Time for a step outside my comfort zone. Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle seems like something I would typically build a glass-cannon combo deck around, but the goldfish has grown tired of my company. I never seem to play any creatures -- what if I played a bunch of creatures instead?
Lots of the playable hatebears are legendary and synergize well with Teshar. What's more, a lot of creatures like Thalia, Heretic of Thraben make it difficult to play noncreatures. Sounds like an opportunity I can't pass up.
You'll note that I have omitted a lot of the Teshar "staples" -- no Lion's Eye Diamond, no Ashnod's Altar, no Hope of Ghirapur, and not even Myr Retreiver. I'm not really trying to set up an infinite loop, but instead lock down the table with hatebears long enough to get in the red zone: I found cards like these to be too low-impact.
I'm also skipping a lot of the spellbombs and mana rocks you would usually see, because they get a lot worse with one of the six Thorn of Amethyst effects. Instead, I am playing all the mana dorks I never have an excuse to play otherwise. Millikin and friends are actually fantastic with Teshar and Winter Orb! Plus, these can be brought back with Teshar after a board wipe, whereas traditional stuff like Fellwar Stone cannot. Winning!
So in short, I'm really trying to minimize the amount that my hatebears affect me. It's also why I am playing the minimum number of ETB effects: once I shut out all the noncreatures with tax effects, Tocatli Honor Guard and Hushwing Gryff can really do some heavy lifting against enemy creatures.
It's still very much a work in progress. Let me know what you think!
I'd add Benevolent Bodyguard mainly to protect Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, as obviously you just gain so much value by keeping him in play. With this card in play, it's a case of opponents can't really use one-for-one removal.
I really like Static Orb in Stax, because it can single handedly stop what opponents are doing. It does mean that you are probably not attacking with your creatures, but is a must deal with by opponents. The thing with Sphere of Resistance type cards is that opponents can play around them a bit, so don't necessarily need to be dealt with as a single card.
I would play Swords to Plowshares to make sure you can put that commander back into the command zone, and Stax them out of playing it again.
I'd add Benevolent Bodyguard mainly to protect Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, as obviously you just gain so much value by keeping him in play. With this card in play, it's a case of opponents can't really use one-for-one removal.
I really like Static Orb in Stax, because it can single handedly stop what opponents are doing. It does mean that you are probably not attacking with your creatures, but is a must deal with by opponents. The thing with Sphere of Resistance type cards is that opponents can play around them a bit, so don't necessarily need to be dealt with as a single card.
I would play Swords to Plowshares to make sure you can put that commander back into the command zone, and Stax them out of playing it again.
Benevolent Bodyguard looks good, I went ahead and got my hands on one.
I'm not sold on Static Orb. I had it in the first draft and yeah it packs a wallop, but I kind of need to be swinging with creatures.
Swords is good, probably worth running despite it being a noncreature. I will try to make room. I'll skip Path to Exile because it is counterproductive to the mana denial strategy.
Top is iffy, yeah. But I think it still pulls its weight because of its crazy synergy with Teshar -- think of it as really the best "bauble".
Do you think I have enough non creatures to justify Monastery Mentor?
I have some of those moxen, but I cut them because of they their anti-synergy with Thorn of Amethyst etc. I thought it would be a toss-up between those and regular ol' lands. But they are good with Teshar and Armageddon... what do you think?
Benevolent Bodyguard looks good, I went ahead and got my hands on one.
I'm not sold on Static Orb. I had it in the first draft and yeah it packs a wallop, but I kind of need to be swinging with creatures.
Swords is good, probably worth running despite it being a noncreature. I will try to make room. I'll skip Path to Exile because it is counterproductive to the mana denial strategy.
Top is iffy, yeah. But I think it still pulls its weight because of its crazy synergy with Teshar -- think of it as really the best "bauble".
Do you think I have enough non creatures to justify Monastery Mentor?
I have some of those moxen, but I cut them because of they their anti-synergy with Thorn of Amethyst etc. I thought it would be a toss-up between those and regular ol' lands. But they are good with Teshar and Armageddon... what do you think?
