I have been looking for a Simic build that seemed fun, non-linear and that could hold its own in multiplayer. The new Ezuri, Ezuri, Claw of Progress, while seemed underwhelming at first, seemed like a fun challenge to take up.
It also looks to make infect a relevant idea in commander outside of Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, Rafiq of the Many (using the infect build), and perhaps The Mimeoplasm, and the Blightsteel Colossus cameos, which everyone loathes. Most of the infect creatures have two or less power, which is why they are irrelevant in most edh games, the idea is to make them relevant. However, there is not enough infect printed to make a deck around it so there needs to be some support as well.
While infect is a good win condition, there just isn't enough cards to make that the only win condition, so other conditions are included. However, the deck has played rather loosely thus far, so it needs some tuning up. This is a slightly modified version of the pre-con, which explains some of the cards in the deck
The issue I have when crafting this deck is that there are a bunch of creatures that I would like to add (Simic Manipulator, Deranged Hermit, Cystbearer, Spinebiter, Aether Adept, more counter spells), but am unsure what to take out, to ensure that there is a good balance of Ezuri triggers, control and evasion.
I've been reading up on different takes on this guy, and some fun (read high-cmc) cards are Fable of Wolf and Owl and Avenger of Zendikar, the latter playing extra nice with Craterhoof Behemoth, which is already in your deck.
Armies-in-a-can, like Hornet Queen and Avenger, can not only do the Deadeye Navigator, but also the Cloudstone Curio and Conjurer's Closet dance, netting lots of Ezuri triggers. Speaking of which, Verdeloth the Ancient and your ramp could be fun.
The lone counterspell, because you are unlikely to have it when you need it. If overall average cmc gets too high, Aluren. Then again, it plays so well with Shrieking Drake...
Good luck!
Cheers!
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I've been reading up on different takes on this guy, and some fun (read high-cmc) cards are Fable of Wolf and Owl and Avenger of Zendikar, the latter playing extra nice with Craterhoof Behemoth, which is already in your deck.
Armies-in-a-can, like Hornet Queen and Avenger, can not only do the Deadeye Navigator, but also the Cloudstone Curio and Conjurer's Closet dance, netting lots of Ezuri triggers. Speaking of which, Verdeloth the Ancient and your ramp could be fun.
The lone counterspell, because you are unlikely to have it when you need it. If overall average cmc gets too high, Aluren. Then again, it plays so well with Shrieking Drake...
I guess Viral Drake should replace Blightwidow, which is underwhelming, as it is just a infect Giant Spider, while the Viral Drake can also block flying, is more evasive, and can proliferate if the mana is available.
Unfortunately, there really is not a lot of ramp in this deck (the ramp here is designed to get Ezuri, Claw of Progress out on the battlefield on turn 3), and with the CMC of this deck skewed heavily towards low CMC creatures, I am typically not rolling in a ton of mana.
Aluren is there as a combo enabler and to allow me to vomit my hand on the table after I hit with a bunch of creatures with Edric, Spymaster of Trest and/or Bident of Thassa on the battlefield.
I like the Progenitor Mimic far more than Followed Footsteps solely because it generates immediate value in case the creature is removed.
When playtesting my own Ezuri infect build (with a loose basis from what you have posted - thank you for that!), I find that Inkmoth Nexus is super-powerful in this build. a practically-free 1/1 flying infect, plus +1/+1 counters makes for a really dumb interaction (in the best ways, of course!).
Also of note: Vigor. Vigor does nothing but boost your creatures while they're acting to shrink them down immensely (and kill them good after not-too-long). I played against a pretty fine-tuned Mazirek deck recently and out came Vigor. He had a Dying Wish on a Demon token from a Skirsdag High Priest (go figure about Dying Wish - but his guys do get very large very fast, so that enchantment isn't much of a shock tbh). I blocked with Inkmoth Nexus while Vigor was out and pumped the demon down to a 4/4 while the Nexus was at a solid 6/6. Next chance I had to block it he couldn't make use of Dying Wish because it was a 0/0. :3 Vigor is NASTY in this deck.
When playtesting my own Ezuri infect build (with a loose basis from what you have posted - thank you for that!), I find that Inkmoth Nexus is super-powerful in this build. a practically-free 1/1 flying infect, plus +1/+1 counters makes for a really dumb interaction (in the best ways, of course!).
Also of note: Vigor. Vigor does nothing but boost your creatures while they're acting to shrink them down immensely (and kill them good after not-too-long). I played against a pretty fine-tuned Mazirek deck recently and out came Vigor. He had a Dying Wish on a Demon token from a Skirsdag High Priest (go figure about Dying Wish - but his guys do get very large very fast, so that enchantment isn't much of a shock tbh). I blocked with Inkmoth Nexus while Vigor was out and pumped the demon down to a 4/4 while the Nexus was at a solid 6/6. Next chance I had to block it he couldn't make use of Dying Wish because it was a 0/0. :3 Vigor is NASTY in this deck.
I will post my decklist forthwith.
~Lil Kalki
Thanks for the review of the deck. I am looking on getting an Inkmoth Nexus as soon as I can for this deck and am definitely interested in trying out Vigor.
I noticed you are running far more infect creatures than I am, in lieu of running more utility creatures. Is it working more consistently (especially in multiplayer) or is the lack of utility being an issue? Also, aside from Wonder, how consistently are your creatures getting through? How is the card draw situation going?
In playtesting, I am finding that the following cards are either win-more or underperforming:
Beastmaster Ascension (I rarely attack with more than 2-3 creatures per combat) Inexorable Tide (It is purely win-more, as it only has helped me stay further ahead, not catchup or get ahead easily). Rampant Growth (I rather have a mana dork)
Gyre Sage would love to be your mana dork; my Vorel of the Hull Clade deck taught me that. Speaking of which, Vorel might be worth it or might be win-more.
So, first off I appreciate your analysis and review of my own deck. I'm glad you like some of the suggestions I had for it.
I find that in MP, the only time I have any semblance of an issue is when there is a distinct lack of infect in play. Last game I played against a competitive Roon of the Hidden Realm deck and a semi-comp Prossh deck. Prossh was the main worry of the Roon deck, which got Venser, the Sojourner off exorbitantly fast as well as capitalizing off of Nevermaker. Meanwhile I was short infectors by a wide margin. I think the only creatures I had available to me were Ezuri, Gyre Sage (who, yes, you should be running!), and a Solemn Simulacrum, with a Phyrexian Swarmlord in hand, never able to be utilized. Needless to say, the speed of the Roon deck finished me pretty handily. Nobody even knew I was running Infect
I find that a win via infect has been quite viable, even when house ruling it to 20 - but only when you actually get the critters in hand. That's why I for the most part cast aside utility for the raw power. Now, I'm not saying there's a problem with utility. It's just that the consistency of the infect draw makes for a smoother transition from the buff phase to the opponent's gg phase.
I had played a few games with a single opponent, as detailed in my own thread. I did much better in duel, and in that we were using the 20-poison house rule. it were only 10, it'd've been over much sooner for him. But yeah, I found that the number of infect creatures greatly improved my game v. a slight amount of said creatures. I also find that some utility, especially with regard to recursion, helps keep big threats like Blighted Agent coming through for me.
Inexorable Tide is less win-more than, say, Beastmaster Ascension, but it still can be pretty vital early game if you can get it active in that span.
Also, as a final note for now, I do endorse Fathom Mage. It's a fantastic creature for drawing cards as needed. Go for that one too
Gyre Sage would love to be your mana dork; my Vorel of the Hull Clade deck taught me that. Speaking of which, Vorel might be worth it or might be win-more.
My main issue with Gyre Sage is that it does not enable a turn 3 Ezuri, Claw of Progress, where as the similar Devoted Druid does, which is when we would like to see Ezuri, Claw of Progress hit play, so it can quickly accumulate experience counters. Yes, it can produce gobs of green mana later in the game, but by that point we don't need that much mana for just about anything.
My main issue with the Nulltread Gargantuan is that it puts the creature on top of your library and not in your hand, which kills a draw. As we really are not playing it for its body, (5/6 is not as good in commander). Species Gorger may not be terrible though.
Vorel of the Hull Clade might be something to take a look at, as well as the card drawing trio.
So, first off I appreciate your analysis and review of my own deck. I'm glad you like some of the suggestions I had for it.
I find that in MP, the only time I have any semblance of an issue is when there is a distinct lack of infect in play. Last game I played against a competitive Roon of the Hidden Realm deck and a semi-comp Prossh deck. Prossh was the main worry of the Roon deck, which got Venser, the Sojourner off exorbitantly fast as well as capitalizing off of Nevermaker. Meanwhile I was short infectors by a wide margin. I think the only creatures I had available to me were Ezuri, Gyre Sage (who, yes, you should be running!), and a Solemn Simulacrum, with a Phyrexian Swarmlord in hand, never able to be utilized. Needless to say, the speed of the Roon deck finished me pretty handily. Nobody even knew I was running Infect
I find that a win via infect has been quite viable, even when house ruling it to 20 - but only when you actually get the critters in hand. That's why I for the most part cast aside utility for the raw power. Now, I'm not saying there's a problem with utility. It's just that the consistency of the infect draw makes for a smoother transition from the buff phase to the opponent's gg phase.
I had played a few games with a single opponent, as detailed in my own thread. I did much better in duel, and in that we were using the 20-poison house rule. it were only 10, it'd've been over much sooner for him. But yeah, I found that the number of infect creatures greatly improved my game v. a slight amount of said creatures. I also find that some utility, especially with regard to recursion, helps keep big threats like Blighted Agent coming through for me.
Inexorable Tide is less win-more than, say, Beastmaster Ascension, but it still can be pretty vital early game if you can get it active in that span.
Also, as a final note for now, I do endorse Fathom Mage. It's a fantastic creature for drawing cards as needed. Go for that one too
~Lil Kalki
I noticed that as well when play testing (a lack of ways to deal with creatures), and we may have consider cards like Song of the Dryads to deal with decks that are very reliant on their generals to function. City of Solitude may need to be an answer as well just to make sure you can do your alpha strike without a hitch.
I need to playtest more (especially with the Cloudstone Curio that came in the mail today, which seems like it would help deal with some of the late game issues) and will try to alter my list based off that. Ill have to give Fathom Mage a shot as well.
I wholeheartedly recommend whirler rogue. +3exp, and granting the best evasion around is amazing especially with infect, makes every infect critter a potential blighted agent. I recommend thassa for the same reason, and the free scrys are far from useless.
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I wholeheartedly recommend whirler rogue. +3exp, and granting the best evasion around is amazing especially with infect, makes every infect critter a potential blighted agent. I recommend thassa for the same reason, and the free scrys are far from useless.
Thanks for the review.
For some dumb reason, I thought Whirler Rogue gave the creature flying and not unblockable, so it is definitely worth a look.
Just had a game against Mazirek (so far a tough but doable matchup for me) and it ended with Maz at 55 poison, and me with 20 insect infect tokens out. I freaking love Phyrexian Swarmlord. Oh. My. Gosh.
Just had a game against Mazirek (so far a tough but doable matchup for me) and it ended with Maz at 55 poison, and me with 20 insect infect tokens out. I freaking love Phyrexian Swarmlord. Oh. My. Gosh.
~Lil Kalki
I have yet to see it when I have played, but on its own it looks like one solid hit could start the infect token avalanche.
I mean granted, we've been house ruling 20 poison kills, and he was at 18 poison before the winning swing with Blighted Agent, but still. Intense. Also having Mosswort Bridge made Swarmlord that much more fulfilling to get the assist from.
I also finally had my first offline MP game v Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and Olivia Voldaren. It was a slaughterfest. I managed all sorts of shenanigans with Viral Drake and Inkmoth Nexus (which I am still proxying for now - it's in the mail), before using Corrupted Conscience on an opposing Den Protector with a Battle Mastery slapped on. It was a 4/3 at the start of that turn, and was a 10/9 (double strike and infect, mind you, so it slew even considering the house rule) swinging at its owner. I felt originally that the Olivia deck was more of a threat overall, having faced it in games past, but Trostani had a creature which could sac itself at a 2 mana premium to destroy an artifact or enchantment, so I needed to wipe him out before he could capitalize on it. It was a truly excellent display for "Ezuri's Got a Rash", which is my name for the deck, of course.
I mean granted, we've been house ruling 20 poison kills, and he was at 18 poison before the winning swing with Blighted Agent, but still. Intense. Also having Mosswort Bridge made Swarmlord that much more fulfilling to get the assist from.
