I think I would have liked this card more if it's ability read "Each opponent loses 1 life, and you gain that much life.". It's kind of lackluster as an 0/3. Not quite up to par imo.
First time poster.. I was thinking about trying to fit in Ankle Shanker(wrong tribe, I know) into this deck. Seems like another high impact 5 mana drop. It all but guarantees your opponent won't block any incoming damage and around turn 5 I'm attempting to hit for ~20 health consistently. The deck is extremely strong in small groups and beautifully constructed I might add. 1-2 opponents and it always performs well for me. If there's more than that I become a big early target. So I was wondering if anyone has had any success in tweaking this deck for bigger groups? Anyone try Ankle Shanker in this deck before?
The thing is we already can get first strike from Stromkirk Captain so I'm not sure Ankle Shanker is really worth the deck slot, mana cost or being out-of-tribe. Not to mention also being a blanket effect for 3cmc vs. an attack trigger for 5cmc.
As far as "big groups" go I've got a personal no more than 5+ per table policy, but I prefer 4 players per table. Four seems to be a very good fit for multiplayer Commander.
Yeah so back to my Yawgmoth's Will observations and how it interacts with Edgar:
You need about 6 mana to make it worthwhile as a recovery option on average. However, in my hyper-competitive meta whenever I look at my graveyard I usually see the same things: A bunch of my Vamps who got board wiped and things like Skullclamp or Grave Pact or sac outlets. So to get the deck going again and fully recover, YawWill is a mana sink in a deck where we don't usually generate a lot of mana (especially when Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx requires you to have devotion...which you won't have if your board has been wiped).
Kinda frustrating. I got to thinking last night it might be time to consider Teferi's Protection or things like Scapegoat that ISB has been trying and other people have suggested.
I've recently cut it from the list I run for this deck. I finally acquired a Yawgmoth's Will via a trade yesterday and I'm interested to see if it is a viable recovery option.
Has anyone tried it out? Experiences with running it in Edgar?
I too ran Athreos, God of Passage in my build but like ISB I had issues where several turns it would sit and do nothing. This is a huge tempo deck, we need to make each turn count; every bit of mana squeezed into killing threats (opponents) as quickly and efficiently as possible.
And lastly, lately I've noticed that as long as we have draw going we can recover very quickly from a wrath effect. Many people in my playgroup comment on how resilient the deck seems to be; as long as there is draw to keep the pedal to the metal.
How are you finding Twilight Prophet? It's very expensive at present, trying my best to justify not paying for it. I mean it seems an additional draw per turn, not much more.
I traded for it last night so I haven't had a chance to pilot the deck since changes. I worked on an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck while I was waiting to get what I needed through trades. That finally culminated last night in the trade for the Prophet and Champ. I will definitely report back my experiences with the card but it replaced Falkkenrath Noble in my deck as a straight 1:1 ratio of mana (only difference being BB2 vs B3) and while it was nice to have a redundant albeit more expensive Blood Artist I have found through experience that the Artist alone in the deck is sufficient. So my expectations are high for the Twilight Prophet because triggering Ascend is a turn three yawn for this deck and her ability is just bonkers.
It encourages players to hold back and only play the card when you meet the requirement. Granted, I understand that in this deck it is not a problem but I still do not like it. I'm not sure I will include any of those cards.
Chiming in again...
I didn't fully appreciate how Ascend works. I was unaware or just wasn't thinking straight because I didn't realize that on a permanent it's a static ability that will trigger whenever you meet the conditions.
With this revelation in mind, I rescind these earlier statements
It encourages players to hold back and only play the card when you meet the requirement. Granted, I understand that in this deck it is not a problem but I still do not like it. I'm not sure I will include any of those cards.
Champion of Dusk for the win... The only thing it didn't have that really really really would have made this card over the top (it's already bonkers for our deck, but still I'm always looking for ways that a card "could" have been improved) is flying.
I am waiting for some cards in the mail so I thought I would wait to play my list this week. I did come across Tainted Pact though due to another discussion in the banned list discussion forums and started wondering if it was a card I should consider running. My list as it is in the OP has only 4 swamps as the only redundancy in my list. Its interesting in that its cheap to cast and while its not a tutor really it could be a lot more interesting than something like Sign in Blood as it can keep going until we find a card we want.
I just thought I would start up some discussion to see if anyone else had a thought on the card.
