Hey there peoples of MTGSalvation! As usual, I will cut to the chase. I just finished making a deck for Ezuri, Claw of Progress a few days ago and I would love to get some input on my horrendous inability to build a deck. It should be noted that the big themes I wanted to put in this deck is infect/proliferate and as much Phyrexia as I could... so if you're looking at iffy cards like Phyrexian Hydra like "Wow this guy REALLY can't build decks" please know that they're generally there for flavor. Of course say something anyways because they also might be better off way out of the deck. So anyways.. please let me know what you think! Let me know what I can improve on! Any input is super appreciated!
A couple of cards I've wanted to get into the deck are Serpent Generator and MAYBE Pistus Strike for all the damned Atraxas I've been seeing. I always kind of want to throw Vorinclex in for flavors sake but I'm not sure how much he can add to the deck seeing as to how I'd mostly be putting him in so I have a second Birthing Pod option.
Anyways again... Thank you for any input and sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum or section of MTGSalvation I'm still pretty new to the forums... Thank you!
There are 7 cards that say "draw card". Two of them are planeswalker ultimates, one needs creatures with +1/+1 counters, one needs to deal combat damage to a player and two are glorified divinations.
To first respond to illakunsaa, all of the creature cantrips synergize with Ezuri, as does Tezz's Gambit. I'm not sure where the comment was supposed to lead you however, as there is no indication of "this is too many" or "you should be using Ancestral Recall (isn't it banned?)".
You have 36 noncommander creatures. Looking at Ezuri as well you have two main categories for creatures: Infect and +1/+1 counter (fuel)
34 if them aid in counters (at least with Ezuri out) FANTASTIC! *thumbs up*
only six of them have infect. We'll get to these.
The two that don't are Craterhoof Behemoth and Pathbreaker Ibex. I understand your reasoning of using these guys as finishers, however I do have to ask how many players are there typically in your EDH games. If less than four, I'd automatically scrap CB for either that Pistus Strike or Beserk. Ibex is a reusable Overwhelming Stampede on a stick, so why not?
Back to those six infect creatures. There are only six of them. I have no qualms with your unblockable Agent, and none too many with Swarmlord, but more often than not: infect is something you bring to the table and it leaves when you do. This is both a blessing and a curse. You can focus on one person at a time and not too many other people will care about one or two poison counters, but if you attack multiple people with infect and don't kill off...well all of them, the table mentality shifts to "get rid of that person and all this poison counter nonsense is overwith". The more creatures you have with infect, the easier it is to hammer the poison counters home. On the flip side, using creatures with traditional damage to players allows you to piggyback on damage dealt by others. Sure you have to dealt a lot more, but you are obviously going to have help (in nonduel situations).
Lastly, consider these cards: Hindervines,Swiftfoot Boots, and Lightning Greaves. You have a few key creatures that will be targeted very quickly: your commander, Agent, and Sage of hours. All of them die to doom blade and Asceticism is a one-off. Your deck, infect aside, depends heavily on your commander being on the battlefield. Make sure it stays there. Oh, and Counterspell or something like it, obviously.
My main input would be to echo Boyachi, and suggest some protective gear like Darksteel Plate, Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots for Ezuri in particular and some of the others that you want to stick about. Ezuri has a massive "shoot me before I go turbo" sign on his head so protecting him is important. Bear in mind though that the Greaves mean that the creature cant be targeted bu Ezuri's ability so don't put it on Sage of Hours for example. A few more ways to draw some cards like Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time could be good as you don't look to be recurring a great deal so why not use the GY to help cast stuff? Now go play it and see how it does.
Also I'm pretty sure that this should go in the decklists page of this sub but I'm sure the mods will be kind.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern: RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
To first respond to illakunsaa, all of the creature cantrips synergize with Ezuri, as does Tezz's Gambit. I'm not sure where the comment was supposed to lead you however, as there is no indication of "this is too many" or "you should be using Ancestral Recall (isn't it banned?)".
