I used to run Vanishing in here in the beginning, it's really good, although I've found the Lawmage's inherent Hexproof
is more than enough protection on its own. This deck always gets pressured hard in multiplayer and is to a point
where all mana is being used up every turn and often that double blue is difficult to keep open all the time.
Yeah, the Manifest on Soul-Strike Technique will happen rarely if ever when it's enchanting the Lawmage,
I just like the cheap stat buff and vigilance it gives her, it's just what the Grand Arbiter ordered LOL!
Thanks for the input! Sucks this site is going down next month...
*BTW have you seen Soulherder, card is bonkers and would make a good PDH commander to build around.
Some solid additions to the deck from Modern Horizons:
Soul-Strike Technique: Excellent new Aura for the Lawmage, 2 mana for a stat buff, vigilance, and a manifest
in the rare case that the Lawmage should die. Replaces the underperforming Darksteel Axe.
It may be time to enter the "Brave New World" and add some new Generals to the PDH Commander Pool.
With 20 uncommon rarity Planeswalkers in the set, it poses the question of allowing these cards to be
ran as Pauper Commanders...
I think their inclusion would generate much more interest in the "format" and lead to many new and
interesting deck designs/themes not seen before in Pauper EDH.
They're very reminiscent of the old Vanguard "Commander" cards from the late 90's with their
static Global/Local/Triggered abilities. I'm pretty sure that's what MTG R&D were basing their
design on/referencing when they came up with these new Planeswalkers.
War of the Spark
Promises to be a good set for Pauper EDH.
New cards of note:
Ob Nixilis's Cruelty
One of the best Black removal spells to come along in quite some time, Dismember meets Unmake.
Handles 95% of the creatures you'll see in Pauper EDH.
Burning Prophet Pseudo Prowess and Scry 1 with every non creature spell you cast. Helps red move through their
deck quicker. This is the closest thing red has ever had to an Augur of Bolas in pauper, and in fact
would compliment the Augur very well when ran in tandem.
Other interesting playable cards:
Crush Dissent: Blue Mystic Snake? Four mana is a lot for a non hard counter, but it's not an
entirely bad card. There are better options in Rewind and Foil.
Kaya's Ghostform: This could definetly see some play in the right deck, as it is efficient costing
only a single B mana, but it has stiff competition in Undying Evil and Unearth.
Something to consider is, do you want to focus on 1v1 or multiplayer, as this will make
a difference in your overall card selections over time.
Just get in some games and see what works for you and what doesn't...
*** With your present mana curve and the amount of draw your running, 36 lands is fine. Opal palace and Bojuka Bog would be good additions to your mana base.
Soul Stair Expedition - basically, 1 mana for returning 2 cards a few turns down the road. I personally think of the card as being basically free, since it will eat up a mana when I have one left over. This means that the only cost is the time, but time is blue/black controls "thing". If I should suggest a card to drop for it, it would be Disturbed Burial (you need to spend 7 mana to equal what you get from 1. To do better you need to spend at least 12 and you have a mostly similar card anyway).
Echoing truth - I would take this over Boomerang. Easier to cast, and I imagine you are more often worried about a token army than a land, which can be bounced in other ways anyway.
Victim of Night hits basically everything hit by Doom Blade (but is a bit harder to cast) and more besides - like in your deck, doom blade fails to hit 19 out of 29 creatures while Victim of Night only misses 3 - and is cheaper than rend flesh. The main reason I recommend this over doom blade is that it is very unusual for it to be dead in a match-up and more importantly, it can nail way more commanders, which I feel is important in the format.
Rush of Knowledge with your commander is 6 cards, which is absurdly efficient. If for some reason something happend to your commander, you still got many other 5 mana creatures and a few 6 mana dittos (the latter are unlikely to be in play though).
Yeah, I ran Echoing Truth in here since the beginning, Boomerang is just one of my old pet cards that I
always go back to. Crypt Rats and Evincar's Justice are my weapons of choice for tokens/ swarms.
Now Victim of Night I can get aboard! It is superior to Doom Blade and should have been in since the start.
I used to run Vanishing in here in the beginning, it's really good, although I've found the Lawmage's inherent Hexproof
is more than enough protection on its own. This deck always gets pressured hard in multiplayer and is to a point
where all mana is being used up every turn and often that double blue is difficult to keep open all the time.
Yeah, the Manifest on Soul-Strike Technique will happen rarely if ever when it's enchanting the Lawmage,
I just like the cheap stat buff and vigilance it gives her, it's just what the Grand Arbiter ordered LOL!
Thanks for the input! Sucks this site is going down next month...
*BTW have you seen Soulherder, card is bonkers and would make a good PDH commander to build around.
Soul-Strike Technique: Excellent new Aura for the Lawmage, 2 mana for a stat buff, vigilance, and a manifest
in the rare case that the Lawmage should die. Replaces the underperforming Darksteel Axe.
Ephemerate, blink with Rebound, doubly superior to Cloudshift.
Cave of Temptation: Standard filter land, but boosts the Lawmage +2/+2 when the time is right.
Scour all Possibilities makes it into to the deck.
Rhox War Monk Voltron
Ascended Lawmage Aggro control
Dinrova Horror Aggro control combo
Nightscape Battlemage Aggro control combo
Warden of the Eye Combo control
Lumberknot Voltron ramp
Mistmeadow Witch Combo control
Marisi's Twinclaws Voltron
Sigil Captain Mass token swarm
Vizkopa Guildmage Lifegain control
Korozda Guildmage Graveyard aggro control
Spellheart Chimera Aggro control
Dragonsoul Knight Aggro control
Vampire Nighthawk Aggro control
Crypt Champion Aggro control
Drove of Elves Tribal aggro
Fanatic of Mogis Aggro devotion burn
Thankfully no one has touched Crypt Rats yet...
it will be a sad day when it ends next month.
I would advise anyone with primers/top lists to save/back up those pages, a lot of
hard work and ingenuity went into many of them.
New cards of note:
Pondering Mage:
ETB Ponder attatched to a 3/4 wizard, really solid card at common rarity.
Scour all Possibilities
Basically a Preordain with flashback, very nice!
Defile:
Really good removal at common rarity, black's version of Skred.
Mother Bear:
An excellent card, a pseudo flashback abilty that generates solid mid game board presence.
Springbloom Druid:
An ETB speed Harrow on this Elf. Good stuff!!
Murasa Behemoth: Excellent green fatty with trample, easy to make this an 8/8 in the right deck!
Orcish Hellraiser:
An excellent early pressure card that gives a pseudo Shock if/when it hits the graveyard.
Goblin War Party:
Another solid goblin token generator, an entwined stat buff/haste for your creatures is just icing on the cake.
Shenanigans: Reapeatable artifact hate utilizing Dredge! So good.
Ephemerate:
More flicker excellence for white, a Cloudshift with Rebound!
Recruit the Worthy:
Long term token production, white gets its own Lab Rats.
Cave of Temptation: Excellent filter land that buffs a creature, love it!
*Contagion Engine, and Black Sun's Zenith would also speed things up...
Best designed Commander... Derevi, Empyrial Tactician
She's in Bant colors,arguably one of the best if not the best color combinations in all of EDH.
Uncounterable, Flash, skips Commander Tax, grants every creature in her deck with a very relevant ability.
Extreme versatility, can head either Control, Goodstuff, Voltron, Stax, or degenerate Combo decks with ease.
Truly outstanding in multiplayer games, and so effective/abusive that she was banned in 1v1.
She's even scary good when heading Voltron or Combo decks comprised of nothing but commons...
If anything though,... she was a bit "over designed"...
It may be time to enter the "Brave New World" and add some new Generals to the PDH Commander Pool.
With 20 uncommon rarity Planeswalkers in the set, it poses the question of allowing these cards to be
ran as Pauper Commanders...
I think their inclusion would generate much more interest in the "format" and lead to many new and
interesting deck designs/themes not seen before in Pauper EDH.
They're very reminiscent of the old Vanguard "Commander" cards from the late 90's with their
static Global/Local/Triggered abilities. I'm pretty sure that's what MTG R&D were basing their
design on/referencing when they came up with these new Planeswalkers.
Promises to be a good set for Pauper EDH.
New cards of note:
Ob Nixilis's Cruelty
One of the best Black removal spells to come along in quite some time, Dismember meets Unmake.
Handles 95% of the creatures you'll see in Pauper EDH.
Burning Prophet
Pseudo Prowess and Scry 1 with every non creature spell you cast. Helps red move through their
deck quicker. This is the closest thing red has ever had to an Augur of Bolas in pauper, and in fact
would compliment the Augur very well when ran in tandem.
Other interesting playable cards:
Crush Dissent: Blue Mystic Snake? Four mana is a lot for a non hard counter, but it's not an
entirely bad card. There are better options in Rewind and Foil.
Kaya's Ghostform: This could definetly see some play in the right deck, as it is efficient costing
only a single B mana, but it has stiff competition in Undying Evil and Unearth.
Some strong Decks in my local meta:
We mostly play multiplayer with occasional 1v1's.
1v1's are either really close games or complete blowouts.
Everyone's decks are really well thought out and tuned through playing,
and some are truly terrifying capable of taking down actual EDH decks.
Nightveil Predator is Ascended Lawmage's evil brother.
Something to consider is, do you want to focus on 1v1 or multiplayer, as this will make
a difference in your overall card selections over time.
Just get in some games and see what works for you and what doesn't...
*** With your present mana curve and the amount of draw your running, 36 lands is fine.
Opal palace and Bojuka Bog would be good additions to your mana base.
Good Luck!
All good suggestions Reaper9889!
Soul Stair Expedition is a unique card, Disturbed Burial is just so good to me late game, used primarily on my
cmc 1,2, and 3 creatures.
Yeah, I ran Echoing Truth in here since the beginning, Boomerang is just one of my old pet cards that I
always go back to. Crypt Rats and Evincar's Justice are my weapons of choice for tokens/ swarms.
Now Victim of Night I can get aboard! It is superior to Doom Blade and should have been in since the start.
If Rhystic Study wasn't in the deck, Rush of Knowledge would be.
Thanks man!