I started building this deck back in August of 2009. I had originally started with Thraximundar, then went to Nicol Bolas and eventually switched back to Thraximundar when I kept forgetting to pay for Nicol Bolas's upkeep cost. My deck has evolved tremendously in the year that I have been playing it. At first it was obviously pretty bad, running cute combos like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Pestermite, and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Curiosity. As time went on I kept cutting more and more creatures to make room for better spells, and over time I started to get a basic idea of what I wanted to do with the deck. At one point all I was running were utility creatures, and I actually had that for quite some time. I also definitely cut all of creatures at one point, realizing that the only creature I needed to win was Thraximundar. However, Telemin Performance started to show up and I figured I should probably throw in at least a couple creatures to avoid losing to that card as well has Helm of Obedience. My deck started out using the official EDH banned list, but after realizing that nearly all the games I played were 1v1 games, I switched it to the MTGSalvation 1v1 banned list. I play my deck a whole heck of a lot on MWS, almost daily. I've put a lot of time and thought in to testing my deck and I'm really proud of where it is now.
Honestly, I think Thraximundar is one of the best underplayed 1v1 generals in the format. He is an absolute beating. The fact that he has haste and makes your opponent sacrifice a creature when he attacks makes him a CONSTANT threat, regardless of whether he is in play or not. He wins in 3-4 turns, depending on your opponent’s board. Thraximundar makes an amazing finisher for a control style deck, and I have nothing but good things to say about this general.
You should play Thraximundar if:
- You like permission style decks.
- You like to deal with threats in a variety of ways, including turning your general sideways.
- "You like playing generic control decks with unexciting game plans that end the game in average ways." - LennonMarx
You shouldn't play Thraximundar if:
- You feel bad about countering spells.
- You like to turn a lot of creatures sideways.
- You like fancy combos.
Reflecting Pool - Almost always good. Except for when it isn't. I've thought about cutting this card before but I'm pretty sure the pros outweigh the cons in a three color deck.
Maze of Ith - I can't say enough about this card. It really shines in a control deck. It's reusable pseudo removal and it saves huge chunks of life from voltron generals.
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale - Sometimes this card is amazing. Sometimes it's horrible. I'm not sure how much I like it, but it's great when it's great.
Mystical Tutor - Usually grabs discard or removal early game. Late game it might grab a draw spell or Cruel Ultimatum.
Vampiric Tutor - This grabs different things depending on the game state, but it will grab you whatever you need in a pinch.
Imperial Seal - A great tutor, I really like this card.
Muddle the Mixture - Part of my transmute package, check the Tutor Suite section for an in depth look at what it can grab.
Shred Memory - Part of my transmute package, check the Tutor Suite section for an in depth look at what it can grab.
Demonic Tutor - A staple for any EDH deck that has black. Will grab whatever you need.
Merchant Scroll - This is primarily used to grab Force of Will, though grabbing a draw spell is fine too. I'll list all of my blue instants in my tutor section.
Grim Tutor - This replaced Dimir Infiltrator. It does everything Dimir Infiltrator did and more for the price of 3 life.
Mystical Teachings - Check the Tutor Suite section for an in depth look at what it can grab.
Draw and Filter
Ancestral Vision - I love playing this on turn 1. The hand refill on turn 5 is really nice.
Brainstorm/Ponder/Preordain - These were in the deck at one point, cut, and now back in the deck. Really happy with them. They're primarily used mid to late game to dig for answers, however if you need to hit a land drop early then I'm not against using them early game.
Skeletal Scrying - Something I have noticed with the addition of all 9 fetch lands is that this card gets a lot better. Turn 3 End of Turn draw 2 is really nice. This is a really nice draw card and I like it a lot.
Phyrexian Arena - If this sticks from turn 3 on it's pretty hard to lose. Two cards a turn at the cost of 1 life is great.
Jace Beleren - Usually I just draw three from him and then let him hit the graveyard, but you can usually tell when it's okay to let your opponent draw an extra card to keep him in play.
Fact or Fiction - Blue card draw staple. Always good, especially at 4 mana.
Jace's Ingenuity - Another blue card draw staple, I was pretty happy when I saw this printed in M11.
Opportunity - Another blue card draw staple, always happy to see this.
Discard
Thoughtseize - Best targeted discard spell ever printed.
Inquisition of Kozilek - Really nice. Really strong in your opening hand and even if it doesn't *always* get you a card, it's still hand information for B and that's A-okay with me.
Hymn to Tourach - This card really shines in combo and control match ups. I often transmute for it.
Lightning Bolt - Spot removal for R. This also hits resolved planeswalkers and might sometimes actually win you the game.
Echoing Truth - This also hits troublesome enchantments as well as tokens at instant speed. Pretty much anything you want, really.
Go for the Throat - This has been awesome and just as good as I had hoped it would be. Essentially Terminate 2.0.
Terminate - Easily the best targeted removal spell in the deck. Will kill anything you want for BR.
Crosis's Charm - I really hate this card, mainly because it's crappy art and it's mana cost, but it's really versatile and does a lot of different things for three mana.
Oblivion Stone - This is in over All is Dust. It's a whole lot less mana intensive and can also hit artifacts, something that All is Dust could not do.
Slagstorm - Amazing card. This card wrecks Sygg, River Cutthroat. The reason this is not Black Sun's Zenith is because that card is pretty mana intensive. It also doesn't strictly guarantee killing anything, either. This deck doesn't really produce a lot of mana over the course of a game and I can't say that I can afford to play cards like that.
Volcanic Fallout - This is flipping in and out with Pyroclasm. I'm not sure what I want yet, Volcanic Fallout has a lot more going for it but it costs 1RR vs. 1R. Pyroclasm is also Transmutable while Volcanic Fallout is not. I'm not sure yet, more testing I suppose.
Rewind - I really like when I have this in hand and someone tries to cast something that is worth countering at my End Step, Rewind it and then have mana available to counter something else on their turn.
Force of Will - One of the best counterspells ever printed, a must have in any serious control deck.
Artifacts
Pithing Needle - I love this card, cards that are as versatile as this are amazing. Name anything from any activated ability to something a general does to Maze of Ith and Kor Haven.
Bomb
Cruel Ultimatum - This card destroyed in standard, and it's just as good in EDH. I love this card, and I love that I am able to play it.
Planeswalkers
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - One of the best planeswalkers ever printed, if you haven't played with this card, you need to. It wins on it's own.
Thraximundar is a control deck's dream finisher. The first two or three turns you want to spend setting up the rest of the game. You can go about this by early disruption via Duress, Thoughtseize, Hymn to Tourach and early counterspells. The rest of the game plays out like a basic control style deck. Keep in mind that while you do play a good amount of counterspells, you don't necessarily need to counter everything your opponent plays. Thraximundar will answer the majority of the creatures your opponents play so you should really only counter a creature that immediately impacts the board position or that can't be dealt with by Thraximundar. Be wary of spells that produce a large amount of tokens as they chump block Thraximundar for days.
The deck is a reactive style deck, meaning you are the one dealing with the threats, not producing your own. The only time you ever want to tap out on your turn is to drop a bomb of some sort, or when you're comfortable with the current board situation. With Grim Monolith and Mana Vault, they allow you the option to go beats with Thraximundar early game. Against Mono Green and Mono Red you will want to play Thraximundar as soon as possible. They don't have very many ways to answer a 6/6, potentially a 7/7 haste beater that early in the game. You want to get them before they can set up.
There are enough tutors in the deck that you should be able to find a Mind Shatter about mid game to dump your opponents hand and feel confident in sending in Thraximundar in for the kill. I'm not saying that you need to do this every game, as each game is going to be different, but the option is there.
This section is essentially cards that have been cut from the deck over the course of time. Eventually I will get around to organizing it but for now here's a list of all the cards for now.
The strengths of this deck in terms of match-ups are a lot harder for me to think of than its weaknesses. That's not because it doesn't have any, but because it has a lot. I'm not being cocky but it has a lot of decent, if not great match-ups versus a lot of decks out there. Its weaknesses would have to be a lot of discard, and land destruction. A control style deck loves its big full hand, so watch out for discard. Land destruction is rough, you can play through it with your counterspells and early disruption, but it's still rough. Control decks need their lands. Make sure you counter all of the important land destruction spells. Gaddock Teeg can be a pain, I usually try to counter and kill it so many times that the opponent can't afford to play it anymore. Hinder is also great here if you can get it. Another option is just to let it hang out in the battlefield and then kill it EOT to drop a bomb the next turn like Cruel Ultimatum or whatever spell you need to stick. Keep in mind here that Thraximundar is also removal.
I've been noticing that Azusa, Lost but Seeking is a pretty rough match up, probably harder than Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary. Reason being: all you have to do vs. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary is make sure your opponent doesn't untap with it, that's it. However, against Azusa, Lost but Seeking they get the lands on their turn right away and you just end up getting so far behind it's really hard to catch up. Just be wary of this deck and try to have the counterspell in your hand every time.
Closing and Thanks
Well, I'm not the greatest writer out there but I love my General and I really think I have a good thing going here. I love talking about the deck and card choices so I would be more than happy to discuss that with anyone. The deck has come a long way and I really think it's pretty darn close to being optimized. Of course, I couldn't have done with all on my own and I have quite a few people to thank for helping me come up with card choices and strategies. First and most important is Tyler Reynolds who got me back in to Magic in general about two years ago, he's definitely helped me the most over the years and I really appreciate that. Umer Ghaznavi has been a huge help too and we often play test together, thanks buddy! My two younger brothers for being good sports and always talking about card choices and ideas with me. As for the guys on this forum I'd have to thank mutedequilibrium, MCR, Evergreen, LennonMarx, Hunter245 and Narglfrob for their help also. It's always a blast when you find great Magic players who are passionate about the game and their decks and really enjoy helping out others. Huge shout out to those guys. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading everyone!
I was expecting Hunter245's take on Godo when I first saw the general so I was mentally preparing myself for that, but his build was different than his. His was kind of a combination of aggro and land destruction, but didn't really focus too much on either. Fortunately for me however, I didn't see any of his LD in the games I played with him. Game 1 I landed a Null Rod, which pretty much shut
Godo down, so I spent the rest of the game dealing with creatures. I stabilized at 5 life after being attacked repeatedly with various creatures. I stuck Thraximundar with Force of Will and Pact of Negation back up and he went the distance. Game 2 I can't really remember what happened but it involved Maze of Ith saving probably ~20 points of life for me while I was setting up, stabilizing and then ending it quickly with Thraximundar.
This was probably my most feared matchup at the tournament of the decks that were there. My opponent was a buddy of mine and he's a pretty good player with a pretty good deck. We had played probably a month or so ago and he absolutely stomped me both games we played. My deck has really changed a lot in the last month though and I felt like I had a lot better matchup, regardless though I was worried. Anyway, all I have written down for these games is this, "Wow. Game 1 stabilized at 7. Game 2 Punt. Game 3 stabilized at 4." The rounds were 60 minutes and we took 53 minutes. I can't remember exactly how I won, but it was a combination of Maze of Ith keeping the damage I was taking in control and shutting his card advantage down. He ultimately ran out of steam and Thraximundar finished things out for me.
I was pretty surprised to see a Drana deck this far in to the tournament so I was a little nervous as to what this player might have up his sleeve. Mono Black isn't really a hard matchup for Thrax unless they run heavy discard, then things might get a little rough. Game 1 I was pretty confident I was going to win when he played "Swamp go" for his first three turns. If a Mono Black deck is going to beat me, it has to be within the first three turns through heavy disruption. When he didn't do that I felt pretty good. He ended up getting a game loss for playing Necropotence (apparently he didn't really check the banned list before entering the tournament so he didn't realize it was banned.) Game 2 he's on the play and mulligans to 6 I think. My turn 2 I Hymn to Tourach him hitting Solemn Simulacrum and some equipment. He didn't really do much of anything from then on.
I got paired down pretty nicely because I was the only undefeated deck and other players had dropped. My opponent was a pretty nice guy and we had a good time playing despite his terrible draws and lack of land. Game 1 was pretty much a win from the get go after his mulligan to 5. Game 2 was a little better, he had a lot of artifact ramp but was quickly shut down by a Muddle the Mixture
transmuted for Null Rod with only 4 lands in play. I played Thraximundar with Pact of Negation backup and sealed the deal.
The Drana player ended up making top 4 and we got paired up again. I think my deck is a pretty bad matchup for him as I don't really rely on creatures and his general is designed to kill them. Game 1 I can't remember what all happened, he got some better draws but did a lot of draw go which was fine with me. I won Game 1 after a little work. Game 2 I can't remember what happened either but he ran out of answers to Thraximundar, GG.
I was feeling pretty good coming off my undefeated streak and beating him the first time we played, but I knew he was a good player and I had to keep my head in the game. I really wish I could remember more about this match, it was kind of a blur. I know I took a lot of time setting up Thraximundar though, I wanted to make sure that when I played him he would stick. The key to beating Sygg is shutting down their card advantage. If Thraximundar loses the card advantage race, things aren't going to be looking very good for me. I really needed to...well, control the board. I waited until he had as few cards in hand as possible before sending Thraximundar out, and made sure to have the counterspell backup. Game 2 was pretty much the same, Maze of Ith seriously did work tonight. Probably saved me around 40 life throughout the night. I'm pretty sure the last few turns went as follows, I think I ripped Thoughtseize late game with a few cards in hand and I could feel that it was coming time to send Thraximundar out there for the kill. I can't remember what I took but he had Venser, Shaper Savant and Oona's Prowler in hand after I took whatever I chose. During his combat step he swung with Sygg, Voidmage Prodigy and Wretched Anurid. He has 4 lands and I know what's in his hand. I flash in Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and he sac's Voidmage Prodigy to counter Teferi, I Maze of Ith the 3/3 I think and take 1 from Sygg. My turn I untap with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, play a land and cast Cruel Ultimatum getting back my Teferi, drawing three cards and gaining 5 life. I think I sent out Thrax next turn to finish things up for me and the game was mine!
6-0 in Matches
12-1 in Games
After thoughts: I had a few MVP's tonight. They were definitely my transmute package, which I know like the back of my hand allowing me the ability to find whatever answer I needed. Maze of Ith was incredible for me, I loved having reusable psuedo removal each turn. It allowed me the option to spend my resources in other places instead of trying to find removal. Null Rod, awesome hate card. I cut all of my early artifact mana, added some lands and some hate. When I needed it it worked wonders for me. Really happy about that last minute addition. I upped my total land count to 42 now. Also a great decision as I think I only missed maybe 5 land drops throughout the entire night. Not bad in 13 games. Oh, I also hardcasted Dimir Infiltrator for the first time in my life tonight. I laughed when I did it, but I needed a chump blocker for Sygg. Gotta do what you gotta do. I also landed Phyrexian Arena a few times throughout the night, drawing two cards a turn is really good for Thrax (as it is for any deck, really).
So there you have it folks, I'm not just full of hot air! I went undefeated, only lost 1 game the entire night and am now a proud owner of another Jace, the Mindsculptor!
[B]MTGSalvation MWS Tournament March 2011[/B]
This is going to be pretty brief because I don't have a whole lot to say. This is the second tournament I've participated in here at MTGSalvation and I really like them, they're a lot of fun. This tournament I didn't fair so well, unfortunately. There were 5 rounds and I only actually played 3 of them. The first round I just so happened to get a bye and the third round my opponent was unable to play our match. Over all I went 2-3. That's pretty sad when you first glance at it. I only won the two games I didn't actually play haha. Two out of the three games I did play were actually really close and I only lost two games to my one. The last round I played against Azusa, Lost but Seeking and it was super rough for me, that's probably the only match I don't really feel bad about losing because Azusa is a bad matchup and he played a lot of land destruction. The first two games though, I felt I could/should have won. My opponents just lucked out and I was on the receiving end of it. Oh well, what are you gonna do. Here's the list I used:
- Updated entire primer in all sections
- Added "Tutor Suite" section
November 21, 2010
- Updated deck list to reflect tournament winning deck list
- Updated MWS deck list
- Added "Tournament Reports" section
- Huge overhaul over of "Overview of Card Choices" and "Alternative Cards"
1. Why no City of Brass? Isn't the color consistency worth the damage it does? Or do you find the games go long enough that it matters? If so, what matchups are you having issues with damage?
2. I see no Mana Drain here, which I assume is due to financial reasons IRL. Is this something you'd be working towards adding to the deck? Seems great for getting Thrax out.
3. Also, signets... well, you know what I have to say about that. Have you liked them, so far? Seems like a good plan B if you're having issues with LD. Has the 1 mana requirement ever been an issue, like not having land?
1. Why no City of Brass? Isn't the color consistency worth the damage it does? Or do you find the games go long enough that it matters? If so, what matchups are you having issues with damage?
2. I see no Mana Drain here, which I assume is due to financial reasons IRL. Is this something you'd be working towards adding to the deck? Seems great for getting Thrax out.
3. Also, signets... well, you know what I have to say about that. Have you liked them, so far? Seems like a good plan B if you're having issues with LD. Has the 1 mana requirement ever been an issue, like not having land?
1.) I had City of Brass in here for a long time, but I just recently cut it because I was trying to minimize damage done to myself through my deck. I also just cut all the Pain Lands for that very reason. The main reason for all of this is against the aggro decks, I don't want to do more damage to myself than my opponent. I also used to have games where I'd be at ~18 life before my opponent even did anything to me and that just seemed bad to me. After cutting the Pain Lands I could consider putting it back in, but I really like my mana base right now. The extra two fetchlands have really helped.
2.) Yeah, financial reasons are the exact reason why it's not in here. When I get one though it will definitely be in there.
3.) The signets have been a nice addition, aside from being huge you know what's. I like that they're colored a lot. What do you mean about the 1 mana issue?
I'm glad you liked some of the changes I suggested last night, and I'm eager to hear whether or not they pan out well for you!
I would also use [ deck ] tags so your list is easier to follow.
I'm actually really excited about them also, I'm really looking forward to Annul, Duress and Thoughtseize. I'm going to test out Persecute for a while and then also try Hymn to Tourach in that spot to see which I like better. They serve a little bit different purposes but coming down two turns earlier might be nice. I'm going to work on those deck tags for you, mutedequilibrium mentioned the same thing to me.
I have a few comments though I have a feeling that some of these comments would come from a guy who has largely played in a 1v1 crowd using the multiplayer banlist. Take them with a fistful of salt
3.) The signets have been a nice addition, aside from being huge you know what's. I like that they're colored a lot. What do you mean about the 1 mana issue?
I believe that mutedequilibrium refers to the 1 required to activate the signet. This is sometimes relevant if an opponent manages an early land-d on you. For example, starting second you go land, land, signet and somehow, lose both your lands to land-d and subsequently fail to draw further lands. This is unlikely but it does happen every now and then. I am not sure how huge is this risk in your deck though I find the amount of lands you run a little skimpy.
You run 36 lands of which 5 of them are fetchlands. From that amount, deduct one "virtual land count" to account for Mox Diamond, bringing us to about 30 mana producing lands. From that number, add half of your total mana rocks with casting cost of two or less (4.5) to have a virtual mana source count of 34.5 -- a tad low imho. Even if you count your fetchlands as "half a mana source", that gives you a virtual mana source count of 37, slightly below 40. Of course, the this is all "theory-magic" though it makes me wonder if mana screws are frequent on your end, taking into account the occassional disruption of a typical EDH deck? Creeping Tar Pit sits a little awkwardly here. I am not sure if it is actually necessary here -- personally, I'd prefer a Drowned Catacomb if you must have a (U/B) dual in this slot.
Just for curiousity though, has Academy Ruins been crucial in this deck? It gets Expedition Map and Tormod's Crypt but otherwise, it does strike to me as slightly limited -- I'd prefer another basic in this slot. Also, how is Boseiju, Who Shelters All working out for your build? The number of instants and sorceries that screams "must resolve" seems relatively sparse though I can see its utility if you frequently face counter wars.
One final question though. How much better has running conditional counterspells played out for you? Granted, they are often cheaper than its hard counters but do you often find yourself wanting for say, Forbid when your opponent somehow throws out a very imposing creature threat when all you have are a couple of Negate and Dispel variants in hand?
I have a few comments though I have a feeling that some of these comments would come from a guy who has largely played in a 1v1 crowd using the multiplayer banlist. Take them with a fistful of salt
I believe that mutedequilibrium refers to the 1 required to activate the signet. This is sometimes relevant if an opponent manages an early land-d on you. For example, starting second you go land, land, signet and somehow, lose both your lands to land-d and subsequently fail to draw further lands. This is unlikely but it does happen every now and then. I am not sure how huge is this risk in your deck though I find the amount of lands you run a little skimpy.
You run 36 lands of which 5 of them are fetchlands. From that amount, deduct one "virtual land count" to account for Mox Diamond, bringing us to about 30 mana producing lands. From that number, add half of your total mana rocks with casting cost of two or less (4.5) to have a virtual mana source count of 34.5 -- a tad low imho. Even if you count your fetchlands as "half a mana source", that gives you a virtual mana source count of 37, slightly below 40. Of course, the this is all "theory-magic" though it makes me wonder if mana screws are frequent on your end, taking into account the occassional disruption of a typical EDH deck? Creeping Tar Pit sits a little awkwardly here. I am not sure if it is actually necessary here -- personally, I'd prefer a Drowned Catacomb if you must have a (U/B) dual in this slot.
Just for curiousity though, has Academy Ruins been crucial in this deck? It gets Expedition Map and Tormod's Crypt but otherwise, it does strike to me as slightly limited -- I'd prefer another basic in this slot. Also, how is Boseiju, Who Shelters All working out for your build? The number of instants and sorceries that screams "must resolve" seems relatively sparse though I can see its utility if you frequently face counter wars.
One final question though. How much better has running conditional counterspells played out for you? Granted, they are often cheaper than its hard counters but do you often find yourself wanting for say, Forbid when your opponent somehow throws out a very imposing creature threat when all you have are a couple of Negate and Dispel variants in hand?
1.) I haven't run in to the activation cost of the signets being a problem yet, although I will keep an eye on it to see if it does. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
2.) I like Creeping Tarpit a lot, it serves a few purposes. It's unblockable so it can kill opponents planeswalkers, and it is also another win condition. Not so much on it's own, but after a resolved Sorin Markov it can end the game pretty quickly if something has happened to Thraximundar. You raise a pretty interesting point about my mana base that I hadn't really thought of. On MWS I have noticed a difference in how many lands I get in my opening hand, (usually not enough), but I haven't noticed as big of a difference with the deck in real life, which I think is really weird. I used to run 38 lands and then cut 2 to add more artifact mana. Would you have any recommendations? How about dropping two mana artifacts for two more lands?
3.) Funny thing you should mention Academy Ruins, I was actually just thinking the same thing. I've noticed that I haven't really used it very much. Although it's nice when I have an Expedition Map in the graveyard. I think I am going to cut it for a basic land, since I really don't have a way to abuse it. Good thinking. Boseiju, Who Shelters All has been a recent addition and I haven't really had a chance to use it very much. It's primarily there to make my own counterspells uncounterable, not to stick a needed instant or sorcery. It's mainly vs. mono blue and the decks that run more counterspells than me. It is my favorite land to pitch to Mox Diamond though, although I'm not sure if that's good or bad haha.
4.) As for Negate, the majority of all the good spells in EDH are noncreature. It's really nice to have vs early LD as that hurts a lot. When I hit the lotto I plan on adding in Mana Drain, and that will either replace Negate or Remove Soul. Dispel has been sweet, granted it doesn't always get there because it's situational, but when I need it it has been awesome. It's amazing in counter wars and it's a 1 mana counterspell to a removal or counterspell when I play Thraximundar, which has been beastly.
Long time fan of Thrax in 1v1, it is almost like playing cruel ultimatum as a general.
If you decide to test Hymn to Tourach, Rise//Fall is almost like Hymn #2 and is easier to cast to boot.
Your deck looks similar to some of mine but alot more streamlined. Nice work!
Hey thanks, I appreciate it. Yeah Thrax is a real beating, I love him. Rise//Fall seems like kind of a worse off Hymn to Tourach, and I think I'm actually going to try Hymn to Tourach first in place of Persecute because I think the 2 turns earlier will make a big difference.
The differences in MWS and "real life" draws occurs because in real life, we tend to "cheat" a little when we shuffle.
