never really have too much. I tried to stay about even between my creature, artifact, and sorcery accel. These are 5 of the best artifact accels in the format, so they're in here. The Monolith is really what you want to see early game, right after the Sol ring, it's absurdly good @ T3 Prossh. MOAR MANAZExpedition Map - Sometimes you just really need to answer an opponents' land, so this gets your Strip Mine. Sometimes a graveyard needs exile, theis gets Bojuka Bog Or it can just get good ol' Command Tower if you're off a color. Number 1 tutor target for this lil' gem, however, is the other half of the Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth/Cabal Coffers synergy. Those 2 cards jsut eat face, they're absurdly good together.
Lightning Greaves - Shroud is, really, kinda stupidly good, and the 0 to equip is huge. Can mess with a Seize the Day, but you usually have tokens to switch it around to if that gets to be a problem. Also, not being an idiot and trying to 'Day your shrouded death general is also key. DON'T BE AN IDIOT.
Creatures (22)
- Birds of Paradise
- Elves of Deep Shadow
- Elvish Mystic
- Fyndhorn Elves
- Joraga Treespeaker
- Llanowar Elves
- These are all your 1 drop accel creatures. They're here to get Prossh out a little faster, then act as fodder for any of the other sac outlets the deck runs. They don't know it yet, but they're about to get ... NOMMED.- Lotus Cobra
- Sakura-Tribe Elder
- Manaweft Sliver
- Sylvan Caryatid
- This is the 2 drop accel slot. Sakura can block and sac in response to help prevent early game damage, the Cobra works insanely well with the fetches, and a T1 Joraga allows a T3 Prossh. These are pretty simple. Drop, ramp, eat. Simple. I'm sure you can do that, right? Lawl.[CARD]Yavimaya Dryad
Wood Elves[/CARD] - Annnddd.... MOAR RAMP! If you haven't noticed, this is a ramp deck, and these are your 3 drop creatures. These guys got the slot because of their wording, "search for a Forest and put it onto the battlefield" which means they A: Actually ramp you by putting it on the field (No, Borderland Ranger is not ramp. Sorry.) and B: Get your Stomping Ground or Overgrown Tomb
Solemn Simulacrum - One of the more effective 2 for 1's, this guy is awesome, and should be run in just about any EDH deck that I can think of. Also awesome with a Diabolic Intent.
Acidic Slime - Art/Ench hate is really important in this format, and this guy gets the job done. Extra points to the 'Slime for getting a problem land as well ^.^ .
- Disciple of Bolas
- Skullmulcher
- I hear card draw wins games! Seriously, this deck draws more cards than most blue decks I've seen. These are 2 creatures that help fuel that. Skullmulcher is here to eat tokens, Disciple is here to eat Prossh after he's eaten token. Num, Kobolds!Duplicant - Another answer to horrible cards that are impossible to answer. Remember that it imprints, not clones, and it doesn't take advantage of an +1/+1 counters. Still one of the best 2 for 1 creatures in the game, exile effects are king in this format.
Rune-Scarred Demon - This is a favorite target of Tooth and Nail to get you the gamebreaking card you really want to see, or a good way to get the TaN in hand. Really solid creature, and a decent threat on it's own.
Sylvan Primordial - Multiple-card permanent advantage is huge, so this guy still keeps its slot. Sylvan is one of the most hated cards in the format, just make sure people know you don't have any way to flicker him and it'll be a little bit easier to survive the hate. Or, just laugh at their whining and one shot them with Prossh, either way works. T3 Sylvan is a pretty nasty play though, prepare to get hated out the next game if that happens. Also gets forests, so remember the shocks.
Enchantments (8)
- Phyrexian Arena
- Fecundity
- Card draw wins games. The Fecundity is absurd with Prossh, it's going to draw you at least 6 cards that turn if not more. Arena is one of the best sources of steady card advantage in the game, so it's in as well. Don't drop the Fecundity until you're either able to cast Prossh the same turn or already have him and a million tokens out, you want to limit the amount of advantage your opponents get off it as much as possible.Survival of the Fittest - Arguably the strongest (legal) enchantment ever printed in magic, this will singlehandedly win you the game if it sticks. Just try to make sure you're dropping it with enough mana available to take advantage of it, canny opponents will be aware of how absurdly powerful this is and try their best to kill it as soon as possible.
Sylvan Library - Sensei's Divining Top #2 plus card draw. One of the other ridiculously strong enchantments for green, this should be played in every green deck ever.
Instants (5)
- Krosan Grip
- Sudden Death
- Split Second is huge for EDH, sometimes there are just problems that have to be dealt with now without giving your opponent a chance to respond. These 2 get the job done for their specific permanent types.Putrefy - Sometimes things just need to die, and having an answer is the difference between winning and losing. This is a pretty flexible instant that can make sure you're the one winning, and your opponent's the one losing.
Vampiric Tutor - Absurdly powerful card. Tutors win games, and this is one of the best 2 ever printed.
Planeswalkers (4)
Garruk, Primal Hunter - This is there usually for the card draw, which is always huge. Can make beasts in a pinch though if necessary. Fun to sac a bunch of kobolds to Prossh and draw 11+ cards, really pisses your opponents off .
Garruk Wildspeaker - This guy serves the 2 amazing primary purposes of ramping you and also serving up a win con. Overrun'ing your army of Kobolds is always a good thing. Untaps Cabal Coffers as well, which if you have the Urborg already out is an absurd amount of mana.
Sarkhan Vol - 2nd haste outlet, also allows stealing of hard to deal with creatures, also allows pumps to army of kobolds, and the ultimate is just 3 boosts away. Really amazing card. Gets around Avacyn, Angel of Hope too. Steal her, swing with her, sac her. GET THAT WHORE OFF MAH TABLE!.
Sorceries (12)
Damnation - Sometimes the board just needs to be answered, especially if someone wraths your board then overextends. This solves that problem.
Explore - I originally put this in after my playgroup figured out how absurd Cabal Coffers+Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth are together. At that point anytime one of them dropped it was immediately destroyed the turn before I could draw the other one. This card allowed me to drop both in the same turn after I had tutored for them. Now that the deck is a little more evolved the Cabal/Urborg combo isn't usually the primary tutor target, so this can be used when it seems prudent.
Exsanguinate - Wincon! This card just wins, period. It's not very fun, and (hopefully >.<) not very interactive. (Curse you Twincast!!! *Shakes fist) But it won't make you any friends. Also good if you're the first target and get pummeled pretty hard early game, this can bring some semblance of life back into your gameplan.
Hull Breach - An awesome 2 for 1.
Maelstrom Pulse - Any non-land permanent is huge. I consider it a must have for any B/G deck in existence.
Praetor's Counsel - Arguably the 2nd most over-powered sorcery ever printed for green, this card will also singlehandedly win you the game if it sticks. Obviously this is a late game card, and by that time you'll have 1-2 tutors, 1-2 removal, a decent creature, some ramp and a couple lands in the yard, and this just nets you a million cards. Amazing.
Profane Command - Awesome 2 for 1. Usually done to kill/recur a pair of creatures, but also serving as a kill spell if someone's low or fear to make your kobold army punch through? Yes please.
Seize the Day - This is a tertiary wincon for Prossh. He can sac the tokens to make himself either a 3 shot or a 2 shot, and this makes it happen in a turn. There if you can't seem to land a Tooth and Nail or any of the other wincons, or if you get Prossh out super early and just need a single player dead.
Skyshroud Claim - Ramp is good! Also gets forests, so shocks can be had, and also gets them untapped, which is super nice.
Lands (38)
- Mountain
- Swamp
- Forest
- The basics!- Ancient Tomb
- Temple of the False God
- 2 Colorless for 1 land is good. T1 Tomb is really good.- Blood Crypt
- Overgrown Tomb
- Stomping Ground
- The duels, fetchable by anything that fetches their land type.- Bloodstained Mire
- Wooded Foothills
- Verdant Catacombs
- Evolving Wilds
- Terramorphic Expanse
- The fetches generally get the Shocks first, then basics when you're out of shocks.- City of Brass
- Command Tower
- Dragonskull Summit
- Rootbound Crag
- Woodland Cemetery
- Savage Lands
- General color fixing.- Phyrexian Tower
- High Market
- These are here primarily to prevent things like Terminus from tucking Prossh, or to sac what you jsut stole with Sarkhan Vol.- Cavern of Souls
- Boseiju, Who Shelters All
- Cavern's not as useful as in other decks because you still get the Kobolds if Prossh gets countered, still nice to have. Boseju keeps your TaN from getting countered though which is huge.Homeward Path - I want my creature! I cast it for a reason! Give it back!
Kessig Wolf Run - Another wincon for a 1 shot with Prossh
Maze of Ith - Not the most vital card, but I'm always happy to see it. Sometimes you just need to not take some damage.
Bojuka Bog - In this format graveyards are mostly just an extension of a players' hand. This is really good late game, just try to save it til then if you can.
Reliquary Tower - This deck draws a million cards. Literally. I've actually decked myself with this list. The tower is there to help you keep those cards you're drawing.
Strip Mine - Sometimes a land just needs to be dealt with.
Thespian's Stage - Copy lands! Just useful utility lands, it's nice to copy something someone else has that's amazing, or copy something you have that you just really want.
- Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- Cabal Coffers
- C-C-C-Combo! These 2 together net an absurd amount of black mana. This is an amazing bit of synergy, and what the Expedition Map is usually fetching.Strategy? Psshh
SMASHTEGY
Well, you made it this far. Congratulations. You probably think you're something special, right? WRONG. There is nothing special about you. Should you be proud that you're not a spineless, bootlicking control player bent on the desecration of anything pure in it's Violence, Defilement, and Irreverence?! INCORRECT. This is the part where the real aficionados of Destruction, Death and Pain get to salivating, and the has beens quietly shuffle away, tail tucked between what's left of their rapidly shrinking nether bits.
Prossh. Prossh wins. How, you might ask? ROFL. Read the EFFIN CARD. A 5/5 Dragon that flies for 6? That can eat things to get BIGGER? That brings food with him?! That scales with how many times he's been curbstomped?!?! Oh yeah. That I can do. It starts, as all good battles start, with serfs. Wood Elves. Lotus Cobra. Elves of Deep Shadow. These are the minute tears in the mana-fabric of your game, ripping away the veils of cowardice and landstarvation to allow Prossh to roam free, reigning destruction and death on all who oppose you. You burn the little guys, break their backs to get Prossh flying above as quickly as dragonly possible. This can happen as soon as T3, and consistently happens T4-5. Oh yeah. GET THERE.
What then, you might ask? WHAT THEN?!?! You have a HUGE, Flying Dragon that gets BIGGER! What more do you want?! Oh, that's right. Chaos. Desecration. Defilement. ... Vampiric Tutor into a ... Craterhoof Behemoth. Oh, wait, all the little kobolds are now huge kobolds? They had a moment. A brief flash of glory, before being ground into paste under the talons of Prossh. Sure, I'll take a 13/13 trample flying dragon, a 13/13 trample hasty behemoth, and 6 8/9 screaming, raging, steroid pumping kobolds. But wait, that's not enough? You only dealt 74 damage in a turn?! Seize the Day. Kobolds leaping up to serve the greater glory of Prossh, sacrificing themselves for the humiliation of your foes. Sac to make him even huger. And again, EVEN HUGER. OR! Got that Beastmaster Ascension/Shared Animosity in hand?! GO TO TOWN. This is where the deck usually kills the table. Prossh lands, makes an army. Army gets a buff. Buffed army eat\s opponents. Next game. But sometimes...
So the game has lasted more than 7 turns you claim? FEH. What are you, new?! LTP. If that's the case, though, we haz... COMBO. Food Chain (Aptly named, don't you think? ) = Infinite mana to cast creatures and infinite kobolds. Why don't we throw a God in the mix? That's right. Purphorous, God of the Forge is even at the beck and call of Prossh, Reaper of Jund. Yeah, you heard right. We call even the Gods to serve us in war. Food Chain + ol' Purphy=infinite damage on the board. GG. Lawl. Also! Get that Xenagos, the REveler. We love drunken planeswalkers, and you know what they say about randy satyrs, don't you? O.O. Get that infinite R/G mana and cast your deck! Literally, that usually happens, and your opponents can slink away to the next table.
The game has lasted, and lasted, and lasted. Everyone present hates you with the fiery burning passion of... that thing you get tested for every 6 months. Bah. They want you dead. There's a hectic gleam in your opponents eyes, a glint of that edge of insanity, the ravening that happens in face of utter and complete annihilation. They'll sacrifice anything, even their own chance at victory for just one shot at your lifetotal. This, this is what Prossh revels in. Casting again and again, making more and more sacrifices to the greater glory, burning the hand, resources, lands... Praetor's Counsel. It ends the game. Singlehandedly. This is your late game tutor target. If you get to untap with this in hand... LOL. Next game? Oh, that got countered?! Here's my draw engine that I held in hand most of the game. Disciple of Bolas coming to serve his new master, drawing you 20 cards and gaining you the life you so desperately need. Fecundity churning kobold bodies into fresh resources to destroy the opposition. Draw Draw Draw!!!!!
Your Counsel has been countered, your Tooth and Nail exiled, your general cast a million times, your Seize the Day had a Jester's Cap thrown at it, what to do, what to do? WIN. That's what this deck is about. WINNING. Exsanguinate your opponents last life totals! Drop a Beastmaster Ascension and go to town with mana dorks! Profane Command someone into oblivion, getting your Eternal Witness into your Praetor's Counsel again! This list is absurdly overflowing with wincons, and they can't deal with them all. Just keep casting and casting and casting until you win. Literally, this deck just casts huge, game breaking spells until everyone is dead. It's manic, it's destructive, it's.... PROSSH.
"But Waaah, someone's playing counterspells!!! ERMAHGHERD." Really? You're afraid of a little counterspells?! LAWL. Fecundity. Disciple of Bolas. Garruk, Primal Hunter. Skullclamp. Boseju, Who Shelters All. Cavern of Souls. Phyrexian Arena. Sylvan Library. the trick to beating U is presenting a "Target Rich Environment". This deck draws so many cards it's absurd, and has enough mana to cast most of it. Yeah. It's that good. Blue doesn't stand a chance. Just outdraw them, an/or make your killspells uncounterable.
"But Waaah, someone tucked my Prossh!!!" Fear is for the weak! Ugh. You don't have a Phyrexian Tower, Goblin Bombardment, or High Market out?! That was silly, wasn't it. Not to fret. (You don't actually fret, do you? DOOR IS THAT WAY). Demonic Tutor. Diabolic Intent. Tooth and Nail. Runescarred Demon/ Survival of the Fittest. Just make sure to lawl at your opponent when they hit you with that Terminus, it always sets their teeth on edge.
"But Waaah, someone blew up all my lands!!!" Ok, this is the only valid concern you've actually voiced so far. Mid-late game, Armageddon hurts. Fortunately, that's a vicious card that most players don't play. If you do get hit, a respectful nod at your opponent is in order. Mass LD is up there with the other "highbrow" strategies that require careful playing around, and if Prossh had a weakness (Which he clearly does not) it would be this. If you have someone with balls enough to play something like Ruination/Cataclysm, however, the solution is simple. If you happen to lose a game to it, and now know of it's presence... Play around it. "ERMAHGERD, WHAT?!?! You can play around mass ld?! LIES." Yeah, you can. Just don't be an idiot. Don't ramp as hard as possible. Slowroll your plays by a turn or two. Make sure to keep a land or 2 in hand. It's easy. Then rofl as they land their LD, drop the resources you held in hand and proceed to stomp their face. Bang. Done.
Prossh's Consultations from Below
Early Game Tutor Targets: This is really, really vital. Usually if you have an opening hand with Vampiric Tutor you're going to go for the Sol Ring. It's just too good of an accel to pass up. If you happen to have that already in hand with a tutor and a land (Man, lucky bastard) Go for a hand refill, either Disciple, Fecundity, or 'Clamp. This allows for as early a Prossh as possible, then a hand refill to get back what you burned to drop him.
Mid Game Tutor Targets: These are usually wincons, so: Craterhoof, Animosity, Ascension, Food Chain, or Tooth and Nail (If you have the mana for it). You want to try to kill the table here, and these are what does it.
Late Game Tutor Target: Notice how that's singular? Yeah. Praetor's Council/ This is your single best late game tutor target, and if it lands it wins you the game, singlehandedly. I cant' describe how dumb this card is.
Archetype Combat:
So. You think you've mastered Prossh? THINK AGAIN. Prossh is the master, forevermore until the end of all, and nothing. You might have an inkling, a glimmer of understanding of the awe-inspiring power that this deck encases. But that... is not nearly enough. For as there are always those that will spit on fries, so will there also be those who think to stand to the might of Prossh.
Control: The bane of all violence, destruction and mayhem, control is the archetype that Prossh loves most to stomp into a fine, bloody mush. How, you might ask? A combination of 2 elements. Card draw (duh) and a Target Rich Environment. This list spills forth so much mana, and so many resources that control players can't hope to deal with it all. The trick is drawing out the control spells on the threats that you want dealt with first, then dropping gamebreakers immediately after. Oh, counter my Fecundity? Sure. Tooth and Nail, entwined. Rofl. Things like that. Just drop 2 gamebreaking threats in the same turn, every turn, and they can't hope to keep up. How do you get the ability to do that, you might ask...
Card draw. Disciple of Bolas. Skullclamp. Sylvan Library. Phyrexian Arena. Fecundity. Skullmulcher. Praetor's Council. These are your hand refills. Draw a counterspell out with something like Food Chain, then go to town with one of these bad boys and you're good to go. GG, oponnents!
Aggro: This, honestly, is a bit of a laugh. If it's a mediocre aggro deck, jsut race them, you'll win. Plain and simple, there's not much to it. The amount of card advantage and creature overwhelmi-ness is too hard for them to deal with. If it's a really good aggro list, maybe with some disruption thrown in to keep you off your threats, tap them out then drop the combo with Food Chain and kill them on the spot. Easy-peasy.
Combo: This is a race, and one that you can win a little less than half the time, if it's good, dedicated combo. The tridk here is saving up your kill spells and mana for the things that stomp you hard, be it Hermit Druid, Sharuum, the Hegemon, or Omniscience. You almost need to play a control route here, while still trying to go off faster than they can. If it's Ad Nauseam combo, it's pretty hard to beat, just try to kill their mana rocks.
Mulligans.
Alright, here's the deal. Prossh is a wincon, right? RIGHT. So, the goal is to... That's right, get him in play. ERMAHGHERD. Hard concept, right? So, let's think. Do we want him in play slow, or fast? The answer, children, is FAST. We want Prossh in play FAST, that faster the better. And the way to do this all revolves around how well you mulligan. Let's take a sample hand:
This is actually a pretty strong starting hand. except for 1 thing... the lack of a T1 or T2 ramp spell. This deck desperately needs those. Other than that, having the clamp, and the Urborg/Coffers combo in hand is absurdly good for a starting hand. Mull the Garruk, the Expanse, the Putrefy, draw.
Hand 2:
This hand is awful. No ramp, and nothing but 1 removal spell. Pitch everything but the Urborg and a Forest.
Sensing a theme here? Yeah, it's called ramp. You pretty desperately need a T1-T2 ramp in hand, that's what Powers these amazing destructive abilities of the deck. A perfect hand looks like:
This has a T1 ramp creature, allows T3 Prossh, and also has 2 hand refills. This is as good as it gets.
Been There, Done That
-1
+1
The elf wasn't right in a lot of hands without me having access to the 2 G/x dual lands, so it got a cut. I have Acidic Slime so the stomphowler seemed redundant, and Tribute wasn't nearly target-able enough. I needed more creature removal, my playgroup figured out how busted this deck is and I'm now public enemy #1 lol, so in comes the Pact. Command is a really solid 2 for 1 and can offer a kill shot if necessary, or make my bajillion tokens have fear. The Caratyid is replacing the Elf as a more flexible 2 drop ramp spell.
11/29/13
-1
+1
Yeah, so. In a multiplayer game the Terastadon wasn't furthering my plans of complete world domination, it just got rid of pesky permanents. I figure the best way to get rid of said permanents is to just kill the player that owns them. Imma focus more on that. Battledriver and Urabrask jsut weren't doing much, so they're out. I don't like buildup turns. Fleshbag's in the same vein as the 'don.
Terminate is there cause sometimes you just need an instant speed creature kill or you die. The other 3 are ramp, cause hey, who doesn't like T3 Prossh?
12/7/2013
-1
+1
And... more cuts. The land base is still kinda tricky, and people keep countering my gamebreaking spells (Tooth and Nail, OP? Says who O.o) hence the Boseiju. Mystic is more ramp, and wilds/expanse are holding their slots til I get some room in my budget for the duals. Te other 3 cuts ere just removal, and I don't seem to need that much. Most of the time opponents are forced to answer me, not the other way around.
1/7/2013
-1
Terminate
+1
Toxic Deluge
Finally got mah hands on a Deluge, ectstatic to put it in. That cards' bonkers, it answers just about everything that's crazy un-answerable (Avacyn, Gaddock, Eight and a Half tails, etc) so out came Terminate, in went the Deluge.
1/12/14
-1
Bitterblossom
+1
Fleshbag Maurader
I found that I just didn't need the tokens that BB produced with Prossh as my general, and it was never really something I wanted to see, so it's out. The fleshbag is just kind of indispensable, especially with the amount of tutors we can run, so it's testing in place of the BB.
1/28/2013
-1
Evolving Wilds
+1
Gaea's Cradle
For this deck the cradle is about the best single land card in the game that I could play, and I totally got a pretty good deal on one today Been meaning to put it in for a while, and now that I have one, yippee!!!
2/16/2013
-1
Sylvan Primordial
+1
Xenagos, God of Revels
Well, Sylvan's banned, and I hear that Xenagod allows for a 1 shot with Prossh the turn he comes into play, so it's taking that slot. Yay gods!
About Me
I've been playing MTG for about 13 years now, since when I was in 6th grade and moved to Columbus, OH. (C-Bus, represent!) There I fell in with a group of guys that I would play Magic with weekly for the next 7 years or so. The first deck I ever played was a mono-green creature simple deck with Giant Growth as a finisher XD.
From there, I moved to Springfield, MO in Nov of '08 and found a group of guys that played semi-competitively in standard and block. I played a couple of standard tournaments during the Alara block, then found EDH. From then on it was head over heels in love, and I have focused the entirety of my play resources to this ever-changing, amazing format.
If you ever find yourself heading my way, please shoot me a PM and I'd love to sit down and play a game or two with you!
What made me choose EDH? (Or Commander, if you're a Vicious Fanboy)
Elder Dragon Highlander is a unique take on the, IMO, very essence that got us all into Magic in the first place. There was that mysterious draw that I had to the cards, the interactions, and the game play when I was first introduced that (thankfully) has never quite left me. This escalated into pure excitement when I got to crack my first pack, and then a competitive glow that emerged as I began playing some higher-end tournaments. But I noticed over time that there seemed to be an endless stream of cash going from my hand to Wizard's coffers with all the new releases, just to stay competitive. I didn't have that many funds to support it, and I really wanted to get back to the days of simple fun, getting to try new cards and new ideas week by week. Net-dec is not my favorite format
In came EDH, and it's been a blissful affair ever since. It's the only format I've found that allows everyone to really get into the nooks and crannies of the magic world, while still having a competitive feel. It allows degenerate combos, hilarious shenanigans, topdecks for-the-win, and a million million other amazing, fun, awesome interactions. This is the spirit of EDH for me, and that's why it's the only format I play.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics
[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
You will like this version of Prossh if:
You will not like this version of Prossh if:
Ready? Good, let's move on to the main course:
Being in Jund colors gives us access to excellent control strategies, so we're going to be taking advantage of that for sure. Of course, we are not going to ignore the combo-licious nature of Prossh and will be focusing on this aspect to win. The blend of the two ensures we can put together a combo without dying to powerful and ever changing board states. We keep the Converted Mana Cost (CMC) as low as possible, chock full of answers, and card advantage engines. For this reason there are many auto-include cards that should be included in every Prossh deck. This section focuses on these cards around the central strategy of this deck.
The Strategy
Commander/EDH is full of silly things, and usually these silly things are fueled by single cards that act as enablers. Our goal is to keep these off the field as long as possible. We can answer big threats such as problem enchantments, big creatures, or enabling cards. If we keep the board free of threats we can shove a combo out and hopefully win quite fast. Our low CMC will often mean we can do both in the same turn, or in the first important turns. Also, we can use Prossh in all his magnificent glory to do nasty, dirty things. We run limited board wipes, but focus heavily on the power of Prossh to block token swarms, or to devastate the board through a Grave Pact. The most important thing to remember is that we get Kobolds whether Prossh is countered or not, and thus we can abuse them willingly. Coupled with our powerful targeted removal we should have no problem building up to win with Food Chain, or any other combo options, in a big single turn play that will leave your opponents toasted. Now that the general strategy has been spilled, below are some must-include cards and why they are essential to the strategy of the deck.
Playing the Deck
Now that we've got the nuts and bolts out of the way, we can actually look at how this deck performs in the real world. Below is a primer split into early-game, mid-game, and late-game as an almost step-by-step guide on how a typical game will play out.
The Mulligan
First, we can mulligan pretty aggressively as we have a low cmc so we can dig a bit for a perfect hand. You want a little bit of control elements in your hand, as well as some decent ramp options. So, you want to look for mana rocks, ramp, and removal spells, preferably of the more general kind. We don't need our win-cons in our hand as they can be tutored for, or drawn into. We need to establish a board presence and keep up with our opponents as priority number one. Of course, keeping a hand with access to a win condition is fine as well, but don't feel bad about keeping a hand without access to a win con. As for the land make-up, you want at least one forest in your hand. Our deck is extremely green in nature, and not having a forest is going to be a problem, and it will be a problem fast. Access to black is secondary and red is tertiary but having a way to get access to black and red is important. Keep the expensive cards out of your hand, they can be tutored for later. Auto-keep hands look like this:
(Forest, Rootbound Crag, Farhaven Elf, Beast Within, Phyrexian Tower, Hero's Downfall, Skullmulcher.)
(Forest, Verdant Catacombs, Food Chain, Demonic Tutor, Solemn Simulacrum, Forest, Terminate)
The Early Game
The early game is a resource acquisition game. Our general is not cheap, it costs 6 mana, and only gets better the more we cast him. We need plenty of ramp, best in the form of mana rocks, but also in creatures such as Farhaven Elf. This is also important because we are playing a three color deck, and thus hitting the specific lands we need to cast our spells is very important, and doing so quickly is paramount. We can be blown out by a rapid start from an opposing player so if you need to destroy something rather than establish your board, DO SO. Nothing is worse than losing to a Mana Crypt you could have answered on turn 2 with an Abrupt Decay. Finally, it is important to note we will rarely be able to cast Prossh in the early game, unless we have our own broken opener, such as a turn 1 sol ring. Prossh is our answer to early creature strategies, so if you need chump blockers you are largely forced to look to Prossh. This is fine, but don't cast Prossh too many times, making him cost more than we can afford will be the death to our combo strategy, and our plan B's are not super reliable.
So, in conclusion our early game is simply to stop others from winning, or establishing the board that they will win with all while digging for a combo. The early game is where others will be establishing, but we establish in our hand so we can hide our true intentions behind our removal spells, so hide yourself well to avoid being the target of realy-game resource removal.
Mid-Game
Our combos are mid-game combos, so this is the time we are going to be aiming to win. Hopefully by turn 6-7 you have drawn a tutor of some kind, or part of a win condition and are ready to set up for the win. (Skip to the next paragraph for information on mid-game without a combo.) If this is the case, you want to use your removal to buy time to cast Prossh, and go infinite. The goal will be to get a Food Chain to stick, and then combo off with it. Just be careful, if you go off too early you may find you're without an actual win condition, and please please please remember Food Chain can only cast other creatures. Skullmulcher can solve these problems with ease though, just cast him, draw your deck and you'll find you can drop an Urabrask the Hidden an Anvenger of Zendikar and go to town. Ideally, you will want to cast prossh with some mana left over so you can cast Goblin Bombardment or Phyrexian Altar to be able to transfer that Food Chain mana into mana you can use on things that are not creatures. This is a trap of the mid-game combo attempt, as I myself have occasionally combo'd off only to find myself a mana or two short of actually putting a game away.
Without a combo we play like before, and try to control the other players. Only with more resources we can begin to dig for a combo. I'd advise against casting Prossh too much in this situation as you may need him to win. That being said casting him once or twice to generate kobolds for an engine is an excellent plan of attack. Cards like Skullmulcher, Skullclamp or Carnage Altar can help us dig down. If a huge creature swarm is present, you can board wipe, and drop Prossh next turn to set up some chump blockers, or to start a card advantage engine. Dropping something like Blood Artist can help gain some life, and generate a lot of value. The key to the midgame is still to focus on board control, but now we have access to Prossh and all he offers us to give us a lot oomph. Just use him sparingly. We need to be weary of the late-game though, and thus we should really be focusing on comboing as soon as possible. Play carefully though, this is decision time, and a high stress time. This is why Prossh is fun to play, as there are many lines of attack in the mid game.
