MTG Salvation

Hey everyone. I just recently got interested in the idea of playing pauper EDH. I love playing variant formats with innate controls to prevent broken-ness [but then subsequently breaking them! :)]. I began by doing some querying on Gatherer, of course. After perusing the results this is the list of generals I believe to be most effective.

Please feel free to comment and (constructively) criticize.

Flash and Unearth seem super powerful on generals...

One Color

W:
U:
B:
R:
G:
Two Color

WU:
WB:
WR:
WG:
UB:
UR:
UG:
BR:
BG:
RG:
Allied Three Color Wedges
WUB: Sludge Strider, Stormscape Battlemage
UBR: Fire-Field Ogre, Dreadwing, Nightscape Battlemage
UBG: Ana Battlemage
BRG: Giant Ambush Beetle, Scarland Thrinax, Sprouting Thrinax, Viashino Slaughtermaster, Thunderscape Battlemage
RGW: Gloryscale Viashino, Knotvine Mystic, Marisi's Twinclaws, Wooly Thoctar, Thornscape Battlemage
GWU: Skyward Eye Prophets, Aerie Mystics, Sunscape Battlemage

Enemy Three Color Wedges
UBG: Ana Battlemage

Five Color
Fusion Elemental, Dragonsoul Knight, Fleshformer, Paragon of the Amesha

If Colorless is Possible, it has to be one of these
Darksteel Sentinel

In my opinion, these are borderline. If anyone can comment on which ones should go into the list, or which ones are just garbage please say so:

• Bloodied Ghost
  
• Agent of Masks
  
• Gwyllion Hedge-Mage
  
• Razing Snidd
  
• Sanity Gnawers
  
• Minotaur Illusionist
  
• Kathari Remnant
  
• Ebony Treefolk
  
• Noxious Hatchling
  
• Giant Trap Door Spider
  
• Hunting Kavu
  
• Voracious Cobra
  
• Groundling Pouncer
  
• Trygon Predator
  
• Plaxcaster Frogling
  
• Vagrant Plowbeasts
  
• Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
  
• Azorious AEthermage
  
• Drogskol Captain
  
• Phantatog
  
• Jotun Grunt
  
• Necratog
  
• Silverglade Pathfinder
  
• Thelonite Druid
  
• Merrow Harbinger
  
• Deceiver Exarch
  
• Nacatl Hunt-Pride

You forgot some of the guildmages, all of them are playable.

Also, off the top of my head: Mistmeadow Witch, Paragon of the Amesha, Dragonsoul Knight, Rhox War Monk, Invisible Stalker, Elvish Harbinger, Transguild Courier.

Quote from Argetlam

You forgot some of the guildmages, all of them are playable.

This thread is more serious discussion than this. If you think any of the guildmages I failed to include are worthy of attention, name the card and add links to commons you think can actually flesh out a deck.

Quote from Argetlam

Also, off the top of my head: Mistmeadow Witch, Paragon of the Amesha, Dragonsoul Knight, Rhox War Monk, Invisible Stalker, Elvish Harbinger, Transguild Courier.

Please respect Cakins' thread, I think the rules posted there are perfect
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=439702

Good find on Paragon of the Amesha, Dragonsoul Knight

Rhox War Monk and Transguild Courier seem borderline at best

EDIT: It seems that of the 'Conflux Five Color Uncommon Creatures', Fleshformer seems to be the best

Mistmeadow Witch is target pseudo-removal with the ability to abuse etb effects. I have seen it just "recast" Mist Raven, Mulldrifters, Stonehorn Dignitary, etc.

Card I love running include Sunscape Battlemage when I need to Plummet and/or get Divination in the right moment.

For white, I am using Springjack Shepherd with lots of ways to bring him back into play, bounce to my hand, etc. I tend to get lots and lots of goats, which I can pump up

Quote from GalacticFonz

This thread is more serious discussion than this. If you think any of the guildmages I failed to include are worthy of attention, name the card and add links to commons you think can actually flesh out a deck.



Please respect Cakins' thread, I think the rules posted there are perfect
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=439702

Good find on Paragon of the Amesha, Dragonsoul Knight

Rhox War Monk and Transguild Courier seem borderline at best

EDIT: It seems that of the 'Conflux Five Color Uncommon Creatures', Fleshformer seems to be the best

The Guildmages:
Azorius Guildmage: Extremely powerful in a UW Tempo/Control or control deck. Harass their board while swinging with smaller creatures.

Dimir Guildmage: Quite possibly the best of the guildmages, fits very well into a UB control deck. The attrition battle ends favorably for you when the guildage hits the board late game and refills your hand. Trust me, my friend plays the deck and it's VERY good.

Simic Guildmage: Is great in an Aura deck. Flipping Utopia Vow/Arachnus Web like enchantments around on opponents' creatures, while protecting your own by moving Shielding Plax/Alexi's Cloak/etc. around in response to removal. Also combos with Bramble Elemental and an Aura.

I don't understand your logic for including Orzhov Guildmage and Boros Guildmage (the worst two), but not the above three.

Rhox War Monk is an excellent bant voltron general.

Orzhov Guildmage seems pretty bad in retrospect.

Boros Guildmage may be lackluster compared to other RW choices... but it can give any creature haste or first strike, both of which are very powerful in Pauper.

Azorious Guildmage and Mistmeadow Witch are TOO good IMO, and I don't think it is healthy to allow either to dominate the format. I am a U/W control player at heart, but I want people to actually play with!!!

Simic Guildmage seems borderline... Lignify, Arachnus Web, and Utopia Vow are cards but I'm still not sold on him.

@bfellow: Battlemages seem pretty good! Nice find.

@merigold: Sprinjack Sheperd is very interesting... decent choice for mono W

I will update this index later today.

Quote from GalacticFonz

Orzhov Guildmage seems pretty bad in retrospect.

Boros Guildmage may be lackluster compared to other RW choices... but it can give any creature haste or first strike, both of which are very powerful in Pauper.

I think its fine to have Boros Guildmage on the list, but he is probably one of the weakest guildmages. In a format dominated by control, haste and first strike are quite weak.

Azorious Guildmage and Mistmeadow Witch are TOO good IMO, and I don't think it is healthy to allow either to dominate the format. I am a U/W control player at heart, but I want people to actually play with!!!

Its ok for you to control the ban list in your playgroup, but when starting a thread for the whole forum, you should respect the current ban list. (No generals have been judged unfair enough to ban last time I checked). There have been phases where some were banned, but neither Witch nor Azorius Guildage was one of those cards.

Simic Guildmage seems borderline... Lignify, Arachnus Web, and Utopia Vow are cards but I'm still not sold on him.

If you're willing to put Boros Guildmage on the list, you should definitely have Simic Guildmage. There was a TCG Player article that sported a decklist with him as commander, and again, he's much stronger than many other options on your list. I mean, if Sea Drake and Imperiosaur make the list, how can you justify "not being sold on" Simic Guildmage?

Responses in bold.

Quote from Argetlam

Responses in bold.

Watchwolf and Imperiosaur restrict your card choices differently than Simic Guildmage. I tried picking a possible general for each color combination so that within those color restrictions you could see what archetypes are available.

In no way am I attempting to say Imperiosaur should beat Simic Guildmage (though I would be willing to try!!!)

As for Azorious Guildmage/Mistmeadow Witch, you are correct in saying 'no generals have been judged unfair'. Caskin (spelling?) posted 'Unofficial' rules recently that seemed very good - except for maybe the life totals/general damage/poison

If that must be the case, I will put together a deck for Azorius Guildmage and Mistmeadow Witch and do my best to make sure that only the most devout masochists will ever want to play me again.

Quote from GalacticFonz

Watchwolf and Imperiosaur restrict your card choices differently than Simic Guildmage. I tried picking a possible general for each color combination so that within those color restrictions you could see what archetypes are available.

In no way am I attempting to say Imperiosaur should beat Simic Guildmage (though I would be willing to try!!!)

As for Azorious Guildmage/Mistmeadow Witch, you are correct in saying 'no generals have been judged unfair'. Caskin (spelling?) posted 'Unofficial' rules recently that seemed very good - except for maybe the life totals/general damage/poison

If that must be the case, I will put together a deck for Azorius Guildmage and Mistmeadow Witch and do my best to make sure that only the most devout masochists will ever want to play me again.

Firstly, If you're ignoring Simic Guildmage, then you also ignore the archetype "Enchantress". You have however represented the "Beater with a big drawback" archetype quite well. Secondly, I think you should consider that other people might have opinions that differ from your own. For example, nobody is forcing you to build an Azorius Guildmage deck, but it should still be added to the list in case SOMEONE ELSE wants to do it.

If you continue to reject all suggestions you personally deem not worthy, I suggest you change the name of the thread to "[Primer]Generals GalacticFonz Wants to Build Around".

Just to point out, BUG is actually a valid color combination using Ana Battlemage as your general.

what about tower gargoyle?

@Argetlam: I've added all the generals you have mentioned, I get the idea behind 'Enchantress' Simic Guildmage, though it usually has white. Frozen Solid seems decent with stacking Simic's ability.
@Dtrain: Good find.
@xbinox: Yeah he makes a good Esper control shell with a finisher.

Dtrain made me gatherer all Kicker creatures.

Bloodhusk Ritualist seems to make pretty good mono black...
Benalish Emissary for 1v1???

The other battlemages, of course

Goblin assassain

if you want justification for this one do a gatherer search for common goblins and be rediculously amazed


Lumberknot

this is another of my generals, hes out...... and he never leaves play..... hes sick and kills people in one shot

since your making a list of all playable generals (in other words they have a relevant ability, or relevant p/t to be considered) ill throw a bunch out that you can add =)

*sorry if you have any of these already


Aerie Mystics
Ajani's Pridemate
Algae Gharial
Ancestor's Chosen
Ashen Ghoul
Auriok Bladewarden
Azure Mage
Blood Artist
Blood Cultist
Boggart Ram-Gang
Boneyard Wurm
Bramblewood Paragon
Bushi Tenderfoot

ill add more in the future if you found this helpful at all =)

All the shards of alara battlemages seem viable. At very least I could see esper battlemage for it's psuedo-ping and stall while you tutor up whatever combo your deck runs or until you play out some beats. Also grixis battlemage for card cycling and allowing scoria elemental and arc runner to beat through as well as access to the majority of tutors.
Howlgeist seems pretty powerful in a format where the majority of creatures have less than 4 power.

Also, I know this is an uncommons thread, but some commons could serve as OK generals too. I have a Darklit gargoyle list up that is pending testing, but seems decent and I'm currently working on a sunscape apprentice list as well (because repeatedly casting totem-guide hartebeest after chucking it back on top of your library seems pretty good to me). I just cant see anyone saying "no you cant play a common general! It could unfair!"

Quote from manodungeon

Goblin assassain

if you want justification for this one do a gatherer search for common goblins and be rediculously amazed

Along these lines Goblin Lackey seems like he could be a good goblin general.