Hello fellow Commandeers! I'm new to this form, and fairly new to Magic in general (I have been playing for about 6 months now, 90% of that time spent playing EDH), but have quickly become obsessed with the game and play it almost daily. I'm looking to get more involved in the Magic/EDH community in general, as well as improve my deck building and piloting skills.
This is the newest deck that I've built and am looking for recommendations on how to make it more focused and consistent. My original idea for the deck was a Dimir goodstuff/toolbox deck that packed in some evil, pain in the ass cards to use against my opponents. The problem is, even though I've won a good number of games with the current build, the win cons are pretty sketchy and fairly inconsistent. Any advice on cuts and additions, as well as overall strategy or even entirely different win conditions that make more sense are definitely appreciated.
Other win conditions usually come about from using a bomb spell in an opponents graveyard with Wrexial or Memory Plunder, or stealing/copying something significant with the various cards in the deck that allow me to do that.
I typically play the deck by ramping as much as possible early on -> Setting up defenses with Fog Bank, Guard Gomazoa, Crawlspace, Propaganda -> Try to tutor for Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, as well as use Entomb to get my Wonder or Filth into the graveyard to enable evasion -> Look at what tools I have in my hand and then draw into/tutor for the missing pieces.
— Win conditions usually require multiple turns to put together, leaving me open to removal and having to start all over again.
— Early game is often a tough point for me unless I luckily draw heavy on the few defensive cards that I run. I'm frequently the target of a series of early game attacks because my board is open for too long.
— I run strong mana rocks and mana producing artifacts that are a frequent target for artifact removal, which can really set me back. Academy Ruins helps, but it slows me down and I don't always have it.
And here are some cards that I own that I could see making the cut, but currently aren't in the deck. Let me know if you think any of these are no-brainers over other cards I'm running:
My first EDH deck (and the basis for the Marchesa deck I play) was Wrexial.
I see you like having infect as another wincon. Rather than the uninspiring Phyresis why not consider Corrupted Conscious? It both enables the common "theft" theme in Wrexial decks while also acting as the removed spell.
In general cards like High Tide and Dark Ritual should only be used in EDH when attempting a more "all in" combo. You would be better served by decent 2cmc rocks like Talisman of Dominance or Dimir Signet. If you feel you have enough rocks you can simply add more threats/answers instead.
Mind Grind seems superior to an inconsistent card like Mind's Dilation. In addition it further feeds into your mill theme and hits all opponents. Depending on game length is can close out a game itself with enough mana poured into it.
If you're going to run countermagic it's best to make sure they are all hard counters that are either cheap or provide additional value. Spells like Turn Aside and Psychic Strike are low impact and rarely earn their spot. Spells like Cryptic Command, Mystic Confluence, and Mana Drain are the top tier forms of spell control but they are expensive (especially Drain). Lower cost options like Dismiss and Desertion would compliment your low cost other countermagic well.
Rather than the uninspiring Phyresis why not consider Corrupted Conscious? It both enables the common "theft" theme in Wrexial decks while also acting as the removed spell.
Nice recommendation, I like it. Phyresis was chosen as a low-CMC option to enable infect, but I’m usually not worried about infect until the late game anyway.
In general cards like High Tide and Dark Ritual should only be used in EDH when attempting a more "all in" combo. You would be better served by decent 2cmc rocks like Talisman of Dominance or Dimir Signet. If you feel you have enough rocks you can simply add more threats/answers instead.
Yeah, High Tide will get the chopping block for sure. Dark Ritual has given me a lot of use in the early game to squeeze out that extra spell (especially since this deck builds a slower board presence than most of my opponents), but I have definitely found it to be a dud card in the late game when most of my lands are tapping for 2 or 3.
Mind Grind seems superior to an inconsistent card like Mind's Dilation. In addition it further feeds into your mill theme and hits all opponents. Depending on game length is can close out a game itself with enough mana poured into it.
Mind Grind was in my first iteration of the deck, but I pulled it out because I actually wanted to step away from the mill sub-theme. I found that more often than not, I was just making it easier for my opponents to grab things out of their graveyard and only gave marginal advantage to me. I decided to keep Traumatize to target decks that I suspect/know don’t have many options in the way of reanimation but also will have some bomb creatures or spells for me to Reanimate, Animate Dead, or Memory Plunder (and of course Wrexial himself).
Mind's Dilation has actually proven to be a fun and fairly useful card the times that I’ve gotten it out. If it can go around the table a couple of times I’ll usually end up with a few creatures, some useful ETBs, an enchantment, and it’s always fun to use someone’s removal spell on their own permanents. My opponents also hate when it's on the field... which itself is also sort of a sub-theme for this deck haha
If you're going to run countermagic it's best to make sure they are all hard counters that are either cheap or provide additional value. Spells like Turn Aside and Psychic Strike are low impact and rarely earn their spot. Spells like Cryptic Command, Mystic Confluence, and Mana Drain are the top tier forms of spell control but they are expensive (especially Drain). Lower cost options like Dismiss and Desertion would compliment your low cost other countermagic well.
I definitely want to put a Cryptic Command in here and will definitely throw it in to replace one of those spells once I purchase it. I like Turn Aside for early game when I have limited mana available but still want to make a strong play like Bribery or bring out Wrexial without any real ways to protect them. Having a 1 CMC option for protection has been pretty useful. Unless you have any other ideas of granting hexproof on the cheap other than Swiftfoot?
The high CMC is definitely a pain in the ass. The only reason that I included it is because it’s the only P/T buff that would put Wrexial at 11 immediately, making him at the most a 2-clock general, or optimally a 1-hit-kill when granted infect, double-strike (Fireshrieker), an extra combat step (Temporal Mastery), etc. The only other equipment that I found to be comparable to that goal was Sigil of Distinction, in which I’d probably still want to sink 8 mana into it regardless.
Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll definitely take some to modify this list. I also really like your Marchesa deck… think I’ll take some ideas from that as well. Might even just make her the commander.
This is the newest deck that I've built and am looking for recommendations on how to make it more focused and consistent. My original idea for the deck was a Dimir goodstuff/toolbox deck that packed in some evil, pain in the ass cards to use against my opponents. The problem is, even though I've won a good number of games with the current build, the win cons are pretty sketchy and fairly inconsistent. Any advice on cuts and additions, as well as overall strategy or even entirely different win conditions that make more sense are definitely appreciated.
Here's my current build:
(View on TappedOut)
1 Wrexial, the Risen Deep
Defense
1 Fog Bank
1 Propaganda
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Guard Gomazoa
1 Crawlspace
"Creatures"
1 Evil Twin
1 Consuming Aberration
1 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
1 Bribery
1 Animate Dead
1 Treachery
1 Reanimate
Draw/Card Advantage
1 Necropotence
1 Rhystic Study
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Mulldrifter
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Liliana Vess
1 Halimar Depths (also mana)
1 Wound Reflection
1 Fireshrieker
1 Quietus Spike
1 Grafted Exoskeleton
1 Hedron Matrix
1 Sorin Markov
1 Phyresis
Removal/Countermagic
1 Dissolve
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Psychic Strike
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Counterspell
1 Turn Aside
Spell Reuse
1 Memory Plunder
1 Pull from the Deep
1 Academy Ruins (also mana)
Screw Opponents
1 Traumatize
1 Mind's Dilation
1 Mindslaver
Misc
1 Omniscience
1 Temporal Mastery
Enablers
1 Entomb
1 Filth
1 Wonder
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (also mana)
1 Rogue's Passage (also mana)
1 Command Tower
1 Tainted Isle
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Mortuary Mire (also "reanimate")
1 Arcane Lighthouse (also a debuff)
1 Temple of the False God
1 Reliquary Tower (also "draw")
1 Thought Vessel (also "draw")
1 High Tide (single boost)
1 Dark Ritual (single boost)
1 Chromatic Lantern (also fixing)
1 Sol Ring
1 Hedron Archive
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Extraplanar Lens (doubler)
1 Caged Sun (doubler)
15 Snow-Covered Island
12 Snow-Covered Swamp
Win conditions include:
I typically play the deck by ramping as much as possible early on -> Setting up defenses with Fog Bank, Guard Gomazoa, Crawlspace, Propaganda -> Try to tutor for Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, as well as use Entomb to get my Wonder or Filth into the graveyard to enable evasion -> Look at what tools I have in my hand and then draw into/tutor for the missing pieces.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Filth, Wonder, Thassa, God of the Sea, Rogue's Passage, or even a kicked Cyclonic Rift all help to get through and deal combat damage.
Frequent problems:
And here are some cards that I own that I could see making the cut, but currently aren't in the deck. Let me know if you think any of these are no-brainers over other cards I'm running:
1 Scrying Sheets (deck filtering)
1 Behold the Beyond (tutor)
1 Tezzeret the Seeker (tutor)
1 Thought Reflection (draw)
1 Brainstorm (draw)
1 Acquire (stealy)
1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor (stealy)
1 Trailblazer's Boots (evasion)
1 Darksteel Forge (protection)
1 Master Transmuter (cheater)
1 Mirror Gallery (+ Rite of Replication?)
1 Rise of the Dark Realms (wincon?)
1 Myojin of Night's Reach (screw opponents)
1 Time Stop (screw opponent)
1 Spinal Embrace (removal)
1 Nemesis of Reason (mill)
1 Mind Funeral (mill)
1 Mirko Vosk, Mind Ddinker (mill)
1 Duskmantle Guildmage (combo)
1 Mindcrank (combo)
1 Deadeye Navigator (useful + combo)
1 Palinchron (combo)
1 Memnarch (combo)
1 Keening Stone (Traumatize combo)
Thanks for checking out my deck, let me know what feedback you have!
UB Wrexial, the Risen Deep — Toolbox of Evil
UB Wrexial, the Risen Deep — Toolbox of Evil
My first EDH deck (and the basis for the Marchesa deck I play) was Wrexial.
I see you like having infect as another wincon. Rather than the uninspiring Phyresis why not consider Corrupted Conscious? It both enables the common "theft" theme in Wrexial decks while also acting as the removed spell.
In general cards like High Tide and Dark Ritual should only be used in EDH when attempting a more "all in" combo. You would be better served by decent 2cmc rocks like Talisman of Dominance or Dimir Signet. If you feel you have enough rocks you can simply add more threats/answers instead.
Mind Grind seems superior to an inconsistent card like Mind's Dilation. In addition it further feeds into your mill theme and hits all opponents. Depending on game length is can close out a game itself with enough mana poured into it.
If you're going to run countermagic it's best to make sure they are all hard counters that are either cheap or provide additional value. Spells like Turn Aside and Psychic Strike are low impact and rarely earn their spot. Spells like Cryptic Command, Mystic Confluence, and Mana Drain are the top tier forms of spell control but they are expensive (especially Drain). Lower cost options like Dismiss and Desertion would compliment your low cost other countermagic well.
I think Hedron Matrix is utter trash.
-Jiv
Nice recommendation, I like it. Phyresis was chosen as a low-CMC option to enable infect, but I’m usually not worried about infect until the late game anyway.
Yeah, High Tide will get the chopping block for sure. Dark Ritual has given me a lot of use in the early game to squeeze out that extra spell (especially since this deck builds a slower board presence than most of my opponents), but I have definitely found it to be a dud card in the late game when most of my lands are tapping for 2 or 3.
Mind Grind was in my first iteration of the deck, but I pulled it out because I actually wanted to step away from the mill sub-theme. I found that more often than not, I was just making it easier for my opponents to grab things out of their graveyard and only gave marginal advantage to me. I decided to keep Traumatize to target decks that I suspect/know don’t have many options in the way of reanimation but also will have some bomb creatures or spells for me to Reanimate, Animate Dead, or Memory Plunder (and of course Wrexial himself).
Mind's Dilation has actually proven to be a fun and fairly useful card the times that I’ve gotten it out. If it can go around the table a couple of times I’ll usually end up with a few creatures, some useful ETBs, an enchantment, and it’s always fun to use someone’s removal spell on their own permanents. My opponents also hate when it's on the field... which itself is also sort of a sub-theme for this deck haha
I definitely want to put a Cryptic Command in here and will definitely throw it in to replace one of those spells once I purchase it. I like Turn Aside for early game when I have limited mana available but still want to make a strong play like Bribery or bring out Wrexial without any real ways to protect them. Having a 1 CMC option for protection has been pretty useful. Unless you have any other ideas of granting hexproof on the cheap other than Swiftfoot?
The high CMC is definitely a pain in the ass. The only reason that I included it is because it’s the only P/T buff that would put Wrexial at 11 immediately, making him at the most a 2-clock general, or optimally a 1-hit-kill when granted infect, double-strike (Fireshrieker), an extra combat step (Temporal Mastery), etc. The only other equipment that I found to be comparable to that goal was Sigil of Distinction, in which I’d probably still want to sink 8 mana into it regardless.
Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll definitely take some to modify this list. I also really like your Marchesa deck… think I’ll take some ideas from that as well. Might even just make her the commander.
UB Wrexial, the Risen Deep — Toolbox of Evil