This Xantcha, Sleeper Agent list is my current pet project. I found inspiration in Aikido-style decks, punisher decks and general Rakdos goodstuff.
Ultimately, I want to encourage the game to progress at a quick pace, preferably with players targeting each other before me. I know, harder to do subtly with a commander who inherently singles out one player. And harder still, if I'm piling up the group slug effects.
That's where the second goal comes in: I want to encourage decisions to be made under duress.
How successful I am at these goals remains to be seen. I've played several games with the deck -- and found it highly enjoyable -- but it will take more to understand if these goals make sense.
Some cards, like Cannibalize, are objectively bad, at worst; questionable at best. Others -- Bedlam, Phyrexian Scriptures - are also questionable, though I am running them to see how well they perform in less-than-optimal conditions.
I didn't want to go 100 percent in any direction I've seen a number of Xantcha lists pursue: reverse-voltron, with lots of auras; full-on punisher; or combo. Maybe Xantcha needs that sort of focus. I've pulled aspects I enjoy from each. I'm particularly fond of effects that let me copy or use other players' resources against them.
Speaking of combo, you might notice I'm excluding key pieces like Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth (truth be told, not including at least Rings is an oversight -- is plays well with many, many cards in this list).
I'm also aware that Mindcrank works well with an active Bloodchief Ascension. I'm not against using these cards, but I wanted to get a feel for how a standard turn-three Xantcha affected most games.
So, please let me know what you think! I'm definitely interested to hear what other Xantcha players have observed. Happy to explain some of the card choices.
I have been playing Mogis, God of Slaughter for years at the helm of my rakdos punisher commander. I really did like how Mogis stuck around for a long time and it rarley got removed but when I saw Xantcha, I switched to her because she was literally the answer to my rakdos not having a lot of good card draw problem.
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
I have been playing Mogis, God of Slaughter for years at the helm of my rakdos punisher commander. I really did like how Mogis stuck around for a long time and it rarley got removed but when I saw Xantcha, I switched to her because she was literally the answer to my rakdos not having a lot of good card draw problem.
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
I have been playing Mogis, God of Slaughter for years at the helm of my rakdos punisher commander. I really did like how Mogis stuck around for a long time and it rarley got removed but when I saw Xantcha, I switched to her because she was literally the answer to my rakdos not having a lot of good card draw problem.
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
I have been playing Mogis, God of Slaughter for years at the helm of my rakdos punisher commander. I really did like how Mogis stuck around for a long time and it rarley got removed but when I saw Xantcha, I switched to her because she was literally the answer to my rakdos not having a lot of good card draw problem.
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
I like both of your suggestions. I had Key to the City in an earlier list, but got hung up on the discard downside. I even went down a slippery slope of justifying fitting some Madness cards in the list to benefit. This was also when I was running Oppression and Bottomless Pit, both of which I eventually cut.
I definitely want to find space for Sire of Insanity.
Quick summary of some games I played today:
1. 1v1 matches are, as expected, not a great fit for this deck.
2. Putting Curse of Opulence on yourself is a valid play in 1v1.
3. Repercussion is so, so delightful. In fact, it was how I won the first game. With Pestilence also in play, seven black mana available, and opponent controlling 4 creatures. That adds up.
4. Nothing stood out as objectively bad, but both Master of Cruelties and Virtus, the Veiled felt not great when I drew them. Will keep them in for now to see.
5. Realized how useful Endbringer's abilities are, especially being able to outright stop a creature from attacking. Consider how many creatures get on-attack triggers. Maze of Ith is less impressive against stuff like Etali, Primal Storm or Zur the Enchanter. This makes me reconsider including cards like Icy Manipulator and Ring of Gix. The flexibility is nice.
6. Word of Seizing someone's Estrid, the Masked and then firing off the ultimate -- to whiff -- is the epitome of feels-bad. They feel bad I took their ultimate. I feel bad I got nothing out of it outside of uncounterable removal.
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1 Xantcha, Sleeper Agent
Lands
1 Badlands
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Command Tower
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Graven Cairns
1 High Market
1 Luxury Suite
1 Marsh Flats
1 Maze of Ith
1 Molten Slagheap
4 Mountain
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Rocky Tar Pit
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Strip Mine
1 Sulfurous Springs
5 Swamp
1 Tainted Peak
1 Temple of Malice
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Vesuva
1 Wasteland
1 Burnished Hart
1 Coffin Queen
1 Custodi Lich
1 Endbringer
1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
1 Master of Cruelties
1 Neheb, the Eternal
1 Royal Assassin
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Virtus the Veiled
Artifacts
1 Crown of Doom
1 Expedition Map
1 Heartstone
1 Mirage Mirror
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Indulgence
1 Thaumatic Compass
1 Thought Vessel
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
Enchantments
1 Bedlam
1 Bloodchief Ascension
1 Curse of Opulence
1 Dauthi Embrace
1 Infernal Tribute
1 Necromancy
1 No Mercy
1 Painful Quandary
1 Pestilence
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Phyrexian Scriptures
1 Polluted Bonds
1 Repercussion
1 Revel in Riches
1 Stolen Strategy
1 War's Toll
1 Wound Reflection
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Cannibalize
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Disrupt Decorum
1 Fiery Confluence
1 Night's Whisper
1 Reanimate
1 Syphon Mind
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Vandalblast
1 Void
Instants
1 Arcbond
1 Chaos Warp
1 Curtains' Call
1 Fork
1 Price of Progress
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Sudden Spoiling
1 Terminate
1 Thrilling Encore
1 Warping Wail
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Word of Seizing
This Xantcha, Sleeper Agent list is my current pet project. I found inspiration in Aikido-style decks, punisher decks and general Rakdos goodstuff.
Ultimately, I want to encourage the game to progress at a quick pace, preferably with players targeting each other before me. I know, harder to do subtly with a commander who inherently singles out one player. And harder still, if I'm piling up the group slug effects.
That's where the second goal comes in: I want to encourage decisions to be made under duress.
How successful I am at these goals remains to be seen. I've played several games with the deck -- and found it highly enjoyable -- but it will take more to understand if these goals make sense.
Some cards, like Cannibalize, are objectively bad, at worst; questionable at best. Others -- Bedlam, Phyrexian Scriptures - are also questionable, though I am running them to see how well they perform in less-than-optimal conditions.
I didn't want to go 100 percent in any direction I've seen a number of Xantcha lists pursue: reverse-voltron, with lots of auras; full-on punisher; or combo. Maybe Xantcha needs that sort of focus. I've pulled aspects I enjoy from each. I'm particularly fond of effects that let me copy or use other players' resources against them.
Speaking of combo, you might notice I'm excluding key pieces like Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth (truth be told, not including at least Rings is an oversight -- is plays well with many, many cards in this list).
I'm also aware that Mindcrank works well with an active Bloodchief Ascension. I'm not against using these cards, but I wanted to get a feel for how a standard turn-three Xantcha affected most games.
So, please let me know what you think! I'm definitely interested to hear what other Xantcha players have observed. Happy to explain some of the card choices.
Cheers!
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
Your list does look pretty good. A Key to the City may be worth considering as another way to get Xantcha past big blockers. Perhaps you can try Sire of Insanity as a way to make people loose their hand and now they have no choice but to use Xantcha's activated ability if they top deck into land and want to make a play, and if they draw something they can't use the sire will get rid of it.
I like both of your suggestions. I had Key to the City in an earlier list, but got hung up on the discard downside. I even went down a slippery slope of justifying fitting some Madness cards in the list to benefit. This was also when I was running Oppression and Bottomless Pit, both of which I eventually cut.
I definitely want to find space for Sire of Insanity.
Quick summary of some games I played today:
1. 1v1 matches are, as expected, not a great fit for this deck.
2. Putting Curse of Opulence on yourself is a valid play in 1v1.
3. Repercussion is so, so delightful. In fact, it was how I won the first game. With Pestilence also in play, seven black mana available, and opponent controlling 4 creatures. That adds up.
4. Nothing stood out as objectively bad, but both Master of Cruelties and Virtus, the Veiled felt not great when I drew them. Will keep them in for now to see.
5. Realized how useful Endbringer's abilities are, especially being able to outright stop a creature from attacking. Consider how many creatures get on-attack triggers. Maze of Ith is less impressive against stuff like Etali, Primal Storm or Zur the Enchanter. This makes me reconsider including cards like Icy Manipulator and Ring of Gix. The flexibility is nice.
6. Word of Seizing someone's Estrid, the Masked and then firing off the ultimate -- to whiff -- is the epitome of feels-bad. They feel bad I took their ultimate. I feel bad I got nothing out of it outside of uncounterable removal.