Just wanted to share a result. Table with Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Xenagos, God of Revels and Bosh, Iron Golem. Sidisi became my enemy as soon as it cast Ob Nixilis, Unshackled. He was the first to die - I killed this creature and the Bosh guy helped me. Then I started to sweep the board some times and I managed to softlock Xenagos with Mnemonic Wall/Ghostly Flicker for some time and Bosh didn't try anything because I could kill his board with my Child. Xenagos ended finishing Bosh. Finally I locked Xenagos with a Spore Frog/Disturbed Burial lock and chained tutors to Rolling Thunder (taking it back with Mnemonic Wall) 2-3 times. Bosh player was AMAZED when I showed 99 commons in the deck. Great job guys!
Never did quite realize Spore Frog is a common. Could actually go for one, as people in my LGS are now zooming in on aggroing me the moment I pull out Child.
Oh, and as to the Thought Vessel: Yeano.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Question about the Spore Frog lock. In my experience, when I'm the target, I'm THE target playing CoA. Meaning that I'll never reanimate the frog enough te keep up with the combat phases my opponents get, because there's three or for of them and we've only got one frog. 1V1 that won't be a problem, but when playing 1V4 or so, it will.
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A hobby is by defenition something you're not any good at - otherwise it'd have been your work. Magic is my biggest hobby so I mustn't be very good at it.
Well, normally I'm not THE target because I have the bomb so yeah, one frog won't keep you alive from a dozen attack phases in a row, but a nuked Child should prevent you from this behavior. Anyway, I don't know anything better (maybe another dork like Kami of False Hope but I don't like to count of two for dorks) in pauper. Glacial Chasm could do in Peasant (with a blinking Tilling Treefolk) if you like, but in PDH you must rely on the politics. My win was based on that. Bosh player didn't attack me so his board managed to survive for some 3 turns because I didn't play the red button (a.k.a. Red Elemental Blast, heh).
The Spore Frog lock is better late game once you've whittled down the field to a single opponent or in scenarios where there's only one aggressive deck you need to be concerned about.
And while I like the concept of Thought Vessel, it feels like a "win-more" card in most situations.
^ This. (which is more or less what I meant )
In early game, Frog is good to deal with one attack per turn, normally the nastiest one. This can buy you time to ramp and establish the nukes.
But really, when in a non-PDH environment, I guess we're not that easily THE target. In that table I was playing, Xenagos was the target. Lots of indestructibles, very fast ramp, haste fatties... Actually I was his brake until Frog was the MVP. But this politics is not that obvious just because you have the reset button... IMO.
Yeah, at full power multi games, people tend to look towards the man with the sweepers to keep things in relative control. Our deck is weird because our sweeper is also often our win condition... and also happens to be our general. So CoA can go from savior to #1 target really fast, which is what I like with this deck. Don't rub it in their faces and you can win often. Even if you know that you probably won on turn 6 and anything they do now will probably be futile, it is still better to let them waste resources on each other before you appear to be "forced" to act and ruin everybody's day.
I really love the Spore Frog lock btw. It has become a little "package" in it's own right, right up there with Ghostly Flicker/Archaeomancer.
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I've lost two games so far with Child. One involved me getting thoroughly colorscrewed, so those happen. The other one was against a hyper aggressive Nissa, Vastwood Seer deck (Not my own) who resolved a Spearbreaker Behemoth. Spore Frog would've stopped that deck while the Child took care of the rest, buying time to find a card to deal with the Behemoth. He didn't realize that I in turn was holding back the other two decks; once I got nuked, he was the next player to be punted out of the game, which was rather funny. But yeah, in those situations it's usually one player bringing down the hammer, which Spore Frog does deal with...time to pick up a copy.
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Alright, I'm convinced. I could quote the above six posts for that. Thanks guys, I'm including the frog :).
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A hobby is by defenition something you're not any good at - otherwise it'd have been your work. Magic is my biggest hobby so I mustn't be very good at it.
Crumbling Vestige - a new multicolor land! It permits an early CoA drop as long as you drop it the turn you play CoA, working much like a basic land in this regard. It can be reused with karoos! It is also a turn 3 green source in a pinch. I'm guessing this is going in most CoA lists.
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Crumbling Vestige - a new multicolor land! It permits an early CoA drop as long as you drop it the turn you play CoA, working much like a basic land in this regard. It can be reused with karoos! It is also a turn 3 green source in a pinch. I'm guessing this is going in most CoA lists.
I will not be playing Crumbling Vestige. I am not sure I would want to play Tendo Ice Bridge even if I could, and this is pretty much strictly worse than that. If you only needed fixing for a turn, I would already be playing Chromatic Star or something.
Maybe since your build is more "turn 4 Child or bust" you can get more use out of it. Personally, I'd rather have another Shimmering Grotto than a Crumbling Vestige.
Holdout Settlement is another usually colourless land, but if you have a dude in play, it can turn that dude into a Birds of Paradise of sorts. Since I at least usually drop some dude in the T2-4 range, it shouldn't be too hard to make use of this...
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Another match, another win
This time it was 1x1, against some simic commander. The guy missed the 5th land drop and I controlled the board with CoA and Sidisi's Faithful. Eventually I played an entwined Reap and Sow and replayed it some times with some help of recurring wizards. I even used Capsize and Reality Acid before he scooped. Unfortunately I had to leave the store when some guys offered to play multiplayer but maybe I was already marked to die first
I want to test some things:
- remove infinite combo pieces (I didn't use it in the last, say, 10 games, and I feel it's a win-more thing IMO)
- doing so, put Maul Splicer to use it in conjunction with Archaeomancer and Ghostly Flicker, and fix the mana base (maybe removing Azorius Chancery and stuff and putting more ETBU lands).
- current maybeboard: Feed the Clan or Rest for the Weary.
How often do you use infinite combos?
How are your feelings about Maul Splicer?
And what about some life gain to help me against burn/life loss/fast aggro?
I want to test some things:
- remove infinite combo pieces (I didn't use it in the last, say, 10 games, and I feel it's a win-more thing IMO)
- doing so, put Maul Splicer to use it in conjunction with Archaeomancer and Ghostly Flicker, and fix the mana base (maybe removing Azorius Chancery and stuff and putting more ETBU lands).
- current maybeboard: Feed the Clan or Rest for the Weary.
How often do you use infinite combos?
How are your feelings about Maul Splicer?
And what about some life gain to help me against burn/life loss/fast aggro?
I don't think the combo is win more so much as "win another way". With faeries combo there's also very little to drop. Cloud of Faeries (which cycles) and Piranha Marsh (which taps for black) are the only cards I wouldn't run if I were to drop the combo. I still want Crop Rotation with Mortuary Mire available now. Azorious Chancery is run simply because I prefer being able to fix white with Crop Rotation without getting card disadvantage. If you don't care about that, you can keep the combo and run the UB, BG and UG karoos instead - better for your top decks but slightly worse for fixing.
Having said that, I think you can run Maul Splicer as another "win another way" card, but I don't think it's as good since it uses the red zone. Being able to produce 6-8 3/3 tokens every turn mid game if you get a 3-card combo is no more broken than drawing cards with Mulldrifter in the same way, but Mulldrifter is good even without the flicker engine. I think Maul Splicer has a place in UG PDH decks but 5C has better options.
As for life gain, Overrule and Devour Flesh are the best ones for this deck. All the life gain duals that tap for blue, green or black are also very playable (better than guildgates - I usually only have room for a handfull of these anyway). If you're having trouble with fast aggro, the best solution for this deck will always be - get CoA out on turn 4 and blow her up on turn 5 more consistently If you're having trouble with direct damage, well, both overrule and devour flesh tutor in the 2 CMC category so you might want to consider a "silver bullet" in the 3 CMC category. Crypt Incursion is the most effective option I know of, but it assumes creatures in opp's graveyard. Grazing Gladeheart is another option otherwise. You might also try Steel of the Godhead as it not only gives you 8 life when you swing with CoA, but demands an answer in three turns or you win. Hopefully, a common rarity spell land that gives lifelink for a turn will be printed soon!
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@Alexandre - if you're looking for a life gain effect the new card Pulse of Murasa might be worth considering as well. I can't think of the ideal slot to test it in but it seems versatile to be included in your maybe-board.
Yeah, Oblivion Strike is looking like a great option.
@ Jdow; my list looks like what you see in the link in my signature
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My Commander decks:
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Here is my current decklist. I cut the Urza's Saga cycling lands for Mortuary Mire and more basics. I also cut Prophetic Prism for Dizzy Spell. Small changes overall.
I would not want to remove the combo kill because that is the only thing keeping me from wanting to shoot myself when I play this deck. A few years ago, I found that we could take over the game fairly easily, but actually ending in a "fair" manner took way too long. Also, being able to randomly steal games in which I am otherwise falling behind has been a nice angle of attack.
@urdjur, I agree, the Faerie combo is the lightest as of now. I'll keep with in this moment, with 2 bounce lands (UB, UR). Thanks one more time.
@jdow30, see my sig
@loucypher, I'll test Holdout Settlement, might be better with a dork in play than more rainbows once it comes untapped. Seems promising! Tks
@d0su, I decided to give Crimson Wisps another try. Let's see! Also, Oblivion Strike seems more practical to cast in all scenarios but the very late game so I'll try it also. Thanks man!
@Zombie, this regrowth (Pulse of Murasa) looks awesome if I have the right target. This might work wonders! Thanks.
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
Oh, and as to the Thought Vessel: Yeano.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
And while I like the concept of Thought Vessel, it feels like a "win-more" card in most situations.
In early game, Frog is good to deal with one attack per turn, normally the nastiest one. This can buy you time to ramp and establish the nukes.
But really, when in a non-PDH environment, I guess we're not that easily THE target. In that table I was playing, Xenagos was the target. Lots of indestructibles, very fast ramp, haste fatties... Actually I was his brake until Frog was the MVP. But this politics is not that obvious just because you have the reset button... IMO.
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
I really love the Spore Frog lock btw. It has become a little "package" in it's own right, right up there with Ghostly Flicker/Archaeomancer.
A series of seven articles using Magic to explore the very stuff of the Universe!
"At least for those who can play cards, their present incarnation is not quite wasted."
[Click here for the articles!]
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
EDIT: Post 3000. woot
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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A series of seven articles using Magic to explore the very stuff of the Universe!
"At least for those who can play cards, their present incarnation is not quite wasted."
[Click here for the articles!]
Maybe since your build is more "turn 4 Child or bust" you can get more use out of it. Personally, I'd rather have another Shimmering Grotto than a Crumbling Vestige.
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
This time it was 1x1, against some simic commander. The guy missed the 5th land drop and I controlled the board with CoA and Sidisi's Faithful. Eventually I played an entwined Reap and Sow and replayed it some times with some help of recurring wizards. I even used Capsize and Reality Acid before he scooped. Unfortunately I had to leave the store when some guys offered to play multiplayer but maybe I was already marked to die first
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
I want to test some things:
- remove infinite combo pieces (I didn't use it in the last, say, 10 games, and I feel it's a win-more thing IMO)
- doing so, put Maul Splicer to use it in conjunction with Archaeomancer and Ghostly Flicker, and fix the mana base (maybe removing Azorius Chancery and stuff and putting more ETBU lands).
- current maybeboard: Feed the Clan or Rest for the Weary.
How often do you use infinite combos?
How are your feelings about Maul Splicer?
And what about some life gain to help me against burn/life loss/fast aggro?
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
I don't think the combo is win more so much as "win another way". With faeries combo there's also very little to drop. Cloud of Faeries (which cycles) and Piranha Marsh (which taps for black) are the only cards I wouldn't run if I were to drop the combo. I still want Crop Rotation with Mortuary Mire available now. Azorious Chancery is run simply because I prefer being able to fix white with Crop Rotation without getting card disadvantage. If you don't care about that, you can keep the combo and run the UB, BG and UG karoos instead - better for your top decks but slightly worse for fixing.
Having said that, I think you can run Maul Splicer as another "win another way" card, but I don't think it's as good since it uses the red zone. Being able to produce 6-8 3/3 tokens every turn mid game if you get a 3-card combo is no more broken than drawing cards with Mulldrifter in the same way, but Mulldrifter is good even without the flicker engine. I think Maul Splicer has a place in UG PDH decks but 5C has better options.
As for life gain, Overrule and Devour Flesh are the best ones for this deck. All the life gain duals that tap for blue, green or black are also very playable (better than guildgates - I usually only have room for a handfull of these anyway). If you're having trouble with fast aggro, the best solution for this deck will always be - get CoA out on turn 4 and blow her up on turn 5 more consistently If you're having trouble with direct damage, well, both overrule and devour flesh tutor in the 2 CMC category so you might want to consider a "silver bullet" in the 3 CMC category. Crypt Incursion is the most effective option I know of, but it assumes creatures in opp's graveyard. Grazing Gladeheart is another option otherwise. You might also try Steel of the Godhead as it not only gives you 8 life when you swing with CoA, but demands an answer in three turns or you win. Hopefully, a common rarity spell land that gives lifelink for a turn will be printed soon!
A series of seven articles using Magic to explore the very stuff of the Universe!
"At least for those who can play cards, their present incarnation is not quite wasted."
[Click here for the articles!]
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
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Thanks!!
@ Jdow; my list looks like what you see in the link in my signature
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Oops! All Chandras.
Prime Speaker Zegana - Draw for Power.
Pir & Toothy - Counterpalooza.
Arcades, the Strategist - Another Brick in the Wall.
Zacama, Primal Calamity - Calamity of Double Mana.
Edgar Markov - Vampires Don't Die.
Child of Alara - Dreamcrusher.
Many thanks!!
I would not want to remove the combo kill because that is the only thing keeping me from wanting to shoot myself when I play this deck. A few years ago, I found that we could take over the game fairly easily, but actually ending in a "fair" manner took way too long. Also, being able to randomly steal games in which I am otherwise falling behind has been a nice angle of attack.
1 Child of Alara
Creatures (17)
1 Sidisi's Faithful
1 Spore Frog
1 Dimir Infiltrator
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Cadaver Imp
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Tilling Treefolk
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Krosan Restorer
1 Sea Gate Oracle
1 Trinket Mage
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Mulldrifter
1 Archaeomancer
1 Izzet Chronarch
1 Mnemonic Wall
Countermagic (9)
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Arcane Denial
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Counterspell
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Dream Fracture
1 Faerie Trickery
1 Perplex
1 Overrule
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Shred Memory
1 Tragic Slip
1 Devour Flesh
1 Terminate
1 Rend Flesh
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Capsize
Other Bombs and Misc (7)
1 Ghostly Flicker
1 Mind Extraction
1 Grim Harvest
1 Reaping the Graves
1 Crimson Wisps
1 Freed from the Real
1 Rolling Thunder
Other Library Manipulation (9)
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Reclaim
1 Dizzy Spell
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Rhystic Study
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Treasure Cruise
Other Nonland Mana (6)
1 Expedition Map
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Cultivate
1 Far Wanderings
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Halimar Depths
1 Mortuary Mire
1 Strip Mine
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Command Tower
1 Opal Palace
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Rupture Spire
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Bant Panorama
1 Esper Panorama
1 Grixis Panorama
1 Jund Panorama
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Barren Moor
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Secluded Steppe
8 Island
5 Swamp
6 Forest
2 Mountain
1 Plains
EDIT: Realized this list had some holdovers from a previous build. I am actually playing Sidisi's Faithful and Treasure Cruise now.
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@jdow30, see my sig
@loucypher, I'll test Holdout Settlement, might be better with a dork in play than more rainbows once it comes untapped. Seems promising! Tks
@d0su, I decided to give Crimson Wisps another try. Let's see! Also, Oblivion Strike seems more practical to cast in all scenarios but the very late game so I'll try it also. Thanks man!
@Zombie, this regrowth (Pulse of Murasa) looks awesome if I have the right target. This might work wonders! Thanks.
Commander: Child of Alara BURGW, Adeliz, the Cinder Wind UR
Tiny Leaders: Gwafa, Hazid Profiteer UW
Regular Pauper: Stompy G, Mono-G Tron G, Infect G
Whats is Crimson Wisps used for? Just giving our general haste?