1) Meren of clan nel toth I have gotten a lot of praise for this deck due to its ridiculous resiliency. I literally have built the deck to be able to withstand nearly any game effect. Its a recursion deck so spot removal and board wipe doesn't affect the deck much. and I even have ways of regainins my card out of exile at a fairly good rate. I can win with the deck from either direct damage, aggro or creature control thanks to being one of the few to include it that betrays int he deck.
2)Derevi, Empyrial Tactician I get praise for this deck because I didn't make it a prison deck like most other builds. its actually a pod deck that also is very versatile, and can use your opponents board states to your advantage by including copy cards and blinking abilities.
3) Jenara, Asura of war no one likes to play against this deck. Its powerful, especially in 1vs1 and emperor games. My group hates it because the deck is built to Kill a player in 4-7 turns, depending on your opening hand.
4)Talrand, the sky summoner My most hated deck. I'm undefeated with it in my play group. Literally a total control deck with a real nasty aggro side.
[quote from="talencross »" url="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/610850-infinite-combos-and-strong-synergies-now-under-new?comment=131"]Mana Web + Storm Cauldron
Feel all of the hate and salt flow around you.
That doesn't work how you think it does. It taps the land; it doesn't tap them for mana.
the synergy with that combo comes together when urborg, tomb of Yawgmoth is added to it. Now you have a terrible choice to make: tap a land and lose all of your mana for the turn, or respond to Mana web trigger and add the mana to your mana pool....only to have your lands bounced and a slow recovery follows.
The Gitrog Monster + Wild Mongrel turns Life from the Loam into an Ancestral Recall (or better) with buyback 0 for just 1G. (Admittedly it's sorcery-speed, but are you really complaining at this point?)
eh. kinda. If you are running a deck that is really good with grave recursion beyond just lands. Don't want to dredge something important that you can't recover
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician + Deadeye Navigator + Gilded Lotus = Infinite Mana of any color. just make sure the first Gilded tap and every other one after is for 3 blue (ex. tap 3 blue, use 2 U to blink derevi, ETB untap gilded, tap the color you need, use last floating blue plus 1 more to blink derevi, repeat)
--Add a Token producer like ant queen or Heliod, god of the sun for infinite mana and token army. add blasting station along with the token maker to Kill all of your opponents
--Add staff of domination to use all staff functions infinitely.
my favorite - Myr matrix + Blinkmoth urn = a perpetual engine of precombat mana. in a colorless/artifact deck this makes things fun. as you play artifacts, use the colorless mana to make myr...which gives you mana....which gives you more myr...and more mana...etc. etc. Add darksteel forge for added insult to injury.
tap architect for 2 colorless mana to add a charge counter to gemstone array, remove that counter to add U to change Pili-pala blue, then ramp away in unlimited mana, cast things and laugh while your opponents are still stuck.
I think more so you should decide on whether or not you want your deck to focus mainly on your commander being involved, or if you want to make it able to win without it. IMO, using Jenara, asura of war your commander screams Voltron style deck. she is only 3cmc so easy to summon early game, while using auras and equipment to enhance her.
personally I run a turbo fog commander deck with Angus Mackenzie as commander, sit back and just play politics.
I see that someone suggested Hydra Omnivore. I ran it in my version and it did 2 things:
-Made it easier to kill everyone at once in a multiplayer game
-It became a target, taking the heat off of Xenagos
I love [godo, bandit warlord[/card] in the deck as I used it in mine. I ran only 2 equips in the deck:
mage slayer deal the damage you need to deal before declare blockers even happens. I think it fits well with this deck Elbrus, the binding blade Godo cheats it in, equips for 1 on a trample/evasive creature, and now you have a 13/13 flyer that you can target with Xenagos. I have won games because of this. not to mention the 13 +1 counters when an opponenet loses is always fun too.
also Angelic arbiter is a good semi-control card that limits what can be done to you. a bit high on the cmc side but shouldn't be hard in mono white since you run Nykthos
also Angelic overseer is a very low cost rare that is an excellent Beater in mono white since it is human heavy. I would also consider using an equipment or two. namely loxodon warhammer
My Kaalia deck is a bit....unusual but very strong and fun to play.
Iona, shield of emeria- she is my anti-blue card in Kaalia. to me you should run her
I really like flameblast dragon as a fireball on a stick. good for multiplayer when you want to attack one, you can use his attack trigger and fireball someone else in the face at once.
I run cataclysm as well as Razia's Purification. both have similar effects, but puts more pressure on your opponents because they only have a choice of three permanents instead of 1 of each type. Makes my playgroup sweat bullets because they know I'm bringing the hammer while they have to think about recovery
My build only runs a few dragons, one of them being Utvara Hellkite beacuse why not multiply dragons exponentially after you wipe lands...
Archfiend of depravity is a good casual card. usually doesn't see alot of play, but he is a Razia's purification that triggers EVERY TURN
riftsweeper is definitely worth fitting in. My play group has about 9 people, and one of them built a Mimeoplasm Commander deck that literally relies on exiling everyone else's stuff. that would be a major help.
Funny enough with my group, creature removal isn't...a huge issue. Shriekmaw i should work in though, because i can still evoke it and it goes to the grave where i want it. Any ideas on what to replace?
List looks pretty good. How does it do in terms of ramp and card advantage? Just worry you may be a little slow of the mark whilst trying to set your mid to late game engines up.
As a result the deck might need some more removal to help keep you in the game. Maybe also look at creatures that leave a board presence after they perish.
As far as tempo, it does well for mid-range. on average Turn 4 - 6 and the deck is really going. It is surprisingly easy to get the spot removal creatures into the rotation like Fleshbag Marauder and Caustic Caterpillar to help maintain problematic permanents. My major concern is things getting exiled from the grave. not alot of protection in the game from that and the new Eldrazi set has quite a bit of it...
Satyr Wayfinder helps move cards from your library to your graveyard, as does Altar of Dementia. I'd maybe put in a couple of other reanimation effects like Necromancy or something similar, just in case you want to pull something out of your graveyard that Meren doesn't have the counters for.
those seem like good Ideas. especially altar of dementia because it creates another sac outlet. Any suggestions on what to replace?
1) Meren of clan nel toth I have gotten a lot of praise for this deck due to its ridiculous resiliency. I literally have built the deck to be able to withstand nearly any game effect. Its a recursion deck so spot removal and board wipe doesn't affect the deck much. and I even have ways of regainins my card out of exile at a fairly good rate. I can win with the deck from either direct damage, aggro or creature control thanks to being one of the few to include it that betrays int he deck.
2)Derevi, Empyrial Tactician I get praise for this deck because I didn't make it a prison deck like most other builds. its actually a pod deck that also is very versatile, and can use your opponents board states to your advantage by including copy cards and blinking abilities.
3) Jenara, Asura of war no one likes to play against this deck. Its powerful, especially in 1vs1 and emperor games. My group hates it because the deck is built to Kill a player in 4-7 turns, depending on your opening hand.
4)Talrand, the sky summoner My most hated deck. I'm undefeated with it in my play group. Literally a total control deck with a real nasty aggro side.
That doesn't work how you think it does. It taps the land; it doesn't tap them for mana.
the synergy with that combo comes together when urborg, tomb of Yawgmoth is added to it. Now you have a terrible choice to make: tap a land and lose all of your mana for the turn, or respond to Mana web trigger and add the mana to your mana pool....only to have your lands bounced and a slow recovery follows.
it sucks to be on the recieving end of that.
eh. kinda. If you are running a deck that is really good with grave recursion beyond just lands. Don't want to dredge something important that you can't recover
Infinites:
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician + Deadeye Navigator + Gilded Lotus = Infinite Mana of any color. just make sure the first Gilded tap and every other one after is for 3 blue (ex. tap 3 blue, use 2 U to blink derevi, ETB untap gilded, tap the color you need, use last floating blue plus 1 more to blink derevi, repeat)
--Add a Token producer like ant queen or Heliod, god of the sun for infinite mana and token army. add blasting station along with the token maker to Kill all of your opponents
--Add staff of domination to use all staff functions infinitely.
Cauldron of souls + dross scorpion + any sac outlet like ashnod's altar or carrion feeder + Melira, sylvok outcast or Mikaeus, the unhallowed + as many dangerous ETB cards you can think of ( Kokusho, the evening star or Massacre wurm come to mind) = Infinite Persist shenanigains, depending on the ETB cards you choose.
take the infinite colorless mana power artifact + Basalt monolith and Add Gemstone array = now infinite mana of any color.
Synergies:
my favorite - Myr matrix + Blinkmoth urn = a perpetual engine of precombat mana. in a colorless/artifact deck this makes things fun. as you play artifacts, use the colorless mana to make myr...which gives you mana....which gives you more myr...and more mana...etc. etc. Add darksteel forge for added insult to injury.
a new fun one: Braid of Fire + Gemstone array = mana battery on your upkeep. add Paradox haze to doulbe your upkeeps/ double the battery. add copy enchantment effects like copy enchantment or clever impersonator to Increase the battery charge by copying either the braid or paradox haze.
Grand architect + Pili-pala and use gemstone array as a battery to pay stasis upkeep.
tap architect for 2 colorless mana to add a charge counter to gemstone array, remove that counter to add U to change Pili-pala blue, then ramp away in unlimited mana, cast things and laugh while your opponents are still stuck.
personally I run a turbo fog commander deck with Angus Mackenzie as commander, sit back and just play politics.
-Made it easier to kill everyone at once in a multiplayer game
-It became a target, taking the heat off of Xenagos
I love [godo, bandit warlord[/card] in the deck as I used it in mine. I ran only 2 equips in the deck:
mage slayer deal the damage you need to deal before declare blockers even happens. I think it fits well with this deck
Elbrus, the binding blade Godo cheats it in, equips for 1 on a trample/evasive creature, and now you have a 13/13 flyer that you can target with Xenagos. I have won games because of this. not to mention the 13 +1 counters when an opponenet loses is always fun too.
Odric, Master Tactician wins games in a deck that is creature feature like yours. also knight captain of eos helps being permanent with a fog effect
also Angelic arbiter is a good semi-control card that limits what can be done to you. a bit high on the cmc side but shouldn't be hard in mono white since you run Nykthos
also Angelic overseer is a very low cost rare that is an excellent Beater in mono white since it is human heavy. I would also consider using an equipment or two. namely loxodon warhammer
Iona, shield of emeria- she is my anti-blue card in Kaalia. to me you should run her
I really like flameblast dragon as a fireball on a stick. good for multiplayer when you want to attack one, you can use his attack trigger and fireball someone else in the face at once.
I run cataclysm as well as Razia's Purification. both have similar effects, but puts more pressure on your opponents because they only have a choice of three permanents instead of 1 of each type. Makes my playgroup sweat bullets because they know I'm bringing the hammer while they have to think about recovery
My build only runs a few dragons, one of them being Utvara Hellkite beacuse why not multiply dragons exponentially after you wipe lands...
Archfiend of depravity is a good casual card. usually doesn't see alot of play, but he is a Razia's purification that triggers EVERY TURN
just some of my thoughts. also think about running a library lock combo Stranglehold plus either Maralen of the moorsong or Aven mindscensor. not a combo to rely on, but if you hit it, win the game.
Funny enough with my group, creature removal isn't...a huge issue. Shriekmaw i should work in though, because i can still evoke it and it goes to the grave where i want it. Any ideas on what to replace?
EDIT: Replaced Cadaver Imp for Riftsweeper
Replaced Shambling shell for Shriekmaw
As far as tempo, it does well for mid-range. on average Turn 4 - 6 and the deck is really going. It is surprisingly easy to get the spot removal creatures into the rotation like Fleshbag Marauder and Caustic Caterpillar to help maintain problematic permanents. My major concern is things getting exiled from the grave. not alot of protection in the game from that and the new Eldrazi set has quite a bit of it...
Here is the updated list, taking into account the suggestions presented and variations of suggestions.
what do you guys think? I know its not Tier one, but should be pretty strong, right?
guess I should have specified that I mainly play multiplayer. Lord of extinction + Jarad, golgari Lich Lord = Kill everyone at once. I'd rather leave lord in. Only other real combo is the blasting station + Melira, sylvok outcast / Mikaeus the unhallowed + Woodfall Primus Loop....
the other two are easy adds if i'm gonna drop Exploration, although the extra land play has helped in testing
those seem like good Ideas. especially altar of dementia because it creates another sac outlet. Any suggestions on what to replace?