Ezuri and Geist seem absolutely insane in this format, as does UBR storm. The decrease to fifty cards only makes these decks more consistent than their 100 card counterparts in dual commander. I honestly don't really see the appeal in a format which if played competitively will be dominated by a couple of decks.
Although decks will be cheaper, they will still not be cheap. Decks will still require fetches, duals, and the best cards in their colors (often the expensive ones). In many cases I think the cheaper cards will be the ones that get cut, leaving the bulk of the cost of each deck intact.
I played in a small tourney Friday (only 12 people) and I thought Geist would be an issue but he wasn't. At least not the deck there. I took second with my Animar deck and my buddy, as I knew he would, took 1st with Ezuri because that deck is nigh unbeatable. Ramp in general is pretty game-breaking which is why I did well with Animar. So long as I got him out of burn range fast it was GG. Ezuri is a whole other animal though. Stupid fast and stupid resilient. His regen/pump pretty much nullifies most removal in the format making it near impossible to cut into his mana-dork production and he never really has to tap out. Add an early Gaea's or Nykthos to mix and it's hopeless. Even if you're lucky enough to have a way to remove either land it's usually not fast enough to overcome the ramp advantage. I thought the Nin player might take a game off him when he landed a Blood Moon early and nullified an early Gaea's but his mana dorks were enough to keep pace till he drew Song of Dryads for the Blood Moon and was instantly able to pump his elf army for a near one-swing win.
I like this variant, I am currently making Anafeza deck, will see how it will work.
I think it's great idea for such variant.
Anyway, because I still haven't played it, how long are the regular games? shorter than usual right?
In my experience much, much shorter on average. Of course you sometimes get that outlier game where it goes longer than average but the games I've been playing have never gone over 20-30 mins max and usually more like 15.
I have said it before and will say it again, Gaddock Teeg. Shuts down opponents things while working with your things. Best deck you can build to stop all of the other powerful decks in your meta.
Teeg is not going to shut down Derevi or Druid though and those are his main concerns. They both pack too many under 4cc answers and Teeg packs too few, especially lacking U. He won't be on the board when it matters. Teferi can be good but in my experience Derevi will outlast him easily while building threat. With Derevi never costing more than 4 and being able to be flashed in you can be very patient against mono-U.
Only reason I'd possibly lean a bit more towards Zur personally is access to black for things like Toxic Deluge,Vindicate, Innocent Blood, Liliana of the Veil, spot removal and of course the best tutors. But that's just personal preference really. Once Zur's online you just need a few mana rocks to keep him safe as he's untouchable with something as simple as Vanishing or Pemmin's Aura on him so you can lock down the board or Geddon with impunity.
I don't see red, especially not mono red, helping you a whole lot in a such a meta. You want UW or UWB like GAAIV or Zur. Counters, tax effects/locks, annoyances like Nevermore and use MLD the second you are established.
If that were the case, Jenara and some other 3cmc legends with crazy potential would probably be banned already.
Reminding me of Jenara honestly only makes me think that this format has even more issues. While I see the potential strong generals listed in this thread (like the nice clique decklist above), essentially anything with green is going to have a stronger, more consistent, and faster deck. Competitively speaking I don't see why this isn't just called the Ezuri, Renegade Leader format.
So to go with the taste of specific card hate, now I also gather a sense of hate against specific deck archetypes. It all feels like a group for the "I hate Prophet of Kruphix / reanimation isn't fun / mld isn't a strategy / etc" fanclub.
Again I'm not hating on the idea. It is a nifty idea. But it is not something I will bother with. Restricting cards due to powerlevel/rarity is one thing. Restricting them because of their manacost is just weird. This is a format where Gaea's Cradle is legal but Flameborn Viron is banned. Just let that sink in.
So far in my experience you're right about green. My friend's Ezuri hasn't lost a set yet out of a lot of games. Next in power so far has been my Animar deck and for the same reason: ramp. If this keeps developing as a format I wouldn't be surprised to see Gaea's get banned. Due to there being limited sweeps having a Gaea's out, especially in Ezuri, allows you to recover from spot removal easily on the same turn that it happens. What makes Ezuri particularly silly is his ability to get his whole board out of range of what burn there is that would clear it. Once he's online he's incredibly tough to deal with.
Been playing this the last couple weekends and it's quite fun. I've played with or against Mikaeous, Animar, Nin, Mararth, Skullbriar and Ezuri. Out of those Ezuri was the most busted and won consistently on T3-4. Just too much ramp too fast in most cases to deal with. If Gaea's or Nykthyos comes down in the first couple turns it's GG. Too many ways to keep untapping the lands and thus swinging with 3-5 +9/+9 trampley elves super early.
Artful Dodge and Distortion Strike let her get through for two attacks in a row. You can also set them on top with a Brainstorm or Scroll Rack or whatever before you attack, then cast them with the trigger.
I'm working on a 1v1 french Narset that wins soley through commander damage and I'm using the Swords and the pro-creatures enchants mentioned above as well as Aqueous. What does by far the most work though is Vanishing as it allows you to swing into anything and protects her from the few types of removal that can get her.
The downside to Explorer is way too much. As is stuff like Master of the Feast. Giving your opponent extra cards is a death sentence. For creature ramp you want at least Birds of Paradise and I'd probably thrown in all the 1 CMC elf man dorks (you already have Mystic in there which is good) that produce green and Elves of Deep Shadow. You already have Pilgrim for white so that's good as well and Caryatid is great. Bloomtender is a must. Also don't overlook things like Abundant Growth, Utopia Sprawl and Wild Growth for fixing and ramp as it's likely a good part of your creature ramp could get removed fairly early and you're not running much for artifact ramp. Earthcraft can also be ridiculous in the right build.
As for removal, yeah, a lot of your current removal is over costed. Doom Blade, Murder, Go for the Throat, Path to Exile, Dismember and Hero's Demise are all considerations. Stuff like Murderous Cut is usually dead in your hand when you want it most. And remember, in French you can't tuck a commander, so Condemn is of little utility. Also things like Darksteel Mutation and Nevermore, while not really removal, can be very powerful.
As far as creatures in general? You really want to make sure they're doing something for you or disrupting. Given your choice of commander and your hatebear intent I'm thinking you want your focus to be +1 counters on creatures to swing with while offering up as much disruption as possible. Given that I think Gaddock Teeg is an auto include. He stops the most common sweeps you'll face. I'd probably also find a place for Saffi Eriksdotter simply for the protection of whatever might be most valuable to you at the moment. Not to mention the combos and shenanigans you could do in these colors but I don't think that's your intent and that's a totally different type of deck. As far as dispuption Aven Mindcensor should probably have a place here too. Linvala, Keeper of Silence can shutdown whole strategies while being a great body for Swords or a Jitte. Phyrexian Revoker can stop a commander or card that's part of your opponents win con. Harmonic Sliver destroys an artifact or enchantment. Those are the types of creatures you want to consider. Mirror Entity can turn all your mana into significant damage or turn you mana dorks into killers, all at instant speed. I'll be honest, I've never tried to build a deck around maximizing counters so I don't have a lot to offer on that front. Obviously Doubling Season comes to mind if that's your intent. And as a sidebar, the Helm of Obedience/Rest in Peace combo is always there.
As far as the graveyard hate? That's a little tougher. That falls into the category of how much is too much? But that kind of applies to any any hate when you're not running control. How much artifact or enchantment or GY hate do you run before it's interfering with your own strategy? In those colors you have creatures that can deal with the first two easily with tutors. As for GY hate? RIP is cheap, tutorable and part of an I Win combo if you chose to run it. It might be enough with your build. Don't forget about your own GY too though. A Regrowth for example could be quite handy. Point being, you have to balance what you're trying to do against what you're trying to stop. Go too far in either direction and you're going to be worse off. You're best off focusing on trying to get the deck to do what you envisioned it to do and they make incremental adjustments to the stuff that just beats you.
The biggest thing that jumps out to me looking at your deck is a lack of the best attributes available in those colors. Namely ramp, tutors and removal, plus some use of your GY possibly. The better 1v1 decks out there are going to outrace you or control you hard and you don't have many ways to deal with that. There are creatures in there that are good against certain strategies but you're entirely dependent on being lucky enough to have them in your hand at the right time, hence the tutors. I'd personally cut a load of those creatures for tutors and removal and possibly some GY hate because I don't think your deck is going to win fast enough in most cases to get around some GY strategies. Also, draw. Black has some great draw and you will be forced to recover from sweeps so you want a full hand and that's also where ramp comes in. Obviously Gaea's belongs in there.
The biggest thing to remember about 1v1 vs group play is with 1v1 you're always the focus. All the attacks, removal, counters and every form of disruption so you've got to have some strategy to deal with that or be the disrupter yourself. You generally won't have the ability to setup a board state favorable to you without interference. And if you are then that's a good sign your opponent is about to win.
OH yea, didn't see Rest in Peace, that would be a great wincon, easily tutorable as well
Indeed. It was staple combo in most Zur decks as it was so easy to grab RIP. But as you say it's still very easy to assemble in GAAIV.
Also, any reason for going completely creatureless? I'd think at least a Snapcaster Mage deserves a slot. Venser, Shaper Savant is pretty much a staple in GAAIV as well.
I played in a small tourney Friday (only 12 people) and I thought Geist would be an issue but he wasn't. At least not the deck there. I took second with my Animar deck and my buddy, as I knew he would, took 1st with Ezuri because that deck is nigh unbeatable. Ramp in general is pretty game-breaking which is why I did well with Animar. So long as I got him out of burn range fast it was GG. Ezuri is a whole other animal though. Stupid fast and stupid resilient. His regen/pump pretty much nullifies most removal in the format making it near impossible to cut into his mana-dork production and he never really has to tap out. Add an early Gaea's or Nykthos to mix and it's hopeless. Even if you're lucky enough to have a way to remove either land it's usually not fast enough to overcome the ramp advantage. I thought the Nin player might take a game off him when he landed a Blood Moon early and nullified an early Gaea's but his mana dorks were enough to keep pace till he drew Song of Dryads for the Blood Moon and was instantly able to pump his elf army for a near one-swing win.
In my experience much, much shorter on average. Of course you sometimes get that outlier game where it goes longer than average but the games I've been playing have never gone over 20-30 mins max and usually more like 15.
Teeg is not going to shut down Derevi or Druid though and those are his main concerns. They both pack too many under 4cc answers and Teeg packs too few, especially lacking U. He won't be on the board when it matters. Teferi can be good but in my experience Derevi will outlast him easily while building threat. With Derevi never costing more than 4 and being able to be flashed in you can be very patient against mono-U.
So far in my experience you're right about green. My friend's Ezuri hasn't lost a set yet out of a lot of games. Next in power so far has been my Animar deck and for the same reason: ramp. If this keeps developing as a format I wouldn't be surprised to see Gaea's get banned. Due to there being limited sweeps having a Gaea's out, especially in Ezuri, allows you to recover from spot removal easily on the same turn that it happens. What makes Ezuri particularly silly is his ability to get his whole board out of range of what burn there is that would clear it. Once he's online he's incredibly tough to deal with.
The first two you mention you would want in your hand. You can't cast them on her trigger because they aren't instants.
As for removal, yeah, a lot of your current removal is over costed. Doom Blade, Murder, Go for the Throat, Path to Exile, Dismember and Hero's Demise are all considerations. Stuff like Murderous Cut is usually dead in your hand when you want it most. And remember, in French you can't tuck a commander, so Condemn is of little utility. Also things like Darksteel Mutation and Nevermore, while not really removal, can be very powerful.
Tutors: Really all the 1 CMC tutors probably have a place here as well as Demonic Tutor and Eladamri's Call and GSZ. Also don't forget creature tutors like Fauna Shaman and Fierce Empath And depending on your budget things like Natural Order and Survival of the Fittest. And then you have things like Stoneforge Mystic and Steelshaper's Gift for equipment.
As far as creatures in general? You really want to make sure they're doing something for you or disrupting. Given your choice of commander and your hatebear intent I'm thinking you want your focus to be +1 counters on creatures to swing with while offering up as much disruption as possible. Given that I think Gaddock Teeg is an auto include. He stops the most common sweeps you'll face. I'd probably also find a place for Saffi Eriksdotter simply for the protection of whatever might be most valuable to you at the moment. Not to mention the combos and shenanigans you could do in these colors but I don't think that's your intent and that's a totally different type of deck. As far as dispuption Aven Mindcensor should probably have a place here too. Linvala, Keeper of Silence can shutdown whole strategies while being a great body for Swords or a Jitte. Phyrexian Revoker can stop a commander or card that's part of your opponents win con. Harmonic Sliver destroys an artifact or enchantment. Those are the types of creatures you want to consider. Mirror Entity can turn all your mana into significant damage or turn you mana dorks into killers, all at instant speed. I'll be honest, I've never tried to build a deck around maximizing counters so I don't have a lot to offer on that front. Obviously Doubling Season comes to mind if that's your intent. And as a sidebar, the Helm of Obedience/Rest in Peace combo is always there.
As far as the graveyard hate? That's a little tougher. That falls into the category of how much is too much? But that kind of applies to any any hate when you're not running control. How much artifact or enchantment or GY hate do you run before it's interfering with your own strategy? In those colors you have creatures that can deal with the first two easily with tutors. As for GY hate? RIP is cheap, tutorable and part of an I Win combo if you chose to run it. It might be enough with your build. Don't forget about your own GY too though. A Regrowth for example could be quite handy. Point being, you have to balance what you're trying to do against what you're trying to stop. Go too far in either direction and you're going to be worse off. You're best off focusing on trying to get the deck to do what you envisioned it to do and they make incremental adjustments to the stuff that just beats you.
The biggest thing to remember about 1v1 vs group play is with 1v1 you're always the focus. All the attacks, removal, counters and every form of disruption so you've got to have some strategy to deal with that or be the disrupter yourself. You generally won't have the ability to setup a board state favorable to you without interference. And if you are then that's a good sign your opponent is about to win.
Indeed. It was staple combo in most Zur decks as it was so easy to grab RIP. But as you say it's still very easy to assemble in GAAIV.
Also, any reason for going completely creatureless? I'd think at least a Snapcaster Mage deserves a slot. Venser, Shaper Savant is pretty much a staple in GAAIV as well.