In multiplayer, blocking is way better than usual. Because creatures must tap to attack, they can only attack a single opponent each turn rotation. Meanwhile, an untapped creature can potentially block during each of your opponent's turns, and even when a creature doesn't, they're often still getting value as having the mere opportunity to block will sometimes make an opponent's attack against you unprofitable, thus causing no attacks against you (or better yet, attacks against a different opponent).
When you control lots of creatures, it's often easy to create this scenario. Sometimes, the deck you're playing isn't laden with creatures though, and raising a standing army can be difficult. That's why I've been on the lookout for exceptional blockers. Often, it only takes a single creature to deter an entire army.
I've been thinking about which qualities make for a good blocker, and here's what I've come up with:
Inexpensive — A good blocker ought to be cheap. Huge beasties like Sphinx of the Steel Wind might be good at holding down the fort, but they're also costly. Each turn without profitable blocks is one where opponents can make attacks of opportunity ("pot shots") against you, so the sooner a card can block, the better.
Tenacious — A good blocker ought to survive combat. A card like Typhoid Rats might sufficiently deter ground monsters, but it also can't block without being traded off, and once it's gone, there's nothing left to hold the armies back.
Blocks Tall — A good blocker ought to be able to stop a single imposing attacker. Walls like Fog Bank can often do this, but defenders tend to make terrible blockers since it seldom costs anything to attack into them. Having high base power or having a mechanic like deathtouch makes attacking unprofitable.
Blocks Wide — A good blocker ought to be able to stop multiple smaller attackers. Silent Arbiter is one fairly explicit example, but it's also possible to stop small armies with a mechanic like lifelink. If attacking into a card incurs too high a cost for too little gain, opponents will turn their armies somewhere else.
Flying/Reach — A good blocker ought to be able to stop fliers. While being able to stop evasive threats of all kinds would be a nice luxury, fliers are pervasive enough that they ought to be accounted for, especially considering that it isn't too difficult to block them either.
Putting these pieces together, I think the ideal blocker is something like Atraxa. At four, she's relatively inexpensive, so she can come down quick enough to stop early threats. She's relatively large bodied, so smaller creatures can't attack into her. Deathtouch ensures larger foes can't win a fight against her, and lifelink makes teams of smaller creatures unviable. Flying is obviously important, and vigilance is icing on the cake. About the only thing Atraxa doesn't have going for her is that she doesn't stick around after killing a larger attacker.
So, are there any cards that stand out as exceptional blockers to you? While not impossible, these qualities are often difficult to search for as they can take many different forms. Any help is appreciated.
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Seconding Glissa, the Traitor here. It does make her a target for direct removal though. I usually expect to cast at least 4 times a game at various points.
The other variable I find helpful in a blocker is one that can also swing with impunity, being a threat both ways, in attack and defense - ergo, vigilant attackers that can hold their own in defense. The best example of this I can think of from the top of my head is Bruna, the Fading Light. She blocks fliers, can swing and still block, and at 5/7 her ass is fat enough to cover most reasonable threats. She is expensive to cast, but her cast trigger makes sure she brings along a pal, with very minimal ways to stop this trigger. Often for me the pal is something like Magus of the Moon to make sure she comes away well in combat.
Imo a very important quality is being non-threatening. Atraxa sucks imo, because people will happily use a removal spell on her and then smash face. Whereas people feel pretty stupid using an stp on a 1/1 dt rat, so they'll probably look elsewhere.
Ophiomancer is top-tier at this. Kill the mancer and you've still got a good non-threatening blocker. Kill the token and it comes right back. Use 2 removals on a 3-drop and you feel like a fool. Excellent card.
There are a lot of cards that stop you from dying in combat. In a sense, even Wrath of God is a better inclusion than any creature that can block.
In a scenario where you have to pick one creature to block, Hundred-Handed One seems decent. But that's a lot of mana.
Personally, I like Fog Bank and Silent Arbiter in a pillowfort deck, I like Spore Frog and Peacekeeper in decks that can reanimate. I like Stonehorn Dignitary in blink/Reveillark decks. Serene Master also seems pretty good, but it is not great against anthems or +1/+1 counters.
Imo a very important quality is being non-threatening. Atraxa sucks imo, because people will happily use a removal spell on her and then smash face. Whereas people feel pretty stupid using an stp on a 1/1 dt rat, so they'll probably look elsewhere.
Valid point. Everyone in this format runs removal of some kind, and it's pretty obvious how well creatures like Atraxa and Glissa trade in combat. Being innocuous is important. As is not being worth spending removal on.
The other variable I find helpful in a blocker is one that can also swing with impunity, being a threat both ways, in attack and defense - ergo, vigilant attackers that can hold their own in defense. The best example of this I can think of from the top of my head is Bruna, the Fading Light.
It's funny you mention Bruna because I was just thinking about her the same way. Not to mention Gisela, the Broken Blade is quite good at blocking in her own right, so the two pair well together.
Something I neglected to mention in my opening post is that a lot of the qualities that make for a good blocker also overlap with what makes for a good attacker, particularly if you're looking to knock out planeswalkers in a single hit or two. There's certainly value in having your blockers also be effective on offense. It's possible that there's so much overlap between those types of cards that perhaps most decks ought to ensure their cards can do both since they're likely sacrificing so little to do so anyway.
Imo a very important quality is being non-threatening. Atraxa sucks imo, because people will happily use a removal spell on her and then smash face. Whereas people feel pretty stupid using an stp on a 1/1 dt rat, so they'll probably look elsewhere.
See, I have mixed feelings about this. I come from the school of thought that's like "Well, why aren't all of your cards things your opponents want to remove?"
If an opponent can remove one of your cards but chooses not to, that implies one of two things. Either 1.) your opponent doesn't want to remove your card because it isn't valuable, or 2.) your opponent doesn't want to remove your card because they can't do so profitably. Ophiomancer is great for the second reason. It isn't that the card isn't valuable. Opponents should want to remove it if they find it consistently impairs them. It's just that Ophiomancer is tenacious since it's hard to remove profitably.
It's certainly a form of mitigation. I was hoping to limit this thread specifically to creatures (and perhaps cards that create them) that actually block though.
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Not that it's any specific card, but tokens are always good for blocking. In my Ghave deck (A ghave deck that only makes saproling tokens just for the lols) making an army of tokens is an easy way to stop attackers as long as they don't fly or trample. If you have enough of them, you can stack up your blockers to make trades as well. Plus, you can usually keep generating them!
Archon of Justice is good at blocking, or really just dying. Modest mana cost, decent body, great death ability. One of my favorite cards in reanimation decks due to the CMC and flying body. I do not feel bad trading with an X/4 and getting premium removal to boot. Or just blocks something bigger and removes your choice of targets.
Ashen Rider is much more mana intensive, but doubles up on the value. Sidisi, Undead Vizier has deathtough and good toughness to kill x/5's without dying. Also gets her value on ETB so is less prone to eat removal than say Atraxa. Solemn Simulacrum is a premium blocker with ETB and Death trigger. Love blocking early game with this guy, but usually doesn't kill anything.
Overall, creatures that block well, but don't have any non-keyword abilities are less valuable to me. I tend to like ETB creatures with large toughness for blockers, or any creature with death trigger makes a fine blocker to me. Keyword Soup creatures do make good blockers usually, but largely don't show the value added for just being good in combat. Exceptions exist of course.
I'm a little surprised that no one thought of(even as an honorable mention)Guardian of the Gateless. Sure, it's 5 CMC, but for that, you get a wide, self-buffing blocker with a usable body.
See, I have mixed feelings about this. I come from the school of thought that's like "Well, why aren't all of your cards things your opponents want to remove?"
If an opponent can remove one of your cards but chooses not to, that implies one of two things. Either 1.) your opponent doesn't want to remove your card because it isn't valuable, or 2.) your opponent doesn't want to remove your card because they can't do so profitably.
if you think about it, those are both different ways of saying the same thing.
if you think about it, those are both different ways of saying the same thing.
Sorry, I'm still a bit lost. Would you mind elaborating?
yeah I accidentally hit post and then my gf enlisted me in packing and I hoped it would stand on its own.
Your opponent has a removal spell. You've got permanents. Using the spell costs a card, mana, and the opportunity to use it elsewhere. They'll use the removal on your permanent if those costs are less than the resulting effect. So if you want to make sure they aim elsewhere, you do your best to ensure that the value they get from removing your stuff is less than the value of the removal.
There are plenty of ways to do this without playing bad cards. One way a lot of people know intuitively is etb creatures. Token production. Repeatable token production. Recursion. Etc. I think one that newer players overlook is not having the scariest permanent on the board. Less what you play, and more when you play them.
The reason your opponent doesn't want to stp your rat is because their removal is more valuable than your rat. If your permanent is low enough threat, it becomes real hard to remove profitably. They'd need a pinger or something to reduce the cost enough to justify using their removal against your rat (whether a card or a token produced by something). Unless they're particularly interested in hurting you for some reason.
yeah I accidentally hit post and then my gf enlisted me in packing and I hoped it would stand on its own.
Your opponent has a removal spell. You've got permanents. Using the spell costs a card, mana, and the opportunity to use it elsewhere. They'll use the removal on your permanent if those costs are less than the resulting effect. So if you want to make sure they aim elsewhere, you do your best to ensure that the value they get from removing your stuff is less than the value of the removal.
There are plenty of ways to do this without playing bad cards. One way a lot of people know intuitively is etb creatures. Token production. Repeatable token production. Recursion. Etc. I think one that newer players overlook is not having the scariest permanent on the board. Less what you play, and more when you play them.
The reason your opponent doesn't want to stp your rat is because their removal is more valuable than your rat. If your permanent is low enough threat, it becomes real hard to remove profitably. They'd need a pinger or something to reduce the cost enough to justify using their removal against your rat (whether a card or a token produced by something). Unless they're particularly interested in hurting you for some reason.
Thanks for the clarification. I see where you're coming from now.
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Personally, I'm also a fan of cards like Spitemare, Boros Reckoner, Mogg Maniac, Truefire Captain, Wall of Souls, and even Stuffy Doll. True, most of them tend to die if they block, but they act as rattlesnakes, threatening to turn a player's damage back at their face. Each player has to ask if it might be aimed at them and whether it is worth losing life to attack into them. And if Player A chooses not to attack, the creatures still sit there defying Player B. If he passes, they present the same challenge to Player C. If they all pass, hoping not to be the one who ticks you off, you've bought a turn and still have the same defense next time.
Vampire Nighthawk has flying and deathtouch. It's also a vampire, so if you have a Blade of the Bloodchief (which is often just used for combo reasons even in the absence of actual vampires) it gets two +1/+1 counters whenever a creature dies, so it goes straight into Aristocrats builds. The lifelink is just icing, but it provides a "screw token decks" option, and again, lifelink scales to a creature's power, and this does have tribal synergy with Blade of the Bloodchief.
The only thing missing (mostly because it's black) is vigilance.
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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!
Regarding Ophiomancer, I wouldn't run it specifically as a blocker, but if you've other good reason to run it - for example, wanting repeatable token generation for sac fodder - it does indeed do a good job of discouraging people swinging at you.
And in general, this is my attitude towards blockers. I wouldn't really look to run cards in my deck just to stand in the way of my opponents creatures. But if there's something I would be considering anyway, having some good defensive attributes is a nice extra. Baleful Strix is another good one for this reason. It helps smooth out your curve early game, and if you have some kind of way to reuse ETB effects it gets very good, plus it has the nice bonus of being a flying deathtoucher - by comparison, I wouldn't run Tidehollow Strix as it does nothing but defend in the vast majority of decks.
The only real exceptions to this for me are cards that completely change combat, like Silent Arbiter. In the right deck, I'm happy to run purely defensive cards like that.
i really like creatures that can block any number of creatures, ,just add prevent damage enchants or inderstructible.. pretty casual combo but it's fun and easy to pillowfort
When you control lots of creatures, it's often easy to create this scenario. Sometimes, the deck you're playing isn't laden with creatures though, and raising a standing army can be difficult. That's why I've been on the lookout for exceptional blockers. Often, it only takes a single creature to deter an entire army.
I've been thinking about which qualities make for a good blocker, and here's what I've come up with:
Inexpensive — A good blocker ought to be cheap. Huge beasties like Sphinx of the Steel Wind might be good at holding down the fort, but they're also costly. Each turn without profitable blocks is one where opponents can make attacks of opportunity ("pot shots") against you, so the sooner a card can block, the better.
