Running my first few playtests with this deck, I decided to stick with Surrak Dragonclaw over the addition of Sarkhan Vol. While haste is nice Sarkhan bites the dust too quickly to make it worthwhile running him and it just feels that having more access to trample makes it so I can actually get more damage across to players.
I'm still undecided on Praetor's Counsel vs Learn from the Past, the latter does cause me to discard a lot of the times I cast it but at the same time I feel that the instant speed of it makes Learn more effective.
I might bump Harrow up into a copy of Explosive Vegetation once I manage to go by my LGS, Harrow can be cast a turn quicker and puts lands into play untapped while Vegetation doesn't require a land to be sacrificed.
Since I have a couple of creatures which get +1/+1 counters when their abilities trigger, I'm going to see about running Fling as a means to get some extra damage in. Likely going to replace Red Sun's Zenith in favor of it.
So I'm trying to put together a bit of a themed deck for a local Commander league that is going to be held soon, all decks obviously will be having a tribal theme to them and for mine I've chosen to go with Allies. The main reason to do so has been due to budget but also because Allies can be fun to tinker around with. Since I lack the funds for a good mana base I opted to go three color Allies instead of the usual five color variants, but instead use clone and bounce effects to increase my number of Allies. Based on that strategy I decided to elect Riku of Two Reflections as my Commander. Commander and colors determined I decided to get started on a deck list to run and this is what I came up with so far.
For budget reasons I've kept the land base quite basic and some other staples have been left out as well, though right now it's about balancing the deck out between what I want to do with it and making it run smooth when playing against others, so some tweaking is likely going to be necessary here and there.
Considered Changes: Sarkhan Vol instead of Surrak Dragonclaw : Having trample is definitely great in this deck, but more haste might be good too. Praetor's Counsel instead of Learn from the Past : Comes with built in Reliquary Tower, but sits higher on the curve. Furystoke Giant : As an additional threat and finisher.
Other then that I'm looking to get feedback on the deck so far, though please don't go suggesting expensive cards as am trying to build this deck on somewhat of a budget.
So tinkered a bit more with the deck, mainly trying to work out the mana base for it. Since I'm running green I'm trying to stick to as many basics as possible and run as few taplands as I can. Kodama's Reach, Cultivate and Nissa's Pilgrimage are good ways to get my lands out of my deck and they can be tutored with Sunforger and recurred with Charmbreaker Devils. I originally ran two Signets to help as well, but I decided to drop them in favor of running Farhaven Elf and a Yavimaya Elder. Late game they can give me various triggers where the artifacts wouldn't and another good reason to have them is that if push comes to shove I can use them with Mimic Vat to speed up my ramp.
And having had more time to consider Dromoka, the Eternal, I ended up agreeing that her inclusion is perhaps just too situational to warrant having her on the list. So I took her out and found another good dragon to take her place in Hoard-Smelter Dragon, at least until I can afford a Artifact Mutation.
Also, came across Furystoke Giant, which can turn my tokens into quite a few pingers. Because of it I might not end up running Glory of Warfare, unless I find another card to cut. Then again, I'd likely add Lightning Greaves before it since the added protection could be quite welcome in some cases.
Thanks for the provided clarification on the Shield, it could definitely offer some much needed protection in many ways.
So I went over all the suggestions and started tweaking the deck a bit more, to hopefully make it a more solid deck. I switched out a bunch of cards while opting not to run several others (for now). Though getting in the final cards is proving to be trickier, so not sure yet where or whether to include the Glory of Warfare and/or Lightning Greaves.
Also, seems I'm doing decent enough on the budget side, so might end up including the Aura Mutation (once I can find a card to cut for it) and see about slotting in Aurelia's Fury.
Any suggestions on which cuts to make for these cards would be welcome, as well as additional suggestions/tweaks to the deck. Tips to tweak the land base would be welcome as well, as kept it fairly basic until I smoothened out the rest of the deck.
Thanks for the suggestions made, as there are definitely some cards I'm going to try and include.
Hellrider - Definitely a card I'm going to consider switching in, as it will make each token a small threat even if it gets blocked. Something that works well with my alt win conditions. Champion of Lambholt - Another card that will definitely make the deck more solid, so will see about finding a spot for this one as well. Overwhelming Stampede - Would be good with the aforementioned Champion, though the times I've worked with Overrun like effects they often end up feeling that I'd be winning the battle even without. So not sure about it. Titanic Ultimatum - I've ran this card in my Marath deck and found it often too clunky due to the casting cost. But if I'd run an Overrun this would get the pick over the Stampede. Triumph of the Hordes - Usually I'm no fan of running infect, a personal preference, but it could be a winner with Hellrider's ability. So I'll add this to the maybe list in case the deck really needs another finisher.
Juniper Order Ranger - More body might be nice, but I think I'll rather save the spot for either token generations or more fitting utility. Nobilis of War - Got mixed feelings about this one, I could see it do well with some other cards in the deck I do wonder if this might not end up being a win more card. Nullmage Shepherd - This card I do see as a good option and helps building some removal in case Aura Shards gets removed or not drawn. Assemble the Legion - A good card to add as well, allowing to build more tokens over time. Druids' Repository - Ramping wise this deck could use improving so definitely adding this one if I can. Night Soil - Can see this one being rather good to have as well, as would have loved to have run Necrogenesis if it weren't for it being black. Budoka Gardener - Seems good, just not sure if I'll run it at the moment, but a card to keep in mind if the deck ends up needing more alternative big creatures.
Nacatl War-Pride - I could see this one ending up in the deck, since there would be the option of sacking them to Descent during second main. Cathars' Crusade - Though great, the only reason I'm not likely running the Crusade is the sheer pain of keeping track of all the counters Reconnaissance - A good way to protect attacking creatures and obviously cheap on the curve, will have to see if I can find a slot for it at least for a trial run. Glare of Subdual - I think this will warrant inclusion as a means to protect.
No worries about the quantity of suggestions, I do really appreciate it and do see stuff in there to improve my deck.
Well first of all, some of the suggestions listed are cards that are simply outside my budget right now. Maybe down the line I might acquire some of them but till then I simply won't have access to them.
Dragonlord Dromoka is a great source of protecting things but like said pricey as well. Also, Dromoka, the Eternal might seem like nothing too special at first glance, but my aim is to turn all my small tokens into 4/4 dragon tokens with Descent of the Dragons. Meaning a lot more dragons to trigger her ability.
Some instants and sorceries might seem less useful but I feel that running them might not be all that bad. The instant ones do allow me to throw up some quick defense after a board wipe or to just throw out additional tokens there at the end step of my last opponent when having still some mana to spend. The other reasons to run them is that I can fetch them with Sunforger if needed and Charmbreaker Devils allows for recurring. Also, there is a fair amount of enchantment removal in my meta.
That said, Increasing Devotion is a card I will see about adding in, as it has a nice token generation and can work well with some of my other cards.
Coat of Arms does seem out of place but would do wonders if I can get Descent of the Dragons going as planned. But do agree that it affecting my opponents as well is a drawback. Mirari's Wake will definitely work better in this slot while helping it ramp more as well. Intangible Virtue looks good, but I think I can do better with Wake instead of it for the pump and use Reconnaissance instead to protect my creatures. Emmara Tandris could fill that slot alternatively, she sits higher on the curve but can do the work defensively as well.
Beastmaster Ascension seems great but it's not likely to stick around long enough to trigger in my meta. As far as the Ultimatum and Stampede, I currently prefer to use these slots for token generation or other utility cards first. If after some testing the deck needs more damage dealing in that way, I will include them but for now I feel it will take away a bit from my desired strategy, especially with other changes I might end up making.
Boros Charm and Dauntless Escort will indeed be good ways to help with protection, though if I'd add one it would be the Charm since I can synergize more with it.
Karmic Guide might be a good way to recur an important creature, but will have to see how much the deck will end up needing it over other cards.
Delaying Shield does seem interesting as a means to protect against Commander damage. Though would love some clarifying on the card, as I've never played with the card. Does it change the source of the damage to the Shields or does it merely delay it? Also, if so, would it do the same for potential infect damage?
So I have been tinkering around with my Marath EDH deck for quite some time and though it has changed a lot since it's first draft, I eventually decided to go with a slight token strategy. However, with the remnants of all the previous iterations of the deck, the planned strategy has proven to be more clunky and flavor driven than actually working out as I would want it. So instead of overhauling the deck once more, I've decided to start from scratch and build around the intended strategy.
I want to keep the deck as budgety as possible, thus I won't be running any Planeswalkers and other more pricey cards. Sure, there are a few on the list below but that is only because I own those cards already and thus can afford to include them. Since I'm still fairly new to building EDH decks I would love some feedback on the deck, both to improve the deck itself as well as to help me building these kinds of decks.
