Here lately, I've been doing most of my EDHing online since my FLGS started doing Standard Showdown on EDH nights which has splintered things a bit. They've started trying to do Commander on another night but so far it hasn't caught on. However, I'm soon moving to a new area with a much, much larger population and getting a job that actually pays so I've been giving thought to buying into another EDH deck. I play Erebos and Daretti in paper and I think I'd like a little more variety. The problem is that I'm indecisive and suffer from buyer's remorse so badly that I dread my purchase before the transaction has even begun. I'm dreading it as I type this.
I know I want to play a control deck of some kind because I almost exclusively play them. They're challenging and engaging, and playing them well can be difficult. I like difficult. Currently, I don't have a blue-based control deck in my stable, so I'm strongly leaning towards something with countermagic. I'm assuming the meta is going to be pretty diverse and would like the deck to fall into 75% territory to be able to be reasonable to play at the average EDH table.
I understand this thread is kind of silly since the only proper answer is whatever I find most enjoyable. However, if I could answer that cleanly, I wouldn't need to make the thread, ya dig? Another key factor is how fun the deck is to play against. So, without further ado, the decks:
This is the option I'm leaning towards the most. Technically a black card, my favorite color, check. Graveyard oriented, check. Card advantage stapled on, check. Necessarily interactive, check. So, what's the problem? He's kind of a huge target. Even if I explain to people that I'm not running infinite mana combos, I am technically running a non-infinite way of stringing together multiple turns as a win condition, which might amount to the same thing for some people. Still, the siren's call is strong. Maybe I can avoid too many Rest in Peaces and Leyline of the Voids.
My personal experience in playing against Tasigur in person has been enjoyable, but I like making complex decisions and wheeling and dealing. I know a lot of people aren't and refuse to play ball, so another con for me is sitting down at a table with rubes who don't understand nuance and keep giving me garbage while one player gets farther and farther ahead. Relying on your opponents is a losing proposition counteracted only by the sheer power of Tasigur.
Oh, and I promise not to play the new art. #notmybananaman
Based on DirkGently's excellent concept of a diplomatic control deck, my fear is that over time the deck will be learned and its philosophy of trying to maintain the appearance of weakness will become transparent. Up until that point, though, the Mighty Hippo could be a lot of fun. If my future meta is diverse enough so that no one would really have the opportunity to learn the deck's secrets, then it's easily a worthy consideration. Doesn't have black, though.
Nicky B in the house. I could never figure out what to do with this deck, which is actually a positive for me. Honestly, though, I think the Ravager just isn't a great commander. Solid, but ultimately underwhelming. Grixis is one of my favorite color combinations but I'm reluctant to sink money into a deck that I fear won't satisfy my urges. I only list it here as a possibility because of the challenge of making it a semi-viable deck.
Other
I'm not 100% sold on a commander, so if you feel there's a commander that lends itself well to a blue-based control deck I've missed (and I'm sure there's plenty) post your suggestions. Oh, and stax isn't the kind of control I'm looking towards.
Very few of the lists are optimized since I haven't spent a whole lot of time with any of them and fine-tuning requires a metagame, so just assume I'm an above average builder and capable of turning them into solid 75% lists.
I've also brewed up an oppressive combo/control Dralnu list and a durdly Gitrog Monster deck, but they both kind of fall out of the scope of what I think I want. Besides, having to constantly explain to people that I'm not playing Dakmor Salvage in The Gitrog Monster seems like it would get tiresome.
Of these, Tasigur is probably the best as a pure control deck. However, Transform Bolas gives you possibly more options given red's many fine boardwipes and wheel effects.
I play a Nicol Bolas, the Ravager grixis deck that is mostly control via hand destruction. Though it's fun to play, I find my opponents do not like playing against the deck. If built in what I consider the "typical" way, it will not check the box of "fun to play against." I'd go with Tasigur, the GOlden Fang.
Tasigur is probably the best commander of the three you listed but my own vote is for Bolas. Tasigur has kind of a reputation and I feel like the build itself is incredibly predictable for the commander which I find a little annoying. I have seen several Tasigur builds and they all feel kind of the same with a lot of ramp, big mana, and answers. Its really boring and predictable if you ask me and a lot of people tend to get annoyed with that commander. I often try to poke and prod it knowing that the deck picks up speed with time so I think in some ways it is a little hampered by reputation.
