As soon as the flavor text spoilers started my wife said we would have to rebuild Sliver Overlord. I am honestly looking forward to hopefully getting some more playable bodies for it, and the haste guy is a good start.
Hermit Druid is banned in duel commander, for good reason. Tow decks packing grave tutors, worldgorger and all 3 enchantment recursion would be nasty.
The LGS and tournament he is asking about will not be altering the standard EDH rules in any way for the 2-H tournament, so even though it is in essence a [Duel Commander] it will be using the standard RC rules not the French rules, so Hermit Druid is leagal. The idea of using a Worldgorger Dragon deck as the combo deck is fine, but I think it would go better with a full premission style deck as a partner rather than two dedicated combo decks.
I think in the Two Headed the way to go would be a Protection/Combo route. One heavy permission style commander one all out combo. The only other thing would be two totally angry lockdown/stax decks together. It comes down to beaing combo or beating combo, and how you want to try and do that. Enough people at the LGS have very defined decks and know what wins so you have to expect top tier in the less for funsies tournament setting.
Well unfortunately Combo is going to be the way to go. Whenever there is a prize on the line it will bring out the most competitive in people. The 5-C Hermit Druid combo I played against you last week is strong and resilient, but as others have pointed out loses to a lot of graveyard hate (Turn 0 Leyline wrecks a lot of decks). You have some pretty aggressive decks already, but since it is 2-H it will depend on how abusive you want to go.
My U/B Vela the Night-Clad deck made up of a ton of clone effects has been waiting for this guy. I like the throwback to Dimir Doppleganger and the hexproof is just the icing.
I do love Sun Titan, however because one of my first things to do is to usually cut off the graveyard as a resource (Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void, and Planar Void) I can almost never count on there being cards in my graveyard to recur. That is the same reason I don't run the Academy Rector in the normal build, no leave the battlefield effects should be triggering.
In my recent games I found that since I was cutting off the "dies" interaction I had to remove Karmic Justice, Grave Pact, and Martyrs Bond, because they weren't triggering for me. They were replaced with the mass tuck spells and Wheel of Sun and Moon.
I did have a hard time deciding between the Garruks, but in the end the ability to untap my lands (Serra's Sanctum and Gaea's Cradle specifically) made Garruk Wildspeaker my man. I am considering running both, but am mostly leery from the flavor/legendary type reasons.
Obviously the decks has a major weakness to Austere Command, Cyclonic Rift, and any mass permanent removal spells, but I don't think I can shore up every weakness while still excluding major resources to the table. Denying the Graveyard, Come into Play, leaves play, and Activating creature/artifact abilities is pretty oppressive so it's probably ok if someone wipes the board. The "Sideboard" is really just a way for me to transform the deck away from the more trollish enchantements to a more standard Enchantress deck.
I know it seems like I am disagreeing with everyone's ideas, but I am seriously considering each one and using them to try against my wife to test out. So feel free to continue to throw out suggestions. I will be debuting the deck on this Tuesday and am testing this weekend with the wife so any ideas will be considered.
I recently moved to a new area and am feeling that some of the established decks (especially the combo decks) need a little trolling so I came up with the best way I could do that and still have fun. I went with an Enchantress base and then adjusted to go around my troll cards. It was also important to have some ways to actually win, but luckily Tokens and enchants play great. There are several powerful "Troll" enchants to shut off several common combos I have run into: Mikaeus, the Unhallowed,Palinchron, Mindslaver, Temple Bell to name a few.
My Troll package is :
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. The Sideboard is to represent cards I would switch in to remove some of the more oppressive enchants or infinite combos in a less combo oriented meta.
As a strictly Commander player I cannot express how disappointed in the availability of this product.I have paid up to $150 for a FtV set (Relics) and not felt that it was a a fault of Wizards or a rip off on the secondary market, they were marketed as a purely collectable product.
To market a Commander product and so severely limit the availability, while also adding things like sleeves and oversized "casual" type Commander stuff just seems like Wizards telling me to get out of the pool. Honestly other than the P3K stuff I have multiple copies of everything spoiled, its the simple fact that they made a product for "Collectors and avid Commander players" but made it damn near impossible to get that has me to the point of giving up Magic again.
To me there is no better way to show my displeasure at a companies business practices than to stop giving them my money. I don't expect it to make any difference in the companies bottom line or anything, I would just rather spend the $100-$300 I spend a month on Magic somewhere else.
If anything I think the printing of Zealous Conscripts pushed Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker from build around combo into the accidental combo out territory. I don't think he should be banned, but I can't say I wouldn't understand if he got thrown into the Protean Hulk/Painter's Servant bucket.
I don't have Pestermite or Village Bell-Ringer in any decks because they don't make the cut by themselves unless I was going to try and combo out with Kiki. I run the Conscripts in several decks with him (just none of the ones with T&N) on their own merits. That argument in itself may lead to Tooth and Nail being more accidentally unfun than Kiki though.
I don't think Griselbrand surprised many people. And even if Sundering Titan came as a bit of a surprise, I don't think many can resonably say they don't understand the intent, even if they don't agree with it. I think for anyone that feels that Sundering Titan was an irreplaceable counter to their meta's strategy is well within their rights to get their meta to allow his play.
At least from the sound of the testing so far it looks like Kokopuffs will get his fair shake come September. I think the RC is develping a healthy format, and even though I don't always agree with every descision I still enjoy playing Commander and making decks for it. When things get too crazy or too oppressive there will be something else to take it's place.
The LGS and tournament he is asking about will not be altering the standard EDH rules in any way for the 2-H tournament, so even though it is in essence a [Duel Commander] it will be using the standard RC rules not the French rules, so Hermit Druid is leagal. The idea of using a Worldgorger Dragon deck as the combo deck is fine, but I think it would go better with a full premission style deck as a partner rather than two dedicated combo decks.
There is probably also design space to break the two headed theme, like a The Rack/Chains of Mephistopheles/Anvil of Bogardan thing for the lulz.
Aye.
I think in the Two Headed the way to go would be a Protection/Combo route. One heavy permission style commander one all out combo. The only other thing would be two totally angry lockdown/stax decks together. It comes down to beaing combo or beating combo, and how you want to try and do that. Enough people at the LGS have very defined decks and know what wins so you have to expect top tier in the less for funsies tournament setting.
In my recent games I found that since I was cutting off the "dies" interaction I had to remove Karmic Justice, Grave Pact, and Martyrs Bond, because they weren't triggering for me. They were replaced with the mass tuck spells and Wheel of Sun and Moon.
I did have a hard time deciding between the Garruks, but in the end the ability to untap my lands (Serra's Sanctum and Gaea's Cradle specifically) made Garruk Wildspeaker my man. I am considering running both, but am mostly leery from the flavor/legendary type reasons.
Obviously the decks has a major weakness to Austere Command, Cyclonic Rift, and any mass permanent removal spells, but I don't think I can shore up every weakness while still excluding major resources to the table. Denying the Graveyard, Come into Play, leaves play, and Activating creature/artifact abilities is pretty oppressive so it's probably ok if someone wipes the board. The "Sideboard" is really just a way for me to transform the deck away from the more trollish enchantements to a more standard Enchantress deck.
I know it seems like I am disagreeing with everyone's ideas, but I am seriously considering each one and using them to try against my wife to test out. So feel free to continue to throw out suggestions. I will be debuting the deck on this Tuesday and am testing this weekend with the wife so any ideas will be considered.
Ghave, Guru of Spores, http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=463951
Competative Multiplayer (though that doesn't seem to matter anymore)
My Troll package is :
1 Rest in Peace [Graveyard/Dies Hate]
1 Leyline of the Void [Graveyard/Dies Hate]
1 Torpor Orb [Come into Play Hate]
1 Humility [Come into Play Hate]
1 Stony Silence [Artifact Hate]
1 Underworld Dreams [Mass Draw Hate]
Sylvan Library + Abundance one land and two non-land a turn please
Cathars' Crusade + Ghave, Guru of Spores makes alot of big dudes
Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood means no one should lose life, or let me gain any either
Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest makes me the king of the squirrels
1 Ghave, Guru of Spores
Creatures
1 Argothian Enchantress
1 Mesa Enchantress
1 Verduran Enchantress
Planeswalkers
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
1 Vraska the Unseen
Artifacts
1 Torpor Orb [Troll]
Enchantments by Use
Token Package
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 Bitterblossom
1 Mobilization
1 Sacred Mesa
1 Awakening Zone
1 Squirrel Nest
1 Parallel Lives
1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
1 Doubling Season
1 Cathars' Crusade
Control
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Aura of Silence
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Aura Shards
1 Glare of Subdual
1 Humility [Troll]
1 Sphere of Safety
Ramp
1 Utopia Sprawl
1 Wild Growth
1 Fertile Ground
1 Earthcraft
1 Overgrowth
1 Dawn's Reflection
1 Elemental Resonance
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Mana Reflection
Draw and Troll
1 Helix Pinnacle
1 Planar Void [Troll]
1 Rest in Peace [Troll]
1 Sylvan Library
1 Greater Auramancy
1 Stony Silence [Troll]
1 Sterling Grove
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
1 Enchantress's Presence
1 Underworld Dreams [Troll]
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Necropotence
1 Abundance
1 Leyline of the Void [Troll]
1 Privileged Position
1 Sanguine Bond
1 Exquisite Blood
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Enlightened Tutor
Sorceries
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Damnation
1 Wrath of God
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Terminus
1 Exsanguinate
1 Genesis Wave
Land
1 Strip Mine
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Murmuring Bosk
1 Command Tower
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Marsh Flats
1 Fetid Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Scrubland
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Savannah
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Twilight Mire
1 Bayou
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Serra's Sanctum
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
6 Forest
5 Plains
5 Swamp
1 Karmic Justice
1 Grave Pact
1 Academy Rector
1 Sun Titan
1 Necrogenesis
1 Black Market
1 Life from the Loam
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Replenish
1 Martyr's Bond
To market a Commander product and so severely limit the availability, while also adding things like sleeves and oversized "casual" type Commander stuff just seems like Wizards telling me to get out of the pool. Honestly other than the P3K stuff I have multiple copies of everything spoiled, its the simple fact that they made a product for "Collectors and avid Commander players" but made it damn near impossible to get that has me to the point of giving up Magic again.
To me there is no better way to show my displeasure at a companies business practices than to stop giving them my money. I don't expect it to make any difference in the companies bottom line or anything, I would just rather spend the $100-$300 I spend a month on Magic somewhere else.
I don't have Pestermite or Village Bell-Ringer in any decks because they don't make the cut by themselves unless I was going to try and combo out with Kiki. I run the Conscripts in several decks with him (just none of the ones with T&N) on their own merits. That argument in itself may lead to Tooth and Nail being more accidentally unfun than Kiki though.
At least from the sound of the testing so far it looks like Kokopuffs will get his fair shake come September. I think the RC is develping a healthy format, and even though I don't always agree with every descision I still enjoy playing Commander and making decks for it. When things get too crazy or too oppressive there will be something else to take it's place.