Monday, December 30, 2013

Commander Mondays (12/30/2013): Uril, the Miststalker

Using Uril, the Miststalker as a commander is a pretty simple. All you need are creatures modified by enchantments.

Uril, the Miststalker

Legendary Creatures (2)

x1 Uril, the Miststalker (Commander)
x1 Krond the Dawn-Clad

Creatures (17)

x1 Ajani's Chosen
x1 Aura Gnarlid
x1 Elderwood Scion
x1 Gladecover Scout
x1 Gatherer of Graces
x1 Grand Abolisher
x1 Kitsune Mystic
x1 Kor Spiritdancer
x1 Mesa Enchantress
x1 Nomad Mythmaker
x1 Quickening Licid
x1 Rabid Wombat
x1 Rakeclaw Gargantuan
x1 Tempting Licid
x1 Thran Golem
x1 Totem-Guide Hartebeest
x1 Trained Caracal

Enchantment Creatures (10)

x1 Boon Satyr
x1 Celestial Archon
x1 Heliod's Emissary
x1 Hopeful Eidolon
x1 Leafcrown Dryad
x1 Lucent Liminid
x1 Nylea's Emissary
x1 Observant Alseid
x1 Purphoros's Emissary
x1 Spearpoint Oread

Sorceries (1)

x1 Retether

Enchantment - Auras (27)

x1 Armadillo Cloak
x1 Chosen by Heliod
x1 Battle Mastery
x1 Boar Umbra
x1 Daily Regimen
x1 Daybreak Coronet
x1 Divine Favor
x1 Eldrazi Conscription
x1 Ethereal Armor
x1 Felidar Umbra
x1 Feral Invocation
x1 Hyena Umbra
x1 Indrik Umbra
x1 Keen Sense
x1 Mammoth Umbra
x1 Messenger's Speed
x1 Ordeal of Heliod
x1 Ordeal of Nylea
x1 Ordeal of Purphoros
x1 Rancor
x1 Shiv's Embrace
x1 Snake Umbra
x1 Spider Umbra
x1 Spirit Mantle
x1 Vow of Duty
x1 Vow of Lightning
x1 Vow of Wildness

Enchantments (3)

x1 Leyline of Sanctity
x1 Sigil of the Empty Throne
x1 Sphere of Safety

Artifacts (4)

x1 Lightning Greaves
x1 Obelisk of Naya
x1 Ring of Three Wishes
x1 Sol Ring

Lands (36)

x1 Boros Garrison
x1 Clifftop Retreat
x1 Command Tower
x1 Evolving Wilds
x1 Fire-Lit Thickett
x1 Graypelt Refuge
x1 Gruul Turf
x1 Jungle Shrine
x1 Kazandu Refuge
x1 Naya Panorama
x1 Opal Palace
x1 Raging Ravine
x1 Rootbound Crag
x1 Rugged Prairie
x1 Sacred Foundry
x1 Selesnya Sanctuary
x1 Stirring Wildwood
x1 Stomping Ground
x1 Sunpetal Grove
x1 Temple Garden
x1 Terramorphic Expanse
x1 Wooded Bastion
x6 Plains
x3 Mountain
x5 Forest

With the release of Theros, we have a lot more enchantments available to drop on creatures, including Enchantment Creatures.

First and foremost, we need cards like Uril included.

Aura Gnarlid  Kor Spiritdancer  Rabid Wombat

Since everything in the deck is based on enchantments, you have to include some really good ones.

Daybreak Coronet  Eldrazi Conscription  Ethereal Armor

And then we have protection for you:

Leyline of Sanctity  Sphere of Safety


So, an enchantment heavy deck is not a difficult Commander deck to make, especially when using Uril, the Miststalker.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Commander Mondays (11/25/2013): Doran, the Siege Tower

This has been a long time coming, but now I'm caught up on the Commander decks. Well, except for December's, but you'll have to wait for the enchantment extravaganza that is Uril, the Miststalker next week.

Doran, the Siege Tower


Legendary Creatures

x1 Doran, the Siege Tower(Commander)
x1 Nath of the Gilt-Leaf
x1 Sapling of Colfenor
x1 Verdeloth the Ancient
x1 Yeva, Nature's Herald

Creatures

x1 Ambassador Oak
x1 Argothian Treefolk
x1 Battlewand Oak
x1 Black Poplar Shaman
x1 Blanchwood Treefolk
x1 Bog-Strider Ash
x1 Bosk Banneret
x1 Canker Abomination
x1 Cloudcrown Oak
x1 Crabapple Cohort
x1 Cradle Guard
x1 Dauntless Dourbark
x1 Deadwood Treefolk
x1 Dungrove Elder
x1 Ebony Treefolk
x1 Everbark Shaman
x1 Fendeep Summoner
x1 Ghoultree
x1 Heartwood Storyteller
x1 Indomitable Ancients
x1 Imperious Perfect
x1 Ironroot Treefolk
x1 Leaf-Crowned Elder
x1 Lumberknot
x1 Magnigoth Treefolk
x1 Oakgnarl Warrior
x1 Old Ghastbark
x1 Orchard Warden
x1 Seedcradle Witch
x1 Seedguide Ash
x1 Thorntooth Witch
x1 Timber Protector
x1 Treefolk Harbinger
x1 Treefolk Seedlings
x1 Unstoppable Ash
x1 Weatherseed Treefolk
x1 Wickerbough Elder
x1 Woodfall Primus
x1 Yavimaya Ancients
x1 Yew Spirit

Instants

x1 Reach of Branches
x1 Rootgrapple

Sorceries

x1 Hunting Triad

Enchantments

x1 Lignify
x1 Presence of Gond
x1 Vow of Duty
x1 Vow of Malice
x1 Vow of Wildness

Artifacts

x1 Accorder's Shield
x1 Armillary Sphere
x1 Crawlspace
x1 Golgari Signet
x1 Lightning Greaves
x1 Orzhov Signet
x1 Ring of Three Wishes
x1 Selesnya Signet
x1 Sol Ring

Lands

x1 Cavern of Souls
x1 Command Tower
x1 Evolving Wilds
x1 Fetid Heath
x1 Graypelt Refuge
x1 Godless Shrine
x1 Isolated Chapel
x1 Murmuring Bosk
x1 Opal Palace
x1 Overgrown Tomb
x1 Pine Barrens
x1 Salt Flats
x1 Stirring Wildwood
x1 Sunpetal Grove
x1 Temple Garden
x1 Terramorphic Expanse
x1 Twilight Mire
x1 Wooded Bastion
x1 Woodland Cemetery
x2 Plains
x3 Swamp
x14 Forest

I had fun with this. Everything is a wall until Doran comes to town, but that is not a bad thing in the slightest way possible. Now, almost all of the Treefolk in Doran's colors are green, however there are a couple in black and in white.

Verdeloth the Ancient  Timber Protector  Indomitable Ancients   

Doran's ability is one of the main parts of this deck, that and a Treefolk and Shaman tribal aspect. Verdeloth the Ancient and Timber Protector are used for a boost for the Treefolk creatures. Most of the Treefolk in the deck have power and toughness, not just toughness like with Doran.

Pretty much this whole deck is the simple concept of your creatures dealing damage equal to their toughness, and there is some token aspects, but overall, it's all about the toughness.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Commander Mondays (11/18/2013): Progenitus

Well, here we go with yet another deck. This time, we have Progenitus Super Friends! This could be fun!

Progenitus

Legendary Creatures (3)

x1 Progenitus (Commander)
x1 Child of Alara
x1 Ulasht, the Hate Seed

Creatures (14)

x1 Apocalypse Hydra
x1 Clockwork Hydra
x1 Feral Hydra
x1 Hydra Omnivore
x1 Kalonian Hydra
x1 Khalni Hydra
x1 Mistcutter Hydra
x1 Molten Hydra
x1 Phyrexian Hydra
x1 Phytohydra
x1 Primordial Hydra
x1 Protean Hydra
x1 Savageborn Hydra
x1 Vastwood Hydra

