Well, it's that time of the year again: the end of spoiler season! Once more, my criteria is not simply complying with mana identity but it's possibility of inclusion in the deck either by being synergistic or being broken. Here're my thoughts and opinions on the cards from Hour of Devastation:
Fraying Sanity - Along the lines of Curse of the Bloody Tome, the idea would be to enchant yourself. In this case it would be strictly better since you'd probably be self-milling for more than 2 at the end of each turn. For those still running cards that only self-mill, this type of card may tickle your fancy.
Seer of the Last Tomorrow - May be up for consideration in the Budget Build. Having a spellshaper style, it allows as a discard outlet while also self-milling for three. I'm not entirely sold on it but I can find the merit in it.
Strategic Planning - I'd be lying if I don't get excited whenever I see WotC reprint cards in Standard that were once originally printed in specialty sets - and Portal: Three Kingdoms, no less! This card I always considered since it self-mill while filtering. Although it is at sorcery speed, it's fairly costed for what it does. Can definitely be considered for the Budget Build since it's reprinted at common (like it was originally in PTK).
Accursed Horde - The only thing I don't like about this card is that it only targets an attacking zombie. Otherwise, it could definitely be considered as a way to protect key creatures in the Zombie Build.
Apocalypse Demon - Along the lines of Lhurgoyf, Boneyard Wurm, etc., this one actually goes a step further by taking into account all cards in your graveyard. I'm not one who likes playing with these types of creatures in my builds but I do recognize the existence of those that do. This card salutes you.
Razaketh, the Foulblooded - Another tutor on a body! Similar to Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Rune-Scarred Demon, you could tutor for key pieces if you're running combo or if you simply need responses all by simply sacrificing a creature and paying 2 life. This deck never runs short of sacrifice fodder so it should be relatively easy to take advantage of Razaketh.
Hour of Promise - Definitely worth considering since you can tutor into play not one, but two lands. Oh, and not basic lands, but any land. Meaning that in one fell swoop you can get Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth into play at once with a single spell. Unfortunately, we won't be able to take advantage of the desert clause of the spell but the land pairing is the main allure of the card.
Ramunap Excavator - I don't even run Crucible of Worlds in any of the builds but I could definitely consider Ramunap Excavator as something to include. The golden rule of these builds is to find ways to get abilities on bodies. This naga does precisely that.
Nissa, Genesis Mage - This may seem like something way out of left field for me to mention - let along consider, but hear me out. Although these planeswalkers aren't meant to be competitive in Standard, they're still useful for casual play. In other words, Commander. This hefty and high-costed Nissa's incremental ability is to untap not only 2 creatures, but 2 lands as well. That's incredibly useful in this deck. That means that if I had to tap Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Gaea's Cradle to cast her, I just untapped them with her /+2\. I can also untap two creatures such as Krosan Restorer and Satyr Wayfinder for even more mana capabilities. Recently I removed Garruk Wildspeaker because I was only ever using its /+1\ ability, but I did use his \-4/ ability when my other ways of getting my horde through weren't available to me. So I may even consider adding him back later on. Okay, Garruk minirant aside, Nissa's ultimate has the potential of being truly broken. However, if I do include her for testing, I can see myself only really abusing her /+2\ ability the same way I used Garruk primarily for his /+1\ ability.
Driven // Despair - Per the golden rule, I do tend to avoid considering noncreature cards for the builds. However, this card can be used from the graveyard, if need be. The Despair part of this split card could be good as another way to provide slight evasion to my horde. It can also help with bothering opponents by having them discard cards when they do get hit by my creatures. It's not something that screams autoinclude, but if it becomes a cheap card, I will definitely consider it for the Budget Build.
Ipnu Rivulet - I'm still on the fence as to how useful this land could actually be. It taps for . . and can provide U in a pinch for 1 life, making it essentially a one-colored pain land. However, in this case it self-mills for 3 at 1U and basically sacrificing itself. Taking these things into consideration, I still prefer running Nephalia Drownyard over it.
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Any reason Phyrexian Delver doesn't make the cut for any version? It's a decent creature in it's own right and can win the game combined with Jarad's Orders searching out it and Craterhoof.
Any reason Phyrexian Delver doesn't make the cut for any version? It's a decent creature in it's own right and can win the game combined with Jarad's Orders searching out it and Craterhoof.