Bolas on the other hand, I have no idea what the "ideal" build looks like and I think he is very versatile as far as directions you can go with him. I think he has more room to grow due to that and you can shift the deck in a lot of cases to fit a meta and what you need in said meta.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have officially moved to MTGNexus. I just wanted to let people know as my response time to salvation decks being bumped is very hit or miss.
Of these, Tasigur is probably the best as a pure control deck. However, Transform Bolas gives you possibly more options given red's many fine boardwipes and wheel effects.
This is my thinking, though I feel like red is the weakest color to splash in EDH. Green gives me a more comprehensive removal suite as well as rampy ramp. On the other hand, red is more fun.
I play a Nicol Bolas, the Ravager grixis deck that is mostly control via hand destruction. Though it's fun to play, I find my opponents do not like playing against the deck. If built in what I consider the "typical" way, it will not check the box of "fun to play against." I'd go with Tasigur, the GOlden Fang.
Yeah, my Erebos list can already be pretty oppressive with hand disruption and board wipes, so I was thinking of avoiding decks that are too proactive and all-encompassing in their disruption. I mean, ultimately a lot of players are going to label hard control decks as unfun, so maybe I shouldn't concern myself with the weeping and gnashing of teeth of randoms too much.
Tasigur is probably the best commander of the three you listed but my own vote is for Bolas. Tasigur has kind of a reputation and I feel like the build itself is incredibly predictable for the commander which I find a little annoying. I have seen several Tasigur builds and they all feel kind of the same with a lot of ramp, big mana, and answers. Its really boring and predictable if you ask me and a lot of people tend to get annoyed with that commander. I often try to poke and prod it knowing that the deck picks up speed with time so I think in some ways it is a little hampered by reputation.
Bolas on the other hand, I have no idea what the "ideal" build looks like and I think he is very versatile as far as directions you can go with him. I think he has more room to grow due to that and you can shift the deck in a lot of cases to fit a meta and what you need in said meta.
I'm worried about the reputation as well. He's arguably the strongest control commander in the format, so of course he's gonna turn heads. Having played MBC for years has hardened me with regards to being the table villain. The flipside to that is that it's hard to get people to cooperate with you if you're the big bad, completely nullifying the point of the deck. That's where proper deckbuilding and politics come into play, though. There's also a part of me that greatly enjoys being 'the devil you know' so to speak. My Tasigur list isn't big mana at all, but otherwise it conforms to the expected answers.dec archetype.
Bolas is definitely neat, and I agree that he's underexplored. There are only four lists on this forum, one of which is my own. I was thinking of retrofitting the deck as a pseudo-Superfriends list, but then I'm playing Superfriends.
In Grixis i'd vote for Kess, Dissident Mage. A while back i did brew a list around her for a friend that revolves around (pseudo) wheels, Mana Geyser+Comet Storm type effects and a lot of control-ish effects. It is very fun to play against, results in heavy decision making and still isn't as oppessive as similar decks.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is another awesome control commander. Powerful colors, built in CA and a lot of fun/decisions playing it, due to top deck manipulation. Be cautious though, cards such as Forbid, Capsize and others might create very unfortunate situations and soft locks for your opponents.
Mah boi Talrand, Sky Summoner is solid classic for said archetype. Pseudo storming, swarming with Drakes all through mono-U control.
Notable mention should be Ephara, God of the Polis. WU is a solid control combination and due to her tech i always enjoy facing it.
In Grixis i'd vote for Kess, Dissident Mage. A while back i did brew a list around her for a friend that revolves around (pseudo) wheels, Mana Geyser+Comet Storm type effects and a lot of control-ish effects. It is very fun to play against, results in heavy decision making and still isn't as oppessive as similar decks.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is another awesome control commander. Powerful colors, built in CA and a lot of fun/decisions playing it, due to top deck manipulation. Be cautious though, cards such as Forbid, Capsize and others might create very unfortunate situations and soft locks for your opponents.
Mah boi Talrand, Sky Summoner is solid classic for said archetype. Pseudo storming, swarming with Drakes all through mono-U control.
Notable mention should be Ephara, God of the Polis. WU is a solid control combination and due to her tech i always enjoy facing it.
I'll second Rashmi, but Talrand is no way to make friends. It's just incentive for randos to mainboard scald and boil
The thing that makes phelddagrif great is that, even if people know how it works, it's still really hard to beat. I mean, you can maybe make sure phelddagrif loses by targeting it relentlessly and force answers, but phelddagrif can make sure you lose by fueling your enemies and removing your stuff.
It's a mutually assured destruction situation. If you want to win, you've gotta play along. At least a bit.
In Grixis i'd vote for Kess, Dissident Mage. A while back i did brew a list around her for a friend that revolves around (pseudo) wheels, Mana Geyser+Comet Storm type effects and a lot of control-ish effects. It is very fun to play against, results in heavy decision making and still isn't as oppessive as similar decks.
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is another awesome control commander. Powerful colors, built in CA and a lot of fun/decisions playing it, due to top deck manipulation. Be cautious though, cards such as Forbid, Capsize and others might create very unfortunate situations and soft locks for your opponents.
Mah boi Talrand, Sky Summoner is solid classic for said archetype. Pseudo storming, swarming with Drakes all through mono-U control.
Notable mention should be Ephara, God of the Polis. WU is a solid control combination and due to her tech i always enjoy facing it.
Kess is an interesting choice. I think she's probably the best Grixis control commander by a significant margin, but like Tasigur she has something of a reputation. My biggest gripe is that she's only available in foil. Petty and irrational, sure, but aesthetics are important to me. Ultimately though I think she's just a weaker Tasigur. Seasons Pastturns is a very compact, elegant win condition.
Rashmi, hmm. I've never really given yet much thought, mostly because there's a player at my FLGS that plays her with Sprout Swarm. If I move, though it wouldn't be much of an issue. I'll keep her in mind. As for Ephara and Talrand, meh.
The thing that makes phelddagrif great is that, even if people know how it works, it's still really hard to beat. I mean, you can maybe make sure phelddagrif loses by targeting it relentlessly and force answers, but phelddagrif can make sure you lose by fueling your enemies and removing your stuff.
It's a mutually assured destruction situation. If you want to win, you've gotta play along. At least a bit.
Man I was hoping you wouldn't respond because I knew you'd be tempting my ass to play that wonderful pile of jank.
It is a very attractive option, though. I love the philosophy behind it and the playstyle is right up my alley. It's just... I enjoy EDH because I get to play all kinds of stupid cards that aren't legal or viable in other formats. Phelddy categorically can't play them or else it risks too much heat. My list already plays a few of my favorites like the aforementioned Seasons Past and Forbid so maybe I should say damn the torpedos. Another positive is that I can build it cheap first and add to it over time
Tasigur practically requires fetches to work properly to fuel delve.
Decisions, decisions. You should see me try to pick out a breakfast cereal.
If you're okay with tapping out in the early to midgame, you can play The Scarab God. You don't typically need to have counterspells ready on the first five turns and afterwards you can hold up anything you want while using your manasink to start taking dudes for value.
You can play forbid, you'd just be best off treating it like a glorified cancel most of the time.
Seasons past is harder to make work outside of the endgame. Cool card but tough.
It's true that phelddagrif is very strict about what kinds of cards should be run, though. Not a lot of room for pet cards if they don't fit into a category, especially if they're threatening. It's not a good fit for someone who isn't willing to fully buy in to the deck structure.
If you're okay with tapping out in the early to midgame, you can play The Scarab God. You don't typically need to have counterspells ready on the first five turns and afterwards you can hold up anything you want while using your manasink to start taking dudes for value.
I considered The Scarab God but unfortunately I played Chainer for awhile. They're different, of course, but there's a superficial similarity that makes me reluctant to invest. Plus, I played a TSG-based deck for a long, long time during the Arena beta, so I'm pretty sick and tired of seeing bughead.
You can play forbid, you'd just be best off treating it like a glorified cancel most of the time.
Seasons past is harder to make work outside of the endgame. Cool card but tough.
It's true that phelddagrif is very strict about what kinds of cards should be run, though. Not a lot of room for pet cards if they don't fit into a category, especially if they're threatening. It's not a good fit for someone who isn't willing to fully buy in to the deck structure.
I think that's more or less the correct way to play Forbid in any deck, actually. You really only want to use the buyback when you're at the endgame and trying to contain a single opponent. It's a last resort counter until then. As for Seasons Past, well, it probably sucks in Phelddy for numerous reasons. Without a dedicated suite of tutors to recur it it's lackluster, and doing the loop makes you such a large target that it's antithetical the the core of the deck. I could live without it. Sorry, Finkel. Maybe some day.
