Exactly what it says on the tin. I love Trostani's new art released with the commander 2019 set but every time I sit down and try to build the dryads I always find that the deck is just hard to love. Big, token fatties and aetherflux reservoir and voila, a Trostani deck. What avenues do you think are out there to bring some life to such a stale, builds-itself kind of deck?
A couple of friends of mine have thrown together Innistrad and Ravnica themed decks and I wanted to do the same for my favorite plane, New Phyrexia. I planned on just searching through the gatherer for cards from Mirrodin (Scars of, Besieged) as well as the namesake set but I know there are other cards arts depicting good, New Phyrexian things out there like the Rout and I was wondering if there was an easy or nice way of getting access to all such cards. Thank you in advance!
Gyruda, Doom of Depths Trigger and Blightsteel Colossus or Kozilek, Butcher of Truth. Not sure how the demon kraken's ETB would work with either of these cards. I have a suspicion that Blightsteel is not an eligible target for Gyruda because it has a replacement effect so it would never touch the graveyard but what about Kozi? Also if my suspicion on Blightsteel is wrong, please make my day and tell me so!
Card tags are mandatory when asking questions in the Magic Rulings forum. Please check your private messages to learn how to use them. I’ve added them for this post. -MadMage
Can Volrath place a -1/-1 counter on a 1/1 creature and copy it before it goes to the graveyard? Would be nice if I can get a 7/5 Blighted Agent before it dies.
So do you think that land destruction as a sub theme would slot in easily? What cards would you recommend cutting to make room? Also, the reason I am running Wrath of God over Supreme Verdict is so that, if cast off Omen Machine, I have a chance to counter it and not have Lavinia die. Though in saying it, I feel that might be a little too niche a reason.
Hello @benjameenbear! If you feel that it belongs over in cEDH territory then by all means move this puppy over. I just want to be careful not to cross the 75% line too hard. I am certainly aware of the cEDH elements in the deck, I just don't want it winning on turn 2 every game, you know? My budget is relatively good. Can't be putting cards like Timetwister in here, sadly. That said, my playgroup does use proxies, so if I get the go ahead from them on a given card then I should be able to use it. Definitely let me know what you think, though. If you feel the deck would get more foot traffic in cEDH then I would gladly have it moved.
Hello people of MTGsalvation! As the title says, I am looking for help/criticism with my Lavinia, Azorius Renegade stax deck. For a quick rundown of the deck's game plan, the goal is to land a few heavy stax pieces to slow my opponents down long enough for me to either ult Teferi, Hero of Dominaria cast Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre or assemble the Helm of Obedience/Rest in Peace combo. The three signature stax ideas this deck wants to utilize are the Lavinia + Knowledge Pool/Omen Machine combo, Smothering Tithe + Stasis combo or any combination that would result in a successful execution of Opus Thief's strategy.
The addition of the Opus Thief package to the deck is fairly new and I am trying to gauge how I feel about it as well as collect other people's opinions of it. Each card included in the package is a good card on it's own, so I feel that I am not sacrificing anything to include the combo. The main reason I want it in the deck is twofold: 1) I think it's a unique way of stax-ing the game; 2) I really love the idea behind Opus Thief but don't want to dedicate a whole deck to the idea. Please let me know what you think, I would really love some good criticism on the deck. Been a little hard to come by.
TL;DR I built a Lavinia Stax deck with a fancy card package that I want advice on.
EDIT: By recommendation of benjameenbear, I have added a second deck list. The first deck list is the deck by card function and the second is the singleton list containing no repeat cards for easier readability.
I've been playing my Etali, Primal Storm deck to fantastic effect since I picked it up. For a mono red gimmick deck, it has a surprisingly high win rate in a mostly 75% meta and I find the chaos of it amusing to say the least. With the reveal of Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion, however, my resolve is a little shaken. I think he might be able to do some real work, more so than my current Etali deck and I am looking to get some opinions on the matter. All in all, if I decided to try out Neheb in place of Etali, it wouldn't be a very expensive change to the current deck. Ok, now for pros and cons I can conceive.
Neheb, Dreadhorde General
-----------------------------
+ Drops dead cards quickly
+ Ramps us (which is incredibly good in red)
+ Relies on HIS deck and is therefore more likely to be consistent
- Does not guarantee casts
- On hit trigger is much worse than on attack
- Is not an elder dinosaur
Etali, Primal Rage
---------------------
+ On attack trigger means we don't need to worry about connecting
+ Takes from everyone, potentially high power cards
- Higher CMC means harder to recast late game
- Incredibly "RNG"
- Is not a zombie minotaur warrior
I'll address the obvious real quick and point out that either of these cards can go into the other deck (though I feel Etali would be better off in Neheb than the other way around) but what I'm worried about is who I want in the command zone. I know it's early into spoilers and we haven't really seen much of our favorite undead minotaur but what do you guys think? Is Etali's brute force enough to make due without Neheb's card selection and ramp? I would love to hear your opinions more than you know! Thank you for any and all comments!
Cutting to the point. I love Chainer, Dementia Master. I think he's got some really cool flavor, mono color's always a fun flex, but I have been eyeing Marchesa, the Black Rose for sometime now and I don't know if I want to think about a switch soon. I ran it by a couple of my buddies who I play with and they all think Marchesa is really cool (as do I) but for some reason I can't seem to commit one way or the other. Does anyone have something to add that could sway my opinion towards one of the two bad ass commanders? I know they have moderately different play styles, I'm prepared to make the necessary changes to accommodate Marchesa's playstyle.
I'm back once more to try and figure out the horribly confusing puzzle that is Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer. I've read just about every primer and seen every deck tech the internet has to offer on this guy and nothing seems to click in a 75% deck. My current list for him is really rough and has gone through several iterations. Currently, I'm playing around with a steal-ier version of Brudiclad, as I am beginning to think this is the easiest/most cost effective way to acquire big targets to copy with Brudiclad's ability. The current game plan uses cards like Acquire, Bribery and control magic to steal my opponents creatures, copy them and then let Brudiclad do his thing. This has potential to do some crazy things but the deck still doesn't feel very fluid to pilot and I feel like there must be something I am missing in making him work. I would love to hear all of your ideas on building him and get a bit of a discussion going to see if we can iron out the best way of building this beautiful general. Thanks everyone!
Yeah, I've definitely seen Selesnya work with Birthing Pod to great effect. I would build Naya but that lends itself to Kiki-Pod way too easily and that may as well be a Tana/Tymna Blood Pod deck at the point. Bant is interesting but THE commander for it would be Derevi and there are just so many Derevi decks. Rubinia is an interesting one, I suppose. I'm not a major fan of any of the abzan generals either to be perfectly honest so I feel like my options are limited to something within Bant or Selesnya.
Hello folks of MTGSalvation. I am posting for some recommendations or pointers as to what sort of deck I should build next. My all time favorite card in magic is Birthing Pod. It has so much awesome flavor, it's from my favorite set and it turns your whole deck into a toolbox. I love love love it. What I am looking for is some help. I want a deck that can utilize it as a sort of toolbox (as mentioned above) instead of a combo piece. We have a player in our local meta who runs it in a Xenagod deck to great success. Xenagod powers up and hastens whatever comes out of the pod and since the card allows for any creature to come out of his library (based on what creatures he has on the field, of course) it turns the combo into threat to be reckoned with. I desperately want to build a deck that uses pod in a similar fashion. I've been heavily considering Jund as the color combination with commanders like Kresh and Karrthus being at the top of that list. Kresh has lost appeal to me because he does nothing to help the creature coming out of the pod (though he benefits from the sacrifice) and Karrthus has been rough for me because whenever I consider Jund Dragon Tribal I keep thinking that it would be better off as a Scion of the Ur-Dragon deck. If any of you have an idea that may help please leave a response! I'll be playing around with Jund Dragons until then, I guess.
Card tags are mandatory when asking questions in the Magic Rulings forum. Please check your private messages to learn how to use them. I’ve added them for this post. -MadMage
The addition of the Opus Thief package to the deck is fairly new and I am trying to gauge how I feel about it as well as collect other people's opinions of it. Each card included in the package is a good card on it's own, so I feel that I am not sacrificing anything to include the combo. The main reason I want it in the deck is twofold: 1) I think it's a unique way of stax-ing the game; 2) I really love the idea behind Opus Thief but don't want to dedicate a whole deck to the idea. Please let me know what you think, I would really love some good criticism on the deck. Been a little hard to come by.
TL;DR I built a Lavinia Stax deck with a fancy card package that I want advice on.
1x Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Land (36)
1x Academy Ruins
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Azorius Chancery
1x Command Tower
1x Flooded Strand
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Hall of Heliod's Generosity
1x Hallowed Fountain
10x Island
1x Maze of Ith
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Nimbus Maze
8x Plains
1x Port Town
1x Prairie Stream
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Sea of Clouds
1x Skycloud Expanse
1x Temple of Enlightenment
Lock (6)
1x Knowledge Pool
1x Omen Machine
1x Smothering Tithe
1x Stasis
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Teferi, Time Raveler
Tutor (5)
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Fabricate
1x Land Tax
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Whir of Invention
1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
1x Brainstorm
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Echo of Eons
1x Emergency Powers
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Mystic Remora
1x Narset, Parter of Veils
1x Rhystic Study
1x Sphinx's Revelation
1x Time Reversal
1x Windfall
Stax (9)
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Blind Obedience
1x Containment Priest
1x Damping Sphere
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Leonin Arbiter
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Torpor Orb
Removal (6)
1x Austere Command
1x Council's Judgment
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Return to Dust
1x Wrath of God
1x Swords to Plowshares
Utility (4)
1x Rest in Peace
1x Rite of Replication
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Vedalken Orrery
1x Helm of Obedience
1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Counter (9)
1x Arcane Denial
1x Counterspell
1x Delay
1x Disallow
1x Dovin's Veto
1x Insidious Will
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Narset's Reversal
1x Swan Song
Opus Thief Package (8)
1x Alms Collector
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Echo of Eons
1x Emergency Powers
1x Narset, Parter of Veils
1x Smothering Tithe
1x Time Reversal
1x Windfall
Ramp (5)
1x Azorius Signet
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Mana Crypt
1x Sol Ring
1x Talisman of Progress
Protection (3)
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Teferi's Protection
1x Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
Instant (20)
1x Arcane Denial
1x Brainstorm
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Delay
1x Disallow
1x Dovin's Veto
1x Emergency Powers
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Insidious Will
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Narset's Reversal
1x Return to Dust
1x Sphinx's Revelation
1x Swan Song
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Teferi's Protection
1x Whir of Invention
Creature (10)
1x Alms Collector
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Containment Priest
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Leonin Arbiter
1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1x Academy Ruins
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Azorius Chancery
1x Command Tower
1x Flooded Strand
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Hall of Heliod's Generosity
1x Hallowed Fountain
10x Island
1x Maze of Ith
1x Myriad Landscape
1x Nimbus Maze
8x Plains
1x Port Town
1x Prairie Stream
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Sea of Clouds
1x Skycloud Expanse
1x Temple of Enlightenment
Sorcery (8)
1x Austere Command
1x Council's Judgment
1x Echo of Eons
1x Fabricate
1x Rite of Replication
1x Time Reversal
1x Windfall
1x Wrath of God
1x Narset, Parter of Veils
1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
1x Teferi, Time Raveler
Artifact (15)
1x Azorius Signet
1x Damping Sphere
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Helm of Obedience
1x Knowledge Pool
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Mana Crypt
1x Omen Machine
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Talisman of Progress
1x Torpor Orb
1x Vedalken Orrery
Enchantment (7)
1x Blind Obedience
1x Land Tax
1x Mystic Remora
1x Rest in Peace
1x Rhystic Study
1x Smothering Tithe
1x Stasis
EDIT: By recommendation of benjameenbear, I have added a second deck list. The first deck list is the deck by card function and the second is the singleton list containing no repeat cards for easier readability.
Neheb, Dreadhorde General
-----------------------------
+ Drops dead cards quickly
+ Ramps us (which is incredibly good in red)
+ Relies on HIS deck and is therefore more likely to be consistent
- Does not guarantee casts
- On hit trigger is much worse than on attack
- Is not an elder dinosaur
Etali, Primal Rage
---------------------
+ On attack trigger means we don't need to worry about connecting
+ Takes from everyone, potentially high power cards
- Higher CMC means harder to recast late game
- Incredibly "RNG"
- Is not a zombie minotaur warrior
I'll address the obvious real quick and point out that either of these cards can go into the other deck (though I feel Etali would be better off in Neheb than the other way around) but what I'm worried about is who I want in the command zone. I know it's early into spoilers and we haven't really seen much of our favorite undead minotaur but what do you guys think? Is Etali's brute force enough to make due without Neheb's card selection and ramp? I would love to hear your opinions more than you know! Thank you for any and all comments!
I'm back once more to try and figure out the horribly confusing puzzle that is Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer. I've read just about every primer and seen every deck tech the internet has to offer on this guy and nothing seems to click in a 75% deck. My current list for him is really rough and has gone through several iterations. Currently, I'm playing around with a steal-ier version of Brudiclad, as I am beginning to think this is the easiest/most cost effective way to acquire big targets to copy with Brudiclad's ability. The current game plan uses cards like Acquire, Bribery and control magic to steal my opponents creatures, copy them and then let Brudiclad do his thing. This has potential to do some crazy things but the deck still doesn't feel very fluid to pilot and I feel like there must be something I am missing in making him work. I would love to hear all of your ideas on building him and get a bit of a discussion going to see if we can iron out the best way of building this beautiful general. Thanks everyone!