I cut the Tusker purely based off of "Can this win me the game?" The 6 mana replacement, certainly can. I've been having trouble with Flying Creatures, so the Reach is great on the Hydra but more importantly it fetches my Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx which allows for absurd plays. With the subtheme of Landfall friendliness, the Hydra's size is also commendable. Finally, I don't need Tramle in theory, as I got Kamahl providing that. The Elder got cut purely based on the same mana slot and not giving me mana front loaded. I need to put lands into play as fast as possible, while Elder may have been a strong value engine it was too slow for the aggro deck.
My current noticeable weaknesses:
Flyers - If my opponent swarms with Flyers, I'm screwed. Thinking of adding the various 'I hate flyers'.
Non-Combat Creature Threats - There are some creatures that are a pain in the ass but I can't touch them. Perhaps add in a Duplicant or something similar.
Any suggestions on how you beat these sort of threats?
Mosswort Bridge is better than basic Forest, even if it comes into play Tapped. I don't have any other cards that do that, so I'm OK with it. I'm also pretty confident on having 10 power on the board.
Archetype is a body with an Asceticism effect. I never used the Regeneration, and while this is easier to get rid of, I can also tutor for the Archetype which is handy versus many types of decks.
The Tooth and Nail is probably the most controversial cut. I just couldn't abuse it. It's not like I have a Craterhoof Behemoth to search up for the swing and win. I've built myself a value engine and Zendikar Resurgent just does that even moreso. If I ever shell out for the big cheese, perhaps I would put Tooth and Nail back in.
I'm still having trouble dealing with Creatures, a Duplicant would be great. Also, some sort of creature that causes Fighting beyond my Ulvenwald Tracker, so I can pick off troublesome creatures.
Problems with creatures?
I'd recommend Glacial Chasm, Elephant Grass or Arboria. I find that Polukranos and Nim Death mantle/Mimic Vat are good answers.
It's not a creature, but if you want some kind of mass-removal effect for creatures, Setessan Tactics can work nicely as almost a 1-sided wrath. And since it's an instant, you can then just attack the next turn when the board is cleared.
I'll keep Polukranos, World Eater in mind for a future update. The suggestion of Setessan Tactics intrigues me, as it is a Green Instant Speed Wrath. Hell, with my build going with value, I'm fine with trades with some creatures.
Artisan was 9 mana, which is quite expensive to get one guy. I value the Duplicant's ability to get rid of a threat far more than Artisan's get one of my creatures back. I also found that I frequently could hit 11 mana, meaning I could cast two creatures in the 5-6 range, while 9 and 2 weren't as impactful.
Greenwarden is a try out, something that could smooth over my operations. I found Garruk's Horde to be a great budget starting card, but my deck is getting more specialized and the "Future Sight" wasn't worth it. I'm finding that I'm cheating more creatures into play. I might need to return a card from my Graveyard, I rarely found revealing my deck for a creature to be good.
Ain't nobody got time for Urza's Factory, Myriad Landscape would improve my land count and Landfall theme substantially.
Silvos, the original namesake, bit the bullet. He failed the "Can I see this card winning the game?" test. He's only an 8/5 Trampler in a value-engine based deck. Bane of Progress, in comparison, can blow up any troubling enchantments, get big and wreck face.
Creeping Mold was one of those cards that I didn't know when to use, too many targets or not enough. For a few mana more, Wave of Vitriol ruins everybody's day. If someone is also running an extensive nonbasic list, I just Armageddon'd them.
Greater Good is nice with the value engine I got running, but it was difficult to decide what to get rid of. Call of the Wild became the choice. Now, that could be because of the X creatures in the deck. I can forsee this card making a return in a slightly different deck.
Nevinyrral's Disk cut it as I wasn't playing Control, and I am loading up on 'blow up the world' effects between all of my creatures. Selvala's Stampede will get me those creatures that will be making those explosions. The main reason to cut Disc to find room for it in other decks.
I was asking myself what value a Kodama of the North Tree provided. Shroud isn't quite valuable to me, gaining life and leaving a 3/3 is far more. Same casting cost, so the North Tree got the axe this time around.
Today I lost to too much Artifact/Enchantment good stuff. I'm thinking of adding in even more Artifact/Enchantment hate. At first, I was thinking of Caustic Caterpillar because it is the cheapest to play and activate; meaning it's quite affordable in a Genesis chain. On second thought you, perhaps I should go with the perennial favourite of Reclamation Sage - it comes down, destroys and curves well with Pod.
Another controversial cut, I feel, with Regal Force out in favour of a Giant Adephage. Normally, I would be insane to cut Force but I don't go wide with Kamahl, I got tall. What I mean by that is instead of playing lots of weenies for the +3/+3 and Trample to gain the most advantage, I play big creatures that threaten every stage of the game. I've cut Ant Queen, Symbiotic Wurm and Verdant Force, I don't swarm and therefore Regal Force is more like a draw three to five instead of draw 10. Giant Adephage, on the other hand, provides a lot more value. By making copies of itself, I gain more Devotion for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx; I have easy targets to sacrifice to Greater Good and Evolutionary Leap; 7/7 Trample is sizable threat compared to 5/5; and finally, I have an ever growing army if I just decide to keep them on the board! Lots of 5/5s and 6/6s in the format, 7/7 punches past those and Tramples to create more Adephages.
Lifeblood Hydra got cut for Managorger because of my fear of random put-into-play, which means I should perhaps look into cuts for Call of the Wild. I've added more random put-into-play because it is often multiple and powerful. With effects like Greater Good, both large Hydra are good but one just keeps scaling with the game and the other does not. Lifeblood does draw me cards and gains me life, things I like, but the uncertainty is enough for me to make that cut. Meanwhile, Managorger is an easy Birthing Pod and Green Sun's Zenith target, and scales with the late game by getting +1/+1 counters from any spell.
My concerns over creatures is lessening as my answers are becoming 'play something way bigger', which is great. I'm still unsure of how to handle all of the Artifacts, Enchantments and especially Planeswalkers. Overall, Kamahl has been stronger than he ever has been before.
I haven't been successful in having people trying out my Type 4 Cube after moving, so I'm stealing some parts to improve my EDH decks. Here are the changes:
The double Regrowth of Greenwarden hasn't really impressed me, so it was the first creature to axe. Polukranos curves better, fetches easier, Pods smoother and kills noncombat creatures with ease. He can also get really big, which matters for punching through defence. Spidersilk Armor is something that's been a little lacking lately, as my solution to fliers has lately been 'ramp harder' and outsize them. Chord of Calling should definitely assistant with that, as it can fetch anything I need out of my deck at an Instant's speed.
I was tinkering with the possibility of some major overhauls, hence the front page change. With that I didn't update the thread when I made changes. I've decided to stay with Kamahl, so here are the changes.
I wanted more 2 drop mana accel that didn't cost $30, so I got creative and remembered Into the North. I added 4 Snow-Covered Forests to compliment the two I already randomly had in the deck. I cut two of the Naturalize creatures in favour of using the Woodland Bellower to tutor up threats or answers, such as the Sage I added. Temur Sabertooth rounds out the selection with abusing my ETB triggers.
I added more ramp and explosive play possibilities to the deck. Explore for ramp, Thicket for some filtering and then Life's Legacy, Eldritch Evolution, Momentous Fall and Pattern of Rebirth for more creature tutoring. I decided to cut the Hydra because while it could be big over the course of a few turns, I needed something that would get me a lot of gas in that CMC-range. Courser while initially looks like Ramp, it isn't. It's slight card selection and some life gain. In the 3 mana slot I need ramp or an answer, I need to drop bombs.
The Omnivore was added because I got tired of OHKOing a player but then be left at the mercy of my terrified enemies who would quickly put me out. The Hydra can be my big smash that kills the table. I've been astonished with the power of the Ibex, so it got added - doubly powerful if used on the Omnivore. These cuts were a lot more difficult. I got rid of the sustain of my Soul of the Harvest, but I've found that if I'm just drawing cards and not turning sideways I'm doing something wrong. Ibex and Omnivore end games, Soul doesn't. The Monstrosity was an amazing part of the Birthing Pod chain, yet why am I still chaining at such a high CMC? It's a very threatening body, but at that CMC you've got to be ending games, so it was the one that got the axe.
I freed up my Ulamog from my Type 4 stack. I figured Kamahl out of all of my decks needed the 'nuke target' without caring about type the most. I wasn't sure what the hell to cut until a buddy asked what the three most expensive creatures I had and pointed out the similarities of the Primus and Ulamog. That made the cut very easy to do.
The Heart has been making a lot of waves in my meta with ramp based decks. It's something that comes down early and lets you play more important spells on your 4th land drop while ramping. Instead of always trying to aim for Turn 2 Ramp into Turn 4 Ramp on Turn 3, I can have a lot more flexibility of what I play as this is the time a lot of decks might try to be sneaky with what type of permanent they put into play. Overall, the Heart is slower but it's a Permanent and that's helpful for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, a permanent for Selvala's Stampede and maybe fuel my own Bane of Progress? To be honest, I'd probably want the two lands over the +1/+1 counter.
Duplicant a lot of the time is to just nuke some utility creature. Predation offers the same amount of colored symbols that the Duplicant does, which means that it doesn't really affect my Devotion for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Predation then turns every creature into a big fight, possibly wiping out every creature on the board. While I want to remain as an aggro deck that goes tall instead of wide, I feel that 4/4s are tall enough and make them brutal to deal with once I throw Kamahl'sOverrun on them.
I don't know about home, but I discovered the card after facing down against the new Ezuri. I was really impressed, as if it only generates 2 4/4s, that's mana efficiency but they're also spot removal. And they're not going to be just two of them.
Zendikar Resurgent isn't working out all that well. The difference between 6 and 7 mana is huge, as the ramp can only inconsistently get to seven on Turn 4 but nearly always 6. As I designed my deck to go Tall instead of Wide, I cast less Creature spells which is why I've previously cut Regal Force and Soul of the Harvest. Also, tapping out to play Resurgent doesn't feel good when I have to wait for a turn before I can use it. There have been problems with Resurgent, which is why when I saw the Regal Behemoth being suggested on another threat, I kept it in the back of my mind.
In theory, the Behemoth seems so much better. It provides card draw with Monarch and then makes my swinging with big guys understandable, I'm trying to take back the Monarchy. There are times you just need a small excuse to attack a player that is socially acceptable with other players. Dancing around that line is difficult in an aggro deck as it makes control decks nervous when you can pump out dozens of damage on a whim. Moreover, it gives me a board presence to make someone go elsewhere if it is my only permanent while Resurgent is practically an invitation to swing into me. The Behemoth is immune to my Wave of Vitriol and Bane of Progress while still granting me a lot of mana. Lastly, there are so many cards that can get me the Behemoth, I can Birthing Pod for it to get a lot of mana for the rest of my plays; it's something that 'off the top' can snag with Gamekeeper, Selvala's Stampede and Evolutionary Leap; it's another creature instead of a noncreature for Lurking Predators; and finally, it is a body that can turn sideways, helping me increase my mana production of Kamahl's Overrun.
I've been having no luck with Polukranos, the Monstrosity cost was too much for me to blast people away. Trying out another Green Wrath in the form of Monstrous Onslaught.
Harmonize is pretty solid, I'm hoping Rishkar's Expertise will be bananas. I'm trying out a cheating out theme and while CMC 5 isn't the most impressive card we could cheat out, it's part of the value package. Plus drawing a whole bunch of cards means I'll probably be able to find one of the best things to drop into play.
