After some suggestions and now reading Alesha's story on the Wizards website, I've decided that it's about time I started thinking about building an Alesha deck. My Archangel Avacyn deck is also based on the lore, so I thought it might be a lot of fun to have an Alesha warrior tribal deck with a reanimation sub-theme.
I can see removal like Ride Down being good, and Boros Charm seems like an auto-include.
I want a build that is strong, but not oppressive, and I do not want to use mass land destruction, and also I am on a budget, so a deck that I can put together for a relatively small amount of money and then upgrade as I go is ideal. Also, I'm a Timmy, so I'd like to have a couple ways in which I can end the game with a bang. I guess wanting to build decks based on the lore makes me a bit of a Johnny too. Alesha is such a cool character, and her story has parallels to my life, so I want the deck to be really fun to play because of the meaning it has for me. Anyhow, any help would be much appreciated.
I think I want to stay more in the warrior tribal theme, so I want most, but not all, of the creatures to be warriors
I thought it might be a lot of fun to have an Alesha warrior tribal deck
It surely would be, but checking the 196 available warriors i wonder if it wouldn't be a lot stronger and more reasonable to go with the 1.021 available humans instead, as only around 15-20 warriors are somewhat playable - at best.
As for those 3, by my experience with my own deck i am doubtful. Disciple of Bolas is amazing, but has two major flaws for this deck. You're running weenies and it can't sac itself if need be. Vulturous Aven allows you to sac something else, comes with evasion and draws you cards more reliably. Nekrataal is a classic, but ask yourself how many creature removal effects you need. The best option arguably is Duplicant, followed by Ravenous Chupacabra. My third option would be Bone Shredder as it can sac itself, but this far i didn't need another one. Generally speaking, the less restrictive, the better. Burnished Hart might be solid, but consumes a lot of mana and your commander activation. Mana rocks are faster, Solemn Simulacrum allows you to draw cards on top and above Kor Cartographer can fetch dual land types, so i don't see a lot of reason to run it.
Cathartic Reunion, Tormenting Voice and Wild Guess come with the limitation that you're required to discard before drawing, which is strictly worse than drawing first of Faithless Looting. So i'd run that one instead - if any. Wheels are obviously better and disrupt hand crafting on your opponents side, but they are both a money sink and i'd go for permanent or repetitive solutions instead. Key to the City is amazing in all its aspects, Tortured Existence allows for some crazy interactions and Stinkweed Imp is just as good.
In one of the many other threads about Alesha, Who Smiles at Death i summarized some of my card choices and opinions. It's a tad outdated, but check it below:
Unconventional Creature Choices:
Anathemancer - Depends on your meta, but in a format as infested with strong utility lands, this could ping for a ton. Blind Zealot - If it weren't for Duplicant, Ravenous Chupacabra and Necrotic Sliver i'd propably still play him. Custodi Soulbinders - Can be one fat beatstick. But a vanilla one that requires a ton of mana to flood the board with tokens... Ebonblade Reaper - You can ditch his first clause through reanimation. Entomber Exarch - Two relevant modes. Graveblade Marauder - Always felt he was too slow, but deserves to be mentioned. Grenzo, Havoc Raiser - Deserves his name. Hilarious guy. Goblin Assassin - Could be a lot of fun. Guiltfeeder - Can be devastating. Ignition Team - I would hate to hard cast it. Other than that, he'll propably be big af. Kheru Mind-Eater - Like Nightveil Specter? You'll like this. Lim-Dûl's Paladin - If you're looking to durdle, this is your main man! Minion of the Wastes - Suicidal, yet fun. Noosegraf Mob - Will trigger automatically and sacs itself. Cool dude. Palace Jailer - Card draw and (temporary) removal. If your meta has less flyers this could be very strong. Palisade Giant/Protector of the Crown - Solid effect, but too much mana to hard cast. One is big but doesn't do much, the other is a tad too small to protect itself and monarch status efficiently. Prophetic Flamespeaker - Never tried this one out, but it looks fun. Raving Dead - Nothing random about it, if you put it into play from the graveyard. Soltari Visionary - Does what it does. Thoughtpicker Witch - Didn't make the cut in my deck, but is a strong, manipulative effect. Also see Shimian Specter. Undercity Informer - It's a slow (self-)mill effect, but a solid roleplayer. Wall of Blood - Ever felt like swinging for lethal... with a wall!?
