As far as I can tell, there's just about zero hype and discussion for Adeliz, the Cinder Wind and, while he's definitely nothing insane, I think he could make for a pretty fun deck. The only "anthem on cast trigger" effect seen on a commander thus far is Anax and Cymede, but they severely restrict the type of card that can trigger it.
I think he'd best be built as a control deck that has an innate way to close out a game quickly. When you can pump utility creatures like Aether Adept with Cryptic Command, that could lead to a pretty nasty deck.
His ability kind of screams "storm" but you don't need to be casting a dozen spells per turn to get a good effect. Damage amplifiers (additional combats, additional turns, double strike, etc.,) having additional wizards, removing blockers/giving evasion, and more will also increase the effectiveness of the wizard beatdown. However, I wouldn't want to weigh the deck down with too many aggro tools, there will definitely be a balancing act between control spells (which can pump your wizards anyway) and the damage amplifiers (which win you the game, but not always when your creatures are primarily 1/3's and 2/2's and you have no tokens.) I'd also be hesitant to include lots of cantrips, even all the combat trick ones, when there will already be trouble including cards for control, aggro, and wizard tribal.
The +x/+x lets your wizards survive red board wipes like Anger of the Gods. If you can cast two instants/sorceries beforehand, Anger of the Gods won't kill any of your creatures and will be able to clear out the majority of blockers. Lots of those is probably the best way to ensure that damage gets through.
Kwende, Pride of Femeref is better than you'd first think. Double Strike is a really powerful ability, and that is why creatures are costed very high to have this ability. If you combine with combat damage effects, like the equipment Swords, or just any equipment that triggers on damage, then you can get a lot of value. Double Strike makes your creatures incredible hard to block as well, as they are likely to take the blockers down.
Kwende, Pride of Femeref is better than you'd first think. Double Strike is a really powerful ability, and that is why creatures are costed very high to have this ability. If you combine with combat damage effects, like the equipment Swords, or just any equipment that triggers on damage, then you can get a lot of value. Double Strike makes your creatures incredible hard to block as well, as they are likely to take the blockers down.
Definitely a strong ability. Equipment probably is the way to go cause White has so much support for it.
He's funny with Archetype of Courage and similar effects but it's better to just use quality first-strike creatures, of which there are many.
Baneslayer Angel, Lyra Dawnbringer are probably as expensive as you want to get in mono-w, but become pretty scary beaters with his ability. Angelic Destiny makes any creature into a wrecking ball.
Umezawa's Jitte is terrifying with Kwende and is very mana efficient. If it has four charge counters and Kwnede is equipped with it, he can KO any player he's already dealt damage to. Bloodforged Battle-Axe is utterly hilarious with Sigarda's Aid. Both of these equipments can become 2 or 3 turn clocks. Pretty cheap win conditions.
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!
Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood is a RB commander. Expensive cost, but I can see it rapidly make up in P/T with the right deck. The main effect to pump itself akin to reverse "Enrage" with a +1/+1 counter for each opponent's creature that takes any damage. So this best works when going wide with mass damage or pinging to all creatures. Pestilence, Pyrohemia, Pestilence Demon, etc. there is no shortage of options for this.
Swords are definitely good with him, as is any damage-triggered equipment/aura. Jitte and Bloodforged are quick ways to take out a player though. Jitte especially since, if it falls off a creature, it's cheaper to put it back on (as opposed to a dozen freaking axes.)
Say you've got Kwende out. He's equipped with BFBA and Sigarda's Aid is on the field. First damage step, deal 4, axe is made, ETB insta-equip for free before second damage step, which will deal 6, and make two more axes, for four total axes on the field and 10 total damage dealt. On your next turn, first swing will deal 10, and then the second swing will deal 18. A bit christmas-landy but hilarious if pulled off. And Jitte is just frightening under all conditions.
Evasion is obviously important. It's why I like Baneslayer and Lyra, though if I were to build a deck with him they would be tough includes. I'd prefer to have a very low curve in a monowhite deck headed by a value-doubler commander who can end games fast. Celestial Mantle and Holy Mantle are tough sells for me at their CMC, and Fire+Ice and Feast+Famine are the only swords I would be interested in including, maybe War+Peace.
Equipment is the way to go with him, though. Quick shell for this guy:
Yes I'm going to say it, Armageddon and Winter Orb to slow down opponents so that you can hit hard before they get traction, as the deck is cheap to cast.
