So this is the deck I have been running on cockatrice for awhile and I have really liked it. Looking forward to trying it in the daily tomorrow (my first). Only thing is I do not have the serene hearts on mtgo (seriously where can I find these damn things) but besides that I still have a really hard time sideboarding and am looking for any tips I can get.
Also only thing I am undecided on main board is a whether I cut a bolt for another fling.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Storm and Burn all formats
MODERN
GRIXIS FAERIES
FISH
NAYA BURN STANDARD
RABBLE RED E D H
OCEAN MASTER LORTHOS
Daretti's House of Artifacts AND LAND DESTRUCTION
SIDISI VALUE
please tell about your findings with your build. compared to mine, i would feel like more than 2 sac-cards (fling and perilous research) can get too clunky; and i fear you don't have as many threats to grind out mono black and delver (both mono blue and ur) - i consider flayer husk to be a threat as well, but i might be wrong on that.
Flayer Husk tends to be great against Flame Slash and the mirror. It still not gets over Tribal Flames though, but I don't think this matchup is a big problem since our 4/4s are bigger than their 3/3s, except maybe for the fact that they play a lot of flying creatures (Squadron Hawk and Kor Skyfisher are a real pain, especially since Krark-Clan Shaman doesn't deal with fliers and they use removal on Auriok Sunchaser).
Tron is not a problem if they don't have time to play that huge green 6-drop that basically gives them infinite life. Vedalken Certarch could be a fix but is too easy to kill too.
I think the only way to win against either Tron and lots of fliers is to win before they win. For that reason, I'm trying to Fling an Atog as fast as possible. Playing 4 Perilous Research, 4 Ichor Wellspring and no black and no white does help to get there as fast as I can. I need less mana fix too and don't run Prophetic Prism; I run Ichor Wellspring instead, which draws more cards for the same mana cost.
MBC isn't really a bad matchup because we play our whole hand before the end of turn 3, and we usually draw a lot of cards that we are able to play immediatly too. Also, since Treasure Cruise has been printed, MBC isn't as strong as before and is usually maindecking cards like Bojuka Bog that slows them down a bit.
16 lands is good for now, with the 4 Stars, the 4 Drums, Fromites and Flayer Husk as cheap drops and lots of cheap draw spells overall, I usually don't have any problem, all you need is one land to go off (2 is good too, but you never really want 3 in your opener).
Drawing is the key, we get to Blast and Fling faster and can deal with most decks that way. Against MUC, quickly dropping 4/4s is usually enough, and Pyroblast in the sideboard are a real pain for them. Removal against Nivix Cyclops is pretty heavy too as I side-in the 6 Pyroblast and Hydroblast for this matchup with my maindecked Galvanic Blast just to be sure. Usually not a problem matchup since they don't usually play Flame Slash and need 2 Lightning Bolt to kill a creature.
About what to side out... I often completely take out the Atog plan when I'm against more slow control decks, so that's 6 cards (Atog and Fling) out to start with. Ichor Wellspring gets a little bit worse, but I keep Perilous Research to sac creature in response to Victim of Night or Snap.
EDIT: I did some maths for the land count.
With 16 lands, on top the number of lands drawn and on the left the total number of cards drawn (always on a 60-card deck, I highly discourage playing with a sideboarded 61+ cards deck with such a low land count):
I know it doesn't really render well here on MTGS, but if we consider the chances of drawing at least 2 lands on the play for turn 2, we need to look at 8 cards and remove the probability of only hitting 0 or 1 land. With 16 lands in the deck, the probability of not getting at least 2 lands would be 39.16%. With 17 lands, that would be 35.18%. Now, that's a high probability. On the play though, it's 30.89% and 27.08% respectively.
Now, remember that Chromatic Star can be cycled on turn 2 at least and that Springleaf Drum does produce mana with Flayer Husk or with Frogmite (1 land + Drum on turn 1, Chromatic Star on turn 2 allows Frogmite to be played for that 1 land and then we can tap it with Drum to draw 2 with Thoughtcast). It means that those probabilities don't exactly reflect the playability of the deck and that a little bit more than the percentages I talked about above are playable hands. If at 16 lands I end up with roughly around 75% of my hands being playable on the draw, I can pretty much live with that knowing that 66% of my hands will be playable too if I mulligan once. There will be times where I just lose because of that, but that also makes the deck really explosive.
As soon as we hit 2 producing mana, the deck is usually able to go off quite easily.
NOTE: Treasure Cruise could certainly be played as a 1-off in the deck, but I personally don't just for consistency reasons since it's a dead card in any opening hand. Also, I'm playing paper pauper and just hate this card really much overall as I would be playing it in every deck and it's not something I want.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Is it greedy to run both Carapace Forger and Auriok Sunchaser? I rarely see a deck using both, but often see one or the other. They both seem to have their upsides, so is there a reason why they're not really used together?
I don't see any specific problem running both, but you would have to take out an important piece. Also playing 4 colors (no black I assume), Prophetic Prism or Chromatic Sphere could be needed.
But what's the upside of running both? you could remove a couple of Wellspring and Perilous Research but it will hurt the Atog plan for sure, so that really comes down to what you want to do with the deck.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I am a big fan of sticking to straight RUG for affinity, so consequently really like your build dnLL. I think too many affinity losses come from variance rather than being outplayed. There is probably such a thing as having too many draw spells, though. A lot of my variance losses in affinity felt like they came from drawing into more fluff/enablers than threats and upping the 2 mana cost durdling gets to be counterproductive. Especially considering how much 2 mana can actually be for affinity.
The fliers being added give Flayer Husk even more utility as evasive beatdown and sometimes make slightly more explosive draws, as affinity 5 is low enough to use the creature for mana. I think you might be correct on simply replacing Prophetic Prism with Ichor Wellspring. I kept the singleton on to mise but the added consistency is likely just better.
Sideboarding, I find that I am often using Pyroblast as a dispel and only ever really want to draw one as a means to resolve a key piece. I have been considering just straight replacing it with Dispel for more side slots versus MBC and Burn but neither of those matchups are bad enough to push me to do this yet. Spidersilk Armor makes blocking impossible for both the mirror and Delver, so I have been happy with that switch. I primarily play paper with a heavy Delver meta, so mass reach may also be a meta call.
I would also like to compliment your use of Darksteel Citadel. I have beaten so many sided Gorilla Shamans with this card that I think the ability to include it over playing white for Sunchaser is something every affinity player should consider. I wish we looked at the land base more in general. In a 17 land Auriok Sunchaser build, it might even make sense to 3x each of Tree of Tales, Ancient Den, and Darksteel Citadel because Tree and Den only cast four cards main.
I never liked Somber Hoverguard, especially if you play Spidersilk Armor in the SB (and I love this card, I used to play this in a tribal elf deck). I don't know, I almost prefer Quicksilver Behemoth at that point but this is a completely different list with Rush of Knowledge and Dragon Wings (it's an alternative to the Atog mainplan and could make a sideboard if you like the idea of having Deck A and Deck B instead of sideboarding against specific strategies). That second plan is good against flying too, 4/4s and 4/5s with flying (if not even bigger) sound pretty darn good to me.
The only problem with Armor is that it's 3 mana: the only thing that cost more than 2 in my whole 75 is Tranquility (I'm not counting Frogmite and Enforcer since I usually play them for free or less than 3).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I don't see any specific problem running both, but you would have to take out an important piece. Also playing 4 colors (no black I assume), Prophetic Prism or Chromatic Sphere could be needed.
But what's the upside of running both? you could remove a couple of Wellspring and Perilous Research but it will hurt the Atog plan for sure, so that really comes down to what you want to do with the deck.
You only have 4 sac outlets for the Ichor Wellspring. That's why Perilous Research is so solid, not to say that you can sac lands, drums or Stars too late game. It's a really good card honestly. Without it, I would probably play Cruise (a card that I just personally don't want to play) and go with a different plan a little bit (no Wellspring).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
temur battle rage strikes me as really playable. i would try and find space for a couple instead of rancor, and then adjust atogs (4) and add flings instead of perilous research. that might also allow me to put treasure cruise at 2.
this is where i'm at:
this also moves the whole deck towards a more red-centric build, which can help when making mulligan decisions. i have a good feeling about this, just have some trouble in deciding spell balance. i really wish more space for another fling, treasure cruise, prophetic prism/terrarion and a singleton bonesplitter.
How is it better than Assault Strobe? It's also a strictly worse functional reprint of Double Cleave that never saw play in Affinity yet.
I'm now playing with 3 Perilous and 3 Wellspring instead of 4s, added a land (Vault of Whispers) and a Prophetic Prism. I would like to run 2 Prisms, I will probably remove either another Wellspring or Perilous.
EDIT: Well, I didn't read the Ferocious part haha. Now, that sounds a lot better than Double Cleave and Assault Strobe. Double strike and trample is... well... huge? I got to agree with you.
I'm thinking about completely remove Atog and Fling now and adding more support for the 4/4s with Quicksilver Behemoth and Dragon Wings, maybe even the old Rush of Knowledge. It's definitely more consistant than Atog but not always as explosive.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
looking forward for some testing done on Quicksilver Behemoth and Dragon Wings, please let us know (also about card proportions). that could be a feasible way to go for sure.
looking forward for some testing done on Quicksilver Behemoth and Dragon Wings, please let us know (also about card proportions). that could be a feasible way to go for sure.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Right now, I'm still on the Atog plan but no more Fling, Temur Battle Rage is superior and a vast majority of situations. No more chump blockers against Atog, Trample and Double Strike will kill you!
A free spell would be another option instead of a 17h land - Ornithopter now that it has been printed at common rarity. It's good with Springleaf Drum for a more explosive start, that's for sure. It does block flying creatures and can be 1/2 with the equipment. But it's still... not really good? I would prefer Memnite if they ever print it common. Shield Sphere is a common on MTGO (Masters Edition) and isn't that bad either (especially in the mirror) but it has never been really played. Welding Jar doesn't work well with Springleaf Drum. I would probably play Ornithopter just for that old Antiquities art (I'm playing my pauper decks in real life with paper cards) but only playing 1 isn't really good for consistency. Mono-black control is a thing in the format though and they play plenty of Diabolic Edict and Chainer's Edict (if not Geth's Verdict), so I think Ornithopter (or it's 0/6 Wall brother) are definitely worth consideration. It's also sac fodder for Perilous Research (although I probably need to remove 1 to play Orni, or I remove the Prisms). Both Ornithopter and Flayer Husk are good against MBC.
You end up with 2 less creatures overall though, but I think that Dragon Wings replace Perilous Research in some ways. Atog isn't needed anymore and you don't want Wellsprings without Atog. Rush of Knowledge is nuts when it resolves and you draw 7. Game-winning spell. Temur Battle Rage is still strong.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
i've been playing a long time with vault skirge, which could fill the gap you have used ornitopther for. but either one of them, i'd wish i had either a couple of bonesplitter or rancor in the deck to be able to attack with them.
with all the different iterations i tried with the deck, i ended up using somber hoverguard as added creatures, which are still 4 power with a flayer husk attached.
just brainstorming here, but are delve creatures out of consideration? i'd feel safer running 2 of those instead of quicksilver behemoth, and they trigger dragon wings too if you were looking for that as well.
Definitely a couple of delve creatures that could be worth consideration, is there any particular one you were looking for?
Vault Skirge is a good card, especially against Burn. Could definitely fill the gap instead of Ornithopter but it also gives me a reason to play 1 more land since I'm going from a free creature spell to a black creature spell. What am I removing?
That's not really easy. I could completely not play Wellspring and Research, but it does help the deck a lot to draw more cards. It's good to sac Wellspring, Star or even a Prism or a land sometimes. It's amazing against lifelink creatures too if you don't want your opponent to gain life but still need to block (Armadillo Cloak, I'm looking at you!).
Maybe I remove the 2 Prism, play 2 lands instead and 2 Vault Skirge instead of Ornithopter?
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
i'd rather have terrarions instead of ichor wellspring. i know, one card less drawn, but it frees you from using perilous research.
as i've been using perilous research to make corrupt fizzle, it can be swapped with 1 or 2 flings, which help as added removal/burn (using them just reactively instead of as part of a combo could be the answer here).
as for the delve creatures, i had my eyes on hooting mandrills since i faced them vs tron - this would have me considering removing the treasure cruise and swapping them with rush of knowledge.
the list i will be testing after your considerations:
i still prefer the first, even if only it makes mulligan decision pretty straightforward (easier to keep hands with red mana because it has become the main color).
if i could find the space for either bonesplitter or rancor (bonesplitter is better now with temur battle rage) i'd play 2 vault skirge in a heartbeat, but the somber hoverguard pulled too much weight for me so far to use skirges in their stead.
I never really had success with Hoverguards but I'm not really playing daily events, I'm playing in the tournament practice room and paper pauper so yeah. The problem is that it still dies to any removal spell in the format. Can be good against Delver and Kor Skyfisher, but Vault Skirge equipped with Flayer Husk deals with Delver too.
I don't know... I wouldn't mind removing Wellsprings and Research... that's 4 cards... but the 4 cards you play instead are Hoverguard and and Terrarion, and I don't like either of these cards. I prefer Prophetic Prism over Terrarion, you have more artifacts on the battlefield in the long run for your affinity count, it always fix your mana (not only once) and you still get to draw one card. I actually don't see many reasons why Terrarion would be better.
Hard decisions... we could play 100 matches with any of the lists we posted on this page and still get different results. Also, I think the meta will adapt even more to Treasure Cruise and the quick aggro decks right now. The new Manifest mechanic will probably see some play too in pauper since there are a couple of cards that do 2-for-1s and that's what you are looking for in pauper. Prowess is not a big thing yet in pauper but I'm pretty sure we will see more of these, maybe even in Kiln Fiend decks. The big Delve creatures too. Rush of Knowledge and Dragon Wings do get a lot better with Delve creatures but we are leaning towards a completely different list than the traditional Atog list.
The bottomline is that I would love to be able to fit Vault Skirge and Bonesplitter too. Do we still need Atog? With Temur Battle Rage and cheap 4/4s, I'm not sure. Maybe we should play Bonesplitters, Vault Skirges, the Behemoth and Rush of Knowledge instead of Research/Wellspring.
I'm not that impressed by Hooting Mandrills mostly because I think Quicksilver Behemoth is better. It plays around every sorcery speed removal (mostly Edict), 5 touchness gets around Flame Slash too... I mean, the guy is good. It's also 1 more card with Knowledge.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
17 lands, Vault Skirge is here, Bonesplitter is here, Behemoth is here and Rush of Knowledge too. Atog is even here too but could be removed for more Rush/Behemoth/Skirge/land/Bonesplitter/Temur. No more Flayer Husk, I think Bonesplitter is here instead but that could still be played if the 5 toughness is needed.
If I remove the 4 Atogs, I would probably go with another Rush, a 3rd Skirge, a 3rd Bonesplitter and maybe a 18th land (or a 3rd Temur, not sure). Either that or just 2 Flayer Husk, 1 more Rush and 1 more land. Sideboard wouldn't really change either way.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
i think i'm in love with flayer husk, one of the reason is their utility after the first game.
vs affinity or any deck with access to red, i know i need to get to 5 toughness as soon as i can.
vs mono black i know i need them to make the opponent burn sacrifice effects.
vs any other deck that plays non flying creatures, especially 1 toughness creatures, is a monster equipped to krark-clan shaman.
moreover, one of the best hands i can get (and is not that rare) is land(any), springleaf drum, flayer husk, threat. i've seen many concessions by just this start alone.
i could consider a 3/2 split with bonesplitter, or even a 3/1; but in this case i think that a singleton rancor would be better than a singleton bonesplitter.
not impressed myself by the mandrills, too.
atog in the deck just means that each attack phase in which we have 1r untapped, the opponent needs to do the math to not get blown away by temur battle rage. this level of "fear" is what the deck needs against more grindy decks. i never used ichor wellspring, but i don't remember a time where i could not close a game because i needed more artifacts in play to feed atog.
at least one fling can be useful still, since we're going for a more quick ending of the game.
to be honest i don't really like behemoth and rush of knowledge, too many memories of drawing just 2 cards or none because removal in response. they are also prone to more clunky hands, and the best thing that needs to be done here is ensure our hands are the most efficient as possible.
btw for context: i play both paper pauper and mtgo. the meta is so hugely different i hardly have a use for the gorilla shamans in the sideboard..anyway my reasoning is that just the sideboard needs to be adapted between the two formats.
i'll mull a bit over our reasonings, will try to tinker about with a list.
i forgot: i'm basically reading from now on treasure cruise instead of rush of knowledge in the list we presented. i respect you are not willing to conform to the fact that every deck that has blue uses it, but in playtesting the card has been too good to me, even with delving 4 or 5 cards.
the rationale beyond the land number is that i removed 2 cantrips, about the atogs i just fear about drawing multiples, but i might want 3 (swapping for a bonesplitter or flayer husk probably).
i think 2 fling could be placed in sideboard, against mono-b or anything that need a race or more removal.
If you play Hoverguard, I still don't think Vault Skirge is that much worth it. The 2 life loss is huge against Burn if they kill it with Searing Blaze before you get to gain life.
We can completely ignore Kor Skyfisher because the white matchup improved a lot now that they can't just chumpblock with Temur Battle Rage. That leaves Spire Golem and Delver, that are usually played within the same deck. We have to race them at this point, but Hoverguard with Flayer Husk blocks either of these 2 creatures without even having to trade.
This list has 3 Atog to allow for a 17th land, I have 2 Hoverguard and 2 Flayer Husk, both Fling and Temur Battle Rage are here and finally Perilous Research is here too (x2) but that could be TC in your case. The only advantage of Research is the ability to sac a blocking/attacking creature against lifelink for example and I think this still hold some value over TC (it's instant speed too and the sac is part of the resolution, not the cost like Fling, so counterspells don't 2-for-1s us).
Total of 19 creatures with the 0/0 germs. Against black, just add the Shaman to kill their 1/1s and 2/2s or to sac to edicts as effective 20, 21 and 22nd creatures.
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
i think we're close to what each of us would want for the deck. i think i'm going to use your list with -2 perilous research +1 treasure cruise, +1 somber hoverguard, -1 fling, -1 prophetic prism, +2 flayer husk.
if i ever will want to try vault skirge it would be -3 somber hoverguard, +3 vault skirge, -1 flayer husk, +1 bonesplitter, or something along these lines.
still undecided about which is better between vault skirge and somber hoverguard, i have a feeling that hands will be even smoother with vault skirge but he won't pull the same weight that a somber hoverguard has.
i think we're close to what each of us would want for the deck. i think i'm going to use your list with -2 perilous research +1 treasure cruise, +1 somber hoverguard, -1 fling, -1 prophetic prism, +2 flayer husk.
if i ever will want to try vault skirge it would be -3 somber hoverguard, +3 vault skirge, -1 flayer husk, +1 bonesplitter, or something along these lines.
still undecided about which is better between vault skirge and somber hoverguard, i have a feeling that hands will be even smoother with vault skirge but he won't pull the same weight that a somber hoverguard has.
I completely agree with this post.
Vault Skirge is easy to keep in any opening hand while Hoverguard is not. 3 Hoverguard might be a lot, maybe a split 2/2 with Vault Skirge would be interesting.
Playing 1 Fling and 1 Prism with 2 more Flayer Husk is fine, I will stick to my list though because I'm not playing competitively enough to warrant the inclusion of singletons in a pauper deck (except for that 17th land).
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
4 Carapace Forger
4 Seat of the Synod
2 Ichor Wellspring
4 Chromatic Star
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Frogmite
4 Darksteel Citadel
3 Prophetic Prism
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Thoughtcast
3 Lightning Bolt
4 Atog
4 Great Furnace
4 Tree of Tales
2 Vault of Whispers
3 Springleaf Drum
2 Perilous Research
2 Electrickery
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Chainer's Edict
1 Lightning Bolt
3 Serene Heart
So this is the deck I have been running on cockatrice for awhile and I have really liked it. Looking forward to trying it in the daily tomorrow (my first). Only thing is I do not have the serene hearts on mtgo (seriously where can I find these damn things) but besides that I still have a really hard time sideboarding and am looking for any tips I can get.
Also only thing I am undecided on main board is a whether I cut a bolt for another fling.
MODERN
GRIXIS FAERIES
FISH
NAYA BURN
STANDARD
RABBLE RED
E D H
OCEAN MASTER LORTHOS
Daretti's House of Artifacts AND LAND DESTRUCTION
SIDISI VALUE
Tron is not a problem if they don't have time to play that huge green 6-drop that basically gives them infinite life. Vedalken Certarch could be a fix but is too easy to kill too.
I think the only way to win against either Tron and lots of fliers is to win before they win. For that reason, I'm trying to Fling an Atog as fast as possible. Playing 4 Perilous Research, 4 Ichor Wellspring and no black and no white does help to get there as fast as I can. I need less mana fix too and don't run Prophetic Prism; I run Ichor Wellspring instead, which draws more cards for the same mana cost.
4 Atog
4 Carapace Forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
Spells: 28
4 Chromatic Star
2 Flayer Husk
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Fling
4 Ichor Wellspring
4 Perilous Research
4 Thoughtcast
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
3 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Pyroblast
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Tranquility
The Caparace Forger could be swap for Auriok Sunchaser, swapping Darksteel Citadel for Ancient Den too but keeping the green mana for the sideboarded Tranquility. The reason to play Tranquility over Serene Heart is Oubliette and Journey to Nowhere. There are also a couple of other enchantments like Tortured Existence that are enough of a problem to run the sorcery 3-cmc Tranquility over that 2-cmc instant. The principal deck it's used against, GW Aura, usually doesn't kill you on the spot although Armadillo Cloak is a pain. Also, Krark-Clan Shaman is pretty strong in that matchup in response to their enchantments.
MBC isn't really a bad matchup because we play our whole hand before the end of turn 3, and we usually draw a lot of cards that we are able to play immediatly too. Also, since Treasure Cruise has been printed, MBC isn't as strong as before and is usually maindecking cards like Bojuka Bog that slows them down a bit.
16 lands is good for now, with the 4 Stars, the 4 Drums, Fromites and Flayer Husk as cheap drops and lots of cheap draw spells overall, I usually don't have any problem, all you need is one land to go off (2 is good too, but you never really want 3 in your opener).
Drawing is the key, we get to Blast and Fling faster and can deal with most decks that way. Against MUC, quickly dropping 4/4s is usually enough, and Pyroblast in the sideboard are a real pain for them. Removal against Nivix Cyclops is pretty heavy too as I side-in the 6 Pyroblast and Hydroblast for this matchup with my maindecked Galvanic Blast just to be sure. Usually not a problem matchup since they don't usually play Flame Slash and need 2 Lightning Bolt to kill a creature.
About what to side out... I often completely take out the Atog plan when I'm against more slow control decks, so that's 6 cards (Atog and Fling) out to start with. Ichor Wellspring gets a little bit worse, but I keep Perilous Research to sac creature in response to Victim of Night or Snap.
EDIT: I did some maths for the land count.
With 16 lands, on top the number of lands drawn and on the left the total number of cards drawn (always on a 60-card deck, I highly discourage playing with a sideboarded 61+ cards deck with such a low land count):
Same with 17 lands and 18 lands.
I know it doesn't really render well here on MTGS, but if we consider the chances of drawing at least 2 lands on the play for turn 2, we need to look at 8 cards and remove the probability of only hitting 0 or 1 land. With 16 lands in the deck, the probability of not getting at least 2 lands would be 39.16%. With 17 lands, that would be 35.18%. Now, that's a high probability. On the play though, it's 30.89% and 27.08% respectively.
Now, remember that Chromatic Star can be cycled on turn 2 at least and that Springleaf Drum does produce mana with Flayer Husk or with Frogmite (1 land + Drum on turn 1, Chromatic Star on turn 2 allows Frogmite to be played for that 1 land and then we can tap it with Drum to draw 2 with Thoughtcast). It means that those probabilities don't exactly reflect the playability of the deck and that a little bit more than the percentages I talked about above are playable hands. If at 16 lands I end up with roughly around 75% of my hands being playable on the draw, I can pretty much live with that knowing that 66% of my hands will be playable too if I mulligan once. There will be times where I just lose because of that, but that also makes the deck really explosive.
As soon as we hit 2 producing mana, the deck is usually able to go off quite easily.
NOTE: Treasure Cruise could certainly be played as a 1-off in the deck, but I personally don't just for consistency reasons since it's a dead card in any opening hand. Also, I'm playing paper pauper and just hate this card really much overall as I would be playing it in every deck and it's not something I want.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I don't see any specific problem running both, but you would have to take out an important piece. Also playing 4 colors (no black I assume), Prophetic Prism or Chromatic Sphere could be needed.
But what's the upside of running both? you could remove a couple of Wellspring and Perilous Research but it will hurt the Atog plan for sure, so that really comes down to what you want to do with the deck.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
I have personally been playing your exact list with these switches:
Main:
-1 Perilous Research -2 Ichor Wellspring
+1 Prophetic Prism +2 Somber Hoverguard
Side:
-1 Pyroblast -1 Ancient Grudge
+2 Spidersilk Armor
The fliers being added give Flayer Husk even more utility as evasive beatdown and sometimes make slightly more explosive draws, as affinity 5 is low enough to use the creature for mana. I think you might be correct on simply replacing Prophetic Prism with Ichor Wellspring. I kept the singleton on to mise but the added consistency is likely just better.
Sideboarding, I find that I am often using Pyroblast as a dispel and only ever really want to draw one as a means to resolve a key piece. I have been considering just straight replacing it with Dispel for more side slots versus MBC and Burn but neither of those matchups are bad enough to push me to do this yet. Spidersilk Armor makes blocking impossible for both the mirror and Delver, so I have been happy with that switch. I primarily play paper with a heavy Delver meta, so mass reach may also be a meta call.
I would also like to compliment your use of Darksteel Citadel. I have beaten so many sided Gorilla Shamans with this card that I think the ability to include it over playing white for Sunchaser is something every affinity player should consider. I wish we looked at the land base more in general. In a 17 land Auriok Sunchaser build, it might even make sense to 3x each of Tree of Tales, Ancient Den, and Darksteel Citadel because Tree and Den only cast four cards main.
The only problem with Armor is that it's 3 mana: the only thing that cost more than 2 in my whole 75 is Tranquility (I'm not counting Frogmite and Enforcer since I usually play them for free or less than 3).
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Voici ce que j'ai monté:
4 Frogmite
4 Auriok Sunchaser
4 Carapace Forger
4 Atog
4 Myr Enforcer
Artifacts (12)
4 Chromatic Star
3 Ichor Wellspring
4 Prophetic Prism
2 Springleaf Drum
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Thoughtcast
2 Fling
Lands (17)
4 Ancient Den
4 Tree of Tales
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
2 Standard Bearer
3 Hydroblast
4 Pyroblast
1 Serene Heart
1 Tranquility
All the main pieces are there, I think. I don't like Perilous Research, personally.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
this is where i'm at:
4 Seat of the Synod
4 darksteel citadel
4 tree of tales
4 atog
3 somber overguard
4 carapace forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Springleaf Drum
1 Prophetic Prism
4 Flayer Husk
2 temur battle rage
1 fling
1 treasure cruise
4 Thoughtcast
this also moves the whole deck towards a more red-centric build, which can help when making mulligan decisions. i have a good feeling about this, just have some trouble in deciding spell balance. i really wish more space for another fling, treasure cruise, prophetic prism/terrarion and a singleton bonesplitter.
How is it better than Assault Strobe? It's also a strictly worse functional reprint of Double Cleave that never saw play in Affinity yet.I'm now playing with 3 Perilous and 3 Wellspring instead of 4s, added a land (Vault of Whispers) and a Prophetic Prism. I would like to run 2 Prisms, I will probably remove either another Wellspring or Perilous.
EDIT: Well, I didn't read the Ferocious part haha. Now, that sounds a lot better than Double Cleave and Assault Strobe. Double strike and trample is... well... huge? I got to agree with you.
I'm thinking about completely remove Atog and Fling now and adding more support for the 4/4s with Quicksilver Behemoth and Dragon Wings, maybe even the old Rush of Knowledge. It's definitely more consistant than Atog but not always as explosive.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
Atog is still good, I think that Temur Battle Rage should just replace Fling, then the Quicksilver Behemoth package has always been interesting but Rush to Knowledge won't resolve often in a meta so blue with Treasure Cruise. Dragon Wings is good though.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
4 Atog
4 Carapace Forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
Spells: 27
4 Chromatic Star
2 Flayer Husk
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Ichor Wellspring
3 Perilous Research
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Prophetic Prism
4 Thoughtcast
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
1 Vault of Whispers
3 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Pyroblast
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Tranquility
16 creatures, 18 with Flayer Husk. Equipped to a 4/4, it's 10 damage with Battle Rage. G-Blast should be nearly enough to end the game at this point.
2 Prism, 2 Wellspring and 3 Research, I think it's the right numbers with a 17th land (could be either Ancient Den or Vault of Whispers depending on if you prefer to bluff Auriok Sunchaser or Disciple of the Vault, in any case it's better than a non-artifact land like Radiant Fountain). Not a really big bluff though since I prefer playing Darksteel Citadel because of matchups against Gorilla Shaman and the occasional land destruction spells.
A free spell would be another option instead of a 17h land - Ornithopter now that it has been printed at common rarity. It's good with Springleaf Drum for a more explosive start, that's for sure. It does block flying creatures and can be 1/2 with the equipment. But it's still... not really good? I would prefer Memnite if they ever print it common. Shield Sphere is a common on MTGO (Masters Edition) and isn't that bad either (especially in the mirror) but it has never been really played. Welding Jar doesn't work well with Springleaf Drum. I would probably play Ornithopter just for that old Antiquities art (I'm playing my pauper decks in real life with paper cards) but only playing 1 isn't really good for consistency. Mono-black control is a thing in the format though and they play plenty of Diabolic Edict and Chainer's Edict (if not Geth's Verdict), so I think Ornithopter (or it's 0/6 Wall brother) are definitely worth consideration. It's also sac fodder for Perilous Research (although I probably need to remove 1 to play Orni, or I remove the Prisms). Both Ornithopter and Flayer Husk are good against MBC.
2 Ornithopter
4 Atog
4 Carapace Forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
Spells: 26
4 Chromatic Star
2 Flayer Husk
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Ichor Wellspring
2 Perilous Research
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Prophetic Prism
4 Thoughtcast
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
3 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Pyroblast
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Tranquility
I will play this last list for now and see how it goes.
If you want to try Quicksilver Behemoth, I would change the following:
-2 Ornithopter
-4 Atog
-2 Ichor Wellspring
-2 Perilous Research
+4 Quicksilver Behemoth
+4 Dragon Wings
+2 Rush of Knowledge
You end up with 2 less creatures overall though, but I think that Dragon Wings replace Perilous Research in some ways. Atog isn't needed anymore and you don't want Wellsprings without Atog. Rush of Knowledge is nuts when it resolves and you draw 7. Game-winning spell. Temur Battle Rage is still strong.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
with all the different iterations i tried with the deck, i ended up using somber hoverguard as added creatures, which are still 4 power with a flayer husk attached.
just brainstorming here, but are delve creatures out of consideration? i'd feel safer running 2 of those instead of quicksilver behemoth, and they trigger dragon wings too if you were looking for that as well.
Vault Skirge is a good card, especially against Burn. Could definitely fill the gap instead of Ornithopter but it also gives me a reason to play 1 more land since I'm going from a free creature spell to a black creature spell. What am I removing?
That's not really easy. I could completely not play Wellspring and Research, but it does help the deck a lot to draw more cards. It's good to sac Wellspring, Star or even a Prism or a land sometimes. It's amazing against lifelink creatures too if you don't want your opponent to gain life but still need to block (Armadillo Cloak, I'm looking at you!).
Maybe I remove the 2 Prism, play 2 lands instead and 2 Vault Skirge instead of Ornithopter?
4 Atog
2 Vault Skirge
4 Carapace Forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
Spells: 24
4 Chromatic Star
2 Flayer Husk
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Ichor Wellspring
2 Perilous Research
2 Temur Battle Rage
4 Thoughtcast
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
2 Vault of Whispers
3 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Pyroblast
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Tranquility
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
as i've been using perilous research to make corrupt fizzle, it can be swapped with 1 or 2 flings, which help as added removal/burn (using them just reactively instead of as part of a combo could be the answer here).
as for the delve creatures, i had my eyes on hooting mandrills since i faced them vs tron - this would have me considering removing the treasure cruise and swapping them with rush of knowledge.
the list i will be testing after your considerations:
4 Seat of the Synod
4 darksteel citadel
4 tree of tales
4 atog
2 somber overguard
4 carapace forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Springleaf Drum
2 terrarion
4 Flayer Husk
2 temur battle rage
1 fling
1 treasure cruise
4 Thoughtcast
and a draft with the mandrills:
4 Seat of the Synod
4 darksteel citadel
4 tree of tales
1 ancient den
3 somber overguard
2 hooting mandrills
4 carapace forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Chromatic Star
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Flayer Husk
2 temur battle rage
2 rush of knowledge
4 Thoughtcast
i still prefer the first, even if only it makes mulligan decision pretty straightforward (easier to keep hands with red mana because it has become the main color).
if i could find the space for either bonesplitter or rancor (bonesplitter is better now with temur battle rage) i'd play 2 vault skirge in a heartbeat, but the somber hoverguard pulled too much weight for me so far to use skirges in their stead.
I don't know... I wouldn't mind removing Wellsprings and Research... that's 4 cards... but the 4 cards you play instead are Hoverguard and and Terrarion, and I don't like either of these cards. I prefer Prophetic Prism over Terrarion, you have more artifacts on the battlefield in the long run for your affinity count, it always fix your mana (not only once) and you still get to draw one card. I actually don't see many reasons why Terrarion would be better.
Also, Temur Battle Rage can help Vault Skirge to block and a double strike, lifelink, trample and flying creature looks pretty scary to me. I agree though that Bonesplitter would be a really good addition with Temur Battle Rage and if playing Vault Skirge.
Hard decisions... we could play 100 matches with any of the lists we posted on this page and still get different results. Also, I think the meta will adapt even more to Treasure Cruise and the quick aggro decks right now. The new Manifest mechanic will probably see some play too in pauper since there are a couple of cards that do 2-for-1s and that's what you are looking for in pauper. Prowess is not a big thing yet in pauper but I'm pretty sure we will see more of these, maybe even in Kiln Fiend decks. The big Delve creatures too. Rush of Knowledge and Dragon Wings do get a lot better with Delve creatures but we are leaning towards a completely different list than the traditional Atog list.
The bottomline is that I would love to be able to fit Vault Skirge and Bonesplitter too. Do we still need Atog? With Temur Battle Rage and cheap 4/4s, I'm not sure. Maybe we should play Bonesplitters, Vault Skirges, the Behemoth and Rush of Knowledge instead of Research/Wellspring.
I'm not that impressed by Hooting Mandrills mostly because I think Quicksilver Behemoth is better. It plays around every sorcery speed removal (mostly Edict), 5 touchness gets around Flame Slash too... I mean, the guy is good. It's also 1 more card with Knowledge.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
4 Atog
2 Vault Skirge
4 Carapace Forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
3 Quicksilver Behemoth
Spells: 22
2 Bonesplitter
4 Chromatic Star
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Rush of Knowledge
4 Thoughtcast
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
1 Vault of Whispers
3 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Pyroblast
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Tranquility
17 lands, Vault Skirge is here, Bonesplitter is here, Behemoth is here and Rush of Knowledge too. Atog is even here too but could be removed for more Rush/Behemoth/Skirge/land/Bonesplitter/Temur. No more Flayer Husk, I think Bonesplitter is here instead but that could still be played if the 5 toughness is needed.
If I remove the 4 Atogs, I would probably go with another Rush, a 3rd Skirge, a 3rd Bonesplitter and maybe a 18th land (or a 3rd Temur, not sure). Either that or just 2 Flayer Husk, 1 more Rush and 1 more land. Sideboard wouldn't really change either way.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
vs affinity or any deck with access to red, i know i need to get to 5 toughness as soon as i can.
vs mono black i know i need them to make the opponent burn sacrifice effects.
vs any other deck that plays non flying creatures, especially 1 toughness creatures, is a monster equipped to krark-clan shaman.
moreover, one of the best hands i can get (and is not that rare) is land(any), springleaf drum, flayer husk, threat. i've seen many concessions by just this start alone.
i could consider a 3/2 split with bonesplitter, or even a 3/1; but in this case i think that a singleton rancor would be better than a singleton bonesplitter.
not impressed myself by the mandrills, too.
atog in the deck just means that each attack phase in which we have 1r untapped, the opponent needs to do the math to not get blown away by temur battle rage. this level of "fear" is what the deck needs against more grindy decks. i never used ichor wellspring, but i don't remember a time where i could not close a game because i needed more artifacts in play to feed atog.
at least one fling can be useful still, since we're going for a more quick ending of the game.
to be honest i don't really like behemoth and rush of knowledge, too many memories of drawing just 2 cards or none because removal in response. they are also prone to more clunky hands, and the best thing that needs to be done here is ensure our hands are the most efficient as possible.
btw for context: i play both paper pauper and mtgo. the meta is so hugely different i hardly have a use for the gorilla shamans in the sideboard..anyway my reasoning is that just the sideboard needs to be adapted between the two formats.
i'll mull a bit over our reasonings, will try to tinker about with a list.
4 Seat of the Synod
4 darksteel citadel
4 tree of tales
1 vault of whispers
2 atog
3 somber overguard
4 carapace forger
4 Frogmite
4 Myr Enforcer
2 vault skirge
4 Chromatic Star
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Flayer Husk
2 temur battle rage
1 treasure cruise
4 Thoughtcast
the rationale beyond the land number is that i removed 2 cantrips, about the atogs i just fear about drawing multiples, but i might want 3 (swapping for a bonesplitter or flayer husk probably).
i think 2 fling could be placed in sideboard, against mono-b or anything that need a race or more removal.
We can completely ignore Kor Skyfisher because the white matchup improved a lot now that they can't just chumpblock with Temur Battle Rage. That leaves Spire Golem and Delver, that are usually played within the same deck. We have to race them at this point, but Hoverguard with Flayer Husk blocks either of these 2 creatures without even having to trade.
I'm actually thinking about this:
3 Atog
4 Carapace Forger
4 Frogmite
2 Somber Hoberguard
4 Myr Enforcer
Spells: 26
4 Chromatic Star
2 Flayer Husk
4 Galvanic Blast
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Temur Battle Rage
2 Fling
2 Perilous Research
2 Prophetic Prism
4 Thoughtcast
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Tree of Tales
1 Vault of Whispers
3 Hydroblast
3 Krark-Clan Shaman
3 Pyroblast
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Tranquility
This list has 3 Atog to allow for a 17th land, I have 2 Hoverguard and 2 Flayer Husk, both Fling and Temur Battle Rage are here and finally Perilous Research is here too (x2) but that could be TC in your case. The only advantage of Research is the ability to sac a blocking/attacking creature against lifelink for example and I think this still hold some value over TC (it's instant speed too and the sac is part of the resolution, not the cost like Fling, so counterspells don't 2-for-1s us).
Total of 19 creatures with the 0/0 germs. Against black, just add the Shaman to kill their 1/1s and 2/2s or to sac to edicts as effective 20, 21 and 22nd creatures.
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.
if i ever will want to try vault skirge it would be -3 somber hoverguard, +3 vault skirge, -1 flayer husk, +1 bonesplitter, or something along these lines.
still undecided about which is better between vault skirge and somber hoverguard, i have a feeling that hands will be even smoother with vault skirge but he won't pull the same weight that a somber hoverguard has.
I completely agree with this post.
Vault Skirge is easy to keep in any opening hand while Hoverguard is not. 3 Hoverguard might be a lot, maybe a split 2/2 with Vault Skirge would be interesting.
Playing 1 Fling and 1 Prism with 2 more Flayer Husk is fine, I will stick to my list though because I'm not playing competitively enough to warrant the inclusion of singletons in a pauper deck (except for that 17th land).
Rules Advisor
Pauper decks: Weenie Tokens — Zombies
My own rules when building a Commander deck:
1) Underrated general that I can build around but the deck must work without him/her too.
2) Every card must be legal in both banlists.
3) No infinite combo that could win (and ruin) instantly a multiplayer game.
4) Synergy at all costs; stay on theme, avoid goodstuff.