Temur Sabertooth hasn't been that great for Kamahl, I usually tap out to play the biggest, meanest thing. I don't have time to bounce my creatures and play them again. Call of the Wild returns to make cheating in easier but also help me recover from Wraths. Plus I liked it as something on the board post-Wrath for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. It turns all the creatures into 4 to cast and at Instant Speed too.
Caller of the Pack sometimes did nothing because of Myriad, Worldspine Wurm fights past a Wrath and with all of the cheating in that I've been playing with and mana doubling I think I can put the Wurm into play. Ulamog has been hard cast a few times, so I'm sure the Wurm will be OK and it's quite a threat.
Yeah, Rishkar's Expertise should be insane here, as it looks like you easily build up a "classic" board presence. Plus, having your commander also say " : draw three cards" when you cast it doesn't hurt However, the sheer amount of utility offered by having a plain, unassuming draw three in a mono green deck leads me to believing you should probably look for a cut elsewhere. Maybe you know that already, as Harmonize is still in the list in the primer, along with the new stuff you added
(on an unrelated note, sorry to hear Daxos didn't work out for you in the end)
Ok, okay! You've convinced me to bring back the pure utility of Harmonize. With my goal of going as Tall instead of Wide and no way to really manipulate +1/+1 counters I decided to cut Champion of Lambholt. The similar mana cost is the reason for this selection plus the only time Lambholt is great is if I play an Avenger of Zendikar.
I'm still facing an identity crisis with Kamahl, I don't know which to take him. After a Gamekeeper's death placing a Worldspine Wurm into play on my Turn 4, I decided maybe the best angle would be to go with 'cheat into play'. With that in mind, I put Tooth and Nail back into my deck for the ultimate cheatiest of cheats. I took out the Hydra Omnivore because while it can handle multiple players, I think going with even bigger, meaner and wrathproof creatures is the way to go.
With the goal of cheating creatures into play, I decided to cut out a 'slow and steady' 6 drop of the Baloths. Sure, the generate a creature or three before dying is nice but nothing quite says 'handle me' than a Blightsteel.
I'm now conflicted. I should probably go with a Selvala, Heart of the Wilds or Azusa, Lost but Seeking for this deck and sprinkle in a few Overruns. I run Kamahl because I think he's cool and having an Overrun on demand is awesome; especially with the synergy between Nacatl War-Pride and Ezuri's Predation which then begs why aren't I running more 'barf tokens onto the field' type of effects? Though nothing is quite as fun as putting big creatures into play and see people try to figure out how to handle my nonsense.
I was thinking of adding Thicket Elemental and See the Unwritten but that would mean cutting back on crappy creatures. This weakens Lurking Predators which is already sitting at a 33 creature count. Not sure if 1/3rd if nice enough for me to run Lurking Predators with my creature density, especially since a lot of these are just bodies for Kamahl to Overrun. It could be better if I ran more ramp so a Kicked Elemental does something, Gamekeeper digs always for impressive things and Selvala's Stampede is always golden.
The other thing that I've been considering is how important Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is. Sometimes it's an absolute beast, especially with Kamahl and the War-Pride (the copies keep the mana cost, effectively giving me 3 green mana for each creature they control); othertimes, it's just a colorless source. Crop Rotation would be great for Nykthos, sure but how far do I go? Do I then run Sylvan Scrying? If I run that do I also use Expedition Map? If that's the case, why not Reap and Sow? I'm not sure how much land search I should be really running when I'm trying to keep ramp, have bodies but also increase my creature's threat count.
And that's why I still have the thread under construction. Don't know which way to go with Kamahl.
I've noticed that my starts are a little touch-and-go. I'll need a way to figure out how to smooth it over or just accept that as part of running the deck. I don't know if I'll want to run the 'classic' high power to casting cost creatures to fuel my Selvala, like a Phyrexian Dreadnaught or Phyrexian Soulgorger. I rather run efficient Power to CMC 4 and 5 drops to kickstart Selvala's mana ramp.
I'm taking out EWit and Genesis for my Sidisi deck. Polukranos is perfect for Selvala, curving well with her, probably drawing me a card and providing a lot of mana. Polukranos is also spot removal that then gives me a lot of mana later. Regal Force is in just for more gas. I've made this deck a bit RNGesus so I'm fine with randomness, I can't take it too seriously otherwise I'd optimize for a boring Bro-Storm build and I rather just play big stupid things at random.
1 Ulvenwald Hydra
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Krosan Tusker
1 Yavimaya Elder
I cut the Tusker purely based off of "Can this win me the game?" The 6 mana replacement, certainly can. I've been having trouble with Flying Creatures, so the Reach is great on the Hydra but more importantly it fetches my Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx which allows for absurd plays. With the subtheme of Landfall friendliness, the Hydra's size is also commendable. Finally, I don't need Tramle in theory, as I got Kamahl providing that. The Elder got cut purely based on the same mana slot and not giving me mana front loaded. I need to put lands into play as fast as possible, while Elder may have been a strong value engine it was too slow for the aggro deck.
My current noticeable weaknesses:
Flyers - If my opponent swarms with Flyers, I'm screwed. Thinking of adding the various 'I hate flyers'.
Non-Combat Creature Threats - There are some creatures that are a pain in the ass but I can't touch them. Perhaps add in a Duplicant or something similar.
Any suggestions on how you beat these sort of threats?
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Zendikar Resurgent
1 Archetype of Endurance
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Asceticism
1 Forest
Archetype is a body with an Asceticism effect. I never used the Regeneration, and while this is easier to get rid of, I can also tutor for the Archetype which is handy versus many types of decks.
The Tooth and Nail is probably the most controversial cut. I just couldn't abuse it. It's not like I have a Craterhoof Behemoth to search up for the swing and win. I've built myself a value engine and Zendikar Resurgent just does that even moreso. If I ever shell out for the big cheese, perhaps I would put Tooth and Nail back in.
I'm still having trouble dealing with Creatures, a Duplicant would be great. Also, some sort of creature that causes Fighting beyond my Ulvenwald Tracker, so I can pick off troublesome creatures.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
I'd recommend Glacial Chasm, Elephant Grass or Arboria. I find that Polukranos and Nim Death mantle/Mimic Vat are good answers.
Tymna & Ishai, ie Esper Edric
Crosis Turbotrash
1 Duplicant
1 Greenwarden of Murasa
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Artisan of Kozilek
1 Garruk's Horde
1 Urza's Factory
Greenwarden is a try out, something that could smooth over my operations. I found Garruk's Horde to be a great budget starting card, but my deck is getting more specialized and the "Future Sight" wasn't worth it. I'm finding that I'm cheating more creatures into play. I might need to return a card from my Graveyard, I rarely found revealing my deck for a creature to be good.
Ain't nobody got time for Urza's Factory, Myriad Landscape would improve my land count and Landfall theme substantially.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Tempt with Discovery
1 Wave of Vitriol
1 Greater Good
1 Selvala's Stampede
1 Bane of Progress
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Creeping Mold
1 Call of the Wild
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Silvos, Rogue Elemental
Creeping Mold was one of those cards that I didn't know when to use, too many targets or not enough. For a few mana more, Wave of Vitriol ruins everybody's day. If someone is also running an extensive nonbasic list, I just Armageddon'd them.
Tempt with Discovery is just so much better than Explosive Vegetation, the cut was easy.
Greater Good is nice with the value engine I got running, but it was difficult to decide what to get rid of. Call of the Wild became the choice. Now, that could be because of the X creatures in the deck. I can forsee this card making a return in a slightly different deck.
Nevinyrral's Disk cut it as I wasn't playing Control, and I am loading up on 'blow up the world' effects between all of my creatures. Selvala's Stampede will get me those creatures that will be making those explosions. The main reason to cut Disc to find room for it in other decks.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Thragtusk
1 Kodama of the North Tree
Today I lost to too much Artifact/Enchantment good stuff. I'm thinking of adding in even more Artifact/Enchantment hate. At first, I was thinking of Caustic Caterpillar because it is the cheapest to play and activate; meaning it's quite affordable in a Genesis chain. On second thought you, perhaps I should go with the perennial favourite of Reclamation Sage - it comes down, destroys and curves well with Pod.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Giant Adephage
1 Managorger Hydra
1 Regal Force
1 Lifeblood Hydra
Lifeblood Hydra got cut for Managorger because of my fear of random put-into-play, which means I should perhaps look into cuts for Call of the Wild. I've added more random put-into-play because it is often multiple and powerful. With effects like Greater Good, both large Hydra are good but one just keeps scaling with the game and the other does not. Lifeblood does draw me cards and gains me life, things I like, but the uncertainty is enough for me to make that cut. Meanwhile, Managorger is an easy Birthing Pod and Green Sun's Zenith target, and scales with the late game by getting +1/+1 counters from any spell.
My concerns over creatures is lessening as my answers are becoming 'play something way bigger', which is great. I'm still unsure of how to handle all of the Artifacts, Enchantments and especially Planeswalkers. Overall, Kamahl has been stronger than he ever has been before.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Chord of Calling
1 Greenwarden of Murasa
1 Spidersilk Armor
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
4 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Into the North
1 Woodland Bellower
1 Temur Sabertooth
4 Forest
1 Wickerbough Elder
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Garruk's Packleader
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Explore
1 Life's Legacy
1 Eldritch Evolution
1 Momentous Fall
1 Pattern of Rebirth
1 Hydra Omnivore
1 Pathbreaker Ibex
1 Forest
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Night Soil
1 Managorger Hydra
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Soul of the Harvest
1 Moldgraf Monstrosity
1 Nissa's Revelation
The Omnivore was added because I got tired of OHKOing a player but then be left at the mercy of my terrified enemies who would quickly put me out. The Hydra can be my big smash that kills the table. I've been astonished with the power of the Ibex, so it got added - doubly powerful if used on the Omnivore. These cuts were a lot more difficult. I got rid of the sustain of my Soul of the Harvest, but I've found that if I'm just drawing cards and not turning sideways I'm doing something wrong. Ibex and Omnivore end games, Soul doesn't. The Monstrosity was an amazing part of the Birthing Pod chain, yet why am I still chaining at such a high CMC? It's a very threatening body, but at that CMC you've got to be ending games, so it was the one that got the axe.
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Khalni Heart Expedition
1 Ranger's Path
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Ezuri's Predation
1 Duplicant
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Trying out a change:
1 Regal Behemoth
1 Zendikar Resurgent
In theory, the Behemoth seems so much better. It provides card draw with Monarch and then makes my swinging with big guys understandable, I'm trying to take back the Monarchy. There are times you just need a small excuse to attack a player that is socially acceptable with other players. Dancing around that line is difficult in an aggro deck as it makes control decks nervous when you can pump out dozens of damage on a whim. Moreover, it gives me a board presence to make someone go elsewhere if it is my only permanent while Resurgent is practically an invitation to swing into me. The Behemoth is immune to my Wave of Vitriol and Bane of Progress while still granting me a lot of mana. Lastly, there are so many cards that can get me the Behemoth, I can Birthing Pod for it to get a lot of mana for the rest of my plays; it's something that 'off the top' can snag with Gamekeeper, Selvala's Stampede and Evolutionary Leap; it's another creature instead of a noncreature for Lurking Predators; and finally, it is a body that can turn sideways, helping me increase my mana production of Kamahl's Overrun.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Monstrous Onslaught
1 Rishkar's Expertise
1 Call of the Wild
1 Worldspine Wurm
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Harmonize
1 Temur Sabertooth
1 Caller of the Pack
Harmonize is pretty solid, I'm hoping Rishkar's Expertise will be bananas. I'm trying out a cheating out theme and while CMC 5 isn't the most impressive card we could cheat out, it's part of the value package. Plus drawing a whole bunch of cards means I'll probably be able to find one of the best things to drop into play.
Temur Sabertooth hasn't been that great for Kamahl, I usually tap out to play the biggest, meanest thing. I don't have time to bounce my creatures and play them again. Call of the Wild returns to make cheating in easier but also help me recover from Wraths. Plus I liked it as something on the board post-Wrath for Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. It turns all the creatures into 4 to cast and at Instant Speed too.
Caller of the Pack sometimes did nothing because of Myriad, Worldspine Wurm fights past a Wrath and with all of the cheating in that I've been playing with and mana doubling I think I can put the Wurm into play. Ulamog has been hard cast a few times, so I'm sure the Wurm will be OK and it's quite a threat.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
(on an unrelated note, sorry to hear Daxos didn't work out for you in the end)
1 Harmonize
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Champion of Lambholt
1 Hydra Omnivore
1 Rampaging Baloths
I'm still facing an identity crisis with Kamahl, I don't know which to take him. After a Gamekeeper's death placing a Worldspine Wurm into play on my Turn 4, I decided maybe the best angle would be to go with 'cheat into play'. With that in mind, I put Tooth and Nail back into my deck for the ultimate cheatiest of cheats. I took out the Hydra Omnivore because while it can handle multiple players, I think going with even bigger, meaner and wrathproof creatures is the way to go.
With the goal of cheating creatures into play, I decided to cut out a 'slow and steady' 6 drop of the Baloths. Sure, the generate a creature or three before dying is nice but nothing quite says 'handle me' than a Blightsteel.
I'm now conflicted. I should probably go with a Selvala, Heart of the Wilds or Azusa, Lost but Seeking for this deck and sprinkle in a few Overruns. I run Kamahl because I think he's cool and having an Overrun on demand is awesome; especially with the synergy between Nacatl War-Pride and Ezuri's Predation which then begs why aren't I running more 'barf tokens onto the field' type of effects? Though nothing is quite as fun as putting big creatures into play and see people try to figure out how to handle my nonsense.
I was thinking of adding Thicket Elemental and See the Unwritten but that would mean cutting back on crappy creatures. This weakens Lurking Predators which is already sitting at a 33 creature count. Not sure if 1/3rd if nice enough for me to run Lurking Predators with my creature density, especially since a lot of these are just bodies for Kamahl to Overrun. It could be better if I ran more ramp so a Kicked Elemental does something, Gamekeeper digs always for impressive things and Selvala's Stampede is always golden.
The other thing that I've been considering is how important Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is. Sometimes it's an absolute beast, especially with Kamahl and the War-Pride (the copies keep the mana cost, effectively giving me 3 green mana for each creature they control); othertimes, it's just a colorless source. Crop Rotation would be great for Nykthos, sure but how far do I go? Do I then run Sylvan Scrying? If I run that do I also use Expedition Map? If that's the case, why not Reap and Sow? I'm not sure how much land search I should be really running when I'm trying to keep ramp, have bodies but also increase my creature's threat count.
And that's why I still have the thread under construction. Don't know which way to go with Kamahl.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
I've noticed that my starts are a little touch-and-go. I'll need a way to figure out how to smooth it over or just accept that as part of running the deck. I don't know if I'll want to run the 'classic' high power to casting cost creatures to fuel my Selvala, like a Phyrexian Dreadnaught or Phyrexian Soulgorger. I rather run efficient Power to CMC 4 and 5 drops to kickstart Selvala's mana ramp.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Regal Force
1 Eternal Witness
1 Genesis
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs