I saw your Damia list as well... which would you prefer as a more fun/competitive deck? My group is very competitive and I am a fan of combo but fun as well... let me know your thoughts... both decks are awesome! Just wondering which is more fun in your opinion since I like both

@ibTRUE: It really depends on what you think you'd enjoy better.

I haven't had the chance to playtest this deck, and I have so few opportunities to actually get involved with Magic IRL that I don't think I ever will be able to really play this one.

However, Dominus - Dreamcrusher Edition was the deck that I carried through most of my Magic career (I only started playing when SOM came out), and I enjoy it immensely. In my opinion, it requires a greater deal of finesse because you need to be extremely cautious about how and when you combo (and which combo you use; picking the wrong cards with Tooth and Nail or tapping mana the wrong way can leave you stranded without an actionable win condition).

This deck, on the other hand, seems more foolproof. When you mill out, you have access to all of your options, and the combo is pretty straightforward.

Have you thought of Leyline of Sanctity. I'm not sure if it is good in competitive EDH but it offers protection.

Leyline of Sanctity isn't great in EDH. Most decks have a way around it, and it takes up an important slot.

Is there a reason why you have fetch lands?

Fetchlands get the ABUR duals, such as Tundra. This means they are great mana fixing.

1. Fetchlands can get any land with basic land types (20 of my other lands).
2. Fetchlands provide color fixing.
3. Fetchlands are nonbasic; I can't run basic lands with Hermit Druid.

Have you considered Prognostic Sphinx?

Necrotic Ooze will be able to protect itself while you combo off the Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker Combo (if you're forced to do that combo instead of Spikeshot Elder).

It also lets you discard combo pieces that you may have drawn.

Just a thought.

...nevermind. I see you have Putrid Imp for discarding, and Although Hexproof is nice, it's hardly necessary... each token you generate can repeat the cycle, even if they have killed the original.

I still like the card for the deck, but Putrid Imp is a 1-Drop that you may actually cast during the setup. - A 5-Drop Prognostic Sphinx is not likely to be at all useable before you 'go-off'.

I think Child of Alara is another suitable option for a Commander for this deck. - The main goal being that it provides all colors, but it tends to draw less hate than Sliver Queen or Scion of the Ur-Dragon, while giving a valid 'Reset Button'.

I still prefer Cromat as you can allow it to go to the graveyard to give Necrotic Ooze all those abilities, but The Child is certainly some peoples preferred play style.

Have you ever played a mirror match....? how to you ensure the win against it?

Perhaps killing the combo with a 'split second' card.

Sudden Death - Killing the Ooze
Extirpate - Getting rid of the Ooze (or other combo piece) after Dread Return targets it.
Sudden Spoiling - Turning a combo piece into a useless creature... though I don't think this one works, as they just win with any combo at the beginning of the next upkeep.

• If you know you are up against a mirror match, you can tutor one of these up instead of a combo piece to ensure they can't beat you to the win.

Rayenous: The point of the combo is once Dread Return resolves you never pass priority. So split second does nothing to help you.

@enpc

I did forget about that part... but Extirpate still stops the combo, and can't be countered by spells to activated abilities.

Alternatively, you could find something to force a card draw in response to the Dread Return being cast.

May as well run Scavenging Ooze at that point. On the whole, you don't see many devoted druid decks. Not to mention I don't think Epoch actually owns this one. So the real life mirror match question is a bit moot. And at the end of the day, Swan Song to just counter the Dread Return seems like an overall more effective card. And more useful in other circumstances.

it might be too much mana, but Recoup could be good here, in case your Dread Return gets disrupted, so you can flashback another reanimation spell.

I would run Scholar of Athreos over Spikeshot Elder because it gets around Leyline of Sanctity.

I've kind of drifted from this deck (largely because I don't own it), but I suppose I should come back to it every now and then.

I'm not really sure how to deal with the mirror. There are options, sure, but I don't know which is most viable because I don't actually have testing experience with this deck.

@PlattBonnay: Recoup is less optimal than running another reanimator spell because I'd need to have Recoup in hand in order for it to be economically viable. And I likely wouldn't target Dread Return with it; I'd pick Reanimate because of the cost difference.

@Orbrunner: The change has been made in spirit if not in actuality. I stuck Scholar of Athreos in the maybeboard and never actually edited the deck itself.

I saw the name, pressed control + F, searched for Hermit Druid, left the page.

And then came back to post, eh?

Yeah, it's kind of cheap, but I play in highly competitive metas, so I want to play decks that are hard to beat and quick to win.

Yeah, kinda. I knew you had a Hermit Druid deck anyways (you and your competitive meta), it was only a matter of finding it.

Replace Spell Pierce with any counter that doesn't require payment, like Dream Fracture.

@Quicksilver: Spell Pierce is extremely good at winning counter wars in early turns. Opponents will rarely have the mana to pay for it. Dream Fracture is far too expensive for this deck.

What can be done to stop this monster?

Force of Will the Dread Return with a Pact of Negation/Swan Song in hand. That's about it.