Skycaptain Kari Zev, Captain of the Sky! (Commander / EDH MTG Deck)

Skycaptain Kari Zev, Captain of the Sky!

Commander / EDH* Jank Mono-Red Multiplayer Stax Theme/Gimmick Voltron

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Artifact (39)

Land (33)

Creature (10)

Commander (1)

Enchantment (11)

Sorcery (4)

Planeswalker (2)

Maybeboard

Artifact (10)

Creature (4)

Land (1)

1x Dwarven Hold

Enchantment (2)

Planeswalker (1)

1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Description Under Construction

Seems like a lot of equipment right? That's why they call her "Kari".

Voltron, with focus on saboteur/block triggers and stax to keep opponents under control while you get as much going as possible. Somewhat tricky but not overly complex engines and interactions focused around artifacts, looting, and tap artifacts on endsteps to break synergy.

If they block win, if they don't still win. Still in development but very satisfied with current results. Plays differently yet memorably every game. The Enchantments are partially a meta call and should be adjusted to your LGS. Gauntlet of Might is devastating in power but unessential to the deck's functionality.

Glossary Under Construction Show

Specific Fun Interactions of a Particularly Piratey Nature Description Under Construction- Show

Details on some card inclusions and fun interactions with them.

Good Pirates Have Plans. Invasion Plans: Give's evasion by declaring all blockers on Ragavan. More importantly changes the entire boardstate in your favor, with most opponents frequently forgetting or being unable to understand the mechanics involved and no sources of vigilance you are able to force a whole new game. Becomes exceptional creature removal if there are threats Kari can first strike/deathtouch away, your opponents won't understand the Repercussions until its too late. Forces blockers then turns them into a big hand from Infiltration Lens or heroically turn your foes numbers against themselves using your Bestial Fury. In a deck that almost entirely based on block or unblocked triggers this may very often be a wincon.

Good Pirates Only Take The Best Deals Trading Post: Trade Ragavan at the local market for used, looted, or destroyed artifacts. Don't worry he'll always comes back. Also trades any useless trinkets (such as a tapped Mana Vault/Grim Monolith or any Orbs) into more fuel for the ship. True pirates know that loot is everything! Ragavan can also be sent to the post while looting to return with unnecessary artifacts, which are ideal for recycling once again into gas. Essential for any seasoned corsair who knows how important consistent sources of fuel are.

Good Pirates Have Swords Everyone knows that! Even Ragavan wields the mighty Hero's Blade.

Good Pirates Have Guns too! Ghirapur AEther Grid: Use equipment and otherwise useless artifacts as machine gun removal/damage. Same tap synergy as Inspiring Statuary but can also be used to tap Winter Orb, Static Orb, or Storage Matrix for one sided stax trickery on endsteps.

Good Pirates Remember To Salvage Scrap Trawler: Useful in almost any situation but becomes especially brilliant with a Trading Post and/or Pia's Revolution or any Engineers on board such as Daretti, Scrap Savant and his assistant deck:Goblin Welder. When looting bury treasure with no immediate use. Reclamations has a variety of ways to recover the booty, especially with the artifact living death Scrap Mastery. Quicksmith Genius is a very efficient way to dump artifacts on the field and yard at the simultaneously or set up some good interactions.

Good Pirates Go Down With A Bang Pia's Revolution: Most useful when played diplomatically, declare your target as someone either willing to allow you to have your swords back, or simply target the player who you've been attacking until they cannot afford to pay the iron price. Played for protection or to abuse Trading Post trickery, Engineering's secret cheese, or a big Scrap Mastery.

Good Pirates Loot Everything Quicksmith Genius: Is a decent body capable of looting through a deck for a reasonable investment. Can be translated into true card draw when combined with Reclamations. Especially Trading Post.

Good Pirates Have Boarding Parties Prophetic Flamespeaker: An oft ignored and undervalued source of everything you'd need. Double the triggers, capable of generating cards on its own, built in evasion, and can hit very hard. The perfect alternate swordsman.

