Although this card was just spoiled, it immediately got my brain flowing about ideas to use and abuse Yisan. So, let's build a list! Obviously, this is a rough-draft, so your comments and suggestions are most welcome
Hey guys so I've actually moved on from commander on to 60 card decks so I don't have any commander decks.
Anyway I've started my own gameplay channel in which I play games (Magic also)
Honestly I don't see this guy being competitive in mono-green, because he is really really really slow. By the time you're getting something cmc 4 you've already invested 15 mana and 5 turns.
Thousand-Year Elixir would speed him up slightly. Seedborn Muse might actually give him a chance to pull out something cmc 4 or higher in a decent time frame.
Proliferate is probably the only way to give him a chance at cheating something big into play, but it is still a massive mana sink and limited per untap step. If you're using proliferate, you may as well include some infect too.
You needSeedborn Muse dude - it's like the first card I thought of when I saw this....actually no, it was the second, first was Birthing Pod and you're not running it either!
Honestly I don't see this guy being competitive in mono-green, because he is really really really slow. By the time you're getting something cmc 4 you've already invested 15 mana and 5 turns.
Thousand-Year Elixir would speed him up slightly. Seedborn Muse might actually give him a chance to pull out something cmc 4 or higher in a decent time frame.
Proliferate is probably the only way to give him a chance at cheating something big into play, but it is still a massive mana sink and limited per untap step. If you're using proliferate, you may as well include some infect too.
Hmm, I see what you mean. Maybe we do need to go the proliferate method. I was hoping to avoid it, but you make some valid points about how slow Yisan is.
You needSeedborn Muse dude - it's like the first card I thought of when I saw this....actually no, it was the second, first was Birthing Pod and you're not running it either!
Well, I guess we had different thoughts about the deck. I thought like an idiot, and thought smart... because those are AWESOME recommendations!
Hmm. So we can shuffle our library any time we want with our commander? Mirri's Guile, Sensei's Divining Top and other cards that care about the top of your library seem good.
Heartstone - it only affects your commander and Chameleon Colossus and is basically a Pristine Talisman that doesn't give life and only lets you spend its mana on activated abilities. Replace with Thousand-Year Elixir which also only affects your commander, but saves you a turn and allows two activations, mana permitting.
Memory Jar - Card draw is cool, but you're aiming to cheat creatures into play and you don't have a whole lot of graveyard interactions. There isn't much synergy here.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts - I think you'd want a higher creature count before he's worthwhile. He also wants you to push your creature curve higher, while you commander works better with a lower creature curve.
Brawn - are you pumping your creatures somehow without giving them trample? In mono-green there is plenty enough trample that Brawn doesn't seem worth it to me.
Collective Unconscious, Tooth and Nail, Praetor's Counsel, Genesis Wave - I think you're over-valuing draw engines when you commander is a tutor on a stick. I would probably pick 2 out of these 4 to run, as they push your curve pretty high. Are you running any Tooth and Nail combos? If not I think that's the weakest link of the four.
Hmm. So we can shuffle our library any time we want with our commander? Mirri's Guile, Sensei's Divining Top and other cards that care about the top of your library seem good.
Good point, I think Mirri's Guile definitely has a place here.
Heartstone - it only affects your commander and Chameleon Colossus and is basically a Pristine Talisman that doesn't give life and only lets you spend its mana on activated abilities. Replace with Thousand-Year Elixir which also only affects your commander, but saves you a turn and allows two activations, mana permitting.
Memory Jar - Card draw is cool, but you're aiming to cheat creatures into play and you don't have a whole lot of graveyard interactions. There isn't much synergy here.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts - I think you'd want a higher creature count before he's worthwhile. He also wants you to push your creature curve higher, while you commander works better with a lower creature curve.
Brawn - are you pumping your creatures somehow without giving them trample? In mono-green there is plenty enough trample that Brawn doesn't seem worth it to me.
