MTG Salvation

Hey There MTG Fans!,

- This Commander deck was one of the original two I created way back when,(Tsabo Tavoc (now Olivia Voldaren) was the other) and is based simply on the most powerful and advantageous cards found within their respective colors. Over time the deck has morphed only slightly but could now be marked with terms such as Super-Friends or Bant Control. The deck stars Rafiq of the Many as its general, but won't look like very many of the other Rafiq decks out there; as he is merely the general with the right colours and casting cost, rather than the star of the show as other decks make him.

- The deck is built and tuned for any size of multiplayer game and excels where table politics are generally friendly. Although Rafiq deck's are built normally to punch people in the face with his obscene burst damage, we rarely count general damage around the house unless playing tournament decks, which this version of Rafiq is not. Although I still use rafiq to do big bursts when its favourable, the goal here is to control the board and grind out opponents with card advantage. You don't need to fill your deck with "group-hug" type cards to play politically, but you do have to play smart, never over extend, and save all your removal to be used as an absolute last resort.

- The play style is very simple starting out but becomes increasingly tricky as the game progresses. There are plentiful things and creatures to cast at 3 cmc and under so that Rafiq can do work on the turn he comes out and not pointlessly get eaten up in a turn 4-5 sweeper. After casting Rafiq, attempt to land a planeswalker safely and work on keeping your hand full. After this rountine opening has been accomplished things quickly get more complicated and the political game must be played. The late game strat ideally sees you always sitting on multiple protection abilities or sweeper spells, and slowly wearing down the strongest opponent with each attack. In support of this I am constantly casting Rafiq and rarely have more than him and one other creature on the board but this is typically still more than enough to force out all of your opponents removal.

- While the deck itself is now fairly static, the cards within its global and point removal packages are constantly changing and I never seem to be completely satisfied with the finished product or balance in this area. I have attempted to balance removal between three major factors: point vs global, hits only creatures vs other permanent types, and high vs low casting costs. Most of the removal staples that you would normally expect can be found in this area, but I'm really looking forward to other peoples thoughts on the subject! I also find myself a little weak to flyers from time to time and hate having to burn a sweeper just to get rid of a couple stupid angels or what not... Thanks!



I look forward to any feedback about card choices, or themes, or whatever it is that you have to share! ~ Thank You in Advance