Rather than using Gideon to lock out Voltron commanders, have you considered Story Circle, Circle of Protection: White, or Rune of Protection: White? They go nicely with your general, and Uril, Sigarda, Zur, and Rafiq (some of the most dangerous voltrons) are all white to begin with, so you don't have to target them with 8.5 Tails.
Nice deck, by the way. You've given me some ideas for my Kemba deck (for which I'd be grateful to here your opinion).
Have you tried Bane of Progress in this deck? I know that it's a non-bo with Birthing Pod and a few other cards, but when it works: wow. I saw it completely obliterate a few boards tonight and leave behind a 10/10 body. Seems pretty good.
If your playgroup is casual you might wanna look at a different deck. This one isn't top tier, but it's right below it imo. I love this deck, but it's not casual.
This, precisely. My local shop has a bunch of new players (new to Commander anyway) and many who play janky brews instead of optimized decks. There's just no way I can play Kozilek there. It crushes the table every time. There isn't a way to play it in a non-threatening manner. You ramp like crazy, drop a huge fatty that eats someone's board and that's it. Each game turns into Archenemy and it still doesn't matter. My deck isn't nearly as tuned as Juwdah's either.
If you want to try a colorless deck without breaking a bunch of faces, try Karn, Silver Golem. I might have to switch my general for this deck just so I can play it without losing friends.
Sure, those. Skarrg Goliath and Rubblehulk too. Bloodrush is great with Radha's combat mana ability. Even Deadbridge Goliath is useful as a relevant Turn 3 beater that can later turn Radha into a monster. Savagehorn Hydra gets insane with extra mana. It's not a fattie, but [c]Guild Feud[/c[ works well, because our stuff will likely be bigger than everything else.
The trick is making the early ramp plan work without running out of cards later. You absolutely need RG on Turn 2 and 1RG on Turn 3 to make it work. In order to hit those first three land drops with high certainty, you have to play more lands than you'd think in a ramp deck (probably 40).
You can also play a few ramping cards that take advantage of Radha's combat ability like Harrow and Armillary Sphere. That way, if you're stuck on two lands, you can get out of it with an attack, and usually someone will be defenseless that early.
I played a Radha deck for a while. The best part about her is that she's a Rampant Growth that's always in your opening hand. That might not sound too good, but it means that you can play a major ramp spell consistently on Turn 3 (like Thran Dynamo, Koth of the Hammer, Skyshroud Claim and others) and then go nuts from turn 4 onward. The Return to Ravnica Block added a bunch of fun and powerful Gruul fatties, and Domri Rade seems awesome here.
Kemba, Kha Regent was my first Commander deck. I didn't win much, but it sure was fun. As I learned more about the format, I moved on to more successful strategies, but i'd like to see if I can make a somewhat viable Kemba deck.
I'm not here to say that this deck is great. It may not even be especially good. But, it's an interesting design challenge.
Strategies that don't interest me:
* Cat Tribal. We'd have to play too many cards which are individually weak.
* A bunch of anthems. If we can't get Kemba going, the anthems become dead cards.
* Doing nothing. We're mono-white. We have to be very carerful not to become that player who stalls out on lands or runs out of cards and sits around while everyone else plays a nice game of Magic.
* Mass land destruction. Tempting, but no thanks. Let's make a deck that's at least somewhat interesting for everyone but that can still compete.
Strategies that might work:
* I think that equipment is cool in general, so that's a plus.
* Double strike seems good with the various Swords.
* Skullclamp should provide some much needed card draw if we can get it going.
* Since we're mono-white and we can pump any old creature with the equipment, we can sweep with impunity.
* Value and velocity. We need most of our cards to be inexpensive and/or replace themselves so that we don't fall behind.
* Sacrifice effects. We'll have a lot of cats. We need to use them for something.
* If we're going to be sacrificing things, we can have more token producers than just Kemba.
UPDATE 11/28: This deck is trying to do too many things. It can't be an aggro-equipment deck and a control deck at the same time. I think Boros would be better for aggro-equipment, so I'm going to concentrate on control here.
UPDATE 11/29: Down to 100 cards finally. I think I need more sac outlets. Also, I want to add a Ghostly Prison "tax" package, but I think I want to get a few game in with this build first.
