You didn't build yours as combo? That's an interesting take. There was only one Titania deck at the tournament I played in, but a Samut deck took third. Sen Triplets got 1st and I got 2nd. I'm in more of a blue intensive meta though.
Hey everyone. Recently took 1st and 2nd at some local duel commander tournaments with Ruhan. It has been a bit of a struggle finding the right ratios of cards for the deck, and the right type of style to play Ruhan, but I'm finally getting it down I think. Anyone else still using him? How have you been playing the deck? What are your thoughts on what works better?
I play him about every three weeks. I build him like a Jeskai control deck. I don't know what shell fits him best, but i've been satisfied playing control.
Thought about trying Ruhan as a combo build, but then it seemed like it would be more consistent as a control shell. That, and you can build in a couple small instant win combos if the game happens to stall out or you draw them just right. I'm thinking Rest in piece and Helm of Obedience. There are a lot of graveyard based grindy decks in my meta now so RIP is great. Helm is only one card of opportunity cost and both are tutorable. The other thing I'm dying to do (not really an instant win, but should be close) is floating mana, casting Teferi's Protection and following it up with Balance, Armageddon, etc. Once I get a list finished and have some results to share I'll let you know how it goes.
My meta lately has been relatively polarized between control or heavy aggro, so I've been trying to come up with cards that aren't *too* dead to one deck or the other. For instance, the Volcanic Fallout instead of a Sudden Demise or Pyroclasm, Electrolyze over (probably) Chain Lightning, etc. Can you guys think of cards that fit that bill for me? Meta inlcudes Leovold, Sen Triplets, Saskia the Unyielding, Selvala, Explorer Returned, Anafenza the Foremost, Geist of Saint Traft, etc.
Oh, no, sorry. I was just trying to think of all the ones I've seen over the past months that are heavy hitters and prevalent, but forgot Geist was gone. My bad lol.
I've posted my list below. Sorry for the formatting. Don't know if anyone else is having problem with deck tags, but I couldn't get them to work for the life of me. I've only been able to play six matches with it (current record is 4-1-1) so there is still a lot of tuning to go. I have my eyes on a few cards I'm not sure about (the land destruction package), but it's been performing pretty well as a first draft. It's slow as heck which can be an issue if I'm not conscious of it. The combo pieces were included to give me another quick way to end a game other than Ruhan, They may be too cute though. You have the instant win of Rest in Peace plus Helm and the soft lock of RIP and Energy Field. I'm happy to hear any feedback or answer any questions anyone might have. Hope everyone else is having as much fun as me getting a 7/7 for 4
Field of Ruin is too slow imo. Radiant Flames vs Slagstorm is meta dependent. With Ruhan not able to attack walkers, the three damage redirected to walkers can be relevant. Same with Chain Lightning. I do agree with Cast Out over Oblivion Ring. If you're going with an O-ring effect, Cast Out's versatility outweighs it's higher cmc. You definitely should be running Supreme Verdict, Cavern of Souls, and Treachery though. Especially with your enchantment package.
The mountain is mostly there for when something of mine gets Ghost Quartered or Ruhan gets Pathed and I need to get a red source off it.
I have no idea how Supreme Verdict didn't make it into my list. I even bought a copy, but I guess I misplaced it in my haste to get to the event There are worse cards to lose though.
Do either of you folks have experience with Field of Ruin? I considered it myself and thought it may be too slow, but I haven't actually tried
it.
I like the idea of Cast Out. I'm not nuts about the higher CMC, but instant is great and my 3 drop slot has felt cluttered.
I have both Slagstorm and Radiant Flames. The reach of Storm has been relevant, but the double red could be a problem some games.
Treachery is a great suggestion. Hadn't thought of how great an Academy Rector target it is until now.
Cavern of Souls is probably fine. I didn't think it was necessary given how few creatures we run, but the opportunity cost is fairly low. I'm not running a lot of lands that don't produce colored mana. This could push me more towards Radiant Flames.
I plan on running Ruhan at an event this week. I'll try out some of the changes and let you know if I have any significant insights. Thanks again!
I agree every Ruhan deck should have a single mountain. I also agree that Field of Ruin is too slow. Way too slow. Cavern of Souls is irrelevant for every creature but Ruhan tbh. You play it and always call Giant/Warrior. I ended up cutting Maze of Ith, reluctantly, to cut back on colorless mana.
How have you been liking Soulfire? I have too few creatures in my deck that I feel it would just be a lightning rod.
Aggressive non-red decks have a hard time removing it. Even if red does burn it, you’re slowing down their early game or getting rid of their burst late game.
It’s a bit slow against midrange. You want to play it later on and grind them out.
It’s very hard to get value out of the card against control, but i’m not trying to beat that right now.
That's fair. I haven't seen many red based aggressive decks, to my own surprise. Mostly just grindy decks. I wish I could pack Timely Reinforcements and/or Blessed Alliance in the deck, but just hasn't been warranted.
Does this guy have a slot in tempo/control builds? Looks pretty sweet, but not quite close enough to snapcaster to be AMAZING.
1R - Creature
First Strike - 2/1
When it enters the battlefield you can choose a card from an opponents grave and cast it this turn spending any color mana you want to pay for it's cost and it's exiled EoT.
Would be great if it was our graveyards instead of an opponent’s. Games go long enough against control for this card to always hit something of value. I think it will be good against aggro a majority of the time. Some of the midrange decks that run a lot of creatures or focus on a voltron strategy make the card a lot worse. I think the meta is going to be what ultimately decides if it’s good enough.
After some testing, Direfleet Dare Devil isn't good enough to make the cut, imo.
On a different note, I've been curious as to whether any of you have experience against Zurgo. It practically doesn't exist in my meta, despite seeing it being THE deck to beat on mtgtop8. If I go to a larger duel commander tournament near me, I'm thinking I should anticipate a fair amount of zurgo decks, and a good amount of mid range decks. Is a card like Leyline of Sanctity worth adding if you know you're going to be playing against a lot of burn and discard?
I also cut Orim's Thunder and Radiant Flames, added Abrade and Gearhulk. I've been so tempted to remove Gearhulk for a Baneslayer though. Really comes down to what the meta is, deciding on if Baneslayer can stay alive or not.
Can we talk about Fact or Fiction vs. Glimmer of Genius? FoF lets you dig one card further, but lets your opponent have a lot of information, not only about what is going into your hand, but what you do or do not have in your hand based on how you chose. Glimmer only goes 4 deep, but gives undeniable draw power and zero info. If you couldn't run both, which would you run? I'm currently running Fact or Fiction, but just looking for a reason to run Glimmer.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ruhan-of-the-fomori-duel-commander/
Ruhan of the Fomori
Land
Instant
Sorcery
Creature
Planeswalker
Enchantment
Artifact
Helm of Obedience[/cards]
How about Field of Ruin instead of Ghost Quarter? The card disadvantage from quarter can really hurt.
Try Radiant Flames instead of Slagstorm? You would lose the utility of dealing damage to players, but WUR might be easier to cast than 1RR.
I don’t think Chain Lightning is very good. Sorcery speed holds it back a lot.
How about Cast Out instead of Oblivion Ring? O-Ring is already a pretty slow card, I think the flash and cycling is worth the extra mana.
Here are some others cards I would recommend. I think they speak for themselves.
Thanks for the feedback!
The mountain is mostly there for when something of mine gets Ghost Quartered or Ruhan gets Pathed and I need to get a red source off it.
I have no idea how Supreme Verdict didn't make it into my list. I even bought a copy, but I guess I misplaced it in my haste to get to the event
Do either of you folks have experience with Field of Ruin? I considered it myself and thought it may be too slow, but I haven't actually tried
it.
I like the idea of Cast Out. I'm not nuts about the higher CMC, but instant is great and my 3 drop slot has felt cluttered.
I have both Slagstorm and Radiant Flames. The reach of Storm has been relevant, but the double red could be a problem some games.
Treachery is a great suggestion. Hadn't thought of how great an Academy Rector target it is until now.
Cavern of Souls is probably fine. I didn't think it was necessary given how few creatures we run, but the opportunity cost is fairly low. I'm not running a lot of lands that don't produce colored mana. This could push me more towards Radiant Flames.
I plan on running Ruhan at an event this week. I'll try out some of the changes and let you know if I have any significant insights. Thanks again!
Aggro and Midrange have become more popular at fnm. True-Name Nemesis, Timely Reinforcements, and Soulfire Grand Master are back in the deck.
How have you been liking Soulfire? I have too few creatures in my deck that I feel it would just be a lightning rod.
Aggressive non-red decks have a hard time removing it. Even if red does burn it, you’re slowing down their early game or getting rid of their burst late game.
It’s a bit slow against midrange. You want to play it later on and grind them out.
It’s very hard to get value out of the card against control, but i’m not trying to beat that right now.
Does this guy have a slot in tempo/control builds? Looks pretty sweet, but not quite close enough to snapcaster to be AMAZING.
1R - Creature
First Strike - 2/1
When it enters the battlefield you can choose a card from an opponents grave and cast it this turn spending any color mana you want to pay for it's cost and it's exiled EoT.
On a different note, I've been curious as to whether any of you have experience against Zurgo. It practically doesn't exist in my meta, despite seeing it being THE deck to beat on mtgtop8. If I go to a larger duel commander tournament near me, I'm thinking I should anticipate a fair amount of zurgo decks, and a good amount of mid range decks. Is a card like Leyline of Sanctity worth adding if you know you're going to be playing against a lot of burn and discard?
Recently, I cut Soulfire Grand master, Orim's Thunder, and Radiant Flames for Mother of Runes, Abrade, and Cataclysmic Gearhulk.
Powerful Card Draw
Keranos, God of Storms
Ancestral Vision
Confirm Suspicions
Mystic Confluence
Sphinx's Revelation
Search for Azcanta
Counter and Draw One
Complicate
Cryptic Command
Dismiss
Exclude
Ojutai's Command
Card Fixing
Dack Fayden
Desolate Lighthouse