Hi everyone, a buddy introduced me to this site to get help on fine-tuning and suggestions on my EDH/Commander deck. I've been back for give or take...hmm.. 5 months now. So a lot of cards are still elusive to me. Searching with key words and such can only do so much when looking for improvements. First, let me say what I have in mind with this deck, (though I am always willing to change if it can make it an over-all better deck). I am basically going control and trying to pillow, so I can get out win conditions. That being said, I don't want to heavily rely on win conditions, it's super cheesy, and just not reliable all the time. I like control decks, and I love inhibit effects on my opponents.
I originally wanted to make this a stax deck, but realized while Oloro is great for that, I want this to be fun to play (still competitive and cut throat, but not feel like I'm grinding at my job). Down the road I'll think about it, and possibly with another general, but I'm looking for fine-tuning, and constructive-criticism. Price of cards is a little bit of an issue, but not so much, so feel free to at least put it down if you want (I'm currently saving up for mana-drain so keep that in mind if you thought I should add that). So without further ado here it is currently:
Hi there. Where is Well of Lost Dreams? It's one of the best card drawing engines Oloro can have. I'd even run Fabricate for it, but I have a thing for drawing lots of cards. Necropotence is awesome too, although BBB can be hard to get in a three-color deck. You also probably need a few more basic lands if you're going to run Land Tax.
Well of lost dreams wasn't performing well enough to warrant it in the deck any more. I had a lot of drawing mechanisms already as is, and a lot of card search too. Out of all of my games.. I ended up looking at it like.. I'd rather save the mana for other things, like counters and such.
Necropotence again similar thing, but that was originally in my deck, and it fit better. I traded it out for the god, who is indestructible, and it's been performing better for me overall. So if I decide to not draw, he's useful as a creature, not just sitting there as an artifact. I also have sensei's divining top, with tezzeret, voltaic key, and either mana ring or basalt tower... it's not really costing me much to keep drawing, and drawing what I want. I can choose the order.
It's not that the card is bad (Well of lost dreams), it's a great card, just he (Erebos) does multiple things, including they can't gain life as well. That being said, you do have a valid point on the basic lands with Land Tax. I have a total of 9 basic lands, could probably bump it up to 12 or so. I could get rid of the artifact lands... or even a few of the meh lands for basic.
Aha! So that's how it worked... I tried deck before.. did it similar to that... but never got it in the list like that. I never could figure it out. I understood cards/card, but deck after screwing with it numerous times.. eluded me. I see I need numbers in there.
Kk there done, and thanks much
P.S. stormcrow is banned in all forms except stormcrow format. He's just way to overpowered, and he has the ability to make your opponents instantly scoop. It's not fun to play against. There's no counter play at all.
Hmm... I could def play Rhox Faithmender instead of Shattered Angel. I think he is a little more dependable in that position.
Archangel of Thune Idk I barely get out creatures as is, she just doesn't fit in that well. Rhox though... that seems a lot better than Shattered Angel. Anything else you can think of? Or thoughts you have concerning it? Like ooh this might need this for a sideboard ect ect.
Hmm... I could def play Rhox Faithmender instead of Shattered Angel. I think he is a little more dependable in that position.
Archangel of Thune Idk I barely get out creatures as is, she just doesn't fit in that well. Rhox though... that seems a lot better than Shattered Angel. Anything else you can think of? Or thoughts you have concerning it? Like ooh this might need this for a sideboard ect ect.
Looking at your creature list, I do agree that archangel of Thune is probably a poor choice.
Im afraid Ive never played stax so I might not be of too much help. However I think that a couple cards that are integral to stax are missing from your deck. These include Norn's Annex, Propaganda, and Ghostly prison. Michiko Konda might be worth a look too. Bloodchief's Ascension might be cool as well. Solitary Confinement also seems like a natural choice for Oloro, allowing you to sit back and watch the game unfold.
That being said I am not sure what your wincon is. Are you winning via lifeloss?
