edit: Also, Thing in the Ice seems like a good fit for your list. Tutors could trigger it, and it does a good job keeping would be attackers away, flip or no flip.
Wow Thing in the Ice is actually perfect for my Will & Rowan Kenrith deck!! This is going into that deck straight away. Didn't think of it.
Scrying Sheets was actually the discussion of table talk between my friends, and we all agreed that it always under-performed as a card.
My fiends specifically spent money on Snow-Covered lands, for a few reasons but Scrying Sheets for a mono-colored deck especially seems like a no-brainer, right? Well actually no. What I find is that there are very few times you have the essentially 3 mana to activate the ability. Then there is the fail rate. Then the most important part, if it was simply a colored land, it would have been better.
We all agreed that the number of times we would have just preferred it to be a Mountain, or whatever is greater than when you actually use it, and then be successful with it.
If you would ask me what I think the single biggest mistake commanders make when building decks, it's the liberal use of colorless lands. There is a inherit misunderstanding of Success versus Failure when it comes to colorless lands.
I've been tempted to write an thread on why the worst card in Commander is Reliquary Tower. This card has lost way more games than it has won.
I play a lot of Magic Online, thousands of games. So I get to see patterns a lot.
The number of games where opponents are set back a turn or two because they have failed on the color portion of spells due to playing Reliquary Tower as opposed to a colored land, FAR out-ways the number of times you'll win a game because you've not had to discard a card or two in certain situations.
This is just something that people take for granted. It just seems like a free thing to do right? But it isn't, it will lose you more games, than it will win you games. Fact.
So yeah Scrying Sheets is a trap, that I've only learned by playing it a lot
Scrying Sheets was actually the discussion of table talk between my friends, and we all agreed that it always under-performed as a card.
My fiends specifically spent money on Snow-Covered lands, for a few reasons but Scrying Sheets for a mono-colored deck especially seems like a no-brainer, right? Well actually no. What I find is that there are very few times you have the essentially 3 mana to activate the ability. Then there is the fail rate. Then the most important part, if it was simply a colored land, it would have been better.
We all agreed that the number of times we would have just preferred it to be a Mountain, or whatever is greater than when you actually use it, and then be successful with it.
If you would ask me what I think the single biggest mistake commanders make when building decks, it's the liberal use of colorless lands. There is a inherit misunderstanding of Success versus Failure when it comes to colorless lands.
I've been tempted to write an thread on why the worst card in Commander is Reliquary Tower. This card has lost way more games than it has won.
I play a lot of Magic Online, thousands of games. So I get to see patterns a lot.
The number of games where opponents are set back a turn or two because they have failed on the color portion of spells due to playing Reliquary Tower as opposed to a colored land, FAR out-ways the number of times you'll win a game because you've not had to discard a card or two in certain situations.
This is just something that people take for granted. It just seems like a free thing to do right? But it isn't, it will lose you more games, than it will win you games. Fact.
So yeah Scrying Sheets is a trap, that I've only learned by playing it a lot
Preach! Absolutely agree. I've even had issues with mono color decks have colorless problems.
You really don't like Scrying Sheets? I have to agree that on paper it doesn't look great, but in my few playtests with it it's surprised me. Aminatou's uptick turns it into a draw engine. I think that in a top card matters deck it has a better place. I'll try it a bit longer and decide for sure.
Okay, yeah. Scrying Sheets is no good. Land Tax has been amazing tho. Nothing like searching for two lands, playing one and putting the other on top. And for one mana. It's a ridiculous card.
I've been brewing with Lazav, the Multifarious in my head. He's a hell of a card. I don't think he fits as well in our lists as he does in more creature heavy ones, but he still might be worth some consideration. The Surveil is nice, but compared to Augury Owl it's kinda lackluster. Late game tho, he can be a hell of a wall. Cloning something with flying and then turning into something with a big body after blocks. Alternatively, he can clone [case]Jace, Vryn's Prodigy[/card] and flicker himself. And there are a few things of value he can clone; like Dark Confidant, Sun Titan, Emeria Shepherd, and Weathered Wayfarer. With some tweaking it could clone potential combo pieces, but Vela the Night-Clad isn't all that great of a card.
Demon of Dark Schemes could be worth considering in the graveyard deck, but I don't know that it's strong enough to warrant a spot.
Outside of a combo build, Faerie Artisans can reap a good deal of value. Being able to flicker it to enable additional tokens would be nice. And it's a strong card in it's own right.
Search for Azcanta has been brilliant, absolutely no idea why I abandoned it in the first place.
I second on the Scrying Sheets.. I have actually played it a lot.. even in blue, where it's actually quite decent, but in most anything else it's just not worth it.. Also as said, the colour issue at times.. I almost never played Reliquary Tower, I do get why it's not good a lot of times, but sometimes I did wish I had it, when drawing huge hands with lets say Greater Good, having to discard half of them... Mono Green I might try it in my deck because of that.. Mostly Green can go with a few colorless, cause it has the most mana fixing I feel.. Though again the colorless issue might indeed come up early game..
The thing is that in the situations where you are drawing heaps of cards, it's a "more winning" type of card anyway. When I'm discarding cards to hand size, it normally means that I'm going to win anyway.
With sounding too condescending, it's normally players who don't know which cards to keep and which to discard when it comes to maximum hand size. My point is that the number of times I'd win because ofReliquary Tower is very very few. Whats winning you the game is the draw itself, Greater Good is the card that will be winning you the game, regardless of discarding even some quality cards.
There is always going to be better options for colorless that might actually progress you towards a win, too many that you can't have all of them. Colored mana matters, so colorless lands need to be PREMIUM. Anyway you can see I'm passionate about this subject, because it is a mistake that commander players make almost by every person at some stage.
I have been sick/ill, the reason I haven't replied in a while and also haven't been able to play any mtg games since last I posted.. Wil definitely try and play a few games soon though.. Have a few cards ordered that are incoming, though might take a week or more before I have them.. Still forgot the Felidar Guardian.. Not gonna order it separately, cause it wil cost me more than it's worth..
Get better soon!
Also am working on a new deck (new for me lets say) Goreclaw, so going to focus on that for a bit.. Letting y'all know, won't be as actively playing this deck the next weeks because of that... Wil check here once in a while and reply if I have something new to report of any worth.. ^^
Have fun with the deck and keep brewing..
Goreclaw is a really good card, I have one in a brawl deck.
Okay, yeah. Scrying Sheets is no good. Land Tax has been amazing tho. Nothing like searching for two lands, playing one and putting the other on top. And for one mana. It's a ridiculous card.
Land Tax is the biz with Aminatou for sure. I actually had it in my original post, but I only had 5 basic lands, which I did consider it still good enough at the time, because of the synergy.
Because it makes Aminatou [+1] essentially "Draw a card", and you still get to draw an extra land for your turn.
If I was running more like 8 basics I would put it back into the deck for sure. But I just found that my color requirements are a bit heavy to not run all those non-basic lands for color, and then I can't just rely on drawing Land Tax for my fixing too consistently. If I could have it in my starting hand every game..
I've been brewing with Lazav, the Multifarious in my head. He's a hell of a card. I don't think he fits as well in our lists as he does in more creature heavy ones, but he still might be worth some consideration. The Surveil is nice, but compared to Augury Owl it's kinda lackluster. Late game tho, he can be a hell of a wall. Cloning something with flying and then turning into something with a big body after blocks. Alternatively, he can clone [case]Jace, Vryn's Prodigy[/card] and flicker himself. And there are a few things of value he can clone; like Dark Confidant, Sun Titan, Emeria Shepherd, and Weathered Wayfarer. With some tweaking it could clone potential combo pieces, but Vela the Night-Clad isn't all that great of a card.
Yeah I mentioned Lazav, the Multifarious in a previous post, and I've been helping with the "Let's Brew" in the main forum as a commander, so put some thought into this guy. Sort of card that will need to be constantly be kept in mind with Aminatou because of the 2 mana 1/3 body with an ETB effect, which is right on track. But then of course his ability to copy creatures, doesn't work with the flicker ability of Aminatou so much, and then your creatures tend to be ETB creatures, so it's hard to find value off the copying creatures aspect.
If you had some clone effects, then I could see this being good. Imagine Lazav, the Multifarious copying a Spellseeker in your graveyard, and then casting a Phyrexian Metamorph, so that not only do you have access to creatures on the battlefield for ETB, but also your graveyard, and then that gives you the ability to Aminatou [-1] the Phyrexian Metamorph again for double value.
Demon of Dark Schemes could be worth considering in the graveyard deck, but I don't know that it's strong enough to warrant a spot.
Yeah I have played Demon of Dark Schemes in a brawl deck, and it can be awkward with hitting your creatures as well. I do have a number of power two or less creatures. But at the same time that gives you access to reanimting them with his 2B giving you more ETB triggers, so you can swing that to your advantage potentially. Certainly worth thinking about for the reanimation deck.
Outside of a combo build, Faerie Artisans can reap a good deal of value. Being able to flicker it to enable additional tokens would be nice. And it's a strong card in it's own right.
I play Faerie Artisans in my Ephara, God of the Polis deck, and this card takes over the game. It's completely outperformed anything that I first imagined. I was like "it'll be nice to get a bit of value here and there" with this card, but it turns out that if your opponents don't remove it early on, then the advantage you generate off this card is absurd.
Like literally every ETB trigger from a creature during the course of the game you get. Then you also get free blockers. Yeah this card is I think still under the radar for people, as it's hard to weigh it's worth without knowing what your opponents are playing, etc.
But just from experience, after like three turns of opponents playing out creatures, people soon figure out that unless they remove it, it will win you the game.
Search for Azcanta has been brilliant, absolutely no idea why I abandoned it in the first place.
The only thing with Dreams of the Dead and Whip of Erebos is that you can't use Aminatou [-1] to get value from the return creature if you wanted to do that sort of thing. That means some infinites are off the table.
Land Tax is the biz with Aminatou for sure. I actually had it in my original post, but I only had 5 basic lands, which I did consider it still good enough at the time, because of the synergy.
Because it makes Aminatou [+1] essentially "Draw a card", and you still get to draw an extra land for your turn.
If I was running more like 8 basics I would put it back into the deck for sure. But I just found that my color requirements are a bit heavy to not run all those non-basic lands for color, and then I can't just rely on drawing Land Tax for my fixing too consistently. If I could have it in my starting hand every game..
Yeah, it definitely has it's consistency issues. I tend to run light on mana rocks, (Although, with Aminatou mana rocks that tap for 2+ are amazing) so I have enough lands to support it.
Yeah I mentioned Lazav, the Multifarious in a previous post, and I've been helping with the "Let's Brew" in the main forum as a commander, so put some thought into this guy. Sort of card that will need to be constantly be kept in mind with Aminatou because of the 2 mana 1/3 body with an ETB effect, which is right on track. But then of course his ability to copy creatures, doesn't work with the flicker ability of Aminatou so much, and then your creatures tend to be ETB creatures, so it's hard to find value off the copying creatures aspect.
If you had some clone effects, then I could see this being good. Imagine Lazav, the Multifarious copying a Spellseeker in your graveyard, and then casting a Phyrexian Metamorph, so that not only do you have access to creatures on the battlefield for ETB, but also your graveyard, and then that gives you the ability to Aminatou [-1] the Phyrexian Metamorph again for double value.
For sure. But then clone effects don't synergize well with Lazav when they're in the graveyard. It's a card that can really vary from deck to deck. Definitely weird.
Demon of Dark Schemes could be worth considering in the graveyard deck, but I don't know that it's strong enough to warrant a spot.
Yeah I have played Demon of Dark Schemes in a brawl deck, and it can be awkward with hitting your creatures as well. I do have a number of power two or less creatures. But at the same time that gives you access to reanimting them with his 2B giving you more ETB triggers, so you can swing that to your advantage potentially. Certainly worth thinking about for the reanimation deck.
For sure. minus effects aren't very strong in edh either compared to other formats too.
I play Faerie Artisans in my Ephara, God of the Polis deck, and this card takes over the game. It's completely outperformed anything that I first imagined. I was like "it'll be nice to get a bit of value here and there" with this card, but it turns out that if your opponents don't remove it early on, then the advantage you generate off this card is absurd.
Like literally every ETB trigger from a creature during the course of the game you get. Then you also get free blockers. Yeah this card is I think still under the radar for people, as it's hard to weigh it's worth without knowing what your opponents are playing, etc.
But just from experience, after like three turns of opponents playing out creatures, people soon figure out that unless they remove it, it will win you the game.
It's a completely amazing card, I love the synergy with Ephara. I've never had the good fortune of owning one, but I'm going to try to pick one up for my deck. It's a superstar.
The only thing with Dreams of the Dead and Whip of Erebos is that you can't use Aminatou [-1] to get value from the return creature if you wanted to do that sort of thing. That means some infinites are off the table.
That's actually a common misconception. Since the exile is a replacement effect, and Aminatou's -1 exiles anyways it's effect doesn't trigger and the card returns as normal. Here's a reference to Whip of Erebos's rules text:
9/15/2013 If a creature returned to the battlefield with Whip of Erebos would leave the battlefield for any reason, it’s exiled instead. However, if that creature is already being exiled, then the replacement effect won’t apply. If the spell or ability that exiles it later returns it to the battlefield (as Chained to the Rocks might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The effects from Whip of Erebos will no longer apply to it.
The only thing with Dreams of the Dead and Whip of Erebos is that you can't use Aminatou [-1] to get value from the return creature if you wanted to do that sort of thing. That means some infinites are off the table.
That's actually a common misconception. Since the exile is a replacement effect, and Aminatou's -1 exiles anyways it's effect doesn't trigger and the card returns as normal. Here's a reference to Whip of Erebos's rules text:
9/15/2013 If a creature returned to the battlefield with Whip of Erebos would leave the battlefield for any reason, it’s exiled instead. However, if that creature is already being exiled, then the replacement effect won’t apply. If the spell or ability that exiles it later returns it to the battlefield (as Chained to the Rocks might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The effects from Whip of Erebos will no longer apply to it.
Whoa, OK then it's on like Donkey Kong. Will have to think of potential combinations with this. As you say it makes the unearth mechanic very strong. Fatestitcher and Kederekt Leviathan are very playable cards.
Imagine you have 7 mana in play and you Aminatou [-1] the Kederekt Leviathan every turn. You recast Aminatou twice each turn, so still get value probably off her [+1] and just keep people in a holding pattern.
You could even use Rotting Rats to block for a turn, unearth, Aminatou [-1] the Rat and that is 3 cards that everybody is discarding and in a reanimation deck you can use the discard to your advantage. You can just keep blocking with it, and repeating the pattern.
I'm definitely going to investigate on this type of thing more!
Also I run more creatures than average, so I might be able to squeeze some value out of the uptick.
Sure. Can be used as early defense by creating a couple of 2/2 in the same turn with Aminatou [-1] on the Jace. Could give you some breathing room at the start.
Then it has those infinite you mentioned. Let me know how you find it after playing it some?
Also I run more creatures than average, so I might be able to squeeze some value out of the uptick.
Sure. Can be used as early defense by creating a couple of 2/2 in the same turn with Aminatou [-1] on the Jace. Could give you some breathing room at the start.
Then it has those infinite you mentioned. Let me know how you find it after playing it some?
Will do!
I've play tested a few rounds with him, and he's pretty okay. The [+1] is pretty meh, but as you said the [-2] does give you a blocker. It's nice having a planeswalker that actually represents potential damage, as ll the others are simply utility (except Kaya, Ghost Assasin but that damage is pretty nonsubstantial). If you can do enough to stabilize, then using Aminatou's [-1] to generate tokens isn't that bad at all. Finally, it's a wincon that can be tutored with Thalia's Lancers and Arena Rector Which isn't true for all combo pieces.
Speaking of wincons, what do you think of Timesifter?
Speaking of wincons, what do you think of Timesifter?
I made a Timesifter deck waaaay back in the day. I was using a lot of the alternative costing cards like Force of Will, Commandeer to try and win the top deck battles.
Umm, I mean it does exile the cards, so you can run out of cards to try and win off the top fairly quickly. So it depends on how many high converted mana cards you have?
It probably doesn't take too many extra turns to get the job done, especially if you're aiming to ultimate Aminatou on a "fateshift" (exchange boards) that is going to benefit you.
Also good if you are looking get like 4 or 5 turns in a row to ultimate Narset Transcendent or Teferi, Hero of Dominaria.
But this is no easy feat even with Aminatou [+1]. Of course it can always backfire, and opponents get a few extra turns, and all your hard work will probably be undone.
Like for my deck personally, what would I even put on top to exile? Like all the cards that are 5 or more mana are combo cards, so win cons would be exiled, and I wouldn't even be guaranteed to win the Timesifter trigger even with total control with Aminatou [+1] to ensure you can control the top of deck as best as possible.
Honestly it's going to need a special build around, as I say you're going to need to have higher converted mana costs cards in general.
Speaking of wincons, what do you think of Timesifter?
I made a Timesifter deck waaaay back in the day. I was using a lot of the alternative costing cards like Force of Will, Commandeer to try and win the top deck battles.
Umm, I mean it does exile the cards, so you can run out of cards to try and win off the top fairly quickly. So it depends on how many high converted mana cards you have?
It probably doesn't take too many extra turns to get the job done, especially if you're aiming to ultimate Aminatou on a "fateshift" (exchange boards) that is going to benefit you.
Also good if you are looking get like 4 or 5 turns in a row to ultimate Narset Transcendent or Teferi, Hero of Dominaria.
But this is no easy feat even with Aminatou [+1]. Of course it can always backfire, and opponents get a few extra turns, and all your hard work will probably be undone.
Like for my deck personally, what would I even put on top to exile? Like all the cards that are 5 or more mana are combo cards, so win cons would be exiled, and I wouldn't even be guaranteed to win the Timesifter trigger even with total control with Aminatou [+1] to ensure you can control the top of deck as best as possible.
Honestly it's going to need a special build around, as I say you're going to need to have higher converted mana costs cards in general.
That's a good point. Probably not good in a combo build such as yours. I recently added the combo into my deck as well to test out, so probably won't run it either for a while.
Also it triggers on upkeep, which makes it harder to chain Aminatou [+1]'s with.
Hostage Taker has been ridiculous value. With Aminatou on the field it's pretty easy to exile something, cast the exiled thing, and then flicker and exile something else.
I think there's a way this deck could go that focuses on attrition and value. Hostage Taker, Oath of Liliana, and The Eldest Reborn; are all great value cards. Faerie Artisans get's bonus value besides being strong on it all. Timesifter wouldn't have to worry about breaking any combos. Planeswalker's already represent absurd amounts of value. Reflector Mage and Venser, Shaper Savant are great tempo plays. Yennett, Cryptic Soveriegn Might earn his place in. Twilight Prophet is great. I had originally planned on building my deck this way before transitioning to combo, I might go back at some point.
Hostage Taker has been ridiculous value. With Aminatou on the field it's pretty easy to exile something, cast the exiled thing, and then flicker and exile something else.
I think there's a way this deck could go that focuses on attrition and value. Hostage Taker, Oath of Liliana, and The Eldest Reborn; are all great value cards. Faerie Artisans get's bonus value besides being strong on it all. Timesifter wouldn't have to worry about breaking any combos. Planeswalker's already represent absurd amounts of value. Reflector Mage and Venser, Shaper Savant are great tempo plays. Yennett, Cryptic Soveriegn Might earn his place in. Twilight Prophet is great. I had originally planned on building my deck this way before transitioning to combo, I might go back at some point.
Good point with Hostage Taker. There is always a Sol Ring or Mana Crypt on the board somewhere, so you can get value almost immediately with it. Then as the game goes on use it take out the biggest threats. Would be a must deal with threat or get blown out.
I was very careful from the outset not to try and just make it a value deck, simply because Brago, King Eternal is so much more potential at being a recursive engine for "value". Unless for some reason you're heavily incentivise to go into black, then when it comes to blinking out cards for value, then it really is hard to justify not playing Brago instead.
That's why I have such a heavy focus of infinites, as it's just not something that Brago can do.
Most Brago decks I've seen, tend to either play stax, tempo, or combo. I don't tend to see very many decks going for high value cards, instead favoring artifacts and ETB creatures. Which is fair considering the deck. Which is another reason to pull in black, as black tends to have access to some of the cards with the most raw power.
Aminatou does have advantages over Brago. She's cheaper, can hit lands, and allows you to dig into your deck a little bit. Besides that, she has an effect as soon as she comes out, while Brago has to wait a round without getting killed and has to deal player combat damage to actually have an effect(honestly, a bit glass cannon-y for a deck reliant on it's commander). Mana ramp wise, Brago makes more on average; but Aminatou can ramp into big spells faster (with a Sol Ring she can ramp to 8 mana on turn 4. And finally, Aminatou can take advantage of control exchange cards like Gilded Drake and Puca's Mischief; as well as her ultimate.
Not to say she's better, but I think she can stand her own as a value deck.
Hey everyone!!! Been a while since I last posted (life being life and all). Wanted to get your opinion on something. While I have enjoyed the more combo version of this deck, it has been taking a bit of a toll as my focus is more on the combo rather than the other aspect I enjoy more: reanimator. That said, I was wondering if one were to create a more combo-less, but more creature focused version of this deck, what could one change (Being able to add the new Lazav to the mix) but having the combo as a less focused but option to pull in a win.
Hey everyone!!! Been a while since I last posted (life being life and all). Wanted to get your opinion on something. While I have enjoyed the more combo version of this deck, it has been taking a bit of a toll as my focus is more on the combo rather than the other aspect I enjoy more: reanimator. That said, I was wondering if one were to create a more combo-less, but more creature focused version of this deck, what could one change (Being able to add the new Lazav to the mix) but having the combo as a less focused but option to pull in a win.
Any advice would be appreciated!
People have been posting their lists in this thread, and making hybrid versions between aspects of Superfriends and Reanimator and just value creatures.
You can go back through the comments to check some of them out. But I've tried to compile a list of ETB creatures that people have mentioned. I'm not saying this is everything that'll be out there and good, but it is a comprehensive list that we have come up with so far in this thread.
Hey everyone!!! Been a while since I last posted (life being life and all). Wanted to get your opinion on something. While I have enjoyed the more combo version of this deck, it has been taking a bit of a toll as my focus is more on the combo rather than the other aspect I enjoy more: reanimator. That said, I was wondering if one were to create a more combo-less, but more creature focused version of this deck, what could one change (Being able to add the new Lazav to the mix) but having the combo as a less focused but option to pull in a win.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Basically everything Darren said. Also since a planeswalker is your commander, removal is paramount. I'd run both Oath of Liliana and The Eldest Reborn if you're not already. Also, boardwipe creatures like Cataclysmic Gearhulk are nice as well, and generally effect us less than creature commanders. Keep an eye on planes walkers that can remove creatures as well. Two of the elspeths have boardwipes on them. Ob Nixilis Reignited is nice as well, Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath creates a 5/5 flying demon every two turns. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Cunning Castaway has been solid. Creating two illusions, and then next turn upticking and possibly creating a second illusion is nice. The loot is so so unless you can pull it off. With him you'd just be hunting for The Chain Veil to go off with. Late game he can really suck. When a board state has been established, he doesn't do much to help. But if/when he hits the graveyard, he can be recurred easily enough with Sun Titan and the combo can be tried for again. Might be worth a slot, might not.
Why aren't you running Liliana Vess? Seems like a strong card in combo, and Aminatou can grab whatever card she searches for right away.
Had some two drops to suggest. Eight-and-a-Half-Tails Is really good at protection permanents. In most of my decks, he doesn't last long. But, being able to protect planeswalkers completely with enough mana is handy.
Soul Summons is another one of my pet cards. It comes out on turn two to offer protection, and can potentially be used to cheat something powerful in turn three. At worst, it lets you get rid of the top card of library while offering a body.
Cunning Castaway has been solid. Creating two illusions, and then next turn upticking and possibly creating a second illusion is nice. The loot is so so unless you can pull it off. With him you'd just be hunting for The Chain Veil to go off with. Late game he can really suck. When a board state has been established, he doesn't do much to help. But if/when he hits the graveyard, he can be recurred easily enough with Sun Titan and the combo can be tried for again. Might be worth a slot, might not.
About the only other angle I can think of at the moment, is that some people like running Venser, the Sojourner as just a value planeswalker. I don't personally like him in the deck, as you can't get infinite's out of him, just value, but the reason I'm mentioning him is because you can use the [-1]: Creatures can't be blocked this turn. to make sure you get the hit in. Alright that is pretty weak
Why aren't you running Liliana Vess? Seems like a strong card in combo, and Aminatou can grab whatever card she searches for right away.
But essentially I do have her pretty far down the rankings with Aminatou. The Liliana Vess [-2] is obviously very good, but the [+1] is really bad, and then the ultimate is as I say pretty situational.
She would be pretty good in a hybrid version with a planeswalker and reanimation theme. The her "[+1]: Target player discards a card.", can be used on yourself to discard a creature for reanimation. Then you can also setup the ultimate "[-8]: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control", for reanimation theme.
My reanimation deck doesn't have planeswalkers, and then she doesn't fit into my actual planeswalker deck..enough.
But people are running hybrids of planeswalker and reanimation, and then she is a pretty great fit. On that note Liliana, Death's Majesty is also pretty good in the hybrid versions.
Had some two drops to suggest. Eight-and-a-Half-Tails Is really good at protection permanents. In most of my decks, he doesn't last long. But, being able to protect planeswalkers completely with enough mana is handy.
I have played Eight-and-a-Half-Tails in other decks before, and it is a little hard to always hold up the 2W or even if you're lucky 1W. People can usually find the right moment to remove something when you invariably have to tap out at some stage to advance.
Soul Summons is another one of my pet cards. It comes out on turn two to offer protection, and can potentially be used to cheat something powerful in turn three. At worst, it lets you get rid of the top card of library while offering a body.
Have you tried Primordial Mist? I have never played it, but seriously rate it. It's liken it to a pseudo planeswalker, in that it produces a creature and it also represent draw.
So if that makes sense often planewalkers have an ability to produce like a 1/1 or 2/2 creature. Then they also might have a "draw" element.
With Primordial Mist you basically get to do sort of two abilities each turn like this, but it's also harder to remove in that unlike a planeswalker it can't be attacked.
Then of course it works really well with Aminatou [+1], setting up whatever you want for the manifest.
Apparently you can also use Aminatou [-1] on a face down card and it will return face up! (note only if it's a permanent, instants and sorcery remained exiled)
You can block with the face down card on in coming attacks, and then turn it face up and cast the spell, which is actually pretty great. You can only cast instants this way, so that is a little bit limited for my particular decks, but I'm sure there are some that can make better use out of this interaction.
Finally the potential to turn it face up as a bigger creature does make it scary for your opponents to attack into your 2/2s.
I've talked the card up a lot without actually owning one, or having ever played it. But it's no coincidence that I have this insight into it's worth as I was the first to sing it's praises when it was first spoiled.
I think I talked myself into testing it for sure. Using Aminatou [+1] to put say a planeswalker on top of your deck and then it gets manifested at end of turn. Then next turn you can Aminatou [-1] and it'll come into play for free. The reason I like this so much is "casting" planeswalker AND having mana to do something like Supreme Verdict doesn't happen all that often.
Cunning Castaway has been solid. Creating two illusions, and then next turn upticking and possibly creating a second illusion is nice. The loot is so so unless you can pull it off. With him you'd just be hunting for The Chain Veil to go off with. Late game he can really suck. When a board state has been established, he doesn't do much to help. But if/when he hits the graveyard, he can be recurred easily enough with Sun Titan and the combo can be tried for again. Might be worth a slot, might not.
About the only other angle I can think of at the moment, is that some people like running Venser, the Sojourner as just a value planeswalker. I don't personally like him in the deck, as you can't get infinite's out of him, just value, but the reason I'm mentioning him is because you can use the [-1]: Creatures can't be blocked this turn. to make sure you get the hit in. Alright that is pretty weak
That's a solid line. Another thing he can be used for is to flicker your Jace after he creates an illusion to give him a bit more survivability. Neither he nor Narset seem particularly strong in my list, but I'm rather found of both planeswalkers so I could see me running him anyway.
Another thing I like about the combo is that it isn't dependent on any other planeswalkers. Sure there's the possibility of flickering a Chain Veil with Aminatou to get the third activation you need, but you can also just resolve Oath of Gideon to get you there. Then you don't need to protect your walkers for the combo. All you need to do is find a safe time to jam Jace and you win.
But essentially I do have her pretty far down the rankings with Aminatou. The Liliana Vess [-2] is obviously very good, but the [+1] is really bad, and then the ultimate is as I say pretty situational.
She would be pretty good in a hybrid version with a planeswalker and reanimation theme. The her "[+1]: Target player discards a card.", can be used on yourself to discard a creature for reanimation. Then you can also setup the ultimate "[-8]: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control", for reanimation theme.
My reanimation deck doesn't have planeswalkers, and then she doesn't fit into my actual planeswalker deck..enough.
But people are running hybrids of planeswalker and reanimation, and then she is a pretty great fit. On that note Liliana, Death's Majesty is also pretty good in the hybrid versions.
I don't hate. Liliana Vess's uptick. It's a solid line against control and helps protect the combo. I'm running Liliana, Death's Majesty as I feel like she's a strong card.
Had some two drops to suggest. Eight-and-a-Half-Tails Is really good at protection permanents. In most of my decks, he doesn't last long. But, being able to protect planeswalkers completely with enough mana is handy.
I have played Eight-and-a-Half-Tails in other decks before, and it is a little hard to always hold up the 2W or even if you're lucky 1W. People can usually find the right moment to remove something when you invariably have to tap out at some stage to advance.
Definitely can relate. I doubt she'll make it into my list, but she is an option.
Soul Summons is another one of my pet cards. It comes out on turn two to offer protection, and can potentially be used to cheat something powerful in turn three. At worst, it lets you get rid of the top card of library while offering a body.
Have you tried Primordial Mist? I have never played it, but seriously rate it. It's liken it to a pseudo planeswalker, in that it produces a creature and it also represent draw.
So if that makes sense often planewalkers have an ability to produce like a 1/1 or 2/2 creature. Then they also might have a "draw" element.
With Primordial Mist you basically get to do sort of two abilities each turn like this, but it's also harder to remove in that unlike a planeswalker it can't be attacked.
Then of course it works really well with Aminatou [+1], setting up whatever you want for the manifest.
Apparently you can also use Aminatou [-1] on a face down card and it will return face up! (note only if it's a permanent, instants and sorcery remained exiled)
You can block with the face down card on in coming attacks, and then turn it face up and cast the spell, which is actually pretty great. You can only cast instants this way, so that is a little bit limited for my particular decks, but I'm sure there are some that can make better use out of this interaction.
Finally the potential to turn it face up as a bigger creature does make it scary for your opponents to attack into your 2/2s.
I've talked the card up a lot without actually owning one, or having ever played it. But it's no coincidence that I have this insight into it's worth as I was the first to sing it's praises when it was first spoiled.
I think I talked myself into testing it for sure. Using Aminatou [+1] to put say a planeswalker on top of your deck and then it gets manifested at end of turn. Then next turn you can Aminatou [-1] and it'll come into play for free. The reason I like this so much is "casting" planeswalker AND having mana to do something like Supreme Verdict doesn't happen all that often.
I do run Primordial Mist. It's a solid card. Mostly it just feels like a janky draw one//token generator. It's not a busted card, and I've been seriously considering taking mine out. A lot of times when I cast it, I wish I was casting a board wipe or a value ETB or something. Although, just after a boardwipe has resolved, it's a solid way to setup a line of defense.
The flickering line is definitely a solid play. I won my first game with the deck because I manifested Enigma Sphinx turn 3 and flickered him turn 4.
So, after looking over my list, I found that making the change from super combo-centric, to not was as simple as taking out Felidar Guardian. Here is my current list:
From this, the deck is pretty fine tuned, so trying to take out too much could effect that. With that said, after looking at some other comments from people, here are the small changes I made:
With these two, they not only synergize with Aminatou's -1, but also give the deck more removal. Sadly, I wasn't able to find room to add any planeswalkers (even though I would LOVE to for this deck). If anyone can give me an idea of what else to change, I would greatly appreciate it!
So, after looking over my list, I found that making the change from super combo-centric, to not was as simple as taking out Felidar Guardian.
One card that you should look at very seriously is Doom Whisperer. It's a bomb. 6/6 flying, trample for 5 mana, you don't even need to reanimate the guy. Then he has an amazing ability for reanimation, with the 'Pay 2 Life: Surveil 2'. You can either be tricky with Aminatou [+1], or you can just go hard and put tons of cards into your graveyard and hope to hit a nice juicy reanimation target.
So, after looking over my list, I found that making the change from super combo-centric, to not was as simple as taking out Felidar Guardian.
One card that you should look at very seriously is Doom Whisperer. It's a bomb. 6/6 flying, trample for 5 mana, you don't even need to reanimate the guy. Then he has an amazing ability for reanimation, with the 'Pay 2 Life: Surveil 2'. You can either be tricky with Aminatou [+1], or you can just go hard and put tons of cards into your graveyard and hope to hit a nice juicy reanimation target.
This was a card I had my eye on and works swimmingly well with what I want to do. My only thing is that A) I need to actually get it lol and B) not 100% what to take out for it in general
@GrimoireDark
Nice list!
If you're still looking for things to cut, you might consider trimming a few tutors and filters. Without the combo, they're less strong/necessary. The reanimator ones are probably worth keeping, but the others seem to just be taking up space. Ponder, Lim-Dul's Vault, and Brainstorm don't interact with your graveyard at all. And Recruiter of the Guard only indirectly gets you combo pieces.
I'm personally not a fan of Mystic Remora but I prefer it to Rhystic Study. I just think there's a point where you're spending more times drawing and filtering than you do actually casting game changers.. But to each their own.
Until you put planes walkers in, you could probably cut Oath of Teferi.
If you need more room, you could trim some ramp. Almost half your deck represents mana, might be worth lowering that number.
Scrying Sheets was actually the discussion of table talk between my friends, and we all agreed that it always under-performed as a card.
My fiends specifically spent money on Snow-Covered lands, for a few reasons but Scrying Sheets for a mono-colored deck especially seems like a no-brainer, right? Well actually no. What I find is that there are very few times you have the essentially 3 mana to activate the ability. Then there is the fail rate. Then the most important part, if it was simply a colored land, it would have been better.
We all agreed that the number of times we would have just preferred it to be a Mountain, or whatever is greater than when you actually use it, and then be successful with it.
If you would ask me what I think the single biggest mistake commanders make when building decks, it's the liberal use of colorless lands. There is a inherit misunderstanding of Success versus Failure when it comes to colorless lands.
I've been tempted to write an thread on why the worst card in Commander is Reliquary Tower. This card has lost way more games than it has won.
I play a lot of Magic Online, thousands of games. So I get to see patterns a lot.
The number of games where opponents are set back a turn or two because they have failed on the color portion of spells due to playing Reliquary Tower as opposed to a colored land, FAR out-ways the number of times you'll win a game because you've not had to discard a card or two in certain situations.
This is just something that people take for granted. It just seems like a free thing to do right? But it isn't, it will lose you more games, than it will win you games. Fact.
So yeah Scrying Sheets is a trap, that I've only learned by playing it a lot
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
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-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I was just checking out that deck. Absolutely love it. Wish I had the cash to devote to building it.
Preach! Absolutely agree. I've even had issues with mono color decks have colorless problems.
You really don't like Scrying Sheets? I have to agree that on paper it doesn't look great, but in my few playtests with it it's surprised me. Aminatou's uptick turns it into a draw engine. I think that in a top card matters deck it has a better place. I'll try it a bit longer and decide for sure.
I've been brewing with Lazav, the Multifarious in my head. He's a hell of a card. I don't think he fits as well in our lists as he does in more creature heavy ones, but he still might be worth some consideration. The Surveil is nice, but compared to Augury Owl it's kinda lackluster. Late game tho, he can be a hell of a wall. Cloning something with flying and then turning into something with a big body after blocks. Alternatively, he can clone [case]Jace, Vryn's Prodigy[/card] and flicker himself. And there are a few things of value he can clone; like Dark Confidant, Sun Titan, Emeria Shepherd, and Weathered Wayfarer. With some tweaking it could clone potential combo pieces, but Vela the Night-Clad isn't all that great of a card.
Demon of Dark Schemes could be worth considering in the graveyard deck, but I don't know that it's strong enough to warrant a spot.
Outside of a combo build, Faerie Artisans can reap a good deal of value. Being able to flicker it to enable additional tokens would be nice. And it's a strong card in it's own right.
Search for Azcanta has been brilliant, absolutely no idea why I abandoned it in the first place.
Edit: Unearth's interaction with Aminatou's -1 is noteworthy. The only card I could find of note was Corpse Connoisseur which is rather expensive. There's also Dreams of the Dead and Whip of Erebos.
With sounding too condescending, it's normally players who don't know which cards to keep and which to discard when it comes to maximum hand size. My point is that the number of times I'd win because of Reliquary Tower is very very few. Whats winning you the game is the draw itself, Greater Good is the card that will be winning you the game, regardless of discarding even some quality cards.
The thing is that there are soooooo many quality colorless lands that they should be premium. You mention mono-green, and without knowing your content I'm going to assume a lot of creatures. Here is a list of lands that I would play over Reliquary Tower in a mono-green deck;
Ancient Tomb
Blighted Woodland
Command Beacon
Deserted Temple -> If running Gaea's Cradle
Endless Sands
Field of Ruin
Geier Reach Sanitarium
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
Myriad Landscape
Scrying Sheets - I'd still play this over Reliquary Tower in a heartbeat.
Strip Mine
Tectonic Edge
Terrain Generator
Tower of the Magistrate
Wasteland
Winding Canyon
Yavimaya Hollow
There is always going to be better options for colorless that might actually progress you towards a win, too many that you can't have all of them. Colored mana matters, so colorless lands need to be PREMIUM. Anyway you can see I'm passionate about this subject, because it is a mistake that commander players make almost by every person at some stage.
Get better soon!
Goreclaw is a really good card, I have one in a brawl deck.
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
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-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Because it makes Aminatou [+1] essentially "Draw a card", and you still get to draw an extra land for your turn.
If I was running more like 8 basics I would put it back into the deck for sure. But I just found that my color requirements are a bit heavy to not run all those non-basic lands for color, and then I can't just rely on drawing Land Tax for my fixing too consistently. If I could have it in my starting hand every game..
Yeah I mentioned Lazav, the Multifarious in a previous post, and I've been helping with the "Let's Brew" in the main forum as a commander, so put some thought into this guy. Sort of card that will need to be constantly be kept in mind with Aminatou because of the 2 mana 1/3 body with an ETB effect, which is right on track. But then of course his ability to copy creatures, doesn't work with the flicker ability of Aminatou so much, and then your creatures tend to be ETB creatures, so it's hard to find value off the copying creatures aspect.
If you had some clone effects, then I could see this being good. Imagine Lazav, the Multifarious copying a Spellseeker in your graveyard, and then casting a Phyrexian Metamorph, so that not only do you have access to creatures on the battlefield for ETB, but also your graveyard, and then that gives you the ability to Aminatou [-1] the Phyrexian Metamorph again for double value.
Yeah I have played Demon of Dark Schemes in a brawl deck, and it can be awkward with hitting your creatures as well. I do have a number of power two or less creatures. But at the same time that gives you access to reanimting them with his 2B giving you more ETB triggers, so you can swing that to your advantage potentially. Certainly worth thinking about for the reanimation deck.
I play Faerie Artisans in my Ephara, God of the Polis deck, and this card takes over the game. It's completely outperformed anything that I first imagined. I was like "it'll be nice to get a bit of value here and there" with this card, but it turns out that if your opponents don't remove it early on, then the advantage you generate off this card is absurd.
Like literally every ETB trigger from a creature during the course of the game you get. Then you also get free blockers. Yeah this card is I think still under the radar for people, as it's hard to weigh it's worth without knowing what your opponents are playing, etc.
But just from experience, after like three turns of opponents playing out creatures, people soon figure out that unless they remove it, it will win you the game.
The only thing with Dreams of the Dead and Whip of Erebos is that you can't use Aminatou [-1] to get value from the return creature if you wanted to do that sort of thing. That means some infinites are off the table.
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
Yeah, it definitely has it's consistency issues. I tend to run light on mana rocks, (Although, with Aminatou mana rocks that tap for 2+ are amazing) so I have enough lands to support it.
For sure. But then clone effects don't synergize well with Lazav when they're in the graveyard. It's a card that can really vary from deck to deck. Definitely weird.
For sure. minus effects aren't very strong in edh either compared to other formats too.
It's a completely amazing card, I love the synergy with Ephara. I've never had the good fortune of owning one, but I'm going to try to pick one up for my deck. It's a superstar.
That's actually a common misconception. Since the exile is a replacement effect, and Aminatou's -1 exiles anyways it's effect doesn't trigger and the card returns as normal. Here's a reference to Whip of Erebos's rules text:
9/15/2013 If a creature returned to the battlefield with Whip of Erebos would leave the battlefield for any reason, it’s exiled instead. However, if that creature is already being exiled, then the replacement effect won’t apply. If the spell or ability that exiles it later returns it to the battlefield (as Chained to the Rocks might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The effects from Whip of Erebos will no longer apply to it.
In fact, the way replacement effects work in general make it questionable if it matters if the card were to change zones (replacement effects are super weird), see here: https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/519744-guile-and-playing-others-commanders
Imagine you have 7 mana in play and you Aminatou [-1] the Kederekt Leviathan every turn. You recast Aminatou twice each turn, so still get value probably off her [+1] and just keep people in a holding pattern.
You could even use Rotting Rats to block for a turn, unearth, Aminatou [-1] the Rat and that is 3 cards that everybody is discarding and in a reanimation deck you can use the discard to your advantage. You can just keep blocking with it, and repeating the pattern.
I'm definitely going to investigate on this type of thing more!
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
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-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
The interaction between the Felidar combo and Oath of Liliana is noteworthy, if not particularly broken.
Also I run more creatures than average, so I might be able to squeeze some value out of the uptick.
Then it has those infinite you mentioned. Let me know how you find it after playing it some?
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
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-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Will do!
I've play tested a few rounds with him, and he's pretty okay. The [+1] is pretty meh, but as you said the [-2] does give you a blocker. It's nice having a planeswalker that actually represents potential damage, as ll the others are simply utility (except Kaya, Ghost Assasin but that damage is pretty nonsubstantial). If you can do enough to stabilize, then using Aminatou's [-1] to generate tokens isn't that bad at all. Finally, it's a wincon that can be tutored with Thalia's Lancers and Arena Rector Which isn't true for all combo pieces.
Speaking of wincons, what do you think of Timesifter?
Umm, I mean it does exile the cards, so you can run out of cards to try and win off the top fairly quickly. So it depends on how many high converted mana cards you have?
It probably doesn't take too many extra turns to get the job done, especially if you're aiming to ultimate Aminatou on a "fateshift" (exchange boards) that is going to benefit you.
Also good if you are looking get like 4 or 5 turns in a row to ultimate Narset Transcendent or Teferi, Hero of Dominaria.
But this is no easy feat even with Aminatou [+1]. Of course it can always backfire, and opponents get a few extra turns, and all your hard work will probably be undone.
Like for my deck personally, what would I even put on top to exile? Like all the cards that are 5 or more mana are combo cards, so win cons would be exiled, and I wouldn't even be guaranteed to win the Timesifter trigger even with total control with Aminatou [+1] to ensure you can control the top of deck as best as possible.
Honestly it's going to need a special build around, as I say you're going to need to have higher converted mana costs cards in general.
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Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
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-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
That's a good point. Probably not good in a combo build such as yours. I recently added the combo into my deck as well to test out, so probably won't run it either for a while.
Also it triggers on upkeep, which makes it harder to chain Aminatou [+1]'s with.
Hostage Taker has been ridiculous value. With Aminatou on the field it's pretty easy to exile something, cast the exiled thing, and then flicker and exile something else.
I think there's a way this deck could go that focuses on attrition and value. Hostage Taker, Oath of Liliana, and The Eldest Reborn; are all great value cards. Faerie Artisans get's bonus value besides being strong on it all. Timesifter wouldn't have to worry about breaking any combos. Planeswalker's already represent absurd amounts of value. Reflector Mage and Venser, Shaper Savant are great tempo plays. Yennett, Cryptic Soveriegn Might earn his place in. Twilight Prophet is great. I had originally planned on building my deck this way before transitioning to combo, I might go back at some point.
I was very careful from the outset not to try and just make it a value deck, simply because Brago, King Eternal is so much more potential at being a recursive engine for "value". Unless for some reason you're heavily incentivise to go into black, then when it comes to blinking out cards for value, then it really is hard to justify not playing Brago instead.
That's why I have such a heavy focus of infinites, as it's just not something that Brago can do.
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
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-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I do think this is enough value in black to justify the splash. Hostage Taker, Oath of Liliana, The Eldest Reborn, Twilight Prophet as mentioned. Then there's Sepulchral Primordial and Puppeteer Clique. Angel of Despair and Ashen Rider, are nice too. Also, Relentless Rats and Burglary Rats. All the black planeswalkers.
Most Brago decks I've seen, tend to either play stax, tempo, or combo. I don't tend to see very many decks going for high value cards, instead favoring artifacts and ETB creatures. Which is fair considering the deck. Which is another reason to pull in black, as black tends to have access to some of the cards with the most raw power.
Aminatou does have advantages over Brago. She's cheaper, can hit lands, and allows you to dig into your deck a little bit. Besides that, she has an effect as soon as she comes out, while Brago has to wait a round without getting killed and has to deal player combat damage to actually have an effect(honestly, a bit glass cannon-y for a deck reliant on it's commander). Mana ramp wise, Brago makes more on average; but Aminatou can ramp into big spells faster (with a Sol Ring she can ramp to 8 mana on turn 4. And finally, Aminatou can take advantage of control exchange cards like Gilded Drake and Puca's Mischief; as well as her ultimate.
Not to say she's better, but I think she can stand her own as a value deck.
Any advice would be appreciated!
EDH
WOrzhova's PoliticsB
UStensia's SaintW
U1000 FacesB
UIzzet's GambitR
RUBThe Rose's ThornBUR
RUGEternal HuntGUR
UWBArchitect's FoundryBWU
BBlood PactB
You can go back through the comments to check some of them out. But I've tried to compile a list of ETB creatures that people have mentioned. I'm not saying this is everything that'll be out there and good, but it is a comprehensive list that we have come up with so far in this thread.
Also I did a thread on "The Power of the Two-Drop Creatures with Aminatou" which you can check out here => https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/796621-c18-1-4-aminatou-the-fateshifter-the-8-year-old?page=4#c88
It has a pretty good list of 2cc creatures to contemplate.
1 Baleful Strix
1 Rotting Rats
1 Wall of Omens
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Gilded Drake
1 Lazav, the Multifarious
1 Dusk Legion Zealot
3cc
1 Devout Lightcaster
1 Rishadan Cutpurse
1 Trinket Mage
1 Spellseeker
1 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Flickerwisp
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Trophy Mage
1 Portal Mage
1 Reflector Mage
1 Plaguecrafter
4cc
1 Archaeomancer
1 Gonti, lord of luxury
1 Evil Twin
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Hostage Taker
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Felidar Guardian
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Angel of Finality
1 Nevermaker
1 Karmic Guide
1 Puppeteer Clique
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Mulldrifter
1 Doom Whisperer
1 River Kelpie
1 Thalia's Lancers
1 Perplexing Chimera
1 Doomwake Giant
1 Deepglow Skate
1 Reveillark
1 Djeru, With Eyes Open
1 Peregrine Drake
1 Lavinia of the Tenth
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Cloudblazer
6cc
1 Sun Titan
1 Grave Titan
1 Frost Titan
1 Noxious Gearhulk
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Magister of Worth
1 Duplicant
1 Demon of Dark Schemes
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Sepulchral Primordial
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Angel of Despair
1 Emeria Shepherd
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Luminate Primordial
8cc
1 Ashen Rider
1 Kederekt Leviathan
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
Basically everything Darren said. Also since a planeswalker is your commander, removal is paramount. I'd run both Oath of Liliana and The Eldest Reborn if you're not already. Also, boardwipe creatures like Cataclysmic Gearhulk are nice as well, and generally effect us less than creature commanders. Keep an eye on planes walkers that can remove creatures as well. Two of the elspeths have boardwipes on them. Ob Nixilis Reignited is nice as well, Ob Nixilis of the Black Oath creates a 5/5 flying demon every two turns. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Why aren't you running Liliana Vess? Seems like a strong card in combo, and Aminatou can grab whatever card she searches for right away.
Had some two drops to suggest. Eight-and-a-Half-Tails Is really good at protection permanents. In most of my decks, he doesn't last long. But, being able to protect planeswalkers completely with enough mana is handy.
Soul Summons is another one of my pet cards. It comes out on turn two to offer protection, and can potentially be used to cheat something powerful in turn three. At worst, it lets you get rid of the top card of library while offering a body.
About the only other angle I can think of at the moment, is that some people like running Venser, the Sojourner as just a value planeswalker. I don't personally like him in the deck, as you can't get infinite's out of him, just value, but the reason I'm mentioning him is because you can use the [-1]: Creatures can't be blocked this turn. to make sure you get the hit in. Alright that is pretty weak
I did a ranking the planeswalker comment in a previous post, you can check it out here=> https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/796621-c18-1-4-aminatou-the-fateshifter-the-8-year-old?page=4#c99
But essentially I do have her pretty far down the rankings with Aminatou. The Liliana Vess [-2] is obviously very good, but the [+1] is really bad, and then the ultimate is as I say pretty situational.
She would be pretty good in a hybrid version with a planeswalker and reanimation theme. The her "[+1]: Target player discards a card.", can be used on yourself to discard a creature for reanimation. Then you can also setup the ultimate "[-8]: Put all creature cards from all graveyards onto the battlefield under your control", for reanimation theme.
My reanimation deck doesn't have planeswalkers, and then she doesn't fit into my actual planeswalker deck..enough.
But people are running hybrids of planeswalker and reanimation, and then she is a pretty great fit. On that note Liliana, Death's Majesty is also pretty good in the hybrid versions.
I have played Eight-and-a-Half-Tails in other decks before, and it is a little hard to always hold up the 2W or even if you're lucky 1W. People can usually find the right moment to remove something when you invariably have to tap out at some stage to advance.
Have you tried Primordial Mist? I have never played it, but seriously rate it. It's liken it to a pseudo planeswalker, in that it produces a creature and it also represent draw.
So if that makes sense often planewalkers have an ability to produce like a 1/1 or 2/2 creature. Then they also might have a "draw" element.
With Primordial Mist you basically get to do sort of two abilities each turn like this, but it's also harder to remove in that unlike a planeswalker it can't be attacked.
Then of course it works really well with Aminatou [+1], setting up whatever you want for the manifest.
Apparently you can also use Aminatou [-1] on a face down card and it will return face up! (note only if it's a permanent, instants and sorcery remained exiled)
You can block with the face down card on in coming attacks, and then turn it face up and cast the spell, which is actually pretty great. You can only cast instants this way, so that is a little bit limited for my particular decks, but I'm sure there are some that can make better use out of this interaction.
Finally the potential to turn it face up as a bigger creature does make it scary for your opponents to attack into your 2/2s.
I've talked the card up a lot without actually owning one, or having ever played it. But it's no coincidence that I have this insight into it's worth as I was the first to sing it's praises when it was first spoiled.
I think I talked myself into testing it for sure. Using Aminatou [+1] to put say a planeswalker on top of your deck and then it gets manifested at end of turn. Then next turn you can Aminatou [-1] and it'll come into play for free. The reason I like this so much is "casting" planeswalker AND having mana to do something like Supreme Verdict doesn't happen all that often.
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
That's a solid line. Another thing he can be used for is to flicker your Jace after he creates an illusion to give him a bit more survivability. Neither he nor Narset seem particularly strong in my list, but I'm rather found of both planeswalkers so I could see me running him anyway.
Another thing I like about the combo is that it isn't dependent on any other planeswalkers. Sure there's the possibility of flickering a Chain Veil with Aminatou to get the third activation you need, but you can also just resolve Oath of Gideon to get you there. Then you don't need to protect your walkers for the combo. All you need to do is find a safe time to jam Jace and you win.
I don't hate. Liliana Vess's uptick. It's a solid line against control and helps protect the combo. I'm running Liliana, Death's Majesty as I feel like she's a strong card.
Definitely can relate. I doubt she'll make it into my list, but she is an option.
I do run Primordial Mist. It's a solid card. Mostly it just feels like a janky draw one//token generator. It's not a busted card, and I've been seriously considering taking mine out. A lot of times when I cast it, I wish I was casting a board wipe or a value ETB or something. Although, just after a boardwipe has resolved, it's a solid way to setup a line of defense.
The flickering line is definitely a solid play. I won my first game with the deck because I manifested Enigma Sphinx turn 3 and flickered him turn 4.
1 Aminatou, the Fateshifter
Creatures:16
1 Baleful Strix
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Heliod's Pilgrim
1 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Spellseeker
1 Academy Rector
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Felidar Guardian
1 Magister of Worth
1 Sun Titan
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Emeria Shepherd
1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1 Void Winnower
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
Instant:18
1 Brainstorm
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Entomb
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Path to Exile
1 Spell Pierce
1 Swan Song
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Flash
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
1 Negate
1 Predict
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Frantic Search
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Careful Study
1 Ponder
1 Reanimate
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Buried Alive
1 Entreat the Angels
1 Entreat the Dead
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Unburial Rites
1 Terminus
1 Temporal Mastery
Enchantment:9
1 Mystic Remora
1 Animate Dead
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Search for Azcanta
1 Necromancy
1 Oath of Jace
1 Rhystic Study
1 Parallax Wave
1 Oath of Teferi
Artifacts:9
1 Sol Ring
1 Azorius Signet
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Dimir Signet
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Talisman of Progress
Lands:36
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Caves of Koilos
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Island
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Mana Confluence
4 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Prairie Stream
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Sunken Hollow
4 Swamp
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Vault of the Archangel
1 Watery Grave
1 Windswept Heath
From this, the deck is pretty fine tuned, so trying to take out too much could effect that. With that said, after looking at some other comments from people, here are the small changes I made:
-Felidar Guardian
-Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
+Cataclysmic Gearhulk
+Noxious Gearhulk
With these two, they not only synergize with Aminatou's -1, but also give the deck more removal. Sadly, I wasn't able to find room to add any planeswalkers (even though I would LOVE to for this deck). If anyone can give me an idea of what else to change, I would greatly appreciate it!
EDH
WOrzhova's PoliticsB
UStensia's SaintW
U1000 FacesB
UIzzet's GambitR
RUBThe Rose's ThornBUR
RUGEternal HuntGUR
UWBArchitect's FoundryBWU
BBlood PactB
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
This was a card I had my eye on and works swimmingly well with what I want to do. My only thing is that A) I need to actually get it lol and B) not 100% what to take out for it in general
EDH
WOrzhova's PoliticsB
UStensia's SaintW
U1000 FacesB
UIzzet's GambitR
RUBThe Rose's ThornBUR
RUGEternal HuntGUR
UWBArchitect's FoundryBWU
BBlood PactB
Nice list!
If you're still looking for things to cut, you might consider trimming a few tutors and filters. Without the combo, they're less strong/necessary. The reanimator ones are probably worth keeping, but the others seem to just be taking up space. Ponder, Lim-Dul's Vault, and Brainstorm don't interact with your graveyard at all. And Recruiter of the Guard only indirectly gets you combo pieces.
I'm personally not a fan of Mystic Remora but I prefer it to Rhystic Study. I just think there's a point where you're spending more times drawing and filtering than you do actually casting game changers.. But to each their own.
Until you put planes walkers in, you could probably cut Oath of Teferi.
If you need more room, you could trim some ramp. Almost half your deck represents mana, might be worth lowering that number.
Good luck!