I know that Captain Sisay is not the most exciting commander to post about, mostly because the options that you are naturally drawn to (Legendary Permanents) have been thoroughly explored and the deck itself is not that hard to build.
But if you just don't want to jam the deck with nothing but cards with the Legendary supertype and actually build a deck, things aren't exactly as straightforward as they might otherwise be. I think that the deck has many different ways it can go after you choose what Legendary cards you want to play with, from a token theme, a lifegain theme, enchantress, anthems, or even stuff like Snakes or Human Tribal.
I have tried all of these, and eventually they all broke off into their own decks once the subtheme needed more room to breathe (All the tokens cards went to Rhys, the Redeemed, Lifegain to Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, enchantress to Uril, the Miststalker, snakes to Damia, Sage of Stone, etc.). I then wanted to focus Capain Sisay a lot more on her Legendary theme, with the rest of the deck dedicated only to removal and board control.
With the printing of Heroes' Podium, I thought it would be a good time to dust the deck off and update it.
Updated 5/8/2018 through Dominaria
The deck plays out like GW Board Control, using white spells to keep opposing creatures at bay and green spells to ramp mana and keep non-creature permanents in check.
The recent additions to the deck for me have been the following: Polukranos, World Eater: Polukranos replaced Rout as a different way for the deck to control creatures en masse. The nice thing about Polukranos is that sometimes you need more of a surgical knife to remove 2 or 3 problematic creatures versus a blunt-force trauma device like Rout. It is also a great late game mana-sink for those times when you seemingly have all the mana and little to do with it. Spear of Heliod: This card replaced one of my anthems back when this was a token deck, but I kept it in here because of its ability to kill creatures (which is an often overlooked ability). Heroes' Podium: This card makes me want to go back and possibly reevaluate some of the Legendary creatures that I may have passed over in the past. I removed a Martial Coup that I had been wanting to get rid of for a while anyway. Karametra, God of Harvests: This card is rather awesome and goes straight into the deck as soon as I get my hands on one. I ended up pulling out an Explosive Vegetation to fit this in as they perform similar ramping duties. It should be interesting to see of his works out as I think it will. In order to fit this in, I also took out Scrying Sheets, Mouth of Ronom, and Artic Flats so that I can up my basic land count. I then replaced Into the North with Nature's Lore, and Snow-Covered Lands for normal basics.
One card that I hemmed and hawed about was Heliod, God of the Sun. It has already gone straight into my Rhys, the Redeemed deck as a pretty awesome token maker, but I don't anticipate hitting the required devotion to white too often to ever make this a creature and making tokens is not really what this deck is about.
Is there anyone else out there running Captain Sisay and is excited about the rash of new possibilities?
2/21/2014:
-1 Terastodon, +1 Explosive Vegetation: I decided that I would much rather have another card that ramps my mana than another card that destroys non-creature permanents. Not to mention that I'm currently not running Beast Within specifically because the deck has a lot of non-creature removal already.
11/28/2014:
-1 Avenger of Zendikar: Goodstuff card that is out of place here.
-1 Scroll Rack: Removed to make space for other cards; somewhat redundant with Heroes' Podium for digging purposes
-1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath: Good card that doesn't do enough to warrant a spot
+1 Beast Within: The decks needed more cheap, flexible removal that can hit creatures
+1 Oblation: Same here except it has the added utility of drawing me cards and putting a legendary permanent back into the deck where I can fetch it with Sisay.
+1 Unstable Obelisk: Mana plus unconditional removal is right up this decks alley
-1 Genesis Wave: I love this card, but the deck didn't really need an X-spell finisher
-1 Woodfall Primus: The deck didn't need more non-creature removal.
-1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice: Difficult to cast and it really doesn't synergize with anything that the deck does well.
-1 Green Sun's Zenith: The primary usage of this is to grab Dryad Arbor then upgrade to bigger things, but I honestly always had things to do with the mana and it would often rot in my hand.
-1 Dryad Arbor: I hated losing this to my Wrath effects, and pulling GSZ was the final straw.
-1 Temple of Plenty: I prefer a land that at least has a chance to ETB untapped.
5/8/2018:
+1 Urza's Ruinous Blast - I think this card should be in every Sisay deck no matter what you configuration
+1 Weatherlight - I'm going to give this a try although I've had issues with Crew 3 before when playing Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
+1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty - Granting Hexproof to you and the rest of your team is solid
+1 Mishra's Self-Replicator - With these changes, this now triggers off of 42 cards plus the Commander
+1 Mox Amber - Early returns are high on this card.
+1 Marwyn, the Nurturer - Even in a non-Elf deck, with 3 Elves and 12 other pump effects this will likely tap for more than 1 mana
+1 Council's Judgment - I've been wanting to swap this in for Oblation for a while and I finally made the swap
-1 Genesis - I continue to pull out more pieces of the Survival engine
-1 Yavimaya Elder - A tough cut, but I think that this can safely come out of the deck now
-1 Traverse the Outlands - I was never really impressed with Traverse, so I'm going with cheaper and more on-theme options
-1 Sensei's Divining Top - I don't have any cards that really care about the top of the deck so I'm cutting this
-1 Duplicant - I've been waning to pull this for a while; it's expensive and as little synergy with anything else going on
-1 Oracle of Mul Daya - I will probably want to add this back in at some point, but right now I'm going to run without it and see
-1 Oblation - Pulled for CJ
Thank you for the reminder. This is like the third time I've added it to the list, wondering why I'm not playing it... only to be reminded that its not legal.
In an effort to run more removal in this deck (ad in all my decks in general), I have added Oblation, Beast Within, and Unstable Obelisk to this deck. Council's Judgment and Song of the Dryads were on the shortlist of other possible removal cards. I know at one point I used to play Desert Twister, but I think the more recently printed options are better. The deck craves good removal that can hit creatures, yet be flexible to deal with other problem card types.
I have removed Akroma, Angel of Wrath (sentimental favorite, but it doesn't do enough), Scroll Rack (goodstuff card that is redundant somewhat with the recently added Heroes' Podium), and Avenger of Zendikar (which is very out of place here despite being an excellent card).
Fate Reforged Dromoka, the Eternal - a 5/5 flyer for 5 with Bolster 2 every attack isn't the worst, but it just isn't better than anything else I'm running.
Commander 2015
Sadly, nothing... Plenty of good cards that just went elsewhere.
Oath of the Gatewatch Kozilek, the Great Distortion - I didn't want to have to mess with the mana too much to be able to play this. Linvala, the Preserver - It doesn't get you enough Oath of Gideon - I've stayed away from Planeswalkers for the most part in this deck, so I don't think the Oaths will be much help Oath of Nissa - This Oath however has a much better usage as 64/99 cards in the deck are lands and creatures.
Shadows Over Innistrad Odric, Lunarch Marshal - A rather pedestrian card and not worth it given the general lack of keyword abilities on the other creatures. Sigarda, Heron's Grace - Given that Sisay is a human (along with 7 other creatures), this at least deserves a look. Tamiyo's Journal - I've had some success with it in other decks.
Kaladesh Aetherworks Marvel - With no other energy support, I don't think this is playable. Inventors' Fair - Hitting Metalcraft won't happen very often so this is a no-go. Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter - I found this one rather intriguing. It's cheap to play, can create a stream of chump blockers, and if it is left alone long enough it can start churning out big threats. Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - I was excited to try this and it was kind of a disaster. Not worth it.
Aether Revolt Gonti's Aether Heart - The built-in way to gain energy isn't going to be enough to power it. Heart of Kiran - Too small and doesn't do enough Hope of Ghirapur - If you didn't have to sacrifice it I would be down with this. Oath of Ajani - Maybe in a more aggressive version of Sisay, but not here. Paradox Engine - AS much as this would be great with Sisay, there just isn't enough other effects worth including it (with Mikaeus and Honor-Worn Shaku being the two actual good usages). If I included it, it would have to come in for Thousand-Year Elixir that has similar issues. Planar Bridge - I don't think this deck needs and effect like this. Rishkar, Peema Renegade - Goes into the Elf deck Sram, Senior Edificer - The deck runs 4 pieces of equipemnt, not enough to justify Sram.
1. Polukranos + Bow of Nylea. Attack with 'kranos, then make him monstrous as much as you want/can. Great boardsweeper, as long as your opponent isn't running indestructibles. Best part is, the bow won't be a waste at any other time either.
2. I would urge you to take another look at Skysovereign Being able to keep the faster planeswalkers in check, regardless of pillow forts, can be very useful and life-saving. Add in the cheap crew cost, and while it may STILL not fit in there, it's far from the disaster you seemed to hint at.
3. Selvala, Explorer Returned. She can be a VERY useful library thinner/mana dork/life gainer. A lot of people build decks around her, but she's VERY solid even as one of the 99.
1. Polukranos + Bow of Nylea. Attack with 'kranos, then make him monstrous as much as you want/can. Great boardsweeper, as long as your opponent isn't running indestructibles. Best part is, the bow won't be a waste at any other time either.
I like that suggestion a lot. This also works nicely with Arashi and if I change my mind on Skysovereign it would be good there as well. I also like a few of the abilities that normally wouldn't matter; the 4th ability will shuffle cards back from the graveyard into the library to be fetched by Sisay. Thanks for the suggestion.
2. I would urge you to take another look at Skysovereign Being able to keep the faster planeswalkers in check, regardless of pillow forts, can be very useful and life-saving. Add in the cheap crew cost, and while it may STILL not fit in there, it's far from the disaster you seemed to hint at.
Yeah, disaster was a bit of an overstatement, but I had such high hopes for the card. I should have explained more that the problem was more along the lines of the other creatures in the deck not being able to efficiently crew it. Every creature is seemingly either 2-power or 5-power with very little in between. I guess upgrading two 2-power guys to a 6/5 flyer that bolts something every attack isn't as bad as my first impression. I'll give it another shot.
3. Selvala, Explorer Returned. She can be a VERY useful library thinner/mana dork/life gainer. A lot of people build decks around her, but she's VERY solid even as one of the 99.
I totally skipped both Conspiracy sets when I updated this deck. I have no experience with Selvala, so maybe I'll check it out.
With the release of Hour of Devastation, its time to update the list:
Previous Sets
+1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, -1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - Like I said before, somehow I totally skipped over the Conspiracy sets when looking at Legendary cards for this deck. Per an above suggestion to look into the other Selvala and immediately started wondering why I wasn't running this. I ditched Skysovereign to make room.
Disappointing, but I can't fault your reasoning. I've had great success with Skysovereign, but have yet to acquire Selvala 1.0, so when that happens, I may come to the same conclusions.
+1 Paradox Engine, -1 Thousand-Year Elixir - Because this is Legendary, I decided to swap this in for Thousand-Year Elixir. The combination with Sisay and Selvala is pretty nuts, and there are more effects that are affected by PE than I had originally thought.
Per one who has run Paradox Engine in this deck, you're going to find it going infinite pretty fast. I was able to get it going as such with Selvala, Explorer Returned, Elvish Archdruid and Sisay; I can't imagine it running any worse, if not better, with your current Selvala. If you don't mind solitaire or this is to be a competitive deck, by all means...just be warned.
No comment on the last entry, though I can't see anything bad about it.
You might want to also consider some additional legendary lands, such as Inventors' Fair, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and Hall of the Bandit Lord. IF can be a minor life gainer, Nykthos is always good for ramping(stupidly so if you have it and Cradle out), and Bandit Lord can get you going faster, even though the cost can be steep to pay.
Legendary permanents and other cards that I considered for this deck over the last few sets:
Commander 2017 Arahbo, Roar of the World - Given that the deck plays zero cats, this card has no place in the deck. Balan, Wandering Knight - The deck currently only runs four pieces of equipment, therefore this card also has no place in the deck. Hammer of Nazahn - This is just not a very good card, but in a deck that doesn't run a ton of equipment worth cheating on equip costs it is essentially unplayable. Kindred Boon - With 10 Humans (including our Captain Commander), 5 Angels, and 4 Elves, there are at least some overlaps with creature types in the deck that make this worth considering. Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist - Interesting take on Dueling Grounds, but not really what this deck wants. Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith - Nope Teferi's Protection - Having some Wrath protection and some way to sae some of my creatures from my own sweepers might make a lot of sense. Traverse the Outlands - With all sorts of high casting cost stuff and plenty of basics to fetch, this was a good spot to try this card out.
Rivals of Ixalan Azor's Gateway - So it's Legendary and it is somewhat useful here, plus I have a good spread on the casting costs of my spells and I'm running Paradox Engine so I can get it active fast. Ghalta, Primal Hunger - Big beater needs to do more in order to make it in this deck. Huatli, Radiant Champion - This seems like it could be good but I suspect that its a trap. The Immortal Sun - So I currently run no Planeswalkers in this deck and enough creatures to make the +1/+1 boost, but with the recent rule change making Planeswalkers Legendary I may have to relook at that decision. For now, this appears to be the best spot for this card to end up. Zetalpa, Primal Dawn - In general, I don't see myself running cards like this, but being Indestructible makes this more appealing than normal.
Itlimoc in both its forms was a no-brainer to me for running in Sisay; if you have enough creatures, tutor it up; if not, tutor up enough, then this. I managed to pull it in a few games, and it just splerged mana for me to run away with the rest of the game.
Mirri should get another look. It may not be what your deck WANTS, but if you can keep her out on the battlefield, she can turn a LOT of situations in your favor. I had my board locked down due to a Meekstone(everyone was buffed over P/T 3), and she kept elf and myrball decks from steamrolling everyone else...most importantly, me! lol
No arguments on the rest of your assessments though, but since I DO run planeswalkers, I will have to watch for The Immortal Sun...ouch.
Itlimoc in both its forms was a no-brainer to me for running in Sisay; if you have enough creatures, tutor it up; if not, tutor up enough, then this. I managed to pull it in a few games, and it just splerged mana for me to run away with the rest of the game.
Growing Rites of Itlimoc has been excellent in every deck I've tried it in. Granted, it's not for every deck, but I would say that any deck taht runs 25 or more creatures should seriously consider it.
Mirri should get another look. It may not be what your deck WANTS, but if you can keep her out on the battlefield, she can turn a LOT of situations in your favor. I had my board locked down due to a Meekstone(everyone was buffed over P/T 3), and she kept elf and myrball decks from steamrolling everyone else...most importantly, me! lol
I'm considering it from a "Sisay is a toolbox" perspective as a potential way to shut down decks that try to go wide, but part of me is thinking that I would rather just rely on my sweepers to do that.
No arguments on the rest of your assessments though, but since I DO run planeswalkers, I will have to watch for The Immortal Sun...ouch.
I see your deck runs only 3 Planeswalkers. Would you consider running more? There are currently 31 options for Planeswalkers in GW and I haven't really looked as to how many of them are actually good enough to see play, but it seems like there might be some good options to make that a more major theme (along with Oath of Ajani, Oath of Nissa, Oath of Gideon, The Chain Veil, Deploy the Gatewatch, Djeru, With Eyes Open, Doubling Season, some Proliferate engines, etc.) I'm not sure that I want to change things up that drastically here, but I'm wondering if I'm missing out on an opportunity (or perhaps I should just look at some 4-color options since I do not have any 4-color decks; Atraxa, Praetors' Voice seems a little obvious, but it also seem perfect).
Itlimoc in both its forms was a no-brainer to me for running in Sisay; if you have enough creatures, tutor it up; if not, tutor up enough, then this. I managed to pull it in a few games, and it just splerged mana for me to run away with the rest of the game.
Growing Rites of Itlimoc has been excellent in every deck I've tried it in. Granted, it's not for every deck, but I would say that any deck taht runs 25 or more creatures should seriously consider it.
Totally agree. Particularly if Gaea's Cradle is out of reach(though who knows? This may go bonkers price-wise too...)
Mirri should get another look. It may not be what your deck WANTS, but if you can keep her out on the battlefield, she can turn a LOT of situations in your favor. I had my board locked down due to a Meekstone(everyone was buffed over P/T 3), and she kept elf and myrball decks from steamrolling everyone else...most importantly, me! lol
I'm considering it from a "Sisay is a toolbox" perspective as a potential way to shut down decks that try to go wide, but part of me is thinking that I would rather just rely on my sweepers to do that.
A valid point. But a toolbox does have multiples of tools that accomplish the same goal(crescent wrench, ratchet wrench, etc.), so a backup isn't out of the question. And while relevant, I would say that something like Day of Judgment or Oblation should be pitched for her if you decide to go that route: IMO, they are weaker cards compared to their counterparts,Wrath and Song, respectively. That's just me, though.
No arguments on the rest of your assessments though, but since I DO run planeswalkers, I will have to watch for The Immortal Sun...ouch.
I see your deck runs only 3 Planeswalkers. Would you consider running more? There are currently 31 options for Planeswalkers in GW and I haven't really looked as to how many of them are actually good enough to see play, but it seems like there might be some good options to make that a more major theme (along with Oath of Ajani, Oath of Nissa, Oath of Gideon, The Chain Veil, Deploy the Gatewatch, Djeru, With Eyes Open, Doubling Season, some Proliferate engines, etc.) I'm not sure that I want to change things up that drastically here, but I'm wondering if I'm missing out on an opportunity (or perhaps I should just look at some 4-color options since I do not have any 4-color decks; Atraxa, Praetors' Voice seems a little obvious, but it also seem perfect).
...
Sonuvagun...I could have sworn I was running more than that. I guess I cut more than I thought(technically, I run 4 if you count mini-Nissa). And yes, I have given thought to those plans. I intend to try and grab a copy of Atraxa at some point to try and build superfriends. A guy I used to know built a 5 color superfriends at one point with General Tazri, and people hated him for it(not to offend, but he was fortunate like you; he had all the good cards for it). Either way, that's a deck that's far in the future, ESPECIALLY since I'm putting the final tweaks on Intet.
...I'm gonna be in my grave trying to make another EDH deck, I swear to God...lmao Anyway, to answer your implication, yeah: Atraxa is the obvious choice, and having her coupled with superfriends makes people a little more panicky and willing to swing, which can play into a sub-gameplan of 'lifegain', if you feel the need.
So with Dominaria being a set with a Legendary theme, there are lots of cards to at least consider for Captain Sisay.
Baird, Steward of Argive: I’m pretty sure that if I was running a version that was more Planeswalker-centric then this would make the cut, but as my deck stands right now (much more of a Board Control deck with no Walkers) I think I will pass on this.
Benalish Honor Guard: I think that if it said “+1/+1 for each Legendary permanent you control” I would be all over this, but only getting a power boost for each Legendary creature is just not good enough.
Blackblade Reforged: I really like this in concept, but I’m not sure I want to use this here. My plan was to try this out in my Jarad, Lich-Lord sacrifice deck as a way to pump the power of all my dudes before flinging them, but the seven mana to equip cost is too much. I will likely shift to using this here where I will be able to equip for 3 mana with ease.
Board the Weatherlight: At first, I thought this might be a good card to include to help dig through my deck, but the more I thought about it the less I like it. When your Commander is a card tutoring machine, getting card selection from your top five cards seems meh at best. I would have rather had something like Lead the Stampede for Legendary permanents that could actually generate card advantage. As it is, I don’t think it deserves a slot.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon: I don’t get anywhere near enough mileage out of her ability, so I’ll pass.
Daring Archaeologist: With 12 artifacts in the deck (and more possibly coming in), I might randomly be able to regrow one of them about 50% of the time I want to cast this (mostly due to opposing artifact removal), but given that some of these artifacts are high-impact, removal magnets that is likely to be good enough. What interests me just as much however is that the +1/+1 counter ability will trigger off of 37 cards in the deck (and counting) plus the Commander.
Evra, Halcyon Witness: I have plans for this in my Trostani lifegain deck, so I’m going to pass on trying it here.
Grunn, the Lonely King: I just don’t see this being better than anything I am currently already playing in the deck as a pure beater, especially at 6 mana.
Helm of the Host: I really like the idea of doubling up on some of the creatures in the deck, and the fact that this is Legendary makes me happy from a flavor standpoint. If I can fit it in somehow, I’m going to give it a whirl.
Jhoira's Familiar: I like the ability, just not slapped onto a 4 mana card.
Kamahl's Druidic Vow: I already don’t run Genesis Wave in this deck and it only costs more to cast, so I doubt I would want to try this. I am wondering a bit whether I want to add G-Wave to the deck or not…
Karn, Scion of Urza: With Planeswalkers now Legendary, I should also be considering them for each time I update the deck. I think I need to strongly consider Karn and any other Planeswalker that can draw cards (such as Garruk, Primal Hunter).
Kwende, Pride of Femeref: Doublestrike is powerful, but this deck runs zero creatures with First Strike so there is no reason to run this.
Lyra Dawnbringer: Given that I already run Reya, this seems nice from a flavor standpoint. Also given that I am already running 5 other Angels means that the +1/+1 boost will sometimes be relevant and now I am at least intrigued. I don’t want to get too Angel-tribal oriented, but it makes me wonder if I could make it a subtheme by adding Akroma, Angel of Wrath back into the deck and also look at adding Bruna, the Fading Light, Gisela, the Broken Blade, Iona, Shielf of Emeria, etc.
Mishra's Self-Replicator: I don’t know what it is about this card, but it just seems like a complete blowout in certain situations. For a deck that can trigger it at least 37 ways plus the Commander plus any other Historic cards that get added, this seems like something worth trying out.
Mox Amber: A lot has been said about this card, and although I was much higher on it when it was first spoiled than I am now I still think that Captain Sisay is the best place for it. I was lucky enough to open one in my pre-release pool, so it will go in here and I’ll let everyone know how it goes.
Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar: This deck likes to ramp its lands, and the fact that this has Trample and a built-in way to recur it makes me want to try it out.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty: This card is another Angel if I decide to add in Lyra Dawnbringer, but it is otherwise an interesting addition. In a deck with Sigarda and Avacyn, I can see making things even more difficult for my opponent to remove being really good here.
Shanna, Sisay's Legacy: I’m not particularly fond of this card, and even thought the casting cost is right I’m just not feeling it (which is sad for a card with Sisay in the name).
Thran Temporal Gateway: I wouldn’t run Quicksilver Amulet, and even though this has some interesting alternate uses for expensive artifacts I don’t think I’m going to want this here either.
Traxos, Scourge of Kroog: I kinda like this card on face-value, but I’m not sure about running something like this as a pure beater.
Weatherlight: This is also a slam-dunk. I forsee this being a huge potential card advantage engine for the deck.
So before I make these changes I’m going to have to figure out whether this deck wants to keep its Board Control identity or if I want to take it down a more aggro path.
The 3rd option would be to just add in 2-3 of these and just wait till after the second Dominaria set is released before choosing a path to go. I remember waiting till after Khans block was finished before really tuning my Prossh Dragon deck, and similarly holding off really building Oloro Zombies till after Amonkhet block was finished, so maybe just waiting is the best option.
The 4th option might also be to just build a second Captain Sisay deck; one aggro and one control. I have a serious problem with green-white decks as it is, so what’s one more…. There are enough mini-themes to explore that perhaps this makes the most sense, but I would probably run into a problem of wanting to run too many cards in both decks. I guess that if just stipulated that I have no cross-over between the two except lands and a few ramp spells, I can see that working. I can also just sleeve both decks the same and reuse the manabase as well…
I continue to insist that Kamahl's Druidic Vow should be looked at for Sisay decks. It strikes me as anathematic to not run it, as you really can't lose unless you're going sorcery/instant happy.
...oh...I guess you are, kind of. Even so, I still think the potential payout is worth running it; approximately 70 cards that you can draw and play from one spell is worth it, even if all you hit are lands which btw, come in untapped.
I'm working on getting it into my deck, but I haven't figured out the swap yet...
I continue to insist that Kamahl's Druidic Vow should be looked at for Sisay decks. It strikes me as anathematic to not run it, as you really can't lose unless you're going sorcery/instant happy.
...oh...I guess you are, kind of. Even so, I still think the potential payout is worth running it; approximately 70 cards that you can draw and play from one spell is worth it, even if all you hit are lands which btw, come in untapped.
I'm working on getting it into my deck, but I haven't figured out the swap yet...
If I end playing KDV, then it would mean that I have also found a spot for G-Wave. I think that there’s a way to make that happen, so we’ll see.
Adding on to my earlier point, Helm of the Host would be an interesting card to consider with something like Quest for the Holy Relic or Hammer of Nazahn, so as to cheat the equip cost. Obviously, the hammer would be better to fit the legendary theme as well as being tutorable.
Adding on to my earlier point, Helm of the Host would be an interesting card to consider with something like Quest for the Holy Relic or Hammer of Nazahn, so as to cheat the equip cost. Obviously, the hammer would be better to fit the legendary theme as well as being tutorable.
Well, to my earlier point, there are several different mini-themes that can be explored with a deck like this, and equipment is one of them. I think it takes the deck down a much more aggressive path, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Legendary Equipment we have available is actually pretty interesting:
For my deck, since I've resisted making that level of change (no Planeswalkers, no pure beaters, no cute combos like the Kaldra pieces), so I think I'm going to end up doing the following:
+1 Urza's Ruinous Blast - I think this card should be in every Sisay deck no matter what you configuration
+1 Weatherlight - I'm going to give this a try although I've had issues with Crew 3 before when playing Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
+1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty - Granting Hexproof to you and the rest of your team is solid
+1 Mishra's Self-Replicator - With these changes, this now triggers off of 42 cards plus the Commander
+1 Mox Amber - Early returns are high on this card.
+1 Marwyn, the Nurturer - Even in a non-Elf deck, with 3 Elves and 12 other pump effects this will likely tap for more than 1 mana
+1 Council's Judgment - I've been wanting to swap this in for Oblation for a while and I finally made the swap
-1 Genesis - I continue to pull out more pieces of the Survival engine
-1 Yavimaya Elder - A tough cut, but I think that this can safely come out of the deck now
-1 Traverse the Outlands - I was never really impressed with Traverse, so I'm going with cheaper and more on-theme options
-1 Sensei's Divining Top - I don't have any cards that really care about the top of the deck so I'm cutting this
-1 Duplicant - I've been waning to pull this for a while; it's expensive and as little synergy with anything else going on
-1 Oracle of Mul Daya - I will probably want to add this back in at some point, but right now I'm going to run without it and see
-1 Oblation - Pulled for CJ
Your changes seem solid(extremely so...I need to get the blast and angel for my own deck, and my wife could use the elf for her elf tribal), and of course, if you're not up for an aggro strategy, that's fine too. As you've probably gathered, I run mine more as a flexi-bent toolbox strategy anyway. Might be one of the deck's biggest weaknesses, but I don't think it's so bad as to justify changing, personally.
I missed seeing the new Weatherlight...that seems VERY worthy to replace Skysovereign in my deck as well. Let me know how it goes for you.
Where Legends Matter...
But if you just don't want to jam the deck with nothing but cards with the Legendary supertype and actually build a deck, things aren't exactly as straightforward as they might otherwise be. I think that the deck has many different ways it can go after you choose what Legendary cards you want to play with, from a token theme, a lifegain theme, enchantress, anthems, or even stuff like Snakes or Human Tribal.
I have tried all of these, and eventually they all broke off into their own decks once the subtheme needed more room to breathe (All the tokens cards went to Rhys, the Redeemed, Lifegain to Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, enchantress to Uril, the Miststalker, snakes to Damia, Sage of Stone, etc.). I then wanted to focus Capain Sisay a lot more on her Legendary theme, with the rest of the deck dedicated only to removal and board control.
With the printing of Heroes' Podium, I thought it would be a good time to dust the deck off and update it.
Updated 5/8/2018 through Dominaria
1 Captain Sisay
Legendary Creatures - 24
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
1 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Dosan the Falling Leaf
1 Reki, the History of Kamigawa
1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds
1 Mangara of Corondor
1 Marwyn, the Nurturer
1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Tolsimir Wolfblood
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Non-Legendary Creatures - 4
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Rampant Growth
1 Nature's Lore
1 Farseek
1 Cultivate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Beast Within
1 Teferi's Protection
1 Council's Judgment
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Harmonize
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Urza's Ruinous Blast
1 Austere Command
1 Terminus
Legendary Enchantments - 3
1 Day of Destiny
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Non-Legendary Enchantments - 1
1 Mirari's Wake
Legendary Artifacts - 7
1 Mox Amber
1 Azor's Gateway
1 Konda's Banner
1 Weatherlight
1 Heroes' Podium
1 Paradox Engine
1 The Immortal Sun
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Champion's Helm
1 Honor-Worn Shaku
1 Mishra's Self-Replicator
Legendary Lands - 5
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
Non-Legendary Lands - 31
1 Savannah
1 Temple Garden
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Fortified Village
1 Canopy Vista
1 Command Tower
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Temple of the False God
1 Dust Bowl
1 High Market
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 Windbrisk Heights
1 Krosan Verge
1 Windswept Heath
1 Marsh Flats
1 Wooded Foothills
8 Forest
5 Plains
The deck plays out like GW Board Control, using white spells to keep opposing creatures at bay and green spells to ramp mana and keep non-creature permanents in check.
The recent additions to the deck for me have been the following:
Polukranos, World Eater: Polukranos replaced Rout as a different way for the deck to control creatures en masse. The nice thing about Polukranos is that sometimes you need more of a surgical knife to remove 2 or 3 problematic creatures versus a blunt-force trauma device like Rout. It is also a great late game mana-sink for those times when you seemingly have all the mana and little to do with it.
Spear of Heliod: This card replaced one of my anthems back when this was a token deck, but I kept it in here because of its ability to kill creatures (which is an often overlooked ability).
Heroes' Podium: This card makes me want to go back and possibly reevaluate some of the Legendary creatures that I may have passed over in the past. I removed a Martial Coup that I had been wanting to get rid of for a while anyway.
Karametra, God of Harvests: This card is rather awesome and goes straight into the deck as soon as I get my hands on one. I ended up pulling out an Explosive Vegetation to fit this in as they perform similar ramping duties. It should be interesting to see of his works out as I think it will. In order to fit this in, I also took out Scrying Sheets, Mouth of Ronom, and Artic Flats so that I can up my basic land count. I then replaced Into the North with Nature's Lore, and Snow-Covered Lands for normal basics.
One card that I hemmed and hawed about was Heliod, God of the Sun. It has already gone straight into my Rhys, the Redeemed deck as a pretty awesome token maker, but I don't anticipate hitting the required devotion to white too often to ever make this a creature and making tokens is not really what this deck is about.
1/24/2014:
-1 Rout, +1 Polukranos, World Eater: Tutorable creature control with a lot more control of what dies than Rout.
-1 Martial Coup, +1 Heoroes' Podium: Adding in a card that is tailor-made for the deck and swapping out another Wrath effect.
-1 Explosive Vegetation, +1 Karametra, God of Harvests: Ramp in Legendary creature form should prove very useful.
2/6/2014:
-1 Sylvan Primordial, +1 Terastodon: Due to the banning of Sylvan Primordial, I have swapped it out and put in Terastodon for the time being.
2/21/2014:
-1 Terastodon, +1 Explosive Vegetation: I decided that I would much rather have another card that ramps my mana than another card that destroys non-creature permanents. Not to mention that I'm currently not running Beast Within specifically because the deck has a lot of non-creature removal already.
10/24/2014:
-1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary: Lost to the recent banning.
-1 Forest
-1 Plains
+1 Green Sun's Zenith: Can be used for both ramp in conjunction with Dryad Arbor or for general utility.
+1 Dryad Arbor: For synergy with GSZ
+1 Temple of Plenty: I like the Scry Duals a lot.
11/28/2014:
-1 Avenger of Zendikar: Goodstuff card that is out of place here.
-1 Scroll Rack: Removed to make space for other cards; somewhat redundant with Heroes' Podium for digging purposes
-1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath: Good card that doesn't do enough to warrant a spot
+1 Beast Within: The decks needed more cheap, flexible removal that can hit creatures
+1 Oblation: Same here except it has the added utility of drawing me cards and putting a legendary permanent back into the deck where I can fetch it with Sisay.
+1 Unstable Obelisk: Mana plus unconditional removal is right up this decks alley
3/16/2017:
+1 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit: Needed another 2-drop and this gives the deck some early presence that it lacked.
+1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer/Nissa, Sage Animist: A solid all-around card that does several things that this decks wants.
+1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship: I'm still in testing mode on this one.
+1 Bow of Nylea: Excellent suggestion by ChazA4
+1 Fortified Village: Land upgrade
+1 Canopy Vista: Land upgrade
-1 Genesis Wave: I love this card, but the deck didn't really need an X-spell finisher
-1 Woodfall Primus: The deck didn't need more non-creature removal.
-1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice: Difficult to cast and it really doesn't synergize with anything that the deck does well.
-1 Green Sun's Zenith: The primary usage of this is to grab Dryad Arbor then upgrade to bigger things, but I honestly always had things to do with the mana and it would often rot in my hand.
-1 Dryad Arbor: I hated losing this to my Wrath effects, and pulling GSZ was the final straw.
-1 Temple of Plenty: I prefer a land that at least has a chance to ETB untapped.
7/15/2017:
+1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, -1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - Like I said before, somehow I totally skipped over the Conspiracy sets when looking at Legendary cards for this deck. Per an above suggestion to look into the other Selvala and immediately started wondering why I wasn't running this. I ditched Skysovereign to make room.
+1 Paradox Engine, -1 Thousand-Year Elixir - Because this is Legendary, I decided to swap this in for Thousand-Year Elixir. The combination with Sisay and Selvala is pretty nuts, and there are more effects that are affected by PE than I had originally thought.
+1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, -1 Survival of the Fittest - A much more flavorful creature tutoring engine than Survival of the Fittest, plus I have creatures at every CMC from 2 to 11. I considered adding Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Oviya Pashri, Sage Lifecrafter, or Rhys the Redeemed to fill in the 1-slot.
2/2/2018:
+1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc, -1 Sword of the Chosen
+1 Teferi's Protection, -1 Unstable Obelisk
+1 Traverse the Outlands, -1 Mana Reflection
+1 Azor's Gateway, -1 Eternal Witness
+1 The Immortal Sun, -1 Spear of Heliod
+1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, -1 Umezawa's Jitte
5/8/2018:
+1 Urza's Ruinous Blast - I think this card should be in every Sisay deck no matter what you configuration
+1 Weatherlight - I'm going to give this a try although I've had issues with Crew 3 before when playing Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
+1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty - Granting Hexproof to you and the rest of your team is solid
+1 Mishra's Self-Replicator - With these changes, this now triggers off of 42 cards plus the Commander
+1 Mox Amber - Early returns are high on this card.
+1 Marwyn, the Nurturer - Even in a non-Elf deck, with 3 Elves and 12 other pump effects this will likely tap for more than 1 mana
+1 Council's Judgment - I've been wanting to swap this in for Oblation for a while and I finally made the swap
-1 Genesis - I continue to pull out more pieces of the Survival engine
-1 Yavimaya Elder - A tough cut, but I think that this can safely come out of the deck now
-1 Traverse the Outlands - I was never really impressed with Traverse, so I'm going with cheaper and more on-theme options
-1 Sensei's Divining Top - I don't have any cards that really care about the top of the deck so I'm cutting this
-1 Duplicant - I've been waning to pull this for a while; it's expensive and as little synergy with anything else going on
-1 Oracle of Mul Daya - I will probably want to add this back in at some point, but right now I'm going to run without it and see
-1 Oblation - Pulled for CJ
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Thank you for the reminder. This is like the third time I've added it to the list, wondering why I'm not playing it... only to be reminded that its not legal.
I have removed Akroma, Angel of Wrath (sentimental favorite, but it doesn't do enough), Scroll Rack (goodstuff card that is redundant somewhat with the recently added Heroes' Podium), and Avenger of Zendikar (which is very out of place here despite being an excellent card).
Because I am short of time i cannot respond to all of your posts so ill do that later today.
But in the mean time.
Can you tell me weaknesses for both of these generals?
I know that targeted burn is a problem for Dranlu but nobody mentioned sisay. What meta are these decks strong in what metas are they week against?
What generals should I watch out for if i am playing these generals 1v1 or multiplayer?
[center][color=Blue]
Edric Spy and die
Azami the lady of the draw
Naya Zoo
Past decks
Orloro
sharuum the hegemond
Mono black control
splinter twin
[center][color=Blue]
Edric Spy and die
Azami the lady of the draw
Naya Zoo
Past decks
Orloro
sharuum the hegemond
Mono black control
splinter twin
Fate Reforged
Dromoka, the Eternal - a 5/5 flyer for 5 with Bolster 2 every attack isn't the worst, but it just isn't better than anything else I'm running.
Dragons of Tarkir
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - pretty good for a two-drop that gives the deck some oomph in the early game.
Dragonlord Dromoka - really good if your meta is saturated by counterspells
Surrak, the Hunt Caller - not really worth it
Magic Origins
Alhammarret's Archive - great card that doesn't do anything in this deck
Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen - for an Elf deck
Hixus, Prison Warden - Not a bad card, but not very good either
Kytheon, Hero of Akros/Gideon, Battle-Forged - I just don't think you get enough from the flipped side.
Nissa, Vastwood Seer/Nissa, Sage Animist - This is more like it. The card draw is nice and the token created with the -2 ability is legendary.
Sword of the Animist - I'm still trying to figure out how or why this is legendary....
Battle for Zendikar
Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - Exiling two permanents is huge and I think that makes it a better fit than Woodfall Primus
Commander 2015
Sadly, nothing... Plenty of good cards that just went elsewhere.
Oath of the Gatewatch
Kozilek, the Great Distortion - I didn't want to have to mess with the mana too much to be able to play this.
Linvala, the Preserver - It doesn't get you enough
Oath of Gideon - I've stayed away from Planeswalkers for the most part in this deck, so I don't think the Oaths will be much help
Oath of Nissa - This Oath however has a much better usage as 64/99 cards in the deck are lands and creatures.
Shadows Over Innistrad
Odric, Lunarch Marshal - A rather pedestrian card and not worth it given the general lack of keyword abilities on the other creatures.
Sigarda, Heron's Grace - Given that Sisay is a human (along with 7 other creatures), this at least deserves a look.
Tamiyo's Journal - I've had some success with it in other decks.
Eldritch Moon
Bruna, the Fading Light - With 5 other Angels plus 7 Humans, this will rarely not have a target to return.
Gisela, the Broken Blade - I think the only reason to want Bruna and Gisela is to live the dream of forging a Brisela, Voice of Nightmares.
Emrakul, the Promised End - I think I'm staying away from this for now
Geier Reach Sanitarium - I'm not playing Mikokoro so I doubt I'll start playing this.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar - I think that this is definitely an option for more competitive tables
Kaladesh
Aetherworks Marvel - With no other energy support, I don't think this is playable.
Inventors' Fair - Hitting Metalcraft won't happen very often so this is a no-go.
Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter - I found this one rather intriguing. It's cheap to play, can create a stream of chump blockers, and if it is left alone long enough it can start churning out big threats.
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - I was excited to try this and it was kind of a disaster. Not worth it.
Commander 2016
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa - Card is straight-up terrible
Aether Revolt
Gonti's Aether Heart - The built-in way to gain energy isn't going to be enough to power it.
Heart of Kiran - Too small and doesn't do enough
Hope of Ghirapur - If you didn't have to sacrifice it I would be down with this.
Oath of Ajani - Maybe in a more aggressive version of Sisay, but not here.
Paradox Engine - AS much as this would be great with Sisay, there just isn't enough other effects worth including it (with Mikaeus and Honor-Worn Shaku being the two actual good usages). If I included it, it would have to come in for Thousand-Year Elixir that has similar issues.
Planar Bridge - I don't think this deck needs and effect like this.
Rishkar, Peema Renegade - Goes into the Elf deck
Sram, Senior Edificer - The deck runs 4 pieces of equipemnt, not enough to justify Sram.
1. Polukranos + Bow of Nylea. Attack with 'kranos, then make him monstrous as much as you want/can. Great boardsweeper, as long as your opponent isn't running indestructibles. Best part is, the bow won't be a waste at any other time either.
2. I would urge you to take another look at Skysovereign Being able to keep the faster planeswalkers in check, regardless of pillow forts, can be very useful and life-saving. Add in the cheap crew cost, and while it may STILL not fit in there, it's far from the disaster you seemed to hint at.
3. Selvala, Explorer Returned. She can be a VERY useful library thinner/mana dork/life gainer. A lot of people build decks around her, but she's VERY solid even as one of the 99.
Solid setup regardless!
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
I like that suggestion a lot. This also works nicely with Arashi and if I change my mind on Skysovereign it would be good there as well. I also like a few of the abilities that normally wouldn't matter; the 4th ability will shuffle cards back from the graveyard into the library to be fetched by Sisay. Thanks for the suggestion.
Yeah, disaster was a bit of an overstatement, but I had such high hopes for the card. I should have explained more that the problem was more along the lines of the other creatures in the deck not being able to efficiently crew it. Every creature is seemingly either 2-power or 5-power with very little in between. I guess upgrading two 2-power guys to a 6/5 flyer that bolts something every attack isn't as bad as my first impression. I'll give it another shot.
I totally skipped both Conspiracy sets when I updated this deck. I have no experience with Selvala, so maybe I'll check it out.
Thanks!
Previous Sets
+1 Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, -1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship - Like I said before, somehow I totally skipped over the Conspiracy sets when looking at Legendary cards for this deck. Per an above suggestion to look into the other Selvala and immediately started wondering why I wasn't running this. I ditched Skysovereign to make room.
+1 Paradox Engine, -1 Thousand-Year Elixir - Because this is Legendary, I decided to swap this in for Thousand-Year Elixir. The combination with Sisay and Selvala is pretty nuts, and there are more effects that are affected by PE than I had originally thought.
+1 Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, -1 Survival of the Fittest - A much more flavorful creature tutoring engine than Survival of the Fittest, plus I have creatures at every CMC from 2 to 11. I considered adding Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Oviya Pashri, Sage Lifecrafter, or Rhys the Redeemed to fill in the 1-slot.
Hour of Devastation
Djeru, with Eyes Wide Open - With no cards that can be searched up with this, there is little chance that I'll even try this.
Disappointing, but I can't fault your reasoning. I've had great success with Skysovereign, but have yet to acquire Selvala 1.0, so when that happens, I may come to the same conclusions.
Per one who has run Paradox Engine in this deck, you're going to find it going infinite pretty fast. I was able to get it going as such with Selvala, Explorer Returned, Elvish Archdruid and Sisay; I can't imagine it running any worse, if not better, with your current Selvala. If you don't mind solitaire or this is to be a competitive deck, by all means...just be warned.
No comment on the last entry, though I can't see anything bad about it.
You might want to also consider some additional legendary lands, such as Inventors' Fair, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, and Hall of the Bandit Lord. IF can be a minor life gainer, Nykthos is always good for ramping(stupidly so if you have it and Cradle out), and Bandit Lord can get you going faster, even though the cost can be steep to pay.
As always though, very solid tweaks.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
Commander 2017
Arahbo, Roar of the World - Given that the deck plays zero cats, this card has no place in the deck.
Balan, Wandering Knight - The deck currently only runs four pieces of equipment, therefore this card also has no place in the deck.
Hammer of Nazahn - This is just not a very good card, but in a deck that doesn't run a ton of equipment worth cheating on equip costs it is essentially unplayable.
Kindred Boon - With 10 Humans (including our
CaptainCommander), 5 Angels, and 4 Elves, there are at least some overlaps with creature types in the deck that make this worth considering.Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist - Interesting take on Dueling Grounds, but not really what this deck wants.
Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith - Nope
Teferi's Protection - Having some Wrath protection and some way to sae some of my creatures from my own sweepers might make a lot of sense.
Traverse the Outlands - With all sorts of high casting cost stuff and plenty of basics to fetch, this was a good spot to try this card out.
Ixalan
Growing Rites of Itlimoc/Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun - This deck runs just enough creatures to make the flip condition possible and having another Legendary card that acts as a Gaea's Cradle seems pretty awesome.
Legion's Landing/Adanto, The First Fort - This would likely be fine to run, but I just don't think it does enough to justify a slot over more impactful spells.
Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle - Suffers from me not running any vampires.
Rivals of Ixalan
Azor's Gateway - So it's Legendary and it is somewhat useful here, plus I have a good spread on the casting costs of my spells and I'm running Paradox Engine so I can get it active fast.
Ghalta, Primal Hunger - Big beater needs to do more in order to make it in this deck.
Huatli, Radiant Champion - This seems like it could be good but I suspect that its a trap.
The Immortal Sun - So I currently run no Planeswalkers in this deck and enough creatures to make the +1/+1 boost, but with the recent rule change making Planeswalkers Legendary I may have to relook at that decision. For now, this appears to be the best spot for this card to end up.
Zetalpa, Primal Dawn - In general, I don't see myself running cards like this, but being Indestructible makes this more appealing than normal.
Mirri should get another look. It may not be what your deck WANTS, but if you can keep her out on the battlefield, she can turn a LOT of situations in your favor. I had my board locked down due to a Meekstone(everyone was buffed over P/T 3), and she kept elf and myrball decks from steamrolling everyone else...most importantly, me! lol
No arguments on the rest of your assessments though, but since I DO run planeswalkers, I will have to watch for The Immortal Sun...ouch.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
Growing Rites of Itlimoc has been excellent in every deck I've tried it in. Granted, it's not for every deck, but I would say that any deck taht runs 25 or more creatures should seriously consider it.
I'm considering it from a "Sisay is a toolbox" perspective as a potential way to shut down decks that try to go wide, but part of me is thinking that I would rather just rely on my sweepers to do that.
I see your deck runs only 3 Planeswalkers. Would you consider running more? There are currently 31 options for Planeswalkers in GW and I haven't really looked as to how many of them are actually good enough to see play, but it seems like there might be some good options to make that a more major theme (along with Oath of Ajani, Oath of Nissa, Oath of Gideon, The Chain Veil, Deploy the Gatewatch, Djeru, With Eyes Open, Doubling Season, some Proliferate engines, etc.) I'm not sure that I want to change things up that drastically here, but I'm wondering if I'm missing out on an opportunity (or perhaps I should just look at some 4-color options since I do not have any 4-color decks; Atraxa, Praetors' Voice seems a little obvious, but it also seem perfect).
Anyway, barring any major overhauls, I'm considering going with the following:
+1 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
+1 Teferi's Protection
+1 Traverse the Outlands
+1 Azor's Gateway
+1 The Immortal Sun
-1 Mana Reflection - Going with some cheaper forms of acceleration
-1 Sword of the Chosen - Fine from a theme perspective, but overall I have too much of this kind of effect
-1 Umezawa's Jitte - A victim of space; I should probably take out Konda's Banner, but I would not have a spot anywhere else to run it wheras I run Jitte in other decks.
-1 Unstable Obelisk - I kinda liked the mana rock + removal flexibility, but I otherwise had no qualms about pulling this.
-1 Eternal Witness - So I have a whole recursion package in here from when this deck ran Survival of the Fittest, including Genesis, sac outlets, and a few creatures like Sakura-Tribe Elder and Yavimaya Elder. I may start to slowly pull some of these pieces out of the deck.
Totally agree. Particularly if Gaea's Cradle is out of reach(though who knows? This may go bonkers price-wise too...)
A valid point. But a toolbox does have multiples of tools that accomplish the same goal(crescent wrench, ratchet wrench, etc.), so a backup isn't out of the question. And while relevant, I would say that something like Day of Judgment or Oblation should be pitched for her if you decide to go that route: IMO, they are weaker cards compared to their counterparts,Wrath and Song, respectively. That's just me, though.
Sonuvagun...I could have sworn I was running more than that. I guess I cut more than I thought(technically, I run 4 if you count mini-Nissa). And yes, I have given thought to those plans. I intend to try and grab a copy of Atraxa at some point to try and build superfriends. A guy I used to know built a 5 color superfriends at one point with General Tazri, and people hated him for it(not to offend, but he was fortunate like you; he had all the good cards for it). Either way, that's a deck that's far in the future, ESPECIALLY since I'm putting the final tweaks on Intet.
...I'm gonna be in my grave trying to make another EDH deck, I swear to God...lmao Anyway, to answer your implication, yeah: Atraxa is the obvious choice, and having her coupled with superfriends makes people a little more panicky and willing to swing, which can play into a sub-gameplan of 'lifegain', if you feel the need.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
Baird, Steward of Argive: I’m pretty sure that if I was running a version that was more Planeswalker-centric then this would make the cut, but as my deck stands right now (much more of a Board Control deck with no Walkers) I think I will pass on this.
Benalish Honor Guard: I think that if it said “+1/+1 for each Legendary permanent you control” I would be all over this, but only getting a power boost for each Legendary creature is just not good enough.
Blackblade Reforged: I really like this in concept, but I’m not sure I want to use this here. My plan was to try this out in my Jarad, Lich-Lord sacrifice deck as a way to pump the power of all my dudes before flinging them, but the seven mana to equip cost is too much. I will likely shift to using this here where I will be able to equip for 3 mana with ease.
Board the Weatherlight: At first, I thought this might be a good card to include to help dig through my deck, but the more I thought about it the less I like it. When your Commander is a card tutoring machine, getting card selection from your top five cards seems meh at best. I would have rather had something like Lead the Stampede for Legendary permanents that could actually generate card advantage. As it is, I don’t think it deserves a slot.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon: I don’t get anywhere near enough mileage out of her ability, so I’ll pass.
Daring Archaeologist: With 12 artifacts in the deck (and more possibly coming in), I might randomly be able to regrow one of them about 50% of the time I want to cast this (mostly due to opposing artifact removal), but given that some of these artifacts are high-impact, removal magnets that is likely to be good enough. What interests me just as much however is that the +1/+1 counter ability will trigger off of 37 cards in the deck (and counting) plus the Commander.
Evra, Halcyon Witness: I have plans for this in my Trostani lifegain deck, so I’m going to pass on trying it here.
Grunn, the Lonely King: I just don’t see this being better than anything I am currently already playing in the deck as a pure beater, especially at 6 mana.
Helm of the Host: I really like the idea of doubling up on some of the creatures in the deck, and the fact that this is Legendary makes me happy from a flavor standpoint. If I can fit it in somehow, I’m going to give it a whirl.
Jhoira's Familiar: I like the ability, just not slapped onto a 4 mana card.
Kamahl's Druidic Vow: I already don’t run Genesis Wave in this deck and it only costs
Karn, Scion of Urza: With Planeswalkers now Legendary, I should also be considering them for each time I update the deck. I think I need to strongly consider Karn and any other Planeswalker that can draw cards (such as Garruk, Primal Hunter).
Kwende, Pride of Femeref: Doublestrike is powerful, but this deck runs zero creatures with First Strike so there is no reason to run this.
Lyra Dawnbringer: Given that I already run Reya, this seems nice from a flavor standpoint. Also given that I am already running 5 other Angels means that the +1/+1 boost will sometimes be relevant and now I am at least intrigued. I don’t want to get too Angel-tribal oriented, but it makes me wonder if I could make it a subtheme by adding Akroma, Angel of Wrath back into the deck and also look at adding Bruna, the Fading Light, Gisela, the Broken Blade, Iona, Shielf of Emeria, etc.
Marwyn, the Nurturer: Already going into my Elf deck, although here it has 4 random Elves that would pump it up as well as a host of other random pump effects like Tolsimir Wolfblood, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Mirari's Wake, and The Immortal Sun. I originally dismissed it for this deck, but it might be worth a second look.
Mishra's Self-Replicator: I don’t know what it is about this card, but it just seems like a complete blowout in certain situations. For a deck that can trigger it at least 37 ways plus the Commander plus any other Historic cards that get added, this seems like something worth trying out.
Mox Amber: A lot has been said about this card, and although I was much higher on it when it was first spoiled than I am now I still think that Captain Sisay is the best place for it. I was lucky enough to open one in my pre-release pool, so it will go in here and I’ll let everyone know how it goes.
Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar: This deck likes to ramp its lands, and the fact that this has Trample and a built-in way to recur it makes me want to try it out.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty: This card is another Angel if I decide to add in Lyra Dawnbringer, but it is otherwise an interesting addition. In a deck with Sigarda and Avacyn, I can see making things even more difficult for my opponent to remove being really good here.
Shanna, Sisay's Legacy: I’m not particularly fond of this card, and even thought the casting cost is right I’m just not feeling it (which is sad for a card with Sisay in the name).
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle: So there are only 10 potential cards to get back with this, and even though they are some cards with natural sac abilities like Sakura-Tribe Elder, Yavimaya Elder, and Saffi Eriksdotter I’m not sure it is worth the card slot.
Thran Temporal Gateway: I wouldn’t run Quicksilver Amulet, and even though this has some interesting alternate uses for expensive artifacts I don’t think I’m going to want this here either.
Traxos, Scourge of Kroog: I kinda like this card on face-value, but I’m not sure about running something like this as a pure beater.
Urza's Ruinous Blast: This is a slam-dunk for this deck.
Weatherlight: This is also a slam-dunk. I forsee this being a huge potential card advantage engine for the deck.
So before I make these changes I’m going to have to figure out whether this deck wants to keep its Board Control identity or if I want to take it down a more aggro path.
Card like Traxos, Scourge of Kroog, Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar, Lyra Dawnbringer, Weatherlight, Blackblade Reforged, and even Daring Archaeologist make me want to consider going more aggro. I could cut a bunch of the really expensive dudes, some of the higher-end ramp spells, and some of the sweepers for more pinpoint removal and a more aggressive setup.
A second way to go would be to keep the deck’s general configuration and go with just cards that would fit within a board-control archetype.
+1 Urza's Ruinous Blast
+1 Weatherlight
+1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
+1 Mishra's Self-Replicator
+1 Mox Amber
+1 Marwyn, the Nurturer
+1 Karn, Scion of Urza
I don’t really know what I would cut to make that work, but that is at least the extent of what I would want to try out. I guess I would be cutting into non-early ramp, non-removal, non-Legendaries like Sensei's Divining Top, Oracle of Mul Daya, Genesis, Traverse the Outlands, Teferi's Protection, and Yavimaya Elder. That might actually work.
The 3rd option would be to just add in 2-3 of these and just wait till after the second Dominaria set is released before choosing a path to go. I remember waiting till after Khans block was finished before really tuning my Prossh Dragon deck, and similarly holding off really building Oloro Zombies till after Amonkhet block was finished, so maybe just waiting is the best option.
The 4th option might also be to just build a second Captain Sisay deck; one aggro and one control. I have a serious problem with green-white decks as it is, so what’s one more….
It looks like I've got some thinking to do.
...oh...I guess you are, kind of.
I'm working on getting it into my deck, but I haven't figured out the swap yet...
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
If I end playing KDV, then it would mean that I have also found a spot for G-Wave. I think that there’s a way to make that happen, so we’ll see.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
Well, to my earlier point, there are several different mini-themes that can be explored with a deck like this, and equipment is one of them. I think it takes the deck down a much more aggressive path, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Legendary Equipment we have available is actually pretty interesting:
1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir
1 Godsend
1 Hammer of Nazahn
1 Helm of Kaldra
1 Sword of Kaldra
1 Shield of Kaldra
1 Helm of the Host
1 Konda's Banner
1 Oathkeeper, Takeno's Daisho
1 Sword of the Animist
1 Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang
1 Tenza, Godo's Maul
1 Umezawa's Jitte
There is also plenty of Legendary equipment support/synergy with Balan, Wandering Knight, Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith, Sram, Senior Edificer, and the newly printed Danitha Capashen, Paragon. I don't think this is a likely path for me personally, but it seems more than reasonable to go more aggro and play up the equipment theme more.
For my deck, since I've resisted making that level of change (no Planeswalkers, no pure beaters, no cute combos like the Kaldra pieces), so I think I'm going to end up doing the following:
+1 Urza's Ruinous Blast - I think this card should be in every Sisay deck no matter what you configuration
+1 Weatherlight - I'm going to give this a try although I've had issues with Crew 3 before when playing Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
+1 Shalai, Voice of Plenty - Granting Hexproof to you and the rest of your team is solid
+1 Mishra's Self-Replicator - With these changes, this now triggers off of 42 cards plus the Commander
+1 Mox Amber - Early returns are high on this card.
+1 Marwyn, the Nurturer - Even in a non-Elf deck, with 3 Elves and 12 other pump effects this will likely tap for more than 1 mana
+1 Council's Judgment - I've been wanting to swap this in for Oblation for a while and I finally made the swap
-1 Genesis - I continue to pull out more pieces of the Survival engine
-1 Yavimaya Elder - A tough cut, but I think that this can safely come out of the deck now
-1 Traverse the Outlands - I was never really impressed with Traverse, so I'm going with cheaper and more on-theme options
-1 Sensei's Divining Top - I don't have any cards that really care about the top of the deck so I'm cutting this
-1 Duplicant - I've been waning to pull this for a while; it's expensive and as little synergy with anything else going on
-1 Oracle of Mul Daya - I will probably want to add this back in at some point, but right now I'm going to run without it and see
-1 Oblation - Pulled for CJ
I missed seeing the new Weatherlight...that seems VERY worthy to replace Skysovereign in my deck as well. Let me know how it goes for you.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)