You can ask yourself if a card is just there because it's too powerful to cut, even if it's not necessarily good in a Brago deck. If it is, try replacing it with one of the cards that aren't as generally strong, but have potent (or even just fun) interactions with Brago. At the very least, you'll be able to deduce for yourself if you can live without some of the overused staples, but I'm confident that you'll find fresh interactions.
I also run Rest in Peace for more graveyard hate. While it doesn't go well with Sun Titan, it completely shuts down several deck in my meta.
I found Vanishing by far the best way to keep Brago alive, with 2 blue mana open there is just no way to get rid of him. Especially since all aura's and equipments attached to him phase out with Brago.
I'm considering adding Hive Mind. It doesn't synergize with Brago, but since I run almost no instants/sorceries it would make things a lot harder for opponents than it does for me. Any thoughts on this?
Vanishing is a good find! I didn't know that equipment will still attach with the vanished creature. Does that mean equipment and aura will evade removal as well? If so, that is brilliant!
As for Rest In Peace, I believe one-sided graveyard removal is better than the universal one in this deck. While we don't emphasise on graveyard advantage, we still use it quite a lot.
I guess you can look at Hive Mind as a sort of card advantage; however, I really doubt its potential since it will allow your opponents to gain more advantage than you. Let us suppose a player A cast Divination, she losses one card and draw two cards i.e. A = -1+2 = 1. You loss the same number of card, Hive Mind itself, so you gain only one card. The other players; however, gain two cards with no investment. In this scenario, you are in the least favourable position since you invest more mana than anyone else. In short, I think Hive Mind is an excellent combo engine but it's not really a good value engine, is it?
Honestly, I try and keep things fair. The most broken aspect I have is recursion with sun titan, reveillark, karmic guide. I don't care for the sol ring/strionic resonator cheese or archaeomancer and time magic cheese. Hive Mind, I mean why? Do you play PONegation? If you want a frustrating card, try Decree of Silence for moans and groans and couple it with auramancer to recur it lol. I forgot about Vanishing that sounds like a great way to protect Brago (as I am seeing more and sweepers). Rishadan Brigand is a pretty fun card with Brago and not overpowered but a decent little card.
Actually, Brigand was in my original list too; however, I find that it's only useful in the early stage of the game. By the later stage, people will either have mana to pay or something to sacrifice anyway. Don't get me wrong. He's good, but unless you invest more in stax, which is what I'm experimenting on, you can't really rely on him. And if you build a full-blown stax, I think he'll be a win more.
I think Roc is bad in this deck/EDH. No real reason to run it, it is meant to be a moderately competitive midrange card in Standard, but for EDH, just meh. Maybe in French, but multi? Nah.
Side note, I will be posting my list in here tomorrow. Been working on it a ton and it is pretty competitive, while avoiding a couple of over the top competitive cards. Be curious to hear thoughts and feedback as I am looking to find some "didn't think of that" card choices to add in.
I think Roc is bad in this deck/EDH. No real reason to run it, it is meant to be a moderately competitive midrange card in Standard, but for EDH, just meh. Maybe in French, but multi? Nah.
Side note, I will be posting my list in here tomorrow. Been working on it a ton and it is pretty competitive, while avoiding a couple of over the top competitive cards. Be curious to hear thoughts and feedback as I am looking to find some "didn't think of that" card choices to add in.
Still waiting for your list.
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I'm sorry this post is so long, I didn't have time to make it shorter.
One card I've been finding pretty decent in testing is Meekstone. It still lets Brago untap itself and other creatures. And it doesn't affect 80%+ of the creatures in my deck. And Tezzeret fetches it. Dream Tides and Embargo also seem pretty good. And they all are amazing with Opposition and Brago.
Also, thoughts on Mana Web? Oracle text says "an opponent", not "target opponent". And "that opponent", not "he or she". It also works great with Static Orb and Winter Orb.
One card I've been finding pretty decent in testing is Meekstone. It still lets Brago untap itself and other creatures. And it doesn't affect 80%+ of the creatures in my deck. And Tezzeret fetches it. Dream Tides and Embargo also seem pretty good. And they all are amazing with Opposition and Brago.
Also, thoughts on Mana Web? Oracle text says "an opponent", not "target opponent". And "that opponent", not "he or she". It also works great with Static Orb and Winter Orb.
I'm trying the token route right now. It's excellent! Master of Waves, Precursor Golem, Captain of The Watch and Myr Battlesphere are excellent pressure especially the myr can close the game fairly easy. They are also remarkable with the polymorph scheme e.g. Jalira and Proteus Staff. If all went well, I'll update this token route as a valid alternative.
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I'm sorry this post is so long, I didn't have time to make it shorter.
The token route seems to be more than a valid alternative. It's arguably better route! It's relatively cheaper, better with stax, rely less on time magic, and people seem to like it better!
I eventually went with a more token-based strat too. Still kept Winter Orb and Static Orb in, but mainly as a way to close games fast instead of locking a table up for a long time. I abandoned extra turn spells altogether.
PS: Clever Impersonator is every bit the all-star I expected it to be. It went from a Vessel of Endless Rest for mana, to a Spreading Seas for cards, to a Frost Titan for messing up mana bases, all the while netting Brago even more value from the copied permanents. Thing is just crazy.
I think Roc is bad in this deck/EDH. No real reason to run it, it is meant to be a moderately competitive midrange card in Standard, but for EDH, just meh. Maybe in French, but multi? Nah.
Side note, I will be posting my list in here tomorrow. Been working on it a ton and it is pretty competitive, while avoiding a couple of over the top competitive cards. Be curious to hear thoughts and feedback as I am looking to find some "didn't think of that" card choices to add in.
Still waiting for your list.
Turbo apologies. I completely forgot, adding list now.
How about blink all your opponents' creatures and throw in a Gather Specimens for the lolz. Ofc you'd need something like Sudden Disappearence or Parallax Wave or Astral Slide or whatever
I think it's a fun combo, but maybe too much for practical purpose since Gathering alone cost us six mana.
My current thought on the deck is that it need more threats or engine below 3CMC. I know that we have aura, answer and stuff; but they usually are useful when there is something else on board, or a threat to answer. Mana rock is great but I think we need more. Suggestion?
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I'm sorry this post is so long, I didn't have time to make it shorter.
This looks like it's a great, balanced list! I understand there's a lot of effort into making sure it doesn't depend on Brago too much, but no Hall of the Bandit Lord? Is it too much of a hassle?
ETB tapped is a huge detriment. Usually, I am looking to drop a mana rock turn 1 or 2, and that takes the place of Hall in my opinion, especially since added value in being able to flicker mana rocks. You will notice there are no ETB tapped lands, that extra one mana can almost always be an extra turn of doing things.
Looking for advice: I need more things like Sea Gate Oracle. I don't like Wall of Omens a ton, but something that costs 1-3 mana that draws me a card, or even better, offers me selection from 2+ cards. Any ideas?
How about blink all your opponents' creatures and throw in a Gather Specimens for the lolz. Ofc you'd need something like Sudden Disappearence or Parallax Wave or Astral Slide or whatever
When Brago blinks things, he returns them to owners control, not "back to the battlefield." You would lose what you take. Not worth a slot.
ETB tapped is a huge detriment. Usually, I am looking to drop a mana rock turn 1 or 2, and that takes the place of Hall in my opinion, especially since added value in being able to flicker mana rocks. You will notice there are no ETB tapped lands, that extra one mana can almost always be an extra turn of doing things.
Looking for advice: I need more things like Sea Gate Oracle. I don't like Wall of Omens a ton, but something that costs 1-3 mana that draws me a card, or even better, offers me selection from 2+ cards. Any ideas?
It's a shame that Court Hussar doesn't work with blinking. One card I came across that isn't half bad for Brago is Hobble. It's soft removal in many ways, and you can move it around by blinking it.
Couple cards I am fine with cutting: Sword of Light and Shadow - The main reason I added this was protection against white and occasional added value when wrathed. I don't feel like it deserves a slot anymore. Nevermaker - Leaves the battlefield is what makes me dislike this more and more. I need something that can deal with nonland (or noncreature) permanents around 3-5 mana. Something with an ETB would be better than LTB.
Again, I need something to help with some draw fixing, etc.
Also, would suggest adding Meekstone. Card is silly.
EDIT: Thinking of adding Spreading Seas over Sword of Light and Shadow. Card draw is nice, plus Maze of Ith, Mystifying Maze and a couple other decent utility lands are a pain, can deal with that then.
It's a shame that Court Hussar doesn't work with blinking. One card I came across that isn't half bad for Brago is Hobble. It's soft removal in many ways, and you can move it around by blinking it.
If Hobble made it so they couldn't block, absolutely, but not attacking is meh to me.
I am adding Static Orb. Can be tutored with Tezzeret, works really will with Tangle Wire, and Brago gets around it. Also, with Opposition out, can occasionally get added value. Thoughts?
I have Static Orb in my build. There are a lot of people who don't appreciate it, but there's a clear synergy in blinking your stuff to get around the orb. Is the exclusion of Jace, the Mind Sculptor deliberate? Is baby Jace Beleren just so much easier to slip past the hate?
Mostly, the exclusion of Papa Jace is I don't think he does enough for 4 mana in a multiplayer game. I mean, brainstorming twice is definitely better than drawing two cards, but that he costs 4 and almost always has a huge target on his head makes him less liked for me. Also, he isn't a Sun Titan target and CMC 4 in this deck is significantly worse for me than CMC 3.
Also, baby Jace really does slip past the hate. People talk about how cute he is, no one ever says that of Daddy Jace.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
And Angel of Finality can be a beatstick as well... good suggestion.
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
Yeah, I am a fan of non-symmetrical GY hate effects. Also, a 3/4 is frustrating to remove, usually.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
Yup, probably either going in with Phyrexian Metamorph or replacing it.
Not sure if we want Wingmate Roc. It could be good for those going down a slightly token heavy route with Master of Waves, Precursor Golem, and Knight-Captain of Eos.
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
Roc is interesting but I don't know what to remove to try it out. Everything in my deck seem to be better than it. Any suggestion?
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
Side note, I will be posting my list in here tomorrow. Been working on it a ton and it is pretty competitive, while avoiding a couple of over the top competitive cards. Be curious to hear thoughts and feedback as I am looking to find some "didn't think of that" card choices to add in.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
Still waiting for your list.
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
Also, thoughts on Mana Web? Oracle text says "an opponent", not "target opponent". And "that opponent", not "he or she". It also works great with Static Orb and Winter Orb.
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
Will try to test the above cards tonight.
C Kozilek C
GB Gitrog GB
G Titania G
WU Brago WU
GB MerenGB
Duel Commander Decks
UR Keranos UR
BRG Jund BRG
GR Tron GR GW Tron GW
C Eldrazi Tron (SB) C
BG Lantern Control BG
UW Control (SB) UW
I'm trying the token route right now. It's excellent! Master of Waves, Precursor Golem, Captain of The Watch and Myr Battlesphere are excellent pressure especially the myr can close the game fairly easy. They are also remarkable with the polymorph scheme e.g. Jalira and Proteus Staff. If all went well, I'll update this token route as a valid alternative.
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Blasted Landscape
1 Boreal Shelf
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 City of Brass
1 Coastal Tower
1 Command Tower
1 Dust Bowl
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 High Market
4 Island
1 Kor Haven
1 Mana Confluence
1 Mystic Gate
1 Nimbus Maze
4 Plains
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Skycloud Expanse
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terrain Generator
1 Wanderwine Hub
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Body Double
1 Captain of the Watch
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Gilded Drake
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Jalira, Master Polymorphist
1 Karmic Guide
1 Knight-Captain of Eos
1 Master of Waves
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Mulldrifter
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Nevermaker
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Reveillark
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sun Titan
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Karn Liberated
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Austere Command
1 Planar Cleansing
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Time Warp
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Forbid
1 Hinder
1 Pact of Negation
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Spell Crumple
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Act of Authority
1 Mystic Remora
1 Opposition
1 Parallax Tide
1 Pentarch Ward
1 Reality Acid
1 Spreading Seas
1 Steel of the Godhead
1 Traveler's Cloak
1 Unquestioned Authority
1 Basalt Monolith
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Grim Monolith
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Tangle Wire
1 Tormod's Crypt
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
PS: Clever Impersonator is every bit the all-star I expected it to be. It went from a Vessel of Endless Rest for mana, to a Spreading Seas for cards, to a Frost Titan for messing up mana bases, all the while netting Brago even more value from the copied permanents. Thing is just crazy.
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
Turbo apologies. I completely forgot, adding list now.
Artifacts
1 Azorius Signet
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Grim Monolith
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mind Stone
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Strionic Resonator
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Tangle Wire
1 Voltaic Key
Creatures
1 Angel of Finality
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Frost Titan
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Karmic Guide
1 Lavinia of the Tenth
1 Meddling Mage
1 Mulldrifter
1 Nevermaker
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Reveillark
1 Rishadan Brigand
1 Rishadan Footpad
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sun Titan
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Trinket Mage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Act of Authority
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Opposition
1 Reality Acid
1 Stasis
1 Treachery
Instants
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Force of Will
1 Hinder
1 Mana Drain
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Swords to Plowshares
Planeswalkers
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Jace Beleren
1 Karn Liberated
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
Lands
1 Ancient Den
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
9 Island
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mystic Gate
7 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Strip Mine
1 Tundra
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
Again, sorry this took so long.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
My current thought on the deck is that it need more threats or engine below 3CMC. I know that we have aura, answer and stuff; but they usually are useful when there is something else on board, or a threat to answer. Mana rock is great but I think we need more. Suggestion?
This deck has been featured in Gathering Magic by Carlos Gutierrez
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
Looking for advice: I need more things like Sea Gate Oracle. I don't like Wall of Omens a ton, but something that costs 1-3 mana that draws me a card, or even better, offers me selection from 2+ cards. Any ideas?
When Brago blinks things, he returns them to owners control, not "back to the battlefield." You would lose what you take. Not worth a slot.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
It's a shame that Court Hussar doesn't work with blinking. One card I came across that isn't half bad for Brago is Hobble. It's soft removal in many ways, and you can move it around by blinking it.
PucaTrade Invite. Sign up and enjoy the first 500 points ($5) free!
Artifacts
1 Azorius Signet
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Grim Monolith
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Meekstone
1 Mind Stone
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Strionic Resonator
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Talisman of Progress
1 Tangle Wire
1 Voltaic Key
Creatures
1 Angel of Finality
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Frost Titan
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Karmic Guide
1 Lavinia of the Tenth
1 Meddling Mage
1 Mulldrifter
1 Nevermaker
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Reveillark
1 Rishadan Brigand
1 Rishadan Footpad
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sphinx of Uthuun
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Sun Titan
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Trinket Mage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Jace Beleren
1 Karn Liberated
1 Tezzeret, the Seeker
Enchantments
1 Act of Authority
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Opposition
1 Reality Acid
1 Stasis
1 Treachery
Instant
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Force of Will
1 Mana Drain
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Swords to Plowshares
Land
1 Ancient Den
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
9 Island
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mystic Gate
7 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Tundra
1 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath
Couple cards I am fine with cutting:
Sword of Light and Shadow - The main reason I added this was protection against white and occasional added value when wrathed. I don't feel like it deserves a slot anymore.
Nevermaker - Leaves the battlefield is what makes me dislike this more and more. I need something that can deal with nonland (or noncreature) permanents around 3-5 mana. Something with an ETB would be better than LTB.
Again, I need something to help with some draw fixing, etc.
Also, would suggest adding Meekstone. Card is silly.
EDIT: Thinking of adding Spreading Seas over Sword of Light and Shadow. Card draw is nice, plus Maze of Ith, Mystifying Maze and a couple other decent utility lands are a pain, can deal with that then.
If Hobble made it so they couldn't block, absolutely, but not attacking is meh to me.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies:
Augustin, Rasputin, Bruna, Brago, Ojutai
Also, baby Jace really does slip past the hate. People talk about how cute he is, no one ever says that of Daddy Jace.
MTGS egos at their finest.
Thoughts on proxies: