I've decided I want another pimp project now that Jaya is effectively done, so I'm moving on to an old favorite legend and tribe. Rebuilt this to be more angel focused and less token focused than the last time it was together. Any discussion of the rebuild starts here.
This is really just an excuse to jam a bunch of angels alongside an old favorite creature, so I'm not expecting it to be particularly competitive. That said, I'd still like it to be functional. My meta eschews fast combo and a lot of the typical EDH staples - this is why you don't see a Sol Ring in there, I didn't just forget it. Games tend to be won and lost in the combat phase, so I'm OK with being a little lighter on instant speed disruption and relying more on the prison elements and large creatures to keep me alive.
First hole is mana development with 46 cards CMC ≤ 3 that contribute. That's about 4-5 less than I would like, especially with the heavy top end that most angel focused decks are going to run into. Second hole is card draw. There are some recursion elements which will help there and some equipment that generates card advantage, but that still doesn't put a lot of cards in hand. There's a solid argument that I should be running one or more of the pricey artifact options. Instead, I'm sticking my fingers in my ears and pretending the problem doesn't exist.
No budget constraints (mentioning that I'm pimping this out in the first line was probably a good tip), but I do omit a reasonable number of things thanks to the aforementioned meta choices.
I definitely thought about Hallowed Spiritkeeper. I've played Radiant in the past, so I keep an eye out for flying token generation in white whenever new stuff comes out. I didn't throw it in the initial draft of the deck because it's more conditional (mostly because I can't control the trigger) than a lot of the stuff I'm already running, and in games since then I've noticed I typically only have 3-4 creatures in my yard at any given time. Spiritkeeper is a nice consolation prize post wrath, but I think something like Field of Souls is more likely to make it in first right now.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Rebuilt this to be a little more angel focused, mostly so I had an excuse to run a bunch of foil angels. Current list is effectively a rough draft until I spend some time playing with it.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
I am going to excuse your mono white flying tribal deck for not using Bruna, the Fading Light as your commander but..... WHY IS SHE NOT IN THE 99???
I have been finding that I really love the versatility of Angel of Condemnation too. I don't know if its your speed but I have been playing it in a few lists now and the fact that it has your commander's stats / static abilities for one less mana AND can serve as versatile removal / protection as needed is fairly cool. Its nice for protection and its nice for disruption too.
I kind of forgot that Platinum Angel is an angel.... I might have to consider that one for my Bruna list.
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I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
I am going to excuse your mono white flying tribal deck for not using Bruna, the Fading Light as your commander but..... WHY IS SHE NOT IN THE 99???
I have been finding that I really love the versatility of Angel of Condemnation too. I don't know if its your speed but I have been playing it in a few lists now and the fact that it has your commander's stats / static abilities for one less mana AND can serve as versatile removal / protection as needed is fairly cool. Its nice for protection and its nice for disruption too.
I kind of forgot that Platinum Angel is an angel.... I might have to consider that one for my Bruna list.
Bruna's not here because this deck is all about form over function - basics are all 99 arena promos once they show up in the mail, which more or less illustrates my priorities here - and weird eldritch monstrosities are ugly, even if I never turn her over. I might try her out at some point anyways, just because she does fit super well aside from that. I'm always a little worried about running large numbers of anything with CMC 6+ but I might just have to lean into it if I want to play angel tribal.
If Radiant is every just a 3/3, something has probably gone horribly wrong. That said, Condemnation isn't a bad call. I'll need to try it out. I still don't have a good sense of how often I'll be sitting with an ETB dude in play which is where it'll really shine. I can't see exerting outside of last resort situations, or trying to save something else of mine from a board wipe. Still nice utility to have.
Pretty sure Platinum Angel is actually a bad card, but I'm looking for an excuse to play the masterpiece version and it's either here or an artifact deck somewhere. I might get the occasional game where I can stick Kindred Boon and be pseudo invincible for a while (and I want to find a slot for Aegis Angel at some point, which could get even funnier until something gets exiled). More realistically it just eats a removal spell and I die anyways because I'm a high curve deck relying on a handful of enchantments and big creatures to stay alive. That's life.
I still need to take a look at your Bruna list in more depth. I think there's a fair amount of overlap in gameplan and I haven't really gone hunting for inspiration for this one yet.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Pearl medallion seems a solid addition that won't break the bank or your fast mana restrictions. Additionally, as you say that the meta tends to depend on the combat phase, herald of the host seems like a solid addition. It will grow you commander in combat and get through to all players at once.
So I know the deck is more focused around Angels, but have you considered the following?
Sunscorch Regent: Really good threat or blocker. Gisela, the Broken Blade: On theme, and gets played the turn before your commander. Selfless Spirit: Protection for your creatures and has synergy with your flying strategy. Serra Ascendant: It's just... good and if you squint it is on theme. Windborn Muse: Deflects people from punching your face. Gets played the turn before your commander. Also flies.
I don't know how far your want to stray from the angel theme, but these seem like decent considerations.
I think a lot of the edits just have to wait for a game or two. Pretty much everything suggested either made it into an early draft and was cut before posting, or is sitting in the pile of cards I pulled for the list (or is still in the list, in the case of Selfless Spirit). Getting down to 100 while still keeping some semblance of a curve is already tough and I think I need to see how the deck plays as is before making substantive changes. I do appreciate all of the suggestions and will keep them in mind!
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
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Tokens was more of a focus with the last build of the deck, which was several years ago. This one is a little more angel themed, using Radiant as a thematically appropriate general with the potential to be a large flying threat. Of the stuff you listed, Luminarch Ascension and Requiem Angel are on theme both mechanically and flavorfully, which makes them reasonable considerations. They're omitted primarily for space concerns, and for curve in the case of Requiem. Sacred Mesa is a powerful enough card that it's also under consideration, despite not supporting the angel tribal theme. Spirit Bonds may have a stronger case if I'm finding trouble keeping threats on board. I'm no anticipating needing more than a couple angels at a time, so I'm hoping the existing protection and recursion is sufficient. Most of the rest either require too many other deckbuilding concerns (e.g. I only have a single card that can gain 4 life in a turn unsupported for Angelic Accord, no sac outlets for Hangarback), are too negative a resource tradeoff, or are much too expensive to be effective.
The dedicated token creation at this point are [1] Emeria Angel, which doesn't have an unreasonable body for its cost and produces tokens with no further resource investment, [2] Storm Herd, which is horrifically expensive but takes Radiant into lethal general damage range immediately and ends the game within a turn or two if unanswered, and [3] Entreat the Angels, which is actually a pretty mediocre card without any kind of topdeck manipulation to reliably set up miracle and is here mostly because I wanted at least one large scale angel token producer. Entreat should probably be Ascension, especially with the Moats, so I'll see how I feel about that change after a few games.
As far as pimping, the judge version is beautiful.
Avacyn is certainly a consideration. I'm not in any particular hurry to add her because she's so expensive (CMC) and this deck is already top heavy. If I'm having trouble keeping any threats out I'll test her out.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
As far as pimping, the judge version is beautiful.
Avacyn is certainly a consideration. I'm not in any particular hurry to add her because she's so expensive (CMC) and this deck is already top heavy. If I'm having trouble keeping any threats out I'll test her out.
That's probably fair. Have you looked into other tribal artifacts like Door of Destinies over some of the equipment you're running? I realize that it doesn't give trample (which is what you're seeming to want) but it powers up the entire team rather than one or two threats. Since your tribe generally flies have you found yourself needing 2 types of evasion to get damage through?
That's probably fair. Have you looked into other tribal artifacts like Door of Destinies over some of the equipment you're running? I realize that it doesn't give trample (which is what you're seeming to want) but it powers up the entire team rather than one or two threats. Since your tribe generally flies have you found yourself needing 2 types of evasion to get damage through?
I like a lot of the tribal stuff more in decks that are trying to go wide. If I can go wide with angels, I'm already in good shape. Going heavier on equipment makes it easier to outclass other large fliers in 1 on 1 settings, like dragons or sphinxes, and easier to punch through flying chumps like Mulldrifter and other little ETB guys. If I run into someone going wide with dragons, that just sounds like a good time to go hunting for a wrath (easier said than done in mono-W). I mostly want to avoid being chump blocked.
After typing all that out, the Tabernacle plan in ISB's Bruna list sounds a little more appealing. That's another point in favor of Avacyn if I do go that route.
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[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
Yeah, going tall instead of wide makes perfect sense. Just a thought I had while looking at it.
After typing all that out, the Tabernacle plan in ISB's Bruna list sounds a little more appealing. That's another point in favor of Avacyn if I do go that route.
Just remember that Avacyn doesn't protect against Tabernacle's effect - you still have to sacrifice creatures you don't pay for.
Just remember that Avacyn doesn't protect against Tabernacle's effect - you still have to sacrifice creatures you don't pay for.
It's even better than that. The oracle text on OG Tabernacle tries to keep functionality as close to the original wording as intended, which means it still destroys creatures when you don't pay. Variants like Magus of the Tabernacle and Pendrell Mists function differently than the land in that they force a sac. As a brief aside, it's actually a little odd that the enchantment does that given that the original word used was "bury". The oracle text represents functional errata in that case.
Magus + Avacyn is a little bit of a nonbo. Tabernacle + Avacyn is just painful for your opponents and that's the easier situation to set up thanks to the land tutors.
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Have you considered March of Souls for this deck? A board wipe to get rid of the worst threats on board, and leaves Radiant in a pretty good position post-wipe.
Nope. It's a Radiant deck before it's an angel deck for mostly sentimental reasons (see also: Reya Dawnbringer having a pretty permanent spot). That said, Lyra will almost certainly find a home here. She's basically a better Baneslayer Angel a large part of the time.
Have you considered March of Souls for this deck? A board wipe to get rid of the worst threats on board, and leaves Radiant in a pretty good position post-wipe.
I've played it in previous builds. The problem that I run into is that it guarantees your opponents are going to have chumps for Radiant/other angels. It's giving up a lot of natural evasion in exchange for a power buff and ended up not being worth it most of the time.
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1 Radiant, Archangel
// Creatures
1 Adarkar Valkyrie
1 Admonition Angel
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Angel of Finality
1 Angel of Jubilation
1 Archangel of Thune
1 Archangel of Tithes
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Blinding Angel
1 Dawnbreak Reclaimer
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Emeria Angel
1 Emeria Shepherd
1 Herald of War
1 Karmic Guide
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Magus of the Moat
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Platinum Angel
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Stonecloaker
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Expedition Map
1 Heirloom Blade
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Loxodon Warhammer
1 Marble Diamond
1 Mask of Memory
1 Mind Stone
1 O-Naginata
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of the Animist
1 Worn Powerstone
// Sorceries
1 Austere Command
1 Defy Death
1 Entreat the Angels
1 Gift of Estates
1 Resurrection
1 Rout
1 Storm Herd
1 Wrath of God
// Instants
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Forsake the Worldly
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tithe
1 Aura of Silence
1 Crackdown
1 Endless Horizons
1 Land Tax
1 Moat
1 True Conviction
// Lands
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Emeria, The Sky Ruin
1 Homeward Path
1 Kor Haven
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Mirrorpool
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Strip Mine
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Wasteland
26 Plains
This is really just an excuse to jam a bunch of angels alongside an old favorite creature, so I'm not expecting it to be particularly competitive. That said, I'd still like it to be functional. My meta eschews fast combo and a lot of the typical EDH staples - this is why you don't see a Sol Ring in there, I didn't just forget it. Games tend to be won and lost in the combat phase, so I'm OK with being a little lighter on instant speed disruption and relying more on the prison elements and large creatures to keep me alive.
First hole is mana development with 46 cards CMC ≤ 3 that contribute. That's about 4-5 less than I would like, especially with the heavy top end that most angel focused decks are going to run into. Second hole is card draw. There are some recursion elements which will help there and some equipment that generates card advantage, but that still doesn't put a lot of cards in hand. There's a solid argument that I should be running one or more of the pricey artifact options. Instead, I'm sticking my fingers in my ears and pretending the problem doesn't exist.
No budget constraints (mentioning that I'm pimping this out in the first line was probably a good tip), but I do omit a reasonable number of things thanks to the aforementioned meta choices.
1 Radiant, Archangel
//Creatures
1 Angel of Finality
1 Angel of Jubilation
1 Angelic Field Marshal
1 Archangel of Thune
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Emeria Angel
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Jazal Goldmane
1 Karmic Guide
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Pristine Angel
1 Requiem Angel
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Silverblade Paladin
1 Soltari Visionary
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Stonecloaker
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Wingmate Roc
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir
1 Eldrazi Monument
1 Expedition Map
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mask of Memory
1 Mind Stone
1 Moonsilver Spear
1 O-Naginata
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Thunder Totem
1 Umezawa's Jitte
//Enchantments
1 Brave the Sands
1 Cathars' Crusade
1 Concerted Effort
1 Crackdown
1 Endless Horizons
1 Land Tax
1 Moat
1 Reconnaissance
1 Sacred Mesa
1 Spirit Bonds
1 True Conviction
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Oblation
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tithe
//Sorceries
1 Austere Command
1 Decree of Justice
1 Entreat the Angels
1 Gift of Estates
1 Martial Coup
1 Resurrection
1 Spectral Procession
1 Storm Herd
1 Wrath of God
//Lands
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Windbrisk Heights
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Petrified Field
1 Vesuva
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Kor Haven
24 Plains
I have been finding that I really love the versatility of Angel of Condemnation too. I don't know if its your speed but I have been playing it in a few lists now and the fact that it has your commander's stats / static abilities for one less mana AND can serve as versatile removal / protection as needed is fairly cool. Its nice for protection and its nice for disruption too.
I kind of forgot that Platinum Angel is an angel.... I might have to consider that one for my Bruna list.
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[Modern] Allies
If Radiant is every just a 3/3, something has probably gone horribly wrong. That said, Condemnation isn't a bad call. I'll need to try it out. I still don't have a good sense of how often I'll be sitting with an ETB dude in play which is where it'll really shine. I can't see exerting outside of last resort situations, or trying to save something else of mine from a board wipe. Still nice utility to have.
Pretty sure Platinum Angel is actually a bad card, but I'm looking for an excuse to play the masterpiece version and it's either here or an artifact deck somewhere. I might get the occasional game where I can stick Kindred Boon and be pseudo invincible for a while (and I want to find a slot for Aegis Angel at some point, which could get even funnier until something gets exiled). More realistically it just eats a removal spell and I die anyways because I'm a high curve deck relying on a handful of enchantments and big creatures to stay alive. That's life.
I still need to take a look at your Bruna list in more depth. I think there's a fair amount of overlap in gameplan and I haven't really gone hunting for inspiration for this one yet.
Credit to DolZero for this awesome sig!
Sunscorch Regent: Really good threat or blocker.
Gisela, the Broken Blade: On theme, and gets played the turn before your commander.
Selfless Spirit: Protection for your creatures and has synergy with your flying strategy.
Serra Ascendant: It's just... good and if you squint it is on theme.
Windborn Muse: Deflects people from punching your face. Gets played the turn before your commander. Also flies.
I don't know how far your want to stray from the angel theme, but these seem like decent considerations.
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
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!
Current EDH
Akroma W | Tymna and Bruse RBW
As far as pimping, the judge version is beautiful.
The dedicated token creation at this point are [1] Emeria Angel, which doesn't have an unreasonable body for its cost and produces tokens with no further resource investment, [2] Storm Herd, which is horrifically expensive but takes Radiant into lethal general damage range immediately and ends the game within a turn or two if unanswered, and [3] Entreat the Angels, which is actually a pretty mediocre card without any kind of topdeck manipulation to reliably set up miracle and is here mostly because I wanted at least one large scale angel token producer. Entreat should probably be Ascension, especially with the Moats, so I'll see how I feel about that change after a few games.
Avacyn is certainly a consideration. I'm not in any particular hurry to add her because she's so expensive (CMC) and this deck is already top heavy. If I'm having trouble keeping any threats out I'll test her out.
That's probably fair. Have you looked into other tribal artifacts like Door of Destinies over some of the equipment you're running? I realize that it doesn't give trample (which is what you're seeming to want) but it powers up the entire team rather than one or two threats. Since your tribe generally flies have you found yourself needing 2 types of evasion to get damage through?
After typing all that out, the Tabernacle plan in ISB's Bruna list sounds a little more appealing. That's another point in favor of Avacyn if I do go that route.
Yeah, going tall instead of wide makes perfect sense. Just a thought I had while looking at it.
Just remember that Avacyn doesn't protect against Tabernacle's effect - you still have to sacrifice creatures you don't pay for.
Magus + Avacyn is a little bit of a nonbo. Tabernacle + Avacyn is just painful for your opponents and that's the easier situation to set up thanks to the land tutors.
WU Bruna UW | R Kiki-Jiki R | RB New Chainer BR
Legacy - Burn | Pauper - Reanimator | Aristocrats | Burn
@votechainer2016
I've played it in previous builds. The problem that I run into is that it guarantees your opponents are going to have chumps for Radiant/other angels. It's giving up a lot of natural evasion in exchange for a power buff and ended up not being worth it most of the time.