MTG Salvation

Firstly, let me preface this list by saying that I won't be going group slug - I have no interest in Steel Golem, Celestial Dawn, so on and so forth.

This deck has been heavily influenced by tStorm83's absolutely crazy, chaotic, and brilliant build here. It's like a zany chaos machine that does amazing things despite any expectations. Many of the cards listed there as favourites I share as favourites too, and have wanted to build around for some time, as they represent the pinnacle of as epic and silly as magic cards can get.

That being said, there are differences; a lot of what's there I either can't afford, can't find, or don't want to play. Zedruu is bizarre enough as a commander that there is no one way to play her and I'm not necessarily set on following someone else down the same road. So in a sense, this list is not necessarily here to show off to anyone, it's very much intended as a way to discuss avenues in which I could or should take the deck, and how that would affect the way it plays. As such, I welcome feedback.


...And there it is. Playtesting thus far has proved that this is capable of some crazy things, however it is presently a reasonably slow system - I can't afford Land Tax. Otherwise, I'm gagging to get a copy of Crystalline Crawler, as it will go nuts with Jeskai Ascendancy.

Very much open to suggestions here; the Eye of the Storm, Mindmoil, Possibility Storm style cards form the basis of the chaotic cards I love and have always wanted to play, so unlikely they will go anywhere, but I'm very much interested to hear feedback.

Thanks

Tolaria West digs up Memnite, Reliquary Tower and mana fixing lands (though the latter is a really rough use of the card). Is that worth anything here? Also, I think you're going to want at least a few pieces of removal. The canonical removal for Zedruu is Oblivion Ring and these days we've got variants out the wazoo:

• Banishing Light
  
• Detention Sphere
  
• Grasp of Fate
  
• Faith's Fetters
  
• Cast Out
  
• Consulate Crackdown
  
• Exclusion Ritual
  
• Spine of Ish Sah
  

I wouldn't necessarily run all of them, though, especially in this not-a-combo-oh-wait-here's-an-infinite-combo deck. Here are a few other ideas I've had for the deck that tstorm didn't bite on*; maybe you'll find them more appealing:

• For extra crazies you can replace Memnite with either Kyren Legate or Saprazzan Legate. The combo involving them will then also involve donating a land if an opponent doesn't have an appropriate basic or dual-land. That part would get easier if/when you pick up Political Trickery, Vedalken Plotter and Shifting Borders. I suppose one could make the case that a 1/3 flier is substantially better than a 1/1 ground dork, but really playing a Legate over Memnite would only increasing the zaniness, not the power level, of the deck.
• Temporal Aperture is a super fun card and this deck has lots of expensive stuff to hit with it.

*Disclaimer: While I do maintain a Zedruu primer on this site that deck is nothing at all like tstorm's masterpiece. In other words, I'm not saying that tstorm was in any way wrong for not taking these suggestions as they are clearly the residing expert on this deck. Rather, I'm throwing these out here because, as you say, you're not looking to "follow someone else down the same road."

Thanks for the input HG! I've followed tstorms thread pretty closely and always value the suggestions you put forward there, so pretty happy to see another Zedruu player making suggestions.

Tolaria West digs up Memnite, Reliquary Tower and mana fixing lands (though the latter is a really rough use of the card). Is that worth anything here?

I'm not sure how valuable this is. Granted, I don't have a lot of 'no maximum hand size' modifiers here, which are sort of crucial for Zedruu - I don't have enough Library of Lengs for all the decks that could use a copy. Love that card.

Also, I think you're going to want at least a few pieces of removal. The canonical removal for Zedruu is Oblivion Ring and these days we've got variants out the wazoo

I agree. I did initially toy with having Oblivion Ring here - specifically because it doesn't have to target something another player controls, so if Thought reflection or Mindmoil gets on top of me I can get rid of it. I like Cast Out for flash and cycling too, that has some considerable flexibility. In the end, I went for Read the Runes instead as it allows me to sac or discard as needed. That being said I could definitely stand to add another removal piece.

I like the legates; I wouldn't necessarily replace Memnite with them, but I could definitely see adding one or both in if I were able to track them down - probably replacing Arjun, the Shifting Flame or Bogardan Hellkite. That being said, free creatures gives me access to a tried and true infinite combo with Dissipation Field and Warstorm Surge, whereas these two creatures are fun without having to go infinite.

If I liked the legates, I LOVE Temporal Aperture - such a fun card. I don't have a spare unfortunately. I see Oracle's Vault as similar and there's every possibility it could do just as well if not better. As with a lot of cards it would be obscene with Jeskai Ascendancy.

While I do maintain a Zedruu primer on this site that deck is nothing at all like tstorm's masterpiece. In other words, I'm not saying that tstorm was in any way wrong for not taking these suggestions as they are clearly the residing expert on this deck. Rather, I'm throwing these out here because, as you say, you're not looking to "follow someone else down the same road."

Totally get it. I've seen your list and it looks fun. That being said it is a different deck to tstorms, a testament to the different avenues Zedruu can take. I don't even necessarily see that tstorm is an expert on Zedruu, simply because there is so much Zedruu can do or enable. So in that respect, I appreciate the recommendations; all I've done so far is throw some cards in here that I really love and have some sort of synergy with Zedruu. I really have no idea how they will all interact in a real gamestate, as some of them are incredibly complex, but I appreciate suggestions simply because you may see interactions that I don't.

Changes:

So, I had my birthday on the weekend and got some BIG improvements for this deck:

In:
Lotus Petal
Chrome Mox
Pentad Prism
Gilded Lotus

Out:
Aetherflux Reservoir
Prismatic Geoscope
Mizzium Mortars
Dualcaster Mage

More or less strict upgrades to the manabase, but should really, really, help speed things up.

Another small change from the weekend:

In:
Forced Fruition

Out:
Arjun, the Shifting Flame - Yes, it's another wheel effect, but as it's on a 5/5 flier I'm much less likely to donate it.

Small changes:

In:
Equipoise - kind of an anti land tax, it's a bit mean i guess. Early game leveller, I'm not sure if it has a place late game. It might not stay.
Mirror of Fate - As we all know it's great with the storms.

Out:
Spawnbroker - weak donate on a weak creature.
[/c]Ignite Memories[/c] - I like the card, but it's too unreliable.

Minor changes:

In:
Equipoise - Anti land tax early on, I'm not sure if it has a place in the late game.
Mirror of Fate - Great with Eye of the Storm

Out:
Spawnbroker - Weak donate, weak creature.
Ignite Memories - I like the craziness of this card, but in play it hasn't held it's place.

Small add:

In:
Glorious End

Out:
Temporal Cascade

Small add:

In:
Oath of Lieges - As close as I'll get to a Land Tax.

Out:
Sphere of the Suns - too slow to be another Pentad Prism.

Small changes:

In:
Clone Legion
Perplexing Chimera

Out:
Equipoise
Lotus Petal

Small change:

In:
Scroll Rack

Out:
Mizzix's Mastery

Mastery is a crazy card, but Scroll Rack just has undeniably strong manipulation in a deck like this, so worth having here.

Small change:

In:
Temporal Cascade

Out:
Day's Undoing - That end the turn clause is troublesome.

Quote from toctheyounger77 »

Small change:

In:
Temporal Cascade

Out:
Day's Undoing - That end the turn clause is troublesome.

It's a good card. I definitely need to think through the consequences of the different modes before I choose next time I cast it.

It's a good card. I definitely need to think through the consequences of the different modes before I choose next time I cast it.

It does cover some good ground, both modes are useful in their own scenarios. I almost put in Ancestral Knowledge instead, but this TC is a great card here, no reason not to run it.

I was alluding to situations where a mode could be really dangerous instead of useful or even mediocre.

Oh yeah. TC could be that card. It's important to realise you could be drawing someone into a wincon. Still, it's a versatile card, it just needs consideration before casting.

I haven't updated this list in a while, so have made some changes to freshen it up. Once again, similar to tstorm's list - they are all good changes nonetheless.

In:
Leave // Chance
Stolen Identity
Tidal Force
Precursor Golem
Catch // Release
The Locust God
Nahiri, the Harbinger
Inferno Titan

Out:
Ancestral Knowledge
Glorious End
Clone Legion
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Read the Runes
Myojin of Seeing Winds
Seismic Assault
Bogardan Hellkite

Dominaria Update:

In:
Howling Golem - it's a golem that draws cards for everyone. No brainer for this deck.
Sulfur Falls - fixing is always welcome.
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria - I was hoping I'd pull one. As it is, I got two - one a foil, one non-foil - it's nice to have the luxury of being able to share one with my wife. Foil is in here, and that ultimate is going to carve.

Mail day, and finally updated my donates:

In:
Political Trickery
Vedalken Plotter
Shifting Borders

Out:
Bazaar Trader
Harmless Offering
Oath of Lieges

Oath is no Land Tax, and gives too much away. Hopefully with LT being reprinted I'll see a slight drop in price enough to pick it up.

Small Change:

In:
Shared Fate

Out:
Paradox Haze

This should be silly, if nothing else. Bare minimum it'll give me a ton of Zedruu draw, any more than that and I'm really screwing with people's plans. Haze is nice and has some synergy, but its nowhere near as preposterous, so I owe Fate a run at a place here.

First change in a very long time.

In:
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage

Out:
Perplexing Chimera

I really like Chimera. It's a super fun card for the whole table. Raff is a perfect fit for the deck though.