No, I think they intended these decks to be easier for new EDH players to join the format. There's no way from business point of view to jeopardize a huge crowd of commander players, and eager players will always be potential buyers, what they need are NEW EDH players who want to join but don't have starting decks with a theme.
Of course these new decks don't really have a theme either. Just some random artifacts in the Izzet deck, some random enchantments in the enchantment deck and I don't really know what kind of themes the Esper and Jund are because it's not the listed ones.
This is what I've been working on. I took a couple reliable combos to add to the mix to keep it on the stronger side, but also added some things for fun to mess around with. I don't own any ABU's and Misty Rainforest is the only fetchland I don't have, so those are excluded. The deck has some rude synergies including things like recurring Strip Mine, Jokulhaups, etc. Been strongly considering Seismic Assault, Squandered Resources and/or Abundance.
I for one am extremely disappointed. I was excited for the Jund deck when it was announced to be lands matter with Windgrace and even a spider legend! The price hike combined with the garbage builds and traditionally bad mana base all lead to a truly uninspired product. The Esper and Jund decks are definitely the biggest letdowns. I'm not even generally looking for raw out of the box power, but these don't even look fun to play vs each other to teach new players. Would these have been so bad?;
You must be really confident you're consistently behind the group to consider this over Myriad Landscape. Sure, Landscape is clunkier and one-use (barring land-matters), but it at least does its thing regardless of the ramp-state.
Might be going to be a judge foil at some point of time although I'd prefer Forge of Heroes since that's Commander-specific and can't be reprinted like a Masters set like this can.
I am considering running this land in my Nezahal permission deck. It lets me keep my mana open until right before my turn, when I can activate it at the end of an opponent's turn to get that extra land out. I took Thawing Glaciers out because it was clunky and slow, but this card could definitely be useful.
Whelp, there's our Jund Spider legend. Not quite tribal like I was expecting, but your Spiders will still serve it well.
I feel like spiders are traditionally defensive with those 2/4, 3/5, 2/7 and such stats. He might have been pretty cool if if he only forced opponents to attack each turn.
Green WIndgrace feels wierd. Should have been white imo.
Lord Windgrace was a lord of Urborg (before the Phyrexians mucked it all up), he's definitely more on the black side. With his ties to the rest of the catfolk, Jund feels right. Outside of one particular card, he's never really been associated with white.
That jewel seems pretty nuts in Brago, King Eternal and Daretti, Scrap Savant. It also is interesting in super friends where players able to finally hit an open walker now have to decide between that or going face for the jewel (not to mention the good times with things like Venser, the Sojourner). The other big thing is if someone steals it from you, you now have the potential to just hit them to draw another 3 cards. I could definitely see it becoming a staple in aggro/stompy decks in colors without decent card draw (like Boros, mono white, etc). I mean just consider the fact that if you have a flier and they don't, if they hit you, they are getting the gem meaning you will draw when you hit them again. Not to mention how silly it gets with things like Mind's Eye, Consecrated Sphinx and Notion Thief.
I kind of think way back when they decided 'cares about artifacts' meant UR, they made a terrible mistake. Should've been UW, really, because White has less artifact hate than Red does, and gets far more use out of artifacts than Red. Red will use artifacts, but gets a lot more enjoyment out of using them as fuel or blowing them up.
Blue is the only color that cares about artifacts and wants to keep them on the field, so it would technically make more sense to have this in Blue rather than Red.
Red is all about that big swingy stuff though. Tossing the extra cards into the yard afterwards definitely feels red. Red on it's own hasn't had much artifact love beyond Daretti, Scrap Savant, but has traditionally relied on them more than blue. I like seeing cards like Madcap Experiment and this card here, I like to think of red artificers as being super reckless.
I would love to play this guy in my Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger deck. Mana rock heavy opener with this guy and boots of some kind sounds pretty great. I think he's going to be a mostly niche creature card, but he's interesting at least. I fully expect to this guy pop-up in my LGS pods and have to explain over and over about commander tax still being a thing though.
@lumovanis
It seems like you're playing a really high number of anthem effects, ones that effect only toughness of course. Have you found that it's more effective to only have 2-3 Walls in play at only one time? I would also recommend Edric, Spymaster of Trest in your decklist. With a higher focus of getting your Defender creatures into the Red Zone, it seems like the card draw that Edric enables would be useful.
I don't really want to be running Edric, I'm already not a target and the card draw, while nice there sometimes, isn't gong to be as great because I'm not going as wide as other aggro decks.
I feel this thread missed a great opportunity and could have been called "off-the-wall combos"
With all the discussion of aggro vs combo-centric builds and big gaps in budgets, figured I would drop my build here. It is not built for cEDH, rather, it was build as a more middle ground deck to play in friendly, yet semi-competitive games vs the likes of tier 2 and 3 commanders with okay builds. My version of Arcades lies more towards the aggro side, but definitely includes combo stuff in case Arcades gets hated out or the game starts to stall. I've played in about 5 matches now and won all of them vs things like Ezuri elves, Zurgo voltron/control, Kruphix control/combo, etc.
The deck is fairly budget, without really being too intentional. The manabase is pretty functional without the need for ABU duals or Gaea's. Strong consideration was given to running Teeg in the 99 because he doesn't really affect a whole lot of big cards in the deck, while hosing control pretty well (I ultimately decided against it because he can mess with some of my boardwipes though).
It always warms my heart to see Song of Titania in a deck, such a surprise hoser card sometimes. Cards I'd recommend (I'm helping a friend build a very obnoxious version of this deck);
Manabond: Especially great with Library of Leng, but all-in-all it's pretty great on its own here.
Mana Breach, Overburden: Both great for slowing opponents down and letting you recycle.
Storm Cauldron: Definitely obnoxious to play against when you don't have any extra land drops beyond it. This and the previous two are exceptionally great when you are running Burgeoning.
Words of Wind: Pretty straight forward, especially if you have the above combo going on. Play a land, respond to trigger by paying 1 to skip the draw and make everyone pick up a permanent (which for you will be the land you just played most likely, but could also be eternal witness or something), rinse and repeat. The magic begins when you start doing it multiple times each turn.
Contracted Dig Site
Land t: Add C 1, t, Sacrifice Contracted Dig Site: Destroy target land. That land's controller puts a colorless artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. It has "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool".
Of course these new decks don't really have a theme either. Just some random artifacts in the Izzet deck, some random enchantments in the enchantment deck and I don't really know what kind of themes the Esper and Jund are because it's not the listed ones.
1 Lord Windgrace
Creature
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Eternal Witness
1 Budoka Gardener
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Groundskeeper
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Whiptongue Hydra
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Omnath, Locus of Rage
1 Wayward Swordtooth
1 Nesting Dragon
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 The Gitrog Monster
1 Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire
1 Liege of the Tangle
1 Phyrexian Reclamation
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Exploration
1 Zendikar's Roil
1 Retreat to Kazandu
1 Sylvan Library
1 Courser of Kruphix
Land
1 Strip Mine
1 Dust Bowl
12 Forest
5 Mountain
4 Swamp
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Command Tower
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Blood Crypt
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Smoldering Marsh
1 Cinder Glade
1 Blighted Woodland
1 Marsh Flats
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Zuran Orb
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mana Crypt
1 Triskelion
Instant
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Constant Mists
1 Crop Rotation
1 Harrow
1 Terminate
1 Krosan Grip
1 Putrefy
1 Windgrace's Judgement
Sorcery
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Jokulhaups
1 Far Wanderings
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Life from the Loam
1 Raven's Crime
1 Worm Harvest
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Decimate
1 Cultivate
1 Splendid Reclamation
1 Reality Scramble
Jund:
Esper:
(Even just one of the tutors would have been fine)
You can't activate the ability at all unless you are behind.
I am considering running this land in my Nezahal permission deck. It lets me keep my mana open until right before my turn, when I can activate it at the end of an opponent's turn to get that extra land out. I took Thawing Glaciers out because it was clunky and slow, but this card could definitely be useful.
I feel like spiders are traditionally defensive with those 2/4, 3/5, 2/7 and such stats. He might have been pretty cool if if he only forced opponents to attack each turn.
Lord Windgrace was a lord of Urborg (before the Phyrexians mucked it all up), he's definitely more on the black side. With his ties to the rest of the catfolk, Jund feels right. Outside of one particular card, he's never really been associated with white.
To be fair, he can not only mimic Rings of Brighthearth, but also Strionic Resonator, that's a lot flexibility for a 2 drop commander.
Red is all about that big swingy stuff though. Tossing the extra cards into the yard afterwards definitely feels red. Red on it's own hasn't had much artifact love beyond Daretti, Scrap Savant, but has traditionally relied on them more than blue. I like seeing cards like Madcap Experiment and this card here, I like to think of red artificers as being super reckless.
I mean, there's still around 25 defenders in the deck. Builder's Blessing and Stalwart Shield-Bearers are the most basic anthem effect. Oathsworn Giant, Hold the Gates and Brave the Sands all provide vigilance, which has proven to make me one of the most undesirable targets to attack. Spidersilk Armor provides team reach which even lets things like Shield Sphere deter large fliers (which are very common in semi-casual environments, I often see things like Rune-Scarred Demon and Sigarda, Host of Herons). The toughness boosts go quite a ways towards making things like Hornet Nest and Sprouting Phytohydra into real nightmares.
I don't really want to be running Edric, I'm already not a target and the card draw, while nice there sometimes, isn't gong to be as great because I'm not going as wide as other aggro decks.
Yes, but aren't they still being done off walls?
With all the discussion of aggro vs combo-centric builds and big gaps in budgets, figured I would drop my build here. It is not built for cEDH, rather, it was build as a more middle ground deck to play in friendly, yet semi-competitive games vs the likes of tier 2 and 3 commanders with okay builds. My version of Arcades lies more towards the aggro side, but definitely includes combo stuff in case Arcades gets hated out or the game starts to stall. I've played in about 5 matches now and won all of them vs things like Ezuri elves, Zurgo voltron/control, Kruphix control/combo, etc.
The deck is fairly budget, without really being too intentional. The manabase is pretty functional without the need for ABU duals or Gaea's. Strong consideration was given to running Teeg in the 99 because he doesn't really affect a whole lot of big cards in the deck, while hosing control pretty well (I ultimately decided against it because he can mess with some of my boardwipes though).
1 Arcades, the Strategist
Creature
1 Wall of Kelp
1 Wall of Nets
1 Vine Trellis
1 Sunscape Familiar
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Sprouting Phytohydra
1 Wall of Denial
1 Overgrown Battlement
1 Stalwart Shield-Bearers
1 Tree of Redemption
1 Axebane Guardian
1 Gatecreeper Vine
1 Mnemonic Wall
1 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Hornet Nest
1 Wall of Omens
1 Doorkeeper
1 Quicksilver Wall
1 Wall of Shards
1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
1 Jungle Barrier
1 Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
1 Carven Caryatid
1 Sun Titan
1 Oathsworn Giant
Enchantment
1 Intruder Alarm
1 Abundance
1 Spidersilk Armor
1 Aura Shards
1 Pemmin's Aura
1 Privileged Position
1 Builder's Blessing
1 Hold the Gates
1 Brave the Sands
1 Assault Formation
8 Forest
4 Plains
5 Island
1 Mistveil Plains
1 Mystic Gate
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Command Tower
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Mana Confluence
1 Flooded Strand
1 Windswept Heath
1 Prairie Stream
1 Canopy Vista
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Flooded Grove
1 Bountiful Promenade
1 Sea of Clouds
Artifact
1 Meekstone
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Slagwurm Armor
1 Selesnya Signet
1 Azorius Signet
1 Simic Signet
1 Shield of the Righteous
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Sol Ring
1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir
1 Shield Sphere
1 Wall of Junk
1 Junktroller
1 Wall of Tanglecord
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Arcane Denial
1 Worldly Tutor
1 Counterspell
1 Congregation at Dawn
1 Return to Dust
1 Tower Defense
1 Swan Song
1 Eerie Interlude
1 Enlightened Tutor
Sorcery
1 Fell the Mighty
1 Dusk // Dawn
1 Slaughter the Strong
Manabond: Especially great with Library of Leng, but all-in-all it's pretty great on its own here.
Mana Breach, Overburden: Both great for slowing opponents down and letting you recycle.
Storm Cauldron: Definitely obnoxious to play against when you don't have any extra land drops beyond it. This and the previous two are exceptionally great when you are running Burgeoning.
Sakura-Tribe Scout, Skyshroud Ranger, Budoka Gardener: These are solid (I saw you had the atlas and the scout already) letting you get extra lands out and combo'ing a bit with some cards. Retreat to Coralhelm is the obvious plug in here. Budoka Gardener is trickier to use, but he is a wincon in himself sometimes.
Words of Wind: Pretty straight forward, especially if you have the above combo going on. Play a land, respond to trigger by paying 1 to skip the draw and make everyone pick up a permanent (which for you will be the land you just played most likely, but could also be eternal witness or something), rinse and repeat. The magic begins when you start doing it multiple times each turn.
Wayward Swordtooth: More land plays are good. For other less budget-friendly options there's Exploration, Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Oracle of Mul Daya
Nice thing here is that most of these are pretty budget options.
Contracted Dig Site
Land
t: Add C
1, t, Sacrifice Contracted Dig Site: Destroy target land. That land's controller puts a colorless artifact token named Gold onto the battlefield. It has "Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool".