I've been using Vandalblast, and it has been a huge blowout just about every time I've seen it. I also tossed in a Forbidden Orchard to combo with RepercussionBlasphemous Act kills, which has been amusingly effective. With Furnace of Rath, one token is enough to kill someone who would otherwise have 0 creatures.
I've been using Vandalblast, and it has been a huge blowout just about every time I've seen it. I also tossed in a Forbidden Orchard to combo with RepercussionBlasphemous Act kills, which has been amusingly effective. With Furnace of Rath, one token is enough to kill someone who would otherwise have 0 creatures.
A little bit of a delayed response, but Vandalblast is definitely great. I found spot for that as soon as I got my hands on it, and both the regular and overloaded uses have been wonderful. orchard is an interesting call. I can see why you would use it, but the upside isn't worth losing a mountain to me. I already run a pretty good number of nonbasics, and I'd like to keep my mountain count high. I'm glad it's working out for you!
Now that Gatecrash is entirely spoiled, it's time for the quarterly "Maybe I could use this someday" post. This is obviously not the best set in the world for this deck, given the multicolored nature of the block and the combat focus of the two red aligned guilds, but there are still a couple gems to be found. I'm using card tags, because I expect that info is going to be updated fairly soon at this point.
Hellkite Tyrant - Efficient beater with theft and an alt wincon tacked on. The dragon is definitely worth consideration, even if I don't think I'm going to be adding it in. Requiring a swing and not having native haste is a pretty big strike against a creature here. A very solid card, but doesn't do a whole lot to advance my gameplan besides being a strong red card.
Homing Lightning - Good against token swarms, which are clearly a big problem for Jaya. I'd rather run Mizzium Mortars out of RTR if I was looking for something like this.
Molten Primordial - Pretty similar to the Hellkite. it's a powerful, swingy card that doesn't really advance this deck's plan. I'd rather have Insurrection or Mass Mutiny, as it's easier to interact with sorceries here.
Tin Street Market - I really, really wish this cost about 2 less. 1RR would have been a beautiful thing. As it is, I'm very tempted to test it out. I think it's worse than some of the artifact draw that's not already in here, but enchantments are a little harder to deal with. The jury is still out on this one.
Glaring Spotlight - The Chicken Little card in the set, in my opinion. Essentially useless in this deck, unless the meta is infested with low toughness hexproof dorks. Definitely a pass.
Illusionist's Bracers - This is the first one that has a decent shot. There's some definite power here. I think it's too narrow with the deck as is, but the obvious synergy with Jaya makes this one to keep an eye on.
Thespian's Stage - I don't think there are too many decks that wouldn't like this card. The manabase typically has the potential to be the most powerful part of a deck, and that's true of this one as well. Having 3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacles in play sounds fantastic, and there are a couple other lands worth copying here. It even copies a mountain in times of need, so it's not losing much mana doubling potential. This one is definitely going in.
Not too much coming out of this set, but that was to be expected. I'm still looking forward to the stage, and there are a couple that could be ok. Mostly a set for other decks.
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Your primer solidified my choice of Jaya to get elbow deep into EDH a couple months ago...I'm very happy I did so. She's great to play and can occasionally come out of nowhere to win games. The games have been fun as long as we haven't hit infinite-combo-land and nobody really wants to kill me early (as what can the mono red player do anyways?). I currently own the deck online but over the next couple months am planning on building it in real life.
I haven't been running land death as I don't find it too fun. I'm okay with having a Magus of the Moon to tutor up if the 5c player is going a bit too crazy though. I am tempted to find a spot for Wake of Destruction, but I'm still not super sure about it.
Haven't added in Gilded Lotus, Mana Vault or Strip Mine yet. Not sure if I want them in the deck or if it matters to not...probably need the mine at least.
I'm thinking I may want another wheel effect in Reforge the Soul, but I'm not sure.
For this version of Jaya, I think the Illusionist's Bracers is going to be much better than in your version. Looking forward to getting it in here.
Instants 8 1 Skred 1 Shattering Pulse 1 Price of Progress 1 Reiterate 1 Chaos Warp 1 Wild Ricochet 1 Word of Seizing (it's come up 2 times in a row now that it has split second...the first time I couldn't copy it and kill someone and they won at 1 life and the 2nd time it was because someone else couldn't copy it) 1 Magmaquake (up for debate on which instant-speed wrath I want)
I get a little jealous of some of the MODO lists. Being able to run Imperial Recruiter and Rolling Earthquake would be nice. Keep in mind that I'm not an online player, so I'm not sure about availability and prices for that so much. I like the list in general. It's got a little higher CMC across the board than I generally go for, but that's mostly personal preference, especially in a deck like that where you're playing a longer game.
My big question is whether you have enough goblins to use Krenko. He's obviously beastly if you can get rolling, but I only count five goblins in there, which seems a little low. Are you mostly just putting out a single token with the first activation? I'd consider losing him. I might try and find a place for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (if budget isn't a concern. I know he's gone up), as well as Tuktuk Scrapper. You've got red's tutoring, so you might as well take advantage of that. Adding in a couple other goblin options makes Krenko and your currently lackluster Recruiter a little more solid as well.
Instant speed wraths, I'd go for Starstorm or Fault Line. Starstorm's cycling is pretty useful at times, and being able to finish off a player with Fault Line seems more useful than hitting walkers. They aren't terribly common in EDH in my experience, and you have a couple that could be collateral.
I'm curious about how Mizzium Mortars and Skullclamp have been working for you. I've considered both in the past, and they never seemed to be quite what I was after.
Glad to see someone else taking up Jaya!
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Yeah, recruiter is a luxury I can't afford in real life...perhaps in a couple of months though. It's lovely that the card is only 3 tix or so online.
Krenko hasn't come out often enough for me to get much of an impression. He's won three games single-handedly (either by swarming or by forcing opponents to throw a bunch of cards at it, especially when greaved up). He's done nothing in a couple other games. Sometimes he just goes crazy with skullclamp. I probably should add a few more goblins to support him though.
Kiki-Jiki is a possibility...it would mean a retooling of the deck to be more etb-centric. Definitely going to look into it.
Tuktuk has jumped into and out of the deck. He's never impressed me however as I usually have more impressive artifact destruction spells such as vandalblast or shattering pulse. Without adding more goblins in, I'll probably cut recruiter.
True enough. I've been vaguely lazy in changing magmaquake to one of those. I'm thinking I'll probably end up with starstorm over fault line so I can preserve my life total.
Mortars has been pretty good. It's been great against a large number of decks. Sometimes it doesn't do anything, but it usually kills something pesky. At other times, it's a huge blowout. It's almost never bad and pretty often good.
Skullclamp is much the same...with krenko, squee, kher keep, and the like, it's rarely dead and actively good. If it isn't however optimal for this deck.
I'm really not sure what to cut and add right now...I do know I want to make some changes though.
I recently discovered Vicious Shadows in someone's trade binder, and I had to give it a try. Now, I know that 7 mana in the upper right corner is a bit of a turn off, but just think of how much stuff dies in your average game of EDH. How many times do you personally wipe the board with Jaya? Turns out you can do bonkers damage with this thing once it arrives.
Yeah, recruiter is a luxury I can't afford in real life...perhaps in a couple of months though. It's lovely that the card is only 3 tix or so online.
Krenko hasn't come out often enough for me to get much of an impression. He's won three games single-handedly (either by swarming or by forcing opponents to throw a bunch of cards at it, especially when greaved up). He's done nothing in a couple other games. Sometimes he just goes crazy with skullclamp. I probably should add a few more goblins to support him though.
Kiki-Jiki is a possibility...it would mean a retooling of the deck to be more etb-centric. Definitely going to look into it.
Tuktuk has jumped into and out of the deck. He's never impressed me however as I usually have more impressive artifact destruction spells such as vandalblast or shattering pulse. Without adding more goblins in, I'll probably cut recruiter.
True enough. I've been vaguely lazy in changing magmaquake to one of those. I'm thinking I'll probably end up with starstorm over fault line so I can preserve my life total.
Mortars has been pretty good. It's been great against a large number of decks. Sometimes it doesn't do anything, but it usually kills something pesky. At other times, it's a huge blowout. It's almost never bad and pretty often good.
Skullclamp is much the same...with krenko, squee, kher keep, and the like, it's rarely dead and actively good. If it isn't however optimal for this deck.
I'm really not sure what to cut and add right now...I do know I want to make some changes though.
I really should give Mortars a shot. I think the big reason I haven't is that I still haven't picked up a copy. Sooner or later, I'm sure I will. Don't forget that Kiki-Jiki works well with creatures other than EtB dudes. Copying Viashino Heretic or Capricious Efreet can be more of a blowout than another use of Solemn Simulacrum.
I'd mostly just be looking at what the deck doesn't support well right now for cuts. Like I mentioned in the last post, I'd keep an eye on how the goblins are doing. They're powerful, but they're at their best when they have a lot of support. Throwing just a few in might not give you all that much oomph.
You might try replacing Ruby Medallion with a mana rock as well. Medallions are best when playing several spells a turn, otherwise it's just a rock that can't pay for abilities or artifacts. I'm a fan of Coldsteel Heart - comes down early and can be grabbed off Scrying Sheets.
A couple more mana rocks might help you out too. I like hitting all the land drops, but that's not really acceleration. They would help Goblin Welder out significantly if you want to keep him, too. Trading Fire Diamond for Steel Hellkite eot is a pretty powerful play. Even though I really only mentioned the 2-drops, there are a lot of good options: Thran Dynamo, Worn Powerstone, Gilded Lotus, etc.
I recently discovered Vicious Shadows in someone's trade binder, and I had to give it a try. Now, I know that 7 mana in the upper right corner is a bit of a turn off, but just think of how much stuff dies in your average game of EDH. How many times do you personally wipe the board with Jaya? Turns out you can do bonkers damage with this thing once it arrives.
I've actually got a foil Shadows hanging out in my binder that I don't run. It's not so much that it costs 7 (which does deter me a bit, even in a deck like this where 7 is expected at some point), it's that I just don't find the card fun to use. It's definitely powerful, especially with the wheels in this deck, but I've never really enjoyed playing with it. Jaya is never going to be my hyper-competitive deck, so I don't mind leaving out objectively powerful cards. It's certainly worth using if you don't mind the cost, though.
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True on Kiki. If I decide to play twin online, I'll add him to the deck (or at the least, wait until modern ptq season is over). Yeah, I think I'm going to cut goblin support aside from a couple matron targets (squee, welder if I add more artifacts, scrapper).
The medallion has definitely been low impact. Some games it allows for more spells per turn, but that's already accomplished by doublers. Not sure which one to grab, though most likely coldsteel heart. Synergy with sheets might occasionally come up at least.
Viscous shadows is, well, vicious. It's worth it in a jaya deck if you find it fun. I find it reasonable for the online meta as most decks are powerful, but not broken (so I have time to cast it and people rarely blame me for doing so). If you do play it, don't be surprised if it doesn't last a turn cycle on the table and if people gun for you for a turn or two after. It's a VERY powerful card, capable of killing the table in a turn or two with a sweeper.
Evening, gents. I've been stalking this thread for a long while now, and finally feel it's time to add my deck, and my thoughts, to the pile.
I've always been a fan of versatility when appraising cards, and seeing three abilities on Jaya always gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling in that respect. So I sleeved up a pile of 99 and took her for a ri- erm, well, you know.
I'm definitely a fun-first EDH player, but since I graduated college, it's been harder to find people who play that aren't complete tryhards. Jaya has bcome the go-to gal when I sit down with an unfamiliar playgroup - she's super-fun to play, doesn't draw pre-game table hate (unless everyone else is mono-blue, of course, in which case I politely excuse myself from the table and go trade or something), and can really fight mean.
A note on Shivan Gorge - I keep notches on the back of it to track the number of people I've killed with it. 12 and counting.
I know I'm missing some staples, like Gamble and Aftershock, but I very seldom seek out cards for my EDH decks - I mostly stumble across them while looking through binders.
Have you had any issues keeping Pyrohemia on the board? I like the card a lot in general, but short of the times when I can protect Jaya from herself and use her to fill that role I would probably be a little wary of playing it out.
I'm guessing you have Possessed Portal because it works well with all of the self-recursive stuff. How has it been working for you? It's definitely a powerful effect, but the cost and difficulty of upkeeping it make it a tough sell.
I love the Shivan Gorge count. That's great, and I wish you the best of luck in covering that thing in notches.
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Have you had any issues keeping Pyrohemia on the board? I like the card a lot in general, but short of the times when I can protect Jaya from herself and use her to fill that role I would probably be a little wary of playing it out.
I'm guessing you have Possessed Portal because it works well with all of the self-recursive stuff. How has it been working for you? It's definitely a powerful effect, but the cost and difficulty of upkeeping it make it a tough sell.
I love the Shivan Gorge count. That's great, and I wish you the best of luck in covering that thing in notches.
Pyrohemia is a bit of an odd one, I admit. I often find myself needing to control the board a bit between my first Jaya casting (turn 3, typically) and my second (when I have surplus mana and/or a way to protect her). I'm sure I'll phase it out eventually - probably for Blood Moon, or when I get my hands on a Gamble (being able to search a tucked Jaya is comparable to having Pyrohemia, anyhow.)
Druidic Satchel was there for the random chance of instant-speed Valakut triggers, but I admit it's pretty narrow otherwise. I could swap it out for a Crystal Ball and probably not notice.
Possessed Portal is undergoing a test run at the moment. I've had the damn thing in my binder since Fifth Dawn was released, and this seems like a deck it would be good in. I'll comment more on its effectiveness when I actually draw it in a game. The prospect of shredding hands with a wheel effect after laying it down is delicious.
If Portal ends up being a bust, I could just jam Blasphemous Act in there or something, I guess.
P.S.: You got a shout-out from Ms. Ballard herself, it seems.
More or less what I was guessing. You'll have to let me know how Portal works out, because that's an interesting one.
On a completely different note, anyone who occasionally reads this have any thoughts about Salvaging Station? I've had some success with it in mono-W lists, and there are about half a dozen targets for it right now. I suspect it's just going to be an inferior Trading Post most of the time, but I'm considering giving it a test run. Odds are also pretty good that I should just try and find spot for Staff of Nin instead.
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More or less what I was guessing. You'll have to let me know how Portal works out, because that's an interesting one.
On a completely different note, anyone who occasionally reads this have any thoughts about Salvaging Station? I've had some success with it in mono-W lists, and there are about half a dozen targets for it right now. I suspect it's just going to be an inferior Trading Post most of the time, but I'm considering giving it a test run. Odds are also pretty good that I should just try and find spot for Staff of Nin instead.
I actually have had some experience with Salvaging Station, and to be honest, it didn't impress me all that much. Short of the feel-good scenario of "nuke the board, get back all of your small artifacts", you are right in that it's just a wannabe Trading Post (although I may be a bit biased - I've built about four Trading Post decks since the card was spoiled).
Staff of Nin is just great. Extra draw is just so good. You'll find it's usually your go-to artifact when you play Hoarding Dragon - powerful enough to really want, but not debilitating if you lose it.
Hello everyone. Long time lurker of this thread, first time poster. First I want to say thank you to Weebo and everyone else that contributes to this thread, I have learned a lot from all the posts in here and they have really helped me a lot in creating this deck. That being said, I have been playing my extremely fast mono green deck for almost three years now. So i decided to make something the complete opposite. After reading this thread I thought Jaya would be the perfect choice.
I wanted to make a deck that used politics as a big part of its game. The general started out as Diaochan, Artful Beauty but I didn't like her ability at sorcery speed and not only to I like the fact that Jaya can be used at instant speed, I like that she can kill any blue permanent. Bye Bye Omniscience. So after reading this thread and compiling cards this is the deck I have come up with.
I have only had the deck made for around a week or two so there are a lot of kinks I still need to work out but thats why I am posting in here for criticism. Please feel free to question any of my card choices and suggest any you don't see in here. I feel it is still a bit clunky. From the games I have played with it, I feel like I have too much mana and not enough things to spend it on. Would love to hear what all the fellow Jaya players have to say about the brew I made. And would really appreciate some suggestions. Thanks to all that reply.
I made the deck today! Surprisingly fun (I made it of spare cards I had at home (It might be 50% artifacts then)) I wasn't sure if I'd keep it, but now I definitely want to.
I shall post my list soon for a bit of (budget) help!
Hi druemill! Most of your list looks pretty solid. I know I've run into the issue of having more mana than I know what to do with, but that's both better problem to have than not enough and the chance to play some politics. If you appear to be drawing no business, you're not nearly as threatening. That said, it's somewhat obnoxious when it happens and there's really no way around it without throwing a bunch more mana sinks in. I'll try and give the list a better look a little later, when I'm not fried from work.
@ TEIN: Good to hear! I've been running this deck for several years now, and it definitely started out more budget than it is now. I should be able to throw some suggestions into the ring for that. There have been a few other people contributing at points, and I think the vast majority of the population has a lower budget than I do for this deck. They should be able to help you out too. I'm glad you liked your initial run!
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Also, just a thought, the salvation package worked really well for me. You can discard the artifacts to Jaya before getting them back as a source of CA. I also have aminor sacrifice artifact subtheme that uses them.
Also, just a thought, the salvation package worked really well for me. You can discard the artifacts to Jaya before getting them back as a source of CA. I also have aminor sacrifice artifact subtheme that uses them.
I wanted to hop in here and echo this sentiment. I DO run a few more targets for Salvaging Station than you do Weebo, so I might be a bit biased, but... I have had great success with Tormod's Crypt, Scrabbling Claws (thanks to the heavy reanimator presence in our group), and Pyrite Spellbomb (drawing cards or screwing up the token player's day). Any time that I've gotten Station out and a single target for it it's been super value town.
It also led to a fun game of "nuke the board, ramp 10" thanks to an active Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and Wayfarer's Bauble, but I doubt magical Christmas land is the sort of argument you're interested in.
EDIT: Geez, I don't know how I missed that you have Tormod's Crypt in there. Don't worry, I'll figure this "reading" thing out eventually.
The big thing that worries me about Salvaging Station is that I'd have to add a couple really mediocre cards for it. While I do love me some Pyrite Spellbomb, the burn is worse than Jaya, the cycling is a poor consolation, and I don't have that many ways to interact with it. If one of those comes down, it could be really solid, but that's a bit of a crap shoot. I'd still like to try Salvaging Station out at some point, but I'm going to be very skeptical of it when I do.
As for magical Christmasland scenarios, the last game I played with this deck was 6 people. The other mono-R player dropped a turn 3 Extraplanar Lens and I followed that up with Gauntlet of Power a few turns later. I had a first or second turn Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, then got a Rings of Brighthearth-doubled Expedition Map activation for Vesuva and Thespian's Stage. Somehow, no one else at the table felt the need to disrupt any of this (though people did nuke my Repercussion immediately and Furnace of Rath after a couple turns), and I won after doing the lion's share of the damage to everyone else at the table. Those situations do come up. I'm perfectly happy to listen to magical Christmasland, because they're a lot less magical if you add enough synergistic cards to a deck.
@druemill, if you're still around: I like a lot of your choices. The ones that I'm curious about are mostly in your manabase, but there are a couple others.
- I'd like to hear how the cycling lands (Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater) have been treating you. I've always skipped them because they don't give me any bonus with most of the mana doublers and Jaya already gives you something to do with excess mana.
- I'm also wondering a little about Shivan Gorge, because it's a very small ping in this format. I know there have been other people having success with it, but I'm always after more opinions.
- Have Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse been pulling their weight? I run fetches, but I'd probably skip them if they came in tapped. Have the upsides been worth the tempo loss?
- How much trouble do you have activating Spinerock Knoll? There are a limited number of ways to do 7 here. Do you find yourself relying on opponents at all?
- Has the upkeep restriction on Shard Phoenix hurt at all? That's always what keeps it out of my list, despite the fairly high power of the card in this deck.
For suggestions, I'd grab Crucible of Worlds if you can scrounge one up. I know it's an expensive option, but if you happen to have one sitting around, can proxy it, borrow one from a friend, it shows up in modern masters this summer, etc, jump on that. It's a wonderful way to fuel Jaya, hit land drops, reuse sac/cycling lands, and is an all around powerful card. I'd also consider Skarrgan Firebird (which is something of a pet card for me). Not only does it give you a nice discard option, it offers something that this deck sorely needs sometimes: a reliable win con that won't blow up in your face. Six power flyers shouldn't be scoffed at, even in a 40 life multiplayer format. You might also consider Strip Mine, or one of the many similar cards. Having ways to attack the manabase when your opponents drop lands like Gaea's Cradle or Academy Ruins is a necessity, in my opinion. Beyond that, play around with it! That's always going to be the most effective way to edit your deck. I know mine has remarkably little overlap from where it started, and that's almost entirely from playing the deck to death.
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@druemill, if you're still around: I like a lot of your choices. The ones that I'm curious about are mostly in your manabase, but there are a couple others.
- I'd like to hear how the cycling lands (Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater) have been treating you. I've always skipped them because they don't give me any bonus with most of the mana doublers and Jaya already gives you something to do with excess mana.
- I'm also wondering a little about Shivan Gorge, because it's a very small ping in this format. I know there have been other people having success with it, but I'm always after more opinions.
- Have Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse been pulling their weight? I run fetches, but I'd probably skip them if they came in tapped. Have the upsides been worth the tempo loss?
- How much trouble do you have activating Spinerock Knoll? There are a limited number of ways to do 7 here. Do you find yourself relying on opponents at all?
A couple of supplementary opinions on these:
-I keep a Forgotten Cave in my list and it’s been pretty good. While it’s true that Jaya converts excess land into fuel, sometimes you don’t have Jaya available. In those cases, the ability to cash it in for something else is nice. I’d imagine the same holds true for Smoldering Crater.
-Shivan Gorge is the only card I’ve played that has made people commit suicide in a game of EDH. You can’t make these things up. Should it be a Mountain? Yeah, probably. But in the spirit of the casual nature of the format, I say roll with it!
-I recently bumped Spinerock Knoll from my list because of what you mentioned; I found myself relying on opponents to get my free card. I also ran into several instances where the card hidden away was something saucy (Repercussion, for example), but I would have rather had it in my hand to cast for its cost than to jump through hoops to get it for free.
It’s an interesting take for sure, what with the token/sac theme and all, but what role does Jaya play in your deck? She’s extremely counter-synergistic with a token swarm strategy (even more so with things like Repercussion), so I imagine she’d actually be better as a utility creature in the 99 here.
I can see someone like Rakka Mar being a good general in her stead with your list. She’s a hasty token producer who’s always available.
(This is just my first impression, by the way. I know that building a deck only with what you have laying around can limit your viable strategies.)
@druemill, if you're still around: I like a lot of your choices. The ones that I'm curious about are mostly in your manabase, but there are a couple others.
- I'd like to hear how the cycling lands (Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater) have been treating you. I've always skipped them because they don't give me any bonus with most of the mana doublers and Jaya already gives you something to do with excess mana.
- I'm also wondering a little about Shivan Gorge, because it's a very small ping in this format. I know there have been other people having success with it, but I'm always after more opinions.
- Have Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse been pulling their weight? I run fetches, but I'd probably skip them if they came in tapped. Have the upsides been worth the tempo loss?
- How much trouble do you have activating Spinerock Knoll? There are a limited number of ways to do 7 here. Do you find yourself relying on opponents at all?
- Has the upkeep restriction on Shard Phoenix hurt at all? That's always what keeps it out of my list, despite the fairly high power of the card in this deck.
For suggestions, I'd grab Crucible of Worlds if you can scrounge one up. I know it's an expensive option, but if you happen to have one sitting around, can proxy it, borrow one from a friend, it shows up in modern masters this summer, etc, jump on that. It's a wonderful way to fuel Jaya, hit land drops, reuse sac/cycling lands, and is an all around powerful card. I'd also consider Skarrgan Firebird (which is something of a pet card for me). Not only does it give you a nice discard option, it offers something that this deck sorely needs sometimes: a reliable win con that won't blow up in your face. Six power flyers shouldn't be scoffed at, even in a 40 life multiplayer format. You might also consider Strip Mine, or one of the many similar cards. Having ways to attack the manabase when your opponents drop lands like Gaea's Cradle or Academy Ruins is a necessity, in my opinion. Beyond that, play around with it! That's always going to be the most effective way to edit your deck. I know mine has remarkably little overlap from where it started, and that's almost entirely from playing the deck to death.
Thank you for your response and looking at my list. I have been playing with the deck quite a bit since I posted that and actually have some experience with the deck now. A lot of the choices I have made are meta specific.
The cycling lands and me have a love hate relationship. Sometimes I wish they were Snow Mountains and sometimes they are exactly the card I want to draw. I am going to keep them in for a while longer to see how they fair out as the deck progresses. I don't want to take them out until there is a situation where the only thing that would've helped me is if they weren't the cycling lands.
I decided to play the Gorge because I saw it in this thread and saw it was a very cheap card from the arsenal and wanted to play it. Still testing it as I am most cards in this deck. Hasn't been a super all star but the situation has come up where I was keeping someones Luminarch Ascension in check and that is enough for me to keep it in for now.
Tucking is a thing in my meta and I need shuffle effects. Thats why I am playing Expanse and Wilds. I am a poor college student and I can't afford fetches so I am working with what I have.
Spinerock knoll is again another card that is for my meta. Most of the time I am sitting back and letting my opponents duke it out so I do get a few chances to activate it.
Actually since posting my list I found a Skaargan Firebird in my friends trade binder and I replaced the Shard Phoenix with it.
Crucible is the first card I am getting for this deck. But once again I am a poor college student so I have to wait till summer and I am start working again to get a little extra cash.
And yes I totally forgot about Strip Mine like effects. I only have one Mine in my other deck so I am going to put in a Ghost Quarter.
Once again thank you for input and suggestions. Glad to be part of the Jaya club now.
@TEIN:
I pretty much agree with WyvernSlayer. It's an interesting take and I like a lot of your choices, but I'm wondering how well Jaya works with the token plan. A lot of the sacrifical stuff seems like it would work better with someone like Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer and the tokens could be better supported by Rakka Mar or Homura, Human Ascendant (who also plays the sac game pretty well). I'm not trying to drive you away from Jaya and do like seeing new takes on her, but I'd like to hear how your deck is playing.
On Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater: I think the big thing in my list is that I already run a lot of nonbasics, and I don't want to dilute my snow count that much more. I like Skred as premium removal, and Scrying Sheets gets increasingly sketchy as the number drops. I like the cycling lands, but they may not be for my deck.
@druemill:
The meta calls all sound pretty good. I feel you on the poor college student thing. I graduated a couple years ago and am planning on going back, so that's a familiar place to be. I just wanted to throw out the money card that's done the most for my deck, in case you could slot it in there somehow.
Glad you're liking the deck! Don't be a stranger.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
[Pr]Jaya | Estrid | A rotating cast of decks built out of my box.
@TEIN:
On Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater: I think the big thing in my list is that I already run a lot of nonbasics, and I don't want to dilute my snow count that much more. I like Skred as premium removal, and Scrying Sheets gets increasingly sketchy as the number drops. I like the cycling lands, but they may not be for my deck.
Glad you're liking the deck! Don't be a stranger.
This is probably a good distinction to make for the primer: Cycling lands are no bueno, unless you're not running a snow manabase. You lose out on Scrying Sheets and Mouth of Ronom by electing to go with plain ol' Mountains (as I have), which subsequently allows you to work one or both of the cycling lands into your list without diluting your basic count for things like Valakut and Gauntlet of Power/Gauntlet of Might.
In other news, I have become the unexpected recipient of a cheap Sword of Fire and Ice, which has replaced the griefer-tastic Possessed Portal in my list. Portal is great in a combo/control heavy meta, but too often it was just Jaya fuel.
I also wanted to stir the pot a little with some discussion on Squee, Goblin Nabob. Weebo, I understand you've cut him from your list for "just being a combo piece." While I definitely agree that every card should be at least somewhat self-sufficient (i.e., don't run cards that are only ever good with other cards), I think Squee is the exception to the rule. There have been exactly ZERO times when I've drawn Squee and wished I hadn't. He's pure synergy with Jaya and wheel effects. He's an infinite blocker. He beats in(!) with a Gauntlet effect/equipment. How can you not appreciate the utility of something like that? Squee is one of, if not the, quintessential glue piece of any self-respecting Jaya deck. Give him another chance!
@druemill:
The meta calls all sound pretty good. I feel you on the poor college student thing. I graduated a couple years ago and am planning on going back, so that's a familiar place to be. I just wanted to throw out the money card that's done the most for my deck, in case you could slot it in there somehow.
Glad you're liking the deck! Don't be a stranger.
Yes, thank you. Crucible is the first card I am getting.
A little bit of a delayed response, but Vandalblast is definitely great. I found spot for that as soon as I got my hands on it, and both the regular and overloaded uses have been wonderful. orchard is an interesting call. I can see why you would use it, but the upside isn't worth losing a mountain to me. I already run a pretty good number of nonbasics, and I'd like to keep my mountain count high. I'm glad it's working out for you!
Now that Gatecrash is entirely spoiled, it's time for the quarterly "Maybe I could use this someday" post. This is obviously not the best set in the world for this deck, given the multicolored nature of the block and the combat focus of the two red aligned guilds, but there are still a couple gems to be found. I'm using card tags, because I expect that info is going to be updated fairly soon at this point.
Hellkite Tyrant - Efficient beater with theft and an alt wincon tacked on. The dragon is definitely worth consideration, even if I don't think I'm going to be adding it in. Requiring a swing and not having native haste is a pretty big strike against a creature here. A very solid card, but doesn't do a whole lot to advance my gameplan besides being a strong red card.
Homing Lightning - Good against token swarms, which are clearly a big problem for Jaya. I'd rather run Mizzium Mortars out of RTR if I was looking for something like this.
Molten Primordial - Pretty similar to the Hellkite. it's a powerful, swingy card that doesn't really advance this deck's plan. I'd rather have Insurrection or Mass Mutiny, as it's easier to interact with sorceries here.
Tin Street Market - I really, really wish this cost about 2 less. 1RR would have been a beautiful thing. As it is, I'm very tempted to test it out. I think it's worse than some of the artifact draw that's not already in here, but enchantments are a little harder to deal with. The jury is still out on this one.
Glaring Spotlight - The Chicken Little card in the set, in my opinion. Essentially useless in this deck, unless the meta is infested with low toughness hexproof dorks. Definitely a pass.
Illusionist's Bracers - This is the first one that has a decent shot. There's some definite power here. I think it's too narrow with the deck as is, but the obvious synergy with Jaya makes this one to keep an eye on.
Thespian's Stage - I don't think there are too many decks that wouldn't like this card. The manabase typically has the potential to be the most powerful part of a deck, and that's true of this one as well. Having 3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacles in play sounds fantastic, and there are a couple other lands worth copying here. It even copies a mountain in times of need, so it's not losing much mana doubling potential. This one is definitely going in.
Not too much coming out of this set, but that was to be expected. I'm still looking forward to the stage, and there are a couple that could be ok. Mostly a set for other decks.
I haven't been running land death as I don't find it too fun. I'm okay with having a Magus of the Moon to tutor up if the 5c player is going a bit too crazy though. I am tempted to find a spot for Wake of Destruction, but I'm still not super sure about it.
Haven't added in Gilded Lotus, Mana Vault or Strip Mine yet. Not sure if I want them in the deck or if it matters to not...probably need the mine at least.
I'm thinking I may want another wheel effect in Reforge the Soul, but I'm not sure.
For this version of Jaya, I think the Illusionist's Bracers is going to be much better than in your version. Looking forward to getting it in here.
Currently my list is...
1 Smoldering Crater
1 Forgotton Cave
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Kher Keep
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mouth of Ronom
1 Scrying Sheets
30 Snow-Covered Mountain
Creatures (22)
1 Goblin Recruiter (considering dropping as it's never been impressive)
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Rummaging Goblin
1 Magus of the Moon
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Goblin Matron
1 Mad Prophet
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Anger
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Shard Phoenix
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi (thank you for mentioning him as he's been sweet...though I did die to him when he was control magic'd once)
1 Stuffy Doll
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Capricious Efreet
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Skarrgan Firebird
1 Rimescale Dragon
1 Hateflayer
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Skred
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Price of Progress
1 Reiterate
1 Chaos Warp
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Word of Seizing (it's come up 2 times in a row now that it has split second...the first time I couldn't copy it and kill someone and they won at 1 life and the 2nd time it was because someone else couldn't copy it)
1 Magmaquake (up for debate on which instant-speed wrath I want)
Sorceries 8
1 Vandalblast
1 Gamble
1 Faithless Looting
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Aftershock
1 Insurrection
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Rolling Earthquake
Artifacts 18
1 Sol Ring
1 Skullclamp
1 Relic of Progenitus (maybe need more gy hate)
1 Expedition Map
1 Basilisk Collar (Jaya + this = very good wincon if it survives)
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Distorting Lens (new addition, haven't drawn it yet. Theoretically allows for answering enchantments and such)
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Ruby Medallion
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Rings of Brighthearth (mvp)
1 Gauntlet of Might
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Staff of Nin
1 Spine of Ish Sah (sweet with capricious efreet)
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra Ablaze
Enchantments 2
1 Glacial Crevasses (mvp #2...to the point where I wish sunstone were online)
1 Vicious Shadows
My big question is whether you have enough goblins to use Krenko. He's obviously beastly if you can get rolling, but I only count five goblins in there, which seems a little low. Are you mostly just putting out a single token with the first activation? I'd consider losing him. I might try and find a place for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker (if budget isn't a concern. I know he's gone up), as well as Tuktuk Scrapper. You've got red's tutoring, so you might as well take advantage of that. Adding in a couple other goblin options makes Krenko and your currently lackluster Recruiter a little more solid as well.
Instant speed wraths, I'd go for Starstorm or Fault Line. Starstorm's cycling is pretty useful at times, and being able to finish off a player with Fault Line seems more useful than hitting walkers. They aren't terribly common in EDH in my experience, and you have a couple that could be collateral.
I'm curious about how Mizzium Mortars and Skullclamp have been working for you. I've considered both in the past, and they never seemed to be quite what I was after.
Glad to see someone else taking up Jaya!
Krenko hasn't come out often enough for me to get much of an impression. He's won three games single-handedly (either by swarming or by forcing opponents to throw a bunch of cards at it, especially when greaved up). He's done nothing in a couple other games. Sometimes he just goes crazy with skullclamp. I probably should add a few more goblins to support him though.
Kiki-Jiki is a possibility...it would mean a retooling of the deck to be more etb-centric. Definitely going to look into it.
Tuktuk has jumped into and out of the deck. He's never impressed me however as I usually have more impressive artifact destruction spells such as vandalblast or shattering pulse. Without adding more goblins in, I'll probably cut recruiter.
True enough. I've been vaguely lazy in changing magmaquake to one of those. I'm thinking I'll probably end up with starstorm over fault line so I can preserve my life total.
Mortars has been pretty good. It's been great against a large number of decks. Sometimes it doesn't do anything, but it usually kills something pesky. At other times, it's a huge blowout. It's almost never bad and pretty often good.
Skullclamp is much the same...with krenko, squee, kher keep, and the like, it's rarely dead and actively good. If it isn't however optimal for this deck.
I'm really not sure what to cut and add right now...I do know I want to make some changes though.
I really should give Mortars a shot. I think the big reason I haven't is that I still haven't picked up a copy. Sooner or later, I'm sure I will. Don't forget that Kiki-Jiki works well with creatures other than EtB dudes. Copying Viashino Heretic or Capricious Efreet can be more of a blowout than another use of Solemn Simulacrum.
I'd mostly just be looking at what the deck doesn't support well right now for cuts. Like I mentioned in the last post, I'd keep an eye on how the goblins are doing. They're powerful, but they're at their best when they have a lot of support. Throwing just a few in might not give you all that much oomph.
You might try replacing Ruby Medallion with a mana rock as well. Medallions are best when playing several spells a turn, otherwise it's just a rock that can't pay for abilities or artifacts. I'm a fan of Coldsteel Heart - comes down early and can be grabbed off Scrying Sheets.
A couple more mana rocks might help you out too. I like hitting all the land drops, but that's not really acceleration. They would help Goblin Welder out significantly if you want to keep him, too. Trading Fire Diamond for Steel Hellkite eot is a pretty powerful play. Even though I really only mentioned the 2-drops, there are a lot of good options: Thran Dynamo, Worn Powerstone, Gilded Lotus, etc.
I've actually got a foil Shadows hanging out in my binder that I don't run. It's not so much that it costs 7 (which does deter me a bit, even in a deck like this where 7 is expected at some point), it's that I just don't find the card fun to use. It's definitely powerful, especially with the wheels in this deck, but I've never really enjoyed playing with it. Jaya is never going to be my hyper-competitive deck, so I don't mind leaving out objectively powerful cards. It's certainly worth using if you don't mind the cost, though.
The medallion has definitely been low impact. Some games it allows for more spells per turn, but that's already accomplished by doublers. Not sure which one to grab, though most likely coldsteel heart. Synergy with sheets might occasionally come up at least.
Viscous shadows is, well, vicious. It's worth it in a jaya deck if you find it fun. I find it reasonable for the online meta as most decks are powerful, but not broken (so I have time to cast it and people rarely blame me for doing so). If you do play it, don't be surprised if it doesn't last a turn cycle on the table and if people gun for you for a turn or two after. It's a VERY powerful card, capable of killing the table in a turn or two with a sweeper.
I've always been a fan of versatility when appraising cards, and seeing three abilities on Jaya always gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling in that respect. So I sleeved up a pile of 99 and took her for a ri- erm, well, you know.
I'm definitely a fun-first EDH player, but since I graduated college, it's been harder to find people who play that aren't complete tryhards. Jaya has bcome the go-to gal when I sit down with an unfamiliar playgroup - she's super-fun to play, doesn't draw pre-game table hate (unless everyone else is mono-blue, of course, in which case I politely excuse myself from the table and go trade or something), and can really fight mean.
But enough about me. My list!
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Creatures (14)
1 Dragonmaster Outcast
1 Goblin Welder
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Firewing Phoenix
1 Anger
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Magma Phoenix
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Skarrgan Firebird
1 Charmbreaker Devils
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Hellkite Tyrant
Artifacts (22)
1 Sol Ring
1 Expedition Map
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mind Stone
1 Fire Diamond
1 Distorting Lens
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Pristine Talisman
1 Druidic Satchel
1 Trading Post
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Mind's Eye
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Staff of Nin
1 Caged Sun
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Possessed Portal
1 Koth of the Hammer
1 Chandra Nalaar
1 Chandra Ablaze
1 Karn Liberated
Sorceries (12)
1 Shattering Spree
1 Faithless Looting
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Past in Flames
1 Ruination
1 Mogg Infestation
1 Mana Geyser
1 Reforge the Soul
1 All Is Dust
1 Devil's Play
1 Banefire
1 Titan's Revenge
Instants (7)
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Reverberate
1 Reiterate
1 Chaos Warp
1 Word of Seizing
1 Fault Line
1 Comet Storm
Enchantments (4)
1 Repercussion
1 Stranglehold
1 Pyrohemia
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Vesuva
1 Shivan Gorge
1 Temple of the False God
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Buried Ruin
1 Kher Keep
1 Petrified Field
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
24 Mountain
A note on Shivan Gorge - I keep notches on the back of it to track the number of people I've killed with it. 12 and counting.
I know I'm missing some staples, like Gamble and Aftershock, but I very seldom seek out cards for my EDH decks - I mostly stumble across them while looking through binders.
Have you considered adding things like Crystal Ball (cheap) or Sensei's Divining Top (less so)? They can help a lot with general card quality, and you have a couple topdeck reliant cards in there (Druidic Satchel and Titan's Revenge).
Have you had any issues keeping Pyrohemia on the board? I like the card a lot in general, but short of the times when I can protect Jaya from herself and use her to fill that role I would probably be a little wary of playing it out.
I'm guessing you have Possessed Portal because it works well with all of the self-recursive stuff. How has it been working for you? It's definitely a powerful effect, but the cost and difficulty of upkeeping it make it a tough sell.
I love the Shivan Gorge count. That's great, and I wish you the best of luck in covering that thing in notches.
