MTG Salvation

This is the story of a Myr.

It had no name. It was just another Myr among many. There was nothing noticeable about this Myr. Nothing special.

But it had a destiny. It's entire life, it went about it's business with no real direction. Not knowing that a chance encounter would change it's life forever. Would transform it into something more powerful than it could have ever imagined. While Myr may not be prone to imagination, should they be, this would be beyond even their wildest dreams and expectations. The day this Myr had no idea it was waiting for came uneventfully, but altered it's life forever.

That day was the day it met Jalira.

Jalira was a whimsical sort. Never satisfied with the things that were. Always dreaming of the things that could be. What made Jalira special though, was while many lifeforms throughout all the realms and planes could dream of what they could be, Jalira had the magic to make it a reality.

In the midst of a heated, prolonged battle, she happened upon a lone Myr wandering the plane. It had no direction, no real imperative, it was just existing there. Without even a second though, she changed the life of this lone Myr by using her skills to make it infinitely more useful than it ever could have been. She was a Polymorphist. She would give this Myr a use. A meaning. An existence to be envied by all of it's kind.

So she worked her Magic on this Myr. In a flash of bright blue, the Myr sprouted wings. Then it's mechanical hands became paws. Then it's elongated face, marked by years of age and wear on it's home plane, instantly became one of awareness and knowledge. From a frail metal body emerged a Sphinx full of wisdom and power.

She smiled at the magnificent creature. Her abilities, apart of her since her childhood, never ceased to amuse her. With a wave of her hand, she gestured at the Sphinx, bidding it to follow her. She would win this day. With the help of the Myr who was no longer a Myr.


A Short Blurb
Hey there, I am ShinkenGold! I hope you enjoyed the short story of the Myr. Jalira, Master Polymorphist has inspired me as a deck builder like no Commander has in quite some time. I immediately went to work on it, and have come up with the deck I am about to present below.

I had two rules for my deck going into building it:

1) No jank mechanics. Eldrazi were not an option. Neither was infect. Jin-Gitaxis would get me hated off the table immediately. Most of my playgroup is casual, and while I have been playing for almost a decade, I still strive to ensure my opponent is having as much fun playing me as I am playing my deck.

2) I do not enjoy counter magic. Playing against it strains my patience. I am starting to enjoy countermagic. I know my opponents hate it. While my deck has three, they all serve a purpose. I would not be loading up on them with this deck, despite the fact that it is mono-blue.

Those rules being established, I went to work on my deck. I wanted it to be fairly competitive, but still be fun to play against by the casual player.

Also, my playgroup is very aggro. Iroas, Xenagos, a very creature heavy Riku. Some Voltrons, and lots of green beats. So a lot of my choices are based on the fact that I will have some big numbers swinging my way!

As I said, suggestions are welcome, as, with any EDH deck, it is a constant work in progress. Thanks again!

The Deck!

Jalira, Master Polymorphist



It is still a work in progress, so any suggestions are welcome. This deck is a labor of love for me. Jalira is fun to play, hands down, so I have been devoting a lot of my time and effort to streamlining this deck. I have seen some great success against a variety of decks, including some fairly competitive things, but I still feel there is room for improvement.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Rings of Brighthearth is pretty much an auto include for generals with activated abilities. Seems like it should find it's way into the deck somewhere, probably instead of tidal force. Sol ring can go in somewhere as well.

Rings of Brighthearth is a great idea! Can't believe I overlooked that! (Funny, considering I had an Illusionist's Bracers in my first draft of this deck, but ended up cutting it. Rings is soooo much better!) There will be shenanigans with Vedalken Shackles and Proteus Staff from that as well!

Sol Ring I am a bit iffy on. While I can't argue that it's just solid tech, the mana rocks I am running serve me very well, and allow me to have polymorph targets if needed. Will need to think that one over.

Great suggestions, thank you!

Changes

-Tidal Force/ +Rings of Brighthearth

Body Double should be helpful since it can bring back your sacrificed creature. Dance of Many is also interesting.

Aside from that, fascinating.

Going to give Body Double a shot when I play this week! It feels like it has potential since so many of my things will be hitting the yard. I also like that it hits any GY. That could be useful!

Thanks for yout input!

Body Double turned out to be a bit of a dud thanks to the fact that I usually polymorph tokens. And the amount of graveyard hate in recent games made it hard for me to find a suitable target. Got a hit off of someone's Consecrated Sphinx in one game... then immediately had someone Swords the thing.

That's a shame! It works perfectly well with my Brago deck though. No one wipes the board?

My playgroup is wrought with Hallowed Burial and a LOT of GY hate. We have a Sedris/Grimgrin player that WRECKS (I also run a Melek deck that recurs like a madman), so between the Tormod's Crypt, Stonecloaker, Leyline of the Void etc, stuff just doesn't stay in yards often. First time I went to hit something with Body Double, the Ephara, God of the Polis player flashed in a Stonecloaker and RFG'd my target. -.- It was traumatizing!

My group is pretty good about alternate Board Wipes, as evidenced by a lot of my removal, and tuck/exile effects that come from our white players. Graveyard-centric decks are a hard sell in these parts.

Tested four games with Rhystic Study in play. Blown up twice, drew three cards off of it one game, and the third game it arrived a bit late and everyone was paying mana. Blah.

Pulling the Study and dropping in Arcanis the Omnipotent. A Polymorph target, and given that I never Polymorph over my turn (unless absolutely necessary), will reliably be able to go into my turn and net those three cards. Also evasion ability is a plus.

Also considering removing Fated Infatuation for Gather Specimens. Will test and update later.

Using Snow-Covered Islands can be an Idea, using Spread Sheets will be very useful to avoid drawing lands.
What about Extraplanar Lens? Why are you using only Caged Sun?

And Control Magic instead Gather Specimens? Gather Spec can be used only in response and Control Magic only on your turn but Control Magic costs 2UU and Gather 3UUU.

And High Market can be useful with Vedalken Shackles if Jalira, Master Polymorphist isn't available.

Good call on the Arcanis. I derped pretty hard for a second there! Welp... maybe a Mulldrifter. Something a little more guaranteed than the Rhystic Study.

Snow lands and Scrying Sheets? That sounds like just the right amount of super-secret tech this deck would love. As for Extraplanar Lens... I love the idea. More mana would be great, but what the heck would I possibly cut for it?

My issue at this point with cards like Control Magic is that it is a permanent, one Aura Shards trigger and it's gone. Gather Specimens allows me to take the creature unconditionally, AND trigger the come into play effects! That Terastodon my opponent thought they'd play and wreck my day with? NOPE. Mine! Larfleeze style! And they would be getting 3/3 Elephants instead. I'm ok with paying two more mana for that!

High Market is going in. Thanks for that idea!

Some great suggestions, thank you. And thanks for spotting my derp on that Arcanis. I'm sure I would have caught it... after passed him on a Polymorph trigger. Saved me that trouble!

Have you tried Homarid Spawning Bed? It is pretty sweet when you are taking other peoples stuff or just want to make a bunch of dudes when your guy is about to die. All of the Evoke creatures are really good because you can evoke them, then sacrifice them to Jalira with their ability on the stack.