There are just so many cards that are great with the deck. However, I don't really have a solid answer beyond the fact that I don't see it fit in the deck. In order for me to abuse it I'd have to find ways to consistently blink it (which the deck doesn't do) or sacrifice it and then resurrect it. If I'm doing that, I might as well resurrect whatever it is that Phyrexian Delver would resurrect anyways. You do have a point of combining it with Jarad's Orders. However, I'd have to basically spend 9 mana in order to tutor a creature into play - plus pay the latter's casting cost in life. I don't see it being that efficient, to be honest. I'd rather use Jarad's Orders for Sidisi, Undead Vizier to my hand and Filth to the graveyard.
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Having a creature that can tutor for anything in the deck is too good to pass up. Also, even though Deadbridge Chant was a card that has always been in the deck, its recovery ability is random. When my graveyard is too big it's logistically annoying to use its ability each upkeep. Although it's still a good card for recovering any card from the graveyard, Razaketh is just a better card and it needed a slot.
Although Liliana's emblem is crazy, it does require lots of hoops to jump through to actually acquire. Opponents will do their best to deter you from that emblem - even before Liliana transforms. The Scarab God needed a slot and hers was it. The Scarab God is an amazing wincon. Not only that, you can scry through your deck, which is something crucial when your self-milling. If that weren't enough, you can exile creatures from graveyards and make them zombies to boot! The Scarab God was an auto-include here the moment it was spoiled.
I also updated the OP to reflect these changes in the decklist and to add the Hour of Devastation review. Eventually I will edit the deck stats.
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For an idea of issues, here's a brief recap of the deck's first three games:
GAME 1: 1v1 against Vial Smasher/Kraum: The deck countered and killed every single cast card, and she died to Vial Smasher activation. 1v1 tuned this deck ain't, but she was humoring a friend.
GAME 2: 1v1 versus Samut, Voice of Dissent: The deck just worked, accelerating out Sidisi and slamming hordes of zombies. Filth into the 'yard with Entomb ended the game in convincing fashion.
GAME 3: Multiplayer free-for-all versus Momir Vig, Meren, and Rakdos Lord of Riots: Zombies got off to an early lead with Sol Ring and fetches slamming down a fast Sidisi to mangle folks and make zombies. This was backed with tutoring but my wife made some questionable tutor choices instead of jamming Filth or Genesis. Momir decided to play kingmaker and help her out by looping her Gray Merchant of Asphodel with his Crystal Shard, giving her a big life advantage, but my wife played a little too passively. She kept using the threat of zombie apocalypse instead of attacking and that left her stranded after a round where she got slammed with a board wipe + Loaming Shaman shuffling all non-land cards into her deck. She kept it interesting since she was at 80 at that point from Gary, using Gravecrawler + Vengeful Dead + Skullclamp to dig while draining, but ultimately succumbed to the Meren player needing just one more turn for lethal.
My wife feels like the deck is low on interaction and answers, and doesn't have enough ways to efficiently pull stuff out of the 'yard. Suggestions? I am leaning towards dropping the Grave Pact engine and a few of the more questionable sacrifice outlets and adding in more utility creatures like Skullwinder, Bone Shredder, Reclamation Sage, Agent of Erebos, etc even though that may drop the overall Zombie count.
Noxious Ghoul is on the shopping list, but no one has them in stock when we try local stores. Expensive cards we own that aren't currently in the deck include Akroma's Memorial, Protean Hulk, Coat of Arms. We're open to buying and trying out anything else that is under $10. Suggestions on making this deck a little more interactive and resilient without hurting its fundamental ratio of tokens to creatures to mill effects?
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Commander - Currently Playing: RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G) RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B) WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
Thanks! I'm glad you like the primer and find it helpful!
As for the 1v1 games, this deck is nowhere near caliber for a serious single player match. I know I've been over that in great detail throughout the entire thread, but prepping it for singles means practically remaking the entire deck.
