Hi all, I’m soliciting ideas on making a Ulrich of the Krallenhorde spellsling/political deck. Now, when I say spellsling I’m not suggesting making it like a full Izzet, but more like a creature centric deck with spells (instants usually) that’d support the ideal.
For starter, why Ulrich?
Ulrich to me has always been more of a political general than a tribal one, though the themes are not mutually exclusive. Like most transforming werewolves, Ulrich gets to trigger his abilities more frequently in a group game, making him a stronger leader as the number of players grow, and like some of the best werewolves Ulrich has strong ability on both sides, there’s always benefit when he transforms.
While Ulrich doesn’t requires a tribal deck, many werewolves are powerful and sync well with the direction.
Ulrich’s abilities:
1) Whenever this creature enters the battlefield or transforms into Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn.
2) Whenever this creature transforms into Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha, you may have it fight target non-Werewolf creature you don't control.
The first ability is constructive, the second ability is destructive, both bargaining tools in a game of politics. The deck I want to build will maximizing Ulrich’s aspects so he’s always influential on the board. While it’s no longer possible to “stack” transformation, you can cast spells in sequence that would allow Ulrich to transform one at a time. See rule 701.25e.
Ulrich’s Strengths:
1) Bargaining chips on both sides of the card.
2) Within the color pie of damage amplification and quick mana.
3) Works well with tribal.
Ulrich’s Weaknesses:
1) Requires set up, or his buff/fight ability may be too weak for the board.
2) Might transform unexpectedly, like most werewolves.
3) Gruul color pie traditionally has less instant/sorcery interactions.
Ulrich’s Political Goals:
1) Ensure Ulrich and other permanents transform reliably.
2) Ensure Ulrich and ilks are big enough fighters and attackers.
3) Instant and flash to ensure Ulrich and team enter anytime you want them.
4) Creatures selected base on utilities over combat prowess.
5) A reliable hand size.
Some options I’ve pondered. I didn’t list cards like Eternal Witness because she’s an obvious choice, and the list is for brainstorming purposes:
Fork, Reverberate - Basic copy, doesn’t technically “cast” the second copy, but could help the deck handling threats otherwise difficult for Gruul color pie. Too bad you can’t put transform trigger on stack due to the Avacyn rule 701.25e. Dualcaster Mage - Copy any spell and is a creature itself. Howl of the Horde - Potential double copy, but sorcery and only your spell. Increasing Vengeance - More double double at instant speed, but again only your spells. Mizzix's Mastery - Actual casting spells from the GY that could satisfy transform requirement. Pyromancer's Goggles - Adds mana but only copy red spells you cast. Radiate - Not a bad way to commit retribution on everyone. Reiterate - Buyback. Wild Ricochet - Highly versatile. Wort, the Raidmother - Potentially using all your wolf, werewolf, and human as spell fuels. Zada, Hedron Grinder - Useful if deck goes for buffing and drawing spells.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
I like this approach to Ulrich. He's not exactly on-demand politics, but his ability to help someone else out with the +4/+4 or to hurt someone with the fight makes for some interesting interactions, especially since people can help you out by not casting spells to help you remove something nasty.
Unfortunately I think voltron tends to be bad at making friends, so although it does make his ability better it might be dangerous to use if you're trying to be political. I think the tribal approach (or some other midrangy/synergistic/controlly strategy) is probably the best. Once you start trying to make a big, hard-to-interact with threat I think people are going to stop helping you and start cooperating with each other to keep ulrich from flipping until he's dealt with.
I like this approach to Ulrich. He's not exactly on-demand politics, but his ability to help someone else out with the +4/+4 or to hurt someone with the fight makes for some interesting interactions, especially since people can help you out by not casting spells to help you remove something nasty.
Unfortunately I think voltron tends to be bad at making friends, so although it does make his ability better it might be dangerous to use if you're trying to be political. I think the tribal approach (or some other midrangy/synergistic/controlly strategy) is probably the best. Once you start trying to make a big, hard-to-interact with threat I think people are going to stop helping you and start cooperating with each other to keep ulrich from flipping until he's dealt with.
Boy, how very true, the moment I make Ulrich a more bad-arse fighter he also becomes a threat. If I stick with deathtouch, wither, regeneration, and indestructible, that might make him a good political bargain without being over threatening. Infect route would probably also be a no-no because of his +4/+4 trigger.
A thought: What if I add cards like Howling Mine, Temple Bell, and Mikokoro, Center of the Sea into the deck? Card draw isn't always smooth with Gruul, these cards fuel you all the while making it easier for opponents to activate Ulrich. And, because I'm still the owner of Ulrich, I get to decide who his +4/+4 and fight will target. Additional cards means opponents would less likely to kill me off early, if I establish my "friendliness" early on.
For starter, why Ulrich?
Ulrich to me has always been more of a political general than a tribal one, though the themes are not mutually exclusive. Like most transforming werewolves, Ulrich gets to trigger his abilities more frequently in a group game, making him a stronger leader as the number of players grow, and like some of the best werewolves Ulrich has strong ability on both sides, there’s always benefit when he transforms.
While Ulrich doesn’t requires a tribal deck, many werewolves are powerful and sync well with the direction.
Ulrich’s abilities:
1) Whenever this creature enters the battlefield or transforms into Ulrich of the Krallenhorde, target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn.
2) Whenever this creature transforms into Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha, you may have it fight target non-Werewolf creature you don't control.
The first ability is constructive, the second ability is destructive, both bargaining tools in a game of politics. The deck I want to build will maximizing Ulrich’s aspects so he’s always influential on the board. While it’s no longer possible to “stack” transformation, you can cast spells in sequence that would allow Ulrich to transform one at a time. See rule 701.25e.
Ulrich’s Strengths:
1) Bargaining chips on both sides of the card.
2) Within the color pie of damage amplification and quick mana.
3) Works well with tribal.
Ulrich’s Weaknesses:
1) Requires set up, or his buff/fight ability may be too weak for the board.
2) Might transform unexpectedly, like most werewolves.
3) Gruul color pie traditionally has less instant/sorcery interactions.
Ulrich’s Political Goals:
1) Ensure Ulrich and other permanents transform reliably.
2) Ensure Ulrich and ilks are big enough fighters and attackers.
3) Instant and flash to ensure Ulrich and team enter anytime you want them.
4) Creatures selected base on utilities over combat prowess.
5) A reliable hand size.
Some options I’ve pondered. I didn’t list cards like Eternal Witness because she’s an obvious choice, and the list is for brainstorming purposes:
Haste
Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots - Protection
Fires of Yavimaya - Buff when needed.
Xenagos, God of Revels - Not only does he give haste, he also buff Ulrich or any creature needing it, and makes Fight more powerful after combat.
Fight
Pit Fight, Pounce, Prey Upon, Time to Feed, Triangle of War, Unnatural Aggression - Fight on demand.
Cartouche of Strength, Epic Confrontation, Hunt the Weak, Savage Punch, Savage Stomp, Setessan Tactics, Swift Kick, Wild Instincts - Buffs then fights.
Blood Feud, Dissension in the Ranks, Rivals' Duel - Versatile fight.
Arena - Fight land.
Ezuri's Predation - Fight club
Golden Guardian - Token maker
Foe-Razer Regent - Trigger fight and buff
Nessian Wilds Ravager - Fight or a big beater
Daybreak Ranger, Ulvenwald Tracker - Activated fight, make use of Ulrich’s +4/+4.
Combat
Breakneck Rider - Gives buff and trample
Instigator Gang - Buff attackers
Shrill Howler - Create tokens upon damage.
Tangleclaw Werewolf - Vigilance, but expensive
Transform
Moonmist, Waxing Moon - Good with Isochron Scepter and general surprises.
Geier Reach Bandit - Allows transform upon entering.
Spellslings
Isochron Scepter - Imprint for instants.
Aetherworks Marvel - Instant activation
Brain in a Jar - Extra cast.
Goblin Dark-Dwellers - Grave cast
Shell of the Last Kappa - Potential protection.
Spellbinder - Combat cast
Treasure Keeper - Cascade
Direct Damage
Afflicted Deserter - Artifact destruction
Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh - Could benefit from transform at times.
Kessig Forgemaster - Against blocker, useful with certain equipments.
Harsh Mentor - Against activations
Huntmaster of the Fells - One of the best.
Mondronen Shaman - Punisher
Smoldering Werewolf - Damage on attack
Damage Doubler
Insult // Injury, Overblaze, Quest for Pure Flame,Gratuitous Violence, Angrath's Marauders - Double the damage, be it combat, direct, or fight.
Dictate of the Twin Gods, Furnace of Rath - Universal double.
Bitter Feud - Extra politics.
Flash
Savage Summonin - Flash, counter prevention, and buff
Vedalken Orrery - Generic flash giver.
Yeva, Nature's Herald - Only works with green creatures.
Winding Canyons - Land flash.
Tokens
Cult of the Waxing Moon - Wolf token
Feed the Pack - Sac outlet but expensive.
Howl of the Night Pack - Pricy, but potentially numerous
Huntmaster of the Fells - Again, one of the best.
Kessig Cagebreakers - Tokens on attack
Master of the Wild Hunt - Makes wolves direct nukes.
Predator's Howl - More tokens on death
Raised by Wolves - Buff and tokens
Riptide Replicator - Make tribal tokens
Silverfur Partisan - Dissuade targeting.
Wolfbriar Elemental - Takens per mana available.
Wolfcaller's Howl - Auto tokens
Wolfkin Bond - Pricy, but versatile.
Wren's Run Packmaster - Championing is difficult, but terrific if it’s done.
Volrath's Laboratory - Additional tribal token.
Tribal
Adaptive Automaton - Colorless buff
Belbe's Portal - Put creature directly into play
Coat of Arms - Universal buff
Cryptic Gateway - Like the portal.
Door of Destinies - More buffs
Heirloom Blade - Buff and replace
Herald's Horn - Reduce cost and "scry"
Howlpack Resurgence - even more buffs
Immerwolf - A double edge sword, may not be ideal if frequent transformation is the goal.
Konda's Banner - Double buff.
Mayor of Avabruck - Buff and make wolves.
Metallic Mimic - More colorless buff
Mirror of the Forebears - Tribal copy. Transform would hurt it, but could copy useful triggers/static ability.
Obelisk of Urd - Big buff and could be cheap cast.
Runed Stalactite - Make equipped creature the right type all the time.
Stoneforge Masterwork - Cheap buff for one.
Urza's Incubator Cost reduction.
Vanquisher’s Banner - Buff and draw.
Mana
Conduit of Storms - Mana after combat
Neheb, the Eternal - A lot of mana after combat
Pillar of Origins - Tribal mana
Scorned Villager - Just mana
Equip
Basilisk Collar - Deathtouch and Lifelink
Blight Sickle, Grafted Exoskeleton - Throwing -1/-1 counters.
Darksteel Plate
Harvest Hand - Early creature itself
Hero's Blade - Auto equip.
Sword of Feast and Famine - Gives Ulrich or any creature protection, a bigger body, and multiple triggers.
Umezawa’s Jitte - Creature removal, life gain, and buffs equipped creature.
Godo, Bandit Warlord - Fetch.
Doubling Tokens
Doubling Seaons - More tokens and awesome with PW, that price tag though…
Parallel Lives - More tokens.
Primal Vigor - Might help opponents more than you want.
Doubling Spells
Fork, Reverberate - Basic copy, doesn’t technically “cast” the second copy, but could help the deck handling threats otherwise difficult for Gruul color pie. Too bad you can’t put transform trigger on stack due to the Avacyn rule 701.25e.
Dualcaster Mage - Copy any spell and is a creature itself.
Howl of the Horde - Potential double copy, but sorcery and only your spell.
Increasing Vengeance - More double double at instant speed, but again only your spells.
Mizzix's Mastery - Actual casting spells from the GY that could satisfy transform requirement.
Pyromancer's Goggles - Adds mana but only copy red spells you cast.
Radiate - Not a bad way to commit retribution on everyone.
Reiterate - Buyback.
Wild Ricochet - Highly versatile.
Wort, the Raidmother - Potentially using all your wolf, werewolf, and human as spell fuels.
Zada, Hedron Grinder - Useful if deck goes for buffing and drawing spells.
Planeswalkers
Arlinn Kord - Versatile PW
Chandra, the Firebrand - Surprisingly useful in this creature centric deck.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Impulse draw, mana, creature removal, and powerful emblem.
Domri Rade - Versatile PW.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts - Creatures and more creatures.
Xenagos, the Reveler - Mana, creature, multiple card advantage.
Card Advantage
Conqueror's Galleon - Multiple usage.
Duskwatch Recruiter - Look for creatures, then make them cheaper.
Hermit of the Natterknolls - More powerful in multiplayer game too.
Kindred Summons - May not be as useful depending on how many werewolves you get.
Lifecrafter’s Bestiality - Scry and draw.
Lambholt Elder - Draw on damage.
Sage of Ancient Lore - Replaces itself and could get bigger.
Seasons Past - Multiple cards retrieval.
Vizier of the Menagerie - Creatures from top of library
Coming Through
Insist - Cycles itself.
Cavern of Souls - Pricy bugger, but powerful.
Savage Summonin - Hello again
Combo:
Xenagos, God of Revels + Transform spell = 16/16 ready to fight.
Used up creatures (like Eternal Witness) + Fight
Foe-Razer Regent + Ezuri's Predation = Many potentially bigger creatures after fight.
More coming.
Please let me know what you think!
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
On phasing:
Darksteel plate may be the cheaper alternative, unless I want to form voltron with the other two pieces. Will add.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Unfortunately I think voltron tends to be bad at making friends, so although it does make his ability better it might be dangerous to use if you're trying to be political. I think the tribal approach (or some other midrangy/synergistic/controlly strategy) is probably the best. Once you start trying to make a big, hard-to-interact with threat I think people are going to stop helping you and start cooperating with each other to keep ulrich from flipping until he's dealt with.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Boy, how very true, the moment I make Ulrich a more bad-arse fighter he also becomes a threat. If I stick with deathtouch, wither, regeneration, and indestructible, that might make him a good political bargain without being over threatening. Infect route would probably also be a no-no because of his +4/+4 trigger.
A less obvious wincon might be building up token defense then cast Shaman of Forgotten Ways with haste to turn the table, or a surprise Repercussion then activate Master of the Wild Hunt/Alpha Brawl, or a straight out Beastmaster Ascension.
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest WUR Voltron Control
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun WU Unblockable Mirror Trickery
Ra's al Ghul (Sidar Kondo) and Face-Down Ninjas
Brudiclad, Token Engineer
Vaevictis (VV2) the Dire Lantern
Rona, Disciple of Gix
Tiana the Auror
Hallar
Ulrich the Politician
Zur the Rebel
Scorpion, Locust, Scarab, Egyptian Gods
O-Kagachi, Mathas, Mairsil
"Non-Tribal" Tribal Generals, Eggs