It permanently exiles your deck until you find a single card. I considered it as well early on but its risk vs. benefit ratio caused it to end up back in the box.
Okay I have to weigh in here: Possibility Storm why? I don't care that you get the extra cast trigger; if that really mattered then you would be better off playing Anointed Procession in every single possible way imaginable on down to crazy synergy with Purphoros, God of the Forge to everything else in the deck. But you don't like Anointed Procession so there's gotta be something more to it for you.
The chaos it sows?? No. This could backfire in so many ways imaginable and I don't like the unpredictable all that much. Everyone knows Wheel of Fortune is an amazing card because of it's card advantage vs. cost ratio plus what it does to wreck your opponent's hands in multiplayer.
I feel the deck would benefit more from Sensei's Divining Top. If you add Imperial Seal (and I believe you know that you should) not only does it help you draw into something immediately important with it but it has amazing synergy with my best friend, Dark Confidant.
The thing is we already can get first strike from Stromkirk Captain so I'm not sure Ankle Shanker is really worth the deck slot, mana cost or being out-of-tribe. Not to mention also being a blanket effect for 3cmc vs. an attack trigger for 5cmc.
As far as "big groups" go I've got a personal no more than 5+ per table policy, but I prefer 4 players per table. Four seems to be a very good fit for multiplayer Commander.
You need about 6 mana to make it worthwhile as a recovery option on average. However, in my hyper-competitive meta whenever I look at my graveyard I usually see the same things: A bunch of my Vamps who got board wiped and things like Skullclamp or Grave Pact or sac outlets. So to get the deck going again and fully recover, YawWill is a mana sink in a deck where we don't usually generate a lot of mana (especially when Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx requires you to have devotion...which you won't have if your board has been wiped).
Kinda frustrating. I got to thinking last night it might be time to consider Teferi's Protection or things like Scapegoat that ISB has been trying and other people have suggested.
I've recently cut it from the list I run for this deck. I finally acquired a Yawgmoth's Will via a trade yesterday and I'm interested to see if it is a viable recovery option.
Has anyone tried it out? Experiences with running it in Edgar?
thanks,
theCreecH
Also Edgar Markov got a bunch of new toys in Legion Lieutenant, Dusk Legion Zealot, Twilight Prophet and Champion of Dusk. Cuts had to be made.
And lastly, lately I've noticed that as long as we have draw going we can recover very quickly from a wrath effect. Many people in my playgroup comment on how resilient the deck seems to be; as long as there is draw to keep the pedal to the metal.
I traded for it last night so I haven't had a chance to pilot the deck since changes. I worked on an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck while I was waiting to get what I needed through trades. That finally culminated last night in the trade for the Prophet and Champ. I will definitely report back my experiences with the card but it replaced Falkkenrath Noble in my deck as a straight 1:1 ratio of mana (only difference being BB2 vs B3) and while it was nice to have a redundant albeit more expensive Blood Artist I have found through experience that the Artist alone in the deck is sufficient. So my expectations are high for the Twilight Prophet because triggering Ascend is a turn three yawn for this deck and her ability is just bonkers.
New curve over the 99 is 2.12
Curve over the 65 non-land permanents is 1.39 repeating.
Man I love this deck. Hope you are all sucking the life out of your opponents.
Chiming in again...
I didn't fully appreciate how Ascend works. I was unaware or just wasn't thinking straight because I didn't realize that on a permanent it's a static ability that will trigger whenever you meet the conditions.
With this revelation in mind, I rescind these earlier statements
I do not like the Ascend mechanic.
Here's why:
It encourages players to hold back and only play the card when you meet the requirement. Granted, I understand that in this deck it is not a problem but I still do not like it. I'm not sure I will include any of those cards.
My new dream play is: Cast Malakir Bloodwitch and then cast Champion of Dusk
Yeah...I mean we could get to 10 black mana in one turn with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx so a guy can dream
It permanently exiles your deck until you find a single card. I considered it as well early on but its risk vs. benefit ratio caused it to end up back in the box.
The chaos it sows?? No. This could backfire in so many ways imaginable and I don't like the unpredictable all that much. Everyone knows Wheel of Fortune is an amazing card because of it's card advantage vs. cost ratio plus what it does to wreck your opponent's hands in multiplayer.
I feel the deck would benefit more from Sensei's Divining Top. If you add Imperial Seal (and I believe you know that you should) not only does it help you draw into something immediately important with it but it has amazing synergy with my best friend, Dark Confidant.