Pyrohemia is a bit of an odd one, I admit. I often find myself needing to control the board a bit between my first Jaya casting (turn 3, typically) and my second (when I have surplus mana and/or a way to protect her). I'm sure I'll phase it out eventually - probably for Blood Moon, or when I get my hands on a Gamble (being able to search a tucked Jaya is comparable to having Pyrohemia, anyhow.)
Druidic Satchel was there for the random chance of instant-speed Valakut triggers, but I admit it's pretty narrow otherwise. I could swap it out for a Crystal Ball and probably not notice.
Possessed Portal is undergoing a test run at the moment. I've had the damn thing in my binder since Fifth Dawn was released, and this seems like a deck it would be good in. I'll comment more on its effectiveness when I actually draw it in a game.
If Portal ends up being a bust, I could just jam Blasphemous Act in there or something, I guess.
P.S.: You got a shout-out from Ms. Ballard herself, it seems.
On a completely different note, anyone who occasionally reads this have any thoughts about Salvaging Station? I've had some success with it in mono-W lists, and there are about half a dozen targets for it right now. I suspect it's just going to be an inferior Trading Post most of the time, but I'm considering giving it a test run. Odds are also pretty good that I should just try and find spot for Staff of Nin instead.
I actually have had some experience with Salvaging Station, and to be honest, it didn't impress me all that much. Short of the feel-good scenario of "nuke the board, get back all of your small artifacts", you are right in that it's just a wannabe Trading Post (although I may be a bit biased - I've built about four Trading Post decks since the card was spoiled).
Staff of Nin is just great. Extra draw is just so good. You'll find it's usually your go-to artifact when you play Hoarding Dragon - powerful enough to really want, but not debilitating if you lose it.
EDIT: And the Launch Day promo is sweeeeeet.
I wanted to make a deck that used politics as a big part of its game. The general started out as Diaochan, Artful Beauty but I didn't like her ability at sorcery speed and not only to I like the fact that Jaya can be used at instant speed, I like that she can kill any blue permanent. Bye Bye Omniscience. So after reading this thread and compiling cards this is the deck I have come up with.
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Batterskull
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Caged Sun
1 Coalition Relic
1 Codex Shredder
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Expedition Map
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Fire Diamond
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mana Vault
1 Mind Stone
1 Mind's Eye
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Staff of Nin
1 Sunstone
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Torpor Orb
1 Trading Post
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Comet Storm
1 Into the Core
1 Skred
1 Starstorm
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Glacial Crevasses
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Repercussion
1 Stranglehold
1 Buried Ruin
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Kher Keep
1 Mouth of Ronom
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Scrying Sheets
1 Shivan Gorge
1 Smoldering Crater
21 Snow-Covered Mountain
1 Spinerock Knoll
1 Temple of the False God
1 Terrain Generator
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Thawing Glaciers
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 All Is Dust
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Faithless Looting
1 Gamble
1 Recoup
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Shattering Spree
1 Vandalblast
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Wild Guess
1 Anger
1 Goblin Welder
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Inferno Titan
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Mad Prophet
1 Rummaging Goblin
1 Shard Phoenix
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
I have only had the deck made for around a week or two so there are a lot of kinks I still need to work out but thats why I am posting in here for criticism. Please feel free to question any of my card choices and suggest any you don't see in here. I feel it is still a bit clunky. From the games I have played with it, I feel like I have too much mana and not enough things to spend it on. Would love to hear what all the fellow Jaya players have to say about the brew I made. And would really appreciate some suggestions. Thanks to all that reply.
I shall post my list soon for a bit of (budget) help!
@ TEIN: Good to hear! I've been running this deck for several years now, and it definitely started out more budget than it is now. I should be able to throw some suggestions into the ring for that. There have been a few other people contributing at points, and I think the vast majority of the population has a lower budget than I do for this deck. They should be able to help you out too. I'm glad you liked your initial run!
I wanted to hop in here and echo this sentiment. I DO run a few more targets for Salvaging Station than you do Weebo, so I might be a bit biased, but... I have had great success with Tormod's Crypt, Scrabbling Claws (thanks to the heavy reanimator presence in our group), and Pyrite Spellbomb (drawing cards or screwing up the token player's day). Any time that I've gotten Station out and a single target for it it's been super value town.
It also led to a fun game of "nuke the board, ramp 10" thanks to an active Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and Wayfarer's Bauble, but I doubt magical Christmas land is the sort of argument you're interested in.
EDIT: Geez, I don't know how I missed that you have Tormod's Crypt in there. Don't worry, I'll figure this "reading" thing out eventually.
As for magical Christmasland scenarios, the last game I played with this deck was 6 people. The other mono-R player dropped a turn 3 Extraplanar Lens and I followed that up with Gauntlet of Power a few turns later. I had a first or second turn Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, then got a Rings of Brighthearth-doubled Expedition Map activation for Vesuva and Thespian's Stage. Somehow, no one else at the table felt the need to disrupt any of this (though people did nuke my Repercussion immediately and Furnace of Rath after a couple turns), and I won after doing the lion's share of the damage to everyone else at the table. Those situations do come up. I'm perfectly happy to listen to magical Christmasland, because they're a lot less magical if you add enough synergistic cards to a deck.
@druemill, if you're still around: I like a lot of your choices. The ones that I'm curious about are mostly in your manabase, but there are a couple others.
- I'd like to hear how the cycling lands (Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater) have been treating you. I've always skipped them because they don't give me any bonus with most of the mana doublers and Jaya already gives you something to do with excess mana.
- I'm also wondering a little about Shivan Gorge, because it's a very small ping in this format. I know there have been other people having success with it, but I'm always after more opinions.
- Have Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse been pulling their weight? I run fetches, but I'd probably skip them if they came in tapped. Have the upsides been worth the tempo loss?
- How much trouble do you have activating Spinerock Knoll? There are a limited number of ways to do 7 here. Do you find yourself relying on opponents at all?
- Has the upkeep restriction on Shard Phoenix hurt at all? That's always what keeps it out of my list, despite the fairly high power of the card in this deck.
For suggestions, I'd grab Crucible of Worlds if you can scrounge one up. I know it's an expensive option, but if you happen to have one sitting around, can proxy it, borrow one from a friend, it shows up in modern masters this summer, etc, jump on that. It's a wonderful way to fuel Jaya, hit land drops, reuse sac/cycling lands, and is an all around powerful card. I'd also consider Skarrgan Firebird (which is something of a pet card for me). Not only does it give you a nice discard option, it offers something that this deck sorely needs sometimes: a reliable win con that won't blow up in your face. Six power flyers shouldn't be scoffed at, even in a 40 life multiplayer format. You might also consider Strip Mine, or one of the many similar cards. Having ways to attack the manabase when your opponents drop lands like Gaea's Cradle or Academy Ruins is a necessity, in my opinion. Beyond that, play around with it! That's always going to be the most effective way to edit your deck. I know mine has remarkably little overlap from where it started, and that's almost entirely from playing the deck to death.
3 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Enchantment:
3 Furnace Celebration
3 Repercussion
4 Furnace of Rath
6 Vicious Shadows
Artifact Creatures:
4 Solemn Simulacrum
5 Stuffy Doll
6 Duplicant
6 Wurmcoil Engine
Instant:
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Reverberate
2 Increasing Vengeance
2 Shattering Pulse
4 Grab the Reins
Sorcery:
0 Wheel of Fate
2 Mizzium Mortars
3 Hammer of Bogardan
4 Past in Flames
5 Mogg Infestation
9 Blasphemous Act
Non Basic Land:
0 Rogue's Passage
0 Phyrexia's Core
0 Buried Ruin
0 Temple of the False God
0 Ghitu Encampment
0 Kher Keep
0 Thespian's Stage
3 Squee, Goblin Nabob
3 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Anger
5 Magma Phoenix
5 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
6 Godo, Bandit Warlord
6 Skarrgan Firebird
6 Inferno Titan
Equipment:
1 Skullclamp
1 Flayer Husk
1 Basilisk Collar
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Illusionist's Bracers
2 Scythe of the Wretched
3 Darksteel Plate
3 Loxodon Warhammer
4 Grafted Exoskeleton
Artifact:
0 Claws of Gix
0 Urza's Bauble
1 Voltaic Key
1 Sol Ring
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Traveler's Amulet
1 Panic Spellbomb
1 Chromatic Sphere
1 Terrarion
1 Chromatic Star
1 Expedition Map
3 Nuisance Engine
3 Ashnod's Altar
3 Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII
4 Hornet Cannon
4 Trading Post
5 Myr Turbine
5 Gauntlet of Power
6 caged Sun
6 Salvaging Station
6 Staff of Nin
7 Spine of Ish Sah
33 Mountain
A couple of supplementary opinions on these:
-I keep a Forgotten Cave in my list and it’s been pretty good. While it’s true that Jaya converts excess land into fuel, sometimes you don’t have Jaya available. In those cases, the ability to cash it in for something else is nice. I’d imagine the same holds true for Smoldering Crater.
-Shivan Gorge is the only card I’ve played that has made people commit suicide in a game of EDH. You can’t make these things up. Should it be a Mountain? Yeah, probably. But in the spirit of the casual nature of the format, I say roll with it!
-I recently bumped Spinerock Knoll from my list because of what you mentioned; I found myself relying on opponents to get my free card. I also ran into several instances where the card hidden away was something saucy (Repercussion, for example), but I would have rather had it in my hand to cast for its cost than to jump through hoops to get it for free.
It’s an interesting take for sure, what with the token/sac theme and all, but what role does Jaya play in your deck? She’s extremely counter-synergistic with a token swarm strategy (even more so with things like Repercussion), so I imagine she’d actually be better as a utility creature in the 99 here.
I can see someone like Rakka Mar being a good general in her stead with your list. She’s a hasty token producer who’s always available.
(This is just my first impression, by the way. I know that building a deck only with what you have laying around can limit your viable strategies.)
Thank you for your response and looking at my list. I have been playing with the deck quite a bit since I posted that and actually have some experience with the deck now. A lot of the choices I have made are meta specific.
The cycling lands and me have a love hate relationship. Sometimes I wish they were Snow Mountains and sometimes they are exactly the card I want to draw. I am going to keep them in for a while longer to see how they fair out as the deck progresses. I don't want to take them out until there is a situation where the only thing that would've helped me is if they weren't the cycling lands.
I decided to play the Gorge because I saw it in this thread and saw it was a very cheap card from the arsenal and wanted to play it. Still testing it as I am most cards in this deck. Hasn't been a super all star but the situation has come up where I was keeping someones Luminarch Ascension in check and that is enough for me to keep it in for now.
Tucking is a thing in my meta and I need shuffle effects. Thats why I am playing Expanse and Wilds. I am a poor college student and I can't afford fetches so I am working with what I have.
Spinerock knoll is again another card that is for my meta. Most of the time I am sitting back and letting my opponents duke it out so I do get a few chances to activate it.
Actually since posting my list I found a Skaargan Firebird in my friends trade binder and I replaced the Shard Phoenix with it.
Crucible is the first card I am getting for this deck. But once again I am a poor college student so I have to wait till summer and I am start working again to get a little extra cash.
And yes I totally forgot about Strip Mine like effects. I only have one Mine in my other deck so I am going to put in a Ghost Quarter.
Once again thank you for input and suggestions. Glad to be part of the Jaya club now.
I pretty much agree with WyvernSlayer. It's an interesting take and I like a lot of your choices, but I'm wondering how well Jaya works with the token plan. A lot of the sacrifical stuff seems like it would work better with someone like Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer and the tokens could be better supported by Rakka Mar or Homura, Human Ascendant (who also plays the sac game pretty well). I'm not trying to drive you away from Jaya and do like seeing new takes on her, but I'd like to hear how your deck is playing.
On Forgotten Cave and Smoldering Crater: I think the big thing in my list is that I already run a lot of nonbasics, and I don't want to dilute my snow count that much more. I like Skred as premium removal, and Scrying Sheets gets increasingly sketchy as the number drops. I like the cycling lands, but they may not be for my deck.
@druemill:
The meta calls all sound pretty good. I feel you on the poor college student thing. I graduated a couple years ago and am planning on going back, so that's a familiar place to be. I just wanted to throw out the money card that's done the most for my deck, in case you could slot it in there somehow.
Glad you're liking the deck! Don't be a stranger.
This is probably a good distinction to make for the primer: Cycling lands are no bueno, unless you're not running a snow manabase. You lose out on Scrying Sheets and Mouth of Ronom by electing to go with plain ol' Mountains (as I have), which subsequently allows you to work one or both of the cycling lands into your list without diluting your basic count for things like Valakut and Gauntlet of Power/Gauntlet of Might.
In other news, I have become the unexpected recipient of a cheap Sword of Fire and Ice, which has replaced the griefer-tastic Possessed Portal in my list. Portal is great in a combo/control heavy meta, but too often it was just Jaya fuel.
I also wanted to stir the pot a little with some discussion on Squee, Goblin Nabob. Weebo, I understand you've cut him from your list for "just being a combo piece." While I definitely agree that every card should be at least somewhat self-sufficient (i.e., don't run cards that are only ever good with other cards), I think Squee is the exception to the rule. There have been exactly ZERO times when I've drawn Squee and wished I hadn't. He's pure synergy with Jaya and wheel effects. He's an infinite blocker. He beats in(!) with a Gauntlet effect/equipment. How can you not appreciate the utility of something like that? Squee is one of, if not the, quintessential glue piece of any self-respecting Jaya deck. Give him another chance!
Yes, thank you. Crucible is the first card I am getting.