I was mana flooded in an EDH game a couple days ago and my friend said "try taking out 1 land, you would be surprised at the difference that can make." So I'm passing on that advice: if you're mana screwed, trying adding just 1 more land, and if you're flooded then take 1 out. Its all about having the right balance.
I need to find room for a Leyline of Anticipation, Teferi, and/or the Artifact that give your cards flash. What's that artifact called? After playing the deck I realized how crucial it can be to play cards with enter play effects at instant speed. Any suggestions on what could be cut? Anything but Pongify, I love that card too much.
yet? I like that card a lot, and in EDH you get to threshold pretty fast. Man lands are great if somebody board wipes, then on your turn you could recast your general and swing for 10 off the Monastery alone.
Horde of Notions would fit the theme for sure! I would totally play that card for this deck. I know it looks stupid, but in play it is awesome, and if you hate it that much you can always paint over it. Another reason I wouldn't play Progenitus is that people tend to beat down the Progenitus player in the early game because they are afraid of what he can do! If you're not really using him for the theme of the deck, then I would suggest running Horde or even Reaper King and just throw in a couple of changelings to count as scarecrows. Moving on...
Here are a couple of suggestions for your other 3 cards:
Wispmare - Synergy with Horde of Notions, Reveillark, Mistmeadow Witch, and Sun Titan. Bant Charm - Good against opponents Generals, also a utility card. Return to Dust - RFG artifacts and enchantments is just so goddamn good. Trygon Predator - Synergy with Reveillark and Sun Titan. Give him some swords, frigging awesome. Momentous Fall - Use this ideally with Yosei, Keiga, or Reveillark, or just on a copy of something that Kiki made. You gain life and draw at instant speed, which is always good, but then add to that the chance to tap down 5 permanents and have your opponent skip their untap step! That's just so good. Lightning Greaves - needs no explanation.
Oh yeah, more planeswalkers could also be good. Garruk, Jace, Gideon, Liliana, Elspeth, and Nicol Bolas in roughly that order for their usefulness in this kind of deck. I hope that can help.
@ Sinfire: agreed those cards are better, but, this is an Alara block EDH deck. I am losing efficiency at the expense of embracing the theme of the storyline.
@ Shmo: Child of Alara could be good, maybe even interchangeable as a general, depending on who I'm playing against. I don't think he is in this story, but I guess he is supposed to represent the energy of the maelstrom nexus, which is central to the story.
I run 31 lands only because I also run 5 borderposts, 5 obelisks, and the Heirarch. Also, we have the Armillary Sphere, Shard Convergence, and Sylvan Bounty, and Knight of the Reliquary for getting lands out of the deck. Maybe I could run all of the panoramas just to be safe. That would make 34 lands plus 10 mana producing artifacts.
After reading the Wiki storyline, http://wiki.mtgsalvation.com/article/Timeline#The_Time_of_Dragons, I wanted to make a theme deck based on the plane of Alara. Its a funny deck because you have extremely powerful cards like Nicol Bolas or Ajani Vengeant, but then you also have Gwafa Hazid and Mayel the Anima, which are both a gamble. In any case, it is a really fun mid-ranged deck that is based on the storyline and the book Alara Unbroken. Hope you enjoy.
Oh, and please let me know if I am missing something vital. Thanks.
Of course there are plenty of good EDH cards in this block, so a lot of this deck can be adapted to fit your own playing style. The idea is just to get all the stuff that is thematically important, and then to have every single card be from the Alara Block, including the basic lands.
Thanks, I had forgotten how to do that. I agree about the swords, they are almost too good. Even the new ones are awesome, but alas, I have none. I also agree about Novablast Wurm, that card if kind of stupid. I plan to replace it with Austere Command once I get one.
This is a casual deck that can also hold its own with more competitive players. The idea of this deck is balance and utility, with a sub-theme of snakes.
1 Angus MacKenzie
Crits
1 Mystic Snake
1 Karmic Guide
1 Mulldrifter
1 Flickerwisp
1 Eternal Witness
1 Primeval Titan
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Acidic Slime
1 Sun Titan
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Ondu Giant
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Duplicant
1 Ixidron
1 Terastodon
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Galepowder Mage
1 Clone
1 Trygon Predator
1 Reveillark
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Wall of Reverence
1 Dauntless Escort
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
Walkers
1 Jace Beleren
1 Gideon Jura
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Pongify
1 Snakeform
1 Martial Coup
1 Fracturing Gust
1 Bant Charm
1 Aura Shards
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Preordain
1 Capsize
1 Time Reversal
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Rite of Replication
1 Mystical Tutor
1 All Suns' Dawn
1 Genesis Wave
1 Momentous Fall
1 Explore
1 Regrowth
1 Rhystic Study
1 Temporary Truce
1 Hymn of Rebirth
1 Dawn Charm
1 Cryptic Command
1 Voidslime
1 Storm Seeker
Arties
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sol Ring
1 Mind's Eye
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Mimic Vat
1 Tundra
1 Savannah
1 Tropical Island
1 Breeding Pool
1 Temple Garden
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Graypelt Refuge
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Mystic Gate
1 Flooded Grove
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1 Krosan Verge
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Nantuko Monastery
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Treetop Village
1 Mystifying Maze
3 Forest
3 Island
3 Plains
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Reliquary Tower
Horde of Notions would fit the theme for sure! I would totally play that card for this deck. I know it looks stupid, but in play it is awesome, and if you hate it that much you can always paint over it. Another reason I wouldn't play Progenitus is that people tend to beat down the Progenitus player in the early game because they are afraid of what he can do! If you're not really using him for the theme of the deck, then I would suggest running Horde or even Reaper King and just throw in a couple of changelings to count as scarecrows. Moving on...
Here are a couple of suggestions for your other 3 cards:
Wispmare - Synergy with Horde of Notions, Reveillark, Mistmeadow Witch, and Sun Titan.
Bant Charm - Good against opponents Generals, also a utility card.
Return to Dust - RFG artifacts and enchantments is just so goddamn good.
Trygon Predator - Synergy with Reveillark and Sun Titan. Give him some swords, frigging awesome.
Momentous Fall - Use this ideally with Yosei, Keiga, or Reveillark, or just on a copy of something that Kiki made. You gain life and draw at instant speed, which is always good, but then add to that the chance to tap down 5 permanents and have your opponent skip their untap step! That's just so good.
Lightning Greaves - needs no explanation.
Oh yeah, more planeswalkers could also be good. Garruk, Jace, Gideon, Liliana, Elspeth, and Nicol Bolas in roughly that order for their usefulness in this kind of deck. I hope that can help.
@ Shmo: Child of Alara could be good, maybe even interchangeable as a general, depending on who I'm playing against. I don't think he is in this story, but I guess he is supposed to represent the energy of the maelstrom nexus, which is central to the story.
@ Viper: Thanks for moving the forum.
Oh, and please let me know if I am missing something vital. Thanks.
1 Progenitus
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Sarkhan Vol
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Ajani Vengeant
1 Rafiq of the Many
1 Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer
1 Malfegor
1 Mayael the Anima
1 Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
1 Rakka Mar
1 Kresh the Bloodbraided
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
1 Sen Triplets
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Conflux
1 Maelstrom Nexus
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Shard Convergence
1 Finest Hour
1 Telemin Performance
1 Slave of Bolas
1 Mayael's Aria
1 Breath of Malfegor
1 Obelisk of Bant
1 Obelisk of Naya
1 Obelisk of Jund
1 Obelisk of Grixis
1 Obelisk of Esper
1 Obelisk of Alara
1 Fieldmist Borderpost
1 Mistvein Borderpost
1 VeinFire Borderpost
1 Firewild Borderpost
1 Wildfield Borderpost
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Font of Mythos
1 Dauntless Escort
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Anathemancer
1 Defiler of Souls
1 Knight of New Alara
1 Sphinx Summoner
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Enigma Sphinx
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Spellbreaker Behemoth
1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
1 Path to Exile
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Bant Charm
1 Esper Charm
1 Grixis Charm
1 Naya Charm
1 Jund Charm
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Reborn Hope
1 Exploding Borders
1 Soul's Majesty
1 Martial Coup
1 Terminate
1 Where Ancients Tread
1 Bituminous Blast
1 Trace of Abundance
1 Sylvan Bounty
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Jungle Shrine
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Crumbling Necropolis
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Ancient Ziggurat
1 Rupture Spire
1 Jund Panorama
1 Bant Panorama
4 Forest
4 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Island
4 Mountain
Of course there are plenty of good EDH cards in this block, so a lot of this deck can be adapted to fit your own playing style. The idea is just to get all the stuff that is thematically important, and then to have every single card be from the Alara Block, including the basic lands.
1 Trygon Predador
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Mystic Snake
1 Jhessian Infiltrator
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Fauna Shaman
1 Fatespinner
1 Winged Coatl
1 Lorescale Coatl
1 Wall of Reverence
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Novablast Wurm
1 Angel of Salvation
1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truths
1 Simic Sky Swallower
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Overbeing of Myth
1 Primeval Titan
1 Sun Titan
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Steel of the Godhead
1 Sheild of the Oversoul
1 Finest Hour
1 Lurking Predators
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Control Magic
1 Rhystic Study
1 Return to Dust
1 Reviving Vapors
1 Cryptic Command
1 Hymn of Rebirth
1 Snakeform
1 Dawn Charm
1 Explore
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Ancentral Visions
1 Summoning Trap
1 Path to Exile
1 Genesis Wave
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Reap and Sow
1 Preordain
1 Bant Charm
1 Voidslime
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Souls Majesty
1 Time Reversal
1 Pognify
1 Counterspell
1 Hurricane
1 Rite of Replication
1 Behemoth Sledge
1 Mind's Eye
1 Sol Ring
1 Gideon Jura
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Elspeth, Knight Errant
1 Jace Berelin
1 Plains
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
1 Tundra
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Brushland
1 Ardakar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Coastal Tower
1 Elfhame Palace
1 Seachrome Coast
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Graypelt Refuge
1 Sejiri Refuge
1 Mystic Gate
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Seaside Citadel
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Nantuko Monastary
1 Treetop Village
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Tolaria West
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
1 Krosan Verge
Little Combos that I like:
Cyptic Command to tap down all opponents creatures, then Sunblast Angel on your turn.
Mirari's Wake + Genesis Wave.
Steel of the Godhead on Rafiq + Finest Hour = 32 unblockable general damage and you gain 32 life.
Sun Titan revives Qasali Pridemage or Coiling Oracle (among other things)