Instants (3)

x1 Bioshift
x1 Far//Away
x1 Ready//Willing

Sorceries (1)

x1 Armed//Dangerous

Enchantments (4)

x1 Aqueous Form
x1 Genju of the Realm
x1 Indestructibility
x1 Intangible Virtue

Planeswalkers (26)

x1 Ajani Goldmane
x1 Ajani Vengeant
x1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
x1 Chandra Nalaar
x1 Domri Rade
x1 Elspeth Tirel
x1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
x1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
x1 Garruk Relentless
x1 Garruk Wildspeaker
x1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
x1 Gideon Jura
x1 Jace Beleren
x1 Jace, Architect of Thought
x1 Jace, Memory Adept
x1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
x1 Koth of the Hammer
x1 Liliana Vess
x1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
x1 Ral Zarek
x1 Sarkhan Vol
x1 Sorin Markov
x1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
x1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
x1 Vraska the Unseen
x1 Xenagos, the Reveler

Artifacts (11)

x1 Batterskull
x1 Chromatic Lantern
x1 Crawlspace
x1 Defense Grid
x1 Elixir of Immortality
x1 Gilded Lotus
x1 Lightning Greaves
x1 Ring of Three Wishes
x1 Sol Ring
x1 Sensei's Divining Top
x1 Umezawa's Jitte

Lands (38)

x1 Blood Crypt
x1 Breeding Pool
x1 Cascade Bluffs
x1 Cavern of Souls
x1 Command Tower
x1 Evolving Wilds
x1 Exotic Orchard
x1 Fetid Heath
x1 Fire-Lit Thicket
x1 Flooded Grove
x1 Godless Shrine
x1 Graven Cairns
x1 Hallowed Fountain
x1 Mystic Gate
x1 Opal Palace
x1 Overgrown Tomb
x1 Rugged Prairie
x1 Sacred Foundry
x1 Steam Vents
x1 Stomping Ground
x1 Sunken Ruins
x1 Temple Garden
x1 Terramorphic Expanse
x1 Twilight Mire
x1 Watery Grave
x1 Wooded Bastion
x2 Plains
x1 Island
x1 Swamp
x1 Mountain
x7 Forest

So, in case you didn't know, a "Super Friends" deck is a deck that puts a lot of planeswalkers together.

I've put together a five color deck to maximize the number of planeswalkers available, and for that, I figured Progenitus would be a good commander, with Child of Alara as a secondary commander, and as another legendary creature, it's not a bad idea to drop in a legendary hydra that isn't Progenitus.

Child of Alara  Ulasht, the Hate Seed

So for starters, all the creature cards in this deck are hydras, which is why Cavern of Souls is included. Now, hydras seem to only come in two main colors: red and green. There is Phytohydra which has white, but otherwise, just red and green, so the mana base reflects this (and there is really more green than red...)

Hydra Omnivore  Phytohydra  Apocalypse Hydra  Clockwork Hydra  Feral Hydra  Phyrexian Hydra

Anyway, I'd like to say that the hydra bases are covered. We have dealing damage to multiple opponents with one strike, adding counters instead of damage, removing counters to deal damage, an artifact creature in the event of opponents having creatures with Intimidate, anyone able to put counters on a creature, all the way to Infect. The bases are mostly covered. But with all these creatures that have counters, Bioshift sounds great, so it's in here. Someone is about to destroy an attacking hydra with 8 counters? BOOM! Drop those counters onto another attacking hydra. Of course, Progenitus can't be touched and neither can Mistcutter, but with all these counters floating around, there HAS to be some way to use Bioshift.

Now, let's look at the Planeswalkers! These categories apply to why they were added, so their ultimate abilities typically don't count ultimate abilities, but I looked at what I could do the most with.

Tokens & Creatures

Tokens and creatures are a major thing that planeswalkers seem to dish out. You see them in White, Black, Red, and Green. So, Elspeth is great for tokens. All three versions give us tokens. Garruk Relentless/Garruk the Veil-Cursed, Garruk Wildspeaker, and Garruk, Primal Hunter produce tokens, and that's great. Gideon is a creature, essentially. Koth turns your lands into creatures. Sorin makes tokens and pumps creatures/tokens. Vraska, maybe we'll get to those assassins... and Xenagos gives Satyr tokens. All these tokens is why Intangible Virtue was added to the deck.

Mana Ramp

Mana ramp is any ability that allows you to obtain more mana in some way. Mana ramp comes in only three planeswalkers, and sure two of them deal with red, but it goes to the X cost... And Xenagos also does green. Garruk let's you untap two lands, which you could untap filter lands and tap them again producing 8 total mana from 4, which allows for a bigger creature being dropped.

