As far as wheel of fortune effects go, the biggest advantage they have is that they invalidate hand sculpting. Depending on how control-oriented your playgroup is, this can be very powerful. Lets say I keep a hand with two lands, armillary sphere, demonic tutor, and some other early-game utility cards. This hand is great for setting up for the mid-game, as I have plenty options, and I can adapt to the board state as it changes.
But wait, now I have to discard my hand? Bye bye primeval titan that I tutored for, pithing needle that I trinket maged for, any extra lands that I threw in my hand to ensure a healthy mana development, the damnation or planar cleansing I was sandbagging for when the board got out of control. I get seven new cards, but I'll have to be pretty lucky for my seven cards to match the four or five that I carefully chose in terms of relevance to future situations.
Thank you Gilrad, that was a perfect explanation =) Ive decided to go with Identity Crisis for the time being, I cant seem to decide on which card to cut to add the wheel for more hand sculpting prevention, and then I find myself eyeballing Knollspine Dragon. If you have any opinions on what you'd cut for redrawing, I'd love to hear them.
Double post merged; please use the edit button. -viper
I've dumped the high CMC creatures that weren't worth the mana if I had decided to cast them, and have lessened my reliance on having Kaalia out significantly, although she is definately still the key to the deck. I added in several more cards that allow me to play some defense if Kaalia is removed to buy time until she is playable again. Upped my land a bit now that I've learned that I can't count on Kaalia to always be out, and casting the high drops from my hand is now much more possible.
What I'm having trouble with is sculpting a sideboard. I have looked up lists of concepts that I should have counters for (Recursion plays, Mind control plays, decks with a common weakness that can be shut down by single cards, etc..) but I have had trouble finding what cards to choose due to my very limited knowledge of any card preceeding the zendikar set. I've tried searching through other WRB EDH decks, but few to none have a SB listed. Any recommendations?
Take note that I intend to build my sideboard for competitive 1v1 play, and am seeking the cards that can really shut down or slow the other top generals. No cop outs stating it depends on what is played at my locals. =P
thanks for the little tips and advice everyone =)
@Prince Tristan: Thank you for the list of cards that work well from your own experiences, this is the exact type of thing I'm looking for. I'm unsure if I want to run land destruction due to its negative responses from other players, but at the same time I lean more towards being competitive than fun with this deck. I'll throw the cheap ones into my shopping cart and proxy the rest to test them out, I see the advantage the cards can generate clearly. I dont really care for the discarding your hand to re draw, can you maybe explain how this is beneficial? Double edged swords like that that can benefit your opponent possibly moreso I've tended to steer away from but they seem popular in this format. Any explanations?
Thank you all so much for your input. Tuck effects were indeed my biggest concern regarding a Kaalia deck, hence the eleven cards deep tutor kit. A big part of my strategy was to not drop Kaalia until I was sure that she would be protected on a strong level as soon as she hit the field, if not completely evasive. Countering was my biggest worry, especially Hinder, but nothing can be done to stop that from any blue deck. I made it so that at the very least as soon as she hits the field it's going to be a damn hard time getting her off of it, and after a couple of turns she should have so much protection that she swings directly every turn and is immune to board bombs.
Other generals I'm not too worried about. I REALLY dont know why people complain about Kaalia being a 2/2. Generally, ALL of the kill spells used in EDH are selected to be able to kill ANYTHING. No one runs lightning bolts or anything else cheap and destructive like that from what Ive seen. With 40 life, you can afford to ignore the annoying creatures with 1, 2, or even 3 power for a good while unless they amass themselves, but by then you should be able to nuke them all. People know this, and pick cards based on it. Her being a 2/2 is irrelevant, unless someone is stupid to send her swinging at a superior creature. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
What I ask now is for recommendations for which creatures I should drop from my deck to make room for some more lands/ enchantments. I really cant decide because I either drool over the art and convince myself it is better than it is so that it can stay or I just flat out over evaluate the card in this format.
So I've just joined this community due to my recent obsession with EDH. I had never even heard of it until a week ago, and have been an avid Type2 player since I started magic after the release of Zendikar. I immediately loved the EDH format, and then I saw Kaalia and decided it was time to construct a deck. I've been building standard decks of all types and colors since I began playing, and consider myself somewhat proficient at the task. It's something I love to do, and possibly my favorite part of MTG.
I made this thread because as much as I dislike it, I am a complete novice when it comes to EDH. Having discovered it very recently, I am seeking the opinions and guidance of more seasoned EDH players, and hope that this will fetch me some.
Things I want to discuss about a KotV EDH Deck:
VIABILITY!!
General strategies
Would-be staples/ recommended cards
Possible Combos
Deck Weaknesses
Ive surmised my own opinions on each of the forementioned topics, but have my doubts on their accuracy due to my inexperience. That's where you guys come in =)
Here is a link to my own Kaalia of the Vast deck, I own only a handful of the cards, and have never been able to playtest it, nor have I ever played a single game of EDH with any deck. It was constructed purely on what research I could gather over this past week and my own limited experience with MTG. http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/kaalia-of-the-vast-edh-11/
Thank you Gilrad, that was a perfect explanation =) Ive decided to go with Identity Crisis for the time being, I cant seem to decide on which card to cut to add the wheel for more hand sculpting prevention, and then I find myself eyeballing Knollspine Dragon. If you have any opinions on what you'd cut for redrawing, I'd love to hear them.
Double post merged; please use the edit button. -viper
I've dumped the high CMC creatures that weren't worth the mana if I had decided to cast them, and have lessened my reliance on having Kaalia out significantly, although she is definately still the key to the deck. I added in several more cards that allow me to play some defense if Kaalia is removed to buy time until she is playable again. Upped my land a bit now that I've learned that I can't count on Kaalia to always be out, and casting the high drops from my hand is now much more possible.
What I'm having trouble with is sculpting a sideboard. I have looked up lists of concepts that I should have counters for (Recursion plays, Mind control plays, decks with a common weakness that can be shut down by single cards, etc..) but I have had trouble finding what cards to choose due to my very limited knowledge of any card preceeding the zendikar set. I've tried searching through other WRB EDH decks, but few to none have a SB listed. Any recommendations?
Currently I have:
Word of Seizing for "Blightsteel" scenarios
Tormod's Crypt, Shred Memory, and Relic of Progenitus to stop recursion
Faith's Fetters, Pithing Needle, and Null Rod for instant shutdowns
Homeward Path for recontrol
Rule of Law for decks that I know love to dump combos frequently
Consume the Meek for token flooders, I already have some cards that could wipe weenies but this was for the extra push.
Take note that I intend to build my sideboard for competitive 1v1 play, and am seeking the cards that can really shut down or slow the other top generals. No cop outs stating it depends on what is played at my locals. =P
@Prince Tristan: Thank you for the list of cards that work well from your own experiences, this is the exact type of thing I'm looking for. I'm unsure if I want to run land destruction due to its negative responses from other players, but at the same time I lean more towards being competitive than fun with this deck. I'll throw the cheap ones into my shopping cart and proxy the rest to test them out, I see the advantage the cards can generate clearly. I dont really care for the discarding your hand to re draw, can you maybe explain how this is beneficial? Double edged swords like that that can benefit your opponent possibly moreso I've tended to steer away from but they seem popular in this format. Any explanations?
Other generals I'm not too worried about. I REALLY dont know why people complain about Kaalia being a 2/2. Generally, ALL of the kill spells used in EDH are selected to be able to kill ANYTHING. No one runs lightning bolts or anything else cheap and destructive like that from what Ive seen. With 40 life, you can afford to ignore the annoying creatures with 1, 2, or even 3 power for a good while unless they amass themselves, but by then you should be able to nuke them all. People know this, and pick cards based on it. Her being a 2/2 is irrelevant, unless someone is stupid to send her swinging at a superior creature. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
What I ask now is for recommendations for which creatures I should drop from my deck to make room for some more lands/ enchantments. I really cant decide because I either drool over the art and convince myself it is better than it is so that it can stay or I just flat out over evaluate the card in this format.
Heres the link one more time: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/kaalia-of-the-vast-edh-11/
I made this thread because as much as I dislike it, I am a complete novice when it comes to EDH. Having discovered it very recently, I am seeking the opinions and guidance of more seasoned EDH players, and hope that this will fetch me some.
Things I want to discuss about a KotV EDH Deck:
VIABILITY!!
General strategies
Would-be staples/ recommended cards
Possible Combos
Deck Weaknesses
Ive surmised my own opinions on each of the forementioned topics, but have my doubts on their accuracy due to my inexperience. That's where you guys come in =)
Here is a link to my own Kaalia of the Vast deck, I own only a handful of the cards, and have never been able to playtest it, nor have I ever played a single game of EDH with any deck. It was constructed purely on what research I could gather over this past week and my own limited experience with MTG.
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/kaalia-of-the-vast-edh-11/