Isperia, in her new form, appears at first glance to be a fairly underwhelming creature, even as a general. Her ability relies entirely on your opponents making the choice to attack you, which is very easy to just not do.
However, she does have several strong points. By providing a strong reason to not attack you, your opponents leave you open for setting up cards like Luminarch Ascension and Planeswalker win conditions. Gideon Jura and similar effects force your opponents to set off her ability and draw you cards.
I significantly changed the deck after reconsidering its direction. I'm a lot more happy with it now, especially since I have more ways to use the general with the attack forcing. It's a lot more control-focused, with more consistent counters, a land destruction package, more artifact mana, and several ways to repeatedly use and abuse spells via bouncing/blinking Mnemonic Wall and Archeomancer. Still want to fit in some other fog effects, but that can wait.
Snapcaster Mage works great in any U/W control shell. It seems like it would slide in nicely.
Wall of Omens sure it is only a small blocker but he is free. He is great for a nice free blocker in a control deck.
Fact or Fiction - nice solid blue draw effect. It is cheap, it digs deep, and it is instant speed
CUTS:
Reveillark - too few targets in the deck. Ideally you want to be packing a lot of utility creatures for him to pan out. I just dont think you want to change the deck to make him good enough to deserve a spot in my mind.
Arbiter of Knollridge - I.... just dont know about this guy... I think there are better cards out there. Win with your beefy evasive commander and remove any obsticles that get in your way. This guy doesnt seem so great to me.
Mirror Entity - you arent token, lark combo, or tribal so I dont see why you would use him here.
Mother of Runes - slow and situational and it gets picked up in a wrath. You would be better off running something else in my mind.
Leyline of Sanctity - a counterspell is a lot less situational. In multiplayer the only real player targeting that you regularly see might be an occasional mass discard. If you are running this to combat black sac... I think there are better cards avalible.
Mind's Eye - not a great call for blue. I think there is better draw to be had.
Well... thats some things I would consider at least...
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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.
That's the approach I initially wanted to take with it, and I'm definitely doing some revisiting now that I'm more awake. The problem with playing it as a pillow fort deck is that it discourages people from attacking in other ways besides your general. She doesn't do anything if I have a Moat and three Propaganda effects in play and nobody can attack me ever.
ISBPathfinder, I agree completely, in regards to Lark and friends. I'm not sure why I even decided to throw those in there in the first place.
EDIT: Alluring Siren, that's the card I was trying to remember the name of. I'll be adding her, Courtly Provocateur, and Taunt. The two creatures are great because they interact well with my general and can act as pseudo-removal in certain circumstances, and Taunt can be transmuted for or recurred for multiple uses.
EDIT2: Updates are done, deck is significantly reworked. I haven't tested it yet, but I'll be spending most of today doing that.
Without access to red mana we are really going to have to mostly rely on politics to force an attack on you for less than lethal. Which is where I think it could get very very interesting I am thinking Group Hug but one that encourages opponents to attack you.
for example.. you play curiosity on an opponents creature and invite them to attack you.
Or just be sooooooo annoying.
I am going to have to think about this a bit more.
By the way... most of your creatures that taunt dont taunt them to attack you necesarily... I would just be happy having people not attacking you or giving you cards to attack. That seems like the easier route.
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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.
That's... a good point. Taunt still works, the rest are a total nonbo. In 1v1 it would be great, and I may actually have to work into doing that, but for multiplayer it's just not going to work.
Same goes for Bullwhip, so I probably won't be adding that either. Thanks for the suggestion though, inscho.
Darien is a great idea, and I think I'll go with that type of defense that punishes people for attacking me. Maybe I'll throw in Moat so I can control the flow of what's actually able to hit me better, or Teferi's Moat because it's a better card for politics.
I'm really hesitant to play Propaganda effects because they make Gideon useless, and I REALLY like what he does for the deck. I'll do more testing and if Gideon doesn't end up playing well I'll drop him and Taunt for Propaganda and Prison.
That's... a good point. Taunt still works, the rest are a total nonbo. In 1v1 it would be great, and I may actually have to work into doing that, but for multiplayer it's just not going to work.
How doesn't it work in multi?
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Amazing Avy & Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios [4/22/11]
That's... a good point. Taunt still works, the rest are a total nonbo. In 1v1 it would be great, and I may actually have to work into doing that, but for multiplayer it's just not going to work.
Here's where the confusion came from. You referenced Taunt, and then talked about "it" which seemed to refer to Taunt again. I guess you were discussing something else?
Anyways, is there a way to build that where you just look at Isperia as "people don't attack me" instead of "people please attack me so I can draw cards"?
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Amazing Avy & Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios [4/22/11]
Yeah, with lots of Pandemonium effects and things like Purity and Darien, King of Kjeldor that give you advantage when you get attacked. I could very well end up changing this deck to that style, depending on how well it works.
I was thinking perhaps not wanting your opponents to attack you is the play.
But I agree that you although don't want to make it hard to attack you just undesirable.
I was thinking a softer lock down than just putting up ghostly prison... you want opponents to attack with a large number of weak creatures to get the most out of Isperia... limiting the numbers of attackers seems the wrong way to go about it.
I kind of want more Cumber stone effects (I can't afford Elesh at least while she is in standard. hmm Ensnaring bridge seems like a must except for the fact you want to be drawing cards :S I want a card with a number in it though.
I was also thinking cards that help you whenever an opponent attacks you... but all I can seem to find is gain 1 life for each attacking creature cards which don't seem quite enough of an effect, not unless I have ajani's pridemate or well of lost dreams out.
I'm making a version that uses Norn's Annex. They may not be playing white, but they always have life. Gideon can become a drain effect plus card generator.
So.. how does adding Ghostly Prison and stuff help? And what are the kill conditions? Because it seems like drawing is your advantage of course, but how do you finish them off?
However, she does have several strong points. By providing a strong reason to not attack you, your opponents leave you open for setting up cards like Luminarch Ascension and Planeswalker win conditions. Gideon Jura and similar effects force your opponents to set off her ability and draw you cards.
I significantly changed the deck after reconsidering its direction. I'm a lot more happy with it now, especially since I have more ways to use the general with the attack forcing. It's a lot more control-focused, with more consistent counters, a land destruction package, more artifact mana, and several ways to repeatedly use and abuse spells via bouncing/blinking Mnemonic Wall and Archeomancer. Still want to fit in some other fog effects, but that can wait.
1 Isperia, Supreme Judge
//Creatures
1 Darien, King of Kjeldor
1 Archeomancer
1 Body Double
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Karmic Guide
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Duplicant
1 Sun Titan
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Trinket Mage
1 Draining Whelk
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Wall of Omens
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
//Planeswalkers
1 Gideon Jura
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
//Enchantments
1 Luminarch Ascension
1 Mystic Remora
1 Rhystic Study
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Land Tax
1 Moat
1 Cataclysm
1 Catastrophe
1 Austere Command
1 Rout
1 Rite of Replication
1 Bribery
1 Acquire
1 Ravages of War
1 Time Warp
//Instants
1 Return to Dust
1 Cryptic Command
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Orim's Chant
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Counterspell
1 Hinder
1 Spell Crumple
1 Mana Drain
1 Desertion
1 Oblation
1 Dizzy Spell
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Condemn
//Artifacts
1 Crystal Shard
1 Sol Ring
1 Azorius Signet
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Coalition Relic
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Sculpting Steel
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mana Crypt
1 Prahv, Spires of Order
1 Kor Haven
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Academy Ruins
1 Ancient Den
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mystic Gate
1 Nimbus Maze
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Tolaria West
1 Winding Canyons
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
7 Island
9 Plains
9/4/12
-Alluring Siren
-Courtly Provocateur
-Akroma's Vengeance
+Darien, King of Kjeldor
+Moat
+Sunblast Angel
-Island
+Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Should be more pillow fort, lock down.
The EDH stax primer
When you absolutely, positively got to kill every permanent in the room, accept no substitutes.
Snapcaster Mage works great in any U/W control shell. It seems like it would slide in nicely.
Wall of Omens sure it is only a small blocker but he is free. He is great for a nice free blocker in a control deck.
Fact or Fiction - nice solid blue draw effect. It is cheap, it digs deep, and it is instant speed
CUTS:
Reveillark - too few targets in the deck. Ideally you want to be packing a lot of utility creatures for him to pan out. I just dont think you want to change the deck to make him good enough to deserve a spot in my mind.
Arbiter of Knollridge - I.... just dont know about this guy... I think there are better cards out there. Win with your beefy evasive commander and remove any obsticles that get in your way. This guy doesnt seem so great to me.
Mirror Entity - you arent token, lark combo, or tribal so I dont see why you would use him here.
Mother of Runes - slow and situational and it gets picked up in a wrath. You would be better off running something else in my mind.
Leyline of Sanctity - a counterspell is a lot less situational. In multiplayer the only real player targeting that you regularly see might be an occasional mass discard. If you are running this to combat black sac... I think there are better cards avalible.
Mind's Eye - not a great call for blue. I think there is better draw to be had.
Well... thats some things I would consider at least...
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[Modern] Allies
Are you referring to cards like Propaganda, Ghostly Prison, etc?
That's the approach I initially wanted to take with it, and I'm definitely doing some revisiting now that I'm more awake. The problem with playing it as a pillow fort deck is that it discourages people from attacking in other ways besides your general. She doesn't do anything if I have a Moat and three Propaganda effects in play and nobody can attack me ever.
ISBPathfinder, I agree completely, in regards to Lark and friends. I'm not sure why I even decided to throw those in there in the first place.
EDIT: Alluring Siren, that's the card I was trying to remember the name of. I'll be adding her, Courtly Provocateur, and Taunt. The two creatures are great because they interact well with my general and can act as pseudo-removal in certain circumstances, and Taunt can be transmuted for or recurred for multiple uses.
EDIT2: Updates are done, deck is significantly reworked. I haven't tested it yet, but I'll be spending most of today doing that.
I really like using my commanders abilities to their full effect so just going goodstuff doesn't really appeal to me.
I was thinking about using the old Isperia for a deck so some of my ideas come from that.
I took a look at Darien lists.. but they are just solider tribal for some reason none using his ability but he has synergy with the deck.
Sunblast angel is perfect for the deck btw.
Without access to red mana we are really going to have to mostly rely on politics to force an attack on you for less than lethal. Which is where I think it could get very very interesting I am thinking Group Hug but one that encourages opponents to attack you.
for example.. you play curiosity on an opponents creature and invite them to attack you.
Or just be sooooooo annoying.
I am going to have to think about this a bit more.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
If you wanted to encourage attacks though, you could look at Bullwhip (like inscho already mentioned) or Angel's Trumpet.
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
Same goes for Bullwhip, so I probably won't be adding that either. Thanks for the suggestion though, inscho.
Darien is a great idea, and I think I'll go with that type of defense that punishes people for attacking me. Maybe I'll throw in Moat so I can control the flow of what's actually able to hit me better, or Teferi's Moat because it's a better card for politics.
I'm really hesitant to play Propaganda effects because they make Gideon useless, and I REALLY like what he does for the deck. I'll do more testing and if Gideon doesn't end up playing well I'll drop him and Taunt for Propaganda and Prison.
-Alluring Siren
-Courtly Provocateur
-Akroma's Vengeance
+Darien, King of Kjeldor
+Moat
+Sunblast Angel
How doesn't it work in multi?
Rereading them, Alluring Siren works, but the other creature and Bullwhip just make the creature attack, it doesn't specify who.
Taunt says they must attack you.
Right, that's why I kept taunt and not the others. I was referring to the creatures and Bullwhip, not taunt.
Here's where the confusion came from. You referenced Taunt, and then talked about "it" which seemed to refer to Taunt again. I guess you were discussing something else?
Anyways, is there a way to build that where you just look at Isperia as "people don't attack me" instead of "people please attack me so I can draw cards"?
But I agree that you although don't want to make it hard to attack you just undesirable.
I was thinking a softer lock down than just putting up ghostly prison... you want opponents to attack with a large number of weak creatures to get the most out of Isperia... limiting the numbers of attackers seems the wrong way to go about it.
I kind of want more Cumber stone effects (I can't afford Elesh at least while she is in standard. hmm Ensnaring bridge seems like a must except for the fact you want to be drawing cards :S I want a card with a number in it though.
Wait what about dovescape?
I was also thinking cards that help you whenever an opponent attacks you... but all I can seem to find is gain 1 life for each attacking creature cards which don't seem quite enough of an effect, not unless I have ajani's pridemate or well of lost dreams out.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
Angel's Trumpet?
Arcum's Whistle?
Siren's Call?
Some new stuff you could use is Palisade Giant, Azorius Charm, New Prahv Guildmage and Righteous Authority.
I would also recommend taking out Cataclysm and putting in Supreme Verdict.
Mono Konda| Sakashima| Yahenni| Ashling| Selvala|C Karn
Guilds Grand Arbiter| Meren| Gisa & Geralf| Scorpion God| Omnath| Sisay| Karlov| Avacyn| Jhoira v2| Rashmi|
Shards WUB Oloro|GWU Roon|RGW Jurassic Park|UBR Nekusar|BRG Kresh|
Clans RWU Narset|WBR Vampires|BGW Doran|UBG Muldrotha|URG Animar|
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