(Hidden) Gems:
Blinding Angel - In this deck it's better than Stonehorn Dignitary, since you're able to get the effect each turn without requiring your commanders' ability for it. Dimir House Guard - Tutor, sac outlet, evasive attacker and comes with protection. Swiss army knife. Filth - This should see more play. Especially if you run an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth! Lieutenant Kirtar - Requires additional mana, but it's a strong effect on a flying body. Restoration Specialist - Allows you to re-use stuff your commander can't get you back. Stinkweed Imp - Dredge 5 on a pseudo-deathtouch flyer! Think about it. Wispmare - As cheap as it gets to evoke and has evasion. Simple and good. Fanatical Devotion - Is value most of the time. The "least" you get out of it is a safe attack with another creature option in your gy. Tortured Existence - Simple design, but a fun tool to exploit. Allows you to cheat on commander tax, if need be. Vampiric Rites - Does require mana, but it draws you cards and gains you life, yay. Tenza, Godo's Maul - Turns your commander into a 6/5, first strike, trample beatstick. If it's important in your meta, makes her Breya, Etherium Sculptor safe. Tragic Arrogance - Sooo good! Completes my board wipe package with Austere Command and Slaughter the Strong. Shizo, Death's Storehouse - Evasion, generates mana of color, comes into play untapped...
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - Playtested her, found her to be way too slow. Archetype of Finality - My deck has gotten a ton better when i started worrying about hardcasting more. 4BB is simply too much for this effect. Disciple of Bolas - "another creature" can be problematic, if the only other one is your commander. Plus, your creatures are small... Hanweir Garrison - While cheap, it's an attack trigger and therefor delayed. Mother of Runes - We all know how awesome mom is, but you can not expect her to stick around more oftenly through your commander, as everyone will chump block her at all cost. Ponyback Brigade - High cmc, no other utility and "just" 3 gobos coming into play. I'd rather gamble wih Evangel of Heliod. Priest of the Blood Rite - Once again, slow. Sun Titan - Can't speak for anyone else, but at least creature-wise a majority of my keypieces are too expensive for the big guy. Faithless Looting - It is strong and with Flashback you're able to do it twice, but from my experience permanent-based options are better, as your commander isn't necessarily fast.
Anyways, sorry for getting carried away a bit.
Feel free to check the decklist in my signature, because i spend a ton of time researching, playtesting and fine-tuning it. I'll gladly offer advice if you have any follow up questions.
Riku of Two Reflections - Copy, then copy again | Shattergang Brothers - Token Sac&Recur | Gahiji, Honored One - Multiple attack steps | Karametra, God of Harvests - Landfall, Creaturefall, Shroud | Ruhan of the Fomori - Stop hitting yourself | Zurgo Helmsmasher - Equipment&Wraths | Crosis, the Purger - Dragon Tribal Reanimator | Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - No stax, just tap and untap fun | Anafenza, the Foremost - Enduring Ideal Enchantress | Sharuum, the Hegemon - Sphinx Tribal Control | Noyan Dar - Spellslinger | The Mimeoplasm - Counterpalooza
Lists can be found here.
Still convinced the guy on Beseech the Queen is wearing a Mitra-type hat. Wake up sheeple!
In any case, the deck performs well. Super resilient, lots of fun token sac shenanigans. Our meta is mostly 85-90% decks, and Alesha can hold her own quite handily.
Riku of Two Reflections - Copy, then copy again | Shattergang Brothers - Token Sac&Recur | Gahiji, Honored One - Multiple attack steps | Karametra, God of Harvests - Landfall, Creaturefall, Shroud | Ruhan of the Fomori - Stop hitting yourself | Zurgo Helmsmasher - Equipment&Wraths | Crosis, the Purger - Dragon Tribal Reanimator | Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - No stax, just tap and untap fun | Anafenza, the Foremost - Enduring Ideal Enchantress | Sharuum, the Hegemon - Sphinx Tribal Control | Noyan Dar - Spellslinger | The Mimeoplasm - Counterpalooza
Lists can be found here.
Still convinced the guy on Beseech the Queen is wearing a Mitra-type hat. Wake up sheeple!
Now that I've finally gotten some time to work on my deck again, I've gathered together all the cards that I have that might be relevant to the deck, and I'll list them now so we can maybe talk about which ones are relevant. I've decided I want to go human tribal.
