Rules question: Does playing the spell chosen by Word of Command ignore card types, like I can play a sorcery spell during an opponent's draw step or my own main phase?
Yes, Word of Command ignores the regular timing restrictions of the card you choose. You can command an opponent play a sorcery on your turn or a creature during combat. Word of Command WILL NOT ignore special timing restrictions that make their way into the text box, such as "play only during combat."
Using it as a removal spell is classic, since you'll gas opponents extremely quickly if you force them to destroy their own permanents.
Update: Since you choose what lands get tapped to play the spell, it's possible to force them to tap lands which have drawback effects, like Psychic Venom and Spreading Algae. I'll consider cards like these, what cards have similar effects?
One of the coolest old cards I've stumbled upon so far is Word of Command. Basically, it's mindslaver for 1 card. I'm looking for ways to milk the absolute most power out of Word of Command.
I'm looking for cards that punish players for playing spells at certain times, but don't prevent them from playing spells completely. Any cards that want to be targeted by an opponent are good too.
One of my concerns is that even if I do get a Word of Command on Isochron's Scepter with a combo card out, then how do I just stop my opponents from tapping out every turn, are there any cards that punish having all your lands tapped?
I'm pretty picky when it comes to building EDH decks. I usually absolutely refuse to build anything that "makes it self". I have a Jaya Ballard, Task Mage that I love and usually when I try my hand at a new deck I find myself shelving it and going back to my baby Jaya.
I end up quitting decks for 2 reasons:
1. It just doesn't end up working, because I'm greedy and the deck runs to few lands or mana artifacts. (Something which I've hopefully rectified with this brew.)
2. The deck plays a mean infinite combo. My LGS recently banned infinite combos from our league games. I'd been trying to encourage some of the softcore players to add more cuthroat cards to their decks, but I guess this solution is okay too.
Anyway, I'm looking to make a deck that doesn't play any infinite combos and is able to deal with aggro decks big and small. Sisay, Mayael, Rhyz, and Animar are all common generals in my local meta.
My opinion on Oros originally was that he "made his deck himself". He's begged to be at the helm of a Voltron equipment deck that plays Basilisk Collar, but here he is used just for his colors and potential weenie sweeping abilities vs non-white decks.
Note: I have never played this deck. I have the cards ordered and they are otw.
The impetus for this deck was that I want to play something mean that doesn't violate the no infinite combo rule at my LGS. Punisher seems like a good way to do that. Punisher with mass LD seems like an even better way to do that.
The basic idea is to get out one of the Punisher cards, like Impatience or Antagonism and then wipe everyone lands leaving them taking pain every turn, while you recover a bit quicker then everyone else thanks to Land Tax or Crucible of Worlds
There are probably a few cards in the deck that are just too cute, Transcendence and Form of the Dragon came in because of there synergy with Enduring Ideal and all the pain enchantments which in an ideal world let me slowly build an rock solid pillow fort that slowly suck the life from whoever is left at the table.
I've intentionally omitted most search effects because of Psychogenic Probe. I favored this card over Stranglehold because it comes out much quicker and can punish players using green mana ramp spell. It also fits the punisher theme of "You want to do that, well you're going to have to take pain."
I'm planning to stay faithful to Selesnya for a while longer. Part of it is probably due to the fact that I have to make 3 standard decks out of my collection; so I have Selesnya for myself, G/R monsters for my brother, and UW for his roommate, but his roommate changes his deck twice a week sometimes so usually any unused cards make a dance into his deck for one tournament and then back into the binder the next day.
The monday tournament was on the smaller then normal so I we only had 4 rounds. I ended up going 2-0-2 in the swiss arounds only to lose top 8 to Esper.
Both my matches in the swiss rounds were against mono black devotion, but one was actually BUG with a small green splash for Golgari Charm and Abrupt Decay. I had no problem with either match. Scion of Vitu-Ghazi ended up being quite an all star in one game, especially when they try to trade 1 for 1 with your creatures.
My board against Monoblack was:
Out:
-4 Loxodon Smiter
-1 Polokranos
-3 Boon Satyr
In:
+2 Pithing Needle
+2 Scions of Viu-Ghazi
+1 Brave the Elements
+2 Banisher Preist
+1 Trostani (I'm pretty sure I brought him in anyway, since they must use point removal on him immediately.)
In:
+3 Mistcutter Hydra
+2 Pithing Needle
+2 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
+1 Brave the Elements
I don't want to put all the blame on myself for the loss in top 8. I made the most unfortunate of play mistake and lost the dice roll, which put me on the draw for games 1 and 3. In game 3 he also managed to draw 2 Verdicts and 3 Blood Barons without even having to cast Sphinx Rev to draw cards, but I'm pretty sure I boarded wrong, especially against Esper, when I should of just left in the Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage because they have to wrath vs him. I also felt that Selesnya Charm is relevant in all matches so boarding it out was very wrong.
@People playing the version with Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage and Scion of Vitu-Ghazi; What is your sideboard plan?
What it tells me is, we are back to basics. No shenanigans, no tricks, no nothing, straight up turn 'em sideways deck.
One of my origignal builds of GW was 59/60 of that exact maindeck. The only change was I ran1 fewer Soldier of the Pantheon and 1 more God's Willing. I honestly don't like playing that version of GW because 1 drops and God's Willing just become dead draws if the game goes past the first few turns. I believe that Sneakattackkid had a much better list because he cut back on utility cards like Rootborn Defenses, God's Willing, and meh 1 drops like Solider for simply more threats that meant you were drawing business for the entire game unless you drew a land.
a top 4 and a top 16 result in back to back weeks with only very minor changes. I'll be honest that when I saw this deck for the first time It looked like quite a pile of junk with Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage and Scion of Vitu-Ghazi in it, but I feel that a slower more inevitable play style might be what the deck needs to grind out matches vs G/x monsters and control decks.
Chained to the Rocks is also worth noting, it's found in Dega Midrange or Brad Nelson's new Naya Control deck.
I'll concede that lot of the other decks in the format tend to be based solely in other colors. Monoblack Devotion, Monoblue Devotion, and RDW present no impediments to Brave the Elements
Hello there, been following this thread for a while but took me a while to finally get around to joining the competitive user group so I could post.
I had a great time at FNM last night with GW. My total record was 4-0-2 in the swiss rounds which got me into top 8, then I won against Dega Midrange there to make top 4. My local FNMs go pretty late, so top 4 usually just splits the prize.
I was running MDU's list from a few page back, the one with the 3 maindeck skylashers. I will say that one thing I really like about that deck by MDU is that it doesn't waste space on cards like Rootborn Defenses or God's Willing. Every card in the maindeck is a threat.
My matches went:
Round 1: Boros Heroic: Win 2-0. I was very lucky to get paired against this guy in round 1. He was playing in his first FNM so I just ran him over, but we had some fun and I did try to teach him a few things.
Round 2: R/G Monsters: Draw 1-1-1. I really thought I'd won game one. My opponent monsteroused ember swallower which took us down to 2 lands each. I had a Trostani and a VoR Token in play, but just 2 lands. I ended up drawing Selesnya charm for the ember swallower but he drew 2 gore-clan rampagers in a row to run me over with a single BTE while I was looking at 2 loxodon smiters in and and just 2 lands. Game 2 was very different because the deck brings in so many cards in this matchup that it kind of becomes control. With Pacifism, Banisher Priest, and Selesnya Charm you can just remove the few threats they happen to draw and beat through there mana guys. In game 3 we just ran out of time in the round.
Round 3: RDW: Win 2-0: In game one I played a few early guys and he used his burn to clear them out of the way. I jammed Advent on his endstep, then untapped and bestowed Boon Satyr on it. The 9/7 trample swung to victory over a Boros Reckoner. Game 2 was nothing special. I kept a hand with 3 Voice of Resurgence and he broke the 1st rule of magic and kept a 1 land hand, which didn't get there.
Round 4: Rakdos Midrange: Win 2-0: This deck had sort of a new take on the Rakdos deck that I'm more used to seeing. It was pretty heavy on discard effects, the pilot was geared more to a field full of control. The deck also ran Master of Cruelties main deck, which is a very scary card to have to deal with. I ended up winning game 1 because his Anger of the Gods couldn't deal with my larger creatures. In game 2 I was completely shut down from attacking by his untapped Master of Cruelties and a Rakdos Keyrune, but I was lucky enough to rip a Pacisfism off the top; which gave me enough strength to beat in for game.
Round 5: Dega Midrange: Win 2-0: I consider this one of the hardest matchup for GW. In game 1 I got a bit lucky. He stumbled on lands a bit early and tapped out to read the bones which got him enough in life that an EoT Boon Satyr, untap, play Ajani and give double strike, plus Selsyna Charms +2/+2 was lethal. In game 2 he probably would of stood a good change of winning if not for horrible misplays on my opponents part. He was on the play and played a godless shrine tapped, followed up by turn 2 thoughtsieze and pass, missing his 2nd land drop. Also, later in the match he doom bladed my Fleecemane Lion but I had Voice out so I got a token off that.
Round 6: R/G Monsters: 0-0-1 ID: I got paired against my brother in the final round, we could just both draw in so we did. I know that this match is pretty unfavorable for me, especially because he runs MM's version from PT Theros which is much stronger then the R/G deck I faced in round 2.
Top 8: Dega Midrange. Win 2-1. I get paired against the same player I beat in round 5. Game 1 I feel I made a bad play mistake that cost me the game. I had a Loxodon Smiter and was going to beat in. He didn't block and I let him just take 4. I had Boon Satyr and in looking back I should of just bestowed it so that he would of been at 8 life, which could of set up an Ajani double striking win the next turn. He jammed Blood Baron of Vizkappa and won with it the next turn. In game 2 I pulled off a minor miracle to win it. I had an Ajani on 7 Loyalty, then he played a Desecration Demon. I was really hopping to top deck creatures to feed to the demon hoping for the Ajani ultimate. There was 1 turn where I didn't draw a creature so he hit my 8 Loyalty Ajani with a 7/7 Demon to take it to 1. I Drew a Bon Satyr next turn, way too late. I then played it on my turn and ticked Ajani up to 2 to make it a 5/3. He was at 12 and I had another Ajani in hand. Luckily he didn't kill my Ajani on his next attack so I was able to give the Boon Satyr another counter, then jam the other Ajani and give double strike for exact damage. In game 3 he used a lot of removal on my early guys, but I had 2 Advents and jammed them. He removed the 1st wurm, but the 2nd stuck. He tried to play a defensive game with a Deceration Demon, but I had a VoR so I could just sac it to keep the Demon tapped while the wurm went the distance.
All and all, between a win-a-box tournament on Monday and FNM I managed to take home 23 Theros packs just this week with MDU's list.
Going forward: I'm a bit iffy on the Skylashers main. They do work in some games, but my field is not playing as much mono-blue as I was predicting they would. I'm probably going to keep them in for now.
I've been reading this thread for many months. Thanks for making this primer.
I've played EDH with Jaya at the helm for about a year and a half now and I want to put my list online to have a historical record of it and also talk about some of the card choices.
I notice a lot of the other Jaya players have been cutting mana artifacts and bigger spells in favor of having a more streamlined deck, but my deck is more of a 'big red' style build and includes 10 mana rocks + 3 gauntlet effects. I've always liked having as much mana as possible because it;
1.) Let's you cast Jaya and use her Inferno often. (Even without equipment protecting her.)
2.) Let's you resurrect your phoenix's often.
3.) Plays into the hands of the high cost bombs, like Scourge of Kher Ridges and Planar Portal.
I'd also like to give some praise out to the humble Viashino Heretic. I think every red deck should run him. If I get him out early game he will often be 5+ Shatters in a 4-man pod. Even later in the game he can be a huge threat by threatening large amounts of damage to anyone foolish enough to play high cost artifacts.
Another all-star card that I haven't been seeing in other Jaya lists in Winding Canyons. Haste is great in this deck, playing well with the general at the helm and most of my creatures and Winding Canyons is basically as good as it gets. It can also enable super secret surprise tactics, like recurring a phoenix to hand and flashing it in before blocks.
Hellkite Tyrant has been an okay card for me. I've never won a game by having 20+ artifacts, but I have had some impressive steals with him. Resolving him will always make somebody nervous. He strikes me as a good counter to Darksteel Forge decks like Sharrum and Arcum Dagson.
The biggest difference between my deck and others in this thread is the omission of Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon. In my local meta, I started off a craze to play mono-colored EDH decks. There are only 3 players who even have ABU dual lands. Most of the multi-color decks that I'd play against would have budget manabases that were more likely to have common lands like the RTR gates. I was not having any success with blood moon in that meta. The multi-color decks in my meta still tend to include a good potion of basic land so blood moon, more often then not, became Jaya fodder. The decks that do get shut out by it in my meta aren't necessarily strong threatening decks. Even then blood moon felt anti-fun to me because I'd just be holding back the 5-color player who made a deck with 1 of every charm and split card while the more threatening players were not phased by the blood moon.
I used to have Goblin Welder and Trading Post in this deck, but removed due to testing. I never found the recursion from welder to be all that useful. This deck has some strong artifacts, but I wouldn't put any of them in the "you must have this in play at all times" tier. while I love Trading Post in my Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed Stax EDH deck, this deck doesn't have synergy with T-Post. Jaya is already great at handling small creatures with her Inferno and I even hard Shard Phoenix and Scourge of Kher Ridges for double duty against weenies and token strategies; which are somewhat common in my meta. The goats will either get wrathed by one of your own answers to weenies or they'll just exist as chump blockers for truly huge creatures that re out of Jaya's Inferno range. Normally these Voltron monsters take the form of Omnath, Urril, or Kresh; they are going to have trample anyway. As for the 4 life from T-post; it's a fair amount of life to gain, but you're eating cards in your hand that would otherwise be more useful as Jaya activations. At one point I had an Expedition Map in the main, but I don't remember why I took it out, maybe it should go back in.
1. Faithless Looting - Wild Guess is just a better card even without it having flash back. I'd absolutely love this card if my deck had threshold, madness, or more graveyard interaction; but in there absence it's just some filtering and since the deck is non-combo it not desperate for that.
3. Insurrection - It's won me some games, but I find that board states don't often develop enough for it to became an instant win. At best you kill 1 or 2 players with it and then your remaining opponent/opponents gets there creatures back and end you with them.
How has Chandra, Pyromaster been performing? I've been trying to get my hands on one since M14 game out, but haven't gotten one yet. My initial impression of her was that the card was bad and she was not the red planeswalker we deserve, but I do want to see how she plays in Jaya EDH considering how rare draw effects are in red.
Yes, Word of Command ignores the regular timing restrictions of the card you choose. You can command an opponent play a sorcery on your turn or a creature during combat. Word of Command WILL NOT ignore special timing restrictions that make their way into the text box, such as "play only during combat."
Using it as a removal spell is classic, since you'll gas opponents extremely quickly if you force them to destroy their own permanents.
Update: Since you choose what lands get tapped to play the spell, it's possible to force them to tap lands which have drawback effects, like Psychic Venom and Spreading Algae. I'll consider cards like these, what cards have similar effects?
I'm looking for cards that punish players for playing spells at certain times, but don't prevent them from playing spells completely. Any cards that want to be targeted by an opponent are good too.
One of my concerns is that even if I do get a Word of Command on Isochron's Scepter with a combo card out, then how do I just stop my opponents from tapping out every turn, are there any cards that punish having all your lands tapped?
What I have so far:
Voice of Resurgence
Price of Glory
Rayne, Academy Chancellor
Seedtime
War's Toll or Manaweb
Grand Abolisher
Defense Grid
Vexing Shusher
Knowledge Pool technically works.
Seedtime
I end up quitting decks for 2 reasons:
1. It just doesn't end up working, because I'm greedy and the deck runs to few lands or mana artifacts. (Something which I've hopefully rectified with this brew.)
2. The deck plays a mean infinite combo. My LGS recently banned infinite combos from our league games. I'd been trying to encourage some of the softcore players to add more cuthroat cards to their decks, but I guess this solution is okay too.
Anyway, I'm looking to make a deck that doesn't play any infinite combos and is able to deal with aggro decks big and small. Sisay, Mayael, Rhyz, and Animar are all common generals in my local meta.
My opinion on Oros originally was that he "made his deck himself". He's begged to be at the helm of a Voltron equipment deck that plays Basilisk Collar, but here he is used just for his colors and potential weenie sweeping abilities vs non-white decks.
1 Oros, the Avenger
Artifacts (15)
1 Ankh of Mishra
1 Boros Signet
1 Charcoal Diamond
1 Coalitiion Relic
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Dingus Staff
1 Fire Diamond
1 Khalni Gem
1 Marble Diamond
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Psychogenic Probe
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Sol ring
1 Thought Prison
Creatures (15)
1 Angelic Arbiter
1 Blazing Archon
1 Desolation Angel
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Hedron-Field Purists
1 Kaervek the Merciless
1 Magmatic Force
1 Mondronen Shaman
1 Purity
1 Peacekeeper
1 Sun Titan
1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
1 Windborn Muse
1 Zo-Zu the Punisher
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Witch Hunt
1 AEther Flash
1 Antagonism
1 Bloodchief Ascension
1 Citadel of Pain
1 Force Bubble
1 Form of the Dragon
1 Forsaken Wastes
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Havoc Festival
1 Impatience
1 Land Tax
1 Manabarbs
1 Personal Sanctuary
1 Polluted Bonds
1 Spellshock
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Sulfuric Vortex
1 Transcendence
1 Wound Reflection
Instants (4)
1 Hide//Seek
1 Price of Progress
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Return to Dust
Sorcery (7)
1 Armageddon
1 Catastrophe
1 Decree of Annihilation
1 Enduring Ideal
1 Identity Crisis
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Vindicate
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Shivan Gorge
1 Godless Shrine
1 Blood Crypt
1 Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Stensia Bloodhall
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Sulferous Springs
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Trainted Field
1 Tainted Peak
1 Clifftop Retreat
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Boros Garrison
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Molten Slagheap
1 Rugged Prairie
1 Graven Cairns
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Temple of Silence
5 Mountain
4 Swamp
4 Plains
Note: I have never played this deck. I have the cards ordered and they are otw.
The impetus for this deck was that I want to play something mean that doesn't violate the no infinite combo rule at my LGS. Punisher seems like a good way to do that. Punisher with mass LD seems like an even better way to do that.
The basic idea is to get out one of the Punisher cards, like Impatience or Antagonism and then wipe everyone lands leaving them taking pain every turn, while you recover a bit quicker then everyone else thanks to Land Tax or Crucible of Worlds
To make the pain 1-sided, I've included Hedron-Field Purists, Personal Sanctuary, and Purity instead of Exquisite Blood because the deck plays a plethora of "Players can't gain life" effects.
There are probably a few cards in the deck that are just too cute, Transcendence and Form of the Dragon came in because of there synergy with Enduring Ideal and all the pain enchantments which in an ideal world let me slowly build an rock solid pillow fort that slowly suck the life from whoever is left at the table.
I've intentionally omitted most search effects because of Psychogenic Probe. I favored this card over Stranglehold because it comes out much quicker and can punish players using green mana ramp spell. It also fits the punisher theme of "You want to do that, well you're going to have to take pain."
I played in a Monday tournament with GW. I made a few modifications to this list:
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=60387
Main:
-2 Rootborn Defense +2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Side:
-2 Centaur Healer +2 Banisher Priest
The monday tournament was on the smaller then normal so I we only had 4 rounds. I ended up going 2-0-2 in the swiss arounds only to lose top 8 to Esper.
Both my matches in the swiss rounds were against mono black devotion, but one was actually BUG with a small green splash for Golgari Charm and Abrupt Decay. I had no problem with either match. Scion of Vitu-Ghazi ended up being quite an all star in one game, especially when they try to trade 1 for 1 with your creatures.
My board against Monoblack was:
Out:
-4 Loxodon Smiter
-1 Polokranos
-3 Boon Satyr
In:
+2 Pithing Needle
+2 Scions of Viu-Ghazi
+1 Brave the Elements
+2 Banisher Preist
+1 Trostani (I'm pretty sure I brought him in anyway, since they must use point removal on him immediately.)
vs Esper:
Out:
-4 Selesnya Charm
-1 Banisher Preist
-1 Pollukranos
-2 Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage
In:
+3 Mistcutter Hydra
+2 Pithing Needle
+2 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
+1 Brave the Elements
I don't want to put all the blame on myself for the loss in top 8. I made the most unfortunate of play mistake and lost the dice roll, which put me on the draw for games 1 and 3. In game 3 he also managed to draw 2 Verdicts and 3 Blood Barons without even having to cast Sphinx Rev to draw cards, but I'm pretty sure I boarded wrong, especially against Esper, when I should of just left in the Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage because they have to wrath vs him. I also felt that Selesnya Charm is relevant in all matches so boarding it out was very wrong.
@People playing the version with Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage and Scion of Vitu-Ghazi; What is your sideboard plan?
One of my origignal builds of GW was 59/60 of that exact maindeck. The only change was I ran1 fewer Soldier of the Pantheon and 1 more God's Willing. I honestly don't like playing that version of GW because 1 drops and God's Willing just become dead draws if the game goes past the first few turns. I believe that Sneakattackkid had a much better list because he cut back on utility cards like Rootborn Defenses, God's Willing, and meh 1 drops like Solider for simply more threats that meant you were drawing business for the entire game unless you drew a land.
I'm much more impressed by the results of these decks:
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=60387
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=60186
a top 4 and a top 16 result in back to back weeks with only very minor changes. I'll be honest that when I saw this deck for the first time It looked like quite a pile of junk with Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage and Scion of Vitu-Ghazi in it, but I feel that a slower more inevitable play style might be what the deck needs to grind out matches vs G/x monsters and control decks.
Last Breath, Glare of Heresy, and tokens made by Elspeth, Sun's Champion are all going to be found in UW/x control shells. One of the top 4 decks in the standard right now iirc.
Chained to the Rocks is also worth noting, it's found in Dega Midrange or Brad Nelson's new Naya Control deck.
I'll concede that lot of the other decks in the format tend to be based solely in other colors. Monoblack Devotion, Monoblue Devotion, and RDW present no impediments to Brave the Elements
I had a great time at FNM last night with GW. My total record was 4-0-2 in the swiss rounds which got me into top 8, then I won against Dega Midrange there to make top 4. My local FNMs go pretty late, so top 4 usually just splits the prize.
I was running MDU's list from a few page back, the one with the 3 maindeck skylashers. I will say that one thing I really like about that deck by MDU is that it doesn't waste space on cards like Rootborn Defenses or God's Willing. Every card in the maindeck is a threat.
My matches went:
Round 1: Boros Heroic: Win 2-0. I was very lucky to get paired against this guy in round 1. He was playing in his first FNM so I just ran him over, but we had some fun and I did try to teach him a few things.
Round 2: R/G Monsters: Draw 1-1-1. I really thought I'd won game one. My opponent monsteroused ember swallower which took us down to 2 lands each. I had a Trostani and a VoR Token in play, but just 2 lands. I ended up drawing Selesnya charm for the ember swallower but he drew 2 gore-clan rampagers in a row to run me over with a single BTE while I was looking at 2 loxodon smiters in and and just 2 lands. Game 2 was very different because the deck brings in so many cards in this matchup that it kind of becomes control. With Pacifism, Banisher Priest, and Selesnya Charm you can just remove the few threats they happen to draw and beat through there mana guys. In game 3 we just ran out of time in the round.
Round 3: RDW: Win 2-0: In game one I played a few early guys and he used his burn to clear them out of the way. I jammed Advent on his endstep, then untapped and bestowed Boon Satyr on it. The 9/7 trample swung to victory over a Boros Reckoner. Game 2 was nothing special. I kept a hand with 3 Voice of Resurgence and he broke the 1st rule of magic and kept a 1 land hand, which didn't get there.
Round 4: Rakdos Midrange: Win 2-0: This deck had sort of a new take on the Rakdos deck that I'm more used to seeing. It was pretty heavy on discard effects, the pilot was geared more to a field full of control. The deck also ran Master of Cruelties main deck, which is a very scary card to have to deal with. I ended up winning game 1 because his Anger of the Gods couldn't deal with my larger creatures. In game 2 I was completely shut down from attacking by his untapped Master of Cruelties and a Rakdos Keyrune, but I was lucky enough to rip a Pacisfism off the top; which gave me enough strength to beat in for game.
Round 5: Dega Midrange: Win 2-0: I consider this one of the hardest matchup for GW. In game 1 I got a bit lucky. He stumbled on lands a bit early and tapped out to read the bones which got him enough in life that an EoT Boon Satyr, untap, play Ajani and give double strike, plus Selsyna Charms +2/+2 was lethal. In game 2 he probably would of stood a good change of winning if not for horrible misplays on my opponents part. He was on the play and played a godless shrine tapped, followed up by turn 2 thoughtsieze and pass, missing his 2nd land drop. Also, later in the match he doom bladed my Fleecemane Lion but I had Voice out so I got a token off that.
Round 6: R/G Monsters: 0-0-1 ID: I got paired against my brother in the final round, we could just both draw in so we did. I know that this match is pretty unfavorable for me, especially because he runs MM's version from PT Theros which is much stronger then the R/G deck I faced in round 2.
Top 8: Dega Midrange. Win 2-1. I get paired against the same player I beat in round 5. Game 1 I feel I made a bad play mistake that cost me the game. I had a Loxodon Smiter and was going to beat in. He didn't block and I let him just take 4. I had Boon Satyr and in looking back I should of just bestowed it so that he would of been at 8 life, which could of set up an Ajani double striking win the next turn. He jammed Blood Baron of Vizkappa and won with it the next turn. In game 2 I pulled off a minor miracle to win it. I had an Ajani on 7 Loyalty, then he played a Desecration Demon. I was really hopping to top deck creatures to feed to the demon hoping for the Ajani ultimate. There was 1 turn where I didn't draw a creature so he hit my 8 Loyalty Ajani with a 7/7 Demon to take it to 1. I Drew a Bon Satyr next turn, way too late. I then played it on my turn and ticked Ajani up to 2 to make it a 5/3. He was at 12 and I had another Ajani in hand. Luckily he didn't kill my Ajani on his next attack so I was able to give the Boon Satyr another counter, then jam the other Ajani and give double strike for exact damage. In game 3 he used a lot of removal on my early guys, but I had 2 Advents and jammed them. He removed the 1st wurm, but the 2nd stuck. He tried to play a defensive game with a Deceration Demon, but I had a VoR so I could just sac it to keep the Demon tapped while the wurm went the distance.
All and all, between a win-a-box tournament on Monday and FNM I managed to take home 23 Theros packs just this week with MDU's list.
Going forward: I'm a bit iffy on the Skylashers main. They do work in some games, but my field is not playing as much mono-blue as I was predicting they would. I'm probably going to keep them in for now.
I've been reading this thread for many months. Thanks for making this primer.
I've played EDH with Jaya at the helm for about a year and a half now and I want to put my list online to have a historical record of it and also talk about some of the card choices.
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Hellkite Tyrant
1 Viashino Heratic
1 Scourge of Kher Ridges
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Charmbreaker Devils
1 Anger
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Mad Prophet
1 Skarrgan Firebird
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Firewing Phoenix
1 Shard Phoenix
1 Magma Phoenix
Planeswalkers
1 Karn Liberated
1 Chandra Ablaze
Enchantments
1 Furnace of Rath
1 Gratuitous Violence
1 Repercussion
1 Stranglehold
Instants
1 Skred
1 Chaos Warp
1 Comet Storm
Sorceries
1 Faithless Looting
1 Insurrection
1 Vandalblast
1 Wild Guess
1 Aftershock
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Gamble
1 Reforge the Soul
1 All is Dust
1 Past in Flames
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Batterskull
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Gauntlet of Might
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Fire Diamond
1 Journeyer's Kite
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Sol Ring
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Mind Stone
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Staff of Nin
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Mind's Eye
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Rings of Brighthearth
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Codex Shredder
1 Planar Portal
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Vesuva
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Terrain Generator
1 Winding Canyons
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
1 Temple of the False God
1 Scrying Sheets
1 Mouth of Ranom
1 Buried Ruin
23 Snow-Covered Mountain
This list is still pre-Theros. Like Büge, I am looking forward to including Burnished Hart and also Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in future versions.
I notice a lot of the other Jaya players have been cutting mana artifacts and bigger spells in favor of having a more streamlined deck, but my deck is more of a 'big red' style build and includes 10 mana rocks + 3 gauntlet effects. I've always liked having as much mana as possible because it;
1.) Let's you cast Jaya and use her Inferno often. (Even without equipment protecting her.)
2.) Let's you resurrect your phoenix's often.
3.) Plays into the hands of the high cost bombs, like Scourge of Kher Ridges and Planar Portal.
I'd also like to give some praise out to the humble Viashino Heretic. I think every red deck should run him. If I get him out early game he will often be 5+ Shatters in a 4-man pod. Even later in the game he can be a huge threat by threatening large amounts of damage to anyone foolish enough to play high cost artifacts.
Another all-star card that I haven't been seeing in other Jaya lists in Winding Canyons. Haste is great in this deck, playing well with the general at the helm and most of my creatures and Winding Canyons is basically as good as it gets. It can also enable super secret surprise tactics, like recurring a phoenix to hand and flashing it in before blocks.
Hellkite Tyrant has been an okay card for me. I've never won a game by having 20+ artifacts, but I have had some impressive steals with him. Resolving him will always make somebody nervous. He strikes me as a good counter to Darksteel Forge decks like Sharrum and Arcum Dagson.
The biggest difference between my deck and others in this thread is the omission of Blood Moon and Magus of the Moon. In my local meta, I started off a craze to play mono-colored EDH decks. There are only 3 players who even have ABU dual lands. Most of the multi-color decks that I'd play against would have budget manabases that were more likely to have common lands like the RTR gates. I was not having any success with blood moon in that meta. The multi-color decks in my meta still tend to include a good potion of basic land so blood moon, more often then not, became Jaya fodder. The decks that do get shut out by it in my meta aren't necessarily strong threatening decks. Even then blood moon felt anti-fun to me because I'd just be holding back the 5-color player who made a deck with 1 of every charm and split card while the more threatening players were not phased by the blood moon.
I used to have Goblin Welder and Trading Post in this deck, but removed due to testing. I never found the recursion from welder to be all that useful. This deck has some strong artifacts, but I wouldn't put any of them in the "you must have this in play at all times" tier. while I love Trading Post in my Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed Stax EDH deck, this deck doesn't have synergy with T-Post. Jaya is already great at handling small creatures with her Inferno and I even hard Shard Phoenix and Scourge of Kher Ridges for double duty against weenies and token strategies; which are somewhat common in my meta. The goats will either get wrathed by one of your own answers to weenies or they'll just exist as chump blockers for truly huge creatures that re out of Jaya's Inferno range. Normally these Voltron monsters take the form of Omnath, Urril, or Kresh; they are going to have trample anyway. As for the 4 life from T-post; it's a fair amount of life to gain, but you're eating cards in your hand that would otherwise be more useful as Jaya activations. At one point I had an Expedition Map in the main, but I don't remember why I took it out, maybe it should go back in.
The cards I've been most dissatisfied with currently are Faithless Looting, Furnace of Rath, and Insurrection. They're all on the chopping block.
1. Faithless Looting - Wild Guess is just a better card even without it having flash back. I'd absolutely love this card if my deck had threshold, madness, or more graveyard interaction; but in there absence it's just some filtering and since the deck is non-combo it not desperate for that.
2. Furnace of Rath - I love Gratuitous Violence but Furnace of Rath is a double edged sword. Furnace puts a huge bull's eye on your head.
3. Insurrection - It's won me some games, but I find that board states don't often develop enough for it to became an instant win. At best you kill 1 or 2 players with it and then your remaining opponent/opponents gets there creatures back and end you with them.
How has Chandra, Pyromaster been performing? I've been trying to get my hands on one since M14 game out, but haven't gotten one yet. My initial impression of her was that the card was bad and she was not the red planeswalker we deserve, but I do want to see how she plays in Jaya EDH considering how rare draw effects are in red.