I immediately loved this card. I'm waiting to pick up 5 foil copies (I imagine it'll be good in other formats). Donald, I'd like to consult you first, but I think I'm going to replace Veil of Birds with this. My thoughts went a few ways:
If I replaced Cursecatcher then I got +1 flier but +0 counters
If I replaced a flier then I got +1 counter but +0 fliers
If I replaced Spiketail Hatchling then his cmc went down by 1 but can now only target non-permanent spells
I know you said at the beginning of this year that you are retiring the primer, but can you at least provide your updated decklist with the cards you got in January? I'm about to go out and start picking up pieces of this and if there's an update then I'd rather get newer, better things than an older list. Please and thank you a ton!
If it doesn't end up getting banned, I'll be all about it. It's a fantastic political tool and milling for 13 is no joke. I'm not optimistic that we'll get to play with this card for very long though.
There's no way that's going to get banned; it's not anywhere near good enough.
Mizzix is capable of infinite combo several ways with enough experience counters, though.
Youre right. He seems very broken for this reason. A list of more common ones would be a good idea.
Someone needs to condense all of the suggested combos on this thread to the main post as well.
I would add new things in a heartbeat, but I've asked the community nicely at least twice now to format their posts properly because it saves me a ton of work when I do a mass update and still only a few people have done it.
That's fair. I wasn't sure if it was necessarily necessary since the deck is single color. I don't think there's a 'future/proposed wants' section but for decks I usually like to start with infinite money and work backwards, which is why I'll often ask people whose decks I'm interested in, "If you could make this with infinite money, what would you do to it?"
Sounds pretty awesome. You're basically maximizing how much mana to use to give it -1/+1 as well as untap it? I'm a mathematician so at least I'm very interested in your algorithm, lol.
That's exactly what it does. It gives toughness options up to some ridiculous amount just for brute force and exhaustion sake and highlights the highest number.
You may be happy to know that I recently did some math with Morphling and Phenax. The work boils down to (x/2 + 2)² rounded down, where x = the amount of mana you have/want to dump into Morphling. The same unfortunately isn't true with a creature that has Pemmin's Aura, however I have an Excel file that can automate telling you exactly how much you can mill for a given toughness and amount of mana. I'm currently working on it being more inclusive, that being including cards that can untap creatures for different amounts of mana like Umbral Mantle or ones that don't have the option of changing it's toughness like Knacksaw Clique. If anyone needs clarification then feel free to ask.
So my girlfriend has a new favorite deck, Aurelia. She had all the swords and the basic boros staples in there. Any good synergies or conbos to suggest? Also made her a grand arbetor deck, any help with combos on him would be appreciated
My suggestion is look through the first few posts, or Google decks built around them.
I'm loving the deck! It's such a Capt. Ginyu strategy which is hilarious to me!
Question for OP though. I see there's a list of things that you want or wish you had the money for. I also take it that Scrubland would be on that list. Assuming infinite money, what cards would you put into the deck in place of what, and why? I'd love your input on that. Thanks!
Ya know there's not nearly as many of these viable creatures but given the amount of blue needed over G it's a shame we can't run the UGaea's Cradle in the form of Tolarian Academy. We could try to stuff in, if not only the evasive ones, as many of the cheap artifact dudes as possible then we'd be able to get piles of U as well.
On those notes, have you also considered Wrap in Vigor? While it's not a hard counter to some board wipes where I'd rather just have a counter spell it does protect against things like Day of Judgment and Supreme Verdict effects that don't prevent regeneration.
I really like this deck! It's kind of out there yet it seems like it can definitely do some work if you hit fast enough. The only thing I'd be worried about are board wipes and spot removal pointed at Edric (go figure), so why not some added protection or redundancy?
Finally, for some protection why not use Teferi's Veil? I see no downside to this aside from not playing 1-2 creatures that turn, but it instead protects everything that attacked (so probably everything) until your next turn.
I've recently had the pleasure of playing a standard Noyan DarJeskai Ascendancy deck that I'm loving and it compelled me look into him for EDH. I've only come up with some conceptual things that I'd possibly like to include in the final list so I'll list them here in hopes that they're either included here or at least commented on.
In regards to your first comment, I think that some sort of stax/unfun build would be best for this. Stax seems to be a good thing to do in EDH if you want to win in a competitive environment (alongside infinite combos, but that's coming next). I think there could be some stax elements in here but it's difficult to have some of the usual tools like Thalia-like effects since we're mostly non-permanent, or possibly even anything with a Tabernacle effect. It wouldn't be too bad if we only have a few animated creatures and since we should have more lands out than others. Personally I believe that unless I know I can get way ahead of people and just have a few dedicated ‘pay for my dudes’ lands then I wouldn’t want to run this. Some form of pillow fort may work though in both slowing the table down and allowing ourselves a victory. In that case, Starfield of Nyx would also be another, and somehow strangely similar, means of victory. Maybe more so only in 1v1 with pillow fort, but this is why I’m still looking into it. I’m also still looking into how we can use one-sided stax effects. Maybe Back to Basics wouldn't be too bad depending on how we build. Alongside this, as degenerate of control as we can possibly play is how I think this deck should be built. Anything that is one-sided also helps, like Grand Abolisher for example.
For some infinite combos, Vigean Graftmage actually can do some awesome stuff. With either enough devotion to blue or artifacts, an animated Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Tolarian Academy respectively can produce infinite mana, and can then feed into making infinite white with the former or an animated Serra's Sanctum. Having Intruder Alarm can also lead to some good stuff. With Meloku and Walking Atlas you can generate infinite Meloku tokens, mana (assuming an animated land), and landfall triggers with anything already mentioned to include Admonition Angel, Emeria Angel, Hedron Crab, Roil Elemental, or either of the on-colorretreats. Likewise, having Intruder Alarm with an animated Forbidden Orchard is infinite mana by itself. Of course there’s always more classic infinite combos with Deadeye Navigator paired with Palinchron, Peregrine Drake, Cloud of Faeries, etc. Even slightly less original, we can use Archaeomancer or Mnemonic Wall with any of Deadeye Navigator’s buddies (Cloud of Faeries would have to target two lands that collectively produce three mana to break even/four mana to get infinite mana) with Ghostly Flicker for infinite mana and infinitely large lands. This combo can also benefit from Tidespout Tyrant if we want to have our opponents not have a board instead/also. Hey, we may not draw a win condition at that moment! Of course there's also any number of infinite turns combos we can do as well.
It is a massive shame that we can't just have other colors in the deck because Jeskai Ascendancy would be fantastic in here. In any case, I'm attempting to replicate its effect that it has alongside our commander. Isochron Scepter is a pretty good starting point, especially when spells like To Arms! and Roar of the Kha exist. Eye of the Storm helps here a little bit too but I don't like giving my opponents anything except a hard time so this doesn't fit in with what I'd want to do. If we were to be able to animate Isochron Scepter with Intruder Alarm out with something like March of the Machines then it would be good but that’s a bit too cheesy and convoluted. Something almost equally as cheesy yet also useful is a leveled-up Echo Mage and Turnabout which produces infinite mana and makes our creatures infinitely large. Having Mirari may be another option for an extra copy.
I’ll mention a few notable synergies as well. Having Emeria Shepherd and Burnished Hart can help speed through getting lands from your deck assuming you can get at least one Plains each time. While I haven’t explored it as of yet, Amulet of Vigor would at least help in this instance as well as others I’m sure. An animated Terrain Generator can also be useful for powering out more landfall triggers or just accelerating in general. While I normally think this sort of thing is too cute for EDH, if we were to have a cost-reducing effect like Jace's Sanctum and any of the spells that untap enough lands to pay for itself like Rewind, Snap, etc. then that would allow us to gain mana, gain a creature/make a creature bigger, and have some effect on the game state. If we are ever actually behind on lands, having Land Tax out can help. This is especially helpful if we have Scroll Rack because we can just pitch those lands back to the top of our deck, get three new cards, and re-search again next turn.
There's no way that's going to get banned; it's not anywhere near good enough.
I would add new things in a heartbeat, but I've asked the community nicely at least twice now to format their posts properly because it saves me a ton of work when I do a mass update and still only a few people have done it.
That's exactly what it does. It gives toughness options up to some ridiculous amount just for brute force and exhaustion sake and highlights the highest number.
That doesn't work how you think it does. It taps the land; it doesn't tap them for mana.
My suggestion is look through the first few posts, or Google decks built around them.
Question for OP though. I see there's a list of things that you want or wish you had the money for. I also take it that Scrubland would be on that list. Assuming infinite money, what cards would you put into the deck in place of what, and why? I'd love your input on that. Thanks!
Oh shoot, I didn't know that. As I was.
For redundancy, what do you think of cards like Bident of Thassa or Coastal Piracy? They give you a backup, or even better, second, Edric trigger. as far as wincons go though, if Beastmaster Ascension somehow gets countered then I wouldn't want to rely on dinging 'til death. Craterhoof Behemoth is definitely too expensive, so how about Biomass Mutation, Triumph of the Hordes (assuming people don't house rule away infect), or maybe Garruk Wildspeaker despite him taking a turn though helping you until then? Heck, I think Noxious Revival might even help with using Notorious Throng at least for some good stuff.
Finally, for some protection why not use Teferi's Veil? I see no downside to this aside from not playing 1-2 creatures that turn, but it instead protects everything that attacked (so probably everything) until your next turn.
In regards to your first comment, I think that some sort of stax/unfun build would be best for this. Stax seems to be a good thing to do in EDH if you want to win in a competitive environment (alongside infinite combos, but that's coming next). I think there could be some stax elements in here but it's difficult to have some of the usual tools like Thalia-like effects since we're mostly non-permanent, or possibly even anything with a Tabernacle effect. It wouldn't be too bad if we only have a few animated creatures and since we should have more lands out than others. Personally I believe that unless I know I can get way ahead of people and just have a few dedicated ‘pay for my dudes’ lands then I wouldn’t want to run this. Some form of pillow fort may work though in both slowing the table down and allowing ourselves a victory. In that case, Starfield of Nyx would also be another, and somehow strangely similar, means of victory. Maybe more so only in 1v1 with pillow fort, but this is why I’m still looking into it. I’m also still looking into how we can use one-sided stax effects. Maybe Back to Basics wouldn't be too bad depending on how we build. Alongside this, as degenerate of control as we can possibly play is how I think this deck should be built. Anything that is one-sided also helps, like Grand Abolisher for example.
For some infinite combos, Vigean Graftmage actually can do some awesome stuff. With either enough devotion to blue or artifacts, an animated Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Tolarian Academy respectively can produce infinite mana, and can then feed into making infinite white with the former or an animated Serra's Sanctum. Having Intruder Alarm can also lead to some good stuff. With Meloku and Walking Atlas you can generate infinite Meloku tokens, mana (assuming an animated land), and landfall triggers with anything already mentioned to include Admonition Angel, Emeria Angel, Hedron Crab, Roil Elemental, or either of the on-color retreats. Likewise, having Intruder Alarm with an animated Forbidden Orchard is infinite mana by itself. Of course there’s always more classic infinite combos with Deadeye Navigator paired with Palinchron, Peregrine Drake, Cloud of Faeries, etc. Even slightly less original, we can use Archaeomancer or Mnemonic Wall with any of Deadeye Navigator’s buddies (Cloud of Faeries would have to target two lands that collectively produce three mana to break even/four mana to get infinite mana) with Ghostly Flicker for infinite mana and infinitely large lands. This combo can also benefit from Tidespout Tyrant if we want to have our opponents not have a board instead/also. Hey, we may not draw a win condition at that moment! Of course there's also any number of infinite turns combos we can do as well.
It is a massive shame that we can't just have other colors in the deck because Jeskai Ascendancy would be fantastic in here. In any case, I'm attempting to replicate its effect that it has alongside our commander. Isochron Scepter is a pretty good starting point, especially when spells like To Arms! and Roar of the Kha exist. Eye of the Storm helps here a little bit too but I don't like giving my opponents anything except a hard time so this doesn't fit in with what I'd want to do. If we were to be able to animate Isochron Scepter with Intruder Alarm out with something like March of the Machines then it would be good but that’s a bit too cheesy and convoluted. Something almost equally as cheesy yet also useful is a leveled-up Echo Mage and Turnabout which produces infinite mana and makes our creatures infinitely large. Having Mirari may be another option for an extra copy.
I’ll mention a few notable synergies as well. Having Emeria Shepherd and Burnished Hart can help speed through getting lands from your deck assuming you can get at least one Plains each time. While I haven’t explored it as of yet, Amulet of Vigor would at least help in this instance as well as others I’m sure. An animated Terrain Generator can also be useful for powering out more landfall triggers or just accelerating in general. While I normally think this sort of thing is too cute for EDH, if we were to have a cost-reducing effect like Jace's Sanctum and any of the spells that untap enough lands to pay for itself like Rewind, Snap, etc. then that would allow us to gain mana, gain a creature/make a creature bigger, and have some effect on the game state. If we are ever actually behind on lands, having Land Tax out can help. This is especially helpful if we have Scroll Rack because we can just pitch those lands back to the top of our deck, get three new cards, and re-search again next turn.
My two cents. Let me know what you think!