MTG Salvation

A pretty ambitious concept for Oloro, Ageless Ascetic. This goes beyond "because creatures don't matter"; this is literally "not a single creature was given that day". I never cast Oloro, Ageless Ascetic in this build. Why? Because of the tremendous creature hate. Why even cast him anyway, his place is safely hidden in the command zone giving you life every turn (Oloro is actually the cause of me even getting into the commander format). The deck does run some manlands, which are there to attack after boardwipes or block when the situation is dire. Anyways, on with the deck:


This deck is very competitive. It runs 17 mass removal spells, 6 tutors, and an intense pillowfort concept. The deck has various wincons which are pretty viable thanks to the control and pillowfort:

• Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond
• Test of Endurance
• slowly beating opponents down with manlands after wraths

Your list is pretty good, but you have too much board wipe, and too little board control. You also need counter magic (Dimiss, Hinder, Spell Crumple, Counterspell, etc.. If you get hit by something like Back to Nature, Cyclonic Rift, or Bane of Progress you would be in major trouble. Venser isn't good here. The Espeths don't really fit with the theme and there's better stuff to be running. Feldon's Cane and Elixir of Immortality can go also.

I have a creatureless Oloro build, here are some cards that you aren't running that I've had great success with.

Overburden
Spreading Plague
Tainted Aether

These cards punish players for putting creatures on the board. Tainted Aether makes token decks basically unplayable, also it shuts down Norin the Wary and blink based decks. Spreading Plague pits your opponents against each other. And Turn 2 Overburden is just brutal. When 2 or more of these cards are on the board at the same time, the advantage you gain is insane.

Sorin Markov
Chalice of Life

These cards are very powerful alternate win conditions.

Damn! That kind of control is cold blooded... I love it! I can see how you might disapprove of Venser, the Sojourner here. But Elspeth, Knight-Errant is here for the emblem. Having that emblem means that I don't lose things to my own board wipes. I originally had Tamiyo, the Moon Sage in this build. Her emblem is brutal as well (in case of board wipes). Yes, this deck is susceptible to boardwipes on an opponent's side of the table. That's why I have the recursion cards Feldon's Cane, Elixir of Immortality, and Psychic Spiral. My only fear of running counterspells is running too few or depending too much on them. I definitely want space in order to include Overburden, Spreading Plague, Tainted Æther, and Sorin Markov.

I'll consider your suggestions and cut Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Venser, the Sojourner, and Phyrexian Rebirth. That gives me 3 slots. The rest is pretty difficult to cut. I'd probably cut some mass removal cards. But my meta is so creature heavy that I always seem to need a board wipe on hand at all times. What else do you recommend I cut? (I used the two slots to add Overburden, Tainted Æther, and Spreading Plague).

For recursion, Open the Vaults is much better. Feldon's Cane isn't recursion. If you get hit by Back To Nature, Feldon's Cane isn't going to help you. Honestly, you need counters, because certain things you simply can't bounce back from, like Merciless Eviction.

As far as things to cut. I'd get rid of Crawlspace and Norn's Annex. You already have Propaganda, Ghostly Prison and Sphere of Safety, plus a ton of removal.

I'd cut Greed, there are better ways to draw cards, like Staff of Nin (which can be found with Fabricate), or Honden of Seeing Winds. You don't need Frozen Aether and Kismet, honestly, I wouldn't run either. Witchbane Orb can go too, not just because you already have Leyline of Sanctity, but what are you really worried about?

I would try to make room for Mystifying Maze, that card has won me games before. I'd also make room for more tutors,Beseech the Queen is solid. Focus on controlling the board, rather than clearing it every other turn. If you have Propaganda and No Mercy out, you want some creatures on the board so your opponents can attack each other. I only run like 2 or 3 true board wipes. Cut Planar Cleansing for sure, why would you ever want to destroy all your stuff, unless you had an emblem out, but then it's just winmore.

Also, consider replacing Volition Reins with Blatant Thievery.

Yeah, that is true. Constant boardwipe will turn everyone against me the moment they get a creature in (or burn me) - even if I am pillowforted. I found that games became slow and unenjoyable because players wouldn't even be able to attack each other. That's part of the politics of pillowforts.

I have followed your suggestions to great use. Though, I preferred Replenish rather than Open the Vaults. I would like to get some counterspells in here. I've just found that while playing commander it is necessary to run cards that are functional reprints in order to augment the odds of obtaining them during gameplay (Kismet and Frozen Æther, Witchbane Orb and Leyline of Sanctity). If I were to play counterspells, I wouldn't like to run less than 5 but still a significant amount (this is a multiplayer deck after all). So Ive cut Feldon's Cane, Planar Cleansing, and Volition Reins to add Blatant Thievery, Replenish, and Beseech the Queen. I could cut some of the removal in favor of counterspells. What removal do you suggest on getting cut?

I would cut all the board wipes with the exception of Supreme Verdict, Toxic Deluge, and Merciless Eviction.

If you can afford Replenish, then you should also buy a Pact of Negation and a Cryptic Command. I would run 5-7 counters. Spell Crumple, Hinder, Counterspell for sure. I like Turn Aside and Negate also.

Yeah, that makes sense. However, I would probably keep the wraths that prevent creatures from regenerating as well. That leaves space for some of the more important counters. I could definitely be able to run between 6-8 counters that way.

My meta is keen on not following logical politics. When I have No Mercy in play they'd rather find ways around it to kill me than to attack each other (as well as my other pillow forts). So I've found that the need for boardwipes was paramount. Then again, that's just my meta.

UPDATE:

Current decklist:


Made the deck more efficient with a better balance of counters and boardwipes. Added some more control also. Teferi, Temporal Archmage has been beast. Nothing like producing a ton of mana with Serra's Sanctum and Cabal Coffers to then untap them again. I'm quite pleased with the deck being as it has multiple win conditions.

CARDS CONSIDERED:

• If I could find space for Karn Liberated he'd be a shoe-in.
• Invoke Prejudice wants to be here but my wallet can't afford it.

have you ever thought about Pendrell Mists, Aether Barrier, or Lethal Vapors ? They seem right up this decks alley and since most of us can't afford a tabernacle.

Pendrell Mists is a great alternative to The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale and also counts for Serra's Sanctum. Æther Barrier is great because it taxes your opponents creatures. In Cockatrice I run The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale and in real life I use Pendrell Mists. So I get what you mean. Either way, I don't think people should be playing around with such expensive cards, lol. Lethal Vapors combos great with Pithing Needle; that way nobody can use it's ability and creatures that enter play are destroyed (unless they're indestructible, of course).

Have you considered Tunnel Vision into Replenish?

Tunnel Vision into Replenish seems like such an epic combo! Will have to test it out to see! I can follow afterwards with Elixir of Immortality to get things back or make it more brutal with a Psychic Spiral. Good call!

It's been awhile since I played this deck due to me testing out a whole bunch of decks (and this one being my first one so my playgroup has gotten too used to it). But here're the recent changes I've made to the deck. It's running a bit smoother now and Narset Transcendent has been an epic addition to the deck (once the emblem occurs).



I've seen a lot of similar builds be it Esper good stuff or creature-less control or as close to creature-less as possible. However, I've also been tinkering with the idea of a Soldier tribal / control feel with Oloro. Sometimes having him in play could be beneficial. That, and he's a giant soldier so he gets all the boons. Just an idea I've throwing around in my mind.

Watch out for Telemin Performance.

Damn, that's some coldblooded business right there. Then again, the same could be said for Helm of the Void.

Telemin Performance is one reason I'm reluctant to build a zero-creature EDH deck. It doesn't come up a lot where I play, but I have been hit by it before. The level of danger totally depends on your meta.

I don't get why you'd play esper control for "gain 2 life every turn." In a competitive meta, this just translates to "start with 50 life if Oloro is your commander, which is meaningless because you die to an infinite combo."

Sharuum is vastly superior creatureless by virtue of enabling multiple simple infinite combos with strong cards (can even combo out with Sculpting Steel and bitter Ordeal so you don't need to play any creatures:).

If you never intend to cast Oloro, he's a garbage commander - he's amazing as a card advantage engine once you've got control of the board, generally drawing you a handful of cards the turn he comes out and more subsequently.

Quote from Pokken »

I don't get why you'd play esper control for "gain 2 life every turn." In a competitive meta, this just translates to "start with 50 life if Oloro is your commander, which is meaningless because you die to an infinite combo."

Sharuum is vastly superior creatureless by virtue of enabling multiple simple infinite combos with strong cards (can even combo out with Sculpting Steel and bitter Ordeal so you don't need to play any creatures:).

If you never intend to cast Oloro, he's a garbage commander - he's amazing as a card advantage engine once you've got control of the board, generally drawing you a handful of cards the turn he comes out and more subsequently.

Eh, at the very least Oloro gives you something to do when locked out by Stasis and similar effects at a competitive table. "Oh, I can't cast anything? I still gain 2 life." That might mildly annoy a Deveri player trying to killing people by poking away during the lock.

If games are really always ending turn 5, I don't see how you're going to get much card advantage out of a cast Oloro anyway.

Sharuum is a totally different archetype than Oloro. Oloro can be played in many different ways and people won't know what you're doing until they've already seen your deck or until you start playing enough turns. As soon as someone sees Sharuum they know exactly what the deck's gonna do. As for Esper control there are also other commanders like Zur and Sen Triplets that are for control. I simply chose Oloro because I can get a lot of life and stall the board long enough to survive or lock until I get an automatic wincon and it performs quite well to do so.

Needs more Karn Liberated and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon.

if money wasn't a consideration, what would you put in here? Moat, the abyss, tabernacle...?

Lol, if money weren't an option, Moat, The Abyss, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, and definitely Invoke Prejudice.

Ever thought about adding more Planeswalkers to the list as it is card advantage... not sure if I would add token makers to the list though

If you're still worried about cards like telemin performance I think you could safely include Erebos, God of the Dead in the deck as he is one of the few gods that has a relevant ability that isn't creature oriented and can help you draw off the life Oloro is giving you.

I'd also suggest Opalescence and the soon to be released Starfield of Nyx as alternate win conditions your playgroup won't expect if you've never included them in the past. When you have a full board of enchantments, play a wrath then Opalescence and swing in for a ton of damage, if not the win.