Alright, so here's a deck I've been working on for a few years now. The "sideboard" I've added is basically just the original beatdown midrange portion of the deck that I played in its infancy. With 10 million tap/bouncelands and an average CMC of around 7, the deck eventually got dismantled. After a couple years, I've finally assembled the perfect mana base for it, but it's now a Lands Matter/Fun Police deck.
So really with this deck, I've been trying to gain value using MTG's most resilient card type: Land. Most opponents are neither prepared to nuke all the lands, nor are they prepared with enough pin point removal the efficiently dismantle my land engines. When I built this deck I wanted to make the mana base resilient with things like Crucible of Worlds and Loam. But if you're using cards like that, you're better off abusing cards like that. As such, the lands matter subtheme to the deck.
Edit: So I've added some more card draw, and another manland and it has made a world of difference. I've always felt like there's a certain threshold of card draw required to draw yourself into more card draw, and I finally hit it. The deck is playing so much smoother. I'm at the point of considering cutting back on the less useful card draw which I find is usually an indication that I've got the right amount.
A lot of people tell me that Horde is here for the colours and I'd be better off playing Progenitus "because he does something." Horde is at the helm here because I'm going for a more Draw-go style deck. The difference is that in Commander, I don't need to dilute my deck with threats like in standard. You have all of you removal, and always! have access to your game ending threat. Most Progenitus pilots never get to actually cast their general, while mine absolutely loves the red zone.
Without further ado, here's what the list looks like in "Timmy" mode:
So really the "sideboard" is more of a throwback to my original deck list. I know there are a few pet cards, and good stuff vigilance creatures. With completely new mana base, the deck actually plays now like I always wanted it to.
If you're asking what the point of the extra cards is, is that they play completely differently, and I wanted to have a control deck for competitive groups, but a fun, derpy, fair, midrange deck for casual groups.
If you've got any suggestions, let me know. I'd love to hear all comments on either decks, or the idea itself.
Changelog:
Update: 06/01/2015
Control Deck:
Out -
Badlands - Cut for Treetop Village, the deck just doesn't rely on RB enough.
Treasure Cruise - Basically upgraded to Ancestral Vision. AV costing 0 means it's tutorable by Tolaria West.
Compulsion - Wasn't doing enough. May be reinstated, but it'll probably go into my Hanna, Ship's Navigator deck.
Mulldrifter - Again, wasn't doing enough. After I decided to cut the SFM package, I realized that it just wasn't as good as my other options.
Stasis - A mediocre win-con. When I find a copy of Muddle the Mixture, it may come back, but it's only okay and so got cut for better things.
Stoneforge Mystic - Wasn't pulling its weight. Cut the Jitte, and Batterskull with it.
Umezawa's Jitte - See SFM
Batterskull - See SFM
In-
Sprout Swarm - Probably the card that needs the most explaining. This deck can be soft to creatures. It's basically a fog without the buyback and it's expensive when you buy it back. The fact that it's an instant makes this much more tolerable though. The fact that it's got convoke also makes this much better. I've been finding I can generally string 2-3 Saprolings together at the end of a turn and they gum up the ground nicely. I'm sure there are more impactful cards that could be played here, but this is doing a nice job of filling a gap. If it doesn't work out, I'll probably cut it for Treasure Cruise again.
Ancestral Vision - As I said before, essentially TC. It comes down faster in the early game, and much slower in the late game. The opportunity cost is so low, though, and it's able to be tutored for by Tolaria West.
Commander's Sphere - A 5c mana rock that cantrips means you're not getting 1 for 1'd ever on it. It's a little thing, but you can never have too much mana fixing, and the extra card drawn can be a big deal.
Nevinyrral's Disk - One of the most efficient ways of destroying everything. Cheaper than a planar collapse, and can be popped off at instant speed. It can be recurred by Buried Ruin which also ties into the "Long Game" idea I'm always going for. It also plays favorably with Venser, and Capsize. It is slow, but I think there will always be a spot to land this and have it last a turn.
Supreme Verdict - I don't want to run so, so many board sweeps because I'd rather sit behind a Glacial Chasm or something and have them do my work for me, but sometimes you absolutely need to kill all the creatures.
Venser, Shaper Savant - basically remand on a stick. Except it doens't draw me cards, and it also hits permanents. Instant speed bounce is something I'm interested in, and I've been leaning more towards counterspells regardless.
Capsize - Testing this a "long-game" win-con. I like the versatility so far, bouncing things I can't destroy (like Purphoros, or Blightsteel). This deck doesn't miss landdrops often and so it can generally get up to 1-2 "buyback" castings per turn by the end game.
whispers of the muse - this is a card I'm iffy on. It's so expensive for so little value. At the same time, the way the deck plays getting to 6 lands is common and it can become a one-sided Howling Mine. I'm finding that I've got enough card draw that I don't need to reach this far into the cardpool, but I'll keep testing.
Out:
Control Deck
0 Treetop Village
4 Venser, Shaper Savant**
1 Wear//Tear
3 Hinder
5 Fracturing Gust
1 Mystic Specualtion
1 Whispers of the Muse**
2 Umezawa's Jitte*
3 Commander's Sphere**
1 Soothsaying
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Petrified Field
1 Vesuva
Midrange Deck:
3 Spiny Starfish
3 Plumeveil
5 Keranos, God of Sotrms
5 Gaurdian of the Gateless
5 Vorapede
6 Meglonoth
7 Konda, Lord of Eiganjo
7 Chancellor of the Tangle
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
10 Progenitus
Elemental Removal
5 Faultgrinder
8 Magmatic Force
2 Boros Charm
4 Aetherize
2 Nim Deathmantle
4 Bident of Thassa
7 Legacy Weapon
1 High Ground
2 Military Intelligence
1 Bojuka Bog
In:
Midrange:
2 Mastery of the unseen
5 Torrent Elemental
Arbor Elf
Shaman of the Great Hunt
Thrun, the Last Troll
Restoration Angel
Whisperwood Elemental
Noble hierarch
deathrite shaman
lotus cobra
terra eternal
Sacred ground
Maze of Ith
batterskull
Shamanic revelation
brainstorm
ponder
whispers of the muse
cryptic command
preordain
Yawgmoth's Will
Sprout Swarm - Probably the card that needs the most explaining. This deck can be soft to creatures. It's basically a fog without the buyback and it's expensive when you buy it back. The fact that it's an instant makes this much more tolerable though. The fact that it's got convoke also makes this much better. I've been finding I can generally string 2-3 Saprolings together at the end of a turn and they gum up the ground nicely. I'm sure there are more impactful cards that could be played here, but this is doing a nice job of filling a gap. If it doesn't work out, I'll probably cut it for Treasure Cruise again.
Ancestral Vision - As I said before, essentially TC. It comes down faster in the early game, and much slower in the late game. The opportunity cost is so low, though, and it's able to be tutored for by Tolaria West.
Commander's Sphere - A 5c mana rock that cantrips means you're not getting 1 for 1'd ever on it. It's a little thing, but you can never have too much mana fixing, and the extra card drawn can be a big deal.
Nevinyrral's Disk - One of the most efficient ways of destroying everything. Cheaper than a planar collapse, and can be popped off at instant speed. It can be recurred by Buried Ruin which also ties into the "Long Game" idea I'm always going for. It also plays favorably with Venser, and Capsize. It is slow, but I think there will always be a spot to land this and have it last a turn.
Supreme Verdict - I don't want to run so, so many board sweeps because I'd rather sit behind a Glacial Chasm or something and have them do my work for me, but sometimes you absolutely need to kill all the creatures.
Venser, Shaper Savant - basically remand on a stick. Except it doens't draw me cards, and it also hits permanents. Instant speed bounce is something I'm interested in, and I've been leaning more towards counterspells regardless.
Capsize - Testing this a "long-game" win-con. I like the versatility so far, bouncing things I can't destroy (like Purphoros, or Blightsteel). This deck doesn't miss landdrops often and so it can generally get up to 1-2 "buyback" castings per turn by the end game.
whispers of the muse - this is a card I'm iffy on. It's so expensive for so little value. At the same time, the way the deck plays getting to 6 lands is common and it can become a one-sided Howling Mine. I'm finding that I've got enough card draw that I don't need to reach this far into the cardpool, but I'll keep testing.
