I've been out of the loop for a while, but I just played Amonkhet prerelease and any time I had a Glorybringer on the field I basically owned the field. It's not Thundermaw...but it's not far off either, and being able to nuke most blockers with the exert is very powerful.
I'm not straight - I'm bi, however I have had friends in the past who I had absolutely no romantic or sexual interest in...we've had falling outs, and it sucks.
One I hung out with almost every day for six years, and then one day we just stopped talking...hung out again, had a few fights, and that was it. It hurts like hell, even after several years. The other turned out to be incredibly attracted to me, I did not reciprocate, he did not appreciate this. I cut ties to him after he scared me by trying to be too controlling and too into my life, and he STILL finds new and unique ways of showing that he's not over me.
That one hurts, because I remember what was, before it took a drop down the crazy side of the pool.
The ouroboros is an important concept to me spiritually. It's a reminder that none are exempt from the cycle of life into death into life again. It's a symbol I use to keep myself grounded.
@exoclipse: Mostly solid. Main suggestions I'd make is to swap a couple of quantities around.
-1 Warden of the First Tree
+1 Fleecemane Lion
I've found the Warden to be worse in multiples. IMHO Lion is our best early play.
-2 Dromoka's Command
+2 Abzan Charm
Command is dead in certain matchups, whereas Charm can at least be cashed in for cards if the removal or combat trick are not relevant. If you want more commands, then you could run a 3/3 split or swap a Hero's Downfall instead. Either any I'd want more Charm.
I'm not sure on the maindeck Elspeth in the aggro shell. I'd probably just want that to be your SB Roc. But I could see this working, so it's up to you there.
I like the Commands for the matchup against red anything...LOTS of Stoke the Flames in this meta. I think I'll do a 3/3 split of charm and command, though. I have the mainboard split of Roc/Elspeth mainly as a recon in force typa deal...wanna see if the meta's changed since I've last played at the LGS, and figure out if how I think it'll work will work. I like Elspeth because she is her own plan - drop Elspeth, protect her at all costs, win the game. Roc is a high-value beatstick, which is awesome - but it doesn't take over the board quite like Elspeth would. I've always had a preference for having multiple types of late game threats MB *shrug*
Swapping a Warden for a Fleecemane Lion looks good.
Take all of the above with a huge grain of salt, though...I haven't played seriously since RTR standard.
Mistcutter Hydra is in the side because honestly I'm having a hard time figuring out what exactly to fill those two slots with. I could do Duress, but...eh. I feel like I'd side that in for the same matchup as Hydra, and Hydra has the advantage of being a threat. There are few things I like more than dumping down threats against control.
I'll find out when I put the deck together and bring it in. If I can convince the SO, hopefully this Friday I'll have a report c:
It's obviously been a while since I've played, so it's nothing unique or special, no interesting tricks. I just want to make sure I have a solid list for that meta environment.
IDK if this is the best place to post this, but I've been testing a hybrid of Jim Davis' UW list and the UB lists I see here. I saw a lot of things I liked about both, and that they could complement each other.
It plays mostly like UW, but with thoughtseize and drown in sorrow to help make the early game more survivable against aggro. Elspeth is probably the best finisher in the format, and being able to side in Brimaz is a godsend against...a lot of decks, really. I wouldn't side him in against the multitude of midrange decks in the format, but that's what Aetherspouts and Ashiok are good for.
I don't have a set sideboard strategy because that's not how I operate, however general plan is as follows:
For control decks, I'll side out Drown in Sorrow, End Hostilities, and a single Hero's Downfall, and side in two negates and three Brimaz. The goal there is to suddenly and unexpectedly become a tempo deck. Being able to slap down Brimaz when the enemy is tapped out, or barring that, under the protection of negate/dissolve throws other control players off and makes the mirror/quasi-mirror matches very, very favorable. Thoughtseize also makes a great t2 clear for a t3 Brimaz to pluck counterspells out of hand
For aggro, PLA, negate, disdainful stroke, come out, and Jorubai Murk Lurker goes in. Depending on what kind of deck it is, I also have the option of siding out banishing light for Brimaz to wall them off, or pull two banishing lights for AEtherspouts.
For midrangey decks, I already have a pretty strong matchup. It gets stronger by pulling out Drown in Sorrow in favor of Aetherspouts.
