My second EDH deck, followed by Olivia Voldaren which ended up getting retired.
It is a straightforward Mayael deck where the game plan is to cheat out big creatures as fast as possible with either Mayael herself, cards such as Elvish Piper, or simply ramping up to them.
The "Conclusion" section contains a list of things you can help me with
Notes: Top has started to seem a bit redundant with Sylvan Library and Scroll Rack. Awakening is another Seedborn Muse type effect card that is pretty broken with Mayael so I'll give it a go. Praetor's Counsel has been a dead card a lot of the time, especially since a ton of cards just shuffle them back into the library when they hit the grave.
Not sure why Sigarda wasn't in here yet...Fixed!
Notes: The more I draw Dauntless Escort, the less useful it seems - rarely do I have an army of creatures, usually 2-3 fatties do the job.
I've wanted to playtest Ulvenwald Tracker for quite some time now so I'll give it a go. Lurking Predators has been really bad so far, might put it back in at some point if I miss it, but yeah.
Survival goes in as I was finally able to trade for one!
Notes: Well, I recently just found out that Awakening affects all players, and not just me so no wonder it doesn't see that much play LOL.
I guess I'll give Lurking Predators another try in it's place.
Wanted to try fit another sac outlet in here and High Market looks better than Miren, the Moaning Well to me, so yeah.
Notes: Gatecrash Update! Again I've been unimpressed with Lurking Predators, so that can go back to the Maybeboard. Mossbridge Troll is an alright creature which was mainly just in there for the Mayael's Aria combo but I'd much rather just beat face with this deck so I'll cut it for now.
Akroma...I really don't know what else to cut, and looking at my other creatures, she seems to do the least, which is pretty funny...Anyway, will probably need to put her back in at some point, but want to play with new cards for now! Illusionist's Bracers looks like a very fun card, almost a second rings and mainly goes in cause it's going to be insane with Mayael but interacts with ton of other cards in the deck too (Kiki-Jiki, Elvish Piper, etc...)
Next, Gruul Ragebeast, looks like it was made for Mayael. Not being a "may" ability might be a disadvantage, but I really doubt it. More removal is never bad. Sylvan Primordial - I don't think I even have to explain this...
Notes: Mayael's Aria...Sure it's really flavourful, but it's not that great of a card - especially now that Mossbridge Troll has gone. I'll keep it in the maybeboard for now, but yeah, Akroma needs to get back in here!
Notes: Without being able to get fetches for this deck, Rampaging Baloths hasn't really been doing much for me and Ruric Thar seems like a good replacement.
Bounce lands and ETBT lands have been more annoying as of late, although they do have their advantages, such as letting me reuse my Hideaway lands and being awesome with Mana Reflection, the loss of tempo and entering tapped has been too much of a disadvantage. I'll leave Rith's Grove in there as the only bounce land so I can occasionally use it with Hideaways, plus it produces all three colours, so yeah. Reliquary Tower hasn't really been needed.
So I've decided to tweak the mana base a little bit, trying out Winding Canyons in here too, Mayael (and other creatures) EOT dodging a lot of removal seems pretty good. Fliter lands added to better the manabase. Should try trade for Grove of the Burnwillows when I get an opportunity...
Notes: Bracers is undoubtedly awesome with Mayael and a few other creatures in here, but recently I've found it to be win-more and as it only have 7 legal targets, compared to Resonator's 20, I think I'll give it a go instead.
Notes: Born of the Gods Update! Archetype of Endurance seems quite perfect for this deck and I'm happy to replace Asceticism with it and see how that goes. A noncreature spot replaced with a Mayael target is always good for this deck. Twilight Shepherd has been under-performing lately so I can move it to the Maybeboard for now. Akroma, Angel of Wrath gets cut again, for the same reason as before, she just doesn't do enough. Been looking for a spot for Balefire Dragon for long enough and one has now opened up for it, should be good in here. I'm not sure what to expect from Xenagos, God of Revels but he is an indestructible threat that might help close games quicker. Will try him out in here and see how he does. Since Xenagos made it in here, I thought Kessig Wolf Run should too and have decided to cut Strip Mine for it, can't really cut a basic since I have too many colourless sources, and I have Sylvan Primordial, Woodfall Primus, Terastodon and I guess Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre too that can deal with problematic lands. The only other cards from the set that made me think of Mayael were Hunter's Prowess & Karametra, God of Harvests and I don't think either are good enough for the deck.
Notes: A few changes. Tracker & Kiki-Jiki can be great from time to time, but they can also be bad at times. Replaced some of the ramp for lower CMC ramp to smoothen the deck out. Resonator was probably a bit win more, and I want to try out the deck without Wake for a while, see how just Mana Reflection and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger work out. Hellkite and Serenity should be welcome additions to the deck. Both Top & Predators made their way back into the deck too. Oracle might actually end up coming back in sometime, it ramps, clears the top of library so Mayael doesn't miss as often, and now Top is back in the deck too. So whenever I find a spot next, I'll try put her back in.
Notes: Journey into Nyx Update! It's getting harder and harder to cut cards...G-Wave is good for ending games when you have Mana Reflection and what not, but now Mirari's Wake is gone too and I think the deck can probably do without it. Godsire is a boss, and at times is the face of a Mayael deck, works great with Rings of Brighthearth & Seedborn Muse but he can take a hiatus from the deck while I test out Iroas, God of Victory who I think should be pretty good. Although most of my creatures do have evasion, more along with protection will probably help. Will see how it performs. I've been looking forward to a 5 power creature that gives everything haste for quite some time now, always wishing that Urabrask the Hidden had 1 extra power or that Maelstrom Wanderer was Naya! So, will see how this guy performs. 3 toughness is a shame, but should help most of the time. Other cosniderations included Mana Confluence (probably don't need it), Bearer of the Heavens (seems great with all the ways we have to regenerate and make things indestructible, but it's probably too much effort - I could be wrong though, and this guy could make an appearance in the future), don't think Ajani, Mentor of Heroes or Hydra Broodmaster are good enough either. Also thought of Sun Titan (needs to find a spot I think, just don't know where), Sakura-Tribe Elder in place of a 2 mana ramp sorcery so I can use it with Survival of the Fittest or Green Sun's Zenith it into play, it's just basic vs. shocks thats holding me back, might be worth it though) and Spellbreaker Behemoth - there aren't that many counters in my meta, but always good to be prepared, right?
Notes: Only reasons for this change are small interactions such as tutoring Tribe Elder up with Green Sun's Zenith...Discarding it to Survival of the Fittest...Triggering Aura Shards...Being able to Rings of Brighthearth it...with the drawback of not being able to search for Shocks, I think it's worth it.
Notes: Considerations from Conspiracy included Council's Judgment and Scourge of the Throne, but neither of them made their way into the deck. At first I thought the new dragon was pretty good, until I realised that you only got an additional combat phase if he attacked the player with the most life - just not sure how often that'll happen. I did however decide to try out more versatile removal options in place of the two 1 CMC white exile spells, will see how they work out. Beast Within was another solid contender for one of these spots too.
Notes: M15 Update! Unfortunately Cyclops of Eternal Fury was not the 5 power Urabrask the Hidden this deck was looking for - being an evasion-less 3 toughness creature really hurt. It seems like the weakest link in the deck so I'm willing to try out Soul of New Phyrexia over it, which is not only an easy to cost 6/6 Trampler, but also another creature that protects my board state. It can also do so as a one-off effect after it dies which may be of use from time to time. It's the only thing that ended up making the deck from M15, but other considerations included Avacyn, Guardian Angel (which is nowhere as near as awesome as Avacyn, Angel of Hope was for this deck), Soul of Theros (which provides a mini trample-less Titanic Ultimatum, needless to say the trample would have greatly improved its chances of inclusion, without it, doesn't seem good enough. Best of the 3 coloured souls for Mayael though imo), and lastly Life's Legacy (a decent draw spell for the deck).
Notes: C14 Update! Stalking Vengeance was mostly used as an "anti-wrath" card, and is cute with Greater Good etc, but I don't think I need it anymore. Going to replace it with Thunderfoot Baloth from C14 to see how it performs, giving the team evasion while also providing a pump seems good.
Other considerations for this update included: Siege Behemoth - Guranteed damage from the team seems good, but the 4 toughness puts me off. Tyrant's Familiar - Essentially a 7/7 flying haste, that kills a creature when it attacks. Is good, but I like the otherremovaldragons I'm already running better, even if some of them have to connect. Flamekin Village - Haste on a land seems good, but costing RR essentially is probably too much, plus, I don't want to cut any more basics... Titania, Protector of Argoth - Good with fetches, Strip Mine etc, but probably doesn't do enough in here. Myriad Landscape - Already have Krosan Verge which is better, don't think I need another one of these effects.
Notes: Dragons of Tarkir Update!
I've been meaning to re-add Swords to Plowshares & Path to Exile to the deck, and at least one of them made it back in with this update. Willing to let Congregation at Dawn go for this change, but it could make its way back into the deck at some point. Day of Judgment is going to be replaced by Wrath of God as I way less Regeneration in this deck than I did at one point.
In general, Warstorm Surge is a win-more card, it's only great if I already have something awesome like Sneak Attack or a Mayael that's being regularly activated. In it's place I'm going to try out Domri Rade, which I've been meaning to add for quite some time. He's card draw/library manipulation, removal, and a win condition all in one - will see how he works out. Oracle of Mul Daya was cut in an earlier update and I thought it was time it made its way back into the deck. Cutting Deathless Angel as I have a lot of protection in the deck now, and this is one of the weaker options.
Now for the cards actually from DTK - Dragonlord Dromoka & Dragonlord Atarka. I've never run Spellbreaker Behemoth, but it's always been a worthy consideration for the deck, and Dragonlord Dromoka seems like a straight upgrade compared to it. Flash isn't really relevant in Mayael, and Dromoka does much more than just preventing any spell on your turn from being countered.
As for Dragonlord Atarka, I used to run Bogardan Hellkite in the deck before, but it got replaced with Scourge of Kher Ridges. Although Dragonlord Atarka's ability can't hit players, it has a much better body, and additional evasion, so I'm going to try him out.
To make space for the two DTK Dragons, Thunderfoot Baloth & Yosei, the Morning Star got the axe. Thunderfoot Baloth was a recent addition, and although it was great at times, it was really just a win more card, as most of my creatures have evasion anyway. Yosei, the Morning Star interacts well with Sneak Attack, Greater Good, & High Market, but other than that I don't run any other sac outlets and it can often be a hit and miss. I'll try the deck out without it for a while and see if I miss it.
Other considerations from the set included: Profound Journey, Berserkers' Onslaught, Shaman of Forgotten Ways, Stampeding Elk Herd, Surrak, the Hunt Caller, Arashin Sovereign, Atarka's Command, Dromoka's Command, & Harbinger of the Hunt.
Maybeboard
+1 Beast Within: One of the best green removal spells.
+1 Birthing Pod: Obviously a good card, but probably too "build around me"? Looking at my curve, it seems like I would start the chain at 5 CMC most of the time.
+1 Congregation at Dawn: Has always been a fine card in the deck, but recently cut to see how the deck runs without it.
+1 Fires of Yavimaya: Since Urabrask the Hidden doesn't have 5 power, Cyclops of Eternal Fury wasn't great, and Maelstrom Wanderer isn't Naya, maybe Fires should find its way into the deck.
