So I recently built a EDH Birdemic deck. I had original had a 60 card casual version, which is actually pretty efficient. The idea is to cast a ton of cheap birds, get Soulcatcher, or Soulcatcher's Aerie in play, then cast something like Cataclysm to pump your feather counters and swing away with a beat stick.
Scaling it to EDH has been difficult, but also really fun. I chose Derevi, Empyrial Tactician as my commander so I'm open to ramp options, and I can run cards like Bower Passage and Bow of Nylea. I threw in a Dovescape for true birdemic potential. Overall it's just goofy and fun.
However, Derevi is such a ridiculous card on it's own, I want to find ways I can truly utilize his abilities in the deck. He's good for untapping something like Seaside Haven to get repeated use, and you can use him to screw around with Keeper of the Nine Gales.
What else can he do, in keeping with the Birdemic theme, and not going too crazy?
Bronzebeak Moa deals a major amount of damage if its coupled with the tokens.
Aven Mimeomancer a pretty funny card, as it either makes your 1/1 tokens into 3/1 , or it gives your non-flying dudes flying, OR it makes a big creature the opponent has into a 3/1 OR it gives a 0/0 creature with tokens a big +3/+1 and flying boost ; so many options and the cards just funny.
Mindshrieker might just be a card i love by a stupid amount. Card looks so innocent, until it completly wrecks a player with gigantic boosts, especially against decks that have naturally very high manacosts (like 5-10 in artifact based decks).
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Outside of bird world but usefull in general:
Master Biomancer big boosts, and if you can boost this, it just becomes "worse".
Sun Titan as a source of recurrsion for all the cheap stuff is never bad
Opposition is a brutal card to lock down a player if you assemble enough tokens and your commander.
Adding any Elspeth / Jace / Garruck certainly doesnt hurt.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage works too for card draws with the -2, and the +1 works fairly well to tap down the opponent with other cards in that world involved.
If you want to go the world of tap-down, you might want Winter Orb like effects, adding any form of Armageddon works aswell, but thats not "fun" anymore.
You definitely need Aven Mindcensor. It's one of the best Bird Wizards there are...cept Derevi. Also Swan Song, not only is it Bird themed, it's also one of the best counterspells in EDH.
I am running nothing over 6 mana.. and only the 1 6 mana card (plus whatever beck/call is), although I have quite a few 5 drops and some X spells.
The idea behind using Deveri is to
1. Accumulate board presence fast (that requires a low curve of creatures/spells)
2. Play cards that give my other cards tap abilities, keeper, Azmai, eldar.
3. Use mana sink lands as not to waste mana.
I found that you can easily just overwhelm people before they are ready. The big problem remains politics since you have to be aggressive that tends to get your stuff destoried. Very good in 3 player games gets worse against more people.
I am missing a lot of the powerful older cards and bird legends, but the deck seems find without it.
As others have mentioned, having some solid manasinks &/or creatures with tap-effects are ideal, as otherwise Derevi's ability amounts to a pseudo vigilance effect. To keep with the flavor of the times, one way you could do this is through morph creatures, using the untap triggers to pay for morph/megamorph/manifest costs. This gives Raven Guild Initiate a potential spot in your deck as a bird-protector, and can even give you access to spell-like abilities when Dovescape is active.
Favorable Winds pumps your fliers. Sprite Noble pumps your fliers. The fact that it does so by tapping can work with Derevi if some of your creatures have first/double strike. Flurry of Wings makes a boatload of bird tokens for GWU. Soraya the Falconer pumps birds ("Falcon" was errata'd to "bird") and lets you give them banding - which may be diplomatic suicide, if confusing situations arise from its use too frequently, or if your opponents simply find banding to be confusing in and of its self. Airborne Aid draws a bunch of cards. Gravitational Shift pumps fliers, debuffs others. Fable of Wolf and Owl makes bird and wolf tokens. Windreader Sphinx draws you a card whenever one of your fliers attacks.
Scaling it to EDH has been difficult, but also really fun. I chose Derevi, Empyrial Tactician as my commander so I'm open to ramp options, and I can run cards like Bower Passage and Bow of Nylea. I threw in a Dovescape for true birdemic potential. Overall it's just goofy and fun.
However, Derevi is such a ridiculous card on it's own, I want to find ways I can truly utilize his abilities in the deck. He's good for untapping something like Seaside Haven to get repeated use, and you can use him to screw around with Keeper of the Nine Gales.
What else can he do, in keeping with the Birdemic theme, and not going too crazy?
GWUBRDraft my Old Border Nostalgia Cube! and/or The Little Pauper Cube That Could!RBUWG
Modern:WDeath & TaxesW | RUGRUG DelverRUG
http://magiccards.info/query?q=o:Bird c!wug&s=cmc&v=scan&p=1
Token producers:
Pride of the Clouds, Emeria Angel, Battle Screech, Beck // Call
Bronzebeak Moa deals a major amount of damage if its coupled with the tokens.
Aven Mimeomancer a pretty funny card, as it either makes your 1/1 tokens into 3/1 , or it gives your non-flying dudes flying, OR it makes a big creature the opponent has into a 3/1 OR it gives a 0/0 creature with tokens a big +3/+1 and flying boost ; so many options and the cards just funny.
Mindshrieker might just be a card i love by a stupid amount. Card looks so innocent, until it completly wrecks a player with gigantic boosts, especially against decks that have naturally very high manacosts (like 5-10 in artifact based decks).
----
Outside of bird world but usefull in general:
Master Biomancer big boosts, and if you can boost this, it just becomes "worse".
Prophet of Kruphix, Seedborn Muse ; clasic untap and stupid good.