I also finally had my first offline MP game v Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and Olivia Voldaren. It was a slaughterfest. I managed all sorts of shenanigans with Viral Drake and Inkmoth Nexus (which I am still proxying for now - it's in the mail), before using Corrupted Conscience on an opposing Den Protector with a Battle Mastery slapped on. It was a 4/3 at the start of that turn, and was a 10/9 (double strike and infect, mind you, so it slew even considering the house rule) swinging at its owner. I felt originally that the Olivia deck was more of a threat overall, having faced it in games past, but Trostani had a creature which could sac itself at a 2 mana premium to destroy an artifact or enchantment, so I needed to wipe him out before he could capitalize on it. It was a truly excellent display for "Ezuri's Got a Rash", which is my name for the deck, of course.
~Lil Kalki
That was one card (Mosswort Bridge) that when others were play testing my deck, they were much higher on than I was. Primarily due to the low mana curve of my deck and the fact that it entered tapped. What has your experience been with it, and is it worth keeping in the deck?
I mean granted, we've been house ruling 20 poison kills, and he was at 18 poison before the winning swing with Blighted Agent, but still. Intense. Also having Mosswort Bridge made Swarmlord that much more fulfilling to get the assist from.
I also finally had my first offline MP game v Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and Olivia Voldaren. It was a slaughterfest. I managed all sorts of shenanigans with Viral Drake and Inkmoth Nexus (which I am still proxying for now - it's in the mail), before using Corrupted Conscience on an opposing Den Protector with a Battle Mastery slapped on. It was a 4/3 at the start of that turn, and was a 10/9 (double strike and infect, mind you, so it slew even considering the house rule) swinging at its owner. I felt originally that the Olivia deck was more of a threat overall, having faced it in games past, but Trostani had a creature which could sac itself at a 2 mana premium to destroy an artifact or enchantment, so I needed to wipe him out before he could capitalize on it. It was a truly excellent display for "Ezuri's Got a Rash", which is my name for the deck, of course.
~Lil Kalki
That was one card (Mosswort Bridge) that when others were play testing my deck, they were much higher on than I was. Primarily due to the low mana curve of my deck and the fact that it entered tapped. What has your experience been with it, and is it worth keeping in the deck?
Well, so far this has been my experience, since it's a relatively new inclusion (seeing as how it is in the deck, I felt it better than a superfluous Forest). I definitely need to test it more, but I got to the meat beneath as of T5, having played the Bridge on T3 (which would have been too early anyway). That's only one turn tapped, and one turn solely as a mana outlet before utterly wrecking the opponent with the Swarmlord under it (although I may have *decided* to pop it a turn later than I could have for the extra tokens later on, but I forget - I don't recall this as the case though). I think that if it were a later game and I had something like a scry effect, I'd still manage an explosive play, and without so many turns between play and pop (a resounding *1* turn conserved! But remember that one turn does make a difference between riches and ruin).
But yeah, I need to test it a bit more anyhow, since that instance was the first and so far only time I have used it.
All three of these 2 CMC mana dorks has a secondary use. The Beastcaller Savant has haste which can lead to more explosive turns, and immediate dividends, and an extra attacker on the spot if need be.
Sylvan Caryatid can produce any color of mana and has hexproof making it a reasonable target for Ezuri, Claw of Progress counters later in the game due to the counters.
Skullwinder is a weaker Eternal Witness and has been underwhelming in play testing. Beastmaster Ascension has been generally useless, as I generally voltroned up one or two creatures and swung with them or combed out.
Simic Manipulator is a good to take control of utility creatures and opposing generals. Reclamation Sage this deck needs more enchantment and artifact removal and this is the best this deck can get.
It also looks to make infect a relevant idea in commander outside of Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, Rafiq of the Many (using the infect build), and perhaps The Mimeoplasm, and the Blightsteel Colossus cameos, which everyone loathes. Most of the infect creatures have two or less power, which is why they are irrelevant in most edh games, the idea is to make them relevant. However, there is not enough infect printed to make a deck around it so there needs to be some support as well.