In real life, at the end of every EDH games, players usually gather all lands in play together before gathering all other cards not in the library. Players will usually proceed to combine these two piles before applying either a Faro shuffle or a Pile shuffle, before shuffling this pile into the library. This somewhat reduces the probability of horribly bad draws when cards are dealt out again though whether this really constitutes "randomisation" is another story altogether. In MWS land, cards are randomised using algorithms that usually do not discriminate between lands and nonland cards, hence giving you a "more random" draw where the probability of drawing a mana flooded hand and / or a mana screwed hand is significantly increased.
But enough about randomisations. I don't know that what is the "correct" amount of mana for the deck; I suppose you will only know these things when you personally handle the deck, of which I didn't I just pointed that out because the land count to be below the average number of lands I have seen from other EDH decks, so far. Myself, I may substitute Mox Diamond with Chrome Mox if I find mana screw to be a heavier problem than colour screw (since I have 36 cards to pitch to Mox Diamond and 46 cards to pitch to Chrome Mox -- and I get to play the land instead of pitching it to the Diamond) but yeah, I guess you'd need to play the deck to know these things
On the issue of playing Boseiju, Who Shelters All, I am not familiar enough with the 1v1 meta to know if Boseiju is really necessary; I usually play 1v1 games with the multiplayer ban list though looking back at the 1v1 list, besides Sol Ring, Mindslaver, Sensei's Divining Top and Sundering Titan, for the most part, our playgroup pretty much stay away from cards in the 1v1 ban list too.
Back on topic, I counted only about 20 instants and sorceries that will actually benefit from Boseiju and yes, I was counting Force of Will, Sudden Death and Decree of Pain in the 20 instants and sorceries too. I have also arrived at that number after considering your removal of Persecute for Hymn to Tourach (not saying that this is a bad decision though). Mind you, I am not saying that Boseiju is a bad card. I just feel that for a relatively small benefit, you are paying quite a price for it: -
Boseiju comes into play tapped. This can be costly sometimes.
Boseiju produces colourless mana. I am not sure how bad is the colour screw frequency of your deck but I just feel that it is important to point this out.
Boseiju needs two life for colourless mana. You balked at having a City of Brass in your deck, your decision to include Boseiju seemed a little surprising unless the games on MWS is very frequently involve permission games.
Boseiju is a legendary land. Yes, it doesn't matter most of the time but if MWS games are really about permission exchanges, expect to see another Boseiju along the way. You may not mind losing your Boseiju to the SBE but if you are having mana screws, that may be a different story altogether.
The differences in MWS and "real life" draws occurs because in real life, we tend to "cheat" a little when we shuffle.
In real life, at the end of every EDH games, players usually gather all lands in play together before gathering all other cards not in the library. Players will usually proceed to combine these two piles before applying either a Faro shuffle or a Pile shuffle, before shuffling this pile into the library. This somewhat reduces the probability of horribly bad draws when cards are dealt out again though whether this really constitutes "randomisation" is another story altogether. In MWS land, cards are randomised using algorithms that usually do not discriminate between lands and nonland cards, hence giving you a "more random" draw where the probability of drawing a mana flooded hand and / or a mana screwed hand is significantly increased.
But enough about randomisations. I don't know that what is the "correct" amount of mana for the deck; I suppose you will only know these things when you personally handle the deck, of which I didn't I just pointed that out because the land count to be below the average number of lands I have seen from other EDH decks, so far. Myself, I may substitute Mox Diamond with Chrome Mox if I find mana screw to be a heavier problem than colour screw (since I have 36 cards to pitch to Mox Diamond and 46 cards to pitch to Chrome Mox -- and I get to play the land instead of pitching it to the Diamond) but yeah, I guess you'd need to play the deck to know these things
On the issue of playing Boseiju, Who Shelters All, I am not familiar enough with the 1v1 meta to know if Boseiju is really necessary; I usually play 1v1 games with the multiplayer ban list though looking back at the 1v1 list, besides Sol Ring, Mindslaver, Sensei's Divining Top and Sundering Titan, for the most part, our playgroup pretty much stay away from cards in the 1v1 ban list too.
Back on topic, I counted only about 20 instants and sorceries that will actually benefit from Boseiju and yes, I was counting Force of Will, Sudden Death and Decree of Pain in the 20 instants and sorceries too. I have also arrived at that number after considering your removal of Persecute for Hymn to Tourach (not saying that this is a bad decision though). Mind you, I am not saying that Boseiju is a bad card. I just feel that for a relatively small benefit, you are paying quite a price for it: -
Boseiju comes into play tapped. This can be costly sometimes.
Boseiju produces colourless mana. I am not sure how bad is the colour screw frequency of your deck but I just feel that it is important to point this out.
Boseiju needs two life for colourless mana. You balked at having a City of Brass in your deck, your decision to include Boseiju seemed a little surprising unless the games on MWS is very frequently involve permission games.
Boseiju is a legendary land. Yes, it doesn't matter most of the time but if MWS games are really about permission exchanges, expect to see another Boseiju along the way. You may not mind losing your Boseiju to the SBE but if you are having mana screws, that may be a different story altogether.
Just my two cents
Thanks for the lengthy responses, I really appreciate it! So I've been playing a lot on MWS and nearly every single time I draw Boseiju, Who Shelters All I cringe. I seriously hate the card. And paying two life every activation is really, really bad when you draw it early game, on top of only adding 1 colorless to my mana pool also. So I cut it for a basic Mountain, upping my basic lands to 11. This is the most basic lands I have ever run in the deck, ever. To be honest I kinda like it, I'm definitely less susceptible to Moon effects now as well as Back to Basics.
Enjoyed our games togeither, even though I kept getting interrupted. That was a headache going in and out of turns, Damn Regrowth lol. I just wanted to saw why nothing such as miscalcuation and others in the deck? The more counters the better, it seemed you lost because you didnt draw enough. I also feel like cruel ultimatium, Sorin, Liliana rquire you to tap out for little return. Sure you can protect them but are they worth protecting. Your going to win with Thraximunder not sorin. Where is fact or fiction?
Enjoyed our games togeither, even though I kept getting interrupted. That was a headache going in and out of turns, Damn Regrowth lol. I just wanted to saw why nothing such as miscalcuation and others in the deck? The more counters the better, it seemed you lost because you didnt draw enough. I also feel like cruel ultimatium, Sorin, Liliana rquire you to tap out for little return. Sure you can protect them but are they worth protecting. Your going to win with Thraximunder not sorin. Where is fact or fiction?
Thats it for now because im still at work
Thanks for the response man, I appreciate it! I agree that I think that those games I lost against Godo were due to not having enough early counterspells. I'm testing out Miscalculation and Mana Leak now because of it Cruel Ultimatum and Liliana Vess are staying for sure, Cruel is incredibly powerful and can lead to a nice victory. Vess is amazing against other control decks and blue decks as she's primarily used for her discard ability against those decks. I'm with you on Sorin Markov though, I don't think I really need him. I've cut him in testing so we'll see how that goes, check out my "Change Log" and "Cards I'm testing" section. I might try out Fact or Fiction over Skeletal Scrying, we'll see what I do I haven't decided yet.
I would upgrade some of the spot removal to Control Magic effects. I think they are simply stronger for the cost than anything else you can run.
Defintily:
Gilded Drake
Treachery
Stretching it:
Legacy's Alure
Control Magic
Sower of Temptation
Confiscate
Volition Reins
Take Possesion
getting pretty janky by the end there, but food for thought.
I would also give a HARD look at all of your what I will term "linear" mana accelerants (ie (2) mana cost, tap for (1), like signets). How much do they really do for you over extra lands? Is your artifact sub theme strong enough to justify the tempo loss of playing these cards and opening yourself up to artifact destruction? Do you consistently have game breaking 4 drops that are worth accelerating into? Do they actually accelerate you into Thrax range, or do you subsequently miss so many land drops that the advantage is nullified?
In the control deck like this one that wants to make EVERY land drop, would running 40 or 43 lands be so bad?
Obviously any accelerator that generates more than (2) or costs less that (2) is golden in this deck.
More cards to consider (because suggesting cards is more fun than suggesting cuts):
Mox Opal
Palladium Myr
On the control side of things, I would experiment with your ratio of Sweepers / countermagic / spot removal / card draw. In the games we played it appeared at times like you had trouble maintaining card advantage over the aggressor. I think this problem could be linked to playing to many cards that make mana.
Thraximundar is only really good when the opponents resources are stretched thin. In particular, the most important resource your opponent has is cards in hand (vs thrax) because that is where 90% of answers to thrax reside. The deck needs to focus on depleting your opponent of cards in hand and maintaining card advantage over them.
With that said, I actually think 1 to 1 answers are BAD and ant synergistic to this deck game plan. However they are necessary due to the power level of the opposition’s decks, many can win with resolving a single spell. However by maintaining pressure on their hand you can reduce their options until they die to thrax pressure. All I’m saying is experiment and determine the bare minimum of 1 to 1 answers that you can run. And make sure the ones you do run are the best available. This is not a deck that can leverage the use of cheaper but narrow answers.
Planeswalkers are the epitome of your strategy and do exactly what you want. You should try to maximize their value at all times. It’s a shame the red ones suck so bad.
Stifle effects are bad, they are situational 1to1 answers that never generate card advantage.
Annul is bad. It is narrow and never generates card advantage. As are Remove Soul, Negate and Countersquall. You should really run Mana Drain on MWS, turn 3 Thrax is so much fun
Is Lux Cannon a playable card in EDH control? Slow but deals with enchantments.
/end ramble
EDIT: More card suggestions!
Volcanic Fallout: Essentially what Decree of Pain is 90% of the time except 3/5ths of the cost! Also hits planeswalkers.
Molten Disaster: Another great sweeper that murders planeswalkers dead!
Starstorm / Fault Line : If these earthquake effects work out for you these will probably also make the cut. One kills walkers, one hits fliers and cycles.
I would upgrade some of the spot removal to Control Magic effects. I think they are simply stronger for the cost than anything else you can run.
Defintily:
Gilded Drake
Treachery
Stretching it:
Legacy's Alure
Control Magic
Sower of Temptation
Confiscate
Volition Reins
Take Possesion
getting pretty janky by the end there, but food for thought.
I would also give a HARD look at all of your what I will term "linear" mana accelerants (ie (2) mana cost, tap for (1), like signets). How much do they really do for you over extra lands? Is your artifact sub theme strong enough to justify the tempo loss of playing these cards and opening yourself up to artifact destruction? Do you consistently have game breaking 4 drops that are worth accelerating into? Do they actually accelerate you into Thrax range, or do you subsequently miss so many land drops that the advantage is nullified?
In the control deck like this one that wants to make EVERY land drop, would running 40 or 43 lands be so bad?
Obviously any accelerator that generates more than (2) or costs less that (2) is golden in this deck.
More cards to consider (because suggesting cards is more fun than suggesting cuts):
Mox Opal
Palladium Myr
On the control side of things, I would experiment with your ratio of Sweepers / countermagic / spot removal / card draw. In the games we played it appeared at times like you had trouble maintaining card advantage over the aggressor. I think this problem could be linked to playing to many cards that make mana.
Thraximundar is only really good when the opponents resources are stretched thin. In particular, the most important resource your opponent has is cards in hand (vs thrax) because that is where 90% of answers to thrax reside. The deck needs to focus on depleting your opponent of cards in hand and maintaining card advantage over them.
With that said, I actually think 1 to 1 answers are BAD and ant synergistic to this deck game plan. However they are necessary due to the power level of the opposition’s decks, many can win with resolving a single spell. However by maintaining pressure on their hand you can reduce their options until they die to thrax pressure. All I’m saying is experiment and determine the bare minimum of 1 to 1 answers that you can run. And make sure the ones you do run are the best available. This is not a deck that can leverage the use of cheaper but narrow answers.
Planeswalkers are the epitome of your strategy and do exactly what you want. You should try to maximize their value at all times. It’s a shame the red ones suck so bad.
Stifle effects are bad, they are situational 1to1 answers that never generate card advantage.
Annul is bad. It is narrow and never generates card advantage. As are Remove Soul, Negate and Countersquall. You should really run Mana Drain on MWS, turn 3 Thrax is so much fun
Is Lux Cannon a playable card in EDH control? Slow but deals with enchantments.
/end ramble
EDIT: More card suggestions!
Volcanic Fallout: Essentially what Decree of Pain is 90% of the time except 3/5ths of the cost! Also hits planeswalkers.
Molten Disaster: Another great sweeper that murders planeswalkers dead!
