Summary:
This deck is all about using Jhoira and suspending things to combo off with. I usually get Jhoira out turn 3, in not sooner if I get a sol ring, and if she's not taken or destroyed, suspend 2 things turn 4. Best case scenario, this is a fattie and a board wipe,something like Obliterate and It that Betrays. After that, I'll probably get some hate from the table if I'm playing multiplayer. (This deck excels in 1v1, but no one really plays duel in my meta and I don't really like the banlist, so I just play 1v1 with the regular banlist and such). Once things are suspended, I can keep suspending things on the following turns, and if I can, remove counters faster. Jhoira's Timebug,Timecrafting, and Paradox Haze do that beautifully. I also have a few utility cards sprinkled in to either speed things up or fix my hand. Thran Turbine can be used for free suspends, Brainstorm and Ponder help me set up my next few draws. All in all, this deck wants to drop big stuff as fast as possible and destory before people have a chance to set up, with a little utility here or there to help me get on my feet if things don't go my way. This deck falls apart if Jhoira is eliminated. Killed too many times, countered too many times, or even Hindered, and it's game over. This is a very hit and miss deck, but when it hits, boy does it hit. I would like to stay away from cards that are too expensive for what they do. I would spend the money on Blightsteel Colossus, but not on something that doesn't do as much. Basically I don't wanna spend crap-tons of money on a couple lands.
I actually added a Fabricate tonight, after I got it in a trade. However, I never thought to use it for Quicksilver, and I have no idea why i didn't think of that. I also added a Pongify. I took out Eternal Dominion and Steam Augury. The counterspells are on that weird 3 CMC, shared with Jhoira. I could probably find a spot for them when I get the money to get them. Could you give me your reasons for Thran Turbine? Paradox Haze I can kinda understand because it shares a spot with Jhoira and because of that, I have to either wait a turn with Jhoira, play it before I suspend something, or play it after I suspend. Because of that, it still is 3 turns after Jhoira hits the board before things come out, but it lines up for things after the first batch. This card is kinda iffy to me but I've kept it in so far. However, I usually don't have a second batch due to the nature of this deck. I would like to add a couple cards to correct that. The 2 you suggested seemed a bit expensive mana wise. How are Divination and Counsel of the Soratami? Also, I took more thought into it and I believeCurse of the Swine should stay in the deck because it can make or break a game. I think it's saved me a couple times from losing a game due to the opponent overwhelming me. I dunno. Let me know your thoughts!
Isn't Fact or Fiction nearly the same as Steam Augury? I guess the person picking really does matter that much. I like Thran Turbine because I almost always win because of Jhoira. Using a card that is based on her ability is not that situational because that's how I win, having that commander on the field. It lets me have a free suspend every turn, and for 1 mana to boot! However, I do see the use in a mana rock, but again, I hardly ever hard cast things, because I never get enough mana to do so. I see what you mean about taking these things out and I'll think on all these cards you've pointed out.
Alright, I think I can agree with that. So take out the not so great cards and add in some more counters, maybe replace some draw spells, and add in some mana rocks. Any mana rocks you suggest other than Signet?
Beacon of Tomorrows: An extra turn when you have nothing else to play can be a huge watch, that's why I'll be cutting back on those kinds of spells.
Stitch in Time: This card is cheap and can get you an extra turn, but if used on turn 3 like I usually do, can waste all your mana and your turn 3. IF not played on turn 3, this can be more forgiving, but still can be a waste. Leaving something up to chance is not a good thing.
Savor the Moment: This can remove time counters from all my suspends for 3 mana. Thought to cut down on cards like this.
Based on suggestions from you guys, I've come up with a list of "Red light" cards that I think will get the boot next. I've done this so suggestions can be a little more organized and I can make a comprehensible change based on suggestions!
Parallel Thoughts: Great card in an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck, but not so much in this one. It's a whopping 5 mana to tutor for 7 things and wait for them to show up in your hand. It's a good card for combo pieces, but I'm not so sure for this deck.
Paradox Haze: This is probably one of the cards that I might keep in. It basically cuts the wait time down to 2 turns, and it's a enchantment that stays there after the my first batch. If I take the advice of not playing Jhoira too soon, to give her more protection, than this is still a quality card.
Pongify: Although I added this card last night, not so sure about how well it will do. It's an alright card, but I think something else can easily take it's spot
Dispel: Enough though this is a 1 mana counter, I think it can easily be replaced by Hinder or Spell Crumple
Gitaxian Probe: While I do like the idea of knowing what is in my opponent's hand to react to Jhoira, I would also like some more draw power in this deck. A while ago I took out Howling Mine. Maybe it could find it's way back in?