I've gathered together all the cards that I have that might be relevant to the deck, and I'll list them now so we can maybe talk about which ones are relevant.
Glad to see you're coming back to the deck idea and chose to pick humans over warriors, which will certainly make for a lot more versatile deck.
Since my feedback will be a wall of text i'll put my $0,02 in spoilers.
Phyrexian Arena - Reliable, consistent card draw. Fail safe. Phyrexian Reclamation - I'm considering this as well, but for now i chose Tortured Existence over it, as it can be used both ways. Unburial Rites - Has proven itself ever since i've put it in my deck, but requires a considerably low curve, as not to occupy too much mana. Mortify - Aside from the 3 mentioned ones this and Wear // Tear are my favorite Mardu spot removals. All a question of how many non-creature removals you want to run. Lends itself to be a great filler card. Diabolic Tutor - Solid card, pretty outclassed by Final Parting due to double utility. Akoum Refuge, Orzhov Basilica & Rakdos Carnarium - No real fan of either cycle, solid placeholders for shocks, pains and checks though. Of the taplands i'd pick the scrylands over them. Evolving Wilds - Does what it does. Exotic Orchard - A bit of a gamble, but since you're 3C it'll make 1-2 colors of your color identity usually. Jund Panorama - No great land itself, not a good cheapo fetch, but enters untapped and helps with color fixing if need be. Classic filler card.
Considering your mentioned cards there are a few questions i'd ask myself, if i were you:
How many creatures do i run?
A few selected ones with enough tutors or a full suite for redundancy?
What should my mana base look like?
Supposedly lots of taplands with utility or a faster untapped manabase that emphasizes color fixing over utility when in question?
How do i want to use my commander?
Main deck tech or additional functionality from the command zone to enhance the rest of the deck?
After some suggestions and now reading Alesha's story on the Wizards website, I've decided that it's about time I started thinking about building an Alesha deck. My Archangel Avacyn deck is also based on the lore, so I thought it might be a lot of fun to have an Alesha warrior tribal deck with a reanimation sub-theme.
In addition to warriors I also see small creatures with beneficial effects and/or tricks attached as being very good (Disciple of Bolas, Karmic Guide, Ravenous Chupacabra, Mentor of the Meek, Master of Cruelties, Nekrataal, Burnished Hart, Kor Cartographer, etc.)
I also see the need for sac outlets in a deck like this, as well as discard outlets and effects like Buried Alive. Red card draw that pitches things into your graveyard is good too (Cathartic Reunion, Faithless Looting, Nahiri, the Harbinger, wheels.) I also see Final Parting from Dominaria as being especially good. Throwing things into the graveyard and getting them back with Alesha, Sun Titan, Reveillark, Karmic Guide, etc.
I think I want to stay more in the warrior tribal theme, so I want most, but not all, of the creatures to be warriors, and I know I want the main theme to be reanimation, because that will work even without Alesha, it will just work better if she's on the battlefield. Also warriors-matters cards like Lovisa Coldeyes, Blood-Chin Rager, Arashin Foremost, Mardu Strike Leader, Raider's Spoils, Herald of Dromoka, Boldwyr Intimidator.
Things to protect Alesha are also going to be critical. Iroas, God of Victory, Lightning Greaves, Reconnaissance, and board wipes that can leave her on the board: Slaughter the Strong, Kindred Dominance, Austere Command.
I can see removal like Ride Down being good, and Boros Charm seems like an auto-include.
I want a build that is strong, but not oppressive, and I do not want to use mass land destruction, and also I am on a budget, so a deck that I can put together for a relatively small amount of money and then upgrade as I go is ideal. Also, I'm a Timmy, so I'd like to have a couple ways in which I can end the game with a bang. I guess wanting to build decks based on the lore makes me a bit of a Johnny too. Alesha is such a cool character, and her story has parallels to my life, so I want the deck to be really fun to play because of the meaning it has for me. Anyhow, any help would be much appreciated.
RWArchangel Avacyn, GWNazahn, Revered Bladesmith, RKari Zev, Skyship Raider (French Duel)
Disciple of Bolas is amazing, but has two major flaws for this deck. You're running weenies and it can't sac itself if need be. Vulturous Aven allows you to sac something else, comes with evasion and draws you cards more reliably.
Nekrataal is a classic, but ask yourself how many creature removal effects you need. The best option arguably is Duplicant, followed by Ravenous Chupacabra. My third option would be Bone Shredder as it can sac itself, but this far i didn't need another one. Generally speaking, the less restrictive, the better.
Burnished Hart might be solid, but consumes a lot of mana and your commander activation. Mana rocks are faster, Solemn Simulacrum allows you to draw cards on top and above Kor Cartographer can fetch dual land types, so i don't see a lot of reason to run it.Cathartic Reunion, Tormenting Voice and Wild Guess come with the limitation that you're required to discard before drawing, which is strictly worse than drawing first of Faithless Looting. So i'd run that one instead - if any. Wheels are obviously better and disrupt hand crafting on your opponents side, but they are both a money sink and i'd go for permanent or repetitive solutions instead. Key to the City is amazing in all its aspects, Tortured Existence allows for some crazy interactions and Stinkweed Imp is just as good.Kindred Dominance requires you to hit it out of the park with your subtheme (which i found sub-par), so in addition to the other two i'd suggest Tragic Arrogance, Divine Reckoning, maybe even Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Razia's Purification. Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos effects are cool, as you can utilize them instant speed through sac outlets.Why run Run Down over the usual suspects? Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Anguished Unmaking, Utter End, Hero's Downfall, Vraska's Contempt, ... there are a a ton of - mostly inexpensive - things i'd run over it anytime.Other than Master of Cruelties, i can advocate for Custodi Soulbinders, Ebonblade Reaper, Graveblade Marauder, Guiltfeeder, Ignition Team, Minion of the Wastes, Raving Dead and Wall of Blood if you want to pack big punches.Please tell me it's the battling with dragons thing!
I have to agree, i love her backstory and she's certainly one of my absolute pet decks!In one of the many other threads about Alesha, Who Smiles at Death i summarized some of my card choices and opinions. It's a tad outdated, but check it below:
Anathemancer - Depends on your meta, but in a format as infested with strong utility lands, this could ping for a ton.
Blind Zealot - If it weren't for Duplicant, Ravenous Chupacabra and Necrotic Sliver i'd propably still play him.
Custodi Soulbinders - Can be one fat beatstick. But a vanilla one that requires a ton of mana to flood the board with tokens...
Ebonblade Reaper - You can ditch his first clause through reanimation.
Entomber Exarch - Two relevant modes.
Graveblade Marauder - Always felt he was too slow, but deserves to be mentioned.
Grenzo, Havoc Raiser - Deserves his name. Hilarious guy.
Goblin Assassin - Could be a lot of fun.
Guiltfeeder - Can be devastating.
Ignition Team - I would hate to hard cast it. Other than that, he'll propably be big af.
Kheru Mind-Eater - Like Nightveil Specter? You'll like this.
Lim-Dûl's Paladin - If you're looking to durdle, this is your main man!
Minion of the Wastes - Suicidal, yet fun.
Noosegraf Mob - Will trigger automatically and sacs itself. Cool dude.
Palace Jailer - Card draw and (temporary) removal. If your meta has less flyers this could be very strong.
Palisade Giant/Protector of the Crown - Solid effect, but too much mana to hard cast. One is big but doesn't do much, the other is a tad too small to protect itself and monarch status efficiently.
Prophetic Flamespeaker - Never tried this one out, but it looks fun.
Raving Dead - Nothing random about it, if you put it into play from the graveyard.
Soltari Visionary - Does what it does.
Thoughtpicker Witch - Didn't make the cut in my deck, but is a strong, manipulative effect. Also see Shimian Specter.
Undercity Informer - It's a slow (self-)mill effect, but a solid roleplayer.
Wall of Blood - Ever felt like swinging for lethal... with a wall!?
(Hidden) Gems:
Blinding Angel - In this deck it's better than Stonehorn Dignitary, since you're able to get the effect each turn without requiring your commanders' ability for it.
Dimir House Guard - Tutor, sac outlet, evasive attacker and comes with protection. Swiss army knife.
Filth - This should see more play. Especially if you run an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth!
Lieutenant Kirtar - Requires additional mana, but it's a strong effect on a flying body.
Restoration Specialist - Allows you to re-use stuff your commander can't get you back.
Stinkweed Imp - Dredge 5 on a pseudo-deathtouch flyer! Think about it.
Wispmare - As cheap as it gets to evoke and has evasion. Simple and good.
Fanatical Devotion - Is value most of the time. The "least" you get out of it is a safe attack with another creature option in your gy.
Tortured Existence - Simple design, but a fun tool to exploit. Allows you to cheat on commander tax, if need be.
Vampiric Rites - Does require mana, but it draws you cards and gains you life, yay.
Tenza, Godo's Maul - Turns your commander into a 6/5, first strike, trample beatstick. If it's important in your meta, makes her Breya, Etherium Sculptor safe.
Tragic Arrogance - Sooo good! Completes my board wipe package with Austere Command and Slaughter the Strong.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse - Evasion, generates mana of color, comes into play untapped...
Obvious Champs:
Anger - Would be reason enough to run graveyard hate, as he single-handedly makes each and every creature of you better.
Ankle Shanker - See above.
Dire Fleet Daredevil - A Snapcaster Mage for your opponents' graveyards? I really need to get one - soon!
Duergar Hedge-Mage - With enough shocklands he's easily enabled.
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden - One could say he's your commanders' partner. Perfect mana-sink.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Unless you're running 100% chaff, this is pure value. And even then you'd propably strike lucky.
Master of Cruelties - You do like winning, do you?
Mentor of the Meek - So obvious, it hurts.
Necrotic Sliver - Costly, but so flexible.
Recruiter of the Guard/Imperial Recruiter - Will be interesting to see the price of the later with the current reprint in Masters 25.
Reveillark - Combined with a Karmic Guide and sac outlet you can wreck your opponents usually.
Siege-Gang Commander - Builds a board, can ping stuff and sac itself.
Yahenni, Undying Partisan - Best combined with board wipes, duh.
Cathars' Crusade - You're running creatures in W? Run this.
Key to the City - Loot, draw and evasion. Perfect.
Strionic Resonator - Moar reanimations or triggered abilities.
Entomb/Buried Alive - Assemble your combos, fast.
Austere Command - With a CMC 3 commander this is just nuts.
Flawed "Staples": (based on EDHrec)
Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit - Playtested her, found her to be way too slow.
Archetype of Finality - My deck has gotten a ton better when i started worrying about hardcasting more. 4BB is simply too much for this effect.
Disciple of Bolas - "another creature" can be problematic, if the only other one is your commander. Plus, your creatures are small...
Hanweir Garrison - While cheap, it's an attack trigger and therefor delayed.
Mother of Runes - We all know how awesome mom is, but you can not expect her to stick around more oftenly through your commander, as everyone will chump block her at all cost.
Ponyback Brigade - High cmc, no other utility and "just" 3 gobos coming into play. I'd rather gamble wih Evangel of Heliod.
Priest of the Blood Rite - Once again, slow.
Sun Titan - Can't speak for anyone else, but at least creature-wise a majority of my keypieces are too expensive for the big guy.
Faithless Looting - It is strong and with Flashback you're able to do it twice, but from my experience permanent-based options are better, as your commander isn't necessarily fast.
Feel free to check the decklist in my signature, because i spend a ton of time researching, playtesting and fine-tuning it. I'll gladly offer advice if you have any follow up questions.
It's a deck of a friend of mine and I know first hand from playing against it that this list is quite formidable.
Tamanoa - Welcome to the Jungle
Lists can be found here.
In any case, the deck performs well. Super resilient, lots of fun token sac shenanigans. Our meta is mostly 85-90% decks, and Alesha can hold her own quite handily.
Tamanoa - Welcome to the Jungle
Lists can be found here.
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Mortify
1 Terminate
1 Luminous Bonds
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
Recursion
1 Unburial Rites
1 Phyrexian Reclamaition
Combat Stuff
1 Master Warcraft
1 Rogue's Passage
Graveyard Hate
1 Bojuka Bog
Draw and Card Advantage
1 Read the Bones
1 Costly Plunder - also a sac outlet
1 Ancient Craving
1 Ambition's Cost
1 Promise of Power
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Diabolic Tutor
Ramp
1 Oketra's Monument
1 Bontu's Monument
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Sphere of the Suns
Creatures
1 Master of Cruelties
1 Boros Guildmage
1 Anger
Mana and Fetch Lands
1 Rupture Spire
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Jund Panorama
1 Nomad Outpost
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Blood Crypt
1 Akoum Refuge
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Stone Quarry
RWArchangel Avacyn, GWNazahn, Revered Bladesmith, RKari Zev, Skyship Raider (French Duel)
Since my feedback will be a wall of text i'll put my $0,02 in spoilers.
Anger - One of the best cards in the deck, hands down.
Duergar Hedge-Mage - Make sure to run enough lands with the landtypes. For redundancy i'd suggest Manic Vandal and Wispmare/War Priest of Thune.
Master of Cruelties - Are you sure you feel like pulling the trigger on this one? It's amazing but just knowing you run this will draw hate.
Chromatic Lantern - Awesome.
Fellwar Stone, Orzhov Signet & Rakdos Signet - These, Boros Signet and Talisman of Indulgence are my prefered color fixing rocks as i can drop them untapped and before Alesha, Who Smiles at Death.
Anguished Unmaking - This and Utter End are the only spot removals i run that aren't on a stick. Vindicate is great as well, but i prefer instant speed and exile over the ability to hit lands.
Blood Crypt - Run the whole cycle, if you're able to.
Bojuka Bog - Unless you're playing 4C or 5C this just has to be in a deck with B in it. And even then...
Caves of Koilos & Sulfurous Springs - Run the whole cycle, if you're able to.
Dragonskull Summit - Run the whole cycle, if you're able to.
Nomad Outpost - Usually no big fan of taplands, but outside of G it's a very solid include.
Playable:
Phyrexian Arena - Reliable, consistent card draw. Fail safe.
Phyrexian Reclamation - I'm considering this as well, but for now i chose Tortured Existence over it, as it can be used both ways.
Unburial Rites - Has proven itself ever since i've put it in my deck, but requires a considerably low curve, as not to occupy too much mana.
Mortify - Aside from the 3 mentioned ones this and Wear // Tear are my favorite Mardu spot removals. All a question of how many non-creature removals you want to run. Lends itself to be a great filler card.
Diabolic Tutor - Solid card, pretty outclassed by Final Parting due to double utility.
Akoum Refuge, Orzhov Basilica & Rakdos Carnarium - No real fan of either cycle, solid placeholders for shocks, pains and checks though. Of the taplands i'd pick the scrylands over them.
Evolving Wilds - Does what it does.
Exotic Orchard - A bit of a gamble, but since you're 3C it'll make 1-2 colors of your color identity usually.
Jund Panorama - No great land itself, not a good cheapo fetch, but enters untapped and helps with color fixing if need be. Classic filler card.
Questionable:
Boros Guildmage - Anger, Ankle Shanker, Archetype of Courage & Valor are better enablers for said keywords.
Luminous Bonds - Unsure what you'd need this for, but Darksteel Mutation does it better.
Master Warcraft - If you feel like running combat manipulation i'd pick permanent ones, such as Ankle Shanker, Break Through the Line, Dauthi Embrace, Filth, Homura, Human Ascendant, Iroas, God of Victory, Reconnaisance and the likes over it.
Terminate - There's more (mana) efficient creature removal (Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares, Tragic Slip, Vendetta) and there are several more flexible options for a little more mana.
Bontu's Monument & Oketra's Monument - In 3C the discount is a lot worse and neither trigger looks amazing as you have to cast the creatures.
Coldsteel Heart - Loving this one in my mono decks, but etb tapped and only 1 color off it is sad. With enough basics Star Compass does it better.
Darksteel Ingot - Never understood why people run this. For 3 i want more mana or utility. Plus, its CMC is the same as your commander, unhandy early in the game. Sphere of the Suns is even worse.
Ambition's Cost, Ancient Craving, Costly Plunder Promise of Power & Read the Bones - Solid cards, but i'd pick reusable creatures such as Disciple of Bolas and Vulturous Aven over them anytime.
Rogue's Passage - Occupies 5, 5(W/B)(W/B) when combined with your commander activation. Shizo, Death's Storehouse generates mana of color, requires a lot less mana and usually allows for Alesha, Who Smiles at Death to connect unharmed.
Rupture Spire & Stone Quarry - Yikes.
Spinerock Knoll - Did run this one myself. Through combat i was able to get it online consistently, but casting stuff post combat is usually not a good timing in this deck.
How many creatures do i run?
A few selected ones with enough tutors or a full suite for redundancy?
What should my mana base look like?
Supposedly lots of taplands with utility or a faster untapped manabase that emphasizes color fixing over utility when in question?
How do i want to use my commander?
Main deck tech or additional functionality from the command zone to enhance the rest of the deck?