Can a Rhys the Redeemed deck be competitive or is he more of a casual general? Would he be a good general in a tribal Elf edh deck, or would going tribal limit the deck too much?
You can make him strong, but he's more of a casual general. And yes, going tribal would certainly limit the deck too much. The most competitive elf general that's unbanned is nath of the gilt leaf imo. He generates way more tokens far faster than Rhys does.
The only tribal strategies that I've seen be effective are wizards off of azami, lady of scrolls and dragons from scion of the ur dragon. You can def have good results with a tribal subtheme, especially as you can just drop a coat of arms and /lol your way to a stomp.
.....I've always heard Ezuri is pretty competitive. Tribal elves lets you win through big mana effects or overrunning. Can't go wrong there. (Especially....with the new infect overrun.)
I've seen him as generic tokens as well as mono-green Elves, but I prefer him as tokens. If you're going to do elves, I would go with something like Ezuri.
I disagree with most of what has been said. Rhys can in fact be very competitive. He comes down on turn 1 and is the best token general to abuse effects such as earthcraft, doubling season, seedborn muse/awakening. Not to mention white gives him access to mirari's wake, martial coup, luminarch ascension, sacred mesa, decree of justice, aura shards. Rhys's doubling ability means you only need to commit one token maker like say deranged hermit to have a massive army in no time. Combine with seedborn or awakening and you can be lethal the moment you untap. Being g/w you also have access to survival lark shenanigans/game ending combo's. this was one of my first decks and it could consistantly kill in the early turns by either comboing off or just token beat down. The deck also has a fair amount of disruption and alot of card draw ala skullclamp(easily tutorable if you build the deck to be able to do so, combine green creature tutors with stoneforge mystic). Also tooth and nail packages include kamahl, fist of krosa plus crovax to waste every1s lands or avenger of zendikar + regal force to reload. I am not bashing on those who said rhys is more of a casual general. You are all entitled to your opinions. This happens to be mine
I totally agree with KirkSauce. A guy in meta runs a mono green Rhys combo deck. It's basically an EDH version of legacy elves. It combos with Cloudstone Curio, Alluren and also has a myriad of ways to make infinite mana, which in turn equals infinite tokens.
It depends on what degree of competitiveness you're talking about. In a very cutthroat metagame, Rhys isn't a competitive general due to the inability to interact with fast combo decks.
It depends on what degree of competitiveness you're talking about. In a very cutthroat metagame, Rhys isn't a competitive general due to the inability to interact with fast combo decks.
A well-built Rhys deck can compete at a high enough level as any nonblue deck.
I agree with KirkSauce, the amount of power G/W has at it's disposal is incredible. Green itself is comparative to blue in terms of strength in Commander and with the backup of white it can be very competitive. Rhys relies on two things, mana production, something Green can handle very efficiently, and tokens, without them his abilities are meaningless. With that said, he has a great supply of cards that fit so well in this deck.
A brief list of good cards that work well with Rhys:
The only tribal strategies that I've seen be effective are wizards off of azami, lady of scrolls and dragons from scion of the ur dragon. You can def have good results with a tribal subtheme, especially as you can just drop a coat of arms and /lol your way to a stomp.
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Lover of EDH, hater of whiny EDH players.
In other words, you need stuff like Glare of Subdual, Spelltithe Enforce, and Orb of Dreams/Winter Orb, and then he gets really good.
Driving Stick with Isochron Scepter.
Trinkets and Treasure: An Artificer's Toolbox.
Proc Drops: Playing with One Drops.
Deck Primer: Toshiro Umezawa
:symg:Omnath:symg:
:symr:Kiki-Jiki:symr:
:symb:Endrek Sahr:symb:
It CAN be competitive but usually is more casual.
Standard
GWB Junk Rites GWB
Brewing
GWBU 4-Color Rites/Aggro GWBU
Rules Advisor
A well-built Rhys deck can compete at a high enough level as any nonblue deck.
Standard
GWB Junk Rites GWB
Brewing
GWBU 4-Color Rites/Aggro GWBU
Rules Advisor
A brief list of good cards that work well with Rhys:
- Spawnwrithe
- Mitotic Slime w/ Ahsnod's Altar + Nim Deathmantle or Cauldron of Souls
-Wurmcoil Engine
- Earthcraft
- Doubling Season
- Seedborn Muse / Awakening
- Mana reflection / Mirari's Wake
- Skullclamp
- Luminarch Ascension
- Aura Shards
- Nature's Chosen
- Instill Energy
- Avenger of Zendikar w/ Ahsnod's Altar + Nim Deathmantle
- Awakening Zone
- Elspeth, Knight-Errant
- Elspeth Tirel
- Garruk Wildspeaker
- Ajani Goldmane