While infect is a good win condition, there just isn't enough cards to make that the only win condition, so other conditions are included. However, the deck has played rather loosely thus far, so it needs some tuning up. This is a slightly modified version of the pre-con, which explains some of the cards in the deck
1 Ezuri, Claw of Progress
10x Infect
1 Glistener Elf
1 Blighted Agent
1 Viridian Corrupter
1 Triumph of the Hordes
1 Carrion Call
1 Viral Drake
1 Putrefax
1 Inexorable Tide
1 Phyrexian Swarmlord
1 Cystbearer
39x Non-Infect Creatures
1 Shrieking Drake
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Sakura Tribe Elder
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Sage of Hours
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Devoted Druid
1 Beastcaller Savant
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Man-o'-war
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Ohran Viper
1 Trygon Predator
1 Wistful Selkie
1 Wood Elves
1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Simic Manipulator
1 Cephalid Constable
1 Eternal Witness
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Master Biomancer
1 Fathom Mage
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Mystic Snake
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
1 Mulldrifter
1 Prophet of Kruphix
1 Acidic Slime
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Bane of Progress
1 Vigor
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Beast Within
1 Krosan Grip
1 Reality Shift
1 Cyclonic Rift
4x Artifacts
1 Sol Ring
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
6x Enchantments
1 Bident of Thassa
1 Rhystic Study
1 Greater Good
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Aluren
1 Asceticism
36x Lands
13 Forest
11 Island
1 Command Tower
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Thornwood Falls
1 Lumbering Falls
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Command Beacon
1 High Market
Armies-in-a-can, like Hornet Queen and Avenger, can not only do the Deadeye Navigator, but also the Cloudstone Curio and Conjurer's Closet dance, netting lots of Ezuri triggers. Speaking of which, Verdeloth the Ancient and your ramp could be fun.
Progenitor Mimic and Followed Footsteps on those armies-in-a-can might be neat.
Doesn't Viral Drake infect and proliferate?
As for what to cut...
The lone counterspell, because you are unlikely to have it when you need it. If overall average cmc gets too high, Aluren. Then again, it plays so well with Shrieking Drake...
Good luck!
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
Thanks, the Avenger of Zendikar seems like a good replacement for the Hornet Queen at the CMC. It is easier to cast and will almost definitely produce as many tokens, and hence triggers for Ezuri, Claw of Progress.
I guess Viral Drake should replace Blightwidow, which is underwhelming, as it is just a infect Giant Spider, while the Viral Drake can also block flying, is more evasive, and can proliferate if the mana is available.
The Cloudstone Curio seems like a decent replacement for the lone Counterspell.
Unfortunately, there really is not a lot of ramp in this deck (the ramp here is designed to get Ezuri, Claw of Progress out on the battlefield on turn 3), and with the CMC of this deck skewed heavily towards low CMC creatures, I am typically not rolling in a ton of mana.
Aluren is there as a combo enabler and to allow me to vomit my hand on the table after I hit with a bunch of creatures with Edric, Spymaster of Trest and/or Bident of Thassa on the battlefield.
I like the Progenitor Mimic far more than Followed Footsteps solely because it generates immediate value in case the creature is removed.
Any other ideas for additions or cuts?
Also of note: Vigor. Vigor does nothing but boost your creatures while they're acting to shrink them down immensely (and kill them good after not-too-long). I played against a pretty fine-tuned Mazirek deck recently and out came Vigor. He had a Dying Wish on a Demon token from a Skirsdag High Priest (go figure about Dying Wish - but his guys do get very large very fast, so that enchantment isn't much of a shock tbh). I blocked with Inkmoth Nexus while Vigor was out and pumped the demon down to a 4/4 while the Nexus was at a solid 6/6. Next chance I had to block it he couldn't make use of Dying Wish because it was a 0/0. :3 Vigor is NASTY in this deck.
I will post my decklist forthwith.
~Lil Kalki
Proud Disciple of the Church of the Wary
Thanks for the review of the deck. I am looking on getting an Inkmoth Nexus as soon as I can for this deck and am definitely interested in trying out Vigor.
So I just saw your decklist (which should be linked here http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/649819-ezuris-got-a-rash), and definitely like a lot of things about it, but I was wondering about a few things in it.
I noticed you are running far more infect creatures than I am, in lieu of running more utility creatures. Is it working more consistently (especially in multiplayer) or is the lack of utility being an issue? Also, aside from Wonder, how consistently are your creatures getting through? How is the card draw situation going?
I believe that 41 lands is far too many for this deck and may cut that number down to 36-38. When I get an Inkmoth Nexus that will be added.