Tenacious — A good blocker ought to survive combat. A card like Typhoid Rats might sufficiently deter ground monsters, but it also can't block without being traded off, and once it's gone, there's nothing left to hold the armies back.
Blocks Tall — A good blocker ought to be able to stop a single imposing attacker. Walls like Fog Bank can often do this, but defenders tend to make terrible blockers since it seldom costs anything to attack into them. Having high base power or having a mechanic like deathtouch makes attacking unprofitable.
Blocks Wide — A good blocker ought to be able to stop multiple smaller attackers. Silent Arbiter is one fairly explicit example, but it's also possible to stop small armies with a mechanic like lifelink. If attacking into a card incurs too high a cost for too little gain, opponents will turn their armies somewhere else.
Flying/Reach — A good blocker ought to be able to stop fliers. While being able to stop evasive threats of all kinds would be a nice luxury, fliers are pervasive enough that they ought to be accounted for, especially considering that it isn't too difficult to block them either.
Putting these pieces together, I think the ideal blocker is something like Atraxa. At four, she's relatively inexpensive, so she can come down quick enough to stop early threats. She's relatively large bodied, so smaller creatures can't attack into her. Deathtouch ensures larger foes can't win a fight against her, and lifelink makes teams of smaller creatures unviable. Flying is obviously important, and vigilance is icing on the cake. About the only thing Atraxa doesn't have going for her is that she doesn't stick around after killing a larger attacker.
So, are there any cards that stand out as exceptional blockers to you? While not impossible, these qualities are often difficult to search for as they can take many different forms. Any help is appreciated.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
Glissa, the Traitor does so at a great rate including utility.
Using it as a blocker seems to be one of the most fair uses of Master of Cruelties.
The other variable I find helpful in a blocker is one that can also swing with impunity, being a threat both ways, in attack and defense - ergo, vigilant attackers that can hold their own in defense. The best example of this I can think of from the top of my head is Bruna, the Fading Light. She blocks fliers, can swing and still block, and at 5/7 her ass is fat enough to cover most reasonable threats. She is expensive to cast, but her cast trigger makes sure she brings along a pal, with very minimal ways to stop this trigger. Often for me the pal is something like Magus of the Moon to make sure she comes away well in combat.
Ophiomancer is top-tier at this. Kill the mancer and you've still got a good non-threatening blocker. Kill the token and it comes right back. Use 2 removals on a 3-drop and you feel like a fool. Excellent card.
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
There are a lot of cards that stop you from dying in combat. In a sense, even Wrath of God is a better inclusion than any creature that can block.
In a scenario where you have to pick one creature to block, Hundred-Handed One seems decent. But that's a lot of mana.
Personally, I like Fog Bank and Silent Arbiter in a pillowfort deck, I like Spore Frog and Peacekeeper in decks that can reanimate. I like Stonehorn Dignitary in blink/Reveillark decks. Serene Master also seems pretty good, but it is not great against anthems or +1/+1 counters.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Valid point. Everyone in this format runs removal of some kind, and it's pretty obvious how well creatures like Atraxa and Glissa trade in combat. Being innocuous is important. As is not being worth spending removal on.
Something I neglected to mention in my opening post is that a lot of the qualities that make for a good blocker also overlap with what makes for a good attacker, particularly if you're looking to knock out planeswalkers in a single hit or two. There's certainly value in having your blockers also be effective on offense. It's possible that there's so much overlap between those types of cards that perhaps most decks ought to ensure their cards can do both since they're likely sacrificing so little to do so anyway.
See, I have mixed feelings about this. I come from the school of thought that's like "Well, why aren't all of your cards things your opponents want to remove?"
If an opponent can remove one of your cards but chooses not to, that implies one of two things. Either 1.) your opponent doesn't want to remove your card because it isn't valuable, or 2.) your opponent doesn't want to remove your card because they can't do so profitably. Ophiomancer is great for the second reason. It isn't that the card isn't valuable. Opponents should want to remove it if they find it consistently impairs them. It's just that Ophiomancer is tenacious since it's hard to remove profitably.
It's certainly a form of mitigation. I was hoping to limit this thread specifically to creatures (and perhaps cards that create them) that actually block though.
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
(U/B)(U/B)(U/B) JUMP IN THE LINE, ROCK YOUR BODY IN TIME
(R/W)(R/W)(R/W) RISING FROM THE NEON GLOOM, SHINING LIKE A CRAZY MOON
(U/R)(R/G)(G/U) STEALIN' WHEN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUYIN'
Ashen Rider is much more mana intensive, but doubles up on the value.
Sidisi, Undead Vizier has deathtough and good toughness to kill x/5's without dying. Also gets her value on ETB so is less prone to eat removal than say Atraxa.
Solemn Simulacrum is a premium blocker with ETB and Death trigger. Love blocking early game with this guy, but usually doesn't kill anything.
Overall, creatures that block well, but don't have any non-keyword abilities are less valuable to me. I tend to like ETB creatures with large toughness for blockers, or any creature with death trigger makes a fine blocker to me. Keyword Soup creatures do make good blockers usually, but largely don't show the value added for just being good in combat. Exceptions exist of course.
Platinum Emperion/Platinum Angel + Darksteel Plate + Swiftfoot Boots.
Cho-Manno, Rvolutionary + Pariah +SfB
Wall of Nets + Entangler + Indescrutibility
Surprise! Ambush Viper
No Mercy
Mageta, the Lion (Attack me! I DARE YOU!)
False Prophet
Phyrexian Obliterator
Boros Reckoner
Darksteel Myr/Darksteel Sentinel
Black has T.Rats and other similar cards such as Pharika's Chosen
Dream Fighter goes out with the opponent's creature and they both get ice cream, eat it, and then come back later.
Aether Membrane
Voracious Cobra(love this card)
Engulfing Slagwurm is expensive, but it destroys creatures before combat damage is dealt.
Goblin Snowman
Uthden Troll the original red blocker
Megnoloth
Deadly Recluse reach AND deathtouch for just 2 cmc.
Also, ANY creature can become a good blocker, really.
EDIT: None can touch the master. lol
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
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
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
Your opponent has a removal spell. You've got permanents. Using the spell costs a card, mana, and the opportunity to use it elsewhere. They'll use the removal on your permanent if those costs are less than the resulting effect. So if you want to make sure they aim elsewhere, you do your best to ensure that the value they get from removing your stuff is less than the value of the removal.
There are plenty of ways to do this without playing bad cards. One way a lot of people know intuitively is etb creatures. Token production. Repeatable token production. Recursion. Etc. I think one that newer players overlook is not having the scariest permanent on the board. Less what you play, and more when you play them.
The reason your opponent doesn't want to stp your rat is because their removal is more valuable than your rat. If your permanent is low enough threat, it becomes real hard to remove profitably. They'd need a pinger or something to reduce the cost enough to justify using their removal against your rat (whether a card or a token produced by something). Unless they're particularly interested in hurting you for some reason.
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
Trap your friends in an endless game with this 23-card combo!
2023 Average Peasant Cube|and Discussion
Because I have more decks than fit in a signature
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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 1/19/15GWHatebearsThe only thing missing (mostly because it's black) is vigilance.
On phasing:
Strong vs high power flying creatures, very good vs Dragon/Angels deck which a lot of people run.
EDH: Xenagos, God of Revels.
This was my first thought when I started reading this thread.
Building: Varina
And in general, this is my attitude towards blockers. I wouldn't really look to run cards in my deck just to stand in the way of my opponents creatures. But if there's something I would be considering anyway, having some good defensive attributes is a nice extra. Baleful Strix is another good one for this reason. It helps smooth out your curve early game, and if you have some kind of way to reuse ETB effects it gets very good, plus it has the nice bonus of being a flying deathtoucher - by comparison, I wouldn't run Tidehollow Strix as it does nothing but defend in the vast majority of decks.
The only real exceptions to this for me are cards that completely change combat, like Silent Arbiter. In the right deck, I'm happy to run purely defensive cards like that.
It’s ok, but being able to exile remove your opponents stuff if pretty good. Especially if you can combo it with stuff like the eldrazi processors.
Legacy - Solidarity - mono U aggro - burn - Imperial Painter - Strawberry Shortcake - Bluuzards - bom
also
Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist and [card]Dueling
Grounds[/card]
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Είμαι Άνεργος.
Grimstringer on Cockatrice, add me if you wanna