Yeah, yeah, yeah, another coin flip deck with the Eyes from Battlebond, I know.
I've done my best to make this deck different from the typical decks I've seen others build around these two, though, so I hope you'll enjoy my take on it.
Anyway, here's the list:
So what's going on here? Well, first of all, I didn't want to tilt the deck toward chaos or tokens like I've seen others do, so I took a good hard look at my commanders and realized that Okaun has a lot of good face-punching potential, so I've tried to build around making him as effective as possible since I won't get to cast him too many times in the average game. To do this, the deck has an abundance of ways to give Okaun haste, as well as plenty of other effects to pump him up and give him trample and other fun combat abilities. To top off this strategy, I have a few extra combat effects to allow me to take advantage of turns where I win several flips off of Okaun and he gets nice and beefy.
In searching for effects to both pump Okaun and give him haste, I was reminded of the fact that he's a Berserker, and that allowed me to include Lovisa Coldeyes, a long time pet card, in the deck. Once Lovisa is in the mix, there's very little downside to skewing other creatures towards being Warriors, as several of them can also help Okaun get bigger. This is a minor sub-theme of the deck, but one that I expect to add value over the course of many games.
What's a good coin flipping deck without Krark's Thumb, though? Obviously the deck is just better when we have our lucky digit in play, so there are also a number of cards in the deck to help find and recur the Thumb for maximum coin flipping shenanigans. Also, since we're putting in a small artifact theme, it allowed me to finally find a home for Vedalken Humiliator, which is a hell of a card when put into an aggressive shell. (It's also a fun combo with Winter Sky, and yes, I have pulled that off. It was great.)
The deck is still early in its life, and so I don't know if some of the coin flip cards will keep their slots for the long term, but I'm at least going to give them a chance to test their luck. Before I finish up, though, I want to give a shoutout to Risky Move, which is a crazy fun card that really belongs in decks that just want to throw a wrench into a game and mess up people's plans. Give it a look and try it out if you have a deck that it might be fun in. You won't be disappointed.
The list hasn't been updated with WAR cards yet because I don't change my lists until I have cards in hand to make the physical change as well, but about the only change that's going to happen is that Goblinslide will swap out for the new Saheeli, and I'll find a way to slot in a Spark Double as well.
As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading.
I personally hate this pair. First time I saw them was Battlebond limited 2HG, where our opponents one-shotted us for 30+ damage. I think you are right that Okaun is good at getting the win, I just don't think it is fun. But that's just my opinion..
Whirlpool Warrior - why this card?
I think there are too many coin-flip cards. I think you need a bit more ramp. Like... 3-4 more ramp cards at least. You have two 5-drop commanders and you really want both out.
I'm thinking Mind Stone, Worn Powerstone, Izzet Locket and Thought Vessel.
Whirlpool Warrior - why this card?
I think there are too many coin-flip cards. I think you need a bit more ramp. Like... 3-4 more ramp cards at least. You have two 5-drop commanders and you really want both out.
I'm thinking Mind Stone, Worn Powerstone, Izzet Locket and Thought Vessel.
Whirlpool Warrior is a reasonable bit of card churn for the deck. It can also mess up other players after they've tutored, etc. Additionally, it's a warrior and has synergy with Lovisa if I get her out. The biggest reason for its inclusion here, though, is that the deck needed more bodies and I like the card and think it's fine.
I agree that there might be too many coin flip cards, but I haven't played the deck enough yet to know which ones I don't like yet. I did do a quick once through the deck, though, and replaced Tide of War with Worn Powerstone.
I've found in my win-cons deck it's easy to get into the mindset of 'well, the coin flips aren't guaranteed, I should put more of them in to up the average chance of them happening' and then slightly overdo it. Personally I'd cut a couple of the one-shot coin flips like Bottle of Suleiman. I've also found Fiery Gambit to be depressingly underwhelming, although I note you've got some copying shenanigans so it might come out better for you.
I've done my best to make this deck different from the typical decks I've seen others build around these two, though, so I hope you'll enjoy my take on it.
Anyway, here's the list:
1x Okaun, Eye of Chaos
1x Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom
Planeswalker (4)
1x Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
1x Daretti, Scrap Savant
1x Ral Zarek
1x Tezzeret the Seeker
Artifact (16)
1x Mana Crypt
1x Sol Ring
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
1x Coldsteel Heart
1x Izzet Signet
1x Krark's Thumb
1x Ring of Valkas
1x Ruby Medallion
1x Strionic Resonator
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Chariot of Victory
1x Commander's Sphere
1x Loxodon Warhammer
1x Worn Powerstone
1x Boompile
1x Crooked Scales
Instant (10)
1x Desperate Gambit
1x Fighting Chance
1x Aleatory
1x Arcane Denial
1x Chaotic Strike
1x Izzet Charm
1x Counterflux
1x Puppet's Verdict
1x Soul's Fire
1x Expansion // Explosion
1x Goblin Bomb
1x Goblin Festival
1x Aggravated Assault
1x Planar Chaos
1x Chance Encounter
1x Impulsive Maneuvers
1x Risky Move
Creature (16)
1x Archetype of Aggression
1x Frenetic Efreet
1x Mijae Djinn
1x Taurean Mauler
1x Whirlpool Warrior
1x Bloodsworn Steward
1x Chaotic Goo
1x Karplusan Minotaur
1x Paragon of Fierce Defiance
1x Spark Double
1x Vedalken Humiliator
1x Volatile Rig
1x Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1x Lovisa Coldeyes
1x Skyclaw Thrash
1x Scourge of the Throne
Sorcery (10)
1x Gamble
1x Vandalblast
1x Winter Sky
1x Fiery Gambit
1x Game of Chaos
1x Molten Birth
1x Squee's Revenge
1x Stitch in Time
1x Relentless Assault
1x Seize the Day
1x Academy Ruins
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Buried Ruin
1x Command Tower
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Desolate Lighthouse
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Forgotten Cave
1x Ghitu Encampment
1x Great Furnace
1x Inventors' Fair
2x Island
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Lonely Sandbar
7x Mountain
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Opal Palace
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Shivan Reef
1x Spirebluff Canal
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Temple of Epiphany
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Volcanic Island
1x Wandering Fumarole
So what's going on here? Well, first of all, I didn't want to tilt the deck toward chaos or tokens like I've seen others do, so I took a good hard look at my commanders and realized that Okaun has a lot of good face-punching potential, so I've tried to build around making him as effective as possible since I won't get to cast him too many times in the average game. To do this, the deck has an abundance of ways to give Okaun haste, as well as plenty of other effects to pump him up and give him trample and other fun combat abilities. To top off this strategy, I have a few extra combat effects to allow me to take advantage of turns where I win several flips off of Okaun and he gets nice and beefy.
In searching for effects to both pump Okaun and give him haste, I was reminded of the fact that he's a Berserker, and that allowed me to include Lovisa Coldeyes, a long time pet card, in the deck. Once Lovisa is in the mix, there's very little downside to skewing other creatures towards being Warriors, as several of them can also help Okaun get bigger. This is a minor sub-theme of the deck, but one that I expect to add value over the course of many games.
What's a good coin flipping deck without Krark's Thumb, though? Obviously the deck is just better when we have our lucky digit in play, so there are also a number of cards in the deck to help find and recur the Thumb for maximum coin flipping shenanigans. Also, since we're putting in a small artifact theme, it allowed me to finally find a home for Vedalken Humiliator, which is a hell of a card when put into an aggressive shell. (It's also a fun combo with Winter Sky, and yes, I have pulled that off. It was great.)
The deck is still early in its life, and so I don't know if some of the coin flip cards will keep their slots for the long term, but I'm at least going to give them a chance to test their luck. Before I finish up, though, I want to give a shoutout to Risky Move, which is a crazy fun card that really belongs in decks that just want to throw a wrench into a game and mess up people's plans. Give it a look and try it out if you have a deck that it might be fun in. You won't be disappointed.
The list hasn't been updated with WAR cards yet because I don't change my lists until I have cards in hand to make the physical change as well, but about the only change that's going to happen is that Goblinslide will swap out for the new Saheeli, and I'll find a way to slot in a Spark Double as well.
As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB
Whirlpool Warrior - why this card?
I think there are too many coin-flip cards. I think you need a bit more ramp. Like... 3-4 more ramp cards at least. You have two 5-drop commanders and you really want both out.
I'm thinking Mind Stone, Worn Powerstone, Izzet Locket and Thought Vessel.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
Whirlpool Warrior is a reasonable bit of card churn for the deck. It can also mess up other players after they've tutored, etc. Additionally, it's a warrior and has synergy with Lovisa if I get her out. The biggest reason for its inclusion here, though, is that the deck needed more bodies and I like the card and think it's fine.
I agree that there might be too many coin flip cards, but I haven't played the deck enough yet to know which ones I don't like yet. I did do a quick once through the deck, though, and replaced Tide of War with Worn Powerstone.
magicjudge.tumblr.com
GWU Angus Mackenzie's Fog of War GWU / B Sheoldred's Sleepless Cemetery B / R Ashling's Purifying Pilgrimage R
U Unesh's Sphinx Storm U / R Ib's Goblins: What It Says On The Tin R / UR Okaun & Zndrsplt Flip Out UR
Oathbreaker: UB Ashiok's Persistent Nightmare UB
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