Done, and done. I like this idea(must have missed it previous years), and I look forward to the data that results. Will you share said data after the polls close?
Like many though, I saw this coming, and it was overdue. I'd been looking for a good reason to put Karametra, God of Harvests into my Sisay deck, and this is the perfect reason.
It was stupid...I couldn't HELP but go off when PE was on the field, and I didn't need too many people/rocks on the board. Sel 2.0, Mox Amber(in hand), Sisay, Priest of Titania or Elvish Archdruid, and bam...suddenly I had Laverne and Shirley and you have no lands.
Maybe now I can enjoy my Sisay deck again instead of being bored.
Backing up(I don't come here as often as I used to, ) to Treacherous Terrain; that came in the same package as Collective Voyage(Commander '16), which explains both its casting cost and the {hopefully} resultant feel bads.
A lot of people still consider Ink-Eyes to be the only relevant 'rat general' in my playgroup. I think you almost need more colors to take advantage of rats to their full potential, so Ink-Eyes, as some have said, is less of a danger. Besides, you almost need another color to make rats truly threatening, IMO.
Everdream...I have never been a fan of splicing. I respect those who like it, and I agree it's a fun way to get additional effects on spells, but it's definitely not my thing, even for a cantrip like this.
As wary as I was upon seeing Nexus of Fate for my first time here, I have to agree that I don't believe it hits ban criteria(or at least doesn't hit it hard enough).
It may be scary in my Niv deck(and it will replace beacon for sure once I get a copy), but that's a dedicated deck to drawing and wheeling, and that's the same for nexus. People are pointing out ways it can go degenerate, but that's not necessarily a fault of the card, and it adds more cogs to the 'game win' machine. All of which can be interacted with and broken. Your situation too, could have been easily broken. One zenith later, and GG.
I used to run this in most(if not all) of my decks. But I started to notice that it wasn't as fun/useful as I thought. Discarding IS powerful...in certain decks. Holding on to a 40+ hand IS powerful...in certain decks. Having utility lands IS powerful...in certain decks.
Those three points have led to me currently only having Reliquary Tower in one deck...and I bet everyone can guess which deck it is.
It's not just because, as others have pointed out, I'm hoarding resources and gimping my board state(which I'm not). Not surprisingly, my hand is also a resource, so yeah...I can regularly get a 20+ hand and turn that around into a pro/re-action. It's amazingly fun and wonderful when that happens. I can often go without Reliquary(instant speed and all), but I don't believe I've ever lost a game because I had this safety net(or it's arty cousin).
Sun Titan - it really doesn't take much to see the combo potential of this guy. Being able to filter your deck with Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse, even at one per turn, is pretty helpful, as would be recovering dorks or other cheapies after a wrath.
Grave Titan - Sac and token decks like this guy. He may not create an army on demand like a kicked rite, but two beaters per swing/entry is not insignificant, particularly how many token shenanigans are available in EDH.
Inferno Titan - never thought about the deatchtouching, so that bumps him up in my estimation. Still pretty limited in his usage/enabling IMO, but he burns stuff and speeds the game along if need be.
Frost Titan - as said, he's much more niche than the other big guys. I'd say of all the titans, Frosty is the most meta-dependent, save for being cloned(whereas the others are scary with or without clones). He can grief decks with a lynchpin, which is good I suppose, but I don't see many targeted removals in my meta, so the pseudo-hexproof is also pointless to me.
I think what ranks Frosty below the others is that he's more meta-dependent, more than anything. Again, as said, all the titans are good, but I do agree that Frost is on the low end.
I'll fully admit, I still play PE in my Sisay deck. But I rarely bring that deck out unless I'm dead-set on revenge; partly because of PE, partly because the deck begs to be dogpiled, or else GG.
It's influenced any changes I make to my deck as well; not only must something be a good Legendary, I now wonder, "Can this go bonkers with Paradox Engine?".
So yeah...I'm a bad person for playing it in my deck(I'LL say it, if no one else will, lol), but if it goes(and I keep expecting it to with every set release), I won't shed a tear...rather, I will sigh in relief.
I have this in my Thrax deck, but I've only used it once to get Thrax back out. There are a number of GY shenanigan decks in my meta though, so I think it should stay around for a while longer...
Yeah, as I got access to better lands(or had the best utilities for my decks), this got pushed away. I can't even justify running it in my zombies deck which DOES run amulet. Better targets to blink, better permanents/spells with the same(or better, even more efficient) effect...meh all around.
Playing a FFW pod between Mayael the Anima(myself), Mathas, Fiend Seeker, The Scorpion God and a commander I can't remember. I'd been getting thoroughly mana screwed, and out of sympathy, I'd been mostly ignored most of the game, while I'd been pitching some creatures to my graveyard because I can't cast them and can't cheat them into play with Mayael.
Scorpion gets his commander out, and looks through graveyards. He salivates at seeing my Craterhoof Behemoth and a couple of other big fatties in my graveyard, and decides to make a move to end the game. I see him making calculations in his head, and I'm making a few calculations of my own.
He manages to swing in for lethal at the one player, NEARLY gets Mathas in one swing(he was able to pull some chump blocks, and there were a few 'bounty creatures that died and saved him), and decides to swing his 19/19 Scorpion God at me.
I then play Deflecting Palm on Scorpion God. The crestfallen look on his face was priceless as he realized that he was pulled into a trap so thoroughly as to be killed by it. I still ended up losing, but the table readily agreed that that was the play of the night, because of how it worked, and yes...I admit that I did 'discard play' to Scorpion God's ability to try and entice him into shenanigans. I did not expect it to go so well, however.
Vampire Nocturnus = VNoc relies on having a black card on top to make your vamps more powerful. His usefulness drops off pretty sharply at two colors, and precipitously at three and above. You can still use him...but many times you'll find him to be 'just a body' because your card is a land or a non-black. Stromkirk Condemned = cheap as he is(and that's good for Edgar), I'm not a fan of temporary boosts. The fact that you can only do this once each turn REALLY hurts as well(planned discard outlets shouldn't have this type of stipulation, and there are better ways to boost your vampires more permanently). Butcher of Malakir = awful expensive, and unless you get him out fast with something like Reanimate or Unburial Rites, he's just a win-more by the time he comes down. I would replace him with Dictate of Erebos or Grave Pact if those prices don't intimidate you. Vampire Lacerator = This guy could be hurting you for QUITE a while in an EDH game. Then you have to keep the opponent at 10 or less life in the game instead of finishing them. Pitch. Bloodthrone Vampire = indeed, a good sac outlet, but for another temporary buff to one creature. Not a fan, personally. Phyrexian Reclamation = at least one of them...you have it listed twice. lol
That gives you a chance to pop in some of your maybe board, which seems okay for the most part, though I would warn you of a few things:
1. Door of Destinies is a serious hate magnet. If you can't protect it, accept that you will lose it soon.
2. Avacyn is a good plan, but is VERY color heavy in her CMC. I would stay more with cards that only have one or two colored mana symbols in their CMC, particularly for a budget tri-color deck. Chromatic Lantern may help fix it, but that's when you get it out...until then? You could be dead in the water.
3. Patron of the Vein...great on paper, not so much in this kind of deck. 6 for a targeted removal, even for exile, is ridiculous to start, even with a 4/4 body. It gets better after that, but your targeted removal is pretty limited. If you want Patron in, beef up your removal.
4. Gary has the same problem as VNoc...too much chance of whiffing. If he was a vampire, I'd say keep him in on that merit alone(it's why I have him in my zombie deck, even though that has the same problem as far as devotion), but seeing as he's not, you're better off letting him go. Use Exsanguinate if you're looking for the life loss/gain plan. Or, the usual Exquisite Blood/Sanguine Bond combo.
5. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is just outside of the CMC you want to be emphasizing. Add in that you'll be pumping MORE mana into her if you need her ability...I dunno. I don't see her working the way she should in a deck like this. I'd add her last out of what you have.
Suggestions for the maybe board/replacing cuts:
Stromkirk Noble = amazing how many people run humans. Olivia Voldaren = while she may not have a place in this deck, I would be remiss not mentioning her. I mean, why should you have to sacrifice YOUR creatures all the time? Falkenrath Noble = this guy with Blood Artist makes people VERY wary about casting board wipes. But, since you have no compunctions... Gatekeeper of Malakir = Good, quick drop to (hopefully) get rid of an early threat. Sangromancer = a 3/3 flyer for 2BB isn't bad, and since you have discard and ping plans...she can do some work for you. Twilight Prophet = being that it's ridiculously easy to get the city's blessing in EDH, you want this guy. Attrition = put those tokens to even more versatile use. Elixir of Immortality = aka Vampire Booze. I just include it because it's flavorful. Blood Tribute = careful with this one...it's VERY easy to go into archenemy mode, no matter who you target.
Okay, sorry for the wall of text, but that's my list of suggestions. Take them as you will, and if you wish to see other ideas, feel free to check out my decklist as well.
The best card at 5 mana and over isn't even a vampire, but Gray Merchant of Asphodel still plays out ridiculously.
I would disagree. Playing that in non-mono B decks puts Gary at a diluted risk that increases exponentially the more colors you add in. It's the same reason I question playing Vampire Nocturnus in an Edgar deck...the risk of having a dead top deck is too great, until you can manipulate the top with stuff like Skullclamp or Necropotence.
Like many though, I saw this coming, and it was overdue. I'd been looking for a good reason to put Karametra, God of Harvests into my Sisay deck, and this is the perfect reason.
It was stupid...I couldn't HELP but go off when PE was on the field, and I didn't need too many people/rocks on the board. Sel 2.0, Mox Amber(in hand), Sisay, Priest of Titania or Elvish Archdruid, and bam...suddenly I had Laverne and Shirley and you have no lands.
Maybe now I can enjoy my Sisay deck again instead of being bored.
A lot of people still consider Ink-Eyes to be the only relevant 'rat general' in my playgroup. I think you almost need more colors to take advantage of rats to their full potential, so Ink-Eyes, as some have said, is less of a danger. Besides, you almost need another color to make rats truly threatening, IMO.
Everdream...I have never been a fan of splicing. I respect those who like it, and I agree it's a fun way to get additional effects on spells, but it's definitely not my thing, even for a cantrip like this.
It may be scary in my Niv deck(and it will replace beacon for sure once I get a copy), but that's a dedicated deck to drawing and wheeling, and that's the same for nexus. People are pointing out ways it can go degenerate, but that's not necessarily a fault of the card, and it adds more cogs to the 'game win' machine. All of which can be interacted with and broken. Your situation too, could have been easily broken. One zenith later, and GG.
I used to run this in most(if not all) of my decks. But I started to notice that it wasn't as fun/useful as I thought. Discarding IS powerful...in certain decks. Holding on to a 40+ hand IS powerful...in certain decks. Having utility lands IS powerful...in certain decks.
Those three points have led to me currently only having Reliquary Tower in one deck...and I bet everyone can guess which deck it is.
It's not just because, as others have pointed out, I'm hoarding resources and gimping my board state(which I'm not). Not surprisingly, my hand is also a resource, so yeah...I can regularly get a 20+ hand and turn that around into a pro/re-action. It's amazingly fun and wonderful when that happens. I can often go without Reliquary(instant speed and all), but I don't believe I've ever lost a game because I had this safety net(or it's arty cousin).
Sun Titan - it really doesn't take much to see the combo potential of this guy. Being able to filter your deck with Evolving Wilds/Terramorphic Expanse, even at one per turn, is pretty helpful, as would be recovering dorks or other cheapies after a wrath.
Grave Titan - Sac and token decks like this guy. He may not create an army on demand like a kicked rite, but two beaters per swing/entry is not insignificant, particularly how many token shenanigans are available in EDH.
Inferno Titan - never thought about the deatchtouching, so that bumps him up in my estimation. Still pretty limited in his usage/enabling IMO, but he burns stuff and speeds the game along if need be.
Frost Titan - as said, he's much more niche than the other big guys. I'd say of all the titans, Frosty is the most meta-dependent, save for being cloned(whereas the others are scary with or without clones). He can grief decks with a lynchpin, which is good I suppose, but I don't see many targeted removals in my meta, so the pseudo-hexproof is also pointless to me.
I think what ranks Frosty below the others is that he's more meta-dependent, more than anything. Again, as said, all the titans are good, but I do agree that Frost is on the low end.
It's influenced any changes I make to my deck as well; not only must something be a good Legendary, I now wonder, "Can this go bonkers with Paradox Engine?".
So yeah...I'm a bad person for playing it in my deck(I'LL say it, if no one else will, lol), but if it goes(and I keep expecting it to with every set release), I won't shed a tear...rather, I will sigh in relief.
If Thraximundar gets too expensive, Gisa and Geralf have a great deal of fun taking over in the interim. If I need a rush job, Sedris, the Traitor King is another fun one.
Scorpion gets his commander out, and looks through graveyards. He salivates at seeing my Craterhoof Behemoth and a couple of other big fatties in my graveyard, and decides to make a move to end the game. I see him making calculations in his head, and I'm making a few calculations of my own.
He manages to swing in for lethal at the one player, NEARLY gets Mathas in one swing(he was able to pull some chump blocks, and there were a few 'bounty creatures that died and saved him), and decides to swing his 19/19 Scorpion God at me.
I then play Deflecting Palm on Scorpion God. The crestfallen look on his face was priceless as he realized that he was pulled into a trap so thoroughly as to be killed by it. I still ended up losing, but the table readily agreed that that was the play of the night, because of how it worked, and yes...I admit that I did 'discard play' to Scorpion God's ability to try and entice him into shenanigans. I did not expect it to go so well, however.
Vampire Nocturnus = VNoc relies on having a black card on top to make your vamps more powerful. His usefulness drops off pretty sharply at two colors, and precipitously at three and above. You can still use him...but many times you'll find him to be 'just a body' because your card is a land or a non-black.
Stromkirk Condemned = cheap as he is(and that's good for Edgar), I'm not a fan of temporary boosts. The fact that you can only do this once each turn REALLY hurts as well(planned discard outlets shouldn't have this type of stipulation, and there are better ways to boost your vampires more permanently).
Butcher of Malakir = awful expensive, and unless you get him out fast with something like Reanimate or Unburial Rites, he's just a win-more by the time he comes down. I would replace him with Dictate of Erebos or Grave Pact if those prices don't intimidate you.
Vampire Lacerator = This guy could be hurting you for QUITE a while in an EDH game. Then you have to keep the opponent at 10 or less life in the game instead of finishing them. Pitch.
Bloodthrone Vampire = indeed, a good sac outlet, but for another temporary buff to one creature. Not a fan, personally.
Phyrexian Reclamation = at least one of them...you have it listed twice.
That gives you a chance to pop in some of your maybe board, which seems okay for the most part, though I would warn you of a few things:
1. Door of Destinies is a serious hate magnet. If you can't protect it, accept that you will lose it soon.
2. Avacyn is a good plan, but is VERY color heavy in her CMC. I would stay more with cards that only have one or two colored mana symbols in their CMC, particularly for a budget tri-color deck. Chromatic Lantern may help fix it, but that's when you get it out...until then? You could be dead in the water.
3. Patron of the Vein...great on paper, not so much in this kind of deck. 6 for a targeted removal, even for exile, is ridiculous to start, even with a 4/4 body. It gets better after that, but your targeted removal is pretty limited. If you want Patron in, beef up your removal.
4. Gary has the same problem as VNoc...too much chance of whiffing. If he was a vampire, I'd say keep him in on that merit alone(it's why I have him in my zombie deck, even though that has the same problem as far as devotion), but seeing as he's not, you're better off letting him go. Use Exsanguinate if you're looking for the life loss/gain plan. Or, the usual Exquisite Blood/Sanguine Bond combo.
5. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief is just outside of the CMC you want to be emphasizing. Add in that you'll be pumping MORE mana into her if you need her ability...I dunno. I don't see her working the way she should in a deck like this. I'd add her last out of what you have.
Suggestions for the maybe board/replacing cuts:
Stromkirk Noble = amazing how many people run humans.
Olivia Voldaren = while she may not have a place in this deck, I would be remiss not mentioning her. I mean, why should you have to sacrifice YOUR creatures all the time?
Falkenrath Noble = this guy with Blood Artist makes people VERY wary about casting board wipes. But, since you have no compunctions...
Gatekeeper of Malakir = Good, quick drop to (hopefully) get rid of an early threat.
Sangromancer = a 3/3 flyer for 2BB isn't bad, and since you have discard and ping plans...she can do some work for you.
Twilight Prophet = being that it's ridiculously easy to get the city's blessing in EDH, you want this guy.
Attrition = put those tokens to even more versatile use.
Elixir of Immortality = aka Vampire Booze. I just include it because it's flavorful.
Blood Tribute = careful with this one...it's VERY easy to go into archenemy mode, no matter who you target.
Okay, sorry for the wall of text, but that's my list of suggestions. Take them as you will, and if you wish to see other ideas, feel free to check out my decklist as well.
I would disagree. Playing that in non-mono B decks puts Gary at a diluted risk that increases exponentially the more colors you add in. It's the same reason I question playing Vampire Nocturnus in an Edgar deck...the risk of having a dead top deck is too great, until you can manipulate the top with stuff like Skullclamp or Necropotence.
This works well, however...particularly if you have even just one of the deadly duo out.