Late-Game
The late game is where Prossh becomes a little schizophrenic as he will struggle a bit against the big things other decks can do in the late game, but also push a board presence. This is big game magic now, so we'll play the big game ourselves. Establishing a Dictate of Erebos with a large amount of creatures, and a sac-outlet can be devastating in this stage of the game, so if you see it then use it to your advantage. If a combo was not possible, this is the time to use Prossh aggressively to kill players, he is an excellent commander and dealing commander damage. Just always keep a few kobolds behind to use for fodder.
The late game is generally for when we couldn't combo so focus on our alternate win conditions. Viscous Shadows can knock a few greedy players out when Prossh is bloated after being played several times. Keep an eye, this is the time where the game could literally end at any point, usually someone is far ahead, and that person needs to be reigned in so make your plays carefully, and focus on getting a card advantage engine to keep up. It is important to note that this deck becomes quite weak in the late-game, as we are a combo focused deck. We can win without a combo, but we have the propensity to become staggeringly behind in the late game, especially without mass-land Destruction, or resource denial strategies. This is the risk we play with this style of Prossh, but I find it makes it a little more fun. All this being said, we can still be a threat in the late-game, but we are much more versatile and threatening in the early and mid-games.
Fighting the Archetypes
Combo: - A dedicated combo deck is a problem, and the more focused your opponent is the closer it'll be to a coin flip. We have removal spells, if they start setting up a combo with permanents, you know what to do. If they are going to combo without permanent set up, or all in one turn, it's a race, and you better win it. If it's the Tier 1 combo deck (ad nauseum, hermit druid), we just aren't built to beat that, we can win, but they'll have to have a bad hand. The best bet in this matchup is to play the political game, and get your opponents on your side and 3v1 the combo player. This is generally easier with combo, because combo decks can have very loud and obvious commanders.
Aggro: - As long as you are not target #1 this should be the easiest of match ups. Let the aggro player run out of gas, and then just combo off, they aren't likely to stop you. Just watch out for pesky mana being open, or you may find yourself at the wrong side of a removal spell. Hopefully, your opponents have exhausted their resources dealing with the aggro player paving your path to victory. Usually, in this match up, I'll just sit on my removal spells, killing anything that comes after me, telling others to kill each other. That's where they go wrong and die to me a few turns later. If you are target #1, removal is key, just take out their big threats. Aggro decks live on the board, and thus, we can easily stop them, and even add a bit of politics by being particularly picky about when you destroy a threat.
Control: - Control is iffy, if they are packing a heavy control deck you have almost no chance of winning. You just won't get past their counterspells, but that's a problem most people will have so try to team up with your opponents to exhaust the control player of answer cards, and slip in a game winning situation. My deck is a lot better against stax then most would think, we generally attack with one creature if we do attack, and we don't care about being tapped out once Prossh is on board. Stax is not a relevant threat in my meta, so I don't pack the right answers, but sliding in some mass enchantment/artifact removal if it is a problem in your meta will go a long way in this match up.
Ramp: - This strategy is very prevalent in all EDH games, but the dedicated ramp strategies will be easy picking for us, as long as we keep up. The focus should be ramping, and taking out threats, we play the control deck here. If we can outrace them into a game winning position, then go for it if you think they won't mess with you. Look for them to tap out as they acquire more resources, and then just win. There is a small window where my deck can win when everyone is still tapping out every turn to build their boards. Look for it, aim for it, and hit it. This deck does have the ability to drop a huge threat, and against a ramp focused strategy it may be best to drop a threat before they can rather than aim for the combo. Our low CMC really helps here as we can generally ramp, and have a removal spell ready on the same turn, and quite reliably too. Just be cautious, waiting for the right moment is all about judging the situation, and knowledge of your opponents decks.
The nitty-gritty card explanation details:
Below is a list of every card, and why it is here over other cards. This is detailed, and long, but needed if you want to make some customization to the deck and are unsure how important the card is to the deck.
Lands
Most lands will not need explanation, but a few standouts here:
Inkmoth Nexus- Win condition with Kessig Wolf Run. Simply, a redundant out-of-nowhere kill against a player with infect, you need Kessig to make Inkmoth a 10/10, but with lots of mana this isn't a problem.
Kher Keep- A simple token generator, that isn't too expensive. Mostly here for flavor but has some utility.
Rouge's Passage - Allows Prossh to be unblockable, a nice utility land, but isn't necessary. Other utility lands can easily fit into place here as needed.
Kessig Wolf Run- See Inkmoth Nexus, still a nice pump with infinite mana to just kill someone outright.
Raging Ravine- Serves two purposes, mana fixing, and as a infinite mana sink. Really just a backup, and can easily be replaced with something else such as a painland or other dual in similar colors.
Phyrexian Tower-An excellent sac outlet that also helps hit pesky BB or BBB costs. Wouldn't play this deck without it.
Creatures
Craterhoof Behemoth-This card will win games, it's very expensive, and thus sits at the top of our curve, but that is okay, it is clearly a win condition card. This is for the time you can cast Prossh for 14, and next turn just win. Also a good Tooth and Nail target, all around, an all star in token strategies, and no exception in Prossh.
Avenger of Zendikar-A very powerful card, that also creates tokens. Is simply deadly in the late game when paired with Viscious Shadows or Purphoros, God of the Forge
Hornet Queen-A fun card, this card can be replaced, but does a good job at putting some defense on the board, in the air, where the deck is a little weak. It's expensive, but since we are heavy in green, it is not too detrimental to our goals.
Skullmulcher-A card advantage all-star. This card works beautifully as a way to dig down 5-10 cards, or as a way to draw your deck after going infinite with Prossh, an excellent and often overlooked card that does wonders in any token deck. Very few, if any replacements for him.
Urabrask the Hidden- This card wins games, but serves little other purpose. An excellent card to play after playing out your deck off a Food Chain combo. Can be replaced, but the deck will lose some ability to win as a result.
Mitotic Slime-Only here because it works well with sacrifice effects. This card plus our win conditions is bonkers. Can be replaced by Mycoloth, but Mycoloth is dependent on other creatures already being in play, which are deck can be a little weak at producing when Prossh isn't being cast. Mitotic Slime is in to address this problem.
Wickerbough Elder-Answers on creatures is always best in this deck, but this card can be replaced with an cmc 4, or even cmc 5 creature that can destroy something with ease. The Elder does leave a nice body behind however.
Solemn Simulacrum-Ramps, and draws. This card does a lot of what we want in that it's a creature that ramps nicely on curve, and then does something when we sac it. Excellent value in a sac-oriented deck.
Reaper of the Wilds-A new card that was slotted in to replace the clunky Shattergang Brothers. The scry effect is interesting, but needs more looking in to know if it stays or goes.
Burnished Hart- Excellent mana ramp spell, but has a huge mana commitment, and is vulnerable to removal before you can kill it. Clunky in our deck, will likely be replaced soon. Wood Elves or another mana rock seems likely.
Farhaven Elf-The kind of ramp we like, this leaves a body behind and ramps meaning we can utilize the body for value later, perhaps to Skullclamp.
Eternal Witness-An recursion all star! She's great in any green deck, but is excellent in ours as it can be sacrificed for value, or skullclamped.
Sakura-Tribe Elder-I always have a place in my heart for the little tribe elder. This card is essentially a rampant growth on a body, so feel free to block with it, and sac in response. Damage doesn't go on the stack anymore, but he's still great. At very worst, in the late game, he can be attached to skullclamp to draw some cards.
Blood Artist-Pure value, and dangerous with all our sac-shenanigans. An excellent little 2-drop that can do a lot of grunt work.
~~~
Sorceries and Instants
Tooth and Nail-One of the best green cards in the format, get Avenger of Zendikar and Purphoros, God of the Forge to deal stupid amounts of damage in the late game, amongst other things.
Soul's Majesty-Excellent card to draw something off a bloated Prossh after an attack, or a Skullmullcher. Suffers a bit from its conditional nature, but still solid. Easily replaceable by your favorite card draw cards such as Harmonize.
Saproling Symbiosis-This is here for more tokens after playing more tokens. Plays well after dealing out some damage with an Avenger of Zendikar hitting play. Conditional, but can really pack a punch in the right situation.
Toxic Deluge-Something to get rid of pesky indestructible creatures. I have Avacyn rampant in my meta, and this answers her, at a big cost, but it's cheap and thus can answer many other things as well at any point in the game. This one is mostly a meta choice, and can be replaced with a tutor, or a good removal spell in its place.
Beast Within-Instant speed removal that hits a lot of different things. It's also cheap. The 3/3 doesn't really matter, and thus is a solid answer card.
Krosan Grip-This can get rid of very pesky enchantments or artifacts right from under a control player. Not very good except for its Split Second ability which makes it versatile and reliable. You could run Vandalblast in this slot, or even Nature's Claim but this card is just slightly more reliable than the other two mentioned.
Chaos Warp-One of the best red removal spells, this thing being instant really helps. Save this for the big threats, as taking care of small threats with this card is lackluster sometimes. Great against control where they are very likely to hit a spell instead of a permanent. Can be a meta choice to remove it, but I think it's right to play it nearly 100% of the time.
Hero's Downfall-Takes care of pesky planeswalkers, which this deck will have a problem with. We create mostly 0/1's, we don't hit planeswalkers easily. Otherwise good at clearing out a powerful creature at instant speed.
Malestrom Pulse-One of the best BG removal spells around, this thing can wipe away a field of tokens with ease, or destroy a plethora of pesky permanents.
Putrefy-This card is versatile, and a fantastic example of the power of Jund, here we have instant speed creature and artifact destruction, two of the most threatening permanent types in the format.
Cultivate-Good at fixing lands, and ramping. A little expensive, but the ability to grab one of our 2 mountains is always helpful.
Diabolic Edict-A small utility card that can answer some early threats, great against a lone creature that can hold the board on their own. You could possibly replace this card, but it being instant makes it very playable.
Sylvan Scrying-Another way to get any land we want, great to grab Kessig Wolf Run or Phyrexian Tower. Not a must-play card, but I run it mostly to grab my utility lands. As our utility lands aren't crucial to winning, this card could be replaced, but it really depends on what you want to do.
Abrupt Decay-This card is excellent at stopping a potentially explosive start for an opponent. Many are scared of its harsh restriction of 3 or less, but it actually stops a lot of things. I think you'll be won over by it the more you play it. The can't be countered turns it from good, to fantastic.
Black Sun's Zenith-Another board wipe that can hit indestructible creatures, or just an early creature token swarm. If you find you can deal with this problem just fine, you can cut this card, but for me it's a meta call.
Dreadbore-Another removal spell that is cheap and can kill a problem creature or planeswalker (which is sometimes a problem.) Sorcery speed is a big strike against this card, but it is still playable.
Regrowth-Recursion is an excellent form of card advantage, and this is the cream of the crop in green. Bring back tutor spells, or lost combo pieces to be back in the game. Should go in every green deck, and this is no exception.
Demonic Tutor-Tutor for an answer, or a win condition, this card is a must play in any combo deck.
Terminate-A better Dreadbore, I would cut Dreadbore, long before cutting Terminate solely due to instant speed.
Vampiric Tutor-Another tutor, keep it around for the same reasons you keep Demonic Tutor around.
Green Sun's Zenith-Can grab a few key creatures, as our deck is mostly green. Also, can fetch a tucked Prossh. Iffy due to the lower creature count in the deck, but we have more than enough reasons to warrant running it.
Noxious Revival-Another recursion card, that I like because it can be played for free. You lose your next draw, but you do get what you want.
~~~
Non-Creature Permanents
Xenagos, the Reveler-Currently an experimental card, it reads good, and is new so going to try it out. Can easily be replaced.
Vicious Shadows-An excellent I-kill-you card. Players won't see this coming, and even better if you can drop it and then follow it up with an Avenger of Zendikar or a fat prossh.
Dictate of Erebos-This card does a lot when you have a large amount of creatures and a sac engine. Nothing can keep a board cleared better than this. It's expensive and a little risky, but an excellent late game strategy to hold off until a delayed combo card comes around. Can be replaced if you don't want to rely on the strategy, but it is fun.
Tooth and Claw-This card is merely here to up the ante in a lot situations. This card is best with Purphoros, God of the Forge when you just want to do 50% more damage. The card also goes infinite with cards like Doubling Season if you can squeeze it back into the deck.
Pernicious Deed-An excellent removal spell that can wipe away a lot of explosive starts, particularly tokens which we have a rough time dealing with. This card can also wipe away any fast mana rock start an opponent may be blessed with.
Purphoros, God of the Forge-One of the pillars of the deck. There is not a Prossh deck in the world that does not want this card. Able to do 14 damage on a single cast of Prossh to each opponent is just silly, and that's just the beginning.
Ashnod's Altar-Goes infinite with Phyrexian Altar but is excellent as a sac engine all on its own.
Chromatic Lantern-An excellent mana rock which we need to fix our mana and keep up with other ramp decks. If mana rocks are good, then this one is playable.
Darksteel Ingot-Simply another mana rock, a little expensive, but indestructible is worth it.
Phyrexian Arena-Continual card advantage. It's a little slow, but the fact we run black secondary means we can afford to cast it, and take advantage of the minimal card advantage you gain. If you don't like this card, you can run something in its place, but I like it enough.
Phyrexian Altar-A better Ashnod's Altar, in some ways. This card combos easily, and is an excellent source of value with all our koblods running around.
Food Chain-Another Pillar to the deck, this one is pure combo all the way. You can run Prossh without Food Chain, but this two card combo is hard to ignore.
Awakening Zone-Token creation, as well as some psuedo-ramp. Never underestimate an Awakening Zone out for 2-4 turns.
Fecundity-This card does wonderous things, but only if you control it. Usually good to drop when you're ready to dig for a ton of cards to win, dangerous at other times.
Beastmaster Ascension-In as an experiment, I played this in my test deck and instantly fell in love the potential damage this thing can threaten with. Yah, a single cast does offer 40 power on the board, if that's not insanely good, then it's at least worth a close look.
The Signets Golgari Signet, etc,...I like the signets for color fixing, and as ramp. If you don't like them they can easily be replaced by other ramp strategies, such as through sorceries, but I think having these slots dedicated to mana fixing and ramp are still crucial.
Goblin Bombardment-An alternate win card, this thing does wonders with tons and tons of creatures. Usually a cheap win condition, to drop after going infinite with Prossh in some fashion.
Carnage Altar-A sac outlet that replaced Greater Good which suffered from not having high powered creatures in the deck. This is experimental at this stage as the deck needs some good card drawing.
Sol Ring-The most played non-land card in commander for a reason.
Expedition Map-Used primarily to dig up utility lands, or if we really need a dual land.
Skullclamp-We produce almost exclusively 0/1's or 1/1's so this card is an all-star.
Combo School (cont.) (link to combo school in first post:Here)
Why a Second Combo School?
My deck is far more focused on the combo aspect, and thus requires further explanation. Below you'll find an additional combo that my deck has, that my friends does not, as well as a suggested combo, because I think it's good enough to explore further if you want to run Doubling Season
Combo 1:
Prossh, Skyraider of Kher + Phyrexian Altar + Ashnod's Altar-This is just infinite mana, pure and simple. This works very similar to the previous combo. Just sac Prossh, and 2 kobolds to Phyrexian Altar for BRG and 3 kobolds to Ashnod's Altar for 6 to generate 6BRG, enough to cast Prossh again with 1, and 1 kobold left over. By sacing an extra kobold each cycle we keep the same ratio of extra mana and creatures, so we can have access to infinite mana.
Using this we can cast anything in our hand, so adding a Purphoros, God of the Forge or Goblin Bombardment is easy for the kill.
Combo 2:
(Note: This is not in the deck, but it's good enough that you should consider it at least)
Tooth and Claw + Doubling Season + either: Purphoros, God of the Forge, or Vicious Shadows-This outright kills your opponent.Doubling Season is key here. We start with two tokens to sacrifice to Tooth and Claw where we normally get a solitary 3/1 Carnivore, but with Doubling Season we get 2 3/1 Carnivore's, which means we can do it again. Each time a creature dies in this combination we can trigger Vicious Shadows, or Purphoros, God of the Forge when the new tokens come into play, for damage. (Just be sure they have a card in their hand for Vicious Shadows).
Some other cards to consider:
Doubling Season-This card is excellent, and plays well with Prossh, currently not in my deck as it is often a dead card, just as often as it is an active card. Could easily slide back in if you want to have another combo, or if you're focused more on creatures, which is easily viable with Prossh.
In the Web of War-An interesting card that seems made for Prossh while you're comboing out. I haven't added it into the deck due to a heavier Red color commitment, and it's only good when you combo and we have other ways of winning. Maybe worth a try in a deck aiming to take a slightly different direction than I have.
Champion of Lambholt-This card can do some nutty things when we go infinite. Just need a way to pump your army and you got a deadly kill condition. It's also just good with all the creatures entering the battlefield, and may be a good win condition coupled with In the Web of War.
Warp World-A fun card, that I would put in a more casual list. We generate a lot of extra bodies with Prossh, so Warp World in a more permanent heavy deck can mean we pull way ahead. This card reveals why Prossh is such a versatile general, not so great in the deck in this primer, but an excellent potential card in a different incarnation of the deck.
Fresh Meat-An excellent little card that I don't play because it feels win more, and thus wastes a slot. Still, if your build is more token oriented, as in it doesn't heavily rely on tokens from Prossh, than this card becomes interesting. Would totally be worth a slot if you are short a few cards, as it does enable some fun stuff. It is a great method of turning infinite 0/1's into 3/3's as well.
11/10/2013
- Warstorm Surge + Vicious Shadows -Warstorm Surge seemed good initially, but lack of high power creatures makes this a dead card, kobolds are 0/1's, they do nothing with Warstorm Surge.
- Stalking Vengeance + Regrowth -A forgotten key recursion card slots into a spot that had the same problems as Warstorm Surge.
- Chancellor of the Forge + Awakening Zone - Excellent but a HUGE red requirement so it gets cut by a more durdley token creation engine.
-Disciple of Bolas + Xenagos, the Reveler - Purely experimental, seeing how Xenagos is.
- Winding Canyons + Forest - Winding Canyons seems unnecessary with fewer creatures, and we need some more forests.
- Mountain + Swamp - We have plenty of ways to produce R so out comes a Mountain for a needed Swamp.
12/28/2013
- Golgari Guild Gate + Twilight Mire -Strictly Better
- Shattergang Brothers + Reaper of the Wilds -Shattergang was clunky, Reaper seems more fluid
- Mycoloth + Mitotic Slime -Experimenting, Mitotic Slime seems better with Prossh
- Butcher of Malakir + Black Sun's Zenith -Just better at killing creatures
- Doubling Season + Toxic Deluge - Counter intuitive, but Doubling Season doesn't have enough oomph without a lot counter shenanigans, and we need more board wipes. Yes, I understand it's bonkers with Prossh, but this was a tough choice, and Doubling Season often doesn't last, or is a dead card on the field.
- Greater Good + Carnage Altar -Greater Good had some okay targets mostly relying on making big creatures through sac effects like Skullmulcher, but was dead on board most of the time with so many small power tokens, carnage altar is an experiment that fits a similar role despite the higher cost.
- Lavaclaw Reaches + Forest - Purely a mathematical change, we actually had too many way to produce R and B so slot in a basic forest.
Overall this set of changes helps filter out some weaker or sub optimal cards while also lowering the CMC a little more and making it a little easier to hit mana requirements reliably. The biggest weakness for the deck up until this point was dealing with large amounts of creatures, or indestructible hard hitters like Avacyn, Angel of Hope so we slot in some answers to these problems.
1/16/2014
-Yavimaya Elder + Beastmaster Ascension- Yah, Yavimaya Elder doesn't really ramp, and it's card draw is attractive but really not enough. Took out only because of the poor ramp ability, and that's why the replacement is not a ramp card, but rather a card that should help us win a little more often.
-Woodfall Primus + Craterhoof Behemoth-The behemoth is a beast of a creature, and while Woodfall Primus is a good card, I swapped him out for an easy conversion. This is a minor update, and it may be that I put Woodfall Primus back in and take Hornet Queen out.
A very tiny update before BNG is released and may offer some changes to the deck. I mostly wanted a quick change, and this actually doesn't change the CMC or the delicate balance of color management in the deck. I really feel we'll up our ability to win in the late game with these changes, and definitely make our deck much more explosive without sacrificing our control elements, or our ability to hit our colors.
5/17/2014
-Grave Pact + Dictate of Erebos - Almost entirely a mana cost thing, while it would be nice to run both, I don't have space. The lack of a third B makes a huge difference, and coupled with the flash makes me think I'd rather run the Dictate over the Grave Pact.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Kind of surprised you would cut Xenagos seeing as you pay 4 mana to play him, but if he was following any larger token producer he is a net gain. You can run a Nim Deathmantle loop if you are looking for a win condition, or just infinite tokens, which would go to support the idea of In the Web of War, or Ogre Battledriver.
Also I am not a fan of the lower costing token producers, they don't really do anything. By the time Bloodline Keeper is online you would have played Avenger 2 turns prior. Also Ashnods Altar turns on the big guys considerably sooner.
EDH Decks:
B Toshiro Umezawa B
W Mikaeus, the Lunarch W
G Azusa, Lost but Seeking G
UB Grimgrin, Corpse-Born BU
BGU The Mimeoplasm UGB
GUW Rubinia Soulsinger WUG
GRB Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper BRG
Awakening Zone is a shoe in, probably will cut Chancellor for it. Avenger stays for now as it can do really awesome stuff and is tutorable with T&N and Greens Sun Zenith.
Any suggestions on card advantage engines?
Will probably slide Xenagos in if I can make the room.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Deck needs some help against flyers, and I'd like another card advantage engine or two. Silklash Spider seems like the answer, but I'd like something else if possible.
Also, I guess counterspells are never a thing I'll be able to beat.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Drawing card is still an issue in this deck, and would love some suggestions on how to get more consistent draw effects without taking up too many slots. I want to avoid cards like Read the Bones if I have to.
Also, need more alternate win conditions, something easy to tutor but still offers good cards to the deck. The problem is, if Prossh gets tucked the deck is kinda screwed, so need some answers for that scenario. Yes, there are tutors, but I'm running them on the low end for many different reasons.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Agreed. Vicious Shadows and Fecundity should absolutely never be cut in a deck like this. Sure the Fecundity helps the opponent, but you'll probably get so much more mileage out of this card than your opponent to make it worth including.
I don't run Disciple, but the other cards mentioned here are great. Also remember that if you have any token doubler out (there are 3: Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, Primal Vigor) then Phyrexian Altar becomes another Food Chain.
I 100% disagree with this statement. You have to remember that if his general gets tucked, which is very common in EDH (especially in multiplayer), that he needs backups. Not to mention having 7cc token producers like these are great when you also run Birthing Pod. Then the following turn, you can Birthing Pod them into Craterhoof Behemoth. Not to mention the Avenger tokens get +1/+1 counters on landfall and the Chancellor tokens have haste.
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
I did end up cutting Chancellor of the Forge solely for the RRR in its mana cost, but I largely agree with this as well. I kept Avenger in for this reason. If I can find the slots I'd love to add in a Pod package, but it'd require quite a few drastic changes to the deck, though I may try it at some point. What I may end up doing is building an entirely different Prossh deck that focuses heavily on creatures rather than control and see how it goes. Adding in Craterhoof, and making it a toolbox deck with a pod package.
Sylvan Library is on the short list of cards to add. I have a lot of card advantage cards in the deck already, but many of them revolve around having lots of creatures in play. I'm fine with this, but I'd also like some card drawing that dosen't involve creatures which has been tough. Sometimes I just need to power through a dry spell, and drawing carnage altar or slate of ancestry isn't going to help.
Dark Prophecy is alright, I don't like its mana cost being BBB
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
One thing I don't understand is when GrimPow said that a token-doubler and Phyrexian Altar creates another Food Chain. Is there another card that I'm missing?
Edit: oh I guess he just means with Prossh. That would make sense..
Glad you enjoyed the thread. And you are correct, but you can do much more with token doublers. Token doublers are nutty in this deck without Prossh, but in this case you are relying heavily on the power of these token doublers. Tooth and Claw can produce infinite creatures with them for example, and with something like Blood Artist or Purphoros you just win. (Note this combo dosent produce extra creatures just creates a lot of dead creatures and creatures coming into play.)
For this reason I am likely adding Parallel Lives in my next pass of the decklist.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
It's pretty consistent. And 3 of a single color isn't hard to achieve either with:
- a good mana base
- Phyrexian Altar, Chromatic Lantern, Earthcraft
- Wood Elves, Farhaven Elf, Cultivate, Yavimaya Elder
- and slightly because of Sakura-Tribe Elder, Dawntreader Elk, Solemn Simulacrum
- I may consider Burnished Hart, but I just don't like how mana-intensive it is to use. It basically means that I won't be doing anything else on turns 3-4
1 Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
Creature (26)
1 Essence Warden
1 Viscera Seer
1 Blood Artist
1 Dawntreader Elk
1 Korozda Guildmage
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Eternal Witness
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Wood Elves
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Falkenrath Noble
1 Kozilek's Predator
1 Marton Stromgald
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Nullmage Shepherd
1 Ogre Battledriver
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Sengir Autocrat
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Deranged Hermit
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Chancellor of the Forge
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
Planeswalker (1)
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
Instant (5)
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Beast Within
1 Krosan Grip
1 Putrefy
1 Tempt with Vengeance
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Cultivate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Insurrection
Artifacts (5)
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Spawning Pit
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Birthing Pod
1 Coat of Arms
Enchantments (16)
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Bitterblossom
1 Earthcraft
1 Sylvan Library
1 Awakening Zone
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Curse of Predation
1 Fecundity
1 Food Chain
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Grave Pact
1 Parallel Lives
1 Doubling Season
1 In the Web of War
1 Primal Vigor
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Badlands
1 Bayou
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Command Tower
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
8 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Graven Cairns
1 Kessig Wolf Run
3 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Savage Lands
1 Stomping Ground
5 Swamp
1 Taiga
1 Twilight Mire
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Woodland Cemetery
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
I would be more worried about it being in play when we want to chain sacrifices of the commander. There is an upper limit on the number of times you can kill your creatures (your life total) and I would hate to be in a situation where I have Dark Prophecy in play while I am at a relatively low life and I want to combo out, but can't.
I find that hitting triple colored cards across all the colors in my deck to be annoying and extremely difficult to deal with. I usually focus on one color, and splash the other two and consistency and mana shortage problems melt away. That's what I did with my prossh deck, it's focused primarily on green, splashes a moderate black, and a very light red. Usually, I just have to hit a single mountain and I'm off.
I do like the idea of a token-based creature Prossh list, and will be looking into building one to go along side my current combo-Prossh list. Thanks for the list, I'll take a look at it for some inspiration.:)
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Right now I'm looking for some unique cheap creatures producers, and also some good ideas for another Prossh deck centered around creature tokens and not so much combo-ing.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
thanks!
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[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
I actually just cut the card today. It doesn't actually ramp which is what I want from my creatures that get lands. It's good for color fixing, but my deck is running just fine. The card draw is interesting, but does cost 2, and thus wasn't really enough to warrant keeping it around.
As for spoilers, not really for my deck, but I'm keeping an eye out for something juicy. Sadly, I don't think we're getting a Purphoros, God of the Forge kind of insane card out of the set. I tend to not make decisions on new cards until after I've seen them played though, so we'll see.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Xenagos looks interesting as he offers a 1 shot with your first Prossh cast for 1 opponent (Cast Prossh, sac 6 kobolds to make Prossh 11/5, trigger Xenagos for a 22/5 hasty general) But I don't know if it's going to get a spot. WOuld be fun if I was running Overwhelming Stampede though, which is a possible include in the deck. I think I could see that taking the place of Shared Animosity in my list.
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[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
GWURafiq of the TempoGWU
So no, it's not generally a tutor target, and it's not generally a "drop right away" card. It is an amazing zource of card advantage in the deck however, which is what wins msot of my games. I'll drop it if I just need a hand refill at the time and don't have anything else to do with my tokens, or after I've already done something with my tokens and they're just sitting there.
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[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
If nothing else I can use it to draw during a dry spell, as it does draw cards nicely if you do not mind losing some 0/1 kobolds which in that situation the card draw is likely more useful.
"I've always been a fan of reality by popular vote" - Stephen Colbert (in response to Don McLeroy)
GPolukranos, Kill ALL the Things!G
Applying for Primer status, hopefully those gods smile upon us favorably ^.^ Keep firing away with questions, we'll answer any and every!
Also, considering making a couple of cuts for Vicious Shadows and/or Overwhelming Stampede. Also, Triumph of the Hordes is a hilarious wincon. "Oops, you just took 12 infect? Ooh, so sorry, next game" types of things always just get to me
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[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB
My LGS definitely had a Gaea's Cradle in stock today. Totally bought it >.< I'm so excited!
Also, looks like that new Xenagos god is going to be replacing my Seize the Day, it just seems a lot stronger. Other than that I'm not really seeing anything out of BoTG that excited me. big, anything you see that you're going to give a try to?
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[Primer]WIsamaru, the Howling BladeW[Primer]
[Primer]BGSkullbriar: From Life, Death Eternal (1v1)GB[Primer]
BGRbighaben and Feverous' Prossh, Skyraider of KherRGB
BGRProssh-Gro (1V1)RGB