Private Mod Note
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Currently Playing: R8whackR WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
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Well, I decided to have my cake and eat it too:
in the deck "post-board"
**Testing
5 Horde of Notions*
Creatures
0 Creeping Tar Pit
0 Raging Ravine*
0 Celestial Collonade*
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Deathrite Shaman
3 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Courser of Kruphix
5 Keranos, God of Sotrms*
Instants
0 Pact of Negation
1 Crop Rotation
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Brainstorm
1 Path to Exile
2 Cyclonic Rift*
2 Boros Charm*
2 Trick Bind
2 Sprout Swarm**
2 Rakdos Charm
3 Counterflux
3 Bant charm
3 Chaos Warp
3 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Oblation
3 Forbid
3 Capsize**
4 Cryptic Command
4 Return to Dust
5 Ad Nauseam
0 Ancestral Recall
2 life from the Loam*
3 War Gate
4 Wrath of God
4 Supreme Verdict
Artifacts
0 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Expedition Map
3 Chromatic Lantern*
3 Darksteel Ingot*
3 Crucible of Worlds*
4 Nevinyrral's Disk**
Enchantments
1 Manabond
1 Exploration*
2 Trade Routes
2 Prismatic Omen*
2 Sylvan Library*
Planeswalkers
3 Liliana of the veil*
4 Jace, the Mindsculptor
Utility Lands
1 Bojuka Bog*
1 Buried Ruin
1 Cephalid Coliseum
1 Dark Depths
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Khor Haven
1 Maze of Ith
1 Strip Mine
1 thawing glaciers*
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Tolaria West
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
1 Hallowed fountain
2 Island
2 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
2 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Sacred Foudnry
1 Savannah
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
1 Taiga
1 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
So really with this deck, I've been trying to gain value using MTG's most resilient card type: Land. Most opponents are neither prepared to nuke all the lands, nor are they prepared with enough pin point removal the efficiently dismantle my land engines. When I built this deck I wanted to make the mana base resilient with things like Crucible of Worlds and Loam. But if you're using cards like that, you're better off abusing cards like that. As such, the lands matter subtheme to the deck.
Edit: So I've added some more card draw, and another manland and it has made a world of difference. I've always felt like there's a certain threshold of card draw required to draw yourself into more card draw, and I finally hit it. The deck is playing so much smoother. I'm at the point of considering cutting back on the less useful card draw which I find is usually an indication that I've got the right amount.
A lot of people tell me that Horde is here for the colours and I'd be better off playing Progenitus "because he does something." Horde is at the helm here because I'm going for a more Draw-go style deck. The difference is that in Commander, I don't need to dilute my deck with threats like in standard. You have all of you removal, and always! have access to your game ending threat. Most Progenitus pilots never get to actually cast their general, while mine absolutely loves the red zone.
Without further ado, here's what the list looks like in "Timmy" mode:
5 horde of Notions
Creatures
0 Creeping Tar Pit
0 Raging Ravine
0 Celestial Collonade
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Arbor Elf
2 Lotus Cobra
3 Animar, Soul of Elements
3 Dauntless Escort
4 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Restoration Angel
4 Shaman of the Great Hunt
5 Torrent Elemental
5 Whisperwood Elemental
6 Sun Titan
6 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
6 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
6 Deathpact Angel
6 Felidar Sovereign
7 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
7 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
7 Sheoldred, Whispering One
8 Archetype of Endurance
8 Maelstrom Wanderer
8 Liege of the Tangle
Instants
1 Brainstorm
1 Whispers of the Muse
2 Cyclonic Rift
3 Cribswap
4 Cryptic Command
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
2 life from the Loam
3 Yawgmoth's Will
5 Shamanic Revelation
Stoneforge Package
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Sword of War and Peace
3 Sword of Light and Shadow
5 Batterskull
7 Elbrus, the binding blade
Artifacts
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Crucible of Worlds
5 Cauldron of Souls
Enchantments
1 Exploration
2 Prismatic Omen
2 Stasis
2 Sylvan Library
2 Sterling Grove
2 Mastery of the Unseen
3 Terra Eternal
4 Greater Good
5 Asceticism
5 Privileged Position
Planeswalkers
3 Liliana of the veil
4 Jace, the Mindsculptor
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
5 Garruk, Primal Hunter
8 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Opal Palace
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Thawing glaciers
1 Maze of Ith
Lands*
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Breeding Pool
2 Forest
1 Hallowed fountain
2 Island
2 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
2 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Sacred Foudnry
1 Savannah
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
1 Taiga
1 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
So really the "sideboard" is more of a throwback to my original deck list. I know there are a few pet cards, and good stuff vigilance creatures. With completely new mana base, the deck actually plays now like I always wanted it to.
If you're asking what the point of the extra cards is, is that they play completely differently, and I wanted to have a control deck for competitive groups, but a fun, derpy, fair, midrange deck for casual groups.
If you've got any suggestions, let me know. I'd love to hear all comments on either decks, or the idea itself.
Changelog:
Control Deck:
Out -
Badlands - Cut for Treetop Village, the deck just doesn't rely on RB enough.
Treasure Cruise - Basically upgraded to Ancestral Vision. AV costing 0 means it's tutorable by Tolaria West.
Compulsion - Wasn't doing enough. May be reinstated, but it'll probably go into my Hanna, Ship's Navigator deck.
Mulldrifter - Again, wasn't doing enough. After I decided to cut the SFM package, I realized that it just wasn't as good as my other options.
Stasis - A mediocre win-con. When I find a copy of Muddle the Mixture, it may come back, but it's only okay and so got cut for better things.
Stoneforge Mystic - Wasn't pulling its weight. Cut the Jitte, and Batterskull with it.
Umezawa's Jitte - See SFM
Batterskull - See SFM
In-
Sprout Swarm - Probably the card that needs the most explaining. This deck can be soft to creatures. It's basically a fog without the buyback and it's expensive when you buy it back. The fact that it's an instant makes this much more tolerable though. The fact that it's got convoke also makes this much better. I've been finding I can generally string 2-3 Saprolings together at the end of a turn and they gum up the ground nicely. I'm sure there are more impactful cards that could be played here, but this is doing a nice job of filling a gap. If it doesn't work out, I'll probably cut it for Treasure Cruise again.
Ancestral Vision - As I said before, essentially TC. It comes down faster in the early game, and much slower in the late game. The opportunity cost is so low, though, and it's able to be tutored for by Tolaria West.
Commander's Sphere - A 5c mana rock that cantrips means you're not getting 1 for 1'd ever on it. It's a little thing, but you can never have too much mana fixing, and the extra card drawn can be a big deal.
Nevinyrral's Disk - One of the most efficient ways of destroying everything. Cheaper than a planar collapse, and can be popped off at instant speed. It can be recurred by Buried Ruin which also ties into the "Long Game" idea I'm always going for. It also plays favorably with Venser, and Capsize. It is slow, but I think there will always be a spot to land this and have it last a turn.
Supreme Verdict - I don't want to run so, so many board sweeps because I'd rather sit behind a Glacial Chasm or something and have them do my work for me, but sometimes you absolutely need to kill all the creatures.
Venser, Shaper Savant - basically remand on a stick. Except it doens't draw me cards, and it also hits permanents. Instant speed bounce is something I'm interested in, and I've been leaning more towards counterspells regardless.
Capsize - Testing this a "long-game" win-con. I like the versatility so far, bouncing things I can't destroy (like Purphoros, or Blightsteel). This deck doesn't miss landdrops often and so it can generally get up to 1-2 "buyback" castings per turn by the end game.
whispers of the muse - this is a card I'm iffy on. It's so expensive for so little value. At the same time, the way the deck plays getting to 6 lands is common and it can become a one-sided Howling Mine. I'm finding that I've got enough card draw that I don't need to reach this far into the cardpool, but I'll keep testing.
Control Deck
0 Treetop Village
4 Venser, Shaper Savant**
1 Wear//Tear
3 Hinder
5 Fracturing Gust
1 Mystic Specualtion
1 Whispers of the Muse**
2 Umezawa's Jitte*
3 Commander's Sphere**
1 Soothsaying
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Petrified Field
1 Vesuva
Midrange Deck:
3 Spiny Starfish
3 Plumeveil
5 Keranos, God of Sotrms
5 Gaurdian of the Gateless
5 Vorapede
6 Meglonoth
7 Konda, Lord of Eiganjo
7 Chancellor of the Tangle
8 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
10 Progenitus
Elemental Removal
5 Faultgrinder
8 Magmatic Force
2 Boros Charm
4 Aetherize
2 Nim Deathmantle
4 Bident of Thassa
7 Legacy Weapon
1 High Ground
2 Military Intelligence
1 Bojuka Bog
In:
Midrange:
2 Mastery of the unseen
5 Torrent Elemental
Arbor Elf
Shaman of the Great Hunt
Thrun, the Last Troll
Restoration Angel
Whisperwood Elemental
Noble hierarch
deathrite shaman
lotus cobra
terra eternal
Sacred ground
Maze of Ith
batterskull
Shamanic revelation
brainstorm
ponder
whispers of the muse
cryptic command
preordain
Yawgmoth's Will
R8whackR
WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG
Control Deck:
Out -
In-
R8whackR
WUBGAtraxa Stax-Superfriends *Under Construction*WUBG