In all seriousness though, he's one of my favorite cards. I blame WOTC for this, for not printing enough good barbarians.
Honestly, I like Lovisa. It is just taking so long to get a decent pool of playable creatures. I played her back before Khans and into Khans block a bit and I was so pissed at how troll they were making almost everything back there in BW. There have been a few upgrades since then but they always seem super few and far between.
Heck, we even went back to Dominaria and got pretty much nothing in terms of tribal creatures.
Heck, we even went back to Dominaria and got pretty much nothing in terms of tribal creatures.
I remember playing with some super sub par creatures when I built my deck. Her tribes just don't often get new creatures and its often that they just turn out to be some random bear with some random ability tagged on. She really needs a bigger influx of rare / mythic creatures on tribe to just flush out some of her weak spots still.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Out of DOM I like Goblin Chainwhirler mostly becasue tokens are an issue in my meta and Mox Amber when I have Balthor in the deck for the speedy turns =P
Out of DOM I like Goblin Chainwhirler mostly becasue tokens are an issue in my meta and Mox Amber when I have Balthor in the deck for the speedy turns =P
I feel like you are justifying a questionable add with a questionable card in the deck lol.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Out of DOM I like Goblin Chainwhirler mostly becasue tokens are an issue in my meta and Mox Amber when I have Balthor in the deck for the speedy turns =P
I feel like you are justifying a questionable add with a questionable card in the deck lol.
I really do want to like Mox Amber but I feel like I would need to be running a 1-3 mana commander before I could even really consider it to possibly be helpful. After that there is the question of if you are trying to tempo to other plays after your commander gets played as well as having the draw to not mind a mana stone that doesn't hit until after your commander gets in.
Its so challenging in part because its ramp but even if its in your opening its not really going to ramp you into your game the same way as you would want a cheap stone to do.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I wasn't sure if I wanted Helm in Radiant, then drew it the first game after I added it with Archangel of Thune, Lyra Dawnbringer, and Blinding Angel in hand. Any of those or the general is already a decent threat and it turns into must answer if I can get Helm equipped. If I wasn't sold before, I am now. It helps that that deck is already the durdliest.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Out of DOM I like Goblin Chainwhirler mostly becasue tokens are an issue in my meta and Mox Amber when I have Balthor in the deck for the speedy turns =P
I feel like you are justifying a questionable add with a questionable card in the deck lol.
Talking about questionable adds with questionable cards, I've been durdling with Alesha for the longest time. Supposed to be somewhat like an aristocrat deck running double duty with Blood Artist and the kind, except when I get board-wiped, Alesha just cannot bring them back fast enough.
Almost justified putting Helm of the Host in the deck because of this (along with my equipment shenanigans being in the deck as a reason), but the logical mind is telling me it's still going to be too slow and Ryusei will fare much better cloning himself even at full cost.
I really think my 2-power-or-below requirement is really keeping the deck back (it does great lowering overall cmc though). I really need to think hard about some new directions to take with regards to the deck... when I'm not too busy (or lazy when not busy) to... seriously I opened that neat box and still haven't gotten to revamping those decks of mine structurally yet (got motivated to update them aesthetically though...)
Talking about questionable adds with questionable cards, I've been durdling with Alesha for the longest time. Supposed to be somewhat like an aristocrat deck running double duty with Blood Artist and the kind, except when I get board-wiped, Alesha just cannot bring them back fast enough.
Almost justified putting Helm of the Host in the deck because of this (along with my equipment shenanigans being in the deck as a reason), but the logical mind is telling me it's still going to be too slow and Ryusei will fare much better cloning himself even at full cost.
I really think my 2-power-or-below requirement is really keeping the deck back (it does great lowering overall cmc though). I really need to think hard about some new directions to take with regards to the deck... when I'm not too busy (or lazy when not busy) to... seriously I opened that neat box and still haven't gotten to revamping those decks of mine structurally yet (got motivated to update them aesthetically though...)
I think Alesha is a really cool commander but I know 100% what you mean when reading this. I came close to building her myself when she came out and a friend of mine ended up builder her and had the exact same problem. I tend to group her in with the category of (too many moving parts) in that when a wrench is thrown in she falls apart in a not good way and takes forever to spin back up.
I do think that she is really cool but she encourages a very large build around and her creatures are slow to kill most people. I ended up picking up and building Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle from the new stuff and I have a very large fear that he may have the same syndrom but I freaking love me some mono white enough that I had to build him lol. I have yet to play him yet so I don't know for sure but its high on my fears.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Goddammit ISB, this is your fault for sucking me back into that stupid thread.
LOL I posted a few times and wandered off. Cryo gets sucked in and committed.
I just spent over $500 on addons for my forbidden fortress kickstarter lol. There were several things I did not pick up when buying into Shadows of Brimstone originally.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Lol you know...... when I halitosiz I just...... use the restroom.
Random side note, do you still puka? I noticed you still have it in your sig and was just curious. I thought I recalled something catastrophic happening and or you kind of backing out of it but perhaps I am imagining things or mixing you up with Donald.
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():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Lol you know...... when I halitosiz I just...... use the restroom.
Random side note, do you still puka? I noticed you still have it in your sig and was just curious. I thought I recalled something catastrophic happening and or you kind of backing out of it but perhaps I am imagining things or mixing you up with Donald.
T'warnt me. I got zeroed out a month ago and due to poor life choices resulting in a baby I just haven't had the time to worry about Magic. So n9 I'm not currently doing it, but I haven't quit entirely.
you both need serious mental help if you both venture into the BL discussion....I am so glad I can't tell when a new post has been made in it
It's pretty bad isn't it?
There was a time when I was really committed to the discussions going on there. Now, less so. I enjoy writing, politics, philosophy, and Commander, but I've begun to increasingly feel as though some community members genuinely aren't interested in finding truth; they just want to win an argument, and arguments aren't what I'm looking to have anymore.
On occasion, I make an effort to reach out to folks and see if they'd like to talk via Discord, but seldom do I find people looking for an honest conversation.
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WUBRGMr. Bones' Wild RideGRBUW Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
There was a time when I was really committed to the discussions going on there. Now, less so. I enjoy writing, politics, philosophy, and Commander, but I've begun to increasingly feel as though some community members genuinely aren't interested in finding truth; they just want to win an argument, and arguments aren't what I'm looking to have anymore.
On occasion, I make an effort to reach out to folks and see if they'd like to talk via Discord, but seldom do I find people looking for an honest conversation.
It can be hard to win a discussion for commander especially given that every meta looks different and there is no national meta. With constructed formats that have a national meta there is data to be had and there can be a right answer. With commander not having a national meta there are some discussions that can just forever run in loops. Things that break one meta might be super tame and or not even present in another meta.
I have always tried to take commander with a grain of salt and look through the eyes of the other poster. Sometimes it helps to look at discussions and arguments from another direction to see why someone thinks the way they do.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
There was a time when I was really committed to the discussions going on there. Now, less so. I enjoy writing, politics, philosophy, and Commander, but I've begun to increasingly feel as though some community members genuinely aren't interested in finding truth; they just want to win an argument, and arguments aren't what I'm looking to have anymore.
On occasion, I make an effort to reach out to folks and see if they'd like to talk via Discord, but seldom do I find people looking for an honest conversation.
It can be hard to win a discussion for commander especially given that every meta looks different and there is no national meta. With constructed formats that have a national meta there is data to be had and there can be a right answer. With commander not having a national meta there are some discussions that can just forever run in loops. Things that break one meta might be super tame and or not even present in another meta.
I have always tried to take commander with a grain of salt and look through the eyes of the other poster. Sometimes it helps to look at discussions and arguments from another direction to see why someone thinks the way they do.
That's why when I put in my view, I try to saw or at least so others can see that i'm talking about my local meta (if that makes any sense)
Yeah, the BL discussion is just ridiculous. I stand by my statement of 'The Council has spoken, DEAL WITH IT'. I didn't like some that happened, and I think others SHOULD have happened by now, but I trust(or have learned) that there were damn good reasons.
On a slightly different note, I built my wife's second EDH deck; elves. She's really looking forward to trying it out Wednesday night.
Well, just a few weeks back I nearly stepped back onto the landmine that was the Coalition Victory thread, but wisely chose not to (in fairness I did state my own opinion on the topic some time in the past, so I still stand by that statement).
The real issue is there isn't really any clear-cut right or wrong in any card on or off the list (even the likes of P.Titan there's probably some group who actually managed to play it fairly and hence found the ban unfair). It just gets irritating when people act as though there is and their view is the only right one (one's man truth is another's rubbish), then accuse (mostly indirectly) the Committee of the same thing they're guilty of under some sort of guise of "abusing authority" (that's like the shortest term I could sum it up as, the exact specifics may vary) when their views don't match the Committee's. Then it gets mixed and buried together with arguments on specific factors regarding the topic, which is why so may threads just end up re-iterating itself over and over since technically speaking it's "same but still different" every time it's remixed.
I realize this seems particularly alluding to the CV thread, but it was the last thread from there I bothered reading through (weeks back ago) so I won't deny it's the "freshest" experience I can remember and am basing on (I know some threads are a lot tamer).
I think Alesha is a really cool commander but I know 100% what you mean when reading this. I came close to building her myself when she came out and a friend of mine ended up builder her and had the exact same problem. I tend to group her in with the category of (too many moving parts) in that when a wrench is thrown in she falls apart in a not good way and takes forever to spin back up.
I do think that she is really cool but she encourages a very large build around and her creatures are slow to kill most people. I ended up picking up and building Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle from the new stuff and I have a very large fear that he may have the same syndrom but I freaking love me some mono white enough that I had to build him lol. I have yet to play him yet so I don't know for sure but its high on my fears.
I went to take a look at your list and yeah, I can see where it might head. Turns out building a plan around weenie revival is fun but far from easy. At least Teshar can trigger several times (cheap artifacts are like staples anyway) while Alesha either attacks once* and the weenie comes back attacking (Yes I know Reconnaissance exists, it just may not be there all the time). I saw darrenhabib's combo list for Teshar and it's really solid, although I can see why you're not adopting that combo-line (it's so solid that it almost feels cutthroat-unfriendly the same way my own experience against Derevi has been...)
*I'm not running the clunky extra combat spells, and the efficient creatures that do that obviously don't have 2 power or less, but as I said back there, I'm seriously considering abolishing that restriction, it's just backfiring instead of inspiring creativity. Sun Titan needs a new home anyway, now that Muldrotha's threatening his position over at my Horde.Lands.dec and Karador has way too much competition at the 6-drop slot to welcome him.
Honestly the deck was keeping itself afloat with the infinite combos I placed as failsafes (mainly Sanguine-Exquisite, but once I closed a game by turning Jitte lethal without the other half...) and half the deck was durdling around - Stoneforge into Sunforger into Enlightened Tutor was doing all the actual work.
I've been durdling with Alesha for the longest time. Supposed to be somewhat like an aristocrat deck running double duty with Blood Artist and the kind, except when I get board-wiped, Alesha just cannot bring them back fast enough.
I really need to think hard about some new directions to take with regards to the deck...
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death certainly is the one deck that requires me to spend the most time re-evaluating card choices and tweaking synergies for the same reasons. If it weren't for Selfless Spirit, Boros Charm, Eerie Interlude and Ghostway, i propably had dismantled the deck already, just for all the akward situations i'd be in. I don't want to overdo it on these effects, but judging from my experiences with Make a Stand and Rootborn Defenses in Brago, King Eternal to warp wrath type effects one-sidedly i'm constantly on the verge to include them as well.
I tend to group her in with the category of (too many moving parts) in that when a wrench is thrown in she falls apart in a not good way and takes forever to spin back up.
I do think that she is really cool but she encourages a very large build around and her creatures are slow to kill most people.
Those moving parts are both the challenge as well as the appeal of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death for me. I love balancing effects and redundancies, such as draw, token generators and buffs with Zada, Hedron Grinder. Some decks virtually build themselves though and would be set in that state if it weren't for new sets. I like playing Omnath, Locus of Rage and Odric, Master Tactician, but i love maneuvering other decks that took a lot more effort to get to their current states!
Over the last few months i had two big epiphanies, that changed my approach quite a bit.
One was, that i try to play creatures that by nature are more likely to stay on board. That way i am able to hold my board position long enough for my effects to sum up. Usually that resulted in evasive creatures over their counterparts, e.g. Wispmare (stellar!) over War Priest of Thune. And the number of creatures with a strength of 1 or less dropped to just 4. While i love Mother of Runes, Blood Artist and others, they are far too easy to chump block. I wouldn't count either to the number of creatures affiliated with my commandtress, as an activation for them would be a wasted one (usually).
The other one was that synergetic protection - and recursion - enhance the deck massively. Fanatical Devotion and Martyr's Cause to protect creatures double as sac outlets and are obvious champs, Tortured Existence can help with dodging huge commander tax and setup activations. My next addition to that type of cards will be Homura, Human Ascendant. While not mana light, i really dig the combination of Elspeth, Sun's Champion's emblem combined with Firebreathing.
I've been durdling with Alesha for the longest time. Supposed to be somewhat like an aristocrat deck running double duty with Blood Artist and the kind, except when I get board-wiped, Alesha just cannot bring them back fast enough.
I really need to think hard about some new directions to take with regards to the deck...
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death certainly is the one deck that requires me to spend the most time re-evaluating card choices and tweaking synergies for the same reasons. If it weren't for Selfless Spirit, Boros Charm, Eerie Interlude and Ghostway, i propably had dismantled the deck already, just for all the akward situations i'd be in. I don't want to overdo it on these effects, but judging from my experiences with Make a Stand and Rootborn Defenses in Brago, King Eternal to warp wrath type effects one-sidedly i'm constantly on the verge to include them as well.
I tend to group her in with the category of (too many moving parts) in that when a wrench is thrown in she falls apart in a not good way and takes forever to spin back up.
I do think that she is really cool but she encourages a very large build around and her creatures are slow to kill most people.
Those moving parts are both the challenge as well as the appeal of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death for me. I love balancing effects and redundancies, such as draw, token generators and buffs with Zada, Hedron Grinder. Some decks virtually build themselves though and would be set in that state if it weren't for new sets. I like playing Omnath, Locus of Rage and Odric, Master Tactician, but i love maneuvering other decks that took a lot more effort to get to their current states!
Over the last few months i had two big epiphanies, that changed my approach quite a bit.
One was, that i try to play creatures that by nature are more likely to stay on board. That way i am able to hold my board position long enough for my effects to sum up. Usually that resulted in evasive creatures over their counterparts, e.g. Wispmare (stellar!) over War Priest of Thune. And the number of creatures with a strength of 1 or less dropped to just 4. While i love Mother of Runes, Blood Artist and others, they are far too easy to chump block. I wouldn't count either to the number of creatures affiliated with my commandtress, as an activation for them would be a wasted one (usually).
The other one was that synergetic protection - and recursion - enhance the deck massively. Fanatical Devotion and Martyr's Cause to protect creatures double as sac outlets and are obvious champs, Tortured Existence can help with dodging huge commander tax and setup activations. My next addition to that type of cards will be Homura, Human Ascendant. While not mana light, i really dig the combination of Elspeth, Sun's Champion's emblem combined with Firebreathing.
Riku of Two Reflections - Copy, then copy again | Shattergang Brothers - Token Sac&Recur | Gahiji, Honored One - Multiple attack steps | Karametra, God of Harvests - Landfall, Creaturefall, Shroud | Ruhan of the Fomori - Stop hitting yourself | Zurgo Helmsmasher - Equipment&Wraths | Crosis, the Purger - Dragon Tribal Reanimator | Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - No stax, just tap and untap fun | Anafenza, the Foremost - Enduring Ideal Enchantress | Sharuum, the Hegemon - Sphinx Tribal Control | Noyan Dar - Spellslinger | The Mimeoplasm - Counterpalooza
Lists can be found here.
Still convinced the guy on Beseech the Queen is wearing a Mitra-type hat. Wake up sheeple!
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My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
I remember playing with some super sub par creatures when I built my deck. Her tribes just don't often get new creatures and its often that they just turn out to be some random bear with some random ability tagged on. She really needs a bigger influx of rare / mythic creatures on tribe to just flush out some of her weak spots still.
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[Modern] Allies
I feel like you are justifying a questionable add with a questionable card in the deck lol.
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[Modern] Allies
You know me so well!
Its so challenging in part because its ramp but even if its in your opening its not really going to ramp you into your game the same way as you would want a cheap stone to do.
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[Modern] Allies
My Helpdesk
[Pr] Marath | [Pr] Lovisa | Jodah | Saskia | Najeela | Yisan | Lord Windgrace | Atraxa | Meren | Gisa and Geralf
Talking about questionable adds with questionable cards, I've been durdling with Alesha for the longest time. Supposed to be somewhat like an aristocrat deck running double duty with Blood Artist and the kind, except when I get board-wiped, Alesha just cannot bring them back fast enough.
Almost justified putting Helm of the Host in the deck because of this (along with my equipment shenanigans being in the deck as a reason), but the logical mind is telling me it's still going to be too slow and Ryusei will fare much better cloning himself even at full cost.
I really think my 2-power-or-below requirement is really keeping the deck back (it does great lowering overall cmc though). I really need to think hard about some new directions to take with regards to the deck... when I'm not too busy (or lazy when not busy) to... seriously I opened that neat box and still haven't gotten to revamping those decks of mine structurally yet (got motivated to update them aesthetically though...)
I think Alesha is a really cool commander but I know 100% what you mean when reading this. I came close to building her myself when she came out and a friend of mine ended up builder her and had the exact same problem. I tend to group her in with the category of (too many moving parts) in that when a wrench is thrown in she falls apart in a not good way and takes forever to spin back up.
I do think that she is really cool but she encourages a very large build around and her creatures are slow to kill most people. I ended up picking up and building Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle from the new stuff and I have a very large fear that he may have the same syndrom but I freaking love me some mono white enough that I had to build him lol. I have yet to play him yet so I don't know for sure but its high on my fears.
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[Modern] Allies
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
LOL I posted a few times and wandered off. Cryo gets sucked in and committed.
I just spent over $500 on addons for my forbidden fortress kickstarter lol. There were several things I did not pick up when buying into Shadows of Brimstone originally.
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[Modern] Allies
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Is..... this a new issue or like..... they always smell like this? If its a continuous issue then it may be an issue for management to deal with.
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[Modern] Allies
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Random side note, do you still puka? I noticed you still have it in your sig and was just curious. I thought I recalled something catastrophic happening and or you kind of backing out of it but perhaps I am imagining things or mixing you up with Donald.
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[Modern] Allies
T'warnt me. I got zeroed out a month ago and due to poor life choices resulting in a baby I just haven't had the time to worry about Magic. So n9 I'm not currently doing it, but I haven't quit entirely.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
There was a time when I was really committed to the discussions going on there. Now, less so. I enjoy writing, politics, philosophy, and Commander, but I've begun to increasingly feel as though some community members genuinely aren't interested in finding truth; they just want to win an argument, and arguments aren't what I'm looking to have anymore.
On occasion, I make an effort to reach out to folks and see if they'd like to talk via Discord, but seldom do I find people looking for an honest conversation.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
It can be hard to win a discussion for commander especially given that every meta looks different and there is no national meta. With constructed formats that have a national meta there is data to be had and there can be a right answer. With commander not having a national meta there are some discussions that can just forever run in loops. Things that break one meta might be super tame and or not even present in another meta.
I have always tried to take commander with a grain of salt and look through the eyes of the other poster. Sometimes it helps to look at discussions and arguments from another direction to see why someone thinks the way they do.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
That's why when I put in my view, I try to saw or at least so others can see that i'm talking about my local meta (if that makes any sense)
On a slightly different note, I built my wife's second EDH deck; elves. She's really looking forward to trying it out Wednesday night.
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)
The real issue is there isn't really any clear-cut right or wrong in any card on or off the list (even the likes of P.Titan there's probably some group who actually managed to play it fairly and hence found the ban unfair). It just gets irritating when people act as though there is and their view is the only right one (one's man truth is another's rubbish), then accuse (mostly indirectly) the Committee of the same thing they're guilty of under some sort of guise of "abusing authority" (that's like the shortest term I could sum it up as, the exact specifics may vary) when their views don't match the Committee's. Then it gets mixed and buried together with arguments on specific factors regarding the topic, which is why so may threads just end up re-iterating itself over and over since technically speaking it's "same but still different" every time it's remixed.
I realize this seems particularly alluding to the CV thread, but it was the last thread from there I bothered reading through (weeks back ago) so I won't deny it's the "freshest" experience I can remember and am basing on (I know some threads are a lot tamer).
I went to take a look at your list and yeah, I can see where it might head. Turns out building a plan around weenie revival is fun but far from easy. At least Teshar can trigger several times (cheap artifacts are like staples anyway) while Alesha either attacks once* and the weenie comes back attacking (Yes I know Reconnaissance exists, it just may not be there all the time). I saw darrenhabib's combo list for Teshar and it's really solid, although I can see why you're not adopting that combo-line (it's so solid that it almost feels cutthroat-unfriendly the same way my own experience against Derevi has been...)
*I'm not running the clunky extra combat spells, and the efficient creatures that do that obviously don't have 2 power or less, but as I said back there, I'm seriously considering abolishing that restriction, it's just backfiring instead of inspiring creativity. Sun Titan needs a new home anyway, now that Muldrotha's threatening his position over at my Horde.Lands.dec and Karador has way too much competition at the 6-drop slot to welcome him.
Honestly the deck was keeping itself afloat with the infinite combos I placed as failsafes (mainly Sanguine-Exquisite, but once I closed a game by turning Jitte lethal without the other half...) and half the deck was durdling around - Stoneforge into Sunforger into Enlightened Tutor was doing all the actual work.
My next update will include evasive creatures with Extort to constantly interact with the whole table. Namely Basilica Screecher and Kingpin's Pet. Similar effects of Harsh Mentor, Kambal, Consul of Allocation and even Aerial Responder and Vampire Nighthawk have already proven themselves. A lot more than Blood Artist and friends, at least in my experience.Those moving parts are both the challenge as well as the appeal of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death for me. I love balancing effects and redundancies, such as draw, token generators and buffs with Zada, Hedron Grinder. Some decks virtually build themselves though and would be set in that state if it weren't for new sets. I like playing Omnath, Locus of Rage and Odric, Master Tactician, but i love maneuvering other decks that took a lot more effort to get to their current states!
Over the last few months i had two big epiphanies, that changed my approach quite a bit.
One was, that i try to play creatures that by nature are more likely to stay on board. That way i am able to hold my board position long enough for my effects to sum up. Usually that resulted in evasive creatures over their counterparts, e.g. Wispmare (stellar!) over War Priest of Thune. And the number of creatures with a strength of 1 or less dropped to just 4. While i love Mother of Runes, Blood Artist and others, they are far too easy to chump block. I wouldn't count either to the number of creatures affiliated with my commandtress, as an activation for them would be a wasted one (usually).
The other one was that synergetic protection - and recursion - enhance the deck massively. Fanatical Devotion and Martyr's Cause to protect creatures double as sac outlets and are obvious champs, Tortured Existence can help with dodging huge commander tax and setup activations. My next addition to that type of cards will be Homura, Human Ascendant. While not mana light, i really dig the combination of Elspeth, Sun's Champion's emblem combined with Firebreathing.
tl:dr The challenge of brewing Alesha, Who Smiles at Death completely absorbed me.
Tamanoa - Welcome to the Jungle
Lists can be found here.