You should add Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle to your deck list Spider_Waif, as the artifacts in the deck will trigger the graveyard ability, which will be able to probably target most of the first strike creatures in the deck. Also Sword of Light and Shadow for the same reason that you can afford to get your creatures killed a bit more, and more resilient to mass creature removal.
Would Tiana, Ship's Caretaker be any good as a commander for a RW equipment deck? Or would Aurelia, the Warleader or Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer work better if you REALLY want to run equipment in Boros? I'm tempted to try, just because she's an angel, I love angels, and some recursion in the command zone might be nice to have. Nobody seems to be talking about her, and she looks good to me, but I'm not the best person to ask about what cards are powerful and what aren't. Maybe you could build a fun casual deck around her. She's not an obvious threat like Aurelia is, so you might fly under the radar. What do you folks think?
It'd be doable, but probably more of a casual build than anything. Equipment is fine in Boros, I just struggle to see the relevance of her ability to equipment, simply because they don't generally die when the creature equipped with them does. You could always go for an aura voltron build, as they're a little more fragile, but you probably don't have a ton of support in the colours to keep draw coming, where Selesnya has Verduran Enchantress, Argothian Enchantress, Enchantress' Presence, Femeref Enchantress and so forth to keep your grip full.
With a way to sacrifice auras, she gives you the ability to repeatedly cast auras, for repeated constellation triggers. Use some cantrips auras to unlock card draw in boros.
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Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive.
Power and/or Toughness :D.
This is probably the card I am most hyped for in this set. (In peasant cube)
Now its a little hard to abuse in mono blue but you still have a bunch of tools. Have the power to switch power and toughness, you can use prowess to pump after you go unblocked there are some blue pump spells and of course you have synergy with equipment (Although you can't use it on Tetsuko).
As one of the 99 she is really strong you can make an army of 1/1s unblockable then you can easily pump at instant speed in other colours, or use Cranial plating.
As far as I can tell, there's just about zero hype and discussion for Adeliz, the Cinder Wind and, while he's definitely nothing insane, I think he could make for a pretty fun deck. The only "anthem on cast trigger" effect seen on a commander thus far is Anax and Cymede, but they severely restrict the type of card that can trigger it.
I think he'd best be built as a control deck that has an innate way to close out a game quickly. When you can pump utility creatures like Aether Adept with Cryptic Command, that could lead to a pretty nasty deck.
His ability kind of screams "storm" but you don't need to be casting a dozen spells per turn to get a good effect. Damage amplifiers (additional combats, additional turns, double strike, etc.,) having additional wizards, removing blockers/giving evasion, and more will also increase the effectiveness of the wizard beatdown. However, I wouldn't want to weigh the deck down with too many aggro tools, there will definitely be a balancing act between control spells (which can pump your wizards anyway) and the damage amplifiers (which win you the game, but not always when your creatures are primarily 1/3's and 2/2's and you have no tokens.) I'd also be hesitant to include lots of cantrips, even all the combat trick ones, when there will already be trouble including cards for control, aggro, and wizard tribal.
The +x/+x lets your wizards survive red board wipes like Anger of the Gods. If you can cast two instants/sorceries beforehand, Anger of the Gods won't kill any of your creatures and will be able to clear out the majority of blockers. Lots of those is probably the best way to ensure that damage gets through.
I am also interested in Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, though I wish there were some wizard token generators because I feel the deck I have in mind is too vulnerable to board wipes.
As far as I can tell, there's just about zero hype and discussion for Adeliz, the Cinder Wind and, while he's definitely nothing insane, I think he could make for a pretty fun deck. The only "anthem on cast trigger" effect seen on a commander thus far is Anax and Cymede, but they severely restrict the type of card that can trigger it.
I think he'd best be built as a control deck that has an innate way to close out a game quickly. When you can pump utility creatures like Aether Adept with Cryptic Command, that could lead to a pretty nasty deck.
His ability kind of screams "storm" but you don't need to be casting a dozen spells per turn to get a good effect. Damage amplifiers (additional combats, additional turns, double strike, etc.,) having additional wizards, removing blockers/giving evasion, and more will also increase the effectiveness of the wizard beatdown. However, I wouldn't want to weigh the deck down with too many aggro tools, there will definitely be a balancing act between control spells (which can pump your wizards anyway) and the damage amplifiers (which win you the game, but not always when your creatures are primarily 1/3's and 2/2's and you have no tokens.) I'd also be hesitant to include lots of cantrips, even all the combat trick ones, when there will already be trouble including cards for control, aggro, and wizard tribal.
The +x/+x lets your wizards survive red board wipes like Anger of the Gods. If you can cast two instants/sorceries beforehand, Anger of the Gods won't kill any of your creatures and will be able to clear out the majority of blockers. Lots of those is probably the best way to ensure that damage gets through.
I am also interested in Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, though I wish there were some wizard token generators because I feel the deck I have in mind is too vulnerable to board wipes.
Yeah she is. Hard to tell from the low-res card art and pretty neutral name.
Tokens would be nice, there's Docent of Perfection but that's it, though it alone can win games. Without Arcane Adaptation it's hard to go wide, but UR is very bad at finding enchantments.
As for board wipes, in blue you have counterspells. I'm not too worried about them, though definitely consider if a boardwipe would be in your favor.
I'd probably depend on sorceries/instants that can win the game on their own when copied a couple times or certain storm cards. Everything else would be pretty standard Izzet control/spellslinger with a higher emphasis on having more wizards than usual, fortunately there are a large number of utility wizards in UR that support wizard tribal/spellslinger/control.
--Insult // Injury copied through Pyromancer's Goggles and then Reverberate (or whatever other method you want to resolve it three times) leads to 8x damage for that turn, and gives your wizards +2/+2 without any prior spells, so any that began with 2 power will probably be swinging for lethal (32 total.)
--Relentless Assault and World at War can do similar things when copied several times, but the effect isn't as dramatic and they have a higher CMC. World at War at least rebounds the next turn, so you can potentially get a good beatdown that turn by casting other inst/sorc to buff your wizards. Fury of the Horde is another option, but has a high CMC with a restrictive alternate cost. Savage Beating is very expensive when casting it entwined, and while doublestrike is great it that effect does nothing when copied. I would stick to Relentless Assault and/or World at War.
Edit: When an additional combat spell is resolved, its untap effect happens during the main phase it was resolved, so if you copy it several times to get more combat phases, unless you have some way to grant things vigilance, you won't be able to attack with the same creature a ton of times. Considering the CMC of these spells, I don't think they're a good option, but they do allow you to double your damage output for one turn. You're probably better off copying extra turn spells.
--Haze of Rage can quickly get out of hand, especially with mana to buyback and then recast it. If you've cast a paltry four inst/sorc before Haze, once it and your copies resolve your wizards will have +10/+5, if you have three wizards with 2 base power they'd be swinging for 36, enough to take someone out under most conditions if you can get through unblocked. Ground Rift can help do that.
For this deck, Insult // Injury, Haze of Rage, Docent of Perfection, simply getting a large storm count, or a combo (e.g. Dualcaster Mage+Ghostly Flicker+Venser, Shaper Savant/big burn spell) are probably the best options to win a game. Again, I'd focus a lot more on the control side, with Adeliz primarily being the way to end the game when you're in a good position with the right cards in hand (it helps that she has haste and only costs 3.)
I agree that Tatyova, Benthic Druid, with that kind of ability, isn't underrated, and in fact quite powerful, with key pieces that can really make a deck like that go off like Amulet of Vigor to be able to tap all the ETB tapped lands for mana right away after they've been fetched, and this becomes super crazy with big land fetchers like Animist's Awakening, Boundless Realms, etc. I still plan to at least brew a list with her though! Thinking some type of spellslinger deal with Patron of the Moon and Uyo, Silent Prophet to copy all those fetchland spells, ways to play multiple lands per turn (of course), and maybe eventually Enter the Infinite into Laboratory Maniac . . . I dunno, but seems fun.
As for actually seemingly underrated: Yargle, Glutton of Urborg for me! 5CMC for a 9/3 Frog Spirit with a funny sounding name and no abilities? Let the underdog bout commence!
I'm thinking about taking him as a voltron with inspiration from Volrath the Fallen lists. Get him out early with usual ramp, then make him unblockable or evasive with things like Key to the City, Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, Dauthi Embrace, etc. Tainted Strike or Grafted Exoskeleton makes him a one-shot kill (if you can live with yourself afterward), or even Hatred works. Even just equipping him early with trample could be effective. Later game Lashwrithe or Strata Scythe maybe. Fill the rest with usual mono-B ramp and draw, some other utility creatures or beaters. I wanna see the looks on faces when they die to Yargle the Frog.
Alright this might be controversial, but I think Demonlord Belzenlok is going to be a very underplayed general, being that it takes a lot of correct card selection to make him work. I think it's just "easier" for people to play other mono-black commanders because less thought needs to go into converted mana costs and how the deck would work.
It doesn't need to be an all in deck. Select an average number of cards you want to draw, and you can make sure the spell ratios are around the standard deviations you want. For example I want to draw about 8 cards with my Brawl deck. It's like fixed Griselbrand, but still very powerful.
I bet you nobody here has so far really thought about running him, and justified, for he needs a lot of thought.
Alright this might be controversial, but I think Demonlord Belzenlok is going to be a very underplayed general, being that it takes a lot of correct card selection to make him work. I think it's just "easier" for people to play other mono-black commanders because less thought needs to go into converted mana costs and how the deck would work.
It doesn't need to be an all in deck. Select an average number of cards you want to draw, and you can make sure the spell ratios are around the standard deviations you want. For example I want to draw about 8 cards with my Brawl deck. It's like fixed Griselbrand, but still very powerful.
I bet you nobody here has so far really thought about running him, and justified, for he needs a lot of thought.
I did consider him briefly, but like you said, commanders like Sidisi, Undead Vizier and such are just a lot easier and less restrictive.
I think Whisper, Blood Liturgist is going to be fun to brew around, or even just in the 99. Reanimator has been an archetype I've been enjoying lately.
Second Rona. She just does so much since she cares about historic. Just the ability to build U/B legends is interesting. Arvad to for a straightforward W/B legends deck. Sisay just pushes you too easily into combo wombo land, so having a few new legends matter generals is nice. Arvad in particular is interesting because he makes you reevaluate a lot of meh legends when you get to look at them with an extra +2/+2 all the time.
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The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Second Rona. She just does so much since she cares about historic. Just the ability to build U/B legends is interesting. Arvad to for a straightforward W/B legends deck. Sisay just pushes you too easily into combo wombo land, so having a few new legends matter generals is nice. Arvad in particular is interesting because he makes you reevaluate a lot of meh legends when you get to look at them with an extra +2/+2 all the time.
I have been toying with the idea of using Arvad to lead a Legend Reanimator. Both versions of Thalia, Black Mirri, Drana v2, Volrath, so on and so forth.
Second Rona. She just does so much since she cares about historic. Just the ability to build U/B legends is interesting. Arvad to for a straightforward W/B legends deck. Sisay just pushes you too easily into combo wombo land, so having a few new legends matter generals is nice. Arvad in particular is interesting because he makes you reevaluate a lot of meh legends when you get to look at them with an extra +2/+2 all the time.
I have been toying with the idea of using Arvad to lead a Legend Reanimator. Both versions of Thalia, Black Mirri, Drana v2, Volrath, so on and so forth.
Right now I'm going straight legends beatdown. He's going to be more casual, a 3/3 for 5 with no combo potential and no CA will tend to do that, but there are plenty of cheap legends in the colors that have solid abilities that start to become real spicy when they get +2/+2. You already mentioned both Thalias, having those abilities on a 4/3 First Strike for 2 and a 5/4 First Strike for 3 is nuts. Flip Gideon becomes a 4/3 activated indestructible for W. Isamaru is a 4/4 for W. The various 2 drop Samurai are 4/3s and 4/4s for 2 with Bushido. Teysa is a 4/5 for 3, with great abilities. Ayli is the same but for 2. Granted, they aren't that if you cast them on curve, but you play them out then drop Arvad. There are other anthem legends in the colors, like Palla, Kongming, and Ravos, and two of those hit before Arvad. I find that I'm always building Orzhov as combo or control or high synergy good stuff, so going straight up beats and just throwing a motley collection of heroes and villains at faces sounds like a blast.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The Meaning of Life: "M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations"
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Right now I'm going straight legends beatdown. He's going to be more casual, a 3/3 for 5 with no combo potential and no CA will tend to do that, but there are plenty of cheap legends in the colors that have solid abilities that start to become real spicy when they get +2/+2. You already mentioned both Thalias, having those abilities on a 4/3 First Strike for 2 and a 5/4 First Strike for 3 is nuts. Flip Gideon becomes a 4/3 activated indestructible for W. Isamaru is a 4/4 for W. The various 2 drop Samurai are 4/3s and 4/4s for 2 with Bushido. Teysa is a 4/5 for 3, with great abilities. Ayli is the same but for 2. Granted, they aren't that if you cast them on curve, but you play them out then drop Arvad. There are other anthem legends in the colors, like Palla, Kongming, and Ravos, and two of those hit before Arvad. I find that I'm always building Orzhov as combo or control or high synergy good stuff, so going straight up beats and just throwing a motley collection of heroes and villains at faces sounds like a blast.
This was my first idea for the deck. Then I remembered that I have a bunch of extra reanimator stuff laying around.
While he was specifically mentioned in the OP as "not underrated", based on the threads on reddit and here it doesn't seem like that many people are interested in bulding Jodah, Archmage Eternal actually.
I just noticed because he happens to be my prerelease promo and everyone in our playgroup has to built a deck around theirs as part of a challenge.
He's certainly not even remotely close to the hype level of Jhoira and Muldrotha.
I don't know why Jodah isn't all that hyped, but I'm going to hazard a guess:
He's a "kill-on-sight" commander, which means that unless you flashed him in just before your turn while having a Leyline of Anticipation or something, you have to pray that he survives the turn cycle before you get to untap with him and perform shenanigans.
More importantly though, unlike many other "kill-on-sight" commanders that come to mind, his mana requirements to hit the board and take off (Jeskai + WUBRG) make him generally more awkward than many other "kill on sight" commanders. You can mitigate that with cards like Prismatic Omen, Crystal Quarry and Chromatic Lantern, but generally, I find that he's more difficult to "abuse" than Jhoira/Muldrotha/Narset/Arcum/etc.
That's not necessarily a bad thing though, and I still think Jodah is a great 5-color commander for what he brings to the table.
After playing prerelease, I came here to say I'm excited to brew a Slimefoot, the Stowaway. He performed very well in limited, and I think he will be decent as a general!
After playing prerelease, I came here to say I'm excited to brew a Slimefoot, the Stowaway. He performed very well in limited, and I think he will be decent as a general!
Awesome! I've been looking at him a lot the last day. I have a ton of the old Thallids and other good cards for the deck already. I could probably get it together and only spend about $50 on the handful of things I would need. I already have the Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, Phyrexian Altar , Ashnod's Altar and an expensive mana base. Heck I think I even have an extra Demonic Tutor from the duel deck. I could build this "on a budget" and still end up with an "optimized" version.
I've been reworking my load out of decks recently and Dominaria is looking like it is going to have a pretty big impact on my lineup. Jhoira might become my artifact commander replacing Daretti, Geth is probably going to get cannibalized for Slimefoot and Bladewing the Risen looks like he will remain (for now until he gets taken apart and rebuilt to restart the cycle that has been in place for nearly a decade).
I've had a Yeva deck for several years, so I can speak to the effectiveness of giving your whole deck flash. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to find anything fun to do with Raff. While it might be fun to flash in Sol Rings and whatnot, that doesn't really impact the board much, and leaving up counter-magic isn't really a viable strategy in a multi-player game.
Others have suggested using planeswalkers, but that seems bad because they only activate on your turn, so getting them on the board early doesn't really seem like an advantage.
I tried converting old Sydri and Sharuum lists to Raff by just cutting out the black spells (RIP Thopter Foundry) and it still just feels uninspired. Sure, every so often we could just flash in a Wurmcoil Engine or something, but there aren't nearly as many Wurmcoils as there are greenfatties and rattlesnakes.
Not sure what I'm missing here because this seems like it should be much easier. Has anyone else had better luck?
I think he'd best be built as a control deck that has an innate way to close out a game quickly. When you can pump utility creatures like Aether Adept with Cryptic Command, that could lead to a pretty nasty deck.
His ability kind of screams "storm" but you don't need to be casting a dozen spells per turn to get a good effect. Damage amplifiers (additional combats, additional turns, double strike, etc.,) having additional wizards, removing blockers/giving evasion, and more will also increase the effectiveness of the wizard beatdown. However, I wouldn't want to weigh the deck down with too many aggro tools, there will definitely be a balancing act between control spells (which can pump your wizards anyway) and the damage amplifiers (which win you the game, but not always when your creatures are primarily 1/3's and 2/2's and you have no tokens.) I'd also be hesitant to include lots of cantrips, even all the combat trick ones, when there will already be trouble including cards for control, aggro, and wizard tribal.
The +x/+x lets your wizards survive red board wipes like Anger of the Gods. If you can cast two instants/sorceries beforehand, Anger of the Gods won't kill any of your creatures and will be able to clear out the majority of blockers. Lots of those is probably the best way to ensure that damage gets through.
I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty insanely powerful strategy.
The Unidentified Fantastic Flying Girl.
EDH
Xenagos, the God of Stompy
The Gitrog Monster: Oppressive Value.
Marchesa, Marionette Master - Undying Robots
Yuriko, the Hydra Omnivore
I make dolls as a hobby.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Definitely a strong ability. Equipment probably is the way to go cause White has so much support for it.
He's funny with Archetype of Courage and similar effects but it's better to just use quality first-strike creatures, of which there are many.
Baneslayer Angel, Lyra Dawnbringer are probably as expensive as you want to get in mono-w, but become pretty scary beaters with his ability. Angelic Destiny makes any creature into a wrecking ball.
Umezawa's Jitte is terrifying with Kwende and is very mana efficient. If it has four charge counters and Kwnede is equipped with it, he can KO any player he's already dealt damage to. Bloodforged Battle-Axe is utterly hilarious with Sigarda's Aid. Both of these equipments can become 2 or 3 turn clocks. Pretty cheap win conditions.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon, Knight Exemplar, Thalia, Heretic Cathar, and Knight of the White Orchid all offer great utility, and while their primary utility is their ability, they become worth turning sideways with Kwende.
Or just put them both on Commander Eesha and find some way to give her first strike. Then you can add Sword of Light and Shadow and Sword of War and Peace if you want.
On phasing:
Say you've got Kwende out. He's equipped with BFBA and Sigarda's Aid is on the field. First damage step, deal 4, axe is made, ETB insta-equip for free before second damage step, which will deal 6, and make two more axes, for four total axes on the field and 10 total damage dealt. On your next turn, first swing will deal 10, and then the second swing will deal 18. A bit christmas-landy but hilarious if pulled off. And Jitte is just frightening under all conditions.
Evasion is obviously important. It's why I like Baneslayer and Lyra, though if I were to build a deck with him they would be tough includes. I'd prefer to have a very low curve in a monowhite deck headed by a value-doubler commander who can end games fast. Celestial Mantle and Holy Mantle are tough sells for me at their CMC, and Fire+Ice and Feast+Famine are the only swords I would be interested in including, maybe War+Peace.
Equipment is the way to go with him, though. Quick shell for this guy:
1 Kwende, Pride of Femeref
Cost Reducers
1 Danitha Capashen, Paragon
1 Sigarda's Aid
1 Foundry Inspector
1 Jhoira's Familiar
1 Hammer of Nazahn
Card Draw
1 Sram, Senior Edificer
1 Puresteel Paladin
1 Mask of Memory
1 Skeleton Key
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Rogue's Gloves
1 Sword of the Animist
1 Prying Blade
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
Tutors
1 Open the Armory
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Stoneforge Mystic
Evasion
1 Spirit Mantle
1 Unquestioned Authority
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Angelic Destiny
1 Armored Ascension
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Bloodforged Battle-Axe
Utility First Strikers
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Knight Exemplar
1 Precinct Captain
Then you can add cards like Meekstone and Ensnaring Bridge, so that you can go under other creature strategies.
Blade Splicer can put 13 worth of damage on the board for 3 mana.
Porcelain Legionnaire can start hitting for 6 damage for only 2 mana.
Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile, Balan, Wandering Knight, Gisela, the Broken Blade, Jazal Goldmane, Odric, Master Tactician are all cool legends that synergies nicely with the deck theme. Thalia's Lancers can help to get one of them.
Yes I'm going to say it, Armageddon and Winter Orb to slow down opponents so that you can hit hard before they get traction, as the deck is cheap to cast.
You should add Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle to your deck list Spider_Waif, as the artifacts in the deck will trigger the graveyard ability, which will be able to probably target most of the first strike creatures in the deck. Also Sword of Light and Shadow for the same reason that you can afford to get your creatures killed a bit more, and more resilient to mass creature removal.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
With a way to sacrifice auras, she gives you the ability to repeatedly cast auras, for repeated constellation triggers. Use some cantrips auras to unlock card draw in boros.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Power and/or Toughness :D.
This is probably the card I am most hyped for in this set. (In peasant cube)
Now its a little hard to abuse in mono blue but you still have a bunch of tools. Have the power to switch power and toughness, you can use prowess to pump after you go unblocked there are some blue pump spells and of course you have synergy with equipment (Although you can't use it on Tetsuko).
As one of the 99 she is really strong you can make an army of 1/1s unblockable then you can easily pump at instant speed in other colours, or use Cranial plating.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
I am also interested in Adeliz, the Cinder Wind, though I wish there were some wizard token generators because I feel the deck I have in mind is too vulnerable to board wipes.
P.S I am pretty sure Adeliz, the Cinder Wind is a girl.
Yeah she is. Hard to tell from the low-res card art and pretty neutral name.
Tokens would be nice, there's Docent of Perfection but that's it, though it alone can win games. Without Arcane Adaptation it's hard to go wide, but UR is very bad at finding enchantments.
As for board wipes, in blue you have counterspells. I'm not too worried about them, though definitely consider if a boardwipe would be in your favor.
I'd probably depend on sorceries/instants that can win the game on their own when copied a couple times or certain storm cards. Everything else would be pretty standard Izzet control/spellslinger with a higher emphasis on having more wizards than usual, fortunately there are a large number of utility wizards in UR that support wizard tribal/spellslinger/control.
--Insult // Injury copied through Pyromancer's Goggles and then Reverberate (or whatever other method you want to resolve it three times) leads to 8x damage for that turn, and gives your wizards +2/+2 without any prior spells, so any that began with 2 power will probably be swinging for lethal (32 total.)
--Relentless Assault and World at War can do similar things when copied several times, but the effect isn't as dramatic and they have a higher CMC. World at War at least rebounds the next turn, so you can potentially get a good beatdown that turn by casting other inst/sorc to buff your wizards. Fury of the Horde is another option, but has a high CMC with a restrictive alternate cost. Savage Beating is very expensive when casting it entwined, and while doublestrike is great it that effect does nothing when copied. I would stick to Relentless Assault and/or World at War.
Edit: When an additional combat spell is resolved, its untap effect happens during the main phase it was resolved, so if you copy it several times to get more combat phases, unless you have some way to grant things vigilance, you won't be able to attack with the same creature a ton of times. Considering the CMC of these spells, I don't think they're a good option, but they do allow you to double your damage output for one turn. You're probably better off copying extra turn spells.
--Haze of Rage can quickly get out of hand, especially with mana to buyback and then recast it. If you've cast a paltry four inst/sorc before Haze, once it and your copies resolve your wizards will have +10/+5, if you have three wizards with 2 base power they'd be swinging for 36, enough to take someone out under most conditions if you can get through unblocked. Ground Rift can help do that.
For this deck, Insult // Injury, Haze of Rage, Docent of Perfection, simply getting a large storm count, or a combo (e.g. Dualcaster Mage+Ghostly Flicker+Venser, Shaper Savant/big burn spell) are probably the best options to win a game. Again, I'd focus a lot more on the control side, with Adeliz primarily being the way to end the game when you're in a good position with the right cards in hand (it helps that she has haste and only costs 3.)
As for actually seemingly underrated:
Yargle, Glutton of Urborg for me! 5CMC for a 9/3 Frog Spirit with a funny sounding name and no abilities? Let the underdog bout commence!
I'm thinking about taking him as a voltron with inspiration from Volrath the Fallen lists. Get him out early with usual ramp, then make him unblockable or evasive with things like Key to the City, Whispersilk Cloak, Rogue's Passage, Dauthi Embrace, etc. Tainted Strike or Grafted Exoskeleton makes him a one-shot kill (if you can live with yourself afterward), or even Hatred works. Even just equipping him early with trample could be effective. Later game Lashwrithe or Strata Scythe maybe. Fill the rest with usual mono-B ramp and draw, some other utility creatures or beaters. I wanna see the looks on faces when they die to Yargle the Frog.
Current EDH
UThassa, God of the Sea devotion control
WRGTana, the Bloodsower & Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa partners weenie tokens
UUnesh, Criosphinx Sovereign Sphinx tribal
WUTaigam, Ojutai Master tokens on the rebound spellslinger
GRhonas the Indomitable green creature beats
UGRashmi, Eternities Crafter ETB tribal
Retired EDH
WURGKynaios and Tiro of Meletis group hug
URThe Locust God draw swarm
UTalrand, Sky Summoner funsies blue spells
WBObzedat, Ghost Council life gain/drain
It doesn't need to be an all in deck. Select an average number of cards you want to draw, and you can make sure the spell ratios are around the standard deviations you want. For example I want to draw about 8 cards with my Brawl deck. It's like fixed Griselbrand, but still very powerful.
I bet you nobody here has so far really thought about running him, and justified, for he needs a lot of thought.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I did consider him briefly, but like you said, commanders like Sidisi, Undead Vizier and such are just a lot easier and less restrictive.
Rona, Disciple of Gix also seems to be laying the cut - like a Mairsil, the Pretender style with less infinite shenanigans.
(W/U)(B/R)GForm of Progenitus, Shape of a Scrubland
BRGJund Tokens with Prossh, the Magic Dragon Foil
URGAnimar, the RUG CleanerFoil
RRRFeldon of the Third Path 2.0 Foil
BG(B/G)Not Another Meren DeckFoil
UR(U/R)Mizzix, Y Control and X Burn Spells
(W/U)(B/R)GHarold Ramos - The 35 Foot Long Twinkie (In +1/+1 counters)
UB(U/B)Dragonlord Silumgar
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
I have been toying with the idea of using Arvad to lead a Legend Reanimator. Both versions of Thalia, Black Mirri, Drana v2, Volrath, so on and so forth.
amazingly epic sig courtesy of DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Planes.
