MTG Salvation

Hi guys!

I'm new to posting in this forum though I have been viewing deck lists and ideas from this website since time in memorial. Just didnt have the time (and courage) to post a thread.

Anyway, I just wanted to brew something in EDH that has a very weird flavor into it. I have built a lot of EDH decks and I'm looking for something new and fresh. As of the moment, I'm trying to build a lure deck (All creatures able to block ~, do so). Cards such as Nemesis Mask, Breaker of Armies, or Tempting Licid come to mind. However I need help because:

(1) I don't have any ideas on how to abuse this ability except put deathtouch and/or regeneration on target creature.
(2) I don't have a way to win yet. I'm not a fan of infinite combos.
(3) I don't have a commander in mind yet. I was thinking maybe Gorm the Great and Virtus the Veiled since both colors gives me access to lure abilities, and deathtouch and regeneration.

Any suggestions?

I think the best commander to put Nemesis Mask on is Zurgo Helmsmasher. They're all going to attempt to block him, he's going to get huge, and if you can cast extra combat steps (Relentless Assault, Aggravated Assault, etc.), you'll profit huge.

Well you are in luck. Grom and Virtus from battlebond er perfect for this kind of deck.

Grom comes with lure. Combine with bow of nylea. Assault formation. Probably other cards a well.

Virtus is good with archfiend of despair, wound reflextion. Good with nylea and rhonas (death touch trample.) Rogues passage is nice.

Both of them are great with assault suit. Any of the above cards are great with aditional lure cards if you want to.

Quote from reltastic »

I think the best commander to put Nemesis Mask on is Zurgo Helmsmasher. They're all going to attempt to block him, he's going to get huge, and if you can cast extra combat steps (Relentless Assault, Aggravated Assault, etc.), you'll profit huge.

Thanks for the suggestion! Zurgo Helmsmasher indeed has a strong synergy with Nemesis Mask but then it'll be the only card in the whole deck that "forces opponents to block." Anyway, I'll try to tinker with his colors and see what else I can find.

Quote from VidarThor »

Well you are in luck. Grom and Virtus from battlebond er perfect for this kind of deck.

Grom comes with lure. Combine with bow of nylea. Assault formation. Probably other cards a well.

Virtus is good with archfiend of despair, wound reflextion. Good with nylea and rhonas (death touch trample.) Rogues passage is nice.

Both of them are great with assault suit. Any of the above cards are great with aditional lure cards if you want to.

Nice! I didn't think of deathtouch + trample combination! Assault Suit is hilarious! It can't attack its owner so it'd be attacking players!

I just thought of another strategy given the "lure" effects makes all my other creatures unblockable, maybe I can abuse creatures that trigger abilities when they connect to my opponent? Any suggestions?

Mask of Memory is a good one to connect with opponents, as is Bear Umbra, which doubles as protection. You’re essentially making this a voltron type of deck anyway.

On a personal note, one of my old favorite kitchen table decks from back in the era of Revised was my deck where I attempted to attach Lure to Thicket Basilisk, which I believed to be the strongest synergy in MTG (along with Icy Manipulator+Royal Assassin)

I would say Virtus is right on topp of the list on creatures to get through when lure is out.

Avengine druid. Any of the specters. Hypnotic, simian and urgoroa being good. Ohran viper.

If you like assault suit try it on zurgo helmsmaher. 21 commander damage and it is over and out. But for the lure deck use virtus and gorm.

On grom you can skip the nemesisk mask and jump straight to the baselisk colar. Darksteel plate is also nice.

Gift of the deity is nice, lure and deathtouch.

Atta h infiltraitors lence to grom for card draw.

Better than Lure and Deathtouch is Lure and Venom - it doesn't care if anyone fogs, and it kills all blockers, not just the one or two who take damage. I built a Sisters of Stone Death deck eight years ago around these interactions (though neither Lure nor Venom made the cut as actual cards, but the abilities were reflected in a ton of other cards' abilities), and it was fun if not super competitive. You can comb the decklist here: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/210150-edh-sisters-of-combolicious-death. I retired the deck seven years ago, so it won't have anything recent, but it could give some older ideas.

Some of my personal favorites:
Engulfing Slagwurm
Shinen of Life's Roar
Sylvan Basilisk
Nemesis Mask
Tempting Licid

If you go Naya colors, you can run Mirrorwood Treefolk, which is absolutely painful to see Lured up. (A single activation of its ability will redirect all combat damage dealt to it for the turn, barring first/double strike.)

Lure decks want powerful saboteurs to take advantage of the lure. Virtus the Veiled is great because he has it built in, but a few other really potent ones that could serve as win conditions are...

Ebonblade Reaper, Raving Dead - extra copies of Virtus.
Spawnwrithe, Giant Adephage, Liliana's Reaver, Grave Titan, Living Hive, Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - make more creatures and go wide!
Throat Slitter, Ashling, the Extinguisher - Removal from damage.
Scion of Darkness, Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, Bone Dancer - Reanimation potential.
Dreamstealer, Kheru Mind-Eater, Fiend of the Shadows, Lord of the Void - there are dozens of creatures that cause mill or discard on a hit, but these provide a little bit more oomph.
Fell Shepherd, Hellcarver Demon, Liege of the Tangle, Sakiko, Mother of Summer, Shisato, Whispering Hunter, Phage the Untouchable - weird, hard to quantify, but maybe very powerful options.

Of course you can always add equipment to get these devastating effects - Quietus Spike, Scytheclaw, Sword of Feast and Famine and the other swords.

You can also add anthem-style effects - Nature's Will, Necropolis Regent, Larceny, Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper, and Drana, Liberator of Malakir are all examples.

Most good Lure or Basilisk cards have been suggested, but Pygmy Troll was an old favorite of mine.

Glissa, the traitor wins combat, returns equipment and other artifact utility.

Wurmcoil engine

I kinda like infect for a lure deck. Obviously not the one who gets the lure.

I recently built a Rhonas the Indomitable voltron-esque deck with a Lure sub-theme. Included Tempting Licid, Revenge of the Hunted, etc. paired with the other sub-theme of granting him and other creatures trample. Deathtouch and trample is very powerful with indestructible commander damage, and a lure with that can be backbreaking for opponents.

I actually like the suggestions here of this theme with Gorm the Great and Virtus the Veiled partnered, considering Grom already has a lure ability on him. Seems synergistic, and gives you two colors to play around with. Depending on what other creatures you may consider, you could possibly include Rhonas as a nice “one-sided” board wipe when he lures.

If you are playing Lure effects, the most common payoff for doing so is wrathing your opponent with deathtouch or sneaking someone through that would have otherwise been blocked

But here's a really cool alternative option... getting a ton of tokens with Sekki, Seasons' Guide!!!

Seriously, he's an amazing creature. You can get more than 8 tokens if he takes more than 8 damage, and then you can sac 8 of them to bring him back... it's great. Can slot it into the partners you were thinking of, or just build around him. Yes I know he's an 8cmc monster with weird abilities but Kamigawa was a great block and I love him so much!

Ok gushing aside, I am serious, he will be an interesting option for your deck