I have yet to see anyone post a Yasova List on these forums yet so I would like to post my take on this new beast of a commander.
Goals of the Deck / Deck Concept:
Steal creatures and sacrifice them to one of our many sac outlets to control the early game pace
Use tap effects to keep our opponents from being able to over run us
Kill people with their own stuff while they can't do anything about it.
With Yasova on the board your opponents might think twice about playing big bombs that you are just going to steal and use against them. That combined with the threaten effect will hopefully let us get in some agressive early damage. The late game stragety is two fold, make Yasova huge, then either steal their biggest threats and kill them with it, or win with commander damage.
So far from the few games I have played with it proxied up it has been performing well, but I get the feeling it needs more card draw to keep pumping out threats and a few more removal spells for enchantments / artifacts.
I like your list Food Chain is a really nasty sac outlet that I didn't think of before to excel yourself with their stuff.
For pumping Yasova Hero's Blade seems stronger than Dragon Grip. Also have you thought about Conjurer's Closet, let's you keep what you steal or lets you reuse ETB effects of your other creatures.
Grafted Wargear is nice for being a free buff however I'm not fond of making it a two for one since if they remove it Yasova will die as well. Demonmail Hauberk requires a sacrifice upfront but doesn't worry about being removed as much and acts as another free sac outlet.
Fires of Yavimaya is good but I think Temur Ascendancy might be better since for the same cost you get a cantrip effect with your bigger creatures and when playing Yasova.
Food Chain was great the game I got to use it. One of my biggest concerns is not drawing enough cards to have the creatures in hand to use it well, but if I find that's an issue I will probably just add more ways to draw cards.
I'm not sure how I missed Temur Ascendancy but that is a strait upgrade to Fires. The card draw won't occur too often but it gives new options for creatures to grab with Birthing Pod and what to put in the Mimic Vat
I think I will try to find a space for Molten Primordial as it fits neatly at the top end of our pod / food chain list. I'm personally not a huge fan of Insurrection just because I don't like cards that win just by themselves. Most of the time an Insurrection resolves the game is over and it always just feels anti-climatic.
Conjurer's Closet is going to have to find a spot in the deck I think, just not sure yet what I want to take out.
How's Domri Rade working out? He does not seem bad since you can make the creature you steal fight something but his plus just seems to weak overall.
Creeperhulk seems only ok, I know if can buff things a little but it only gives Yasova 1 more power, and I think you can do better than Wingcrafter if you want to give her evasion.
Yea I played the deck over the weekend and decided I needed to make a few changes.
Domri actually did very well for me. In my deck he has a 1/3 chance to hit a creature which is decent, and the fight came in handy a few times actually, especially if you can steal a deathtouch creature.
Creeperhulk and Wingcrafter are definitely getting the boot, most likely for some draw or removal. Also i found Dominus of Fealty was hard to cast with its mana cost. Also Aetherling is a great creature in general but doesn't really fit anything in my strategy other than just hitting things, not sure if I want to keep him around or go for more synergy in the deck.
Sword of Fire and Ice and its counterparts look to be better equipment choices if you have access to them. They pump Yasova's power while simultaneously offering evasion. Obsidian Battle-Axe is similar to Hero's Blade.
Made a few updates, Took out Elder of Laurels for Molten Primordial, and Phyrexian Revoker for Forgotten Ancient.
There may have been a few other updates as I made some changes and forgot to update here but the list is now up to date.
Dominus of Fealty is a test card right now. It might just be too expensive since I tend to want to be spending mana on the threaten ability of Yasova most turns. But I think it could be more of a late game win condition.
I also splurged on some swords, but i still cant afford a Sword of Fire and Ice, even though its really the one I want in this deck. The most important sword is Feast and Famine for the untap. I might include a Bear Umbra for the same effect.
Here are some other cards I'm considering:
Map the Wastes - Ramps and pumps Yasova. 3cmc is kind of a weird place in this deck though since I want to cast Yasova at 3. Taurean Mauler - Cheap and potentially big beater. Bonus points if I can start to include some ways of moving around +1/+1 counters
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I will be taking this to a EDH tourney at my LGS in a few weeks time and want to get the fine tuning done to give myself the best chance.
After a few more games its become clear to me that the idea of stealing peoples creatures permanently, while cool, is not very practical in a multiplayer setting. You can only steal one creature per turn (usually) and with 3 other people droping guys down you eventually just fall behind and people start blocking. So I'm going to try and new strat which is two fold:
1) Try and keep the creature count on the board low (1-2 per player) so that when I do steal a creature they can usually get in for damage or force them to trade. Either way its Win Win for us. Cards that do this well are Portcullis, and Ward of Bones. Also considering adding in Helm of Possession and Vedalken Shackles to steal and sac creatures to keep the creature count low as well. Not sure if I run enough Islands for Shackles though.
