Ashenmoor Gouger, Statistically he has Hyper Efficient stats, being a 4/4 for 3 hybrid, the gouger is all about the attack.The Gouger is better suited to modern/legacy format, not so much EDH,...... unless of course he is your Pauper Edh General where he is a bit terrifying as a voltron general.
The starting turns of a game where he can apply pressure are where he is most effective, like being cast off of a ritual turn 1.
To sum it up he's just a beatstick, nothing else. His artwork and flavor text are really cool though.
*****He had his moment in the spotlight during the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor standard era, where he was one of the prime picks in the
"Red Deck Wins" decks of the time, where he was ran along side of Demigod of Revenge. Back when Faeries ruled standard.......
Visually it looks to be an authentic heavily played card, which is a good thing. If you buy it, do the following when you get it.
Hold it up towards a bright light bulb with the back to the light, and the front facing towards you, if you see the oval on the back of the card clearly showing through the front artwork it is a fake.
*****Use some regular (real)cards first to get a general baseline observation and compare your card to them.*****
I have a visually perfect Black lotus, But it failed this test miserably. I knew it was a fake before acquiring it though.
First and foremost, This is a subtle yet insidious MONO WHITE CONTROL DECK geared towards Multiplayer EDH, but it also handles 1 vs. 1 matches just as well. The deck can play honest and fair, or it can get real dirty and make opponents concede or rage quit <(this of course is not the objective).
The deck is best suited for an attrition/grinding style of play, where it likes to take the fight into the later rounds.
It seeks to control the board while grinding in with a never ending flow of Cleric Tokens, Quality Creatures and Outstanding Card Synergies, all the while trying to set up a Yosei lock or an Infinite Mana/Damage combo should all else fail.
Victories can be hard fought, but more often than not, it's as easy as can be. It's mostly up to your opponents decks and their skill level in being able to deal with this decks playstyle.
Overall the deck is rewarding and great fun to play. It requires a bit of Thinking and a good knowledge of the Stack.
Disclaimer:Although victory is often achieved by attacking via mass Cleric Tokens, THIS IS NOT SOLELY INTENDED TO BE A TOKEN SWARM DECK.
Why Heliod: With Heliod and some mana you will always have board presence via his ability to churn out Enchantment Cleric Tokens at instant speed. They are perfectly fine as attackers/blockers/sac fodder. Where these Cleric Tokens shine is the interactions they have with a number of cards in the deck such as Serra's Sanctum(abusive), Skybind(broken), Sphere of Safety(solid), Skullclamp(solid), Sac Outlets and Anthem Effects. Typically you should create clerics during your opponents end step right before your turn comes around, don't just spit them out unless you need a blocker. Of course that changes when you have Skybind online.
**** Think of the Cleric Tokens that Heliod produces as FUEL, and utilize them as such. ****
--- Vigilance for all creatures in the deck is not to be underestimated. Never having to worry about tapping out is quite the luxury.
--- Heliod is cheap to cast, and easy to recast should he be exiled back to the command zone. Get him into play early and keep him there.
--- He makes recovering from board wipes a breeze, because he's an indestructible token factory.
--- As with all God's, Heliod is fairly difficult for many opponents to remove from play once he is cast.
--- Heliod's often underrated/underestimated as a commander and often overlooked while in play, especially by opponents not familiar with this deck. Show them the error of their way's.
****Knowing when to have devotion and when not to have devotion will increase Heliod's survivability tenfold. I tend to keep him under devotion more times than not, as an indestructible enchantment is difficult for many opponents to get rid of. I often use sac effects on my white permanents at key times to keep my devotion down, thus for example, saving him from being tucked when casting Terminus or Hallowed Burial****
Heliod and his clerics are sometimes used as a ruse, just "holding down the fort" so to speak (laying low just spitting out tokens here and there, attacking every once in a while), while actually he is buying time, assembling some of the strong card interactions/combo's contained in the deck such as forming a Yosei lock, or setting up an Infinite Mana or Infinite Mill combo. But make no mistake he is a vital part of the deck.
Creatures: Each creature utilized in the deck serves a purpose towards the deck. They all work together in some way, there are no lonestar heroes. 21 out of the 22 creatures within has a "comes into play effect" or a "leaves play/put in the graveyard effect", with the 1 being an "activated ability". You want to abuse these creatures CIP/LTB effect's repeatedly whenever possible. MAJOR PART OF THE DECKS STRATEGY.
Mana: Mana is rarely an issue with this deck, it has a plethora of ramp, land search, mana doubling, and a few infinite mana effects. For Mono White it's just about as good as it can get. I have shunned away from using mana rocks, because while good and fast they never last. This deck is about the long game. During the course of a game generating 20 to 40 mana, or higher is the norm without going infinite.
Draw: Card draw/Deck manipulation is handled by efficient artifact sources, along with limited draw off of creatures (which should be abused when possible). This deck, although weak in the card draw department makes up for it with copious amounts of card advantage/excellent synergies.
Recursion: Is prevalent throughout the entire deck. Basically any permanent in this deck can be consistently returned to play or returned to hand from the graveyard.
Combo: This deck has strong combo's that are non-infinite but can be just as degenerate, and has a few infinite combos dependent upon sac outlets, creatures, and enchantments. I myself like the mana altar's but feel free to try Blasting Station for Infinite Damage, or Altar of Dementia for Infinite Mill.
Heliod, God of the Sun + Skybind. The Skybind Engine. For 4 mana produce a Cleric Enchantment token and you can flicker at instant speed any non-enchantment permanent on the field until the beginning of the next end step. It get's really effective with the more mana you have, being able to flicker out multiple permanents at will.
Permanents: Save your/opponents permanents from spot/mass removal or targeting effects.Political uses abound. Creatures:Get repeated use out your CIP/LTB creatures every turn, remove attackers/blockers, remove annoying creatures. Combat tricks. Equipment: Remove an equipped creature (equipment falls off), or a creature that is attempting to get equipped, or just the equipment itself. Auras: Skybind a creature that has an aura on it (The aura goes to the graveyard). Counters: Skybind any creature/artifact/land that has counters on it and the counters go away or get reset, depending. Planeswalkers: Reset any Planeswalker about to hit their ultimate, back to original loyalty. Artifacts: Skybind any artifacts, temporarily removing/reusing their effect. Tokens: Remove any token from game, be it creature token or otherwise. Lands: At Instant speed remove opponents lands, or RESET YOUR OWN LANDS. This is where it can get abusive, resetting your Serra's Sanctum, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Deserted Temple (The lands return to play untapped) during each players turn to make more Clerics, thus Skybinding more permanents,.... at this point the deck should start to exponentially explode, ultimately flickering all your opponents relevant permanents out of play every turn while simultaneously beating in with a massed legion of cleric tokens.
Sphere of Safety + Lot's of Cleric Enchantment Creature Tokens and/or Enchantments. Very effective at deterring any Agro from coming your way.
Burnished Hart + Gift of Immortality. The best "True Land Ramp" available for MONO WHITE EDH, end of story. Gets ALL the plains if left unchecked. The Energy Elk or as my friends call it,The Mana Moose! Add Emeria Shepherd to this little combo and you can recur all nonland permanents back into play from the graveyard in no time.
Angel of Serenity/Fiend Hunter + Any sac outlet. If Angel of Serenity/Fiend Hunter leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability has resolved, its leaves-the-battlefield ability will trigger and do nothing. Then the enters-the-battlefield ability will resolve and exile the targeted creatures and/or creature cards indefinitely. Recur these 2 cards for repeated abuse.
This is my main deck presently, I've been running it in one form or another since Heliod was released in Theros (sept.2013). I have approximately 70 games (a lot of 1 vs.1 but mostly multi-player) under my belt with it. The current version is highly tuned and requires some patience and little bit of skill for maximum results. While I do occasionally try out new and/or different cards in the deck, the original version as listed above is by far the most effective.
I and The Clerics thank you for checking it out!!!
Mycosynth Lattice into Hurkyl's Recall, it usually forces an opponents concession on the spot or the turn after. I've done this to a few opponents in 1 vs. 1 matches and some multiplayer games with my Memnarch deck, and it never get's old.
Put it on your Gaea's Cradle, Serra's Sanctum, Academy Ruins, Mishra's Factory ???.........
The card has a cool concept and is playable, but not really worth a slot in the 99.
Run him with....
Vedalken Engineer and Synod Artificer, who is an enabler for some strong/broken plays, he's basically a Voltaic Key/Relic Barrier on steroids, for non creature artifacts. Bonkers with a Mycosynth Lattice in play.
The starting turns of a game where he can apply pressure are where he is most effective, like being cast off of a ritual turn 1.
To sum it up he's just a beatstick, nothing else. His artwork and flavor text are really cool though.
*****He had his moment in the spotlight during the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor standard era, where he was one of the prime picks in the
"Red Deck Wins" decks of the time, where he was ran along side of Demigod of Revenge. Back when Faeries ruled standard.......
Swing for 1,500 Damage / Annihilator 600
Then take 100 extra turns....
Total: 151,500 Damage / Annihilator 60,600 (Eats whole Planets).....
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/558940-heliod-god-of-the-sun
Hold it up towards a bright light bulb with the back to the light, and the front facing towards you, if you see the oval on the back of the card clearly showing through the front artwork it is a fake.
*****Use some regular (real)cards first to get a general baseline observation and compare your card to them.*****
I have a visually perfect Black lotus, But it failed this test miserably. I knew it was a fake before acquiring it though.
First and foremost, This is a subtle yet insidious MONO WHITE CONTROL DECK geared towards Multiplayer EDH, but it also handles 1 vs. 1 matches just as well. The deck can play honest and fair, or it can get real dirty and make opponents concede or rage quit <(this of course is not the objective).
The deck is best suited for an attrition/grinding style of play, where it likes to take the fight into the later rounds.
It seeks to control the board while grinding in with a never ending flow of Cleric Tokens, Quality Creatures and Outstanding Card Synergies, all the while trying to set up a Yosei lock or an Infinite Mana/Damage combo should all else fail.
Victories can be hard fought, but more often than not, it's as easy as can be. It's mostly up to your opponents decks and their skill level in being able to deal with this decks playstyle.
Overall the deck is rewarding and great fun to play. It requires a bit of Thinking and a good knowledge of the Stack.
Disclaimer:Although victory is often achieved by attacking via mass Cleric Tokens, THIS IS NOT SOLELY INTENDED TO BE A TOKEN SWARM DECK.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why Heliod:
With Heliod and some mana you will always have board presence via his ability to churn out Enchantment Cleric Tokens at instant speed. They are perfectly fine as attackers/blockers/sac fodder. Where these Cleric Tokens shine is the interactions they have with a number of cards in the deck such as Serra's Sanctum(abusive), Skybind(broken), Sphere of Safety(solid), Skullclamp(solid), Sac Outlets and Anthem Effects. Typically you should create clerics during your opponents end step right before your turn comes around, don't just spit them out unless you need a blocker. Of course that changes when you have Skybind online.
**** Think of the Cleric Tokens that Heliod produces as FUEL, and utilize them as such. ****
--- Vigilance for all creatures in the deck is not to be underestimated. Never having to worry about tapping out is quite the luxury.
--- Heliod is cheap to cast, and easy to recast should he be exiled back to the command zone. Get him into play early and keep him there.
--- He makes recovering from board wipes a breeze, because he's an indestructible token factory.
--- As with all God's, Heliod is fairly difficult for many opponents to remove from play once he is cast.
--- Heliod's often underrated/underestimated as a commander and often overlooked while in play, especially by opponents not familiar with this deck. Show them the error of their way's.
****Knowing when to have devotion and when not to have devotion will increase Heliod's survivability tenfold. I tend to keep him under devotion more times than not, as an indestructible enchantment is difficult for many opponents to get rid of. I often use sac effects on my white permanents at key times to keep my devotion down, thus for example, saving him from being tucked when casting Terminus or Hallowed Burial****
Heliod and his clerics are sometimes used as a ruse, just "holding down the fort" so to speak (laying low just spitting out tokens here and there, attacking every once in a while), while actually he is buying time, assembling some of the strong card interactions/combo's contained in the deck such as forming a Yosei lock, or setting up an Infinite Mana or Infinite Mill combo. But make no mistake he is a vital part of the deck.
