The more I play my deck, the more I end up bringing it closer to yours. People always say that aggro isn't good in EDH, and im seeing it first hand. It's too hard and too mana intensive to plow through with dragon hordes, especially against all the Dueling Grounds and silent arbiters in my group. Hopefully Fate Reforged and Dragons of Tarkir give us some nice toys.
How has the crucible of fire cut been for you? Ive been kind of on the fence with it, but when you recur Utvara Hellkite with Crucible + pandemonium, that extra +3 on every dragon adds up.
Going aggro really depends on your meta. In one meta I play in, it's slow and easy to build up, so swinging in for 9,001 damage isn't unheard of. In another, there are many more players wary of such things, and so I try to take the more combo-ish route there but I can get by going aggro if someone shuts off the graveyard.
I haven't yet drawn into the card I replaced Crucible with yet (Thundermaw), but in the past, it's just sat there and usually needs Warstorm/Pandemonium and/or Utvara Hellkite to really be effective. I would consider a re-inclusion of it if 1. we got more aggressive 5cmc dragons or 2. we got one or two more Warstorm effects.
yeah those are my 2 includes as well. Im hoping for some warstorms in Dragons of Tarkir
I'm thinking of adding Conspiracy soon too, possibly re-tooling the deck to go deeper on tribal. But really, Conspiracy with Kolaghan will make utterly back-breaking swings.
Updates! Cuts: Ghoulcaller's Bell never ever worked, not even once. When I needed a land in my hand, the Bell would put one in my 'yard. When I need a dragon in my 'yard, it never hit one. Cauldron of Souls never actually did anything for me. Whenever I played it, it was just a functionally worse Mikaeus and drew a lot of removal. It's going to serve a better purpose in my Brion Stoutarm deck. Moonlight Bargain has a CMC higher than what all of our draw spells should be. We want to be spending five mana on our damage outlets and dragons, not for setting up.
Adds: Wild Guess is back in because we like sculpting our hands and graveyards. Conspiracy is in to work with all of our non-dragon utility dorks. It works especially well with Gisa and Kazuul in combination with something like Scourge of Valkas, Utvara Hellkite, or... Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury makes hitting a Rise of the Dark Realms and the like particularly back-breaking, plus she comes down early and hits fast. Also, her Dash ability means we can get four damage off a Warstorm effect every turn from her, plus 5+ swinging in the air.
Notes: The next card up on the chopping block will be Coercive Portal. In both of the metas I play in, it will 4/5 times be shattered before it gets to my next upkeep, and if it does, the vote very rarely goes how I want. The next cards I want to add are Night's Whisper (card draw on the cheap) and Generator Servant, because we'll always be happy with having big, nasty, hasty beatsticks out faster. Also, I mentioned in an earlier post that we should get Crux of Fate, buuut I'm not feeling it so much anymore. Yeah, having the only fatties on the field is great and all, but we actually like to have our things die so we can bring them back. I don't currently own a Crux, but if I trade into one, I'll consider rocking it here nonetheless. What are your thoughts on Crux?
If you're reading through this thread, you probably like dragons. As of this post, official spoilers for Dragons of Tarkir start in less than 2 weeks, so get psyched. I know I am. We're sure to get one or two more great pieces for this deck.
What no Balefire Dragon? I'm pretty amazed you don't have a copy of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker in here. He's an absolute star in my deck. Two of any of your big dragons coming in the same turn is often lethal (especially Utvara Hellkite. And the end effect being sacrifice is excellent. Mimic Vat plays a similarly amazing role in my deck. Also I think Malfegor might surprise you if you playtest him. He's a bit situational but when you need to clear out the field for that big swing he's my go to guy. Scourge of Kher Ridges is a bit mana intensive if you have to cold cast him but hey most of the time you don't. I've never been disappointed with his performance when he gets out there and does his thing. Plus in a pinch he can kill off your own guys so that you can bring em on back. I'm assuming that you aren't running Sorin Markov for meta reasons, but if this isn't the case then you should seriously consider adding him in. Lastly Sarkhan the Mad can be an excellent finisher when the time comes.
What no Balefire Dragon? I'm pretty amazed you don't have a copy of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker in here. He's an absolute star in my deck. Two of any of your big dragons coming in the same turn is often lethal (especially Utvara Hellkite. And the end effect being sacrifice is excellent. Mimic Vat plays a similarly amazing role in my deck. Also I think Malfegor might surprise you if you playtest him. He's a bit situational but when you need to clear out the field for that big swing he's my go to guy. Scourge of Kher Ridges is a bit mana intensive if you have to cold cast him but hey most of the time you don't. I've never been disappointed with his performance when he gets out there and does his thing. Plus in a pinch he can kill off your own guys so that you can bring em on back. I'm assuming that you aren't running Sorin Markov for meta reasons, but if this isn't the case then you should seriously consider adding him in. Lastly Sarkhan the Mad can be an excellent finisher when the time comes.
Balefire's one of those cards that I've been meaning to get for an eternity but have never had the pressing need to. Eventually though, especially if I find some fun tech to grant my fatties deathtouch (Archetype of Finality doesn't qualify).
Kiki-Jiki's one of my all-time favorite cards actually, I've got a deck for him, but I've never actually thought about rocking KJ in this deck. I don't know how I never thought of that until now. Weird. Seriously though, KJ would be amazing here, I'll need to find another copy of him.
With Mimic Vat, I've actually got bad luck. Whenever I play Vat, it ALWAYS eats removal before I get any benefit from it.
Malfegor and Scourge are two cards I've played around with the idea of including but have never gone for it. They just suck up so much in resources. Like you said with Malfegor, he's super situational, and I just know he'll never work the way I would want him to, and I like having a hand. Scourge looks great, and you'd think CMC wouldn't matter in a reanimator deck, but my deck tends to go aggro and needs a lot of mana.
The exclusion of Sorin is partly for the meta, partly because he just isn't my style. At least not the minus ability and the ultimate. This Johnny doesn't rock that way. For Sarkhan, he's one of those "I'll trade for him when I find a copy" sort of cards, not super high on my priorities, but he's there. He feels very win-more to me. I can envision board states where I've got 5 or more dragons on the field, plop him down, ult him off to take out one player, then swing for the win against another. His middle ability is sort of moot point in my deck, and his zero ability has a 50/50 chance of killing himself right off the bat here.
Thank you for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to look to include Kiki-Jiki, still not sure I didn't realize that.
This is Dragon Tempest. It just got spoiled for DTK. It is EXACTLY what this deck wants.
Dragon Tempest 1R
Enchantment
Whenever a creature with flying enters the battlefield under your control, is gains haste until end of turn.
Whenever a Dragon enters the battlefield under your control, it deals X damage to target creature or player, where X is the number of Dragons you control.
Also, i've been thinking of switching over to Karrthus, Tyrant of jund, due to some generally bad feelings about me one shotting everyone with Warstorm and Utvara Hellite. Im going to have to take a read on the attitude towards the deck, and you may be the last holdout of bladewing
It's funny you mention Karrthus, my Bladewing deck was actually originally a Karrthus deck. It had been a lot like what the deck is now, but with a super-heavy dredge component. When I played Karrthus, it actually felt like running a 150 card deck would be more appropriate in order to get everything in. One note about Karrthus: include sac outlets. Thanks to the M14 rules change on Legends, when someone clones Karrthus, the clone's ETB trigger will happen and take all of your dragons, including your own Karrthus, then your opponent will choose to sacrifice either the clone or your Karrthus. If they're smart, they'll sac the clone so that you won't be able to replay Karrthus. That whole interaction was one of the major reasons I cut the green and made my Karrthus deck into a Bladewing deck. Really, to get the max benefits out of Karrthus (especially in a post-DTK dragon-saturated meta), staying away from straight dragon tribal and going for dredge, good stuff or control would be the most solid game plan.
Moral of the story: clone effects are Karrthus's Achilles heel and they completely ruin your day. Proceed with caution.
On the topic of completely destroying the other players, the obliteration of life totals is the spirit of the deck. If you feel like you do it with Utvara too much (I found myself going the same way and getting bored/antsy about it), purposely use some other dragon and save Utvara for when you really need to beat face. The random nature of Commander is one of its funnest aspects.
Here's to hoping elder Kolaghan is another excellent piece for this deck.
How, you ask? Simple, we just use Sharuum's tech. When you create a copy of him, the token's ETB ability will trigger and go on the stack. BUT, before it can, you have to handle any state-based effects, which includes the legend rule, allowing you to immediately put Bladewing into your graveyard, where he can then be used as the target for the ETB ability. This returns him to the battlefield, triggering another ETB dragon-reanimate, but again forcing you to put one of your two Bladewings into the graveyard before it even goes on the stack. You can thus loop Bladewing coming in and dying as many times as you want, triggering any of the above effects each time.
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How, you ask? Simple, we just use Sharuum's tech. When you create a copy of him, the token's ETB ability will trigger and go on the stack. BUT, before it can, you have to handle any state-based effects, which includes the legend rule, allowing you to immediately put Bladewing into your graveyard, where he can then be used as the target for the ETB ability. This returns him to the battlefield, triggering another ETB dragon-reanimate, but again forcing you to put one of your two Bladewings into the graveyard before it even goes on the stack. You can thus loop Bladewing coming in and dying as many times as you want, triggering any of the above effects each time.
Those loops sound amazing and awesome, but I restrict myself with no infinite combos. I don't even let myself be tempted by it. Thank you for the suggestion though, it helped me look at the mechanics of this deck in a different light!
DTK Updates! Cuts: Tresserhorn Sinks - I don't really need a ETB tapped snow land. Coercive Portal - It never worked the way I wanted it to, especially in my one meta. Besides, I like to let the other players handle the board-wiping when I play this deck. In the Web of War - This was primarily used for the Haste-granting and the +2/+0 was a nice addition, but it's not a body that's recurrable. Elder Kolaghan will be taking its place. Chromatic Lantern - I've never had actual problems fixing the mana, I just need more of it. Cut for Worn Powerstone. Animate Dead - This is a fun little card, but not effective enough. The problem with Animate Dead is that is makes a creature who was already susceptible to creature removal vulnerable to enchantment removal too. Pandemonium - You win by the Pandemonium and you die by the Pandemonium. After I lost a third game thanks to it, I felt it was time we part ways. Heat Shimmer - It goes infinite with Bladewing. I've got a no-infinite-combo policy for myself and my decks.
Adds: Haven of the Spirit Dragon - This is basically obligatory in any Dragon Tribal deck. Its activated ability is especially appreciated in this deck. Dragon Tempest - A two mana Scourge of Valkas that also grants Haste? Yes, yes, yes, and more yes. Night's Whisper - Gotta love card advantage. Worn Powerstone - For this deck, we want to ramp, and the best way to ramp outside of Green is with mana rocks. This is one of the best. Daretti, Scrap Savant - Disclaimer: this is *not* an artifact deck. His +2 puts our fatties in the 'yard and sculpts hands. Not only does he provide good hand-cycling, but he becomes a target for everyone else on the field to be attacked, so he can buy us a turn or two if we really need it. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Deck archetypes like Blink and this sort of Reanimator deck are all about having bodies hitting the field. KJ makes sure our best ones are hitting the field over and over. Dragonlord Kolaghan - When Elder Kolaghan was first spoiled, I didn't want to have anything to do with her because her second ability is near-useless in Commander. However, her Haste-granting ability being on a large dragon body is something this deck can use very well. Plus, there's a Shadowborn Apostle Athreos deck that runs around one of my metas, I really want to live the dream against that.
For the Future: Moving forward, I want to make the deck work faster, which means more mana. I'm going to take the plunge in the very near future and find myself a Mana Crypt, plus Ancient Tomb, Thran Dynamo, and outfitting the deck with fetches. There's an uber-Spiky Zegana deck I only play against in the summer I'm aiming to beat, and I want to do that with this deck. Also, Living Death is something I want to include as the deck's been moving more toward mass reanimation over single creatures.
One more thing, I should have updated this a while ago, but I've barely had any time for Magic recently. For the last two months or so, my job's had been incredibly busy and it's just now slowing down a bit.
Bro, why no Sarkhan's Triumph? I know you are running black, but I know that you personally cannot give up the flavor potential of a draconic tutor.
If Commander decks were 150 cards, Draonic Tutor would be one of the first ones in, as well as Boltwing Marauder and maybe even Thunderbreak Regent. However, I try for minimal tutor-age because each tutor takes up a card slot that could be used for something fun and/or powerful that furthers the deck's game plan.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - I originally added Mr. Come At Me Bro because this is *the* Warstorm deck and having a bunch of 3/3s drop in whenever I got attacked sounded flipping great. However, he's totally off theme and I never actually cast him because there's always something better. There's a deck for him out there, but it's not this one.
Hunted Dragon - Do I love having a 5 drop 6/6 flying hasty dragon? Heck yes! Do I like giving my opponent 3 2/2s? Not as much, and it hurts when it's down to just me and the other guy. Hunted Dragon is unfortunately harmful to us if we don't end the game right after we play him.
Torrent of Souls - Torrent is an old favorite of mine, but it just doesn't do enough. If it was an instant or if it brought back an additional creature or anything else and I'd probably keep it in, but as it is, it's an old, grindy, slow cog in a well-oiled machine that's being held back by it.
Exhume - The ideal play would be turn 1 Entomb for something like Utvara Hellkite, turn 2 Exhume and proceed to wreck all of the face. That never happened and it was a dead card more often than not.
Flameshadow Conjuring - This card triggers every time you have a body hit the field to make a copy of it. This deck thrives on bodies hitting the field, and doubling those bodies for one red mana each could potentially be back-breaking. It works especially well with our Commander: you play Bladewing, pay the extra one mana, get the ETB trigger from the copy onto the stack as it's sacrificed to the Legend rule. Alternatively, sacrifice the original Bladewing to the Legend rule, target Bladewing in the graveyard with the copy's trigger which brings the original back, which then you can pay for the Flameshadow trigger and wash, rinse, repeat. With that finite combo and something that triggers for damage (Warstorm Surge, Scourge of Valkas, Dragon Tempest, Purphoros, God of the Forge, Flayer of the Hatebound), we can effectively pay R for one trigger from any of those, all while reaping the benefits of the extra Bladewing triggers to recur more dragons. Yeah, Flameshadow Bladewing is kind of nuts.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre - I know, Ulamog is not a dragon and he can be a bit of a nonbo with the deck's strategy, but after killing myself for at least the third time with Mesmeric Orb, I decided it was time to install a preventative measure against myself. Plus, playing him for his body can single-handedly wreck someone.
Crux of Fate - It's also about time to throw Crux in. It provides us with the ability to A. create a board state where this deck is dominant, B. Prepare for shenanigans with a source of mass-recursion at the ready, C. Neuter another dragon deck with less ability to bounce back, or D. be a generic board wipe. Plus, I have a foil alter Crux with its borders extended and it's just too nice-looking not to play.
Mana Crypt - What's better than a Sol Ring? A free Sol Ring!
I haven't been playing near as much Commander as I'd like lately, but there have been some changes made to this decklist in the last couple months.
Cuts:
Rakdos Guildgate - The only reason I hadn't cut this before is because the Dragon's Maze foil version of it looks *fantastic*.
Necromantic Selection - If the format were 150 cards, this one would stay. As it is, the cost is a little steep and bringing back the one creature is good, but I barely ever found myself playing it and when I did, there was barely any value.
Wake the Dead - This is a really good corner-case card. I had a few games where I had a proper set-up on board and played this, absolutely wrecking somebody. However, the majority of the time, it sat in my hand because the conditions weren't right.
Hoard-Smelter Dragon - I included this for the artifact removal. Did I ever once actually use the artifact removal? Nope!
Mind Stone - Good for mana early, good for a cantrip late.
Living Death - I'm finding the more I play this deck that its most effective turns involving playing a big spell that yanks all of my fatties out of the graveyard. Living Death is one of the most cost-effective versions of this, and its FTV art looks great too.
Soulblast - I've been on a Soulblast kick lately. It's instant speed, so you can play it response to a board wipe. Play it at the end of an opponent's turn to smoke someone's life total, then Living Death on your turn to finish off someone else.
Note: When I added Gisa, I dreamed of using her in conjunction with Purphoros and Conspiracy + Scourge of Valkas. That never actually happens and she's usually just a durdler. She'll probably be the next on the chopping block. Also, Commnader 2015 previews are currently underway, I'm looking at Dread Summons and Scourge of Nel Toth as possible inclusions. I thought a bit about Blade of Selves since that would be the nuts with Bladewing and a full graveyard, but I barely ever have a full graveyard and playing Bladewing, playing Blade and equipping it takes a ton of mana, so I probably won't be using that. Also, I'm really hoping for a new Warstorm Surge variant to play with.
With your overall strategy I think Wound Reflection might work well in your deck.
It's a fun thought but Wound Reflection is expensive and doesn't do anything on its own. It's a classic example of a card that works fantastically in the right situation but can easily be a waste of a card that doesn't pull its weight. If it had a lower mana cost, it could be worth it, but otherwise it's not worth the card slot.
Thank you for the recommendation! However, I have a personal policy of not using any infinite combos. Semi-infinite combos (think Bladewing + Flameshadow Conjuring) are fine though.
Not sure if you have seen Balthor the Defiled but I think it might be a shoe in for this deck as it does exactly what you want your deck to do
You know, Balthor's been way far out on my radar for a long time but I just never really considered him. Now that you bring him up, I think I'll find a copy and try him out. We can always use another Living Death variant. That reminds me, I need to find a copy of a Dread Summons too to fill up my 'yard.
Ghoulcaller Gisa - She's a fun card when she works. Most of the time, she just sits around either in my hand or on the field and eats removal.
Entomb - Great card, especially for more competitive formats, but not the fanciest thing when you draw it on turn ten. Excuse me while I go exchange this for $20 credit at my LGS.
Adds:
Dread Summons - It puts creatures in our 'yard for mass recursion and bodies on the field. Super awesome with Purphoros or Conspiracy + Dragon Tempest.
Balthor the Defiled - Who's got two thumbs and a whole bunch of red and black creatures in the 'yard? This guy. Shout out to D3ad 2 R1ght5 for the suggestion.
Also, just updated all of my basics to uniform Zendikar full-arts.
I'll be playing this alongside my Ayli and Gisela decks tomorrow, additional updates may follow.
Put Worldgoroger Dragon ETB on the stack. Flameshadow Conjuring triggers. Pay R to copy Worldgorger Dragon. Put a Worldgorger Dragon token ETB on the stack and let it resolve to remove all of your permanents other than the Worldgorger Dragon token from the game. Now resolve the trigger of the original World Gorger Dragon ETB to remove the Worldgorger Dragon token from the game. Return all of your permanents to the battlefield (untapped). Repeat this process.
