Caldera Hellion
The first deck I made was a Kresh the Bloodbraided EDH deck, made up from the BRG intro packs from Shards and Conflux and the RG intro pack from Reborn. Eventually, I realized that a functional EDH deck would require a bit more than that (as it turns out, Goblin Piker is not good in EDH), so I made my first singles order.
Caldera Hellion was in that order. And while so much of that deck has changed over time, it's still in there. Still clearing the board of small obstacles for Kresh, still making sure Kresh is big enough to deal with the big obstacles.
-1 Flame Slash
-1 Lightning Bolt
-1 Elixir of Immortality
-2 Howling Mine
-2 Jinxed Idol
-3 Jinxed Choker
-4 Font of Mythos
-8 Scrambleverse
-2 Mountains
+1 Wanderer's Twig
+2 Etherium Sculptor
+2 Pacifism
+2 Temporal Isolation
+3 Guard Gomazoa
+4 Faith's Fetters
+4 Ruhan of the Fomori
+7 Thought Reflection
+1 Plains
+1 Islands
I haven't played any games with the deck yet, but I played out a bunch of hands on my own and came to some conclusions:
- Very high mana curve, and once Zed's drawing cards, you want to start playing your high-threat cards. The 'jinxed' cards required me to save mana for a redonation every turn, so out they go.
- Zed starts generating card advantage pretty quickly, so the Mines aren't needed either.
- Tweaked the mana base a little to cut down on Red. I tried doing it more drastically to begin with, but then you end up lacking Red when you want to play Zed. So you can cut a few Red cards, but not too many.
- I have to play against real live opponents to figure out which nasty donations work.
I really want to play Scrambleverse, for the hilarity if nothing else. It would have its uses -- Zed gets killed, and you cast it before replaying Zed -- but admittedly, it is very limited. Add the fact that my CMC curve is way too high, and out it goes.
Curse of Stalked Prey might also go, but not now. I wanna see what it does in multiplayer. Yes, I know this is the 1v1 board. Most of my games are 1v1, but I still play the occasional multiplayer game, and I don't build separate decks for the two scenarios.
Thanks a lot for the advice so far!
Really, though, neither of us really knows how Mindslaver will turn out. At best, I'm able to get a combo win with Moltensteel Dragon (and I don't feel too bad about this; it requires a fair bit of effort to set up). If an opponent has a full hand, or creatures with stuff like sac abilities, I can wreck a board position. But if my opponent is top-decking, Mindslaver becomes an expensive Fog.
I dunno, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for now. If all it does is paint a target on my head in our occasional multiplayer games, I'll take it out the way I took out cards like Luminarch Ascension.
Yeah, these are definitely subpar cards; I should probably steal back cards like Chaos Warp. Honestly, the reason is that when I was building this deck, I went looking in my collection for X white spells, X blue spells, and X red spells. I told you this was constructed spur of the moment. The next time I make a purchase, I'll look for better red spells.
As for removal, I think that Pacifism effects would actually be better in this deck than the usual suspects like Path to Exile and Condemn. Remember, Zedruu's able to donate auras.
Other Zedruu players: how well does Zedruu work with unbalanced colour sections? Say, 50% white, 30% blue, 20% red?
-1 Copperhorn Scout
-2 Scryb Ranger
-2 Thrummingbird
-3 Mul Daya Channelers
-2 Contagion Clasp
-2 Swiftfoot Boots
-4 Gemstone Array
-5 Flourishing Defenses
-5 Inexorable Tide
-6 Contagion Engine
-1 Forest
-1 Mystifying Maze
+5 Mulldrifter
+1 Ponder
+1 Preordain
+1 Viridian Longbow
+3 Cultivate
+4 Explosive Vegetation
+4 Tezzeret's Gambit
+5 Asceticism
+6 Overwhelming Intellect
+2 Island
I played three three-player games with this deck a while back. The first game I won pretty quickly with a Knacksaw Clique + Bloom Tender combo. The second game we were locked out by a merfolk deck playing a Lullmage Mentor + Intruder Alarm combo. But I didn't have much in my hand anyway that game. The third game dragged on for a long while. I missed a Pili-Pala + Greenweaver Druid infinite mana combo partway through, but eventually won with Flourishing Defences + Devoted Druid.
A few observations:
EDIT (2012-05-22): Evolution Vat -> Pongify
-1 Preordain
-2 Mask of Riddles
-3 Infest
-1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
+2 Mindshrieker
+1 Visions of Beyond
+3 Fireshrieker
+1 Island
What new mill cards should come in from Dark Ascension? Increasing Confusion probably needs a spot, but are cards like Chill of Foreboding or Geralf's Mindcrusher worth it?
Belated response to previous post: hmm... 10 mana is a lot, and unless the Mind Funeral will finish them, all I've done is thinned my opponent's deck. Still, Sadistic Sacrament would be incredibly grief-y, so it's kinda on-theme... :-P
EDIT:
-2 Mindshrieker
-5 Liliana Vess
+1x Increasing Confusion
+5 Increasing Ambition
Hello!
It was the will of Zedruu that I make this, my sixth EDH deck (and probably my last in a long while). To give credit where credit is due, I owe a lot to this primer.
Some assorted notes:
4 Zedruu the Greathearted
PILLOWFORT:
2 Wall of Omens
2 Fog Bank
3 Orzhov Advokist
3 Guard Gomazoa
3 Wall of Denial
4 Windborn Muse
5 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Propaganda
5 Sphere of Safety
5 Norn's Annex
ENCHANTMENT REMOVAL:
2 Darksteel Mutation
2 Journey to Nowhere
3 Arrest
3 Banishing Light
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Imprisoned in the Moon
3 Detention Sphere
4 Faith's Fetters
DRAW:
2 Humble Defector
5 Mulldrifter
4 Fact or Fiction
6 Opportunity
2x Mind Spring
RAMP AND FIXING:
1 Sol Ring
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
2 Sphere of the Suns
2 Thought Vessel
2 Azorius Signet
2 Izzet Signet
2 Boros Signet
3 Commander's Sphere
3 Darksteel Ingot
3 Dissipate
3 Hinder
3 Spell Crumple
3 Void Shatter
OTHER:
3 Vedalken Plotter
4 Palace Jailer
4 Dungeon Geists
4 Akroan Horse
5 Crested Sunmare
5 Sunscorch Regent
5 Perplexing Chimera
6 Sentinel of the Eternal Watch
6 Linvala, the Preserver
6 Frost Titan
6 Numot, the Devastator
7 Emeria Shepherd
8 Zetalpa, Primal Dawn
9 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Luminarch Ascension
2 Crown of Doom
2 Swiftfoot Boots
3 Paradox Haze
4 Control Magic
4 Rite of Replication
4 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
5 Assemble the Legion
8 Insurrection
10 Storm Herd
2x Curse of the Swine
6 Plains
9 Island
5 Mountain
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Prairie Stream
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Mirrodin's Core
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Command Tower
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Shivan Reef
1 Inspiring Vantage
1 Mystic Monastery
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Temple of Triumph
1 Temple of the False God
Thank you for your comments and criticisms!
I'm sure there are many, many more Mikaeus combos, though.
I've never seen it in action, but I'd imagine it plays like Scourglass; a game-changing card that needs to wait a turn. Once you get to ten mana (which is rather rare), I'd imagine it become an "answer now or die" card like Insurrection or a kicked Rite of Replication.
That said, I could understand people's frustration with the card if your deck allows it to be recurred. To be honest, I never even considered the possibility of sending a general to the graveyard.
I've had someone recommend that I post all my decks in the multiplayer forum, because "1v1 is competitive, and multiplayer is casual", and that I'd end up getting more comments in the multiplayer forum even though my decks are mostly tuned for 1v1.
I'd prefer one forum, but only if there was a good tagging and filtering system in place. Splitting via the 1v1 and multiplayer divide sucks, but it's probably the least of all evils.
Finishers: Yeah, I need more. Viridian Longbow could probably go it, and possibly Thornbite Staff as well (though probably just the longbow). Trisky is already in the deck.
With all that proliferate, should I be putting in wither creatures, such as Twinblade Slasher? Other than that one, there's not that many good ones in blue/green. I could go the poison route as well, but I already have one poison deck. ;-)
Hello!
This was my fifth EDH deck, and my first attempt at a combo build. Eventually, I retired it because it was too non-interactive and thus not very exciting for either side of the table.
I must give credit where credit is due: a lot of these cards were taken from this list, and from the other Kraj decks listed in the database.
Some assorted notes:
6 Experiment Kraj
Graft:
3 Plaxcaster Frogling
4 Cytoplast Manipulator
Untapping:
3 Horseshoe Crab
4 Simic Ragworm
Shadowmoor/Eventide Untapping:
2 Pili-Pala
4 Knacksaw Clique
Mana Generation:
1 Joraga Treespeaker
2 Bloom Tender
2 Devoted Druid
3 Elvish Harbinger
3 Greenweaver Druid
3 Viridian Joiner
6 Elvish Aberration
+1/+1 Abuse:
2 Zameck Guildmage
3 Sage of Fables
3 Fertilid
4 Fathom Mage
Misc:
1 Orochi Leafcaller
2 Merfolk Looter
2 Sigiled Starfish
2 Kiora's Follower
2 Coiling Oracle
3 Drift of Phantasms
3 Wake Thrasher
3 Trygon Predator
4 Forgotten Ancient
4 Wickerbough Elder
4 Glen Elendra Archmage
5 Prophet of Kruphix
6 Arcanis the Omnipotent
1 Pongify
2 Reality Shift
2 Deglamer
3 Beast Within
2x Curse of the Swine
Untapping:
3 Freed from the Real
3 Thousand-Year Elixir
3 Umbral Mantle
Mana Generation:
0 Everflowing Chalice
1 Sol Ring
2 Mind Stone
2 Simic Signet
4 Hedron Archive
Mana Ramp:
3 Cultivate
3 Harrow
4 Explosive Vegetation
Card Draw:
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
3 Compulsive Research
4 Fact or Fiction
5 Jace's Ingenuity
6 Overwhelming Intellect
8 Treasure Cruise
8 Dig Through Time
3x Blue Sun's Zenith
Protection:
2 Lightning Greaves
5 Asceticism
2 Muddle the Mixture
3 Propaganda
3 Crystal Ball
4 Wash Out
4 Kiora, Master of the Depths
5 Cauldron of Souls
3x Genesis Wave
Blue:
12 Island
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Halimar Depths
Green:
11 Forest
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Llanowar Reborn
1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
Other:
1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Thornwood Falls
1 Lumbering Falls
1 Temple of the False God
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Skinrender is cheaper (this deck has a high enough curve as is) and can hit black creatures as well. Downside is that it's only really useful against three-toughness creatures. I can't remember playing with it yet, so I'm not sure if it's worth it. I'll wait and see.
This deck really needs a Sol Ring, but I've only got one, and I've decided to put all my blatantly unfair cards in my Zur deck. :-p
@3drinks:
Yeah, the deck's pretty low on draw spells. It's a weakness of mine to put in only the cards that directly win me the game, and not cards that facilitate the win. You'll notice I lack counterspells as well in this build. It's something I'll be paying more attention to in the future.
I used to run Scion of Darkness, and other fatties like Szadek, Lord of Secrets. But I found I rarely had the chance to hardcast them. I took them out to lower my curve.
And yes, budget is the reason why I'm not playing Phyrexian Arena (only have one, and it's in Zur), Ink-Eyes, or the swords.
Fireshrieker: Huh, nice. I never considered using double strike for this deck because it's neither a blue nor black ability. I'll keep it in mind.
Thanks for the advice!
First off, I created a visual spoiler a while back. Looks nice, but is it worth the longer load time? If enough people are bugged by it, I'll get rid of it.
Second, I picked up a bunch of cards for my EDH decks, mostly from Innistrad. Some of them might be able to do double duty in my cube. The notable ones are:
I haven't made any changes to the cube list yet, but I was thinking along the following lines:
Cenn's Enlistment -> Divine Reckoning
Vedalken Certarch -> Cackling Counterpart
Spreading Seas -> Dissipate
Ophidian Eye -> Curiosity
Innundate -> Evacuation
Deathgreeter -> Diregraf Ghoul
Spider Umbra -> Prey Upon
Rude Awakening -> Mitotic Slime
At first, I though Creeping Mold -> Bramblecrush would be an obvious replacement. But there are only five planeswalkers in my cube, while there are around a dozen artifact creatures. Still worth having a walker killer in the cube?
The Onslaught cycle lands are nice, especially in EDH, but are they good enough to go in a cube?
(And third, I have yet to actually draft this cube. Partly because it's tough enough to get all four people in my group around a table, and partly because whenever that happens people want to play 2HG EDH instead. Which is still fun, but I want to test my cube. Ah well.)
Thanks for any comments!
EDIT: Got no comments, so I made the above changes:
-4 Seasoned Marshal
-4 Cenn's Enlistment
+4 Hokori, Dust Drinker
+4 Divine Reckoning
-1 Vedalken Certarch
-2 Spreading Seas
-3 Ophidian Eye
-6 Inundate
+1 Curiosity
+3 Cackling Counterpart
+3 Dissipate
+5 Evacuation
-1 Deathgreeter
-2 Reassembling Skeleton
+1 Diregraf Ghoul
+2 Nezumi Graverobber
-1 Spider Umbra
-4 Creeping Mold
-5 Rude Awakening
+5 Mitotic Slime
+1 Prey Upon
+4 Bramblecrush
Also swapped out Seasoned Marshal for Hokori, Dust Drinker and Reassembling Skeleton for Nezumi Graverobber. And I did end up swapping Creeping Mold for Bramblecrush.
EDIT: Scavenger Drake -> Sewer Nemesis. Shoulda done that earlier.