I love tribal decks. My first ever 60-card deck was Elf Tribal Aggro, with all the random pointy-eared creatures and Giant Growth effects. I still have it to the this day--obviously not in its original configuration however; it's actually a good deck now--as a tribute to my favorite tribe in Magic.
When I first started playing EDH, I wanted to continue exploring my love for tribal decks and the various synergies they contain. My first attempt at tribal in EDH was Karador, Ghost Chieftain with a focus on Spirits, and that was a rousing success. I decided to move on to another one of Magic's under-supported tribes: Humans.
I know, calling Humans as a tribe "under-supported" may seem a bit strange, considering that over 2,000 Human cards have been printed over the years across all five colors, not to mention that the entire Innistrad block had a Human subtheme that actually made a tribal deck possible. However, despite this, there are very little internal synergies that tie the tribe together. When you look at Elves and it's cards like Elvish Archdruid or Goblins and it's multitudes of its "Goblins matter" cards, and then compare those to what Humans have to work with (Champion of the Parish? Mayor of Avabruck?), you'll begin to understand why I feel Humans as a whole are under-supported.
This deck's first version was an Azorius build with Ephara, God of the Polis at the helm. It was jam full of the best blue and white humans I could find, with a flash and bounce/flick subtheme, using cards like Whitemane Lion, Dust Elemental, and Leyline of Anticipation in order to fully take advantage of her card drawing ability. Besides, Ephara made sense as a general: how flavorful is it that the God of the Polis leads her human worshipers into battle?
However, the deck quickly flopped when thrust into the multiplayer setting. While it was able to generate incredible amounts of card advantage, it's creatures were quickly outclassed by the giant creatures hitting everyone else's boards to the point where the deck quickly became irrelevant despite all the cards she drew. I added green to the mix and switched the general to Rafiq of the Many adding green not only some great humans like Eternal Witness and Mayor of Avabruck, but it also offered better win conditions like Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. But while the deck was capable of blistering starts where one or even two opponents would be dead before the first wrath fell, I had traded for this early game while giving up my late game. Post-wrath, I had very little resources to work with, and the deck was quickly swept aside as games progressed.
So I tinkered with the list. users like englishboi and Dilithium gave me feedback. As I sat staring at the newest configuration of Rafiq, I realized something: I only ran ten or so blue cards in the deck. What's the point of blue then? I cut out the third color, and focused on green-white instead.
Captain Sisay solves all the deck's problems that it had in its previous iterations. She's a built-in card advantage engine that allows the deck to survive and come back post-wrath. It's a tutor that allows the deck to respond to exactly the right situations. She's a Human that triggers Champion of the Parish and benefits from Mayor of Avabruck and Riders of Gavony. She's perfect.
Your early game is spent getting Sisay out and starting your card advantage engines. Typically, games go T4 Sisay, T5 Reki, T6 Karametra and a random dork to fetch Mistveil Plains. Your goal at this point is to find the balance between committing to the board and leaving gas in hand in order to recoup after the inevitable wrath. Reki, the History of Kamigawa is invaluable in this respect, as it allows you to do both at the same time.
Once they wrath, commit to the board again. Get another engine going--Mentor of the Meek and Heliod, God of the Sun is a good one--or just go all out and try to get the biggest threat off the table. Have a Mageta the Lion in your back pocket in case things go south. Eventually, you'll either win through sheer numbers and card advantage, or you'll get hated off the board for being a threat. Either way, you're playing Tribal Humans, so you're having a blast.
Final Thoughts
I know there are ways to make this better. Adding in an Avacyn, Angel of Hope would be the first step, especially considering the flavor of it. Adding in more/better legendary lands like Yavimaya Hollow would work too. I'd also want room for tutors in case Sisay gets tucked, or to find some of my other important spells (Cathars' Crusade, for instance). Something like Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves may work too.
And that's where you guys come in. How can I make this better? I want to keep the tribal aspect of the deck intact, but I also want it to be able stand up and defend itself in a more competitive environment. Unfortunately, the problem with that is I don't have much money to spend on upgrades right now.
In any case, any and all comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
My Derevi deck has a similar Human theme (but with some significant differences - my mana curve is a lot lower, for instance). Anyway, here are some things I'd suggest.
Mentor of the Meek is a great draw engine since a lot of Humans have the requisite 2 or less power. Mass Appeal can be a nice, efficient way to refill your hand after building a board presence. Another way to get some nice card advantage is with Bident of Thassa.
Banisher Priest and Fiend Hunter can be useful to deal with opposing threats while also getting a body. (Fiend Hunter has the additional potential utility of looping with Angel of Glory's Rise, or just creating a resilient board position with it.)
Thraben Doomsayer can be good, since the tokens it makes are Humans; it lacks the Derevi synergy in your deck, but it works pretty well with Skullclamp (and Mentor of the Meek).
If you're worried about board wipes, you might want to include some countermeasures, such as Rootborn Defenses, Faith's Reward and Ghostway. You could also pack some countermagic, of course, since you're in blue.
Finally, Collective Blessing can be useful for making your Humans bigger in the late game (and unlike Door of Destinies will always have an immediate impact the turn it's played).
My Derevi deck has a similar Human theme (but with some significant differences - my mana curve is a lot lower, for instance). Anyway, here are some things I'd suggest.
Mentor of the Meek is a great draw engine since a lot of Humans have the requisite 2 or less power. Mass Appeal can be a nice, efficient way to refill your hand after building a board presence. Another way to get some nice card advantage is with Bident of Thassa.
Banisher Priest and Fiend Hunter can be useful to deal with opposing threats while also getting a body. (Fiend Hunter has the additional potential utility of looping with Angel of Glory's Rise, or just creating a resilient board position with it.)
Thraben Doomsayer can be good, since the tokens it makes are Humans; it lacks the Derevi synergy in your deck, but it works pretty well with Skullclamp (and Mentor of the Meek).
If you're worried about board wipes, you might want to include some countermeasures, such as Rootborn Defenses, Faith's Reward and Ghostway. You could also pack some countermagic, of course, since you're in blue.
Finally, Collective Blessing can be useful for making your Humans bigger in the late game (and unlike Door of Destinies will always have an immediate impact the turn it's played).
Thank you for the reply, Dilithium.
All your suggestions seem like good ones. I can't believe I forgot about Mentor of the Meek as a draw engine for this deck. I could even achieve the Derevi synergy present with Thraben Doomsayer by adding in something like Captain of the Mists. Actually, those two cards together give me a token for every 1U I pay. Hmmm....
I'm adding a Maybeboard to the OP to help keep track of the suggestions you and hopefully others make. Do you have any thoughts as to what can be cut? My early thoughts are that I could probably do a straight swap of Collective Blessing for Door of Destinies, and Lavinia of the Tenth feels a bit weak here as well.
I originally thought about them at first, but I shied away from them. Overseer seemed like a durdly do-nothing, while I figured I didn't need Herald of War, because I wasn't running too many high CMC Humans. Perhaps I was mistaken. I'll add those to the Maybeboard and continue testing. Do you have any suggestions as to what to cut?
EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
Major changes to be had here. I've come to the realization that blue was an unnecessary color for the deck, so I cut it out and changed the general from Rafiq to Captain Sisay.
I guess my first major question to lead off the discussion is this: tutors. How many should I put in aside from Sisay herself? What should be cut for them? Congregation at Dawn and Eladamri's Call seem like ones I'd want to add, but I think something like Enlightened Tutor would be good too in order to find things like Eldrazi Monument or Cathars' Crusade. I just don't know what to cut for those, or if things should be cut.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
Hey, nice take on Captain Sisay. Here are a few humble suggestions from a fellow Sisay player:
You have Mangara of Corondor. He's great. He's even better with sacrifice effects like High Market or the Legendary Miren, the Moaning Well. (If you didn't know, you can sac him with his activated ability on the stack and have him end up in the graveyard for future abuse instead of exiled). I've taken over games with Mangara + Miren + Hua Tuo. Deranged Outcast works here too, and makes me think I might want to run it. Bow of Nylea is good for recursion and is conveniently Legendary.
Good call on Hall of the Bandit Lord. I don't know why more people don't use that card. It's great.
Heroes' Podium has been really good for me. Another legendary source of card advantage and massive pump for your guys.
Spear of Heliod is a Legendary Anthem with a cool ability, so it fits here. You're already playing Kongming, so it looks like you're in the market for that sort of thing.
Martyr's Cause is one of my favorite EDH cards. It's great with Mangara, saves a ton of damage, brickwalls obnoxious voltron decks like Uril and Rafiq (you're the target, not the attacking creature) and is very affordable. What's not to like?
Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker is a great Legednary Human that holds off enemy swarm decks. I find her almost necessary against token or aggro decks. She's one of my early Sisay targets if there's a token player at the table.
Oblation is another white staple for me. Pretty much Vindicate that hoses enemy generals. Also, you can do tricks with Sisay: If someone goes to kill her, activate her ability in response and then use Oblation targeting her while the ability is on the stack. You end up drawing two cards and then searching for a Legend (Sisay). Totally blows out the opponent's removal.
Coat of Arms is superb in tribal decks, but it helps other players too, so watch out if you play it.
Steely Resolve seems like it would be outstanding. You can cast it before Sisay and then feel confident that you'll be able to keep her around.
Speaking of ramp, Avacyn's Pilgrim has been great for me and is human.
As for possible cuts:
I find Mageta the Lion to be bad. Myojin of Cleansing Fire is much better, but Mageta is a human, so there's that. I still don't think he's worth it, especially without Avacyn in the deck.
Temple of the False God got cut from my deck because it was bad early and not helpful late. it's only good if it exactly ramps you from 4 to 6, but even then, Karametra will give you all the land you ever need, and you can tutor for her. High Market would be much better, IMHO.
