WUBSen TripletsWUB The Masters of your Mind
--Primer--
Hello everyone, this is my primer for my Sen Triplets EDH deck, inside is a run down of the general, the card choices, combos, strategy, the deck's strengths and weaknesses, history, and everything in between. So without further to do, let's begin.
The Deck's History:
This deck was first built as my second EDH deck some time ago, around the time Worldwake was being spoiled, and it slowly rose to become my own personal pet project, even today, I'm busy trying to foil it out. The deck became my main EDH focus for some time, even to the point where I disassembled my original Intet, the Dreamer deck to increase the power of the Triplets.
Originally I intended to run the deck as a hybrid of control and resource theft, running such cards as Control Magic, Mind Control, and Volition Reins, and while these cards were useful and the deck even still has a flavor of resource theft, but I found it wasn't what I wanted since I was never playing the Triplets until my opponents were teetering on the edge of defeat and the Triplets were just the final nail in the coffin. So I cut a majority of the resource theft portion for more counter magic and spot removal and just dove into the control side that Esper seems so good at.
Today the Triplets are a power-house in 4-man pods and seem to hold their own pretty well in 1-v-1 games, depending on your draws. The deck can come out of no where and just burn the field clean, then drop a huge creature or game winning combo, or even the Triplets themselves to start using the opponents cards for my own gain, all while comfortable sitting on multiple counters and removal spells.
Why you may or may not like this deck:
You'll like this deck if:
-You like sitting back and managing the board
-You like counters, wraths, and removal
-You like playing with few creatures
-You like politics
You won't like the deck if;
-You like attacking often
-You don't like playing passively throughout most of the game
-You like comboing out/winning quickly
-You want to be the one killing every other players
The General:
The Sen Triplets
Name: Sen Triplets, sounds cool, plus there's 3 of them, if it counts for anything, I think it's pretty cool.
Power/Toughness: 3/3, not bad for a wizard, but they don't usually bash in the red zone or block, I just keep them back where they're safe.
Card Type: Artifact Creature, dies to all creature removal, but most generals do, the artifact part can be bothersome as a Shattering Pulse can just keep blowing the Triplets away, not to mention the myriad of artifact removal in EDH, but oh well.
Creature Type: Human Wizard, not much to say here, the Human part could be nonexistent for all intents and purposes, but the wizard aspect can be useful, saving the Triplets from a nasty spell via Riptide Laboratory can be helpful.
Casting Cost: 2WUB, a 5-drop with an ability like that is well worth it, they can be run out easily in the late game and can even die a few times before the additional mana becomes a burden.
Ability: As you can see it's a monster of an effect, being able to not only see what an opponent's packing AND shut them down during your turn but to also get to play THEIR spells, AGAINST THEM, sure it costs mana, but hey, why not just play their land card if you're out, and it's worth it to play their combo piece, or fatty, or removal spell, or wrath, or awesome enchantment, or, well I think I've said enough, so let's not jump the gun here.
The deck is, as I said earlier, a heavy control deck, and I am trying to foil it, so if you have a foil version of any of the cards I'm running and want to set up a trade, just PM me and we'll see if we can do business.
The Strategy:
This EDH deck basically just hangs back, makes sure no one drops anything too unreasonable and you know, wins, then waits for everyone to tear each others throats out, then sweeps in to take care of any survivors.
I can't tell you how many times I've won a 4-man because I just sat there with a Trinket Mage, Jace Beleren, and Sol Ring while the other players threw creatures, burn, removal, everything at each other, in their minds, "I wasn't a threat, Trinket Mage won't do anything, and besides, he's +2ing Jace every now and then." until finally only one poor soul remains and I can wrath the field and counter every spell the last opponent ever plays, then win with Sphinx of the Steel Wind and Rune-Scarred Demon beats, or Jace, the Mind Sculptor's ultimate.
The point being, I like playing the deck this way, and it's great at it, I love stopping the broken combos and wrathing when the table needs it, basically playing everyone else, saying "Leave me be, and I'll protect you." My opponents always go after the person I've made a treaty with because I'm letting him resolve big spells and creatures, within reason, and he's beating face, no one thinks to bother me when the other guy has a Mossbridge Troll with a Whispersilk Cloak on it and a few other fatties who's power equal up to 10, that's a true story, and I won that game.
You can play this deck however you like though, I've seen people play it as a more aggressive control deck, dropping creatures and awesome spells every few turns to make the table sweat, and it works that way, this deck is ton of fun and can approach a game from multiple angles, making sure it's never dull and always standing a fighting chance.
Card Choices:
This goes over most of the cards I run and why.
Lands
Duals/Shocklands/Filter lands/Bounce lands/Fetches: I use these to fix my colors, having all 3 colors is really important for this deck and getting stuck without one of them can really hurt, especially blue. Reliquary Tower: Once you get going with the card draw, discarding them for no good reason isn't what you want. Academy Ruins: There's a reason all the blue mages run this land, recurring any spent artifact is great card advantage, and I've heard recurring Mindslaver is pretty good, if not a little cruel. Manlands: Sometimes you need an emergency blocker, or a creature to smash an opposing walker with, these guys fit the bill, and they tap for 2 colors, so they fix too, all around great cards. Maze of Ith/Mystifying Maze: You can count Maze of Ith as a land if you want, I don't for deck construction purposes since it doesn't tap for mana, but it can but tutored up with Expedition Map and it shuts out big fatties headed your way, or your friends way if you're playing the table, same with Mystifying Maze, but it requires a bit of a mana investment, so I use it with that in mind, but it's still saved more than enough to earn it's spot, plus Mystifying Mazing a guy with some nice Auras on it is always makes me smile. Riptide Laboratory: A lot of my dudes are wizards, including the Triplets, so saving them is always welcome, and Riptide does it on the cheap. Wasteland, Strip Mine, Tectonic Edge: Sometimes you just need to blow up some land, Cabal Coffers is a good one, but not the only one, there're tons, and I mean TONS of pesky lands out there you don't want out, so these guys are here for just those situations.
Creatures
Azorius Guildmage: This guy has more than earned his place time and time again, he shuts big fatties down so I don't have to get punched more than is needed, but the big thing is that he deals with activated abilities, multiple times in a turn, sure it takes three mana, but activated abilities can nasty, and having an out is more than welcome. Snapcaster Mage: This new guy can give you a lot of options, especially late game and ESPECIALLY with a Riptide Laboratory out. Play him, counter a spell, kill a dude, wrath the board, go tutor something up, draw some cards, then bounce him EOT for more goodness, seems alright. Trinket Mage: This guys has a whole host of targets in this deck, from Top, to Sol Ring, to the Spellbomb, he's my Swiss-Army-Knife for sticky situations. Bloodgift Demon: This guy acts as a second Phyrexian Arena, although he can act as a sizable beater in the mid-game, plus he effectively block in the air, he won't last long, but the fact that he can be a card-draw engine and a dude makes him worth running. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir: Flashing him in at EOT or in response to something is the best, but any time works too, plus he makes other blue mage cry and I get to flash in 7+ drops on others peoples turns if I didn't need to counter or kill something. Consecrated Sphinx: He also draws cards, but without needing to tap, and with 6 toughness he can toe-to-toe with a lot creature and come out no worse for wear, and if he sticks around for a full cycle through the table in a 4-man pod, yeah, you just drew 6 cards, plus as a may effect, you don't need to worry about decking yourself. Drogskol Reaver: This guys has rightfully earned his place as Consecrated Sphinx 2.0, super useful, and the lifelink can really be a life saver, and double strike deals with some creatures without actually risking the Reaver. Rune-Scarred Demon: He's a D-Tutor on legs, a 6/6 flying D-Tutor at that, sounds like a good deal to me. Sheoldred, Whispering One: A great beater with some evasion, but that's not why we run her, we run her for that wonderful removal/recursion engine that she provides. Sphinx of the Steel Wind: This guy just hurts people, and getting back some lost life helps, but its the protections that really make this guy shine.
Spells
Counters: These guys serve as preventative measures against nasty cards in general, plus bottoming generals and exiling combo pieces is never bad, and with 10+ in the deck, I'm usually sitting on at least one. The counters I choose for this deck are what you'd call "hard-counters", they just straight up counter the spell, not conditions, well, except for Faerie Trickery, but those times are few and far between, I like just tapping mana and not having to worry about my opponent sneaking out of my counter somehow, unless they have one there own, but what are you going to do. Removal: It's all cheap, fast, and to the point, some of it allows for regeneration, but that's not as important for removal, the stuff I do run has been a huge help. Tutors: They give me what I need for whatever I run into, yeah, Mystical Tutor only gets instants and sorceries, but that's still comes in handy when you can do it at instant speed and most of most of answer are easily grabbed by it. Wraths: Every now and then you need to hit the restart button, all the wraths in this deck either don't allow for regeneration, or have some other useful effect tacked on, like exiling/tucking all the creatures. Ancestral Vision: A card draw spell with a 4 turn timer, it can be a pain waiting, but the sudden in-flow of cards is well worth it. Capsize: Functions as a removal spell, only you get to use it every turn, with 6 mana open and this guy hand, I have no worries. Return to Dust: Being able to exile two artifact/enchantments can really help in a tight spot, or you can play it at EOT if things get really hairy, and it can be a life-saver against Blightsteel Colossus or Shield of Kaldra.
Planeswalkers
Jace Beleren: He draws cards, sure he gives everyone else a card every 3 turns if you want him to live, which I usually do, but he doesn't draw much attention to you. Jace, the Mind Sculptor: Surprisingly enough, I've found +2ing this guy targeting myself to be the best use of him, it fixes my draws and no one bothers to worry about him since he isn't hurting them, and then before you know it, Jace is at 18 counters and the whole table is scrambling to kill him or get on your good side. Liliana Vess: She lets me tutor anything I need, plus she can be used over and over, giving me outs to any threat, and her +1 is useful for helping me get card advantage, her ultimate could be back-breaking, but to be honest, I've never used it. Venser, the Sojourner: Actually ended up cutting this guy, yeah his ultimate was game ending and his +2 could do a few cute tricks here and there, but on the whole he was too underwhelming without enough ETB effects, so he sadly has fallen from the list, but it was fun while it lasted! Tamiyo, the Moon Sage: This walker is a wonderful control walker, she sleeps pesky permanents, draws lots of cards, and gives one the greatest control emblems I've seen. A Spellbook effects with infinite answers and counters really helps in the long game.
Artifacts
Sensei's Divining Top: Every deck needs a Top, well, most decks need a Top, and for good reason, it fixes your draws and is almost indestructible. Elixir of Immortality: This little 1-drop I feel is really undervalued in EDH, it gives you back everything, all your removal, all your counters, all your wraths, your land that got killed, and the Elixir itself to do it all again later, I can't say enough about it, and 5 life comes in handy now and then. Expedition Map: Getting any land is really helpful, I always get Academy Ruins first so I can use it again, it ensures you'll never be stuck without a color again. Nihil Spellbomb: It's graveyard hate that also cantrips you all for B, not much to say but I think I've already said more than enough. Sol Ring: Early and late game acceleration is never bad, plus it helps me power my big spells earlier and easier. Nevinyrral's Disk: It gives me Planar Cleansing when I need it, sure walkers survive and it comes in tapped, but the fact I can use this at my discretion and for only 1 mana is too good. Mindslaver: I actually cut this guy, not becasue it's bad, but because it draws a lot of hate and people tend to not enjoy playing with me when I run it, so I'll keep it stashed away for competitive pods and what-not.
Enchantments
Oblivion Ring: It's another removal spell, sure they can kill it and get back there thing, but the fact that it hits walkers, artifact, and enchantments makes it too good to pass up. Phyrexian Arena: Sure you lose some life but the cards are worth it, and someone will probably kill it for you before the life-loss matters. Rhystic Study: It's theoretically a card draw enchantment, but if your opponents are smart, it's just a slowdown enchantment, but if you've got a friend at the table you can net some cards off it. Leyline of Anticipation: This card will let me EVERYTHING at instant speed, not just creatures as with Teferi, and sure it doesn't let me stunt my opponents counters and spot-removal and other instant speed cards. Future Sight: This card is just stupid, and if you've played with or against it you know why, combine with Top and watch your opponents sit on their big spells because your freaking Force of Will just keeps sitting on top. Debtor's Knell: Reanimating a dude every turn not only lets you build up a great force, but shuts down graveyard-based strategies, sure it's 7 mana, but it hasn't failed me yet. Omniscience: Sure, it's a 10 mana enchantment, but think about it this way, it's the last time you'll ever need to spend mana ever again, except for things like buyback and activated abilities, but hey, no big deal, you'll have mana open for days.
Cards that didn't make the cut:
I don't run a few cards and for good reason, for example, I cut the Mind Control cards because I felt that running more control elements was a better option, and I don't run many what I call "shock draw spells", or spells that draw a lot of cards and then are done because I feel that those types of spells draw more attention to you then you want, especially when you Blue Sun's Zenith for 8,9, or even 10, people notice and attack you because they think you suddenly have answers to their stuff, and it's easy to use up those cards and be right back where you were 3 turns later, with creatures and enchantments that slowly draw you card over the course of the game you might not win as fast, but will draw less attention to yourself and ensure you hand is never empty.
I don't run too many creatures because this is control deck, all my creatures are either for utility or to start winning, the one's I choose are best at doing just that, but if you have any suggestions for other dudes, let me know, I'm always willing to listen.
This deck list is pretty air-tight, so making cuts is tough, so if you have ideas for new cards, you'll need to give a really good reason why card X should come out for it.
Matchups:
This is a heavy control deck, and as such, it's slow, so this deck had a tough time if everyone is playing aggressive decks, it can easily fall behind to decks that just keep playing threat after threat, 1, even 2 other players is manageable, but if 3 people are doing it and attacking you every turn, it's not easily to deal with that sort of thing, but it isn't impossible for this deck.
On the other hand, this does well against combo decks by locking out their combo pieces and stopping them from ever going off, as well as control decks that aren't as heavy control as this one is, the Triplets can shut the opponent out with counters and removal and just slowly beat down with one or two big dudes.
So there you have it, my Primer for the Sen Triplets EDH deck, let me know what you guys think, and even though the deck is really air-tight, I'm always taking suggestions, or if you have foil versions of anything in my deck, let me know, I'd love to work something out. So I'll leave you now, it's been fun sharing my tech, enjoy.
Nice work. Good looking control deck and a well-written primer. So let me get right into it
I'm not sure how you can claim to have no room for Vindicate and then run subpar removal like Doom Blade and subpar counters like Cancel. I understand it's a sorcery but that doesn't make it unplayable when it destroys nearly any problem permanent you can think of.
Most cards in your deck-->Vindicate: you are undervauling this highly. You may hear this recommendation a lot for good reason. I'd start with removing Last Word, Doom Blade or Cancel for this extremely versatile and powerful piece of removal that is one of the best Orzhov spells in all of Magic. I mean, just think of all the black generals that dodge Doom Blade. I'd be just infuriated if I had to play against Doran or something (or you!) and a Doom Blade was stranded in my hand.
Jace Beleren-->Gilded Drake: This guy is always a house at the end of the game and he's hilarious tempo advantage when stealing generals early, especially in multiplayer where there's always good stuff to steal and the flying 3/3 is more irrelevant. I'd think even Tezzeret the Seeker would be more valuable here, allowing you to fetch up your utility artifacts. Jace is just so helpful to your opponents and so fragile that I'm not sure why he's worth the spot here. (As a side note, I'm surprised you lean so heavily on planeswalkers- I find them really lacking in multiplayer unless you're in wrath.dec, which you aren't.)
Cancel-->Spell Crumple: This should require no explanation. Strictly better.
Last Word-->Pact of Negation: It's a panic button that doesn't require you to tap out for your big play without giving up your security. I think it's much more likely to surprise an opponent that a 4-mana counterspell that probably won't be countered anyway. You surely know the value of this already as you play Force of Will in this deck.
Bouncelands-->Filterlands: I slime bouncelands all day on turn 4. Would hate to see that happen to you. Also would hate to have to discard a card on turn two with nothing to do. Play Sunken Ruins and friends here instead.
Honden of Seeing Winds-->Future Sight: I once had to ask why Future Sight was good. Then I played the card and have never asked since. It combos with Top for :1mana:: draw a card and huge storm to boot. Its card advantage will beat the Honden every time if you can generate triple-blue reliably (which I believe should be no problem for your manabase and your additional fixers Celestial Dawn and Mycosynth Lattice). Besides, how awesome is it to leave a counterspell on the top of your deck and pass the turn? Sick, that's how awesome. Letting the other players know what's on top of your deck isn't bad at all- it makes them play around you, which is precisely what you want them to be doing.
Life's Finale-->Rout: Well worth the ability to cast it at instant speed, especially for a control deck like yours. Besides, Life's Finale is liable to actually help anyone who plays any graveyard recursion. Esper has so many other better options that you shouldn't need to be scraping the bottom of the barrel for wraths.
Esper Panorama-->Volrath's Stronghold: Since you don't have much recursion and you will want to be able to stick a finisher sometimes, this will be really helpful in making sure that you are able to use creatures to get the job done. Imagine tutoring for this off Rune-Scarred Demon. What would be the point of killing him, right? It's super card advantage in a deck that loves its card advantage.
Now this could be my inner timmy talking but I feel like you need one more bomb in case you have trouble sticking the first as there doesn't seem to be a lot of recursion here. Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Sphinx of Uthuun are good ones to try out if you need to but I don't want to press that too hard on you since you can likely tutor for the one you want anyway from your own deck.
I see you've cast aside the Coffers/Urborg mana machine. That's noble of you but when you can so easily tutor for whichever one you need with Expedition Map and black tutors, I wonder how bad it is to include them. You can go either way with this but I'd think for quite a bit before casting that much power aside.
I hope you get some more feedback. Very respectable primer- thanks much for contributing!
You have Tundra, Scrubland, Underground Sea and the Ravnica Duals as well on your list but then I see the artifact land and the Vivids???? Why dear god why the Vivids??? they are sooooo bad lol. Seriously though you should get rid of those that stuff sucks. If I were you I would consider some off color fetchlands like Arid Mesa, Misty Rainforest, Scalding Tarn... etc. I know some people frown on this but it is legal to run and it will dramatically increase your deck's performance to add another 5 or so fetchlands to that count.
Also as for the primer, you might add a strategy section and sort of talk about what your general gameplan is. Generally speaking it helps out new players to your list get an idea of what the deck sort of does.
In the card choices section you could also cover cards that could be used in the deck and how they might impact it and why you dont run it. These are also good areas to have for new people to review your primer and get ideas from.
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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.
but then I see the artifact land and the Vivids???? Why dear god why the Vivids???
Although I think this could have been worded better, I must say I agree with ISBPathfinder here. I have run into what looks like a similar issue as you, where I have access to planty of mutlicolor lands and neglect a reasonable amount of basics. Once I had been hit with enough Ruinations and Wasteland/Crucible of Worlds locks, I upped the basic count a lot. I would suggest leaning towards 10 basics, cutting Esper Panorama, the vivids and the artifact lands; in that order. Also, I really like Exotic Orchard with the Triplets.
Why no artifact ramp other than Sol Ring? No signets, no Darksteel Ingot, no Fellwar Stone (extra points for those types of 'steal my enemies power cards)?
I definitely agree with SuperSonik on most of his points, except for these two:
Quote from SuperSonik »
Jace Beleren-->Gilded Drake: This guy is always a house at the end of the game and he's hilarious tempo advantage when stealing generals early, especially in multiplayer where there's always good stuff to steal and the flying 3/3 is more irrelevant. I'd think even Tezzeret the Seeker would be more valuable here, allowing you to fetch up your utility artifacts. Jace is just so helpful to your opponents and so fragile that I'm not sure why he's worth the spot here. (As a side note, I'm surprised you lean so heavily on planeswalkers- I find them really lacking in multiplayer unless you're in wrath.dec, which you aren't.)
Cancel-->Spell Crumple: This should require no explanation. Strictly better.
Last Word-->Pact of Negation: It's a panic button that doesn't require you to tap out for your big play without giving up your security. I think it's much more likely to surprise an opponent that a 4-mana counterspell that probably won't be countered anyway. You surely know the value of this already as you play Force of Will in this deck.
I think Jace -> Tezzeret, the Seeker for more artifact goodness
Last Word -> NOT a pact. I can't tell you how many times a table will see a pact played and do everything they can to prevent you from being able to pay the cost next turn. I've seen games that could have ended from red zones if not for the sheer determination of making other people suicidal.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
-C.S. Lewis
Why no artifact ramp other than Sol Ring? No signets, no Darksteel Ingot, no Fellwar Stone (extra points for those types of 'steal my enemies power cards)?
...
I think Jace -> Tezzeret, the Seeker for more artifact goodness
Last Word -> NOT a pact. I can't tell you how many times a table will see a pact played and do everything they can to prevent you from being able to pay the cost next turn. I've seen games that could have ended from red zones if not for the sheer determination of making other people suicidal.
I agree with all of this. Even the pact part. I should have noticed the lack of mana stones and I think it is a big source of inefficiency for the deck. I just threw the pact out there because almost anything is better than Last Word.
I would recommend Coalition Relic as the first mana rock and go from there.
There are some cards that maybe could be added to your deck. Some are arguable, but others should be there for sure. I'm thinking about 1vs1. I know this is posted in Multiplayer, but I'm thinking about making a deck like this one for 1vs1, so I would also like to know your opinion.
I also don't like the common Ravnica lands, like Orzhov Basilica. It sucks if it's destroyed or bounced to your hand. I think "painlands" and Odyssey lands like Darkwater Catacombs are better.
Hey my name is Tracey and I'm building my first control edh deck I saw that you were trying to foil yours out and figured I'd see if you needed a foil wasteland. My friend owns a shop and I'm pretty sure that he still has one or two if you're interested lemme kno I kno that judge promos can be rather hard to come by. And lemme kno if you're looking for anything else
Your list looks pretty solid for 1-v-1, though I would cut stuff like Doom Blade for a different removal spell, maybe something like Ashes to Ashes, and I'd try and fit in some cards like Prison Term since it can just keep your opponents biggest threat out of the game. If you're looking to make this a bit meaner, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and Knowledge Pool and good way to end the game, and Treasure Mage. I'd also maybe cut Brainstorm for something that can have a bit of reach in the long game, maybe Mind Spring, just a thought.
You also look a light on kill cards, I'd maybe throw a Grave Titan or Consecrated Sphinx in, they give more dudes or more cards, respectively, and with back-up can beat an opponent down. Those are just some suggestions, how has the deck performed in testing if you don't mind my asking.
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EDH: WUBSen TripletsWUB WR Jor Kadeen WR WUBRGHorde of NotionsWUBRG UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
In my deck i tried to cast triplets as soon as i can protect her with any equipement that give hexproof or make her indestrubile.
It is really amazing how you take benefit to ruin the hand of your opponents and see his hand.
