Hello all! Up until a few weeks ago, I had only played 5 decks (I would modify them weekly as new cards come out or the meta changed at the store [i.e. added wing shards when more hexproof commanders showed up).
As I started organizing my boxes of cards and making checklists so I can trade easier, I realized I had an abundance of staples --- so I do not have to dismantle other decks.
I was reading threads and saw OutcryQQ's signature box contained a primer for Lord of Tresserhorn [thread here] Ironically, earlier that week, I played against a UB zombies deck that looked fun, powerful, annoying, and had multiple chances to end the game (gy hate, my exile removal, and Uplayer kept it in check). Not having a tribal deck, I thought it would be fun to build someone along the lines of OutcryQQ's decklist.
However, as I started gathering what cards I had and seeing what I needed, the Commander 2017 products came out. I saw Edgar Markov in action then read about Inalla, Archmage Ritualist. Wow...my decision for tribal got harder. Now I am stuck between those 2 and Lord of Tresserhorn.
I know this is an over asked post "what should I play/build" but after 3 days of looking at people's builds, I am still undecided. I come here with a criteria to see what you all say.
1) Competitive
2) No issues with combo or being spike
3) Can finish the game outright if need be...or shutdown the game (the other zombie player forced everyone to scoop when he played Contamination + Reassembling Skeleton [we all talked amongst ourselves to see if anyone had a current or potential answer]).
4) Price doesn't need to be a factor
5) I do like overpowered synergy and abusing mechanics
I have a preference for Edgar Markov. The thing about vampires is that on they're own, not many are all that great - but they're all good enough that you won't ever feel guilty about any you play, none will truly be 'filler'. It also has enough swarming potentional that a simple Coat of Arms or Shared Animosity can close out the game relatively early. As the vampires themselves are all exceptionally cheap (Most of the rare+ staples are in the deck itself, or come from the very recent blocks - Bloodghast is the only exception) it's also very easy to build.
It can also combo out if you run Changeling Hero/Changeling Berserker. Either of those + Bloodline Necromancer (You can run Karmic Guide here if you want non-tribal) + Any of the free-sac-vampires + a Blood Artist effect is game over. It's easy to incoroprate in the list with each of the pieces being good as you draw them without the need to combo for them to do anything.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
If you want to go with zombies, I'd recommend taking a look at The Scarab God. As an avid zombie player what I've always found was that zombies have a very hard time closing out the game. Something like Grimgrin, Corpse-Born can do it, but the fact that you're playing zombie tribal has very little to do with it; he's just a powerful beater. I imagine Lord of Tresserhorn would be the same. I ran Dralnu, Lich Lord zombies to good effect as well. Being able to double down on the token making spells was very strong.
LouCypher and ProfessorWhen give excellent suggestions and I'll try to build a little on those based on what I've played and researched as I have asked myself this same question.
Edgar Markov: Is the Vampire tribal general. He's literally everything vampires want: he's got haste, he's got first strike, he gives you access to RWB, he makes more vampires and he buffs the army. The only thing he doesn't have is lifelink but that's forgivable. The deck that helms him is very aggressive with access to combat tricks and progressively making itself stronger. You also get access to stuff like Teferi's Protection to protect your board. Not too mention that your board is easily replaceable as Edgar gives you another body for every vampire you play. And should you need to get it back you have access to Patriarch's Bidding. With some of the stuff you get access to, you can easily bring an opponent's life down. You even have a fewways to bring an opponent life down to easily off them. You can also easily gain back life with many of the vampires you play. Another combo you can use to close out a game is the classic Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond. There's also Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion. While neither are vampires, it's not that hard to assemble and Mikaeus does pump your vampires and make them a tad harder to put down.
This is all on top of the fact that we've got a ton of vampire support on the way in Ixalan.
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist: While I haven't played her, I've seen a few lists and she can do some work. Inalla and her wizards can really make your opponents suffer. She generates tons of value. Inalla can also win the game outright. A better explanation than I could ever give you is here:
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist and a bunch of wizards gets my vote. I have such a deck and it is great fun. It is flexible and can just win out of nowhere. She can be very disruptive with the constant bounce effects and counters. And she has a huge effect on the game in the command zone.
I have both the Dragon and Vampire Tribal C17 decks and have played with them out of the box and also with upgrades. They're both really fun.
Honestly I would pick up Edgar Markov. Vampires was surprisingly more fun than I had first imagined. Out of the box the deck performed well, but even with some minor upgrades it became one of my favorites! Even though it's Tribal Vampires, the deck has a lot of flexibility when it's played, something that you don't expect in these colors (At least I didn't). You get access to tokens, counters, life gain / drain, great removal, and even some recursion. My upgraded deck runs more recursion just to get more use out of playing vampires again and again as well as aiding its aggressive nature by giving it some survivability when the inevitable EDH board wipe hits the table.
I also should mention I have a Scarab God Zombie tribal deck which I use quite often. I obviously love this deck too, but it required a lot of cards from all different sets, most of them getting kind of pricey. If you're really into zombies and have the time/money/cards to make a zombie tribal deck, do it.
But I would recommend Vampire Tribal as you can easily (Well in theory) buy the precon deck at a store and make some fairly budget upgrades to get a pretty fun and good EDH deck out of it! Not to mention Ixalan has some pretty cool vampires...
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist: While I haven't played her, I've seen a few lists and she can do some work. Inalla and her wizards can really make your opponents suffer. She generates tons of value. Inalla can also win the game outright. A better explanation than I could ever give you is here:
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist: While I haven't played her, I've seen a few lists and she can do some work. Inalla and her wizards can really make your opponents suffer. She generates tons of value. Inalla can also win the game outright. A better explanation than I could ever give you is here:
This is a whole different take on the deck. Only has 9 creatures; 6 of which are wizards. Basically uses the Inalla's ability for combo.
My apologies, I should have been more specific. I wasn't talking about the entire deck, as that is a completely different beast. I was speaking only of the Wanderwine Prophets self combo, which can just win you the game unless someone can stop it from going off.
Would prefer Vampires or Jombies other than the overused wizards by Inalla. Inalla functions primarily on ETB effects, and if that is shut down the entire deck loses much of its win conditions. Wizards tribe doesn't have really much other angles besides draw wins via Azami+Labcon / counter magic heavy via the prodigies. This is the reason why I dropped Inalla after playing 3 games with her, every game is the same approach, stall out until I can get the either one of the combo (Wanderwine or Bloodline Necromancer) to go off. Opponent drops a Torpor orb and that's it. Other opponents will help protect that orb cuz it is the one card that will keep 1 player almost out of the game and they don't really need to worry much about the Inalla player since Inalla is neutered totally with that card.
Vampires and Zombies on the other hand, present different more ways to win within the tribe itself. From the small combos like Grey Merchant + Rites, to bigger recursion engines involving blood artist, viscera seer. Going these 2 tribes will present more angles to approach the game than wizard based Inalla.
It is true that an Inalla deck usually loses to an unanswered Torpor orb but that is why you pack some artifact removal. Plus wizards have more than 2 unlimited combos, mine has 5 main ones. Plus it has won a few games through going wide and countering the stuff that it just couldn't handle. I am not knocking the power of the other tribes but wizards has more to it then ETB effects. They can easily play counter control winning through attrition if the combos are made off line. It just takes a while.
Would prefer Vampires or Jombies other than the overused wizards by Inalla. Inalla functions primarily on ETB effects, and if that is shut down the entire deck loses much of its win conditions. Wizards tribe doesn't have really much other angles besides draw wins via Azami+Labcon / counter magic heavy via the prodigies. This is the reason why I dropped Inalla after playing 3 games with her, every game is the same approach, stall out until I can get the either one of the combo (Wanderwine or Bloodline Necromancer) to go off. Opponent drops a Torpor orb and that's it. Other opponents will help protect that orb cuz it is the one card that will keep 1 player almost out of the game and they don't really need to worry much about the Inalla player since Inalla is neutered totally with that card.
Vampires and Zombies on the other hand, present different more ways to win within the tribe itself. From the small combos like Grey Merchant + Rites, to bigger recursion engines involving blood artist, viscera seer. Going these 2 tribes will present more angles to approach the game than wizard based Inalla.
The problem I see here is your first criteria - competitive and tribal don't really go together in EDH. Elfball works OK (Selvala, Explorer Returned is a typical commander), and there's a quite interesting Derevi, Empyrial Tactician wizard list around (abusing the hell out of untap effects, which Inalla can't really do), but other than that, I'm not aware of any tribal decks strong enough to really be considered competitive (well, unless you consider Edric to be Flying Men tribal). Zombies aren't going to be getting close to the level of a cEDH deck and going heavy on the tribal aspects of Inalla instead of just a couple of wizard based combos (Wanderwine Prophets and/or Mesmeric Orb+Fatestitcher/Aphetto Alchemist) is taking you out of competitive territory.
You should play the one true tribe - Caribou.
You may need to splash for some Brushwagg support. Maybe include some Camarids to round out the team? Your Cavern of Souls should of course always name Sand.
3) Can finish the game outright if need be...or shutdown the game (the other zombie player forced everyone to scoop when he played Contamination + Reassembling Skeleton [we all talked amongst ourselves to see if anyone had a current or potential answer]).
Though not related to your question, I thought I would mention that Contamination affects mana produced by lands. Your Gilded Lotus still produces
As I started organizing my boxes of cards and making checklists so I can trade easier, I realized I had an abundance of staples --- so I do not have to dismantle other decks.
I was reading threads and saw OutcryQQ's signature box contained a primer for Lord of Tresserhorn [thread here] Ironically, earlier that week, I played against a UB zombies deck that looked fun, powerful, annoying, and had multiple chances to end the game (gy hate, my exile removal, and Uplayer kept it in check). Not having a tribal deck, I thought it would be fun to build someone along the lines of OutcryQQ's decklist.
However, as I started gathering what cards I had and seeing what I needed, the Commander 2017 products came out. I saw Edgar Markov in action then read about Inalla, Archmage Ritualist. Wow...my decision for tribal got harder. Now I am stuck between those 2 and Lord of Tresserhorn.
I know this is an over asked post "what should I play/build" but after 3 days of looking at people's builds, I am still undecided. I come here with a criteria to see what you all say.
1) Competitive
2) No issues with combo or being spike
3) Can finish the game outright if need be...or shutdown the game (the other zombie player forced everyone to scoop when he played Contamination + Reassembling Skeleton [we all talked amongst ourselves to see if anyone had a current or potential answer]).
4) Price doesn't need to be a factor
5) I do like overpowered synergy and abusing mechanics
Decks that I have are in signature. Thank you!
I buy HP and Damaged cards!
Only EDH:
Sigarda, Host of Herons: Enchantress' Enchantments
Jenara, Asura of War: ETB Value Town
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Global Punishment
Xenagos, God of Revels: Ramp, Sneak, & Heavy Hitters
Ghave, Guru of Spores: Dies_to_Doom_Blade's stax list
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Donald's list
It can also combo out if you run Changeling Hero/Changeling Berserker. Either of those + Bloodline Necromancer (You can run Karmic Guide here if you want non-tribal) + Any of the free-sac-vampires + a Blood Artist effect is game over. It's easy to incoroprate in the list with each of the pieces being good as you draw them without the need to combo for them to do anything.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
If you want to go with zombies, I'd recommend taking a look at The Scarab God. As an avid zombie player what I've always found was that zombies have a very hard time closing out the game. Something like Grimgrin, Corpse-Born can do it, but the fact that you're playing zombie tribal has very little to do with it; he's just a powerful beater. I imagine Lord of Tresserhorn would be the same. I ran Dralnu, Lich Lord zombies to good effect as well. Being able to double down on the token making spells was very strong.
Edgar Markov: Is the Vampire tribal general. He's literally everything vampires want: he's got haste, he's got first strike, he gives you access to RWB, he makes more vampires and he buffs the army. The only thing he doesn't have is lifelink but that's forgivable. The deck that helms him is very aggressive with access to combat tricks and progressively making itself stronger. You also get access to stuff like Teferi's Protection to protect your board. Not too mention that your board is easily replaceable as Edgar gives you another body for every vampire you play. And should you need to get it back you have access to Patriarch's Bidding. With some of the stuff you get access to, you can easily bring an opponent's life down. You even have a few ways to bring an opponent life down to easily off them. You can also easily gain back life with many of the vampires you play. Another combo you can use to close out a game is the classic Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond. There's also Mikaeus, the Unhallowed + Triskelion. While neither are vampires, it's not that hard to assemble and Mikaeus does pump your vampires and make them a tad harder to put down.
This is all on top of the fact that we've got a ton of vampire support on the way in Ixalan.
Inalla, Archmage Ritualist: While I haven't played her, I've seen a few lists and she can do some work. Inalla and her wizards can really make your opponents suffer. She generates tons of value. Inalla can also win the game outright. A better explanation than I could ever give you is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBZ87SB2TcI
If I had to break them down I would do it like this:
Edgar focuses on the synergy of the vampire tribe for an extremely aggressive and even resilient deck strategy.
Inalla abuses the heck out of ETB's to come up with crazy combinations and so much sheer value that your opponents will be hard pressed to keep up.
BK'rrik Goodstuff
GWSythis Enchantress
URYusri Coin Flip
BRGKorvold Tokens
BGUYarok Lands Matter
WUBRaffine Looter
Honestly I would pick up Edgar Markov. Vampires was surprisingly more fun than I had first imagined. Out of the box the deck performed well, but even with some minor upgrades it became one of my favorites! Even though it's Tribal Vampires, the deck has a lot of flexibility when it's played, something that you don't expect in these colors (At least I didn't). You get access to tokens, counters, life gain / drain, great removal, and even some recursion. My upgraded deck runs more recursion just to get more use out of playing vampires again and again as well as aiding its aggressive nature by giving it some survivability when the inevitable EDH board wipe hits the table.
I also should mention I have a Scarab God Zombie tribal deck which I use quite often. I obviously love this deck too, but it required a lot of cards from all different sets, most of them getting kind of pricey. If you're really into zombies and have the time/money/cards to make a zombie tribal deck, do it.
But I would recommend Vampire Tribal as you can easily (Well in theory) buy the precon deck at a store and make some fairly budget upgrades to get a pretty fun and good EDH deck out of it! Not to mention Ixalan has some pretty cool vampires...
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
This is a whole different take on the deck. Only has 9 creatures; 6 of which are wizards. Basically uses the Inalla's ability for combo.
I buy HP and Damaged cards!
Only EDH:
Sigarda, Host of Herons: Enchantress' Enchantments
Jenara, Asura of War: ETB Value Town
Purphoros, God of the Forge: Global Punishment
Xenagos, God of Revels: Ramp, Sneak, & Heavy Hitters
Ghave, Guru of Spores: Dies_to_Doom_Blade's stax list
Edric, Spymaster of Trest: Donald's list
My apologies, I should have been more specific. I wasn't talking about the entire deck, as that is a completely different beast. I was speaking only of the Wanderwine Prophets self combo, which can just win you the game unless someone can stop it from going off.
Sorry for any confusion.
BK'rrik Goodstuff
GWSythis Enchantress
URYusri Coin Flip
BRGKorvold Tokens
BGUYarok Lands Matter
WUBRaffine Looter
Vampires and Zombies on the other hand, present different more ways to win within the tribe itself. From the small combos like Grey Merchant + Rites, to bigger recursion engines involving blood artist, viscera seer. Going these 2 tribes will present more angles to approach the game than wizard based Inalla.
Inalla is just too one directional.
WUBRG Reaper King - Elf Tribal WUBRG | Tribal Fun
WRG Gishath, Sun's Avatar - Dinosaur Tribal WRG | Rawr!!!
WUG Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - Enchantress Tactics WUG | Enchantments Focused
GBG The Gitrog Monster - Land Shenanigans GBG | Lands/Mill Focused
WBW Kambal, Consul of Life Allocation Matters WBW | Life Gain/Loss focused
UBR Kess, Dissident Mage of the Lotus UBR | Spellslinger
BGB Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - Counters & Tokens BGB | -1/-1 counters focused
You may need to splash for some Brushwagg support. Maybe include some Camarids to round out the team? Your Cavern of Souls should of course always name Sand.
Though not related to your question, I thought I would mention that Contamination affects mana produced by lands. Your Gilded Lotus still produces
A Dying Wish
To Rise Again
Chainer, Dementia Master
Muldrotha, the Gravetide
Atraxa, Praetors' Voice