Hey gang finally came back from vacation and wanted to check in.
On vacation I played a lot with a different group and after a couple games it started feeling like archenemy. My all stars so far have been Teferi's Puzzle Box(somehow powered this out early every game) and Maze of Ith but I'm worried that I haven't really been able to avoid getting run over. Out of the games I played I won maybe about 40% of the time but when I died I went down hard and early. They were all big stompy decks that liked going sideways and laughed when I said I had 9 creatures but they soon knew why. But against these big creature decks do we just need to power out some creatures of our own for blockers, start putting in board wipes, or possibly just slow the game way down via Winter Orb or Sunder?
After some brewing, goldfishing, and ideas from here and the non budget primer this is what it looks like I'm going to put together. As far as sideboard goes I will wait to go to my LGS and get some more info on what exactly is playing in this area now since I've been out for awhile. Only questions so far is 4/4 of IoK and Thoughtseize too much MB. I threw timely in MB due to adding caves, fetches, and thoughtseize so I figured I would probably be low on life fairly often.
As for sideboard I will have to check my LGS since its been a couple months since I last played but from what I remember being around it was:
Jund, Junk, Affinity, Mono R Burn, Souls Sisters, Abzan Company, and CoCo elves. But there were a few people I never got to play so no idea what they are running.
My plan was to definitely pickup IoK and possibly thoughtseize as well. I want to run Sculler but the more I look at it the less useful it seems to be.
Decided on building BW tokens today and went through my cards to see what I already have.
I'm wanting to build a more midrange type of list but I'm unsure where to even start. I've also budgeted spending ~$100 to get it off the ground.
My next planned changes are
-1 Expedition Map +1 Dack Fayden: The more I play with expedition map and armillary sphere the less I feel I need it with how much I wheel and it takes a crucial spot for Dack.
-1 Trinket Mage +1 Tezzeret the Seeker: Recommended by you guys.
-1 Island +1 Maze of Ith: Seems the easiest card to cut out for maze
-1 Vex +1 Vampiric Tutor: I am having trouble finding what to start cutting and this was the first to come to mind since it says may which implies they get a choice which is never a good idea since they will choose what is better for them.
I'm not sure where to refine from here I think I've headed into the midrange combo territory and would like some advice on what to be looking for next. I feel like I should start looking into my mana base but I'm not sure where to start other than steam vents, watery grave, and khans fetches.
I feel the need for this deck list and it looks great plus the interactions of the selected cards but it feels too slow. Will that survive aggro decks? Aside from the 37 mana base, I could only see Sol Ring and Chromatic Lantern being the Mana rocks. Can someone shed some light? Would really appreciate it thank you.
I touched upon using it on Xmage which is really nice for testing decks with commander. It is very low on mana rocks with a decently high average CMC. I didn't like it after 4-5 games because it will fold to aggro very easily. I feel like it would do ok if your play group does a bunch of politics or is generally slower. It really depends on how competitive your pod is.
That's what I was thinking but wasn't sure what you guys mileage was out of it. Also out of the cards being reprinted is there anything in particular you guys are going for? My list so far:
I will definitely pick Tezzeret up, I don't know how I missed him. I have found it to be ok but it has given me a really ridiculous start once with Turn one Swamp>Dark Ritual>Sol Ring>Izzet Signet>Windfall. It's been really nice as a godhand enabler and been ok in a pinch for some quick mana to wheel again. So I think I need to test with it more and see how useful it really is
With the eternal masters reprints coming out soon we should get some nice stuff to throw in as well. How much do we care about sensei's divining top?
I have enjoyed a lot of the cards I've added in but I'm not sure about trinket mage. He's helped fetch Leng when I've been loaded with wheels but he's not good for much else other than sol ring fetch, has anyone else had success with him? Also unsure about Kami he seems alright but I haven't had him standout much.
Looking to possibly cut otherworld atlas since its very slow unless I throw in an unwinding clock but I can't get behind the idea. And I haven't been drawing breathstealer's crypt so I've been looking to cut it as well since I feel like I'm going towards a ramp build the more I play. Thoughts?
I'm still slowly working on my mana base and will post the updates to it when I'm confident its decent
And in response to Dakra Mystic I have enjoyed the card a lot when he's been on the board. He usually opens up a space for politics and preventing decent draws once in a while. I wouldn't pay for him with breathstealer out so I am thinking about replacing him after more testing
My goal would be winning through making everyone draw a lot and controlling to make it go off. SO I guess a more combo/control oriented. If only wheel itself wasn't like $40
So I'm just coming back to commander after a year or so. This was a deck I got from my LGS for a $50 deck league thing we had going. needless to say its over now and I was looking to pick it back up and do some upgrades. I know so far that I need to fix the mana base with some non-basics I had laying around.I know to get a sol ring and signets first but I'm not sure from there. looking to spend $60 or less any help is appreciated
On vacation I played a lot with a different group and after a couple games it started feeling like archenemy. My all stars so far have been Teferi's Puzzle Box(somehow powered this out early every game) and Maze of Ith but I'm worried that I haven't really been able to avoid getting run over. Out of the games I played I won maybe about 40% of the time but when I died I went down hard and early. They were all big stompy decks that liked going sideways and laughed when I said I had 9 creatures but they soon knew why. But against these big creature decks do we just need to power out some creatures of our own for blockers, start putting in board wipes, or possibly just slow the game way down via Winter Orb or Sunder?
4 Lingering Souls
4 Spectral Procession
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Timely Reinforcements
Discard 8
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Thoughtseize
Removal 6
4 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
1 Murderous cut
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Zealous Persecution
Planeswalker 3
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Land 23
4 Plains
4 Godless Shrine
4 Windswept Heath
4 Caves of Koilos
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Windbrisk Heights
1 Shambling vent
1 Vault of the archangel
1 Swamp
Jund, Junk, Affinity, Mono R Burn, Souls Sisters, Abzan Company, and CoCo elves. But there were a few people I never got to play so no idea what they are running.
My plan was to definitely pickup IoK and possibly thoughtseize as well. I want to run Sculler but the more I look at it the less useful it seems to be.
I'm wanting to build a more midrange type of list but I'm unsure where to even start. I've also budgeted spending ~$100 to get it off the ground.
3 Path to Exile
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1 Tidehollow Sculler
4 Duress
4 Spectral Procession
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Lingering Souls
3 Godless Shrine
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Nekusar, the Mindrazer
Artifacts 20
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Expedition Map
1 Library of Leng
1 Sol Ring
2 Dimir Signet
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Izzet Signet
2 Mind Stone
2 Rakdos Signet
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Talisman of Dominance
2 Talisman of Indulgence
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Obelisk of Grixis
3 Temple Bell
4 Geth's Grimoire
4 Otherworld Atlas
4 Teferi's Puzzle Box
5 Memory Jar
Creatures 9
2 Kami of the Crescent Moon
3 Jace's Archivist
3 Master of the Feast
3 Trinket Mage
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Fate Unraveler
4 Sakashima the Impostor
5 Bloodgift Demon
5 Psychosis Crawler
1 Bloodchief Ascension
2 Liliana's Caress
2 Waste Not
3 Dictate of Kruphix
3 Fevered Visions
3 Megrim
3 Underworld Dreams
4 Breathstealer's Crypt
Spells 25
1 Dark Ritual
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vandalblast
1 Winds of Change
2 Lim-Dûl's Vault
2 Counterspell
2 Curse of the Swine
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Demonic Tutor
2 Reality Shift
3 Dark Deal
3 Dissipate
3 Faerie Trickery
3 Molten Psyche
3 Vex
3 Wheel of Fortune
3 Windfall
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Mystic Retrieval
4 Rewind
4 Wheel and Deal
4 Whispering Madness
5 Evacuation
5 Incendiary Command
5 Reforge the Soul
0 Blood Crypt
0 Bojuka Bog
0 Choked Estuary
0 City of Brass
0 Command Tower
0 Crumbling Necropolis
0 Dimir Guildgate
0 Dragonskull Summit
0 Drowned Catacomb
0 Evolving Wilds
0 Foreboding Ruins
0 Halimar Depths
0 Island (8)
0 Izzet Guildgate
0 Mountain (2)
0 Polluted Delta
0 Rakdos Guildgate
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Rupture Spire
0 Swamp (2)
0 Temple of Deceit
0 Temple of the False God
0 Terramorphic Expanse
0 Thespian's Stage
0 Transguild Promenade
0 Vivid Crag
0 Vivid Creek
0 Vivid Marsh
My next planned changes are
-1 Expedition Map +1 Dack Fayden: The more I play with expedition map and armillary sphere the less I feel I need it with how much I wheel and it takes a crucial spot for Dack.
-1 Trinket Mage +1 Tezzeret the Seeker: Recommended by you guys.
-1 Island +1 Maze of Ith: Seems the easiest card to cut out for maze
-1 Vex +1 Vampiric Tutor: I am having trouble finding what to start cutting and this was the first to come to mind since it says may which implies they get a choice which is never a good idea since they will choose what is better for them.
I'm not sure where to refine from here I think I've headed into the midrange combo territory and would like some advice on what to be looking for next. I feel like I should start looking into my mana base but I'm not sure where to start other than steam vents, watery grave, and khans fetches.
I touched upon using it on Xmage which is really nice for testing decks with commander. It is very low on mana rocks with a decently high average CMC. I didn't like it after 4-5 games because it will fold to aggro very easily. I feel like it would do ok if your play group does a bunch of politics or is generally slower. It really depends on how competitive your pod is.
1 Chrome Mox
1 Mana Crypt (Price willing)
1 Maze of Ith
1 Gamble (unsure of running this)
1 Pyroblast
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Force of Will (Price willing)
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor (Price willing)
Depending on what I pick up cutting stuff will be the next hurdle and identifying what isn't preforming
With the eternal masters reprints coming out soon we should get some nice stuff to throw in as well. How much do we care about sensei's divining top?
1 Mindcrank (My group plays with no infinite combos)
1 Dakra Mystic
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
1 Barbed Shocker
1 Magus of the Jar
1 Palace Siege
1 Whelming wave
1 Tainted Remedy
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Sakashima the Impostor (MVP right here)
1 Dark Ritual
1 Master of the feast
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Kami of the Crescent Moon
1 Wheel and Deal
1 Trinket Mage
I have enjoyed a lot of the cards I've added in but I'm not sure about trinket mage. He's helped fetch Leng when I've been loaded with wheels but he's not good for much else other than sol ring fetch, has anyone else had success with him? Also unsure about Kami he seems alright but I haven't had him standout much.
Looking to possibly cut otherworld atlas since its very slow unless I throw in an unwinding clock but I can't get behind the idea. And I haven't been drawing breathstealer's crypt so I've been looking to cut it as well since I feel like I'm going towards a ramp build the more I play. Thoughts?
I'm still slowly working on my mana base and will post the updates to it when I'm confident its decent
1 Nekusar, the Mindrazer
Artifacts 21
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Library of Leng
1 Sol Ring
2 Armillary Sphere
2 Dimir Signet
2 Fellwar Stone
2 Izzet Signet
2 Mindcrank
2 Mind Stone
2 Rakdos Signet
2 Swiftfoot Boots
2 Talisman of Dominance
2 Talisman of Indulgence
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Obelisk of Grixis
3 Temple Bell
4 Geth's Grimoire
4 Otherworld Atlas
4 Teferi's Puzzle Box
5 Memory Jar
Creatures 9
1 Dakra Mystic
3 Jace's Archivist
3 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
4 Barbed Shocker
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Fate Unraveler
5 Bloodgift Demon
5 Magus of the Jar
5 Psychosis Crawler
1 Bloodchief Ascension
2 Liliana's Caress
2 Waste Not
3 Dictate of Kruphix
3 Fevered Visions
3 Megrim
3 Tainted Remedy
3 Underworld Dreams
4 Breathstealer's Crypt
5 Palace Siege
Spells 22
1 Vandalblast
1 Winds of Change
2 Lim-Dûl's Vault
2 Counterspell
2 Curse of the Swine
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Reality Shift
3 Dark Deal
3 Dissipate
3 Faerie Trickery
3 Molten Psyche
3 Vex
3 Wheel of Fortune
3 Windfall
4 Diabolic Tutor
4 Mystic Retrieval
4 Rewind
4 Whispering Madness
4 Whelming Wave
5 Evacuation
5 Incendiary Command
5 Reforge the Soul
0 Blood Crypt
0 Choked Estuary
0 City of Brass
0 Command Tower
0 Dimir Guildgate
0 Dragonskull Summit
0 Evolving Wilds
0 Flood Plain
0 Foreboding Ruins
0 Grixis Panorama
0 Halimar Depths
0 Island (10)
0 Izzet Guildgate
0 Mountain (2)
0 Polluted Delta
0 Rakdos Guildgate
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Rupture Spire
0 Swamp (4)
0 Terramorphic Expanse
0 Thespian's Stage
0 Transguild Promenade
0 Vivid Crag
0 Vivid Creek
And in response to Dakra Mystic I have enjoyed the card a lot when he's been on the board. He usually opens up a space for politics and preventing decent draws once in a while. I wouldn't pay for him with breathstealer out so I am thinking about replacing him after more testing
Land
Artifacts
Sorcery
Instants
Enchantments
Creatures