So, I happen to be lucky and I own a heck of a lot of expensive lands. I figured I would put them to work and spin up some sweet lands based deck with them. My hope is sort of to use Westvale Abbey / Ormendahl, Profane Prince / Dark Depths as wincons here as well as a big slew of landfall effects to generate some sweet value.
So.... I guess there is the question of if I want to run some things like Vampire Hexmage / Hex Parasite which can pop Dark Depths for me as well. I am not sure I wan't to go deep on that plan yet though considering Thespian's Stage can also enable it as well as potentially being a little more diverse.
Just a pile of comments from years of playing Gitrog Lands, ymmv:
At first glance the creature count seems really high for a lands deck. Cards like Mind's Eye seem largely superfluous when you can LFTL cycling lands or even play Wheels. So many sources of CA available to you. Skullclamp seems like it doesn't particularly belong either as strong as it is. In my experience Mirri's Guile is usually better than stuff like Mind's Eye in these decks.
Seasons Past is the upgrade I would look for over Mind's eye that jumps out obviously at me.
Depending on how many land slots you go to I really like Manabond.
First thing I'd do is cut stuff like Dragon Broodmother that're just weird midrange cards that don't contribute to your gameplan.
I'm pretty sure I'd play Coffers if you're playing Urborg and all the land tutors already. It has to be better than a lot of random stuff.
Expedition map will pull its weight in these types of decks.
Planar Bridge just seems like severely derpy and not belonging with what you're doing.
hissing Quagmire is weirdly a card that has tended to overperform for me. With crucible effects it can really gum up a board.
green sun's zenith and no dryad arbor seems probably wrong. You definitely have to pick and choose what ETB tapped lands and nonbasics you play in this shell but it's a pretty good one.
Cultivate effects are very good with Windgrace as they help guarantee you get him on turn 4 at the very least.
Thrashing Brontodon has severely overperformed for me with Stronghold. Can completely end a stuck game sometimes.
Deathrite Shaman may be good if your meta supports the fetchlands. In my experience it's usually good enough.
Not a huge fan of the token subtheme in general. Seems to spread you a little thin on deck slots for land support. Westvale Abbey is in my experience way too cute in EDH. Just gets STP'd, same with Dark Depths, but maybe it'll work out.
That's a lot and it's all kinda contingent on how committed you are to the token stuff I guess, but hope there's something useful in there conceptually anyway
I am new to MTG Salvation. My brother showed me this deck, because I also have a Lord Windgrace deck. So, I believe this deck is a semi-competitive (not casual) due to the nature of your mana base. Therefore, I would like to offer some suggestions (many of these suggestions will line up with Pokken).
Each suggestion of course is take it or leave it.
I'll throw in a little experience I've gained from a number of games with Lord Windgrace against the other commander 18 decks.
- Your commander provides a consistent, steady flow of draw power. Most ramp decks hope to play extra lands early by way of things like Cultivate, and then hope to follow it up with something like Harmonize to refill, and sometimes one or the other doesn't always happen. In this case, the latter is guaranteed as long as you can resolve your commander, so all you really need to do is focus on the former.
- With that in mind, you should generally assume that you will have a pile of lands in play, and by that I mean at least a dozen early and often. I usually end the game with 20 or more lands in play. That means your X spells are that much better, and you can pump out more 5 and 6 drops than most other players. So, don't be afraid to run your Primordials, Titans, Comet Storms, etc.
- On the flip side, counterspells are a weakness. If you run into one of those annoying blue decks that includes a large number of counters, your big clunky X spells aren't going to work too well. If this is a popular strategy in your meta, or if you notice someone at the table who does this, you might be in trouble.
- This deck is very good at playing the long, patient, grindy game. You won't get many early kills, but you will have an amazing ability to rebuild your board after you or someone else wipes it. You will also have a pretty easy time wiping the board over and over again, knowing that you will be able to handle it better than most.
- Finally, one very subtle but important thing to keep in mind is the number of each basic land you have in your deck. Even with over 40 lands, you will easily get to the point where you run out of basics. I'm currently running 43 lands with 18 basics and I still run out on occasion. Just something to keep track of while you play.
And as always, it's easier to find things to add than things to cut, so I'll suggest a few cuts:
- Yawgmoth's Will: This only works once, which is not really the Lord's way.
- Mind's Eye: Your commander draws you a lot of cards, and you can usually find better things to do with your mana.
- Necropotence: Again, you really shouldn't need too much in the draw power department. I could maybe see Sylvan Library because it's free to activate every turn, but I've never had an empty hand with this deck and I don't run any of them.
- Stinkweed Imp: While your commander does put the graveyard to good use, you don't necessarily need to attract all the Bojuka Bogs by dumping too much into the yard. And if you want to kill creatures, there are better ways to do it.
- Explore: I used to run it, until I changed it to Farseek to grab my duals every time, guaranteed.
EDIT: Couple more points I forgot to mention!
- MOAR PLANESWALKERS! You will likely spend a good amount of time blowing up squishy creatures, artifacts, and enchantments along the way. However, your planeswalkers have a pretty high rate of survival, and having three colors means you have access to a lot of them. Nissa, Vital Force is at the top of the list for being stupid easy to ultimate and having three yes THREE relevant abilities. But, you can also get a lot of mileage out of Ob Nixilis Reignited, Chandra, Flamecaller, Garruk, Apex Predator, Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury, and many more.
- Because creatures are squishy and die a lot, getting immediate value from them is important. Purphoros, God of the Forge is great at providing that immediate value and at surviving the endless waves of destruction. Warstorm Surge and Impact Tremors are also fine, but they can get removed pretty easily.
- Gamble is a cheap and efficient tutor, and the downside is mitigated most of the time.
- Kessig Wolf Run is a great way to use extra mana.
So.... I guess there is the question of if I want to run some things like Vampire Hexmage / Hex Parasite which can pop Dark Depths for me as well. I am not sure I wan't to go deep on that plan yet though considering Thespian's Stage can also enable it as well as potentially being a little more diverse.
1 Lord Windgrace
CREATURES (27)
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Eternal Witness
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Turntimber Sower
1 Stinkweed Imp
1 Wayward Swordtooth
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Nullmage Shepherd
1 Olivia Voldaren
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 World Shaper
1 Nesting Dragon
1 The Gitrog Monster
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Underrealm Lich
1 Bane of Progress
1 Dragon Broodmother
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Ulvenwald Hydra
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Omnath, Locus of Rage
1 World Breaker
ARTIFACT (7)
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Mind's Eye
1 Planar Bridge
1 Burgeoning
1 Exploration
1 Sylvan Library
1 Necropotence
1 Pernicious Deed
INSTANT (6)
1 Crop Rotation
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Golgari Charm
1 Beast Within
1 Chord of Calling
1 Realms Uncharted
SORCERY (10)
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Explore
1 Life from the Loam
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Genesis Wave
1 Pir's Whim
1 Tempt with Discovery
1 Hour of Promise
1 Decree of Pain
LAND (44)
1 Arid Mesa
1 Badlands
1 Bayou
1 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Blighted Woodland
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
1 Dark Depths
9 Forest
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Stomping Ground
1 Strip Mine
4 Swamp
1 Taiga
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Westvale Abbey
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Yavimaya Hollow
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
At first glance the creature count seems really high for a lands deck. Cards like Mind's Eye seem largely superfluous when you can LFTL cycling lands or even play Wheels. So many sources of CA available to you. Skullclamp seems like it doesn't particularly belong either as strong as it is. In my experience Mirri's Guile is usually better than stuff like Mind's Eye in these decks.
Seasons Past is the upgrade I would look for over Mind's eye that jumps out obviously at me.
Depending on how many land slots you go to I really like Manabond.
First thing I'd do is cut stuff like Dragon Broodmother that're just weird midrange cards that don't contribute to your gameplan.
I'm pretty sure I'd play Coffers if you're playing Urborg and all the land tutors already. It has to be better than a lot of random stuff.
Expedition map will pull its weight in these types of decks.
Planar Bridge just seems like severely derpy and not belonging with what you're doing.
Glacial Chasm and Maze of Ith both always are great for me.
Since you're already on Worldbreaker, may be worth considering a small Eye of Ugin package.
They are pretty under the radar for most of these builds but the 1 drop land drop guys are often ridiculous. Sakura-tribe Scout and their ilk.
Playing a single Wildfire effect seems pretty reasonable to me even for the most wussy meta about LD - might be worth thinking about.
People are pretty down on Myriad Landscape but it is good enough in my experience.
Scapeshift is great
Deserted Temple and Petrified Field are worth considering. Both very good with Cradle.
hissing Quagmire is weirdly a card that has tended to overperform for me. With crucible effects it can really gum up a board.
green sun's zenith and no dryad arbor seems probably wrong. You definitely have to pick and choose what ETB tapped lands and nonbasics you play in this shell but it's a pretty good one.
Mox Diamond probably deserves a spot at >40 lands
Entomb probably worth playing with Volrath's Stronghold and Loam in the deck
Assassin's Trophy probably better than golgari charm despite some fringe reasons.
Cultivate effects are very good with Windgrace as they help guarantee you get him on turn 4 at the very least.
Thrashing Brontodon has severely overperformed for me with Stronghold. Can completely end a stuck game sometimes.
Deathrite Shaman may be good if your meta supports the fetchlands. In my experience it's usually good enough.
Not a huge fan of the token subtheme in general. Seems to spread you a little thin on deck slots for land support. Westvale Abbey is in my experience way too cute in EDH. Just gets STP'd, same with Dark Depths, but maybe it'll work out.
That's a lot and it's all kinda contingent on how committed you are to the token stuff I guess, but hope there's something useful in there conceptually anyway
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Each suggestion of course is take it or leave it.
Suggested Removing: additional lands per turn (like Mina and Denn, Wildborn), with exceptions of
-Oracle of Mul Daya
-The Gitrog Monster (Very good with fetch lands.)
-Most of these suck unless the deck is specifically designed to abuse them (strip mine crucible recursion)
Suggested Removing:
-Stinkweed Imp
-Nullmage Shepherd
-Olivia Voldaren
-World Shaper
-Dragon Broodmother
-Skullclamp
-Oblivion Stone
-Mind's Eye
-Planar Bridge
-Golgari Charm
-Explore
-Pir's Whim
-Yavimaya Hollow
-Gaea's Cradle
Suggested Adds (Take or Leave):
LAND:
-Temple of the False God
-Cabal Coffers
-Deserted Temple
-Dakmor Salvage
-Glacial Chasm
-Maze of Ith
-Mystifying Maze
-Arch of Orazca
-Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
-Wasteland
-Boseiju, Who Shelters All
-Miren, the Moaning Well
-Diamond Valley
-Island of Wak-Wak (not really good, I just love it)
-Other lands that have two land types (Swamp/Mountain, etc) instead of basics. (Unless your meta has blood moon going around.)
PLANESWALKER:
-Nissa, Vital Force
-Karn Liberated
-Ugin, the Spirit Dragon (maybe)
-Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
ARTIFACT:
-Mox Diamond
-Nevinyrral's Disk (doesn't hit planeswalkers)
-Zuran Orb
ENCHANTMENT:
-Zendikar's Roil
-Phyrexian Arena
-The Eldest Reborn
-The Mending of Dominaria
-Seismic Assault
SORCERY:
-Splendid Reclamation
-Farseek
-Rampant Growth
-Nature's Lore
-Three Visits
-Explosive Vegetation
-Skyshroud Claim
-Verdant Confluence
-Sylvan Awakening
-Blasphemous Act
-Imperial Seal
-Grim Tutor
INSTANT:
-Krosan Grip
-Vraska's Contempt
-Constant Mists
-Assassin's Trophy
-Chaos Warp
-Wretched Confluence
CREATURE:
-Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
-Borborygmos Enraged
-Golgari Grave-Troll
-Emrakul, the Promised End (highly suggested, broken in semi-competitive)
-Wood Elves
-Farhaven Elf
-Solemn Simulacrum
-Etali, Primal Storm
-Erebos, God of the Dead
-Xenagos, God of Revels (maybe)
-Other Eldrazi
_______________________________________________________
HIGHLY NOT SUGGESTED!!! (Unless you hate your play group.)
Mass land destruction (anykind)
-Tectonic Break
-Obliterate
-Jokulhaups
-Keldon Firebombers
-Win the game X-spells
-Torment of Hailfire
-Exsanguinate
-Comet Storm
- Your commander provides a consistent, steady flow of draw power. Most ramp decks hope to play extra lands early by way of things like Cultivate, and then hope to follow it up with something like Harmonize to refill, and sometimes one or the other doesn't always happen. In this case, the latter is guaranteed as long as you can resolve your commander, so all you really need to do is focus on the former.
- With that in mind, you should generally assume that you will have a pile of lands in play, and by that I mean at least a dozen early and often. I usually end the game with 20 or more lands in play. That means your X spells are that much better, and you can pump out more 5 and 6 drops than most other players. So, don't be afraid to run your Primordials, Titans, Comet Storms, etc.
- On the flip side, counterspells are a weakness. If you run into one of those annoying blue decks that includes a large number of counters, your big clunky X spells aren't going to work too well. If this is a popular strategy in your meta, or if you notice someone at the table who does this, you might be in trouble.
- This deck is very good at playing the long, patient, grindy game. You won't get many early kills, but you will have an amazing ability to rebuild your board after you or someone else wipes it. You will also have a pretty easy time wiping the board over and over again, knowing that you will be able to handle it better than most.
- Finally, one very subtle but important thing to keep in mind is the number of each basic land you have in your deck. Even with over 40 lands, you will easily get to the point where you run out of basics. I'm currently running 43 lands with 18 basics and I still run out on occasion. Just something to keep track of while you play.
And as always, it's easier to find things to add than things to cut, so I'll suggest a few cuts:
- Yawgmoth's Will: This only works once, which is not really the Lord's way.
- Mind's Eye: Your commander draws you a lot of cards, and you can usually find better things to do with your mana.
- Necropotence: Again, you really shouldn't need too much in the draw power department. I could maybe see Sylvan Library because it's free to activate every turn, but I've never had an empty hand with this deck and I don't run any of them.
- Stinkweed Imp: While your commander does put the graveyard to good use, you don't necessarily need to attract all the Bojuka Bogs by dumping too much into the yard. And if you want to kill creatures, there are better ways to do it.
- Explore: I used to run it, until I changed it to Farseek to grab my duals every time, guaranteed.
EDIT: Couple more points I forgot to mention!
- MOAR PLANESWALKERS! You will likely spend a good amount of time blowing up squishy creatures, artifacts, and enchantments along the way. However, your planeswalkers have a pretty high rate of survival, and having three colors means you have access to a lot of them. Nissa, Vital Force is at the top of the list for being stupid easy to ultimate and having three yes THREE relevant abilities. But, you can also get a lot of mileage out of Ob Nixilis Reignited, Chandra, Flamecaller, Garruk, Apex Predator, Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury, and many more.
- Because creatures are squishy and die a lot, getting immediate value from them is important. Purphoros, God of the Forge is great at providing that immediate value and at surviving the endless waves of destruction. Warstorm Surge and Impact Tremors are also fine, but they can get removed pretty easily.
- Gamble is a cheap and efficient tutor, and the downside is mitigated most of the time.
- Kessig Wolf Run is a great way to use extra mana.
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani