To clarify her ability, you first tap her to kill a creature of your choice. You then choose an opponent, who chooses a second creature for her to kill. You can only do this on your turn, pre-combat. Having the ability turned on you seems frightening at first glance, but you might be surprised, for a number of reasons:
Diaochan herself is the source of both effects, meaning she can not only be protected by the usual Shroud and Indestructibility (Hexproof does not work as she is still a source you control), but also Protection from Red, making the Swords of Fire and Ice and War and Peace both offensive and defensive tools.
You choose the opponent who kills the second creature. In multiplayer games, you can often find an opponent who's more interested in someone else's creatures than yours.
Tokens. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. This is one thing this deck does.
Creatures with Enter-the-Battlefield (ETB) abilities. Focus on creatures who already give you an advantage merely by entering the battlefield. Often there will be better creatures on the board for you opponents to kill, who haven't already exhausted part of their usefulness.
If you think you'll get the worse end of the deal, it's your choice to not tap her!!
Token Shenanigans
This deck controls the board through Diaochan and token shenanigans and has a few finisher strategies. First, the shenanigans. Tokens perform a few functions in this deck, aside from making you a poor Diaochan target:
Confusion in the Ranks means you're trading weenies for useful things. The sacrifice mechanisms in this deck also make you a poor target for theft.
Warp World turns tokens into real cards. Warp World is especially explosive in decks like this one, with an ETB focus on the creatures.
Creatures in this deck have an ETB focus, for a few reasons.
It makes your creatures poorer targets if Diaochan's ability turns on you. If part of their function has already been realized simply by coming into play, your opponents may likely have better targets.
Warp World becomes explosive on the play. It's not a rare occurrence this deck will convert a hand-full of weenies into a Bogardan Hellkite, a Molten Primordial, a Duplicant, etc... so what of your opponent is sitting on a Wrath?
Confusion in the Ranks synergy; you get the ETB effect, and opponents are often left with a vanilla creature (at worst a vanilla flyer) afterward. Mindclaw Shaman, for example, nets you the free spell, then you give them a 2/2 Lizard.
Recurrence with cards like Mimic Vat and Trading Post is quite easy with sac mechanisms. How fun to play a Molten Primordial, sac it into Ashnod's Altar, put it under the Mimic Vat, and spend that mana towards a second Primordial in the same turn!
I'm beginning to find that this deck has little trouble finding sac mechanisms, as Hoarding Dragon looks for artifact sac and Expedition Map looks for land sac. I'm therefore going to risk replacing Greater Gargadon with Wurmcoil Engine. Even if Diaochan kills it, it generates two tokens of the same type for Mana Echoes, gives extra bodies for the Swords, replaces with two creatures with Confusion... damn good card.
This deck has won a surprising 3/3 games so far. Perhaps this is because my opponents haven't learned to respect the deck yet, but given that I was harbouring doubts about its viability, this is encouraging.
It is even better than I expected at disrupting board position with cards like Diaochan and Confusion in the Ranks, and two out of three of the games I won by Warp World ing into, amongst other things, Vicious Shadows. The Bogardan Hellkite kills one creature, the Inferno Titan kills another, and that was 14 damage alone to one opponent. I then sacced a few goblins via Mr. Beetleback into Ashnod's Altar to end the game.
The second game I won by Molten Primordialing twice by saccing him into the Altar, putting him under the Mimic Vat and using the Altar's mana toward spitting another one out. Even if I didn't win then and there, the Altar would have ensured I returned no creatues, so only a wrath would have saved them.
The only thing seems to be that it doesn't have that many tokens of the same type out at a given time. I'm beginning to wonder about running something like In the Web of War over Shared Animosity. The Haste would be an added benefit with Diaochan.
Just realized Akroma's Memorial goes excellently with Diaochan, not only for the Protection from Red, but from the Haste as well. It wouldn't constitute a direct replacement with Shared Animosity, though, due to the CCC and the lack of an actual power boost.
Have you pondered having Skirk Prospector and Goblin Sharpshooter in there? Essentially you could have a nice little 2 pop with the sharpshooter for your commander's tap and an additional mana source from Krenko's production.
Have you pondered having Skirk Prospector and Goblin Sharpshooter in there? Essentially you could have a nice little 2 pop with the sharpshooter for your commander's tap and an additional mana source from Krenko's production.
3 pop, even! Tap #1 damage, tap Diaochan to kill creature #1, untap Sharpshooter, tap #2 damage, Diaochan kills creature #2, untap Sharpshooter, tap #3 damage. This can potentially be even more damage if I'm saccing tokens into the Altar or similar.
Unless I'm mistaken and he doesn't get an opportunity to tap/untap between the two creatures being killed by Diaochan?
This amount of damage is just on the cusp of being handy in EDH, so Sharpshooter's iffy though. For a 3CC card, I'm not sure I'll be doing more than 3 consistent damage. While amazing in a 20 life format, it might be underwhelming with 40 life. I'm curious to give him a play test, however.
Prospector seems boss, though. Another free, no-tap sac mech, goblin tribal, one mana, and mana accel for my mana sinks. I think he definitely has a place here.
Two more victories last night. Amazingly, this deck is 5-for-5 so far. These wins were, alas, not particularly interesting.
First victory, I got an early Krenko with a pair of Lightning Greaves. By the time I played Shared Animosity on turn 6 or so, I think I had nearly twenty goblins. I killed two players and the third couldn't recover.
Without wraths tokens can win quite nicely, nothing really beats an Insurrection I've found unless they have a sacrifice outlet, which they may not even wat to use.
Diaochan is more for style points, rather than synergy I take it, since she is control and this is more an aggro deck than control.
Moggcatcher and Hellkite Tyrant seem like they would fit in well here, as tutor and win-con, as you do have a lot of good goblins.
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Weiss Schwarz Sets
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
So you may have either given up on this deck or just don't check the site anymore but lets hope that neither of those have happened. I only say this because the last post was a long time ago. Anyways, have you thought about running Icefall in this deck? With the Recover mechanic and how Diao causes one of your creatures to die you have a decent Land or Artifact destruction engine. Sure it costs a lot of mana (6 per turn if you were to keep destroying your opponents stuff) but that is what EDH/Commander is for, making expensive engines viable.
Keep in mind that I haven't tried this engine out yet since I am still building the deck
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
EDH--Still working on getting one built BPhage the UntouchableB GRBKresh the BloodbraidedGRB
Diaochan is more for style points, rather than synergy I take it, since she is control and this is more an aggro deck than control.
Moggcatcher and Hellkite Tyrant seem like they would fit in well here, as tutor and win-con, as you do have a lot of good goblins.
Yes, the original point of the deck was to build a deck around Diaochan. I eventually settled on tokens mainly because as long as she's protected, I have no good targets for her ability to turn back on me.
So you may have either given up on this deck or just don't check the site anymore but lets hope that neither of those have happened. I only say this because the last post was a long time ago. Anyways, have you thought about running Icefall in this deck?
I disappear when I'm heading projects. No time to even think about MTG. But I lurk my threads when I can so I'm reading responses.
My creatures are indeed dying a lot here, and dealing with problem lands is a strong concern in my meta. This is a great idea, I'll try and see if I can find a bit of room for it. Thanks.
Speak Softly and Carry an Army of Screaming Goblins
A Diaochan, Artful Beauty Token-Shenanigans Deck, by Hallucigenia
Introduction
** This is Iteration #1 of the deck, and still a bit clunky. Your advice is greatly appreciated! **
This is my attempt at a fun, political, tricky but casual-effective mono-red deck, with Diaochan, Artful Beauty at the helm.
It might be they call her "artful" because of the whole dancing thing, but with this deck she puts the "art" back in "art of war"!
The word "art" is beginning to lose all meaning, so let's get to the deck list!
1 Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Artifacts (19)
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Caged Sun
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Expedition Map
1 Genesis Chamber
1 Helm of Possession
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mimic Vat
1 Mind's Eye
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Orochi Hatchery
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Sword of the Paruns
1 Sword of Ice and Fire
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Trading Post
Creatures (24)
1 Arms Dealer
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Chancellor of the Forge
1 Conquering Manticore
1 Duplicant
1 Emrakul's Hatcher
1 Furystoke Giant
1 Goblin Marshal
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Inferno Titan
1 Knollspine Dragon
1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Kuldotha Phoenix
1 Moonveil Dragon
1 Molten Primordial
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Rakka Mar
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Thopter Assembly
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Comet Storm
1 Shattering Pulse
Sorcery (14)
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Goblin Offensive
1 Goblin Rally
1 Insurrection
1 Mass Mutiny
1 Mogg Infestation
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Rolling Thunder
1 Shattering Spree
1 Skittering Invasion
1 Warp World
1 Wheel of Fate
Enchantments (6)
1 Confusion in the Ranks
1 Goblin Assault
1 Mana Echoes
1 Shared Animosity
1 Vicious Shadows
Lands (35)
1 Arid Mesa
1 Buried Ruin
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Forgotten Cave
1 High Market
1 Keldon Necropolis
1 Kher Keep
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
23 Mountain
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Springjack Pasture
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Homura, Human Ascendant
1 Burn at the Stake
1 Shivan Harvest
1 Mindclaw Shaman
1 Hellkite Igniter
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Diaochan's Toolbox
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Sword of the Paruns
1 Sword of Ice and Fire
1 Sword of War and Peace
Fun Stuff
1 Confusion in the Ranks
1 Warp World
ETB Creatures
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Chancellor of the Forge
1 Conquering Manticore
1 Duplicant
1 Emrakul's Hatcher
1 Furystoke Giant
1 Goblin Marshal
1 Godo, Bandit Warlord
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Inferno Titan
1 Molten Primordial
1 Pilgrim's Eye
1 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Goblin Assault
1 Orochi Hatchery
1 Mimic Vat
1 Genesis Chamber
1 Skittering Invasion
1 Goblin Rally
1 Goblin Offensive
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Thopter Assembly
1 Rakka Mar
1 Krenko, Mob Boss
1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1 Wurmcoil Engine
Sac Mech
1 Trading Post
1 Helm of Possession
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Arms Dealer
1 High Market
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
Card Advantage
1 Skullclamp
1 Mind's Eye
1 Wheel of Fate
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Knollspine Dragon
1 Shared Animosity
1 Moonveil Dragon
Other Finishers
1 Vicious Shadows
1 Mass Mutiny
1 Insurrection
1 Kuldotha Phoenix
Wrath
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Mogg Infestation
Mana Sinks
1 Comet Storm
1 Rolling Thunder
Hulk Smash
1 Shattering Spree
1 Shattering Pulse
Mana
1 Mana Echoes
1 Sol Ring
1 Expedition Map
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Caged Sun
The Commander
First, a few words about Diaochan.
To clarify her ability, you first tap her to kill a creature of your choice. You then choose an opponent, who chooses a second creature for her to kill. You can only do this on your turn, pre-combat. Having the ability turned on you seems frightening at first glance, but you might be surprised, for a number of reasons:
Token Shenanigans
This deck controls the board through Diaochan and token shenanigans and has a few finisher strategies. First, the shenanigans. Tokens perform a few functions in this deck, aside from making you a poor Diaochan target:
Enter-the-Battlefield (ETB) Effects
Creatures in this deck have an ETB focus, for a few reasons.
Creature Overview
Strategy
Update Log
24/10/2012. Wurmcoil Engine rep. Greater Gargadon/
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
It is even better than I expected at disrupting board position with cards like Diaochan and Confusion in the Ranks, and two out of three of the games I won by Warp World ing into, amongst other things, Vicious Shadows. The Bogardan Hellkite kills one creature, the Inferno Titan kills another, and that was 14 damage alone to one opponent. I then sacced a few goblins via Mr. Beetleback into Ashnod's Altar to end the game.
