MTG Salvation

I've been playing Magic since Tenth Edition, and since then White has always been my favorite color in Magic. I love the creatures, the art, the limitations and ways around them. My Monowhite Goodstuff deck was a star when my friends and I played 60-card casual.

In EDH? Not so much. I've heard from multiple people that White is the worst color to use in a mono-color EDH deck, and I've been determined to find something that works.

Of all the commanders I've tried, there are a few close-but-not-perfect candidates: Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is a powerful commander with an explosive effect, but usually can't build enough defenses to stem the tide of hate from the rest of the table. Eight-and-a-Half Tails is close to the scrappy, reactive commander I've been looking for, but ultimately runs out of steam very quickly. Sram, Senior Edificer is an incredible source of card draw for White, but leans more in the direction of Eggs or Voltron than I'm looking for.

Enter Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle . A white commander with a built-in reanimation effect for low-CMC creatures; exactly what I'm looking for.



A lot of Teshar decks I've seen go really far into Artifact territory, due to the fact that all Artifacts count as Historic. I'm trying more of a Hatebears-style Weenie deck that tries to lock down the board and swing out with big Legendaries like Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Akroma, Angel of Wrath.

I really want to make this deck work, and I think right now it's in a pretty decent place. It just needs some general fine-tuning, and I'd love to hear what you all think.

Looks like a really cool white good-stuff build; able to leverage the commander without relying too heavily on it.

I do wonder about the land count. 33 seems a bit light to me. In all my non-green mono-colored EDH decks I've found it necessary to get to 38-39 lands (roughly 40% range) just to make sure I'm not drawing too many 2 land hands. This has been even the case in a low curve deck with artifact ramp.

Hey thanks! 38-39 seems really high to me. I don't think I've ever gone above 36 lands in a deck before. 33 does seem a bit on the low side, I agree. I just worry about drawing too many lands in a deck that doesn't draw all that much to begin with. Maybe I'll try going up to 34 or 35. I definitely appreciate the input either way!

1. Hatebears isn't going to work for mono white. Generally mono white just doesn't have the card advantage to narrowly hate on effects. Hatebears actually is very rare that it works at all so my suggestion is to stop trying to hatebear and instead go for value in your creatures and try to loop them as many times as you can focusing instead on positive value for yourself.
2. You need to lean into your artifacts a LOT heavier than you currently are. I think I had 36 artifacts in my list last I played it.
3. Legendary creatures 4+ mana are.... just ok for this deck. Its true that they do rez for you but I think ultimately they offer kind of low synergy for what you want them to do. I ran Avacyn in mine as well but I think most of the rest of them are just lacking. I say this because its really hard to rez or add any other synergy for them. There is tons of room to rez artifacts and that is why my preference would be that you go deeper into artifacts and not into legendary 4+ cmc creatures.
4. You aren't being nearly greedy enough with your landbase. Run more utility lands. Being that we are mono color it means that we can get away with a LOT more utility lands. Sure Emeria gets a little weaker as we add more utility lands but you won't always have Emeria so my suggestion is usually to run in the range of 10ish nonbasic lands in mono color. My list for reference ran 1 more land than yours but only ran 19 plains.

I could get into individual cards as well if you would like. Personally I think Terminus is a bad interaction for your deck as it hides away your resource (graveyard). You could sac out before it but I think its still better to have something like Tragic Arrogance instead which can still deal with regenerate / indestructible while keeping your commander alive and leaving you with rez targets.

Swords to Plowshares / Path to Exile / Vengeful Dreams - in my opinion and experience they are challenging to run in mono white due to generally the low draw power of mono white. They also don't have any synergy with your deck so while they are powerful keep in mind that they are narrow in what they can target and 1 for 1 non synergy removal can be bad card advantage. I personally like Unexpectedly Absent a little more than the ones you run because its more versatile in its ability to target.

Ajani Steadfast seems to just be a worse Ajani Goldmane. I would rather see Elspeth, Sun's Champion added in here personally as her wrath and token production effects are both strong and her ult will win you games if you get there.

Here is my list for reference. I stopped playing mine in part because I found that there were more and more combo engines in it and I don't really like combo but I still liked the contents of the list and how it played.

I was reading your OP and your opinion of Sram. I just thought perhaps you might want to check out my Sram in my sig if you wanted to see something a little different. I do a non voltron auras build for him and its very fun and different.

Quote from ISBPathfinder »

1. Hatebears isn't going to work for mono white. Generally mono white just doesn't have the card advantage to narrowly hate on effects. Hatebears actually is very rare that it works at all so my suggestion is to stop trying to hatebear and instead go for value in your creatures and try to loop them as many times as you can focusing instead on positive value for yourself.
2. You need to lean into your artifacts a LOT heavier than you currently are. I think I had 36 artifacts in my list last I played it.
3. Legendary creatures 4+ mana are.... just ok for this deck. Its true that they do rez for you but I think ultimately they offer kind of low synergy for what you want them to do. I ran Avacyn in mine as well but I think most of the rest of them are just lacking. I say this because its really hard to rez or add any other synergy for them. There is tons of room to rez artifacts and that is why my preference would be that you go deeper into artifacts and not into legendary 4+ cmc creatures.
4. You aren't being nearly greedy enough with your landbase. Run more utility lands. Being that we are mono color it means that we can get away with a LOT more utility lands. Sure Emeria gets a little weaker as we add more utility lands but you won't always have Emeria so my suggestion is usually to run in the range of 10ish nonbasic lands in mono color. My list for reference ran 1 more land than yours but only ran 19 plains.

I could get into individual cards as well if you would like. Personally I think Terminus is a bad interaction for your deck as it hides away your resource (graveyard). You could sac out before it but I think its still better to have something like Tragic Arrogance instead which can still deal with regenerate / indestructible while keeping your commander alive and leaving you with rez targets.

Swords to Plowshares / Path to Exile / Vengeful Dreams - in my opinion and experience they are challenging to run in mono white due to generally the low draw power of mono white. They also don't have any synergy with your deck so while they are powerful keep in mind that they are narrow in what they can target and 1 for 1 non synergy removal can be bad card advantage. I personally like Unexpectedly Absent a little more than the ones you run because its more versatile in its ability to target.

Ajani Steadfast seems to just be a worse Ajani Goldmane. I would rather see Elspeth, Sun's Champion added in here personally as her wrath and token production effects are both strong and her ult will win you games if you get there.

Here is my list for reference. I stopped playing mine in part because I found that there were more and more combo engines in it and I don't really like combo but I still liked the contents of the list and how it played.

I was reading your OP and your opinion of Sram. I just thought perhaps you might want to check out my Sram in my sig if you wanted to see something a little different. I do a non voltron auras build for him and its very fun and different.

Thanks for the insight! I've updated the deck a but since the initial posting so I'll edit it as soon as I have some time. I agree that I need to tone down on the higher-end CMC creatures, and add in more artifacts. Rather than hatebears, what sorts of value creatures do you recommend? I'm thinking ETB/death-effect creatures like Stonecloaker?

Well, lets copy and paste my creature list for convenience. In retrospect I probably would cut Puresteel Paladin if I was still playing my list but otherwise I think the creatures I was running were fairly good.


I think the Myr Retriever, Junk Diver, Scrap Trawler, and Workshop Assistant are all really good value in that you get a rez when you cast them and they recover another value on death. There is kind of a downside that its super easy to go infinite with them though if thats a minus for you. Essentially anything that is a free cast artifact that can sacrifice itself or anything you can cast off of Ashnod's Altar / Phyrexian Altar can go infinite with them.

Bastion Protector is cool in that he keeps your commander alive and can be rezed off of your commander.

Quote from ISBPathfinder »

Well, lets copy and paste my creature list for convenience. In retrospect I probably would cut Puresteel Paladin if I was still playing my list but otherwise I think the creatures I was running were fairly good.

SafetyValve's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards

1 Heap Doll 1 Serra Ascendant 1 Weathered Wayfarer 1 Ethersworn Canonist 1 Knight of the White Orchid 1 Leonin Relic-Warder 1 Myr Retriever 1 Puresteel Paladin 1 Selfless Spirit 1 Stoneforge Mystic 1 Wall of Omens 1 Bastion Protector 1 Bygone Bishop 1 Fiend Hunter 1 Filigree Familiar 1 Hallowed Spiritkeeper 1 Junk Diver 1 Mangara of Corondor 1 Mentor of the Meek 1 Mirror Entity 1 Recruiter of the Guard 1 Reliquary Monk 1 Scarecrone 1 Scrap Trawler 1 Shimmer Myr 1 Workshop Assistant 1 Academy Rector 1 Solemn Simulacrum 1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope

I think the Myr Retriever, Junk Diver, Scrap Trawler, and Workshop Assistant are all really good value in that you get a rez when you cast them and they recover another value on death. There is kind of a downside that its super easy to go infinite with them though if thats a minus for you. Essentially anything that is a free cast artifact that can sacrifice itself or anything you can cast off of Ashnod's Altar / Phyrexian Altar can go infinite with them.

Bastion Protector is cool in that he keeps your commander alive and can be rezed off of your commander.

I was initially wary of the recursive Artifact Creatures because I really want to keep the identity of this deck closer to White Weenie than Artifacts, but I'll consider revisiting them because they are fun to play.

Bastion Protector is already in my new build. She's fantastic.

Alright; made some changes while I had time. Definitely isn't DONE yet, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

Prsonally I'd remove the deal broker and perpetual timepiece, as you want value from playing and replaying your little dudes. Look for some cheap tutors like

• Open the Vault
  
• Stonehewer Giant
  
• Steelshapers's Gift
  

or if you have the budget Stoneforge Mystic
Finding sword of the animist should be a priority for ramping or Skullclamp for drawing.
Could use some more mana rocks.
Even Thran Dynamo, or Worn Powerstone would be good here, personally I like Fellwar Stone, Coldsteel Heart, Marble Diamond if you got the card draw to replace them.
Endless Atlas also very good here and for the love of god, Palace Jailer belongs in soooo many decks, yet doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Quote from SlaveToPhage »

Prsonally I'd remove the deal broker and perpetual timepiece, as you want value from playing and replaying your little dudes. Look for some cheap tutors like

• Open the Vault
  
• Stonehewer Giant
  
• Steelshapers's Gift
  

or if you have the budget Stoneforge Mystic
Finding sword of the animist should be a priority for ramping or Skullclamp for drawing.
Could use some more mana rocks.
Even Thran Dynamo, or Worn Powerstone would be good here, personally I like Fellwar Stone, Coldsteel Heart, Marble Diamond if you got the card draw to replace them.
Endless Atlas also very good here and for the love of god, Palace Jailer belongs in soooo many decks, yet doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Perpetual Timepiece was in there really just to dump more stuff into the graveyard for Teshar to recur, but I can definitely take it out. Deal Broker on the other hand is way too useful. He's an artifact, 3CMC, and is one of the best sources of looting White has access to. I really like this guy.

I do have a Stoneforge Mystic on hand, but never put her in because this isn't a Voltron deck. I'm starting to realize it doesn't need to be a Voltron deck to get good use out of her...

Can definitely do more Mana rocks, I just never like getting Mana flooded (especially in monowhite) but a few more draw/tutor cards should fix that. I'll work in this today!

Alright, I've cut a few hatebears, added Stoneforge Mystic and the Scrap Trawler crew. Not sure if I need more mana rocks or not. Updated deck should be in the original post. Any thoughts?

Hey, I like the Teshar deck. As somewhat of a mono-colored deck connoisseur I was curious if you've tried either Mishra's Bauble or Urza's Bauble? With Restoration Specialist, Teshar, and a Bauble you can start drawing your deck. Also while on the topic of Restoration Specialist, try Salvage Scout in your deck for 1 CMC you get pretty much a better Specialist when it comes to your deck.

Quote from ChaosNomad »

Hey, I like the Teshar deck. As somewhat of a mono-colored deck connoisseur I was curious if you've tried either Mishra's Bauble or Urza's Bauble? With Restoration Specialist, Teshar, and a Bauble you can start drawing your deck. Also while on the topic of Restoration Specialist, try Salvage Scout in your deck for 1 CMC you get pretty much a better Specialist when it comes to your deck.

I have thought about these, but I'm really trying not to make this into another Teshar Eggs/Cheerios deck. Seeing as I can never make up my mind on a commander, I've actually started brainstorming with Eight-and-a-Half Tails, though I'm not abandoning Teshar entirely.

I abandoned my own Teshar because I felt I couldn't help but to build it as eggs even without trying to do so. It just slowly turned into a combo deck even though that wasn't my intent and then I bailed on it.

Quote from ISBPathfinder »

I abandoned my own Teshar because I felt I couldn't help but to build it as eggs even without trying to do so. It just slowly turned into a combo deck even though that wasn't my intent and then I bailed on it.

Yeah that's where this seems to be headed. I thought about posting another write-up about Tails but didn't want to flood the board with HERE'S ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT MONOWHITE GOODSTUFF

Quote from SafetyValve »

Yeah that's where this seems to be headed. I thought about posting another write-up about Tails but didn't want to flood the board with HERE'S ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT MONOWHITE GOODSTUFF

Honestly if you want goodstuff its not likely that you want to be in mono white. There are some super cool things in mono white like Emeria, Nykthos, and some cool and unique tools but the reason to be in mono white tends to be because you really like a specific commander. If you are thinking goodstuff you might want to look at a commander like maybe Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Heliod, God of the Sun.

Most of the successful attempts I have had into mono white are based on building around a commander though. If you are looking at goodstuff its hard to justify staying to mono white when adding most any color (other than red) adds so much dept to a goodstuff approach. Even with red you could go Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and probably still have fairly decent results.

Quote from ISBPathfinder »

Quote from SafetyValve »

Yeah that's where this seems to be headed. I thought about posting another write-up about Tails but didn't want to flood the board with HERE'S ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT MONOWHITE GOODSTUFF

Honestly if you want goodstuff its not likely that you want to be in mono white. There are some super cool things in mono white like Emeria, Nykthos, and some cool and unique tools but the reason to be in mono white tends to be because you really like a specific commander. If you are thinking goodstuff you might want to look at a commander like maybe Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Heliod, God of the Sun.

Most of the successful attempts I have had into mono white are based on building around a commander though. If you are looking at goodstuff its hard to justify staying to mono white when adding most any color (other than red) adds so much dept to a goodstuff approach. Even with red you could go Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and probably still have fairly decent results.

I know. White has a really hard time by itself. Monowhite decks are what got me into Magic in the first place, and are what I focused most of my collection on when I was starting out. I've got a lot of good White cards and I've always wanted to do them justice in EDH; I just don't like decks that rely too hard on having the commander out all the time. Maybe I just need to wait for the right new card!

Quote from SafetyValve »

I know. White has a really hard time by itself. Monowhite decks are what got me into Magic in the first place, and are what I focused most of my collection on when I was starting out. I've got a lot of good White cards and I've always wanted to do them justice in EDH; I just don't like decks that rely too hard on having the commander out all the time. Maybe I just need to wait for the right new card!

I guess it might be worth mentioning that the last several games of playing Bruna, the Fading Light I actually have not cast her. The commander for me is mostly a defensive tool as well as a rebuilding post wrath kind of tool. I really only cast her responsively to pick up value or if I need a big wall style of defensive beater.