The greaves are pretty awesome, but maybe they are on the way out. Now that I think about it, Boros Charm fills that slot of protecting from targeting pretty well.
About the removal, you have +1 destruction of artifacts and +1 counter spell for enchantments. Do you keep a notebook log of what you needed and didn't need throughout games you play?
I don't keep a log, but I generally feel vulnerable to creatures when I play this deck because I often only have Scion out on the board if anything. It's usually not much of a problem in Sharuum because it plays so many answers, and people don't see Raidmother as threatening for whatever reason. But, in Scion I am constantly paranoid of someone taking Gisela and giving me a taste of my own medicine by alpha-striking me. Or you know, swinging with an Eldrazi Conscription ect.
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Well, I was thinking more along the lines of do you need lands, artifacts, planeswalkers, or enchantments destroyed.
Lands and Planeswalkers are not usually a huge problem; I want to say enchantments, but I think that is very specific to out meta. Uril, the Miststalker and shrouded Sovereigns of Lost Alara make instant speed enchantment removal a thing.
Then again, maybe better to just blow a wrath then.
Generally I want to say most combo pieces are artifacts, and that might be a better way to go?
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Our meta is really green and white heavy so his conspiracy never lasted very long. He gave a nod to it on the main page though. It was swing or miss anyway. Either token guy just laughed at him or people flat out died.
Our meta got more enchantments in it real fast. Putrefy, Mortify, and Chaos Warp are really good. My undying love for Vindicate is rearing it's ugly head. It's really good, but if you want instant speed removal for our meta, Mortify is your man.
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Brief description:
---Primary------Secondary W Midrange----Control U Control------Tempo B Aggro--------Necromancy R Aggro--------Reach G Midrange-----Ramp
Putrefy, Mortify, and Chaos Warp are really good. My undying love for Vindicate is rearing it's ugly head. It's really good, but if you want instant speed removal for our meta, Mortify is your man.
I forgot about tuck. Hmmm, Chaos Warp is an answer to Blood Moon as well as everything we have been talking about.
Well then might I suggest Privilege Position? Seems fitting for a Scion, flavorwise. =) Then the Consipracy/Ulamog/Avacyn gimmick would work lol
And it's better to cast Conspiracy when you know you can protect it. It's all in the timing.
It is fun, but is also slow and clunky. While powerful, Eldrazi Scion doesn't kill anyone without other damage multipliers on the board. With Rafiq out you can one shot someone, but otherwise you generally need two enchantments to get him to the damage threshold. This really makes it a 4 card combo to be optimal (Scion, Conspiracy, and 2 multipliers). If your meta doesn't play mass enchantment removal and you want to tutor up all the pieces go for it, but there are easier and more efficient options.
Ryujin isn't the kind of person to get his cake without icing, wait till icing falls from the sky then eat the cake. He usually has pie in the fridge. Yes, that was a metaphor.
He had Privileged Position in there. Now he doesn't. It occasionally killed people.
Tuck comes with huge political ramifications. But Chaos Warp can go around that. It does replace the permanent with something more than 60% of the time. So they do get SOMETHING out of it because Schrodinger's Cat and stuff. It's pretty good. If Zedruu could Mortify things with his gaze like Scion can, I would make him do so.
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Brief description:
---Primary------Secondary W Midrange----Control U Control------Tempo B Aggro--------Necromancy R Aggro--------Reach G Midrange-----Ramp
I don't keep a log, but I generally feel vulnerable to creatures when I play this deck because I often only have Scion out on the board if anything. It's usually not much of a problem in Sharuum because it plays so many answers, and people don't see Raidmother as threatening for whatever reason. But, in Scion I am constantly paranoid of someone taking Gisela and giving me a taste of my own medicine by alpha-striking me. Or you know, swinging with an Eldrazi Conscription ect.
As a note, if you run Chaos Warp and Oblation you can target your own permanents that people take control of, you get the "disadvantage" those cards offer (e.g. drawing 2 cards or putting the top card of your library into play if it is a permanent). Also Unexpectedly Absent lets you put it right on top of your deck. Homeward Path is also a thing.
As a note, if you run Chaos Warp and Oblation you can target your own permanents that people take control of, you get the "disadvantage" those cards offer (e.g. drawing 2 cards or putting the top card of your library into play if it is a permanent). Also Unexpectedly Absent lets you put it right on top of your deck. Homeward Path is also a thing.
I know, I play Oblation to draw cards off of my Gilded Drake in Sharuum.
lol, I just realized that I can also drop dragons off of Sneak Attack and tuck them if I need them in my library.
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Reasoning: Scroll Rack is really awesome in this deck, especially since our general shuffles our library. It will be even more so if they ever reprint my enemy fetch lands.
Reasoning: The deck was low on haste dragons; Rorix is not the most ideal option (I wish there was another haste dragon with fire-breathing.) but it seems to be the best available at this time.
Reasoning: Lightning Greaves interfered with Boros Charm, Ophidian Eye, and Rite of Replication. Rest in Peace is just amazing (I know, am a complete hypocrite for raging about this card when it was printed). It stops reanimation from abusing our yard. It disrupts every general that uses the graveyard as a resource as well as combo generals that abuse death triggers like Sharuum the Hegemon and Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter. I believe it is more than worth the inevitable loss of a few dragons over the course of a game.
Reasoning: Sorin is good in voltron, but situationally so. Chaos Warp is an answer to Blood Moon, and can be used to protect me from other generals that are aggressive.
Additional Thoughts:
Added Conspiracy to Notable Exclusions section in guide.
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Last night I played a few games with my friends and managed to win the first two matches with my Sharuum and Raidmother decks. As a result, I was promptly hated out during the third match.
What ended up sealing my fate was my friend's Aurelia, the Warleader deck. The problem was that while Scion is very powerful, it requires preparation. I need the correct combination of mana, damage multipliers, and haste. The Aurelia player did not; his haste and damage multiplier were built in. He did not have to worry about his general being destroyed because he could simply recast it the following turn and swing immediately.
As a result I've opted to make a few subtle changes that should increase the aggressiveness of the deck.
Reasoning: This card has been cut and added about a dozen times. It's drawbacks are that it's very vulnerable and obviously does not protect me from fliers. I suppose I had a Moat the slot would remain filled. I am adding him again to help protect me from aggro decks.
Reasoning: Slayer's Stronghold is one of those cards that looks much better on paper than it actually is. Ancient Tomb provides acceleration and helps me keep up with other decks.
Reasoning: Hatred makes every dragon in my deck lethal. It doesn't matter if I have doublers out or fixing for fire-breathing. It doesn't matter if I've had rotten luck and have a garbage hand. If I can swing and connect with Scion I can blow a chunk of life to kill someone.
Additional Thoughts:
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.
I am excited for the upcoming set, maybe we will see some good Scion cards.
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As the player in our group with the Mono-colored deck, I sigh with relief every time you cut Crosis. Unfortunately, you cut it for Magus of the Moat and I play mono green... Tbh, I think you MIGHT be overreacting to the Aurelia games, but we have another Aurelia deck on the way and those games were average for his deck.
After mathing for a while, (mathing- verb; to math) Slayer's Stronghold looks really bad so seems like a fine cut.
On Aura Shards.... Well, Hatred does more for the deck's goals of world domination.
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Brief description:
---Primary------Secondary W Midrange----Control U Control------Tempo B Aggro--------Necromancy R Aggro--------Reach G Midrange-----Ramp
I didn't just add it just because I lost a couple games to Aurelia.
I added it because of problem generals like Kamahl, Wanderer, and Uril.
And, I added it because of things like Goblins, Elves, Slivers, ect.
My only ways of protecting myself from these threats had been to play Stromtide, Wrath (which isn't always very practical), or out race the problem deck.
Scion can be very fast, so this wasn't much of an issue, but we have seen a rise in haste generals recently and I think the added consistency of Magus is a good thing.
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Haste is getting more popular in our group and on Legends in general. As the price of Lightning Greaves falls and cards like Hammer of Purphuros get printed, the consistency of fast creatures goes up. Plus Sol Rings are everywhere nowdays so bigger guys without haste hit play sooner.
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Brief description:
---Primary------Secondary W Midrange----Control U Control------Tempo B Aggro--------Necromancy R Aggro--------Reach G Midrange-----Ramp
I am thinking about cutting Crucible of Fire for In the Web of War.
I think the addition of haste outweighs the power loss and the additional mana is well worth it.
I am also thinking about cutting True Conviciton for Finest Hour.
My reasoning is kind of complicated, but I will attempt to explain.
So what inspired this change?
Fist and foremost, True Conviction does not stack with my other double strike sources, the most notable being dragon tyrant. At first glance this is not a huge deal, because redundancy is important. The thing is my other DS sources have things going for them that conviction does not.
How is Boros Charm any better? Boros Charm, for example, is only RW mana. That is absolutely huge when considering how expensive fire-breathing is. And, it doubles as protection. Conversely, conviction costs 3WWW, which is outrageously expensive for what it does for the deck. We don't play a lot of creatures at once, and the lifelink doesn't help us kill people faster.
What about Rafiq then?
The great thing about Rafiq of the Many is his exalted triger; when stacked with his double strike bonus it makes Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon just big enough to kill someone.
Ok, so why Finest Hour over True Conviction?
For True Conviction to kill someone it generally has to be played with another damage multiplier: Savage Beating, Gratuitous Violence, Aurelia, the Warleader, whatever. Best case scenario I play it the turn before Scion, cast scion the next turn either flashing it in or giving it hexproof, and then swing the following turn pumping 3 mana into Hellkite Overlord. Very inefficient and time consuming to say the least.
Finest Hour on the other hand makes both Dragon Tyrant and Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon able to one shot someone without any other doublers or fire-breathing. It is just a much better card for what we want to do.
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Archetype of Imagination is interesting.
On one hand it makes all of my opponent's creatures vulnerable to magus of the most.
On the other it does not get me past reach like Sun Quan, and is dangerous when people are playing clones.
It is written in a way that seems to suggest that if my opponents clone it their creatures will not gain flying, but mine will lose the ability.
In either case it will be a headache to play against and is something that must be answered. At least it does not negate Sun Quan.
Great primer. Love Scion as a commander, it's one of my favorite decks to play. One thing though, am I not seeing something because it seems to me that Rest in Peace is a huge nombo with Scion, no?
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Current Modern decks BGW Junk / URB Grixis Shadow / RGB Lantern Control / WUBCBant Eldrazi
Current Legacy decks BUG Shardless BUG / UWR Predict Miracles / RUG Canadian Thresh / WRBG 4c Loam UB Reanimator
Great primer. Love Scion as a commander, it's one of my favorite decks to play. One thing though, am I not seeing something because it seems to me that Rest in Peace is a huge nombo with Scion, no?
Thank you, very much.
It depends on a lot of things. Obviously, it is worse if your deck is more focused on reanimation. It also depends on how frequently you use dragons.
Sometime's I'll get an amazing hand and start smashing face as soon as possible. Sometimes I will get hated out, or someone else will get an amazing hand, and be forced to respond.
However, generally I try to avoid playing Scion till late game.
There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, alpha-striking someone usually does not go down well politically unless the victim was dominating the board or is just really a douchebag. Furthermore, limiting how often I cast him limits how expensive his general tax becomes as well has my opponents' opportunities to tuck him. Finally, it is just generally easier to kill people late game as I have access to more mana and have had time to set up my board state.
As a result, I generally do not blow through my dragons and it is of not so much consequence if some get exiled. If Rest in Peace becomes an issue I will cut it, but I have been pretty satisfied with it so far. It shuts down a ton of combos, renders certain generals completely useless, and prevents my opponents from using my own dragons against me. The best part about it, is that it's always active, and allows me to focus my time and resources elsewhere. It's like having a switch that turns my deck into a control deck.
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I am thinking about cutting Crucible of Fire for In the Web of War.
I think the addition of haste outweighs the power loss and the additional mana is well worth it.
I am also thinking about cutting True Conviciton for Finest Hour.
My reasoning is kind of complicated, but I will attempt to explain.
So what inspired this change?
Fist and foremost, True Conviction does not stack with my other double strike sources, the most notable being dragon tyrant. At first glance this is not a huge deal, because redundancy is important. The thing is my other DS sources have things going for them that conviction does not.
How is Boros Charm any better? Boros Charm, for example, is only RW mana. That is absolutely huge when considering how expensive fire-breathing is. And, it doubles as protection. Conversely, conviction costs 3WWW, which is outrageously expensive for what it does for the deck. We don't play a lot of creatures at once, and the lifelink doesn't help us kill people faster.
What about Rafiq then?
The great thing about Rafiq of the Many is his exalted triger; when stacked with his double strike bonus it makes Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon just big enough to kill someone.
Ok, so why Finest Hour over True Conviction?