2) Keep creatures tapped down so they opponents cant block. I recently came across Mudslide and I love the effect. Especially since i can just steal the flyers that would untap. Of course people can spend mana to untap but that advances our plan #1 of keeping creatures off the board since if they are spending mana to untap, then thats less mana they have to cast spells.
Anyways, let me know if there are any other cards that might fit into this category. Meekstone is a possibility. even though it taps down Yasova I can still use the steal ability.
I wonder about Meekstone. That seems lie it would slow you down too much in terms of aggro/tempo. why take a creature that doesn't untap? same issue with Dream Tides--doesn't that hit the brakes too hard? I like Mudslide and Wonder, though. And Ward of Bones.
As mentioned, Food Chain seems like an awesome card in this deck. I'm on the fence about Keiga for some reason.... Too expensive, maybe? I don't know, but I didn't include her in my deck for whatever reason even though she objectively seems good, and good in this deck.
Hmm, you could be right about Meekstone. For some reason I was thinking Yasova untaped the creatures. Still I don't think its a bad card here, It lets you tap down creatures your opponents control after getting in a swing. It also has a pretty sweet interaction with Aggravated Assault and Prophet of Kruphix. I think I might cut Dream Tides for Bear Umbra, and keep meekstone to see how it does.
Keiga is great, especially with Birthing Pod and Food Chain. I agree it might be hard to cast at 6 mana, but its a pretty amazing thing to cheat into play, especially since the next up the chain is Molten Primordial.
Illusionist's Bracers let Yasova take two creatures. When I was playing a version of this deck, I'd steal two creatures, sack one, and use Bazaar Trader on the other. Worked out pretty. It definitely helped that I also had Forgotten Ancient, and then once I got Prophet of Kruphix out and sacked Wonder it was all over.
Teferi's Veil could provide you with another way of making your thefts permanent.
Also, Roil Elemental is heavy on blue, but steals a lot of things. Especially when you follow it up with something like a fetchland.
Illusionist's Bracers let Yasova take two creatures. When I was playing a version of this deck, I'd steal two creatures, sack one, and use Bazaar Trader on the other. Worked out pretty. It definitely helped that I also had Forgotten Ancient, and then once I got Prophet of Kruphix out and sacked Wonder it was all over.
Illusionist's Bracers only works for activated abilities, Yasova's is a trigger at the beginning of combat, you could use Strionic Resonator to copy it once per turn for 2 mana
Teferi's Veil could provide you with another way of making your thefts permanent.
Also, Roil Elemental is heavy on blue, but steals a lot of things. Especially when you follow it up with something like a fetchland.
Teferi's Veil Seems good. I'm not super familiar with Phasing, but would the permanents phase back in untapped? If that's the case it also works nicely with Meekstone and Mudslide.
I considered putting in Strionic Resonator but activating Yasova is already fairly mana hungry, so adding an extra 2 cost on top seems a little too much.
They don't phase in untapped.
Phased out creatures phase back in during your untap step, before you untap. So they would phase in, and then untap happens. So they don't get around those effects.
Updated with what I currently have sleeved up. I've managed to win a few games with the deck now, and my playgroup is quite competitive, so i'm quite happy with this iteration of it. Roil Elemental & Teferi's Veil are on my radar of potential adds. Currently testing out Titania, Protector of Argoth in the deck. I may have to get some of my fetch lands out of other decks to maker her really shine though.
I wonder, why not Shivan Harvest, Empress Galina, Thada Adel, Acquisitor and Dominus of Fealty?
All are good in Yasova. Steal creature, attack with it, sac it to Shivan Harvest and destroy his land. So he lose creature and land. Galina is great against any general, Thada can give you some Sword of XY or at least Sol Ring. And Dominus steals permanent. Oh hi PW..
as for the other suggestions( Empress Galina & Dominus of Fealty). The first iteration of this deck was very creature stealing focus, but after playing that style a lot i found I could never keep up with multiple opponents dropping down guys and eventually I would just not be able to handle it. That's why I have shifted over to more of a Tax set up with cards that keep their creatures taped, or stealing and tapping them myself.
So far its been a lot of fun but I need to add in more untap lands effect to be able to still have mana after Yasova activation. I'm trying to decide between some combination of Nature's Will, Prophet of Kruphix, and Seedborn Muse.
I have yet to see anyone post a Yasova List on these forums yet so I would like to post my take on this new beast of a commander.
Goals of the Deck / Deck Concept:
With Yasova on the board your opponents might think twice about playing big bombs that you are just going to steal and use against them. That combined with the threaten effect will hopefully let us get in some agressive early damage. The late game stragety is two fold, make Yasova huge, then either steal their biggest threats and kill them with it, or win with commander damage.
1x Barrin, Master Wizard
1x Bazaar Trader
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Eternal Witness
1x Forgotten Ancient
1x Gilded Drake
1x Greater Gargadon
1x Hero of Oxid Ridge
1x Humble Defector
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
1x Molten Primordial
1x Mulldrifter
1x Murkfiend Liege
1x Prime Speaker Zegana
1x Prophet of Kruphix
1x Rattleclaw Mystic
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Shaman of the Great Hunt
1x Sower of Temptation
1x Sylvan Caryatid
1x Thada Adel, Acquisitor
1x Titania, Protector of Argoth
1x Wolfir Silverheart
1x Wonder
1x Xenagos, God of Revels
1x Yavimaya Elder
1x Aggravated Assault
1x Bear Umbra
1x Beastmaster Ascension
1x Evolutionary Leap
1x Fecundity
1x Food Chain
1x Greater Good
1x Mudslide
1x Nature's Revolt
1x Shivan Harvest
1x Survival of the Fittest
Planeswalker (2)
1x Ral Zarek
1x Sarkhan Vol
Instant (4)
1x Beast Within
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Reality Shift
1x Worldly Tutor
Sorcery (2)
1x Cultivate
1x Green Sun's Zenith
Artifact (16)
1x Birthing Pod
1x Crystal Shard
1x Grafted Wargear
1x Gruul Signet
1x Helm of Possession
1x Izzet Signet
1x Meekstone
1x Mimic Vat
1x Phyrexian Altar
1x Simic Signet
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Sword of Light and Shadow
1x Tangle Wire
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Command Tower
7x Forest
1x Frontier Bivouac
1x High Market
1x Hinterland Harbor
8x Island
1x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Llanowar Reborn
6x Mountain
1x Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1x Raging Ravine
1x Rootbound Crag
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Temple of Abandon
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Temple of Mystery
1x Treetop Village
Current Cards in Consideration:
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Wheel of Fortune
Reforge the Soul
Time Spiral
So far from the few games I have played with it proxied up it has been performing well, but I get the feeling it needs more card draw to keep pumping out threats and a few more removal spells for enchantments / artifacts.
Let me know what you guys think.
IN:
OUT:
For pumping Yasova Hero's Blade seems stronger than Dragon Grip. Also have you thought about Conjurer's Closet, let's you keep what you steal or lets you reuse ETB effects of your other creatures.
Grafted Wargear is nice for being a free buff however I'm not fond of making it a two for one since if they remove it Yasova will die as well. Demonmail Hauberk requires a sacrifice upfront but doesn't worry about being removed as much and acts as another free sac outlet.
Fires of Yavimaya is good but I think Temur Ascendancy might be better since for the same cost you get a cantrip effect with your bigger creatures and when playing Yasova.
Also with all the sac effects Molten Primordial and Insurrection both seem really crazy.
RGW Rith, the Awakener
BRG Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
UBR Nicol Bolas
GWU Treva, the Renewer
RWU Numot, the Devastator
I'm not sure how I missed Temur Ascendancy but that is a strait upgrade to Fires. The card draw won't occur too often but it gives new options for creatures to grab with Birthing Pod and what to put in the Mimic Vat
I think I will try to find a space for Molten Primordial as it fits neatly at the top end of our pod / food chain list. I'm personally not a huge fan of Insurrection just because I don't like cards that win just by themselves. Most of the time an Insurrection resolves the game is over and it always just feels anti-climatic.
Conjurer's Closet is going to have to find a spot in the deck I think, just not sure yet what I want to take out.
Thanks for the suggestions
Creeperhulk seems only ok, I know if can buff things a little but it only gives Yasova 1 more power, and I think you can do better than Wingcrafter if you want to give her evasion.
RGW Rith, the Awakener
BRG Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
UBR Nicol Bolas
GWU Treva, the Renewer
RWU Numot, the Devastator
Domri actually did very well for me. In my deck he has a 1/3 chance to hit a creature which is decent, and the fight came in handy a few times actually, especially if you can steal a deathtouch creature.
Creeperhulk and Wingcrafter are definitely getting the boot, most likely for some draw or removal. Also i found Dominus of Fealty was hard to cast with its mana cost. Also Aetherling is a great creature in general but doesn't really fit anything in my strategy other than just hitting things, not sure if I want to keep him around or go for more synergy in the deck.
Out:
-Creeperhulk
-Wingcrafter
In:
+Reality Shift
+Wheel of Fortune
Also with all the sac outlets Domineering Will seems like it could be a nasty removal spell.
RGW Rith, the Awakener
BRG Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
UBR Nicol Bolas
GWU Treva, the Renewer
RWU Numot, the Devastator
Sword of Fire and Ice and its counterparts look to be better equipment choices if you have access to them. They pump Yasova's power while simultaneously offering evasion. Obsidian Battle-Axe is similar to Hero's Blade.
Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers can pump Yasova without eating a spell slot.
You might want to run Hunted Dragon or Hunted Troll just to be silly.
There may have been a few other updates as I made some changes and forgot to update here but the list is now up to date.
Dominus of Fealty is a test card right now. It might just be too expensive since I tend to want to be spending mana on the threaten ability of Yasova most turns. But I think it could be more of a late game win condition.
I also splurged on some swords, but i still cant afford a Sword of Fire and Ice, even though its really the one I want in this deck. The most important sword is Feast and Famine for the untap. I might include a Bear Umbra for the same effect.
Here are some other cards I'm considering:
Map the Wastes - Ramps and pumps Yasova. 3cmc is kind of a weird place in this deck though since I want to cast Yasova at 3.
Taurean Mauler - Cheap and potentially big beater. Bonus points if I can start to include some ways of moving around +1/+1 counters
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I will be taking this to a EDH tourney at my LGS in a few weeks time and want to get the fine tuning done to give myself the best chance.
1) Try and keep the creature count on the board low (1-2 per player) so that when I do steal a creature they can usually get in for damage or force them to trade. Either way its Win Win for us. Cards that do this well are Portcullis, and Ward of Bones. Also considering adding in Helm of Possession and Vedalken Shackles to steal and sac creatures to keep the creature count low as well. Not sure if I run enough Islands for Shackles though.
2) Keep creatures tapped down so they opponents cant block. I recently came across Mudslide and I love the effect. Especially since i can just steal the flyers that would untap. Of course people can spend mana to untap but that advances our plan #1 of keeping creatures off the board since if they are spending mana to untap, then thats less mana they have to cast spells.
Anyways, let me know if there are any other cards that might fit into this category. Meekstone is a possibility. even though it taps down Yasova I can still use the steal ability.
As mentioned, Food Chain seems like an awesome card in this deck. I'm on the fence about Keiga for some reason.... Too expensive, maybe? I don't know, but I didn't include her in my deck for whatever reason even though she objectively seems good, and good in this deck.
Keiga is great, especially with Birthing Pod and Food Chain. I agree it might be hard to cast at 6 mana, but its a pretty amazing thing to cheat into play, especially since the next up the chain is Molten Primordial.
Another means of keeping everyone tapped down I'm considering is the Brine lock (Brine Elemental + Vesuvan Shapeshifter). Its a personal favorite of mine and with 1 or 2 creature tutors added like Chord of Calling, Green Sun's Zenith, and Worldly Tutor it could be pretty reliable.
Also, Roil Elemental is heavy on blue, but steals a lot of things. Especially when you follow it up with something like a fetchland.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Illusionist's Bracers only works for activated abilities, Yasova's is a trigger at the beginning of combat, you could use Strionic Resonator to copy it once per turn for 2 mana
BW Haakon, Stromgald Scourge: Tribal Knights BW
UWG Roon Astral Slide: Cycling and Sliding Based Deck UWG
Teferi's Veil Seems good. I'm not super familiar with Phasing, but would the permanents phase back in untapped? If that's the case it also works nicely with Meekstone and Mudslide.
I considered putting in Strionic Resonator but activating Yasova is already fairly mana hungry, so adding an extra 2 cost on top seems a little too much.
Phased out creatures phase back in during your untap step, before you untap. So they would phase in, and then untap happens. So they don't get around those effects.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
All are good in Yasova. Steal creature, attack with it, sac it to Shivan Harvest and destroy his land.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
as for the other suggestions( Empress Galina & Dominus of Fealty). The first iteration of this deck was very creature stealing focus, but after playing that style a lot i found I could never keep up with multiple opponents dropping down guys and eventually I would just not be able to handle it. That's why I have shifted over to more of a Tax set up with cards that keep their creatures taped, or stealing and tapping them myself.
So far its been a lot of fun but I need to add in more untap lands effect to be able to still have mana after Yasova activation. I'm trying to decide between some combination of Nature's Will, Prophet of Kruphix, and Seedborn Muse.