I didn't see any particularly good Hazezon Tamar decks on here when I was looking for ideas for mine, so I figured I'd share mine now that I've been playing it for a few months. I'm a black/grixis player at heart so finding a naya beatdown deck I enjoy this mutch is a treat.
There are a few basic elements here. The basic idea is: play Hazezon, sac him before the tokens come in, give the tokens haste, and swing right away. For the most part I've avoided stuff that makes my plans super obvious and needs to be on the board before the tokens come in. A lot of people don't understand how Hazezon works. If he leaves play before the tokens come out, you still get the tokens and then they don't die to a single removal spell pointed at Hazezon. He's basically a sorcery in the command zone for me. I never cast him unless I can sacrifice him right by my next upkeep.
Sac outlets: High Market and City of Shadows get Hazezon off the board while only taking a land slot and not costing mana. Martyr's Cause has won me multiple games. It shuts down voltron and can buy a lot of turns with some tokens. Plus it's free and instant speed Spawning Pit can replenish a lost army. Goblin Bombardment is sometimes a wincon in addition to being free and instant. Evolutionary Leap costs a green but gets a creature. Perilous Forays is the best. It does the two most important things for this deck. Birthing Pod has to be used the turn I cast Hazezon, but is powerful enough elsewhere to make it worth including. Flameshadow Conjuring lets me copy Hazezon to get a second set of tokens and then sacrifice the original card to the legend rule, then the token leaves at the end of the turn. Also good with many other creatures in the deck. Primal Growth is sac and ramp. Dust Elemental bounces Hazezon and himself back to the hand for a second round of tokens once the first are gone while avoiding commander tax. Flash means I can use it in the upkeep after casting Hazezon while the token ability is on the stack.
Flicker effects like Cloudshift create a second trigger for Hazezon. Strionic Resonator can copy the initial trigger on my turn and the one during the upkeep, tripling token production. The also both work well with the many etb creatures in the deck.
Flamekin Harbinger finds a bunch of stuff in this deck. From the previously mentioned Dust Elemental to a haste/pump for my tokens in Flame-Kin Zealot to spot and mass removal in Crib Swap and Sheilds of veils vel. Shields is cast targeting an opponent and turning their creatures into sand warriors the turn Hazezon is going to leave play.
They win, but it's not fun to always win with them.
The next step is to improve the manabase. I've had zero issues so far though. Bfz tangos are coming in as I acquire them, as are shocks. Wood Elves will replace Farhaven Elf once there are some nonbasic forests to fetch. I'm also planning on adding check lands, but I do want to keep a decent number of basics for my ramp to find. I'll have to find a balance and see if I ever go to search and fail to find a basic. Checks could replace temples as I have more cipt lands in here than I thought based on playing the deck. I've yet to throw off my curve because of them yet.
Questions, comments, and suggestions are appreciated. The deck is fairly casual and semi-budget in that it won't ever have true duals or cradle, but I like to be able to hold my own against fairly good decks and players. Thanks in advance!
Largely speaking, the list looks pretty good. Just a few swaps I can see.
Cathars' Crusade is something I've been considering trying since I built the deck. The hard part is that it has to be on the battlefield before the tokens come in. Short of Academy Rector tricks, that means 12 mana to cast it and Hazezon the same turn the first time, or waiting 3 turns to get huge tokens. In my playgroup, Crusade would probably get killed before the tokens come in. Marshal's Anthem is there because it is double duty as an anthem as well as recursion. My tokens can come in at the upkeep and then I can cast Marshal's Anthem bringing back a haste enabler and hitting hard right away. The tokens don't need to be 20/20s. The fewest I've made is 9 or 10 and that was still enough to win that turn. I've made 42 in one turn before. Still it's a swap I'll consider. I haven't actually drawn anthem yet, so I don't know how it'll actually play out.
