MTG Combo: Lightning Greaves + Swiftfoot Boots

meatsmith on

6 years ago

SeekerofSecrets Oh, I don't think for a minute that you can't handle it. and the reason i play is the same reason you stated: mental stimulation.

I have see a lot of people try to make the transition from a more conventional format to EDH and others, and have heard many say it's too slow, or the decks are ridiculously OP, etc... just know that it is different, and i think that is lost on a lot of transitioning players.

Before I started EDH, I was more if a limited and modern player with a penchant for brewing. Modern is not a friendly environment for brewers, and my collection was more geared towards odd, niche cards that did well in commander... so i just slipped right into it, and i haven't looked back. It is IMO the best format to play if you like complexity, rather than just repeatable and rote combos... though the pre-made combos do exist in EDH.

Regarding your deck, and Suns_Champion's suggestion to dip to 25 lands is a really bad suggestion to follow. you need at least 36 lands for Zur, just to be sure you get your stuff out.

and i am noticing that your mana base is way out of whack. lighten up on the blue sources a bit, and and a bit more white and black. :)

you do need Kismet. it isn't going to get out with Zur, but you do need that to lock everyone out. But, if you want a really awesome lock-out card that will work with Zur's ability, and you want to live up to Zur's full-asshole nature... Stasis.

Yeah, Stasis has an upkeep, but you should have enough blue sources to manage at least two turn cycles.

Also, though it is an artifact, Winter Orb is perfect to lock out the game. It is 2cmc, and can come out turn 1 with a Sol Ring aiding it. WinOrb locks down the game for everyone, and can induce whinging, crying, and wide-spread scooping.

they scoop; you win. :)

Champion is right about nixing some of the creatures, and the suggestions of Blind Obedience and Rhystic Study are both really good. they work really well in this kind of deck.

Necropotence is a Zur staple, but it may not be what you are going for. Still a great card: cheap to pick up and never a bad buy.

In addition to Lightning Greaves + Swiftfoot Boots , you may want to get a Whispersilk Cloak, which you will see is a great back-up to the greaves. Greaves is strictly better than both of those cards.

Speaking of artifacts... a Strionic Resonator is great with Zur. for... reasons.

Razulghul on Salty Sac

8 years ago

Thanks for the feedback!

@freakman13 How many lands would you cut? I normally run 34 but I kept running into problems with my avg cmc being so high missing land drops really hurts. Any specific mana rocks you recommend? There's a lot of colored mana needed so I'm considering Gilded Lotus at the very least.

I removed Animate Dead + Necromancy + Reanimate to try out more repeatable options Dawn of the Dead + Mimic Vat + Strands of Night since my single target Reanimated creatures kept getting removed. Maybe I'll add in Lightning Greaves + Swiftfoot Boots and try again.

It That Betrays might be a good call, as a beater it's great. I'm a little about it not having an immediate effect, should I find a spot for All Is Dust if he gets included?

@joshuaizac Lol Stone age of magic maybe, but Insidious Dreams and Sickening Dreams were both in earlier version. I'm having trouble making up for the loss in card advantage though, maybe if I can make Grave Defiler work for the deck Insidious Dreams might pay off a little more.

As for Last Rites, how do you feel about Volrath's Dungeon? I picked one up but haven't tried it yet, it seems like it could be pretty brutal though as a one time effect: target player skips next X draws and opponent takes 5 damage. Not bad for 4 mana I'm thinking.

TheProxyCentral on Marchesa, I guess

8 years ago

Hey, I found you through your comment on AlexRuzhyo deck, so I figured I should take a look and try and help as I can.

First of all, I gotta ask: How's Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded doing for you? It's a weird one, but I always hope someone pulls something crazy off with him! :)

I made my deck as budget as could be - about 50 to 60$ paid for the cards I didn't own, including a few foils - so it might be of interest for you to check some of my synergies. You can check them out here

Then, to the tips:

• Most important of all < 30 lands is impossible for a reliable commander deck. At least for a Marchesa deck, definitely. You need to run at least 34, and even so, I would recommend 36 to 38 still depending on a few mana rocks and a lower end of the curve.

• I'd definitely cut the following: Endless One, Hanweir Watchkeep  ^Flip, Kozilek's Channeler, Leaden Myr, Oblivion Sower, Opaline Unicorn, Shivan Dragon, Dolmen Gate, Ruby Medallion, Reduce in Stature, Chant of the Skifsang and Deathstroke. For all of these there is a much better, not to expensive alternative, or they simply do not fit the strategy (see Endless One for instance: if it dies with Marchesa on the field, it will come back a 0/0 and die again). 7 of those should make way for lands according to your colour needs. As for the rest, I'll leave you some suggetions so you can pick and choose those that fit your style better if you want to change things around.