+1 Lurking Predators: Testing out See the Unwritten over it right now. If that doesn't work out, this can go back in.
+1 Path to Exile: Excellent removal.
+1 Rampaging Baloths: Used to run him a while ago, now that fetches have been reprinted and are in the deck, I should probably bring him back in.
+1 Warstorm Surge: Recently cut as it felt too win more, but good card is good.
Other Considerations
Akroma, Angel of Wrath: Was in the deck for quite a while, but creatures with more relevant abilities just kept getting printed, leaving Akroma as just a dumb beater. A very good dumb beater, however. Angelic Arbiter: Evasive beater that comes with built in disruption. Armageddon: Can be pretty gg with just a couple of fatties in play, but isn't MLD supposed to be good against ramp decks? Asceticism: Used to be in the deck for a long time, until Archetype of Endurance replaced it. Still an excellent card. Baneslayer Angel: Just a dumb beater, but quite a good one. Bearer of the Heavens: Cool card with regen/indestructible effects, but probably too much effort. I could be wrong though, now that Sneak Attack made its way into the deck... Bogardan Hellkite: Had a spot in the deck until it got replaced by Scourge of Kher Ridges, still a very solid card. Boros Garrison/Gruul Turf/Selesnya Sanctuary: Used to run the Bounce Lands in here, and they were good with Mana Reflection, and being able to reuse Hideaway Lands and what not, but the loss of tempo ended up being too much. Chromatic Lantern: An awesome mana rock the completely mana-fixes you. Colossus of Akros: Probably not worth the mana investment. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth/Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre/Blightsteel Colossus are all more efficient. Craterhoof Behemoth: Good card, but probably better in token/swarm decks. If I had several good haste outlets, then I'd put it in to Tooth and Nail it with Avenger of Zendikar. The first ability wouldn't be relevant too often, but the 2nd and 4th is what makes it a consideration. Cyclops of Eternal Fury: It's unfortunate that Urabrask the Hidden doesn't have 5 power. I did try Cyclops out in here, but having no evasion and the 3 toughness really didn't help its case. I need a Naya Maelstrom Wanderer Dauntless Escort: Not a bad way of protecting the board, better now that Sun Titan and Sneak Attack are in the deck. Deathless Angel: Recently cut due to having better ways of protecting my board, but its still a good card. Deathrender: Another outlet for cheating fatties into play. Deus of Calamity: A 5 CMC 6/6 trampler that destroys lands, not too bad. Dromoka's Command: Eladamri's Call: A Demonic Tutor just for creatures. Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse: Got cut when fetches got reprinted. Still pretty good cards, especially with the library manipulation in the deck. Faith's Reward: An anti-wrath effect, however, a bunch of my creatures do shuffle back into my library.. Flameblast Dragon: Removal/burn on a 5/5 flying dragon, not too bad. Flamekin Village - Haste on a land seems good, but costing RR essentially is probably too much, plus, I don't want to cut any more basics... Garruk, Caller of Beasts: This deck doesn't really want creatures in hand, so the +1 isn't too great, unless you have Sneak Attack in play, but yeah...The -3 isn't bad, but it only applies to green creatures. As for the ultimate, you're rarely casting creatures, however it does seem pretty gg. Genesis Wave: Another green staple. I ran it for the longest time too, and often ended the game when you had something like Mana Reflection out, but it got cut after Mirari's Wake did, and I haven't missed it too much. Another card that could very easily make its way back into the deck in the future. Genesis: A green staple. Good recursion.. Giant Adephage: Seems like a fun card, but probably not good enough. Gift of Immortality: An interesting way to keep Mayael alive, or protect another threat, but there are better options available. Godsire: Ran it in the deck for a very long time, often it was the face of the deck, and had synergy with other cards such as Rings of Brighthearth/Seedborn Muse/Greater Good/Warstorm Surge etc, but better creatures kept getting printed and he was eventually cut. Wouldn't mind it if he made his way back in though. Guild Feud: Gives your opponent card advantage, but you probably get the most out of it. Harbinger of the Hunt: Scourge of Kher Ridges does what he does better. Hellkite Charger: Extra combat phases seems good, not sure if I need it though. Hellkite Tyrant: It can totally wreck someone at times, and other times it can just be a 6/5 flyer, still, definitely not bad. Hua Tuo, Honored Physician: Can be good in here, being able to reuse dead creatures with Mayael and what not. Has good synergy with Survival of the Fittest/Greater Good etc too. Hunting Grounds: Pretty awesome effect for 2 mana, however I'm not sure how often I'll reach Threshold quickly, especially with several self-shuffling creatures in the deck. Hydra Broodmaster: A 6 CMC 7/7 without evasion, however it is a mana sink that can create its own board position. Illusionist's Bracers: I tried it out, as a second Rings of Brighthearth, however it only really interacted with Mayael, and I ended up not needing it. Iroas, God of Victory: Tried him out for a bit, however too many of my creatures already had enough evasion, so got cut. It That Betrays: An 11/11 with Annihilator 2 that's excellent against sacrifice strategies. Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs: Good pillowfort against aggro strategies, not sure if needed. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker: Used to be in the deck, and while it was great from time to time, it was also not so great at other times. Kodama's Reach: A staple ramp spell. Krosan Tusker: A late-game beater/fattie for Mayael that can be cycled early game to find a land. Not bad, but I don't love it. Mayael's Aria: Was in the deck for a little bit. Sure it's flavourful, but not too great of a card. Used to combo with Mossbridge Troll, but he got cut too. Mirari's Wake: Excellent card that was in the deck for a long time. I'm not sure if I needed Mana Reflection and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger AND this, so decided to cut it. I haven't missed it so far, but wouldn't be surprised if it found its way back in the deck at some point. Molten Primordial: Insurrection-esq, however, I hardly ever acrivate Mayael on my own turn. Better in a deck with more sac outlets too. Mossbridge Troll: It was in the deck before, mainly for the combo with Mayael's Aria, but that wasn't really consistent, nor was it how I wanted to win the game with Mayael. Not a bad creature by it self either however. Myojin of Life's Web: How unfortunate that you only get the counter from casting it...xD Myriad Landscape - Already have Krosan Verge which is better, don't think I need another one of these effects. Nylea, God of the Hunt: One of the better Theros Gods for Mayael, however most of my creatures have some form of evasion anyway. Paleoloth: Made for the deck, yet doesn't make the cut. Platinum Emperion: Maybe I should try him out sometime, however I've never had a need for the effect. If the damage could be prevented, it would be another story, but as it stands now - one can still die with commander damage/infect etc. Privileged Position: Was in the deck for a long time. A great card in these colours. It might make its way back in if the effect is needed again. Realm Razer: If this had 5 power, it would go right in... Regal Force: Not a bad Tooth and Nail target w/ Avenger of Zendikar, but I don't think I need it. Rith's Grove: Taps for all of our colours, bounces Hideaway Lands to be reused, however is a slight loss of tempo. Scourge of the Throne: Not a bad card, I just don't know how often its ability would trigger. Shaman of Forgotten Ways: Biorhythm is banned in EDH, but I'm not sure how well this deck can take advantage of this effect. Being coupled with a ramp ability is certainly not a bad addition. Siege Behemoth: Guaranteed damage from the team seems good, but the 4 toughness sucks. Soul of Theros: The best Soul among the Naya ones, but probably not good enough. Spellbreaker Behemoth: Another excellent card that is great in metas with a lot of coutner spells. If my meta were to change, he would go right in. Strionic Resonator: Tested it out for a bit, and while it did have enough targets, it ended up being win-more most of the time. Stalking Vengeance: Recently cut. Used as an anti-wrath card. Also is cute with Greater Good etc. Tempt with Discovery: Tested it out over Skyshroud Claim for a bit, and while it was initially quite good, my opponents learned their lesson quite quickly. Thousand-Year Elixir: Mayael with inbuilt haste is pretty awesome, and with enough (13) mana, lets you activate Mayael twice a turn. However, I don't have many other creatures it would interact with. Thunderfoot Baloth: Recently cut as most of my creatures have some form of evasion, but it had some good interactions. Titania, Protector of Argoth - Good with fetches, Strip Mine etc, but probably doesn't do enough in here. Twilight Shepherd: Used to be in the deck, but got cut for under-performing. Still a pretty good card though. Better now that Sneak Attack found its way in... Tyrant's Familiar: Essentially a 7/7 flying haste, that kills a creature when it attacks. Is good, but I like the otherremovaldragons I'm already running better, even if some of them have to connect. Ulvenwald Tracker: Used to be in the deck but got cut after Gruul Ragebeast went in. Still not a bad creature, that only gets better with Rings of Brighthearth/Seedborn Muse and what not. Unexpectedly Absent: Another good removal spell that only got better with fetches being reprinted. Valorous Stance: Removal + protection in one. Vigor: Was in the deck for the longest time. A great creature that both protects your board, and makes it bigger. Might make its way back in at some point. Wear // Tear: Hull Breach is probably better, and I'm not running it either >_> Where Ancients Tread: A second, worser Warstorm Surge, with a quote from Mayael! >_> Windbrisk Raptor: Don't think I need the lifegain, but if I ever do, I know where to look. Wurmcoil Engine: Good card is good, but is it good enough for Mayael? Yosei, the Morning Star: Recently cut due to being a hit and miss occasionally. But works great with Greater Good, Sneak Attack etc.
I think that's about everything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Will appreciate any and all feedback as well as all suggestions
What specifically you could help me with is: Making space for 2 more lands, so I can go up to 38. As well as suggest cuts for cards in my Maybeboard such as Path to Exile, Beast Within etc.
Do make sure to a look at my other decklists in my sig!
These are the cards I have considered from Theros:
Gift of Immortality: A cool card that can keep Mayael or a threat alive but it's probably not worth it with a lot of cards shuffling back into the library, or Eldrazi shuffling the graveyard entirely, not too consistent either compared to other ways in the deck to protect Mayael/threats.
Heliod, God of the Sun: Probably the least relevant of the 3 Gods for this deck, Vigilance nor 2/1 tokens really help too much.
Xenagos, the Reveler: I'm not sure how great he'll be in here, the Token would be irrelevant most of the time but the +1 might add 1-4 mana a turn which isn't too bad. The ultimate is a fair sized Genesis Wave that could be worthwhile with the library manipulation available to the deck. Works with Rings of Brighthearth too. I'll add him to the maybeboard for now and test him out when I get the chance to.
Tldr version: No changes as of now with Xenagos, the Reveler being put on the Maybeboard/cards to test list and the rest on the "Other Considerations" list.
Do let me know if you think any of these evaluations are wrong or if any of these cards need to be in this deck/would be a mistake not to put them in!
Want to try and find a spot for Hua Tuo, Honored Physician too but not sure what I can cut, will put it on the Maybeboard for now. Feel free to suggest any cuts, will help!
Notes: Born of the Gods Update! Archetype of Endurance seems quite perfect for this deck and I'm happy to replace Asceticism with it and see how that goes. A noncreature spot replaced with a Mayael target is always good. Twilight Shepherd has been under-performing lately so I can move it to the Maybeboard for now. Akroma, Angel of Wrath gets cut again, for the same reason as before, she just doesn't do enough. Been looking for a spot for Balefire Dragon for long enough and one has now opened up for it, should be good in here. I'm not sure what to expect from Xenagos, God of Revels but he is an indestructible threat that might help close games quicker. Will try him out in here and see how he does. Since Xenagos made it in here, I thought Kessig Wolf Run should too and have decided to cut Strip Mine for it, can't really cut a basic since I have too many colourless sources, and I have Sylvan Primordial, Woodfall Primus, Terastodon and I guess Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre too, that can deal with problematic lands.
The only other cards from the set that made me think of Mayael were Hunter’s Prowess & Karametra, God of Harvests and I don't think either are good enough for the deck.
As always, feel free to make suggestions and what not
Just a few thoughts gathered from playing the deck for some time.
I found out that our ramp should be the inespensive ones, 3 CMC tops. By the time you play a ramp spell like Skyshroud Claim you usually would want to activate Mayael or play a removal spell. The exceptions would be mana doublers (Mirari's Wake / Mana Reflection).
None of the gods are great for us. The most useful is Nylea but she still is bad. A better mana sink would be Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, for example.
The most important thing in my opinion is playing with creatures that do something, not just huge beaters. Things like the Eldrazi, Akroma or Blighsteel Colossus look great on theory, but other than being giant undercosted (with Mayael) fatties, they don't really help our game plan. Every creature I play has its use, be it removal, protection or recursion. I like to prioritize those creatures when building and tweaking my list.
I must disagree on the Blightsteel and Eldrazi bits. Blightsteel is an immediate game-ender if left unchecked, and the Eldrazi are removal just by attacking.
And for another Mayael target, I would like to suggest Hellkite Tyrant. A lot of people play artifacts in my metagame, and he does a good job at ruining that strategy.
Also, I'm going to put in a good word for Lurking Predators. I still run the top in my Mayael alongside Sylvan Library and Scroll Rack, and the top (or even the Scroll Rack, although you can only do it once before having to untap) makes Lurking Predators degenerate.
Angel of Serenity could work really well too, either for graveyard recursion for you or for simple removal of opponent's creatures if need be.
Just a few thoughts gathered from playing the deck for some time.
I found out that our ramp should be the inespensive ones, 3 CMC tops. By the time you play a ramp spell like Skyshroud Claim you usually would want to activate Mayael or play a removal spell. The exceptions would be mana doublers (Mirari's Wake / Mana Reflection).
None of the gods are great for us. The most useful is Nylea but she still is bad. A better mana sink would be Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, for example.
The most important thing in my opinion is playing with creatures that do something, not just huge beaters. Things like the Eldrazi, Akroma or Blighsteel Colossus look great on theory, but other than being giant undercosted (with Mayael) fatties, they don't really help our game plan. Every creature I play has its use, be it removal, protection or recursion. I like to prioritize those creatures when building and tweaking my list.
I must disagree on the Blightsteel and Eldrazi bits. Blightsteel is an immediate game-ender if left unchecked, and the Eldrazi are removal just by attacking.
And for another Mayael target, I would like to suggest Hellkite Tyrant. A lot of people play artifacts in my metagame, and he does a good job at ruining that strategy.
Also, I'm going to put in a good word for Lurking Predators. I still run the top in my Mayael alongside Sylvan Library and Scroll Rack, and the top (or even the Scroll Rack, although you can only do it once before having to untap) makes Lurking Predators degenerate.
Angel of Serenity could work really well too, either for graveyard recursion for you or for simple removal of opponent's creatures if need be.
@MeliraFreak
You're probably right about the ramp, looking at all the ramp cards in my deck as they are now, I should probably put in Kodama's Reach in the place of either Skyshroud Claim or Tempt with Discovery. I still haven't had a chance to play with Tempt that much, but when I do, I'll compare Claim and Tempt and cut the one that underperforms for Reach
I'd like to think that almost all, if not all of the Mayael targets in my deck "do" something other than just being a beater, the last of the cards that was just a dumb beater was Akroma, Angel of Wrath and she got cut in the last update.
Like Decimator1 said, Blightsteel Colossus, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth are among the best things you can cheat into play with Mayael, and are what people are generally most afraid of. Blightsteel ends games with a single swing, Ulamog is hard to remove and is removal at times and Kozilek has Annihilator 4 too. Ulamog and Kozilek also make Survival of the Fittest better and shuffling in any creatures that die is useful too.
I agree that none of the Gods are great for us, but wanted to give Xenagos, God of Revels a go and see how he performs. I think he's probably better than Nylea, God of the Hunt? They do seem great together however...
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa can't be cheated into play with Mayael and doesn't really fit in with our game plan. I don't really like him for the deck.
@Decimator1
Hellkite Tyrant is a pretty good card, it has been considered for this deck, and if my meta had a lot of artifact based decks, then it would definitely go in. However, as it is now, it's probably not as good as other things in there.
Lurking Predators was in my deck, and then I cut it, then it went back in, and then I cut it again lol. I know that card can be insane at times, but I've found it inconsistent from time to time, even with the library manipulation. It's always on the Maybeboard though, and might find it's way back in at some point
Angel of Serenity is another card that I've always wanted to try but never gotten a chance to. Looking at my list, I'm really not sure what I'd cut for it...Maybe if Xenagos, God of Revels doesn't perform as well as I'm hoping it does, she could take his place, but yeah, other than that, I'm not too sure.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys, more are always welcome
I also think that Domri Rade deserves a shot in your deck. He can either pull a fatty into your hand for a Quicksilver Amulet or Elvish Piper trigger or take a peek at what Mayael could bring out, he can serve as a pseudo Gruul Ragebeast if he needs to, and if someone lets him ultimate, then you pretty much win the game right there.
And while we're at it, Scourge of Kher Ridges does a good job in my deck. At worst, it's a wrath that keeps him alive to attack. At best, like say having Avacyn or Spearbreaker Behemoth or, in your case, Deathless Angel, he can turn into a one sided wrath very easily and knock token based decks out of contention, along with weenie decks.
What purpose does High Market serve? At a cursory glance, I can't see anything that would be helped by the sacrifice outlet.
I also think that Domri Rade deserves a shot in your deck. He can either pull a fatty into your hand for a Quicksilver Amulet or Elvish Piper trigger or take a peek at what Mayael could bring out, he can serve as a pseudo Gruul Ragebeast if he needs to, and if someone lets him ultimate, then you pretty much win the game right there.
Most of the time I just see myself using Domri Rade as a removal spell, I can't see the +1 being that useful, at times would be Card Advantage, but a lot of the time wouldn't do anything. The Ultimate is obviously insane, I just think it's win-more and taking 4 turns to get there is way too long. I think that Garruk, Caller of Beasts tries to do what Domri Rade does a bit better in Mayael and maybe EDH in general, but I haven't even put him in the deck. Even though he costs more, he will end up drawing me a lot more creatures, and he even lets me cheat a bunch of them into play, which is what the deck is trying to do. You get to the Ultimate a turn earlier, and although it's not broken like Domri's emblem, it's still good enough imo.
And while we're at it, Scourge of Kher Ridges does a good job in my deck. At worst, it's a wrath that keeps him alive to attack. At best, like say having Avacyn or Spearbreaker Behemoth or, in your case, Deathless Angel, he can turn into a one sided wrath very easily and knock token based decks out of contention, along with weenie decks.
What purpose does High Market serve? At a cursory glance, I can't see anything that would be helped by the sacrifice outlet.
High Market (along with Greater Good, which is just good) are the only sac outlets I run in the deck, probably not enough, but yeah - they help me trigger Yosei, the Morning Star, but not why they're in here. I just find sac outlets really good in EDH where someone is going to either try to steal one of my fatties (Homeward Path helps there too), or cast Rite of Replication targeting one of them and so on. At times I may also want to sacrifice my creature rather than have it exiled. Just situations like that.
I really don't want to try and run even more nonbasics than I currently do (I would rather be running more basics than I do tbh). Don't want to get totally recked by a Blood Moon/Ruination and what not. If I were to add a nonbasic land, it would have to take the spot of another nonbasic =P
Honestly, I think saying goodbye to Bogarden Hellkite may be the better move. Godsire does a damn good job for what he does, and I can't see a situation that Scourge couldn't cover better.
Honestly, I think saying goodbye to Bogarden Hellkite may be the better move. Godsire does a damn good job for what he does, and I can't see a situation that Scourge couldn't cover better.
Actually, that swap sounds pretty good. Thanks for that!
And now we get to replace Sylvan Primordial. You already have the two cards that I thought about replacing it with (Terastodon and Woodfall Primus), so I don't know what to replace it with in your list.
And now we get to replace Sylvan Primordial. You already have the two cards that I thought about replacing it with (Terastodon and Woodfall Primus), so I don't know what to replace it with in your list.
Wow, so stupid - just ban it because people are unwilling to run Torpor Orb (or Humility) (or Stranglehold to at least stop the ramp part) in decks -.-
Those are some really difficult shoes to fill, SP was just...well, it got banned for a reason... >_> (Before Dead-Eye Navigator and Consecrated Sphinx though?)
I think I run every other ETB removal fatty and don't really want to replace him with a non-Mayael target, sooo...
Currently considering replacing him with, in order of least likely to most likely:
7. Twilight Shepherd - Recently cut, was underperforming, but was still a useful card from time to time.
5. Nylea, God of the Hunt - Wasn't too keen on her going in before, but might be okay? She seems good with Xenagos, God of Revels that recently went in, but then again do I want 2 creatures in the deck that might not be actually be creatures from time to time...?
4. Sun Titan - Good card is good. Only has 13 non-land permanent targets though...
and then the top 3:
3. Steel Hellkite - Deals with nonland permanents too, and sometimes more than 1 a turn. Downsides are that it actually has to connect to do so, it requires mana to do so, plus it also dies to artifact removal.
2. Angel of Serenity - Have always wanted to test her out in here but never gotten around to it. Removal, for creatures only, and it's temporary removal. But she has other advantages, such as putting her in play in response to a reanimate spell, she also acts as recursion for you. Unlike our no. 1 contender, she returns creatures to their owner's hands, instead of back to play, so that's a plus too.
So, yeah.. I'm thinking it's either going to be Angel of Serenity or Admonition Angel unless someone points me to a card that I'm just totally forgetting.
And now we get to replace Sylvan Primordial. You already have the two cards that I thought about replacing it with (Terastodon and Woodfall Primus), so I don't know what to replace it with in your list.
Wow, so stupid - just ban it because people are unwilling to run Torpor Orb (or Humility) (or Stranglehold to at least stop the ramp part) in decks -.-
Those are some really difficult shoes to fill, SP was just...well, it got banned for a reason... >_> (Before Dead-Eye Navigator and Consecrated Sphinx though?)
I think I run every other ETB removal fatty and don't really want to replace him with a non-Mayael target, sooo...
Currently considering replacing him with, in order of least likely to most likely:
7. Twilight Shepherd - Recently cut, was underperforming, but was still a useful card from time to time.
5. Nylea, God of the Hunt - Wasn't too keen on her going in before, but might be okay? She seems good with Xenagos, God of Revels that recently went in, but then again do I want 2 creatures in the deck that might not be actually be creatures from time to time...?
4. Sun Titan - Good card is good. Only has 13 non-land permanent targets though...
and then the top 3:
3. Steel Hellkite - Deals with nonland permanents too, and sometimes more than 1 a turn. Downsides are that it actually has to connect to do so, it requires mana to do so, plus it also dies to artifact removal.
2. Angel of Serenity - Have always wanted to test her out in here but never gotten around to it. Removal, for creatures only, and it's temporary removal. But she has other advantages, such as putting her in play in response to a reanimate spell, she also acts as recursion for you. Unlike our no. 1 contender, she returns creatures to their owner's hands, instead of back to play, so that's a plus too.
So, yeah.. I'm thinking it's either going to be Angel of Serenity or Admonition Angel unless someone points me to a card that I'm just totally forgetting.
Those cards actually help shore up one of the decks biggest weaknesses. Which is flyers in my opinion. Also if your gonna focus more on cheating than ramping you should run about 30-35 fatties since that almost always gives you a fatty in your top 5. Why no Illusionist's Bracers its like a second rings. Quicksilver Amulet is much better than piper.
Some of you may think that you have made great mistakes in your lives, and perhaps you have. But let me ask you this.... did you ever play strip poker with two fat chicks and win?
Some of you may think that you have made great mistakes in your lives, and perhaps you have. But let me ask you this.... did you ever play strip poker with two fat chicks and win?
Also could you tell me how to tag the decks I am currently playing as links?
In your signature? Um, highlight the text "Mayael and her fatties", click on the Hyperlink button, and paste the link there, press submit. Should do it.
And now we get to replace Sylvan Primordial. You already have the two cards that I thought about replacing it with (Terastodon and Woodfall Primus), so I don't know what to replace it with in your list.
Wow, so stupid - just ban it because people are unwilling to run Torpor Orb (or Humility) (or Stranglehold to at least stop the ramp part) in decks -.-
Those are some really difficult shoes to fill, SP was just...well, it got banned for a reason... >_> (Before Dead-Eye Navigator and Consecrated Sphinx though?)
I think I run every other ETB removal fatty and don't really want to replace him with a non-Mayael target, sooo...
Currently considering replacing him with, in order of least likely to most likely:
7. Twilight Shepherd - Recently cut, was underperforming, but was still a useful card from time to time.
5. Nylea, God of the Hunt - Wasn't too keen on her going in before, but might be okay? She seems good with Xenagos, God of Revels that recently went in, but then again do I want 2 creatures in the deck that might not be actually be creatures from time to time...?
4. Sun Titan - Good card is good. Only has 13 non-land permanent targets though...
and then the top 3:
3. Steel Hellkite - Deals with nonland permanents too, and sometimes more than 1 a turn. Downsides are that it actually has to connect to do so, it requires mana to do so, plus it also dies to artifact removal.
2. Angel of Serenity - Have always wanted to test her out in here but never gotten around to it. Removal, for creatures only, and it's temporary removal. But she has other advantages, such as putting her in play in response to a reanimate spell, she also acts as recursion for you. Unlike our no. 1 contender, she returns creatures to their owner's hands, instead of back to play, so that's a plus too.
So, yeah.. I'm thinking it's either going to be Angel of Serenity or Admonition Angel unless someone points me to a card that I'm just totally forgetting.
Those cards actually help shore up one of the decks biggest weaknesses. Which is flyers in my opinion. Also if your gonna focus more on cheating than ramping you should run about 30-35 fatties since that almost always gives you a fatty in your top 5. Why no Illusionist's Bracers its like a second rings. Quicksilver Amulet is much better than piper.
Yeah, Admonition Angel and Angel of Serenity are cards that I've wanted to find a spot for and test, but there were always better options available. Now that another spot has opened up, I can put one of them in. I've never really found Flyers to a problem for the deck, we generally have enough to hold them off?
I have a lot of ways to cheat fatties into play, but eventually do want to be able to cast them without having to rely on Mayael etc.
I used to run Illusionist's Bracers before, crazy interactions with Mayael, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Elvish Piper and what not, was fun, but eventually it got replaced with Strionic Resonator which has 20 targets (Bracers only had 7). Bracers often felt like a win-more card and I already had enough cards supporting Mayael. Resonator interacted with a lot more cards and wasn't just another card mainly for Mayael, I've been happy with the swap.
Also could you tell me how to tag the decks I am currently playing as links?
In your signature? Um, highlight the text "Mayael and her fatties", click on the Hyperlink button, and paste the link there, press submit. Should do it.
And now we get to replace Sylvan Primordial. You already have the two cards that I thought about replacing it with (Terastodon and Woodfall Primus), so I don't know what to replace it with in your list.
Wow, so stupid - just ban it because people are unwilling to run Torpor Orb (or Humility) (or Stranglehold to at least stop the ramp part) in decks -.-
Those are some really difficult shoes to fill, SP was just...well, it got banned for a reason... >_> (Before Dead-Eye Navigator and Consecrated Sphinx though?)
I think I run every other ETB removal fatty and don't really want to replace him with a non-Mayael target, sooo...
Currently considering replacing him with, in order of least likely to most likely:
7. Twilight Shepherd - Recently cut, was underperforming, but was still a useful card from time to time.
5. Nylea, God of the Hunt - Wasn't too keen on her going in before, but might be okay? She seems good with Xenagos, God of Revels that recently went in, but then again do I want 2 creatures in the deck that might not be actually be creatures from time to time...?
4. Sun Titan - Good card is good. Only has 13 non-land permanent targets though...
and then the top 3:
3. Steel Hellkite - Deals with nonland permanents too, and sometimes more than 1 a turn. Downsides are that it actually has to connect to do so, it requires mana to do so, plus it also dies to artifact removal.
2. Angel of Serenity - Have always wanted to test her out in here but never gotten around to it. Removal, for creatures only, and it's temporary removal. But she has other advantages, such as putting her in play in response to a reanimate spell, she also acts as recursion for you. Unlike our no. 1 contender, she returns creatures to their owner's hands, instead of back to play, so that's a plus too.
So, yeah.. I'm thinking it's either going to be Angel of Serenity or Admonition Angel unless someone points me to a card that I'm just totally forgetting.
Those cards actually help shore up one of the decks biggest weaknesses. Which is flyers in my opinion. Also if your gonna focus more on cheating than ramping you should run about 30-35 fatties since that almost always gives you a fatty in your top 5. Why no Illusionist's Bracers its like a second rings. Quicksilver Amulet is much better than piper.
Yeah, Admonition Angel and Angel of Serenity are cards that I've wanted to find a spot for and test, but there were always better options available. Now that another spot has opened up, I can put one of them in. I've never really found Flyers to a problem for the deck, we generally have enough to hold them off?
I have a lot of ways to cheat fatties into play, but eventually do want to be able to cast them without having to rely on Mayael etc.
I used to run Illusionist's Bracers before, crazy interactions with Mayael, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Elvish Piper and what not, was fun, but eventually it got replaced with Strionic Resonator which has 20 targets (Bracers only had 7). Bracers often felt like a win-more card and I already had enough cards supporting Mayael. Resonator interacted with a lot more cards and wasn't just another card mainly for Mayael, I've been happy with the swap.
Some of you may think that you have made great mistakes in your lives, and perhaps you have. But let me ask you this.... did you ever play strip poker with two fat chicks and win?
What do we think of It That Betrays? It seems like it would be a good complement to Ulamog and Kozilek, but otherwise I'm not sure it will do enough.
I actually don't like It That Betrays for Mayael. He's great in a deck like Thraximundar, or any Black deck with sacrifice effects really, but we don't really have much of that aside from the two other Eldrazi. It doesn't have any immediate impact upon being cast (do end up doing that a lot), has half the Annihilator as the other guys, hell - it doesn't even shuffle your graveyard back up. Most you're just gonna get a Swamp or a mana rock from it, which isn't bad, but I believe we have a lot of better options available to us.
What do we think of It That Betrays? It seems like it would be a good complement to Ulamog and Kozilek, but otherwise I'm not sure it will do enough.
I actually don't like It That Betrays for Mayael. He's great in a deck like Thraximundar, or any Black deck with sacrifice effects really, but we don't really have much of that aside from the two other Eldrazi. It doesn't have any immediate impact upon being cast (do end up doing that a lot), has half the Annihilator as the other guys, hell - it doesn't even shuffle your graveyard back up. Most you're just gonna get a Swamp or a mana rock from it, which isn't bad, but I believe we have a lot of better options available to us.
I actually feel the exact opposite way. There is a lot of decks that use saccing and it stops any combos involving saccing. I mean sure sometimes you get the situations you mentioned but it is awesome against any deck that has saccing in the deck.
Some of you may think that you have made great mistakes in your lives, and perhaps you have. But let me ask you this.... did you ever play strip poker with two fat chicks and win?
I actually feel the exact opposite way. There is a lot of decks that use saccing and it stops any combos involving saccing. I mean sure sometimes you get the situations you mentioned but it is awesome against any deck that has saccing in the deck.
That's actually a very valid point that I missed - thanks! I only have Sigarda, Host of Herons in my deck to fight off Grave Pact and what not, but It That Betrays does seem pretty awesome against any sacrifice strategies, especially something like Ghave, Guru of Spores. Although It That Betrays is easy to deal with, with all the ways to protect creatures in this deck, he gets a lot better. If my meta had a lot of sacrifice based deck (did before, and then moved away from it), I would certainly consider putting it in. I'll put him in the "Other Considerations" list for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually made it in to this list!
Also, someone in the Mayael Primer thread said "Do we really needMana Reflection in the deck?" and it got me thinking, "Do I need both Mana Reflection AND Mirari's Wake in mine?" Lol, just something to consider when trying to finding a spot for a card in the future I guess.
I actually feel the exact opposite way. There is a lot of decks that use saccing and it stops any combos involving saccing. I mean sure sometimes you get the situations you mentioned but it is awesome against any deck that has saccing in the deck.
That's actually a very valid point that I missed - thanks! I only have Sigarda, Host of Herons in my deck to fight off Grave Pact and what not, but It That Betrays does seem pretty awesome against any sacrifice strategies, especially something like Ghave, Guru of Spores. Although It That Betrays is easy to deal with, with all the ways to protect creatures in this deck, he gets a lot better. If my meta had a lot of sacrifice based deck (did before, and then moved away from it), I would certainly consider putting it in. I'll put him in the "Other Considerations" list for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually made it in to this list!
Also, someone in the Mayael Primer thread said "Do we really needMana Reflection in the deck?" and it got me thinking, "Do I need both Mana Reflection AND Mirari's Wake in mine?" Lol, just something to consider when trying to finding a spot for a card in the future I guess.
As I have said I have been playing Mayael for a very long time. I can tell you the pros and cons of just about every fatty in the colors. There is no actual bad ones to play though. They largely depend on your meta which ones you like.
My Mayael very consistently stars churning out fatties turn 3 to 4 and I don't use either. In fact the only green deck I run Mana Reflection in is my UG decks where they are focused on building loads of mana in one turn. Mirari's Wake doesn't even make the cut in any of my decks running GW.
Some of you may think that you have made great mistakes in your lives, and perhaps you have. But let me ask you this.... did you ever play strip poker with two fat chicks and win?
My Mayael very consistently stars churning out fatties turn 3 to 4 and I don't use either. In fact the only green deck I run Mana Reflection in is my UG decks where they are focused on building loads of mana in one turn. Mirari's Wake doesn't even make the cut in any of my decks running GW.
I really do like both cards, they have to be answered quick or things really get out of hand. I currently run both in my Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck too and have always found them good. Will probably replace Wake with another card in this deck soon though and keep Reflection in. I'll probably replace it with a Sensei's Divining Top which has been a long time coming lol.
My Mayael very consistently stars churning out fatties turn 3 to 4 and I don't use either. In fact the only green deck I run Mana Reflection in is my UG decks where they are focused on building loads of mana in one turn. Mirari's Wake doesn't even make the cut in any of my decks running GW.
I really do like both cards, they have to be answered quick or things really get out of hand. I currently run both in my Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck too and have always found them good. Will probably replace Wake with another card in this deck soon though and keep Reflection in. I'll probably replace it with a Sensei's Divining Top which has been a long time coming lol.
I do as well. Both are very good cards. I used to run Mana Reflection in my Mayael deck but then Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger came out and i replaced it with a better Mayaelable version.
Top is just too good not to run in Mayael in my opinion. Do you have a Reason for not running Lurking Predators?
Some of you may think that you have made great mistakes in your lives, and perhaps you have. But let me ask you this.... did you ever play strip poker with two fat chicks and win?
Cockatrice name: Ninja Nate
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Description
It is a straightforward Mayael deck where the game plan is to cheat out big creatures as fast as possible with either Mayael herself, cards such as Elvish Piper, or simply ramping up to them.
The "Conclusion" section contains a list of things you can help me with
Decklist
0 Spinerock Knoll
0 Mosswort Bridge
3 Mayael the Anima
4 Elvish Piper
4 Quicksilver Amulet
4 Sneak Attack
4 Defense of the Heart
6 See the Unwritten
7 Tooth and Nail (Also Tutor)
Mayael Targets (27)
5 Xenagos, God of Revels (Also Haste Outlet, Pump)
5 Sigarda, Host of Herons (Also Protection)
6 Soul of New Phyrexia (Also Protection)
6 Dragonlord Dromoka (Also Protection/Disruption)
6 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed (Also Disruption)
6 Admonition Angel (Also Removal)
6 Steel Hellkite (Also Removal)
6 Sun Titan (Also Recursion)
7 Balefire Dragon (Also Removal)
7 Dragonlord Atarka (Also Removal)
7 Gruul Ragebeast (Also Removal)
7 Angel of Serenity (Also Removal, GY Hate, Recursion)
7 Spearbreaker Behemoth (Also Protection)
7 Avenger of Zendikar
7 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
8 Scourge of Kher Ridges (Also Removal)
8 Woodfall Primus (Also Removal)
8 Terastodon (Also Removal)
8 Archetype of Endurance (Also Protection)
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope (Also Protection)
8 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger (Also Ramp, Disruption)
9 Blazing Archon (Also Pillowfort)
9 Iona, Shield of Emeria (Also Disruption)
10 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth (Also Card Draw)
11 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre (Also Removal)
11 Worldspine Wurm
12 Blightsteel Colossus
3 Rings of Brighthearth
5 Seedborn Muse
Mana Ramp (9)
0 Krosan Verge
1 Sol Ring
2 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Bloom Tender
2 Nature's Lore
3 Cultivate
4 Skyshroud Claim
4 Oracle of Mul Daya (Also Library Manipulation)
6 Mana Reflection
Library Manipulation (3)
1 Sensei's Divining Top (Also Card Draw)
2 Scroll Rack
2 Sylvan Library (Also Card Draw)
Card Draw (2)
3 Domri Rade (Also Removal, Win Condition)
4 Greater Good (Also Sacrifice Outlet)
Tutors (5)
1 Enlightened Tutor (Also Library Manipulation)
1 Worldly Tutor (Also Library Manipulation)
2 Survival of the Fittest
3 Green Sun's Zenith
7 Chord of Calling
Protection (4)
0 Yavimaya Hollow
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Boros Charm
Recursion (2)
0 Homeward Path
3 Eternal Witness
Removal (7)
0 Strip Mine
1 Swords to Plowshares
3 Chaos Warp
3 Oblation (Also Card Draw)
3 Aura Shards
4 Wrath of God
6 Austere Command
0 High Market
Other Combat Tricks (3)
0 Winding Canyons
0 Kessig Wolf Run
0 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
Other Non-Basic Lands (14)
0 Command Tower
0 Reflecting Pool
0 Temple Garden
0 Stomping Ground
0 Sacred Foundry
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Rootbound Crag
0 Wooded Bastion
0 Fire-Lit Thicket
0 Rugged Prairie
0 Bloodstained Mire (Also Library Manipulation)
0 Flooded Strand (Also Library Manipulation)
0 Windswept Heath (Also Library Manipulation)
0 Wooded Foothills (Also Library Manipulation)
Basic Lands (12)
0 Forest (x6)
0 Plains (x4)
0 Mountain (x2)
1 Mayael the Anima (ALTERED)
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Bloom Tender
1 Eternal Witness (ALTERED)
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Elvish Piper (FOIL)
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Soul of New Phyrexia
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Admonition Angel (ALTERED)
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Sun Titan (PR FOIL)
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Dragonlord Atarka
1 Gruul Ragebeast (ALTERED)
1 Angel of Serenity (ALTERED)
1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Woodfall Primus (ALTERED)
1 Terastodon (FOIL)
1 Archetype of Endurance (FOIL)
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger
1 Blazing Archon (FOIL)
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre (FTV FOIL)
1 Worldspine Wurm (FOIL)
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Domri Rade
Instants (7)
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Chord of Calling (FOIL)
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Chaos Warp
1 Oblation
1 Boros Charm
Sorceries (8)
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 See the Unwritten
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Nature's Lore
1 Cultivate (FNM FOIL)
1 Skyshroud Claim (FOIL)
1 Wrath of God
1 Austere Command
Artifacts (7)
1 Sol Ring
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots (FOIL)
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Scroll Rack
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Quicksilver Amulet
Enchantments (7)
1 Survival of the Fittest
1 Sylvan Library
1 Greater Good
1 Aura Shards
1 Sneak Attack (JUDGE FOIL)
1 Defense of the Heart
1 Mana Reflection
1 Command Tower
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Sunpetal Grove (FOIL)
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Krosan Verge
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Winding Canyons
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Homeward Path
1 High Market (FTV FOIL)
1 Strip Mine
2 Mountain (ZENDIKAR FULL ART)
4 Plains (ZENDIKAR FULL ART)
6 Forest (ZENDIKAR FULL ART)
Change Log
19/09/2012
-1 Primeval Titan [BANNED]
+1 Worldspine Wurm
Notes: Prime Time got banned Atleast I found a spot for this new 15/15 :D...
28/09/2012
-1 Sensei's Divining Top
-1 Praetor's Counsel
+1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
+1 Awakening
Notes: Top has started to seem a bit redundant with Sylvan Library and Scroll Rack.
Awakening is another Seedborn Muse type effect card that is pretty broken with Mayael so I'll give it a go.
Praetor's Counsel has been a dead card a lot of the time, especially since a ton of cards just shuffle them back into the library when they hit the grave.
Not sure why Sigarda wasn't in here yet...Fixed!
13/11/2012
-1 Dauntless Escort
-1 Lurking Predators
+1 Ulvenwald Tracker
+1 Survival of the Fittest
Notes: The more I draw Dauntless Escort, the less useful it seems - rarely do I have an army of creatures, usually 2-3 fatties do the job.
I've wanted to playtest Ulvenwald Tracker for quite some time now so I'll give it a go.
Lurking Predators has been really bad so far, might put it back in at some point if I miss it, but yeah.
Survival goes in as I was finally able to trade for one!
17/01/2013
-1 Awakening
-1 Forest
+1 Lurking Predators
+1 High Market
Notes: Well, I recently just found out that Awakening affects all players, and not just me so no wonder it doesn't see that much play LOL.
I guess I'll give Lurking Predators another try in it's place.
Wanted to try fit another sac outlet in here and High Market looks better than Miren, the Moaning Well to me, so yeah.
23/01/2013
-1 Lurking Predators
-1 Mossbridge Troll
-1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
+1 Illusionist's Bracers
+1 Gruul Ragebeast
+1 Sylvan Primordial
Notes: Gatecrash Update! Again I've been unimpressed with Lurking Predators, so that can go back to the Maybeboard.
Mossbridge Troll is an alright creature which was mainly just in there for the Mayael's Aria combo but I'd much rather just beat face with this deck so I'll cut it for now.
Akroma...I really don't know what else to cut, and looking at my other creatures, she seems to do the least, which is pretty funny...Anyway, will probably need to put her back in at some point, but want to play with new cards for now!
Illusionist's Bracers looks like a very fun card, almost a second rings and mainly goes in cause it's going to be insane with Mayael but interacts with ton of other cards in the deck too (Kiki-Jiki, Elvish Piper, etc...)
Next, Gruul Ragebeast, looks like it was made for Mayael. Not being a "may" ability might be a disadvantage, but I really doubt it. More removal is never bad.
Sylvan Primordial - I don't think I even have to explain this...
28/01/2013
-1 Mayael's Aria
+1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
Notes: Mayael's Aria...Sure it's really flavourful, but it's not that great of a card - especially now that Mossbridge Troll has gone. I'll keep it in the maybeboard for now, but yeah, Akroma needs to get back in here!
25/04/2013
-1 Rampaging Baloths
-1 Jungle Shrine
-1 Gruul Turf
-1 Selesnya Sanctuary
-1 Boros Garrison
-1 Reliquary Tower
+1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
+1 Wooded Bastion
+1 Fire-Lit Thicket
+1 Rugged Prairie
+1 Winding Canyons
+1 Forest
Notes: Without being able to get fetches for this deck, Rampaging Baloths hasn't really been doing much for me and Ruric Thar seems like a good replacement.
Bounce lands and ETBT lands have been more annoying as of late, although they do have their advantages, such as letting me reuse my Hideaway lands and being awesome with Mana Reflection, the loss of tempo and entering tapped has been too much of a disadvantage. I'll leave Rith's Grove in there as the only bounce land so I can occasionally use it with Hideaways, plus it produces all three colours, so yeah.
Reliquary Tower hasn't really been needed.
So I've decided to tweak the mana base a little bit, trying out Winding Canyons in here too, Mayael (and other creatures) EOT dodging a lot of removal seems pretty good. Fliter lands added to better the manabase. Should try trade for Grove of the Burnwillows when I get an opportunity...
1/08/2013
-1 Illusionist's Bracers
+1 Strionic Resonator
Notes: Bracers is undoubtedly awesome with Mayael and a few other creatures in here, but recently I've found it to be win-more and as it only have 7 legal targets, compared to Resonator's 20, I think I'll give it a go instead.
14/11/2013
-1 Kodama's Reach
+1 Tempt with Discovery
Notes: CMDR13 Update. Wasn't too sure if Tempt with Discovery should take Kodama's Reach's place or Skyshroud Claim's place but think this looks good. Want to try and find a spot for Hua Tuo, Honored Physician but not sure what I can cut, will put it on the Maybeboard for now. Other considerations include Unexpectedly Absent and Boros Charm.
26/01/2014
-1 Asceticism
-1 Twilight Shepherd
-1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
-1 Strip Mine
+1 Xenagos, God of Revels
+1 Archetype of Endurance
+1 Balefire Dragon
+1 Kessig Wolf Run
Notes: Born of the Gods Update! Archetype of Endurance seems quite perfect for this deck and I'm happy to replace Asceticism with it and see how that goes. A noncreature spot replaced with a Mayael target is always good for this deck. Twilight Shepherd has been under-performing lately so I can move it to the Maybeboard for now. Akroma, Angel of Wrath gets cut again, for the same reason as before, she just doesn't do enough. Been looking for a spot for Balefire Dragon for long enough and one has now opened up for it, should be good in here. I'm not sure what to expect from Xenagos, God of Revels but he is an indestructible threat that might help close games quicker. Will try him out in here and see how he does. Since Xenagos made it in here, I thought Kessig Wolf Run should too and have decided to cut Strip Mine for it, can't really cut a basic since I have too many colourless sources, and I have Sylvan Primordial, Woodfall Primus, Terastodon and I guess Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre too that can deal with problematic lands. The only other cards from the set that made me think of Mayael were Hunter's Prowess & Karametra, God of Harvests and I don't think either are good enough for the deck.
03/02/2014
-1 Bogardan Hellkite
+1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
Notes: Scourge of Kher Ridges will probably do a better job in the same slot.
10/02/2014
-1 Sylvan Primordial [BANNED]
+1 Admonition Angel
Notes: Well, Sylvan Primordial is banned, pretty stupid, but whatever. Decided to try out Admonition Angel in his place, was also highly considering Angel of Serenity for the same spot.
17/04/2014
-1 Ulvenwald Tracker
-1 Oracle of Mul Daya
-1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
-1 Tempt with Discovery
-1 Strionic Resonator
-1 Mirari's Wake
+1 Steel Hellkite
+1 Angel of Serenity
+1 Nature's Lore
+1 Farseek
+1 Sensei's Divining Top
+1 Lurking Predators
Notes: A few changes. Tracker & Kiki-Jiki can be great from time to time, but they can also be bad at times. Replaced some of the ramp for lower CMC ramp to smoothen the deck out. Resonator was probably a bit win more, and I want to try out the deck without Wake for a while, see how just Mana Reflection and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger work out. Hellkite and Serenity should be welcome additions to the deck. Both Top & Predators made their way back into the deck too. Oracle might actually end up coming back in sometime, it ramps, clears the top of library so Mayael doesn't miss as often, and now Top is back in the deck too. So whenever I find a spot next, I'll try put her back in.
30/04/2014
-1 Genesis Wave
-1 Godsire
+1 Iroas, God of Victory
+1 Cyclops of Eternal Fury
Notes: Journey into Nyx Update! It's getting harder and harder to cut cards...G-Wave is good for ending games when you have Mana Reflection and what not, but now Mirari's Wake is gone too and I think the deck can probably do without it. Godsire is a boss, and at times is the face of a Mayael deck, works great with Rings of Brighthearth & Seedborn Muse but he can take a hiatus from the deck while I test out Iroas, God of Victory who I think should be pretty good. Although most of my creatures do have evasion, more along with protection will probably help. Will see how it performs. I've been looking forward to a 5 power creature that gives everything haste for quite some time now, always wishing that Urabrask the Hidden had 1 extra power or that Maelstrom Wanderer was Naya! So, will see how this guy performs. 3 toughness is a shame, but should help most of the time. Other cosniderations included Mana Confluence (probably don't need it), Bearer of the Heavens (seems great with all the ways we have to regenerate and make things indestructible, but it's probably too much effort - I could be wrong though, and this guy could make an appearance in the future), don't think Ajani, Mentor of Heroes or Hydra Broodmaster are good enough either. Also thought of Sun Titan (needs to find a spot I think, just don't know where), Sakura-Tribe Elder in place of a 2 mana ramp sorcery so I can use it with Survival of the Fittest or Green Sun's Zenith it into play, it's just basic vs. shocks thats holding me back, might be worth it though) and Spellbreaker Behemoth - there aren't that many counters in my meta, but always good to be prepared, right?
12/05/2014
-1 Farseek
+1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
Notes: Only reasons for this change are small interactions such as tutoring Tribe Elder up with Green Sun's Zenith...Discarding it to Survival of the Fittest...Triggering Aura Shards...Being able to Rings of Brighthearth it...with the drawback of not being able to search for Shocks, I think it's worth it.
10/06/2014
-1 Path to Exile
-1 Swords to Plowshares
+1 Chaos Warp
+1 Oblation
Notes: Considerations from Conspiracy included Council's Judgment and Scourge of the Throne, but neither of them made their way into the deck. At first I thought the new dragon was pretty good, until I realised that you only got an additional combat phase if he attacked the player with the most life - just not sure how often that'll happen. I did however decide to try out more versatile removal options in place of the two 1 CMC white exile spells, will see how they work out. Beast Within was another solid contender for one of these spots too.
09/07/2014
-1 Cyclops of Eternal Fury
+1 Soul of New Phyrexia
Notes: M15 Update! Unfortunately Cyclops of Eternal Fury was not the 5 power Urabrask the Hidden this deck was looking for - being an evasion-less 3 toughness creature really hurt. It seems like the weakest link in the deck so I'm willing to try out Soul of New Phyrexia over it, which is not only an easy to cost 6/6 Trampler, but also another creature that protects my board state. It can also do so as a one-off effect after it dies which may be of use from time to time. It's the only thing that ended up making the deck from M15, but other considerations included Avacyn, Guardian Angel (which is nowhere as near as awesome as Avacyn, Angel of Hope was for this deck), Soul of Theros (which provides a mini trample-less Titanic Ultimatum, needless to say the trample would have greatly improved its chances of inclusion, without it, doesn't seem good enough. Best of the 3 coloured souls for Mayael though imo), and lastly Life's Legacy (a decent draw spell for the deck).
18/09/2014
-1 Iroas, God of Victory
-1 Vigor
-1 Privileged Position
-1 Lurking Predators
-1 Evolving Wilds*
-1 Terramorphic Expanse*
-1 Clifftop Retreat*
-1 Rith's Grove
-1 Mountain*
+1 Boros Charm
+1 Sneak Attack
+1 Sun Titan
+1 See the Unwritten
+1 Bloodstained Mire*
+1 Flooded Strand*
+1 Windswept Heath*
+1 Wooded Foothills*
+1 Strip Mine
Notes: Khans of Tarkir Update!
Fetches: Bloodstained Mire/Flooded Strand/Windswept Heath/Wooded Foothills replace Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse/Clifftop Retreat/Rith's Grove. They fetch shocks/mana fix you, work great with library manipulation such as Scroll Rack, and trigger landfall for Admonition Angel/Avenger of Zendikar.
They also finally gave me the push to add Sun Titan to the deck, which then urged me to put Strip Mine back in!
I've wanted to find spots for Boros Charm and Sneak Attack for quite some time now, and am going to test them over Privileged Position and Iroas, God of Victory (which has been lackcluster lately, most of our creatures already having inbuilt evasion and what not).
Lastly, the only nonfetchland card to make the cut from KTK: See the Unwritten, a Mayael activation that digs deeper and is from time to time, able to hit 2 creatures. Am going to try it out over Lurking Predators for now, if it doesn't work out, can swap the two again.
Other considerations for this update included: Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Beast Within, Domri Rade, Birthing Pod, Fires of Yavimaya, Rampaging Baloths, and Oracle of Mul Daya.
11/11/2014
-1 Stalking Vengeance
+1 Thunderfoot Baloth
Notes: C14 Update!
Stalking Vengeance was mostly used as an "anti-wrath" card, and is cute with Greater Good etc, but I don't think I need it anymore. Going to replace it with Thunderfoot Baloth from C14 to see how it performs, giving the team evasion while also providing a pump seems good.
Other considerations for this update included:
Siege Behemoth - Guranteed damage from the team seems good, but the 4 toughness puts me off.
Tyrant's Familiar - Essentially a 7/7 flying haste, that kills a creature when it attacks. Is good, but I like the other removal dragons I'm already running better, even if some of them have to connect.
Flamekin Village - Haste on a land seems good, but costing RR essentially is probably too much, plus, I don't want to cut any more basics...
Titania, Protector of Argoth - Good with fetches, Strip Mine etc, but probably doesn't do enough in here.
Myriad Landscape - Already have Krosan Verge which is better, don't think I need another one of these effects.
19/03/2015
-1 Congregation at Dawn
-1 Day of Judgment
-1 Warstorm Surge
-1 Deathless Angel
-1 Thunderfoot Baloth*
-1 Yosei, the Morning Star*
+1 Swords to Plowshares
+1 Wrath of God
+1 Domri Rade
+1 Oracle of Mul Daya
+1 Dragonlord Dromoka*
+1 Dragonlord Atarka*
Notes: Dragons of Tarkir Update!
I've been meaning to re-add Swords to Plowshares & Path to Exile to the deck, and at least one of them made it back in with this update. Willing to let Congregation at Dawn go for this change, but it could make its way back into the deck at some point.
Day of Judgment is going to be replaced by Wrath of God as I way less Regeneration in this deck than I did at one point.
In general, Warstorm Surge is a win-more card, it's only great if I already have something awesome like Sneak Attack or a Mayael that's being regularly activated. In it's place I'm going to try out Domri Rade, which I've been meaning to add for quite some time. He's card draw/library manipulation, removal, and a win condition all in one - will see how he works out.
Oracle of Mul Daya was cut in an earlier update and I thought it was time it made its way back into the deck. Cutting Deathless Angel as I have a lot of protection in the deck now, and this is one of the weaker options.
Now for the cards actually from DTK - Dragonlord Dromoka & Dragonlord Atarka. I've never run Spellbreaker Behemoth, but it's always been a worthy consideration for the deck, and Dragonlord Dromoka seems like a straight upgrade compared to it. Flash isn't really relevant in Mayael, and Dromoka does much more than just preventing any spell on your turn from being countered.
As for Dragonlord Atarka, I used to run Bogardan Hellkite in the deck before, but it got replaced with Scourge of Kher Ridges. Although Dragonlord Atarka's ability can't hit players, it has a much better body, and additional evasion, so I'm going to try him out.
To make space for the two DTK Dragons, Thunderfoot Baloth & Yosei, the Morning Star got the axe. Thunderfoot Baloth was a recent addition, and although it was great at times, it was really just a win more card, as most of my creatures have evasion anyway. Yosei, the Morning Star interacts well with Sneak Attack, Greater Good, & High Market, but other than that I don't run any other sac outlets and it can often be a hit and miss. I'll try the deck out without it for a while and see if I miss it.
Other considerations from the set included: Profound Journey, Berserkers' Onslaught, Shaman of Forgotten Ways, Stampeding Elk Herd, Surrak, the Hunt Caller, Arashin Sovereign, Atarka's Command, Dromoka's Command, & Harbinger of the Hunt.
Maybeboard
+1 Birthing Pod: Obviously a good card, but probably too "build around me"? Looking at my curve, it seems like I would start the chain at 5 CMC most of the time.
+1 Congregation at Dawn: Has always been a fine card in the deck, but recently cut to see how the deck runs without it.
+1 Fires of Yavimaya: Since Urabrask the Hidden doesn't have 5 power, Cyclops of Eternal Fury wasn't great, and Maelstrom Wanderer isn't Naya, maybe Fires should find its way into the deck.
+1 Lurking Predators: Testing out See the Unwritten over it right now. If that doesn't work out, this can go back in.
+1 Path to Exile: Excellent removal.
+1 Rampaging Baloths: Used to run him a while ago, now that fetches have been reprinted and are in the deck, I should probably bring him back in.
+1 Warstorm Surge: Recently cut as it felt too win more, but good card is good.
Other Considerations
Angelic Arbiter: Evasive beater that comes with built in disruption.
Armageddon: Can be pretty gg with just a couple of fatties in play, but isn't MLD supposed to be good against ramp decks?
Asceticism: Used to be in the deck for a long time, until Archetype of Endurance replaced it. Still an excellent card.
Baneslayer Angel: Just a dumb beater, but quite a good one.
Bearer of the Heavens: Cool card with regen/indestructible effects, but probably too much effort. I could be wrong though, now that Sneak Attack made its way into the deck...
Bogardan Hellkite: Had a spot in the deck until it got replaced by Scourge of Kher Ridges, still a very solid card.
Boros Garrison/Gruul Turf/Selesnya Sanctuary: Used to run the Bounce Lands in here, and they were good with Mana Reflection, and being able to reuse Hideaway Lands and what not, but the loss of tempo ended up being too much.
Chromatic Lantern: An awesome mana rock the completely mana-fixes you.
Colossus of Akros: Probably not worth the mana investment. Kozilek, Butcher of Truth/Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre/Blightsteel Colossus are all more efficient.
Craterhoof Behemoth: Good card, but probably better in token/swarm decks. If I had several good haste outlets, then I'd put it in to Tooth and Nail it with Avenger of Zendikar. The first ability wouldn't be relevant too often, but the 2nd and 4th is what makes it a consideration.
Cyclops of Eternal Fury: It's unfortunate that Urabrask the Hidden doesn't have 5 power. I did try Cyclops out in here, but having no evasion and the 3 toughness really didn't help its case. I need a Naya Maelstrom Wanderer
Dauntless Escort: Not a bad way of protecting the board, better now that Sun Titan and Sneak Attack are in the deck.
Deathless Angel: Recently cut due to having better ways of protecting my board, but its still a good card.
Deathrender: Another outlet for cheating fatties into play.
Deus of Calamity: A 5 CMC 6/6 trampler that destroys lands, not too bad.
Dromoka's Command:
Eladamri's Call: A Demonic Tutor just for creatures.
Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse: Got cut when fetches got reprinted. Still pretty good cards, especially with the library manipulation in the deck.
Faith's Reward: An anti-wrath effect, however, a bunch of my creatures do shuffle back into my library..
Flameblast Dragon: Removal/burn on a 5/5 flying dragon, not too bad.
Flamekin Village - Haste on a land seems good, but costing RR essentially is probably too much, plus, I don't want to cut any more basics...
Garruk, Caller of Beasts: This deck doesn't really want creatures in hand, so the +1 isn't too great, unless you have Sneak Attack in play, but yeah...The -3 isn't bad, but it only applies to green creatures. As for the ultimate, you're rarely casting creatures, however it does seem pretty gg.
Genesis Wave: Another green staple. I ran it for the longest time too, and often ended the game when you had something like Mana Reflection out, but it got cut after Mirari's Wake did, and I haven't missed it too much. Another card that could very easily make its way back into the deck in the future.
Genesis: A green staple. Good recursion..
Giant Adephage: Seems like a fun card, but probably not good enough.
Gift of Immortality: An interesting way to keep Mayael alive, or protect another threat, but there are better options available.
Godsire: Ran it in the deck for a very long time, often it was the face of the deck, and had synergy with other cards such as Rings of Brighthearth/Seedborn Muse/Greater Good/Warstorm Surge etc, but better creatures kept getting printed and he was eventually cut. Wouldn't mind it if he made his way back in though.
Guild Feud: Gives your opponent card advantage, but you probably get the most out of it.
Harbinger of the Hunt: Scourge of Kher Ridges does what he does better.
Hellkite Charger: Extra combat phases seems good, not sure if I need it though.
Hellkite Tyrant: It can totally wreck someone at times, and other times it can just be a 6/5 flyer, still, definitely not bad.
Hua Tuo, Honored Physician: Can be good in here, being able to reuse dead creatures with Mayael and what not. Has good synergy with Survival of the Fittest/Greater Good etc too.
Hunting Grounds: Pretty awesome effect for 2 mana, however I'm not sure how often I'll reach Threshold quickly, especially with several self-shuffling creatures in the deck.
Hydra Broodmaster: A 6 CMC 7/7 without evasion, however it is a mana sink that can create its own board position.
Illusionist's Bracers: I tried it out, as a second Rings of Brighthearth, however it only really interacted with Mayael, and I ended up not needing it.
Iroas, God of Victory: Tried him out for a bit, however too many of my creatures already had enough evasion, so got cut.
It That Betrays: An 11/11 with Annihilator 2 that's excellent against sacrifice strategies.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs: Good pillowfort against aggro strategies, not sure if needed.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker: Used to be in the deck, and while it was great from time to time, it was also not so great at other times.
Kodama's Reach: A staple ramp spell.
Krosan Tusker: A late-game beater/fattie for Mayael that can be cycled early game to find a land. Not bad, but I don't love it.
Mayael's Aria: Was in the deck for a little bit. Sure it's flavourful, but not too great of a card. Used to combo with Mossbridge Troll, but he got cut too.
Mirari's Wake: Excellent card that was in the deck for a long time. I'm not sure if I needed Mana Reflection and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger AND this, so decided to cut it. I haven't missed it so far, but wouldn't be surprised if it found its way back in the deck at some point.
Molten Primordial: Insurrection-esq, however, I hardly ever acrivate Mayael on my own turn. Better in a deck with more sac outlets too.
Mossbridge Troll: It was in the deck before, mainly for the combo with Mayael's Aria, but that wasn't really consistent, nor was it how I wanted to win the game with Mayael. Not a bad creature by it self either however.
Myojin of Life's Web: How unfortunate that you only get the counter from casting it...xD
Myriad Landscape - Already have Krosan Verge which is better, don't think I need another one of these effects.
Nylea, God of the Hunt: One of the better Theros Gods for Mayael, however most of my creatures have some form of evasion anyway.
Paleoloth: Made for the deck, yet doesn't make the cut.
Platinum Emperion: Maybe I should try him out sometime, however I've never had a need for the effect. If the damage could be prevented, it would be another story, but as it stands now - one can still die with commander damage/infect etc.
Privileged Position: Was in the deck for a long time. A great card in these colours. It might make its way back in if the effect is needed again.
Realm Razer: If this had 5 power, it would go right in...
Regal Force: Not a bad Tooth and Nail target w/ Avenger of Zendikar, but I don't think I need it.
Rith's Grove: Taps for all of our colours, bounces Hideaway Lands to be reused, however is a slight loss of tempo.
Scourge of the Throne: Not a bad card, I just don't know how often its ability would trigger.
Shaman of Forgotten Ways: Biorhythm is banned in EDH, but I'm not sure how well this deck can take advantage of this effect. Being coupled with a ramp ability is certainly not a bad addition.
Siege Behemoth: Guaranteed damage from the team seems good, but the 4 toughness sucks.
Soul of Theros: The best Soul among the Naya ones, but probably not good enough.
Spellbreaker Behemoth: Another excellent card that is great in metas with a lot of coutner spells. If my meta were to change, he would go right in.
Strionic Resonator: Tested it out for a bit, and while it did have enough targets, it ended up being win-more most of the time.
Stalking Vengeance: Recently cut. Used as an anti-wrath card. Also is cute with Greater Good etc.
Tempt with Discovery: Tested it out over Skyshroud Claim for a bit, and while it was initially quite good, my opponents learned their lesson quite quickly.
Thousand-Year Elixir: Mayael with inbuilt haste is pretty awesome, and with enough (13) mana, lets you activate Mayael twice a turn. However, I don't have many other creatures it would interact with.
Thunderfoot Baloth: Recently cut as most of my creatures have some form of evasion, but it had some good interactions.
Titania, Protector of Argoth - Good with fetches, Strip Mine etc, but probably doesn't do enough in here.
Twilight Shepherd: Used to be in the deck, but got cut for under-performing. Still a pretty good card though. Better now that Sneak Attack found its way in...
Tyrant's Familiar: Essentially a 7/7 flying haste, that kills a creature when it attacks. Is good, but I like the other removal dragons I'm already running better, even if some of them have to connect.
Ulvenwald Tracker: Used to be in the deck but got cut after Gruul Ragebeast went in. Still not a bad creature, that only gets better with Rings of Brighthearth/Seedborn Muse and what not.
Unexpectedly Absent: Another good removal spell that only got better with fetches being reprinted.
Valorous Stance: Removal + protection in one.
Vigor: Was in the deck for the longest time. A great creature that both protects your board, and makes it bigger. Might make its way back in at some point.
Wear // Tear: Hull Breach is probably better, and I'm not running it either >_>
Where Ancients Tread: A second, worser Warstorm Surge, with a quote from Mayael! >_>
Windbrisk Raptor: Don't think I need the lifegain, but if I ever do, I know where to look.
Wurmcoil Engine: Good card is good, but is it good enough for Mayael?
Yosei, the Morning Star: Recently cut due to being a hit and miss occasionally. But works great with Greater Good, Sneak Attack etc.
Wishlist ($)
1 Taiga
1 Plateau
1 Savannah
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
1 Scalding Tarn
Conclusion
Will appreciate any and all feedback as well as all suggestions
What specifically you could help me with is: Making space for 2 more lands, so I can go up to 38. As well as suggest cuts for cards in my Maybeboard such as Path to Exile, Beast Within etc.
Do make sure to a look at my other decklists in my sig!
Tldr version: No changes as of now with Xenagos, the Reveler being put on the Maybeboard/cards to test list and the rest on the "Other Considerations" list.
Do let me know if you think any of these evaluations are wrong or if any of these cards need to be in this deck/would be a mistake not to put them in!
-1 Kodama's Reach
+1 Tempt with Discovery
Notes: Wasn't too sure if Tempt with Discovery should take Kodama's Reach's place or Skyshroud Claim's place but think this looks good.
Want to try and find a spot for Hua Tuo, Honored Physician too but not sure what I can cut, will put it on the Maybeboard for now. Feel free to suggest any cuts, will help!
Other considerations included Unexpectedly Absent and Boros Charm.
-1 Asceticism
-1 Twilight Shepherd
-1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
-1 Strip Mine
+1 Xenagos, God of Revels
+1 Archetype of Endurance
+1 Balefire Dragon
+1 Kessig Wolf Run
Notes: Born of the Gods Update! Archetype of Endurance seems quite perfect for this deck and I'm happy to replace Asceticism with it and see how that goes. A noncreature spot replaced with a Mayael target is always good. Twilight Shepherd has been under-performing lately so I can move it to the Maybeboard for now. Akroma, Angel of Wrath gets cut again, for the same reason as before, she just doesn't do enough. Been looking for a spot for Balefire Dragon for long enough and one has now opened up for it, should be good in here. I'm not sure what to expect from Xenagos, God of Revels but he is an indestructible threat that might help close games quicker. Will try him out in here and see how he does. Since Xenagos made it in here, I thought Kessig Wolf Run should too and have decided to cut Strip Mine for it, can't really cut a basic since I have too many colourless sources, and I have Sylvan Primordial, Woodfall Primus, Terastodon and I guess Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre too, that can deal with problematic lands.
The only other cards from the set that made me think of Mayael were Hunter’s Prowess & Karametra, God of Harvests and I don't think either are good enough for the deck.
As always, feel free to make suggestions and what not
I found out that our ramp should be the inespensive ones, 3 CMC tops. By the time you play a ramp spell like Skyshroud Claim you usually would want to activate Mayael or play a removal spell. The exceptions would be mana doublers (Mirari's Wake / Mana Reflection).
None of the gods are great for us. The most useful is Nylea but she still is bad. A better mana sink would be Kamahl, Fist of Krosa, for example.
The most important thing in my opinion is playing with creatures that do something, not just huge beaters. Things like the Eldrazi, Akroma or Blighsteel Colossus look great on theory, but other than being giant undercosted (with Mayael) fatties, they don't really help our game plan. Every creature I play has its use, be it removal, protection or recursion. I like to prioritize those creatures when building and tweaking my list.
Hope ot helps
And for another Mayael target, I would like to suggest Hellkite Tyrant. A lot of people play artifacts in my metagame, and he does a good job at ruining that strategy.
Also, I'm going to put in a good word for Lurking Predators. I still run the top in my Mayael alongside Sylvan Library and Scroll Rack, and the top (or even the Scroll Rack, although you can only do it once before having to untap) makes Lurking Predators degenerate.
Angel of Serenity could work really well too, either for graveyard recursion for you or for simple removal of opponent's creatures if need be.
RGWMayael the AnimaRGW
UBRMarchesa, the Black RoseUBR
Modern Decks
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@MeliraFreak
You're probably right about the ramp, looking at all the ramp cards in my deck as they are now, I should probably put in Kodama's Reach in the place of either Skyshroud Claim or Tempt with Discovery. I still haven't had a chance to play with Tempt that much, but when I do, I'll compare Claim and Tempt and cut the one that underperforms for Reach
I'd like to think that almost all, if not all of the Mayael targets in my deck "do" something other than just being a beater, the last of the cards that was just a dumb beater was Akroma, Angel of Wrath and she got cut in the last update.
Like Decimator1 said, Blightsteel Colossus, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth are among the best things you can cheat into play with Mayael, and are what people are generally most afraid of. Blightsteel ends games with a single swing, Ulamog is hard to remove and is removal at times and Kozilek has Annihilator 4 too. Ulamog and Kozilek also make Survival of the Fittest better and shuffling in any creatures that die is useful too.
I agree that none of the Gods are great for us, but wanted to give Xenagos, God of Revels a go and see how he performs. I think he's probably better than Nylea, God of the Hunt? They do seem great together however...
Kamahl, Fist of Krosa can't be cheated into play with Mayael and doesn't really fit in with our game plan. I don't really like him for the deck.
@Decimator1
Hellkite Tyrant is a pretty good card, it has been considered for this deck, and if my meta had a lot of artifact based decks, then it would definitely go in. However, as it is now, it's probably not as good as other things in there.
Lurking Predators was in my deck, and then I cut it, then it went back in, and then I cut it again lol. I know that card can be insane at times, but I've found it inconsistent from time to time, even with the library manipulation. It's always on the Maybeboard though, and might find it's way back in at some point
Angel of Serenity is another card that I've always wanted to try but never gotten a chance to. Looking at my list, I'm really not sure what I'd cut for it...Maybe if Xenagos, God of Revels doesn't perform as well as I'm hoping it does, she could take his place, but yeah, other than that, I'm not too sure.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys, more are always welcome
And while we're at it, Scourge of Kher Ridges does a good job in my deck. At worst, it's a wrath that keeps him alive to attack. At best, like say having Avacyn or Spearbreaker Behemoth or, in your case, Deathless Angel, he can turn into a one sided wrath very easily and knock token based decks out of contention, along with weenie decks.
What purpose does High Market serve? At a cursory glance, I can't see anything that would be helped by the sacrifice outlet.
And as for lands, I would suggest Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers, Eiganjo Castle, and Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, but only because they are strictly better than a basic land and that we run a lot of legendary creatures in this deck. Perhaps Jungle Shrine might also make it in, if only because it is a tri-land like Rith's Grove. City of Brass does a good job too.
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Most of the time I just see myself using Domri Rade as a removal spell, I can't see the +1 being that useful, at times would be Card Advantage, but a lot of the time wouldn't do anything. The Ultimate is obviously insane, I just think it's win-more and taking 4 turns to get there is way too long. I think that Garruk, Caller of Beasts tries to do what Domri Rade does a bit better in Mayael and maybe EDH in general, but I haven't even put him in the deck. Even though he costs more, he will end up drawing me a lot more creatures, and he even lets me cheat a bunch of them into play, which is what the deck is trying to do. You get to the Ultimate a turn earlier, and although it's not broken like Domri's emblem, it's still good enough imo.
Scourge of Kher Ridges - I know is amazing, at the very least gets rid of utility creatures, but also combos with Vigor, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and with the ones you mentioned. But honestly, what do I even cut? Has it really come time to say goodbye to Godsire? He is good with Seedborn Muse, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Gruul Ragebeast, Rings of Brighthearth, Greater Good, Aura Shards, & Warstorm Surge though...(Maybe these are just excuses? lol)
High Market (along with Greater Good, which is just good) are the only sac outlets I run in the deck, probably not enough, but yeah - they help me trigger Yosei, the Morning Star, but not why they're in here. I just find sac outlets really good in EDH where someone is going to either try to steal one of my fatties (Homeward Path helps there too), or cast Rite of Replication targeting one of them and so on. At times I may also want to sacrifice my creature rather than have it exiled. Just situations like that.
I really don't want to try and run even more nonbasics than I currently do (I would rather be running more basics than I do tbh). Don't want to get totally recked by a Blood Moon/Ruination and what not. If I were to add a nonbasic land, it would have to take the spot of another nonbasic =P
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Actually, that swap sounds pretty good. Thanks for that!
03/02/2014
-1 Bogarden Hellkite
+1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
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Wow, so stupid - just ban it because people are unwilling to run Torpor Orb (or Humility) (or Stranglehold to at least stop the ramp part) in decks -.-
Those are some really difficult shoes to fill, SP was just...well, it got banned for a reason... >_> (Before Dead-Eye Navigator and Consecrated Sphinx though?)
I think I run every other ETB removal fatty and don't really want to replace him with a non-Mayael target, sooo...
Currently considering replacing him with, in order of least likely to most likely:
7. Twilight Shepherd - Recently cut, was underperforming, but was still a useful card from time to time.
6. Bogardan Hellkite - Replaced by Scourge of Kher Ridges only hours ago, but always an option...
5. Nylea, God of the Hunt - Wasn't too keen on her going in before, but might be okay? She seems good with Xenagos, God of Revels that recently went in, but then again do I want 2 creatures in the deck that might not be actually be creatures from time to time...?
4. Sun Titan - Good card is good. Only has 13 non-land permanent targets though...
and then the top 3:
3. Steel Hellkite - Deals with nonland permanents too, and sometimes more than 1 a turn. Downsides are that it actually has to connect to do so, it requires mana to do so, plus it also dies to artifact removal.
2. Angel of Serenity - Have always wanted to test her out in here but never gotten around to it. Removal, for creatures only, and it's temporary removal. But she has other advantages, such as putting her in play in response to a reanimate spell, she also acts as recursion for you. Unlike our no. 1 contender, she returns creatures to their owner's hands, instead of back to play, so that's a plus too.
1. Admonition Angel - Never played with her but often recommended by people. A 6/6 Flyer that removes non-land permanents, temporarily. She gets better when I'm running cards like Deathless Angel, Spearbreaker Behemoth, Archetype of Endurance, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots & Yavimaya Hollow, but still quite fragile. Another downside is that I don't have fetches to use in the deck, so not as good as it could be.
So, yeah.. I'm thinking it's either going to be Angel of Serenity or Admonition Angel unless someone points me to a card that I'm just totally forgetting.
Wait, you haven't add Admonition Angel or Angel of Serenity? o.0
Those cards actually help shore up one of the decks biggest weaknesses. Which is flyers in my opinion. Also if your gonna focus more on cheating than ramping you should run about 30-35 fatties since that almost always gives you a fatty in your top 5. Why no Illusionist's Bracers its like a second rings. Quicksilver Amulet is much better than piper.
Here is a link to my deck for ideas. http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/541413-mayael-and-her-fatties#c1
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In your signature? Um, highlight the text "Mayael and her fatties", click on the Hyperlink button, and paste the link there, press submit. Should do it.
Yeah, Admonition Angel and Angel of Serenity are cards that I've wanted to find a spot for and test, but there were always better options available. Now that another spot has opened up, I can put one of them in. I've never really found Flyers to a problem for the deck, we generally have enough to hold them off?
I have a lot of ways to cheat fatties into play, but eventually do want to be able to cast them without having to rely on Mayael etc.
I used to run Illusionist's Bracers before, crazy interactions with Mayael, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Elvish Piper and what not, was fun, but eventually it got replaced with Strionic Resonator which has 20 targets (Bracers only had 7). Bracers often felt like a win-more card and I already had enough cards supporting Mayael. Resonator interacted with a lot more cards and wasn't just another card mainly for Mayael, I've been happy with the swap.
I already run Quicksilver Amulet alongside Elvish Piper =P
Thanks for all the suggestions
Yep, missed it in the list.
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I actually don't like It That Betrays for Mayael. He's great in a deck like Thraximundar, or any Black deck with sacrifice effects really, but we don't really have much of that aside from the two other Eldrazi. It doesn't have any immediate impact upon being cast (do end up doing that a lot), has half the Annihilator as the other guys, hell - it doesn't even shuffle your graveyard back up. Most you're just gonna get a Swamp or a mana rock from it, which isn't bad, but I believe we have a lot of better options available to us.
Also, might as well get this update out here:
10/02/2014
-1 Sylvan Primordial [BANNED]
+1 Admonition Angel
Notes: Decided to try out Admonition Angel in his place, was also highly considering Angel of Serenity for the same spot.
I actually feel the exact opposite way. There is a lot of decks that use saccing and it stops any combos involving saccing. I mean sure sometimes you get the situations you mentioned but it is awesome against any deck that has saccing in the deck.
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That's actually a very valid point that I missed - thanks! I only have Sigarda, Host of Herons in my deck to fight off Grave Pact and what not, but It That Betrays does seem pretty awesome against any sacrifice strategies, especially something like Ghave, Guru of Spores. Although It That Betrays is easy to deal with, with all the ways to protect creatures in this deck, he gets a lot better. If my meta had a lot of sacrifice based deck (did before, and then moved away from it), I would certainly consider putting it in. I'll put him in the "Other Considerations" list for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually made it in to this list!
Also, someone in the Mayael Primer thread said "Do we really need Mana Reflection in the deck?" and it got me thinking, "Do I need both Mana Reflection AND Mirari's Wake in mine?" Lol, just something to consider when trying to finding a spot for a card in the future I guess.
As I have said I have been playing Mayael for a very long time. I can tell you the pros and cons of just about every fatty in the colors. There is no actual bad ones to play though. They largely depend on your meta which ones you like.
My Mayael very consistently stars churning out fatties turn 3 to 4 and I don't use either. In fact the only green deck I run Mana Reflection in is my UG decks where they are focused on building loads of mana in one turn. Mirari's Wake doesn't even make the cut in any of my decks running GW.
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I really do like both cards, they have to be answered quick or things really get out of hand. I currently run both in my Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck too and have always found them good. Will probably replace Wake with another card in this deck soon though and keep Reflection in. I'll probably replace it with a Sensei's Divining Top which has been a long time coming lol.
I do as well. Both are very good cards. I used to run Mana Reflection in my Mayael deck but then Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger came out and i replaced it with a better Mayaelable version.
Top is just too good not to run in Mayael in my opinion. Do you have a Reason for not running Lurking Predators?
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