So I've recently taken it upon myself to build a Rhys the Redeemed EDH that isn't meant to be a token deck, but I haven't had a GW deck in years and have no idea what I'm doing. Recommendations are appreciated.
EDIT: I'M CONSIDERING USING RHYS AS AN AURA BASED ENCHANTRESS DECK
If I may ask, why are you using Rhys if it's not a token deck? She screams tokens and token shenanigans. What exactly are you wanting to do with your G/W deck? Because there's lots of other commanders that would make more sense than Rhys unless you're doing it for theme reasons.
I have a Rhys Token Enchantress deck that does okay, but it's not the best Rhys or Enchantress deck I have, so there's that. Straight-up token swarm, incremental damage and populate/duplicate a bonus on other effects can make Rhys a beast. Finishers with Overrun effects like Craterhoof Behemoth or Ezuri, Renegade Leader or Kamahl, Fist of Krosa are gross.
Before I offer too much advice can I ask what the themes or goals are if tokens aren't one them? Because there might be a better General in the same colors if that's true.
I can't offer a ton of advice for non-token strategies, honestly, and a lot of the following suggestions are pretty broad:
Skullclamp works wonders with Rhys even if you're not blasting out tokens. For 3(W/G) you draw two cards. Mentor of the Meek makes it 4(W/G): Draw 3 cards.
I wanted a low drop general that gave me access to GW and Rhys is a 1/1 for only 1 mana.
But what do you want to do in those colors? Using Rhys as a 1/1 without knowing what shenangians you want to pull with him isn't very helpful. There are a million better utility G/W Generals that will actually do something if you're not using Rhys for the tokens.
UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner // (W/U)(W/U)(W/U) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV // RRR Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker // (R/G)(R/G)(R/G) Wort, the Raidmother // URG Riku of Two Reflections // RWU Ruhan of the Fomori
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In response to your Lightning Blast, I'll eat this burrito.
Quote from slipknot72102 »
This is why I started playing magic in the first place. It wasn't PT aspirations just making noobs cry by doing things that are perfectly fair.
For Elf tribal for G/W you'll want to use both Rhys and some kind of token support. There are enough elves that you can fill out a deck with all the best of them. The link I gave you should provide a crapload of options.
For G/W Voltron Rhys is NOT the best choice. He's more often that not locked down in token creation, so you're either not attacking or using your resources to give him Vigilance, which is kind of cruddy. A 1/1 body with no protection or evasion is a bad place to start for Voltron. Consider Sigarda, Host of Herons ramped out on T3 or T4, Krond the Dawn-Clad for more control options, or even Dromoka, the Eternal with no other creatures.
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UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner // (W/U)(W/U)(W/U) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV // RRR Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker // (R/G)(R/G)(R/G) Wort, the Raidmother // URG Riku of Two Reflections // RWU Ruhan of the Fomori
Quote from Mark Rosewater »
In response to your Lightning Blast, I'll eat this burrito.
Quote from slipknot72102 »
This is why I started playing magic in the first place. It wasn't PT aspirations just making noobs cry by doing things that are perfectly fair.
I tried Selvala in some decks in the 99 and wasn't really impressed with her. She's a good peek at other decks for free but the life gain is kind of useless. Visible draw Temple Bell isn't the worst thing in the world and bonus life gain is fine, but there are so many other better options.
I have definitely seen decent Karametra decks with lots of smaller creatures, ramping into decent fatties like Avenger of Zendikar and using smaller elves/mana dorks for Chord of Calling or similar tutors. I wouldn't rely on Karametra for Commander damage, or even being an active creature.
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UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner // (W/U)(W/U)(W/U) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV // RRR Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker // (R/G)(R/G)(R/G) Wort, the Raidmother // URG Riku of Two Reflections // RWU Ruhan of the Fomori
Quote from Mark Rosewater »
In response to your Lightning Blast, I'll eat this burrito.
Quote from slipknot72102 »
This is why I started playing magic in the first place. It wasn't PT aspirations just making noobs cry by doing things that are perfectly fair.
If people are sick of reading about stuff just stop taking part. You have 100% control over what you read. Simic Ascendancy isn't going to get banned just because you didn't tell someone to shut up on the internet.
I tried Selvala in some decks in the 99 and wasn't really impressed with her. She's a good peek at other decks for free but the life gain is kind of useless. Visible draw Temple Bell isn't the worst thing in the world and bonus life gain is fine, but there are so many other better options.
I have definitely seen decent Karametra decks with lots of smaller creatures, ramping into decent fatties like Avenger of Zendikar and using smaller elves/mana dorks for Chord of Calling or similar tutors. I wouldn't rely on Karametra for Commander damage, or even being an active creature.
TBH, that's what I like about the god enchant/creatures the most. The fact that they aren't always creatures makes them more difficult to remove.
I tried Selvala in some decks in the 99 and wasn't really impressed with her. She's a good peek at other decks for free but the life gain is kind of useless. Visible draw Temple Bell isn't the worst thing in the world and bonus life gain is fine, but there are so many other better options.
I have definitely seen decent Karametra decks with lots of smaller creatures, ramping into decent fatties like Avenger of Zendikar and using smaller elves/mana dorks for Chord of Calling or similar tutors. I wouldn't rely on Karametra for Commander damage, or even being an active creature.
TBH, that's what I like about the god enchant/creatures the most. The fact that they aren't always creatures makes them more difficult to remove.
Agreed, and I think the mechanic is unique, fun, and creates more variety in gameplay. I just wanted to emphasize that the Gods as Voltron-style Generals are not as reliable as other creatures, though the ones with great abilities are very, very strong for what they do.
I would not consider Dromoka as the strongest G/W General, or even top 3, but it is a cool option and could be fun, which is often more than enough to warrant building a deck.
Marath is very strong. It's a charm on a stick that only gets better as the game drags along. Lots of fun to be had.
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UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner // (W/U)(W/U)(W/U) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV // RRR Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker // (R/G)(R/G)(R/G) Wort, the Raidmother // URG Riku of Two Reflections // RWU Ruhan of the Fomori
Quote from Mark Rosewater »
In response to your Lightning Blast, I'll eat this burrito.
Quote from slipknot72102 »
This is why I started playing magic in the first place. It wasn't PT aspirations just making noobs cry by doing things that are perfectly fair.
I tried Selvala in some decks in the 99 and wasn't really impressed with her. She's a good peek at other decks for free but the life gain is kind of useless. Visible draw Temple Bell isn't the worst thing in the world and bonus life gain is fine, but there are so many other better options.
I have definitely seen decent Karametra decks with lots of smaller creatures, ramping into decent fatties like Avenger of Zendikar and using smaller elves/mana dorks for Chord of Calling or similar tutors. I wouldn't rely on Karametra for Commander damage, or even being an active creature.
TBH, that's what I like about the god enchant/creatures the most. The fact that they aren't always creatures makes them more difficult to remove.
Agreed, and I think the mechanic is unique, fun, and creates more variety in gameplay. I just wanted to emphasize that the Gods as Voltron-style Generals are not as reliable as other creatures, though the ones with great abilities are very, very strong for what they do.
Not gonna lie, every time I see a legend with Indestructible, my first thought is how viable it would be for Voltron.
The issue is the Devotion. You need to make the gods creatures before you can enchant them and then you have to keep it a creature. Odds are, all it'll take is one well timed removal to lower your devotion and make all the enchants fall off. It's more than unreliable at that point. Krond and Sigarda are the two best Voltron generals in GW.
What darkeshrine said above - it's too easy to neutralize the Gods by taking out a permanent or two that turn them on, which also de-Voltrons them. Equipments are okay, and if you can stick a Hexproof enchantment/equipment it can be rough for the opponent to come back, but a lot of the best removal in EDH is exile anyway, and if your goal is to stick Hexproof and you can't find the right equipment or aura, you might be dead in the water.
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UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner // (W/U)(W/U)(W/U) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV // RRR Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker // (R/G)(R/G)(R/G) Wort, the Raidmother // URG Riku of Two Reflections // RWU Ruhan of the Fomori
Quote from Mark Rosewater »
In response to your Lightning Blast, I'll eat this burrito.
Quote from slipknot72102 »
This is why I started playing magic in the first place. It wasn't PT aspirations just making noobs cry by doing things that are perfectly fair.
Depending on your group, Selvala is absolutely amazing. Provides gas and ramp for a low price. If your group is really removal or combo heavy I could see passing on her. But if you've got the usual group that's over focused on mass removal and isn't going to use a Swords on your commander you can generate some heavy advantage very quickly.
I run Sigarda and she's really good at enchantress voltron if that's what you'd like to do. Gaddock Teeg is quite good at this too but can be considered too competitive by some people.
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EDH playing competitive Magic cast away
Current Decks GTitania midrange RGThromok tokens/goodstuff | UB Grimgrin zombie tribal GW Sigarda enchantress | R Godo voltron U Braids aggro | WR Kalemne punisher RU Mizzix storm | BUG Mimeoplasm competitive reanimator | UG Ezuri infect
What darkeshrine said above - it's too easy to neutralize the Gods by taking out a permanent or two that turn them on, which also de-Voltrons them. Equipments are okay, and if you can stick a Hexproof enchantment/equipment it can be rough for the opponent to come back, but a lot of the best removal in EDH is exile anyway, and if your goal is to stick Hexproof and you can't find the right equipment or aura, you might be dead in the water.
Also with using Equips you need other things to get your devotion high. If you're playing voltron then most of your creatures are probably utility, so you won't want to have to throw them all out to get your devotion up, but then you'd need to rely on Enchantments to get your devotion up anyway and we already know enchantress wouldn't work well. The deck would be a mash-up of weenie-tech-aggro, Enchantress, and Equipments. It would be weird, clunky, and probably wouldn't end well. Plus, How are you supposed to use Worldslayer without a creature?
Agreed on the equipment color issue. Godsend is kind of hot garbage and Behemoth Sledge is just barely playable in a Karametra Voltron deck. Sterling Grove and enchantment tutors go a long way to setting up a solid Enchantress board state to start gearing up Karametra, but by the time you're that deep in, I can only assume other even semi-competent decks have set up much, much stronger board positions.
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UUU Talrand, Sky Summoner // (W/U)(W/U)(W/U) Grand Arbiter Augustin IV // RRR Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker // (R/G)(R/G)(R/G) Wort, the Raidmother // URG Riku of Two Reflections // RWU Ruhan of the Fomori
Quote from Mark Rosewater »
In response to your Lightning Blast, I'll eat this burrito.
Quote from slipknot72102 »
This is why I started playing magic in the first place. It wasn't PT aspirations just making noobs cry by doing things that are perfectly fair.
I tried Selvala in some decks in the 99 and wasn't really impressed with her. She's a good peek at other decks for free but the life gain is kind of useless. Visible draw Temple Bell isn't the worst thing in the world and bonus life gain is fine, but there are so many other better options.
I have definitely seen decent Karametra decks with lots of smaller creatures, ramping into decent fatties like Avenger of Zendikar and using smaller elves/mana dorks for Chord of Calling or similar tutors. I wouldn't rely on Karametra for Commander damage, or even being an active creature.
I beg to differ. Selvala is really good as one of the 99 and is very deadly when she is a commander. You just have yet to see what kind of devastation she can do with her ability. She is a kill on sight creature in many of my friends' KOS list.
@FackDayden:
Rhys is more suitable for a token deck than an enchantress deck though. Like what other players suggest, Krond, Sigarda or Selvala will suit an enchantress shell better.
Selvala can make a very solid enchantress-style deck. I've seen what it can do when you have cards like Starfield of Nyx, Opalescence, Privileged Position, Serra's Sanctum, and lots of permissions enchantments and enchantment recursion to expeditiously rebuild from the disruption that will be thrown at you. It can ramp ahead of the board quite quickly and shut out opponents late game with things like Rule of Law and City of Solitude, further buffing its own enchantments (which you turn into creatures with the first two mentioned cards) with cards like Collective Blessing so you can beat face with it.
EDIT: I'M CONSIDERING USING RHYS AS AN AURA BASED ENCHANTRESS DECK
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
Well, 1/1s for 1 in commander aren't exactly powerhouses. Especially when it's almost textless.
What exactly do you want to do? Is it just a straight beatdown deck, voltron, stax, combo?
Before I offer too much advice can I ask what the themes or goals are if tokens aren't one them? Because there might be a better General in the same colors if that's true.
I can't offer a ton of advice for non-token strategies, honestly, and a lot of the following suggestions are pretty broad:
Skullclamp works wonders with Rhys even if you're not blasting out tokens. For 3(W/G) you draw two cards. Mentor of the Meek makes it 4(W/G): Draw 3 cards.
There are plenty of good elves and lords, more than I can even begin to list off the top of my head. Try this search: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?sort=rating-&action=advanced&text=|[elf]&color=|[W]|[G]|[C]&subtype=|[%22Elf%22] - and go from there.
Aura Shards is a ridiculous amount of value with Rhys.
Cathars' Crusade can turn only a few Rhys activations into a disgusting army.
Obvious: Doubling Season and Parallel Image.
Earthcraft even with a few tokens is disgusting. Squirrel Nest goes infinite with Earthcraft and a basic land.
Mirari's Wake is a G/W goodstuff allstar.
Let me know what your goals are and I'm happy to try to help further.
But what do you want to do in those colors? Using Rhys as a 1/1 without knowing what shenangians you want to pull with him isn't very helpful. There are a million better utility G/W Generals that will actually do something if you're not using Rhys for the tokens.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
For G/W Voltron Rhys is NOT the best choice. He's more often that not locked down in token creation, so you're either not attacking or using your resources to give him Vigilance, which is kind of cruddy. A 1/1 body with no protection or evasion is a bad place to start for Voltron. Consider Sigarda, Host of Herons ramped out on T3 or T4, Krond the Dawn-Clad for more control options, or even Dromoka, the Eternal with no other creatures.
I have definitely seen decent Karametra decks with lots of smaller creatures, ramping into decent fatties like Avenger of Zendikar and using smaller elves/mana dorks for Chord of Calling or similar tutors. I wouldn't rely on Karametra for Commander damage, or even being an active creature.
TBH, that's what I like about the god enchant/creatures the most. The fact that they aren't always creatures makes them more difficult to remove.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
EDIT: I was also considering going with Marath, Will of the Wild
Agreed, and I think the mechanic is unique, fun, and creates more variety in gameplay. I just wanted to emphasize that the Gods as Voltron-style Generals are not as reliable as other creatures, though the ones with great abilities are very, very strong for what they do.
I would not consider Dromoka as the strongest G/W General, or even top 3, but it is a cool option and could be fun, which is often more than enough to warrant building a deck.
Marath is very strong. It's a charm on a stick that only gets better as the game drags along. Lots of fun to be had.
Not gonna lie, every time I see a legend with Indestructible, my first thought is how viable it would be for Voltron.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
The issue is the Devotion. You need to make the gods creatures before you can enchant them and then you have to keep it a creature. Odds are, all it'll take is one well timed removal to lower your devotion and make all the enchants fall off. It's more than unreliable at that point. Krond and Sigarda are the two best Voltron generals in GW.
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
What darkeshrine said above - it's too easy to neutralize the Gods by taking out a permanent or two that turn them on, which also de-Voltrons them. Equipments are okay, and if you can stick a Hexproof enchantment/equipment it can be rough for the opponent to come back, but a lot of the best removal in EDH is exile anyway, and if your goal is to stick Hexproof and you can't find the right equipment or aura, you might be dead in the water.
I run Sigarda and she's really good at enchantress voltron if that's what you'd like to do. Gaddock Teeg is quite good at this too but can be considered too competitive by some people.
Current Decks
GTitania midrange
RGThromok tokens/goodstuff | UB Grimgrin zombie tribal
GW Sigarda enchantress | R Godo voltron
U Braids aggro | WR Kalemne punisher
RU Mizzix storm | BUG Mimeoplasm competitive reanimator | UG Ezuri infect
Also with using Equips you need other things to get your devotion high. If you're playing voltron then most of your creatures are probably utility, so you won't want to have to throw them all out to get your devotion up, but then you'd need to rely on Enchantments to get your devotion up anyway and we already know enchantress wouldn't work well. The deck would be a mash-up of weenie-tech-aggro, Enchantress, and Equipments. It would be weird, clunky, and probably wouldn't end well. Plus, How are you supposed to use Worldslayer without a creature?
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain
B Toshiro Umezawa
BG Pharika, God of Affliction - Necromancy and Politics
WWW The Church of Heliod
WBR Zurgo, Helmsmasher
RG Wort, the Raidmother
UBR Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge
UG Vorel of the Hull Clade
I beg to differ. Selvala is really good as one of the 99 and is very deadly when she is a commander. You just have yet to see what kind of devastation she can do with her ability. She is a kill on sight creature in many of my friends' KOS list.
@FackDayden:
Rhys is more suitable for a token deck than an enchantress deck though. Like what other players suggest, Krond, Sigarda or Selvala will suit an enchantress shell better.
WUBRG Reaper King - Elf Tribal WUBRG | Tribal Fun
WRG Gishath, Sun's Avatar - Dinosaur Tribal WRG | Rawr!!!
WUG Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - Enchantress Tactics WUG | Enchantments Focused
GBG The Gitrog Monster - Land Shenanigans GBG | Lands/Mill Focused
WBW Kambal, Consul of Life Allocation Matters WBW | Life Gain/Loss focused
UBR Kess, Dissident Mage of the Lotus UBR | Spellslinger
BGB Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - Counters & Tokens BGB | -1/-1 counters focused