Starstorm / Fault Line : If these earthquake effects work out for you these will probably also make the cut. One kills walkers, one hits fliers and cycles.
Thanks for the lengthy response man. I'll give you a more elaborate response after I do some testing to see what I like and don't like. I think I'm going to test cutting some artifact ramp and adding more lands and other spells, I'm interested in trying those red sweepers I hadn't thought of those before. I'm also going to try out Lux Cannon, it's really, really slow but it might be good, we'll see. The thing is, is that it comes online on turn 7. On turn 7 I could just play All Is Dust and be done with it. We'll see how it works out though. You're right about maintaining card advantage though, I notice that I start losing when I get low on cards.
Ive got some more card suggestions because suggesting cards is fun and making cuts is hard and thats your job. =P
Good Suggestions:
Fire/Ice
Passable removal for the fast generals, and unlike the other cycling removal spells (Sicken, Spark Spray, Pyrite Spell Bomb) its easy to get value out of its "cycling" (Ice).
Tainted Pact
Assuming you only run 6 basics (3 regular and 3 snow) this is essentially Demonic Tutor at instant speed. Even better in here than in combo decks since you will never need to worry about exiling combo pieces when you need to dig for an answer.
Stroke of Genius
More good card drawing.
Janky Suggestions:
Shadowmage Infiltraitor
Phyrexian Arena #2, especially welcome since you cannot afford to run Dark Confidant or Dark Tutelage. You might not want to spend resources protecting him however, and your creature sweepers kill him. Hmm, dont know if I like this guy anymore.
Dimir Infiltraitor
Depends on the strength of your 2cc tutor package. If 2cc tutors are "live" 100% of the time, then why no run another?
As far as I remember, at 2cc you've got:
Sweeper - Molten Disaster / Others
Spot Removal - Terminate / Gilded Drake
Hand Disruption - Mind Shatter / Hymn
Draw - which leads to my next suggestion
Mind Spring
Its 2cc so its tutorable, and the tempo loss of tapping out can hopefully be combated by the use of board sweepers.
Allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllrighty everybody. I just updated the heck out of my primer. I added new stuff in every section and totally revamped my deck. I now play red cards! I know I know, I'm excited too. Check out my new list and everything and tell me what you think. I added 22 new cards, deck is running real smooth now. I would post all of the updates here, but I decided just to put them all in my primer instead. Check it out
Played 6 games vs this deck over MWS today piloting my version of LennonMarx's Storm Horde deck. We finished 4-2 with thrax winning 2-1 both matches.
Overall I felt like some of the card draw clogged up your hand a bit, but overall your deck seemed to perform very smooth.
Every win thrax got vs me was on the back of Hymn to Tourach and Mind Shatter, reliably casting these cards is your best way of interacting with storm. The counterspells and spot discard slowed me down, but generally would not be enough on there own. That 2cc tutor package really works well for this, and I think is a core strength of this deck. Allowing it in effect to run more Grim Tutors than other decks.
Speaking of which, where is Grim Tutor!?! Assuming its do to IRL restrictions?
Imperial Seal is also strong, but I can see how there may be justification for not running it. I can't see any justification ($$ aside) for not running Grim.
You know, it's really funny that you mentioned Grim Tutor. It's not a card I had thought about getting until very recently. It also probably won't be a card I will get for a long time considering I just bought an Unlimited Underground Sea and a Mana Drain, so I'm going to need to save up for that guy for a while. Grim Tutor does seem like a fine inclusion though, I just don't really like playing with cards I don't own. I play the transmute cards so the mana cost on Grim Tutor shouldn't really be a problem as it's essentially just a whole lot better Transmute effect.
As far as our games go from last night, I agree that Hymn to Tourach and Mind Shatter were key in winning those games. The combination of the hand disruption and Thraximundar's fast clock really sealed those games for me. I love my 2cc tutor package, it's fast becoming one of my favorite aspects of the deck. I'll be writing up our games from last night in the near future.
Always fun playing with you dude and thanks for the suggestions as always.
I managed to get the deck's worst nightmare today, an early Luminarch Ascension. Are you still running Crosis's Charm? If you had the bounce, I'm surprised my enchantment worked as well as it did.
It seems like Hymn to Tourach is a bit swingy--when you used it on me, it was much less powerful than a point removal spell. I understand the card's potency, but is it really better than another point-discard?
Overall, not the sort of list I like to play with or against, simply because I'm not for severe control--but I definitely respect it, and you did a much better job with the deck than 'the best counters and hand disruption and draw' I thought it was at first. I like the transmute packages and the consideration given to specific threats. The deck is well-crafted; kudos.
I managed to get the deck's worst nightmare today, an early Luminarch Ascension. Are you still running Crosis's Charm? If you had the bounce, I'm surprised my enchantment worked as well as it did.
It seems like Hymn to Tourach is a bit swingy--when you used it on me, it was much less powerful than a point removal spell. I understand the card's potency, but is it really better than another point-discard?
Overall, not the sort of list I like to play with or against, simply because I'm not for severe control--but I definitely respect it, and you did a much better job with the deck than 'the best counters and hand disruption and draw' I thought it was at first. I like the transmute packages and the consideration given to specific threats. The deck is well-crafted; kudos.
I just recently considered Boomerang as another answer to enchantments on the board, as well as being pretty versatile and tutorable from my transmute effects and Teachings. Do I sound silly for considering Boomerang? My colors don't really offer me any way to answer an enchantment once it hits the board.
I've loved using Hymn to Tourach, the random part of it can be both good and bad, but I have no complaints about it over all. It's a really nice card and I often find myself Transmuting for it. I have considered Inquisition of Kozilek, but that just seems like it would be good in your opening 7 and not quite as powerful as a late game draw. I haven't tested it at all so I'm not sure how I feel about it one way or another.
Thank you for the kind words about my deck, lots of time and effort has gone in to it's creation. I realize that it might seem like "Top 50 cards.dec" at first, but there's so much more to the deck than that. I've agonized over each card slot and I think that once you get to a certain competitive level with your deck, a lot of those cards from the "Top 50 cards from each color" thread are going to overlap in to your deck, which is why they're the Top 50. There isn't really a whole lot you can do to change that, it is what it is and that's all that it is.
Anyway, thoughts on Boomerang anyone? You know, actually... Ratchet Bomb is looking nice. I love that 2CMC also. Hmm... *hits the drawing board*
History
I started building this deck back in August of 2009. I had originally started with Thraximundar, then went to Nicol Bolas and eventually switched back to Thraximundar when I kept forgetting to pay for Nicol Bolas's upkeep cost. My deck has evolved tremendously in the year that I have been playing it. At first it was obviously pretty bad, running cute combos like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Pestermite, and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Curiosity. As time went on I kept cutting more and more creatures to make room for better spells, and over time I started to get a basic idea of what I wanted to do with the deck. At one point all I was running were utility creatures, and I actually had that for quite some time. I also definitely cut all of creatures at one point, realizing that the only creature I needed to win was Thraximundar. However, Telemin Performance started to show up and I figured I should probably throw in at least a couple creatures to avoid losing to that card as well has Helm of Obedience. My deck started out using the official EDH banned list, but after realizing that nearly all the games I played were 1v1 games, I switched it to the MTGSalvation 1v1 banned list. I play my deck a whole heck of a lot on MWS, almost daily. I've put a lot of time and thought in to testing my deck and I'm really proud of where it is now.
Why Play Thraximundar
Honestly, I think Thraximundar is one of the best underplayed 1v1 generals in the format. He is an absolute beating. The fact that he has haste and makes your opponent sacrifice a creature when he attacks makes him a CONSTANT threat, regardless of whether he is in play or not. He wins in 3-4 turns, depending on your opponent’s board. Thraximundar makes an amazing finisher for a control style deck, and I have nothing but good things to say about this general.
You should play Thraximundar if:
- You like permission style decks.
- You like to deal with threats in a variety of ways, including turning your general sideways.
- "You like playing generic control decks with unexciting game plans that end the game in average ways." - LennonMarx
You shouldn't play Thraximundar if:
- You feel bad about countering spells.
- You like to turn a lot of creatures sideways.
- You like fancy combos.
Deck List by Card Type
01 Underground Sea
01 Creeping Tar Pit
01 Watery Grave
01 Badlands
01 Steam Vents
01 Bloodstained Mire
01 Scalding Tarn
01 Polluted Delta
01 Marsh Flats
01 Misty Rainforest
01 Crumbling Necropolis
01 Cascade Bluffs
01 Sunken Ruins
01 Reflecting Pool
01 Volcanic Island
01 Strip Mine
01 Wasteland
01 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
01 Tolaria West
01 Bojuka Bog
01 Drowned Catacomb
01 River of Tears
01 Wooded Foothills
01 Arid Mesa
01 Verdant Catacombs
01 Flooded Strand
01 Maze of Ith
01 City of Brass
01 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
01 Library of Alexandria
07 Island
02 Swamp
02 Mountain
01 Ancestral Vision
01 Duress
01 Thoughtseize
01 Inquisition of Kozilek
01 Imperial Seal
01 Ponder
01 Preordain
01 Hymn to Tourach
01 Demonic Tutor
01 Merchant Scroll
01 Sign in Blood
01 Night's Whisper
01 Slagstorm
01 Grim Tutor
01 Damnation
01 Cruel Ultimatum
01 Pact of Negation
01 Spell Pierce
01 Lightning Bolt
01 Brainstorm
01 Mystical Tutor
01 Vampiric Tutor
01 Terminate
01 Negate
01 Echoing Truth
01 Go for the Throat
01 Counterspell
01 Mana Drain
01 Mana Leak
01 Remand
01 Muddle the Mixture
01 Shred Memory
01 Hinder
01 Dissipate
01 Shattering Pulse
01 Cancel
01 Forbid
01 Crosis's Charm
01 Volcanic Fallout
01 Dismiss
01 Cryptic Command
01 Mindbreak Trap
01 Fact or Fiction
01 Mystical Teachings
01 Rewind
01 Jace's Ingenuity
01 Force of Will
01 Opportunity
01 Skeletal Scrying
01 Pithing Needle
01 Null Rod
01 Oblivion Stone
01 Engineered Explosives
01 Jace Beleren
01 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Deck List by Card Function
01 Scalding Tarn
01 Polluted Delta
01 Marsh Flats
01 Misty Rainforest
01 Flooded Strand
01 Verdant Catacombs
01 Wooded Foothills
01 Arid Mesa
01 Watery Grave
01 Steam Vents
01 Blood Crypt
01 Underground Sea
01 Volcanic Island
01 Badlands
01 Drowned Catacomb
01 River of Tears
01 Creeping Tar Pit
01 Crumbling Necropolis
01 Reflecting Pool
01 City of Brass
01 Sunken Ruins
01 Cascade Bluffs
01 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
01 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
01 Tolaria West
01 Maze of Ith
01 Library of Alexandria
01 Strip Mine
01 Wasteland
Basic Lands - 11
07 Island
02 Swamp
02 Mountain
01 Mystical Tutor
01 Vampiric Tutor
01 Imperial Seal
01 Muddle the Mixture
01 Shred Memory
01 Demonic Tutor
01 Merchant Scroll
01 Grim Tutor
01 Mystical Teachings
01 Ancestral Vision
01 Brainstorm
01 Ponder
01 Preordain
01 Sensei's Divining Top
01 Skeletal Scrying
01 Night's Whisper
01 Sign in Blood
01 Phyrexian Arena
01 Jace Beleren
01 Fact or Fiction
01 Jace's Ingenuity
01 Opportunity
01 Duress
01 Thoughtseize
01 Inquisition of Kozilek
01 Hymn to Tourach
01 Lightning Bolt
01 Echoing Truth
01 Terminate
01 Go for the Throat
01 Oblivion Stone
01 Crosis's Charm
01 Volcanic Fallout
01 Slagstorm
01 Damnation
01 Shattering Pulse
01 Null Rod
01 Pact of Negation
01 Spell Pierce
01 Negate
01 Mana Drain
01 Mana Leak
01 Remand
01 Counterspell
01 Hinder
01 Cancel
01 Forbid
01 Dissipate
01 Dismiss
01 Cryptic Command
01 Mindbreak Trap
01 Rewind
01 Force of Will
01 Pithing Needle
01 Cruel Ultimatum
Overview of Card Choices
Lands
Original Duals - Best lands ever printed.
