Decklist was a huge force through out game, always threatening 60+ damage if able to swing. Alas, I didn't win in the end - an Azusa, Lost but Seeking player took the field with massive Avenger of Zendikar+Overwhelming Stampede; but the game was a TONNE of fun.
Look forward to tweaking it a little and trying it out again.
Of course, I always welcome suggestions, comments, and opinions.
Please refer to the OP for decklist and changelog details.
Past decklists have always had trouble getting off the ground in my local meta. It was too easy to overall disrupt, or at the very least - take out key pieces at crucial times. In addition, past versions had a tendency to burn out of cards FAST. In this version, I'm aiming to address those two key weaknesses - strategically amp up the amount of protection and card draw available. With the latest release in Kaledesh and Aether Revolt, there have been some interesting additions to help on that front.
Finally, while this decklist has typically been piloted by Ezuri, Renegade Leader leading the charge, I thought I'd mix it up a bit and try out Yeva, Nature's Herald instead. There are pros and cons to this approach. 'Flash' on a stick can be pretty handy to provide pseudo-haste for a huge swing. However, losing out on the 'Overrun on a stick' effect takes away from the consistency of that huge swing. To balance both sides a little better, I've included more win conditions and ways to pump up my elves.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be good against one or multiple opponents.
5) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
6) Have multiple paths to victory.
7) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
8) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
9) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
10) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
As a note, the number in front of the card will denote CMC of the creature/spell.
Decklist was a huge force through out game, always threatening 60+ damage if able to swing. Alas, I didn't win in the end - an Azusa, Lost but Seeking player took the field with massive Avenger of Zendikar+Overwhelming Stampede; but the game was a TONNE of fun.
Look forward to tweaking it a little and trying it out again.
How do you handle the 'empty hand syndrome'? As I view through your list, I see very few carddraw effects. My previous versions of Ezuri elves has really struggled with carddraw once my hand was empty. Am I missing something here?
Only two I could see serious inclusion are Price of Knowledge and Kederekt Parasite. The formers is a must answer threat. The later will trigger, even if just Nekusar is out.
Some other considerations:
- Barbed Shocker is hilarious, especially if you can provide it further evasion or just pump it up.
- Fate Unraveler is another card worth mentioning. The stronger your draw-ping, the stronger your deck becomes.
- Runehorn Hellkite I think deserves a spot. Strong beater on the field with graveyard use afterwards.
- Sire of Insanity. This. Card. Is. Beast! Completely shut down combo, aggro, control, and any other strategy. Only way out is to outdraw...which works nicely for you.
- Waste Not is also a really good card that works with Nekusar.
- Sphinx's Tutelage is completely undervalued. Mill tends not to be a win-con, but this card alone can mill out opponents just by itself in this type of deck.
- Minds Aglow is functionally better than Prosperity as it allows other allies (or insanely opponents) to help out with the pain.
You also seem quite lite on land. How does your deck fair under these conditions? I've always found myself struggling even with 35 land and 7 ramp....though I think my CMC may be quite a bit higher than yours.
I would welcome any comments you may have for my build. - link in sig.
Thank you for taking the time to drop by, view, and comment on my take on vampire tribal. In response to your questions:
In switching out my Commander, the difference is day and night. Erebos, God of the Dead fills two critical gaps I've been experiencing with the deck.
1. Card draw - I was always burning myself out of cards in hand. Relying on the 5-8 card draw to refill just wasn't cutting it. Now Erebos's value is borderline abusive (without Tuck rules, there is no stopping his recasting). I've kept a few other card draw, Just in case, but I have not yet found need for them and may eventually cut them as well.
2. Lifegain. Restricting lifegain with a recastable, indestructible enchantment places a very low ceiling on my opponents - especially when I drain life by the 'halfs'. It really forces my opponents to play aggressive as they cannot sit back and wait - they'll lose that race.
Card Draw - many of the cards you've mentioned, while thematic, do not provide much value. Imo a minimum of five cards should be gained off a draw spell in EDH to keep going. Permanent effects like Phyrexian Arena are completely different and have value based on how long they are active.
Mana Ramp - Alas, I'm a budget player. If I have cards worth more than ~$3-4CAN, it's because I bought them when cheap, have won them in drafts, or have traded value for value. Maybe one day I'll acquire cards like Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Cabal Coffers - but likely not soon. Sometimes this approach has burned me. For example, I had the option of purchasing Nirkana Revenant for ~$5 before, but chose not to because of price....now it's ~$20 and too far out of my price range to consider. In recent years, I've laxed my approach and will buy if under $5 if it's the right card for the right purpose. As for Crypt of Agadeem, I've found it not worth including in my vampire deck as not enough were in the graveyard. It's more of a zombie or dredge card.
Removal - Has not been a problem for me. I've really liked my sac pack, despite picking apart the weaker spells over the versions. Sever the Bloodline is certainly a worthy inclusion. Silence the Believers works well too in the right (enchantment heavy) meta. Artifact and enchantment removal has definitely been this decks struggle - will most certainly find room for Scour from Existence and Unstable Obelisk. The five boardwipes I have provide sufficient control if my opponent's board state gets out of hand. With Erebos out, in a pinch I can dig for them too. Both Toxic Deluge and Damnation are certainly good choices for inclusion - just budget player.
Tutors/Recur - I run just a few tutors and recursion just to make sure that I still have access to key pieces throughout the course of a game. Increasing Ambition certainly is worth the inclusion. Thank you.
Life Drain - I ended up taking out most of these life drain spells over the versions of this build. I'm not opposed to adding one or two back in, but the cheaper removal spells are more immediately effective.
Vampires - Yahenni, Undying Partisan is an excellent addition and is already on my wishlist. I'll get around to buying a copy eventually. While price is the main limiting factor for Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, I wanted to steer clear of all the different tokens I'd need to keep track of with him on the field. I've had most of the other cards you've listed in my build during one version or another. Most of the time, I've wanted to try new things or have needed the tech elsewhere. I'm not convinced that Drana, Liberator of Malakir has a home in this build - she needs to connect with my opponent to trigger and from what I've already witnessed from others in my meta playing her - she never can swing. Indulgent Aristocrat has been fantastic! Another sac-outlet for Dictate of Erebos and Butcher of Malakir, he allows for me to get a tad more value out of any creature that is being targeted for removal. He can even sac himself if needed, so at worst, he gives all your vampires +1/+1 when he's targeted off the board. Shadow Alley Denizen is in for the theme. She's really good in providing triggered evasion, even to multiple creatures a turn - so I've found her to be a bit more versatile than Whispersilk Cloak. Bloodhusk Ritualist is a house of a card. She just straight out shuts a player down.
Thanks again for stopping by. I appreciate all the suggestions you've given and I hope I've answered all your questions. Let me know if you have any other thoughts.
I'm in search for some defensive cards for my mono-green elf deck I'm currently blowing the dust off of. (because as they say, the best offense is a good defense....or something like that )
Not sure where this thought belong so I'm placing it here...
I feel like Wizards really missed out on an awesome opportunity here. The new set coming out, Amonkhet, is loosely based on an Egyptian theme. I fully expected them to return to the idea of a special land type - similar to that of snow-covered lands from Ice Age, I was expecting Wizards to release sand-covered lands for Amonkhet. This would give Wizards an obviously associated sand-covered mechanic for the set.
So, while this conversation point may be mute...because this is not what Wizards has done...never-the-less, what does the community have to say about this idea? Any reasons why not to go down this route? Any reasons why Wizards should have considered this?
Since switching to Erebos, God of the Dead as my general, I've been noticing a distinct difference with respect to the ease of carddraw I now have available.
How does compare with other player's experience? Does Erebos negate the need for other carddraw cards in the deck?
mostly because those are the cards I have on hand and they interact with my current meta. Exile is pretty big and Eerie Interlude can become better than Rootborn Defenses in some circumstances.
Version 3 of the decklist has been posted.
I was able to test out my deck last night. Maybe I was extremely luck with my opening hand, but it played out like this:
T1: Forest, Elvish Mystic
T2: Forest, Wood Elves, Wirewood Symbiote
T3: Forest, Wood Elves, Wood Elves (first bounce of Wood Elves was before my turn began)
End of turn 3, I had access to 7 G (6 Forests and 1 creature) with 2 Forests and Wirewood Channeler and Elvish Archdruid still in hand.
Decklist was a huge force through out game, always threatening 60+ damage if able to swing. Alas, I didn't win in the end - an Azusa, Lost but Seeking player took the field with massive Avenger of Zendikar+Overwhelming Stampede; but the game was a TONNE of fun.
Look forward to tweaking it a little and trying it out again.
Of course, I always welcome suggestions, comments, and opinions.
Please refer to the OP for decklist and changelog details.
Round 3. Fight.
Past decklists have always had trouble getting off the ground in my local meta. It was too easy to overall disrupt, or at the very least - take out key pieces at crucial times. In addition, past versions had a tendency to burn out of cards FAST. In this version, I'm aiming to address those two key weaknesses - strategically amp up the amount of protection and card draw available. With the latest release in Kaledesh and Aether Revolt, there have been some interesting additions to help on that front.
Finally, while this decklist has typically been piloted by Ezuri, Renegade Leader leading the charge, I thought I'd mix it up a bit and try out Yeva, Nature's Herald instead. There are pros and cons to this approach. 'Flash' on a stick can be pretty handy to provide pseudo-haste for a huge swing. However, losing out on the 'Overrun on a stick' effect takes away from the consistency of that huge swing. To balance both sides a little better, I've included more win conditions and ways to pump up my elves.
All my decks try to adhere to these guidelines:
1) Be able to win.
2) Be mostly true to a flavor and a theme.
3) Be good against one or multiple opponents.
5) Be fun to pilot or to play against and interactive.
6) Have multiple paths to victory.
7) Have lots of cool interactions and synergy.
8) Play out differently every game to keep it fun over a long time.
9) Be streamlined and fast to play without excessive upkeep, time-consuming play or overcomplicated boardstates.
10) Integrate the Commanders abilities into the strategy at least a little, but be able to win without ever playing the commander.
As a note, the number in front of the card will denote CMC of the creature/spell.
4 Yeva, Nature's Herald
//Planeswalkers (1)
5 Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
//Elf Creatures (39)
/Elf Druids (21)
1 Joraga Treespeaker
1 Heritage Druid
1 Birchlore Rangers (errata)
1 Boreal Druid
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Arbor Elf
2 Bloom Tender
2 Devoted Druid
2 Incubation Druid
2 Priest of Titania
3 Elvish Archdruid
3 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
3 Greenweaver Druid
3 Elvish Harbinger
3 Viridian Joiner
3 Farhaven Elf
3 Marwyn, the Nurturer
4 Wirewood Channeler (errata)
4 Wild Wanderer
4 Beast Whisperer
5 Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
/Other Elves(17)
1 Joraga Warcaller
1 Essence Warden
2 Viridian Zealot
3 Elvish Champion
3 Reclamation Sage
3 Imperious Perfect
3 Wood Elves
3 Steel Leaf Champion
3 Ezuri, Renegade Leader
4 Armorcraft Judge
4 Immaculate Magistrate
4 Nullmage Shepherd
4 Lys Alana Huntmaster
4 Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
5 Cultivator of Blades
7 Gladehart Cavalry
1 Wirewood Symbiote
2 Metallic Mimic
4 Forgotten Ancient
6 Soul of the Harvest
//Card Advantage (6)
1x Green Sun's Zenith
3 Inspiring Call
3 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
4 Guardian Project
5 Vanquisher's Banner
7 Kindred Summons
//Protection (5)
2 Tangle
2 Heroic Intervention
2 Wrap in Vigor
5 Cauldron of Souls
5 Asceticism
//Buff (3)
2 Throne of the God-Pharaoh
3 Curse of Predation
4 Door of Destinies
//Control Spells (5)
2 Deglamer
2 Unravel the Æther
3 Beast Within
4 Whirlwind
4 Aligned Hedron Network
//Ramp (3)
2 Emerald Medallion
3 Elvish Guidance
3 Thousand-Year Elixir
0 Path of Ancestry
0 Wirewood Lodge
0 Myriad Landscape
0 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Rogue's Passage
0 Temple of the False God
0 Blighted Woodland
27 Forest
Currently 100 cards in the decklist so far.
6 Regal Behemoth (ntby)
3x Genesis Wave (???)
4 Temur Sabertooth (ntby)
3 Song of the Dryads (ntby)
3 Champion of Lambholt
5 Coat of Arms
8 Craterhoof Behemoth
6 Collective Unconscious (cut?)
4 Fresh Meat (cut?)
3 Krosan Grip (cut?)
1 Instill Energy (cut?)
1 Collective Voyage (cut?)
April 27 2017:
Druid of the Cowl >> Joraga Treespeaker
Frontier Guide >> Soul of the Harvest
Benefactor's Draught >> Zendikar Resurgent
Rishkar's Expertise >> Evolutionary Leap
Blossoming Defense >> Asceticism
Forest >> Blighted Woodland
Aug 26 2017:
Helix Pinnacle >> Throne of the God-Phraraoh
Life's Legacy >> Kindred Summons
Forest >> Path of Ancestry
Jan 11 2018:
Slate of Ancestry >> Forest
Tranquil Thicket >> Forest
Evolutionary Leap >> Gladehart Cavalry
April 30 2018:
Yeva, now with 100% less Umbral Mantle.
Umbral Mantle >> Marwyn, the Nurturer
Timberwatch Elf >> Steel Leaf Champion
Sylvan Messenger >> Whirlwind
Druids' Repository >> Myriad's Landscape
Sept 28 2018:
Durable Handicraft >> Tangle
Nov 1 2018:
Zendikar Resurgent >> Beast Whisperer
Viridian Corrupter >> Vanquisher's Banner
Momentous Fall >> Forest
Back to Nature >> Forest
Feb 14 2019:
Shamanic Revelation >> Incubation Druid
Creeping Renaissance >> Guardian Project
Thanks!!
Any card suggestions of what to add and what to remove would help immensly!! Thanks in advance!!
I was able to test out my deck last night. Maybe I was extremely luck with my opening hand, but it played out like this:
T1: Forest, Elvish Mystic
T2: Forest, Wood Elves, Wirewood Symbiote
T3: Forest, Wood Elves, Wood Elves (first bounce of Wood Elves was before my turn began)
End of turn 3, I had access to 7 G (6 Forests and 1 creature) with 2 Forests and Wirewood Channeler and Elvish Archdruid still in hand.
Decklist was a huge force through out game, always threatening 60+ damage if able to swing. Alas, I didn't win in the end - an Azusa, Lost but Seeking player took the field with massive Avenger of Zendikar+Overwhelming Stampede; but the game was a TONNE of fun.
Look forward to tweaking it a little and trying it out again.
These work too:
Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry + Time Sieve = Infinite Turns + Infinite Life
Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry + Krark-Clan Ironworks = Infinite Colorless Mana + Infinite 1/1 Thopters + Infinite Life
As for keeping your board state active against players like Yeva, Nature's Herald:
You could beat him at this own game: Shimmer Myr and Vedalken Orrery
You can protect yourself: Ethersworn Shieldmage or stall him: Ethersworn Canonist
You can take out his board while leaving yours intact: Hour of Reckoning
From what I've seen, there is no 'one' way of building Breya. Thopters in the sky is the limit really.
Some other considerations:
- Barbed Shocker is hilarious, especially if you can provide it further evasion or just pump it up.
- Fate Unraveler is another card worth mentioning. The stronger your draw-ping, the stronger your deck becomes.
- Runehorn Hellkite I think deserves a spot. Strong beater on the field with graveyard use afterwards.
- Sire of Insanity. This. Card. Is. Beast! Completely shut down combo, aggro, control, and any other strategy. Only way out is to outdraw...which works nicely for you.
- Waste Not is also a really good card that works with Nekusar.
- Sphinx's Tutelage is completely undervalued. Mill tends not to be a win-con, but this card alone can mill out opponents just by itself in this type of deck.
- Minds Aglow is functionally better than Prosperity as it allows other allies (or insanely opponents) to help out with the pain.
You also seem quite lite on land. How does your deck fair under these conditions? I've always found myself struggling even with 35 land and 7 ramp....though I think my CMC may be quite a bit higher than yours.
I would welcome any comments you may have for my build. - link in sig.
Thank you for taking the time to drop by, view, and comment on my take on vampire tribal. In response to your questions:
In switching out my Commander, the difference is day and night. Erebos, God of the Dead fills two critical gaps I've been experiencing with the deck.
1. Card draw - I was always burning myself out of cards in hand. Relying on the 5-8 card draw to refill just wasn't cutting it. Now Erebos's value is borderline abusive (without Tuck rules, there is no stopping his recasting). I've kept a few other card draw, Just in case, but I have not yet found need for them and may eventually cut them as well.
2. Lifegain. Restricting lifegain with a recastable, indestructible enchantment places a very low ceiling on my opponents - especially when I drain life by the 'halfs'. It really forces my opponents to play aggressive as they cannot sit back and wait - they'll lose that race.
Card Draw - many of the cards you've mentioned, while thematic, do not provide much value. Imo a minimum of five cards should be gained off a draw spell in EDH to keep going. Permanent effects like Phyrexian Arena are completely different and have value based on how long they are active.
Mana Ramp - Alas, I'm a budget player. If I have cards worth more than ~$3-4CAN, it's because I bought them when cheap, have won them in drafts, or have traded value for value. Maybe one day I'll acquire cards like Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx or Cabal Coffers - but likely not soon. Sometimes this approach has burned me. For example, I had the option of purchasing Nirkana Revenant for ~$5 before, but chose not to because of price....now it's ~$20 and too far out of my price range to consider. In recent years, I've laxed my approach and will buy if under $5 if it's the right card for the right purpose. As for Crypt of Agadeem, I've found it not worth including in my vampire deck as not enough were in the graveyard. It's more of a zombie or dredge card.
Removal - Has not been a problem for me. I've really liked my sac pack, despite picking apart the weaker spells over the versions. Sever the Bloodline is certainly a worthy inclusion. Silence the Believers works well too in the right (enchantment heavy) meta. Artifact and enchantment removal has definitely been this decks struggle - will most certainly find room for Scour from Existence and Unstable Obelisk. The five boardwipes I have provide sufficient control if my opponent's board state gets out of hand. With Erebos out, in a pinch I can dig for them too. Both Toxic Deluge and Damnation are certainly good choices for inclusion - just budget player.
Tutors/Recur - I run just a few tutors and recursion just to make sure that I still have access to key pieces throughout the course of a game. Increasing Ambition certainly is worth the inclusion. Thank you.
Life Drain - I ended up taking out most of these life drain spells over the versions of this build. I'm not opposed to adding one or two back in, but the cheaper removal spells are more immediately effective.
Vampires - Yahenni, Undying Partisan is an excellent addition and is already on my wishlist. I'll get around to buying a copy eventually. While price is the main limiting factor for Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, I wanted to steer clear of all the different tokens I'd need to keep track of with him on the field. I've had most of the other cards you've listed in my build during one version or another. Most of the time, I've wanted to try new things or have needed the tech elsewhere. I'm not convinced that Drana, Liberator of Malakir has a home in this build - she needs to connect with my opponent to trigger and from what I've already witnessed from others in my meta playing her - she never can swing. Indulgent Aristocrat has been fantastic! Another sac-outlet for Dictate of Erebos and Butcher of Malakir, he allows for me to get a tad more value out of any creature that is being targeted for removal. He can even sac himself if needed, so at worst, he gives all your vampires +1/+1 when he's targeted off the board. Shadow Alley Denizen is in for the theme. She's really good in providing triggered evasion, even to multiple creatures a turn - so I've found her to be a bit more versatile than Whispersilk Cloak. Bloodhusk Ritualist is a house of a card. She just straight out shuts a player down.
Thanks again for stopping by. I appreciate all the suggestions you've given and I hope I've answered all your questions. Let me know if you have any other thoughts.
Version 3 of the decklist has been posted. I still have several cuts to make, however I think the deck is really taking shape.
Of course, I always welcome suggestions, comments, and opinions.
Please refer to the OP for decklist and changelog details.
Thank you.
I'm in search for some defensive cards for my mono-green elf deck I'm currently blowing the dust off of. (because as they say, the best offense is a good defense....or something like that )
I have the following on hand already:
Ezuri, Renegade Leader (the commander)
Asceticism
Wrap in Vigor
Inspiring Call
Heroic Intervention
Cauldron of Souls + Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
Blossoming Defense
Vines of Vastwood
On the lookout for other defensive opportunities to keep Ezuri and other key board pieces in place.
Any suggestions?
Very difficult to read. No dark palate themes to find. Not user friendly for creating decklists anymore either.
MTGSalvation - you want to have a different site provider.
Not sure where this thought belong so I'm placing it here...
I feel like Wizards really missed out on an awesome opportunity here. The new set coming out, Amonkhet, is loosely based on an Egyptian theme. I fully expected them to return to the idea of a special land type - similar to that of snow-covered lands from Ice Age, I was expecting Wizards to release sand-covered lands for Amonkhet. This would give Wizards an obviously associated sand-covered mechanic for the set.
So, while this conversation point may be mute...because this is not what Wizards has done...never-the-less, what does the community have to say about this idea? Any reasons why not to go down this route? Any reasons why Wizards should have considered this?
Discuss
How does compare with other player's experience? Does Erebos negate the need for other carddraw cards in the deck?
As for Verdeloth the Ancient and Nemata, Grove Guardian, I simply don't own them yet...but they are both great suggestions and will see how they'll fit.
Thanks for comment.
edit: workspace..
Collective Blessing
Jade Mage
Ivy Lane Denizen