What is the big deal with Reliquary Tower? It seems that every deck jams in it regardless whether the deck requires it or not. I play 5 EDH decks and the only deck I jam RT in is Edric, Spymaster of Trest.
Do you auto include RT in every deck you have?
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Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
1: Every single blue deck runs cyclonic rift, and it's nice to not have to worry about discarding after it hits.
2: It is very common for edh decks to run draw effects that far exceed 7 cards, and it's nice to not have to discard.
3: It helps enhance or negate certain things an opponent might play such as the common Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur or "each player draws X cards" effects from group hug decks.
Of my 24 decks it's in all but four of them, and of those four that don't run it, two are 5-color and the only lands that don't tap for color in those that I can afford to squeeze in are Wasteland and Strip Mine. The other two lacking them are Darien (mono-W) and Krenko (mono-R). But then again, nearly all of my decks have draw of some kind, frequently mass draw (at least 2 or 3 cards that do so), since card advantage (and mana acceleration) are two of the most fundamental paths to victory IMO. I hate discarding down unless I'm playing GY shenanigans.
The card draw and inclusion of Reliquary Tower in my decks don't even account for the card draw opponents may give you too, such as their Howling Mine or an Edric or Nekusar deck (all my games are 4-5 players so there's frequently an opponent giving you a draw in some form or another), so I'd rather be prepared and have it and not need it, at worst tapping for colorless, than need it and not have it. For me it's an auto-include in every 1-3 color deck, a "maybe" in 4-color decks but those are pretty few and far between, and a likely "pass" in Mono-W and Mono-R, colors notorious for lack of card draw.
I actually don't run it in any decks. My general philosophy is that when you're discarding down to your best 7, you're probably in a winning position. If I'm running colorless lands I want them to have more impact (Strip Mine/Tectonic Edge/Wasteland, High Market, Volrath's Stronghold, Academy Ruins, etc)
I run it in any deck that has the potential to draw tons of cards, so for me that is most of my blue or black-based decks. Of my mono-colored or two-colored decks, I run Reliquary Tower in 6 out of the 14. In my 3+ color decks, where space to run colorless lands is small, I run Reliquary Tower in only 3 of 9 decks (although I may have to add it to my Oloro Zombie deck if my recent additions from C17 like Kindred Discovery, Herald's Horn, and Heirloom Blade work out the way I hope).
To be honest, Reliquary Tower really needs to make sense for your deck in order to justify it unless (as others have pointed out) your meta has an infestation of Cyclonic Rift
Its a land that does not enter tapped. It produces mana (although colorless) and give no maximum hand size. I run it as often as i can and while my drgin wants colors, i amy remove a land to jamp this guy in as the decks tons of draw power.
I definitely agree with Forgotten One (and, to a lesser extent, ProfessorWhen). Of the 9 decks I currently have and the 20+ decks I have ever built, I have only run Reliquary Tower in 3 of them (2 are currently built). All have been blue and capable of drawing a lot of cards. I've had it in Ephara, God of the Polis since her inception (along with Thought Vessel) and I recently put it into Thassa, God of the Sea. I only did so after adding in Blue Sun's Zenith, Pull from Tomorrow and Kefnet the Mindful. And I don't run Thought Vessel in the deck though I did also add Tolaria West as a way to get to it.
Basically, I am of the opinion that it is rarely necessary and really only benefits certain decks/strategies. I have thought about adding it to Garza Zol, Plague Queen after adding in Kindred Discovery but it dilutes the mana base too much (in my opinion). Only tapping for colorless can be a big enough downside as to not include it.
I have it in two decks: I don't know why it's in my Merieke deck(I might have had draw effects once upon a time), but it's almost critical in my Niv deck due to its constant hand-cycling. Of course, it can backfire at times, but the benefits outweigh the risks. Other than that, yeah...not a common card for me to build with.
While it can certainly be good for some decks, the vast majority would be improved by replacing Reliquary Tower with a Basic Land.
The card is heavily overvalued and over played.
This thread is a perfect example of YMMV (your mileage may vary) - there's some (like me) who put it any deck with blue or significant card draw, and there's a lot of others who use them sparingly or not at all. So I guess just chalk me up to another mark in the "put it in most decks" column.
There's a ton of unfair hate for the card. Honestly, I was expecting some major bashing when I saw you post this, but that surprisingly hasn't happened yet. My opinion is it is a useful utility land. It isn't for every deck but comes in untapped, makes mana, and has a useful effect. I have it in a few decks, but I need to be drawing lots of cards and not using my graveyard to run it.
It sucks to be color screwed, I get it, but this is a key land for a lot of decks. I will try to run it unless I’m in one of these situations:
1) I am playing Green, and so doing I am nearly 100% running Exploration and Burgeoning at minimum, which keeps my hand size low.
2) I am playing a low-curve strategy in colors like Boros that don’t draw well.
3) I am playing close to 20 mana rocks, and likewise will not have a very big hand size.
One of these three tends to be true for me probably a majority of the time, but in cases where it’s not the Reliquary Tower performs well. As smooth as your deck is, there was a reason you put in every card that’s in it. Much better not to have to get rid of it because you’re running too hot. Comebacks happen, and then you are worse off than you could have been.
This card is very much often included when colorless utility space isn't an issue, but when it does I need to anticipate how much I'll need or want the effect. Some decks will prioritize other utilities.
While it can certainly be good for some decks, the vast majority would be improved by replacing Reliquary Tower with a Basic Land.
The card is heavily overvalued and over played.
Agreed.
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Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
I'm not sure how many decks I pay it in. I would guess less than half.
I play it in decks that draw a lot of cards and do not have difficult colour requirements.
I intentionally keep it out of decks that want to discard to hand size (anything with Dredge, for example). My Karador deck can tap out, draw a bunch of cards, discard to hand size, then win on upkeep.
I definitely do not think it is an auto-include. Most of the time I would rather use that slot for something like Blighted Fen.
Thought Vessel also factors in here. In my decks that want the effect, I find myself playing Tower and Vessel. These are usually control decks that draw a lot of cards to stay ahead.
I mostly have it in one or two colour decks. I think my Zedruu deck is the only 3+ colour deck that plays it, simply because the deck wants to draw 3-4 cards per turn.
I run it when the deck will be drawing a lot and I want to make sure that the large hand size is beneficial. My Inalla deck finds the effect useful enough to have it despite the three colors. My Kruphix deck runs it, too, because it taps for colorless, and that deck is actually Eldrazi ramp. I actually want the colorless!
Do you auto include RT in every deck you have?
Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
2: It is very common for edh decks to run draw effects that far exceed 7 cards, and it's nice to not have to discard.
3: It helps enhance or negate certain things an opponent might play such as the common Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur or "each player draws X cards" effects from group hug decks.
The card draw and inclusion of Reliquary Tower in my decks don't even account for the card draw opponents may give you too, such as their Howling Mine or an Edric or Nekusar deck (all my games are 4-5 players so there's frequently an opponent giving you a draw in some form or another), so I'd rather be prepared and have it and not need it, at worst tapping for colorless, than need it and not have it. For me it's an auto-include in every 1-3 color deck, a "maybe" in 4-color decks but those are pretty few and far between, and a likely "pass" in Mono-W and Mono-R, colors notorious for lack of card draw.
To be honest, Reliquary Tower really needs to make sense for your deck in order to justify it unless (as others have pointed out) your meta has an infestation of Cyclonic Rift
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Basically, I am of the opinion that it is rarely necessary and really only benefits certain decks/strategies. I have thought about adding it to Garza Zol, Plague Queen after adding in Kindred Discovery but it dilutes the mana base too much (in my opinion). Only tapping for colorless can be a big enough downside as to not include it.
There's just so much competition for colorless lands. Reliquary Tower is nice, but often irrelevant.
My Kruphix deck wants the effect the most, but gets it from the command zone. I removed the Tower as redundant and detrimental to the manabase.
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The card is heavily overvalued and over played.
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Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebears1) I am playing Green, and so doing I am nearly 100% running Exploration and Burgeoning at minimum, which keeps my hand size low.
2) I am playing a low-curve strategy in colors like Boros that don’t draw well.
3) I am playing close to 20 mana rocks, and likewise will not have a very big hand size.
One of these three tends to be true for me probably a majority of the time, but in cases where it’s not the Reliquary Tower performs well. As smooth as your deck is, there was a reason you put in every card that’s in it. Much better not to have to get rid of it because you’re running too hot. Comebacks happen, and then you are worse off than you could have been.
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Agreed.
Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
I play it in decks that draw a lot of cards and do not have difficult colour requirements.
I intentionally keep it out of decks that want to discard to hand size (anything with Dredge, for example). My Karador deck can tap out, draw a bunch of cards, discard to hand size, then win on upkeep.
I definitely do not think it is an auto-include. Most of the time I would rather use that slot for something like Blighted Fen.
Thought Vessel also factors in here. In my decks that want the effect, I find myself playing Tower and Vessel. These are usually control decks that draw a lot of cards to stay ahead.
I mostly have it in one or two colour decks. I think my Zedruu deck is the only 3+ colour deck that plays it, simply because the deck wants to draw 3-4 cards per turn.
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But no, not every deck runs it by any means.
This is just fake news. According to edhrec cyclonic rift is the second most played card but only 52% of blue decks run it.
That's 48% of blue decks that should be running it.