Selesnya Charm could go for one of those as well. It just seems pretty narrow. Swords to Plowshares would be a nice upgrade if you can get one (I think it's in Conspiracy).
You mentioned Yavimaya Hollow but it's been under-performing for me. You can only play so many colorless lands.
I've never been a fan of Akroma's Memorial. I find that it doesn't help if I'm behind and I don't need it if I'm ahead.
Thanks for the input, MrTransistor. I'm glad a fellow/more traditional Sisay user came by to give me some pointers.
I'll address each of the cards you mentioned in your post:
Mangara of Corondor: I've been a great fan of him too. He's saved my butt quite a few times, exiling things like Darksteel Forge so I can wrath away some artifacts, or dealing with a troublesome God. I do know of the wonderful interactions with him--it's part of why Deranged Outcast made the deck in the first place--although they haven't come up yet in matches, probably because of my lack of tutors.
High Market/Miren, the Moaning Well: Who would've guessed that High Market is in fact cheaper than Miren o.O I think both would be great options for this deck, although the problem of too many colorless lands might come up eventually in that case. Both of these do combo well with Skullclamp too, so there's that going for it as well.
Bow of Nylea: the Bow was in my first draft, but I wound up cutting it to make room for more utility spells. I may add it back in, not just for recursion but for the fact that giving my attackers deathtouch is very relevant.
You're correct on Sun Titan et all: those were left out for flavor purposes. Sun Titan would be the one I'd be easily convinced to add in, given his presence in the Heroes vs. Monsters Duel Deck set.
Heroes' Podium: I looked at it, debated about putting it in, and decided against it. While it is a second Sisay, it only finds Legendary creatures rather than any Legendary permanent. And I usually don't have that many Legends out at one time, so the anthem effect would be negligible. I could always up the Legendary creature count I guess, but by restricting myself to just Humans it makes it difficult to do so without hampering the deck's power level even more.
Spear of Heliod: Like the Bow, it was in my original draft, but I wound up cutting it for Marshal's Anthem, as I felt a mass revival spell was better than a clunky removal one. I've actually grown less and less fond of Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon" the more I've played with it, and he may be on his way out the door. I'm not sure Spear would fare any better.
Martyr's Cause: I don't think I've ever seen that card before. It looks solid, and it quite flavorful too, given how the Humans were more than willing to martyr themselves for Avacyn. I'll add that to my list of cards to test.
Oblation: I wanted this card in here, but I wrote it off because I assumed it was out of my price range. Then I looked it up and it's in fact selling for less than a dollar. And that trick with Sisay is definitely a relevant one; can't tell you how many times she's been spot removaled off the board. Automatic include.
Coat of Arms: It's a good card, but I don't want to give my opponents any benefits here. Although let's be real; I'm probably the only one at the table crazy enough to run such a critical mass of humans in the first place, so it should be more of a benefit to me than it is to them. I'll put this in the Maybeboard as well.
Steely Resolve: This was in my deck originally, but I have no clue why I cut it. Against, protecting Sisay needs to happen more often. It really stinks when she costs 8 mana by like turn 8.
Benevolent Bodyguard: Interesting tech choice, and again, I need more ways to protect the Captain.
Thousand-Year Elixir/Magewright's Stone: I probably have a spare Stone lying around somewhere in my mess of cards, and it's probably worth a test. Elixir is currently being used in my Vorel deck, but if I get another I'll probably run it here.
Retribution of the Meek: Wraths are good, and it's flavorful to. Add that to the Maybeboard.
Mageta the Lion: He's clunky, very clunky. But he's a Human. And a wrath. A tutorable wrath. And there have been scenarios were I get to pitch Dearly Departed with his ability. Even though I don't have Avacyn yet, I do have Frontline Medic and Eldrazi Monument to give me the same effect. For the time being, I think he stays.
I agree with Temple of the False God. If I do get my hands on a High Market or something, I'll be sure to swap them around.
Revoke Existence was included as a way to combat the number of Gods running around my meta, and because I got a foil one from Born of the Gods, and that art is amazing. Return to Dust though is probably a better upgrade.
Selesnya Charm, while it has had its moments, probably needs to go. I do have a spare Swords lying around, so I'll add that in when I find it.
Akroma's Memorial: It's one of the few ways that I can sort of interact with flying things unless I add in something like Squall Line. And it's searchable, so there's that. But I can see your perspective. I'll play with it a bit more and see how I feel about it.
Yavimaya Hollow: Do you mind elaborating a bit more about why it's been underperforming to you? A nigh-uncounterable way to prevent Sisay from dying seems like it would be fantastic. Do you feel the same way about Kor Haven?
I agree on the Elder of Laurels--I've never once had the inkling to play it or use it's ability--but Imposing Sovereign has actually tested well for me so far. It helps slow down the game so I can set things up with Sisay.
Again, thank you very much for you insight. Most of your suggestions were spot on, and I'm going to test each one as to not disregard them out of hand. I'll be adding a Change Log, Wish List/Upgrade List, and a Maybeboard/Test List to the original post so everyone including myself can keep track of everything.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
If you can convince yourself of the flavor appropriateness, Sun Titan really would rock the house here.
I can see why you like Heliod over Nylea. You're trying to go wide with a bunch of guys. I'm try to go big with a few fatties. Vigilance doesn't matter much to me as my main beaters are Avacyn, Elesh Norn, and Sun Titan.
Even if you don't have High Market, I'm pretty sure that Forest is better than Temple of the False God in this deck. That card's probably a trap in EDH unless you can abuse it.
I don't like Yavimaya Hollow because there are so many bad things that can happen which regeneration doesn't fix. Tuck, bounce, exile, Arrest effects, Humility, etc. A number of popular cards don't allow for regen anyway (Wrath of God). Colorless land are quite bad for our game plan. I try to run as few as possible. That being said, Avacyn covers a lot of the stuff that regen would cover, so maybe the Hollow would be better for you.
I do run Kor Haven but it's only meh. It's on my list of potential cuts. If we're holding up 3 mana per turn to hold off one attacker, we're probably doing it wrong. My gameplan is to advance my board in a manner that provides overlapping protection effects. Something like Saffi Eriksdotter into Gaddock Teeg into Karametra into Avacyn might be my tutor progression for the first few turns (just one example of many possible progressions). So, I'm always tapping out early and I don't need a Maze of Ith effect late. Either I'm winning or I'm too far behind and need a blowout to catch back up(something like Terminus or Myojin of Cleansing Fire). Kor Haven might be better for you since your curve is lower, but I would count it as a spell instead of a land so you don't mess up your early colored mana.
As for Bow of Nylea, it shines in my build thanks to Polukranos, World Eater. Attack, gain deathtouch and literally eat the world. That seems like a massive flavor fail here. The Bow also specifically hoses Kaalia of the Vast if that's a thing in your meta.
A few other thoughts:
Konda's Banner is strong here. Pretty much your whole squad gets +2/+2 (including the bearer).
Knight of the Reliquary seems like it might under-perform. Good card, don't get me wrong, but you don't have enough of a "lands matter" package (not even a Strip Mine) to make her worth it (in my opinion). Now if you had the Dark Depths / Thespian's Stage package, then we'd be talking. But again, huge flavor fail. If you drop Knight, you can also lose Sejiri Steppe, which seems awful if you can't get it at instant speed. The bar for me to tolerate ETB tapped lands or colorless lands is very high.
It feels like you could use a bit more ramp. I like simple stuff along the lines of Nature's Lore, Farseek and Selesnya Signet, especially the Signet because it fixes your mana very well off any two lands. All of them come down before Sisay and allow you to accelerate into her, which is key. I avoid Cultivate and friends because they don't get you to Sisay any faster.
I will mention that Loyal Retainers is human, and he's super good here. It might be a budget issue though. He's much better if you run Sun Titan and incredibly busted if you run Survival of the Fittest. The last one seems off-flavor again.
I find that my deck is just a mediocre, clunky midrange deck if I don't have Sisay. I tried to diversify against this, but it just made the deck worse. So, I'm always on the "get Sisay and protect Sisay" plan. One or two activations and I'm usually good. That's why I'm so interested in good mana early. You can see my current build at the link in my sig if you'd like. I think I'll be adding card-by-card comments soon.
I love tribal decks. My first ever 60-card deck was Elf Tribal Aggro, with all the random pointy-eared creatures and Giant Growth effects. I still have it to the this day--obviously not in its original configuration however; it's actually a good deck now--as a tribute to my favorite tribe in Magic.
When I first started playing EDH, I wanted to continue exploring my love for tribal decks and the various synergies they contain. My first attempt at tribal in EDH was Karador, Ghost Chieftain with a focus on Spirits, and that was a rousing success. I decided to move on to another one of Magic's under-supported tribes: Humans.
I know, calling Humans as a tribe "under-supported" may seem a bit strange, considering that over 2,000 Human cards have been printed over the years across all five colors, not to mention that the entire Innistrad block had a Human subtheme that actually made a tribal deck possible. However, despite this, there are very little internal synergies that tie the tribe together. When you look at Elves and it's cards like Elvish Archdruid or Goblins and it's multitudes of its "Goblins matter" cards, and then compare those to what Humans have to work with (Champion of the Parish? Mayor of Avabruck?), you'll begin to understand why I feel Humans as a whole are under-supported.
This deck's first version was an Azorius build with Ephara, God of the Polis at the helm. It was jam full of the best blue and white humans I could find, with a flash and bounce/flick subtheme, using cards like Whitemane Lion, Dust Elemental, and Leyline of Anticipation in order to fully take advantage of her card drawing ability. Besides, Ephara made sense as a general: how flavorful is it that the God of the Polis leads her human worshipers into battle?
However, the deck quickly flopped when thrust into the multiplayer setting. While it was able to generate incredible amounts of card advantage, it's creatures were quickly outclassed by the giant creatures hitting everyone else's boards to the point where the deck quickly became irrelevant despite all the cards she drew. I added green to the mix and switched the general to Rafiq of the Many adding green not only some great humans like Eternal Witness and Mayor of Avabruck, but it also offered better win conditions like Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. But while the deck was capable of blistering starts where one or even two opponents would be dead before the first wrath fell, I had traded for this early game while giving up my late game. Post-wrath, I had very little resources to work with, and the deck was quickly swept aside as games progressed.
So I tinkered with the list. users like englishboi and Dilithium gave me feedback. As I sat staring at the newest configuration of Rafiq, I realized something: I only ran ten or so blue cards in the deck. What's the point of blue then? I cut out the third color, and focused on green-white instead.
Then I stumbled upon rockondon's Captain Sisay deck, and the rest is, well, history.
The Deck
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
1 Dosan the Falling Leaf
1 Hua Tuo, Honored Physician
1 Mangara of Corondor
1 Reki, the History of Kamigawa
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
1 Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon"
1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
1 Odric, Master Tactician
1 Gerrard Capashen
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
1 Mageta the Lion
1 Crovax, Ascendant Hero
1 Darien, King of Kjeldor
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
Non-Legendary Creatures
1 Champion of the Parish
1 Mother of Runes
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Budoka Gardener
1 Deranged Outcast
1 Imposing Sovereign
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Mayor of Avabruck
1 Champion of Lambholt
1 Devout Chaplain
1 Elder of Laurels
1 Eternal Witness
1 Frontline Medic
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Mirror Entity
1 Somberwald Sage
1 Thraben Doomsayer
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Riders of Gavony
1 Herald of War
1 Juniper Order Ranger
1 Dearly Departed
1 Angel of Glory's Rise
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Legendary Non-Creature Permanents
1 Akroma's Memorial
Artifacts
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
1 Gallows at Willow Hill
1 Eldrazi Monument
Enchantments
1 Aura Shards
1 Descendants' Path
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Cathars' Crusade
1 Collective Blessing
Instants
1 Path to Exile
1 Selesnya Charm
1 Faith's Reward
Sorceries
1 Revoke Existence
1 Harsh Mercy
1 Austere Command
Legendary Lands
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
Other Lands
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Elfhame Palace
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
7 Forest
1 Gavony Township
1 Grasslands
1 Graypelt Refuge
1 Krosan Verge
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Mosswort Bridge
1 New Benalia
7 Plains
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Temple Garden
1 Temple of Plenty
1 Temple of the False God
1 Windbrisk Heights
Playstyle
Captain Sisay solves all the deck's problems that it had in its previous iterations. She's a built-in card advantage engine that allows the deck to survive and come back post-wrath. It's a tutor that allows the deck to respond to exactly the right situations. She's a Human that triggers Champion of the Parish and benefits from Mayor of Avabruck and Riders of Gavony. She's perfect.
Your early game is spent getting Sisay out and starting your card advantage engines. Typically, games go T4 Sisay, T5 Reki, T6 Karametra and a random dork to fetch Mistveil Plains. Your goal at this point is to find the balance between committing to the board and leaving gas in hand in order to recoup after the inevitable wrath. Reki, the History of Kamigawa is invaluable in this respect, as it allows you to do both at the same time.
Once they wrath, commit to the board again. Get another engine going--Mentor of the Meek and Heliod, God of the Sun is a good one--or just go all out and try to get the biggest threat off the table. Have a Mageta the Lion in your back pocket in case things go south. Eventually, you'll either win through sheer numbers and card advantage, or you'll get hated off the board for being a threat. Either way, you're playing Tribal Humans, so you're having a blast.
Final Thoughts
I know there are ways to make this better. Adding in an Avacyn, Angel of Hope would be the first step, especially considering the flavor of it. Adding in more/better legendary lands like Yavimaya Hollow would work too. I'd also want room for tutors in case Sisay gets tucked, or to find some of my other important spells (Cathars' Crusade, for instance). Something like Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves may work too.
And that's where you guys come in. How can I make this better? I want to keep the tribal aspect of the deck intact, but I also want it to be able stand up and defend itself in a more competitive environment. Unfortunately, the problem with that is I don't have much money to spend on upgrades right now.
In any case, any and all comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Maybeboard
1 Benevolent Bodyguard
1 Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
1 Steelshaper Apprentice
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Magewright's Stone
1 Coat of Arms
1 Heroes' Podium
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Martyr's Cause
1 Oblation
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Congregation at Dawn
1 High Market
Non-Budget Options
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Kor Haven
Change Log
TBA
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
Mentor of the Meek is a great draw engine since a lot of Humans have the requisite 2 or less power. Mass Appeal can be a nice, efficient way to refill your hand after building a board presence. Another way to get some nice card advantage is with Bident of Thassa.
Banisher Priest and Fiend Hunter can be useful to deal with opposing threats while also getting a body. (Fiend Hunter has the additional potential utility of looping with Angel of Glory's Rise, or just creating a resilient board position with it.)
Thraben Doomsayer can be good, since the tokens it makes are Humans; it lacks the Derevi synergy in your deck, but it works pretty well with Skullclamp (and Mentor of the Meek).
If you're worried about board wipes, you might want to include some countermeasures, such as Rootborn Defenses, Faith's Reward and Ghostway. You could also pack some countermagic, of course, since you're in blue.
Finally, Collective Blessing can be useful for making your Humans bigger in the late game (and unlike Door of Destinies will always have an immediate impact the turn it's played).
Thraximundar Control voltron
Darien, King of Dudes The swarm
Karador, Ghost ChieftainJunk graveyard
Erebos, God of the DeadMy BIG BLACK.......deck
Zedruu the kindhearted My take on Pristaxcontrombmodruu!
Roon of the Hidden Realm Bounce house
Thank you for the reply, Dilithium.
All your suggestions seem like good ones. I can't believe I forgot about Mentor of the Meek as a draw engine for this deck. I could even achieve the Derevi synergy present with Thraben Doomsayer by adding in something like Captain of the Mists. Actually, those two cards together give me a token for every 1U I pay. Hmmm....
I'm adding a Maybeboard to the OP to help keep track of the suggestions you and hopefully others make. Do you have any thoughts as to what can be cut? My early thoughts are that I could probably do a straight swap of Collective Blessing for Door of Destinies, and Lavinia of the Tenth feels a bit weak here as well.
Thank you for your reply as well, Englishboi.
I originally thought about them at first, but I shied away from them. Overseer seemed like a durdly do-nothing, while I figured I didn't need Herald of War, because I wasn't running too many high CMC Humans. Perhaps I was mistaken. I'll add those to the Maybeboard and continue testing. Do you have any suggestions as to what to cut?
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I guess my first major question to lead off the discussion is this: tutors. How many should I put in aside from Sisay herself? What should be cut for them? Congregation at Dawn and Eladamri's Call seem like ones I'd want to add, but I think something like Enlightened Tutor would be good too in order to find things like Eldrazi Monument or Cathars' Crusade. I just don't know what to cut for those, or if things should be cut.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
You have Mangara of Corondor. He's great. He's even better with sacrifice effects like High Market or the Legendary Miren, the Moaning Well. (If you didn't know, you can sac him with his activated ability on the stack and have him end up in the graveyard for future abuse instead of exiled). I've taken over games with Mangara + Miren + Hua Tuo. Deranged Outcast works here too, and makes me think I might want to run it. Bow of Nylea is good for recursion and is conveniently Legendary.
Good call on Hall of the Bandit Lord. I don't know why more people don't use that card. It's great.
Sun Titan, Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite would be absolutely awesome here, but I'm guessing you left them out for flavor reasons. Understandable.
Heroes' Podium has been really good for me. Another legendary source of card advantage and massive pump for your guys.
Spear of Heliod is a Legendary Anthem with a cool ability, so it fits here. You're already playing Kongming, so it looks like you're in the market for that sort of thing.
Martyr's Cause is one of my favorite EDH cards. It's great with Mangara, saves a ton of damage, brickwalls obnoxious voltron decks like Uril and Rafiq (you're the target, not the attacking creature) and is very affordable. What's not to like?
Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker is a great Legednary Human that holds off enemy swarm decks. I find her almost necessary against token or aggro decks. She's one of my early Sisay targets if there's a token player at the table.
Oblation is another white staple for me. Pretty much Vindicate that hoses enemy generals. Also, you can do tricks with Sisay: If someone goes to kill her, activate her ability in response and then use Oblation targeting her while the ability is on the stack. You end up drawing two cards and then searching for a Legend (Sisay). Totally blows out the opponent's removal.
Coat of Arms is superb in tribal decks, but it helps other players too, so watch out if you play it.
Steely Resolve seems like it would be outstanding. You can cast it before Sisay and then feel confident that you'll be able to keep her around.
Benevolent Bodyguard is a good Sisay preserver, and is Human.
Thousand-Year Elixir is amazing with Sisay, and it helps some of your other guys too. Magewright's Stone is fine as a budget option.
Retribution of the Meek is a good sweeper that would work here (along the lines of Harsh Mercy).
For tutors, I run Eladamri's Call, Green Sun's Zenith, Steelshaper's Gift (to get Lightning Greaves), and Enlightened Tutor. Gift is a little narrow but the rest are great. If you go with Zenith, add a Dryad Arbor for Turn one ramp.
Speaking of ramp, Avacyn's Pilgrim has been great for me and is human.
As for possible cuts:
I find Mageta the Lion to be bad. Myojin of Cleansing Fire is much better, but Mageta is a human, so there's that. I still don't think he's worth it, especially without Avacyn in the deck.
Temple of the False God got cut from my deck because it was bad early and not helpful late. it's only good if it exactly ramps you from 4 to 6, but even then, Karametra will give you all the land you ever need, and you can tutor for her. High Market would be much better, IMHO.
Revoke Existence is quite narrow. Consider Oblation (above) or Return to Dust for an easy 2-for-1.
Selesnya Charm could go for one of those as well. It just seems pretty narrow. Swords to Plowshares would be a nice upgrade if you can get one (I think it's in Conspiracy).
You mentioned Yavimaya Hollow but it's been under-performing for me. You can only play so many colorless lands.
I've never been a fan of Akroma's Memorial. I find that it doesn't help if I'm behind and I don't need it if I'm ahead.
Heliod seems merely ok. (Nylea is great, though).
Elder of Laurels and Imposing Sovereign seem like good candidates for replacement as well. They're fine, but I think you can do better.
Anyway, really cool deck. I hope it serves you well!
Captain Sisay - Efficient Toolbox Control
Kemba, Kha Regent - Equipment & Mini-stax
I'll address each of the cards you mentioned in your post:
Mangara of Corondor: I've been a great fan of him too. He's saved my butt quite a few times, exiling things like Darksteel Forge so I can wrath away some artifacts, or dealing with a troublesome God. I do know of the wonderful interactions with him--it's part of why Deranged Outcast made the deck in the first place--although they haven't come up yet in matches, probably because of my lack of tutors.
High Market/Miren, the Moaning Well: Who would've guessed that High Market is in fact cheaper than Miren o.O I think both would be great options for this deck, although the problem of too many colorless lands might come up eventually in that case. Both of these do combo well with Skullclamp too, so there's that going for it as well.
Bow of Nylea: the Bow was in my first draft, but I wound up cutting it to make room for more utility spells. I may add it back in, not just for recursion but for the fact that giving my attackers deathtouch is very relevant.
You're correct on Sun Titan et all: those were left out for flavor purposes. Sun Titan would be the one I'd be easily convinced to add in, given his presence in the Heroes vs. Monsters Duel Deck set.
Heroes' Podium: I looked at it, debated about putting it in, and decided against it. While it is a second Sisay, it only finds Legendary creatures rather than any Legendary permanent. And I usually don't have that many Legends out at one time, so the anthem effect would be negligible. I could always up the Legendary creature count I guess, but by restricting myself to just Humans it makes it difficult to do so without hampering the deck's power level even more.
Spear of Heliod: Like the Bow, it was in my original draft, but I wound up cutting it for Marshal's Anthem, as I felt a mass revival spell was better than a clunky removal one. I've actually grown less and less fond of Kongming, "Sleeping Dragon" the more I've played with it, and he may be on his way out the door. I'm not sure Spear would fare any better.
Martyr's Cause: I don't think I've ever seen that card before. It looks solid, and it quite flavorful too, given how the Humans were more than willing to martyr themselves for Avacyn. I'll add that to my list of cards to test.
Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker: She's probably going to work her way in too; the other day I used this deck at a table with Trostani, Selesnya's Voice and Nath of the Gilt-Leaf and the results weren't pretty.
Oblation: I wanted this card in here, but I wrote it off because I assumed it was out of my price range. Then I looked it up and it's in fact selling for less than a dollar. And that trick with Sisay is definitely a relevant one; can't tell you how many times she's been spot removaled off the board. Automatic include.
Coat of Arms: It's a good card, but I don't want to give my opponents any benefits here. Although let's be real; I'm probably the only one at the table crazy enough to run such a critical mass of humans in the first place, so it should be more of a benefit to me than it is to them. I'll put this in the Maybeboard as well.
Steely Resolve: This was in my deck originally, but I have no clue why I cut it. Against, protecting Sisay needs to happen more often. It really stinks when she costs 8 mana by like turn 8.
Benevolent Bodyguard: Interesting tech choice, and again, I need more ways to protect the Captain.
Thousand-Year Elixir/Magewright's Stone: I probably have a spare Stone lying around somewhere in my mess of cards, and it's probably worth a test. Elixir is currently being used in my Vorel deck, but if I get another I'll probably run it here.
Retribution of the Meek: Wraths are good, and it's flavorful to. Add that to the Maybeboard.
Tutors: I wish I had enough money for an Eladamri's Call, but I'm making due with Congregation at Dawn instead. I'm currently testing Boots/Greaves and Steelshaper Apprentice to tutor for them.
Avacyn's Pilgrim: How on earth did I forget him?
Now, as for the cuts you suggested...
Mageta the Lion: He's clunky, very clunky. But he's a Human. And a wrath. A tutorable wrath. And there have been scenarios were I get to pitch Dearly Departed with his ability. Even though I don't have Avacyn yet, I do have Frontline Medic and Eldrazi Monument to give me the same effect. For the time being, I think he stays.
I agree with Temple of the False God. If I do get my hands on a High Market or something, I'll be sure to swap them around.
Revoke Existence was included as a way to combat the number of Gods running around my meta, and because I got a foil one from Born of the Gods, and that art is amazing. Return to Dust though is probably a better upgrade.
Selesnya Charm, while it has had its moments, probably needs to go. I do have a spare Swords lying around, so I'll add that in when I find it.
Akroma's Memorial: It's one of the few ways that I can sort of interact with flying things unless I add in something like Squall Line. And it's searchable, so there's that. But I can see your perspective. I'll play with it a bit more and see how I feel about it.
Yavimaya Hollow: Do you mind elaborating a bit more about why it's been underperforming to you? A nigh-uncounterable way to prevent Sisay from dying seems like it would be fantastic. Do you feel the same way about Kor Haven?
Heliod, God of the Sun has actually been working out for me better than Nylea, God of the Hunt. It's nice draw engine with Mentor of the Meek, and vigilance has been more relevant than Nylea's trample.
I agree on the Elder of Laurels--I've never once had the inkling to play it or use it's ability--but Imposing Sovereign has actually tested well for me so far. It helps slow down the game so I can set things up with Sisay.
Again, thank you very much for you insight. Most of your suggestions were spot on, and I'm going to test each one as to not disregard them out of hand. I'll be adding a Change Log, Wish List/Upgrade List, and a Maybeboard/Test List to the original post so everyone including myself can keep track of everything.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
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BGMidrangeBG
I can see why you like Heliod over Nylea. You're trying to go wide with a bunch of guys. I'm try to go big with a few fatties. Vigilance doesn't matter much to me as my main beaters are Avacyn, Elesh Norn, and Sun Titan.
Even if you don't have High Market, I'm pretty sure that Forest is better than Temple of the False God in this deck. That card's probably a trap in EDH unless you can abuse it.
I don't like Yavimaya Hollow because there are so many bad things that can happen which regeneration doesn't fix. Tuck, bounce, exile, Arrest effects, Humility, etc. A number of popular cards don't allow for regen anyway (Wrath of God). Colorless land are quite bad for our game plan. I try to run as few as possible. That being said, Avacyn covers a lot of the stuff that regen would cover, so maybe the Hollow would be better for you.
I do run Kor Haven but it's only meh. It's on my list of potential cuts. If we're holding up 3 mana per turn to hold off one attacker, we're probably doing it wrong. My gameplan is to advance my board in a manner that provides overlapping protection effects. Something like Saffi Eriksdotter into Gaddock Teeg into Karametra into Avacyn might be my tutor progression for the first few turns (just one example of many possible progressions). So, I'm always tapping out early and I don't need a Maze of Ith effect late. Either I'm winning or I'm too far behind and need a blowout to catch back up(something like Terminus or Myojin of Cleansing Fire). Kor Haven might be better for you since your curve is lower, but I would count it as a spell instead of a land so you don't mess up your early colored mana.
As for Bow of Nylea, it shines in my build thanks to Polukranos, World Eater. Attack, gain deathtouch and literally eat the world. That seems like a massive flavor fail here. The Bow also specifically hoses Kaalia of the Vast if that's a thing in your meta.
A few other thoughts:
Konda's Banner is strong here. Pretty much your whole squad gets +2/+2 (including the bearer).
Increasing Devotion? Seems pretty good.
Knight of the Reliquary seems like it might under-perform. Good card, don't get me wrong, but you don't have enough of a "lands matter" package (not even a Strip Mine) to make her worth it (in my opinion). Now if you had the Dark Depths / Thespian's Stage package, then we'd be talking. But again, huge flavor fail. If you drop Knight, you can also lose Sejiri Steppe, which seems awful if you can't get it at instant speed. The bar for me to tolerate ETB tapped lands or colorless lands is very high.
It feels like you could use a bit more ramp. I like simple stuff along the lines of Nature's Lore, Farseek and Selesnya Signet, especially the Signet because it fixes your mana very well off any two lands. All of them come down before Sisay and allow you to accelerate into her, which is key. I avoid Cultivate and friends because they don't get you to Sisay any faster.
I will mention that Loyal Retainers is human, and he's super good here. It might be a budget issue though. He's much better if you run Sun Titan and incredibly busted if you run Survival of the Fittest. The last one seems off-flavor again.
I find that my deck is just a mediocre, clunky midrange deck if I don't have Sisay. I tried to diversify against this, but it just made the deck worse. So, I'm always on the "get Sisay and protect Sisay" plan. One or two activations and I'm usually good. That's why I'm so interested in good mana early. You can see my current build at the link in my sig if you'd like. I think I'll be adding card-by-card comments soon.
Captain Sisay - Efficient Toolbox Control
Kemba, Kha Regent - Equipment & Mini-stax