Hemorgaus, the Writhing Prophet :symw::symg::symb::symr:
Legendary Creature - Human Cleric
When a Human creature you control dies, put an X/X colorless Spirit creature token with Fear onto the battlefield, where X is that creature's power.
Spirit creatures you control get +1/+1 and have haste.
A mortal's reckoning; a soul's retribution.
Always wanted a legend that tied together humanity's fascination with the "end times" and the supernatural. After all, one of the main common experiences we share is the knowledge that we will eventually die.
In more developed metas, people usually play more spot removal and less wraths, so a few mana dudes in a deck is fine, just don't go overboard.
In less developed metas, players figure that a 5-7 mana sorcery is always needed, so your mana homies will get caught in the crossfire. That said, countermagic or mult-mode protection-style instants like Boros Charm or Ready/Willing are just good (especially in such metas) and can be a blow-out to unseasoned EDH players looking to farm value out of every card they play.
Other than that, look for mana creatures that synergize with your particular deck. Lots of creatures? Somberwald Sage. Lots of Artifacts? Vedalken Engineer/Grand Architect. Focus on choices that make sense with your strategy and you pretty much can't go wrong.
I echo Justice's claim. I've watched this exact debate rage over a few years, and my most consistent problem with the RC is their purposefully non-committal stance on the format, complicated by the fact that they are the self-proclaimed authorities on said format. They then dodge criticism by asserting that local groups should regulate themselves, all the while reminding everyone, via their "official banlist," that they are the format's authority. When pressed about a "goal" for the format, they give a completely esoteric answer about what the format isn't, rather than a straightfoward answer about what the format is.
Sure, this is pretty much the best way to play both sides of the fence, but watching the RC balance on its high horse is getting pretty stale.
Of course its subjective. With no actual data to be had (or the desire to collect any from a competitive tournament), what else is there? People come in here and complain about something they subject themselves to (the ban list), and how its inconsistent. No one asks you to "play bad", people ask you to play respectfully, big difference. When 5 color tried to be "balanced" it DIED, you think they don't see that?
12/12 with no trample, unfortunately. You'd think that if anything could trample you, it'd be Ulamog or Kozilek.
Sidenote on them: Kozilek has blown up to nearly $40?! And Ulamog to nearly 30. Let's hear it for casual appeal, because you know 12-Post isn't doing that.
It's not casual that's making the Eldrazi Titans expensive, it's Modern Tron btw. Casual doesn't usually boost cards over 10$.
It's also why I wish Karn Liberated would fall in price...sold mine for like 15$ after standard rotation...bad move.
The best advice someone can give you about playing Rakdos 1.0 is to not care about saccing half your permanents and to design your deck with a lower curve than usual. Incorporate equipments that give haste and force your opponents to respond before combat, like Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots.
You might also want to rethink your stance on MLD. I'm not saying you should run 10 armageddon effects, but land regulation cards like Tectonic Break, Keldon Firebombers, and Destructive Force could do good work without completely screwing your friends out of lands.
The problem with entirely eschewing Mass LD is that MLD is good with Zo-Zu because it keeps him relevant into the late game, as do damage-doublers. The simple fact is, if someone already has 10 or so lands, it's a lot easier to play around your punishment than if they had less, and MLD exploits that fact.
Aggressive decks that win through combat need cards that counter the naturally high life totals in this format and Heartless is probably the best, being repeatable AND a body. After just one activation, those grindy, value-engine control/combo decks (a.k.a., a lot of EDH decks) are in serious trouble, and if Ruric is already out/resolves, it's very common that such decks are just dead.
Honorable mentions to Wrecking Ogre and Magmatic Force; the former leads to massive combat blowouts while the latter piles a ton of damage on problem decks and/or locks out dangerous utility legends like Derevi/Riku/etc.
1. Probably not. Consistency is the gold standard for a good, well-made deck in any format, especially highlander. That doesn't mean you have to cram every tutor you can afford into a deck (in fact, in some decks that's not even optimal), it just means you have to build with enough redundancy to get the crazy idea that you're playing a deck with a plan.
2. Those decks only really exist at the "Grand Prix EDH pods only" level. If you are part of a consistent meta, I really doubt your friends would let you get away with that kind of bs. At least in my meta, the table would side-in cards and collectively curb-stomp me every game if I tried stuff like that. And I have.
The "correct" way? Ensure cards in your list aren't banned. Play to best of your ability.
Don't let people ***** & moan because you played card x. If they thought it was that unfair, they could have played it too. But they chose not to. That isn't your fault. If a card is legal, it's fair game.
You can choose to play suboptimal. So can they. But it isn't obligatory that we're supposed to play suboptimal, and there is nothing wrong with tight play and cutthroat games.
QFT.
Though, if you don't let them whine, you're gonna be out all of those decilious salty tears. Where am I going to get my daily recommended sodium if not from my Commander games??
That said, how do you feel about "mob justice" in EDH? Like, if someone is dominating the table, or you know for sure that they're stalling/ramping for a combo, are you above inciting the table against that person?
I obviously am not, I just want to know how others feel.
Mob justice is a reality of any multiplayer format or game. Anyone who has played EDH for more than 5 minutes knows what the meaning of "target hat" is.
Recognize when you need to either up your game or play a less tuned deck. EDH is kind of like boxing; it's not satisfying in a competitive or a casual sense to be mismatched with your opponents.
That said, if someone is playing combo and you know it, instigate a witch hunt against that player. EDH is THE format for mob justice; if someone brought a gun to a knife fight, be the first in line to suffocate them with your corpse.
Legendary Creature - Human Cleric
When a Human creature you control dies, put an X/X colorless Spirit creature token with Fear onto the battlefield, where X is that creature's power.
Spirit creatures you control get +1/+1 and have haste.
A mortal's reckoning; a soul's retribution.
Always wanted a legend that tied together humanity's fascination with the "end times" and the supernatural. After all, one of the main common experiences we share is the knowledge that we will eventually die.
In more developed metas, people usually play more spot removal and less wraths, so a few mana dudes in a deck is fine, just don't go overboard.
In less developed metas, players figure that a 5-7 mana sorcery is always needed, so your mana homies will get caught in the crossfire. That said, countermagic or mult-mode protection-style instants like Boros Charm or Ready/Willing are just good (especially in such metas) and can be a blow-out to unseasoned EDH players looking to farm value out of every card they play.
Other than that, look for mana creatures that synergize with your particular deck. Lots of creatures? Somberwald Sage. Lots of Artifacts? Vedalken Engineer/Grand Architect. Focus on choices that make sense with your strategy and you pretty much can't go wrong.
Sure, this is pretty much the best way to play both sides of the fence, but watching the RC balance on its high horse is getting pretty stale.
Sophistry at its best.
It's not casual that's making the Eldrazi Titans expensive, it's Modern Tron btw. Casual doesn't usually boost cards over 10$.
It's also why I wish Karn Liberated would fall in price...sold mine for like 15$ after standard rotation...bad move.
Pretty sure that's about all the decent b/w creatures with that kind of effect.
You might also want to rethink your stance on MLD. I'm not saying you should run 10 armageddon effects, but land regulation cards like Tectonic Break, Keldon Firebombers, and Destructive Force could do good work without completely screwing your friends out of lands.
The problem with entirely eschewing Mass LD is that MLD is good with Zo-Zu because it keeps him relevant into the late game, as do damage-doublers. The simple fact is, if someone already has 10 or so lands, it's a lot easier to play around your punishment than if they had less, and MLD exploits that fact.
Aggressive decks that win through combat need cards that counter the naturally high life totals in this format and Heartless is probably the best, being repeatable AND a body. After just one activation, those grindy, value-engine control/combo decks (a.k.a., a lot of EDH decks) are in serious trouble, and if Ruric is already out/resolves, it's very common that such decks are just dead.
Honorable mentions to Wrecking Ogre and Magmatic Force; the former leads to massive combat blowouts while the latter piles a ton of damage on problem decks and/or locks out dangerous utility legends like Derevi/Riku/etc.
2. Those decks only really exist at the "Grand Prix EDH pods only" level. If you are part of a consistent meta, I really doubt your friends would let you get away with that kind of bs. At least in my meta, the table would side-in cards and collectively curb-stomp me every game if I tried stuff like that. And I have.
QFT.
Though, if you don't let them whine, you're gonna be out all of those decilious salty tears. Where am I going to get my daily recommended sodium if not from my Commander games??
That said, how do you feel about "mob justice" in EDH? Like, if someone is dominating the table, or you know for sure that they're stalling/ramping for a combo, are you above inciting the table against that person?
I obviously am not, I just want to know how others feel.
I mean, it tends to be good logic for fair threat assessment.
That said, if someone is playing combo and you know it, instigate a witch hunt against that player. EDH is THE format for mob justice; if someone brought a gun to a knife fight, be the first in line to suffocate them with your corpse.