Is it worth the time and effort to attempt a voltron build, if you're on a budget? I already have a Jitte, but I wouldn't be able to afford the Sword of _&_ cycle, and somewhat likely Stoneforge Mystic if it ends up in white.
Jitte is much more underwhelming compared to all the swords cycles. Before the prices spiked for the old swords cycles, voltron decks were relatively affordable but now they are quite high. FaI, LaS, and FaF are generally the best ones imo, and they'll cost total about 80-100 bucks. The other ones are subpar unless you do stuff with your opponents graveyard (BaM) or need lifegain (WaP).
But it also depends on who your general is and if they can synergize better with certain equip. Argentum Armor makes your guys a fattie and Vindicate on a stick. Slagwurm Armor is almost auto-include in Doran aggro, etc.
It's totally worth it!
I have a Godo voltron deck that is by far my most successful deck.
I used to run SoLS and SoFI, but SoLS is a waste of space so I cut it. I very rarely tutor for SoFI because there are much better (and coincidentally cheaper!) options: Argentum Armor, Grafted Exoskeleton, Nim Deathmantle, Darksteel Plate, Lightning Greaves, etc.
The Swords can be nice, but too often I find that I wish they were something else. The only ones worth playing, imo, are SoFI and SoFF (the others don't offer enough bang for your buck), neither of which are crucial to a voltron deck.
I must respectfully disagree especially in monored (as I run a Godo deck as well):
FaI is not used for the prot as much as it is for CA, which red desperately needs. 2 cards + shooting down utility creatures = awesome for red
That being said, Grafted Exoskeleton is good with Godo because it can oneshot but other generals might not be able to use it as effectively, resulting in wasted slots. Greaves and Darksteel Plate are pretty good though.
I must respectfully disagree especially in monored (as I run a Godo deck as well):
FaI is not used for the prot as much as it is for CA, which red desperately needs. 2 cards + shooting down utility creatures = awesome for red
SoFI is definitely good, but I don't think it's crucial to a voltron deck, especially a non-mono-red voltron deck. You're right that the card draw is relevant for monored, but it's very rare that my first (or even second) pick with Godo is SoFI. Argentum Armor is usually my Godo Goto pick, since it's a faster clock and kills two of the scariest permanents on the board even if I can't connect to an opponent, as with the swords.
I must respectfully disagree especially in monored (as I run a Godo deck as well):
FaI is not used for the prot as much as it is for CA, which red desperately needs. 2 cards + shooting down utility creatures = awesome for red
That being said, Grafted Exoskeleton is good with Godo because it can oneshot but other generals might not be able to use it as effectively, resulting in wasted slots. Greaves and Darksteel Plate are pretty good though.
Your post isn't quite clear.
I'm not really looking into red voltron. I have Jund dragons for my red fix, and regular casual decks.
Sorry that wasn't clear, I was just defending the use of those swords in red decks.
As for white, there are plenty of tutors available beyond Stoneforge Mystic, my favorite being Stonehewer Giant. You can have plenty of insta-equip shenanigans with him. If Konda, Lord of Eiganjo is your general, you can swing, and if unblocked, tutor up Worldslayer with the giant to win the game (virtually).
skullbriar which is coming out in the commander decks isnt too expensive(i proxied the liost at first so im not 100%) sure on this. however a lot of my expensive cards can be replaced (for example: berserk
Grafted Exoskeleton should be in almost any EDH deck's toolkit. It turns any evasive creature into a win condition or makes your blockers a bit scarier if you plan on winning through normal damage.
Voltron builds are fragile. Most the Voltron decks on here are missjng disruption, recursion, and tutors. The best Voltron deck I saw/played against was Oros, The Avenger. It had the two colours, black and white to make competitive. Of course it had, lando destruction via stripmine, wasteland with Crucible of Worlds. As a win condition, Desolation Angel after a boardwipe :).
Voltron builds are fragile. Most the Voltron decks on here are missjng disruption, recursion, and tutors. The best Voltron deck I saw/played against was Oros, The Avenger. It had the two colours, black and white to make competitive. Of course it had, lando destruction via stripmine, wasteland with Crucible of Worlds. As a win condition, Desolation Angel after a boardwipe :).
this is the real reason why voltron decks are so 50/50 in EDH. in my opinion the remedy to this is not the equipment/enchantment suite you run, but in the general you run. your general does not need impressive stats to make voltron work, just a base evasion skill, and some relevant ability that effects the game. i chose thada adel. landwalk on the format, and the ability to extract combo pieces, win conditions, bombs, or steal ramp/tech was good enough for me. then when coupled with swords she gets pretty nuts.
i mean...it does help that the deck can win in so many ways depending on whos at the table. i usually win through beats... but heck, turn 1 thada into turn 2 "steal your smokestack" usually draws the concession.
in summation...disruptive and evasive general (kemba is a baddie!), a weapon package that plays to your generals strengths, and have a back up.
Voltron builds are fragile. Most the Voltron decks on here are missjng disruption, recursion, and tutors. The best Voltron deck I saw/played against was Oros, The Avenger. It had the two colours, black and white to make competitive. Of course it had, lando destruction via stripmine, wasteland with Crucible of Worlds. As a win condition, Desolation Angel after a boardwipe :).
this is totally true, any deck needs to ask itselt what it has problems against and then have answers to them. It just so happens in a voltron build that answer is a lot of things. which is why i pack targetted LD, spot removal, mass removal, and especially artifact and enchantment removal, nothing ruins a voltron's day like a moat
I've built Godo Voltron which was expensive and fun but I nothing Godo ever did could compare to what Konda and Wolrdslayer did. It was pretty resilient too since white gives you access to so much versatile answers. It seems like Kemba is the new mainstay Voltron general for White though.
this is totally true, any deck needs to ask itselt what it has problems against and then have answers to them. It just so happens in a voltron build that answer is a lot of things. which is why i pack targetted LD, spot removal, mass removal, and especially artifact and enchantment removal, nothing ruins a voltron's day like a moat
Kind of surprised Lashwrithe isn't mentioned. It's better than Nightmare Lash owing to the living weapon, and you don't want to see Xiahou Dun, the One-eyed or any of the other mono-black generals picking it up.
Lashwrithe is limited to mono-black, which traditionally doesn't have the equipment cheats as white/red. For voltron to work, e.g. Uril, one needs heavy board disruption like mass/spot LD or asymmetric sweepers like Winds of Rath. Of course, the problem is that the whole table will gank you afterwards should they survive.
From my experience there are three kinds of equipment Voltron decks:
1) White and/or Red using as many equipment tutors as humanly possible. I would say using all 5 swords is important since having the right protections can be half the battle. Also, Sunforger is huge since it lets you fetch out wing shards, smash, orim's thunder or whatever you need instant-wise.
2) Mono-Black with Skitharix as the general. It runs nightmare lash, lashwrithe, argentum armor, sigil of distinction, imperial plate, basically anything that gives +6, half of which equip for free. The idea being to one-shot with a hasty flying 10 power infecter.
3) Mono-Blue Theda Adel. Almost doesn't even need to run any equipment, it can just steal from the opponents.
Build jor kadeen! You can either win through voltron damage or win with a sick nasty army. Best of both worlds. Yes voltron is worth it if you are looking for an aggressive deck that packs a mean punch. Every EDH deck collection should include one voltron general.
--- Meren of Clan Nel Toth --- Jhoira of the Ghitu --- Prime Speaker Zegana ---
--- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief --- Ghoulcaller Gisa --- Akroma, Angel of Fury --- Titania, Protector of Argoth ---
But it also depends on who your general is and if they can synergize better with certain equip. Argentum Armor makes your guys a fattie and Vindicate on a stick. Slagwurm Armor is almost auto-include in Doran aggro, etc.
RGodo, Bandit WarlordR
GSeton, Krosan ProtectorG
BGJarad, Golgari Lich LordGB
I have a Godo voltron deck that is by far my most successful deck.
I used to run SoLS and SoFI, but SoLS is a waste of space so I cut it. I very rarely tutor for SoFI because there are much better (and coincidentally cheaper!) options: Argentum Armor, Grafted Exoskeleton, Nim Deathmantle, Darksteel Plate, Lightning Greaves, etc.
The Swords can be nice, but too often I find that I wish they were something else. The only ones worth playing, imo, are SoFI and SoFF (the others don't offer enough bang for your buck), neither of which are crucial to a voltron deck.