As for answers, there are ways of cutting out some creatures in favor of others. The deck isn't meant to be super slow, but given the luck of the draw it may be slower than what it usually is; just as it can also be quicker than normal. I see some cards that aren't really synergistic or don't provide enough presence to warrant inclusion in the deck. Here are some cards I'd cut:
These cards feel a bit underwhelming compared with what the deck should be capable of doing - considering the fact that you own great cards. Akroma's Memorial, Protean Hulk, and Coat of Arms could definitely go in here. You could also add Hour of Promise (it's only $1 presale in most sites). That leaves 6 slots open for creatures that provide answers. Glen Elendra Archmage is a great card you should consider for the deck - and with Mikaeus in play its persist and undying cancel each other out, which is great. Additionally, no better answer than Cyclonic Rift exists for this - which isn't included in your deck. 4 more slots left. I also see that you're not taking too much advantage of self-milling and are getting creatures into your graveyard by sacrificing or discarding. Rather than have so many sac and discard outlets, add some actual self-milling outlets. To that I welcome to choose 4 amongst the creatures that you like from my primer (there are dozens to choose from). Another thing I noticed is that you have Mesmeric Orb in there and no way to take full advantage of it. Also, no way to protect your graveyard should someone try to exile it.
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Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that I made a couple of swaps in my list - namely The Scarab God for Gempalm Polluter and Ramunap Excavator for Loaming Shaman and they work really well. On top of it, I managed to lower a little bit the CMC average since, even though the Polluter is seldom used as a creatures, it's a 6-drop whereas the Scarab only requires 5 mana.
Lol, technically I only consider the CMC to be what the spell is used for. For example, I never cast Krosan Tusker. So, for me, it has a CMC of 3 . So I consider Gempalm Polluter to have a CMC of 2.
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I like Path of Ancestry. The problems is that Sidisi, Brood Tyrant isn't a zombie; it's a naga shaman. So I can't really take advantage of the scrying because the deck hardly runs any naga or shamans. For the very most part, in this deck it's just a glorified Opulent Palace.
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It's strictly better than any Tri-Land, especially if you have a 4+ colour Commander. I think Path will be a sleeper card and then skyrocket as people realize how damned good it is.
It's strictly better than any Tri-Land, especially if you have a 4+ colour Commander. I think Path will be a sleeper card and then skyrocket as people realize how damned good it is.
It's a great card. And, as I said, I like it. However, in this deck it's just a glorified Opulent Palace.
As you said, it's great for commanders with multiple colors in it. And it's definitely great for tribal commanders - I'd say even for monocolored or bicolored ones.
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Taigam, Sidisi's Hand - Is this worth spending 5 mana on and skipping our Draw step? I'm a little conflicted. The upside is that it's a Creature and when I want to land those land drops, I can do so instead of milling them from Dredge. The problem is that he's a Creature. Also, you're almost never going to use his Activated Ability.
Taigam, Sidisi's Hand - Is this worth spending 5 mana on and skipping our Draw step? I'm a little conflicted. The upside is that it's a Creature and when I want to land those land drops, I can do so instead of milling them from Dredge. The problem is that he's a Creature. Also, you're almost never going to use his Activated Ability.
I like traitor Taigam, so I'm gonna get into it now since I'm going to discuss any C17 cards I consider relevant for Sidisi.
Here's my analysis of the relevant cards from Commander 2017:
Taigam, Sidisi's Hand - It's a creature and each upkeep it filters the card I draw all while sending two cards to the graveyard. Love it! That means that if there's a noncreature nonland card among those three, I can send that to my hand and the other two to the yard, preferably triggering Sidisi. It's a bit of a bummer that it's only triggered during the upkeep step, though. Even its activated ability is useful. If you're going to get killed off by a commander, you can exile some cards from your graveyard in order to protect yourself. Overall, this card is definitely worth testing.
Magus of the Mind - Although the deck doesn't run Mind's Desire, this card is Mind's Desire on a body. With sufficient mana, many spells can be played to up the storm count and then sacrifice Magus of the Mind for some epic plays. Curiously enough, it doesn't only count your own spells during that turn. Meaning that any spells cast by other players will count. It's probably winmore, but at least it warrants acknowledging.
Kindred Discovery - Being able to draw a card everytime a zombie enters the battlefield? Sweet! Although a noncreature spell, it definitely has some merit for testing in the Zombie Build.
Kindred Summons - This card is just gonna be ridiculous in the Zombie Build. Although it's not a creature, it's definitely worth testing!
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Well, Path of Ancestry is also working with Sidisi when you've got to cast her (again). So I would consider playing it. I don't know yet, what to cut for it, probably Llanowar Wastes...
Well, Path of Ancestry is also working with Sidisi when you've got to cast her (again). So I would consider playing it. I don't know yet, what to cut for it, probably Llanowar Wastes...
Hm, you do make a good point. In any case, it does trigger when casting Sidisi. I would have to see how much tempo I'd lose if I add in another land that comes into play tapped...
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There's 4 creatures in the main deck that share a type with Sidisi - Eternal Witness, Nullmage Shepherd, Riftsweeper and Sidisi, Undead Vizier. There may not be many triggers since all of the above are situationally played and often aren't cast but reanimated, however it's still strictly better than Opulent Palace since both can add U, B or G, come onto the battlefield tapped, but one has a bonus effect of an occasional Scry 1. I'd just straight up trade the two. It's worse than anything else in the list, but still better than the normal tapped land it's replacing.
There's 4 creatures in the main deck that share a type with Sidisi - Eternal Witness, Nullmage Shepherd, Riftsweeper and Sidisi, Undead Vizier. There may not be many triggers since all of the above are situationally played and often aren't cast but reanimated, however it's still strictly better than Opulent Palace since both can add U, B or G, come onto the battlefield tapped, but one has a bonus effect of an occasional Scry 1. I'd just straight up trade the two. It's worse than anything else in the list, but still better than the normal tapped land it's replacing.
Yeah, that's what I was planning on doing. I wasn't going to trade any other land for it other than a land that doesn't enter the battlefield tapped. If I choose "shaman" as the creature type, I can at least get 4 creature to trigger the land - as far as I'm actually casting them.
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My YouTube Channel: The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I have been running a Sidisi, Brood Tyrant EDH deck for about a year now. I really like her as a commander, and making use of the graveyard is the mechanic that makes this deck unique for me (I have 7 EDH decks at this point).
I have struggled with Sidisi though in my deck building. My first attempt had very few ways of managing graveyard recursion. My next iteration struggled with mana ramp. My next revision went for big effects like Zombie Apocalypse, but you work towards doing big broken stuff, only to get it countered, then you have no game. All of my builds to this point had no protection for Sidisi, and while its fine to cast her a 2nd time, I found myself casting her up to 3 times or more in a game, which eats all of your mana. So, my current build has incorporated some ramp and protection for Sidisi, but its now feeling less focused. I have a lot of great individual cards, but I appear to be lacking synergy. I also have always experienced a weak late game, and on turn 10 or so, people are expecting me to "go off" or something, and all I got is recur a single creature or something weak.
I am not interested in "solo play" strategies, nor am I interested in infinite combos at all. I think I want to focus on zombie horde, then having ways to add pump, evade, and most of all, protection, or to use them in some way to gain value. It seems as though each time I get 6 or more zombie tokens, here comes a board wipe, and everything I have done in the game was to get there, and then my deck never recovers, while others are doing crazy broken stuff.
Any advice or suggestions would be terrific.
Most of the cards in my "MaybeBoard" are cards I have pulled from the deck at some point.
Yeah, I understand what you mean by getting consistency. It took me a real long time to find a "sweet spot". And even then, I still have a build completely devoted to Zombie Tribal.
I haven't been able to look over your deck with great attention since I'm swamped with many things. However, I'll try to do so over the weekend. By then I should respond with something. Hopefully something helpful!
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I have been running a Sidisi, Brood Tyrant EDH deck for about a year now. I really like her as a commander, and making use of the graveyard is the mechanic that makes this deck unique for me (I have 7 EDH decks at this point).
I have struggled with Sidisi though in my deck building. My first attempt had very few ways of managing graveyard recursion. My next iteration struggled with mana ramp. My next revision went for big effects like Zombie Apocalypse, but you work towards doing big broken stuff, only to get it countered, then you have no game. All of my builds to this point had no protection for Sidisi, and while its fine to cast her a 2nd time, I found myself casting her up to 3 times or more in a game, which eats all of your mana. So, my current build has incorporated some ramp and protection for Sidisi, but its now feeling less focused. I have a lot of great individual cards, but I appear to be lacking synergy. I also have always experienced a weak late game, and on turn 10 or so, people are expecting me to "go off" or something, and all I got is recur a single creature or something weak.
I am not interested in "solo play" strategies, nor am I interested in infinite combos at all. I think I want to focus on zombie horde, then having ways to add pump, evade, and most of all, protection, or to use them in some way to gain value. It seems as though each time I get 6 or more zombie tokens, here comes a board wipe, and everything I have done in the game was to get there, and then my deck never recovers, while others are doing crazy broken stuff.
Any advice or suggestions would be terrific.
Most of the cards in my "MaybeBoard" are cards I have pulled from the deck at some point.
Your deck's not as inconsistent as you think. Here's some things that are evident with your list and your description: 1. You have a lot of lands that enter the battlefield tapped. One thing you should swap out as soon as possible is Rupture Spire. Path of Ancestry is a great choice for that slot. 2. You're worried about board wipes but you run two cards that could remove all your tokens from the battlefield: Living Death and Black Sun's Zenith. 3. You run too few creatures for self-milling and also run too few cards for self-milling. If you want to produce zombie tokens with Sidisi, you need more of both in order to have consistency. 4. If you're constantly getting wrathed, that seems like a meta call. In that case, add cards to regenerate your creatures or make them indestructible, i.e. Eldrazi Monument, Heroic Intervention, and Soul of New Phyrexia.
In order to up your creature count, you should try and add creatures that have abilities on the non-creature spells you have. For example, instead of adding one-shot kill spells, add creatures like Acidic Slime instead. In order to not stall out or depend only on topdecking, you need to be able to effectively filter your cards. This is done by cards like Forbidden Alchemy, etc. Here're my suggestions on what to cut from your deck - for consistency's sake:
This leaves about 16 slots for you to work around. You can use those slots to add cards to save you from a wrath, and cards to filter through your deck to maintain efficiency. You're already running enough zombies so you can add other creatures that provide value. My top suggestion is to try and make the remaining swaps for creatures. And not only creatures, but creatures that help you filter through your top deck. Like Satyr Wayfinder, Gurmag Drowner, etc. I have plenty of ideas for that strategy through the primer.
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I will work on making some adjustments this weekend, and then stop by my local shop to snag some cards. I think getting the deck to do what I think it should do in a very consistent manner will make it more fun and enjoyable to play when I bust it out. I totally agree with replacing stand alone cards with creatures who have the similar effect. I appreciate the recommendations!
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BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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WURMiraclesRWU
UBRCruel ControlRBU
If you're having fun, I'm not.
There are just so many cards that are great with the deck. However, I don't really have a solid answer beyond the fact that I don't see it fit in the deck. In order for me to abuse it I'd have to find ways to consistently blink it (which the deck doesn't do) or sacrifice it and then resurrect it. If I'm doing that, I might as well resurrect whatever it is that Phyrexian Delver would resurrect anyways. You do have a point of combining it with Jarad's Orders. However, I'd have to basically spend 9 mana in order to tutor a creature into play - plus pay the latter's casting cost in life. I don't see it being that efficient, to be honest. I'd rather use Jarad's Orders for Sidisi, Undead Vizier to my hand and Filth to the graveyard.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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6 Deadbridge Chant
8 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
3 Liliana, Heretical Healer
5 The Scarab God
I also updated the OP to reflect these changes in the decklist and to add the Hour of Devastation review. Eventually I will edit the deck stats.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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1x Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Creatures: 41
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Carrion Feeder
1x Cryptbreaker
1x Deathrite Shaman
1x Gravecrawler
1x Lotleth Troll
1x Llanowar Dead
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Satyr Wayfinder
1x Cemetery Reaper
1x Gutless Ghoul
1x Death Baron
1x Diregraf Captain
1x Diregraf Colossus
1x Eternal Witness
1x Fleshbag Marauder
1x Lich Lord of Unx
1x Lord of the Accursed
1x Lord of the Undead
1x Plague Belcher
1x Nantuko Husk
1x Shambling Shell
1x Filth
1x Gisa and Geralf
1x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
1x Wonder
1x Undead Warchief
1x Vengeful Dead
1x Acidic Slime
1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Corpse Connoisseur
1x Corpse Harvester
1x Genesis
1x Havengul Lich
1x Shriekmaw
1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1x Gempalm Polluter
1x Grave Titan
1x Twisted Abomination
1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
1x Bad River
1x Breeding Pool
1x Command Tower
1x Drowned Catacomb
6x Forest
1x Gaea's Cradle
1x High Market
1x Hinterland Harbor
2x Island
1x Lonely Sandbar
1x Nephalia Drownyard
1x Opulent Palace
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Polluted Delta
1x Polluted Mire
1x Slippery Karst
1x Sunken Hollow
1x Sunken Ruins
10x Swamp
1x Fetid Pools
1x Unholy Grotto
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Watery Grave
Artifact: 7
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Altar of Dementia
1x Mesmeric Orb
1x Ashnod's Altar
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Phyrexian Reclamation
1x Grave Pact
1x Dictate of Erebos
1x Rooftop Storm
Sorcery: 7
1x Dread Summons
1x Farseek
1x Life from the Loam
1x Buried Alive
1x Dread Return
1x Jarad's Orders
1x Living Death
Instant: 2
1x Entomb
1x Corpse Churn
For an idea of issues, here's a brief recap of the deck's first three games:
GAME 1: 1v1 against Vial Smasher/Kraum: The deck countered and killed every single cast card, and she died to Vial Smasher activation. 1v1 tuned this deck ain't, but she was humoring a friend.
GAME 2: 1v1 versus Samut, Voice of Dissent: The deck just worked, accelerating out Sidisi and slamming hordes of zombies. Filth into the 'yard with Entomb ended the game in convincing fashion.
GAME 3: Multiplayer free-for-all versus Momir Vig, Meren, and Rakdos Lord of Riots: Zombies got off to an early lead with Sol Ring and fetches slamming down a fast Sidisi to mangle folks and make zombies. This was backed with tutoring but my wife made some questionable tutor choices instead of jamming Filth or Genesis. Momir decided to play kingmaker and help her out by looping her Gray Merchant of Asphodel with his Crystal Shard, giving her a big life advantage, but my wife played a little too passively. She kept using the threat of zombie apocalypse instead of attacking and that left her stranded after a round where she got slammed with a board wipe + Loaming Shaman shuffling all non-land cards into her deck. She kept it interesting since she was at 80 at that point from Gary, using Gravecrawler + Vengeful Dead + Skullclamp to dig while draining, but ultimately succumbed to the Meren player needing just one more turn for lethal.
My wife feels like the deck is low on interaction and answers, and doesn't have enough ways to efficiently pull stuff out of the 'yard. Suggestions? I am leaning towards dropping the Grave Pact engine and a few of the more questionable sacrifice outlets and adding in more utility creatures like Skullwinder, Bone Shredder, Reclamation Sage, Agent of Erebos, etc even though that may drop the overall Zombie count.
Noxious Ghoul is on the shopping list, but no one has them in stock when we try local stores. Expensive cards we own that aren't currently in the deck include Akroma's Memorial, Protean Hulk, Coat of Arms. We're open to buying and trying out anything else that is under $10. Suggestions on making this deck a little more interactive and resilient without hurting its fundamental ratio of tokens to creatures to mill effects?
RCRDaretti: Superfriends Forever RCR
WGBDoran: Ent-mootWBG
GGGMultani: Group Bear HugGGG
GB(B/G)The Gitrog Monster: Dredgefall DurdleGB(B/G)
RGWGahiji, the Honored Group Hug MonsterRGW
UB(U/B)Yuriko, Ninja Trinket AggroUB(U/B)
WUBRGAtogatog: Assembling a OHKOWUBRG
As for the 1v1 games, this deck is nowhere near caliber for a serious single player match. I know I've been over that in great detail throughout the entire thread, but prepping it for singles means practically remaking the entire deck.
As for answers, there are ways of cutting out some creatures in favor of others. The deck isn't meant to be super slow, but given the luck of the draw it may be slower than what it usually is; just as it can also be quicker than normal. I see some cards that aren't really synergistic or don't provide enough presence to warrant inclusion in the deck. Here are some cards I'd cut:
- Carrion Feeder
- Deathrite Shaman
- Lotleth Troll
- Llanowar Dead
- Gutless Ghoul
- Nantuko Husk
- Shambling Shell
- Gisa and Geralf
- Twisted Abomination
- Wayfarer's Bauble
These cards feel a bit underwhelming compared with what the deck should be capable of doing - considering the fact that you own great cards. Akroma's Memorial, Protean Hulk, and Coat of Arms could definitely go in here. You could also add Hour of Promise (it's only $1 presale in most sites). That leaves 6 slots open for creatures that provide answers. Glen Elendra Archmage is a great card you should consider for the deck - and with Mikaeus in play its persist and undying cancel each other out, which is great. Additionally, no better answer than Cyclonic Rift exists for this - which isn't included in your deck. 4 more slots left. I also see that you're not taking too much advantage of self-milling and are getting creatures into your graveyard by sacrificing or discarding. Rather than have so many sac and discard outlets, add some actual self-milling outlets. To that I welcome to choose 4 amongst the creatures that you like from my primer (there are dozens to choose from). Another thing I noticed is that you have Mesmeric Orb in there and no way to take full advantage of it. Also, no way to protect your graveyard should someone try to exile it.Hope my assessment was helpful!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Hey man, I just wanted to let you know that I made a couple of swaps in my list - namely The Scarab God for Gempalm Polluter and Ramunap Excavator for Loaming Shaman and they work really well. On top of it, I managed to lower a little bit the CMC average since, even though the Polluter is seldom used as a creatures, it's a 6-drop whereas the Scarab only requires 5 mana.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
It's a great card. And, as I said, I like it. However, in this deck it's just a glorified Opulent Palace.
As you said, it's great for commanders with multiple colors in it. And it's definitely great for tribal commanders - I'd say even for monocolored or bicolored ones.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
I like traitor Taigam, so I'm gonna get into it now since I'm going to discuss any C17 cards I consider relevant for Sidisi.
Here's my analysis of the relevant cards from Commander 2017:
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Hm, you do make a good point. In any case, it does trigger when casting Sidisi. I would have to see how much tempo I'd lose if I add in another land that comes into play tapped...
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
(Also known as Xenphire)
Yeah, that's what I was planning on doing. I wasn't going to trade any other land for it other than a land that doesn't enter the battlefield tapped. If I choose "shaman" as the creature type, I can at least get 4 creature to trigger the land - as far as I'm actually casting them.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I think that if your deck is Casual enough to run a ETBT Land, Path of Ancestry goes in first.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
It's definitely going in the Budget Build if it's priced low. It's going to replace Opulent Palace in the competitive decks.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I have struggled with Sidisi though in my deck building. My first attempt had very few ways of managing graveyard recursion. My next iteration struggled with mana ramp. My next revision went for big effects like Zombie Apocalypse, but you work towards doing big broken stuff, only to get it countered, then you have no game. All of my builds to this point had no protection for Sidisi, and while its fine to cast her a 2nd time, I found myself casting her up to 3 times or more in a game, which eats all of your mana. So, my current build has incorporated some ramp and protection for Sidisi, but its now feeling less focused. I have a lot of great individual cards, but I appear to be lacking synergy. I also have always experienced a weak late game, and on turn 10 or so, people are expecting me to "go off" or something, and all I got is recur a single creature or something weak.
I am not interested in "solo play" strategies, nor am I interested in infinite combos at all. I think I want to focus on zombie horde, then having ways to add pump, evade, and most of all, protection, or to use them in some way to gain value. It seems as though each time I get 6 or more zombie tokens, here comes a board wipe, and everything I have done in the game was to get there, and then my deck never recovers, while others are doing crazy broken stuff.
Any advice or suggestions would be terrific.
Most of the cards in my "MaybeBoard" are cards I have pulled from the deck at some point.
1x Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Creature (31)
1x Cemetery Reaper
1x Corpse Connoisseur
1x Death Baron
1x Diregraf Captain
1x Diregraf Colossus
1x Eternal Witness
1x Filth
1x Genesis
1x Grave Titan
1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1x Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
1x Havengul Lich
1x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
1x Kessig Cagebreakers
1x Lich Lord of Unx
1x Lord of the Accursed
1x Lord of the Undead
1x Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1x Nyx Weaver
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Sewer Nemesis
1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
1x Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1x Splinterfright
1x Stinkweed Imp
1x Torrent Elemental
1x Unbreathing Horde
1x Undead Warchief
1x Vengeful Pharaoh
1x Vulturous Zombie
Sorcery (9)
1x Black Sun's Zenith
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Grim Discovery
1x Jarad's Orders
1x Life from the Loam
1x Living Death
1x Regrowth
1x Spider Spawning
1x Splendid Reclamation
1x Dictate of Erebos
1x Mana Reflection
1x Parallel Lives
1x Rooftop Storm
1x Sultai Ascendancy
Land (36)
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Command Beacon
1x Command Tower
1x Crypt of Agadeem
1x Dakmor Salvage
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Dismal Backwater
1x Evolving Wilds
4x Forest
1x Golgari Rot Farm
1x High Market
2x Island
1x Jungle Hollow
1x Llanowar Wastes
1x Nephalia Drownyard
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Opulent Palace
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Rupture Spire
1x Simic Growth Chamber
4x Swamp
1x Temple of Deceit
1x Temple of Malady
1x Temple of Mystery
1x Temple of the False God
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Thornwood Falls
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Yavimaya Coast
Artifact (13)
1x Akroma's Memorial
1x Altar of Dementia
1x Caged Sun
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Dimir Signet
1x Expedition Map
1x Golgari Signet
1x Mesmeric Orb
1x Simic Signet
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Whispersilk Cloak
Instant (4)
1x Forbidden Alchemy
1x Putrefy
1x Sultai Charm
1x Unravel the Aether
Maybeboard (32)
1x All Suns' Dawn
1x Arachnogenesis
1x Brawn
1x Call to the Grave
1x Dread Return
1x Dread Summons
1x Eldrazi Monument
1x Empty the Pits
1x Ever After
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Grapple with the Past
1x Hedron Crab
1x Laboratory Maniac
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Loaming Shaman
1x Mulch
1x Oversold Cemetery
1x Profane Command
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Rise from the Tides
1x Rise of the Dark Realms
1x Seasons Past
1x Second Harvest
1x Stitcher Geralf
1x Sudden Reclamation
1x Sultai Soothsayer
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Taigam's Scheming
1x Undead Alchemist
1x Victimize
1x Whip of Erebos
1x Zombie Apocalypse
I haven't been able to look over your deck with great attention since I'm swamped with many things. However, I'll try to do so over the weekend. By then I should respond with something. Hopefully something helpful!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Also, those Signets could probably be Creatures for Sidisi.
Mid-Tier: Marchesa Aggro Rose Asmadi Get Dire Tymna Ikra Woke Women Tiana Aura Angel Ruric Thar SMASH Smasher Kraum Mana Positivity Zur Slides
Filthy Casual: WUBRG Jodah WUBRG WUBRG Fatties WUBRG Gahiji Vigilant Vengeance Ezuri Mysterious Morphs
Your deck's not as inconsistent as you think. Here's some things that are evident with your list and your description:
1. You have a lot of lands that enter the battlefield tapped. One thing you should swap out as soon as possible is Rupture Spire. Path of Ancestry is a great choice for that slot.
2. You're worried about board wipes but you run two cards that could remove all your tokens from the battlefield: Living Death and Black Sun's Zenith.
3. You run too few creatures for self-milling and also run too few cards for self-milling. If you want to produce zombie tokens with Sidisi, you need more of both in order to have consistency.
4. If you're constantly getting wrathed, that seems like a meta call. In that case, add cards to regenerate your creatures or make them indestructible, i.e. Eldrazi Monument, Heroic Intervention, and Soul of New Phyrexia.
In order to up your creature count, you should try and add creatures that have abilities on the non-creature spells you have. For example, instead of adding one-shot kill spells, add creatures like Acidic Slime instead. In order to not stall out or depend only on topdecking, you need to be able to effectively filter your cards. This is done by cards like Forbidden Alchemy, etc. Here're my suggestions on what to cut from your deck - for consistency's sake:
- Kessig Cagebreakers
- Nyx Weaver
- Sewer Nemesis
- Splinterfright
- Stinkweed Imp
- Unbreathing Horde
- Vulturous Zombie
- Grim Discovery
- Regrowth
- Spider Spawning
- Sultai Ascendency
- Caged Sun
- Sultai Charm
- Putrefy
- Unravel the Aether
- Rupture Spire
This leaves about 16 slots for you to work around. You can use those slots to add cards to save you from a wrath, and cards to filter through your deck to maintain efficiency. You're already running enough zombies so you can add other creatures that provide value. My top suggestion is to try and make the remaining swaps for creatures. And not only creatures, but creatures that help you filter through your top deck. Like Satyr Wayfinder, Gurmag Drowner, etc. I have plenty of ideas for that strategy through the primer.Hope that helps!
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I will work on making some adjustments this weekend, and then stop by my local shop to snag some cards. I think getting the deck to do what I think it should do in a very consistent manner will make it more fun and enjoyable to play when I bust it out. I totally agree with replacing stand alone cards with creatures who have the similar effect. I appreciate the recommendations!