Good Pirates "Kari" All The Swords They Can Armory Automaton: A newer, easier to use, faster, Vulshok Battlemaster who can still be used under a Torpor Orb and still remain significantly more flexible. Being an Artifact also greatly adds to Synergy.

Suggestions

Updates Add

Much better than expected. — May 20, 2017

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Out: Inspiring Statuary, Rogue's Gloves, Bomat Courier, Mountain

In: Portcullis, Chandra Flamecaller, Expedition Map, Command Beacon

Inspiring Statuary was nearly always becoming a dead drop. The benefits seemed obvious but never seemed to work out during play, although it may warrant another chance down the road. Rogue's Gloves have proven to be a slow reliable source of cards, but more often drew disproportionate attention. Bomat Courier is a cute and fun turn one but otherwise too slow in the later stages, his possibility as a cheap late game, fairly recurable, hastey sword carrier will give him more chances later on but at the moment the nagging uncertainty his exiled cards bring when he dies put him back into the binder.

I was a bit apprehensive of Portcullis due to its risky nature. I couldn't have been more wrong. Its such a powerful and unexpected play. Boards wipes will be expended simply to drop a creature and by the end of it you'll get at least one high five. Permitting only two creatures in a game of four players has an enormous impact on the nature of the boardstate. The deck produces more mana than expected and can afford to up its powerlevel a little, Chandra provides everything we are looking for. A source of hastey beaters to carry swords when we lack creatures, an upgraded wheel when we lack cards or need to fill the yard with artifacts, and a controllable boardwipe terrific for clearing away swarms of chumps when we lack strong evasion. Command Beacon is too straight forward to go into detail with, but pairs very strongly with Crucible of Worlds. Due to the utility of the landbase and the ease of retrieving artifacts Expedition Map will be going in, albeit primarily targeting Inventor's Fair. Can be used to get the following assortment of abilities from lands when needed: Haste, Damage, an Artifact Tapper, a Looter, Something To Loot, Hellbent Card Draw, Ramp, an Artifact, Artifact Tutor/Lifegain, Unblockable, and even Return Stolen Creatures.

Embarrassingly I've spent a lot Inventor's Fair searches for things that weren't Crucible of Worlds before I ever noticed the obvious synergy. It's very easy to miss card interactions when you constantly underestimate your own capabilities.

Although most who read this might not believe it, I've been playing this deck at EDH nights and either winning or placing second nearly every time I've played it at my old last LGS near LA, but had no idea how this would fair in my new San Diego Meta. Although the turnout for my first night was lackluster the caliber of decks were not. I never expected this would be capable of filling a fully optimized Sliver Overlord with such spite and scorn that they'd try scooping up during someone else's turn to deny me the points or turn a fully optimized Superfriends Atraxa into nothing more than a waste of saboteur triggers. This deck may not be budget, but I never imagined it would be a real match for 3K decks.

At one point during my first pod I was able to make such baller plays as to turn Ragavan into an artifact with Liquimetal Coating and Goblin Welder him into a (constantly destroyed) Winter Orb which I could tap on the endstep with Blinkmoth Well. Sadly it seems depending on where you go, players can be poor sports of genuinely fair and convoluted strategies. While I love the way the deck plays, (and most observers and opponents do) there is a significant chance at earning the table's ire with even one or two disruptive cards like Torpor Orb or Stranglehold. Its unfortunate but if you do plan to play any sort of preventative countermeasures you must be ready to accept genuine hatred. Nothing upsets nerds more than taking away their toys. Next week I'll probably play my Blue Braids there instead.

Good Luck and never let someone tell you Mono-red is bad.

Ideas — March 2, 2017

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Testing Going Well — Feb. 27, 2017

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Date added	7 years
Last updated	7 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 23 - 0 Uncommons 5 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.52
Tokens	Elemental 3/1 R, Emblem Daretti, Scrap Savant, Goat 0/1 W, Human 2/2 G, Ragavan, Wolf 2/2 G
Folders	commander, EDH, Interesting Commander Decks
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