For a long time, I have wanted to create a commander deck that abuses the unfair combination of first strike and deathtouch. I have created several different versions of this deck, however, none of them satisfy me in the playability department (or the bedroom).
What do you think is the best color combination / commander for this type of strategy?
I have also enjoyed the idea of splashing in cards like Goblin Sharpshooter or Wojek Embermage to combo hard with deathtouch, however, if the tri-color format for the theme I crave above is too much, forget about it. Let me know what you think!
Alright, I made a new build. I took the idea of a mono-red Goblin tribal theme and tried to mix in some other powerful W/B cards. It is convenient that the new cards Mardu Ascendancy, Ankle Shanker, Goblinslide, and Hordeling Outburst all support this theme. I know that this can be better, but it is definitely the most usable alternate Zurgo deck I have built so far. Suggestions are highly appreciated. I know there are definitely some nifty R/W/B combos I could include in here that I haven't heard about. I would also like to hear your opinion on if this is a viable strategy.
I have always thought that if I were to build an Athreos, god of passage deck, I would try to have immortal servitude in it. That is just because I love the card though. If you change things around in your deck enough, maybe it could find a home.
Hakim, those are some very good cards that I will definitely consider. Thank you for the recommendations. Waves of Aggression and Blood Frenzy are awesome. And Fervent Charge? How did I not know about that card? Have you heard of Martial Coup? As I said in the original post, I am not stuffing the deck with board wipes, but a couple are acceptable and that one is definitely in.
And Runnin, I am with you on the themes and non-overpowered decks to a certain point. I want the deck to be unique, but if it rarely ever wins, I won't enjoy playing it. I need to find a balance. My play group has no guilt in kicking someone while their down. If the deck isn't good to a minimum level, I end up sitting on the sidelines watching more game than I actually play.
I am starting this thread in hopes of brewing up some unique new ideas for the RWB color scheme. With the impending arrival of Zurgo Helmsmasher and my love for the beautiful RWB color mix, I really wanted to make a creative build for a new EDH deck. I've read a lot other people's ideas for Sir Helmsmasher, but most of them revolve around either including 10+ destroy creature board wipes or a Voltron oriented deck; I hate both of these things. Repeated board wipes would devastate my playgroups decks and I'm not interested in doing that to them. As for Voltron, I hate its simple mindedness.
I'm thinking a fun build could involve a soldier / token theme. This would essentially take an already existing R/W strategy and splash in some black utility and removal.
To be clear, these cards above are not a deck. These are only a compiled list of cards that may get called up to the big leagues. The most prominent idea for this theme would revolve around an Iroas, God of Victory, Goldnight Commander, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, and Aurelia, the Warleader. Drop a bunch of tokens, and then have an army of buffed creatures / tokens with things like Spear of Heliod or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Swing for the win. An interesting card I have always wanted to try in an aggro deck is Keldon Twilight. I would throw it in here just because. It also goes with my deathtouch theme below. Psshhh, sorry, can't forget the new and pretty awesome Mardu Ascendancy.
Please, I would love to hear your take on a unique RWB strategy or comments on the potential success of my ideas. The Khans release is only a few weeks away and I want to have my deck all laid out and ready for assembly. Thanks in advance.
Ps - I don't mean board wipe and Voltronesque win conditions have to be excluded from the deck, I just don't want to use them as the main strategies.
Moved to Multiplayer Commander Decklists (as this is a specific decklist discussion even if the list isn't 100% yet), merged doublepost - Wildfire393
This thread exists purely for comedy. While unglued cards do exist, you can still get a kick out of creating your funny cards. I'll start.
3BW - Sorin, Lord of Ghetto
Type: Planeswalker / 4-Loyalty
+1 - Target player sacrifices all permanents unless they grab you a beer.
-2 - Draw a card for each opponent with HIV.
-7 - Gain ownership of all opponents cards permanently if you control a black creature.
3W - Alfred, the Pale Skinned
Type: Planeswalker / 3-Loyalty
+1 - All white creatures gain suntan lotion.
+1 - Target creature is exiled to work in an office building for the next three turns. When the creature returns to play, its controller adds six mana of any color to their mana pool.
-5 - All creatures are exposed to the sun's rays for 4 hours. Destroy all non-black, non-suntan lotioned creatures.
0 - Ten Ten Friendship Ruiner
Type: Artifact Creature P/T: 10/10
Cannot be countered. Damage from this creature cannot be prevented.
Haste, Indestructible, Hexproof, Unblockable, Doublestrike, Infect.
When removed from play, put a token that is a copy of this creature onto the battlefield under its owners control.
Flavor Text: No one ever told him that life totals were actually friendship totals.
Yes, you do need Earth Craft... doh. I play with a group that has some board wipes, however, we never build decks that depend on them. I always encounter a ton a spot removal and creature steal such as a Grimgin, Corpse-King and Empress Galina, which does make Archetype of Endurance useful defensively, **however**, do not forget that Archetype of Endurance works equally as an offensive card. It takes hexproof away from the opponents creatures enabling me to say, use a Duplicant against my buddy's Uril, the Miststalker deck. Nullstone Gargoyledoes seem good, but I feel like it would piss my playgroup off too much if I played it. It is one of those fun killer cards.
Animar is my only current powerhouse EDH deck. All the others are works in progress. My deck has about four cards that give hexproof; Alpha Authority, Shielding Plax, Whispersilk Cloak, and Neurok Stealthsuit(really great with its two blue mana attach ability). I have found that you really want to play Animar as soon as possible, however, if you are playing with people that either know your deck or know Animar well, be very wary of opponent's open mana when casting. After face stomping a couple friends back to back games, it quickly becomes a 2v1 in the third game with them watching your every move. If they keep leaving mana open, just build a board state and wait until the right opportunity. Although, in many cases, if they are determined to 2v1 you, you are probably going to get set back a bit.
I haven't looked at all of the previous comments, but here are some of my favorite cards to play using Animar. A huge card you definitely should have in the deck is Archetype of Endurance. It will quickly become one of your most tutored creatures. I also love Duplicant, if you can't tell from my nickname. Other essentials for the deck include Equilibrium, Cloudstone Curio, Erratic Portal, and Crystal shard. With creature bounce, Fierce Empath becomes an almost broken card in Animar. I can't tell you how many times I've used Green sun's Zenith to tutor Fierce Empath, to tutor Duplicant. After that, I repeatedly bounce Fierce Empath and get any big utility creature out I need... perhaps it is Artisan of Kozilek. I can go on and on. Peregrine Drake is an infinite combo, Cloud of faeries is an infinite combo, a Forgotten Ancient out with any of these combos makes every creature you own infinite power and toughness come the next upkeep. Animar can do dirty dirty things. Oh yeah, and although I just mentioned it in the last post, Grinning Ignus is a turn 4 infinite powered Animar and infinite colorless mana...
Well, not just the infinite mana, but also the infinite counters on Animar. I played this yesterday on turn 4 and one hit a friend with only black creatures out, and then the other friend conceded. Fastest EDH win I've ever had.
For a long time, I have wanted to create a commander deck that abuses the unfair combination of first strike and deathtouch. I have created several different versions of this deck, however, none of them satisfy me in the playability department (or the bedroom).
What do you think is the best color combination / commander for this type of strategy?
I have also enjoyed the idea of splashing in cards like Goblin Sharpshooter or Wojek Embermage to combo hard with deathtouch, however, if the tri-color format for the theme I crave above is too much, forget about it. Let me know what you think!
1x Adaptive Automaton
1x Ankle Shanker
1x Arms Dealer
1x Beetleback Chief
1x Bloodmark Mentor
1x Burnished Hart
1x Chancellor of the Forge
1x Frontline Medic
1x Goblin Assassin
1x Goblin Bushwhacker
1x Goblin Chieftain
1x Goblin Chirurgeon
1x Goblin King
1x Goblin Matron
1x Goblin Recruiter
1x Goblin Ruinblaster
1x Goblin Soothsayer
1x Goblin Tinkerer
1x Goblin Warchief
1x Goblin Wizard
1x Iroas, God of Victory
1x Krenko, Mob Boss
1x Legion Loyalist
1x Purphoros, God of the Forge
1x Pyrewild Shaman
1x Siege-Gang Commander
1x Tuktuk the Explorer
1x Weathered Wayfarer
1x Zurgo Helmsmasher
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x City of Brass
1x Command Tower
1x Mana Confluence
15x Mountain
1x Nomad Outpost
4x Plains
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
5x Swamp
1x Temple of Malice
1x Temple of Triumph
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vivid Crag
1x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Meadow
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Burn at the Stake
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Tutor
1x Dragon Fodder
1x Goblin Rally
1x Goblin War Strike
1x Hordeling Outburst
1x Krenko's Command
1x Reforge the Soul
1x Waves of Aggression
1x Dolmen Gate
1x Dragon Throne of Tarkir
1x Eldrazi Monument
1x Mind's Eye
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Attrition
1x Dictate of Erebos
1x Fervent Charge
1x Goblin War Drums
1x Goblinslide
1x Mardu Ascendancy
1x Quest for the Goblin Lord
1x Rise of the Hobgoblins
1x Shared Animosity
1x True Conviction
1x War Cadence
1x Crackling Doom
1x Path to Exile
1x Return to Dust
1x Terminate
1x Battle Squadron
1x Goblin Gardener
1x Goblin Ringleader
1x Kyren Negotiations
1x Lightning Crafter
1x Ponyback Brigade
1x Reckless One
1x Vicious Shadows
And Runnin, I am with you on the themes and non-overpowered decks to a certain point. I want the deck to be unique, but if it rarely ever wins, I won't enjoy playing it. I need to find a balance. My play group has no guilt in kicking someone while their down. If the deck isn't good to a minimum level, I end up sitting on the sidelines watching more game than I actually play.
I am starting this thread in hopes of brewing up some unique new ideas for the RWB color scheme. With the impending arrival of Zurgo Helmsmasher and my love for the beautiful RWB color mix, I really wanted to make a creative build for a new EDH deck. I've read a lot other people's ideas for Sir Helmsmasher, but most of them revolve around either including 10+ destroy creature board wipes or a Voltron oriented deck; I hate both of these things. Repeated board wipes would devastate my playgroups decks and I'm not interested in doing that to them. As for Voltron, I hate its simple mindedness.
I'm thinking a fun build could involve a soldier / token theme. This would essentially take an already existing R/W strategy and splash in some black utility and removal.
1 Akroan Hoplite
1 Anax and Cymede
1 Athreos, God of Passage
1 Attended Knight
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
1 Bloodgift Demon
1 Captain of the Watch
1 Crusader of Odric
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Frontline Medic
1 Frontline Strategist
1 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Goldnight Commander
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Grave Titan
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Heliod's Pilgrim
1 High Priest of Penance
1 Intrepid Hero
1 Iroas, God of Victory
1 Knight-Captain of Eos
1 Legion Loyalist
1 Onyx Mage
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Tajic, Blade of the Legion
1 Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
1 Teysa, Orzhov Scion
1 Condemn
1 Faith's Reward
1 Glimpse the Sun God
1 Path to Exile
1 Return to Dust
1 Sudden Spoiling
1 Terminate
1 Captain's Call
1 Decree of Pain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Revelation
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Goblin Rally
1 Insurrection
1 Launch the Fleet
1 Tempt with Vengeance
1 Animate Dead
1 Assemble the Legion
1 Battle Mastery
1 Intimidation
1 Legion's Initiative
1 Militia's Pride
1 Murder Investigation
1 Serra's Blessing
1 Spirit Bonds
1 Mimic Vat
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Spear of Heliod
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Whispersilk Cloak
To be clear, these cards above are not a deck. These are only a compiled list of cards that may get called up to the big leagues. The most prominent idea for this theme would revolve around an Iroas, God of Victory, Goldnight Commander, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, and Aurelia, the Warleader. Drop a bunch of tokens, and then have an army of buffed creatures / tokens with things like Spear of Heliod or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Swing for the win. An interesting card I have always wanted to try in an aggro deck is Keldon Twilight. I would throw it in here just because. It also goes with my deathtouch theme below. Psshhh, sorry, can't forget the new and pretty awesome Mardu Ascendancy.
One of my favorite ideas for the deck could involve a deathtouch / first strike theme with many ways of giving your creatures deathtouch like Onyx Mage, the new card Ankle Shanker and obviously Archetype of Finality. That way you could include cards like Goblin Sharpshooter, Wojek Embermage, Thornbite Staff], and Viridian Longbow for some very entertaining deathtouch spot removal or a socially acceptable combo board wipe. Cards like that also make High Priest of Penance a pretty nice addition. If I went this route, I'd definitely make sure to have a splash of vigilance like a Serra's Blessing or Heliod, God of the Sun for defense. Oh, and I can't forget Archetype of Courage. I would also definitely include cards like Basilisk Collar, Gorgon's flail, or Quietus Spike.
Please, I would love to hear your take on a unique RWB strategy or comments on the potential success of my ideas. The Khans release is only a few weeks away and I want to have my deck all laid out and ready for assembly. Thanks in advance.
Ps - I don't mean board wipe and Voltronesque win conditions have to be excluded from the deck, I just don't want to use them as the main strategies.
Moved to Multiplayer Commander Decklists (as this is a specific decklist discussion even if the list isn't 100% yet), merged doublepost - Wildfire393
3BW - Sorin, Lord of Ghetto
Type: Planeswalker / 4-Loyalty
+1 - Target player sacrifices all permanents unless they grab you a beer.
-2 - Draw a card for each opponent with HIV.
-7 - Gain ownership of all opponents cards permanently if you control a black creature.
3W - Alfred, the Pale Skinned
Type: Planeswalker / 3-Loyalty
+1 - All white creatures gain suntan lotion.
+1 - Target creature is exiled to work in an office building for the next three turns. When the creature returns to play, its controller adds six mana of any color to their mana pool.
-5 - All creatures are exposed to the sun's rays for 4 hours. Destroy all non-black, non-suntan lotioned creatures.
0 - Ten Ten Friendship Ruiner
Type: Artifact Creature P/T: 10/10
Cannot be countered. Damage from this creature cannot be prevented.
Haste, Indestructible, Hexproof, Unblockable, Doublestrike, Infect.
When removed from play, put a token that is a copy of this creature onto the battlefield under its owners control.
Flavor Text: No one ever told him that life totals were actually friendship totals.
I haven't looked at all of the previous comments, but here are some of my favorite cards to play using Animar. A huge card you definitely should have in the deck is Archetype of Endurance. It will quickly become one of your most tutored creatures. I also love Duplicant, if you can't tell from my nickname. Other essentials for the deck include Equilibrium, Cloudstone Curio, Erratic Portal, and Crystal shard. With creature bounce, Fierce Empath becomes an almost broken card in Animar. I can't tell you how many times I've used Green sun's Zenith to tutor Fierce Empath, to tutor Duplicant. After that, I repeatedly bounce Fierce Empath and get any big utility creature out I need... perhaps it is Artisan of Kozilek. I can go on and on. Peregrine Drake is an infinite combo, Cloud of faeries is an infinite combo, a Forgotten Ancient out with any of these combos makes every creature you own infinite power and toughness come the next upkeep. Animar can do dirty dirty things. Oh yeah, and although I just mentioned it in the last post, Grinning Ignus is a turn 4 infinite powered Animar and infinite colorless mana...