I have a similar RDW list. I run Soul-Scar Mage 's as a 4 of and they have been pretty good. I enjoy using Lightning Axe with Soul-Scar Mage to kill most of the gods, though I only run Lightning Axe as a 2-of. I have not tried out Kari-Zev yet but she seems interesting with Cartouche of Zeal and Consuming Fervor. As for the Cartouche and Trial combo, I run 4 Cartouches (because they are amazing) and 2 of the Trials. There are times where casting the Trial is awkward since I usually max out at 3 mana but being able to return a Trial eventually has gained me some value for pushing through the last points of burn that I have ended up needing. I find that a turn-3 Bristling Hydra is pretty darn annoying so I might consider running more of the menace creatures. I have not tested my list against control yet but I have faced G/B Energy, G/R monsters, and G/W Midrange.
The G/B energy match-up is kind of rough since they can easily have Turn-1 Push and Turn-2 Grasp up all time but I usually hold back my important enchantments such as Cartouche of Zeal and Consuming Fervor so that I don't get 2-for-1d. Though, this causes my deck to slow down quite a bit and I end up getting beat when they start reaching around 4 or 5 mana as they are able to stabilize.
Against G/R monsters, I try to shock their Servant of the Conduit as soon as I can since it helps them ramp into their bigger threats. I find that having Soul-Scar Mage is very important in this match-up as the -1/-1 counters help shrink their monsters and can potentially kill Rhonas the Indomitable with a Lightning Axe.
As for G/W midrange/tokens, the match-up is a bit of a struggle. I have had to learn when it is the right time to just ignore the planeswalkers (Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar) and send the burn straight to the face. They don't really have early game removal but they do have an early game blocker that has been really annoying in the form of Sylvan Advocate.
Without further ado, here is my list:
So I played the 'new' version of the deck against the same people. It did feel a lot better with the censor, narnam renegades, and essence scatter. Tamiyo felt meh because I was never in a safe enough board position where I could plus her. I always used her to keep my opponents creatures tapped and I feel like this would come up more against mardu vehicles, which I feel like would be relevant for at least game day with the results of today's SCG Open. Also with Mardu Vehicles back on the rise, we could see an increase in U/R Emerge / U/R Visions. What should I do against that deck?
So I built and tested this deck. I've only played it against two people but it did horribly both times. Both people were playing G/B variations. The creatures we played were easily dealt with with their removal. Playing and top decking As Foretold felt kind of bad. The only saving grace was the enchantments preboard but even then their threats were so diversified that removing one thing didn't really matter.
Thanks so much! I was actually looking at a Wrexial, the Risen Deep list for a while but unfortunately the author hasn't updated it. I'm not dead set on using Athreos, it would just be nice if I could.
To start things off, I am looking trying to look for updated budget commander deck lists if possible. I have just recently gotten into playing Commander as that is all that anyone who plays Magic at my college plays. I have already built two commander decks that are under $40 and am pretty satisfied with them. They are Mikaeus, the Unhallowed combo deck and a Tolsimir Wolfblood beatdown deck. I'm trying to stay away from infinite combos (even though the Mikaeus is an infinite combo...) as it seems, from what I have read, that people don't really like playing against those kinds of decks. Or at least playing against them often. Any links and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Especially if its a list utilizing Athreos, God of Passage as a commander. The budget that I would like to stay around is less than $50. I am willing to go up to $100 if I get more into Commander.
I've been experimenting with the archetype for a while, and I'm happy to report that the deck went 4-1 (3rd Place) at FNM on Friday, and won a whole slew of games today in testing (I didn't play in any tournaments since I was busy testing for my L1, which I passed).
Here's my current 75. It probably could use a bit more tuning (sideboard), but as of right now, I'm really happy with it.
So I tried out Ashk'rya's deck that does not have the hidden strings against my brother who was using a B/R aggro deck. I lost the set 0-2. I got mana flooded in both games. The second game I got wiped out by two desecration demons. I didn't even draw into the counter generator cards I needed =[. Ah well, bad luck.
Sorry to be such a noob but I was wondering how would I use Hidden Strings in the deck? I also quite like the addition of Desecration Demon to the list. I tried out the the first version of the Time Masheen deck when I first commented and it didn't work out for me so well. I tested the deck with my brother who used a Mono-Green Devotion and a B/G Aggro deck. Once he knew what I was up to, he countered all of my counter generators and basically I was dead in the water.
First off, I would like to see amazing job with this deck. It makes me really excited to play it. I was wondering though, what would be a replacement for Kalonian Hydra? I don't really want to shell out the money for it seeing as M15 comes out in about 2 months or so.
The G/B energy match-up is kind of rough since they can easily have Turn-1 Push and Turn-2 Grasp up all time but I usually hold back my important enchantments such as Cartouche of Zeal and Consuming Fervor so that I don't get 2-for-1d. Though, this causes my deck to slow down quite a bit and I end up getting beat when they start reaching around 4 or 5 mana as they are able to stabilize.
Against G/R monsters, I try to shock their Servant of the Conduit as soon as I can since it helps them ramp into their bigger threats. I find that having Soul-Scar Mage is very important in this match-up as the -1/-1 counters help shrink their monsters and can potentially kill Rhonas the Indomitable with a Lightning Axe.
As for G/W midrange/tokens, the match-up is a bit of a struggle. I have had to learn when it is the right time to just ignore the planeswalkers (Nissa, Voice of Zendikar and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar) and send the burn straight to the face. They don't really have early game removal but they do have an early game blocker that has been really annoying in the form of Sylvan Advocate.
Without further ado, here is my list:
4 Soul-Scar Mage
4 Falkenrath Gorger
4 Bomat Courier
2 Village Messenger
4 Insolent Neonate
2 Bloodrage Brawler
1 Ahn-Crop Crasher
1 Hazoret the Fervent
2 Lightning Axe
3 Fiery Temper
4 Shock
Enchantments
4 Cartouche of Zeal
2 Trial of Zeal
4 Consuming Fervor
Artifacts
1 Key to the City
Lands
18 Mountain
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Glorybringer
2 By Force
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Magma Spray
2 Mountain
For the lands, did you mean Temple of Epiphany instead of Temple of Enlightenment?