Shock Lands - Next best thing to original duals.
Fetch Lands - I decided to run all 9 for the shuffle effects and the ability to grab any dual land I need.
Filter Lands - Great lands to fix your mana, really like these.
Creeping Tar Pit - I've won games with it. Late game it gets there when you're able to protect it, it can also snipe Planeswalkers and chump block.
Drowned Catacomb - With all the fetch lands I run this should almost always come in to play untapped. Practically a dual land.
River of Tears - Effectively U/B dual land, which are the main colors of the deck.
Crumbling Necropolis - I love playing this turn 1, produces all three colors.
Reflecting Pool - Almost always good. Except for when it isn't. I've thought about cutting this card before but I'm pretty sure the pros outweigh the cons in a three color deck.
City of Brass - Any color I need for 1 life.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - It's nice when you can tap Maze of Ith for B.
Strip Mine - This usually hits manlands, Maze of Ith and Kor Haven.
Wasteland - Essentially Strip Mine #2 for my purposes.
Tolaria West - Transmutes for Ancestral Vision, Engineered Explosives and any land I might need.
Maze of Ith - I can't say enough about this card. It really shines in a control deck. It's reusable pseudo removal and it saves huge chunks of life from voltron generals.
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale - Sometimes this card is amazing. Sometimes it's horrible. I'm not sure how much I like it, but it's great when it's great.
Library of Alexandria - This cards read: "I win" in a control mirror.
Basic Lands - Well, this is self explanatory.
Bojuka Bog - Graveyard removal!
Tutors
Mystical Tutor - Usually grabs discard or removal early game. Late game it might grab a draw spell or Cruel Ultimatum.
Vampiric Tutor - This grabs different things depending on the game state, but it will grab you whatever you need in a pinch.
Imperial Seal - A great tutor, I really like this card.
Muddle the Mixture - Part of my transmute package, check the Tutor Suite section for an in depth look at what it can grab.
Shred Memory - Part of my transmute package, check the Tutor Suite section for an in depth look at what it can grab.
Demonic Tutor - A staple for any EDH deck that has black. Will grab whatever you need.
Merchant Scroll - This is primarily used to grab Force of Will, though grabbing a draw spell is fine too. I'll list all of my blue instants in my tutor section.
Grim Tutor - This replaced Dimir Infiltrator. It does everything Dimir Infiltrator did and more for the price of 3 life.
Mystical Teachings - Check the Tutor Suite section for an in depth look at what it can grab.
Draw and Filter
Ancestral Vision - I love playing this on turn 1. The hand refill on turn 5 is really nice.
Brainstorm/Ponder/Preordain - These were in the deck at one point, cut, and now back in the deck. Really happy with them. They're primarily used mid to late game to dig for answers, however if you need to hit a land drop early then I'm not against using them early game.
Sign in Blood/Night's Whisper - Cheap black card to keep my hand full, I've really liked these.
Sensei's Divining Top - A staple for any EDH deck.
Skeletal Scrying - Something I have noticed with the addition of all 9 fetch lands is that this card gets a lot better. Turn 3 End of Turn draw 2 is really nice. This is a really nice draw card and I like it a lot.
Phyrexian Arena - If this sticks from turn 3 on it's pretty hard to lose. Two cards a turn at the cost of 1 life is great.
Jace Beleren - Usually I just draw three from him and then let him hit the graveyard, but you can usually tell when it's okay to let your opponent draw an extra card to keep him in play.
Fact or Fiction - Blue card draw staple. Always good, especially at 4 mana.
Jace's Ingenuity - Another blue card draw staple, I was pretty happy when I saw this printed in M11.
Opportunity - Another blue card draw staple, always happy to see this.
Discard
Thoughtseize - Best targeted discard spell ever printed.
Duress - Second best in EDH.
Inquisition of Kozilek - Really nice. Really strong in your opening hand and even if it doesn't *always* get you a card, it's still hand information for B and that's A-okay with me.
Hymn to Tourach - This card really shines in combo and control match ups. I often transmute for it.
Removal
Engineered Explosives - This hits tokens and anything with a converted mana cost of up to 3, but it's primary use is enchantments such as: Survival of the Fittest, Luminarch Ascension, Bitterblossom and Sacred Mesa.
Lightning Bolt - Spot removal for R. This also hits resolved planeswalkers and might sometimes actually win you the game.
Echoing Truth - This also hits troublesome enchantments as well as tokens at instant speed. Pretty much anything you want, really.
Go for the Throat - This has been awesome and just as good as I had hoped it would be. Essentially Terminate 2.0.
Terminate - Easily the best targeted removal spell in the deck. Will kill anything you want for BR.
Crosis's Charm - I really hate this card, mainly because it's crappy art and it's mana cost, but it's really versatile and does a lot of different things for three mana.
Oblivion Stone - This is in over All is Dust. It's a whole lot less mana intensive and can also hit artifacts, something that All is Dust could not do.
Slagstorm - Amazing card. This card wrecks Sygg, River Cutthroat. The reason this is not Black Sun's Zenith is because that card is pretty mana intensive. It also doesn't strictly guarantee killing anything, either. This deck doesn't really produce a lot of mana over the course of a game and I can't say that I can afford to play cards like that.
Volcanic Fallout - This is flipping in and out with Pyroclasm. I'm not sure what I want yet, Volcanic Fallout has a lot more going for it but it costs 1RR vs. 1R. Pyroclasm is also Transmutable while Volcanic Fallout is not. I'm not sure yet, more testing I suppose.
Damnation - Black's Wrath of God, I really wish black also had a functional reprint like Day of Judgment.
Artifact Hate
Shattering Pulse - Great in a control deck, Buyback making it reusable is great.
Null Rod - Such a solid hate card, I love this little guy. Notice the lack of artifact mana in the deck? This is why
Counterspells
Pact of Negation - Awesome counterspell. Don't forget to pay for Pact!
Spell Pierce - <3333
Negate - This is pretty much a hard counter in EDH since the majority of threats are from noncreatures.
Mana Drain - The absolute best 2 mana hard counter ever printed. If you can afford one you won't regret it.
Mana Leak - This really helps with the early game, which I need a lot of help with.
Remand - Narglfrob told me to run this.
Counterspell - Next best thing to Mana Drain.
Hinder - Awesome for tucking Generals or cards you don't want in the graveyard like Life From the Loam.
Forbid - I'm not sure how much I will be paying for the buyback, but it's another 3 mana hard counter that can sometimes be recurred.
Cancel - I needed more early game counterspells and this gets the job done.
Dissipate - Really good hard counter that is sometimes even better when you can exile something that's good in the graveyard like Genesis.
Dismiss - Pretty much half of Cryptic Command, not too shabby.
Cryptic Command - So versatile it's amazing, great card.
Mindbreak Trap - This is primarily for storm decks and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
Rewind - I really like when I have this in hand and someone tries to cast something that is worth countering at my End Step, Rewind it and then have mana available to counter something else on their turn.
Force of Will - One of the best counterspells ever printed, a must have in any serious control deck.
Artifacts
Pithing Needle - I love this card, cards that are as versatile as this are amazing. Name anything from any activated ability to something a general does to Maze of Ith and Kor Haven.
Bomb
Cruel Ultimatum - This card destroyed in standard, and it's just as good in EDH. I love this card, and I love that I am able to play it.
Planeswalkers
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - One of the best planeswalkers ever printed, if you haven't played with this card, you need to. It wins on it's own.
How to Play Thraximundar
Thraximundar is a control deck's dream finisher. The first two or three turns you want to spend setting up the rest of the game. You can go about this by early disruption via Duress, Thoughtseize, Hymn to Tourach and early counterspells. The rest of the game plays out like a basic control style deck. Keep in mind that while you do play a good amount of counterspells, you don't necessarily need to counter everything your opponent plays. Thraximundar will answer the majority of the creatures your opponents play so you should really only counter a creature that immediately impacts the board position or that can't be dealt with by Thraximundar. Be wary of spells that produce a large amount of tokens as they chump block Thraximundar for days.
The deck is a reactive style deck, meaning you are the one dealing with the threats, not producing your own. The only time you ever want to tap out on your turn is to drop a bomb of some sort, or when you're comfortable with the current board situation. With Grim Monolith and Mana Vault, they allow you the option to go beats with Thraximundar early game. Against Mono Green and Mono Red you will want to play Thraximundar as soon as possible. They don't have very many ways to answer a 6/6, potentially a 7/7 haste beater that early in the game. You want to get them before they can set up.
There are enough tutors in the deck that you should be able to find a Mind Shatter about mid game to dump your opponents hand and feel confident in sending in Thraximundar in for the kill. I'm not saying that you need to do this every game, as each game is going to be different, but the option is there.
Sample Hands
Sample Hand #1
Terminate
Negate
Spell Pierce
Island
Arid Mesa
Preordain
Jace Beleren
Sample Hand #2
Strip Mine
Maze of Ith
Verdant Catacombs
Jace's Ingenuity
Mountain
Marsh Flats
Demonic Tutor
Sample Hand #3
Jace Beleren
Jace's Ingenuity
Force of Will
Mountain
Badlands
Shattering Pulse
Grim Tutor
Sample Hand #4
Fact or Fiction
Mana Leak
Imperial Seal
Library of Alexandria
Sunken Ruins
Steam Vents
Muddle the Mixture
Sample Hand #5
Duress
Skeletal Scrying
Hymn to Tourach
Sensei's Divining Top
Strip Mine
Damnation
Go for the Throat
Sample Hand #6
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Damnation
River of Tears
Go for the Throat
Underground Sea
Island
Hinder
Sample Hand #7
Ponder
Thoughtseize
Strip Mine
Bojuka Bog
Island
Cancel
Island
Sample Hand #8
Steam Vents
Island
Shred Memory
Terminate
Tolaria West
Underground Sea
Spell Pierce
Sample Hand #9
Island
Ancestral Vision
Tolaria West
Null Rod
Preordain
Go for the Throat
Slagstorm
Sample Hand #10
Tolaria West
Lightning Bolt
Arid Mesa
Drowned Catacomb
Badlands
Dismiss
Watery Grave
Alternative Cards
This section is essentially cards that have been cut from the deck over the course of time. Eventually I will get around to organizing it but for now here's a list of all the cards for now.
-Academy Ruins
-Persecute
-Voidmage Husher
-Venser, Shaper Savant
-Gilded Lotus
-Dispel
-Thran Dynamo
-Boseiju, Who Shelters All
-Ponder
-Preordain
-Brainstorm
-Trickbind
-Worn Powerstone
-Mindstone
-Tolarian Academy
-Trinket Mage
-Annul
-Remove Soul
-Countersquall
-Tormod's Crypt
-Expedition Map
-Dimir Signet
-Izzet Signet
-Talisman of Dominance
-Talisman of Indulgence
-Sorin Markov
-Liliana Vess
-Flame Slash
-Treachery
-Lightning Bolt
-Seat of Synod
-Vault of Whispers
-Great Furnace
-Tezzeret the Seeker
-Thirst for Knowledge
-Mox Diamond
-Mana Vault
-Grim Monolith
-Coalition Relic
-Shizo, Death's Store House
-Decree of Pain
-All Is Dust
-Mind Spring
-Mind Shatter
-Hero's Demise
-Diabolic Edict
-Devour in Shadow
-Starstorm
-Sudden Death
-Stroke of Genius
-Careful Consideration
-Misdirection
-Pyroclasm
Tutor Suite
Here I will explain the Shred Memory, Muddle the Mixture, Merchant Scroll and Mystical Teachings tutor packages.
Here is the list of all Shred Memory and Muddle the Mixture transmute targets:
01 Hymn to Tourach
01 Echoing Truth
01 Demonic Tutor
01 Null Rod
01 Terminate
01 Negate
01 Shattering Pulse
01 Counterspell
01 Mana Drain
01 Muddle the Mixture
01 Shred Memory
01 Sign in Blood
01 Night's Whisper
01 Go for the Throat
01 Mana Leak
01 Remand
Here is the list of all Merchant Scroll tutor targets:
01 Spell Pierce
01 Mystical Tutor
01 Negate
01 Echoing Truth
01 Counterspell
01 Mana Drain
01 Mana Leak
01 Remand
01 Muddle the Mixture
01 Hinder
01 Dissipate
01 Cancel
01 Forbid
01 Crosis's Charm
01 Dismiss
01 Cryptic Command
01 Mindbreak Trap
01 Fact or Fiction
01 Mystical Teachings
01 Rewind
01 Jace's Ingenuity
01 Force of Will
01 Opportunity
Here is the list of all Mystical Teachings tutor targets:
01 Spell Pierce
01 Lightning Bolt
01 Brainstorm
01 Mystical Tutor
01 Vampiric Tutor
01 Terminate
01 Negate
01 Echoing Truth
01 Go for the Throat
01 Counterspell
01 Mana Drain
01 Mana Leak
01 Remand
01 Muddle the Mixture
01 Shred Memory
01 Hinder
01 Dissipate
01 Shattering Pulse
01 Cancel
01 Forbid
01 Crosis's Charm
01 Volcanic Fallout
01 Dismiss
01 Cryptic Command
01 Mindbreak Trap
01 Fact or Fiction
01 Mystical Teachings
01 Rewind
01 Jace's Ingenuity
01 Force of Will
01 Opportunity
01 Skeletal Scrying
Currently Testing
September 27, 2010
- Nihil Spellbomb over Tormod's Crypt
- Miscalculation over Sorin Markov
- Mana Leak over Annul
November 3, 2010 Update: All of these cards ended up getting cut.
November 3, 2010
-Maze of Ith over Mountain
November 9, 2010 Update: Maze of Ith made it in.
November 9, 2010
-Gilded Drake over Treachery
-Hero's Demise over Devour in Shadow
-Grasp of Darkness over Lightning Bolt
November 21, 2010 Update: Gilded Drake made it in over Treachery. Hero's Demise is run in addition to Devour in Shadow. Lightning Bolt and Grasp of Darkness both got cut.
November 24, 2010
-Lim-Dul's Vault over Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker (Pretty sad about this actually, but he just costs too much and I hate drawing him early or seeing him in my opening 7 :()
-Island over Ancient Tomb
November 29, 2010 Update: Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker got cut for Merchant Scroll and Island replaced Ancient Tomb.
March 15, 2011
-Volcanic Fallout over Pyroclasm
I would like to find room to test Telling Time, Peer Through Depths and Impulse.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strengths of this deck in terms of match-ups are a lot harder for me to think of than its weaknesses. That's not because it doesn't have any, but because it has a lot. I'm not being cocky but it has a lot of decent, if not great match-ups versus a lot of decks out there. Its weaknesses would have to be a lot of discard, and land destruction. A control style deck loves its big full hand, so watch out for discard. Land destruction is rough, you can play through it with your counterspells and early disruption, but it's still rough. Control decks need their lands. Make sure you counter all of the important land destruction spells. Gaddock Teeg can be a pain, I usually try to counter and kill it so many times that the opponent can't afford to play it anymore. Hinder is also great here if you can get it. Another option is just to let it hang out in the battlefield and then kill it EOT to drop a bomb the next turn like Cruel Ultimatum or whatever spell you need to stick. Keep in mind here that Thraximundar is also removal.
I've been noticing that Azusa, Lost but Seeking is a pretty rough match up, probably harder than Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary. Reason being: all you have to do vs. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary is make sure your opponent doesn't untap with it, that's it. However, against Azusa, Lost but Seeking they get the lands on their turn right away and you just end up getting so far behind it's really hard to catch up. Just be wary of this deck and try to have the counterspell in your hand every time.
Closing and Thanks
Well, I'm not the greatest writer out there but I love my General and I really think I have a good thing going here. I love talking about the deck and card choices so I would be more than happy to discuss that with anyone. The deck has come a long way and I really think it's pretty darn close to being optimized. Of course, I couldn't have done with all on my own and I have quite a few people to thank for helping me come up with card choices and strategies. First and most important is Tyler Reynolds who got me back in to Magic in general about two years ago, he's definitely helped me the most over the years and I really appreciate that. Umer Ghaznavi has been a huge help too and we often play test together, thanks buddy! My two younger brothers for being good sports and always talking about card choices and ideas with me. As for the guys on this forum I'd have to thank mutedequilibrium, MCR, Evergreen, LennonMarx, Hunter245 and Narglfrob for their help also. It's always a blast when you find great Magic players who are passionate about the game and their decks and really enjoy helping out others. Huge shout out to those guys. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading everyone!
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
[B]November 20, 2010[/B]
Tonight I participated in a 10 man EDH tournament at my local shop using the
MTGSalvation 1v1 Banned List. $10 buy in with a Jace, the Mind Sculptor
for 1st place.
The generals present were:
Godo, Bandit Warlord
Horde of Notions
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Cromat
Sharuum the Hegemon
Sygg, River Cutthroat
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
and two Thraximundar decks including mine
It's pretty hard for me to keep detailed notes and focus on the game at the same time so I'm just going to give a synopsis about each match over all.
[U]Round 1 vs. Godo, Bandit Warlord[/U]
I was expecting Hunter245's take on Godo when I first saw the general so I was mentally preparing myself for that, but his build was different than his. His was kind of a combination of aggro and land destruction, but didn't really focus too much on either. Fortunately for me however, I didn't see any of his LD in the games I played with him. Game 1 I landed a Null Rod, which pretty much shut
Godo down, so I spent the rest of the game dealing with creatures. I stabilized at 5 life after being attacked repeatedly with various creatures. I stuck Thraximundar with Force of Will and Pact of Negation back up and he went the distance. Game 2 I can't really remember what happened but it involved Maze of Ith saving probably ~20 points of life for me while I was setting up, stabilizing and then ending it quickly with Thraximundar.
1-0 in Matches
2-0 in Games
[U]Round 2 vs. Sygg, River Cutthroat[/U]
This was probably my most feared matchup at the tournament of the decks that were there. My opponent was a buddy of mine and he's a pretty good player with a pretty good deck. We had played probably a month or so ago and he absolutely stomped me both games we played. My deck has really changed a lot in the last month though and I felt like I had a lot better matchup, regardless though I was worried. Anyway, all I have written down for these games is this, "Wow. Game 1 stabilized at 7. Game 2 Punt. Game 3 stabilized at 4." The rounds were 60 minutes and we took 53 minutes. I can't remember exactly how I won, but it was a combination of Maze of Ith keeping the damage I was taking in control and shutting his card advantage down. He ultimately ran out of steam and Thraximundar finished things out for me.
2-0 in Matches
4-1 in Games
[U]Round 3 vs. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief[/U]
I was pretty surprised to see a Drana deck this far in to the tournament so I was a little nervous as to what this player might have up his sleeve. Mono Black isn't really a hard matchup for Thrax unless they run heavy discard, then things might get a little rough. Game 1 I was pretty confident I was going to win when he played "Swamp go" for his first three turns. If a Mono Black deck is going to beat me, it has to be within the first three turns through heavy disruption. When he didn't do that I felt pretty good. He ended up getting a game loss for playing Necropotence (apparently he didn't really check the banned list before entering the tournament so he didn't realize it was banned.) Game 2 he's on the play and mulligans to 6 I think. My turn 2 I Hymn to Tourach him hitting Solemn Simulacrum and some equipment. He didn't really do much of anything from then on.
3-0 in Matches
6-1 in Games
[U]Round 4 vs. Sharuum the Hegemon[/U]
I got paired down pretty nicely because I was the only undefeated deck and other players had dropped. My opponent was a pretty nice guy and we had a good time playing despite his terrible draws and lack of land. Game 1 was pretty much a win from the get go after his mulligan to 5. Game 2 was a little better, he had a lot of artifact ramp but was quickly shut down by a Muddle the Mixture
transmuted for Null Rod with only 4 lands in play. I played Thraximundar with Pact of Negation backup and sealed the deal.
4-0 in Matches
8-1 in Games
[U]Top 4 vs. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief[/U]
The Drana player ended up making top 4 and we got paired up again. I think my deck is a pretty bad matchup for him as I don't really rely on creatures and his general is designed to kill them. Game 1 I can't remember what all happened, he got some better draws but did a lot of draw go which was fine with me. I won Game 1 after a little work. Game 2 I can't remember what happened either but he ran out of answers to Thraximundar, GG.
5-0 in Matches
10-1 in Games
[U]Finals vs. Sygg, River Cutthroat[/U]
I was feeling pretty good coming off my undefeated streak and beating him the first time we played, but I knew he was a good player and I had to keep my head in the game. I really wish I could remember more about this match, it was kind of a blur. I know I took a lot of time setting up Thraximundar though, I wanted to make sure that when I played him he would stick. The key to beating Sygg is shutting down their card advantage. If Thraximundar loses the card advantage race, things aren't going to be looking very good for me. I really needed to...well, control the board. I waited until he had as few cards in hand as possible before sending Thraximundar out, and made sure to have the counterspell backup. Game 2 was pretty much the same, Maze of Ith seriously did work tonight. Probably saved me around 40 life throughout the night. I'm pretty sure the last few turns went as follows, I think I ripped Thoughtseize late game with a few cards in hand and I could feel that it was coming time to send Thraximundar out there for the kill. I can't remember what I took but he had Venser, Shaper Savant and Oona's Prowler in hand after I took whatever I chose. During his combat step he swung with Sygg, Voidmage Prodigy and Wretched Anurid. He has 4 lands and I know what's in his hand. I flash in Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and he sac's Voidmage Prodigy to counter Teferi, I Maze of Ith the 3/3 I think and take 1 from Sygg. My turn I untap with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, play a land and cast Cruel Ultimatum getting back my Teferi, drawing three cards and gaining 5 life. I think I sent out Thrax next turn to finish things up for me and the game was mine!
6-0 in Matches
12-1 in Games
After thoughts: I had a few MVP's tonight. They were definitely my transmute package, which I know like the back of my hand allowing me the ability to find whatever answer I needed. Maze of Ith was incredible for me, I loved having reusable psuedo removal each turn. It allowed me the option to spend my resources in other places instead of trying to find removal. Null Rod, awesome hate card. I cut all of my early artifact mana, added some lands and some hate. When I needed it it worked wonders for me. Really happy about that last minute addition. I upped my total land count to 42 now. Also a great decision as I think I only missed maybe 5 land drops throughout the entire night. Not bad in 13 games. Oh, I also hardcasted Dimir Infiltrator for the first time in my life tonight. I laughed when I did it, but I needed a chump blocker for Sygg. Gotta do what you gotta do. I also landed Phyrexian Arena a few times throughout the night, drawing two cards a turn is really good for Thrax (as it is for any deck, really).
So there you have it folks, I'm not just full of hot air! I went undefeated, only lost 1 game the entire night and am now a proud owner of another Jace, the Mindsculptor!
[B]MTGSalvation MWS Tournament March 2011[/B]
This is going to be pretty brief because I don't have a whole lot to say. This is the second tournament I've participated in here at MTGSalvation and I really like them, they're a lot of fun. This tournament I didn't fair so well, unfortunately. There were 5 rounds and I only actually played 3 of them. The first round I just so happened to get a bye and the third round my opponent was unable to play our match. Over all I went 2-3. That's pretty sad when you first glance at it. I only won the two games I didn't actually play haha. Two out of the three games I did play were actually really close and I only lost two games to my one. The last round I played against Azusa, Lost but Seeking and it was super rough for me, that's probably the only match I don't really feel bad about losing because Azusa is a bad matchup and he played a lot of land destruction. The first two games though, I felt I could/should have won. My opponents just lucked out and I was on the receiving end of it. Oh well, what are you gonna do. Here's the list I used:
1 [WWK] Creeping Tar Pit
1 [RAV] Watery Grave
1 [B] Badlands
1 [GP] Steam Vents
1 [ON] Bloodstained Mire
1 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
1 [ON] Polluted Delta
1 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
1 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
1 [ALA] Crumbling Necropolis
1 [EVE] Cascade Bluffs
1 [SHM] Sunken Ruins
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
1 [U] Volcanic Island
1 [V09] Strip Mine
1 [TE] Wasteland
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [FUT] Tolaria West
1 [WWK] Bojuka Bog
1 [CHK] Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 [M11] Drowned Catacomb
1 [FUT] River of Tears
1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
1 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
1 [ZEN] Verdant Catacombs
1 [ON] Flooded Strand
1 [DK] Maze of Ith
1 [8E] City of Brass
1 [U] Underground Sea
1 [AN] Library of Alexandria
1 [LG] The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
2 [CS] Snow-Covered Mountain
6 [CS] Snow-Covered Island
2 [CS] Snow-Covered Swamp
1 [TSP] Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 [US] Gilded Drake
1 [M10] Negate
1 [FUT] Pact of Negation
1 [UL] Opportunity
1 [M11] Jace's Ingenuity
1 [5E] Counterspell
1 [PLC] Damnation
1 [TSP] Sudden Death
1 [ARB] Terminate
1 [OD] Skeletal Scrying
1 [OV] Dissipate
1 [AL] Force of Will
1 [LRW] Cryptic Command
1 [ZEN] Mindbreak Trap
1 [CHK] Hinder
1 [AP] Phyrexian Arena
1 [ALA] Cruel Ultimatum
1 [6E] Vampiric Tutor
1 [TSP] Mystical Teachings
1 [6E] Mystical Tutor
1 [ROE] All Is Dust
1 [U] Demonic Tutor
1 [PS] Crosis's Charm
1 [EX] Shattering Pulse
1 [WWK] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 [LRW] Jace Beleren
1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
1 [M10] Pithing Needle
1 [SC] Decree of Pain
1 [FNM] Duress
1 [LRW] Thoughtseize
1 [AT] Hymn to Tourach
1 [RAV] Muddle the Mixture
1 [RAV] Shred Memory
1 [FNM] Fact or Fiction
1 [ARE] Dismiss
1 [TSP] Ancestral Vision
1 [ARE] Rewind
1 [LG] Mana Drain
1 [M10] Pyroclasm
1 [US] Stroke of Genius
1 [BOK] Hero's Demise
1 [WL] Null Rod
1 [DS] Echoing Truth
1 [MM] Misdirection
1 [FD] Engineered Explosives
1 [TSP] Trickbind
1 [HL] Merchant Scroll
1 [ST] Grim Tutor
1 [10E] Distress
1 [ROE] Inquisition of Kozilek
1 [P3] Imperial Seal
1 [ZEN] Spell Pierce
1 [MBS] Go for the Throat
1 [TE] Diabolic Edict
1 [DD2] Daze
[B]MWS Decklist as of March 15, 2011[/B]
1 [DIS] Blood Crypt
1 [WWK] Creeping Tar Pit
1 [RAV] Watery Grave
1 [R] Badlands
1 [GP] Steam Vents
1 [ON] Bloodstained Mire
1 [ON] Polluted Delta
1 [ALA] Crumbling Necropolis
1 [EVE] Cascade Bluffs
1 [SHM] Sunken Ruins
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
1 [R] Volcanic Island
1 [AT] Strip Mine
1 [TE] Wasteland
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [FUT] Tolaria West
1 [WWK] Bojuka Bog
1 [M11] Drowned Catacomb
1 [FUT] River of Tears
1 [ON] Wooded Foothills
1 [ON] Flooded Strand
1 [DK] Maze of Ith
1 [8E] City of Brass
1 [R] Underground Sea
1 [AN] Library of Alexandria
1 [LG] The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
7 [CS] Snow-Covered Island
2 [CS] Snow-Covered Mountain
2 [CS] Snow-Covered Swamp
1 [ZEN] Verdant Catacombs
1 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
1 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
1 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
1 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
// Spells
1 [M11] Negate
1 [FUT] Pact of Negation
1 [7E] Opportunity
1 [M11] Jace's Ingenuity
1 [DD2] Counterspell
1 [PLC] Damnation
1 [ARB] Terminate
1 [OD] Skeletal Scrying
1 [MI] Dissipate
1 [AL] Force of Will
1 [LRW] Cryptic Command
1 [CHK] Hinder
1 [9E] Phyrexian Arena
1 [ALA] Cruel Ultimatum
1 [6E] Vampiric Tutor
1 [TSP] Mystical Teachings
1 [6E] Mystical Tutor
1 [DDC] Demonic Tutor
1 [PS] Crosis's Charm
1 [EX] Shattering Pulse
1 [WWK] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 [M11] Jace Beleren
1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
1 [M10] Pithing Needle
1 [M11] Duress
1 [LRW] Thoughtseize
1 [AT] Hymn to Tourach
1 [RAV] Muddle the Mixture
1 [RAV] Shred Memory
1 [DD2] Fact or Fiction
1 [TE] Dismiss
1 [DD2] Ancestral Vision
1 [9E] Rewind
1 [LG] Mana Drain
1 [M11] Pyroclasm
1 [DS] Echoing Truth
1 [FD] Engineered Explosives
1 [8E] Merchant Scroll
1 [ST] Grim Tutor
1 [ROE] Inquisition of Kozilek
1 [P3] Imperial Seal
1 [MBS] Go for the Throat
1 [MBS] Slagstorm
1 [M11] Preordain
1 [MR] Oblivion Stone
1 [CST] Brainstorm
1 [FD] Night's Whisper
1 [M11] Sign in Blood
1 [M11] Lightning Bolt
1 [ZEN] Spell Pierce
1 [ZEN] Mindbreak Trap
1 [UL] Frantic Search
1 [LRW] Ponder
1 [FNM] Remand
1 [REW] Mana Leak
1 [EX] Forbid
1 [M11] Cancel
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
September 17, 2010
Cut
-Academy Ruins
-Persecute
Added
+Island
+Hymn to Tourach
Cut
-Voidmage Husher
-Venser, Shaper Savant
-Gilded Lotus
-Dispel
-Thran Dynamo
-Boseiju, Who Shelters All
-Ancestral Vision
-Dust Bowl
Added
+Muddle the Mixture
+Ponder
+Preordain
+Brainstorm
+Trickbind
+Worn Powerstone
+Mountain
+Swamp
Cut
-Mountain
Added
+Mindstone
Cut
-Tolarian Academy
-Trinket Mage
-Brainstorm
-Ponder
-Annul
-Remove Soul
-Countersquall
-Tormod's Crypt
-Expedition Map
-Mind Stone
-Dimir Signet
-Izzet Signet
-Talisman of Dominance
-Talisman of Indulgence
-Worn Powerstone
-Sorin Markov
-Liliana Vess
-Island
-Island
-Swamp
-Swamp
-Mountain
Added
+Shizo, Death's Storehouse
+Drowned Catacomb
+River of Tears
+Dragonskull Summit
+Wooded Foothills
+Arid Mesa
+Verdant Catacombs
+Flooded Strand
+Maze of Ith
+Shred Memory
+Starstorm
+Fact or Fiction
+Ancestral Vision
+Flame Slash
+Mind Spring
+Mind Shatter
+Pyroclasm
+Stroke of Genius
+Treachery
+Lightning Bolt
+Dimir Infiltrator
+Mana Drain
Cut
-Seat of Synod
-Vault of Whispers
-Great Furnace
-Tezzeret the Seeker
Added
+Island
+Swamp
+Mountain
+Diabolic Edict
November 21, 2010
Cut
-Treachery
-Flame Slash
-Preordain
-Lightning Bolt
-Trickbind
-Thirst for Knowledge
-Mox Diamond
-Mana Vault
-Grim Monolith
-Coalition Relic
Added
+Island
+City of Brass
+Gilded Drake
+Hero's Demise
+Mana Leak
+Null Rod
+Careful Consideration
+Echoing Truth
+Misdirection
+Engineered Explosives
November 29, 2010
Cut
-Graven Cairns
-Dragonskull Summit
-Ancient Tomb
-Dimir Infiltrator
-Mana Leak
-Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
Added
+Island
+Island
+Island
+Grim Tutor
+Trickbind
+Merchant Scroll
March 15, 2011
Cut
-Shizo, Death's Store House
-Decree of Pain
-All Is Dust
-Mind Spring
-Mind Shatter
-Hero's Demise
-Trickbind
-Diabolic Edict
-Devour in Shadow
-Starstorm
-Sudden Death
-Stroke of Genius
-Careful Consideration
-Misdirection
-Null Rod
-Pyroclasm
Added
+Island
+Inquisition of Kozilek
+Imperial Seal
+Brainstorm
+Ponder
+Preordain
+Sign in Blood
+Night's Whisper
+Slagstorm
+Volcanic Fallout
+Cancel
+Forbid
+Frantic Search
+Go for the Throat
+Lightning Bolt
+Mana Leak
+Remand
+Oblivion Stone
+The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale
+Library of Alexandria
Primer Change Log
September 27, 2010
- Added "You should play Thraximundar if..." section under, "Why play
Thraximundar"
- Added "Currently Testing" section
November 3, 2010
- Updated entire primer in all sections
- Added "Tutor Suite" section
November 21, 2010
- Updated deck list to reflect tournament winning deck list
- Updated MWS deck list
- Added "Tournament Reports" section
- Huge overhaul over of "Overview of Card Choices" and "Alternative Cards"
December 1, 2010
- Added "Sample Hands" section
March 15, 2011
- Updated deck list
- Updated sample hands
- Updated Tournament Reports section
- Updated everything, basically haha
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
A few notes:
1. Why no City of Brass? Isn't the color consistency worth the damage it does? Or do you find the games go long enough that it matters? If so, what matchups are you having issues with damage?
2. I see no Mana Drain here, which I assume is due to financial reasons IRL. Is this something you'd be working towards adding to the deck? Seems great for getting Thrax out.
3. Also, signets... well, you know what I have to say about that. Have you liked them, so far? Seems like a good plan B if you're having issues with LD. Has the 1 mana requirement ever been an issue, like not having land?
I'm glad you liked some of the changes I suggested last night, and I'm eager to hear whether or not they pan out well for you!
I would also use [ deck ] tags so your list is easier to follow.
One-Eyed Black | Orzhov Combo | Ooze Reanimator | Mindwheeling Pain
1.) I had City of Brass in here for a long time, but I just recently cut it because I was trying to minimize damage done to myself through my deck. I also just cut all the Pain Lands for that very reason. The main reason for all of this is against the aggro decks, I don't want to do more damage to myself than my opponent. I also used to have games where I'd be at ~18 life before my opponent even did anything to me and that just seemed bad to me. After cutting the Pain Lands I could consider putting it back in, but I really like my mana base right now. The extra two fetchlands have really helped.
2.) Yeah, financial reasons are the exact reason why it's not in here. When I get one though it will definitely be in there.
3.) The signets have been a nice addition, aside from being huge you know what's. I like that they're colored a lot. What do you mean about the 1 mana issue?
I'm actually really excited about them also, I'm really looking forward to Annul, Duress and Thoughtseize. I'm going to test out Persecute for a while and then also try Hymn to Tourach in that spot to see which I like better. They serve a little bit different purposes but coming down two turns earlier might be nice. I'm going to work on those deck tags for you, mutedequilibrium mentioned the same thing to me.
Thanks for the comments guys
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
I have a few comments though I have a feeling that some of these comments would come from a guy who has largely played in a 1v1 crowd using the multiplayer banlist. Take them with a fistful of salt
I believe that mutedequilibrium refers to the 1 required to activate the signet. This is sometimes relevant if an opponent manages an early land-d on you. For example, starting second you go land, land, signet and somehow, lose both your lands to land-d and subsequently fail to draw further lands. This is unlikely but it does happen every now and then. I am not sure how huge is this risk in your deck though I find the amount of lands you run a little skimpy.
You run 36 lands of which 5 of them are fetchlands. From that amount, deduct one "virtual land count" to account for Mox Diamond, bringing us to about 30 mana producing lands. From that number, add half of your total mana rocks with casting cost of two or less (4.5) to have a virtual mana source count of 34.5 -- a tad low imho. Even if you count your fetchlands as "half a mana source", that gives you a virtual mana source count of 37, slightly below 40. Of course, the this is all "theory-magic" though it makes me wonder if mana screws are frequent on your end, taking into account the occassional disruption of a typical EDH deck? Creeping Tar Pit sits a little awkwardly here. I am not sure if it is actually necessary here -- personally, I'd prefer a Drowned Catacomb if you must have a (U/B) dual in this slot.
Just for curiousity though, has Academy Ruins been crucial in this deck? It gets Expedition Map and Tormod's Crypt but otherwise, it does strike to me as slightly limited -- I'd prefer another basic in this slot. Also, how is Boseiju, Who Shelters All working out for your build? The number of instants and sorceries that screams "must resolve" seems relatively sparse though I can see its utility if you frequently face counter wars.
One final question though. How much better has running conditional counterspells played out for you? Granted, they are often cheaper than its hard counters but do you often find yourself wanting for say, Forbid when your opponent somehow throws out a very imposing creature threat when all you have are a couple of Negate and Dispel variants in hand?
If you decide to test Hymn to Tourach, Rise//Fall is almost like Hymn #2 and is easier to cast to boot.
Your deck looks similar to some of mine but alot more streamlined. Nice work!
1.) I haven't run in to the activation cost of the signets being a problem yet, although I will keep an eye on it to see if it does. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
2.) I like Creeping Tarpit a lot, it serves a few purposes. It's unblockable so it can kill opponents planeswalkers, and it is also another win condition. Not so much on it's own, but after a resolved Sorin Markov it can end the game pretty quickly if something has happened to Thraximundar. You raise a pretty interesting point about my mana base that I hadn't really thought of. On MWS I have noticed a difference in how many lands I get in my opening hand, (usually not enough), but I haven't noticed as big of a difference with the deck in real life, which I think is really weird. I used to run 38 lands and then cut 2 to add more artifact mana. Would you have any recommendations? How about dropping two mana artifacts for two more lands?
3.) Funny thing you should mention Academy Ruins, I was actually just thinking the same thing. I've noticed that I haven't really used it very much. Although it's nice when I have an Expedition Map in the graveyard. I think I am going to cut it for a basic land, since I really don't have a way to abuse it. Good thinking. Boseiju, Who Shelters All has been a recent addition and I haven't really had a chance to use it very much. It's primarily there to make my own counterspells uncounterable, not to stick a needed instant or sorcery. It's mainly vs. mono blue and the decks that run more counterspells than me. It is my favorite land to pitch to Mox Diamond though, although I'm not sure if that's good or bad haha.
4.) As for Negate, the majority of all the good spells in EDH are noncreature. It's really nice to have vs early LD as that hurts a lot. When I hit the lotto I plan on adding in Mana Drain, and that will either replace Negate or Remove Soul. Dispel has been sweet, granted it doesn't always get there because it's situational, but when I need it it has been awesome. It's amazing in counter wars and it's a 1 mana counterspell to a removal or counterspell when I play Thraximundar, which has been beastly.
Hey thanks, I appreciate it. Yeah Thrax is a real beating, I love him. Rise//Fall seems like kind of a worse off Hymn to Tourach, and I think I'm actually going to try Hymn to Tourach first in place of Persecute because I think the 2 turns earlier will make a big difference.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
In real life, at the end of every EDH games, players usually gather all lands in play together before gathering all other cards not in the library. Players will usually proceed to combine these two piles before applying either a Faro shuffle or a Pile shuffle, before shuffling this pile into the library. This somewhat reduces the probability of horribly bad draws when cards are dealt out again though whether this really constitutes "randomisation" is another story altogether. In MWS land, cards are randomised using algorithms that usually do not discriminate between lands and nonland cards, hence giving you a "more random" draw where the probability of drawing a mana flooded hand and / or a mana screwed hand is significantly increased.
But enough about randomisations. I don't know that what is the "correct" amount of mana for the deck; I suppose you will only know these things when you personally handle the deck, of which I didn't
On the issue of playing Boseiju, Who Shelters All, I am not familiar enough with the 1v1 meta to know if Boseiju is really necessary; I usually play 1v1 games with the multiplayer ban list though looking back at the 1v1 list, besides Sol Ring, Mindslaver, Sensei's Divining Top and Sundering Titan, for the most part, our playgroup pretty much stay away from cards in the 1v1 ban list too.
Back on topic, I counted only about 20 instants and sorceries that will actually benefit from Boseiju and yes, I was counting Force of Will, Sudden Death and Decree of Pain in the 20 instants and sorceries too. I have also arrived at that number after considering your removal of Persecute for Hymn to Tourach (not saying that this is a bad decision though). Mind you, I am not saying that Boseiju is a bad card. I just feel that for a relatively small benefit, you are paying quite a price for it: -
Just my two cents
Thanks for the lengthy responses, I really appreciate it! So I've been playing a lot on MWS and nearly every single time I draw Boseiju, Who Shelters All I cringe. I seriously hate the card. And paying two life every activation is really, really bad when you draw it early game, on top of only adding 1 colorless to my mana pool also. So I cut it for a basic Mountain, upping my basic lands to 11. This is the most basic lands I have ever run in the deck, ever. To be honest I kinda like it, I'm definitely less susceptible to Moon effects now as well as Back to Basics.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Not according to the MTGSalvation 1v1 Banned List that I use.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Thats it for now because im still at work
Thanks for the response man, I appreciate it! I agree that I think that those games I lost against Godo were due to not having enough early counterspells. I'm testing out Miscalculation and Mana Leak now because of it
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Defintily:
Gilded Drake
Treachery
Stretching it:
Legacy's Alure
Control Magic
Sower of Temptation
Confiscate
Volition Reins
Take Possesion
getting pretty janky by the end there, but food for thought.
I would also give a HARD look at all of your what I will term "linear" mana accelerants (ie (2) mana cost, tap for (1), like signets). How much do they really do for you over extra lands? Is your artifact sub theme strong enough to justify the tempo loss of playing these cards and opening yourself up to artifact destruction? Do you consistently have game breaking 4 drops that are worth accelerating into? Do they actually accelerate you into Thrax range, or do you subsequently miss so many land drops that the advantage is nullified?
In the control deck like this one that wants to make EVERY land drop, would running 40 or 43 lands be so bad?
Obviously any accelerator that generates more than (2) or costs less that (2) is golden in this deck.
More cards to consider (because suggesting cards is more fun than suggesting cuts):
Mox Opal
Palladium Myr
On the control side of things, I would experiment with your ratio of Sweepers / countermagic / spot removal / card draw. In the games we played it appeared at times like you had trouble maintaining card advantage over the aggressor. I think this problem could be linked to playing to many cards that make mana.
Thraximundar is only really good when the opponents resources are stretched thin. In particular, the most important resource your opponent has is cards in hand (vs thrax) because that is where 90% of answers to thrax reside. The deck needs to focus on depleting your opponent of cards in hand and maintaining card advantage over them.
With that said, I actually think 1 to 1 answers are BAD and ant synergistic to this deck game plan. However they are necessary due to the power level of the opposition’s decks, many can win with resolving a single spell. However by maintaining pressure on their hand you can reduce their options until they die to thrax pressure. All I’m saying is experiment and determine the bare minimum of 1 to 1 answers that you can run. And make sure the ones you do run are the best available. This is not a deck that can leverage the use of cheaper but narrow answers.
Planeswalkers are the epitome of your strategy and do exactly what you want. You should try to maximize their value at all times. It’s a shame the red ones suck so bad.
Stifle effects are bad, they are situational 1to1 answers that never generate card advantage.
Annul is bad. It is narrow and never generates card advantage. As are Remove Soul, Negate and Countersquall. You should really run Mana Drain on MWS, turn 3 Thrax is so much fun
Is Lux Cannon a playable card in EDH control? Slow but deals with enchantments.
/end ramble
EDIT: More card suggestions!
Volcanic Fallout: Essentially what Decree of Pain is 90% of the time except 3/5ths of the cost! Also hits planeswalkers.
Molten Disaster: Another great sweeper that murders planeswalkers dead!
Starstorm / Fault Line : If these earthquake effects work out for you these will probably also make the cut. One kills walkers, one hits fliers and cycles.
Thanks for the lengthy response man. I'll give you a more elaborate response after I do some testing to see what I like and don't like. I think I'm going to test cutting some artifact ramp and adding more lands and other spells, I'm interested in trying those red sweepers I hadn't thought of those before. I'm also going to try out Lux Cannon, it's really, really slow but it might be good, we'll see. The thing is, is that it comes online on turn 7. On turn 7 I could just play All Is Dust and be done with it. We'll see how it works out though. You're right about maintaining card advantage though, I notice that I start losing when I get low on cards.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Ive got some more card suggestions because suggesting cards is fun and making cuts is hard and thats your job. =P
Good Suggestions:
Fire/Ice
Passable removal for the fast generals, and unlike the other cycling removal spells (Sicken, Spark Spray, Pyrite Spell Bomb) its easy to get value out of its "cycling" (Ice).
Tainted Pact
Assuming you only run 6 basics (3 regular and 3 snow) this is essentially Demonic Tutor at instant speed. Even better in here than in combo decks since you will never need to worry about exiling combo pieces when you need to dig for an answer.
Stroke of Genius
More good card drawing.
Janky Suggestions:
Shadowmage Infiltraitor
Phyrexian Arena #2, especially welcome since you cannot afford to run Dark Confidant or Dark Tutelage. You might not want to spend resources protecting him however, and your creature sweepers kill him. Hmm, dont know if I like this guy anymore.
Dimir Infiltraitor
Depends on the strength of your 2cc tutor package. If 2cc tutors are "live" 100% of the time, then why no run another?
As far as I remember, at 2cc you've got:
Sweeper - Molten Disaster / Others
Spot Removal - Terminate / Gilded Drake
Hand Disruption - Mind Shatter / Hymn
Draw - which leads to my next suggestion
Mind Spring
Its 2cc so its tutorable, and the tempo loss of tapping out can hopefully be combated by the use of board sweepers.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Sharuum the Hegemon
Mayael the Anima
Wort, Boggart Auntie
Sliver Overlord
Drana Kalastria Bloodchief
99 mountain Ashling
Hey thanks man! If you need any help feel free to drop me a line
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Overall I felt like some of the card draw clogged up your hand a bit, but overall your deck seemed to perform very smooth.
Every win thrax got vs me was on the back of Hymn to Tourach and Mind Shatter, reliably casting these cards is your best way of interacting with storm. The counterspells and spot discard slowed me down, but generally would not be enough on there own. That 2cc tutor package really works well for this, and I think is a core strength of this deck. Allowing it in effect to run more Grim Tutors than other decks.
Speaking of which, where is Grim Tutor!?! Assuming its do to IRL restrictions?
Imperial Seal is also strong, but I can see how there may be justification for not running it. I can't see any justification ($$ aside) for not running Grim.
As far as our games go from last night, I agree that Hymn to Tourach and Mind Shatter were key in winning those games. The combination of the hand disruption and Thraximundar's fast clock really sealed those games for me. I love my 2cc tutor package, it's fast becoming one of my favorite aspects of the deck. I'll be writing up our games from last night in the near future.
Always fun playing with you dude and thanks for the suggestions as always.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
It seems like Hymn to Tourach is a bit swingy--when you used it on me, it was much less powerful than a point removal spell. I understand the card's potency, but is it really better than another point-discard?
Overall, not the sort of list I like to play with or against, simply because I'm not for severe control--but I definitely respect it, and you did a much better job with the deck than 'the best counters and hand disruption and draw' I thought it was at first. I like the transmute packages and the consideration given to specific threats. The deck is well-crafted; kudos.
Yeah, Luminarch Ascension and Bitterblossom are both pretty scary turn 2 enchantments for me, I suppose Sacred Mesa is also a little threatening. I am still running Crosis's Charm, as much as I hate it. It's really versatile though so I'm scared to cut it for anything else. This deck only has a few answers to those two enchantments. There's Pithing Needle on Luminarch Ascension and Sacred Mesa, Crosis's Charm and Cryptic Command to bounce them, All Is Dust to blow the board up (pretty slow answer but it's an answer) and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker (Even slower answer).
I just recently considered Boomerang as another answer to enchantments on the board, as well as being pretty versatile and tutorable from my transmute effects and Teachings. Do I sound silly for considering Boomerang? My colors don't really offer me any way to answer an enchantment once it hits the board.
I've loved using Hymn to Tourach, the random part of it can be both good and bad, but I have no complaints about it over all. It's a really nice card and I often find myself Transmuting for it. I have considered Inquisition of Kozilek, but that just seems like it would be good in your opening 7 and not quite as powerful as a late game draw. I haven't tested it at all so I'm not sure how I feel about it one way or another.
Thank you for the kind words about my deck, lots of time and effort has gone in to it's creation. I realize that it might seem like "Top 50 cards.dec" at first, but there's so much more to the deck than that. I've agonized over each card slot and I think that once you get to a certain competitive level with your deck, a lot of those cards from the "Top 50 cards from each color" thread are going to overlap in to your deck, which is why they're the Top 50. There isn't really a whole lot you can do to change that, it is what it is and that's all that it is.
Anyway, thoughts on Boomerang anyone? You know, actually... Ratchet Bomb is looking nice. I love that 2CMC also. Hmm... *hits the drawing board*
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List