You have 36 noncommander creatures. Looking at Ezuri as well you have two main categories for creatures: Infect and +1/+1 counter (fuel)
34 if them aid in counters (at least with Ezuri out) FANTASTIC! *thumbs up*
only six of them have infect. We'll get to these.
The two that don't are Craterhoof Behemoth and Pathbreaker Ibex. I understand your reasoning of using these guys as finishers, however I do have to ask how many players are there typically in your EDH games. If less than four, I'd automatically scrap CB for either that Pistus Strike or Beserk. Ibex is a reusable Overwhelming Stampede on a stick, so why not?
Back to those six infect creatures. There are only six of them. I have no qualms with your unblockable Agent, and none too many with Swarmlord, but more often than not: infect is something you bring to the table and it leaves when you do. This is both a blessing and a curse. You can focus on one person at a time and not too many other people will care about one or two poison counters, but if you attack multiple people with infect and don't kill off...well all of them, the table mentality shifts to "get rid of that person and all this poison counter nonsense is overwith". The more creatures you have with infect, the easier it is to hammer the poison counters home. On the flip side, using creatures with traditional damage to players allows you to piggyback on damage dealt by others. Sure you have to dealt a lot more, but you are obviously going to have help (in nonduel situations).
Lastly, consider these cards: Hindervines,Swiftfoot Boots, and Lightning Greaves. You have a few key creatures that will be targeted very quickly: your commander, Agent, and Sage of hours. All of them die to doom blade and Asceticism is a one-off. Your deck, infect aside, depends heavily on your commander being on the battlefield. Make sure it stays there. Oh, and Counterspell or something like it, obviously.
Alright so from the replies I've gotten thus far (and thank you all so much for the feedback) I definitely know I need to get some protective gear in the deck for my Murder Elf commander to survive longer than a turn. I can get right on that. Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots are guaranteed spots based on what I've read. My question is what cards should I cut to fit these guys in? Also in regard to Craterhoof Behemoth I totally get why this guy could be a quick cut to the deck because for the most part the deck is based around infect but I also very much enjoy the explosiveness that comes from saccing something like Hornet Queen with Birthing Pod and jumping straight into Craterhoof. If I was to cut him is there another creature that has this kind of explosive feeling when entering the board that better fits the theme of this deck or am I just better off without my 8 drop beauties?
Corrupted Conscience grabs those perky Atraxa's or anything else, and advances your game plan.
More draw is always helpful. Bident of Thassa effects are good if our attack a lot.
I actually love Corrupted Conscience but I had cut it early in my deck building process because I didn't feel that 5 mana for a enchantment that didn't do anything for my creatures was something I could afford in a relatively fast deck. Bident of Thassa is one I might consider finding a place for though! I like being able to force creatures into deathtouch or -1/-1 counters.
My main input would be to echo Boyachi, and suggest some protective gear like Darksteel Plate, Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots for Ezuri in particular and some of the others that you want to stick about. Ezuri has a massive "shoot me before I go turbo" sign on his head so protecting him is important. Bear in mind though that the Greaves mean that the creature cant be targeted bu Ezuri's ability so don't put it on Sage of Hours for example. A few more ways to draw some cards like Treasure Cruise or Dig Through Time could be good as you don't look to be recurring a great deal so why not use the GY to help cast stuff? Now go play it and see how it does.
Also I'm pretty sure that this should go in the decklists page of this sub but I'm sure the mods will be kind.
As I mentioned above I totally intend on working Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots into the deck somewhere in response to you and Boyachi's kind advice. I also love the idea of using Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time as card draw mechanics I just didn't even think about that before! I guess as a Chainer player I thought that if I wasn't resurrecting things from my graveyard it was pointless Are there any cards in my deck that you think are good swaps for either or both Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time? Thanks!
Marsh Viper for Putrefax. If you insist on keeping Putrid, abuse the H*** out of him with a Mimic Vat. Melira, Sylvok Outcast is a good combo with Phyrexian Hydra. Since Phydra can't get -1/-1 counters from damage...;) Perhaps replace Viridian Corrupter with her. This, however, is obviously more of a 'funsie' combo.
If you decide Mimic Vat is for you, I would drop Song of the Dryads. Your infect will be a considerable enough threat against big beats already.
In reference to your beauty, I would suggest that the point being made is you should focus your damage towards one or the other damage. Spreading it amongst infect AND regular damage gives your opponents more time to get their game online and stop yours. Losing him, I would suggest gives you a good slot for either Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots.
Lands concern me in your decklist. My count on your list is 35, and while you are running mana dorks and rocks, I'm not sure I'd say it's enough, even with the decent mana curve. How often do you find yourself sputtering in the game(unable to get started)?
One more thing to consider would be Grafted Exoskeleton, particularly for the creatures that don't have infect. Not sure what you should drop for that, though.
Marsh Viper for Putrefax. If you insist on keeping Putrid, abuse the H*** out of him with a Mimic Vat. Melira, Sylvok Outcast is a good combo with Phyrexian Hydra. Since Phydra can't get -1/-1 counters from damage...;) Perhaps replace Viridian Corrupter with her. This, however, is obviously more of a 'funsie' combo.
If you decide Mimic Vat is for you, I would drop Song of the Dryads. Your infect will be a considerable enough threat against big beats already.
In reference to your beauty, I would suggest that the point being made is you should focus your damage towards one or the other damage. Spreading it amongst infect AND regular damage gives your opponents more time to get their game online and stop yours. Losing him, I would suggest gives you a good slot for either Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots.
Lands concern me in your decklist. My count on your list is 35, and while you are running mana dorks and rocks, I'm not sure I'd say it's enough, even with the decent mana curve. How often do you find yourself sputtering in the game(unable to get started)?
One more thing to consider would be Grafted Exoskeleton, particularly for the creatures that don't have infect. Not sure what you should drop for that, though.
Putrefax is actually a card that I kinda love flavorwise but the addition of Mimic Vat sounds awesome with him! I will more than likely drop Song of the Dryads to make space for it cause that sounds like a hilarious combo. Grafted Exoskeleton is a card that I originally wanted to put into the deck but I didn't feel like I had enough big creatures without infect to warrant it's use. But I guess it can be used to infect-ivize cards in a pinch. Regardless thank you so much for the feedback!
To first respond to illakunsaa, all of the creature cantrips synergize with Ezuri, as does Tezz's Gambit. I'm not sure where the comment was supposed to lead you however, as there is no indication of "this is too many" or "you should be using Ancestral Recall (isn't it banned?)".
Less than 10% of the deck is card advantage and most of them are unreliable and the rest is low impact. I see this deck basically losing to the first boardwipe.
I would remove all the random profilerate effects because those just seem more cute than good and add in stuff like elvish visionary, Edric, Spymaster of Trest and Rishkar's Expertise.
Yeah, I got SLAUGHTERED during the end of my FNM runs with that 'Putrid Vat' combo, and I've never forgotten it. I had one guy try to bring out Vat in a game of EDH, and sure enough, he put Putrefax on it...Krosan Grip says no...:)
The Ezuri, Claw of Progress lists I've encountered are basically every single mana dork/elfball combo with Intruder Alarm + Voice of the Woods (or something similar) leading to huge alpha strikes. Judging by your list it looks pretty spot on.
1x Ezuri, Claw of Progress
1x Acidic Slime
1x Avenger of Zendikar
1x Bane of Progress
1x Blighted Agent
1x Champion of Lambholt
1x Chasm Skulker
1x Cold-Eyed Selkie
1x Core Prowler
1x Craterhoof Behemoth
1x Eternal Witness
1x Farhaven Elf
1x Fathom Mage
1x Forgotten Ancient
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Hornet Queen
1x Imperious Perfect
1x Kaseto, Orochi Archmage
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Master Biomancer
1x Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
1x Mulldrifter
1x Mycoloth
1x Pathbreaker Ibex
1x Phyrexian Hydra
1x Phyrexian Swarmlord
1x Putrefax
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Rishkar, Peema Renegade
1x Sage of Hours
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Simic Manipulator
1x Skyship Plunderer
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Thrummingbird
1x Viral Drake
1x Viridian Corrupter
1x Command Tower
1x Dryad Arbor
13x Forest
1x Inkmoth Nexus
9x Island
1x Khalni Garden
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Novijen, Heart of Progress
1x Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Rogue's Passage
1x Simic Growth Chamber
1x Temple of the False God
1x Yavimaya Coast
1x Animation Module
1x Birthing Pod
1x Contagion Engine
1x Panharmonicon
1x Simic Signet
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
1x Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
1x Asceticism
1x Beastmaster Ascension
1x Hardened Scales
1x Inexorable Tide
1x Intruder Alarm
1x Presence of Gond
1x Song of the Dryads
1x Beast Within
1x Chord of Calling
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Inspiring Call
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Genesis Wave
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Overwhelming Stampede
1x Tezzeret's Gambit
1x Triumph of the Hordes
Hey there peoples of MTGSalvation! As usual, I will cut to the chase. I just finished making a deck for Ezuri, Claw of Progress a few days ago and I would love to get some input on my horrendous inability to build a deck. It should be noted that the big themes I wanted to put in this deck is infect/proliferate and as much Phyrexia as I could... so if you're looking at iffy cards like Phyrexian Hydra like "Wow this guy REALLY can't build decks" please know that they're generally there for flavor. Of course say something anyways because they also might be better off way out of the deck. So anyways.. please let me know what you think! Let me know what I can improve on! Any input is super appreciated!
A couple of cards I've wanted to get into the deck are Serpent Generator and MAYBE Pistus Strike for all the damned Atraxas I've been seeing. I always kind of want to throw Vorinclex in for flavors sake but I'm not sure how much he can add to the deck seeing as to how I'd mostly be putting him in so I have a second Birthing Pod option.
Anyways again... Thank you for any input and sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum or section of MTGSalvation I'm still pretty new to the forums... Thank you!
You have 36 noncommander creatures. Looking at Ezuri as well you have two main categories for creatures: Infect and +1/+1 counter (fuel)
34 if them aid in counters (at least with Ezuri out) FANTASTIC! *thumbs up*
only six of them have infect. We'll get to these.
The two that don't are Craterhoof Behemoth and Pathbreaker Ibex. I understand your reasoning of using these guys as finishers, however I do have to ask how many players are there typically in your EDH games. If less than four, I'd automatically scrap CB for either that Pistus Strike or Beserk. Ibex is a reusable Overwhelming Stampede on a stick, so why not?
Back to those six infect creatures. There are only six of them. I have no qualms with your unblockable Agent, and none too many with Swarmlord, but more often than not: infect is something you bring to the table and it leaves when you do. This is both a blessing and a curse. You can focus on one person at a time and not too many other people will care about one or two poison counters, but if you attack multiple people with infect and don't kill off...well all of them, the table mentality shifts to "get rid of that person and all this poison counter nonsense is overwith". The more creatures you have with infect, the easier it is to hammer the poison counters home. On the flip side, using creatures with traditional damage to players allows you to piggyback on damage dealt by others. Sure you have to dealt a lot more, but you are obviously going to have help (in nonduel situations).
Lastly, consider these cards: Hindervines,Swiftfoot Boots, and Lightning Greaves. You have a few key creatures that will be targeted very quickly: your commander, Agent, and Sage of hours. All of them die to doom blade and Asceticism is a one-off. Your deck, infect aside, depends heavily on your commander being on the battlefield. Make sure it stays there. Oh, and Counterspell or something like it, obviously.
Also I'm pretty sure that this should go in the decklists page of this sub but I'm sure the mods will be kind.
BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern:
RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
Alright so from the replies I've gotten thus far (and thank you all so much for the feedback) I definitely know I need to get some protective gear in the deck for my Murder Elf commander to survive longer than a turn. I can get right on that. Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots are guaranteed spots based on what I've read. My question is what cards should I cut to fit these guys in? Also in regard to Craterhoof Behemoth I totally get why this guy could be a quick cut to the deck because for the most part the deck is based around infect but I also very much enjoy the explosiveness that comes from saccing something like Hornet Queen with Birthing Pod and jumping straight into Craterhoof. If I was to cut him is there another creature that has this kind of explosive feeling when entering the board that better fits the theme of this deck or am I just better off without my 8 drop beauties?