I usually don't run the Triplets out until at the very earliest the midgame, for the most part what I do is hold them in the Command Zone until I have counter/removal support in hand, or creatures/planeswalkers to draw fire, or if another is another huge target I can sometimes slip them in under the radar.
For the most I do wait until the rest of the board is left reeling from the rest of the game, but not to the point where the Triplets become a "win-more" card. I don't always need the Triplets, but they do give another option for winning.
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EDH: WUBSen TripletsWUB WR Jor Kadeen WR WUBRGHorde of NotionsWUBRG UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
I really don't understand why I don't see Telepathy in more Sen builds. It's a dream 1 drop. I mean, people will hate you for it, and it might draw aggro towards you, but often Sen can handle it, and in my experiences, people won't want to waste the removal on it after they've seen the nastiness coming up in other people's hands.
It sets a state of confusion, lets you see who you have to worry about counters from, lets you pick targets for Sen more efficiently right off the bat, and typically just causes all around tension.
From Avacyn Restored, I'm going to put in Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Terminus, and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage. I did have Griselbrand in the deck, and he was awesome, but then they went and banned him, so I had to take him out.
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EDH: WUBSen TripletsWUB WR Jor Kadeen WR WUBRGHorde of NotionsWUBRG UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
PS somebody earlier in the thread suggested Exotic Orchard and Fellwar Stone: to my knowledge they shouldn't work and any mana you try to produce outside of your general's identity should become colorless...am I wrong?
My apologies for being somewhat lax on updating the decklist and primer, I've come into a bit more work than I expected, but it happens. Now that I have had a few moments to myself, I updated everything, except the foiling, that's not so important.
First things first, Wraithblade, you flatter me. I don't mean for my deck to be competitive, it just worked out that way. I can't say I expected my list to become this popular, I just thought I'd share. Well the first thing is I cut Ethersworn Adjudicator for Black Sun's Zenith, I had wanted Zenith in for a while but could never decide what to cut, so after a few long games I came to the conclusion that this was the switch, it hasn't failed me yet. Another one is Fact of Fiction for Cyclonic Rift, it may seem a bit foolish, and who knows, maybe it is, but Rift bounces everyone's stuff but my own, combine that with a planeswalker or two on board and a decent hand and the game should be all but over. I haven't had much time to test out Rift but I can't see how it'll be bad.
RTR unfortunately didn't bring a lot to the Triplets as I'd had hoped, but with luck Gatecrash will produce more goodies besides those bracers, can't say I'm looking forward to those, but only time will tell. Well, I hope these changes are well received and I'll try to keep the list up to date!
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EDH: WUBSen TripletsWUB WR Jor Kadeen WR WUBRGHorde of NotionsWUBRG UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Hey man, I'm working on transitioning from Grand Arbiter to Sen Triplets, and I'd be honored if you could spend a few minutes letting me know if this looks like a good starting point!
Hello again all, my apologies for my atrocious delay, but college is indeed a cruel mistress. But I've finally had a chance to update this bad boy, so you should definitely check out the changes and lets me know what you think.
Grayclay, I must say, truely an honor and a privilege you have bestowed upon me, how could I possibly say no! On to it then!
I certainly like the Esper build you've got going, very interesting indeed. The first thing I can think of off the top of my head is cut Doom Blade for something more board, maybe Vindicate or Pongify, since black is rather prevalent in the format. Also cards with Windfall effects for just more big draw spells, Sphinx's Revelation or Arcanis, the Omnipotent, but that's just me. There's a ton of awesome discard effects in EDH if that's what you're after though, Mind Sludge or Liliana Vess, even Hymn to Torach isn't the worst thing ever. I'm also not a fan of Temporal Mastery since it's the only extra turn effect you have, it feels awkward and a little out of place, I'd prefer to run a lot of them and use that strategy if you want extra turns.
Side note: I do not condone nor recommend running extra turn cards, if you want to goldfish your deck, don't make me sit here and watch, I want to play Magic too you know.
Anyways, back to business, I also don't really think Rings of Brighthearth has a place in your deck, yeah it's cool with Karn Liberated, but your deck is too light on activated abilities I feel to warrant it's inclusion. I also don't like Knowledge Pool, not because it's bad, but cause I'm not a huge of the combo with Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, just so mean. The deck sweet and a lot of fun, I'm curious how it's been working out for you if you wouldn't mind sharing.
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EDH: WUBSen TripletsWUB WR Jor Kadeen WR WUBRGHorde of NotionsWUBRG UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
I'm curious why you are not running Celestial Dawn? Isn't that the best card to get out with your general, because then no matter what colors your opponent is running, you can cast any their cards.
You listed it as mana fixing, but have you played around with it? I'm building a similar deck (huzzah and kudos on your list, btw, it is most helpful in my studious construction) and the first thing that got me interested in the Triplets was pairing them with Celestial Dawn.
Also, what are your thoughts on Telepathy? Especially in multi-player, getting 100% knowledge of your opponents hands seems invaluable.
Celestial Dawn is terrible if you are building a control deck with Sen Triplets. Just have a better mana base for your deck and you don't need this. Also, I understand your reasoning on Telepathy, but it's not that necessary. Sen Triplets' ability is enough. You could instead put in removal, a counter, or even a wrath type card. Maybe Supreme Verdict?
I also think every control Sen Triplets deck should run Boseiju, Who Shelters All. It keeps your counters, removal spells, and any other any important response cards or wraths safe from getting countered.
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't there a rule that sais mana of another color than your commander turns colorless?
So I don't see the point of running exotic Orchard or fellwar Stone. I think Celestial Dawn would be better to play your opponents' cards.
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I apologize for my English, it's not my main language.
If I can play the combo it is a win, but even If cannot get my hands on both pieces, each one of those cards has value for itself, I may sacrifice 5 artifacts to protect them from an "exile" spell and have a profit for it if I only have the Sieve, or a 5/5 flyer for 6 that can give me 5 1/1 topters is usefull when need to block.
The combo is a win on itself but it is not easy to actually deploy in a 4player environment, but anyway Sharum can bring back any piece I need from my GY, pyrexian can copy everything in the table for 3U or 3 and 2 life and even the disciple can be of some value on its own in our deck.
The other "combo" I play not as a win-con but as a stale situation is thopter foundry + sword of the meek , is preety good to chumblock and with enought mana we can replace the assembly for the infinite combo
Do you see this "side" strats weakening too much my deck?
The Masters of your Mind
--Primer--
Hello everyone, this is my primer for my Sen Triplets EDH deck, inside is a run down of the general, the card choices, combos, strategy, the deck's strengths and weaknesses, history, and everything in between. So without further to do, let's begin.
The Deck's History:
Originally I intended to run the deck as a hybrid of control and resource theft, running such cards as Control Magic, Mind Control, and Volition Reins, and while these cards were useful and the deck even still has a flavor of resource theft, but I found it wasn't what I wanted since I was never playing the Triplets until my opponents were teetering on the edge of defeat and the Triplets were just the final nail in the coffin. So I cut a majority of the resource theft portion for more counter magic and spot removal and just dove into the control side that Esper seems so good at.
Today the Triplets are a power-house in 4-man pods and seem to hold their own pretty well in 1-v-1 games, depending on your draws. The deck can come out of no where and just burn the field clean, then drop a huge creature or game winning combo, or even the Triplets themselves to start using the opponents cards for my own gain, all while comfortable sitting on multiple counters and removal spells.
Why you may or may not like this deck:
-You like sitting back and managing the board
-You like counters, wraths, and removal
-You like playing with few creatures
-You like politics
You won't like the deck if;
-You like attacking often
-You don't like playing passively throughout most of the game
-You like comboing out/winning quickly
-You want to be the one killing every other players
The General:
The Sen Triplets
Name: Sen Triplets, sounds cool, plus there's 3 of them, if it counts for anything, I think it's pretty cool.
Power/Toughness: 3/3, not bad for a wizard, but they don't usually bash in the red zone or block, I just keep them back where they're safe.
Card Type: Artifact Creature, dies to all creature removal, but most generals do, the artifact part can be bothersome as a Shattering Pulse can just keep blowing the Triplets away, not to mention the myriad of artifact removal in EDH, but oh well.
Creature Type: Human Wizard, not much to say here, the Human part could be nonexistent for all intents and purposes, but the wizard aspect can be useful, saving the Triplets from a nasty spell via Riptide Laboratory can be helpful.
Casting Cost: 2WUB, a 5-drop with an ability like that is well worth it, they can be run out easily in the late game and can even die a few times before the additional mana becomes a burden.
Ability: As you can see it's a monster of an effect, being able to not only see what an opponent's packing AND shut them down during your turn but to also get to play THEIR spells, AGAINST THEM, sure it costs mana, but hey, why not just play their land card if you're out, and it's worth it to play their combo piece, or fatty, or removal spell, or wrath, or awesome enchantment, or, well I think I've said enough, so let's not jump the gun here.
The Deck:
1 Sen Triplets Foil
Lands
3 Island [1 Foil]
3 Swamp [1 Foil]
3 Plains
1 Academy Ruins Foil
1 Arcane Sanctum Foil
1 Arid Mesa Foil
1 Bojuka Bog Foil
1 Celestial Colonnade Foil
1 Command Tower
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Drowned Catacomb Foil
1 Fetid Heath Foil
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress Foil
1 Godless Shrine Foil
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Isolated Chapel Foil
1 Marsh Flats
1 Maze of Ith
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mystic Gate Foil
1 Mystifying Maze Foil
1 Polluted Delta Foil
1 Reliquary Tower Foil
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Scalding Tarn Foil
1 Scrubland
1 Strip Mine
1 Sunken Ruins Foil
1 Tectonic Edge Foil
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Wasteland
1 Watery Grave Foil
1 Azorius Guildmage Foil
1 Snapcaster Mage Foil
1 Trinket Mage Foil
1 Bloodgift Demon Foil
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir Foil
1 Consecrated Sphinx Foil
1 Drogskol Reaver Foil
1 Rune-Scarred Demon Foil
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One Foil
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind Foil
Planeswalkers
1 Jace Beleren Foil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor Foil
1 Liliana Vess Foil
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage Foil
Instant
1 Pact of Negation Foil
1 Condemn Foil
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Path to Exile Foil
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Counterspell Foil
1 Cyclonic Rift Foil
1 Go for the Throat
1 Capsize
1 Dissipate Foil
1 Forbid
1 Hinder
1 Mortify Foil
1 Render Silent Foil
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Cryptic Command Foil
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Return to Dust Foil
1 Rewind
1 Force of Will
1 Ancestral Vision Foil
1 Black Sun's Zenith
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vindicate
1 Damnation Foil
1 Wrath of God Foil
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Increasing Ambition Foil
1 Rout Foil
1 Austere Command Foil
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Terminus
Artifacts
1 Elixir of Immortality Foil
1 Expedition Map Foil
1 Nihil Spellbomb Foil
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring Foil
1 Nevinyrral's Disk Foil
Enchantments
1 Oblivion Ring Foil
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Rhystic Study Foil
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Future Sight Foil
1 Debtors' Knell Foil
1 Omniscience Foil
The deck is, as I said earlier, a heavy control deck, and I am trying to foil it, so if you have a foil version of any of the cards I'm running and want to set up a trade, just PM me and we'll see if we can do business.
The Strategy:
I can't tell you how many times I've won a 4-man because I just sat there with a Trinket Mage, Jace Beleren, and Sol Ring while the other players threw creatures, burn, removal, everything at each other, in their minds, "I wasn't a threat, Trinket Mage won't do anything, and besides, he's +2ing Jace every now and then." until finally only one poor soul remains and I can wrath the field and counter every spell the last opponent ever plays, then win with Sphinx of the Steel Wind and Rune-Scarred Demon beats, or Jace, the Mind Sculptor's ultimate.
The point being, I like playing the deck this way, and it's great at it, I love stopping the broken combos and wrathing when the table needs it, basically playing everyone else, saying "Leave me be, and I'll protect you." My opponents always go after the person I've made a treaty with because I'm letting him resolve big spells and creatures, within reason, and he's beating face, no one thinks to bother me when the other guy has a Mossbridge Troll with a Whispersilk Cloak on it and a few other fatties who's power equal up to 10, that's a true story, and I won that game.
You can play this deck however you like though, I've seen people play it as a more aggressive control deck, dropping creatures and awesome spells every few turns to make the table sweat, and it works that way, this deck is ton of fun and can approach a game from multiple angles, making sure it's never dull and always standing a fighting chance.
Card Choices:
Lands
Reliquary Tower: Once you get going with the card draw, discarding them for no good reason isn't what you want.
Academy Ruins: There's a reason all the blue mages run this land, recurring any spent artifact is great card advantage, and I've heard recurring Mindslaver is pretty good, if not a little cruel.
Manlands: Sometimes you need an emergency blocker, or a creature to smash an opposing walker with, these guys fit the bill, and they tap for 2 colors, so they fix too, all around great cards.
Maze of Ith/Mystifying Maze: You can count Maze of Ith as a land if you want, I don't for deck construction purposes since it doesn't tap for mana, but it can but tutored up with Expedition Map and it shuts out big fatties headed your way, or your friends way if you're playing the table, same with Mystifying Maze, but it requires a bit of a mana investment, so I use it with that in mind, but it's still saved more than enough to earn it's spot, plus Mystifying Mazing a guy with some nice Auras on it is always makes me smile.
Riptide Laboratory: A lot of my dudes are wizards, including the Triplets, so saving them is always welcome, and Riptide does it on the cheap.
Wasteland, Strip Mine, Tectonic Edge: Sometimes you just need to blow up some land, Cabal Coffers is a good one, but not the only one, there're tons, and I mean TONS of pesky lands out there you don't want out, so these guys are here for just those situations.
Azorius Guildmage: This guy has more than earned his place time and time again, he shuts big fatties down so I don't have to get punched more than is needed, but the big thing is that he deals with activated abilities, multiple times in a turn, sure it takes three mana, but activated abilities can nasty, and having an out is more than welcome.
Snapcaster Mage: This new guy can give you a lot of options, especially late game and ESPECIALLY with a Riptide Laboratory out. Play him, counter a spell, kill a dude, wrath the board, go tutor something up, draw some cards, then bounce him EOT for more goodness, seems alright.
Trinket Mage: This guys has a whole host of targets in this deck, from Top, to Sol Ring, to the Spellbomb, he's my Swiss-Army-Knife for sticky situations.
Bloodgift Demon: This guy acts as a second Phyrexian Arena, although he can act as a sizable beater in the mid-game, plus he effectively block in the air, he won't last long, but the fact that he can be a card-draw engine and a dude makes him worth running.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir: Flashing him in at EOT or in response to something is the best, but any time works too, plus he makes other blue mage cry and I get to flash in 7+ drops on others peoples turns if I didn't need to counter or kill something.
Consecrated Sphinx: He also draws cards, but without needing to tap, and with 6 toughness he can toe-to-toe with a lot creature and come out no worse for wear, and if he sticks around for a full cycle through the table in a 4-man pod, yeah, you just drew 6 cards, plus as a may effect, you don't need to worry about decking yourself.
Drogskol Reaver: This guys has rightfully earned his place as Consecrated Sphinx 2.0, super useful, and the lifelink can really be a life saver, and double strike deals with some creatures without actually risking the Reaver.
Rune-Scarred Demon: He's a D-Tutor on legs, a 6/6 flying D-Tutor at that, sounds like a good deal to me.
Sheoldred, Whispering One: A great beater with some evasion, but that's not why we run her, we run her for that wonderful removal/recursion engine that she provides.
Sphinx of the Steel Wind: This guy just hurts people, and getting back some lost life helps, but its the protections that really make this guy shine.
Removal: It's all cheap, fast, and to the point, some of it allows for regeneration, but that's not as important for removal, the stuff I do run has been a huge help.
Tutors: They give me what I need for whatever I run into, yeah, Mystical Tutor only gets instants and sorceries, but that's still comes in handy when you can do it at instant speed and most of most of answer are easily grabbed by it.
Wraths: Every now and then you need to hit the restart button, all the wraths in this deck either don't allow for regeneration, or have some other useful effect tacked on, like exiling/tucking all the creatures.
Ancestral Vision: A card draw spell with a 4 turn timer, it can be a pain waiting, but the sudden in-flow of cards is well worth it.
Capsize: Functions as a removal spell, only you get to use it every turn, with 6 mana open and this guy hand, I have no worries.
Return to Dust: Being able to exile two artifact/enchantments can really help in a tight spot, or you can play it at EOT if things get really hairy, and it can be a life-saver against Blightsteel Colossus or Shield of Kaldra.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: Surprisingly enough, I've found +2ing this guy targeting myself to be the best use of him, it fixes my draws and no one bothers to worry about him since he isn't hurting them, and then before you know it, Jace is at 18 counters and the whole table is scrambling to kill him or get on your good side.
Liliana Vess: She lets me tutor anything I need, plus she can be used over and over, giving me outs to any threat, and her +1 is useful for helping me get card advantage, her ultimate could be back-breaking, but to be honest, I've never used it.
Venser, the Sojourner: Actually ended up cutting this guy, yeah his ultimate was game ending and his +2 could do a few cute tricks here and there, but on the whole he was too underwhelming without enough ETB effects, so he sadly has fallen from the list, but it was fun while it lasted!
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage: This walker is a wonderful control walker, she sleeps pesky permanents, draws lots of cards, and gives one the greatest control emblems I've seen. A Spellbook effects with infinite answers and counters really helps in the long game.
Elixir of Immortality: This little 1-drop I feel is really undervalued in EDH, it gives you back everything, all your removal, all your counters, all your wraths, your land that got killed, and the Elixir itself to do it all again later, I can't say enough about it, and 5 life comes in handy now and then.
Expedition Map: Getting any land is really helpful, I always get Academy Ruins first so I can use it again, it ensures you'll never be stuck without a color again.
Nihil Spellbomb: It's graveyard hate that also cantrips you all for B, not much to say but I think I've already said more than enough.
Sol Ring: Early and late game acceleration is never bad, plus it helps me power my big spells earlier and easier.
Nevinyrral's Disk: It gives me Planar Cleansing when I need it, sure walkers survive and it comes in tapped, but the fact I can use this at my discretion and for only 1 mana is too good.
Mindslaver: I actually cut this guy, not becasue it's bad, but because it draws a lot of hate and people tend to not enjoy playing with me when I run it, so I'll keep it stashed away for competitive pods and what-not.
Phyrexian Arena: Sure you lose some life but the cards are worth it, and someone will probably kill it for you before the life-loss matters.
Rhystic Study: It's theoretically a card draw enchantment, but if your opponents are smart, it's just a slowdown enchantment, but if you've got a friend at the table you can net some cards off it.
Leyline of Anticipation: This card will let me EVERYTHING at instant speed, not just creatures as with Teferi, and sure it doesn't let me stunt my opponents counters and spot-removal and other instant speed cards.
Future Sight: This card is just stupid, and if you've played with or against it you know why, combine with Top and watch your opponents sit on their big spells because your freaking Force of Will just keeps sitting on top.
Debtor's Knell: Reanimating a dude every turn not only lets you build up a great force, but shuts down graveyard-based strategies, sure it's 7 mana, but it hasn't failed me yet.
Omniscience: Sure, it's a 10 mana enchantment, but think about it this way, it's the last time you'll ever need to spend mana ever again, except for things like buyback and activated abilities, but hey, no big deal, you'll have mana open for days.
Cards that didn't make the cut:
I don't run too many creatures because this is control deck, all my creatures are either for utility or to start winning, the one's I choose are best at doing just that, but if you have any suggestions for other dudes, let me know, I'm always willing to listen.
This deck list is pretty air-tight, so making cuts is tough, so if you have ideas for new cards, you'll need to give a really good reason why card X should come out for it.
Matchups:
On the other hand, this does well against combo decks by locking out their combo pieces and stopping them from ever going off, as well as control decks that aren't as heavy control as this one is, the Triplets can shut the opponent out with counters and removal and just slowly beat down with one or two big dudes.
So there you have it, my Primer for the Sen Triplets EDH deck, let me know what you guys think, and even though the deck is really air-tight, I'm always taking suggestions, or if you have foil versions of anything in my deck, let me know, I'd love to work something out. So I'll leave you now, it's been fun sharing my tech, enjoy.
WUB Sen Triplets WUB
WR Jor Kadeen WR
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG
BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Legacy:
X Ravager Affinity X
I'm not sure how you can claim to have no room for Vindicate and then run subpar removal like Doom Blade and subpar counters like Cancel. I understand it's a sorcery but that doesn't make it unplayable when it destroys nearly any problem permanent you can think of.
Most cards in your deck-->Vindicate: you are undervauling this highly. You may hear this recommendation a lot for good reason. I'd start with removing Last Word, Doom Blade or Cancel for this extremely versatile and powerful piece of removal that is one of the best Orzhov spells in all of Magic. I mean, just think of all the black generals that dodge Doom Blade. I'd be just infuriated if I had to play against Doran or something (or you!) and a Doom Blade was stranded in my hand.
Jace Beleren-->Gilded Drake: This guy is always a house at the end of the game and he's hilarious tempo advantage when stealing generals early, especially in multiplayer where there's always good stuff to steal and the flying 3/3 is more irrelevant. I'd think even Tezzeret the Seeker would be more valuable here, allowing you to fetch up your utility artifacts. Jace is just so helpful to your opponents and so fragile that I'm not sure why he's worth the spot here. (As a side note, I'm surprised you lean so heavily on planeswalkers- I find them really lacking in multiplayer unless you're in wrath.dec, which you aren't.)
Cancel-->Spell Crumple: This should require no explanation. Strictly better.
Last Word-->Pact of Negation: It's a panic button that doesn't require you to tap out for your big play without giving up your security. I think it's much more likely to surprise an opponent that a 4-mana counterspell that probably won't be countered anyway. You surely know the value of this already as you play Force of Will in this deck.
Bouncelands-->Filterlands: I slime bouncelands all day on turn 4. Would hate to see that happen to you. Also would hate to have to discard a card on turn two with nothing to do. Play Sunken Ruins and friends here instead.
Honden of Seeing Winds-->Future Sight: I once had to ask why Future Sight was good. Then I played the card and have never asked since. It combos with Top for :1mana:: draw a card and huge storm to boot. Its card advantage will beat the Honden every time if you can generate triple-blue reliably (which I believe should be no problem for your manabase and your additional fixers Celestial Dawn and Mycosynth Lattice). Besides, how awesome is it to leave a counterspell on the top of your deck and pass the turn? Sick, that's how awesome. Letting the other players know what's on top of your deck isn't bad at all- it makes them play around you, which is precisely what you want them to be doing.
Life's Finale-->Rout: Well worth the ability to cast it at instant speed, especially for a control deck like yours. Besides, Life's Finale is liable to actually help anyone who plays any graveyard recursion. Esper has so many other better options that you shouldn't need to be scraping the bottom of the barrel for wraths.
Esper Panorama-->Volrath's Stronghold: Since you don't have much recursion and you will want to be able to stick a finisher sometimes, this will be really helpful in making sure that you are able to use creatures to get the job done. Imagine tutoring for this off Rune-Scarred Demon. What would be the point of killing him, right? It's super card advantage in a deck that loves its card advantage.
Now this could be my inner timmy talking but I feel like you need one more bomb in case you have trouble sticking the first as there doesn't seem to be a lot of recursion here. Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Sphinx of Uthuun are good ones to try out if you need to but I don't want to press that too hard on you since you can likely tutor for the one you want anyway from your own deck.
I see you've cast aside the Coffers/Urborg mana machine. That's noble of you but when you can so easily tutor for whichever one you need with Expedition Map and black tutors, I wonder how bad it is to include them. You can go either way with this but I'd think for quite a bit before casting that much power aside.
I hope you get some more feedback. Very respectable primer- thanks much for contributing!
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP
You have Tundra, Scrubland, Underground Sea and the Ravnica Duals as well on your list but then I see the artifact land and the Vivids???? Why dear god why the Vivids??? they are sooooo bad lol. Seriously though you should get rid of those that stuff sucks. If I were you I would consider some off color fetchlands like Arid Mesa, Misty Rainforest, Scalding Tarn... etc. I know some people frown on this but it is legal to run and it will dramatically increase your deck's performance to add another 5 or so fetchlands to that count.
Also as for the primer, you might add a strategy section and sort of talk about what your general gameplan is. Generally speaking it helps out new players to your list get an idea of what the deck sort of does.
In the card choices section you could also cover cards that could be used in the deck and how they might impact it and why you dont run it. These are also good areas to have for new people to review your primer and get ideas from.
Signature by Inkfox Aesthetics by Xen
[Modern] Allies
Although I think this could have been worded better, I must say I agree with ISBPathfinder here. I have run into what looks like a similar issue as you, where I have access to planty of mutlicolor lands and neglect a reasonable amount of basics. Once I had been hit with enough Ruinations and Wasteland/Crucible of Worlds locks, I upped the basic count a lot. I would suggest leaning towards 10 basics, cutting Esper Panorama, the vivids and the artifact lands; in that order. Also, I really like Exotic Orchard with the Triplets.
Why no artifact ramp other than Sol Ring? No signets, no Darksteel Ingot, no Fellwar Stone (extra points for those types of 'steal my enemies power cards)?
I definitely agree with SuperSonik on most of his points, except for these two:
I think Jace -> Tezzeret, the Seeker for more artifact goodness
Last Word -> NOT a pact. I can't tell you how many times a table will see a pact played and do everything they can to prevent you from being able to pay the cost next turn. I've seen games that could have ended from red zones if not for the sheer determination of making other people suicidal.
-C.S. Lewis
EDH
Obzedat - Still Alive
Retired - Nicol Bolas
I agree with all of this. Even the pact part. I should have noticed the lack of mana stones and I think it is a big source of inefficiency for the deck. I just threw the pact out there because almost anything is better than Last Word.
I would recommend Coalition Relic as the first mana rock and go from there.
:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
:symg::symr::symu: Unexpected Results.dec
Thada Adel Stax WIP
Absorb, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Skeletal Scrying, Snapcaster Mage (it doesn't seem bad combined with Venser, the Sojourner and Riptide Laboratory), Venser, Shaper Savant (which has the same sinergies as Snapcaster Mage), Vendilion Clique (another Wizards that does something when it comes into play), Dismantling Blow, Pulse of the Fields, Mind Twist, Timetwister, Time Spiral, Brainstorm, Mana Drain, Merchant Scroll, Boseiju, who shelters all, Reflecting Pool, Command Tower, Yawgmoth's Will, Vampiric Tutor, Nightscape Familiar, Ashes to Ashes, No Mercy, The Abyss, Moat, Lim-Dûl's Vault, Careful Consideration, Decree of Justice, Martial Coup.
And I don't really like some of the creatures you are playing, I think they are too slow: Ethersworn Adjudicator, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Rune-Scarred Demon, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Consecrated Sphinx. Maybe they aren't slow for multiplayer, but anyway, I think you don't need so many finishers, isn't it enough with the Planeswalkers, the general, and Memnarch stealing everything?
I also don't like the common Ravnica lands, like Orzhov Basilica. It sucks if it's destroyed or bounced to your hand. I think "painlands" and Odyssey lands like Darkwater Catacombs are better.
1 Sen Triplets
Lands
2 Island
1 Academy Ruins
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Fetid Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Marsh Flats
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mystic Gate
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Polluted Delta
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Scrubland
1 Strip Mine
1 Sunken Ruins
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Wasteland
1 Watery Grave
1 Scalding Tarn
1 City of Brass
1 Vesuva
1 Ddarkwater Catacombs
1 Skycloud Expanse
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Underground River
1 Command Tower
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Dust Bowl
1 Boseiju, who shelters all
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Trinket Mage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Memnarch
Planeswalkers
1 Jace Beleren
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Venser, the Sojourner
Instant
1 Counterspell
1 Dissipate
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Forbid
1 Cryptic Command
1 Force of Will
1 Undermine
1 Absorb
1 Mana Drain
1 Spell Crumble
1 Mana Leak
1 Miscalculation
1 Condemn
1 Path to Exile
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Doom Blade
1 Go for the Throat
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Brainstorm
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
1 Esper Charm
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Capsize
Sorcery
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vindicate
1 Damnation
1 Wrath of God
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Rout
1 Day of Judgment
1 Mind Twist
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Thoughtseize
Artifacts
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Powder Keg
1 Pithing Needle
1 Mindslaver
1 Mycosynth Lattice
Enchantments
1 Future Sight
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Moat
Your list looks pretty solid for 1-v-1, though I would cut stuff like Doom Blade for a different removal spell, maybe something like Ashes to Ashes, and I'd try and fit in some cards like Prison Term since it can just keep your opponents biggest threat out of the game. If you're looking to make this a bit meaner, Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and Knowledge Pool and good way to end the game, and Treasure Mage. I'd also maybe cut Brainstorm for something that can have a bit of reach in the long game, maybe Mind Spring, just a thought.
You also look a light on kill cards, I'd maybe throw a Grave Titan or Consecrated Sphinx in, they give more dudes or more cards, respectively, and with back-up can beat an opponent down. Those are just some suggestions, how has the deck performed in testing if you don't mind my asking.
WUB Sen Triplets WUB
WR Jor Kadeen WR
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG
BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Legacy:
X Ravager Affinity X
It is really amazing how you take benefit to ruin the hand of your opponents and see his hand.
I usually don't run the Triplets out until at the very earliest the midgame, for the most part what I do is hold them in the Command Zone until I have counter/removal support in hand, or creatures/planeswalkers to draw fire, or if another is another huge target I can sometimes slip them in under the radar.
For the most I do wait until the rest of the board is left reeling from the rest of the game, but not to the point where the Triplets become a "win-more" card. I don't always need the Triplets, but they do give another option for winning.
WUB Sen Triplets WUB
WR Jor Kadeen WR
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG
BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Legacy:
X Ravager Affinity X
www.commandercast.com
Commandercast on Tumblr!
My EDH/Commander List:
Wedges:
Numot, the Devastator RWU
Damia, Sage of Stone GUB
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
Olivia Voldaren
It sets a state of confusion, lets you see who you have to worry about counters from, lets you pick targets for Sen more efficiently right off the bat, and typically just causes all around tension.
WUB Sen Triplets WUB
WR Jor Kadeen WR
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG
BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Legacy:
X Ravager Affinity X
You are correct.
URNiv-Mizzet the Firemind
WUBRGSliver Queen leads the Planewalkers
First things first, Wraithblade, you flatter me. I don't mean for my deck to be competitive, it just worked out that way. I can't say I expected my list to become this popular, I just thought I'd share. Well the first thing is I cut Ethersworn Adjudicator for Black Sun's Zenith, I had wanted Zenith in for a while but could never decide what to cut, so after a few long games I came to the conclusion that this was the switch, it hasn't failed me yet. Another one is Fact of Fiction for Cyclonic Rift, it may seem a bit foolish, and who knows, maybe it is, but Rift bounces everyone's stuff but my own, combine that with a planeswalker or two on board and a decent hand and the game should be all but over. I haven't had much time to test out Rift but I can't see how it'll be bad.
RTR unfortunately didn't bring a lot to the Triplets as I'd had hoped, but with luck Gatecrash will produce more goodies besides those bracers, can't say I'm looking forward to those, but only time will tell. Well, I hope these changes are well received and I'll try to keep the list up to date!
WUB Sen Triplets WUB
WR Jor Kadeen WR
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG
BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Legacy:
X Ravager Affinity X
http://deckbox.org/sets/289201
Thanks!
Padeem, Consul of Innovation - Artifact value/combo.
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant - Sultai zombie reanimator.
Grayclay, I must say, truely an honor and a privilege you have bestowed upon me, how could I possibly say no! On to it then!
I certainly like the Esper build you've got going, very interesting indeed. The first thing I can think of off the top of my head is cut Doom Blade for something more board, maybe Vindicate or Pongify, since black is rather prevalent in the format. Also cards with Windfall effects for just more big draw spells, Sphinx's Revelation or Arcanis, the Omnipotent, but that's just me. There's a ton of awesome discard effects in EDH if that's what you're after though, Mind Sludge or Liliana Vess, even Hymn to Torach isn't the worst thing ever. I'm also not a fan of Temporal Mastery since it's the only extra turn effect you have, it feels awkward and a little out of place, I'd prefer to run a lot of them and use that strategy if you want extra turns.
Side note: I do not condone nor recommend running extra turn cards, if you want to goldfish your deck, don't make me sit here and watch, I want to play Magic too you know.
Anyways, back to business, I also don't really think Rings of Brighthearth has a place in your deck, yeah it's cool with Karn Liberated, but your deck is too light on activated abilities I feel to warrant it's inclusion. I also don't like Knowledge Pool, not because it's bad, but cause I'm not a huge of the combo with Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, just so mean. The deck sweet and a lot of fun, I'm curious how it's been working out for you if you wouldn't mind sharing.
WUB Sen Triplets WUB
WR Jor Kadeen WR
WUBRG Horde of Notions WUBRG
UBG The Mimeoplasm (MTGO) UBG
BGR Kresh Eldrazi (MTGO) BGR
Legacy:
X Ravager Affinity X
You listed it as mana fixing, but have you played around with it? I'm building a similar deck (huzzah and kudos on your list, btw, it is most helpful in my studious construction) and the first thing that got me interested in the Triplets was pairing them with Celestial Dawn.
Also, what are your thoughts on Telepathy? Especially in multi-player, getting 100% knowledge of your opponents hands seems invaluable.
The other Sen Triplets deck that I've been looking at as I build my own is here: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/sen-triplets-edh-16-10-12-1/ It is very different than yours and seems to focus more on control and denial for other players. I'm interested in your thoughts.
Edit: I just saw the spoiled Daxos card from Theros. ZOMG, this soooo needs to go in this deck, right?
How To Keep Your FOIL Cards From Curling: http://youtu.be/QTmubrS8VnI
The Best Deck Boxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEwgLph_Pjk
The Best Binders: http://youtu.be/H5IauASYWjk
I also think every control Sen Triplets deck should run Boseiju, Who Shelters All. It keeps your counters, removal spells, and any other any important response cards or wraths safe from getting countered.
So I don't see the point of running exotic Orchard or fellwar Stone. I think Celestial Dawn would be better to play your opponents' cards.
I am just building my first commander dek and I choose the triplets mainly because I love the ESPER combination and my old casual solar flare deck.
You will see my decklist is 'odd', mainly is because I dont want the deck to be too broken for my playgroup (who are mainly casuals)
So, I own (and choose not to play in this EDH deck at leats from the scrath) snapcaster mage, damnation, vendillion clique, ancestral vision, fetches and others.
Despite that I want to build a strong deck that can win often and use my favourite cards (JItte, top, skullclamp).
Please help me to realize what needs to be fix, if you think the deck needs more counters, or needs less creatures, maybe more removal or less
This is my decklist so far
Pw
Liliana Vess
Jace Beleren
Creatures
Wurmcoil engine
Duplicant
phyrexian metamorph
kuldotha forgemaster
Azorius guild mage
treasure mage
grand arbiter agustin iv
magister sphinx
stormscape familiar
solemn simmulacrum
trinket mage
blightsteel colossus
leonin abunas
Myr battlesphere
sharum the hegemon
consecrated sphinx
myr retriever
platinum angel
sphinx sovereign
sphinx of the steel wind
shimering myr
Enchants
Phyrexian arena
mind's dilation
propaganda
sacred mesa
telepathy
ghostly prision
Paradox Haze
Artifacts
umezawas's jitte
dimir signet
talisman of progress
elixir of inmortality
manalith
talisman of dominance
orzhov signet
swiftfoot boots
darksteel forge
skullclamp
mycosynth lattice
sensei's divining top (AKA the reason I play commander)
sorcerys
aether snap
diabolic tutor
wrath of god
treasure cruise
day of judgment
ponder
merciless eviction
INstants
second sunrise
fact or fiction
blue sun's zenith
negate
capsize
hinder
swords to plowshares
mortify
cyclonic rift
momentary blink
Counterspell
dig trough time
perplex
evacuation
lands
Godless shrine
seat of the synod
coastal tower
mystifying maze
glacial fortress
watery grave
buried ruin
cave of koilos
command tower
reliquary tower
mortuary mire
hallowed fountain
vault of wispers
underground river
terramorphic expanse
ancient den
drowned catacomb
evolving wilds
azorious tribunal
academy ruins
temple of silence
5 swamp
5 island
5 plains
EDH: RWB Edgar Markov The current updated decklist is here
EDH: WUB Oloro, Ageless ascetic The current updated decklist is here
EDH: UWG Phelddagrif, The current updated decklist is here
EDH: WUB Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign The current updated decklist is here
EDH: WUB Alela, Artful provocateur The current updated decklist is here
EDH: GB Hapatra, vizier of poisons The current updated decklist is here
In my Triplets deck I have some cards that I just dont know how good they are for the overall plan and some ones that certanly do well
For instance, I play Thopter assembly + Time sieve
If I can play the combo it is a win, but even If cannot get my hands on both pieces, each one of those cards has value for itself, I may sacrifice 5 artifacts to protect them from an "exile" spell and have a profit for it if I only have the Sieve, or a 5/5 flyer for 6 that can give me 5 1/1 topters is usefull when need to block.
I also play Sharum the egemon + Phyrexian metamorph + Disciple of the vault
The combo is a win on itself but it is not easy to actually deploy in a 4player environment, but anyway Sharum can bring back any piece I need from my GY, pyrexian can copy everything in the table for 3U or 3 and 2 life and even the disciple can be of some value on its own in our deck.
The other "combo" I play not as a win-con but as a stale situation is thopter foundry + sword of the meek , is preety good to chumblock and with enought mana we can replace the assembly for the infinite combo
Do you see this "side" strats weakening too much my deck?
EDH: RWB Edgar Markov The current updated decklist is here
EDH: WUB Oloro, Ageless ascetic The current updated decklist is here
EDH: UWG Phelddagrif, The current updated decklist is here
EDH: WUB Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign The current updated decklist is here
EDH: WUB Alela, Artful provocateur The current updated decklist is here
EDH: GB Hapatra, vizier of poisons The current updated decklist is here