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1 Heliod, God of the Sun
Creatures
1 Angel of Serenity
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Emeria Shepherd
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Sun Titan
1 Duplicant
1 Archon of justice
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
1 False Prophet
1 Kor Cartographer
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Academy Rector
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Treasure Hunter
1 Auramancer
1 Monk Idealist
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Burnished Hart
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Wall of Omens
1 Weathered Wayfarer
Enchantments
1 Land Tax
1 Gift of Immortality
1 Angelic Renewal
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Skybind
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Aura of Silence
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Condemn
1 Oblation
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Return to Dust
1 Argivian Find
Sorceries
1 Austere Command
1 Terminus
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Steelshaper's Gift
Artifacts
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Scroll Rack
1 Skullclamp
1 Mind's Eye
1 Sol Ring
1 Expedition Map
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Blasting Station
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Dust Bowl
1 Buried Ruin
1 Petrified Field
1 High Market
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Kor Haven
1 Deserted Temple
1 Serra's Sanctum
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
22 Snow-Covered Plains
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Creatures: Each creature utilized in the deck serves a purpose towards the deck. They all work together in some way, there are no lonestar heroes. 21 out of the 22 creatures within has a "comes into play effect" or a "leaves play/put in the graveyard effect", with the 1 being an "activated ability". You want to abuse these creatures CIP/LTB effect's repeatedly whenever possible. MAJOR PART OF THE DECKS STRATEGY.
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Removal: The deck is chock full of removal (spot and mass) of all varieties vs. any permanent type.
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Duplicant
1 Archon of Justice
1 False Prophet
1 Fiend Hunter
1 Skybind
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Aura of Silence
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Condemn
1 Oblation
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Austere Command
1 Terminus
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Dispeller's Capsule
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Dust Bowl
1 Blasting Station
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Mana: Mana is rarely an issue with this deck, it has a plethora of ramp, land search, mana doubling, and a few infinite mana effects. For Mono White it's just about as good as it can get. I have shunned away from using mana rocks, because while good and fast they never last. This deck is about the long game. During the course of a game generating 20 to 40 mana, or higher is the norm without going infinite.
1 Extraplanar Lens
1 Gauntlet of Power
1 Caged Sun
1 Wayfarer's bauble
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Serra's sanctum
1 Deserted Temple
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Burnished Hart
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Kor Cartographer
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Tutors: There is a fair amount of tutoring effects in the deck related to Enchantments, Artifacts, and Lands.
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Academy Rector
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Land Tax
1 Expedition Map
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Draw: Card draw/Deck manipulation is handled by efficient artifact sources, along with limited draw off of creatures (which should be abused when possible). This deck, although weak in the card draw department makes up for it with copious amounts of card advantage/excellent synergies.
1 Scroll Rack
1 Skullclamp
1 Mind's Eye
1 Wall of Omens
1 Solemn Simulacrum
**** In the world of Mono White, ideally you want to get Sensei's Divining Top and/or Skullclamp going as early as possible. ****
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Recursion: Is prevalent throughout the entire deck. Basically any permanent in this deck can be consistently returned to play or returned to hand from the graveyard.
1 Emeria Shepherd
1 Sun Titan
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
1 Sanctum Gargoyle
1 Treasure Hunter
1 Auramancer
1 Monk Idealist
1 Angelic Renewal
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Argivian Find
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Petrified Field
1 Buried Ruin
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
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Combo: This deck has strong combo's that are non-infinite but can be just as degenerate, and has a few infinite combos dependent upon sac outlets, creatures, and enchantments. I myself like the mana altar's but feel free to try Blasting Station for Infinite Damage, or Altar of Dementia for Infinite Mill.
****For less obscene (but highly synergistic with the deck) sac outlets, try Fanatical Devotion, Martyr's Cause, and Claws of Gix.****
****Infinite colorless mana is incredibly useful to have access to, and Infinite White mana is ran through Heliod for infinite Cleric tokens.****
Sun Titan + Fiend Hunter + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station = Infinite Colorless/White Mana/Damage
Sun Titan + Gift of Immortality + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station = Infinite Colorless/White Mana/Damage
Sun Titan + Angelic Renewal + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station = Infinite Colorless/White Mana/Damage
Sun Titan + Angelic Renewal/Gift of Immortality + Sac outlet + Skybind = Infinite flickering of any non enchantment permanent. GG.
Karmic Guide + Fiend Hunter +Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station = Infinite Colorless/White Mana/Damage
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station = Infinite Colorless/White Mana/Damage + Infinite Recursion of any other power 2 or less creature, for example Solemn Simulacrum/Wall of Omens/Duplicant.
The Yosei Lock Yosei, the Morning Star + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station + Gift of Immortality/Nim Deathmantle. With this set up you can sacrifice Yosei during each players turn (typically during their end step) and lock down a player/table.***Note you can abuse any creature in the deck with this setup, not just Yosei***. But Yosei seals the deal. High Market/Miren, the Moaning Well will give a similar effect, but only during the turn that Yosei is sacrificed. Emeria, the Sky Ruin fits in here as well.
Heliod, God of the Sun + Skybind. The Skybind Engine. For 4 mana produce a Cleric Enchantment token and you can flicker at instant speed any non-enchantment permanent on the field until the beginning of the next end step. It get's really effective with the more mana you have, being able to flicker out multiple permanents at will.
****Basically Skybind turns Heliod's Enchantment Creature Cleric Tokens into pseudo Flickerwisps.****
Below are a few ways to abuse this card.....
Permanents: Save your/opponents permanents from spot/mass removal or targeting effects.Political uses abound.
Creatures: Get repeated use out your CIP/LTB creatures every turn, remove attackers/blockers, remove annoying creatures. Combat tricks.
Equipment: Remove an equipped creature (equipment falls off), or a creature that is attempting to get equipped, or just the equipment itself.
Auras: Skybind a creature that has an aura on it (The aura goes to the graveyard).
Counters: Skybind any creature/artifact/land that has counters on it and the counters go away or get reset, depending.
Planeswalkers: Reset any Planeswalker about to hit their ultimate, back to original loyalty.
Artifacts: Skybind any artifacts, temporarily removing/reusing their effect.
Tokens: Remove any token from game, be it creature token or otherwise.
Lands: At Instant speed remove opponents lands, or RESET YOUR OWN LANDS. This is where it can get abusive, resetting your Serra's Sanctum, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Deserted Temple (The lands return to play untapped) during each players turn to make more Clerics, thus Skybinding more permanents,.... at this point the deck should start to exponentially explode, ultimately flickering all your opponents relevant permanents out of play every turn while simultaneously beating in with a massed legion of cleric tokens.
Sphere of Safety + Lot's of Cleric Enchantment Creature Tokens and/or Enchantments. Very effective at deterring any Agro from coming your way.
Burnished Hart + Gift of Immortality. The best "True Land Ramp" available for MONO WHITE EDH, end of story. Gets ALL the plains if left unchecked. The Energy Elk or as my friends call it,The Mana Moose! Add Emeria Shepherd to this little combo and you can recur all nonland permanents back into play from the graveyard in no time.
Emeria Shepherd + Kor Cartographer/Solemn Simulacrum + Ashnod's Altar/Phyrexian Altar/Blasting Station. With this setup, the Cartographer can get every basic plains in the deck into play, and the Simulacrum does the same with some impressive additional card draw.
Throw Karmic Guide and/or Reveillark into the mix and things can get out of hand.
Angel of Serenity/Fiend Hunter + Any sac outlet. If Angel of Serenity/Fiend Hunter leaves the battlefield before its enters-the-battlefield ability has resolved, its leaves-the-battlefield ability will trigger and do nothing. Then the enters-the-battlefield ability will resolve and exile the targeted creatures and/or creature cards indefinitely. Recur these 2 cards for repeated abuse.
Crucible of Worlds + Strip Mine, Wasteland, Dust Bowl, Tectonic Edge, and Ghost Quarter. No explanation is needed here.
Serra's Sanctum/Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx + Deserted Temple. Simple double usage. Substantial mana boost mid to late game when you have good board presence.
The four Anthem Effects in the deck do a lot more than just boost power/toughness.
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This is my main deck presently, I've been running it in one form or another since Heliod was released in Theros (sept.2013). I have approximately 70 games (a lot of 1 vs.1 but mostly multi-player) under my belt with it. The current version is highly tuned and requires some patience and little bit of skill for maximum results. While I do occasionally try out new and/or different cards in the deck, the original version as listed above is by far the most effective.
I and The Clerics thank you for checking it out!!!
Also try the criminally underrated/underplayed enchantment Soothsaying.