I actually love Corrupted Conscience but I had cut it early in my deck building process because I didn't feel that 5 mana for a enchantment that didn't do anything for my creatures was something I could afford in a relatively fast deck. Bident of Thassa is one I might consider finding a place for though! I like being able to force creatures into deathtouch or -1/-1 counters.
As I mentioned above I totally intend on working Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots into the deck somewhere in response to you and Boyachi's kind advice. I also love the idea of using Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time as card draw mechanics I just didn't even think about that before! I guess as a Chainer player I thought that if I wasn't resurrecting things from my graveyard it was pointless Are there any cards in my deck that you think are good swaps for either or both Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time? Thanks!
Marsh Viper for Putrefax. If you insist on keeping Putrid, abuse the H*** out of him with a Mimic Vat.
Melira, Sylvok Outcast is a good combo with Phyrexian Hydra. Since Phydra can't get -1/-1 counters from damage...;) Perhaps replace Viridian Corrupter with her. This, however, is obviously more of a 'funsie' combo.
If you decide Mimic Vat is for you, I would drop Song of the Dryads. Your infect will be a considerable enough threat against big beats already.
In reference to your beauty, I would suggest that the point being made is you should focus your damage towards one or the other damage. Spreading it amongst infect AND regular damage gives your opponents more time to get their game online and stop yours. Losing him, I would suggest gives you a good slot for either Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots.
Lands concern me in your decklist. My count on your list is 35, and while you are running mana dorks and rocks, I'm not sure I'd say it's enough, even with the decent mana curve. How often do you find yourself sputtering in the game(unable to get started)?
One more thing to consider would be Grafted Exoskeleton, particularly for the creatures that don't have infect. Not sure what you should drop for that, though.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Azusa - Derevi - Glissa - Mizzix - Sharuum - Wanderer - Wort
Putrefax is actually a card that I kinda love flavorwise but the addition of Mimic Vat sounds awesome with him! I will more than likely drop Song of the Dryads to make space for it cause that sounds like a hilarious combo. Grafted Exoskeleton is a card that I originally wanted to put into the deck but I didn't feel like I had enough big creatures without infect to warrant it's use. But I guess it can be used to infect-ivize cards in a pinch. Regardless thank you so much for the feedback!
Correct me if I'm mistaken but isn't a 7/7 the perfect score?
I hope this isn't sarcasm... I really put work into these guys...
Less than 10% of the deck is card advantage and most of them are unreliable and the rest is low impact. I see this deck basically losing to the first boardwipe.
I would remove all the random profilerate effects because those just seem more cute than good and add in stuff like elvish visionary, Edric, Spymaster of Trest and Rishkar's Expertise.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
(W/U)(B/R)GForm of Progenitus, Shape of a Scrubland
BRGJund Tokens with Prossh, the Magic Dragon Foil
URGAnimar, the RUG CleanerFoil
RRRFeldon of the Third Path 2.0 Foil
BG(B/G)Not Another Meren DeckFoil
UR(U/R)Mizzix, Y Control and X Burn Spells
(W/U)(B/R)GHarold Ramos - The 35 Foot Long Twinkie (In +1/+1 counters)
UB(U/B)Dragonlord Silumgar
(W/U)(B/R)GForm of Progenitus, Shape of a Scrubland
BRGJund Tokens with Prossh, the Magic Dragon Foil
URGAnimar, the RUG CleanerFoil
RRRFeldon of the Third Path 2.0 Foil
BG(B/G)Not Another Meren DeckFoil
UR(U/R)Mizzix, Y Control and X Burn Spells
(W/U)(B/R)GHarold Ramos - The 35 Foot Long Twinkie (In +1/+1 counters)
UB(U/B)Dragonlord Silumgar
I agree that defending Ezuri is important, but why do it with machines and spells when you could do it with creatures with power 2 or less?
This is a wonderful idea I love it!