Hmm.. it's not really a stax deck, but it's more control tbh. That being said, Norn's Annex is HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWT.... that synergizes with my deck so good. Michiko Konda could also be nice as well. My wincons are basically degenerate wincons. Play a creature, I have 40 life.. I win. Play an enchantment.. I have 50 life? Ooh I win. Ooh I got out Sanguine Bond+Exquisite Blood... ooh I win. I also have creature control, and the longer the game goes on, I pretty much win. I also have a lot of search to get out what I need fast. Set up for board control/wipes.
This is similar in a lot of ways to my initial Oloro builds. Throw up the walls and try to get out those win cons. I found it to be extremely resilient but lacking in finishing power.
One way to try to speed things up is card draw. Believe it or not I'm not a fan of BSZ or Sphinx's Rev here. They cost to much mana to draw cards 1 time. Unless you use them EOT they just screw you over. EOT they can be uber powerful but I still prefer repeatable draw options. For draw I run:
You can also speed things up by running as many tutors as the colors allow (which is most of them). Three or so top B tutors plus Mystical Tutor and Enlightened Tutor can really make a difference. I also like running Tolaria West in my land base because it can fetch Urborg, Coffers, Crypt or Pact in my deck. You aren't running any of those but if you ever do include 2 or 3 of them consider TWest.
If you want more ideas I have a plethora of different Oloro builds posted in my thread. In addition to multiple versions of my own deck I've included links/lists for other builds that range through most of the better options. The one thing I'm lacking in there is a solid creature heavy build...I just haven't seen one I like and haven't had the motivation to brainstorm one myself. The most powerful build I've played is the combo/control build I have in spoiler tags below my main decklist. The main decklist is also pretty solid but more tuned for a mid tier meta. Link for the thread is in my signature.
Oh yeah, one more thing...Beacon of Immortality combos well with Guildmage. I feel like pretty much all Oloro decks should contain those two cards.
I originally wanted to make this a stax deck, but realized while Oloro is great for that, I want this to be fun to play (still competitive and cut throat, but not feel like I'm grinding at my job). Down the road I'll think about it, and possibly with another general, but I'm looking for fine-tuning, and constructive-criticism. Price of cards is a little bit of an issue, but not so much, so feel free to at least put it down if you want (I'm currently saving up for mana-drain
1 Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Lands
1 Ancient Den
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Barren Moor
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Command Tower
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
1 Halimar Depths
1 Hallowed Fountain
3 Island
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Orzhov Basilica
3 Plains
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Sejiri Refuge
3 Swamp
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Silence
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Academy Rector
1 Ashen Rider
1 Clone
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Duplicant
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Felidar Sovereign
1 Gilded Drake
1 Medomai the Ageless
1 Perplexing Chimera
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Shattered Angel
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Trinket Mage
1 Vizkopa Guildmage
Artifacts
1 Astral Cornucopia
1 Basalt Monolith
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Contagion Engine
1 Crawl Space
1 Dimir Signet
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Mana Vault
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Orzhove Signet
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Voltaic Key
1 Confiscate
1 Dark Tutelage
1 Exquisite Blood
1 Land Tax
1 Necromancy
1 Painful Quandary
1 Sanguine Bond
1 Soul Ransom
1 Test of Endurance
Sorcery Spells
1 Debt to the Deathless
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Decree of Pain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Exsanguinate
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Psychic Intrusion
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Wrath of God
Instants
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Condemn
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Dromar's Charm
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
1 Mortify
1 Path to Exile
1 Spell Crumple
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Swan Song
1 Swift Silence
Planeswalkers
BUWMerieke Ri BeritWUB
BUWMerieke Ri BeritWUB
This "love" intrigues me. Teach me to fake it.
UR Nin, the Pain Artist
WUB Zur the Enchanter (Retired)
UB Oona, Queen of the Fae (Pseudo-Retired)
Necropotence again similar thing, but that was originally in my deck, and it fit better. I traded it out for the god, who is indestructible, and it's been performing better for me overall. So if I decide to not draw, he's useful as a creature, not just sitting there as an artifact. I also have sensei's divining top, with tezzeret, voltaic key, and either mana ring or basalt tower... it's not really costing me much to keep drawing, and drawing what I want. I can choose the order.
It's not that the card is bad (Well of lost dreams), it's a great card, just he (Erebos) does multiple things, including they can't gain life as well. That being said, you do have a valid point on the basic lands with Land Tax. I have a total of 9 basic lands, could probably bump it up to 12 or so. I could get rid of the artifact lands... or even a few of the meh lands for basic.
BUWMerieke Ri BeritWUB
Wrap it in deck tags. For example:
[deck] Mah Awesome General 1 Patron of the Moon Lands 98 Island Finisher 1 Storm Crow [/deck]
Would yield:
1 Patron of the Moon
98 Island
1 Storm Crow
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Aha! So that's how it worked... I tried deck before.. did it similar to that... but never got it in the list like that. I never could figure it out. I understood cards/card, but deck after screwing with it numerous times.. eluded me. I see I need numbers in there.
Kk there done, and thanks much
P.S. stormcrow is banned in all forms except stormcrow format. He's just way to overpowered, and he has the ability to make your opponents instantly scoop. It's not fun to play against. There's no counter play at all.
BUWMerieke Ri BeritWUB
GSelvala, Heart of the Wilds Inf Combo/FattiesG
GWSaffi Eriksdotter Inf ComboGW
BLiliana, Heretical Healer StaxB
RKiki-Jikki, Inf Combo/ETB AbuseR
Hmm... I could def play Rhox Faithmender instead of Shattered Angel. I think he is a little more dependable in that position.
Archangel of Thune Idk I barely get out creatures as is, she just doesn't fit in that well. Rhox though... that seems a lot better than Shattered Angel. Anything else you can think of? Or thoughts you have concerning it? Like ooh this might need this for a sideboard ect ect.
BUWMerieke Ri BeritWUB
Looking at your creature list, I do agree that archangel of Thune is probably a poor choice.
Im afraid Ive never played stax so I might not be of too much help. However I think that a couple cards that are integral to stax are missing from your deck. These include Norn's Annex, Propaganda, and Ghostly prison. Michiko Konda might be worth a look too. Bloodchief's Ascension might be cool as well. Solitary Confinement also seems like a natural choice for Oloro, allowing you to sit back and watch the game unfold.
That being said I am not sure what your wincon is. Are you winning via lifeloss?
GSelvala, Heart of the Wilds Inf Combo/FattiesG
GWSaffi Eriksdotter Inf ComboGW
BLiliana, Heretical Healer StaxB
RKiki-Jikki, Inf Combo/ETB AbuseR
BUWMerieke Ri BeritWUB
One way to try to speed things up is card draw. Believe it or not I'm not a fan of BSZ or Sphinx's Rev here. They cost to much mana to draw cards 1 time. Unless you use them EOT they just screw you over. EOT they can be uber powerful but I still prefer repeatable draw options. For draw I run:
You can also speed things up by running as many tutors as the colors allow (which is most of them). Three or so top B tutors plus Mystical Tutor and Enlightened Tutor can really make a difference. I also like running Tolaria West in my land base because it can fetch Urborg, Coffers, Crypt or Pact in my deck. You aren't running any of those but if you ever do include 2 or 3 of them consider TWest.
If you want more ideas I have a plethora of different Oloro builds posted in my thread. In addition to multiple versions of my own deck I've included links/lists for other builds that range through most of the better options. The one thing I'm lacking in there is a solid creature heavy build...I just haven't seen one I like and haven't had the motivation to brainstorm one myself. The most powerful build I've played is the combo/control build I have in spoiler tags below my main decklist. The main decklist is also pretty solid but more tuned for a mid tier meta. Link for the thread is in my signature.
Oh yeah, one more thing...Beacon of Immortality combos well with Guildmage. I feel like pretty much all Oloro decks should contain those two cards.
EDH Decks:
WUBOloro, Combo ControlWUB
UBOona Reanimator ComboUB
BRGProssh, Eater of the Blue MageBRG
UBRGrixis StormUBR
Rebuilding Jenara (stealyourstuff.dec)
Pauper Deck:
UBInspired SirenUB