The second game I won by Molten Primordialing twice by saccing him into the Altar, putting him under the Mimic Vat and using the Altar's mana toward spitting another one out. Even if I didn't win then and there, the Altar would have ensured I returned no creatues, so only a wrath would have saved them.
The only thing seems to be that it doesn't have that many tokens of the same type out at a given time. I'm beginning to wonder about running something like In the Web of War over Shared Animosity. The Haste would be an added benefit with Diaochan.
Just realized Akroma's Memorial goes excellently with Diaochan, not only for the Protection from Red, but from the Haste as well. It wouldn't constitute a direct replacement with Shared Animosity, though, due to the CCC and the lack of an actual power boost.
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
3 pop, even! Tap #1 damage, tap Diaochan to kill creature #1, untap Sharpshooter, tap #2 damage, Diaochan kills creature #2, untap Sharpshooter, tap #3 damage. This can potentially be even more damage if I'm saccing tokens into the Altar or similar.
Unless I'm mistaken and he doesn't get an opportunity to tap/untap between the two creatures being killed by Diaochan?
This amount of damage is just on the cusp of being handy in EDH, so Sharpshooter's iffy though. For a 3CC card, I'm not sure I'll be doing more than 3 consistent damage. While amazing in a 20 life format, it might be underwhelming with 40 life. I'm curious to give him a play test, however.
Prospector seems boss, though. Another free, no-tap sac mech, goblin tribal, one mana, and mana accel for my mana sinks. I think he definitely has a place here.
Thank you.
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
First victory, I got an early Krenko with a pair of Lightning Greaves. By the time I played Shared Animosity on turn 6 or so, I think I had nearly twenty goblins. I killed two players and the third couldn't recover.
Second victory I played Insurrection after an opponent's Storm Herd.
But wins are wins!
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty
Diaochan is more for style points, rather than synergy I take it, since she is control and this is more an aggro deck than control.
Moggcatcher and Hellkite Tyrant seem like they would fit in well here, as tutor and win-con, as you do have a lot of good goblins.
Main Decks
Diaochan, Iroas, God of Victory, Kaalia, Marton, Ulasht, Volrath,
Kaervek, Prossh, Titania
Amusing or Themed
Progenitus
Pauper Guildmages
Azorius Boros Dimir Golgari Gruul Izzet Korozda
Orzhov Rakdos Rix Maadi Selesyna Simic Skarrg Zameck
I also play Weiss Schwarz, Chaos, Vanguard and Wixoss.
Accel World, Angel Beats, Familiar of Zero, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Guilty Crown, Kill La Kill, Robotics;Notes, Sword Art Online.
Chaos Partners
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Iona, Kirishima, Kongou.
Dangan Ronpa: Asahina, Togami.
Freezing: Vibration: Chiffon, Satelizer.
Vanguard Clans Favoured
Angel Feather, Dark Irregulars, Genesis, Neonecter, Pale Moon, Shadow Paladins, Tachikaze.
Wixoss - Just trial decks for now!
Keep in mind that I haven't tried this engine out yet since I am still building the deck
BPhage the UntouchableB
GRBKresh the BloodbraidedGRB
Yes, the original point of the deck was to build a deck around Diaochan. I eventually settled on tokens mainly because as long as she's protected, I have no good targets for her ability to turn back on me.
Hellkite Tyrant is definitely high on the maybepile; in fact he'll likely replace Kuldotha Phoenix as a fattie. Hellkite Igniter is another artifact-friendly swinger I'm considering.
A goblin toolbox is a great idea, though I'm not sure if I have enough of one right now to start with the goblin tutors. I'll think about it.
I disappear when I'm heading projects. No time to even think about MTG. But I lurk my threads when I can so I'm reading responses.
My creatures are indeed dying a lot here, and dealing with problem lands is a strong concern in my meta. This is a great idea, I'll try and see if I can find a bit of room for it. Thanks.
Playtesting | Karador, Ghost Chieftain | Narset, Enlightened Master | Ephara, God of the Polis
Established | Gahiji, Honored One | Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker | Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo | Rubinia Soulsinger
Retired | Medomai the Ageless | Diaochan, Artful Beauty