MTG Salvation

I guess it'll be Abzan with a splash of red... does anyone think it'll fly or will doran just be more consistent? I'd love to compete with her when she comes out, but unfortunately I am not well-versed with green, and I wouldn't know how to begin building around her.

Cards I can think of that weren't available in abzan colors are obviously lightning bolt, then there's huntmaster of the fells and maybe Arlinn Kord? Would menace pieces like stormblood berserker or madcap skills be too cute? Boros charm also seems potentially ouchy. Just ideas out of my ass.

Well Rafiq is very strong in 20 life and better than Jenara vs monoblue so I think Saskia is the Rafiq to Anafenza's Jenara.

Falkenrath Aristocrat and Huntmaster are the only creatures I see as good enough to make the cut. Dreadbore, Kolaghan's Command and Bolts (Lightning bolt, Chain Lightning, Forked Bolt and Arc Lightning) are the spells I can think of that are also good enough. Maybe Boros Charm since all the modes are live on this deck.

If you think having her ability at the tower and those 10 cards are worth the red splash, go for it. I'd advise you to play woth the list on cockatrice and see if she is worth it.

I certainly think she's viable. What a crazy win con on turn 4. Probably even faster than Rafiq.

I am going to build her, that's for sure. I honestly think the kicker here, in all honesty, is vigilance. I mean, outside of Rafiq, there aren't many other Aggro-esqu generals that are going to be able to alpha-strike on turn 3/4 when there is an available blocker. That mana cost tho, ugh, even when you do run elves.

What I was thinking is that maybe you could run tribal Human aggro in order to abuse the power of Cavern of Souls to both fix your mana and make not only your general uncounterable but also powerhouse cards like Thalia, Dark Confidant and Knight of the Reliquary as well as he aforementioned Hunt master. That would also make Falkenroth better if it was ran.

Throw in some disruption/kill spells/pump spells? and this is starting to look like a real deck.

Interesting!!! I guess one major concern is being able to bring her out consistently on turn 4..

Just add mana dorks? Sure, they are almost all elves, but even they could potentially become huge. If we run champion of the parish and thalia's leutenant, then we could play the new golgari human that gives all creatures modular.

Quote from ghepip »

Just add mana dorks? Sure, they are almost all elves, but even they could potentially become huge. If we run champion of the parish and thalia's leutenant, then we could play the new golgari human that gives all creatures modular.

Yeah elves are all well and good, but hopefully the red can be produced consistently. I mean elves of deep shadow and avacyn's pilgrim are good for the B/W production respectively, but we're ramping to a t4 commander, not a t3. For a consistent BWRG by turn 4 maybe signets and talismans can be more decent than some elves? Then there's lotus cobra and sylvan caryatid too so I guess those are solid options as well. Dunno just throwing it out there. 4 colors in 4 turns just seems steep for me, especially if the expectation is to be able to pull it off almost every game. If it is possible tho.. an unanswered doran into saskia next turn is potentially 18 life ouchy. Throw in some flame rifts or bolts and there will be a lot of lethal permutations in a well tuned deck.

I had a Sliver Overlord deck, I could pull him T4 95% of the games, pulling a 4 color commander T4 is easier then you imagine :), you can even make him go consistent T3 if that is the focus, and no, I didn't run any of the slow mana rocks to do that, just plain staple ramp cards like, Lotus Cobra, Birds, Bloom Tender, Oracle of Mul Daya....

So yeah, for those who want Saskia on T3, it is very easy to make a deck with that focus, but of course you will need the best lands/ramp, which means 6 duals, 9 fetches, 6 shocks... and you are ready to go.

Zealous Conscripts Eldrazi Obligator and Harness by Force are deadly in this deck from Red as well by removing a blocker and potentially doing 6 - 16 damage.

Doran's creature selection is a good template of beaters that do more than just beat

Volt Brawler seems like an odd choice since its a two shot - unless you're playing more energy cards. I wouldn't bother playing with Marath either(much more worse when its not a commander) or Winter Orb

Siege Rhino should be added
Archangel Avacyn covers 2 different matchups
Along with Selfless Spirit you have evasion and defense from removal
Falkenrath Aristocrat for more evasion/Resilience

Other adds worth having are Sublime Archangel, Hellrider, Xenagod

Doran is a good template to go from, this deck would be more suited for a beatdown midrange than hyper aggro,

Quote from Jibux »

I've been testing Doran a lot lately: you can find my list here

I do believe Saskia is a viable way to add red to Doran, the commander is really strong and the 4 colours allows you to play way more untapped green mana sources.
Here is my current decklist.

If anyone has comments or ideas for this decklist, feel free to share, I'm looking to improve it for the French Commander Cup next week.

That looks solid, but I don't think marath is a good idea as a non commander. I'd like to see a bit more burn, like maybe char instead of dismember, then add a rift bolt or magma jet.. I'd rather play night's whisper than painful truths, and sudden demise is a great one-sided sweeper. I'm fooling around with a clunky prototype and I actually like vampire nighthawk and aerial responder.

Quote from Agent_0f_Cuba »

Doran's creature selection is a good template of beaters that do more than just beat

Volt Brawler seems like an odd choice since its a two shot - unless you're playing more energy cards. I wouldn't bother playing with Marath either(much more worse when its not a commander) or Winter Orb

Siege Rhino should be added
Archangel Avacyn covers 2 different matchups
Along with Selfless Spirit you have evasion and defense from removal
Falkenrath Aristocrat for more evasion/Resilience

Other adds worth having are Sublime Archangel, Hellrider, Xenagod

Doran is a good template to go from, this deck would be more suited for a beatdown midrange than hyper aggro,

I think the same about Saskia. WBRG goodstuff-midrange. How about Tarmo and Stoneforge Mystic?

Quote from Agent_0f_Cuba »

Doran's creature selection is a good template of beaters that do more than just beat

Volt Brawler seems like an odd choice since its a two shot - unless you're playing more energy cards. I wouldn't bother playing with Marath either(much more worse when its not a commander) or Winter Orb

Siege Rhino should be added
Archangel Avacyn covers 2 different matchups
Along with Selfless Spirit you have evasion and defense from removal
Falkenrath Aristocrat for more evasion/Resilience

Other adds worth having are Sublime Archangel, Hellrider, Xenagod

Doran is a good template to go from, this deck would be more suited for a beatdown midrange than hyper aggro,

Yeah I agree midrange beats over all-in style aggro, but I think incorporating some hyper aggro pieces like lathnu hellion or hell's thunder would work really well with saskia. It's like having 8 damage burn spells for 3 lol. That kind of insane reach is probably one of the selling points of splashing red. Coz if we go for a purely midrange strategy, Abzan aggro disrupt is I believe a more efficient way to get things done. Voltaic brawler is nuts man. I think the energy doesn't matter coz if an opponent allows a 2 mana 4/3 trampler to swing more twice, it prolly means he dead anyway.

My challenge to that is 1 the mana intensity of double red cards that don't hold up in the long run or on their own and an energy card in a deck without energy themes.

We don't need to try that hard with Saskia.

The creature selections need to stand on their own, so fireball creatures aren't exactly appealing here. I'd recommend you guys take a look at how canadian highlander decks are built http://www.mtgtop8.com/archetype?a=543&meta=&f=CHL

This is what i'm trying out, still toying with the mana base but the rest is much to my liking, i've been satisfied with it so far and it's curve is consistent.

Quote from Agent_0f_Cuba »

My challenge to that is 1 the mana intensity of double red cards that don't hold up in the long run or on their own and an energy card in a deck without energy themes.

We don't need to try that hard with Saskia.

The creature selections need to stand on their own, so fireball creatures aren't exactly appealing here. I'd recommend you guys take a look at how canadian highlander decks are built http://www.mtgtop8.com/archetype?a=543&meta=&f=CHL

This is what i'm trying out, still toying with the mana base but the rest is much to my liking, i've been satisfied with it so far and it's curve is consistent.

yujipooji's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards

1 Arid Mesa 1 Bayou 1 Bloodstained Mire 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Command Tower 1 Dryad Arbor 1 Flooded Strand 1 Forest 1 Godless Shrine 1 Mana Confluence 1 Marsh Flats 1 Misty Rainforest 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Plains 1 Polluted Delta 1 Savannah 1 Scrubland 1 Swamp 1 Temple Garden 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 1 Verdant Catacombs 1 Wasteland 1 Windswept Heath 1 Wooded Foothills 1 Arbor Elf 1 Avacyn's Pilgrim 1 Birds of Paradise 1 Deathrite Shaman 1 Elves of Deep Shadow 1 Elvish Mystic 1 Eternal Witness 1 Fyndhorn Elves 1 Llanowar Elves 1 Mother of Runes 1 Qasali Pridemage 1 Scavenging Ooze 1 Stoneforge Mystic 1 Tidehollow Sculler 1 Voice of Resurgence 1 Liliana of the Veil 1 Sword of Feast and Famine 1 Umezawa's Jitte 1 Sylvan Library 1 Abrupt Decay 1 Diabolic Edict 1 Dismember 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Duress 1 Green Sun's Zenith 1 Inquisition of Kozilek 1 Thoughtseize 1 Toxic Deluge 1 Archangel Avacyn 1 Selfless Spirit 1 Lightning Bolt 1 Lightning Helix 1 Dromoka's Command 1 Falkenrath Aristocrat 1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant 1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor 1 Siege Rhino 1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance 1 Badlands 1 Plateau 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Blood Crypt 1 Taiga 1 Stomping Ground 1 Lotus Cobra 1 Sylvan Caryatid 1 Eladamri's Call 1 Hymn to Tourach 1 Vindicate 1 Reflecting Pool 1 Raging Ravine 1 Grim Flayer 1 Knight of the Reliquary 1 Blightning 1 Stirring Wildwood 1 Path to Exile 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Terminate 1 Wild Nacatl 1 Go for the Throat 1 Fire-Lit Thicket 1 Twilight Mire 1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Horizon Canopy 1 Concealed Courtyard 1 Blooming Marsh 1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation 1 Bloodbraid Elf 1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet 1 Maelstrom Pulse 1 Loxodon Smiter 1 Tarmogoyf 1 Boros Charm 1 Saskia, the Unyielding

How does she handle compared to anafenza?

Exactly, the math also offers a better chance for catching up after falling behind which is a missing part of many aggro decks that this covers.

Part of me wonders if Bruse Tarl and a Golgari partner would be better than Saskia in the zone. Thoughts?

I also want to try Bruse and Tymna.

Bruse and Reyhan seems way better IMO. Against Zurgo and others, you really want something meaningful out there to get DS and Lifelink on Bruse's enters-the-battlefield turn. T1 dork, T2 3/3, T3 Bruse is hard to beat.

Bruse's lifelink is strong but aside from the obvious combat math i still prefer Saskia's haste which allows a better presence and response against slower decks or wraths

Quote from Agent_0f_Cuba »

Bruse's lifelink is strong but aside from the obvious combat math i still prefer Saskia's haste which allows a better presence and response against slower decks or wraths

I think they have very similar t4 (or more likely t3) presence as Bruse's ability triggers the turn played.

Like how this is keeping it cheap and efficient.

Any thoughts on Punishing Fire since Grove is being run?