When Amonkhet was released, this guy initially did not stick out to me - he's fairly unassuming, doesn't initially seem as ruthless as Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons or Samut, Voice of Dissent. In addition to this, I've not built an Azorius deck since Brago, King Eternal was released - and to be honest, it was too easy to mess around with, so I got quickly bored and dismantled it.
Upon a second glance at Temmet, he has some things going for him:
He's a 2 drop, so encourages an early game push.
Unblockable is no joke with the right tokens in play.
He's in good colours for some fairly crazy token generators, and crazy token shenanigans.
He resists being removed with his embalm ability - which can then lead into unblockable commander damage, and avoids commander tax if absolutely needed.
So, there's options there. I like the fact that he ensures combat damage to players - this means combat mathematics on the offense is heavily swayed in your favour - you can make the most of a single attacker, and hold a token army back to defend your own life total. Very efficient resourcing.
The decklist that follows has not been heavily playtested yet - early stages. I feel like it could be excellent, but short of thorough playtesting it's a little hard to know what will go right and what will go wrong. I think the biggest challenge is that a lot of the big value cards can only hit the table after Temmet can, and there's not a lot of ramp in the colours. With that in mind, here's the list:
And there we have it. There's bound to be areas of influence I've missed. I did toy with a Soul Warden/Angelic Accord package, but I don't there's enough lifegain through the rest of the deck to justify it, so at this point it's staying that way. I'd like to add Elspeth Tirel too, but I don't have a spare copy. Mirror Gallery would make a great, crazy gamestate for a bizarre voltron swing with Infinite Reflection, but again I don't have a copy.
Feel free to comment, suggest, or otherwise critique. Thanks!
You are missing a number of creature token generators that are also creatures like chasm skulker,hangarback walker, wurmcoil engine, or even reef worm. Other than that I would suggest something for good card draw, the new card pull from tomorrow is a nice one at instant speed that usually works for commander. Dusk\\Dawn might be a good choice for a wrath effect in a deck like this as well as return to hand spells like Cyclonic Rift.
There is definitely stuff missing. Anointed Procession I'd like to grab a copy of too.
I'm less worried about a dearth of tokens, as only one will connect each turn. So things like Chasm Skulker and Hangarback Walker I probably won't add - especially in the case of the walker, as it really only gets silly once you've got a significant pool of mana to sink into it. Wurmcoil Engine and Reef Worm I can see adding though, as they get big or have other benefits.
Draw I'm more likely to add incremental cards for - I'd like Coastal Piracy and Deepfathom Skulker, as they're rewarding the deck for doing what it does. Even Rogue's Gloves or Key to the City could be a good time. Again I'm more likely to add these than a spell like Pull from Tomorrow requires a significant investment of mana and I'm not really in the colours to ramp hard, barring Burnished Hart under a Mimic Vat - which is feasible but not something to count on. I had toyed with the idea of adding Realmwright to colour fix a little - it would work nicely with Scourge of Fleets - so that could maybe make adding Flow of Ideas a reasonable mass draw card.
Dusk//Dawn doesn't fit perfectly here - there are enough creatures here it will hit, and the last thing I want is to get rid of my Deadeye Navigator at the wrong time. By contrast the aftermath side is nice, although I don't have a copy of the card, and I do have Faith's Reward and Breath of Life, either of which are pretty decent reanimation in a pinch. Something to mull over though.
Thanks for the thoughts, it's always good to get another perspective to see gaps in the armour.
Had a small opportunity to playtest this weekend, and this deck really surprised me. Firstly, I was significantly mana screwed most of the game. Nonetheless, it performed remarkably well. I didn't win, but posed a major threat.
Had a slight misplay which resulted in a loss - I held onto Phyrexian Rebirth one or two turns too many and eventually got done in by an enormous elf swarm. Nonetheless, the deck performed well in a pinch.
The misplay was also an indication of how Perplexing Chimera can be a great card and a bane - I had traded it for a Spine of Ish Sah a turn earlier, and this is what stopped me from playing Phyrexian Rebirth, knowing the opponent who had my Chimera would take the spell and get the horror token. In hindsight, I still think it would've been a favourable situation, but there was a lesson to be learnt for sure.
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!
Upon a second glance at Temmet, he has some things going for him:
He's a 2 drop, so encourages an early game push.
Unblockable is no joke with the right tokens in play.
He's in good colours for some fairly crazy token generators, and crazy token shenanigans.
He resists being removed with his embalm ability - which can then lead into unblockable commander damage, and avoids commander tax if absolutely needed.
So, there's options there. I like the fact that he ensures combat damage to players - this means combat mathematics on the offense is heavily swayed in your favour - you can make the most of a single attacker, and hold a token army back to defend your own life total. Very efficient resourcing.
The decklist that follows has not been heavily playtested yet - early stages. I feel like it could be excellent, but short of thorough playtesting it's a little hard to know what will go right and what will go wrong. I think the biggest challenge is that a lot of the big value cards can only hit the table after Temmet can, and there's not a lot of ramp in the colours. With that in mind, here's the list:
2 Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun
Creatures
2 Anointer Priest
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Burnished Hart
3 Cryptoplasm
3 Mirror Entity
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Archaeomancer
4 Phantom General
4 Aven Wind Guide
4 Vizier of Many Faces
4 Sublime Archangel
5 Cloudblazer
5 Mulldrifter
5 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
5 Body Double
5 Perplexing Chimera
5 Archon of Justice
6 Deadeye Navigator
6 Yosei, the Morning Star
7 Scourge of Fleets
Artifacts
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Explorer's Scope
2 Sword of the Animist
2 Mind Stone
3 Commander's Sphere
3 Worn Powerstone
3 Proteus Staff
3 Mimic Vat
3 Quietus Spike
4 Phyrexian Processor
4 Bident of Thassa
4 Soul Foundry
4 Hedron Archive
4 Deathrender
4 Bonehoard
5 Scytheclaw
2 Spirit Bonds
2 Intangible Virtue
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Sigil of the New Dawn
4 Field of Souls
5 Followed Footsteps
5 Metallurgic Summonings
Instants
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Pongify
2 Counterspell
3 Grip of Phyresis
3 Fated Infatuation
4 Mirrorweave
4 Rewind
6 Supplant Form
Sorceries
2 Open the Armory
3 Fabricate
4 Rite of Replication
6 Kirtar's Wrath
6 Descend upon the Sinful
6 Phyrexian Rebirth
6 Stolen Identity
9 Clone Legion
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Meandering River
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Secluded Steppe
13 Plains
15 Islands
And there we have it. There's bound to be areas of influence I've missed. I did toy with a Soul Warden/Angelic Accord package, but I don't there's enough lifegain through the rest of the deck to justify it, so at this point it's staying that way. I'd like to add Elspeth Tirel too, but I don't have a spare copy. Mirror Gallery would make a great, crazy gamestate for a bizarre voltron swing with Infinite Reflection, but again I don't have a copy.
Feel free to comment, suggest, or otherwise critique. Thanks!
BURWGSliver Hivelord's alt wincon deck at Maze's EndBURWG
GWBSidar Kondo and Ikra Shidiq likes big butts
RUMizzix of the Izmagnus Super ThiefRU
BURWGGeneral Tazri, The Megazord AllyBURWG
BURJeleva Mill and Kill BUR
BRGrenzo's get out from under that deck!BR
WUG Roon's Enchanted Evening (enchantment deck) WUG
BUG The Undersea World of Tasigur CousteauBUG
BWGAnafenza, Counter QueenBWG
I'm less worried about a dearth of tokens, as only one will connect each turn. So things like Chasm Skulker and Hangarback Walker I probably won't add - especially in the case of the walker, as it really only gets silly once you've got a significant pool of mana to sink into it. Wurmcoil Engine and Reef Worm I can see adding though, as they get big or have other benefits.
Draw I'm more likely to add incremental cards for - I'd like Coastal Piracy and Deepfathom Skulker, as they're rewarding the deck for doing what it does. Even Rogue's Gloves or Key to the City could be a good time. Again I'm more likely to add these than a spell like Pull from Tomorrow requires a significant investment of mana and I'm not really in the colours to ramp hard, barring Burnished Hart under a Mimic Vat - which is feasible but not something to count on. I had toyed with the idea of adding Realmwright to colour fix a little - it would work nicely with Scourge of Fleets - so that could maybe make adding Flow of Ideas a reasonable mass draw card.
Dusk//Dawn doesn't fit perfectly here - there are enough creatures here it will hit, and the last thing I want is to get rid of my Deadeye Navigator at the wrong time. By contrast the aftermath side is nice, although I don't have a copy of the card, and I do have Faith's Reward and Breath of Life, either of which are pretty decent reanimation in a pinch. Something to mull over though.
Thanks for the thoughts, it's always good to get another perspective to see gaps in the armour.
In:
Sublime Archangel
Rapid Hybridization
Pongify
Out:
Karmic Guide
Everflowing Chalice
Aqueous Form
MVP's were Mimic Vat, Perplexing Chimera, Pongify - being mana screwed early on, I was able to Pongify my Archaeomancer, imprint it on my Mimic Vat and start swinging, equipping my ape with an Explorer's Scope to generate some land drops. Eventually drew into Open the Armory and found Sickleslicer, which obviously presented a major threat.
Had a slight misplay which resulted in a loss - I held onto Phyrexian Rebirth one or two turns too many and eventually got done in by an enormous elf swarm. Nonetheless, the deck performed well in a pinch.
The misplay was also an indication of how Perplexing Chimera can be a great card and a bane - I had traded it for a Spine of Ish Sah a turn earlier, and this is what stopped me from playing Phyrexian Rebirth, knowing the opponent who had my Chimera would take the spell and get the horror token. In hindsight, I still think it would've been a favourable situation, but there was a lesson to be learnt for sure.
In:
Clever Impersonator - Strongest clone effect, I'd be super happy to Followed Footsteps this or Mimic Vat it.
Sigil of the New Dawn - A bit of cheap resilience never hurts.
Out:
Sturmgeist - One of the weaker creatures in the deck so an easy drop.
Curiosity - I already have the Bident.
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!
In:
Vizier of Many Faces
Out:
Chronozoa
Versatility add really. As much as I like Chronozoa academically, it's a slow card without Paradox Haze or Hex Parasite etc etc.