Card Draw/Draw Control

This category applies to manipulating your top card (looking and moving, or searching, shuffling, and putting on top) or just plain drawing. Or both in one case... So, Domri shows you what your next card is if you don't get to grab a creature out of it, all of the Jaces involve either drawing cards, getting cards from piles created by opponents, or manipulating the card that's on the top of a library, Liliana has a second ability allowing you to search for a card and place it on top of your library, and Tamiyo lets you draw cards based on opponent's tapped creatures, (and can also allows you all the cards you want in your hand).

Creature Control & Creature/Permanent Manipulation

This is the category for tapping down creatures, untapping creatures. Manipulation involves counters or global effects for all your creatures, or just flat out controlling an opponent's creature. Ajani Goldmane puts counters on all creatures and gives them vigilance. Ajani Vengeant locks down permanents. Ajani, Caller of the Pride puts counters on creatures. Domri forces two creatures to fight. Elspeth, Knight-Errant gives creatures +3/+3 and flying. Garruk Relentless fights creatures while Garruk, the Veil-Cursed gives creatures a boost and trample. Gideon forces creatures to attack him. Jace, Architect of Thought gives opponent's creatures -1/-0. Nicol Bolas flat out steals creatures. Ral Zarek taps or untaps permanents. Sarkhan Vol gives creatures +1/+1 and haste for a turn or steals a creature for a turn. Tamiyo locks down permanents. Vraska destroys any creature that deals combat damage to her.

Destruction

And, our final category, anything that just flat out destroys stuff... We have Ajani Vengeant for his Lightning Helix ability. Chandra Nalaar for destroying creatures or dealing one damage to small creatures. Elspeth, Sun's Champion destroys all creatures with power 4 or greater, which will suck for our hydras, but that's not the main reason she's here; that's just in case. Gideon destroys tapped creatures, Nicol Bolas destorys non-creatures, Ral Zarek deals three damage which can destroy some creatures. Sorin Markov deals damage to creatures or players. Vraska destroys anything that attacks her or can destroy nonland permanents.


So, there you have it, a wide array of planeswalker abilities (some not mentioned), but the deck seems well rounded enough with abilities, and the mana exists that can produce all these colors. I even did math on how many mana symbols involved planeswalkers and creatures and worked accordingly with percentages, which is why there is one more Plains than Mountains.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Commander Mondays (11/11/2013): Edric, Spymaster of Trest

\NOTE: Yes, it's late. I know. Still trying to play catch up. I won't be doing 4 original EDH decks in one month again, because it's obvious I can't meet that sort of time table.

Hm... Blue, Green, and you get to draw cards as long as a creature deals damage to one of your opponents, you get to draw a card. So, this benefits your opponents in multiplayer matches too because they'll not want to attack you based on them getting to draw cards. Let's play on this a bit, because we could just sit back and have some fun with this...

Edric, Spymaster of Trest


Legendary Creatures

x1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest (Commander)
x1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
x1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
x1 Experiment Kraj
x1 Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
x1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
x1 Omnath, Locus of Mana
x1 Thassa, God of the Sea

Creatures

x1 Aetherling
x1 Arbor Elf
x1 Baloth Woodcrasher
x1 Civic Wayfinder
x1 Copperhorn Scout
x1 Deadeye Navigator
x1 Drove of Elves
x1 Elusive Krasis
x1 Elvish Archdruid
x1 Elvish Champion
x1 Elvish Mystic
x1 Elvish Piper
x1 Elvish Visionary
x1 Fyndhorn Elder
x1 Fyndhorn Elves
x1 Gaea's Herald
x1 Gladecover Scout
x1 Grazing Gladehart
x1 Horizon Chimera
x1 Invisible Stalker
x1 Jhessian Infiltrator
x1 Joraga Treespeaker
x1 Joraga Warcaller
x1 Llanowar Elves
x1 Latch Seeker
x1 Master Biomancer
x1 Murkfiend Liege
x1 Neurok Invisimancer
x1 Nissa's Chosen
x1 Overbeing of Myth
x1 Quirion Elves
x1 Roil Elemental
x1 Silhana Ledgewalker
x1 Spire Tracer
x1 True-Name Nemesis
x1 Windrider Eel

