Hey guys. I'm new to the EDH/Commander scene and would like to start. I have a collection starting from Lorwyn~present, and was wondering which I should probably get to get good staples for EDH.
I love the idea of Obelisk. Coupled with Trace of Abundance, it's a utility card that can be used over and over again. It isn't as vulnerable as a Walker since it won't die to a lightning bolt or being attacked. I'll try it out and see if I like it.
Hypura - I love the amount of time you're putting into the deck. It's well worth it!
I took up your idea with the trace of abundance. Never looked back. The risk was well worth the reward.
Hmm, the card draw is the problem right? Maybe a sideboard Chandra Ablaze is in order against those decks? It's symmetrical discard can help fuel our deck while mitigating the draw of the opponent. It's something worth testing. In theory it should work to cancel the Mind Spring and Treasure Hunts (Can also burn opposing walkers, a good plus. Still more conditional than Nalaar though)
I'll stick to Naya Charm. It's never failed me yet.
Lightning Bolt in the Sideboard? Maybe. Here's something I've been testing recently though. Scepter of Dominance. Oftentimes, it's a repeatable Path to Exile that doesn't give opponents lands at the cost of one white a turn. It's also flexible enough to change targets and can target pretty much anything. I've been running it as a two-of recently and it's working great to hold off plenty of decks, more importantly RDW. They're Ball Lightning-esque creatures don't do well after being shut down. All is Dust is really counter-intuitive, forcing us to sacrifice as well. If just nuking the place was what we're trying to accomplish, Planar Cleansing does the same thing for one less mana.
MusickBox -
How is Baneslayer doing for you? She's a great card, but with our lack of removal, she screams lightning rod. Have you tested the Realm Razor? It's a complete beast in this deck.
I've decided to scrap the idea of All is Dust all together, we depend on planeswalkers far too much to sacrifice them.
Chanda Ablaze is an interesting idea, but I feel that we don't have enough red cards in the deck to make her +1 ability worthwhile. If anything, she'd be a 6 mana Burning Inquiry. If its the effect we are after, we would be better off running those instead. I'm not sure if I'd want to waste slots on that.
Some interesting card's I've come across though: Goblin Assault. Only costs three mana, works well to provide a problem for opposing planeswalkers and if they O-ring it, then it's gravy. Less removal for our walkers.
I don't like Scepter of Dominance, I feel that it's too slow. It's like temporary removal. Maybe against RDW it's a good idea, but I feel that Lightning Bolt will be better against more match ups.
In what cases would you ever want a Naya Charm over O-Ring?
I'll try and see if Goblin Assault in the SB works well against Control matchups.
This is the list I'm running. The double color requirement of Trace isn't as hard as you think, since the second color requirement is actually hybrid. I can see where problems can lie, but I think the benefits outweigh them otherwise. Shrouded manlands are great, and being immune to seas is a wonderful thing. And I understand you can't use Garruk's ability with a Trace on the land, but chances are you will still have two lands to untap somewhere. Just Trace non-basic lands so you aren't susceptible to non-basic land destruction, and you're good to go.
I think not having any card draw against aggro decks in general is fine, but American Walker control and UW Control variants are my main concern. We can kill American Walkers just fine via the legendary rule, but a lot (if not all) run Mind Spring or Treasure hunt which is the main reason why I think they will always have the advantage against us. They will be able to continue drawing more steam no matter what we do, not to mention they have Cancel and Negate to stop the possibility of getting card advantage against them with our Walkers.
I'm not sure why you'd want to run Naya Charm over O-ring, I think O-ring is more useful.
As for sideboard options, I'm considering bringing back Lightning Bolt's back to the sideboard, if not mainboard. It's more useful for faster aggro decks, and can kill a Mind Sculptor if it decides to brainstorm instead of fateseal. All is Dust is an interesting card that I've ran into playing with and against an Eldrazi Spawn Beating's deck. We run enough (in fact, more) acceleration than UW control or American Walker control, and we could use this to our advantage. As long as we have acceleration and an All in Dust in hand, we could try killing their walkers in one swoop. It does have its consequences though, killing our own walkers and Trace's if you decide to run them. I'll have to test out these options before I can make any real decisions.
I hope this post helps, I'd like to see a Naya Walker deck do well.
I tested this deck a bit against UW control. I really miss having lightning bolts for those Jaces who use the -0 ability. I don't see the appeal to Bramblesnap in my testing so far, but I'll keep trying. I love All is Dust in this deck against Walker control however, I may up my sideboard count to a full set. Getting back Garruk, O-ring'd ascensions and Awakening Zones feels good man.
I've tested this deck out and noticed a couple of big things. Having no card draw hurts us a lot. When playing against American Walker control, we are almost on par with them until they start rolling out the card draw, and we are left in the dust. Survival Cache is a possibility, but I find it too conditional to be helpful and would be a bad topdeck in a losing situation. I'm not exactly sure what we can do with this.
Also, I find Trace of Abundance to be wonderful tech. It locks in the colors we need so we aren't as vulnerable to Spreading Seas, and protects our manlands. I would suggest replacing our Rampant Growth's with them. I've also noticed that in prolonged games, I will run out of basic lands for Growth to search for. (They have gone that long, lol)
I love the idea of using Realm Razer as a way to stall out the opponent answering your planeswalkers. I will try this deck out and reply with some input later on.
Splashing for green but no Maelstrom Pulse? I think it'd help out pretty nicely here. I don't see why smother would be needed when you have so many edict-creatures.
This is a card worth investing in, imo. Can only get better as they print more creatures.
I'd get them now; they should be going up. Even if they don't find a home in sanctioned formats (but it definitely could), casual players will want to play this over what we have, and it was plenty good in most applications.
@Gal: That actually makes him pretty good, yeah. Nice!
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I've decided to scrap the idea of All is Dust all together, we depend on planeswalkers far too much to sacrifice them.
Chanda Ablaze is an interesting idea, but I feel that we don't have enough red cards in the deck to make her +1 ability worthwhile. If anything, she'd be a 6 mana Burning Inquiry. If its the effect we are after, we would be better off running those instead. I'm not sure if I'd want to waste slots on that.
Some interesting card's I've come across though: Goblin Assault. Only costs three mana, works well to provide a problem for opposing planeswalkers and if they O-ring it, then it's gravy. Less removal for our walkers.
I don't like Scepter of Dominance, I feel that it's too slow. It's like temporary removal. Maybe against RDW it's a good idea, but I feel that Lightning Bolt will be better against more match ups.
In what cases would you ever want a Naya Charm over O-Ring?
I'll try and see if Goblin Assault in the SB works well against Control matchups.
3 Ajani Vengeant
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
4 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Gideon Jura
1 Chandra Nalaar
7 Creatures
4 Wall of Omens
3 Realm Razer
2 Everflowing Chalice
4 Trace of Abundance
3 Oblivion Ring
1 Path to Exile
2 Martial Coup
3 Day of Judgment
4 Jungle Shrine
3 Stirring Wildwood
3 Raging Ravine
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Mountain
3 Plains
4 Forest
4 Arid Mesa
This is the list I'm running. The double color requirement of Trace isn't as hard as you think, since the second color requirement is actually hybrid. I can see where problems can lie, but I think the benefits outweigh them otherwise. Shrouded manlands are great, and being immune to seas is a wonderful thing. And I understand you can't use Garruk's ability with a Trace on the land, but chances are you will still have two lands to untap somewhere. Just Trace non-basic lands so you aren't susceptible to non-basic land destruction, and you're good to go.
I think not having any card draw against aggro decks in general is fine, but American Walker control and UW Control variants are my main concern. We can kill American Walkers just fine via the legendary rule, but a lot (if not all) run Mind Spring or Treasure hunt which is the main reason why I think they will always have the advantage against us. They will be able to continue drawing more steam no matter what we do, not to mention they have Cancel and Negate to stop the possibility of getting card advantage against them with our Walkers.
I'm not sure why you'd want to run Naya Charm over O-ring, I think O-ring is more useful.
As for sideboard options, I'm considering bringing back Lightning Bolt's back to the sideboard, if not mainboard. It's more useful for faster aggro decks, and can kill a Mind Sculptor if it decides to brainstorm instead of fateseal. All is Dust is an interesting card that I've ran into playing with and against an Eldrazi Spawn Beating's deck. We run enough (in fact, more) acceleration than UW control or American Walker control, and we could use this to our advantage. As long as we have acceleration and an All in Dust in hand, we could try killing their walkers in one swoop. It does have its consequences though, killing our own walkers and Trace's if you decide to run them. I'll have to test out these options before I can make any real decisions.
I hope this post helps, I'd like to see a Naya Walker deck do well.
Add in some Devastating Summons, float some mana, and it could be rather hilarious.
Also, I find Trace of Abundance to be wonderful tech. It locks in the colors we need so we aren't as vulnerable to Spreading Seas, and protects our manlands. I would suggest replacing our Rampant Growth's with them. I've also noticed that in prolonged games, I will run out of basic lands for Growth to search for. (They have gone that long, lol)
How does Lavaclaw Reaches interact with Training Grounds?