Card advantage is really an issue. Coastal Piracy may be a needed addition, but other options have to include Primordial Sage,Soul of the Harvest, Fathom Mage as creature based card draw, or other options such as Fact to Fiction or Tezzeret's Gambit.
In playtesting, I am finding that the following cards are either win-more or underperforming:
Beastmaster Ascension (I rarely attack with more than 2-3 creatures per combat)
Inexorable Tide (It is purely win-more, as it only has helped me stay further ahead, not catchup or get ahead easily).
Rampant Growth (I rather have a mana dork)
Nulltread Gargantuan for another go at a fun critter? The trifecta of Ponder, Preordain, and Brainstorm can go a long way towards smoothing draws.
Cheers!
Krichaiushii on PucaTrade.
I find that in MP, the only time I have any semblance of an issue is when there is a distinct lack of infect in play. Last game I played against a competitive Roon of the Hidden Realm deck and a semi-comp Prossh deck. Prossh was the main worry of the Roon deck, which got Venser, the Sojourner off exorbitantly fast as well as capitalizing off of Nevermaker. Meanwhile I was short infectors by a wide margin. I think the only creatures I had available to me were Ezuri, Gyre Sage (who, yes, you should be running!), and a Solemn Simulacrum, with a Phyrexian Swarmlord in hand, never able to be utilized. Needless to say, the speed of the Roon deck finished me pretty handily. Nobody even knew I was running Infect
I find that a win via infect has been quite viable, even when house ruling it to 20 - but only when you actually get the critters in hand. That's why I for the most part cast aside utility for the raw power. Now, I'm not saying there's a problem with utility. It's just that the consistency of the infect draw makes for a smoother transition from the buff phase to the opponent's gg phase.
I had played a few games with a single opponent, as detailed in my own thread. I did much better in duel, and in that we were using the 20-poison house rule. it were only 10, it'd've been over much sooner for him. But yeah, I found that the number of infect creatures greatly improved my game v. a slight amount of said creatures. I also find that some utility, especially with regard to recursion, helps keep big threats like Blighted Agent coming through for me.
Inexorable Tide is less win-more than, say, Beastmaster Ascension, but it still can be pretty vital early game if you can get it active in that span.
Also, as a final note for now, I do endorse Fathom Mage. It's a fantastic creature for drawing cards as needed. Go for that one too
~Lil Kalki
Proud Disciple of the Church of the Wary
Thanks for the review.
My main issue with Gyre Sage is that it does not enable a turn 3 Ezuri, Claw of Progress, where as the similar Devoted Druid does, which is when we would like to see Ezuri, Claw of Progress hit play, so it can quickly accumulate experience counters. Yes, it can produce gobs of green mana later in the game, but by that point we don't need that much mana for just about anything.
My main issue with the Nulltread Gargantuan is that it puts the creature on top of your library and not in your hand, which kills a draw. As we really are not playing it for its body, (5/6 is not as good in commander). Species Gorger may not be terrible though.
Vorel of the Hull Clade might be something to take a look at, as well as the card drawing trio.
I noticed that as well when play testing (a lack of ways to deal with creatures), and we may have consider cards like Song of the Dryads to deal with decks that are very reliant on their generals to function. City of Solitude may need to be an answer as well just to make sure you can do your alpha strike without a hitch.
I need to playtest more (especially with the Cloudstone Curio that came in the mail today, which seems like it would help deal with some of the late game issues) and will try to alter my list based off that. Ill have to give Fathom Mage a shot as well.
URGRiku, Sorcerer SupremeGRU
Who needs permanents anyways?
WUBRGDeckbuilder's ToolboxGRBUW
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Cephalid Constable
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
Thanks for the review.
For some dumb reason, I thought Whirler Rogue gave the creature flying and not unblockable, so it is definitely worth a look.
I have Thassa, God of the Sea in the deck.
I have Cephalid Constable in the deck already.
I have a low amount of two drops out side of mana dorks so Thrummingbird is worth a look, especially as it is not useless in the late game.
~Lil Kalki
Proud Disciple of the Church of the Wary
I have yet to see it when I have played, but on its own it looks like one solid hit could start the infect token avalanche.
I also finally had my first offline MP game v Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and Olivia Voldaren. It was a slaughterfest. I managed all sorts of shenanigans with Viral Drake and Inkmoth Nexus (which I am still proxying for now - it's in the mail), before using Corrupted Conscience on an opposing Den Protector with a Battle Mastery slapped on. It was a 4/3 at the start of that turn, and was a 10/9 (double strike and infect, mind you, so it slew even considering the house rule) swinging at its owner. I felt originally that the Olivia deck was more of a threat overall, having faced it in games past, but Trostani had a creature which could sac itself at a 2 mana premium to destroy an artifact or enchantment, so I needed to wipe him out before he could capitalize on it. It was a truly excellent display for "Ezuri's Got a Rash", which is my name for the deck, of course.
~Lil Kalki
Proud Disciple of the Church of the Wary
That was one card (Mosswort Bridge) that when others were play testing my deck, they were much higher on than I was. Primarily due to the low mana curve of my deck and the fact that it entered tapped. What has your experience been with it, and is it worth keeping in the deck?
Well, so far this has been my experience, since it's a relatively new inclusion (seeing as how it is in the deck, I felt it better than a superfluous Forest). I definitely need to test it more, but I got to the meat beneath as of T5, having played the Bridge on T3 (which would have been too early anyway). That's only one turn tapped, and one turn solely as a mana outlet before utterly wrecking the opponent with the Swarmlord under it (although I may have *decided* to pop it a turn later than I could have for the extra tokens later on, but I forget - I don't recall this as the case though). I think that if it were a later game and I had something like a scry effect, I'd still manage an explosive play, and without so many turns between play and pop (a resounding *1* turn conserved! But remember that one turn does make a difference between riches and ruin).
But yeah, I need to test it a bit more anyhow, since that instance was the first and so far only time I have used it.
~Lil Kalki
Proud Disciple of the Church of the Wary
-2 Forest
-1 Island
-1 Zoetic Cavern (I have never wanted to play this card for its morph)
-1 Rampant Growth
I wanted to reduce the land count, as the mana curve for this deck is rather low. In its stead I added:
+1 Sylvan Caryatid
+1 Beastcaller Savant
+1 Devoted Druid
All three of these 2 CMC mana dorks has a secondary use. The Beastcaller Savant has haste which can lead to more explosive turns, and immediate dividends, and an extra attacker on the spot if need be.
Sylvan Caryatid can produce any color of mana and has hexproof making it a reasonable target for Ezuri, Claw of Progress counters later in the game due to the counters.
Devoted Druid enables a turn 3 Ezuri, Claw of Progress as well as potentially producing gobs of mana late game (not consistently as much Gyre Sage but can enable a turn 3 Ezuri).
+1 Cystbearer I needed another infect creature that was efficiently costed.
+1 Master Biomancer I needed an alternate pump condition in the event Ezuri, Claw of Progress. Not to mention Ezuri, Claw of Progress can buff the Master Biomancer so the creatures can come into play with 5 or 6 or more counters.
-1 Rapid Hybridization
+1 Reality Shift
Exile is much more important than destroy, the creature is smaller (though potentially larger if unlucky).
-1 Forgotten Ancient
+1 Fathom Mage
Card Draw is far more important than the potential for moving +1/+1 counters.
-1 Skullwinder
-1 Beastmaster Ascension
Skullwinder is a weaker Eternal Witness and has been underwhelming in play testing.
Beastmaster Ascension has been generally useless, as I generally voltroned up one or two creatures and swung with them or combed out.
+1 Simic Manipulator
+1 Reclamation Sage
Simic Manipulator is a good to take control of utility creatures and opposing generals.
Reclamation Sage this deck needs more enchantment and artifact removal and this is the best this deck can get.
-1 Hornet Queen
+1 Avenger of Zendikar
A more efficient army in a can.
I will update the OP and let me know what you think.
Master Biomancer is a major threat in this deck. I really underestimated how quickly he can turn creatures into a huge army.
Simic Manipulator is that good here as well.
I still need to get and try out at the very least:
Vigor
Inkmoth Nexus
Glen Elendra Archmage
Whirler Rogue
The weakest card in the deck as of now is Azusa, Lost but Seeking. Very good card, but not for this deck
I cut Azusa, Lost but Seeking as when it worked, it was win more (I was drawing a huge mess of cards at that point).