Inkwell Leviathan: This is another iffy card. I love the design and it has a lot going for it. Shroud, trample, and islandwalk. It can be a good blocker, and it doesn't have bad power. It's a little lower, but not bad. Might keep this in
Deep-Sea Kraken While this card can come out in 2 turns by it's own, I just think it's underwhelming as a 6/6. Maybe I'm spoiled.
Stolen Identity: I can't tell you how many times I've drawn into this and no creature to suspend. when I do suspend it will a creature, boy is it fun, but it is situational.
Thran Turbine: This card can really only be used on my commander, which isn't too bad, but I think a mana rock could do better.
Timebender: I'm trying to cut down on the number on cards that remove time counters, just a little bit, because they often come up as dead draws.
I would love to hear some feedback about my choices!
I actually have an ingot lying around here somewhere, and mindstone won't be too hard to fine. I'll probably replace Thrane Turbine and Parallel Thoughts with those two cards.
Isn't Fact or Fiction nearly the same as Steam Augury?
Fact or Fiction is better because you get to choose which pile is best for you. Steam Augury let's your opponents choose what is best for them. It's a subtle difference but an important one. There is no reason you can't play both.
Dispel: Enough though this is a 1 mana counter, I think it can easily be replaced by Hinder or Spell Crumple
Dispel is a really strong counterspell because it cost one mana. If you want to play Hinder or Spell Crumple play them over Cancel and either Counterflux or Dissolve. None of those three mana counters are very good in EDH.
Inkwell Leviathan: This is another iffy card. I love the design and it has a lot going for it. Shroud, trample, and islandwalk. It can be a good blocker, and it doesn't have bad power. It's a little lower, but not bad. Might keep this in
Inkwell Leviathen is a legit win condition. Being untargetable and relatively common landwalk makes it a real threat. Deep-Sea Kraken can probably go though - it's just a beatstick and there are better beatsticks
Thran Turbine: This card can really only be used on my commander, which isn't too bad, but I think a mana rock could do better
Thran Turbine and Training Grounds are bad cards. Generally speaking if you include a card to work with only your commander you shouldn't play it.
Timebender: I'm trying to cut down on the number on cards that remove time counters, just a little bit, because they often come up as dead draws.
Good call. The only time counter removing effects that I'd play are Rift Elemental and Jhoira's Timebug. They're repeatable removal effects so they're more likely to be removal.
You should look into Gilded Drake, Consecrated Sphinx, and Boseiju, Who Shelters All. Gilded Drake is basically a two mana Mind Control. Very cost efficient and most blue decks should run it. Consecrated Sphinx is one of blues best creatures. Boseiju makes your Obliterate effects more reliable. They're most likely out of price range but if you want splurge on something I'd make it one of those. Or one the Eldrazi Titans. Whichever.
The problem I'm having with these suggestions is that this deck is meant to be as fast as possible. I'm talking I want a fattie as early as turn 6 or 7, if not board wiped. If I can wipe the board turn 6 and have a fattie by suspending them both, that's a win-con, especially if it's annihilate. Jhoira is a HUUUUUGE part. I don't really intend on hard casting any big spells. I can sometimes cast a smaller board wipe but that's not always the best. Basically, should I slow the deck down and add mana rocks and the like so I can start to cast some of these creatures? Also, I'm going to drop a link to my tapped out deck list, so if you want, you can play test the deck to get a better feel for it.
1x Aeon Chronicler
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Artisan of Kozilek
1x Balefire Dragon
1x Blightsteel Colossus
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Deep-Sea Kraken
1x Fog Bank
1x Frost Titan
1x Inkwell Leviathan
1x It That Betrays
1x Jhoira's Timebug
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1x Pathrazer of Ulamog
1x Platinum Emperion
1x Rift Elemental
1x Timebender
1x Ulamog's Crusher
1x Utvara Hellkite
Artifacts: (7)
1x Izzet Signet
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Quicksilver Amulet
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Thran Turbine
1x Ral Zarek
Lands: (37)
1x Command Tower
1x Crystal Vein
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Desolate Lighthouse
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Halimar Depths
12x Island
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Izzet Guildgate
12x Mountain
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Shivan Reef
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Vivid Crag
1x Vivid Creek
Instant:(17)
1x Brainstorm
1x Cancel
1x Clockspinning
1x Counterflux
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dispel
1x Dissolve
1x Evacuation
1x Fury Charm
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Negate
1x Steam Augury
1x Sunder
1x Swan Song
1x Timecrafting
1x Turn / Burn
1x Apocalypse
1x Beacon of Tomorrows
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Curse of the Swine
1x Decree of Annihilation
1x Eternal Dominion
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Jokulhaups
1x Obliterate
1x Ponder
1x Savor the Moment
1x Stitch in Time
1x Stolen Identity
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Time Stretch
Enchantment:(3)
1x Omniscience
1x Paradox Haze
1x Parallel Thoughts
Summary:
This deck is all about using Jhoira and suspending things to combo off with. I usually get Jhoira out turn 3, in not sooner if I get a sol ring, and if she's not taken or destroyed, suspend 2 things turn 4. Best case scenario, this is a fattie and a board wipe,something like Obliterate and It that Betrays. After that, I'll probably get some hate from the table if I'm playing multiplayer. (This deck excels in 1v1, but no one really plays duel in my meta and I don't really like the banlist, so I just play 1v1 with the regular banlist and such). Once things are suspended, I can keep suspending things on the following turns, and if I can, remove counters faster. Jhoira's Timebug,Timecrafting, and Paradox Haze do that beautifully. I also have a few utility cards sprinkled in to either speed things up or fix my hand. Thran Turbine can be used for free suspends, Brainstorm and Ponder help me set up my next few draws. All in all, this deck wants to drop big stuff as fast as possible and destory before people have a chance to set up, with a little utility here or there to help me get on my feet if things don't go my way. This deck falls apart if Jhoira is eliminated. Killed too many times, countered too many times, or even Hindered, and it's game over. This is a very hit and miss deck, but when it hits, boy does it hit. I would like to stay away from cards that are too expensive for what they do. I would spend the money on Blightsteel Colossus, but not on something that doesn't do as much. Basically I don't wanna spend crap-tons of money on a couple lands.
Things I might take out:
Some cards in this deck seem to slow. They don't match the tempo of this deck and often come up as dead draws. Cards like Steam Augury and Curse of the Swine seem too slow. I am also planning on taking out Beacon of Tomorrows for Time Warp. Frost Titan and Deep-Sea Kraken seems too small for the explosive nature of this deck
Cards I might add
Any and all suggestions would be amazing, I would love to get some tips about this deck.
You need either pillow fort effects or pyroclasm effects to halt the fierce aggro headed your way for playing this Commander.
Cut the bad Time Walk cards like Stitch in Time and that other one that doesn't allow you to untap.
Previous poster was right on the money as you need more rocks in order to accel into Jhoira + Suspend on the same turn.
You could cut a few of the more mediocre creatures (like that one Kraken) in order to ensure that you can actually resolve and protect a Jhoira.
1x Aeon Chronicler
1x Akroma, Angel of Fury
1x Artisan of Kozilek
1x Balefire Dragon
1x Blightsteel Colossus
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Deep-Sea Kraken
1x Fog Bank
1x Frost Titan
1x Inkwell Leviathan
1x It That Betrays
1x Jhoira's Timebug
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1x Pathrazer of Ulamog
1x Platinum Emperion
1x Rift Elemental
1x Timebender
1x Ulamog's Crusher
1x Utvara Hellkite
1x Labortory Maniac
Artifacts: (7)
1x Izzet Signet
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Quicksilver Amulet
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Thran Turbine
1x Ral Zarek
Lands: (37)
1x Command Tower
1x Crystal Vein
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Desolate Lighthouse
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Halimar Depths
12x Island
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Izzet Guildgate
12x Mountain
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Shivan Reef
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Vivid Crag
1x Vivid Creek
Instant:(17)
1x Brainstorm
1x Cancel
1x Clockspinning
1x Counterflux
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dispel
1x Dissolve
1x Evacuation
1x Fury Charm
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Negate
1x Pongify
1x Sunder
1x Swan Song
1x Timecrafting
1x Turn / Burn
1x Apocalypse
1x Enter the Infinite
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Curse of the Swine
1x Decree of Annihilation
1x Fabricate
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Jokulhaups
1x Obliterate
1x Ponder
1x Stolen Identity
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Time Stretch
Enchantment:(3)
1x Omniscience
1x Paradox Haze
1x Parallel Thoughts
1x Training Grounds
I've done this so more suggestions can be made and be a little more organized. I've taken out Steam Augury and Eternal Dominion in favor of Pongify and Fabricate. I also have the Enter the Infinite+Laboratory Maniac combo coming in the mail, as well as Training Grounds I've put this cards in in place of Beacon of Tomorrows, Stitch in Time and Savor the Moment Here is my reasoning for these changes.