It's a very proactive, tap-out type of control. I may not establish much board presence...but nobody else gets to establish any either c: In my playgroup, I'm able to pretty easily grind people out of board/card advantage, and then drop two combo pieces and activate simultaneously.
My playgroup hates me.
Curse of the Swine looks solid. I'll playtest it tonight c:
Ash Zealot and Young Pyromancer are about as good as each other. It's just a meta call as to which is going to be better. Zealot is better in faster metas, Pyromancer is better in slower metas.
Eidolon was disappointing in testing. Haven't tried Firedancer yet.
I) GAMEPLAN
This is a very traditional control/combo deck, with many, many ways to kill the enemy. It's effective in both 1v1 and multiplayer commander - although slightly better in multi, imo - and provides many options for the pilot to consider via a robust tutor battery.
The basic strategy is to starve the opposition of resources and cards, and gain incremental advantage through mana rocks, planeswalkers, and high value removal spells. Once the opposition has been stalled, or when it's possible to go off with protection, and the kill con of choice is set up, the pilot is to then combo off and kill the enemy explosively.
Our backup kill plan, should our combo fail to go off or if someone has an out, is tron beats, using either Dakkon Blackblade + equipment, manland + equipment, or just Aetherling beating face. Phantasmal Image and Acquire make for very powerful backup plans as well - especially Acquire, which can pull some surprise wins from nowhere.
II) Key interactions
1.) Vampire Hexmage + Dark Depths
Nothing to it. This is a classic, easy to pull off combo that spawns a 20/20 indestructible flier. It's not usually a win on it's own, but if left unanswered, it will win you games in a hurry.
2.) Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience
To the theoretical pilot who doesn't know how this works...Helm of Obedience mills until X cards hit the graveyard. Rest in Peace makes sure none do. So...Helm mills people to death for an activation of 1.
3.) Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine
Nobody likes losing land. Fewer like losing a land every turn, guaranteed. This works better in 1v1 than in multi, but even in multi it forces people to team up against you or die, unless they have a ton of mana rocks or a screwy, non-land based plan.
4.) Consecrated Sphinx + Temple Bell
This one I love in multi. With three players, every time you tap the bell, the other two draw a card, and you draw four. It scales disgustingly as more and more players are added to the game. It's not as great in single, and probably not worth the effort to set up, but it's still an option.
5.) Spine of Ish Sah + Phyrexia's Core
What's worse than losing a land every turn? Losing any non-hexproof permanent per turn. The downside to this is the initial mana investment of the Spine. This is a great option if you find yourself with a multitude of mana rocks, or you've sapped enough tempo to get to 7 mana safely.
6.) Stoneforge Mystic + Batterskull
Classic. Few things say F*** YOU quite like a T1 SFM into T2 Batterskull. That's MY kind of opportunism c:
7.) Dakkon Blackblade + any equipment
Good way to quickly rack up commander damage. Dakkon + Batterskull is a three turn clock that quickly builds your own life total.
8.) Creeping Tar Pit + equip
Unblockable assault is the best kind of assault.
8.) Crucible of Worlds + Death Cloud
A good way to reset the game in your favor. If times look rough and you have either one of these cards, use one of the many tutors to tutor up the other half. It's not hard to wipe entire board positions with Death Cloud and then build up quickly with crucible + mana rocks.
III.) Other cards to consider
1.) Nether Void / Trinisphere
Solid methods of slowing the game down. Particularly effective after a board wipe, but tricky to set up and use properly. I'm not quite deft enough to use Nether Void, and Trinisphere seems to lack punch in this format.
2.) Serra Ascendant
Goes in every white EDH deck, ever. I didn't put SA in this deck because of a lack of space.
4.) Oloro, the Ageless Mystic
Can be used as a backup commander or as a replacement for Dakkon. This was who I originally used. I replaced him with Dakkon after missing WAY TOO MANY triggers, and because Dakkon provides a unique utility to the deck (face punching is utility right?). If you prefer Oloro, run him.
So has anyone tried to incorporate the Reckoner/Dictate combo in his burn decks? Of course, if the cards would be useless elsewhise it would certainly not be worth it, but depending on the metagame, Reckoner was at least an okay card in the sideboard before JOU.
I am also seeing Satyr Firedancer and Eidolon of the Great Revel getting maindecked recently. All of the versions seem to be doing well. Odd to see so many differences in deck lists lately.
Does anyone have any experience with these changes?
I'm going to playtest Eidolon when I get home from work today, but I'm really happy to see it placing like it is. Firedancer is pure cheese in the best way possible.
I did some testing today. Mulliganed twice in 15 hands. Won six of eight games against RW burn, which...well, is a good matchup. More testing tomorrow. Subjects: Black devo, monsters.
Looking at Eidolon of the Great Revel really, really closely. I feel like it'll just be really, really good for us. Banishing Light seems okay, maybe as a one or two of sideboard to deal with unique situations, but Chained to the Rocks is really, really good.
You cannot compromise your integrity to yourself. Ever.
This. I have a somewhat different situation - I entered into a relationship with a devout Christian who knew from the beginning that I'm an atheist, and while both of our families are religious, my views are tolerated.
We've decided years ago that, should we have children, we will expose our children to as much religion and nonreligion as we can. The key things to remember are 1.) communication, and 2.) respect. As long as those two are strong within your local family (you, spouse, children) all else follows.
A child will believe their father much more readily than they will their grandmother or aunt or what have you. Just make sure you respect your spouse's religion as much as she respects your lack of it, and that you communicate whenever something bothers you.
If your wife isn't willing to compromise and communicate...I personally would look elsewhere rather than conform to beliefs I don't hold. What you do is up to you, obviously.
One I hung out with almost every day for six years, and then one day we just stopped talking...hung out again, had a few fights, and that was it. It hurts like hell, even after several years. The other turned out to be incredibly attracted to me, I did not reciprocate, he did not appreciate this. I cut ties to him after he scared me by trying to be too controlling and too into my life, and he STILL finds new and unique ways of showing that he's not over me.
That one hurts, because I remember what was, before it took a drop down the crazy side of the pool.
I like the Commands for the matchup against red anything...LOTS of Stoke the Flames in this meta. I think I'll do a 3/3 split of charm and command, though. I have the mainboard split of Roc/Elspeth mainly as a recon in force typa deal...wanna see if the meta's changed since I've last played at the LGS, and figure out if how I think it'll work will work. I like Elspeth because she is her own plan - drop Elspeth, protect her at all costs, win the game. Roc is a high-value beatstick, which is awesome - but it doesn't take over the board quite like Elspeth would. I've always had a preference for having multiple types of late game threats MB *shrug*
Swapping a Warden for a Fleecemane Lion looks good.
Take all of the above with a huge grain of salt, though...I haven't played seriously since RTR standard.
Mistcutter Hydra is in the side because honestly I'm having a hard time figuring out what exactly to fill those two slots with. I could do Duress, but...eh. I feel like I'd side that in for the same matchup as Hydra, and Hydra has the advantage of being a threat. There are few things I like more than dumping down threats against control.
I'll find out when I put the deck together and bring it in. If I can convince the SO, hopefully this Friday I'll have a report c:
3 Warden of the First Tree
3 Fleecemane Lion
4 Rakshasa Deathdealer
3 Anafenza, the Foremost
4 Siege Rhino
1 Wingmate Roc
Walkers (2):
1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
Other spells (12):
3 Thoughtseize
4 Dromoka's Command
2 Abzan Charm
3 Hero's Downfall
2 Forest
2 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
3 Caves of Koilos
3 Llanowar Waste
1 Mana Confluence
3 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of Plenty
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Den Protector
2 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Wingmate Roc
3 Ultimate Price
2 Self-Inflicted Wound
3 Drown in Sorrow
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
It's obviously been a while since I've played, so it's nothing unique or special, no interesting tricks. I just want to make sure I have a solid list for that meta environment.
It plays mostly like UW, but with thoughtseize and drown in sorrow to help make the early game more survivable against aggro. Elspeth is probably the best finisher in the format, and being able to side in Brimaz is a godsend against...a lot of decks, really. I wouldn't side him in against the multitude of midrange decks in the format, but that's what Aetherspouts and Ashiok are good for.
Here's the list:
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
Instants:
3 Dig Through Time
1 Disdainful Stroke
4 Dissolve
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Jace's Ingenuity
1 Negate
Sorceries:
3 Divination
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 End Hostilities
4 Thoughtseize
Other spells:
3 Banishing Light
3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Dismal Backwater
2 Evolving Wilds
3 Flooded Strand
3 Island
2 Plains
3 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Tranquil Cove
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Jorubai Murk Lurker
2 AEtherspouts
2 Erase
2 Negate
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
I don't have a set sideboard strategy because that's not how I operate, however general plan is as follows:
For control decks, I'll side out Drown in Sorrow, End Hostilities, and a single Hero's Downfall, and side in two negates and three Brimaz. The goal there is to suddenly and unexpectedly become a tempo deck. Being able to slap down Brimaz when the enemy is tapped out, or barring that, under the protection of negate/dissolve throws other control players off and makes the mirror/quasi-mirror matches very, very favorable. Thoughtseize also makes a great t2 clear for a t3 Brimaz to pluck counterspells out of hand
For aggro, PLA, negate, disdainful stroke, come out, and Jorubai Murk Lurker goes in. Depending on what kind of deck it is, I also have the option of siding out banishing light for Brimaz to wall them off, or pull two banishing lights for AEtherspouts.
For midrangey decks, I already have a pretty strong matchup. It gets stronger by pulling out Drown in Sorrow in favor of Aetherspouts.
Thoughts?
My playgroup hates me.
Curse of the Swine looks solid. I'll playtest it tonight c:
Eidolon was disappointing in testing. Haven't tried Firedancer yet.
1 Dakkon Blackblade
Lands (40):
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Dark Depths
1 Drowned Catacombs
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Island
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Marsh Flats
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Mutavault
1 Phyrexia's Core
4 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scrubland
1 Strip Mine
6 Swamp
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Silence
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Vesuva
1 Wasteland
1 Watery Grave
1 Condemn
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mana Drain
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Dissipate
1 Hinder
1 Mortify
1 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Cryptic Command
1 Desertion
Sorceries (16):
1 Mind Twist
1 Thoughtseize
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Martial Coup
1 Ashes to Ashes
1 Death Cloud
1 Grim Tutor
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Vindicate
1 Damnation
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Acquire
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Promise of Power
1 Austere Command
Artifacts (15)
1 Expedition Map
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Azorius Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Coalition Relic
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Temple Bell
1 Helm of Obedience
1 Batterskull
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Rest in Peace
1 Banishing Light
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Detention Sphere
Walkers (4):
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Liliana Vess
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Karn Liberated
Creatures (8):
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Mulldrifter
1 Aetherling
1 Consecrated Sphinx
I) GAMEPLAN
This is a very traditional control/combo deck, with many, many ways to kill the enemy. It's effective in both 1v1 and multiplayer commander - although slightly better in multi, imo - and provides many options for the pilot to consider via a robust tutor battery.
The basic strategy is to starve the opposition of resources and cards, and gain incremental advantage through mana rocks, planeswalkers, and high value removal spells. Once the opposition has been stalled, or when it's possible to go off with protection, and the kill con of choice is set up, the pilot is to then combo off and kill the enemy explosively.
There are five combo kill conditions in the deck, of which four are 'soft' kill conditions. The soft kill cons are Spine of Ish Sah + Phyrexia's Core, Dark Depths + Vampire Hexmage, Consecrated Sphinx + Temple Bell, and Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine. The hard kill con, of course, is Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience.
Our backup kill plan, should our combo fail to go off or if someone has an out, is tron beats, using either Dakkon Blackblade + equipment, manland + equipment, or just Aetherling beating face. Phantasmal Image and Acquire make for very powerful backup plans as well - especially Acquire, which can pull some surprise wins from nowhere.
II) Key interactions
1.) Vampire Hexmage + Dark Depths
Nothing to it. This is a classic, easy to pull off combo that spawns a 20/20 indestructible flier. It's not usually a win on it's own, but if left unanswered, it will win you games in a hurry.
2.) Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience
To the theoretical pilot who doesn't know how this works...Helm of Obedience mills until X cards hit the graveyard. Rest in Peace makes sure none do. So...Helm mills people to death for an activation of 1.
3.) Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine
Nobody likes losing land. Fewer like losing a land every turn, guaranteed. This works better in 1v1 than in multi, but even in multi it forces people to team up against you or die, unless they have a ton of mana rocks or a screwy, non-land based plan.
