You guys make great points, thanks for the great discussion. I will definitely take another look at my deck, but am tempted to try marchesa.
Definitely stuff like kazuul is attractive.
Is there more stuff like duelist's heritage? This is a great aikido card I think.
Don't drop Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis just because of this discussion. I am interested in all aspects of Aikido, and was glad that someone was developing it. I was considering Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis before my most recent revamp of my Queen Marchesa deck. I think those guys have huge potential, and especially since they are seen as group hug generals, it could lower your threat level even further. Group hug is another way to encourage overreach in our opponents, bolstering our Aikido offense. They have the potential to take the place of Ruhan of the Fomori or Zedruu the Greathearted as the U Aikido option. Don't drop it, evolve it.
Duelist's Heritage is super fun. We need more of those types of cards. Pillow Fort wincon adjunct!
I would say that no general can be an "Aikido general" by itself. It is a strategy, not an effect. Queen Marchesa is my general for my Aikido deck, and she works well, but she can be built into may types of decks, most of which are not Aikido decks. Ruhan of the Fomori seems like the opposite of Aikido, but he is the general of multiple fun Aikido decks. Tariel, Reckoner of Souls is also the general of a deck that was the primer that spawned many good Aikido decks. Many of these are only Aikido generals due to colors. Others are the right colors and lend themselves to Aikido strategies, but it may still be strange to call them Aikido generals. I have seen traditionally Group Hug generals that have been built into Aikido decks, and these seem to be pretty good due to the nature of facilitating large offense in the opponent and lowering the threat level of the deck enough to survive until a big swing comes their way which can be redirected for the win.
As for the specific question, mono red is not often used for Aikido, despite the fact that many Aikido decks have red as one of their colors. The P/T that is proportional to cards in hand is not necessarily something that I would think lends itself to Aikido, even if it may not inhibit it. Mono red can have forks and redirection spells, as well as steal or goad cards, so it is not outside of red's potential, but I am not sure how I could say that this general facilitates it any more than any others. Show me a deck that is lead by Adamaro, First to Desire that uses the principles of Aikido, and I would say that it is an Aikido general. If I were to build a deck around Adamaro, First to Desire, I would go Stax of some sort, and that is basically the opposite of Aikido. I don't know, maybe some forms of Stax would work well with some forms of Aikido. Maybe steal/sac?
You guys make great points, thanks for the great discussion. I will definitely take another look at my deck, but am tempted to try marchesa.
Definitely stuff like kazuul is attractive.
Is there more stuff like duelist's heritage? This is a great aikido card I think.
The Red and White stuff is all available for Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, of course. Actually, a lot of people saw them as a somewhat silly group hug general, but I never really agreed with that. I have played Rites of Flourishing, Mana Flare, so on, in certain non-group hug decks because the cards fit the strategy of escalating the game. If you take all of the components of a turn (untap, upkeep, draw, land drop, main, combat), doubling draw and land drop, or something like mana, reduces the effect of the rest, like combat. It is the aggressive decks that do things like double combats and limiting untaps or lands, and so doubling the other components of the turn makes aggro work twice as hard. It’s perfect for a non-creature oriented finish. Much less this general which actually gives you a full Rites of Flourishing and everyone else only half of one.
For similar cards like Duelist’s Heritage, one that I have always liked is Avatar of Slaughter. It’s big enough that you are probably not the most vulnerable person on the ground after sticking him, and synergizes well with other cards that deter attacks.
For that matter, regarding Adamaro, First to Desire, the general that I would put at the top of mono-R for this is Fumiko the Lowblood. Lots of attacks going around when she’s down, and none of them at you.
Avatar of Slaughter is pretty amazing. I am not sure it fits in my deck, but I am sure it could fit in some version of Aikido. The thing that makes it different from Duelist's Heritage is that it is a threat all by itself, and comes down late. Duelist's Heritage can come down early, is not a threat, so it keeps your threat level low, and encourages attacks pointed away from us, and all of these end up resulting in far fewer attacks against us, and far more against our opponents. This is probably going to result in a significant life and resource advantage in the endgame. Avatar of Slaughter just announces your threat level, saying, "I will beat you to death with this unless you do something about it." Not the effect that I want, and I would say that this is counter to what I have see as effective strategy for Aikido.
Definitely stuff like kazuul is attractive.
Is there more stuff like duelist's heritage? This is a great aikido card I think.
RJaya Ballard, Task Mage Mono Red Control Decklist
WNahiri, the Lithomancer Mono White Control Decklist
RGWUKynaios and Tiro of Meletis Aikido Control Decklist
UBGisa and Geralf Tribal Aggro Decklist
URGRiku of Two Reflections Non-combo coolstuff Decklist
RWUBruse Tarl, Boorish Herder and Kraum, Ludovic's Opus Equipments Decklist
WBAthreos, God of Passage Reanimate/Goodstuff Decklist
Duelist's Heritage is super fun. We need more of those types of cards. Pillow Fort wincon adjunct!
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
RJaya Ballard, Task Mage Mono Red Control Decklist
WNahiri, the Lithomancer Mono White Control Decklist
RGWUKynaios and Tiro of Meletis Aikido Control Decklist
UBGisa and Geralf Tribal Aggro Decklist
URGRiku of Two Reflections Non-combo coolstuff Decklist
RWUBruse Tarl, Boorish Herder and Kraum, Ludovic's Opus Equipments Decklist
WBAthreos, God of Passage Reanimate/Goodstuff Decklist
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/magic-fundamentals/magic-general/334931-what-is-the-most-pimp-card-deck-youve-seen-or?comment=5361
Commander
RGOmnath, Locus of Rage Grenades! EDHGR
UWSygg's Defense, EDH - Voltron & ControlWU
BUGMimeoplasm EDH ft. Ifnir Cycling-discard comboBUG
WBTeysa, Connoisseur of CullingBW
BWSelenia & Recruiter of the Guard suicice combo EDHWB
UBRWGO-Kagachi - 5 Color Enchantments - EDHUBRWG
As for the specific question, mono red is not often used for Aikido, despite the fact that many Aikido decks have red as one of their colors. The P/T that is proportional to cards in hand is not necessarily something that I would think lends itself to Aikido, even if it may not inhibit it. Mono red can have forks and redirection spells, as well as steal or goad cards, so it is not outside of red's potential, but I am not sure how I could say that this general facilitates it any more than any others. Show me a deck that is lead by Adamaro, First to Desire that uses the principles of Aikido, and I would say that it is an Aikido general. If I were to build a deck around Adamaro, First to Desire, I would go Stax of some sort, and that is basically the opposite of Aikido. I don't know, maybe some forms of Stax would work well with some forms of Aikido. Maybe steal/sac?
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!
The Red and White stuff is all available for Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis, of course. Actually, a lot of people saw them as a somewhat silly group hug general, but I never really agreed with that. I have played Rites of Flourishing, Mana Flare, so on, in certain non-group hug decks because the cards fit the strategy of escalating the game. If you take all of the components of a turn (untap, upkeep, draw, land drop, main, combat), doubling draw and land drop, or something like mana, reduces the effect of the rest, like combat. It is the aggressive decks that do things like double combats and limiting untaps or lands, and so doubling the other components of the turn makes aggro work twice as hard. It’s perfect for a non-creature oriented finish. Much less this general which actually gives you a full Rites of Flourishing and everyone else only half of one.
For similar cards like Duelist’s Heritage, one that I have always liked is Avatar of Slaughter. It’s big enough that you are probably not the most vulnerable person on the ground after sticking him, and synergizes well with other cards that deter attacks.
For that matter, regarding Adamaro, First to Desire, the general that I would put at the top of mono-R for this is Fumiko the Lowblood. Lots of attacks going around when she’s down, and none of them at you.
WUBSente: The Politics and Metaphor of Stones
My Vampire Hunter Kit Innistrad Themed Cube!