Wheel of Fate migrated its way out of my decks a while ago. I have always felt that it was clunky, a lousy later-game topdeck, and telegraphed the future too much. It also presented unfortunate dilemmas: if too many players spent too many resources in preparation of the wheel, someone might counter it and then play a boardwipe (this happened several times at my tables). If you invest too little, it has impact that could be gotten from something that takes less than 4 turns to realize. It was in because red draw is red draw, but there's so much better stuff now that it's largely relegated out.
I haven't played blinkmoth urn, but I think it needs to live in a deck that's truly explosive for it to be worthwhile; I mean like 8+ artifacts on the table.
Myrmadillo, of the 4 cards you mentioned Runehorn Hellkite is far and away the best one. It is a good fit for Jaya because you can just discard it to her early in the game. Then it just sits in your yard until you want to use it, which can be done at instant speed. It's not even a spell either, so it's going to require some niche effects to stop. I can't wait to get one for my own Jaya deck. At worst, with Hellkite you get to draw 7 cards right before the start of your own turn; but it gets better because you can use it to set up a trick play. I fully expect to wheel somebody out after they resolve Doomsday or wheel in response to combo piece #1 on the stack, sending the 2nd piece to their GY.
As for the rest. Magus gets my 2nd place nod. He may telegraph a turn in advance without haste, but you don't have to pop him right away; you can always plop him down early or just let him exist as a 3/3 blocker until you decide that you want cards. He also gets +marks for being able to activate at instant speed.
Dragon Mage and Wheel of Fate bring up the rear. While the Dragon Mage does have flying, you still need to connect with him to draw any cards, which is going to be very easy sometimes and very hard other times. Wheel has guaranteed draw, but it telegraphs the play well in advance of what Mage and Magus already give your competition.
Looking at your draw, I'm not a huge fan of the reunion. I used to play Wild Guess and pals in my old list, but I grew to dislike the filtering nature of them and wanted just strait draw power, which I found in cards like Tower of Fortunes.
How has Endbringer been for you? I tried him in my own deck, but I found that I had difficulty getting the colorless mana needed to repeatedly draw from him.
I agree on Wild Guess/Tormenting Voice (see my post here for details). As I said, Cathartic Reunion is a flex spot. I'm only trying it out because its effect is twice as big as the others of its ilk, so I thought I'd at least give it a try before dismissing it. I have yet to draw it, but, ultimately, I'll probably replace it with something else (not necessarily card draw/filtering).
I used to play Tower of Fortunes, but it was almost always a dead card for me. I often didn't have enough mana to use it. When I did, I needed the mana for more pressing matters (like not dying immediately).
I've only drawn Endbringer once so far, so further testing is required, but it was solid the time I did play it. I run 10 colorless producing lands and 7 colorless producing mana rocks (including Temple of the False God, Worn Powerstone, Hedron Archive, and Dreamstone Hedron which all produce double colorless by themselves), so I typically have enough on the board to fire him off twice at least. The ability to ping on every turn is also pretty useful if you don't have the mana to draw a card.
I'll add Runehorn Hellkite to my wants list, but I'm doubtful I'll be able to pick it up in a trade.
Portcullis is insanely good and can just halt certain decks in their tracks.
I've seen you say this before. When are the best times to cast Portcullis and how do you keep it from locking you out of the board later when you want to cast Jaya (or something else)?
I've seen you say this before. When are the best times to cast Portcullis and how do you keep it from locking you out of the board later when you want to cast Jaya (or something else)?
I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for the card.
The dream is you control the only 2 creatures in play, presumably because you just wiped the field. This sceanrio is relativly easy to set up with Jaya. Even if you don't control one or any of the creatures in play when you cast it; as long as somebody doesn't have an overwhelming board already, it will really put the breaks on things, which is what you want. If you have removal spells, you can shoot down one of the 2 creatures allowed in play, then play a new creature to take up it's spot. My own Jaya deck has planeswalkers and direct damage that can end the game without requiring me to play a creature at all.
I also have a safety valve: Torpor Orb. You can play Orb, which will turn off all future Portcullis triggers; then play whatever creature you want. I've used Torpor Orb a handful of times like this to allow me to play a big dragon or an Eldrazi.
Myrmadillo; if you're thinking of trying it out, just put it in and see how it plays. It's been a card that has way way way overperformed for me. plus it's right in your budget restriction.
@Zygous - I'd love to get a look a what your current list for Jaya looks like.
For those who haven't tried it yet Ghirapur Orrery has been bonkers in the 2 games I've got it since testing it, so much so I'm testing Null Brooch. I highly recommend testing the Orrey card out.
I've been doing a bit of tinkering with the new 4 color decks, so I haven't had the time to fully test out the new cards from Kaladesh and Commander2016 yet. I do expect Runehorn Hellkite and Inventors' Fair to carry their weight in the deck, but I'm probably going to cut Chandra, Torch of Defiance. She doesn't have a very desirable ability that can be used to turn you play her, so her value comes from keeping her in play for several turns; which is hard to do if somebody is looking for a place to point their creatures.
...I've been doing a bit of tinkering with the new 4 color decks, so I haven't had the time to fully test out the new cards from Kaladesh and Commander2016 yet. I do expect Runehorn Hellkite and Inventors' Fair to carry their weight in the deck...
Same. More thanks to work than to other decks, but other decks haven't been helping matters any. I did have a gloriously durdley game a few weeks ago with Inventors' Fair where I got Crucible/Fair going and just tutored out a bunch of stuff with a Daretti emblem. I died anyways a turn or so before I could have taken out the table. That game also featured Akroma's Memorial being removed by a Ratchet Bomb. Good times.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Hello all, long time mono red control player (namely Diaochan, Artful Beauty) and I had a few questions for you.
I am a little biased when it comes to Mono red generals. Not a big fan of playing critters as I would rather blow them up. I really like the fact that Diaochan can take out up to two critters a turn (my list plays a lot of shroud effects so she is not being targeted very often), albeit it is sorcery speed but I do not need to discard a card in order to do so. My list would be tweaked a little bit to allow some Jaya shenanigans (Squee, Swords, Gratuitous Violence, etc.) but it would mostly be a very similar list.
When I first started playing Jaya the card dis-advantage was very off putting, most of those games I found my hand empty and top decking, but what this taught me was how to prioritize threats, conserve resources. Diaochan is powerful, but her abilities don't win the game, where Jaya's does. You activate her ult a few times and people will start to feel it, couple that with any of the multitude of support cards and things start to stack up.
I can't convince you to play Jaya, I can only tell you what this deck has taught me, and that is how to play a tighter game by waiting til the last possible to do something. Because this deck puts so much emphasis on cards in hand, I have also learned to bluff my opponents in a way, I would ask them not to do something I don't like, if they insist then I would show them and the whole table my answer, more often than not they actually back down. Playing with limited resources has changed the way I look at this game. I started looking at other formats in a different and more effective way.
I suggest you try Jaya out for a bit, she isn't expensive, and you'll still have all the cards if you find that she isn't for you.
I'll definitely pick her up. Foil's are around $2.50 as well, I love cheap foil commanders. Do you have a list Nhan? I read through the whole primer (awesome job Weebo) and the example lists. Was interest in some people's brews.
Yeah I'll put it up in a few days when I'm off work. I run very few creatures, and some questionable card choices that totally catch people off guard...active volcano just to name one
I'll definitely pick her up. Foil's are around $2.50 as well, I love cheap foil commanders. Do you have a list Nhan? I read through the whole primer (awesome job Weebo) and the example lists. Was interest in some people's brews.
Thank you! Someday I actually will update the first post with some of the more recent stuff. It's just a bigger time sink than I have time for most of the time. I've seen a couple people mention reading it in the last couple weeks so it sounds like there's some demand.
Awesome. I can't wait to see it. I personally throw in a lot of Reiterate effects in my mono red lists.
I love those when they work, but I always feel like I end up either holding up mana for nothing or needing to spend the mana at sorcery speed, so I've moved away from them in most lists.
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I used to run Fork effects as well, like Weebo, for me they were great when they were good, but that was few and far in between. The dream was to fork some one's enter the infinite, get my pyroblast in hand, and counter their enter the infinite Now that I'm talking about it I might put those back in!
I'll definitely pick her up. Foil's are around $2.50 as well, I love cheap foil commanders. Do you have a list Nhan? I read through the whole primer (awesome job Weebo) and the example lists. Was interest in some people's brews.
Thank you! Someday I actually will update the first post with some of the more recent stuff. It's just a bigger time sink than I have time for most of the time. I've seen a couple people mention reading it in the last couple weeks so it sounds like there's some demand.
I've re-read the primer quite a few times when I'm bored at work. It's very well-done; I'd say the demand is there.
What do you guys think of the newly spoiled Pia's Revolution? I play a similar monored deck with Squee, Goblin Nabob that is running 18 artifacts, so my first thought was artifact-recursion is always welcomed, but the 3 damage is a rather low impact, which of cause can add up over time.
I haven't played blinkmoth urn, but I think it needs to live in a deck that's truly explosive for it to be worthwhile; I mean like 8+ artifacts on the table.
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As for the rest. Magus gets my 2nd place nod. He may telegraph a turn in advance without haste, but you don't have to pop him right away; you can always plop him down early or just let him exist as a 3/3 blocker until you decide that you want cards. He also gets +marks for being able to activate at instant speed.
Dragon Mage and Wheel of Fate bring up the rear. While the Dragon Mage does have flying, you still need to connect with him to draw any cards, which is going to be very easy sometimes and very hard other times. Wheel has guaranteed draw, but it telegraphs the play well in advance of what Mage and Magus already give your competition.
Looking at your draw, I'm not a huge fan of the reunion. I used to play Wild Guess and pals in my old list, but I grew to dislike the filtering nature of them and wanted just strait draw power, which I found in cards like Tower of Fortunes.
How has Endbringer been for you? I tried him in my own deck, but I found that I had difficulty getting the colorless mana needed to repeatedly draw from him.
I used to play Tower of Fortunes, but it was almost always a dead card for me. I often didn't have enough mana to use it. When I did, I needed the mana for more pressing matters (like not dying immediately).
I've only drawn Endbringer once so far, so further testing is required, but it was solid the time I did play it. I run 10 colorless producing lands and 7 colorless producing mana rocks (including Temple of the False God, Worn Powerstone, Hedron Archive, and Dreamstone Hedron which all produce double colorless by themselves), so I typically have enough on the board to fire him off twice at least. The ability to ping on every turn is also pretty useful if you don't have the mana to draw a card.
I'll add Runehorn Hellkite to my wants list, but I'm doubtful I'll be able to pick it up in a trade.
Budget Modern: GStompyG | R8-WhackR
RIP Karn EDH
Budget Modern: GStompyG | R8-WhackR
I've seen you say this before. When are the best times to cast Portcullis and how do you keep it from locking you out of the board later when you want to cast Jaya (or something else)?
Budget Modern: GStompyG | R8-WhackR
I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for the card.
The dream is you control the only 2 creatures in play, presumably because you just wiped the field. This sceanrio is relativly easy to set up with Jaya. Even if you don't control one or any of the creatures in play when you cast it; as long as somebody doesn't have an overwhelming board already, it will really put the breaks on things, which is what you want. If you have removal spells, you can shoot down one of the 2 creatures allowed in play, then play a new creature to take up it's spot. My own Jaya deck has planeswalkers and direct damage that can end the game without requiring me to play a creature at all.
I also have a safety valve: Torpor Orb. You can play Orb, which will turn off all future Portcullis triggers; then play whatever creature you want. I've used Torpor Orb a handful of times like this to allow me to play a big dragon or an Eldrazi.
Myrmadillo; if you're thinking of trying it out, just put it in and see how it plays. It's been a card that has way way way overperformed for me. plus it's right in your budget restriction.
RIP Karn EDH
[Primer] Dralnu Control/Reanimator BU
[Primer] Jolrael, Empress of Beasts GG
Nath Stax BG | Borborygmos Enraged RG | Ladies of Magic UGW | Aminatou Control UWB | Enduring Ideal Zedruu UWR | Momir Vig Combo UG
Modern
Restore Balance RWUG
Kiki Chord RWG
RIP Karn EDH
For those who haven't tried it yet Ghirapur Orrery has been bonkers in the 2 games I've got it since testing it, so much so I'm testing Null Brooch. I highly recommend testing the Orrey card out.
UBRNicol Bolas, the RavagerUBR
R Jaya Ballard, Task Mage R
2DH / Budget Commanders:
WMangara of Corondor 2DHW
BRXantcha, Sleeper Agent 2DHBR
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
17-Creatures
1 Burnished Hart
1 Metalworker
1 Prophetic Flamespeaker
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Anger
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Runehorn Hellkite
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Emrakul, the Promised End
27-Artifatcs
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Fire Diamond
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Torpor Orb
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Unstable Obelisk
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Gauntlet of Might
1 Portcullis
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Tower of Fortunes
1 Batterskull
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Mind's Eye
1 Caged Sun
1 Staff of Nin
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Repercussion
1 Outpost Siege
1 Stranglehold
5-Planeswalkers
1 Chandra Ablaze
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Chandra, Flamecaller
1 Karn Liberated
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
6-Sorceries
1 Gamble
1 Vandalblast
1 Blasphemous Act
1 All is Dust
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Reforge the Soul
2-Instants
1 Comet Storm
1 Chaos Warp
39-Lands
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Vesuva
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Flamekin Village
1 Hanweir Battlements
1 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Buried Ruin
1 Mishra's Workshop
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Homeward Path
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Temple of the False God
19 Snow-Covered Mountain
1 Maze of Ith
My recent changes to the list have been:
-Planar Portal +Emrakul, the Promised End
-Meekstone +Runehorn Hellkite
-Forcefield +Chandra, Torch of Defiance
-Geier Reach Sanitarium +Inventors' Fair
I've been doing a bit of tinkering with the new 4 color decks, so I haven't had the time to fully test out the new cards from Kaladesh and Commander2016 yet. I do expect Runehorn Hellkite and Inventors' Fair to carry their weight in the deck, but I'm probably going to cut Chandra, Torch of Defiance. She doesn't have a very desirable ability that can be used to turn you play her, so her value comes from keeping her in play for several turns; which is hard to do if somebody is looking for a place to point their creatures.
This made me laugh, thank you for that!
RIP Karn EDH
I am a little biased when it comes to Mono red generals. Not a big fan of playing critters as I would rather blow them up. I really like the fact that Diaochan can take out up to two critters a turn (my list plays a lot of shroud effects so she is not being targeted very often), albeit it is sorcery speed but I do not need to discard a card in order to do so. My list would be tweaked a little bit to allow some Jaya shenanigans (Squee, Swords, Gratuitous Violence, etc.) but it would mostly be a very similar list.
Do you think it would be better to slot Jaya Ballard, Task Mage in as the general? The card disadvantage really turns me off. Help me quit Diaochan, Artful Beauty.
I can't convince you to play Jaya, I can only tell you what this deck has taught me, and that is how to play a tighter game by waiting til the last possible to do something. Because this deck puts so much emphasis on cards in hand, I have also learned to bluff my opponents in a way, I would ask them not to do something I don't like, if they insist then I would show them and the whole table my answer, more often than not they actually back down. Playing with limited resources has changed the way I look at this game. I started looking at other formats in a different and more effective way.
I suggest you try Jaya out for a bit, she isn't expensive, and you'll still have all the cards if you find that she isn't for you.
RIP Karn EDH
RIP Karn EDH
I love those when they work, but I always feel like I end up either holding up mana for nothing or needing to spend the mana at sorcery speed, so I've moved away from them in most lists.
1 Active Volcano
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Chaos Warp
1 Volcanic Offering
1 Frenzied Fugue
1 Grab the Reins
1 Act of Aggression
1 Word of Seizing
1 Earthquake
1 Rolling Earthquake
1 Pyrohemia
1 Mogg Infestation
1 All Is Dust
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Firey Confluence
1 Shattering Spree
1 Vandalblast
1 Stuffy Doll
1 Hunted Dragon
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Magus of the Wheel
1 Runehorn Hellkite
1 Magma Phoenix
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Magebane Armor
1 Batterskull
1 Distorting Lens
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Fervor
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Chandra Ablaze
1 Gamble
1 Commune with Lava
1 Staff of Nin
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Expedition Map
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Thought Vessel
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Mind Stone
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Basalt Monolith
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Reverberate
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Repercussion
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Dictate of the Twin Gods
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 From the Ashes
1 Nova Pentacle
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Vesuva
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Buried Ruin
29 mountain
RIP Karn EDH
RIP Karn EDH
RIP Karn EDH
I've re-read the primer quite a few times when I'm bored at work. It's very well-done; I'd say the demand is there.