You might be wondering if there’s a typo in the title (or maybe you didn’t notice it at all) but yes, this is a write up for a UW Oloro deck, NOT esper colors. This deck essentially started as a UW pillowfort deck with Isperia, Supreme Judge at the helm. Her rattlesnake card draw ability kept people from attacking in at times, however, when creatures starting packing more power (mid to late game), people would simply give me a card and hit me for 8 damage. The commander spot cycled through many options: first Grand Arbiter Augustin IV (but that drew too much attention and hate), then Medomai the Ageless (cute ability, never reliable), and also the original Isperia, the Unscrutable (just not helpful for the deck).
Anywho, eventually Oloro was printed and he jumped straight to the top of the list! In a pillowfort deck like this, 2 life a turn can be a huge boost since you are vying for the long game and the combo win. This deck, at it’s heart, is a UW control deck that uses heavy politics, counters, and tax effects to stay alive in order to eventually combo finish the table. The black cards available to us in EDH would make this deck THAT much stronger but it is far more fun to play simply UW (and we play this game for fun no?) The decklist can be found below and we will go through and explain some of the card choices and combo interactions for your benefit!
This deck is for you if:
• You like long games, answering threats and biding time
• You enjoy tight play and threat assessment (very important!)
• You can constantly (and quickly) reassess the board state
• Your playgroup allows infinite combos and lockouts
• Your good with words and politics
This deck is NOT for you if:
• You enjoy quickly combo-ing out and ending games
• You like being very proactive and going after opponents
• You cannot bluff counters and answers
Without further ado, here is the decklist:
Now as you peruse over the decklist, I’m sure you notice your usual suspects in ANY UW list such as mana drain and cryptic command and sun titan. Well this deck has a decent number of counters as well as a huge enchantment sub theme (since more pillow forts cards are enchantments). Here are your typical win cons:
1. Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
2. Luminarch Ascension
3. Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience
4. Enchanted Evening + Opalescence
5. Enchanted Evening + Cleansing Meditation
6. Enchanted Evening + [CARD]Aura Thief
7. Mind Over Matter + Temple Bell
As you can see, there are quite a few win cons built in. The best part? Most of them are decent on their own and fit in quite well. The key is to play the game until you naturally come upon one of the combo pieces then you quickly tutor for the other and wait until there is an opening to take the win (opponents tapped out). The only card in the list to be wary of is Rest in Peace since this deck does depend on Elixir of Immortality and the eldrazi trigger to recycle the deck and keep playing when resources (i.e. counters or removal) run light in the rest of the deck.
Playing the Deck:
BE PATIENT. Patience is your ultimate strength with this control deck. Some players believe this deck is not meant for newer players but I LOVE letting new EDH players pilot this thing. The main reason being is that it teaches you very quickly how to use your ALL of your resources aka: your life total, cards in hand, lands, and your opponents cards via politics. It’s very difficult to tell you how to play a certain deck but with this thing, MAKE SURE TO HIT ALL LAND DROPS UNTIL TURN 10! This is crucial. You’ll need lands to make this deck work. If this means you have to Blue Suns’ Zenith for only 1 or 2, you do it. Once you get to around 6 mana, start dropping pillowfort effects (ex. Ghostly Prison) and holding a counterspell (only counter a spell that will for sure hurt you and your development). Essentially once you have the lands in play, just be patient and the win will come to you. This deck can be tweaked to beat ANY pods you will likely face but you’ll need to earn the wins. Sure sometimes the deck will just combo for you but it usually won’t so play smart.
Tuning the Deck:
As with any decklist posted on the internet, YMMV (Your meta may vary). This deck is tuned for the usual decks I see at the shops in Portland, OR area. If your meta is chock full of recursion and whatnot, you may need to consider Tormod’s Crypt, Scrabbling Claws, Phyrexian Furnace[/B], etc. If your meta is full of enter the battlefield effects, consider cutting the Sun Titan and Phrexian Metamorph for Torpor Orb and Humility. You may also decide to change up some of the wincons! Typical favorites in Oloro or life gain decks include Test of Endurance and Felidar Sovereign but I felt those don’t do much on their own so it wasn’t worth it. In the end, it’s a control deck. Make it your own!Most importantly, have fun. EDH is a social format so have fun playing this game that we all love. Post your comments, critiques, questions, and changes below! Enjoy!
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Posted Dec 24, 2013Out:
1 Venser the Sojourner
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Lonely Sandbar
2 Snow Covered Island
1 Snow Covered Plains
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Underground Sea
1 Watery Grave
1 Godless Shrine
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Creeping Tar Pit
I decided to cut some of the basics and whatnot just to add in some duals and whatnot that tap for black (thus allowing me to cast my general). This manabase change doesn't hurt me so great! I cut the two planeswalkers since they were never all too reliable at ulting and I feel like the 2 new wincons will act as good card draw for me to draw into my other threats.
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Posted Dec 24, 2013Out:
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1 Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
I realized I never cast my general so I might as well use the one that has a very useful static ability!
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Posted Nov 6, 2013Out:
1 Honden of Cleansing Fire
1 Teferi's Puzzle Box
1 Render Silent
1 Darksteel Mutation
1 Act of Authority
1 Mystic Barrier
I decided to give some of the new commander precon cards a whirl. Darksteel mutation seems like a solid removal spell for right now. Considering Journey to Nowhere but not sure which one would be better. I actually REALLY like act of authority and am hoping mystic barrier works out to be a great political tool! As for the cuts, I usually felt a little too counter heavy and the other two cards have been VERY lackluster or just awkward.
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Posted Aug 15, 2013Out:
1 Land Tax
1 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Aura Thief
1 Cleansing Meditation
2 Snow-Covered Plains
The land change was something I totally messed up in the beginning. Often after a land wipe, I never could get white again which was awkward.... Land tax is being cut because my deck has literally 8 targets which is sometimes too awkward to pull off. Ensnaring bridge got the axe because well...I almost always have a full grip so my opponents can just attack... I worked in aura thief and cleansing meditation to make enchanted evening even more busted.
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Posted Jul 13, 2013Out:
1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
1 Jace Beleren
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Howling Mine
1 Font of Mythos
1 Overburden
1 Desertion
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Mind Over Matter
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 Karmic Justice
1 Enchanted Evening
1 Opalescence
I realized soon after playing the deck more that Isperia did...well nothing. I switched it for Grand Arbiter as it would just be so much better. I then proceeded to cut all the symmetrical draw effects since they never helped me play the "hug" role and instead, just got me killed (my playgroup considers my decks a threat at all times). The rest of the cards were cut for simply being too slow or lackluster. The deck had a hard time winning sometimes so I worked in some more wincons and rattlesnakes.