Beacon of Tomorrows: An extra turn when you have nothing else to play can be a huge watch, that's why I'll be cutting back on those kinds of spells.
Stitch in Time: This card is cheap and can get you an extra turn, but if used on turn 3 like I usually do, can waste all your mana and your turn 3. IF not played on turn 3, this can be more forgiving, but still can be a waste. Leaving something up to chance is not a good thing.
Savor the Moment: This can remove time counters from all my suspends for 3 mana. Thought to cut down on cards like this.
Based on suggestions from you guys, I've come up with a list of "Red light" cards that I think will get the boot next. I've done this so suggestions can be a little more organized and I can make a comprehensible change based on suggestions!
Parallel Thoughts: Great card in an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck, but not so much in this one. It's a whopping 5 mana to tutor for 7 things and wait for them to show up in your hand. It's a good card for combo pieces, but I'm not so sure for this deck.
Paradox Haze: This is probably one of the cards that I might keep in. It basically cuts the wait time down to 2 turns, and it's a enchantment that stays there after the my first batch. If I take the advice of not playing Jhoira too soon, to give her more protection, than this is still a quality card.
Pongify: Although I added this card last night, not so sure about how well it will do. It's an alright card, but I think something else can easily take it's spot
Dispel: Enough though this is a 1 mana counter, I think it can easily be replaced by Hinder or Spell Crumple
Gitaxian Probe: While I do like the idea of knowing what is in my opponent's hand to react to Jhoira, I would also like some more draw power in this deck. A while ago I took out Howling Mine. Maybe it could find it's way back in?
Inkwell Leviathan: This is another iffy card. I love the design and it has a lot going for it. Shroud, trample, and islandwalk. It can be a good blocker, and it doesn't have bad power. It's a little lower, but not bad. Might keep this in
Deep-Sea Kraken While this card can come out in 2 turns by it's own, I just think it's underwhelming as a 6/6. Maybe I'm spoiled.
Stolen Identity: I can't tell you how many times I've drawn into this and no creature to suspend. when I do suspend it will a creature, boy is it fun, but it is situational.
Thran Turbine: This card can really only be used on my commander, which isn't too bad, but I think a mana rock could do better.
Timebender: I'm trying to cut down on the number on cards that remove time counters, just a little bit, because they often come up as dead draws.
I would love to hear some feedback about my choices!
Fact or Fiction is better because you get to choose which pile is best for you. Steam Augury let's your opponents choose what is best for them. It's a subtle difference but an important one. There is no reason you can't play both.
Dispel is a really strong counterspell because it cost one mana. If you want to play Hinder or Spell Crumple play them over Cancel and either Counterflux or Dissolve. None of those three mana counters are very good in EDH.
Inkwell Leviathen is a legit win condition. Being untargetable and relatively common landwalk makes it a real threat. Deep-Sea Kraken can probably go though - it's just a beatstick and there are better beatsticks
Thran Turbine and Training Grounds are bad cards. Generally speaking if you include a card to work with only your commander you shouldn't play it.
Noticeable mana rocks you aren't playing include: Coalition Relic, Chromatic Lantern, Fellwar Stone, Fractured Powerstone, Mindstone, and Gilded Lotus. Palladium Myr and to a lesser extent Silver Myr and Iron Myr are also reasonable.
Good call. The only time counter removing effects that I'd play are Rift Elemental and Jhoira's Timebug. They're repeatable removal effects so they're more likely to be removal.
You should look into Gilded Drake, Consecrated Sphinx, and Boseiju, Who Shelters All. Gilded Drake is basically a two mana Mind Control. Very cost efficient and most blue decks should run it. Consecrated Sphinx is one of blues best creatures. Boseiju makes your Obliterate effects more reliable. They're most likely out of price range but if you want splurge on something I'd make it one of those. Or one the Eldrazi Titans. Whichever.
Other big fatties you might be interested in are Bogardan Hellkite and Kederekt Leviathan. Phantasmal Image also gets an honorable mention.
If you're going to play a lot of artifacts then Phyrexian Metamorph and Tezzeret the Seeker are worth looking in to.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/youre-a-time-lord-jhoira/