Strategy
So what do I want to do? Pretty much pump out as many tokens as I can, with the intent of sacrificing them all to Descent of Dragons. Obviously, building around a single card is risky so its not all the deck will want to do. Instead I'm also running the package of Impact Tremors, Warstorm Surge, Requiem Angel and Stalking Vengeance to turn my tokens to good use.
I went Naya colors since Red/White has good token generation, with Red having my key card as well as Sunforger to get me my cards. Green gives tokens as well and has some good support as well. As far as the Commander for the deck goes, the choice was pretty much between Marath, Will of the Wild and Rith, the Awakener. With the latter just giving me more tokens and it synergizes well enough with my two other dragons in the list.
Right now, the deck as it is listed above is more for casual Modern play than highly competitive ones. It's not a deck to win your local FNM with, but with some more investments you can definitely up the level of competitiveness this deck offers. The main part of it is just deciding where your budget is and accepting the weaknesses that come with building the deck on said budget.
For this deck, Infect is definitely a problem and even Mono Red Aggro will more than likely keep the deck from going off fully. This is simply because the deck is more made trying to do it's own thing than to be reactive.
If you want to upgrade it to a more competitive level I would opt to cut the green completely, this will make the deck a lot more consistent. It will give room to include a playset of both Path to Exile and Dismember, which will let you deal with other decks far better. Replace Suture Priest with copies of Soul's Attendant will also quicken the pace of the deck a lot more, being only 1 mana to cast over 2 thus allowing you to keep up a Path or Dismember far more easily. Taking out Rhox Faithmender and Norn's Annex will lower the curve even more, making room for more card draw with Mentor of the Meek. Move Marrow Shards to the main as well as it gives you a surprise way to deal with the token based strategies. And additional copies of Cloudshift will help avoid burn spells more as well as or use Gods Willing as a means of protection instead.
So there is definitely room to improve the deck considerably more if you want to make it more competitive.
Had a brief stop at my LGS today and ended up picking up a few cards to tweak the sideboard a bit. I took out a single copy of Outmaneuver, since Gruul Charm can roughly do the same for less mana. Instead of it I added a fourth copy of Collateral Damage to the sideboard, though I'm likely to change it so am running a full playset of it all the time. I had two copies of Artillerize in the sideboard as well to upgrade my Collaterals, but they did feel clunky and had little chance of getting sided in. Running through a trade folder I spotted Chandra, the Firebrand and her minus two can work well with our Collaterals and her ability to ping can be useful in some scenarios as well.
Sorry for the late reply on this thread as spend some time reconsidering the deck and needed to wait to get some more budget going as well. Along with that the release of Origins made me wait a bit longer to add more interactions that work well with the original strategy of the deck.
The old list I ran was far from perfect, since I build it at a time where I merely sourced it together from the cards available at my LGS. Using the internet for it was something I didn't really do back then, but for the time and the playground the deck did decent. The recreated version is just more wonky due to lacking several pieces I had at the time, but reading the suggestions has fueled my desire to make the deck better and more viable in it's strategy.
Either way, both Kavu Predator combos are looking quite nice but the pieces needed for them I just find too pricey for the moment. Especially Grove of the Burnwillows, since it pretty much equals the cost of the entire deck as it sits now.
The deck remains vulnerable to pro-red, hexproof stuff and big flying things, but for a themed deck there will generally always be some weaknesses. Though Collateral Damage was added to provide an extra source of dealing damage and the optional sideboard can help a bit as well when needed.
I did remove a lot of creatures that sat higher on the curve to improve the consistency of the deck and making it 'slightly' less mana intense, though obviously it will use every bit of it still. While Search for Tomorrow does provide ramp in spell form, the suspending does tend to slow the deck down so I still prefer running creature based ramp for the moment.
Anyways, updated the starting post to include the new deck list I'm currently testing with.
I might be able to find a little room due to the fact that there are cards I already own, but Vicious Shadows does seem a nice card to go in this deck. Looking at the list I'd likely run it over Beastmaster Ascension. The boost is quite nice, but it takes quite a few turns to get active with this deck and give people enough chance to get rid of it. Shadows seems like a card that will at least have a chance of doing something before it gets removed.
So I decided it was time to start working on a new Commander/EDH deck so I can switch things up a bit when playing. Like with most of my decks budget does seem to be an issue and thus I'm trying to set a bit of a limit to what I want to spend on it, especially since I'll be acquiring it both in paper and online. As a guideline I am going to set that the deck can't cost more than around 10 Tix in total on MTGO, which should put it on a fair budget in RL as well.
Now for the game plan I've drawn from my experiences drafting Modern Masters 2015 and the joy of playing the GB Tokens decks in it in conjunction with Algae Gharial and Scavenger Drake. In line with that I ended up with Kresh the Bloodbraided as a good fitting Commander that would synergize with that strategy. Since Eldrazi Spawn Tokens don't work too well on their own for Kresh, going with some Anthems effects should help the strategy a little. Also things like Grave Pact will help to make the strategy more viable.
Obviously, the deck is still in it's early stages of designing, but with budget in mind I figured it is best to share my initially created list here and get some help on tweaking the deck before buying actual cards. I learned that the hard way with some of my previous deck and could have saved some money for better cards that way. Anyways, here is the first concept I pieced together.
Deck Strategy
I'm pretty much looking to use Eldrazi Spawn as a way to ramp into casting my creatures and exploit this to make my Commander bigger but also cause some of my other creatures to grow bigger (which when killed will again pump Kresh). Not to mention trigger other effects that help against my opponents, like forcing them to sacrifice their own creatures so I can swing in.
Emeria the Sky Ruin would be a good option if the deck was mono white, in this version it triggers not often enough to warrant it in the deck.
You can run the Soul's Attendant over Suture Priests, they are lower on the curve after all. I prefer the Priest as an alternative since it has the chance of doing some nice damage when unchecked. Also it draws removal which then isn't used on Pridemate or Wurm.
Doom traveler is not worth it in my opinion since it only gives a single token. I'd sooner consider Raise the Alarm for being instant speed. I opted for Secure the Wastes seeing it can produce more tokens late game.
On a side note: Murder Investigation is a fun inclusion but takes away too much from the deck's effectiveness.
Been playing with the deck for a little while now and it's been great fun for a budget deck. Cloudshift is going to be a definite inclusion to my list, even though it's a bit of a nonbo with Ajani's Pridemate.
The deck is still rather weak to removal, but low on curve enough to keep going. That said seeing my Pridemates and Voracious Wurm get removed can be a tad bit annoying, so going to see about making it less attractive for people to do so. Reading through the Origins spoilers I noticed a card that potentially could be a fun inclusion; Murder Investigation.
If you want to cheat cards in, you might consider running some of the hideaway lands. You can generally trigger the green and white one early enough, either to cheat in your Lurking Predators or a nice Angel to play defense with.
I'm still undecided on Praetor's Counsel vs Learn from the Past, the latter does cause me to discard a lot of the times I cast it but at the same time I feel that the instant speed of it makes Learn more effective.
I might bump Harrow up into a copy of Explosive Vegetation once I manage to go by my LGS, Harrow can be cast a turn quicker and puts lands into play untapped while Vegetation doesn't require a land to be sacrificed.
Since I have a couple of creatures which get +1/+1 counters when their abilities trigger, I'm going to see about running Fling as a means to get some extra damage in. Likely going to replace Red Sun's Zenith in favor of it.
5 Riku of Two Reflections
Our Allies (16)
2 Akoum Battlesinger
2 Harabaz Druid
2 Highland Berserker
2 Jwari Shapeshifter
2 Oran-Rief Survivalist
3 Adaptive Automaton
3 Tajuru Archer
3 Umara Raptor
3 Vastwood Animist
4 Graypelt Hunter
4 Tuktuk Scrapper
5 Kazuul Warlord
5 Sea Gate Loremaster
5 Seascape Aerialist
5 Turntimber Ranger
6 Murasa Pyromancer
Cloning Effects (12)
3 Cackling Counterpart
3 Mimic Vat
4 Clone
4 Flameshadow Conjuring
4 Parallel Lives
4 Rite of Replication
4 Soul Foundry
5 Followed Footsteps
5 Minion Reflector
6 Progenitor Mimic
9 Clone Legion
4x Riptide Replicator
2 Familiar's Ruse
3 Cloudstone Curio
4 Erratic Portal
Ramp Effects (10)
1 Sol Ring
2 Sword of the Animist
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Cultivate
3 Druids' Repository
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Harrow
3 Kodama's Reach
3 Urza's Incubator
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
Card Draw / Tutor Effects (7)
1 Skullclamp
2 Jushi Apprentice
2 Survival of the Fittest
4 Distant Melody
4 Learn from the Past
5 Tezzeret the Seeker
3x Genesis Wave
Buff / Enabling Effects (7)
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Fires of Yavimaya
4 Door of Destinies
4 Triumph of the Hordes
5 Murkfiend Liege
5 Surrak Dragonclaw
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Fling
3 Beast Within
4 Roar of the Crowd
1x Banefire
Protective Effects (2)
2 Wrap in Vigor
3 Caller of the Claw
Other (1)
3 Imperious Perfect
Land Base in Numbers (36)
10 Forest
8 Island
8 Mountain
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Command Tower
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Alchemist's Refuge
1 Buried Ruin
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
For budget reasons I've kept the land base quite basic and some other staples have been left out as well, though right now it's about balancing the deck out between what I want to do with it and making it run smooth when playing against others, so some tweaking is likely going to be necessary here and there.
Considered Changes:
Sarkhan Vol instead of Surrak Dragonclaw : Having trample is definitely great in this deck, but more haste might be good too.Praetor's Counsel instead of Learn from the Past : Comes with built in Reliquary Tower, but sits higher on the curve.Furystoke Giant : As an additional threat and finisher.
Made Changes:
Fling instead of Red Sun's Zenith
Other then that I'm looking to get feedback on the deck so far, though please don't go suggesting expensive cards as am trying to build this deck on somewhat of a budget.
And having had more time to consider Dromoka, the Eternal, I ended up agreeing that her inclusion is perhaps just too situational to warrant having her on the list. So I took her out and found another good dragon to take her place in Hoard-Smelter Dragon, at least until I can afford a Artifact Mutation.
Also, came across Furystoke Giant, which can turn my tokens into quite a few pingers. Because of it I might not end up running Glory of Warfare, unless I find another card to cut. Then again, I'd likely add Lightning Greaves before it since the added protection could be quite welcome in some cases.
So I went over all the suggestions and started tweaking the deck a bit more, to hopefully make it a more solid deck. I switched out a bunch of cards while opting not to run several others (for now). Though getting in the final cards is proving to be trickier, so not sure yet where or whether to include the Glory of Warfare and/or Lightning Greaves.
Also, seems I'm doing decent enough on the budget side, so might end up including the Aura Mutation (once I can find a card to cut for it) and see about slotting in Aurelia's Fury.
Any suggestions on which cuts to make for these cards would be welcome, as well as additional suggestions/tweaks to the deck. Tips to tweak the land base would be welcome as well, as kept it fairly basic until I smoothened out the rest of the deck.
Thanks for the suggestions made, as there are definitely some cards I'm going to try and include.
Hellrider - Definitely a card I'm going to consider switching in, as it will make each token a small threat even if it gets blocked. Something that works well with my alt win conditions.
Champion of Lambholt - Another card that will definitely make the deck more solid, so will see about finding a spot for this one as well.
Overwhelming Stampede - Would be good with the aforementioned Champion, though the times I've worked with Overrun like effects they often end up feeling that I'd be winning the battle even without. So not sure about it.
Titanic Ultimatum - I've ran this card in my Marath deck and found it often too clunky due to the casting cost. But if I'd run an Overrun this would get the pick over the Stampede.
Triumph of the Hordes - Usually I'm no fan of running infect, a personal preference, but it could be a winner with Hellrider's ability. So I'll add this to the maybe list in case the deck really needs another finisher.
Juniper Order Ranger - More body might be nice, but I think I'll rather save the spot for either token generations or more fitting utility.
Nobilis of War - Got mixed feelings about this one, I could see it do well with some other cards in the deck I do wonder if this might not end up being a win more card.
Nullmage Shepherd - This card I do see as a good option and helps building some removal in case Aura Shards gets removed or not drawn.
Assemble the Legion - A good card to add as well, allowing to build more tokens over time.
Druids' Repository - Ramping wise this deck could use improving so definitely adding this one if I can.
Night Soil - Can see this one being rather good to have as well, as would have loved to have run Necrogenesis if it weren't for it being black.
Budoka Gardener - Seems good, just not sure if I'll run it at the moment, but a card to keep in mind if the deck ends up needing more alternative big creatures.
Nacatl War-Pride - I could see this one ending up in the deck, since there would be the option of sacking them to Descent during second main.
Cathars' Crusade - Though great, the only reason I'm not likely running the Crusade is the sheer pain of keeping track of all the counters
Reconnaissance - A good way to protect attacking creatures and obviously cheap on the curve, will have to see if I can find a slot for it at least for a trial run.
Glare of Subdual - I think this will warrant inclusion as a means to protect.
Rshizz
No worries about the quantity of suggestions, I do really appreciate it and do see stuff in there to improve my deck.
Well first of all, some of the suggestions listed are cards that are simply outside my budget right now. Maybe down the line I might acquire some of them but till then I simply won't have access to them.
Dragonlord Dromoka is a great source of protecting things but like said pricey as well. Also, Dromoka, the Eternal might seem like nothing too special at first glance, but my aim is to turn all my small tokens into 4/4 dragon tokens with Descent of the Dragons. Meaning a lot more dragons to trigger her ability.
Some instants and sorceries might seem less useful but I feel that running them might not be all that bad. The instant ones do allow me to throw up some quick defense after a board wipe or to just throw out additional tokens there at the end step of my last opponent when having still some mana to spend. The other reasons to run them is that I can fetch them with Sunforger if needed and Charmbreaker Devils allows for recurring. Also, there is a fair amount of enchantment removal in my meta.
That said, Increasing Devotion is a card I will see about adding in, as it has a nice token generation and can work well with some of my other cards.
Coat of Arms does seem out of place but would do wonders if I can get Descent of the Dragons going as planned. But do agree that it affecting my opponents as well is a drawback. Mirari's Wake will definitely work better in this slot while helping it ramp more as well. Intangible Virtue looks good, but I think I can do better with Wake instead of it for the pump and use Reconnaissance instead to protect my creatures. Emmara Tandris could fill that slot alternatively, she sits higher on the curve but can do the work defensively as well.
Beastmaster Ascension seems great but it's not likely to stick around long enough to trigger in my meta. As far as the Ultimatum and Stampede, I currently prefer to use these slots for token generation or other utility cards first. If after some testing the deck needs more damage dealing in that way, I will include them but for now I feel it will take away a bit from my desired strategy, especially with other changes I might end up making.
Trostani, Selesnya's Voice, Eldrazi Monument, Soul of New Phyrexia, Thran Dynamo, Solemn Simulacrum and Eternal Witness are just cards that will stretch my budget too far at the moment.
Boros Charm and Dauntless Escort will indeed be good ways to help with protection, though if I'd add one it would be the Charm since I can synergize more with it.
Karmic Guide might be a good way to recur an important creature, but will have to see how much the deck will end up needing it over other cards.
Delaying Shield does seem interesting as a means to protect against Commander damage. Though would love some clarifying on the card, as I've never played with the card. Does it change the source of the damage to the Shields or does it merely delay it? Also, if so, would it do the same for potential infect damage?
I want to keep the deck as budgety as possible, thus I won't be running any Planeswalkers and other more pricey cards. Sure, there are a few on the list below but that is only because I own those cards already and thus can afford to include them. Since I'm still fairly new to building EDH decks I would love some feedback on the deck, both to improve the deck itself as well as to help me building these kinds of decks.
Strategy
So what do I want to do? Pretty much pump out as many tokens as I can, with the intent of sacrificing them all to Descent of Dragons. Obviously, building around a single card is risky so its not all the deck will want to do. Instead I'm also running the package of Impact Tremors, Warstorm Surge, Requiem Angel and Stalking Vengeance to turn my tokens to good use.
I went Naya colors since Red/White has good token generation, with Red having my key card as well as Sunforger to get me my cards. Green gives tokens as well and has some good support as well. As far as the Commander for the deck goes, the choice was pretty much between Marath, Will of the Wild and Rith, the Awakener. With the latter just giving me more tokens and it synergizes well enough with my two other dragons in the list.
5 Ryth, the Awakener
Main Strategy (1)
6 Descent of the Dragons
Token Generation - One Use (11)
2 Dragon Fodder
2 Raise the Alarm
3 Caller of the Claw
3 Hordeling Outburst
3 Midnight Haunting
5 Increasing Devotion
5 Scatter the Seeds
7 Deploy to the Front
1x Secure the Wastes
2x Martial Coup
Token Generation - Multiple Uses (11)
1 Rhys the Redeemed
2 Night Soil
2 Young Pyromancer
3 Twilight Drover
4 Krenko, Mob Boss
5 Ant Queen
5 Assemble the Legion
5 Mitotic Slime
5 Zendikar's Roil
6 Requiem Angel
Important Support (7)
3 Auramancer
3 Champion of Lambholt
3 Mimic Vat
4 Parallel Lives
5 Furystoke Giant
5 Mirari
6 Charmbreaker Devils
6 Wort, the Raidmother
1 Skullclamp
3 Mentor of the Meek
3 Sunforger
Alternative Damage (4)
2 Impact Tremors
4 Hellrider
6 Warstorm Surge
7 Stalking Vengeance
Removal Suite (9)
1 Soul Snare
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Sundering Growth
3 Aura Shards
3 Intimidation Bolt
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Unstable Obelisk
4 Nullmage Shepherd
6 Hoard-Smelter Dragon
Protection (2)
2 Boros Charm
2 Swiftfoot Boots
4 Delaying Shield
7 Emmara Tandris
Ramp (8)
1 Sol Ring
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Cultivate
3 Druids' Repository
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Kodama's Reach
3 Nissa's Pilgrimage
3 Yavimaya Elder
3 Bow of Nylea
3 Naya Charm
5 Mirari's Wake
7 Atarka, World Render
Land (38)
11 Forest
10 Mountain
11 Plains
1x Command Tower
1x Evolving Wilds
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Naya Panorama
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Rootbound Crag
Assemble the Legion - Replacing Leyline of the Meek
Auramancer - Replacing Imperious Perfect
Boros Charm - Replacing Cobra Trap
Champion of Lambholt - Replacing Living Hive
Delaying Shield - Replacing Darien, King of Kjeldor
Druids' Repository - Replacing Awakening Zone
Emmara Tandris - Replacing Rootborn Defenses
Farhaven Elf - Replacing Boros Signet
Furystoke Giant - Replacing Triplicate Spirits
Hellrider - Replacing Elixir of Immortality
Hoard-Smelter Dragon - Replacing Dromoka, the Eternal
Increasing Devotion - Replacing One Dozen Eyes
Mirari's Wake - Replacing Coat of Arms
Night Soil - Replacing Goblin Trenches
Nullmage Shepherd - Replacing Emrakul's Hatcher
Yavimaya Elder - Replacing Selesnya Signet
Glory of Warfare
Lightning Greaves
Artifact Mutation - Future Upgrade
Aura Mutation - Future Upgrade for Sundering Growth
Aurelia's Fury - Future Upgrade for Intimidation Bolt
Budoka Gardener - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Glare of Subdual - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Grizzly Fate - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Karmic Guide - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Nacatl War-Pride - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Pollenbright Wings - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Reconnaissance - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Storm Herd - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Survey the Wreckage - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
Triumph of the Hordes - Sideboard / Not Made The Cut
For this deck, Infect is definitely a problem and even Mono Red Aggro will more than likely keep the deck from going off fully. This is simply because the deck is more made trying to do it's own thing than to be reactive.
If you want to upgrade it to a more competitive level I would opt to cut the green completely, this will make the deck a lot more consistent. It will give room to include a playset of both Path to Exile and Dismember, which will let you deal with other decks far better. Replace Suture Priest with copies of Soul's Attendant will also quicken the pace of the deck a lot more, being only 1 mana to cast over 2 thus allowing you to keep up a Path or Dismember far more easily. Taking out Rhox Faithmender and Norn's Annex will lower the curve even more, making room for more card draw with Mentor of the Meek. Move Marrow Shards to the main as well as it gives you a surprise way to deal with the token based strategies. And additional copies of Cloudshift will help avoid burn spells more as well as or use Gods Willing as a means of protection instead.
So there is definitely room to improve the deck considerably more if you want to make it more competitive.
The old list I ran was far from perfect, since I build it at a time where I merely sourced it together from the cards available at my LGS. Using the internet for it was something I didn't really do back then, but for the time and the playground the deck did decent. The recreated version is just more wonky due to lacking several pieces I had at the time, but reading the suggestions has fueled my desire to make the deck better and more viable in it's strategy.
Either way, both Kavu Predator combos are looking quite nice but the pieces needed for them I just find too pricey for the moment. Especially Grove of the Burnwillows, since it pretty much equals the cost of the entire deck as it sits now.
The deck remains vulnerable to pro-red, hexproof stuff and big flying things, but for a themed deck there will generally always be some weaknesses. Though Collateral Damage was added to provide an extra source of dealing damage and the optional sideboard can help a bit as well when needed.
I did remove a lot of creatures that sat higher on the curve to improve the consistency of the deck and making it 'slightly' less mana intense, though obviously it will use every bit of it still. While Search for Tomorrow does provide ramp in spell form, the suspending does tend to slow the deck down so I still prefer running creature based ramp for the moment.
Anyways, updated the starting post to include the new deck list I'm currently testing with.
BGR . SPAWN of KRESH the BLOODBRAIDED . RGB
So I decided it was time to start working on a new Commander/EDH deck so I can switch things up a bit when playing. Like with most of my decks budget does seem to be an issue and thus I'm trying to set a bit of a limit to what I want to spend on it, especially since I'll be acquiring it both in paper and online. As a guideline I am going to set that the deck can't cost more than around 10 Tix in total on MTGO, which should put it on a fair budget in RL as well.
Now for the game plan I've drawn from my experiences drafting Modern Masters 2015 and the joy of playing the GB Tokens decks in it in conjunction with Algae Gharial and Scavenger Drake. In line with that I ended up with Kresh the Bloodbraided as a good fitting Commander that would synergize with that strategy. Since Eldrazi Spawn Tokens don't work too well on their own for Kresh, going with some Anthems effects should help the strategy a little. Also things like Grave Pact will help to make the strategy more viable.
Obviously, the deck is still in it's early stages of designing, but with budget in mind I figured it is best to share my initially created list here and get some help on tweaking the deck before buying actual cards. I learned that the hard way with some of my previous deck and could have saved some money for better cards that way. Anyways, here is the first concept I pieced together.
Deck Strategy
I'm pretty much looking to use Eldrazi Spawn as a way to ramp into casting my creatures and exploit this to make my Commander bigger but also cause some of my other creatures to grow bigger (which when killed will again pump Kresh). Not to mention trigger other effects that help against my opponents, like forcing them to sacrifice their own creatures so I can swing in.
1x Adaptive Automaton
1x Algae Gharial
1x Bloodsoaked Champion
1x Butcher Ghoul
1x Butcher of Malakir
1x Champion of Lambholt
1x Creakwood Liege
1x Dutiful Attendant
1x Grim Haruspex
1x Hand of Emrakul
1x It That Betrays
1x Kozilek's Predator
1x Manaforge Cinder
1x Nest Invader
1x Pawn of Ulamog
1x Rakshasa Gravecaller
1x Reassembling Skeleton
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Scavenger Drake
1x Stalking Vengeance
1x Thunderscape Familiar
1x Thunderscape Master
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Yavimaya Elder
Instant (7)
1x Fling
1x Krosan Grip
1x Momentous Fall
1x Putrefy
1x Soul's Fire
1x Spawning Breath
1x Sudden Death
1x Bone Splinters
1x Brood Birthing
1x Corpsehatch
1x Cultivate
1x Essence Feed
1x Essence Harvest
1x Fungal Sprouting
1x Growth Spasm
1x Kin-Tree Invocation
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Victimize
Artifact (9)
1x Deathrender
1x Door of Destinies
1x Golgari Keyrune
1x Golgari Signet
1x Mask of Avacyn
1x Mimic Vat
1x Sol Ring
1x Sword of the Paruns
1x Thornbite Staff
Enchantment (11)
1x Awakening Zone
1x Beastmaster Ascension
1x Dictate of Erebos
1x Flameshadow Conjuring
1x Gaea's Anthem
1x Grave Pact
1x Impact Tremors
1x Necrogenesis
1x Parallel Lives
1x Perilous Forays
1x Raiders' Spoils
1x Buried Ruin
1x Evolving Wilds
9x Forest
1x Jund Panorama
1x Kessig Wolf Run
8x Mountain
1x Mountain Valley
1x Rakdos Carnarium
1x Rocky Tar Pit
1x Rootbound Crag
9x Swamp
1x Tainted Peak
1x Tainted Wood
1x Terramorphic Expanse
Planned Changes
Replace Beastmaster Ascension with Vicious Shadows
Replace Butcher Ghoul with Nether Traitor
Replace Rakshasa Gravecaller with Ob Nixilis, Unshackled
Repalce Hand of Emrakul with Overseer of the Damned
You can run the Soul's Attendant over Suture Priests, they are lower on the curve after all. I prefer the Priest as an alternative since it has the chance of doing some nice damage when unchecked. Also it draws removal which then isn't used on Pridemate or Wurm.
Doom traveler is not worth it in my opinion since it only gives a single token. I'd sooner consider Raise the Alarm for being instant speed. I opted for Secure the Wastes seeing it can produce more tokens late game.
On a side note: Murder Investigation is a fun inclusion but takes away too much from the deck's effectiveness.
The deck is still rather weak to removal, but low on curve enough to keep going. That said seeing my Pridemates and Voracious Wurm get removed can be a tad bit annoying, so going to see about making it less attractive for people to do so. Reading through the Origins spoilers I noticed a card that potentially could be a fun inclusion; Murder Investigation.
So planning to do some playtesting with the following changes:
- Two Murder Investigation into the Main, while replacing a Voracious Wurm and a Chalice of Life.
- A second Sigil Captain in favor of the Rhox Faithmender, stronger tokens feel more useful than more doubling life gain.
- Second Reprisal in Sideboard replacing a copy of Ghost Quarter, as a optional means to trigger Murder Investigation.