Sun Titan as a source of recurrsion for all the cheap stuff is never bad
Opposition is a brutal card to lock down a player if you assemble enough tokens and your commander.
Adding any Elspeth / Jace / Garruck certainly doesnt hurt.
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage works too for card draws with the -2, and the +1 works fairly well to tap down the opponent with other cards in that world involved.
If you want to go the world of tap-down, you might want Winter Orb like effects, adding any form of Armageddon works aswell, but thats not "fun" anymore.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Any Moat effects...
My Deveri bird deck runs like a Edric, spymaster of trest just snowball advantage as fast as possible.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/511391-derevi-empyrial-tactician-you-cannot-fight-the
I am running nothing over 6 mana.. and only the 1 6 mana card (plus whatever beck/call is), although I have quite a few 5 drops and some X spells.
The idea behind using Deveri is to
1. Accumulate board presence fast (that requires a low curve of creatures/spells)
2. Play cards that give my other cards tap abilities, keeper, Azmai, eldar.
3. Use mana sink lands as not to waste mana.
I also have a late game plan of comboing out with Reviellark and Karmic guide and blasting station with birthing pod (my favourite card) to facilitate that.
I found that you can easily just overwhelm people before they are ready. The big problem remains politics since you have to be aggressive that tends to get your stuff destoried. Very good in 3 player games gets worse against more people.
I am missing a lot of the powerful older cards and bird legends, but the deck seems find without it.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
RRR - Bosh's School of Hard(cover) Knocks
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
http://magiccards.info/query?q=t:bird ci:wug f:commander&v=card&s=cmc
Some highlights:
Whippoorwill seems like a potential sideboard card. It's a bit clunky for what it does, but it is a bird at least.
Beacon Hawk untaps another creature when it hits.
Augury Owl, Owl Familiar, Sage Owl, and Spire Owl are all 1U birds with ETB card filtering/topdeck manipulation abilities.
Mystic Familiar is a neat little value piece: with Threshold online, it's a 2/3 flier with proc black for 1W.
Stormscape Familiar is basically a Pearl Medallion strapped to a bird. Awesome.
Thrummingbird is a favorite of mine; works wonderfully with planeswalkers, Soulcatcher, Soulcatchers' Aerie, Archangel of Thune Kangee, Aerie Keeper and Mikaeus, the Lunarch to name but a few.
Gustcloak Harrier can attack without worry of death in combat.
Junk Diver brings back an artifact from the grave when it dies.
Warden of Evos Isle makes your fliers cost less.
Commander Eesha is a big ol' bucket of combat value. Unfortunately, her proc creatures means Derevi can't untap her for blocking.
Kangee, Aerie Keeper requires a pretty heavy mana investment to start, but can pump all birds massively.
Gustcloak Savior saves all of your blocked creatures.
Wingmate Roc hails from valuetown; gains you life.
Aven Brigadier pumps your birds and soldiers.
Lieutenant Kirtar and Major Teroh: Removal.
Celestial Gatekeeper reanimates your birds. I especially like the idea of reanimating Lieutenant Kirtar and Major Teroh.
Crookclaw Elder draws cards by tapping birds.
Favorable Winds pumps your fliers.
Sprite Noble pumps your fliers. The fact that it does so by tapping can work with Derevi if some of your creatures have first/double strike.
Flurry of Wings makes a boatload of bird tokens for GWU.
Soraya the Falconer pumps birds ("Falcon" was errata'd to "bird") and lets you give them banding - which may be diplomatic suicide, if confusing situations arise from its use too frequently, or if your opponents simply find banding to be confusing in and of its self.
Airborne Aid draws a bunch of cards.
Gravitational Shift pumps fliers, debuffs others.
Fable of Wolf and Owl makes bird and wolf tokens.
Windreader Sphinx draws you a card whenever one of your fliers attacks.
Not bird-specific, but still may be good here:
Retribution of the Meek can be a one-sided wrath if your birds aren't too strongly pumped already, and if your opponents aren't mostly running similar swarm-of-tiny-tokens strategies.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist turns bird tokens into bigger things.
Mangara of Corondor exiles everything.
Masako the Humorless gives your creatures pseudo-vigilance, which stacks up nicely with T abilities and normal vigilance.
Captain Sisay can be amazing on her own (with the right legends in your deck of course), and combining her manaless T ability with Derevi only strengthens that. Could grab Azusa, Lost but Seeking, Kangee, Aerie Keeper, and a couple legendary lands - Minamo, School at Water's Edge, Gaea's Cradle, Serra's Sanctum - all in one turn.
Bident of Thassa is basically Edric #2.
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is yet another "T: Get card advantage." creature.
Vorel of the Hull Clade doubles the counters on Soulcatcher or Kangee, Aerie Keeper with every tap.
Fade Away: Swing out, tap down opponents' mana sources, untap your own, cast Fade Away second main. Even if your creatures are mostly 1/1 tokens, this still has a good chance of working in your favor, since every creature you attack with effectively kills another creature.
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice taps to populate.
Empress Galina steals Legends.
Radiant, Archangel flies and gets bigger with more fliers.
Sun Quan, Lord of Wu is kind of an obvious suggestion, being an EDH staple already. But seriously, flying Bird Wizards riding horses in the sky.
Crovax, Ascendant Hero. With most of the small birds/bird tokens being white, this guy can be nearly as good as half of an Elesh Norn.
Time of Need tutors for Captain Sisay.
Asmira, Holy Avenger flies and has a similar ability to Soulcatcher.
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Prossh, Skyraider of Kher
Gahiji, Honored One
Daretti, Scrap Savant
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