Ogre Battledriver is only good in a vacuum. Again, it has to be on the battlefield before the tokens come in. That means either 11+ mana to cast them both the same turn and my opponents have a turn to get rid of the ogre, or spreading it out over 2 turns and giving them 2 turns to kill it. My meta isn't lacking removal. It is fairly light on counterspells actually, which is probably why Flame-Kin Zealot is so much better. The ogre just makes my plans too obvious as to how much of a threat I am and makes it easier to disrupt. Into the Web of War is better in that it's harder to remove, but I still don't think it's worth including. Flame-Kin Zealot is also fetchable with Flamekin Harbinger, who is only 1 extra mana the turn I cast Hazezon. It still lets everyone know what's going to happen, but it's harder to disrupt. I don't have a Sarkhan Vol but plan on getting one for the deck, and I think he's the only pump+haste provider that can work after the tokens are on the board that I'm missing.
The big advantage Hazezon has over other token generals is that you have all your mana available the turn you get your tokens. I like to take advantage of that. I took apart my Rith, the Awakener deck to build this one although there really isn't a lot of overlap. That was just too slow to get a decent size token army up and running. It usually took 2 turns after I cast Rith to get a decent token army and I still had to wait another turn to attack with them. That's too much time for people to get nervous and sweep the board.
Anything else that looks weak in the deck? I know I'm not running Sol Ring, but I'd rather ramp with land in this deck.
With that explanation, it's sound reasoning. I just look at marshal's as a more expensive Glorious Anthem with an expensive recursion kicker. 6 mana for 1 creature and and anthem... 8-10 for 2-3... just expensive to get hit with a counter. My meta has much more permissive play than yours apparently. Over spending doesn't usually work in my favor. Having a growth over time plays better. If removal is the thing in your area, some indestructible instants would play better as well. (The populate one, for instance)
As for so ring, I don't play it in a good portion of my decks, honestly. To easy to lose out with stony silence or an artifact wrath...
I got a few games in with this deck over the weekend. One I was doing well and close to exploding when the Omnath, Locus of Rage player dropped Avenger of Zendikar and top decked Boundless Realms the following turn to kill us all. The second game I hit boundless realms myself to go to 20 land and dropped Hazezon the following turn. Forced a haste enabler through and swung big at one opponent, then Skullclamped most of them away and Hazezon the following turn. I made even more sand warriors and beat another couple of counterspells to get another haste enabler and Beastmaster Ascension down to close out the game.
I've decided I need more wrath effects. This deck has done better when using politics to get others to wipe the board for me and struggled when nobody does. It actually wants to play kind of midrange combo where the early game does more control of fast aground decks before vomitting a bunch of sand warriors out. I think Rout is going in for versatility and the ability to use it as an instant right before my turn when sand warriors come out to remove blockers too. I'm not sure on what else, but probably another 1-2 wrath effects and another spot removal spell (STP) are going in. I'm considering something like Final Judgment, Terminus, or Hallowed Burial as I don't play out of the graveyard much and I have enough sac outlets. I'm looking for input on what would work well as well as what should come out.
I'm also considering putting Skullmulcher back in. I took it out early on because it sat in my hand early, but now that the deck is working more smoothly I could see it coming back in.
Edit: Reckless Bushwhacker was a nice addition. The 2 spell thing is easy to hit when I need it.
7 Hazezon Tamar
Creature:
4 Academy Rector
5 Acidic Slime
4 Anger
5 Ant Queen
7 Avenger of Zendikar
3 Burnished Hart
4 Dust Elemental
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Emeria Shepherd
3 Eternal Witness
4 Flame-Kin Zealot
1 Flamekin Harbinger
2 Goblin Bushwhacker
5 Lovisa Coldeyes
1 Mardu Woe-Reaper
3 Mentor of the Meek
7 Omnath, Locus of Rage
4 Oracle of Mul Daya
4 Purphoros, God of the Forge
6 Rampaging Baloths
3 Reclamation Sage
2 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Solemn Simulacrum
6 Sun Titan
8 Terastodon
5 Urabrask, the Hidden
1 Veteran Explorer
3 Wood Elves
8 Woodfall Primus
3 Yavimaya Elder
3 Aura Shards
3 Beastmaster Ascension
2 Evolutionary Leap
3 Fires of Yavimaya
4 Flameshadow Conjuring
2 Goblin Bombardment
3 Martyr's Cause
2 Night Soil
5 Perilous Forays
2 Survival of the Fittest
2 Sylvan Library
Artifact:
4 Birthing Pod
1 Skullclamp
2 Spawning Pit
2 Strionic Resonator
Planeswalker:
6 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Sorcery:
6 Austere Command
7 Boundless Realms
3 Cultivate
4 Explosive Vegetation
7 Hour of Reckoning
3 Kodama's Reach
7 Martial Coup
3 Primal Growth
5 Shamanic Revelation
Instant:
3 Chord of Calling
1 Cloudshift
3 Crib Swap
1 Path to Exile
1 Shields of Velis Vel
0 Blighted Woodland
0 Canopy Vista
0 Cinder Glade
0 City of Shadows
0 Command Tower
7 Forest
0 High Market
0 Jungle Shrine
0 Kessig Wolf Run
0 Khalni Garden
0 Kher Keep
0 Krosan Verge
0 Mosswort Bridge
3 Mountain
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
0 Pendelhaven
6 Plains
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Rootbound Crag
0 Sunpetal Grove
0 Temple Garden
0 Temple of Abandon
0 Temple of Plenty
0 Temple of Triumph
0 Thawing Glaciers
There are a few basic elements here. The basic idea is: play Hazezon, sac him before the tokens come in, give the tokens haste, and swing right away. For the most part I've avoided stuff that makes my plans super obvious and needs to be on the board before the tokens come in. A lot of people don't understand how Hazezon works. If he leaves play before the tokens come out, you still get the tokens and then they don't die to a single removal spell pointed at Hazezon. He's basically a sorcery in the command zone for me. I never cast him unless I can sacrifice him right by my next upkeep.
Sac outlets:
High Market and City of Shadows get Hazezon off the board while only taking a land slot and not costing mana.
Martyr's Cause has won me multiple games. It shuts down voltron and can buy a lot of turns with some tokens. Plus it's free and instant speed
Spawning Pit can replenish a lost army.
Goblin Bombardment is sometimes a wincon in addition to being free and instant.
Evolutionary Leap costs a green but gets a creature.
Perilous Forays is the best. It does the two most important things for this deck.
Birthing Pod has to be used the turn I cast Hazezon, but is powerful enough elsewhere to make it worth including.
Flameshadow Conjuring lets me copy Hazezon to get a second set of tokens and then sacrifice the original card to the legend rule, then the token leaves at the end of the turn. Also good with many other creatures in the deck.
Primal Growth is sac and ramp.
Dust Elemental bounces Hazezon and himself back to the hand for a second round of tokens once the first are gone while avoiding commander tax. Flash means I can use it in the upkeep after casting Hazezon while the token ability is on the stack.
Flicker effects like Cloudshift create a second trigger for Hazezon. Strionic Resonator can copy the initial trigger on my turn and the one during the upkeep, tripling token production. The also both work well with the many etb creatures in the deck.
Flamekin Harbinger finds a bunch of stuff in this deck. From the previously mentioned Dust Elemental to a haste/pump for my tokens in Flame-Kin Zealot to spot and mass removal in Crib Swap and Sheilds of veils vel. Shields is cast targeting an opponent and turning their creatures into sand warriors the turn Hazezon is going to leave play.
Cards that cycle in and out:
- Warp World
- The Great Aurora
- Vicious Shadows
They win, but it's not fun to always win with them.The next step is to improve the manabase. I've had zero issues so far though. Bfz tangos are coming in as I acquire them, as are shocks. Wood Elves will replace Farhaven Elf once there are some nonbasic forests to fetch. I'm also planning on adding check lands, but I do want to keep a decent number of basics for my ramp to find. I'll have to find a balance and see if I ever go to search and fail to find a basic. Checks could replace temples as I have more cipt lands in here than I thought based on playing the deck. I've yet to throw off my curve because of them yet.
Questions, comments, and suggestions are appreciated. The deck is fairly casual and semi-budget in that it won't ever have true duals or cradle, but I like to be able to hold my own against fairly good decks and players. Thanks in advance!
Marshal's anthem->Cathars' Crusade
Flame-kin zealot->Ogre Battledriver
Largely speaking, the list looks pretty good. Just a few swaps I can see.
Cathars' Crusade is something I've been considering trying since I built the deck. The hard part is that it has to be on the battlefield before the tokens come in. Short of Academy Rector tricks, that means 12 mana to cast it and Hazezon the same turn the first time, or waiting 3 turns to get huge tokens. In my playgroup, Crusade would probably get killed before the tokens come in. Marshal's Anthem is there because it is double duty as an anthem as well as recursion. My tokens can come in at the upkeep and then I can cast Marshal's Anthem bringing back a haste enabler and hitting hard right away. The tokens don't need to be 20/20s. The fewest I've made is 9 or 10 and that was still enough to win that turn. I've made 42 in one turn before. Still it's a swap I'll consider. I haven't actually drawn anthem yet, so I don't know how it'll actually play out.
Ogre Battledriver is only good in a vacuum. Again, it has to be on the battlefield before the tokens come in. That means either 11+ mana to cast them both the same turn and my opponents have a turn to get rid of the ogre, or spreading it out over 2 turns and giving them 2 turns to kill it. My meta isn't lacking removal. It is fairly light on counterspells actually, which is probably why Flame-Kin Zealot is so much better. The ogre just makes my plans too obvious as to how much of a threat I am and makes it easier to disrupt. Into the Web of War is better in that it's harder to remove, but I still don't think it's worth including. Flame-Kin Zealot is also fetchable with Flamekin Harbinger, who is only 1 extra mana the turn I cast Hazezon. It still lets everyone know what's going to happen, but it's harder to disrupt. I don't have a Sarkhan Vol but plan on getting one for the deck, and I think he's the only pump+haste provider that can work after the tokens are on the board that I'm missing.
The big advantage Hazezon has over other token generals is that you have all your mana available the turn you get your tokens. I like to take advantage of that. I took apart my Rith, the Awakener deck to build this one although there really isn't a lot of overlap. That was just too slow to get a decent size token army up and running. It usually took 2 turns after I cast Rith to get a decent token army and I still had to wait another turn to attack with them. That's too much time for people to get nervous and sweep the board.
Anything else that looks weak in the deck? I know I'm not running Sol Ring, but I'd rather ramp with land in this deck.
As for so ring, I don't play it in a good portion of my decks, honestly. To easy to lose out with stony silence or an artifact wrath...
I've decided I need more wrath effects. This deck has done better when using politics to get others to wipe the board for me and struggled when nobody does. It actually wants to play kind of midrange combo where the early game does more control of fast aground decks before vomitting a bunch of sand warriors out. I think Rout is going in for versatility and the ability to use it as an instant right before my turn when sand warriors come out to remove blockers too. I'm not sure on what else, but probably another 1-2 wrath effects and another spot removal spell (STP) are going in. I'm considering something like Final Judgment, Terminus, or Hallowed Burial as I don't play out of the graveyard much and I have enough sac outlets. I'm looking for input on what would work well as well as what should come out.
Thawing Glaciers is coming out. It's too slow without something like Rings of Brighthearth or Deserted Temple to abuse it. Iv acquired both bfz tango lands, allied check lands, and a Temple Garden. Still waiting on the other shocks. It doesn't take long to search out all the basics so glaciers isn't that helpful. That slot will become Stomping Ground. Farhaven Elf has become Wood Elves.
I'm also considering putting Skullmulcher back in. I took it out early on because it sat in my hand early, but now that the deck is working more smoothly I could see it coming back in.
Edit: Reckless Bushwhacker was a nice addition. The 2 spell thing is easy to hit when I need it.