Because Oloro can gain you a bunch of life, Righteous Aura seems like a great way to shut down opponents who are trying to win with Commander damage or infect. It compliments Sphere of Safety very well. The sphere keeps out the multitudes. The Aura keeps out that one, huge problem. And, it doesn't even target, so it beats Sigarda, Uril, Zur with shroud enchantments, etc.
In terms of cards to cut, you seem to have an abundance of sac outlets. Some are great, like Ashnod's Altar and Martyr's Cause. Some are not so great, like the Rusalkas. I get that you're trying to recur stuff with Saffi, but if you use cards that sac themselves (like Burnished Hart) then you can still do that. Once you get a sac outlet in play, the value of all the others goes down significantly.
Another good land tutor is Sylvan Scrying. You can use it to find High Market which is a great sac outlet. Abrogated recommended Crop Rotation above, and I second that. If you do that, grab a Sejiri Steppe as well. You can use Crop Rotation or Knight of the Reliquary to get Sejiri Steppe in response to a removal spell and use your land as a counterspell. That's a pretty good blowout and most people will walk right into it unless they play Legacy.
Three Dreams is a huge beating here, especially if you include defensive auras like the delicious Lignify. Seriously, try that card. It removes a threat but it doesn't allow the opponent to re-cast it if it's a commander. The new Darksteel Mutation is similar, and it might be good to run both.
Faith's Fetters always disappoints me. It just doesn't feel like it does enough for what it costs.
For pump effects, I like Furor of the Bitten. It's not like attacking every turn is a problem for a buffed Uril. Also, Mark of Fury for hasty beats.
For mana development, there's always the white goodies like Land Tax (and the obligatory Scroll Rack). If you get some shock lands, Tithe and Gift of Estates are pretty good too. This is Esper. We'll take whatever extra land we can get. Weathered Wayfarer is an option as well, and he's especially good with all the untappers.
I like Retribution of the Meek in a deck like this because you can chase away all the fatties while keeping all of your utility guys.
Diabolic Intent is great when you're stealing guys anyway, and Ertai, the Corrupted fits with the stealing theme and the untapper theme. I even played Royal Assassin as the ultimate rattlesnake with all those untappers.
Nice deck. Discussing it makes me want to rebuild my version. I gave up on it because I couldn't find a decent win condition. Maybe Sorin Markov and Magister Sphinx to get the opponents low?
Nice deck, by the way. You've given me some ideas for my Kemba deck (for which I'd be grateful to here your opinion).
This, precisely. My local shop has a bunch of new players (new to Commander anyway) and many who play janky brews instead of optimized decks. There's just no way I can play Kozilek there. It crushes the table every time. There isn't a way to play it in a non-threatening manner. You ramp like crazy, drop a huge fatty that eats someone's board and that's it. Each game turns into Archenemy and it still doesn't matter. My deck isn't nearly as tuned as Juwdah's either.
If you want to try a colorless deck without breaking a bunch of faces, try Karn, Silver Golem. I might have to switch my general for this deck just so I can play it without losing friends.
The trick is making the early ramp plan work without running out of cards later. You absolutely need RG on Turn 2 and 1RG on Turn 3 to make it work. In order to hit those first three land drops with high certainty, you have to play more lands than you'd think in a ramp deck (probably 40).
You can also play a few ramping cards that take advantage of Radha's combat ability like Harrow and Armillary Sphere. That way, if you're stuck on two lands, you can get out of it with an attack, and usually someone will be defenseless that early.
I'm not here to say that this deck is great. It may not even be especially good. But, it's an interesting design challenge.
Strategies that don't interest me:
* Cat Tribal. We'd have to play too many cards which are individually weak.
* A bunch of anthems. If we can't get Kemba going, the anthems become dead cards.
* Doing nothing. We're mono-white. We have to be very carerful not to become that player who stalls out on lands or runs out of cards and sits around while everyone else plays a nice game of Magic.
* Mass land destruction. Tempting, but no thanks. Let's make a deck that's at least somewhat interesting for everyone but that can still compete.
Strategies that might work:
* I think that equipment is cool in general, so that's a plus.
* Double strike seems good with the various Swords.
* Skullclamp should provide some much needed card draw if we can get it going.
* Since we're mono-white and we can pump any old creature with the equipment, we can sweep with impunity.
* Value and velocity. We need most of our cards to be inexpensive and/or replace themselves so that we don't fall behind.
* Sacrifice effects. We'll have a lot of cats. We need to use them for something.
* If we're going to be sacrificing things, we can have more token producers than just Kemba.
UPDATE 11/28: This deck is trying to do too many things. It can't be an aggro-equipment deck and a control deck at the same time. I think Boros would be better for aggro-equipment, so I'm going to concentrate on control here.
UPDATE 11/29: Down to 100 cards finally. I think I need more sac outlets. Also, I want to add a Ghostly Prison "tax" package, but I think I want to get a few game in with this build first.
Here's a prototype decklist
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Mother of Runes
1 Benevolent Bodyguard
2 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Puresteel Paladin
2 Leonin Shikari
3 Burnished Hart
3 Mentor of the Meek
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Indomitable Archangel
4 Leonin Abunis
5 Stonehewer Giant
5 World Queller
6 Sun Titan
4 Elspeth, Knight Errant
1 Explorer's Scope
1 Infiltration Lens
1 Skullclamp
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Mask of Memory
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Trailblazers' Boots
2 Konda's Banner
3 Darksteel Plate
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Sword of Light and Shadow
3 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Sword of War and Peace
3 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Strata Scythe
4 Nim Deathmantle
5 Pariah's Shield
6 Argentum Armor
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
2 Mind Stone
2 Guardian Idol
2 Torpor Orb
2 Scroll Rack
3 Ashnod's Altar
3 Tangle Wire
3 Worn Powerstone
4 Smokestack
4 Trading Post
Enchantments (3)
1 Land Tax
3 Aura of Silence
3 Martyr's Cause
Sorcery (8)
1 Steelshaper's Gift
2 Gift of Estates
3 Retribution of the Meek
4 Day of Judgment
4 Wrath of God
5 Hallowed Burial
6 Austere Command
6 Terminus
Instants (3)
1 Tithe
1 Enlightened Tutor
4 Return to Dust
1 Ancient Den
1 Blasted Landscape
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Drifting Meadow
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 Springjack Pasture
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Temple of the false god
30 Plains
Any suggestions? Kemba control, baby!
I'd greatly appreciate any feedback about the deck. Thanks!
Another good land tutor is Sylvan Scrying. You can use it to find High Market which is a great sac outlet. Abrogated recommended Crop Rotation above, and I second that. If you do that, grab a Sejiri Steppe as well. You can use Crop Rotation or Knight of the Reliquary to get Sejiri Steppe in response to a removal spell and use your land as a counterspell. That's a pretty good blowout and most people will walk right into it unless they play Legacy.
Explosive Vegetation doesn't really help you get to Uril any faster. Might as well go with Wild Growth or Fertile Ground. They fit the enchantment theme as well.
Three Dreams is a huge beating here, especially if you include defensive auras like the delicious Lignify. Seriously, try that card. It removes a threat but it doesn't allow the opponent to re-cast it if it's a commander. The new Darksteel Mutation is similar, and it might be good to run both.
Faith's Fetters always disappoints me. It just doesn't feel like it does enough for what it costs.
For pump effects, I like Furor of the Bitten. It's not like attacking every turn is a problem for a buffed Uril. Also, Mark of Fury for hasty beats.
Expedition Map
Burnished Hart
Kor Cartographer (gets Mistveil Plains)
The first two are great with your Sun Titan. That card is so good in your deck that you might want to play Fierce Empath just to find him.
Also, Eladamri's Call is just better than Altar of Bone, but you might want both.
I like Retribution of the Meek in a deck like this because you can chase away all the fatties while keeping all of your utility guys.
Diabolic Intent is great when you're stealing guys anyway, and Ertai, the Corrupted fits with the stealing theme and the untapper theme. I even played Royal Assassin as the ultimate rattlesnake with all those untappers.
Nice deck. Discussing it makes me want to rebuild my version. I gave up on it because I couldn't find a decent win condition. Maybe Sorin Markov and Magister Sphinx to get the opponents low?
If you ever need further artifact hate, Titania's Song is pretty good.