It's been a long year of little brewing success. I'm usually the sort of guy who gets invested in a weird, somewhat fringe legend (Patron of the Orochi, Daxos the Returned), and the few lists I managed to piece together since my last actual deck were a stark departure from that. I was flirting with well established commanders - Maelstrom Wanderer Temur goodstuff, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician stax. Stuff that was more innately consistent than my typical fare, and that wouldn't get turned off super hard by messing with the commander (Wanderer wants to get recast, and Derevi always comes back for 4 no matter what). Nothing really stuck, apart from one deck.
Prime Speaker Zegana is a fat draw spell in the command zone. I ended up with a UG goodstuff shell with an ETB: The Gathering feel, but with far easier a time in terms of closing games than the Roon of the Hidden Realm ETB: The Gathering deck we had in our meta last year. I feel the list isn't full-powered, and it could be tuned to be far uglier (Food Chain combos and some fiercely expensive blue cards come to mine), but I'm quite happy with where it is now. It's a goodstuffy deck that's content making 4/4 beasts and playing along with the table if in the mood for that, but also potentially lashing out with an instagib Deadeye + Palinchron combo out of nowhere if pressured/focused.
I'm pretty new to this goodstuff thing though, so if you all see something obvious I'm missing, please let me know!
I hit up a Kaladesh draft as I'm flirting with limited, and midway through pack three Rashmi, Eternities Crafter shows up. I ended up splashing blue into a nothing-is-open white/green pile, and damn Rashmi is good. We also had three Panharmonicons in the pool, so I managed to walk away from the rare redraft with both a Panharmonicon and a Rashmi (along with an Aetherworks Marvel, just for record keeping). I'm gonna slot them into the deck in the interest of varying things up a notch. Bam!
Joraga Treespeaker got slightly grandfathered in when I was creating a green core for the deck based on what I did in Patron of the Orochi. Tapping for in there is a great deal, but it feels like having the power to just tap for one mana of any colour will be better here. That, and having wings to potentially chump a wider variety of things. Baby's First Birds of Paradise Deck.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter and Panharmonicon crudely inherit slots after Urban Evolution and Fauna Shaman. The former card is pretty decent, but not spectacular (especially with a ridiculous draw spell stationed in the command zone), whilst the latter is functionally redundant with Survival of the Fittest and I'm trying to make this deck be colourful and diverse. Panharmonicon is going to have a field day here - there's 15 ETB effects in the 99, along with Zegana in the command zone, and five ways to get more uses out of them (flickers/self-bounces).
I also wanted a piece of grave hate, as toolbox interaction is nice. UG isn't necessarily the best at that, but Scavenging Ooze is pretty serviceable. In it goes instead of Mana Reflection, with a similar diversifying the deck mindset. Zendikar Resurgent is cheaper Also it comes with cantrips, which are nice.
Our EDH group reconvened, its membership yet again altered, and games were had. One of the games was quite unfortunate, as it devolved in me getting 4v1'd after a Grenzo, Dungeon Warden flagged me down as a threat to the table when I set down Rule of Law. I wish I was making this up, and he actually derided me when I pointed out just how absurd his claim was given his deck choice. Unfortunately, Daxos the Returned doesn't handle getting 4v1'd too well, even if the 4 is largely chaff. Still, this means I need to put precautions into this deck to avoid this sort of crap from happening.
I can hear old me pulling his hair out. "Why would you do this?!" Well, the answer is simple. To have a precaution in the deck in case things go south. Palinchron isn't merely limited to Deadeye Navigator for going huge. You also get Phantasmal Image, Zenikar Resurgent and Panharmonicon. Its synergy with the current build style makes it worth a slot, even if it's less resilient than a Food Chain infinite (which, in turn, doesn't fit quite as nicely into the current shell). Also, if I'm adding Palinchron, may as well cheeser in Tooth and Nail for those moments of dumb. I mean, I'm not contractually obliged to fetch out the instagib. I could get some utility creatures/answers or something. Still, I'm powering the deck up a bit in comparison to where it was when the thread got made, just in case it turns out to be needed.
Well, both those cards have to go in over something. Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is not quite as natural a fit here as I hoped. Using her to the fullest requires more building around - topdeck manipulation, flash, loads of interaction of varying degrees of expensiveness. Throwing the occasional counter/removal in somebody else's turn leads to this feeling like a bit of a wasted slot. Farhaven Elf is very far from bad, but the problem with two colour decks (I stuck with monocolour for ages) is that sometimes even the good stuff doesn't get to have room. Plus, it's partially redundant with Wood Elves, which are just nicer.
I got some more games in with this sucker. Of decks that I've built in paper that weren't based on a precon, the least amount of testing went into the list before I pulled the trigger, so there are still some inconsistencies and meta weaknesses left to iron out. I noticed the top end was underperforming a bit.
The main underperforming culprits were the two cuts. Thunderfoot Baloth doesn't really fit here as the deck doesn't go anywhere near wide enough to appreciate a perma-overrun. I mean, I was aware of this fact enough to not put a Craterhoof Behemoth in, so why put a similar sort of effect into the 99? Because it draws me eight cards with Zigzog? Come on, old me, get your stuff together! It only ever works with Avenger of Zendikar and Rampaging Baloths, making an Oracle of Mul Daya into a 4/4 trampler won't impress anyone. Sphinx of Uthuun is nice, the Fact or Fiction on ETB is nice, the big flying body is nice, but it just feels a bit weak at 7cmc in a deck where the commander is a huge drawstick.
I was pondering what to put in instead. I was homing in on Steel Hellkite + Ulamog, Infinite Gyre when I ran my concerns by Ebline, who once again saved me from being a dud by reminding me the praetors exist. Oh right. They do. And they're pretty stupid. I mean, the black one even gets to helm a deck. As such, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger in. They both offer brutal across the board effects, the perfect sort of interaction for multiplayer. It doesn't hurt Boringclex is yet another Palinchron infinite combo to top it off. Thanks man, I'm a bit rusty
In terms of cuts, the next most likely would probably be Rampaging Baloths. However, in stark contrast with the two removed cards, I've actually been very happy with the card's performance. The deck has a propensity to land ramp like mad, and this helps coax extra value out of all the ramp/land drops that are bound to happen at every stage of the game. A 4/4 is nothing to sneeze at, and a sea of them can block many things quite profitably or offer a reasonable threat in the red zone.
Prime Speaker Zegana is a fat draw spell in the command zone. I ended up with a UG goodstuff shell with an ETB: The Gathering feel, but with far easier a time in terms of closing games than the Roon of the Hidden Realm ETB: The Gathering deck we had in our meta last year. I feel the list isn't full-powered, and it could be tuned to be far uglier (Food Chain combos and some fiercely expensive blue cards come to mine), but I'm quite happy with where it is now. It's a goodstuffy deck that's content making 4/4 beasts and playing along with the table if in the mood for that, but also potentially lashing out with an instagib Deadeye + Palinchron combo out of nowhere if pressured/focused.
I'm pretty new to this goodstuff thing though, so if you all see something obvious I'm missing, please let me know!
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
Artifacts
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Conjurer's Closet
1 Erratic Portal
1 Expedition Map
1 Panharmonicon
1 Simic Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Thought Vessel
Creatures
1 Acidic Slime
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Duplicant
1 Eternal Witness
1 Fierce Empath
1 Gilded Drake
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1 Mulldrifter
1 Mystic Snake
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Palinchron
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Terastodon
1 Trygon Predator
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Wood Elves
1 Imprisoned in the Moon
1 Rhystic Study
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Zendikar Resurgent
Instants
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Evacuation
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Forbid
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Swan Song
1 Worldly Tutor
Lands
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Breeding Pool
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Grove
11 Forest
1 Halimar Depths
1 Hinterland Harbor
9 Island
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Strip Mine
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Terrain Generator
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Bribery
1 Cultivate
1 Expropriate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Nature's Lore
1 Rite of Replication
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
Artifacts
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Conjurer's Closet
1 Erratic Portal
1 Expedition Map
1 Simic Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Thought Vessel
Creatures
1 Acidic Slime
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Duplicant
1 Eternal Witness
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Fierce Empath
1 Gilded Drake
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Mulldrifter
1 Mystic Snake
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Terastodon
1 Thunderfoot Baloth
1 Trygon Predator
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Wood Elves
1 Imprisoned in the Moon
1 Mana Reflection
1 Rhystic Study
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Zendikar Resurgent
Instants
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Evacuation
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Forbid
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Swan Song
1 Worldly Tutor
Lands
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Breeding Pool
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Grove
11 Forest
1 Halimar Depths
1 Hinterland Harbor
9 Island
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Strip Mine
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Terrain Generator
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Bribery
1 Cultivate
1 Expropriate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Nature's Lore
1 Rite of Replication
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Urban Evolution
26.10.2016 Changes
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Mana Reflection
1 Urban Evolution
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Panharmonicon
1 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
1 Scavenging Ooze
31.10.2016 Changes
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
1 Palinchron
1 Tooth and Nail
21.11.2016 Changes
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Thunderfoot Baloth
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Mana Reflection
1 Urban Evolution
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Panharmonicon
1 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
1 Scavenging Ooze
Joraga Treespeaker got slightly grandfathered in when I was creating a green core for the deck based on what I did in Patron of the Orochi. Tapping for in there is a great deal, but it feels like having the power to just tap for one mana of any colour will be better here. That, and having wings to potentially chump a wider variety of things. Baby's First Birds of Paradise Deck.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter and Panharmonicon crudely inherit slots after Urban Evolution and Fauna Shaman. The former card is pretty decent, but not spectacular (especially with a ridiculous draw spell stationed in the command zone), whilst the latter is functionally redundant with Survival of the Fittest and I'm trying to make this deck be colourful and diverse. Panharmonicon is going to have a field day here - there's 15 ETB effects in the 99, along with Zegana in the command zone, and five ways to get more uses out of them (flickers/self-bounces).
I also wanted a piece of grave hate, as toolbox interaction is nice. UG isn't necessarily the best at that, but Scavenging Ooze is pretty serviceable. In it goes instead of Mana Reflection, with a similar diversifying the deck mindset. Zendikar Resurgent is cheaper Also it comes with cantrips, which are nice.
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
1 Palinchron
1 Tooth and Nail
I can hear old me pulling his hair out. "Why would you do this?!" Well, the answer is simple. To have a precaution in the deck in case things go south. Palinchron isn't merely limited to Deadeye Navigator for going huge. You also get Phantasmal Image, Zenikar Resurgent and Panharmonicon. Its synergy with the current build style makes it worth a slot, even if it's less resilient than a Food Chain infinite (which, in turn, doesn't fit quite as nicely into the current shell). Also, if I'm adding Palinchron, may as well cheeser in Tooth and Nail for those moments of dumb. I mean, I'm not contractually obliged to fetch out the instagib. I could get some utility creatures/answers or something. Still, I'm powering the deck up a bit in comparison to where it was when the thread got made, just in case it turns out to be needed.
Well, both those cards have to go in over something. Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is not quite as natural a fit here as I hoped. Using her to the fullest requires more building around - topdeck manipulation, flash, loads of interaction of varying degrees of expensiveness. Throwing the occasional counter/removal in somebody else's turn leads to this feeling like a bit of a wasted slot. Farhaven Elf is very far from bad, but the problem with two colour decks (I stuck with monocolour for ages) is that sometimes even the good stuff doesn't get to have room. Plus, it's partially redundant with Wood Elves, which are just nicer.
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Thunderfoot Baloth
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
The main underperforming culprits were the two cuts. Thunderfoot Baloth doesn't really fit here as the deck doesn't go anywhere near wide enough to appreciate a perma-overrun. I mean, I was aware of this fact enough to not put a Craterhoof Behemoth in, so why put a similar sort of effect into the 99? Because it draws me eight cards with Zigzog? Come on, old me, get your stuff together! It only ever works with Avenger of Zendikar and Rampaging Baloths, making an Oracle of Mul Daya into a 4/4 trampler won't impress anyone. Sphinx of Uthuun is nice, the Fact or Fiction on ETB is nice, the big flying body is nice, but it just feels a bit weak at 7cmc in a deck where the commander is a huge drawstick.
I was pondering what to put in instead. I was homing in on Steel Hellkite + Ulamog, Infinite Gyre when I ran my concerns by Ebline, who once again saved me from being a dud by reminding me the praetors exist. Oh right. They do. And they're pretty stupid. I mean, the black one even gets to helm a deck. As such, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger in. They both offer brutal across the board effects, the perfect sort of interaction for multiplayer. It doesn't hurt Boringclex is yet another Palinchron infinite combo to top it off. Thanks man, I'm a bit rusty
In terms of cuts, the next most likely would probably be Rampaging Baloths. However, in stark contrast with the two removed cards, I've actually been very happy with the card's performance. The deck has a propensity to land ramp like mad, and this helps coax extra value out of all the ramp/land drops that are bound to happen at every stage of the game. A 4/4 is nothing to sneeze at, and a sea of them can block many things quite profitably or offer a reasonable threat in the red zone.