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!
Sounds great! The swaps don't even need to be so expensive to work to your advantage. It took me close to a year to get the engine at a place where I was happy with it. So I don't wish that on anybody else
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I disagree with Kirby's pick of eliminating Stinkweed Imp. It's one of the few Dredge cards that are a solid play, because they block in the air and his 'deathtouch' means people don't want to make trades. On top of this, it's Dredge 5 which only gets outdone by Golgari Grave-Troll.
I disagree with Kirby's pick of eliminating Stinkweed Imp. It's one of the few Dredge cards that are a solid play, because they block in the air and his 'deathtouch' means people don't want to make trades. On top of this, it's Dredge 5 which only gets outdone by Golgari Grave-Troll.
That is very true. But then again, my builds don't have anything with dredge. When I had dredge in the deck I didn't like it. Which is why I took it out altogether.
However, given Habanero's list, there's only one other card with dredge (Dakmor Salvage) and there's only 31 creatures in the deck. So losing a draw to dredge Stinkweed Imp doesn't have sufficient odds to make it worthwhile as far as making a zombie token is concerned. It's more probable to mill away something important and difficult to recover by dredging for 5 with such a low creature count. If dredge were to be a thing, then the amount of creatures in the deck should definitely be higher. Otherwise, you're just self-milling for self-milling's sake. Because there isn't much recovery spells in the list, either.
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Kirby I've been running a version of your competitive build and i think its great.
I've seen you mention that your always wanting to move to more creatures when ever possible... so i have a question.. have you ever considered removing chromatic lantern in favor of Joiner Adept from fifth dawn?
Kirby I've been running a version of your competitive build and i think its great.
I've seen you mention that your always wanting to move to more creatures when ever possible... so i have a question.. have you ever considered removing chromatic lantern in favor of Joiner Adept from fifth dawn?
Thanks! And welcome to the forums!
Yes, I have considered Joiner Adept. I may return to that analysis seeing as the creature count should be maximized. Even though Joiner Adept costs 1 less than Chromatic Lantern, the latter can at least tap for mana, so I can get that mana back, whereas the elf doesn't do anything on its own. I may try to test the swap again considering that the creature count in the Main Build is too low compared to the Zombie and Budget Build.
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So I was thinking about Ruin Raider and I was wondering if he was worth including in Sidisi? We attack frequently, as that's a steady way to mill for value and generate Zombies plus he's a Creature for our own self-mill. The issue I see is that we run quite a few expensive cards, even if the average CMC of the deck is quite low.
I didn't play competitively in the Dark Confidant days, so I'm not sure if a second one (or first even) is worth running.
So I was thinking about Ruin Raider and I was wondering if he was worth including in Sidisi? We attack frequently, as that's a steady way to mill for value and generate Zombies plus he's a Creature for our own self-mill. The issue I see is that we run quite a few expensive cards, even if the average CMC of the deck is quite low.
I didn't play competitively in the Dark Confidant days, so I'm not sure if a second one (or first even) is worth running.
I can understand your logic on running Ruin Raider and/or Dark Confidant. However, I don't run many creatures or spells or effects that just draw. I would rather sift through the top deck. That's how I "draw" with the deck. Are you keen on testing it though? Or is it just a thought on testing?
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I can understand your logic on running Ruin Raider and/or Dark Confidant. However, I don't run many creatures or spells or effects that just draw. I would rather sift through the top deck. That's how I "draw" with the deck. Are you keen on testing it though? Or is it just a thought on testing?
I slammed Ruin Raider into my Marchesa's wants list and then I looked at it with a Sidisi eye and thought that it was a more aggressive Dark Confidant, as you draw the card at end step instead of next turn. So I brought it to the largest Sidisi thread to see if anyone would run it but after seeing no one use Confidant I think that no one would. I guess there's too many expensive cards that no one wants to eat the life for; for example, Genesis doesn't even really factor into my average CMC because I never cast it but Bob would steal make me eat 5 for it. With the two Titans, that's a lot of damage as well. Plus it isn't a draw, so you can't even Dredge it.
I can understand your logic on running Ruin Raider and/or Dark Confidant. However, I don't run many creatures or spells or effects that just draw. I would rather sift through the top deck. That's how I "draw" with the deck. Are you keen on testing it though? Or is it just a thought on testing?
I slammed Ruin Raider into my Marchesa's wants list and then I looked at it with a Sidisi eye and thought that it was a more aggressive Dark Confidant, as you draw the card at end step instead of next turn. So I brought it to the largest Sidisi thread to see if anyone would run it but after seeing no one use Confidant I think that no one would. I guess there's too many expensive cards that no one wants to eat the life for; for example, Genesis doesn't even really factor into my average CMC because I never cast it but Bob would steal make me eat 5 for it. With the two Titans, that's a lot of damage as well. Plus it isn't a draw, so you can't even Dredge it.
I guess Ruin Raider is not Sidisi worthy.
Yeah, that was pretty much my conclusion as well. There aren't many ways to gain life with this deck, either. So losing 11 life by drawing Ulamog at the end of your turn is too brutal. I think that we should just keep to self-milling and recovery. The graveyard is our second hand, after all.
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I hear a second Gaea's Cradle is good. I guess we now got to find room for Growing Rites of Itlimoc. We easily flip it and the deck likes big mana. Plus it replaces itself. With the deck aiming to have 1/3rd Creatures, hitting a Creature on Rites' ETB should be easy.
I hear a second Gaea's Cradle is good. I guess we now got to find room for Growing Rites of Itlimoc. We easily flip it and the deck likes big mana. Plus it replaces itself. With the deck aiming to have 1/3rd Creatures, hitting a Creature on Rites' ETB should be easy.
I've definitely got an eye out for Ixalan and all the goodies it'll bring. I haven't been able to do anything recently being as I live in Puerto Rico and, although Irma just barely scratched us, the corruption and monopoly that is the government electric company has kept millions without electricity and water. I've also been quite busy helping family, neighbors, and my workplace before and after the passing of the hurricane.
Anyways, so far Ixalan has brought a lot and being poor means that I want as many copies of Growing Rites of Itlimoc as possible since Gaea's Cradle is out of my price range. Luckily I have a gold-bordered one I switch around between decks, but having a functional reprint in order to have multiple copies of that effect in play is just icing on the cake!
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!
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'll probably cut Grisly Salvage for Growing Rites of Itlimoc in my build. Grisly Salvage digs for 5, Growing Rites of Itlimoc for 4. Grisly Salvage gets you a creature OR a land, Growing Rites of Itlimoc gets you a creature and becomes a land later. Only the selfmill is missing there and it is not an instant... but I will test it.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the chance to test The Scarab God instead of Gempalm Polluter. I have high expectations
And next month I am finally able to afford the rest of the deck, which is basically only the mana base. But still, costs me around 90€ I think. And no, I will not get the Alpha Duals and Gaea's Cradle...
So the Green is a for sure, but I wonder if the Blue part of the cycle is worthwhile? Search for Azcanta is a good early setup card. You mill once or twice and then it turns into a land. I would put this in a ramp section and it gives you Blue instead of colorless on a utility land to helps you dig and use your mana late game.
Edit: After re-reading Azcanta, The Sunken Ruin I've answered my own question: no. I forgot it was nonland and noncreature; thought it was just nonland. This means in a deck that's 1/3rd Creatures and more than 1/3rd Land, at a minimum, there just isn't enough to go digging with.
I'll probably cut Grisly Salvage for Growing Rites of Itlimoc in my build. Grisly Salvage digs for 5, Growing Rites of Itlimoc for 4. Grisly Salvage gets you a creature OR a land, Growing Rites of Itlimoc gets you a creature and becomes a land later. Only the selfmill is missing there and it is not an instant... but I will test it.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the chance to test The Scarab God instead of Gempalm Polluter. I have high expectations
And next month I am finally able to afford the rest of the deck, which is basically only the mana base. But still, costs me around 90€ I think. And no, I will not get the Alpha Duals and Gaea's Cradle...
That's a pretty interesting swap for consideration. Grisly Salvage is great because it filters while self-milling. Growing Rites of Itlimoc is great because it becomes Gaea's Cradle fairly easily and it can filter. I'm gonna take your idea and go a bit more in depth:
Grisly Salvage self-mills (a major part of the Sidisi strategy), it's at instant speed (which is great for the end of the turn before yours or in order to try and get a chump blocker) it digs one card deeper into the top of the library and you can choose from among two card types, which is good in case you're digging for a key land. Not only is it faster than Growing Rites of Itlimoc, but it's also cheaper.
Growing Rites of Itlimoc is easier to cast than Grisly Salvage because you only need G. Even though it's an enchantment, it does something the moment it enters the battlefield, albeit it doesn't self-mill and it digs shallower than Grisly Salvage. Its best quality is flipping into one of the best lands possible for the deck, a Gaea's Cradle functional reprint.
Both cards are great for the deck and Growing Rites of Itlimoc is just begging to be included into the deck whatever the cost. I've yet to evaluate Ixalan and the entirety of its goodies now that it's been completely spoiled. I know I want this card in the deck deck but I've yet to decide what swap to make. Like you, I will definitely try and swap out a noncreature for it, so as to maintain the ratio. I'm interested in any testing you make with it.
As for Gempalm Polluter swapped out for The Scarab God, it's great in that it maintains the creature/noncreature ratio. I run both in my Zombie Build. I haven't added The Scarab God to the Main Build, though. I haven't made that same swap you made earlier. I do notice that many Sidisi, Brood Tyrant players have stopped using Gempalm Polluter or haven't even used it at any moment. This is strange to me. Maybe I've just been incredibly lucky running it but that card has been amazing for me. It's an ability meaning that it can't be countered by conventional means. So it's basically an instant that's really a creature so it can only be countered by cards like Voidslime, Stifle, Disallow, etc. (less than 10 cards in all of the commander legal cardpool can counter Gempalm Polluter's ability) - which is a huge plus. Not only is it a creature but it's of the zombie type so it can be recurred and tutored for very easily in a zombie dedicated build. So, in all honesty, the apathy and indifference it receives is very intriguing to me.
As for the expensive land base, it's not entirely necessary. It is a plus for those with a Sultai bank account, though. It's definitely great for online play in Cockatrice or in MTGO if you can afford the ticks. It's a shame that lands in MtG have such a steep price. It wasn't always this way. Oh well... At least you've been able to build most of the deck!
So the Green is a for sure, but I wonder if the Blue part of the cycle is worthwhile? Search for Azcanta is a good early setup card. You mill once or twice and then it turns into a land. I would put this in a ramp section and it gives you Blue instead of colorless on a utility land to helps you dig and use your mana late game.
Edit: After re-reading Azcanta, The Sunken Ruin I've answered my own question: no. I forgot it was nonland and noncreature; thought it was just nonland. This means in a deck that's 1/3rd Creatures and more than 1/3rd Land, at a minimum, there just isn't enough to go digging with.
Search for Azcanta is not entirely bad. It's incredibly slow as a self-mill enabler but it does transform rather easily in this type of deck. It doesn't do anything when cast or enters the battlefield, but it is cheap and easy to cast, at least. It's a noncreature card which is its main negative point. As for its transformation, Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin, it's not a bad card, actually. If 1/3 of the deck is noncreature, nonland, digging through the top 4 cards of the deck should, statistically, at least provide one card. That's a great way to not mill away any noncreature, nonland cards being as these are the hardest cards to recur in the deck. It taps for colored mana and the activated ability isn't that expensive. However, the final nail in its coffin (for me, at least) is that it doesn't self-mill when digging through the top 4 cards. If they weren't bottomdecked, this card would've definitely gone into the deck. I would mill away creatures (triggering Sidisi) and lands (which can be recurred later and aren't so crucial) all while sifting through to get enchantments, planeswalkers, artifacts, instants, and sorceries, which are difficult to recur.
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I wish you the best with your hurricane problem :/
Next week is the Ixalan Prerelease and hopefully I'll get a copy of Growing Rites if Itlimoc to test with. Or maybe I'll get an Ixalan Bundle, too (I want to build a dinosaur tribal EDH deck with Gishath :D).
For Gempalm Polluter there are too many things that bug me in the main build. You need to get him back into your hand to activate him again. For the most time we revive creatures but don't get them back in our hand. And you have to target a player. It doesn't hit all players like The Scarab God does. Okay, you draw a card, but The Scarab God synergizes well with Scroll Rack as you can scry really deep into your library. And then, the god is a big threat. Exiling creatures from graveyards, making 4/4 copies of them that are black Zombies for 4 Mana? With instant-speed (other than Eternalize)... it's just too good to not include it.
Also, The Scarab God returns himself to your hand if it dies, so with a Seedborn Muse and Alchemist's Refuge you can play him over and over again.
The only downside of the god is, it paints a big red cross on your forehead that reads "target me first".
Well, in the game on friday I was the target before I played him but it didn't get any better after it
In my build I'm still playing the three bounce lands and I will continue playing them even after I get the rest of the mana base. They are just too good.
On friday I had a nice turn 4. Simic Growth Chamber, Reliquary Tower and Voyaging Satyr on my side. I played a Swamp, tapped everything for 6 mana, played Teferi, Temporal Archmage, used his -1, untapped everything, then played Sidisi, got a zombie, played a Satyr Wayfinder, got 3 lands into my hand and a creature in my graveyard, another zombie... After that I had the board control and two turns later I won by playing Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Sheoldred, Whispering One in one turn which made my opponents give up.
It's still so much fun to play this deck :3
I wish you the best with your hurricane problem :/
Next week is the Ixalan Prerelease and hopefully I'll get a copy of Growing Rites if Itlimoc to test with. Or maybe I'll get an Ixalan Bundle, too (I want to build a dinosaur tribal EDH deck with Gishath :D).
Thanks! Another hurricane is set to come on Wednesday afternoon; Maria, a category 3. So let's see how that goes... I'm worried about too many other things at the moment which have a priority over being able to go to the Ixalan prerelease. I'd like to go, and it's still possible, but it'll be very trying. Let's see what happens...
For Gempalm Polluter there are too many things that bug me in the main build. You need to get him back into your hand to activate him again. For the most time we revive creatures but don't get them back in our hand. And you have to target a player. It doesn't hit all players like The Scarab God does. Okay, you draw a card, but The Scarab God synergizes well with Scroll Rack as you can scry really deep into your library. And then, the god is a big threat. Exiling creatures from graveyards, making 4/4 copies of them that are black Zombies for 4 Mana? With instant-speed (other than Eternalize)... it's just too good to not include it.
Also, The Scarab God returns himself to your hand if it dies, so with a Seedborn Muse and Alchemist's Refuge you can play him over and over again.
The only downside of the god is, it paints a big red cross on your forehead that reads "target me first".
Well, in the game on friday I was the target before I played him but it didn't get any better after it
You're right in that I should find a home for The Scarab God in my Main Build. Honestly I haven't even had enough time to test the cards released since Hour of Devastation. I'm two sets behind (counting Commander 2017). I have bought the cards from Hour of Devastation and Commander 2017 that I've been interested in. But I still haven't physically made the swaps, let alone test them out. I haven't even been able to play much in Cockatrice. At least I'm able to hypothesize cards as spoiled. Maybe when I'm back to normality I'll be able to play some and test even more.
In my build I'm still playing the three bounce lands and I will continue playing them even after I get the rest of the mana base. They are just too good.
On friday I had a nice turn 4. Simic Growth Chamber, Reliquary Tower and Voyaging Satyr on my side. I played a Swamp, tapped everything for 6 mana, played Teferi, Temporal Archmage, used his -1, untapped everything, then played Sidisi, got a zombie, played a Satyr Wayfinder, got 3 lands into my hand and a creature in my graveyard, another zombie... After that I had the board control and two turns later I won by playing Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Sheoldred, Whispering One in one turn which made my opponents give up.
It's still so much fun to play this deck :3
The bounce lands were amazing when I ran them. But I played a couple of games back to back and each time they held me back. So I got a bit disgruntled and swapped out practically all of the lands that entered the battlefield tapped. I still run them to great success in the Budget Build because it's not for cutthroat metas. It does give my opponents an opportunity to do something in the game because the Budget Build is still pretty dangerous as it is.
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Growing Rites of Itlimoc - Definitely wants to find a home. Although it's a noncreature spell, the moment it enters the battlefield it does something and it can very easily transform into Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun on the same turn.
Vanquisher's Banner - Could be interesting for the Zombie Build. It would help with card draw and pump, but drawing cards isn't really that important in the deck. It also isn't a creature so I'll probably end up not running it.
Unclaimed Territory - In no way is this a Cavern of Souls, but in the Zombie Build it could be very useful. It doesn't enter the battlefield tapped which is the major factor for consideration. I just have to see what to swap in.
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Hopefully DementedKirby is OK. PR sounds like a fiasco right now.
I stumbled across Rot Farm Skeleton and I'm thinking of trying it out in my Sidisi build. I'm going to replace Hell's Caretaker. I like Caretaker but considering my Sidisi 'pushes the limit' a lot and causes me to Reshuffle. There have been plenty of times when I had a fat Graveyard, ready for me to use the Caretaker and then have an Eldrazi Titan mill in and turn him into a overcosted 1/1. As far as I see it: If Rot Farm and Caretaker are in my hand, they're both safe there. If they're in play, the Rot Farm can be Birthing Pod or Ashnod's Altar while I wouldn't want to do that to my Caretaker, the Skeleton also swings pretty well. If they're both in my yard the Caretaker is just a body while the Skeleton is still black for Crypt of Agadeem but also provides me with another self-mill way.
I've been thinking of cutting Pod if I cut Caretaker, it's been on my Chopping Block for a little while. But if I add Skeletons, I might save Pod. I don't have too many 4 drops and very few I actually want to feed into the pod and less that provide value upon ETB. The Skeletons, who don't mind feeding Pod and can even come into play to do so, might be worthy.
I think it might not have room in Kirby's competitive build, but I think it may warrant testing in your budget build.
Has anyone tested the new Commander 17 card Taigam, Sidisi's Hand?
I did. I swapped it in for Sultai Soothsayer and so far I'm loving it. It works especially well when you have him and you can dredge Life from the Loam at the same time, you end up getting 3-4 zombies per turn.
hey all, sorry for my sudden absence. i dunno if you can tell by the location under my username but i live in puerto rico. the situation here has been catastrophic - especially my hometown, one of the municipalities where the eye of hurricane maria passed. i've been without water, electricity, internet, and cellphone service. it's also been impossible to efficiently obtain gasoline and food. it's been altogether completely impossible to get bottled water. i'm on a friend's phone right now who managed to get some service working at the capitol. not to mention the fact that i've been without electricity and internet since hurricane irma. oh well... anyways, it'll probably be a lot longer since i have any kind of normality. hopefully my threads still remain active because they're not simply here for my own opinions and ideas but the community's as well. so you can all still use them to help each other out. you can still ask me stuff, as well; i simply won't be able to reply anytime soon.
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Sounds great! The swaps don't even need to be so expensive to work to your advantage. It took me close to a year to get the engine at a place where I was happy with it. So I don't wish that on anybody else
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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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
That is very true. But then again, my builds don't have anything with dredge. When I had dredge in the deck I didn't like it. Which is why I took it out altogether.
However, given Habanero's list, there's only one other card with dredge (Dakmor Salvage) and there's only 31 creatures in the deck. So losing a draw to dredge Stinkweed Imp doesn't have sufficient odds to make it worthwhile as far as making a zombie token is concerned. It's more probable to mill away something important and difficult to recover by dredging for 5 with such a low creature count. If dredge were to be a thing, then the amount of creatures in the deck should definitely be higher. Otherwise, you're just self-milling for self-milling's sake. Because there isn't much recovery spells in the list, either.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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I've seen you mention that your always wanting to move to more creatures when ever possible... so i have a question.. have you ever considered removing chromatic lantern in favor of Joiner Adept from fifth dawn?
Thanks! And welcome to the forums!
Yes, I have considered Joiner Adept. I may return to that analysis seeing as the creature count should be maximized. Even though Joiner Adept costs 1 less than Chromatic Lantern, the latter can at least tap for mana, so I can get that mana back, whereas the elf doesn't do anything on its own. I may try to test the swap again considering that the creature count in the Main Build is too low compared to the Zombie and Budget Build.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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I didn't play competitively in the Dark Confidant days, so I'm not sure if a second one (or first even) is worth running.
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 can understand your logic on running Ruin Raider and/or Dark Confidant. However, I don't run many creatures or spells or effects that just draw. I would rather sift through the top deck. That's how I "draw" with the deck. Are you keen on testing it though? Or is it just a thought on testing?
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
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I slammed Ruin Raider into my Marchesa's wants list and then I looked at it with a Sidisi eye and thought that it was a more aggressive Dark Confidant, as you draw the card at end step instead of next turn. So I brought it to the largest Sidisi thread to see if anyone would run it but after seeing no one use Confidant I think that no one would. I guess there's too many expensive cards that no one wants to eat the life for; for example, Genesis doesn't even really factor into my average CMC because I never cast it but Bob would steal make me eat 5 for it. With the two Titans, that's a lot of damage as well. Plus it isn't a draw, so you can't even Dredge it.
I guess Ruin Raider is not Sidisi worthy.
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
Yeah, that was pretty much my conclusion as well. There aren't many ways to gain life with this deck, either. So losing 11 life by drawing Ulamog at the end of your turn is too brutal. I think that we should just keep to self-milling and recovery. The graveyard is our second hand, after all.
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've definitely got an eye out for Ixalan and all the goodies it'll bring. I haven't been able to do anything recently being as I live in Puerto Rico and, although Irma just barely scratched us, the corruption and monopoly that is the government electric company has kept millions without electricity and water. I've also been quite busy helping family, neighbors, and my workplace before and after the passing of the hurricane.
Anyways, so far Ixalan has brought a lot and being poor means that I want as many copies of Growing Rites of Itlimoc as possible since Gaea's Cradle is out of my price range. Luckily I have a gold-bordered one I switch around between decks, but having a functional reprint in order to have multiple copies of that effect in play is just icing on the cake!
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!
Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the chance to test The Scarab God instead of Gempalm Polluter. I have high expectations
And next month I am finally able to afford the rest of the deck, which is basically only the mana base. But still, costs me around 90€ I think. And no, I will not get the Alpha Duals and Gaea's Cradle...
Edit: After re-reading Azcanta, The Sunken Ruin I've answered my own question: no. I forgot it was nonland and noncreature; thought it was just nonland. This means in a deck that's 1/3rd Creatures and more than 1/3rd Land, at a minimum, there just isn't enough to go digging with.
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
That's a pretty interesting swap for consideration. Grisly Salvage is great because it filters while self-milling. Growing Rites of Itlimoc is great because it becomes Gaea's Cradle fairly easily and it can filter. I'm gonna take your idea and go a bit more in depth:
As for Gempalm Polluter swapped out for The Scarab God, it's great in that it maintains the creature/noncreature ratio. I run both in my Zombie Build. I haven't added The Scarab God to the Main Build, though. I haven't made that same swap you made earlier. I do notice that many Sidisi, Brood Tyrant players have stopped using Gempalm Polluter or haven't even used it at any moment. This is strange to me. Maybe I've just been incredibly lucky running it but that card has been amazing for me. It's an ability meaning that it can't be countered by conventional means. So it's basically an instant that's really a creature so it can only be countered by cards like Voidslime, Stifle, Disallow, etc. (less than 10 cards in all of the commander legal cardpool can counter Gempalm Polluter's ability) - which is a huge plus. Not only is it a creature but it's of the zombie type so it can be recurred and tutored for very easily in a zombie dedicated build. So, in all honesty, the apathy and indifference it receives is very intriguing to me.
As for the expensive land base, it's not entirely necessary. It is a plus for those with a Sultai bank account, though. It's definitely great for online play in Cockatrice or in MTGO if you can afford the ticks. It's a shame that lands in MtG have such a steep price. It wasn't always this way. Oh well... At least you've been able to build most of the deck!
Search for Azcanta is not entirely bad. It's incredibly slow as a self-mill enabler but it does transform rather easily in this type of deck. It doesn't do anything when cast or enters the battlefield, but it is cheap and easy to cast, at least. It's a noncreature card which is its main negative point. As for its transformation, Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin, it's not a bad card, actually. If 1/3 of the deck is noncreature, nonland, digging through the top 4 cards of the deck should, statistically, at least provide one card. That's a great way to not mill away any noncreature, nonland cards being as these are the hardest cards to recur in the deck. It taps for colored mana and the activated ability isn't that expensive. However, the final nail in its coffin (for me, at least) is that it doesn't self-mill when digging through the top 4 cards. If they weren't bottomdecked, this card would've definitely gone into the deck. I would mill away creatures (triggering Sidisi) and lands (which can be recurred later and aren't so crucial) all while sifting through to get enchantments, planeswalkers, artifacts, instants, and sorceries, which are difficult to recur.
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!
Next week is the Ixalan Prerelease and hopefully I'll get a copy of Growing Rites if Itlimoc to test with. Or maybe I'll get an Ixalan Bundle, too (I want to build a dinosaur tribal EDH deck with Gishath :D).
For Gempalm Polluter there are too many things that bug me in the main build. You need to get him back into your hand to activate him again. For the most time we revive creatures but don't get them back in our hand. And you have to target a player. It doesn't hit all players like The Scarab God does. Okay, you draw a card, but The Scarab God synergizes well with Scroll Rack as you can scry really deep into your library. And then, the god is a big threat. Exiling creatures from graveyards, making 4/4 copies of them that are black Zombies for 4 Mana? With instant-speed (other than Eternalize)... it's just too good to not include it.
Also, The Scarab God returns himself to your hand if it dies, so with a Seedborn Muse and Alchemist's Refuge you can play him over and over again.
The only downside of the god is, it paints a big red cross on your forehead that reads "target me first".
Well, in the game on friday I was the target before I played him but it didn't get any better after it
In my build I'm still playing the three bounce lands and I will continue playing them even after I get the rest of the mana base. They are just too good.
On friday I had a nice turn 4. Simic Growth Chamber, Reliquary Tower and Voyaging Satyr on my side. I played a Swamp, tapped everything for 6 mana, played Teferi, Temporal Archmage, used his -1, untapped everything, then played Sidisi, got a zombie, played a Satyr Wayfinder, got 3 lands into my hand and a creature in my graveyard, another zombie... After that I had the board control and two turns later I won by playing Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Sheoldred, Whispering One in one turn which made my opponents give up.
It's still so much fun to play this deck :3
Thanks! Another hurricane is set to come on Wednesday afternoon; Maria, a category 3. So let's see how that goes... I'm worried about too many other things at the moment which have a priority over being able to go to the Ixalan prerelease. I'd like to go, and it's still possible, but it'll be very trying. Let's see what happens...
You're right in that I should find a home for The Scarab God in my Main Build. Honestly I haven't even had enough time to test the cards released since Hour of Devastation. I'm two sets behind (counting Commander 2017). I have bought the cards from Hour of Devastation and Commander 2017 that I've been interested in. But I still haven't physically made the swaps, let alone test them out. I haven't even been able to play much in Cockatrice. At least I'm able to hypothesize cards as spoiled. Maybe when I'm back to normality I'll be able to play some and test even more.
The bounce lands were amazing when I ran them. But I played a couple of games back to back and each time they held me back. So I got a bit disgruntled and swapped out practically all of the lands that entered the battlefield tapped. I still run them to great success in the Budget Build because it's not for cutthroat metas. It does give my opponents an opportunity to do something in the game because the Budget Build is still pretty dangerous as it is.
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!
And I got myself a Growing Rites of Itlimoc today at the prerelease and also most of the stuff to build a Gishath deck. I love prereleases!
I stumbled across Rot Farm Skeleton and I'm thinking of trying it out in my Sidisi build. I'm going to replace Hell's Caretaker. I like Caretaker but considering my Sidisi 'pushes the limit' a lot and causes me to Reshuffle. There have been plenty of times when I had a fat Graveyard, ready for me to use the Caretaker and then have an Eldrazi Titan mill in and turn him into a overcosted 1/1. As far as I see it: If Rot Farm and Caretaker are in my hand, they're both safe there. If they're in play, the Rot Farm can be Birthing Pod or Ashnod's Altar while I wouldn't want to do that to my Caretaker, the Skeleton also swings pretty well. If they're both in my yard the Caretaker is just a body while the Skeleton is still black for Crypt of Agadeem but also provides me with another self-mill way.
I've been thinking of cutting Pod if I cut Caretaker, it's been on my Chopping Block for a little while. But if I add Skeletons, I might save Pod. I don't have too many 4 drops and very few I actually want to feed into the pod and less that provide value upon ETB. The Skeletons, who don't mind feeding Pod and can even come into play to do so, might be worthy.
I think it might not have room in Kirby's competitive build, but I think it may warrant testing in your budget build.
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 did. I swapped it in for Sultai Soothsayer and so far I'm loving it. It works especially well when you have him and you can dredge Life from the Loam at the same time, you end up getting 3-4 zombies per turn.
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!