I would definitely play the moxen. They can mean a turn one Stax effect. Paying the mana to get them into play isn't so bad, as they provide mana again. Yep extra triggers for Teshnar and work with land destruction/denial.
Monastery Mentor is a little better with Salvage Scout, Restoration Specialist, Treasure Hunter, and if you play the moxen. But that is still a pretty borderline number, lets say 25% of the deck if you get a few uses out of those graveyard retrieval creatures. Probably not good enough actually.
Got my first real games in today with this deck. Two different 3-man pods, and I was fortunate enough to win both! The first off the back of Eidolon of Rethoric and Spirit of the Labyrinth; the second from a fast mana + World Queller draw.
Only a small set of games, but the deck is much more oppressive than I expected. I thought it would force people to play fair, but instead they eventually didn't play at all. Gotta make sure I stay mindful of the group's attitude to avoid causing any bitterness.
Edit:
Two more games, and these were closer to expectation. One was a long 6-player slog that I managed to finally end with a timely Armageddon plus red zone beats; the game concluded about 90 seconds later. The second game featured a group hug deck, but honestly between the two of us it turned out to be a "normal" game of Magic after all, with the Karador and Mizzix players forced to play one or two spells per turn. I lost by a single point of damage from an opponent's zombie horde -- that's more like it!
I'm liking this deck a lot. When it loses, it loses hardest to creature decks decks (or from political backlash to the stax effects). Paradox Engine and Storm combo decks get hurt the most. Armageddon et. al. let me steal my fair share of games, but not too much. Working as intended!
- Treasure Hunter: Good card, got upgraded
- Lodestone Golem: Hosed myself too much, didn't hose opposing U/x artifact decks enough
- Karmic Guide: Too situational and reactive
- Trading Post: Underperformed in most cases. Usually costs 5 or 6.
- Phyrexian Furnace: New graveyard hate with Remorseful Cleric. Yes, technically Scrabbling Claws is worse, but now I don't have to force people to maintain graveyard order.
- Plains: Replaced with fast mana
Lots of the playable hatebears are legendary and synergize well with Teshar. What's more, a lot of creatures like Thalia, Heretic of Thraben make it difficult to play noncreatures. Sounds like an opportunity I can't pass up.
1 Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle
Mana Dudes
1 Gold Myr
1 Hedron Crawler
1 Manakin
1 Millikin
1 Plague Myr
1 Palladium Myr
1 Metalworker
Hateful Dudes
1 Jötun Grunt
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Tocatli Honor Guard
1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Leonin Arbiter
1 Glowrider
1 Vryn Wingmare
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Alms Collector
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 World Queller
1 Mother of Runes
1 Signal Pest
1 Selfless Spirit
1 Pianna, Nomad Captain
1 Mirror Entity
1 Rune-Tail, Kitsune Ascendant
1 Valor
Support Dudes
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Salvage Scout
1 Restoration Specialist
1 Leonin Relic-Warder
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Lieutenant Kirtar
1 Bygone Bishop
1 Deal Broker
1 Mentor of the Meek
1 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Devout Witness
1 Trusty Packbeast
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Reveillark
1 Sun Titan
Noncreatures (18)
1 Urza's Bauble
1 Mishra's Bauble
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Chrome Mox
1 Conjurer's Bauble
1 Scrabbling Claws
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Skullclamp
1 Sphere of Resistance
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Winter Orb
1 Smokestack
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Armageddon
1 Cataclysm
1 High Market
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Buried Ruin
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Dust Bowl
1 Geier Reach Sanitarium
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Windbrisk Heights
22 Plains
You'll note that I have omitted a lot of the Teshar "staples" -- no Lion's Eye Diamond, no Ashnod's Altar, no Hope of Ghirapur, and not even Myr Retreiver. I'm not really trying to set up an infinite loop, but instead lock down the table with hatebears long enough to get in the red zone: I found cards like these to be too low-impact.
I'm also skipping a lot of the spellbombs and mana rocks you would usually see, because they get a lot worse with one of the six Thorn of Amethyst effects. Instead, I am playing all the mana dorks I never have an excuse to play otherwise. Millikin and friends are actually fantastic with Teshar and Winter Orb! Plus, these can be brought back with Teshar after a board wipe, whereas traditional stuff like Fellwar Stone cannot. Winning!
So in short, I'm really trying to minimize the amount that my hatebears affect me. It's also why I am playing the minimum number of ETB effects: once I shut out all the noncreatures with tax effects, Tocatli Honor Guard and Hushwing Gryff can really do some heavy lifting against enemy creatures.
It's still very much a work in progress. Let me know what you think!
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I'd add Benevolent Bodyguard mainly to protect Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, as obviously you just gain so much value by keeping him in play. With this card in play, it's a case of opponents can't really use one-for-one removal.
I really like Static Orb in Stax, because it can single handedly stop what opponents are doing. It does mean that you are probably not attacking with your creatures, but is a must deal with by opponents. The thing with Sphere of Resistance type cards is that opponents can play around them a bit, so don't necessarily need to be dealt with as a single card.
I would play Swords to Plowshares to make sure you can put that commander back into the command zone, and Stax them out of playing it again.
Sensei's Divining Top look pretty mediocre without the fetch lands. (Arid Mesa, Marsh Flats, Windswept Heath, Flooded Strand, Myriad Landscape).
Monastery Mentor would be a nice addition.
[edit]
Only if you can afford them Mox Diamond, Mox Opal and even Mox Amber ($397 all up!), are better with Armageddon and Winter Orb. Also extra triggers for Teshar.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Benevolent Bodyguard looks good, I went ahead and got my hands on one.
I'm not sold on Static Orb. I had it in the first draft and yeah it packs a wallop, but I kind of need to be swinging with creatures.
Swords is good, probably worth running despite it being a noncreature. I will try to make room. I'll skip Path to Exile because it is counterproductive to the mana denial strategy.
Top is iffy, yeah. But I think it still pulls its weight because of its crazy synergy with Teshar -- think of it as really the best "bauble".
Do you think I have enough non creatures to justify Monastery Mentor?
I have some of those moxen, but I cut them because of they their anti-synergy with Thorn of Amethyst etc. I thought it would be a toss-up between those and regular ol' lands. But they are good with Teshar and Armageddon... what do you think?
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Monastery Mentor is a little better with Salvage Scout, Restoration Specialist, Treasure Hunter, and if you play the moxen. But that is still a pretty borderline number, lets say 25% of the deck if you get a few uses out of those graveyard retrieval creatures. Probably not good enough actually.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Only a small set of games, but the deck is much more oppressive than I expected. I thought it would force people to play fair, but instead they eventually didn't play at all. Gotta make sure I stay mindful of the group's attitude to avoid causing any bitterness.
Edit:
Two more games, and these were closer to expectation. One was a long 6-player slog that I managed to finally end with a timely Armageddon plus red zone beats; the game concluded about 90 seconds later. The second game featured a group hug deck, but honestly between the two of us it turned out to be a "normal" game of Magic after all, with the Karador and Mizzix players forced to play one or two spells per turn. I lost by a single point of damage from an opponent's zombie horde -- that's more like it!
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
lichess.org | chess.com
- Treasure Hunter: Good card, got upgraded
- Lodestone Golem: Hosed myself too much, didn't hose opposing U/x artifact decks enough
- Karmic Guide: Too situational and reactive
- Trading Post: Underperformed in most cases. Usually costs 5 or 6.
- Phyrexian Furnace: New graveyard hate with Remorseful Cleric. Yes, technically Scrabbling Claws is worse, but now I don't have to force people to maintain graveyard order.
- Plains: Replaced with fast mana
+ Trusty Packbeast: strict upgrade?
+ Ranger of Eos: Why wasn't this card in here already?!
+ Remorseful Cleric: This is a godsend, made specifically for this deck!
+ Alms Collector: Has proven to be quite the kick in the nuts. Just watch out for Consecrated Sphinx (and the resulting Trade Secrets scenario) unless you think you can make the first decisive play.
+ Swords to Plowshares: Just too good.
+ Chrome Mox: In for a Plains.
I would like another reset button in case someone gets a really dumb start with mana dorks Thran Dynamos... considering Hour of Revelation?
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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