Bladewing is one of my favorite commanders and is the pilot of my pimp'iest deck. My take although is more of a casual route, running silly mass reanimation effects like necrologia early and digging/tutoring for an early living death, and a random worldgorger dragon combo like mageslay3r mentioned.
A big recommendation although, because i see you've added Dragonlord Kolaghan to the party, is dragonstorm. Most dragonstorm decks want to run blue so they can do cheap cantrips or EOT quicken on the opponents turn and have a pile of ready-to-attack dragons, but with Dragonlord we have a haste-enabler that we can add to the storm tutor. In this sort of build you really only need a storm count of two to three to make a lethal board.
Report: I played this deck in a five person game yesterday, and one of my opponents played Phelddagrif Group Hug. The other opponents played Mizzix of the Izmagnus, Gaddock Teeg, and Meren of Clan Nel Toth. Mr Hugs got out an early Jace's Archivist and wheeled everyone three or four times. Coincidentally, right as I got to nine mana, I just happened to have Rise of the Dark Realms in my hand. Gaddock Teeg was a bit of a road block, but I politicked enough to convince the Mizzix player that Teeg was a huge threat and needed to be dealt with. I then played Rise of the Dark Realms, got a ridiculous amount of creatures onto the field, including my own Ogre Battledriver, and ended the game in one fell swoop. This happens pretty much whenever this deck and a dedicated Group Hug deck are in the same game.
I don't have any cuts or adds to do at this time. Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch didn't give us anything quite satisfactory. However, Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon are right on the horizon and they're going to be a graveyard-based set. Additionally, there have been dragons printed for the original Innistrad (Balefire Dragon, Moonveil Dragon, Archwing Dragon) so best case scenario has a nifty new dragon being printed with graveyard-based abilities in the very near future. I'm also hoping for a new life-oriented Olivia in BR, not necessarily for this deck.
For anyone who likes to keep up with my decklists, I'll be updating a few of them in (hopefully) the next few days. I'll definitely be getting around to Ayli, I cobbled a new, fun Selvala deck together on a whim recently, and I'm tossing around the idea of switching my Gisela deck up to Tariel and adding in black for better card draw and recursion (which is what the deck is trying to do anyway). Additionally, I just traded into a new Geist of Saint Traft and an altered Stoneforge Mystic, and I've got a few Swords sitting around unused, so there's an idea.
Bladewing is one of my favorite commanders and is the pilot of my pimp'iest deck. My take although is more of a casual route, running silly mass reanimation effects like necrologia early and digging/tutoring for an early living death, and a random worldgorger dragon combo like mageslay3r mentioned.
A big recommendation although, because i see you've added Dragonlord Kolaghan to the party, is dragonstorm. Most dragonstorm decks want to run blue so they can do cheap cantrips or EOT quicken on the opponents turn and have a pile of ready-to-attack dragons, but with Dragonlord we have a haste-enabler that we can add to the storm tutor. In this sort of build you really only need a storm count of two to three to make a lethal board.
Actually Macabre, your video was an inspiration for this deck being built. Around the time you posted your first Bladewing video, I had a Karrthus deck that was a weird congolmeration of Dragon Tribal, Dredge and aggro-y goodness. It didn't feel right. After your video (and an article on GatheringMagic.com by Abe Sargent), I decided to cut the green and narrow the focus of the deck. I believe that was August 2014, and I first posted this list the following month. I'm a fan of most of your work and I watch 90% of your videos. Keep up the good work.
Worldgorger's never really been my cup of tea. I play as little infinite anything as possible since the two metas I play in tend to have big influxes of players who're new to Commander. Also, it just feels right to win without any sort of infinite combo, it's more fulfilling.
As for Dragonstorm, I'm most worried I won't get near enough value out of it. Realistically, I could probably average one or two dragons off of it whenever I cast it. I'll start playing more attention to how many spells I can cast per turn and decide later on whether or not Dragonstorm is a good fit for the deck.
Going aggro really depends on your meta. In one meta I play in, it's slow and easy to build up, so swinging in for 9,001 damage isn't unheard of. In another, there are many more players wary of such things, and so I try to take the more combo-ish route there but I can get by going aggro if someone shuts off the graveyard.
I haven't yet drawn into the card I replaced Crucible with yet (Thundermaw), but in the past, it's just sat there and usually needs Warstorm/Pandemonium and/or Utvara Hellkite to really be effective. I would consider a re-inclusion of it if 1. we got more aggressive 5cmc dragons or 2. we got one or two more Warstorm effects.
As of right now, the only two cards I'm looking to include from FRF are Crux of Fate and Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury.
I'm thinking of adding Conspiracy soon too, possibly re-tooling the deck to go deeper on tribal. But really, Conspiracy with Kolaghan will make utterly back-breaking swings.
Cuts:
Ghoulcaller's Bell never ever worked, not even once. When I needed a land in my hand, the Bell would put one in my 'yard. When I need a dragon in my 'yard, it never hit one.
Cauldron of Souls never actually did anything for me. Whenever I played it, it was just a functionally worse Mikaeus and drew a lot of removal. It's going to serve a better purpose in my Brion Stoutarm deck.
Moonlight Bargain has a CMC higher than what all of our draw spells should be. We want to be spending five mana on our damage outlets and dragons, not for setting up.
Adds:
Wild Guess is back in because we like sculpting our hands and graveyards.
Conspiracy is in to work with all of our non-dragon utility dorks. It works especially well with Gisa and Kazuul in combination with something like Scourge of Valkas, Utvara Hellkite, or...
Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury makes hitting a Rise of the Dark Realms and the like particularly back-breaking, plus she comes down early and hits fast. Also, her Dash ability means we can get four damage off a Warstorm effect every turn from her, plus 5+ swinging in the air.
Notes: The next card up on the chopping block will be Coercive Portal. In both of the metas I play in, it will 4/5 times be shattered before it gets to my next upkeep, and if it does, the vote very rarely goes how I want. The next cards I want to add are Night's Whisper (card draw on the cheap) and Generator Servant, because we'll always be happy with having big, nasty, hasty beatsticks out faster. Also, I mentioned in an earlier post that we should get Crux of Fate, buuut I'm not feeling it so much anymore. Yeah, having the only fatties on the field is great and all, but we actually like to have our things die so we can bring them back. I don't currently own a Crux, but if I trade into one, I'll consider rocking it here nonetheless. What are your thoughts on Crux?
If you're reading through this thread, you probably like dragons. As of this post, official spoilers for Dragons of Tarkir start in less than 2 weeks, so get psyched. I know I am. We're sure to get one or two more great pieces for this deck.
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Balefire's one of those cards that I've been meaning to get for an eternity but have never had the pressing need to. Eventually though, especially if I find some fun tech to grant my fatties deathtouch (Archetype of Finality doesn't qualify).
Kiki-Jiki's one of my all-time favorite cards actually, I've got a deck for him, but I've never actually thought about rocking KJ in this deck. I don't know how I never thought of that until now. Weird. Seriously though, KJ would be amazing here, I'll need to find another copy of him.
With Mimic Vat, I've actually got bad luck. Whenever I play Vat, it ALWAYS eats removal before I get any benefit from it.
Malfegor and Scourge are two cards I've played around with the idea of including but have never gone for it. They just suck up so much in resources. Like you said with Malfegor, he's super situational, and I just know he'll never work the way I would want him to, and I like having a hand. Scourge looks great, and you'd think CMC wouldn't matter in a reanimator deck, but my deck tends to go aggro and needs a lot of mana.
The exclusion of Sorin is partly for the meta, partly because he just isn't my style. At least not the minus ability and the ultimate. This Johnny doesn't rock that way. For Sarkhan, he's one of those "I'll trade for him when I find a copy" sort of cards, not super high on my priorities, but he's there. He feels very win-more to me. I can envision board states where I've got 5 or more dragons on the field, plop him down, ult him off to take out one player, then swing for the win against another. His middle ability is sort of moot point in my deck, and his zero ability has a 50/50 chance of killing himself right off the bat here.
Thank you for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to look to include Kiki-Jiki, still not sure I didn't realize that.
Dragon Tempest 1R
Enchantment
Whenever a creature with flying enters the battlefield under your control, is gains haste until end of turn.
Whenever a Dragon enters the battlefield under your control, it deals X damage to target creature or player, where X is the number of Dragons you control.
Also, i've been thinking of switching over to Karrthus, Tyrant of jund, due to some generally bad feelings about me one shotting everyone with Warstorm and Utvara Hellite. Im going to have to take a read on the attitude towards the deck, and you may be the last holdout of bladewing
Moral of the story: clone effects are Karrthus's Achilles heel and they completely ruin your day. Proceed with caution.
On the topic of completely destroying the other players, the obliteration of life totals is the spirit of the deck. If you feel like you do it with Utvara too much (I found myself going the same way and getting bored/antsy about it), purposely use some other dragon and save Utvara for when you really need to beat face. The random nature of Commander is one of its funnest aspects.
Here's to hoping elder Kolaghan is another excellent piece for this deck.
Splinter Twin
Flamerush Rider
Heat Shimmer
Feldon of the Third Path
Felhide Spiritbinder
Twinflame
The reason being is this: if you ever make a token copy of Bladewing, you can immediately loop his recursion effect an unlimited number of times, triggering Scourge of Valkas, Pandemonium, Dragon Tempest, Warstorm Surge, Outpost Siege, Purphoros, God of the Forge, Goblin Sharpshooter, or any other similar effects you run, each time. (Sadly, this does not work with Kiki-jiki, Mirror Breaker, as he cannot target Bladewing, being legendary)
How, you ask? Simple, we just use Sharuum's tech. When you create a copy of him, the token's ETB ability will trigger and go on the stack. BUT, before it can, you have to handle any state-based effects, which includes the legend rule, allowing you to immediately put Bladewing into your graveyard, where he can then be used as the target for the ETB ability. This returns him to the battlefield, triggering another ETB dragon-reanimate, but again forcing you to put one of your two Bladewings into the graveyard before it even goes on the stack. You can thus loop Bladewing coming in and dying as many times as you want, triggering any of the above effects each time.
Currently Playing:
Legacy: Something U/W Controlish
EDH Cube
Hypercube! A New EDH Deck Every Week(ish)!
Those loops sound amazing and awesome, but I restrict myself with no infinite combos. I don't even let myself be tempted by it. Thank you for the suggestion though, it helped me look at the mechanics of this deck in a different light!
Cuts:
Tresserhorn Sinks - I don't really need a ETB tapped snow land.
Coercive Portal - It never worked the way I wanted it to, especially in my one meta. Besides, I like to let the other players handle the board-wiping when I play this deck.
In the Web of War - This was primarily used for the Haste-granting and the +2/+0 was a nice addition, but it's not a body that's recurrable. Elder Kolaghan will be taking its place.
Chromatic Lantern - I've never had actual problems fixing the mana, I just need more of it. Cut for Worn Powerstone.
Animate Dead - This is a fun little card, but not effective enough. The problem with Animate Dead is that is makes a creature who was already susceptible to creature removal vulnerable to enchantment removal too.
Pandemonium - You win by the Pandemonium and you die by the Pandemonium. After I lost a third game thanks to it, I felt it was time we part ways.
Heat Shimmer - It goes infinite with Bladewing. I've got a no-infinite-combo policy for myself and my decks.
Adds:
Haven of the Spirit Dragon - This is basically obligatory in any Dragon Tribal deck. Its activated ability is especially appreciated in this deck.
Dragon Tempest - A two mana Scourge of Valkas that also grants Haste? Yes, yes, yes, and more yes.
Night's Whisper - Gotta love card advantage.
Worn Powerstone - For this deck, we want to ramp, and the best way to ramp outside of Green is with mana rocks. This is one of the best.
Daretti, Scrap Savant - Disclaimer: this is *not* an artifact deck. His +2 puts our fatties in the 'yard and sculpts hands. Not only does he provide good hand-cycling, but he becomes a target for everyone else on the field to be attacked, so he can buy us a turn or two if we really need it.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Deck archetypes like Blink and this sort of Reanimator deck are all about having bodies hitting the field. KJ makes sure our best ones are hitting the field over and over.
Dragonlord Kolaghan - When Elder Kolaghan was first spoiled, I didn't want to have anything to do with her because her second ability is near-useless in Commander. However, her Haste-granting ability being on a large dragon body is something this deck can use very well. Plus, there's a Shadowborn Apostle Athreos deck that runs around one of my metas, I really want to live the dream against that.
For the Future: Moving forward, I want to make the deck work faster, which means more mana. I'm going to take the plunge in the very near future and find myself a Mana Crypt, plus Ancient Tomb, Thran Dynamo, and outfitting the deck with fetches. There's an uber-Spiky Zegana deck I only play against in the summer I'm aiming to beat, and I want to do that with this deck. Also, Living Death is something I want to include as the deck's been moving more toward mass reanimation over single creatures.
One more thing, I should have updated this a while ago, but I've barely had any time for Magic recently. For the last two months or so, my job's had been incredibly busy and it's just now slowing down a bit.
If Commander decks were 150 cards, Draonic Tutor would be one of the first ones in, as well as Boltwing Marauder and maybe even Thunderbreak Regent. However, I try for minimal tutor-age because each tutor takes up a card slot that could be used for something fun and/or powerful that furthers the deck's game plan.
Cuts:
Adds:
Cuts:
Adds:
Note: When I added Gisa, I dreamed of using her in conjunction with Purphoros and Conspiracy + Scourge of Valkas. That never actually happens and she's usually just a durdler. She'll probably be the next on the chopping block. Also, Commnader 2015 previews are currently underway, I'm looking at Dread Summons and Scourge of Nel Toth as possible inclusions. I thought a bit about Blade of Selves since that would be the nuts with Bladewing and a full graveyard, but I barely ever have a full graveyard and playing Bladewing, playing Blade and equipping it takes a ton of mana, so I probably won't be using that. Also, I'm really hoping for a new Warstorm Surge variant to play with.
With your overall strategy I think Wound Reflection might work well in your deck.
UGTatyova, Benthic DruidUG | RBRakdos the DefilerRB | RNorin the WaryR | BGThelon of HavenwoodBG
It's a fun thought but Wound Reflection is expensive and doesn't do anything on its own. It's a classic example of a card that works fantastically in the right situation but can easily be a waste of a card that doesn't pull its weight. If it had a lower mana cost, it could be worth it, but otherwise it's not worth the card slot.
Thank you for the recommendation! However, I have a personal policy of not using any infinite combos. Semi-infinite combos (think Bladewing + Flameshadow Conjuring) are fine though.
You know, Balthor's been way far out on my radar for a long time but I just never really considered him. Now that you bring him up, I think I'll find a copy and try him out. We can always use another Living Death variant. That reminds me, I need to find a copy of a Dread Summons too to fill up my 'yard.
Cuts:
Adds:
Also, just updated all of my basics to uniform Zendikar full-arts.
I'll be playing this alongside my Ayli and Gisela decks tomorrow, additional updates may follow.
Worldgorger Dragon + Flameshadow Conjuring is another option.
Put Worldgoroger Dragon ETB on the stack. Flameshadow Conjuring triggers. Pay R to copy Worldgorger Dragon. Put a Worldgorger Dragon token ETB on the stack and let it resolve to remove all of your permanents other than the Worldgorger Dragon token from the game. Now resolve the trigger of the original World Gorger Dragon ETB to remove the Worldgorger Dragon token from the game. Return all of your permanents to the battlefield (untapped). Repeat this process.
Bladewing is one of my favorite commanders and is the pilot of my pimp'iest deck. My take although is more of a casual route, running silly mass reanimation effects like necrologia early and digging/tutoring for an early living death, and a random worldgorger dragon combo like mageslay3r mentioned.
A big recommendation although, because i see you've added Dragonlord Kolaghan to the party, is dragonstorm. Most dragonstorm decks want to run blue so they can do cheap cantrips or EOT quicken on the opponents turn and have a pile of ready-to-attack dragons, but with Dragonlord we have a haste-enabler that we can add to the storm tutor. In this sort of build you really only need a storm count of two to three to make a lethal board.
Links to my most current deck lists;
Primary EDH; Rakka Mar Token Perfection, Crosis Mnemonic Betrayal, Cromat Villainous, Judith Gravestorm, Rakdos Empty Storm, Exava Artifacts, Bant Trash, & Fumiko Voltron!
EDH kept at home; Ruzzian Isset & Rakdos LoR!
EDH (nostalgic/pimp/retired) in storage;
Latulla Burns, Akroma Smash, Jeska Voltron, Rakdos Storm, Bladewing Darghans, Lyzolda Worldgorger, Xantcha Steals your Heart, Jori Storm, Wydwen Permission, Gwendlyn Paradox, Jeleva Warps, & Sigarda Brick!
Legacy Showanimator and High Tide!
I don't have any cuts or adds to do at this time. Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch didn't give us anything quite satisfactory. However, Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon are right on the horizon and they're going to be a graveyard-based set. Additionally, there have been dragons printed for the original Innistrad (Balefire Dragon, Moonveil Dragon, Archwing Dragon) so best case scenario has a nifty new dragon being printed with graveyard-based abilities in the very near future. I'm also hoping for a new life-oriented Olivia in BR, not necessarily for this deck.
For anyone who likes to keep up with my decklists, I'll be updating a few of them in (hopefully) the next few days. I'll definitely be getting around to Ayli, I cobbled a new, fun Selvala deck together on a whim recently, and I'm tossing around the idea of switching my Gisela deck up to Tariel and adding in black for better card draw and recursion (which is what the deck is trying to do anyway). Additionally, I just traded into a new Geist of Saint Traft and an altered Stoneforge Mystic, and I've got a few Swords sitting around unused, so there's an idea.
Actually Macabre, your video was an inspiration for this deck being built. Around the time you posted your first Bladewing video, I had a Karrthus deck that was a weird congolmeration of Dragon Tribal, Dredge and aggro-y goodness. It didn't feel right. After your video (and an article on GatheringMagic.com by Abe Sargent), I decided to cut the green and narrow the focus of the deck. I believe that was August 2014, and I first posted this list the following month. I'm a fan of most of your work and I watch 90% of your videos. Keep up the good work.
Worldgorger's never really been my cup of tea. I play as little infinite anything as possible since the two metas I play in tend to have big influxes of players who're new to Commander. Also, it just feels right to win without any sort of infinite combo, it's more fulfilling.
As for Dragonstorm, I'm most worried I won't get near enough value out of it. Realistically, I could probably average one or two dragons off of it whenever I cast it. I'll start playing more attention to how many spells I can cast per turn and decide later on whether or not Dragonstorm is a good fit for the deck.