Looking to make Cataclysmic Gearhulk work in a 5-6 player FFA playgroup and I want to remake my BW control deck so I'm cramming the two ideas into one deck. The main idea is to build around the Hulk and Tragic Arrogance and play to their restrictions. For an enchantment I thought Bloodchief Ascension would provide the most synergy with the Cataclysm effect. The planeswalker that works best with the Hulk and BA would be Kaya, Ghost Assassin. Her 0 can be used to blink out the Hulk for repeatable Cataclysms or to save an additional creature from a Cataclysm effect, -1 is an enabler to get BA online and the -2 is a BA trigger and card advantage. An artifact to help get BA online and protect myself during the setup would beNorn's Annex. Some cards that I think are auto includes are Syphon Mind,Vindicate and Shambling Vent.
With 21 more lands that leaves 8 slots to fill. I am looking at creatures with strong ETB effects that would benefit from being blinked by Kaya. Artifact creatures would be ideal since they would be possibly saved from the Cataclysms due to typing. Noxious Gearhulk hits any remaining creature and is near unblockable post-Cataclysm thanks to menace. Solemn Simulacrum gives some repeatable ramp and benefits from dying.
Since I won't pull the BA or Annex every game I want some other artifacts and enchantments that would also be useful.Luminarch Ascension is a boss in multiplayer and works well after a board wipe. Ankh of Mishra throttles everyone and gets BA online quick.
For the manabase I'd go the full 4 Temples and replace the Scoured Barrens with Basics. You'll want fewer ETB lands since you've easily met your color requirements with the remaining lands.
Ankh of Mishra seems awful in every game in which you fail to pair it with BA. After all, you're playing a 25 land Control deck that wants to make its first 8 land drops. I wouldn't even consider fielding it.
I'm not sold on Solemn being a good fit for this deck. You don't need marginal value and you already have a ton of 4 drops. At some point you have to ask yourself "would I pay 4 mana to Rampant Growth and draw a card down the road?" and since the answer is always going to be "Hell no!" I don't see a compelling reason to keep it.
Beyond that the deck could use some early game interaction such as Massacre, Innocent Blood, Balance, Planar Collapse, Toxic Deluge, Wrath of God, etc. You don't need a ton of it or anything but it would be nice to have a couple early-game answers. Otherwise you might want a card like Sepulchral Primordial to try and close the game out and a singleton Mimic Vat would also go a long way. Right now you only have 2x LA to actually seal the deal and that's not enough win conditions.
I wonder if your gearhulks would like Loxodon Warhammers, because trample might help push the damage through.
Eh a control deck with so few creatures doesn't really want Equipment. It's actually a huge liability because it makes removal devastating against him given how few win conditions that his list has. He can't really afford to take a chance on cards that can't win the game on their own.
After some mock draws I agree on the ankh and simulacrum. I'm worried that BA will draw so much heat that the faster I get it online the better, but Ankh is a terrible topdeck and useless without BA.
I still like Annex in this list since it is not a dead card when I dont draw BA, enables the Luminarch Ascension as well by pointing creatures elsewhere. I'll knock it down to 2 though
Anguished Unmaking may work better with the instant speed and exile, Vindicate is nice as a trigger for BA and also had the ability to hit any annoying lands. Also originally had shocklands in the list and was worried about early life loss, but without those the life loss should be fine.
With ramp I'm not too worried about early interaction with my current playgroup, since we dont see many early drops that are not mana dorks or rattlesnakes.
Mimic Vat might be the artifact bomb I was looking for. Too bad tokens can't be blinked.
I do still wonder if there is another artifact creature out there that acts as a better wincon than Noxious Gearhulk that also has an ETB effect. Though if I save Cataclysmic Gearhulk as my artifact I could just use Sepulchral Primordial or another ETB creature bomb.
Thoughts on Whip of Erebos? Good typing to stick around, brings back Hulks or possibly Primodials (which could then be blinked out to keep them around) and lifelink is never bad. Of course would take a slot in the place of Annex. Would probably be more useful if the creature count was higher.
Thoughts on Whip of Erebos? Good typing to stick around, brings back Hulks or possibly Primodials (which could then be blinked out to keep them around) and lifelink is never bad. Of course would take a slot in the place of Annex. Would probably be more useful if the creature count was higher.
I like the card well enough but you only have 6 creatures to recur which makes it kind of loose. What I typically run in that slot is a Volrath's Stronghold or Academy Ruins so that I get my recursion spell "for free" as opposed to having to waste a spell slot on it. Not budget-minded solutions by any means but it really sucks to play a card like Phyrexian Reclamation or Whip in a deck with so few critters to recur. After all, you know that it's going to be a stone mulligan for like 95% of every game and even though it's really good in that final 5% it's all meaningless if you lose before you reach that stage.
What about Debtors' Knell? Same idea only it's basically always going to be great.
So for a core of the deck I am looking at
With 21 more lands that leaves 8 slots to fill. I am looking at creatures with strong ETB effects that would benefit from being blinked by Kaya. Artifact creatures would be ideal since they would be possibly saved from the Cataclysms due to typing. Noxious Gearhulk hits any remaining creature and is near unblockable post-Cataclysm thanks to menace. Solemn Simulacrum gives some repeatable ramp and benefits from dying.
Since I won't pull the BA or Annex every game I want some other artifacts and enchantments that would also be useful.Luminarch Ascension is a boss in multiplayer and works well after a board wipe. Ankh of Mishra throttles everyone and gets BA online quick.
2x Noxious Gearhulk
2x Solemn Simulacrum
4x Bloodchief Ascension
2x Luminarch Ascension
4x Kaya, Ghost Assassin
2x Ankh of Mishra
4x Tragic Arrogance
4x Syphon Mind
4x Vindicate
4x Shambling Vent
4x Fetid Heath
4x Orzhov Basilica
3x Scoured Barrens
3x Temple of Silence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
4x Plains
1x Swamp
Shortlist of other cards currently under consideration:
Looking for any advice on the cards chosen to fill out the deck and land selection.
Ankh of Mishra seems awful in every game in which you fail to pair it with BA. After all, you're playing a 25 land Control deck that wants to make its first 8 land drops. I wouldn't even consider fielding it.
I'm not sold on Solemn being a good fit for this deck. You don't need marginal value and you already have a ton of 4 drops. At some point you have to ask yourself "would I pay 4 mana to Rampant Growth and draw a card down the road?" and since the answer is always going to be "Hell no!" I don't see a compelling reason to keep it.
FWIW I think that Norn's Annex is garbage and would much rather see something like 4x Mind Stone, Orzhov Signet, Worn Powerstone, Hedron Archive, etc. in that slot. Your deck is all 4s and 5s so there's nothing that you'd rather jam on turn 2 than something like Orzhov Signet.
Beyond that the deck could use some early game interaction such as Massacre, Innocent Blood, Balance, Planar Collapse, Toxic Deluge, Wrath of God, etc. You don't need a ton of it or anything but it would be nice to have a couple early-game answers. Otherwise you might want a card like Sepulchral Primordial to try and close the game out and a singleton Mimic Vat would also go a long way. Right now you only have 2x LA to actually seal the deal and that's not enough win conditions.
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Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I also wonder if it's worth changing the Vindicates for Anguished Unmaking to remove the blockers entirely.
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
Eh a control deck with so few creatures doesn't really want Equipment. It's actually a huge liability because it makes removal devastating against him given how few win conditions that his list has. He can't really afford to take a chance on cards that can't win the game on their own.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
After some mock draws I agree on the ankh and simulacrum. I'm worried that BA will draw so much heat that the faster I get it online the better, but Ankh is a terrible topdeck and useless without BA.
I still like Annex in this list since it is not a dead card when I dont draw BA, enables the Luminarch Ascension as well by pointing creatures elsewhere. I'll knock it down to 2 though
Anguished Unmaking may work better with the instant speed and exile, Vindicate is nice as a trigger for BA and also had the ability to hit any annoying lands. Also originally had shocklands in the list and was worried about early life loss, but without those the life loss should be fine.
With ramp I'm not too worried about early interaction with my current playgroup, since we dont see many early drops that are not mana dorks or rattlesnakes.
Mimic Vat might be the artifact bomb I was looking for. Too bad tokens can't be blinked.
2x Noxious Gearhulk
4x Bloodchief Ascension
2x Luminarch Ascension
4x Kaya, Ghost Assassin
2x Norn's Annex
1x Mimic Vat
4x Mindstone
4x Syphon Mind
4x Vindicate
4x Shambling Vent
4x Fetid Heath
4x Orzhov Basilica
4x Temple of Silence
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
5x Plains
2x Swamp
I do still wonder if there is another artifact creature out there that acts as a better wincon than Noxious Gearhulk that also has an ETB effect. Though if I save Cataclysmic Gearhulk as my artifact I could just use Sepulchral Primordial or another ETB creature bomb.
Not really. Myr Battlesphere and Sandstone Oracle are the only real candidates and neither work particularly well in this list.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I like the card well enough but you only have 6 creatures to recur which makes it kind of loose. What I typically run in that slot is a Volrath's Stronghold or Academy Ruins so that I get my recursion spell "for free" as opposed to having to waste a spell slot on it. Not budget-minded solutions by any means but it really sucks to play a card like Phyrexian Reclamation or Whip in a deck with so few critters to recur. After all, you know that it's going to be a stone mulligan for like 95% of every game and even though it's really good in that final 5% it's all meaningless if you lose before you reach that stage.
What about Debtors' Knell? Same idea only it's basically always going to be great.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold