While i did that i was already considering a colorless C aka mono-brown deck, but none of the Eldrazi did appeal to me, nor did Karn, Silver Golem or Hope of Ghirapur. When Traxos, Scourge of Kroog got spoilered for Dominaria i felt like trying it out. And what can i say? The beatstick is a ton of fun!
Seems like a very interesting take on Traxos. I'm interested in building a non-color commander as well and this deck could be very budget but also very viable. I am definitely gonna keep an eye out on this deck!
My YouTube Channel: The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Seems like a very interesting take on Traxos. I'm interested in building a non-color commander as well and this deck could be very budget but also very viable. I am definitely gonna keep an eye out on this deck!
Thanks!
I'm glad you like my take on Traxos, Scourge of Kroog because i feel like Equipments are a natural approach with him. It is indeed budget friendly, but can easily get a lot pricier and better with Umezawa's Jitte (which i want to run) and the Swords of X & Y, though i'd only consider Sword of Fire and Ice to be stellar.
In case you'd like to know, my next addition to the deck is supposed to be Endless Atlas. I might cut a few more nonbasic lands for Wastes to enable it more successfully and get more mileage out of Extraplanar Lens. All is Dust and Sensei's Divining Top are meant to go into the deck as well. I'd love to get an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon sooner or later, but this being a gimmick and more or less a side deck of mine, it isn't a priority when it comes to big(ger) investments.
Talking about gimmick decks, i have to warn you that Traxos, Scourge of Kroog is a heavy hitting and fun deck, yet it suffers a lot when you go from a 3 player to a 4 player pod or if you usually deal with very strong decks. While i don't shy away too easily, I usually pull it out in 3 player pods with pretty casual decks.
It remains to be seen how in a colorless deck you're able to get around killing people at the table in voltron since you don't really have much answers. If possible you may want to add Darksteel Forge to make your artifacts indestructible. Wiping the board with an All Is Dust is a good way to clear a path for Traxos if it's p/t is greater than or equal to 21 (or if it can at least give 10+ infect counters in one swing).
On that subject, I was considering going for poison and proliferate since it would be pretty viable in colorless. Adding things like Contagion Engine, Contagion Clasp, Paradox Engine, Voltaic Key, etc. would be good ways to get at everyone in the table.
My YouTube Channel: The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Let me start by saying that it's good to finally see a Scrooge thread on here. I just built my list last month and it's awesome.
One thing I've noticed about the equipment route is that the equip cost matters more than the casting cost. If the equip cost is 2 or less, you can usually afford to pay it more than once and still function properly. 3 or more and you really start having problems.
Another thing I've found is that vigilance on an equipment is overrated. When every spell in your deck untaps Traxos, and some of them continue to untap him as long as they're on the table, you really shouldn't need to run every instance of the keyword "vigilance" just because.
On the flip side, I would add just about anything that starts with the word "Voltaic". Those guys were made to help Traxos, but they have other fringe benefits as well. Another gem that works very similar is Unwinding Clock.
Endless Atlas is the first card on my list of things I would play if I owned it. Unfortunately, I'm down to about 7 or 8 Wastes so that might have to increase before it becomes viable.
Finally, since it's always easier to add cards than cut them, here's a couple more you could probably part with:
- Paradise Mantle: You do all that work to untap Traxos, so tapping him again for a measly one mana seems futile.
- Conqueror's Flail: You have no colors, is that other effect really that strong?
- Kusari-Gama: Equip cost is high, cost to pump is not cheap, and you have a half dozen things trying to make sure Traxos is not blocked.
- Avacyn's Collar: You have no Humans, and that effect wouldn't be very good even if you did.
- Spidersilk Net: just seems...wimpy.
- Weatherlight: What are you crewing with this? Only 14 creatures, half of which aren't big enough to crew.
- Forebear's Blade: +3/+0 is nice, but again you have so few creatures that the signature effect is rendered moot.
- Loxodon Warhammer: Not a bad combination of effects, especially the lifegain, but the trample is moot and the equip cost is high...
If possible you may want to add Darksteel Forge to make your artifacts indestructible.
On that subject, I was considering going for poison and proliferate since it would be pretty viable in colorless.
Tbh, i'm not a big fan of Darksteel Forge. Just like myself my playgroup is pretty serious about removal that comes with as little flaws as possible, due to the amount of graveyard recursion (decks). Deglamer, Return to Dust and the likes see a lot more play than Naturalize effects.
Yes, Darksteel Forge helps against Austere Command, Vandalblast and the likes, yet with the commander being both an artifact and a creature it doesn't help against cards such as Toxic Deluge, Black Sun's Zenith and force sac effects. Overall i think it's overrated unless you're combining it with Mycosynth Lattice for shenanigans. A CMC of 9 is also a lot more than i'd pay for the effect.
That's a good point, actually. While Grafted Exoskeleton isn't mana light it makes Traxos, Scourge of Kroog a 2 turn clock and could be a worthwhile aquiry.
Not too excited about proliferate though, but if combined with Modular Creatures, Umezawa's Jitte and the recursion creatures Throne of Geth could be an interesting include.
Let me start by saying that it's good to finally see a Scrooge thread on here.
One thing I've noticed about the equipment route is that the equip cost matters more than the casting cost.
Another thing I've found is that vigilance on an equipment is overrated. When every spell in your deck untaps Traxos, and some of them continue to untap him as long as they're on the table, you really shouldn't need to run every instance of the keyword "vigilance" just because.
On the flip side, I would add just about anything that starts with the word "Voltaic". Another gem that works very similar is Unwinding Clock.
Finally, since it's always easier to add cards than cut them, here's a couple more you could probably part with:
- Paradise Mantle: You do all that work to untap Traxos, so tapping him again for a measly one mana seems futile.
- Conqueror's Flail: You have no colors, is that other effect really that strong?
- Kusari-Gama: Equip cost is high, cost to pump is not cheap, and you have a half dozen things trying to make sure Traxos is not blocked.
- Avacyn's Collar: You have no Humans, and that effect wouldn't be very good even if you did.
- Spidersilk Net: just seems...wimpy.
- Weatherlight: What are you crewing with this? Only 14 creatures, half of which aren't big enough to crew.
- Forebear's Blade: +3/+0 is nice, but again you have so few creatures that the signature effect is rendered moot.
- Loxodon Warhammer: Not a bad combination of effects, especially the lifegain, but the trample is moot and the equip cost is high...
What do you mean by "finally"? I haven't checked, but there have to be more Traxos, Scourge of Kroog threads on here, right?
You're totally correct about casting vs. equiping costs. The current build is more or less the initial build i've put together, in future overhauls equiping costs will be one of the major criterias for cuts.
I want to disagree to some extent. Vigilance grants me two major advantages. For one i won't need to splash out my hand continously, "just" to untap, if i don't have another utility to do so. And second, with Traxos, Scourge of Kroog permanently untapped i have one hefty blocker, which isn't crucial, yet a solid thing with a creature count of only 14.
But yes, not every instance of Vigilance should go in the deck and i'm quite sure there would be plenty of aweful ones left.
Hmm, so Voltaic Construct which has a rather bad CMC and base stats, but the untap is flexible and reliable. Voltaic Key which i thought i had in the deck already (i totally should!) and Voltaic Servant which i find slow and fragile.
I've seen Unwinding Clock do great things - in decks that have an advantage of untapped mana rocks, like Breya, Etherium Sculptor. Other than potential blockers and an untapped commander the only card that's in the deck right now that would profit from frequent untaps would be Trading Post. That's not enough yet, but granted i'll cut some equipments that might change.
About the possible cuts:
Paradise Mantle: It's a cute interaction and with the amount of cost reduction it can certainly help pseudo storming the board with artifacts. As cheap as it is rather set to stay than to go.
Conqueror's Flail: Yes, i have no colors, but in a deck with virtually no answers this little pseudo Grand Abolisher can secure turns where i'm able to build up a lethal swing.
Kusari-Gama: Yup, everything about this card is about 1 too expensive, but it gets sh*t done. If i get to swing with it my opponent could potentially loose his board or take quite some commander damage, either things he or she wouldn't want to down the road.
Avacyn's Collar: You're right about this one. Cut candidate.
Spidersilk Net: Want to know something odd? One of the players in my playgroup only runs Dragon Commanders (7 of them) and he might be the only reason other than to untap for 0 that i'm still running this thing. Might be a cut candidate if i need a slot, right now i have plenty to cut before it.
Weatherlight: I'm usually crewing this with, um well; Traxos, Scourge of Kroog. It digs deep, can throw punches and is a flying blocker. I was sceptical, but it's working better than i thought.
Forebear's Blade: One of the aforementioned equipments with too big of a cost for not enough Vigilance, i mean, value! Propably should go.
Since brewing Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle i did gain a lot more knowledge about the historic/artifact card pool, so here some heads up about possible future additions, let me know what you think:
Infiltration Lens: Due to the nature of blocking to avoid/limit Commander Damage this could do some work. It was stupid good in my now dismantled Odric, Master Tactician deck.
Since brewing Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle i did gain a lot more knowledge about the historic/artifact card pool, so here some heads up about possible future additions, let me know what you think:
Infiltration Lens: Due to the nature of blocking to avoid/limit Commander Damage this could do some work. It was stupid good in my now dismantled Odric, Master Tactician deck.
- On paper, I'd say the deathtouch equips aren't worth it. Deathtouch is supposed to be for smaller guys to trade up with bigger ones, or for guys who have damage-dealing abilities. Traxos is big enough to kill things without it.
- Blackblade Reforged is nuts. I routinely make Traxos about twice his original size, which is well worth the 3 to equip. Strata Scythe is probably similar if you run enough Wastes.
- I run Blinkmoth Urn in any artifact deck. If your opponents get a few extra mana off it, that will just be more incentive to leave it alone.
- Umbral Mantle feels expensive compared to the Voltaic stuff.
- Champion's Helm is also quite strong.
- You're probably spot-on about Infiltration Lens. Traxos hits hard and fast enough that people will usually try to throw something in the way, and two cards is a lot for such a low equip cost. Mask of Memory also feels like a cheap price to pay for extra cards, but I think I'd draw the line at Rogue's Gloves.
- I'm running Not of this World but haven't actually seen it yet.
- In addition to a dozen or so mana rocks, Unwinding Clock untaps Trading Post, Oracle's Vault, Kuldotha Forgemaster and Urza's Blueprints for me (desperate times). That plus Traxos is just enough to keep it in for now.
- I'll have to take another look at Kusari-Gama. It's a huge mana investment, but if it hits...
Yeah, haven't seen a Traxos thread on here in quite some time. Either way, looking forward to talking more about him.
EDIT: One last thought: what do you think of cost reducers like Cloud Key, Foundry Inspector, or even Mycosynth Golem? I resolved the Golem last time I played and he made my whole hand cost 0.
My YouTube Channel: The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
One last thought: what do you think of cost reducers like Cloud Key, Foundry Inspector, or even Mycosynth Golem? I resolved the Golem last time I played and he made my whole hand cost 0.
My current discount suite consists of:
Cloud Key: A discount of 1 at 3 that doesn't die to a creature board wipe. Not great enough to draw hate, not bad enough to be ignored for long. The sweet spot of EDH goodness.
Foundry Inspector: More or less a fragile Cloud Key in this deck. Tbh, my opponents overrate the effect, so i'll gladly see it hit creature removal instead of my commander.
Semblance Anvil: A discount of 2 at 3. If this deck would draw cards more reliably it would get out of hand fast. I don't mind the card disadvantage, it's that good. Top 4 of the deck with Clock of Omens, Extraplanar Lens and Shimmer Myr.
Mycosynth Golem is a tricky one. Takes a certain board to come down cheaply and a solid creature count to make a difference then. Unlikely it'll ever become a valid engine in my deck.
What are your thoughts on Lodestone Golem? At first I just auto-included it without much thought, but after further review, it doesn't really seem like a fit here. This isn't Vintage Shops where you can power this out on turn 1 or 2, and we don't run a dozen or so of these effects, so it's not going to lock people out of the game. It's really just a vanilla 5/3 that annoys people, perhaps into pointing a little more hate in our direction. I'm thinking of cutting it for something more useful.
It's really just a vanilla 5/3 that annoys people, perhaps into pointing a little more hate in our direction.
Well, i feel like he mitigates the disadvantages of being mono-C somewhat, by slowing everyone else a tad down.
Usually it aggravates people enough to throw removal at it instead of my commander, but not enough to full swing at the yank deck. The sweet spot of being a lightning rod, i guess.
I could see cutting it for something more useful sooner or later though, too.
For the last two months i've been tinkering with the deck quite a bit. Overall i included a few more Wastes things, worked on card draw and went for infect and deathtouch. While the commander is already more than capable of punching out creatures, punching out up to half a dozen creatures if an opponent can't take anymore commander damage is pretty great, too though.
As mentioned, i wanted to include more Wastes, so a few non-vital nonbasics got cut. Other than that i cut sub-par equipments and cards that underperformed for my taste.
You can find the most recent decklist following either of these links:
http://www.mtgnexus.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=457
https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/traxos-stompy-of-kroog/ Last Deck Update: 09.07.19, Avg. CMC: 2,37
4 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
Artifacts (51)
0 Accorder's Shield
1 Basilisk Collar
2 Blackblade Reforged
0 Cathar's Shield
4 Clock of Omens
3 Cloud Key
2 Conqueror's Flail
0x Everflowing Chalice
2 Executioner's Hood
3 Extraplanar Lens
5 Farsight Mask
2 Fellwar Stone
3 Fireshrieker
2 Fractured Powerstone
2 Gorgon Flail
1 Gorgon's Head
4 Grafted Exoskeleton
3 Haunted Cloak
1 Infiltration Lens
2 Key to the City
3 Kusari-Gama
2 Lightning Greaves
3 Loxodon Warhammer
2 Mask of Avacyn
2 Mask of Memory
1 Masterwork of Ingenuity
2 Mind Stone
5 Mind's Eye
3 Mirage Mirror
2 Nim Deathmantle
0 Paradise Mantle
2 Prismatic Lens
2 Prowler's Helm
3 Sculpting Steel
3 Semblance Anvil
1 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Strata Scythe
0 Spidersilk Net
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Sword of the Animist
2 Thought Vessel
4 Thran Dynamo
0 Tormod's Crypt
2 Trailblazer's Boots
1 Triangle of War
2 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Unstable Obelisk
3 Veilstone Amulet
1 Voltaic Key
4 Weatherlight
0 Welding Jar
6 Duplicant
3 Foundry Inspector
4 Jhoira's Familiar
2 Jhoira's Toolbox
3 Junk Diver
2 Myr Retriever
3 Scrap Trawler
3 Shimmer Myr
4 Silent Arbiter
6 Steel Hellkite
3 Workshop Assistant
Instants (2)
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Warping Wail
Lands (35)
1 Buried Ruin
1 Encroaching Wastes
1 Field of Ruin
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Homeward Path
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Mage-Ring Network
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Mystifying Maze
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Rogue's Passage
1 Sequestered Stash
1 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
1 Tectonic Edge
21 Wastes
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I'm glad you like my take on Traxos, Scourge of Kroog because i feel like Equipments are a natural approach with him. It is indeed budget friendly, but can easily get a lot pricier and better with Umezawa's Jitte (which i want to run) and the Swords of X & Y, though i'd only consider Sword of Fire and Ice to be stellar.
In case you'd like to know, my next addition to the deck is supposed to be Endless Atlas. I might cut a few more nonbasic lands for Wastes to enable it more successfully and get more mileage out of Extraplanar Lens. All is Dust and Sensei's Divining Top are meant to go into the deck as well. I'd love to get an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon sooner or later, but this being a gimmick and more or less a side deck of mine, it isn't a priority when it comes to big(ger) investments.
Talking about gimmick decks, i have to warn you that Traxos, Scourge of Kroog is a heavy hitting and fun deck, yet it suffers a lot when you go from a 3 player to a 4 player pod or if you usually deal with very strong decks. While i don't shy away too easily, I usually pull it out in 3 player pods with pretty casual decks.
On that subject, I was considering going for poison and proliferate since it would be pretty viable in colorless. Adding things like Contagion Engine, Contagion Clasp, Paradox Engine, Voltaic Key, etc. would be good ways to get at everyone in the table.
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
One thing I've noticed about the equipment route is that the equip cost matters more than the casting cost. If the equip cost is 2 or less, you can usually afford to pay it more than once and still function properly. 3 or more and you really start having problems.
Another thing I've found is that vigilance on an equipment is overrated. When every spell in your deck untaps Traxos, and some of them continue to untap him as long as they're on the table, you really shouldn't need to run every instance of the keyword "vigilance" just because.
With that in mind, I would take a real hard look at the effectiveness of cards like Accorder's Shield, Mask of Avacyn, True-Faith Censer, etc. I even went so far as to cut Sword of Vengeance because it cost too much to equip over and over again.
On the flip side, I would add just about anything that starts with the word "Voltaic". Those guys were made to help Traxos, but they have other fringe benefits as well. Another gem that works very similar is Unwinding Clock.
Endless Atlas is the first card on my list of things I would play if I owned it. Unfortunately, I'm down to about 7 or 8 Wastes so that might have to increase before it becomes viable.
Finally, since it's always easier to add cards than cut them, here's a couple more you could probably part with:
- Paradise Mantle: You do all that work to untap Traxos, so tapping him again for a measly one mana seems futile.
- Conqueror's Flail: You have no colors, is that other effect really that strong?
- Kusari-Gama: Equip cost is high, cost to pump is not cheap, and you have a half dozen things trying to make sure Traxos is not blocked.
- Avacyn's Collar: You have no Humans, and that effect wouldn't be very good even if you did.
- Spidersilk Net: just seems...wimpy.
- Weatherlight: What are you crewing with this? Only 14 creatures, half of which aren't big enough to crew.
- Forebear's Blade: +3/+0 is nice, but again you have so few creatures that the signature effect is rendered moot.
- Loxodon Warhammer: Not a bad combination of effects, especially the lifegain, but the trample is moot and the equip cost is high...
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani
Yes, Darksteel Forge helps against Austere Command, Vandalblast and the likes, yet with the commander being both an artifact and a creature it doesn't help against cards such as Toxic Deluge, Black Sun's Zenith and force sac effects. Overall i think it's overrated unless you're combining it with Mycosynth Lattice for shenanigans. A CMC of 9 is also a lot more than i'd pay for the effect.
That's a good point, actually. While Grafted Exoskeleton isn't mana light it makes Traxos, Scourge of Kroog a 2 turn clock and could be a worthwhile aquiry.
Not too excited about proliferate though, but if combined with Modular Creatures, Umezawa's Jitte and the recursion creatures Throne of Geth could be an interesting include. What do you mean by "finally"? I haven't checked, but there have to be more Traxos, Scourge of Kroog threads on here, right?
You're totally correct about casting vs. equiping costs. The current build is more or less the initial build i've put together, in future overhauls equiping costs will be one of the major criterias for cuts.
I want to disagree to some extent. Vigilance grants me two major advantages. For one i won't need to splash out my hand continously, "just" to untap, if i don't have another utility to do so. And second, with Traxos, Scourge of Kroog permanently untapped i have one hefty blocker, which isn't crucial, yet a solid thing with a creature count of only 14.
But yes, not every instance of Vigilance should go in the deck and i'm quite sure there would be plenty of aweful ones left.
Hmm, so Voltaic Construct which has a rather bad CMC and base stats, but the untap is flexible and reliable. Voltaic Key which i thought i had in the deck already (i totally should!) and Voltaic Servant which i find slow and fragile.
I've seen Unwinding Clock do great things - in decks that have an advantage of untapped mana rocks, like Breya, Etherium Sculptor. Other than potential blockers and an untapped commander the only card that's in the deck right now that would profit from frequent untaps would be Trading Post. That's not enough yet, but granted i'll cut some equipments that might change.
About the possible cuts:
- On paper, I'd say the deathtouch equips aren't worth it. Deathtouch is supposed to be for smaller guys to trade up with bigger ones, or for guys who have damage-dealing abilities. Traxos is big enough to kill things without it.
- Blackblade Reforged is nuts. I routinely make Traxos about twice his original size, which is well worth the 3 to equip. Strata Scythe is probably similar if you run enough Wastes.
- I run Blinkmoth Urn in any artifact deck. If your opponents get a few extra mana off it, that will just be more incentive to leave it alone.
- Umbral Mantle feels expensive compared to the Voltaic stuff.
- Champion's Helm is also quite strong.
- You're probably spot-on about Infiltration Lens. Traxos hits hard and fast enough that people will usually try to throw something in the way, and two cards is a lot for such a low equip cost. Mask of Memory also feels like a cheap price to pay for extra cards, but I think I'd draw the line at Rogue's Gloves.
- I'm running Not of this World but haven't actually seen it yet.
- In addition to a dozen or so mana rocks, Unwinding Clock untaps Trading Post, Oracle's Vault, Kuldotha Forgemaster and Urza's Blueprints for me (desperate times). That plus Traxos is just enough to keep it in for now.
- I'll have to take another look at Kusari-Gama. It's a huge mana investment, but if it hits...
Yeah, haven't seen a Traxos thread on here in quite some time. Either way, looking forward to talking more about him.
EDIT: One last thought: what do you think of cost reducers like Cloud Key, Foundry Inspector, or even Mycosynth Golem? I resolved the Golem last time I played and he made my whole hand cost 0.
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Yeva (88/92 foils)
Raff
Scarab
Rakdos
Wort ($50 budget, 94/97 foils)
Trostani
Usually it aggravates people enough to throw removal at it instead of my commander, but not enough to full swing at the yank deck. The sweet spot of being a lightning rod, i guess.
I could see cutting it for something more useful sooner or later though, too.
In:
+ Blackblade Reforged
+ Infiltration Lens
+ Gorgon Flail
+ Gorgon's Head
+ Grafted Exoskeleton
+ Infiltration Lens
+ Mask of Memory
+ Sensei's Divining Top
+ Strata Scythe
+ Sword of the Animist
+ Umezawa's Jitte
+ Voltaic Key
+ Field of Ruin
+ 4 Wastes
Out:
- Avacyn's Collar
- Chariot of Victory
- Fleetfeather Sandals
- Forebear's Blade
- Puppet Strings
- Sword of Vengeance
- Trading Post
- True-Faith Censer
- Armory Automaton
- Geode Golem
- Lodestone Golem
- Blasted Landscape
- Nephalia Academy
- Sea Gate Wreckage
- Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
- Zhalfirin Void
As mentioned, i wanted to include more Wastes, so a few non-vital nonbasics got cut. Other than that i cut sub-par equipments and cards that underperformed for my taste.