I went home last night to add Pernicious Deed and found that I don't have one. I'll have to pick one up. I know you love Nissa and don't get me wrong, so do I. I just wanted to try some other stuff. Her success rate wasn't 100% in the few games I played where I had her. So I'm trying Mending in here place and seeing how that goes. Shes always on my list of stuff to be played.
Ghave combos well with many cards but I don't know of any very mana efficient ones. If you substitute Ashnod's Altar in for Crawler you can combo for less there. But I think those sorts of cards are better suited to an actual Ghave deck. This has me thinking about 'i win' situations for Atraxa and I think that combos aren't really the way to go when you have infect. Triumph of the Hordes seems like a better way to win than big mana multi-card combos.
Yahenni + Together Forever is fine but not amazing. Why pay 1 mana to return it your hand when you can get them into play with other combos. I would never fault you for playing these cards as they both fit the deck.
Yahenni is not a card I am enamored by. I think there are better sacrifice outlets and better threats available, getting both in one card is the only real draw here.
I think Together Forever is similar. It is doing 2 things your deck wants to do in one card and it is on theme.
At the end of the commander session you need to be satisfied with what you did. Every synergy piece you remove for something more efficient makes your deck better but less themed. Personally, I want the best available deck within whatever theme I chose. I try to pick themes that are casual and then push them to the extreme, which can fail either way.
Atraxa will always be a target. Its just the nature of the commander.
Arcane Denial vs Swan Song is an interesting topic. I like the fact that Denial counters everything in this situation. Having both could be sweet but I know how tight lists can be.
I like Fellwar Stone more than Rampant Growth mostly because it can help fix more colors. It is also slightly faster but weaker against removal. You also removed some basic lands in the last update.
I still need an Assassin's Trophy, haven't gotten around to getting one yet.
Hey Atraxa players, It has been a good while but we have some new Planeswalkers to look at.
Dovin, Grand Arbiter is the newest version of Dovin Baan. I like this card for its unique design. The +1 and -1 abilities work well together. The ultimate is a better Dig Through Time, which is a card I really like.
The issue with this Dovin is the context in which I would be playing it. I don't run many creatures to take advantage of the +1. There was a time when I used tokens to block but I have since moved away from that. Its ultimate doesn't go well with Doubling Season and It also takes two turns or more even with Atraxa.
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper is another unique design. The abilities can be useful and commander is one of the formats where a large exile zone can easily occur. The only issue I have with this card is that it doesn't impact the game very well. It doesn't draw cards or add to your board. Removing a Sol Ring can be nice but if they have it turn 1 it has already had a large impact on the game. I might try this card as it adds some removal, but I'm not overly excited.
This is my build of Lord Windgrace. I know it is a pile of bugetless staples and obvious choices but I really enjoy it. I like playing the Eldrazi and multiple lands a turn. It is something I really enjoy in Magic.
Hey sorry for the slow response, thanks for commenting. I like your deck quite a lot. It has a lot of good themes and cards to help with nullifying creatures, which is generally the decks weakness.
I might like a couple more counters for those must stop spells. On a similar note you are missing non-creature removal as well.
I'm okay with Collectors Edition cards. I much prefer them to the counterfeit cards I've seen running around at the local shop. Overall I'm against proxies and fakes.
I think Assasin's Trophy is better than Anguished Unmaking, Beast Within, and Vindicate. I think you can supplement its weakness with other removal spells.
There is a lot to unpack in a multicolored set such as this one. Mentor is a goodish ability for Atraxa as it involves +1 counters. Convoke is mostly whatever and always has been. Surveil is nice as a mechanic but I don't think its specifically good for Atraxa decks. The same goes for undergrowth, its nice but I haven't seen a ton of graveyard based Atraxa decks. Jump Start is not awesome. It will have its place in certain decks but I think it is one of the worse mechanics from this set (for Atraxa).
White Cards:
Venerated Loxodon is a card that can be used in +1 counter builds. I dont think it is very good as it inspires you to over commit to the board, but it can be a potentially cheap source of counters.
Light of the Legion doesn't make too much sense to me. Who is going to spot remove this card for you so you can get counters? Why sacrifice this yourself? It seems poorly designed. Classic crap rare. I only mention it because it does counter things.
Blue Cards:
Mission Briefing is just good. I don't think it is something I will use, but it should see some play in the format.
Black Cards:
Doom Whisperer is another card that will be good in the format. It is designed with graveyards in mind, but it is also a powerful card selection engine as well.
Mausoleum Secrets is not good. Don't run this card please. I only mention it to warn people..
Plaguecrafter is another card that will probably see play in the format. It is actually good AGAINST us. Watch out for this card.
Price of Fame is pretty cool. It kills commanders for cheap and gives you some card selection. Its a nice option for black decks in the format.
Green Cards:
Pelt Collector is interesting for counters builds. I wouldn't devote a slot to it personally, but it can have applications.
Multicolor Cards:
Assasin's Trophy is an awesome card for the format. It's very cheap to cast and can answer any problem. This is the only card in the set that I will be adding to this deck.
Etrata the Silencer. You cant proliferate the counters, but that would be awesome.
Knight of Autumn is really nice. It can act as removal or a big beater that comes down the turn before you play Atraxa. It is a very nice card for all the counter builds.
Vraska, Golgari Queen is sadly the only planeswalker we have in this set. It is a good card, but not obviously playable in the deck. We dont run any cards we actively want to sacrifice to draw cards. The removal ability is nice but not very efficient or versatile in commander. Her ultimate can be strong, but it doesn't do the doubling season thing and can be negated with removal. Overall a card I would rather play in standard, if I played it, and I don't think it will make my deck.
Knight of Autumn is very cool. It doesn't fit in my superfriends build but I will be using it in my bant blink deck. I think it will be playable in quite a few formats.
My situation is very similar. I play in paper exclusively as well. So while I have a fairly unrestricted budget, I too must build decks within reason. It sounds as if modern is your primary focus which skews things slightly as I focus on commander alone.
That being said, I suggest you invest in commander if you plan to play it long term. It should pay off in terms of gains. Commander staples hold their value well as players tend to actuality want the cards to play the game. You could spend around 60 Euros on cards for your Atraxa deck and add Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Sylvan Library. All of these cards are so very powerful and efficient for the mana. Also, as someone purchasing with Euros you actually save money as the same cards would cost about 105 USD or about 85 Euros.
With cards this 'cheap' the real question is: do you want to homogenize your deck with staples this way? You wont have as much room for the synergy cards and you will probably find games will become more similar. I like having access to these powerful cards but thats my style.
Yahenni + Together Forever is fine but not amazing. Why pay 1 mana to return it your hand when you can get them into play with other combos. I would never fault you for playing these cards as they both fit the deck.
Yahenni is not a card I am enamored by. I think there are better sacrifice outlets and better threats available, getting both in one card is the only real draw here.
I think Together Forever is similar. It is doing 2 things your deck wants to do in one card and it is on theme.
At the end of the commander session you need to be satisfied with what you did. Every synergy piece you remove for something more efficient makes your deck better but less themed. Personally, I want the best available deck within whatever theme I chose. I try to pick themes that are casual and then push them to the extreme, which can fail either way.
Arcane Denial vs Swan Song is an interesting topic. I like the fact that Denial counters everything in this situation. Having both could be sweet but I know how tight lists can be.
I like Fellwar Stone more than Rampant Growth mostly because it can help fix more colors. It is also slightly faster but weaker against removal. You also removed some basic lands in the last update.
I still need an Assassin's Trophy, haven't gotten around to getting one yet.
Blighted Woodland, Rings of Brighthearth, Nissa, Vital Force, Terastodon, Woodfall Primus, Chain Reaction
Added:
Eye of Ugin, Oblivion Stone, The Mending of Dominaria, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Dovin, Grand Arbiter is the newest version of Dovin Baan. I like this card for its unique design. The +1 and -1 abilities work well together. The ultimate is a better Dig Through Time, which is a card I really like.
The issue with this Dovin is the context in which I would be playing it. I don't run many creatures to take advantage of the +1. There was a time when I used tokens to block but I have since moved away from that. Its ultimate doesn't go well with Doubling Season and It also takes two turns or more even with Atraxa.
Kaya, Orzhov Usurper is another unique design. The abilities can be useful and commander is one of the formats where a large exile zone can easily occur. The only issue I have with this card is that it doesn't impact the game very well. It doesn't draw cards or add to your board. Removing a Sol Ring can be nice but if they have it turn 1 it has already had a large impact on the game. I might try this card as it adds some removal, but I'm not overly excited.
Do you think that Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger is better than Terastodon or Woodfall Primus? Or similarly Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre?
I'll see about tuning my basics and card draw.
1 Lord Windgrace
Lands:
Tri Lands:
1 Command Tower
1 Savage Lands
Dual Lands:
1 Taiga
1 Badlands
Shock Lands:
1 Stomping Ground
1 Blood Crypt
1 Overgrown Tomb
Check Lands:
1 Rootbound Crag
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Woodland Cemetery
Karoo Lands:
1 Gruul Turf
1 Rakdos Carnarium
1 Golgari Rot Farm
Fetch Lands:
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Arid Mesa
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Windswept Heath
Cycle Lands:
1 Sheltered Thicket
1 Canyon Slough
1 Barren Moor
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Tranquil Thicket
Utility Lands:
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Eye of Ugin
1 Maze of Ith
1 Strip Mine
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Wasteland
4 Forest
3 Mountain
3 Swamp
Artifacts:
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Sol Ring
1 Expedition Map
1 Thaumatic Compass
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Horn of Greed
1 Oblivion Stone
Enchantments:
1 Burgeoning
1 Exploration
1 The Mending of Dominaria
Creatures:
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Ramunap Excavator
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Wayward Swordtooth
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Oracle of Mul Daya
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Nesting Dragon
1 The Gitrog Monster
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar
1 Rampaging Baloths
1 Avenger of Zendikar
1 Omnath, Locus of Rage
1 Borborygmos Enraged
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
1 Harrow
1 Terminate
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Windgrace's Judgement
Sorceries:
1 Faithless Looting
1 Vandalblast
1 Cathartic Reunion
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dreadbore
1 Farseek
1 Life from the Loam
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Nature's Lore
1 Night's Whisper
1 Cultivate
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Painful Truths
1 Read the Bones
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Damnation
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Scapeshift
1 Splendid Reclamation
1 Seasons Past
1 Blasphemous Act
I might like a couple more counters for those must stop spells. On a similar note you are missing non-creature removal as well.
There is a lot to unpack in a multicolored set such as this one. Mentor is a goodish ability for Atraxa as it involves +1 counters. Convoke is mostly whatever and always has been. Surveil is nice as a mechanic but I don't think its specifically good for Atraxa decks. The same goes for undergrowth, its nice but I haven't seen a ton of graveyard based Atraxa decks. Jump Start is not awesome. It will have its place in certain decks but I think it is one of the worse mechanics from this set (for Atraxa).
White Cards:
Venerated Loxodon is a card that can be used in +1 counter builds. I dont think it is very good as it inspires you to over commit to the board, but it can be a potentially cheap source of counters.
Light of the Legion doesn't make too much sense to me. Who is going to spot remove this card for you so you can get counters? Why sacrifice this yourself? It seems poorly designed. Classic crap rare. I only mention it because it does counter things.
Blue Cards:
Mission Briefing is just good. I don't think it is something I will use, but it should see some play in the format.
Black Cards:
Doom Whisperer is another card that will be good in the format. It is designed with graveyards in mind, but it is also a powerful card selection engine as well.
Mausoleum Secrets is not good. Don't run this card please. I only mention it to warn people..
Plaguecrafter is another card that will probably see play in the format. It is actually good AGAINST us. Watch out for this card.
Price of Fame is pretty cool. It kills commanders for cheap and gives you some card selection. Its a nice option for black decks in the format.
Green Cards:
Pelt Collector is interesting for counters builds. I wouldn't devote a slot to it personally, but it can have applications.
Multicolor Cards:
Assasin's Trophy is an awesome card for the format. It's very cheap to cast and can answer any problem. This is the only card in the set that I will be adding to this deck.
Etrata the Silencer. You cant proliferate the counters, but that would be awesome.
Knight of Autumn is really nice. It can act as removal or a big beater that comes down the turn before you play Atraxa. It is a very nice card for all the counter builds.
Vraska, Golgari Queen is sadly the only planeswalker we have in this set. It is a good card, but not obviously playable in the deck. We dont run any cards we actively want to sacrifice to draw cards. The removal ability is nice but not very efficient or versatile in commander. Her ultimate can be strong, but it doesn't do the doubling season thing and can be negated with removal. Overall a card I would rather play in standard, if I played it, and I don't think it will make my deck.
That being said, I suggest you invest in commander if you plan to play it long term. It should pay off in terms of gains. Commander staples hold their value well as players tend to actuality want the cards to play the game. You could spend around 60 Euros on cards for your Atraxa deck and add Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, and Sylvan Library. All of these cards are so very powerful and efficient for the mana. Also, as someone purchasing with Euros you actually save money as the same cards would cost about 105 USD or about 85 Euros.
With cards this 'cheap' the real question is: do you want to homogenize your deck with staples this way? You wont have as much room for the synergy cards and you will probably find games will become more similar. I like having access to these powerful cards but thats my style.