Introduction
This thread is dedicated to my attempts to run a deck with a play and deck build style that differs from what have become some of my habits. While some parts are less likely to change because it’s add something to a deck that makes me enjoy it; whether it be some pet cards or just some inclusions for synergies. Though for this ‘project’ I am trying to limit myself to limit these pet cards to a maximum of five in the deck.
Background
The deck here has gone through a few changes over the past few months. Obviously that happens a lot when you do a lot of trying out of things, but I do try to define these into certain stages and recently it has moved into it’s third iteration.
When I initially started off this process I looked at combining strategies that I enjoyed along with one that I was less fond of. Having build a Kari Zev deck previously, I purposely had strayed away from the stealing effects which most people run in combination for her. So that became a central aspect of the deck moving forward, along with making sure that the deck was interactive enough. In looking around I came across Keiga, the Tide Star and since I have tinkered around with clones and sacrificing in other decks she was in my opinion a good Commander to use. In building her I tried to give her some support through Azami and other wizards, which initially worked fairly well for me and also set me up for future upgrades and potential directions to take the deck.
Once it became time to invest a bit more in the deck I knew I wanted to explore the Azami part a bit more, I looked into those builds but also Memnarch to see if I could expand the theft part as well. In doing so I became intrigued by the Dramatic Scepter combo and sliding that in the deck eventually moved into it’s second stage, as it’s aspects were starting to change quite a bit now. Though in doing so I also ended up cutting into the support for Keiga and several games later I knew that the deck had evolved to a point where both parts were detrimental to each other, Keiga needed her slots and ‘Azami’ needed hers as well.
After some contemplating on the deck I knew I had invested a fair bit into a slightly more competitive build direction, which meant I needed to remove Keiga from the helm and use that change to free up card slots so I could continue on the path I set out; leading to my new Kefnet list while Keiga seemed to be off to the trade pile. Though having enjoyed the dragon I decided to disregard my budget a little bit and see if I could take those left over cards and give her truly a deck of her own, like she deserves. And thus this third iteration was born.
Strategy
Obviously, the main strategy of the deck is to try and abuse Keiga’s ability as much as I can. This means running a variety of clone effects, cards to potentially get her out of the graveyard again and the means to keep casting her if need be. Add in some card draw and disruptions and we have the core of this new list.
It’s not the only thing this deck is trying to do though, as in playing her before I ran into a synergy that I want to try and abuse a little bit more. One of our clones is Shapesharer, which usually doesn’t rank too high on the list of clone effects. If we can add more targets and protect this little fellow a bit then it can do interesting things. Which is why I am running Xenograft, as it turns all our creatures into shapeshifters and lets them become copies of Keiga (or other creatures on the board). Technically it lets us steal our opponents creatures, turn them into a clone of Keiga and steal another of their creatures. Or alternatively use tokens to create additional clones. Sure, it requires some work to pull this off but the deck can fairly support it, running a few tutors to help us get the necessary pieces.
So, some notes on the build. Budget restrictions have forced me to make some minor cuts here and there, it are things I’ll look into upgrading eventually but I want the deck to be playable for now. One notable omission is probably Cyclonic Rift, which is a staple in a lot of mono blue decks for a good reason. But we all know how bad it can feel as well and frankly I want to see if I can make this deck work without it.
Made a minor change to the deck, as in my first game I was underwhelmed with Galvanic Alchemist, since the deck wants to use it's mana in other ways. So for now I added in a copy of Condescend to just have an additional counter available to us.
Also have marked a few cards with (R), which are other cards I am considering to take out in favor of other cards. It's mainly a way for me to keep track of cards that could get cut based on how they have performed for me so far.
So few more tweaks were made after getting to try the deck a few more games and got a nice opportunity to acquire a Sword of Feast and Famine for the deck, so stepped a little beyond my budget this month to get hold of it for the deck. Exalted on Frontline Sage ended up being okayish, but not enough to keep it around. Instead I added in Trinket Mage as a light means of ramp, which I had been waiting on including until I got an extra copy of Seat of the Synod. So both those have gone in. Commandeer was added as a means to bump up the theft package a tad, with enough card draw the deck can spare a few discards so it's a nice way to steal a mana rock or as it did in one game, take over an Insurrection to stop someone from winning.
Ended up adding Chain of Vapor as a bit of a backup when we fail to counter something, giving us another chance at doing so. Not sure if it stays in but wouldn't have minded drawing into it a few times. I'm also experimenting with Mage-Ring Network as a bit of a mana sink that could help with increasing commander tax. Running a fair amount of counters we need to keep mana up anyways, so it might be nice to put the mana if we don't need to counter something.
Still looking to add a Tezzeret the Seeker to the deck as well, but having gotten the Sword, that is currently on hold till the end of the month.
Been enjoying working with this deck so far, I still need to tune up my own playstyle a bit in order to bring it more to its full potential, since I've been used to working with 'friendlier' themed decks. That said, I am looking forward to improving this deck more, because I'd want a deck that I can pull out when people want to do a slightly more competitive kind of game. So I'm glad that I now have a base line that I enjoy and can work with in that regard, as tried an Oona deck before which I simply didn't enjoy playing enough from the start.
Will be getting in probably one or two more games with this deck this weekend and then get it ready for the next set of improvements, which is going to see some cards added that will guide this deck moving forward. So I'm currently looking to add Memnarch , Isochron Scepter , Dramatic Reversal , Sky Diamond , Muddle the Mixture , Mystical Tutor and Tezzeret the Seeker next. For the moment Keiga is going to remain at the deck's helm, but with adding in Memnarch I am opening up the potential of switching over to it in the future.
That said, it's now a matter of looking where to make cuts next to bring these cards in, so the next games I will put in are going to be a lot about evaluating several cards that are on the chopping block. Though am open to suggestions on this as well.
This deck looks sweet!
In the future I will consider making something similar this. But I was looking through it and I have to ask, why Havengul Runebinder? Is that really that good?
Havengul Runebinder isn't exceptional, but for Keiga to trigger it needs to go to the graveyard and Runebinder is a way to just move it back to the Command Zone by exiling it from the graveyard,and it does give off a small body in the process. Now activating it feels costly at times, but the deck wants to keep mana open for counters anyways. Runebinder has the advantage of being a Wizard, so it does synergize with other Wizards and enable it to be tapped for card draw. And in a pinch I could name Zombies with Xenograft but thats usually not something you want, as primarily you want it on Wizards with Shapeshifter being an alternative if you have Shapesharer out.
Information Dealer is pretty much a budget Top in this deck, more fragile but a Wizard to do other stuff if needed. It can get easily replaced and it's just there to dig for answers cards.
I'll definitely consider Riptide Laboratory will just be a matter of seeing if I can pick up a copy around here, didn't include it in the initially build so to have budget available for other cards.
Sakashima is also a more expensive card to get and usually with Keiga you want the copy to die to make use of its ability, so in this case I don't think it's a good enough fit.
Cool deck! Stealing permanents in edh is fun as ice cream but bad for politics, but who cares right lol? blatant thieverycontrol magicsower of temptationvedalken shackles. I'm fairly sure Sower is 6 bucks which is fairly budget. volition reins isn't bad either as it can take anything. Out of all of them vedalken shackles and sower are awesome. Shackles is repeatable which is sweet and even though sower dies to a swift breeze, she is reusable with crystal shard or riptide laboratory. crystal shard is especially delicious with clone effects and ETB blue value creatures. I also will mention temporal adept, as this wizard can boomerang anything, hence giving you a second chance if you need to counter something or even save something from removal. In the same vein is vedalken mastermind who is essentially like crystal shard.
Well, this deck isn't meant to do well in politics so that makes stealing acceptable here, lol. Though its not a strategy I usually pursue or one I'm too fond of, so it's going to be about managing that aspect of the deck a bit. Because of that its still about figuring out how many stealing effects I want to run in this deck. Both Shackles and Sower are definitely on the edge of my budget, wouldn't mind running Shackles since its able to work more independently but just a matter of seeing how budget will let me.
The amount of ETB affects are somewhat limited to clones in the deck right now, so not too much exploiting can be done in that regard. I might consider Vedalken Mastermind and maybe Temporal Adept though.
I started looking into doing some upgrades to the list and wasn't too sure on expanding the stealing part of the deck just yet. This is part due to the fact that it takes a bit of building around Keiga to make her work, which is a part of the deck I do enjoy, so I've been focusing on updating the Wizard package and the counterspells a bit. To do so I've been exploring other Wizard tribal lists, predominantly Azami list and also some Memnarch builds for inspiration, mainly to also leave me the option to transition the deck into putting either of those at the helm. That said, a few really good cards in those lists are just too expensive for me, so I'm trying to find a good balance in it by keeping Keiga at the helm right now.
So here is what I'm considering to upgrade the list into:
The changes will be forcing me to make a bit of an investment into the deck, which will be straining my budget a bit, but some upgrades might be worth it. Though because of this I'm looking to get opinions/suggestions on this new list before I go into acquiring some, just become some cards are rather pricey to get and I usually can't really afford to have money cards sit idle in my binder.
Have been going back and forth quite a bit while tinkering on an updated version of the build. Being a semi-control build has made it challenging to add in decent win conditions for the deck, though the main issue with that is simply because Keiga demands a fair amount of cards to support her as an active commander.
Mana Cost
Keiga isn’t cheap to cast and that means we have to work on our mana base in order to get her out. Furthermore, her ability relies on her going to the graveyard to trigger, thus with recasting her it will quickly add up in commander tax.
Clone Effects
Aside from ramp we can use clone effects to get Keiga triggers, which generally will be cheaper to accomplish. Due to the legend rule triggering we wont need any extra sacrifice outlets either. While it also gives the option to clone something of our opponent directly if needed.
Recursion
These cards are mainly there to get Keiga out of the graveyard, because with her ability forcing her to be sent there we need ways to get her back into the command zone or on the battlefield again. These aren’t always ideal to have in your hand, but as long as we have Keiga at the helm they are definitely required.
So with a section of the deck dedicated to those things and obviously a chunk is taken by lands, there is limited space to work with for additional support. While the deck does now feature a decent Wizard package and has Azami around, I do still feel that the card draw part of the deck is somewhat lacking. My first build mitigated that with running several cantrips, but at most the deck could draw towards finding any of my counter spells.
Which wouldn’t be an issue if you run a more efficient commander, but the deck has a bit of a slow start in that regard and with just counters the deck isn’t getting there, so I’ve cut the one mana cantrips in favor of cards that might actually give some chances at maybe sneaking out a win instead of just hanging in there.
The easiest solution for the deck would be to upgrade the commander. With if the stealing part is kept Memnarch being the likely option, while without the focus on it the deck can shift into an Azami list as well. These are definitely options I am keeping open for the future, some card considerations were made to ensure they would work in either of those lists as well. However, for the time being I don’t want to give up on running Keiga just yet, as despite the constraints it’s a fun concept and the amount of work she requires makes it so people aren’t gunning for the deck at turn one.
So, while I’m moving ahead with getting some of the new cards over the weekend, I’m still tinkering on the list itself and trying to make some final tweaks to it in order to get to the list I will be sleeving up and running for the next few weeks.
These are the cards that are still not set in stone:
This feels a bit like a pet card, I like how the card has been performing so far. It’s not a spectacular card though, but it does help to get Keiga out of the graveyard and can get us a creature out on the field in a pinch. Being a wizard helps as well, but that’s a minor detail.
A bit of a late addition, but the idea is it lets us get our Scepter back if it gets removed or even Paradox Engine in order to do some shenanigans. It just is mainly there to do that, whether that is enough can obviously be debated.
Been a bit tough to evaluate this, it helps going around uncounterable stuff and can return a creature in a pinch. I’m currently leaning towards at least replacing this with a card drawing instant like Impulse.
While there might be other cards that could be considered I am currently leaning towards these being the more flexible slots at the moment and spots where I can do some tweaking with the cards that are still on my shortlist of cards that still might be (re)added:
I normally don’t go into taking extra turns, so in a way trying it here a little would be rather suiting and much like the stealing effects I wouldn’t be looking into going over the top with it. Having it in your opening hand would obviously be a bad thing, but I could tutor it to the tap and since the deck lacks haste, adding an extra turn could make a difference. So yeah, it’s under heavy consideration.
Generally feels like a must include and when it comes to my mana rocks I’ve been going quite back and forth. It probably should go in over Everflowing Chalice, yet it being scalable and a target for Trinket Mage I initially opted for the Chalice. Keiga likes and needs her mana, yet it getting removed would hurt likely more than the stone does. Alternatively it could compete with Hedron Archive which is a turn slower, but the ability to cantrip wins it out right now.
A card I had in the original build, which can add some benefit to having to sac our Keiga clones. Miren does the same but triggering isn’t free. So they do compete a bit for that spot, I did consider running them both again as well, but I’m not sure about having more utility lands right now.
Another card I ran in my previous build, if it sticks it’s a quite oppressive card that can lock down a few things. I’m keeping it on the side right now to make space for cards that can push more towards a potential win instead of plain surviving. I’d probably bring it back if I ever switch up the commander helming the deck.
Those are the main cards still on my maybe list. I have considered Sword of the Animist as well to help the deck churning out islands, but the deck isn’t super swinging so that might limit it’s effects. As in that regard it would compete with my other two swords, for now, I’m opting to run Blade of Selves over it but if it proves to be not effective enough I will be considering switching these two out.
Am waiting for a few more cards and then I'll update the OP with an updated list, that said I made a few more minor tweaks to renewed list while contemplating some of the cards over the weekend. So here is what the deck currently is looking to be sleeved up:
High Market is just more reliable when it comes to activating and this can be far more relevant than the additional life gain that Miren would provide.
Runebinder is a bit of a pet card for me, as it has some interesting interactions in the deck. However, I needed to make a cut for the Mastery which I wanted to give a try, as it could help get us there, something which Runebinder is less likely to do.
As mentioned before I wanted some additional card draw happening, while I did consider Recurring Insight as well, Impulse can be used with Isochron Scepter so just feels a bit of a better fit right now.
The list isn't fully finalized as I am still looking into potentially acquiring a Gilded Lotus for the deck as well, though that is more or less more a budget thing. There are a few cards I'm still debating about, so I wouldn't mind getting opinions on which ones others would run.
Right now I'm leaning towards the Stolen Identity as it can do more in the long run, but at the same time we're limited on threats that can actually swing in there to stick it on. Artistry just grabs two things and copies them, being able to copy an artifact can be nice since to keep going with Keiga we need the mana and Artistry can help out with that if need be. While I'm mainly considering those as they are same CMC and somewhat at the same level, I could also opt for a bigger play and run Blatant Thievery over both.
Probably not so much of a choice since Archive produces an additional mana and can become card draw if needed. It's been tough to rate Vessel though, as I'm not sure if we have enough card draw going for the added ability to be super relevant but it can come down two turns earlier.
Rapid is a quick way to deal with creatures and with some bounce spells it can actually make the tokens less relevant. That said, there is a bit of top deck manipulation going in my meta, so disrupting that with Thought Scour feels nice as well, even opens up a bit of a mill win condition for the deck and provides card draw.
Haunted Fengraf is a nice little piece of value. Most of your creatures are worth getting back so the random element is not a big deal.
With some Delve in the deck it would be able to somewhat manipulate the graveyard as well to make Fengraf do some more effective work, I'm just not too sure if I want to add another utility land to the deck. So it might be something to reconsider for me once I manage to get a copy of Gilded Lotus.
Hey there, I brewed up a list based heavily on yours. Minus the wizard tribal subtheme, more all-in on Keiga. Can you share some experiences with some choices I have included in my list that you may have used before that you did not like for whatever reason?
What are thoughts on Desertion? I like it a lot, but my group has quite a large amount of battlecruiser magic plays happening at the moment. 5cc is rough, but it usually nabs me an Avenger of Zendikar or Eldrazi legend. Does Keiga's job w/o needing to die.
I totally forgot about Desertion. That seems perfectly on theme in a deck like this.
I'm going to try it in my build
Hey there, I brewed up a list based heavily on yours. Minus the wizard tribal subtheme, more all-in on Keiga. Can you share some experiences with some choices I have included in my list that you may have used before that you did not like for whatever reason?
Yeah, going all in on Keiga is better as it takes a lot of cards to make her work, which somewhat makes you sacrifice a lot if you try to include other things like Wizard tribal. In that regard my deck is trying to do a few things too many right now, but I plan on transitioning towards a Memnarch/Azami build eventually. I do like Keiga though so might try splitting the deck into the more competitive build and into a dedicated Keiga list.
As far as suggestions go. I've been going back and forth on mana rocks and found that it was just as easy to run Thran Dynamo over Worn Powerstone. As it doesn't come into play tapped and generates extra mana to help support recasting Keiga. Even could consider Gilded Lotus since casting it gives you access to blue mana and keep open mana for a counter.
It might be personal, but I'm not fond of Temple of the False God. Especially in a deck like this where you can ramp less into the required amount of lands. I've had just too much bad luck with the card myself, so I'm not keen on running it. The cycling lands are a personal preference as well, I'd rather have basic islands over them because they come in untapped. Keiga uses a lot of mana and your list has a high cmc as well, though I run a bit more counter magic so having mana open and ready is a tad bit more important to me.
What are thoughts on Desertion? I like it a lot, but my group has quite a large amount of battlecruiser magic plays happening at the moment. 5cc is rough, but it usually nabs me an Avenger of Zendikar or Eldrazi legend. Does Keiga's job w/o needing to die.
Desertion is a quite good card to have, I just didn't have the slots free for it.
Got a few games in with the deck the other day and it pretty much confirmed my expectations, there are definitely fun interactions and aspects that I like, but the best way to put is that it's neither Keiga nor Azami. Both parts of the deck need their card slots to function; Keiga needs her clones and Azami her wizards. Having both parts simply means both make sacrifices as well and it's a detriment to the deck.
In the current build the Keiga part is suffering the most, despite the amount of slots her support is using. It's not that the clones are useless but in the past few games I found myself using them more on other stuff than the intended cloning of the dragon herself. Now I was considering switching more to Azami/Memnarch down the line but I think that this going to be happening sooner rather than later. I do enjoy the Keiga strategy but the aim with this deck was to be trying a slightly less friendly build and lean more to something a tad more competitive. Budget is limiting me in that regard but having a bit more focus will do the deck good, so I'll be taking out the Keiga part and put it to the side in preparation of her own dedicated list.
My intent for this deck moving forward is to focus somewhat on the Isochron Scepter package. While this would probably be a good time to give Azami her promotion, I'm not yet going to pull the trigger on that. One reason I opted for Keiga was to lower the initial threat level of the deck, since some Commanders will simply paint a target. Sure, it will reduce efficiency a bit as well, but part of the idea is that if I needed I can take either Azami, Memnarch or Arcum Dagsson (which is likely getting added) out of the 99 and switch it with the Commander.
Instead I'm going to give the new Kefnet the Mindful a chance at leading the charge. Right now the deck could do with slightly more card draw and this Amonkhet God encourages that. So in the lead up to the new cards being released I will run the deck as it is and start working on working on a revamped list to facilitate all these changes.
I've updated the OP post a bit, because I've gone ahead and separated the deck into two individual lists. Allowing me to put the more competitive edge into the Kefnet deck, which continues to run the Azami and Dramatic Scepter strategies moving forward. Not wanting to ditch Keiga fully I reworked her into a new and more dedicated list. Obviously going from one to two decks meant I had to spread my budgeting a bit and Keiga is drawing the short end in it, I'll be trying to upgrade it here and there down the road but it's getting a decent new start. I did take a little bit of inspiration from Schutzwald's list, as well as used my own experiences from the previous two builds I ran to put together this new list.
It still needs a few tweaks and have marked a few cards with (r), which are slots that I'm still debating and considering to change around but filled the slots with cards I already owned for now.
So made some light tweaks to my renewed Keiga list, mostly to smoothen the curve and cut a little on the top end of the deck. Mainly because my mana rock package isn't that optimal right now and will see some improvement in the future, but with a new set coming out my budget has been stretched quite a bit this time, so figured I get it to at least a playable state first.
First cut was a fairly logical one, as Thopter Spy Network was mainly being cute in the list. Sure, it would give some chump blockers and additional creatures to use with the 'combo' of Shapesharer+Xenograft but do think that getting in a bit more card advantage in will be better. So added Future Sight to the list instead, though optionally could also run Magus of the Future.
Clone Legion and Saheeli's Artistry were mainly taken out to improve the curve. At 9 CMC I do feel Clone Legion is a tad expensive and would be most efficient in stabilizing, that said its always a pain to keep track of all the clones if you are copying your opponent's stuff. After some consideration I added Mimic Vat over it, which looks decent as a way to make up for the limited amount of shapeshifters that are out there and can get us the fun stuff our opponents played as well. Artistry isn't that bad but there are a few cards that are up there on the curve and this one felt like the safer cut for me. The card I decided to put into this slot is something I wanted to try out for a bit and it might turn out decent in this deck: Scribe of the Mindful.
In that same regard I removed Kefnet's Monument, a card I did want to try but this is simply not a good enough deck to warrant it. For now I am replacing it with Commander's Sphere with the intent of upgrading it to a Sapphire Medallion down the line.
Keiga hasn’t gotten any wins under her belt just yet, but its been fun to play and performing decently so far. Then again trying to make her work does sacrifice some efficiency. To help with that I finally decided to upgrade Evacuation and put in Cyclonic Rift, tried to go without but this deck just is better off with it. Also went and added Tolaria West, since we sometimes do need certain utility lands and this helps us get to them.
The deck can have it’s slow starts and while I run some cards to stall my opponents, I wanted to try and expand on this. So I have sided out Lightning Greaves for now, while the Equip for 0 is rather nice, in some cases the Shroud can be a pain. Though can always opt to switch Greaves/Boots around down the line. Either way, using this freed up slot, I’m going to give Dissipation Field a try. It can be a pain with ETB effects but also forces opponents to recast stuff if they connect.
Did a small update on the list as the result of Hour of Devastation being released. Only one new card was added into the deck from the new set, this being Hour of Eternity. The mana cost is high on this one, but since we already expect to be having to generate a lot to cast Keiga, I feel that isn't a really big drawback for this deck. That said on paper it looks like it will be a solid addition that can hopefully swing around a few board states. To put it in I took out the Lightning Greaves, I did test Dissipation Field but it was just not doing enough for me to keep it in.
Lovely. Check out my signature for my Temmet deck where Keiga's ability was exploited via clone tokens.
Going Azorius can make things interesting when you go more a general clone strategy, having stuff like Anointed Procession bumps up the clone fun considerably. I'm aiming more at exploiting Keiga as much as possible and without it being the Commander that just becomes more challenging to pull off. Though in doing so I know that I sacrifice some efficiency, so going the Temmet route is definitely an interesting way to go about it as well.
Cool deck idea! Have you considered Supplant Form? It would give you a copy of your commander and let you recast her without the commander tax.
In terms of cards to cut, have you been getting a lot of value out of Trinket Mage? In your list he only fetches Sol Ring, Everflowing Chalice, Seat of the Synod, and Relic of Progenitus. And while searching up a Sol Ring or a land is good, the other two are conditional (Chalice only if you're already flush with lands, Relic only if you're facing graveyard-based opponents).
Shapesharer Keiga
This thread is dedicated to my attempts to run a deck with a play and deck build style that differs from what have become some of my habits. While some parts are less likely to change because it’s add something to a deck that makes me enjoy it; whether it be some pet cards or just some inclusions for synergies. Though for this ‘project’ I am trying to limit myself to limit these pet cards to a maximum of five in the deck.
Background
The deck here has gone through a few changes over the past few months. Obviously that happens a lot when you do a lot of trying out of things, but I do try to define these into certain stages and recently it has moved into it’s third iteration.
When I initially started off this process I looked at combining strategies that I enjoyed along with one that I was less fond of. Having build a Kari Zev deck previously, I purposely had strayed away from the stealing effects which most people run in combination for her. So that became a central aspect of the deck moving forward, along with making sure that the deck was interactive enough. In looking around I came across Keiga, the Tide Star and since I have tinkered around with clones and sacrificing in other decks she was in my opinion a good Commander to use. In building her I tried to give her some support through Azami and other wizards, which initially worked fairly well for me and also set me up for future upgrades and potential directions to take the deck.
Once it became time to invest a bit more in the deck I knew I wanted to explore the Azami part a bit more, I looked into those builds but also Memnarch to see if I could expand the theft part as well. In doing so I became intrigued by the Dramatic Scepter combo and sliding that in the deck eventually moved into it’s second stage, as it’s aspects were starting to change quite a bit now. Though in doing so I also ended up cutting into the support for Keiga and several games later I knew that the deck had evolved to a point where both parts were detrimental to each other, Keiga needed her slots and ‘Azami’ needed hers as well.
After some contemplating on the deck I knew I had invested a fair bit into a slightly more competitive build direction, which meant I needed to remove Keiga from the helm and use that change to free up card slots so I could continue on the path I set out; leading to my new Kefnet list while Keiga seemed to be off to the trade pile. Though having enjoyed the dragon I decided to disregard my budget a little bit and see if I could take those left over cards and give her truly a deck of her own, like she deserves. And thus this third iteration was born.
Strategy
Obviously, the main strategy of the deck is to try and abuse Keiga’s ability as much as I can. This means running a variety of clone effects, cards to potentially get her out of the graveyard again and the means to keep casting her if need be. Add in some card draw and disruptions and we have the core of this new list.
It’s not the only thing this deck is trying to do though, as in playing her before I ran into a synergy that I want to try and abuse a little bit more. One of our clones is Shapesharer, which usually doesn’t rank too high on the list of clone effects. If we can add more targets and protect this little fellow a bit then it can do interesting things. Which is why I am running Xenograft, as it turns all our creatures into shapeshifters and lets them become copies of Keiga (or other creatures on the board). Technically it lets us steal our opponents creatures, turn them into a clone of Keiga and steal another of their creatures. Or alternatively use tokens to create additional clones. Sure, it requires some work to pull this off but the deck can fairly support it, running a few tutors to help us get the necessary pieces.
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
Creature (18)
1x Body Double
1x Clever Impersonator
1x Cryptoplasm
1x Gigantoplasm
1x Havengul Runebinder
1x Mulldrifter
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Scourge of Fleets
1x Scribe of the Mindful
1x Shapesharer
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stormtide Leviathan
1x Stunt Double
1x Thalakos Deceiver
1x Trinket Mage
1x Vedalken Mastermind
1x Vizier of Many Faces
Enchantment (8)
1x Back from the Brink
1x Dance of Many
1x Future Sight
1x Imprisoned in the Moon
1x Mind's Dilation
1x Mirror Mockery
1x Propaganda
1x Xenograft
1x Blade of Selves
1x Caged Sun
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Hedron Archive
1x Mimic Vat
1x Mind Stone
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Ring of Three Wishes
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Sky Diamond
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Worn Powerstone
Instant (15)
1x Cackling Counterpart
1x Counterspell
1x Desertion
1x Dig Through Time
1x Evacuation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Logic Knot
1x Long-Term Plans
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Negate
1x Pongify
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Reality Shift
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Swan Song
1x Flow of Ideas
1x Hour of Eternity
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Rite of Replication
Land (37)
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Command Beacon
1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
1x High Market
26x Island
1x Lonely Sandbar
1x Mage-Ring Network
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Remote Isle
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Strip Mine
Also have marked a few cards with (R), which are other cards I am considering to take out in favor of other cards. It's mainly a way for me to keep track of cards that could get cut based on how they have performed for me so far.
Ended up adding Chain of Vapor as a bit of a backup when we fail to counter something, giving us another chance at doing so. Not sure if it stays in but wouldn't have minded drawing into it a few times. I'm also experimenting with Mage-Ring Network as a bit of a mana sink that could help with increasing commander tax. Running a fair amount of counters we need to keep mana up anyways, so it might be nice to put the mana if we don't need to counter something.
Still looking to add a Tezzeret the Seeker to the deck as well, but having gotten the Sword, that is currently on hold till the end of the month.
Will be getting in probably one or two more games with this deck this weekend and then get it ready for the next set of improvements, which is going to see some cards added that will guide this deck moving forward. So I'm currently looking to add Memnarch , Isochron Scepter , Dramatic Reversal , Sky Diamond , Muddle the Mixture , Mystical Tutor and Tezzeret the Seeker next. For the moment Keiga is going to remain at the deck's helm, but with adding in Memnarch I am opening up the potential of switching over to it in the future.
That said, it's now a matter of looking where to make cuts next to bring these cards in, so the next games I will put in are going to be a lot about evaluating several cards that are on the chopping block. Though am open to suggestions on this as well.
In the future I will consider making something similar this. But I was looking through it and I have to ask, why Havengul Runebinder? Is that really that good?
Also Information Dealer could probably have something better there as well right? Stroke of Genius + High Tide somewhere to potentially mill someone out?
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock
Information Dealer is pretty much a budget Top in this deck, more fragile but a Wizard to do other stuff if needed. It can get easily replaced and it's just there to dig for answers cards.
also, Sakashima the Impostor allows you to copy Keiga without having to sac him right away
[EDH In Development] Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Queen Marchesa | Ruhan of the Fomori | Yahenni, Undying Partisan
[EDH Retired] Ertai, The Corrupted | Sigarda, Host of Herons | Tariel, Reckoner of Souls | Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
[Modern] Stuffy Doll Combo Burn | Demigod of Revenge
Sakashima is also a more expensive card to get and usually with Keiga you want the copy to die to make use of its ability, so in this case I don't think it's a good enough fit.
The amount of ETB affects are somewhat limited to clones in the deck right now, so not too much exploiting can be done in that regard. I might consider Vedalken Mastermind and maybe Temporal Adept though.
So here is what I'm considering to upgrade the list into:
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
Creature (20)
1x Aphetto Alchemist
1x Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1x Clever Impersonator
1x Cryptoplasm
1x Docent of Perfection
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Havengul Runebinder
1x Memnarch
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Shapesharer
1x Sigil Tracer
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stunt Double
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Thalakos Deceiver
1x Trinket Mage
1x Vedalken Mastermind
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Voidmage Prodigy
Enchantment (4)
1x Back from the Brink
1x Dance of Many
1x Mirror Mockery
1x Xenograft
1x Cackling Counterpart
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dig Through Time
1x Dramatic Reversal
1x Evacuation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Logic Knot
1x Memory Lapse
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Negate
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Reality Shift
1x Swan Song
1x Thought Scour
1x Trickbind
1x Unsubstantiate
Artifact (16)
1x Blade of Selves
1x Caged Sun
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Expedition Map
1x Hedron Archive
1x Isochron Scepter
1x Mind Stone
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Paradox Engine
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Sky Diamond
1x Sol Ring
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Rite of Replication
1x Stolen Identity
Planeswalker (1)
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
Land (38)
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Command Beacon
1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
28x Island
1x Mage-Ring Network
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolaria West (Maybe)
Which wouldn’t be an issue if you run a more efficient commander, but the deck has a bit of a slow start in that regard and with just counters the deck isn’t getting there, so I’ve cut the one mana cantrips in favor of cards that might actually give some chances at maybe sneaking out a win instead of just hanging in there.
The easiest solution for the deck would be to upgrade the commander. With if the stealing part is kept Memnarch being the likely option, while without the focus on it the deck can shift into an Azami list as well. These are definitely options I am keeping open for the future, some card considerations were made to ensure they would work in either of those lists as well. However, for the time being I don’t want to give up on running Keiga just yet, as despite the constraints it’s a fun concept and the amount of work she requires makes it so people aren’t gunning for the deck at turn one.
So, while I’m moving ahead with getting some of the new cards over the weekend, I’m still tinkering on the list itself and trying to make some final tweaks to it in order to get to the list I will be sleeving up and running for the next few weeks.
These are the cards that are still not set in stone:
While there might be other cards that could be considered I am currently leaning towards these being the more flexible slots at the moment and spots where I can do some tweaking with the cards that are still on my shortlist of cards that still might be (re)added:
Those are the main cards still on my maybe list. I have considered Sword of the Animist as well to help the deck churning out islands, but the deck isn’t super swinging so that might limit it’s effects. As in that regard it would compete with my other two swords, for now, I’m opting to run Blade of Selves over it but if it proves to be not effective enough I will be considering switching these two out.
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
Creature (20)
1x Aphetto Alchemist
1x Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1x Clever Impersonator
1x Cryptoplasm
1x Docent of Perfection
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Memnarch
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Shapesharer
1x Sigil Tracer
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stunt Double
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Thalakos Deceiver
1x Trinket Mage
1x Vedalken Mastermind
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Voidmage Prodigy
1x Workshop Assistant
Sorcery (3)
1x Rite of Replication
1x Stolen Identity
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Cackling Counterpart
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dig Through Time
1x Dramatic Reversal
1x Evacuation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Impulse
1x Logic Knot
1x Memory Lapse
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Negate
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Reality Shift
1x Swan Song
1x Trickbind
Artifact (16)
1x Blade of Selves
1x Caged Sun
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Expedition Map
1x Hedron Archive
1x Isochron Scepter
1x Mind Stone
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Paradox Engine
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Sky Diamond
1x Sol Ring
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
Enchantment (4)
1x Back from the Brink
1x Dance of Many
1x Mirror Mockery
1x Xenograft
Land (38)
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Command Beacon
1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
1x High Market
28x Island
1x Mage-Ring Network
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolaria West
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
Creatures 18
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Shapesharer
3 Cryptoplasm
4 Venser, Shaper Savant
4 Clone
4 Stunt Double
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Vizier of Many Faces
5 Mulldrifter
5 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
5 Vesuvan Doppelganger
5 Magus of the Future
6 Torrential Gearhulk
6 Frost Titan
7 Scourge of Fleets
8 Stormtide Leviathan
Sorceries 8
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
3 Fabricate
4 Plea for Power
4 Rite of Replication
6 Flow of Ideas
6 Saheeli's Artistry
8 Treasure Cruise
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Pongify
2 Negate
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Counterspell
2 Reality Shift
3 Stroke of Genius
3 Cackling Counterpart
3 Disallow
4 Fact or Fiction
4 Cryptic Command
5 Evacuation
5 Desertion
5 Mystic Confluence
7 Commandeer
8 Dig Through Time
Artifacts 12
1 Sol Ring
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Blade of Selves
2 Mind Stone
2 Sapphire Medallion
2 Sky Diamond
3 Worn Powerstone
3 Vedalken Shackles
4 Hedron Archive
6 Mindslaver
6 Caged Sun
2 Dance of Many
2 Mirror Mockery
3 Imprisoned in the Moon
3 Propaganda
5 Future Sight
6 Back from the Brink
Planeswalkers 1
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
Lands 38
25 Island
1 Arcane Lighthouse
1 Academy Ruins
1 Temple of the False God
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Remote Isle
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 High Market
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Wasteland
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Tectonic Edge
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock
I totally forgot about Desertion. That seems perfectly on theme in a deck like this.
I'm going to try it in my build
BGGRock
Modern
BRGJund
BBGRock
Yeah, going all in on Keiga is better as it takes a lot of cards to make her work, which somewhat makes you sacrifice a lot if you try to include other things like Wizard tribal. In that regard my deck is trying to do a few things too many right now, but I plan on transitioning towards a Memnarch/Azami build eventually. I do like Keiga though so might try splitting the deck into the more competitive build and into a dedicated Keiga list.
As far as suggestions go. I've been going back and forth on mana rocks and found that it was just as easy to run Thran Dynamo over Worn Powerstone. As it doesn't come into play tapped and generates extra mana to help support recasting Keiga. Even could consider Gilded Lotus since casting it gives you access to blue mana and keep open mana for a counter.
It might be personal, but I'm not fond of Temple of the False God. Especially in a deck like this where you can ramp less into the required amount of lands. I've had just too much bad luck with the card myself, so I'm not keen on running it. The cycling lands are a personal preference as well, I'd rather have basic islands over them because they come in untapped. Keiga uses a lot of mana and your list has a high cmc as well, though I run a bit more counter magic so having mana open and ready is a tad bit more important to me.
The rest of the list looks rather solid to me.
Desertion is a quite good card to have, I just didn't have the slots free for it.
In the current build the Keiga part is suffering the most, despite the amount of slots her support is using. It's not that the clones are useless but in the past few games I found myself using them more on other stuff than the intended cloning of the dragon herself. Now I was considering switching more to Azami/Memnarch down the line but I think that this going to be happening sooner rather than later. I do enjoy the Keiga strategy but the aim with this deck was to be trying a slightly less friendly build and lean more to something a tad more competitive. Budget is limiting me in that regard but having a bit more focus will do the deck good, so I'll be taking out the Keiga part and put it to the side in preparation of her own dedicated list.
My intent for this deck moving forward is to focus somewhat on the Isochron Scepter package. While this would probably be a good time to give Azami her promotion, I'm not yet going to pull the trigger on that. One reason I opted for Keiga was to lower the initial threat level of the deck, since some Commanders will simply paint a target. Sure, it will reduce efficiency a bit as well, but part of the idea is that if I needed I can take either Azami, Memnarch or Arcum Dagsson (which is likely getting added) out of the 99 and switch it with the Commander.
Instead I'm going to give the new Kefnet the Mindful a chance at leading the charge. Right now the deck could do with slightly more card draw and this Amonkhet God encourages that. So in the lead up to the new cards being released I will run the deck as it is and start working on working on a revamped list to facilitate all these changes.
It still needs a few tweaks and have marked a few cards with (r), which are slots that I'm still debating and considering to change around but filled the slots with cards I already owned for now.
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
Creature (18)
1x Body Double
1x Clever Impersonator
1x Cryptoplasm
1x Gigantoplasm
1x Havengul Runebinder
1x Mulldrifter
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Scourge of Fleets
1x Scribe of the Mindful
1x Shapesharer
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stormtide Leviathan
1x Stunt Double
1x Thalakos Deceiver
1x Trinket Mage
1x Vedalken Mastermind
1x Vizier of Many Faces
Enchantment (8)
1x Back from the Brink
1x Dance of Many
1x Future Sight
1x Imprisoned in the Moon
1x Mind's Dilation
1x Mirror Mockery
1x Propaganda
1x Xenograft
1x Blade of Selves
1x Caged Sun
1x Commander's Sphere
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Hedron Archive
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mimic Vat
1x Mind Stone
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Ring of Three Wishes
1x Sky Diamond
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Worn Powerstone
Instant (15)
1x Cackling Counterpart
1x Counterspell
1x Desertion
1x Dig Through Time
1x Evacuation
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Logic Knot
1x Long-Term Plans
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Negate
1x Pongify
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Reality Shift
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Swan Song
1x Flow of Ideas
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Rite of Replication
Land (37)
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Command Beacon
1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
1x High Market
26x Island
1x Lonely Sandbar
1x Mage-Ring Network
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Remote Isle
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Strip Mine
Clone Legion and Saheeli's Artistry were mainly taken out to improve the curve. At 9 CMC I do feel Clone Legion is a tad expensive and would be most efficient in stabilizing, that said its always a pain to keep track of all the clones if you are copying your opponent's stuff. After some consideration I added Mimic Vat over it, which looks decent as a way to make up for the limited amount of shapeshifters that are out there and can get us the fun stuff our opponents played as well. Artistry isn't that bad but there are a few cards that are up there on the curve and this one felt like the safer cut for me. The card I decided to put into this slot is something I wanted to try out for a bit and it might turn out decent in this deck: Scribe of the Mindful.
In that same regard I removed Kefnet's Monument, a card I did want to try but this is simply not a good enough deck to warrant it. For now I am replacing it with Commander's Sphere with the intent of upgrading it to a Sapphire Medallion down the line.
The deck can have it’s slow starts and while I run some cards to stall my opponents, I wanted to try and expand on this. So I have sided out Lightning Greaves for now, while the Equip for 0 is rather nice, in some cases the Shroud can be a pain. Though can always opt to switch Greaves/Boots around down the line. Either way, using this freed up slot, I’m going to give Dissipation Field a try. It can be a pain with ETB effects but also forces opponents to recast stuff if they connect.
Additionally I did upgrade Commander's Sphere into Sapphire Medallion.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
In terms of cards to cut, have you been getting a lot of value out of Trinket Mage? In your list he only fetches Sol Ring, Everflowing Chalice, Seat of the Synod, and Relic of Progenitus. And while searching up a Sol Ring or a land is good, the other two are conditional (Chalice only if you're already flush with lands, Relic only if you're facing graveyard-based opponents).
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