Unlike Tasigur et al., I haven't really been able to properly test Phelddy. Playing with randoms online is much different than playing with randoms in person, where it's much easier to communicate and exert political control over the game. I think that's my biggest reluctance with regard to the Hippo.
1) It's just such a novel concept. Tasigur is ubiquitous and effectively "solved" whereas Dirk's Phelddy concept is relatively unique and interesting. I really dig that it scales with the power level of the table and by design can't be oppressive. It's still a hard control deck but built in such a way as to be multiplayer friendly. There's also something incredibly attractive about winning via Hippo beats.
2) I have a black deck and a red deck, so playing in Bant colors means every color is equally represented. Minor, I know, but aesthetics matter.
Here lately, I've been doing most of my EDHing online since my FLGS started doing Standard Showdown on EDH nights which has splintered things a bit. They've started trying to do Commander on another night but so far it hasn't caught on. However, I'm soon moving to a new area with a much, much larger population and getting a job that actually pays so I've been giving thought to buying into another EDH deck. I play Erebos and Daretti in paper and I think I'd like a little more variety. The problem is that I'm indecisive and suffer from buyer's remorse so badly that I dread my purchase before the transaction has even begun. I'm dreading it as I type this.
I know I want to play a control deck of some kind because I almost exclusively play them. They're challenging and engaging, and playing them well can be difficult. I like difficult. Currently, I don't have a blue-based control deck in my stable, so I'm strongly leaning towards something with countermagic. I'm assuming the meta is going to be pretty diverse and would like the deck to fall into 75% territory to be able to be reasonable to play at the average EDH table.
I understand this thread is kind of silly since the only proper answer is whatever I find most enjoyable. However, if I could answer that cleanly, I wouldn't need to make the thread, ya dig? Another key factor is how fun the deck is to play against. So, without further ado, the decks:
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
This is the option I'm leaning towards the most. Technically a black card, my favorite color, check. Graveyard oriented, check. Card advantage stapled on, check. Necessarily interactive, check. So, what's the problem? He's kind of a huge target. Even if I explain to people that I'm not running infinite mana combos, I am technically running a non-infinite way of stringing together multiple turns as a win condition, which might amount to the same thing for some people. Still, the siren's call is strong. Maybe I can avoid too many Rest in Peaces and Leyline of the Voids.
My personal experience in playing against Tasigur in person has been enjoyable, but I like making complex decisions and wheeling and dealing. I know a lot of people aren't and refuse to play ball, so another con for me is sitting down at a table with rubes who don't understand nuance and keep giving me garbage while one player gets farther and farther ahead. Relying on your opponents is a losing proposition counteracted only by the sheer power of Tasigur.
Oh, and I promise not to play the new art. #notmybananaman
Phelddagrif
Based on DirkGently's excellent concept of a diplomatic control deck, my fear is that over time the deck will be learned and its philosophy of trying to maintain the appearance of weakness will become transparent. Up until that point, though, the Mighty Hippo could be a lot of fun. If my future meta is diverse enough so that no one would really have the opportunity to learn the deck's secrets, then it's easily a worthy consideration. Doesn't have black, though.
Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Nicky B in the house. I could never figure out what to do with this deck, which is actually a positive for me. Honestly, though, I think the Ravager just isn't a great commander. Solid, but ultimately underwhelming. Grixis is one of my favorite color combinations but I'm reluctant to sink money into a deck that I fear won't satisfy my urges. I only list it here as a possibility because of the challenge of making it a semi-viable deck.
Other
I'm not 100% sold on a commander, so if you feel there's a commander that lends itself well to a blue-based control deck I've missed (and I'm sure there's plenty) post your suggestions. Oh, and stax isn't the kind of control I'm looking towards.
Very few of the lists are optimized since I haven't spent a whole lot of time with any of them and fine-tuning requires a metagame, so just assume I'm an above average builder and capable of turning them into solid 75% lists.
I've also brewed up an oppressive combo/control Dralnu list and a durdly Gitrog Monster deck, but they both kind of fall out of the scope of what I think I want. Besides, having to constantly explain to people that I'm not playing Dakmor Salvage in The Gitrog Monster seems like it would get tiresome.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
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 1/19/15GWHatebearsBolas on the other hand, I have no idea what the "ideal" build looks like and I think he is very versatile as far as directions you can go with him. I think he has more room to grow due to that and you can shift the deck in a lot of cases to fit a meta and what you need in said meta.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
This is my thinking, though I feel like red is the weakest color to splash in EDH. Green gives me a more comprehensive removal suite as well as rampy ramp. On the other hand, red is more fun.
Yeah, my Erebos list can already be pretty oppressive with hand disruption and board wipes, so I was thinking of avoiding decks that are too proactive and all-encompassing in their disruption. I mean, ultimately a lot of players are going to label hard control decks as unfun, so maybe I shouldn't concern myself with the weeping and gnashing of teeth of randoms too much.
I'm worried about the reputation as well. He's arguably the strongest control commander in the format, so of course he's gonna turn heads. Having played MBC for years has hardened me with regards to being the table villain. The flipside to that is that it's hard to get people to cooperate with you if you're the big bad, completely nullifying the point of the deck. That's where proper deckbuilding and politics come into play, though. There's also a part of me that greatly enjoys being 'the devil you know' so to speak. My Tasigur list isn't big mana at all, but otherwise it conforms to the expected answers.dec archetype.
Bolas is definitely neat, and I agree that he's underexplored. There are only four lists on this forum, one of which is my own. I was thinking of retrofitting the deck as a pseudo-Superfriends list, but then I'm playing Superfriends.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
Rashmi, Eternities Crafter is another awesome control commander. Powerful colors, built in CA and a lot of fun/decisions playing it, due to top deck manipulation. Be cautious though, cards such as Forbid, Capsize and others might create very unfortunate situations and soft locks for your opponents.
Mah boi Talrand, Sky Summoner is solid classic for said archetype. Pseudo storming, swarming with Drakes all through mono-U control.
Notable mention should be Ephara, God of the Polis. WU is a solid control combination and due to her tech i always enjoy facing it.
I'll second Rashmi, but Talrand is no way to make friends. It's just incentive for randos to mainboard scald and boil
It's a mutually assured destruction situation. If you want to win, you've gotta play along. At least a bit.
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
Rashmi, hmm. I've never really given yet much thought, mostly because there's a player at my FLGS that plays her with Sprout Swarm. If I move, though it wouldn't be much of an issue. I'll keep her in mind. As for Ephara and Talrand, meh.
Man I was hoping you wouldn't respond because I knew you'd be tempting my ass to play that wonderful pile of jank.
It is a very attractive option, though. I love the philosophy behind it and the playstyle is right up my alley. It's just... I enjoy EDH because I get to play all kinds of stupid cards that aren't legal or viable in other formats. Phelddy categorically can't play them or else it risks too much heat. My list already plays a few of my favorites like the aforementioned Seasons Past and Forbid so maybe I should say damn the torpedos. Another positive is that I can build it cheap first and add to it over time
Tasigur practically requires fetches to work properly to fuel delve.
Decisions, decisions. You should see me try to pick out a breakfast cereal.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
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.
Seasons past is harder to make work outside of the endgame. Cool card but tough.
It's true that phelddagrif is very strict about what kinds of cards should be run, though. Not a lot of room for pet cards if they don't fit into a category, especially if they're threatening. It's not a good fit for someone who isn't willing to fully buy in to the deck structure.
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
I think that's more or less the correct way to play Forbid in any deck, actually. You really only want to use the buyback when you're at the endgame and trying to contain a single opponent. It's a last resort counter until then. As for Seasons Past, well, it probably sucks in Phelddy for numerous reasons. Without a dedicated suite of tutors to recur it it's lackluster, and doing the loop makes you such a large target that it's antithetical the the core of the deck. I could live without it. Sorry, Finkel. Maybe some day.
Unlike Tasigur et al., I haven't really been able to properly test Phelddy. Playing with randoms online is much different than playing with randoms in person, where it's much easier to communicate and exert political control over the game. I think that's my biggest reluctance with regard to the Hippo.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK
Ultimately, it came down to two factors:
1) It's just such a novel concept. Tasigur is ubiquitous and effectively "solved" whereas Dirk's Phelddy concept is relatively unique and interesting. I really dig that it scales with the power level of the table and by design can't be oppressive. It's still a hard control deck but built in such a way as to be multiplayer friendly. There's also something incredibly attractive about winning via Hippo beats.
2) I have a black deck and a red deck, so playing in Bant colors means every color is equally represented. Minor, I know, but aesthetics matter.
Thanks everyone for being a sounding board.
[Primer] Erebos, God of the Dead
HONK HONK