BRGotta Get or Get GotRB
(Avatar courtesy of Heylookitsamoose)
FaI is not used for the prot as much as it is for CA, which red desperately needs. 2 cards + shooting down utility creatures = awesome for red
LaS's mileage may vary by your build but I like rezing my utility/important creatures (Solemn Simulacrum, Orcish Settlers, Hoarding Dragon, Magus of the Moon, etc.) and it gives prot against the format's most widely used removal: W/B
That being said, Grafted Exoskeleton is good with Godo because it can oneshot but other generals might not be able to use it as effectively, resulting in wasted slots. Greaves and Darksteel Plate are pretty good though.
RGodo, Bandit WarlordR
GSeton, Krosan ProtectorG
BGJarad, Golgari Lich LordGB
SoFI is definitely good, but I don't think it's crucial to a voltron deck, especially a non-mono-red voltron deck. You're right that the card draw is relevant for monored, but it's very rare that my first (or even second) pick with Godo is SoFI. Argentum Armor is usually my Godo Goto pick, since it's a faster clock and kills two of the scariest permanents on the board even if I can't connect to an opponent, as with the swords.
BRGotta Get or Get GotRB
(Avatar courtesy of Heylookitsamoose)
Your post isn't quite clear.
I'm not really looking into red voltron. I have Jund dragons for my red fix, and regular casual decks.
--- Meren of Clan Nel Toth --- Jhoira of the Ghitu --- Prime Speaker Zegana ---
--- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief --- Ghoulcaller Gisa --- Akroma, Angel of Fury --- Titania, Protector of Argoth ---
+ Everything that Skittles mentioned
EDIT: Lightning Greaves is confirmed for at least some of the commander precons. It should be easier to acquire than ever before.
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP
As for white, there are plenty of tutors available beyond Stoneforge Mystic, my favorite being Stonehewer Giant. You can have plenty of insta-equip shenanigans with him. If Konda, Lord of Eiganjo is your general, you can swing, and if unblocked, tutor up Worldslayer with the giant to win the game (virtually).
White has ways to cheat high costing artifacts/equips such as Stoneforge Mystic, Puresteel Paladin, Auriok Windwalker, Brass Squire.
Khemba, Kha Regent can make great use of multiple equips to him, and Leonin Shikari can also add some combat phase tricks.
tl;dr: white can let you play voltron semi-competitively without expensive equips
RGodo, Bandit WarlordR
GSeton, Krosan ProtectorG
BGJarad, Golgari Lich LordGB
So it seems like budget voltron is possible. Thanks peeps
--- Meren of Clan Nel Toth --- Jhoira of the Ghitu --- Prime Speaker Zegana ---
--- Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief --- Ghoulcaller Gisa --- Akroma, Angel of Fury --- Titania, Protector of Argoth ---
EDH
BWG Doran Suicide Tempo BWG
BUW Sharuum Midrange Control BUW
this is the real reason why voltron decks are so 50/50 in EDH. in my opinion the remedy to this is not the equipment/enchantment suite you run, but in the general you run. your general does not need impressive stats to make voltron work, just a base evasion skill, and some relevant ability that effects the game. i chose thada adel. landwalk on the format, and the ability to extract combo pieces, win conditions, bombs, or steal ramp/tech was good enough for me. then when coupled with swords she gets pretty nuts.
i mean...it does help that the deck can win in so many ways depending on whos at the table. i usually win through beats... but heck, turn 1 thada into turn 2 "steal your smokestack" usually draws the concession.
in summation...disruptive and evasive general (kemba is a baddie!), a weapon package that plays to your generals strengths, and have a back up.
this is totally true, any deck needs to ask itselt what it has problems against and then have answers to them. It just so happens in a voltron build that answer is a lot of things. which is why i pack targetted LD, spot removal, mass removal, and especially artifact and enchantment removal, nothing ruins a voltron's day like a moat
I'm building Jenara, Asura of War voltron and I'm gonna run moat myself...
1) White and/or Red using as many equipment tutors as humanly possible. I would say using all 5 swords is important since having the right protections can be half the battle. Also, Sunforger is huge since it lets you fetch out wing shards, smash, orim's thunder or whatever you need instant-wise.
2) Mono-Black with Skitharix as the general. It runs nightmare lash, lashwrithe, argentum armor, sigil of distinction, imperial plate, basically anything that gives +6, half of which equip for free. The idea being to one-shot with a hasty flying 10 power infecter.
3) Mono-Blue Theda Adel. Almost doesn't even need to run any equipment, it can just steal from the opponents.
RGodo, Bandit WarlordR
GSeton, Krosan ProtectorG
BGJarad, Golgari Lich LordGB