Hey all. Quick intro - I've been playing magic since about 2002, but not regularly until about three months ago. I've never played commander, however, and I've wanted to get into it, but was always turned off by two things: The high cost of entry for even a mildly competitive deck, and (I thought) the lack of reliable combos. I always enjoy pulling off impressive/silly combos, and I had been under the impression that they weren't ever possible with a deck that only has one-ofs :rolleyes:. Evidently, I forgot about the existence of tutors, draw cards, and commanders themselves. I realize now that I was being a bit of an idiot.
Anyway, I've taken an interest in Commander. While I realize that not every commander deck has to be expensive, there seem to be a few staple cards ($10-25 apiece) that REALLY make a difference in this format, and that I would enjoy playing. So, I'm going to gather together what money I can and splurge on a real, solid deck. But before spending $500+ on a deck, I want to run it by everybody I can, and get a THOROUGH analysis of what I should and should not have. Jhoira of the Ghitu is my commander; I'd be abusing her abilities to pull out board wipes (Apocalypse, Decree of Annihilation, Obliterate), expensive spells, etc. Hoping to also use extra turns from some of those expensive cards to speed up the time counters and pump planeswalkers. This decklist is a modified version of several Jhoira decks I've seen before; I made a lot of modifications, especially to the land base and the counterspells.
So, what are everybody's thoughts on this deck? What am I gonna be weak against? Anything I should add/remove? I'm really worried about being overwhelmed by beatdown and lack of finishers. Right now, Jace and Karn are my big win cons; hopefully I can destroy enough of my opponent's mana base to freeze the field, but past that, I'm not wholly sure what I could do to really drive home the win.
TL;DR - Too much control, not enough win? Too slow? Tell me.
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Current Decks:
:symg::symb: Golgari Scavenger :symg::symb: Varolz + Death's Shadow Still Dies To Removal
:symb::symr::symu: Grixis Master of Cruelty :symb::symr::symu: - Feel the jank
:symg::symu: Turbo Infect :symg::symu: - Using glistener elf, giant growth, and artful dodge, it is impossible to construct friends.
"Deadlock" Artifact - "Hardcore" Timmy
some of the cards here are just "too cute" and probably don't pull their weight as much as the slot could:
- Spellweaver Volute - not many targets worth copying
- Izzet Guildmage - not many targets
- Skullclamp - what do you clamp it to that you don't mind being dead?
- Trinket Mage - i am a huge trinket mage fan, but you only have 2 good targets
- Djinn Illuminatus - fun, but he is better the cheaper your spells tend to be
- Izzet Chronarch +Mystic Retrieval or Archeomancer - both of these are cheaper to cast, since you don't have a Riptide Laboratory or Crystal Shard i'd go with the Mystic Retrieval since it's easier to cast, and has flashback
I feel like I could fix some of the creatures. Gargadon just doesn't seem too great when compared to eldrazi, and Mnemonic wall could probably be replaced, too. What do you think?
Current Decks:
:symg::symb: Golgari Scavenger :symg::symb: Varolz + Death's Shadow Still Dies To Removal
:symb::symr::symu: Grixis Master of Cruelty :symb::symr::symu: - Feel the jank
:symg::symu: Turbo Infect :symg::symu: - Using glistener elf, giant growth, and artful dodge, it is impossible to construct friends.
"Deadlock" Artifact - "Hardcore" Timmy
1 Jhoira of the Ghitu
Planeswalkers: 4
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Chandra, the Firebrand
1 Karn Liberated
Creatures: 14
1 Rift Elemental
1 Izzet Guildmage
1 Trinket Mage
1 Detritivore
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Izzet Chronarch
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Nucklavee
1 Djinn Illuminatus
1 Greater Gargadon
1 Magus of the Future
1 Solemn Simulacrum
Spells: 36
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Deep Analysis
1 Concentrate
1 Opportunity
1 Personal Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Gamble
1 Intuiton
1 Braid of Fire
1 Paradox Haze
1 Mirror Sheen
1 Spellweaver Volute
1 Future Sight
1 Shattering Spree
1 Molten Disaster
1 Distorting Wake
1 Bonfire of the Damned
1 Obliterate
1 Decree of Annihilation
1 Apocalypse
1 Time Warp
1 Walk the Aeons
1 Beacon of Tomorrows
1 Time Stretch
1 Reverberate
1 Reiterate
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Recoup
1 Call to Mind
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Counterbalance
1 Hinder
1 Double Negative
1 Rewind
1 Last Word
1 Cryptic Command
1 Spelljack
1 Time Stop
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Izzet Signet
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Coalition Relic
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Mindslaver
Lands: 36
1 Halimar Depths
1 Academy Ruins
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Shivan Reefs
1 Tolaria West
1 Steam Vents
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 High Market
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Command Tower
1 Strip Mine
12 Island
10 Mountain
Hey all. Quick intro - I've been playing magic since about 2002, but not regularly until about three months ago. I've never played commander, however, and I've wanted to get into it, but was always turned off by two things: The high cost of entry for even a mildly competitive deck, and (I thought) the lack of reliable combos. I always enjoy pulling off impressive/silly combos, and I had been under the impression that they weren't ever possible with a deck that only has one-ofs :rolleyes:. Evidently, I forgot about the existence of tutors, draw cards, and commanders themselves. I realize now that I was being a bit of an idiot.
Anyway, I've taken an interest in Commander. While I realize that not every commander deck has to be expensive, there seem to be a few staple cards ($10-25 apiece) that REALLY make a difference in this format, and that I would enjoy playing. So, I'm going to gather together what money I can and splurge on a real, solid deck. But before spending $500+ on a deck, I want to run it by everybody I can, and get a THOROUGH analysis of what I should and should not have. Jhoira of the Ghitu is my commander; I'd be abusing her abilities to pull out board wipes (Apocalypse, Decree of Annihilation, Obliterate), expensive spells, etc. Hoping to also use extra turns from some of those expensive cards to speed up the time counters and pump planeswalkers. This decklist is a modified version of several Jhoira decks I've seen before; I made a lot of modifications, especially to the land base and the counterspells.
So, what are everybody's thoughts on this deck? What am I gonna be weak against? Anything I should add/remove? I'm really worried about being overwhelmed by beatdown and lack of finishers. Right now, Jace and Karn are my big win cons; hopefully I can destroy enough of my opponent's mana base to freeze the field, but past that, I'm not wholly sure what I could do to really drive home the win.
TL;DR - Too much control, not enough win? Too slow? Tell me.
:symg::symb: Golgari Scavenger :symg::symb: Varolz + Death's Shadow Still Dies To Removal
:symb::symr::symu: Grixis Master of Cruelty :symb::symr::symu: - Feel the jank
:symg::symu: Turbo Infect :symg::symu: - Using glistener elf, giant growth, and artful dodge, it is impossible to construct friends.
"Deadlock" Artifact - "Hardcore" Timmy
"Under Construction":
Jhoira EDH :symr::symu:
:?mana:Wood Elemental "...beatdown...":?mana:
- Spellweaver Volute - not many targets worth copying
- Izzet Guildmage - not many targets
- Skullclamp - what do you clamp it to that you don't mind being dead?
- Trinket Mage - i am a huge trinket mage fan, but you only have 2 good targets
- Djinn Illuminatus - fun, but he is better the cheaper your spells tend to be
- Izzet Chronarch +Mystic Retrieval or Archeomancer - both of these are cheaper to cast, since you don't have a Riptide Laboratory or Crystal Shard i'd go with the Mystic Retrieval since it's easier to cast, and has flashback
+Gilded Lotus - you need more mana in the event plan A goes wrong
+Darksteel Ingot - won't be destroyed by most of your Obliterate effects
+Jokulhaups - more obliterate effects
+Omniscience - because free spells!
+Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Ulamog, The infinite Gyre, Blightsteel Colossus,Darksteel Colossus - you need big monsters to win with
probably also look into making your expensive counterspells into cheaper counterspells
BW Haakon, Stromgald Scourge: Tribal Knights BW
UWG Roon Astral Slide: Cycling and Sliding Based Deck UWG
+Mystic Retrieval/Lotus/Ingot/Omniscience/Ulamog
I feel like I could fix some of the creatures. Gargadon just doesn't seem too great when compared to eldrazi, and Mnemonic wall could probably be replaced, too. What do you think?
Edit: Replaced Mnemonic wall with Inkwell Leviathan
Edit 2: Replaced Braid of Fire with Bribery
Edit 3: Replaced Tezzeret with Arcanis the Omnipotent
:symg::symb: Golgari Scavenger :symg::symb: Varolz + Death's Shadow Still Dies To Removal
:symb::symr::symu: Grixis Master of Cruelty :symb::symr::symu: - Feel the jank
:symg::symu: Turbo Infect :symg::symu: - Using glistener elf, giant growth, and artful dodge, it is impossible to construct friends.
"Deadlock" Artifact - "Hardcore" Timmy
"Under Construction":
Jhoira EDH :symr::symu:
:?mana:Wood Elemental "...beatdown...":?mana: