I used to play exactly like this. Except we didn't bother following the French banlist. It was absolutely nuts. I eventually got hit hard by burnout. All the cut-throat battles between friends and the wallet was suffering too. I'm back to "casual." *cough*maindeckworth$500*cough
What stood out to me was your post saying to be part of a playgroup to get better. But not just any playgroup, one to expressly get better and avoid certain decks or players. The best way I have learned was to play against many opponents from all skill levels. Believe me, i have a personal playgroup I prefer to play with. But sometimes I just like heading over to my LGS and seeing what people bring to the table. It is a very valuable thing.
Talrand? The most fun build I can think of is small cantrips and other spells that can pop out tokens here and there. One of the girls I play with on occasion has a deck like that with Talrand and it gets mad props from many. It isn't oppressive and highly interactive.
I have a soft spot for Jeleva from Commander 2014. I would love some spellslinging and evasion packed in a deck for her, but I know how big of a target she will make me :(.
I suggested to a friend to play Mayael as the commander for her angel tribal. There are enough creatures to make the commander's ability be useful ad she has access to Gisela, Razia and Aurelia. The green in the deck is gravy for Sigarda and land ramp.
When lore pops up, the new planeswalkers don't come up as much as Jaya and Teferi. The people I play with like Liliana, Chandra and Garruk alright and I like following characters/stories for a few years. But Jace is the easy one to mock for that Mindsculptor abomination. It was more the card ruined what could have been a good or even great character.
Regal force shined in my mono green build. I would always recommend him if you had the trade/money/plasma to get one. It was when I wanted to play it in a a 2 or 3 color build did I see how weak he was compared to other cards I could run. If you are running a 2 color G/x deck, you can see his value when you playtest. But he never was anything more than a 7/7 ground-pounder who got me 1-3 cards for me. YMMV.
When I ran jund, I ran Sneak Attack. It works really, really well with Mikaeus and Kiki-Jiki. Also, Woodfall Primus, Melira, Mikaeus and a sac outlet while running an Eldrazi is infinite draw/destroy opponent's noncreature permanents. I have also learned just having Mikaeus out while your creatures swing in for damage is quite the threat, especially if you are running things with ETB or LTB effects like Kokusho or Acidic Slime.
IKR?!?! Best blue thing EVAR! Spy on your enemies and see what shenanigans they will try to pull!
But seriously, as much as I do like the card and makes the tables I play with play differently, it always ends up getting cut from my lists. I prefer a cohesive unit and rarely does Telepathy become that great of a piece in my decks.
I love it when I am treated like the archenemy. Tons of players don't; I love being seen as the player who brings threats an answers down. I don't really politics much outside of trash talking* at a game. I have had the personal experience of the person who wants to run powerful cards and gets hated out fast. The easiest thing was to not play with them anymore. This is a game and the last thing I want is hard feelings but sometimes our emotions get the best of us and pride doesn't let us move on and wrecks the fun.
*In as friendly of a way as I can. I love to joke around and give people a hard time :D.
I prefer to "have more control" over my board, so I would prefer ETB effects. I can sacrifice and reanimate when I want to. Or I can ramp. Or draw. Or whatever else I need to get done to try to win the game. Earlier in my city, you could get away with chunky vanilla creatures and Blinding Angel because you could. But we have collectively gotten better and that will no longer cut it. Blinking an Acidic Slime for example brings better value over the long-term even though you will have to set it up. I also feel like if any of my pieces are hit by removal, I don't feel so crippled. Blinding Angel gets wrecked, and I might be put on the defensive and waiting for another solution.
That was the whole point of avoiding the most common voltron generals
In my opinion the overall strongest voltron general (by a ridiculously huge margin) is probably Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon; he's only got to count to 10 and brings his own haste, evasion and protection, which are much stronger abilities than Hexproof in the grand scheme of things.
That's interesting.. he looks really, really good. What would you put in your deck though, considering he's mono black? Not many enchantments in that color that aren't meant to debuff enemy creatures, at least that I know of.
I feel obliged to say think outside the box because I know from experience I can forget to do that. There can be a HUGE amount of flexibility in builds if you ask for opinions or just proxy up a pile. It is way too easy to do the "most logical" plan of attack. I'm guilty of that. But I can rant all day about how you can be your biggest killjoy in a game.
With Skittles, you should run Hatred. One of the most awesome kills I have done as many others did too. Run your tutor effects, Dark Ritual, and BAM. Death to who opposes you!
My current voltron general is Akroma, Angel of Fury. I run things like Earthquake to deal with pests and utility creatures. I am barely at a 40% win rate at a table, but she adds so much to group games. "Best" in this game is a spectrum, especially with playgroups around the world and we can all post on the internet. Yes, Uril is amazing. Yes, Bruna is so cool as a general. But we have to keep in mind the flow, and speed, and budget, and other things that can come up in a game. Objectively, Rafiq, Zur and Uril are the top voltron generals. Red Akroma is middling compared to them. But I am a firm believer that almost any idea can be viable in the format. You might have to think outside the box.
What stood out to me was your post saying to be part of a playgroup to get better. But not just any playgroup, one to expressly get better and avoid certain decks or players. The best way I have learned was to play against many opponents from all skill levels. Believe me, i have a personal playgroup I prefer to play with. But sometimes I just like heading over to my LGS and seeing what people bring to the table. It is a very valuable thing.
But I may just e a social butterfly:)
Ragamuffyn
Filigree Angel
Sages of the Anima
Enigma Sphinx
Magister of Worth
I'm not a big fan of angels, but I like the not-ordinary ones that pop up in Magic. I would be all over them if I could run them at the helm.
But seriously, as much as I do like the card and makes the tables I play with play differently, it always ends up getting cut from my lists. I prefer a cohesive unit and rarely does Telepathy become that great of a piece in my decks.
*In as friendly of a way as I can. I love to joke around and give people a hard time :D.
I feel obliged to say think outside the box because I know from experience I can forget to do that. There can be a HUGE amount of flexibility in builds if you ask for opinions or just proxy up a pile. It is way too easy to do the "most logical" plan of attack. I'm guilty of that. But I can rant all day about how you can be your biggest killjoy in a game.
With Skittles, you should run Hatred. One of the most awesome kills I have done as many others did too. Run your tutor effects, Dark Ritual, and BAM. Death to who opposes you!