LED is in the same category as Worldgorger Dragon , so I actually agree with the unbanning.
I could actually play an infinite mana combo in mono W now. Hmm...
It's obvious that Sol Ring and Mana Crypt are too powerful. The format might even be a little bit healthier if they were banned.
That being said, I agree with the OP. I play this format because I love all the powerful, iconic cards from Magic's history that can't really be played anywhere else. Sol Ring definitely qualifies as one of those.
Besides, it's unlikely they would ban a card from the precons. You can't tell new players, "Hey, you should buy these awesome precons so you can get into Commander with us. But you have to take one of the best cards in the deck before you can play with us."
Sweet deck. (Zomg I'm not the only person who loves World Queller! Thank God.) I only have a few suggestions.
1) Goldmeadow Harrier --> Martyr of Sands? I know Goldmeadow Harrier is a soldier and all, but Martyr gains you a lot of life. Especially with Sun Titan. (Also Martyr is just a pet card.)
2) Conqueror's Pledge? Seems like it would be awesome. I don't know how reliable Nomad's Assembly is for token production, but if it's iffy at all you might consider cutting it for Pledge. Or just adding Pledge anyway.
3) Martyr's Cause--maybe it's just because I haven't seen it in action, but it seems a bit lackluster. Except against voltron generals. LOL at that.
4) Not a big fan of Coat of Arms, it seems sort of risky. Maybe cut it in favor of some cheap utility (Remember the Fallen!) or for Honor of the Pure, since you're having to cut that. However, if you like trading risk for explosive wins then by all means keep Coat of Arms. Because it really is sort of ridiculous.
5) I also feel like Hallowed Burial and/or Crib Swap might have a spot, if you can find room.
6) I know it's probably a don't have issue more than anything, but I feel like Sword of Light and Shadow could make a much better contribution to this deck than Jitte.
So, I know that Azusa has been done. Many times. By people who probably have much better builds than me. Before you think of suggesting it, I don't want any sort of combo in this deck. I know there are several involving Aluren and such, but I'm just not the combo sort of girl.
That being said, I do welcome suggestions. I run a high land count because I like to get as much value out of Azusa in the early game as possible. Running 48 lands helps ensure turn four titan, and that just wins games. This deck is sort of busted, but it's so much fun. It's actually been very challenging to play, once you get past the first ten or so turns of the game and everyone else starts to catch up. It also makes you a huge target. Go figure.
Cards that aren't in here and why:
Mana Crypt- Too broke
Wasteland- They're all in legacy and I'm too lazy to print off a proxy
Survival/Fauna Shaman- Not enough doods
Worldly Tutor- Too slow, I don't like it
Buried Ruin- M12 isn't out yet. QQ. That land seems awesome with Loam/Memory Jar.
Mono green can be fairly competive, although Galspanic is right about Azusa. Still, with enough ramp, cards like Tower of Fortunes and Memory Jar can be awesome. Check out the list in my sig for more ideas.
-Small trade binder (full of stuff nobody wants)
-Standard deck in a deckbox in the Mirran box from the prerelease, also contains a brick of large d6
-legacy Enchantress in Rebecca Guay deckbox, Junk in velcro anime astronaut girls box
-Tails, Glissa, and Azusa in clear Ultra Pro boxes (complete with all token needed for deck, proxied if necessary)
-crappy casual Vorosh (now Mimeoplasm?) in white cardboard box
-2 playmats, in case someone borrows one of my decks (I don't want it played on the table, not always the cleanest thing ever)
-folder full of custom EDH life total sheets (soo much better than notebook paper!)
I follow the official banlist. I mean, why not? It doesn't matter that much to me that I can't play a few random cards.
Except for Tolarian Academy, we don't ban that because three of us had one in the mail when the announcement came out. One of them was my dad's Father's Day present. So you can see why we still allow it...
I would take a piece of paper or something and write the type of counter. I'd then set the dice on top of that. Except for general tax, I'd have one die for that (one that is very unique), because you only need that one in the command zone.
My vote goes to Thraximundar. He's a great voltron general, you get black tutors in case he gets tucked. Not to mention countermagic.
Also, you might need to run a combo as an alternate win con in case he gets tucked and you can't get him back. I would probably run as many tutors as possible.
Edit: I have to admit, it would be hard to run a blue deck without Trinket Mage.
It will be a lot of work to make that many proxies, but it should be worth it in the end.
Not to mention swords look sweet in old borders.
But it's totally okay to call him out on being a jerk, if it was that bad.
I could actually play an infinite mana combo in mono W now. Hmm...
Swords to Plowshares
Return to Dust
Hallowed Burial
:symu:Blue:symu:
Counterspell
Trinket Mage
Spell Crumple
:symb:Black:symb:
Vampiric Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Phyrexian Arena
:symr:Red:symr:
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Shattering Pulse
:symg:Green:symg:
Eternal Witness
Primeval Titan
Sakura-Tribe Elder
:1mana:Colorless:1mana:
Sensei's Diving Top
Lightning Greaves
Sol Ring
That being said, I agree with the OP. I play this format because I love all the powerful, iconic cards from Magic's history that can't really be played anywhere else. Sol Ring definitely qualifies as one of those.
Besides, it's unlikely they would ban a card from the precons. You can't tell new players, "Hey, you should buy these awesome precons so you can get into Commander with us. But you have to take one of the best cards in the deck before you can play with us."
1) Goldmeadow Harrier --> Martyr of Sands? I know Goldmeadow Harrier is a soldier and all, but Martyr gains you a lot of life. Especially with Sun Titan. (Also Martyr is just a pet card.)
2) Conqueror's Pledge? Seems like it would be awesome. I don't know how reliable Nomad's Assembly is for token production, but if it's iffy at all you might consider cutting it for Pledge. Or just adding Pledge anyway.
3) Martyr's Cause--maybe it's just because I haven't seen it in action, but it seems a bit lackluster. Except against voltron generals. LOL at that.
4) Not a big fan of Coat of Arms, it seems sort of risky. Maybe cut it in favor of some cheap utility (Remember the Fallen!) or for Honor of the Pure, since you're having to cut that. However, if you like trading risk for explosive wins then by all means keep Coat of Arms. Because it really is sort of ridiculous.
5) I also feel like Hallowed Burial and/or Crib Swap might have a spot, if you can find room.
6) I know it's probably a don't have issue more than anything, but I feel like Sword of Light and Shadow could make a much better contribution to this deck than Jitte.
That being said, I do welcome suggestions. I run a high land count because I like to get as much value out of Azusa in the early game as possible. Running 48 lands helps ensure turn four titan, and that just wins games. This deck is sort of busted, but it's so much fun. It's actually been very challenging to play, once you get past the first ten or so turns of the game and everyone else starts to catch up. It also makes you a huge target. Go figure.
**Also, my good buddy Karston at Top and Go Productions on YouTube has made a fantastic video about this deck: Azusa Deck Tech
Cards that aren't in here and why:
Mana Crypt- Too broke
Wasteland- They're all in legacy and I'm too lazy to print off a proxy
Survival/Fauna Shaman- Not enough doods
Worldly Tutor- Too slow, I don't like it
Buried Ruin- M12 isn't out yet. QQ. That land seems awesome with Loam/Memory Jar.
1 Acidic Slime
1 Duplicant
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Terastodon
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Woodfall Primus
1 Beast Within
1 Deglamer
1 Desert Twister
1 Tower of Calamities
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Strip Mine
1 Dust Bowl
1 All Is Dust
//Graveyard Recursion & Hate
1 Eternal Witness
1 Loaming Shaman
1 Life from the Loam
1 Petrified Field
1 Regrowth
1 Restock
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Pelakka Wurm
1 Genesis Wave
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
1 Loxodon Warhammer
//Card Draw & Filtering
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Abundance
1 Crystal Ball
1 Memory Jar
1 Greater Good
1 Memory Jar
1 Horn of Greed
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Tower of Fortunes
1 Skullclamp
//Land Acceleration & Ramp
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Primeval Titan
1 Gaea's Touch
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Seedguide Ash
1 Viridian Emissary
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
//Misc Utility & Such
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mimic Vat
1 High Market
1 Homeward Path
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Winding Canyons
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Hall of the Bandit Lord
//Tutors
1 Chord of Calling
1 Cloudstone Curio
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Planar Portal
1 Primal Command
1 Tooth and Nail
1 Eye of Ugin
35 Forest
-Standard deck in a deckbox in the Mirran box from the prerelease, also contains a brick of large d6
-legacy Enchantress in Rebecca Guay deckbox, Junk in velcro anime astronaut girls box
-Tails, Glissa, and Azusa in clear Ultra Pro boxes (complete with all token needed for deck, proxied if necessary)
-crappy casual Vorosh (now Mimeoplasm?) in white cardboard box
-2 playmats, in case someone borrows one of my decks (I don't want it played on the table, not always the cleanest thing ever)
-folder full of custom EDH life total sheets (soo much better than notebook paper!)
Except for Tolarian Academy, we don't ban that because three of us had one in the mail when the announcement came out. One of them was my dad's Father's Day present. So you can see why we still allow it...
Also, you might need to run a combo as an alternate win con in case he gets tucked and you can't get him back. I would probably run as many tutors as possible.
Edit: I have to admit, it would be hard to run a blue deck without Trinket Mage.