Collective Unconscious, Tooth and Nail, Praetor's Counsel, Genesis Wave - I think you're over-valuing draw engines when you commander is a tutor on a stick. I would probably pick 2 out of these 4 to run, as they push your curve pretty high. Are you running any Tooth and Nail combos? If not I think that's the weakest link of the four.
what do you think of hex parasite ? It could be good way to control the amount of counters and get what you want. It will cost you 2 life but whatever.
what do you think of hex parasite ? It could be good way to control the amount of counters and get what you want. It will cost you 2 life but whatever.
I don't believe Hex Parasite is legal here. Phyrexian black is still black mana, which cannot be played outside of black in EDH.
Unless I'm wrong? That has happened once before.
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If someone is playing Icy Manipulator against you, you've already won.
You might find this thread useful. It focuses one drops that are useful to tutor for or abuse. Some interesting GX targets in addition to one drops that level and or have the multikicker mechanic.
The 1 CMC Enchantment and Artifact Destruction Elves look underwhelming to me. Also, Reclamation Sage is a thing in this set.
Agreed, they were some of the more "useful" one drops I could think of, but there are so many great green creatures out there, I'm sure we can do better.
EDIT:
Actually, a elf sub-theme could be really strong here. We can play most if not all the best elves to help our curve and to create mana, untap Yisan, etc.
Too bad your general isn't an Elf, otherwise there's a lot more Elf-centric Untapping.
But the Elves listed so far are awesome because they're awesome, not because they're elves.
Yeah, I really wish he was an elf. I think as soon as you go tribal-themed here, you immediately realize that Ezuri, Renegade Leader or any others are just so much better.
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If someone is playing Icy Manipulator against you, you've already won.
I think your deck needs a Conjurer's Closet because of the fact that your General is on the specific number of counters and you need some way to reset him / use your other ETB creatures. Maybe even Erratic Portal
Although this card was just spoiled, it immediately got my brain flowing about ideas to use and abuse Yisan. So, let's build a list! Obviously, this is a rough-draft, so your comments and suggestions are most welcome
1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
Creature [34]
1 Wirewood Symbiote
1 Scute Mob
1 Copperhorn Scout
1 Elvish Lyrist
1 Elvish Scrapper
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Tajuru Preserver
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Wood Elves
1 Fierce Empath
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Eternal Witness
1 Dosan the Falling Leaf
1 Mwonvuli Beast Tracker
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Yeva, Nature's Herald
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Acidic Slime
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 Duplicant
1 Deadwood Treefolk
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Regal Force
1 Terastodon
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Instant [5]
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Constant Mists
1 Unravel the Æther
1 Beast Within
1 Krosan Grip
Sorcery [10]
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Regrowth
1 Lead the Stampede
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Journey of Discovery
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Harmonize
1 Collective Unconscious
1 Genesis Wave
Enchantment [5]
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Abundance
1 Vernal Bloom
1 Wild Pair
1 Mana Reflection
Artifacts [8]
1 Sol Ring
1 Illusionist's Bracers
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
1 Birthing Pod
1 Trading Post
1 Mind's Eye
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1 Temple of the False God
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 High Market
1 Dryad Arbor
29 Forest
Maybe Board
Proliferate method:
Contagion Clasp
Contagion Engine
Plaguemaw Beast
Change Log
6/24/14
-1 Forest
+1 Dryad Arbor
6/25/14
-1 Heartstone
-1 Memory Jar
-1 Cauldron of Souls
-1 Journeyer's Kite
-1 Gauntlet of Power
-1 Caged Sun
-1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
-1 Brawn
-1 Tooth and Nail
-1 Praetor's Counsel
+1 Thousand-Year Elixir
+1 Vernal Bloom
+1 Mana Reflection
+1 Fauna Shaman
+1 Tajuru Preserver
+1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
+1 Green Sun's Zenith
+1 Seedborn Muse
+1 Birthing Pod
+1 Wirewood Symbiote
Fauna Shaman
Gaea's Herald
Riftsweeper
Scryb Ranger
Tajuru Preserver
wall of Blossoms
Werebear
and finally
Viridian Zealot
Awesome suggestions! I'd love to find two slots for Fauna Shaman and Tajuru Preserver! Any thoughts on cuts to make?
Sydri's Magical Castle WUB
Chainer, Dementia Master: "Bring out your dead!" BBB
Riku Because Copying Decimate URG
Xira Arien, Jund StaxBRG
The Sylvan-Primordial-PlasmBUG
Trostani ComboGW
Vizkopa Guildmage - Peasant VariantBW
Anyway I've started my own gameplay channel in which I play games (Magic also)
Twitch:
https://www.twitch.tv/dies_to_doom_blade
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/UpsidedownHandshake
I like it! It might be one of those "build around" cards to make sure you get max value.
Great Scott! That is a COMPLETE oversight on my end. Thank you for the addition!
So, we have Fauna Shaman, Tajuru Preserver and Rofellos... what do we take out?
Thousand-Year Elixir would speed him up slightly. Seedborn Muse might actually give him a chance to pull out something cmc 4 or higher in a decent time frame.
Proliferate is probably the only way to give him a chance at cheating something big into play, but it is still a massive mana sink and limited per untap step. If you're using proliferate, you may as well include some infect too.
That sir is a valid question! Any recommendations on what to cut for GSZ?
Hmm, I see what you mean. Maybe we do need to go the proliferate method. I was hoping to avoid it, but you make some valid points about how slow Yisan is.
Well, I guess we had different thoughts about the deck. I thought like an idiot, and thought smart... because those are AWESOME recommendations!
In summary, we are looking to add the following:
Fauna Shaman
Tajuru Preserver
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
Green Sun's Zenith
Thousand-Year Elixir
Seedborn Muse
Birthing Pod
... and the following change has been made:
-1 Forest
+1 Dryad Arbor
Sydri's Magical Castle WUB
Chainer, Dementia Master: "Bring out your dead!" BBB
Riku Because Copying Decimate URG
Xira Arien, Jund StaxBRG
The Sylvan-Primordial-PlasmBUG
Trostani ComboGW
Vizkopa Guildmage - Peasant VariantBW
Hope that helps
Good point, I think Mirri's Guile definitely has a place here.
That does help!
Cauldron of Souls & Oran-Rief, the Vastwood is a little "cutesy" and there are probably better options, like Soul of New Phyrexia?
So...
-1 Heartstone
-1 Memory Jar
-1 Cauldron of Souls
-1 Journeyer's Kite
-1 Gauntlet of Power
-1 Caged Sun
-1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
-1 Brawn
-1 Tooth and Nail
-1 Praetor's Counsel
+1 Thousand-Year Elixir
+1 Vernal Bloom
+1 Mana Reflection
+1 Fauna Shaman
+1 Tajuru Preserver
+1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
+1 Green Sun's Zenith
+1 Seedborn Muse
+1 Birthing Pod
+1 Soul of New Phyrexia
Thoughts?
I don't believe Hex Parasite is legal here. Phyrexian black is still black mana, which cannot be played outside of black in EDH.
Unless I'm wrong? That has happened once before.
edit : i searched it and yeah, you can't use it, damn x)
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Also, citanul flute probably deserves a brief look.
Sydri's Magical Castle WUB
Chainer, Dementia Master: "Bring out your dead!" BBB
Riku Because Copying Decimate URG
Xira Arien, Jund StaxBRG
The Sylvan-Primordial-PlasmBUG
Trostani ComboGW
Vizkopa Guildmage - Peasant VariantBW
Agreed, they were some of the more "useful" one drops I could think of, but there are so many great green creatures out there, I'm sure we can do better.
I'm also considering adding the following:
Scryb Ranger
Elvish Visionary
Joraga Treespeaker
Also, with the untap effects we're trying to use/abuse, Lightning Greaves should actually be Swiftfoot Boots here. Thoughts?
EDIT:
Actually, a elf sub-theme could be really strong here. We can play most if not all the best elves to help our curve and to create mana, untap Yisan, etc.
But the Elves listed so far are awesome because they're awesome, not because they're elves.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Yeah, I really wish he was an elf. I think as soon as you go tribal-themed here, you immediately realize that Ezuri, Renegade Leader or any others are just so much better.
Power Conduit is PERFECT for that too.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs