Have you considered abusing Toothy, imaginary Friend with (off the top): Displace, Ghostly Flicker, Essence Flux, Siren's Ruse and Illusionist's Stratagem?
When combined with just a few counters on toothy, those just go nuts. Toothy re-enters before you draw your cards. Putting back the counters you saved for another pop.
- gamazson
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SmauG posted a message on Pir & Toothy, Imagine a better friend!Posted in: Multiplayer Commander Decklists -
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darrenhabib posted a message on Lazav, the Multifarious - Faceless Man and Robot Spy DronesPosted in: Multiplayer Commander Decklists
Your deck is looking much refined now. I really like the Riddlesmith, that is some sweet tech. I have been reducing my artifact count a bit since I first posted my list, so I think I'd be borderline on play it. So I think Riddlesmith and Sai, Master Thopterist will be the next cards for me to give a try.Quote from gamazson »Noteworthy is that I have omitted Crackdown Construct from the list. I feel like he and Phyrexian Devourer were fighting for the same slot. Crackdown Construct gets bigger overall, but after Lazav becomes a 21/21 his size is not relevant anymore. In terms of a hard cast, Phyrexian Devourer does cost more, but I still prefer him for aid in top deck control and his ability to combo with other cards in the deck.
I do like the Salvage Slasher in your list. I'm just not quite artifact heavy enough to get value out of it. There is Phyrexian Soulgorger as an "alternative" to Phyrexian Devourer as well. Believe it or not, there are even situation where you want to use the sacrifice ability to get a creature into the graveyard. There are often times you'll draw a Pili-Pala, Vector Asp, etc and want it in your graveyard, for a combo. I normally play them out if I don't have discard, hoping to just block and kill them, or run into a board wipe
But Phyrexian Soulgorger does give you access to guaranteeing this.
I do think you should run a few more counterspells. I mean if you're worried about graveyard hate, then you should also be worried about artifact mass removal, or hate.
A Vandalblast, Austere Command, Stony Silence, is going to ruin you. So I lean on a few counterspells to react to these types of spells.
I would add Arcane Denial and Swan Song.
I've been very impressed with the Crackdown Construct. Thanks to @Stapler for that suggestion. The great thing about it is that you can pull it off with just putting Crackdown Construct into play. So you don't need Lazav to be a copy of it. I kind of didn't think of this at first. So you don't need to set it up into your graveyard, which a lot of the other combos lean on. You obviously want to catch opponents of a blocker, or have something like Thassa, God of the Sea to make it unblockable, but I have won off just killing an opponent off guard with cracking in (pun intended) with the Crackdown Construct itself.
If you're playing inexperience players, then you can do this after blockers, so they might not even know that you can do it. Sort of looks like a harmless 2/2 coming in.
You still need a zero cost creature in your graveyard, but I have 3 of these. -
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darrenhabib posted a message on Lazav, the Multifarious - Faceless Man and Robot Spy DronesPosted in: Multiplayer Commander Decklists
Actually in the 'Lets Brew' thread I had researched lots of the 'upkeep' creatures to see what could be potentially mitigated with Lazav. I'll just repost my results.Quote from gamazson »I have been giving it some thought. The thing that is turning me off about Enhanced Surveillance is that my artifact tutors cant find it for me. I did some more research on gatherer. At first I was going to switch to Feldon's Cane, but I eventually decided on Thran Foundry. With the foundry I still have to keep mana open, but not as much, and it functions as grave hate against my opponents in a pinch.
What are your thoughts on masticore for this deck?
I looked up creatures with sort of downside to their upkeeps with the idea that you can swap what Lazav is to mitigate payment costs or whatever, if you have other cheap creatures to swamp before a clause happens.
This will be particular good with Training Grounds and/or Heartstone.
Phyrexian Vatmother
Razormane Masticore, Masticore, Molten-Tail Masticore
Serendib Djinn
Magus of the Abyss
Cumulative upkeeps can be avoided;
Survivor of the Unseen
Phyrexian Soulgorger
Vexing Sphinx - this card is just good for getting some creatures into graveyard off its ability anyway.
Flow of Maggots
You can in fact use Cumulative upkeeps with "age counters" as transferable resource.
So for example if you've used Flow of Maggots for it's evasion and you've also kept it's upkeep cost for say 3 turns and have 3 age counters on Lazav.
Then later on in the game this can be used with say Herald of Leshrac or Vexing Sphinx to get the bonuses.
These one you want to turn into the creature before your turn;
Braids, Conjurer Adept
Seizan, Perverter of Truth
Maralen of the Mornsong
Kami of the Crescent Moon
More +1/+1 counters;
Vebulid - will need a +1/+1 counter from another source first
Necroplasm - can change before end of turn once has the 3 +1/+1 counters. Good thing is that you can change it during the game if needing to remove creatures, and use other +1/+1 to get it past the natural 3 counters.
Khabál Ghoul
Chronozoa - Lazav will not have any counters, so you'll get the split straight away. Unfortunately needs to "die", so you want backup graveyard removal or reanimation, otherwise he'll remain there.
Forgotten Creation - fueling graveyard
The problem is that you'd be spending 4 mana turning him into Masticore each turn, even if you have Ornithopter to turn him into before your upkeep, that is just so mana intensive. Even with Training Grounds in play it'll be unplayable.
You'll just never have the mana to actually use the Masticore abilities as well.
I've had another look through your deck and there are some really sweet stuff in there. I think I'm going to play Sai, Master Thopterist. Seems like a good way to get extra value.
I noticed you play all the Stifle effects, Nimble Obstructionist, Stifle, Trickbind. Must be pretty scared of Bojuka Bog, and rightfully so. I think I should play at least Stifle, so that I have some long term answer for it.
How has Unfulfilled Desires been? Looks like a pretty strong card in general and I'm certainly thinking of trying it. Basically all the creatures are disposable from your hand, so for me that's about 1/3 of the deck.
For your deck there is possible Zur's Weirding for your Lantern theme. -
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hrvl posted a message on Modern Warriors Tribal. Now in NAYA colours.I'm ignoring gold cards and filter lands like Fetid Heath because they're too complicated for me. My rounding is inconsistent.Posted in: Budget (Modern)
This deck wants W, B, or G for warriors on turn 1, 1WW for warriors sometime, and BG for spells sometime. Using a basic mulligan strategy of
Hand size: stuff to keep:
7: keep 2-4 lands
6: keep 2-4 lands
5: keep 1-4 lands
4: keep and weep
The deck will mulligan about 1/3 of hands, then 2/5, then 1/10.
To get W, B, or G for warriors on turn 1:
Number of sources of the appropriate color: Chance to have that mana on turn 1
9: 80%
10: 84%
11: 87.5%
12: 90%
13: 92.7%
14: 94.5%
I like chances over 90%, how about you?
Getting 1WW by a certain turn:
12 sources:
Turn 3: 57.5%
Turn 4: 66%
Turn 5: 72.8%
13 sources:
Turn 3: 61.3%
Turn 4: 69.8%
Turn 5: 76.5%
14 sources:
Turn 3: 64.4%
Turn 4: 72.9%
Turn 5: 79.4%
15 sources:
Turn 3: The percentage of the beast
Turn 4: 75%
Turn 5: 81.4%
16 sources:
Turn 3: 68.2%
Turn 4: 76.5%
Turn 5: 82.7%
This is the big hurdle. The chance of casting Arashin Foremost can only go so high due to running 18 lands. WW doesn't matter without 3 mana total.
Getting 1B or 1G (I'm not advanced enough to do BG) by a certain turn:
8 sources:
Turn 2: 76.7%
Turn 3: 80.3%
Turn 4: 83.5%
9 sources:
Turn 2: 81%
Turn 3: 84.3%
Turn 4: 87.1%
10 sources:
Turn 2: 84.5%
Turn 3: 87.5%
Turn 4: 90%
11 sources:
Turn 2: 87.4%
Turn 3: 90%
Turn 4: 92.1%
12 sources:
Turn 2: 89.6%
Turn 3: 91.9%
Turn 4: 93.7%
12 sources is great, but you don't want to cast warriors on turn 2, so it's not that important.
Then comes prices. Some are insane, some are not. In particular, the enemy Caves of Koilos and Concealed Courtyard cycles are cheaper than their ally counterparts, Brushland and Razorverge Thicket, while it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a thrifty man to purchase Marsh Flats and Verdant Catacombs. Ultimately, I came up with this:DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards 4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Windswept Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Garden
2 Llanowar Wastes
2 Concealed Courtyard
1 Brushland
1 Forest
1 Plains
Throwing that away, I suggest cutting Sudden Reclamation for a couple of lands (Plains or Windbrisk Heights) because 3-4 is a lot to pay in an 18 land deck, Abrupt Decay for Path to Exile (Dromoka's Command is an option, but I like Path) because it's easier to cast with your WW requirements (paying for Path by cutting 1-2 black nonbasic lands for basics), and to throw in on turn 3 alongside a 2-mana creature, and Devoted Crop-Mate for Blood-Chin Rager (or another useful 2-mana warrior) or Lingering Souls, with both being better on offense and Souls losing warrior synergy but adding a lot to graveyard shenanigans. Nettle Sentinel is hard to untap on turn 2-3 (you don't want to Grapple with the Past then, do you?), so maybe Dragon Hunter, I don't know. I think it's possible to work one or more Brushland/Llanowar Wastes out of the mana base with these changes, freeing up some budget.
Arashin Foremost could go, solving the white-mana woes, but I don't know whether or not alternatives like Renegade Rallier or Varolz, the Scar-Striped do anything for you. -
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Yatsufusa posted a message on [[Official]] Unreleased and New Card DiscussionThe Scarab God is probably the closest you'll get to having a Legendary Havengul Lich.Posted in: Commander (EDH)
Personally it's just going to be a member of the 99 for Grimgrin. Yes, it does both the Zombie and the Cloning Theme so wonderfully it should be the Commander, but ironically its self-recursion made me prefer granting the walking sacrifice outlet (and potential 1-shot Commander Damage wincon) the general "invulnerability" the Command Zone provides instead. Plus I prefer the Commander to be a Zombie (which is why Gisa and Geralf are also only members of the 99), because of flavor (and also Rooftop Storm). -
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soramaro posted a message on The Locust God [Let's Brew!]Threw together, a list; I think this is how I'd build him:Posted in: Commander (EDH)
Some choices may be questionable ... Dragon Mage could be too slow (although he's alright with Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots), Ludevic Probably isn't good enough, Pull from the Deep could be something else, I don't know if Drake Haven will do well enough, playing Overwhelming Intellect could be a bit too greedy, there's no graveyard hate (although you could use the new desert for that)... If you wanted to further combo-fy the deck, you could also make room for pieces that combo with Niv. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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I have personally cut Deathgreeter, Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat, and Falkenrath Noble because I have other decks that focus on sacrifice mechanics, and I wanted to be different with Karlov. If you do go the sacrifice route I have found both Gutless Ghoul and Dross Harvester to be allot of fun.
As far as Planeswalkers go, I disagree with toctheyounger77 about Kaya, Ghost Assassin. I think her all of her abilities are relevant, although it is her card draw and flicker that I can see myself using the most. I do however agree with him about Sorin, Grim Nemesis. Taxing your opponents life total and increasing you card advantage is very helpful, and his ultimate can win a game outright.
One thing you will want to stock up on is ways to EXILE enchantments. Erebos, God of the Dead will ruin you day, and he is the first thing any competitive minded black player will tutor for. Having him show up as commander is also possible. There is a guy I know with a mono black toolbox deck that has 7 legendary creatures in it, and he will change commander depending on what everyone else is playing. I would make adding Anguished Unmaking and Utter End a priority. Also helpful is Oblation, Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, and Return to Dust.
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I wanted something straight forward and reliable while I tweaked and built up the cards for a non-budget home brew deck. After viewing a few decks here on the modern forum I settled on Darth Knights, a mono black tribal knight deck. You can read more about non-budget Modern Knight decks here.
This is a disruption deck with a aggro shell. The goal is to turn the negative downside to cards like Smallpox and Collective Brutality into an advantage for you. Gluing this idea together is Haakon, Stromgald Scourge, a strange creature that can only be cast from the graveyard, but when he is on the battlefield, he allows you to cast your other creatures directly from the graveyard. This allows you to discard or dredge without loosing your card advantage.
The Budget Replacements
Bloodsoaked Champion: Replaces Gravecrawler from the non-budget builds. The goal of this card card is to be a first turn drop for a beater or a safe choice to sacrifice / discard because you can always get him back. Gravecrawler remains strictly better because of a lower mana cost to re-cast from the grave, although Bloodsoaked Champion's return from the grave ability is not as restrictive as it might seem. If you need him on the battlefield, you already have another you can turn sideways anyway. More often than not, he is there to be sacrificed.
Knight of Infamy: Replaces Stromgald Crusader from the non-budget builds. Crusader is the first choice because of his ability to gain evasion and his creature type of Zombie Knight, allowing him to interact with both Haakon and Gravecrawler. I am not sure why Stromgald Crusader has a $3 price tag, but it is enough to get him excluded from this build. Bloodsoaked Champion does not care about creature type and Haakon only requires a card to be a fellow knight. Since you you won't have the free mana to cast an army, Knight of Infamy's exalted ability is arguably the better pump.
Collective Brurality: "Replaces" Liliana of the Veil. There is a reason for the quotation marks here. There is no functional replacement for a $120+ card. Having said that, Collective Brutality is a wonderful card in this deck. A strong argument could be made for it to be played in the non-budget versions. If you cast this on second turn, you could have Haakon in the graveyard for your third turn, ready to cast. With smallpox the earliest you could get him is on the forth turn. By default the siphon for 2 is good, and most decks you will have a valid target for either of the other two abilities. A first turn Duress you tell you if there is an instant or sorcery worth going after, and it kills most early creatures. I would be careful about discarding two cards to do all three. You might over extend.
Night's Whisper: There is no budget replacement of Dark Confidant, but you still need card draw. I use Night's Whisper, because I like the colourless in the cost, it makes me feel safe to run Radiant Fountain. Many others might prefer Sign in Blood because you can target your opponent to finish them if you need to. There is a variant of this deck that splashes red to play Faithless Looting, which would be best, but that mana base is going to drive the cost up closer to $75. I may yet go that way myself, but for now I am sticking to mono black.
TIMESTAMP: 22/08/2016
19 Swamp
4 Radiant Fountain
CREATURES - 16
4 Bloodsoaked Champion
4 Knight of Infamy
4 Black Knight
4 Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
1 Darkblast
3 Nameless Inversion
3 Despise
4 Duress
3 Collective Brutality
4 Smallpox
3 Night's Whisper
CURVE (1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7): 12 / 21 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
AVERAGE CMC: 2
CURRENT COST: $49.01 CDN before federal and provincial taxes. Purchased from Face to Face games.