Right now I'm going straight legends beatdown. He's going to be more casual, a 3/3 for 5 with no combo potential and no CA will tend to do that, but there are plenty of cheap legends in the colors that have solid abilities that start to become real spicy when they get +2/+2. You already mentioned both Thalias, having those abilities on a 4/3 First Strike for 2 and a 5/4 First Strike for 3 is nuts. Flip Gideon becomes a 4/3 activated indestructible for W. Isamaru is a 4/4 for W. The various 2 drop Samurai are 4/3s and 4/4s for 2 with Bushido. Teysa is a 4/5 for 3, with great abilities. Ayli is the same but for 2. Granted, they aren't that if you cast them on curve, but you play them out then drop Arvad. There are other anthem legends in the colors, like Palla, Kongming, and Ravos, and two of those hit before Arvad. I find that I'm always building Orzhov as combo or control or high synergy good stuff, so going straight up beats and just throwing a motley collection of heroes and villains at faces sounds like a blast.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
This was my first idea for the deck. Then I remembered that I have a bunch of extra reanimator stuff laying around.
amazingly epic sig courtesy of DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Planes.
I don't know why Jodah isn't all that hyped, but I'm going to hazard a guess:
He's a "kill-on-sight" commander, which means that unless you flashed him in just before your turn while having a Leyline of Anticipation or something, you have to pray that he survives the turn cycle before you get to untap with him and perform shenanigans.
More importantly though, unlike many other "kill-on-sight" commanders that come to mind, his mana requirements to hit the board and take off (Jeskai + WUBRG) make him generally more awkward than many other "kill on sight" commanders. You can mitigate that with cards like Prismatic Omen, Crystal Quarry and Chromatic Lantern, but generally, I find that he's more difficult to "abuse" than Jhoira/Muldrotha/Narset/Arcum/etc.
That's not necessarily a bad thing though, and I still think Jodah is a great 5-color commander for what he brings to the table.
Currently Playing:
Multiplayer EDH Lists (click italics for a link to the thread!)
[Primer] Lord of Tresserhorn - Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do[Primer] Roon of the Hidden Realm - Rhino Blink
5 Color Tribal Guide (Slivers, Atogs, Allies, Spirits)
Also Playing (most decklists can be found on my profile)
MarathGeistKamahlGrenzoBolasThassaGitrog
PiratesZurVial Smasher&ThrasiosYennettJhoira(cEDH)Strix(Pauper)
Legacy: Maverick
Modern:
Melira PodRIP 1/19/15GWHatebearsAwesome! I've been looking at him a lot the last day. I have a ton of the old Thallids and other good cards for the deck already. I could probably get it together and only spend about $50 on the handful of things I would need. I already have the Doubling Season, Parallel Lives, Phyrexian Altar , Ashnod's Altar and an expensive mana base. Heck I think I even have an extra Demonic Tutor from the duel deck. I could build this "on a budget" and still end up with an "optimized" version.
I've been reworking my load out of decks recently and Dominaria is looking like it is going to have a pretty big impact on my lineup. Jhoira might become my artifact commander replacing Daretti, Geth is
probablygoing to get cannibalized for Slimefoot and Bladewing the Risen looks like he will remain (for now until he gets taken apart and rebuilt to restart the cycle that has been in place for nearly a decade).amazingly epic sig courtesy of DarkNightCavalier at Heroes of the Planes.
I've had a Yeva deck for several years, so I can speak to the effectiveness of giving your whole deck flash. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to find anything fun to do with Raff. While it might be fun to flash in Sol Rings and whatnot, that doesn't really impact the board much, and leaving up counter-magic isn't really a viable strategy in a multi-player game.
Others have suggested using planeswalkers, but that seems bad because they only activate on your turn, so getting them on the board early doesn't really seem like an advantage.
I tried converting old Sydri and Sharuum lists to Raff by just cutting out the black spells (RIP Thopter Foundry) and it still just feels uninspired. Sure, every so often we could just flash in a Wurmcoil Engine or something, but there aren't nearly as many Wurmcoils as there are green fatties and rattlesnakes.
Not sure what I'm missing here because this seems like it should be much easier. Has anyone else had better luck?
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani