I love playing Dragonlord Ojutai. I tried a lot of different UW commanders for my deck but those other options weren't one of them.
I think Raff and Ephara are both good though but they
a) Don't kill people as fast/consistently as Ojutai
b) Both are more build around than Ojutai, which can be fun but also gives you less options.
Where he chooses things that are easy to understand and evaluate so this is a good place to start.
I don't think you want to restrict players to only guild decks or whatever, I think will want to dip their hands into the full pile of cards to pick out the ones they like. But slowing increasing the complexity and perhaps the power of the cards available through a sealed league system could be super interesting.
Oh its the end of your next turn, not end of turn I misread it. I am still not super high on it, that seems kind of more annoying from a bookkeeping point of view. So I am still not going to use it for that reason
I wish I could count Depose // Deploy as a hybrid card but the multicoloured side is so much better thant he hybrid side and my UW cards far outclass it even then.
Those maybes are because they are warriors basically.
I actually have plenty of multicoloured removal, I am a little worried the sphinx is a little too small for the mana cost though.
Overall its quality over quantity particularly for simic
Birthing pod is sorcery only btw so you can't sac in response.
I have picked up a Phyrexian Tower that I can use as a sac land along with ashnod's altar and Krark-clan ironworks I already have. Its just useful to have sac outlets you can use in response to exile effects.
I am super heavy on the artifacts and utility lands since I am mostly a colourless deck so I can have a lot of colourless producing lands.
I found that the 4 mana slot was the hardest and my deck ends up super 6 drop heavy.
Yeah it looks good to me base rate is still a 4 mana 4/4. Its just that I'd have to cut some other card that I also really like, multicoloured sections are so tight :/.
Yeah both Frilled Mystic (I have elf and wizard synergies as well) and Rhythm of the Savages look great to me, my simic and gruul cards are a little weak/uninteresting.
Is really nice because of how it works with the archetypes in my cube but it's not strong enough to fight the other UW cards :/. I wish I could handwave it off as a hybrid card but dispose is really bad compared to depoly.
I guess I have to hope for more thopter makers in azorius with Dovin Baan is around.
Match 1 vs Bring to light, Scapeshift.
We have had many epic battles over the years.
Game 1: I countered his first attempt to go off and slammed a Sundering Titan setting him back too far.
Game 2: I stumbled on mana and he over ramped me.
Game 3: I had a choice between chalice on 4 and mindslaver, but he had the counter into bring to light (ass trophy on chalice) anyway.
Match 2 vs Burn
Game 1: He had a slow had for burn, I countered eidolon then he basically didn't draw anything of note before I ultimated Ugin and activated mindslaver
Game 2: He was stuck on 1 mana for almost all of the game, still put me under pressure with 1 drops but with only one per turn wasn't enough. ThoughtKnot seer stopped the attack (and removed some burn from his hand) Still it came down to if he could draw a land on the last turn.
Match 3 vs RW prison
Game 1: Oh look a blood moon into harozet turned out worse than me hard casting 2x wurmcoil engines.
Game 2: He mulled to 5 he didn't have blood moon and I just easily overpowered him.
Match 4 vs Mardu Vampires
Game 1: I drew 2x Walking ballista and just picked his board apart.
Game 2: I drew my removal and thought-knot seer (taking his removal) preventing him from getting through any damage on to me.
My store has a strange metagame, I didn't actually see much aggro deck people just playing whatever decks they like to play.
I think Raff and Ephara are both good though but they
a) Don't kill people as fast/consistently as Ojutai
b) Both are more build around than Ojutai, which can be fun but also gives you less options.
Rasputin is kind of too combo focused for casual.
The noob cube here
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/the-cube-forum/cube-lists/627674-360-unpowered-peasant-the-n00b-cube
Where he chooses things that are easy to understand and evaluate so this is a good place to start.
I don't think you want to restrict players to only guild decks or whatever, I think will want to dip their hands into the full pile of cards to pick out the ones they like. But slowing increasing the complexity and perhaps the power of the cards available through a sealed league system could be super interesting.
But I am warming up to the sphinx of the guildpact though, its like a colourless jetting glasskite now I think about it.
I wish I could count Depose // Deploy as a hybrid card but the multicoloured side is so much better thant he hybrid side and my UW cards far outclass it even then.
I feel pretty disappointed nothing with afterlife or addendum or even spectacle really makes the cut here.
Includes
Pteramander
Frilled Mystic
Rhythm of the wild
Sharktocrab
Maybes
Undercity scavenger
Rubblebelt Runner
Rubble Slinger
Sphinx of the Guildpact
Those maybes are because they are warriors basically.
I actually have plenty of multicoloured removal, I am a little worried the sphinx is a little too small for the mana cost though.
Overall its quality over quantity particularly for simic
I have picked up a Phyrexian Tower that I can use as a sac land along with ashnod's altar and Krark-clan ironworks I already have. Its just useful to have sac outlets you can use in response to exile effects.
I am super heavy on the artifacts and utility lands since I am mostly a colourless deck so I can have a lot of colourless producing lands.
I found that the 4 mana slot was the hardest and my deck ends up super 6 drop heavy.
My pod chain goes through precursor golem, wurmcoil engine, myr battlesphere into Craterhoof behemoth putting more and more tokens into play.
Kind of like how soul-scar mage looked terrible but played well.
Is really nice because of how it works with the archetypes in my cube but it's not strong enough to fight the other UW cards :/. I wish I could handwave it off as a hybrid card but dispose is really bad compared to depoly.
I guess I have to hope for more thopter makers in azorius with Dovin Baan is around.
2 Walking ballista
1 Snapcaster mage
1 Treasure mage
2 Wurmcoil engine
1 Torrential gearhulk
1 Platinum Angel
1 Sundering Titan
Artifacts (8)
1 chalice of the void
4 expedition map
2 relic of progenitus
1 oblivion stone
Instants (16)
3 condescend
3 repeal
3 remand
1 cyclonic rift
1 spatial contortion
3 thirst for knowledge
1 supreme will
1 Dismember
2 Ugin, the spirit dragon
Land (24)
12 tron lands
7 Island
2 Field of ruin
1 Academy Ruins
1 River of Tears
1 Gemstone caverns
2 Grafdigger's cage
1 Surgical extraction
2 Spatial Contortion
2 Spreading Seas
1 Dismember
2 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Mindslaver
1 Ghost quarter
2 Aetherise
1 Summary Dismissal
Match 1 vs Bring to light, Scapeshift.
We have had many epic battles over the years.
Game 1: I countered his first attempt to go off and slammed a Sundering Titan setting him back too far.
Game 2: I stumbled on mana and he over ramped me.
Game 3: I had a choice between chalice on 4 and mindslaver, but he had the counter into bring to light (ass trophy on chalice) anyway.
Match 2 vs Burn
Game 1: He had a slow had for burn, I countered eidolon then he basically didn't draw anything of note before I ultimated Ugin and activated mindslaver
Game 2: He was stuck on 1 mana for almost all of the game, still put me under pressure with 1 drops but with only one per turn wasn't enough. ThoughtKnot seer stopped the attack (and removed some burn from his hand) Still it came down to if he could draw a land on the last turn.
Match 3 vs RW prison
Game 1: Oh look a blood moon into harozet turned out worse than me hard casting 2x wurmcoil engines.
Game 2: He mulled to 5 he didn't have blood moon and I just easily overpowered him.
Match 4 vs Mardu Vampires
Game 1: I drew 2x Walking ballista and just picked his board apart.
Game 2: I drew my removal and thought-knot seer (taking his removal) preventing him from getting through any damage on to me.
My store has a strange metagame, I didn't actually see much aggro deck people just playing whatever decks they like to play.