• Imprisoned in the Moon: I understand that your enchantments were meant to deal with generals, most ot the time. This is a strict improvement to that, and they will not be able to use most sac outlets later to redirect the general to the Command Zone, since it will become a land. Either they have a way to sack it right away, or they will have to deal with the enchantment.

• Unspeakable Symbol: It's recursion anytime you want, it protects Marchesa as well, and allows you to have a way to actively lower your life total enabling dethrone. A must include in any Marchesa deck IMO.

• Lightning Greaves + Swiftfoot Boots are auto includes in almost any commander deck. In here they keep Marchesa out of sight the turn she comes in, and allow her to attack with dethrone, gaining her counter and, this way, further protection.

• Flayer of the Hatebound: Is one of the biggest recursive threats you can have in Marchesa. It won't stop coming back and it will take over most games in a friendly playgroup. Even in competitive tables, it will do a lot of damage and require your opponents to throw a lot of resources to get rid of it.

• Greed + Phyrexian Reclamation : There will be times you need to lower your life total, these allow you to do it at anytime you want, giving you fair advantage for that life loss.

• Grave Betrayal is a huge warning. No opponent will attack when they feel a trade might happen, since that would only give you an additional creature, and the +1/+1 counter will make it stay on your field for a long time. One of my personal favourites in the Marchesa deck.

• You'll probably need to lower your curve a bit, so you might wanna look into some utility cheap creatures like Mausoleum Wanderer which in conjuction with Marchesa and Unspeakable Symbol might turn into a recursive hard counterspell, Carrion Feeder which fits the strategy and works as a sac outlet whenever you need it, the same can be said for Viscera Seer and Oona's Blackguard that will enforce the bit of discard you already run. Depending on how much sacrifice you rely on Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat might be worthy inclusions too. At 3 CMC Pyreheart Wolf is often a game ender, and it pretty much doesn't die and Grim Haruspex provides you incremental card draw.

• If you need removal, look into Attrition, Murder, Murderous Cut, Nekrataal, Shriekmaw, or the new Unlicensed Disintegration or Noxious Gearhulk, the choice is yours depending on your preferences or expected threats from your opponents. The good thing about removal in the form of creatures is that Marchesa can get them back most of the time, and Attrition being a sac outlet is a way of speeding and forcing that recursion on your terms, as well. From this pool I'd take Attrition + Noxious Gearhulk and maybe Unlicensed Disintegration

• As you play a few mana dorks, if you want some fixing, look into Burnished Hart, if you can abuse some effect by recurring it with Marchesa, it's an incremental advantage you should consider instead of fragile options that just are what they are, and don't give you anything else on the long term, neither contribute to the general gameplan.

• Finally, these might be above your budget and are not absolutely must-haves because they don't win on their own, but still I gotta note them because they're really strong: Glen Elendra Archmage is perfect here since +1/+1 counters cancel -1/-1 counters and that makes it as durable as can be as both a flying threat and a counterspell. Drana, Liberator of Malakir gives you an incrementally better board state while making everything virtually indestructible with Marchesa on the field, Baleful Strix is a jack of all trades - strict improvement to your Fathom Feeder

I don't think there's much point in throwing more cards onto the pool, since you'll have a lot to figure and test from what I already wrote, but if you need any further advice feel free to get in touch! Most important of all right now is to fix that mana base! :)

I hope I could help both building a better deck and making you enjoy it better when you play it!

GoldenDiggle on Rollin in Saps

8 years ago

Thank you for the suggestions pskinn01!

Genesis, Vigor, Asceticism, Illusionist's Bracers, Spike Weaver, and Lightning Greaves + Swiftfoot Boots all definitely seem like good options, but I don't know what to remove... Martyr's Bond is a favorite of mine, but I use it too much already.

I like Shinewend, Mephidross Vampire, Creakwood Liege, Craterhoof Behemoth, and Phyrexian Altar, but I dont know if there is room for them in what I like doing with the deck.

I need better graveyard manipulation, but Eternal Witness doesn't type too well with the beck, but I could be wrong. Mikaeus is good, but I need cheaper ways of removing counters, or his recursion won't work.

Doubling Season and Earthcraft are amazing in this deck, someday I hope to have the money to get them.

TheCenterOfTheUniverse on Extreme Budget No-Scoping - M19 Updated!

8 years ago

The Reason I don't use Lightning Greaves + Swiftfoot Boots and now Mask of Avacyn isn't the price, it's the fact that this is the text for equipping: N: Attach to TARGET creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery. Thanks for the other suggestions though!