Duplicant is wonderful creature exiling for decks of all creeds and colors. For noncreature cards, there's also the option of shuffling them back into the library with Primal Command or Brutalizer Exarch. Also, Gild might just be worth tilting your deck a bit further towards black.
Seeing how he was only recently spoiled, I've only just begun my journey with Kruphix and the deck is very much in a state of experimentation. Any and all suggestion are welcome, and I'm curious to hear your take on the God of Horizons! I'm mainly trying to play to his humble core strength of stocking up absurd amounts of cards and mana. In my first game, I struck the finishing blow with Overbeing of Myth and 50 cards in hand, so I decided the deck was on a good path and went from there.
Sky's the limit. With Kruphix and his endless mana storage, cards that would be too expensive even by Commander standards suddenly become perfectly viable. Why think big when we can think even bigger? Play every Eldrazi with Spawnsire of Ulamog, unleash laughably huge Hydras and tutor everything you want with Planar Portal. I'm search for the best and most absurd ways to spend obscene amounts of Mana that Magic has to offer.
Every turn is Kruphix's turn. When you never lose mana, there's really no reason to play anything in your own turn. Give your entire arsenal flash with Leyline of Anticipation and play your threats only at the most opportune moments. By the same token, I imagine Kruphix could work well in a control deck, though that's not my main direction. Control spells in this deck are a supporting pillar to give me time to build and protect what I build once it's on the field.
Draw everything. The rich man's tutor: Just have enough cards in hand that you always have what you need. With as much mana as Kruphix can store for you, Blue Sun's Zenith becomes laughably efficient and Enter the Infinite easily affordable. Time Reversal serves as an emergency button so we can't deck ourselves, and also as a handy counter to Mill and Graveyard strategies.
In my testing so far, the deck has managed to explode to absurd proportions given just a bit of time. It appears very dependent on the commander at first, but Kruphix getting tucked hasn't proved as problematic as I thought. For one, we have tutors and draw to get him back, and we can still produce tons of mana without him - we can't store it, but still put it to good use. And with cards like Omniscience and Venser's Journal, we have several backup plans if all else fails. Losing Kruphix only really hurts when we already have masses of cards and mana that would be lost at the end of turn, but in these situations you usually hold some answers to whatever the enemy might spring on you. The deck's main weakness appears to be that it does take some time to build (remember that Kruphix doesn't do anything by himself and is both weak and expensive by God standards), which makes it vulnerable to being rushed and not as good in 1v1. I'm still thinking about how to improve in this regard without compromising the theme of huge, expensive cards too much. Cards like Polukranos are ideal - you can cast them cheaply early if you want, but have the option of pumping huge amounts of mana into them later on.
Have you given Kruphix a try yet, or plan to put him at the helm of your next deck? Share your ideas!
To be honest, it seems to me that Karador would just be a better commander in almost any situation. He's not indestructible, but if your deck is built well you pretty much always get to cast him for GBW. And unlike Athreos, he's guaranteed to get your guys back from the yard when you need them. He also grants you access to green's powerful ramp in addition to B/W.
So what do you guys think of him as a commander? The effect and mana cost are obviously nuts even in EDH, but 3 life is not quite as much there. On the other hand if you get a really strong sacrifice engine rolling and always target the same opponent for the life cost, you could quickly get to the point where they simply can't or don't want to pay anymore.
With the glowing sticker cutting into the text box and the designer credit, this has to be the most hideous rare I've seen so far. Really don't know what they were thinking, it totally breaks the immersion for me.
The card itself is great, however, and I love the idea of letting other designers try their hand with Magic. Looking forward to see Richard Garriott's design especially
Dark Depths was one of the first mana sinks that came to mind for me, if only because that's a card I've always wanted to play. Colossus of Akros and Spawnsire of Ulamog could also be whopping finishers.
Depending on what path you want to take him, you can also build more around the infinite hand size with stuff like Mind Unbound and Masumaro, First to Live (though I'm sure there are better cards to take advantage of that theme).
Flash for everything also seems potent with persistent mana. Prophet of Kruphix is obvious, along with similiar cards like Teferi.
Edit: Also sniped!
Psst, hey you! Ever dreamt of infinite power? How about infinite knowledge? Might I interest you in a membership for the church of Kruphix?
1 Kruphix, God of Horizons
Thinking Big
1 Myojin of Life's Web
1 Spitting Image
1 Heroes' Bane
1 Empyrial Plate
1 Genesis Wave
1 Chasm Skulker
1 Psychosis Crawler
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Lorthos, the Tidemaker
1 Colossus of Akros
1 Lifeblood Hydra
1 Hydra Broodmaster
1 Shipbreaker Kraken
1 Planar Portal
1 Ring of Three Wishes
1 Steel Hellkite
Opportunities at Every Turn
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Prophet of Kruphix
Building Endless Power
1 Dreamscape Artist
1 Yavimaya Dryad
1 Yavimaya Elder
1 Sol Ring
1 Astral Cornucopia
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Cultivate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Boundless Realms
1 Mana Reflection
1 Doubling Cube
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Tempt with Discovery
1 Wood Elves
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Recurring Insight
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
1 Braingeyser
1 Prime Speaker Zegana
1 Mind Spring
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Mind Unbound
1 Thought Reflection
1 Overbeing of Myth
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Jushi Apprentice
1 Myojin of Seeing Winds
1 Praetor's Counsel
1 Time Reversal
1 Eternal Witness
1 Stroke of Genius
Controlling the Power
1 Winged Coatl
1 Aetherize
1 Aetherspouts
1 Plasm Capture
1 Mystic Snake
1 Dissolve
1 Hinder
1 Spell Crumple
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Song of the Dryads
1 Beast Within
1 Unravel the AEther
1 Terastodon
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Terrain Generator
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Command Tower
1 Temple of the False God
1 Winding Canyons
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Homeward Path
12 Island
11 Forest
Original deck:
1 Kruphix, God of Horizons
Thinking Big
1 Primordial Hydra
1 Polukranos, World Eater
1 Lorthos, the Tidemaker
1 Colossus of Akros
1 Spawnsire of Ulamog
1 Hydra Broodmaster
1 Shipbreaker Kraken
1 Omniscience
1 Planar Portal
1 Ring of Three Wishes
1 Mindshrieker
1 Steel Hellkite
Opportunities at Every Turn
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Prophet of Kruphix
Building Endless Power
1 Sol Ring
1 Astral Cornucopia
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Cultivate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Skyshroud Claim
1 Boundless Realms
1 Mana Reflection
1 Doubling Cube
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Tempt with Discovery
1 Wood Elves
1 Farhaven Elf
1 Sakura Tribe Elder
1 Mind Spring
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Mind Unbound
1 Thought Reflection
1 Overbeing of Myth
1 Biomantic Mastery
1 Aeon Chronicler
1 Enter the Infinite
1 Jushi Apprentice
1 Sphinx of Magosi
1 Myojin of Seeing Winds
1 Praetor's Counsel
1 Chord of Calling
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Primal Command
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Time Reversal
1 Eternal Witness
1 Creeping Renaissance
Controlling the Power
1 Plasm Capture
1 Mystic Snake
1 Voidslime
1 Forbid
1 Hinder
1 Spell Crumple
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Capsize
1 Spin into Myth
1 Beast Within
1 Unravel the AEther
1 Terastodon
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Command Tower
1 Temple of the False God
1 Winding Canyons
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Homeward Path
13 Island
13 Forest
Seeing how he was only recently spoiled, I've only just begun my journey with Kruphix and the deck is very much in a state of experimentation. Any and all suggestion are welcome, and I'm curious to hear your take on the God of Horizons! I'm mainly trying to play to his humble core strength of stocking up absurd amounts of cards and mana. In my first game, I struck the finishing blow with Overbeing of Myth and 50 cards in hand, so I decided the deck was on a good path and went from there.
Sky's the limit. With Kruphix and his endless mana storage, cards that would be too expensive even by Commander standards suddenly become perfectly viable. Why think big when we can think even bigger? Play every Eldrazi with Spawnsire of Ulamog, unleash laughably huge Hydras and tutor everything you want with Planar Portal. I'm search for the best and most absurd ways to spend obscene amounts of Mana that Magic has to offer.
Every turn is Kruphix's turn. When you never lose mana, there's really no reason to play anything in your own turn. Give your entire arsenal flash with Leyline of Anticipation and play your threats only at the most opportune moments. By the same token, I imagine Kruphix could work well in a control deck, though that's not my main direction. Control spells in this deck are a supporting pillar to give me time to build and protect what I build once it's on the field.
Draw everything. The rich man's tutor: Just have enough cards in hand that you always have what you need. With as much mana as Kruphix can store for you, Blue Sun's Zenith becomes laughably efficient and Enter the Infinite easily affordable. Time Reversal serves as an emergency button so we can't deck ourselves, and also as a handy counter to Mill and Graveyard strategies.
In my testing so far, the deck has managed to explode to absurd proportions given just a bit of time. It appears very dependent on the commander at first, but Kruphix getting tucked hasn't proved as problematic as I thought. For one, we have tutors and draw to get him back, and we can still produce tons of mana without him - we can't store it, but still put it to good use. And with cards like Omniscience and Venser's Journal, we have several backup plans if all else fails. Losing Kruphix only really hurts when we already have masses of cards and mana that would be lost at the end of turn, but in these situations you usually hold some answers to whatever the enemy might spring on you. The deck's main weakness appears to be that it does take some time to build (remember that Kruphix doesn't do anything by himself and is both weak and expensive by God standards), which makes it vulnerable to being rushed and not as good in 1v1. I'm still thinking about how to improve in this regard without compromising the theme of huge, expensive cards too much. Cards like Polukranos are ideal - you can cast them cheaply early if you want, but have the option of pumping huge amounts of mana into them later on.
Have you given Kruphix a try yet, or plan to put him at the helm of your next deck? Share your ideas!
The card itself is great, however, and I love the idea of letting other designers try their hand with Magic. Looking forward to see Richard Garriott's design especially
Depending on what path you want to take him, you can also build more around the infinite hand size with stuff like Mind Unbound and Masumaro, First to Live (though I'm sure there are better cards to take advantage of that theme).
Flash for everything also seems potent with persistent mana. Prophet of Kruphix is obvious, along with similiar cards like Teferi.