4.) Consecrated Sphinx + Temple Bell
This one I love in multi. With three players, every time you tap the bell, the other two draw a card, and you draw four. It scales disgustingly as more and more players are added to the game. It's not as great in single, and probably not worth the effort to set up, but it's still an option.
5.) Spine of Ish Sah + Phyrexia's Core
What's worse than losing a land every turn? Losing any non-hexproof permanent per turn. The downside to this is the initial mana investment of the Spine. This is a great option if you find yourself with a multitude of mana rocks, or you've sapped enough tempo to get to 7 mana safely.
6.) Stoneforge Mystic + Batterskull
Classic. Few things say F*** YOU quite like a T1 SFM into T2 Batterskull. That's MY kind of opportunism c:
7.) Dakkon Blackblade + any equipment
Good way to quickly rack up commander damage. Dakkon + Batterskull is a three turn clock that quickly builds your own life total.
8.) Creeping Tar Pit + equip
Unblockable assault is the best kind of assault.
8.) Crucible of Worlds + Death Cloud
A good way to reset the game in your favor. If times look rough and you have either one of these cards, use one of the many tutors to tutor up the other half. It's not hard to wipe entire board positions with Death Cloud and then build up quickly with crucible + mana rocks.
III.) Other cards to consider
1.) Nether Void / Trinisphere
Solid methods of slowing the game down. Particularly effective after a board wipe, but tricky to set up and use properly. I'm not quite deft enough to use Nether Void, and Trinisphere seems to lack punch in this format.
2.) Serra Ascendant
Goes in every white EDH deck, ever. I didn't put SA in this deck because of a lack of space.
3.) Divinity of Pride
See: Serra Ascendant.
4.) Oloro, the Ageless Mystic
Can be used as a backup commander or as a replacement for Dakkon. This was who I originally used. I replaced him with Dakkon after missing WAY TOO MANY triggers, and because Dakkon provides a unique utility to the deck (face punching is utility right?). If you prefer Oloro, run him.
IV.) Le Fin
Comments and critique greatly appreciated c:
Dogg that's a nonbo.
0/10 would not run. I playtested it a lot last season and it didn't do what I wanted it to. Ever. :c
I'm going to playtest Eidolon when I get home from work today, but I'm really happy to see it placing like it is. Firedancer is pure cheese in the best way possible.
4 Akroan Crusader
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Legion Loyalist
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
3 Rakdos Shred-freak
4 Shock
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
Pump (4)
4 Madcap Skills
Land:
17 Mountain
3 Mutavault
3 Searing Blood
3 Skullcrack
4 Young Pyromancer
2 Harness by Force
I did some testing today. Mulliganed twice in 15 hands. Won six of eight games against RW burn, which...well, is a good matchup. More testing tomorrow. Subjects: Black devo, monsters.
4 Young Pyromancer
4 Chandra's Phoenix
Spells:
3 Shock
4 Boros Charm
4 Lightning Strike
3 Searing Blood
4 Skullcrack
3 Warleader's Helix
3 Chained to the Rocks
2 Boros Guildgate
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
1 Temple of Malice
1 Temple of Silence
3 Mutavault
9 Mountain
1 Chained to the rocks
2 Wear // Tear
4 Mizzium Mortars
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Assemble the Legion
Looking at Eidolon of the Great Revel really, really closely. I feel like it'll just be really, really good for us. Banishing Light seems okay, maybe as a one or two of sideboard to deal with unique situations, but Chained to the Rocks is really, really good.
This. I have a somewhat different situation - I entered into a relationship with a devout Christian who knew from the beginning that I'm an atheist, and while both of our families are religious, my views are tolerated.
We've decided years ago that, should we have children, we will expose our children to as much religion and nonreligion as we can. The key things to remember are 1.) communication, and 2.) respect. As long as those two are strong within your local family (you, spouse, children) all else follows.
A child will believe their father much more readily than they will their grandmother or aunt or what have you. Just make sure you respect your spouse's religion as much as she respects your lack of it, and that you communicate whenever something bothers you.
If your wife isn't willing to compromise and communicate...I personally would look elsewhere rather than conform to beliefs I don't hold. What you do is up to you, obviously.