For True Conviction to kill someone it generally has to be played with another damage multiplier: Savage Beating, Gratuitous Violence, Aurelia, the Warleader, whatever. Best case scenario I play it the turn before Scion, cast scion the next turn either flashing it in or giving it hexproof, and then swing the following turn pumping 3 mana into Hellkite Overlord. Very inefficient and time consuming to say the least.
Finest Hour on the other hand makes both Dragon Tyrant and Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon able to one shot someone without any other doublers or fire-breathing. It is just a much better card for what we want to do.
Have you considered Hellkite Charger to combo out with Bear Umbra? Could also add in stuff like Aggravated Assault and Sword of Feast and Famine if you go that route.
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It must suck to be Ingot Chewer, the only Ingot in Magic is indestructible...
Have you considered Hellkite Charger to combo out with Bear Umbra? Could also add in stuff like Aggravated Assault and Sword of Feast and Famine if you go that route.
I've considered it. The thing about the combo is that everyone sees it coming the second you drop a sword/umbra and it can be stopped by your opponent simply having a blocker. I also dislike Hellkite Charger outside of the combo and feel it is very mana intensive for what it does.
You need mana to attach sword/umbra, mana to transform Scion, and mana to activate HC's ability. We are talking 11-13 mana for a combo that is easily disrupted at many stages.
If I am going to put that much mana into something I would rather Rite of ReplicationScourge of Valkas, which is much harder to disrupt and requires less preperation/combo pieces.
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Understandable issues. I was just pointing it out as I noticed it when looking for alternatives to Time Stretch. Reason being is I want to try out a similar build, but players in my group understandably aren't fans of extra turn cards, so since Time Stretch at it's core is utilized in this strategy for extra combat phases, I was looking for suitable Relentless Assault type cards as replacement.
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It must suck to be Ingot Chewer, the only Ingot in Magic is indestructible...
I have absolutely loved this thread. Without question one of the most well thought out and informative EDH deck articles I have ever read. Luckily I had a majority of the cards you have used and currently are only 6 cards away from a complete clone of this deck and I must say, not only has it proven to be a blast, but powerful as well. As a serious dragon and angel collector finding a deck that so thoughtfully intertwines the two and is so flexible in play style has been a total joy. Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to future updates.
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I don't keep a log, but I generally feel vulnerable to creatures when I play this deck because I often only have Scion out on the board if anything. It's usually not much of a problem in Sharuum because it plays so many answers, and people don't see Raidmother as threatening for whatever reason. But, in Scion I am constantly paranoid of someone taking Gisela and giving me a taste of my own medicine by alpha-striking me. Or you know, swinging with an Eldrazi Conscription ect.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Brief description:
W Midrange----Control
U Control------Tempo
B Aggro--------Necromancy
R Aggro--------Reach
G Midrange-----Ramp
Lands and Planeswalkers are not usually a huge problem; I want to say enchantments, but I think that is very specific to out meta.
Uril, the Miststalker and shrouded Sovereigns of Lost Alara make instant speed enchantment removal a thing.
Then again, maybe better to just blow a wrath then.
Generally I want to say most combo pieces are artifacts, and that might be a better way to go?
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
It protects your Scion and gives you a win condition.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
Our meta got more enchantments in it real fast. Putrefy, Mortify, and Chaos Warp are really good. My undying love for Vindicate is rearing it's ugly head. It's really good, but if you want instant speed removal for our meta, Mortify is your man.
Brief description:
W Midrange----Control
U Control------Tempo
B Aggro--------Necromancy
R Aggro--------Reach
G Midrange-----Ramp
And it's better to cast Conspiracy when you know you can protect it. It's all in the timing.
UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
I forgot about tuck. Hmmm, Chaos Warp is an answer to Blood Moon as well as everything we have been talking about.
It is fun, but is also slow and clunky. While powerful, Eldrazi Scion doesn't kill anyone without other damage multipliers on the board. With Rafiq out you can one shot someone, but otherwise you generally need two enchantments to get him to the damage threshold. This really makes it a 4 card combo to be optimal (Scion, Conspiracy, and 2 multipliers). If your meta doesn't play mass enchantment removal and you want to tutor up all the pieces go for it, but there are easier and more efficient options.
It is outclassed by Savage Beating, Time Stretch, Knowledge Exploitation, Ophidian Eye/Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, and Rite of Replication/Scourge of Valkas.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
He had Privileged Position in there. Now he doesn't. It occasionally killed people.
Tuck comes with huge political ramifications. But Chaos Warp can go around that. It does replace the permanent with something more than 60% of the time. So they do get SOMETHING out of it because Schrodinger's Cat and stuff. It's pretty good. If Zedruu could Mortify things with his gaze like Scion can, I would make him do so.
Brief description:
W Midrange----Control
U Control------Tempo
B Aggro--------Necromancy
R Aggro--------Reach
G Midrange-----Ramp
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade | Karador Apostles | Brago, King Eternal | Talrand the Sky Summoner | Mageta the Lion
I know, I play Oblation to draw cards off of my Gilded Drake in Sharuum.
lol, I just realized that I can also drop dragons off of Sneak Attack and tuck them if I need them in my library.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
+Scroll Rack
Reasoning: Scroll Rack is really awesome in this deck, especially since our general shuffles our library. It will be even more so if they ever reprint my enemy fetch lands.
-Yosei, the Morning Star
+Rorix Bladewing
Reasoning: The deck was low on haste dragons; Rorix is not the most ideal option (I wish there was another haste dragon with fire-breathing.) but it seems to be the best available at this time.
-Lightning Greaves
+Rest in Peace
Reasoning: Lightning Greaves interfered with Boros Charm, Ophidian Eye, and Rite of Replication. Rest in Peace is just amazing (I know, am a complete hypocrite for raging about this card when it was printed). It stops reanimation from abusing our yard. It disrupts every general that uses the graveyard as a resource as well as combo generals that abuse death triggers like Sharuum the Hegemon and Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter. I believe it is more than worth the inevitable loss of a few dragons over the course of a game.
-Sorin Markov
+Chaos Warp
Reasoning: Sorin is good in voltron, but situationally so. Chaos Warp is an answer to Blood Moon, and can be used to protect me from other generals that are aggressive.
Additional Thoughts:
Added Conspiracy to Notable Exclusions section in guide.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
What ended up sealing my fate was my friend's Aurelia, the Warleader deck. The problem was that while Scion is very powerful, it requires preparation. I need the correct combination of mana, damage multipliers, and haste. The Aurelia player did not; his haste and damage multiplier were built in. He did not have to worry about his general being destroyed because he could simply recast it the following turn and swing immediately.
As a result I've opted to make a few subtle changes that should increase the aggressiveness of the deck.
Changes:
-Crosis, the Purger
+Magus of the Moat
Reasoning: This card has been cut and added about a dozen times. It's drawbacks are that it's very vulnerable and obviously does not protect me from fliers. I suppose I had a Moat the slot would remain filled. I am adding him again to help protect me from aggro decks.
-Slayers' Stronghold
+Ancient Tomb
Reasoning: Slayer's Stronghold is one of those cards that looks much better on paper than it actually is. Ancient Tomb provides acceleration and helps me keep up with other decks.
-Aura Shards
+Hatred
Reasoning: Hatred makes every dragon in my deck lethal. It doesn't matter if I have doublers out or fixing for fire-breathing. It doesn't matter if I've had rotten luck and have a garbage hand. If I can swing and connect with Scion I can blow a chunk of life to kill someone.
Additional Thoughts:
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.
I am excited for the upcoming set, maybe we will see some good Scion cards.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
After mathing for a while, (mathing- verb; to math) Slayer's Stronghold looks really bad so seems like a fine cut.
On Aura Shards.... Well, Hatred does more for the deck's goals of world domination.
Brief description:
W Midrange----Control
U Control------Tempo
B Aggro--------Necromancy
R Aggro--------Reach
G Midrange-----Ramp
I added it because of problem generals like Kamahl, Wanderer, and Uril.
And, I added it because of things like Goblins, Elves, Slivers, ect.
My only ways of protecting myself from these threats had been to play Stromtide, Wrath (which isn't always very practical), or out race the problem deck.
Scion can be very fast, so this wasn't much of an issue, but we have seen a rise in haste generals recently and I think the added consistency of Magus is a good thing.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Brief description:
W Midrange----Control
U Control------Tempo
B Aggro--------Necromancy
R Aggro--------Reach
G Midrange-----Ramp
I think the addition of haste outweighs the power loss and the additional mana is well worth it.
I am also thinking about cutting True Conviciton for Finest Hour.
My reasoning is kind of complicated, but I will attempt to explain.
So what inspired this change?
Fist and foremost, True Conviction does not stack with my other double strike sources, the most notable being dragon tyrant. At first glance this is not a huge deal, because redundancy is important. The thing is my other DS sources have things going for them that conviction does not.
How is Boros Charm any better?
Boros Charm, for example, is only RW mana. That is absolutely huge when considering how expensive fire-breathing is. And, it doubles as protection. Conversely, conviction costs 3WWW, which is outrageously expensive for what it does for the deck. We don't play a lot of creatures at once, and the lifelink doesn't help us kill people faster.
What about Rafiq then?
The great thing about Rafiq of the Many is his exalted triger; when stacked with his double strike bonus it makes Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon just big enough to kill someone.
Ok, so why Finest Hour over True Conviction?
For True Conviction to kill someone it generally has to be played with another damage multiplier: Savage Beating, Gratuitous Violence, Aurelia, the Warleader, whatever. Best case scenario I play it the turn before Scion, cast scion the next turn either flashing it in or giving it hexproof, and then swing the following turn pumping 3 mana into Hellkite Overlord. Very inefficient and time consuming to say the least.
Finest Hour on the other hand makes both Dragon Tyrant and Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon able to one shot someone without any other doublers or fire-breathing. It is just a much better card for what we want to do.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
On one hand it makes all of my opponent's creatures vulnerable to magus of the most.
On the other it does not get me past reach like Sun Quan, and is dangerous when people are playing clones.
It is written in a way that seems to suggest that if my opponents clone it their creatures will not gain flying, but mine will lose the ability.
In either case it will be a headache to play against and is something that must be answered. At least it does not negate Sun Quan.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
Brief description:
W Midrange----Control
U Control------Tempo
B Aggro--------Necromancy
R Aggro--------Reach
G Midrange-----Ramp
Great primer. Love Scion as a commander, it's one of my favorite decks to play. One thing though, am I not seeing something because it seems to me that Rest in Peace is a huge nombo with Scion, no?
BGW Junk / URB Grixis Shadow / RGB Lantern Control / WUBCBant Eldrazi
Current Legacy decks
BUG Shardless BUG / UWR Predict Miracles / RUG Canadian Thresh / WRBG 4c Loam
UB Reanimator
Thank you, very much.
It depends on a lot of things. Obviously, it is worse if your deck is more focused on reanimation. It also depends on how frequently you use dragons.
Sometime's I'll get an amazing hand and start smashing face as soon as possible. Sometimes I will get hated out, or someone else will get an amazing hand, and be forced to respond.
However, generally I try to avoid playing Scion till late game.
There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, alpha-striking someone usually does not go down well politically unless the victim was dominating the board or is just really a douchebag. Furthermore, limiting how often I cast him limits how expensive his general tax becomes as well has my opponents' opportunities to tuck him. Finally, it is just generally easier to kill people late game as I have access to more mana and have had time to set up my board state.
As a result, I generally do not blow through my dragons and it is of not so much consequence if some get exiled. If Rest in Peace becomes an issue I will cut it, but I have been pretty satisfied with it so far. It shuts down a ton of combos, renders certain generals completely useless, and prevents my opponents from using my own dragons against me. The best part about it, is that it's always active, and allows me to focus my time and resources elsewhere. It's like having a switch that turns my deck into a control deck.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
-Crucible of Fire
+In the Web of War
Reasoning:
-True Conviction
+Finest Hour
Reasoning:
-Teneb, the Harvester
+Xenagos, God of Revels
Reasoning:
Xenagos, God of Revels is an auto include for any voltron deck within it's colors.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master
I've considered it. The thing about the combo is that everyone sees it coming the second you drop a sword/umbra and it can be stopped by your opponent simply having a blocker. I also dislike Hellkite Charger outside of the combo and feel it is very mana intensive for what it does.
You need mana to attach sword/umbra, mana to transform Scion, and mana to activate HC's ability. We are talking 11-13 mana for a combo that is easily disrupted at many stages.
If I am going to put that much mana into something I would rather Rite of Replication Scourge of Valkas, which is much harder to disrupt and requires less preperation/combo pieces.
WBRG Saskia the Unyielding
WUB Sharuum the Hegemon
RWU Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
RG Wort, the Raidmother
WU Brago, King Eternal
B Chainer, Dementia Master