MTG Salvation

So recently i have been wanting to build a doran, the siege tower deck, but I need a budget build and all the Doran decks on the decklist datatbase are 100+. I do have some key cards and I do know a few of which i need (Tree of Perdition and Slagwurm armor) but what else should I be aiming for in this deck. Some cards I may even have. Also is treefolk Tribal viable for this?

(Like my phenax deck theorycrafting, do NOT worry about manabase)

I've been working on my deck for the last few months, the link is in my sig which is very budget friendly I still need to get
Indomitable Ancients & Tree of Perdition, if you go the defender route also be sure to include Warmonger's Chariot along with Assault Formation

Defender does sound like a better route as there seems to be a lot of ways to get them too attack. But I may instead opt to go both defender and big bodies. If I cannot swing with tree of prediction. May as well have a creature that can swing instead.

Some really cheap, but efficient creatures exist out there that go perfectly with Doran, like Nyx-fleece ram and Skinshifter.

Kin-Tree Invocation is a sleeper spell, as is Tower Defense

Quote from JohnnyDegenerate »

Some really cheap, but efficient creatures exist out there that go perfectly with Doran, like Nyx-fleece ram and Skinshifter.

Kin-Tree Invocation is a sleeper spell, as is Tower Defense

Skinshifter is nice, make him a rhino, bird and then a 0/8 with both flying ad trample (May just have to pay 2 to make him a flying 0/8 if they have no ways of blocking flying.

Quote from Gashnaw »

Quote from JohnnyDegenerate »

Some really cheap, but efficient creatures exist out there that go perfectly with Doran, like Nyx-fleece ram and Skinshifter.

Kin-Tree Invocation is a sleeper spell, as is Tower Defense

Skinshifter is nice, make him a rhino, bird and then a 0/8 with both flying ad trample (May just have to pay 2 to make him a flying 0/8 if they have no ways of blocking flying.

Actually I want to bring up that you can only activate him once per turn, but a 0/8 is very good with Doran out.

Warden of the First Tree could be very good as well.

Quote from Blueteam5 »

Quote from Gashnaw »

Quote from JohnnyDegenerate »

Some really cheap, but efficient creatures exist out there that go perfectly with Doran, like Nyx-fleece ram and Skinshifter.

Kin-Tree Invocation is a sleeper spell, as is Tower Defense

Skinshifter is nice, make him a rhino, bird and then a 0/8 with both flying ad trample (May just have to pay 2 to make him a flying 0/8 if they have no ways of blocking flying.

Actually I want to bring up that you can only activate him once per turn, but a 0/8 is very good with Doran out.

Warden of the First Tree could be very good as well.

Aww missed that part. There has to be a workaround though. What if I rings? Would that work?

You could always include Daru Spiritualist and any (or all) of the en-Kors that redirect damage, such as Lancer's en-Kor, Nomads en-Kor, Outrider en-Kor, and Spirit en-Kor. This gives you infinite toughness on the Spiritualist (which means infinite damage to a player with Doran or Assault Formation). You can also run Disciple of Griselbrand (probably out of budget) (originally had Diamond Valley listed here), Miren, the Moaning Well and Animal Boneyard for infinite life.

Not sure if you are interested in "infinite" combos like this, but it is an option.

One thing I found with Doran is to pack a lot of ways to protect him - I found he was a bit of a lightning rod for removal. By killing him they make your army useless, and often un-nerf their own creatures.

Quote from WizardMN »

You could always include Daru Spiritualist and any (or all) of the en-Kors that redirect damage, such as Lancer's en-Kor, Nomads en-Kor, Outrider en-Kor, and Spirit en-Kor. This gives you infinite toughness on the Spiritualist (which means infinite damage to a player with Doran or Assault Formation). You can also run Disciple of Griselbrand (probably out of budget), Miren, the Moaning Well and Animal Boneyard for infinite life.

Not sure if you are interested in "infinite" combos like this, but it is an option.

I might take shaman for utility, plus If i can direct all teh damage to him and then pass it to others... Maybe even pass it to darksteel myr...

Oh i should run ornithopter. 2/2 flying for 0

Quote from jsNZ »

One thing I found with Doran is to pack a lot of ways to protect him - I found he was a bit of a lightning rod for removal. By killing him they make your army useless, and often un-nerf their own creatures.

do you have suggestions? i mean its not like i can run Eel umbra in this deck, and the other totem armors do not have flash.

Theres your usual hexproof equipments, then white tutors for them (Steelshaper's Gift) as well as general black tutors, a pair of counterspells (Avoid Fate Rebuff the Wicked), green mass hexproof enablers (Asceticism Archetype of Endurance), white protection *Mother of Runes), and lots of regeneration options (Molting Snakeskin isn't great but comes to mind).

What about reknit? I always wanted to run that card, seems like a very powerful and flexible protection card.

Quote from jsNZ »

Theres your usual hexproof equipments, then white tutors for them (Steelshaper's Gift) as well as general black tutors, a pair of counterspells (Avoid Fate Rebuff the Wicked), green mass hexproof enablers (Asceticism Archetype of Endurance), white protection *Mother of Runes), and lots of regeneration options (Molting Snakeskin isn't great but comes to mind).

Molting snakeskin is actually turning me off thanks to the +2/+0. Usually that would attract me but for some reason it is the exact opposite, IT SHOULD NOT BE DOING THAT!

Its not my favourite either, but was the only regen card I could think of on the spot.

Problem with regen is that the baseline for removal in this format is Swords to Plowshares. You gotta be able to dodge exile or at least pro-white. White has some flicker stuff that could do the job, just don't know if it's worth the investment.

My secret Doran tech includes Meekstone and Wave of Reckoning. You should probably be able to get a 7th edition Meekstone for <$3. WoR's about $1, at the most. And both have an inherently broken symmetry in Doran.

Regarding regeneration options, first, indestructible is strictly better than regenerate. Beyond that, anything that boosts power but not toughness is probably going in the "too expensive" pile.

Quote from hyalapterouslemur »

My secret Doran tech includes Meekstone and Wave of Reckoning. You should probably be able to get a 7th edition Meekstone for <$3. WoR's about $1, at the most. And both have an inherently broken symmetry in Doran.

Regarding regeneration options, first, indestructible is strictly better than regenerate. Beyond that, anything that boosts power but not toughness is probably going in the "too expensive" pile.

i would not want power boosted anyway. Also Shield of Kaldra works just like Darksteel plate. (just more mana expensive, but desperate times call for desperate measures)

Quote from Gashnaw »

Quote from hyalapterouslemur »

My secret Doran tech includes Meekstone and Wave of Reckoning. You should probably be able to get a 7th edition Meekstone for <$3. WoR's about $1, at the most. And both have an inherently broken symmetry in Doran.

Regarding regeneration options, first, indestructible is strictly better than regenerate. Beyond that, anything that boosts power but not toughness is probably going in the "too expensive" pile.

i would not want power boosted anyway. Also Shield of Kaldra works just like Darksteel plate. (just more mana expensive, but desperate times call for desperate measures)

Exactly what I was saying.

Assault Formation is...a bit redundant, but it's a nice mana sink.

Abzan Beastmaster is Phyrexian Arena number 2.

Fruit of the First Tree is your version of Momentous Fall.

Quote from hyalapterouslemur »

Quote from Gashnaw »

Quote from hyalapterouslemur »

My secret Doran tech includes Meekstone and Wave of Reckoning. You should probably be able to get a 7th edition Meekstone for <$3. WoR's about $1, at the most. And both have an inherently broken symmetry in Doran.

Regarding regeneration options, first, indestructible is strictly better than regenerate. Beyond that, anything that boosts power but not toughness is probably going in the "too expensive" pile.

i would not want power boosted anyway. Also Shield of Kaldra works just like Darksteel plate. (just more mana expensive, but desperate times call for desperate measures)

Exactly what I was saying.

Assault Formation is...a bit redundant, but it's a nice mana sink.

Abzan Beastmaster is Phyrexian Arena number 2.

Fruit of the First Tree is your version of Momentous Fall.

hmm, these are good calls, I also plan on running necropotence (Which i will be getting back from my friend.)

Well at least skinsgifter is cheap to put out.

When I had a Doran deck, I focused on the cost effective high toughness creatures. However the deck as a whole wasn't that great. I realized that in edh, paying 2 mana for a 5/5 that becomes a 0/5 if Doran dies... is that actually that great?

Its a bit like angry Omnath, getting 5/5 elementals on landfall. The bodies are almost irrelevant.

What are some other ways to play Doran? What comes to mind is using Pestilence and similar effects to wipe the board of all but your very tough cards. Tree of Perdition is another superstar the deck can build around. Just anything that isn't "play dumb beaters and swing" - been doing that for years and its just not a great way to build a deck.

For OP this might be something worth considering. Whats this deck going to do aside from cost effective beaters?

Quote from jsNZ »

For OP this might be something worth considering. Whats this deck going to do aside from cost effective beaters?

DON'T DO THAT... that is not a question i wish to answer as it may end up being no.

then again i play Rafiq which is pretty similar. Throw out a creature (Preferably my general or Blighted agent) Throw on some equipment and swing for win. Doran is going to be far more valuable then Rafiq is in this dc but still, similar idea. Plus i have wanted to play Doran for a Long time. I have already started purchasing the cards I did not have beforehand, so i am now locked into playing Doran.

I suggest trying to pick up reprints from EMA like Toxic Deluge , Vindicate and Enlightened Tutor now before their price rises again. Having second Pestilence effect is amazing.

The amount of commander protection you will want depends on your build (taxing/voltron/disruption-beatdown/etc). I usually run just two pair of boots and Asceticism because I prefer grindier decks and I don't have problem with replaying Doran a few times after it was hit by sweeper or targeted removal. Rest of your cratures will have butts large enough to hold the ground until Doran hits play again if it gets removed. I think running redundant Doran effects like Assault Formation helps as well - it deters opponents from "wasting" targeted removal when they know You can have the same effect without Your commander in play. You will probably have a lot of precious enchantments and artifacts in play alongside Doran so Privileged Position can provide additional layer of protection from targeted removal.

If You want lock opponents down from playing the game You can run Contamination and some token generators plus tutors to find those (although tutors and Bitterblossom will not be budget friendly). With equipment like Slagwurm Armour and Doran-like effect those tokens also provide steady stream of very large disposable beaters and in a pinch scions/spawns can provide ramp. Combine this with Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos (also acting as protection for Doran via to deterring effect) for maximum value.