Instants

x1 Bioshift
x1 Cyclonic Rift

Sorceries

x1 Blessings of Nature
x1 Give//Take

Enchantments

x1 Aqueous Form
x1 Ordeal of Nylea
x1 Ordeal of Thassa
x1 Rancor
x1 Rites of Flourishing
x1 Vow of Flight
x1 Vow of Wildness

Artifacts

x1 Bow of Nylea
x1 Inquisitor's Flail
x1 Lightning Greaves
x1 Simic Keyrune
x1 Simic Signet
x1 Sol Ring
x1 Trepanation Blade

Planeswalkers

x1 Nissa Revane
x1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

Lands

x1 Breeding Pool
x1 Evolving Wilds
x1 Flooded Grove
x1 Ghost Town
x1 Hinterland Harbor
x1 Misty Rainforest
x1 Mutavault
x1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
x1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
x1 Simic Growth Chamber
x1 Simic Guildgate
x1 Temple of Mystery
x1 Terramorphic Expanse
x1 Vivid Creek
x1 Vivid Grove
x1 Yavimaya Coast
x6 Island
x14 Forest

This deck is really creature heavy, specifically when it comes to elves. Because Edric is an Elf, I figured we could do some green elf tribal. There is a lot more green than blue in this deck, so I reflected that in the land, and I added in both Evolving Wilds, Terramorphic Expanse, and even Misty Rainforest in order to make sure that blue source is reached.

As far as elf tribal goes, we have several creating green mana, and elves that affect other elves. Due to the green mana sources, I added in Omnath, Locus of mana just so that the mana has something to do and isn't wasted having the ability to make about 20 green mana and having no purpose for it.

Joraga Warcaller  Omnath, Locus of Mana  Elvish Archdruid

The blue in this deck is mainly for unblockable creatures allowing you to deal combat damage to opponents which will get the card draw from Edric's ability.

Invisible Stalker  Elusive Krasis  Neurok Invisimancer

Monday, November 4, 2013

Commander Mondays (11/4/2013): Kaalia of the Vast

"Everyone knows I'm in over my head..." - The Fray, "Over My Head"

NOTE: I'm catching up! Two left before I can fully catch up, just haven't had time. I'm on break next week, so hopefully I'll have time to finish the Edric, Spymaster of Trest deck, and then do this week's deck, which I'm not going to say what it is. I will say that it does happen to involve five colors...\

Without further ado, here is the Kaalia of the Vast deck I developed...


Kaalia of the Vast

Legendary Creatures

x1 Kaalia of the Vast (Commander)
x1 Oros the Avenger
x1 Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
x1 Aurelia, the Warleader
x1 Basandra, Battle Seraph
x1 Bladewing the Risen
x1 Gisela, Blade of Goldknight
x1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
x1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
x1 Ob Nixilis, the Fallen

Creatures

x1 Admonition Angel
x1 Akroma, Angel of Fury
x1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
x1 Alabaster Dragon
x1 Angel of Despair
x1 Angel of Salvation
x1 Angelic Skirmisher
x1 Blinding Angel
x1 Bogardan Hellkite
x1 Carnifex Demon
x1 Deathless Angel
x1 Dega Disciple
x1 Degavolver
x1 Demon of Death's Gate
x1 Desecration Demon
x1 Divinity of Pride
x1 Firemane Avenger
x1 Flameblast Dragon
x1 Furyborn Hellkite
x1 Harvester of Souls
x1 Hellkite Charger
x1 Lord of the Void
x1 Mana-Charged Dragon
x1 Moonveil Dragon
x1 Mother of Runes
x1 Nobilis of War
x1 Shattered Angel
x1 Slumbering Dragon
x1 Thundermaw Hellkite
x1 Utvara Hellkite

Instants

x1 Boros Charm
x1 Executioner's Swing
x1 Hero's Downfall
x1 Lightning Bolt
x1 Lightning Helix
x1 Magma Jet
x1 Profit // Loss
x1 Wear // Tear

Sorceries

x1 Toil // Trouble

Enchantments

x1 Dark Favor
x1 Dega Sanctuary
x1 Deviant Glee
x1 Divine Favor
x1 Fervent Charge
x1 Madcap Skills
x1 True Conviction

Artifacts

x1 Elbrus, the Binding Blade
x1 Hammer of Purphorous
x1 Lightning Greaves
x1 Sol Ring
x1 Spear of Heliod
x1 Whip of Erebos

Lands

x1 Battlefield Forge
x1 Blackcleave Cliffs
x1 Blood Crypt
x1 Boros Garrison
x1 Cavern of Souls
x1 Caves of Koilos
x1 Clifftop Retreat
x1 Command Tower
x1 Dragonskull Summit
x1 Evolving Wilds
x1 Fetid Heath
x1 Godless Shrine
x1 Graven Cairns
x1 Isolated Chapel
x1 Lavaclaw Reaches
x1 Orzhov Basilica
x1 Opal Palace
x1 Rakdos Carnarium
x1 Rugged Prairie
x1 Sacred Foundry
x1 Sulfurous Springs
x1 Temple of Silence
x1 Temple of Triumph
x5 Plains
x5 Swamp
x5 Mountain

So, with Kaalia, everything is pretty much self-explanatory. You cast her, you attack with her, and then you drop really powerful angels, demons, or dragons onto the field. I did go a little more to the Angels and Dragons side of it, but I didn't find many Demons that suited my purpose, especially since one of my favorites, Griselbrand, is banned in this format. Can't use one of the best. However, my second favorite, Desecration Demon, gets a nice spot in this deck.

So, I won't go into too much about the deck, because obviously it has Angels, Demons, and Dragons.

Dega Cycle from Apocalypse

Dega Disciple  Dega Sanctuary  Degavolver

It is insanely hard actually finding anything that can interact with all three of these colors. I mean, consider all of the shards for a second. Pick one of them. Any of them will do. How many things are available for use? There are more than three legendary creatures, you have the Panorama lands from Shards of Alara, you have the Tri-Lands from the same set, and then you have a new commander deck put together and sold this year that involve the shard colors again. What do we have for these colors? Cycles for the wedges and the 2011 Commander decks. Not much to go on, but let's use these cards anyway because they have a nice interaction with the colors.

Theros Enchantment Artifacts


Hammer of Purphoros  Spear of Heliod  Whip of Erebos

Because. That's my reason. +1/+1, Haste, and Lifelink. Can't ask for more, and they have other cool abilities...

Elbrus, the Binding Blade

Elbrus, the Binding Blade  Withengar Unbound

I actually took out Sarkhan the Made to put this in the deck. Not only do you get to have fun multiplayer shenanigans with Withengar Unbound, but he's a demon, not that he can actually be played for free with Kaalia, but he fits the deck's tribal element flavor. I regret nothing.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Star City Games Invitation Qualifier Deck

So, over the weekend, I went to my first non-FNM/Game Day/Prerelease MTG tournament, and it was an IQ at Star City Games in Roanoke, VA. First of all, I thought the inside of the largest MTG sellere would have been a bit different, but it was pretty much a bunch of tables, a couple counters with sleeves, deck boxes, and playmats, and then a giant warehouse in the back. You can buy anything there, but you direct clerks to what you want, and they order it from themselves on the website, and someone brings your order out to you once they've picked it up from the back.

Anyway, here is the deck (18th place of 36 players, by the way):

G/W Aggro (Green/White)

18th Place, Star City Games IQ: Roanoke, VA 26 October 2013

Creatures

x4 Soldier of the Pantheon
x4 Sylvan Caryatid
x4 Fleecemane Lion
x2 Fiendslayer Paladin
x4 Loxodon Smiter
x2 Boros Reckoner
x1 Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
x1 Archangel of Thune
x1 Kalonian Hydra
x3 Mistcutter Hydra

Land

x4 Temple of Mystery
x4 Temple Garden
x2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
x7 Plains
x1 Island
x4 Forest

Other Spells

x4 Aqueous Form
x4 Unflinching Courage

Planeswalkers

x1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
x2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
x1 Garruk, Caller of the Beast

Sideboard

x3 Imposing Sovereign
x2 Fabled Hero
x4 Fog
x2 Savage Summoning
x2 Scavenging Ooze
x2 Pithing Needle

So, we have a bit of mana ramp involved here, with Sylvan Caryatid and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx.

Sylvan Caryatid  Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

With all the Thoughtseize and Hero's Downfall action, we want things to stick. Loxodon Smiter has to stay in our hand, and then Fiendslayer Paladin is protected from Black and Red. Fleecemane Lion also has assurance against spells once it is monstrous.

Loxodon Smiter  Fiendslayer Paladin  Fleecemane Lion

Other things are in there for the purpose of aggro, such as Boros Reckoner, Mistcutter Hydra, and Kalonian Hydra. We also have a lifegain suite involved with Archangel of Thune and Trostani. Soldier of the Pantheon is great for all the multicolored action going around now.

Our only spells in the main deck are Aqueous Form (unblockable plus Scry 1) and then Unflinching Courage (lifegain and trample). Both of these are important to the deck, as we can easily boost a creature, and in the case of Fleecemane Lion, have a hexproof, indestructible, 6/6 lifelink trample creature, not that trample matters if it is unblockable.

Planeswalkers were added for tokens, and Garruke was specifically to drop creatures on the field.


The sideboard has a good purpose. If opponents have too many creatures filled with haste, we want them tapped, so we use Imposing Sovereign, and Fog to stop damage. Fabled Hero is in there for extra damage if we need some more aggro in the deck. Savage Summoning is important too since opponents like countering things, and this will land a creature on their turn and they can't do anything to stop it. Scavenging Ooze is only there if we need a boost because we find our creatures die easily, or if our opponent does a lot of creature trading with us. The last piece to the sideboard is Pithing Needles, because Pithing Needle is important for stopping abilities of planeswalkers or other creatures.

Imposing Sovereign  Fabled Hero

The blue included in this deck (Temple of Mystery and the one Island) is only included for the Aqueous Form. I found Sylvan Caryatids frequently get axed by Supreme Verdict, so a little bit of blue (and scry) is nice.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Commander Mondays (10/28/2013): Geist of Saint Traft

NOTE: I'm finally catching up. Only two weeks behind, but I think I'll come out of this with everything caught up in the next couple of weeks, but ideally I'll be caught up by next week. I just have a Kaalia of the Vast deck and an Edric, Spymaster of Trest deck to get to. Shouldn't be long. I had  a couple free hours to get this one done.



There are quite a few Commander/EDH decks that I want to build, and I've wanted to do something with Geist for a little while now. He's hexproof, he creates Angels that attack and disappear every turn, and he's all around quite an interesting commander, so let's see what awesome things we can do with this guy...

First and foremost, this deck will not focus on having cards solely from the past three years, so we have a much broader range with which to play with a deck. Additionally, this will not focus on any particular guild element like Detain or Forecast from Azorius. This will be a build open to using just about anything...

Geist of Saint Traft

Legendary Creatures

x1 Geist of Saint Traft (Commander)
x1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
x1 Medomai the Ageless
x1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Creatures

x1 Aegis Angel
x1 Aetherling
x1 Aetherplasm
x1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
x1 Angel of Jubilation
x1 Angel of Serenity
x1 Archangel of Thune
x1 Archon of Redemption
x1 Ascended Lawmage
x1 Augur of Bolas
x1 Banisher Priest
x1 Blind Phantasm
x1 Drogskol Captain
x1 Elgaud Shieldmate
x1 Hero of Bladehold
x1 Invisible Stalker
x1 Latch Seeker
x1 Lord of the Unreal
x1 Luminous Angel
x1 Phantasmal Bear
x1 Phantasmal Dragon
x1 Phantasmal Image
x1 Phantom General
x1 Phantom Warrior
x1 Sky Spirit
x1 Spectral Rider
x1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
x1 Spirit of the Hearth
x1 Thistledown Liege
x1 True Believer
x1 Twilight Drover
x1 Wall of Denial

Instants

x1 Midnight Haunting
x1 Overrule
x1 Path to Exile
x1 Vanish into Memory

Sorceries

x1 Preordain
x1 Spectral Procession

Enchantments

x1 Angelic Shield
x1 Aqueous Form
x1 Intangible Virtue
x1 Leyline of the Meek
x1 Leyline of Sanctity
x1 Oblivion Ring
x1 Promise of Bunrei
x1 Steel of the Godhead
x1 True Conviction

Artifacts

x1 Azorius Keyrune
x1 Azorius Signet
x1 Inquisitor's Flail
x1 Lightning Greaves
x1 Moonsilver Spear
x1 Sol Ring
x1 Umezawa's Jitte

Planeswalkers

x1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
x1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
x1 Venser, the Sojourner

Lands

x1 Adakar Wastes
x1 Azorius Chancery
x1 Azorius Guildgate
x1 Calciform Pools
x1 Celestial Colonade
x1 Command Tower
x1 Cloudcrest Lake
x1 Evolving Wilds
x1 Flood Plain
x1 Glacial Fortress
x1 Hallowed Fountain
x1 Kabira Crossroads
x1 Mistveil Plains
x1 Moonring Island
x1 Moorland Haunt
x1 Mystic Gate
x1 Nimbus Maze
x1 Opal Palace
x1 Prahv, Spires of Order
x1 Sejiri Refuge
x1 Soaring Seacliff
x1 Vivid Creek
x1 Vivid Meadow
x9 Plains
x6 Island

Unlike the Standard format EDH decks I built previously, this one is definitely going to cost more.

Geist of Saint Traft (at the time of this writing) is already around $16 because he's good. He can't be touched unless he's blocked, 3 mana for a commander is relatively cheap to pay out of the gate, and there is so much that can be done!

Let's start out taking a look at the other legendary creatures:

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV  Medomai the Ageless  Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is already pretty cool. He makes the things your opponents cast one more, and anything white for you costs one less, blue one less, and of course, hybrids or multicolored spells you cast would be two less. With him on the field, you could make Geist two less to cast each time you play him from the Command Zone (but hopefully you won't have to). Thalia is about the same purpose, making your opponents pay more for spells, and if she makes all noncreature spells cost more, Augustin IV will even it out. Medomai the Ageless allows extra turns, which means more damage directed at your opponents. Isn't that great?

Now let's look at the themes...

Unblockable

Invisible Stalker  Latch Seeker  Phantom Warrior

So the unblockable suite (of which only a three cards are representing above) was initially started because I wanted things with hexproof, and Invisible Stalker fit the bill, but why have just one unblockable creature? Why not add more?

Illusions

Lord of the Unreal  Phantasmal Dragon  Phantasmal Image

Illusions that get +1/+1 and hexproof? This keeps your Illusion creatures from vanishing because of their abilities. So you can copy some really sweet thing your opponent has with Phantasma Image, or you can start beating them with a 6/6 hexproof flying dragon. This is just pure awesome!

Tokens

Hero of Bladehold  Twilight Drover  Intangible Virtue

I like decks with tokens. You get to have so much fun with it. For instance, you have this pretty sweet combo in Geist of Saint Traft and Twilight Drover. No matter what happens, the 4/4 Angel token created by Geist is going to go away, so you get a counter on Twilight Drover. Granted you then need mana to take a counter off and put tokens on the field, but it works well. Add Intangible Virtue to the mix, and all 1/1 tokens are 2/2 tokens (there are more things like Intangible Virtue in the deck) and you then attack with 5/5 Angels whenever Geist attacks. Hero of Bladehold has a similar effect of attacking and putting 1/1 tokens on the field (which she already makes 2/1 and mix it with any of the creatures or enchantments that pump tokens, you're doing pretty well).

Lifegain

Archangel of Thune  Steel of the Godhead  True Conviction

I mean, why not? Archangel is a great creature, and you can then make it so even when blocked, Geist of Saint Traft still won't die because he is too powerful. Or, well, make him unblockable after lots of lifegain to deal all the commander damage to an opponent. Why did you think Umezawa's Jitte was in here? Oh, right, because it's so much better than just lifegain, but works great just with lifegain and Archangel of Thune.


Everything else, for the most part,works with all of these, whether it be illusions, lifegain, tokens, and also a spirit theme that pumps up spirit creatures (which works well with those spirit tokens). While a pretty expensive deck, it looks like it will work pretty well. If I can get all the cards for this, I may actually build it for play.