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The Misfits (Superfriends EDH Primer)

Commander / EDH Combo Goodstuff Superfriends

Zypharia


Sideboard


Maybeboard


OUT OF DATE: UPDATE COMING SOON

War is Coming

Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

Welcome to my Superfriends EDH Primer!

This deck is probably my favorite deck I own as I love planeswalkers! Though it does get harder and harder to make additions as I'm starting to get to a point of contentment, but with every new planeswalker, there's always the possibility of a new addition.

Now this primer will cover two major things: The Planeswalkers and Win Conditions

I will cover the other cards, but only briefly as they are honestly up to the player and how they want to play a deck like this.

So the first thing we'll cover is the cards that help my planeswalkers. This can mean making them harder to kill, ultimate faster, etc. So let's start looking at them!

And now to the most important part of a superfriends deck, the Hangarback Walker s! But in all seriousness, it isn't a superfriends deck without planeswalkers. I'll explain how they are important or why they found a spot into this deck. Also if you notice a notable exclusion from the list, it's likely because I don't own one yet, or I didn't care to run it. Though suggestions are still welcomed!

  • Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
    • Some may think this a weird inclusion, but I believe it fits right at home in this deck. First of all, it's first plus acts as buffing for my commander, Sisay, Weatherlight Captain , to go and search out larger planeswalkers. As well, the second plus is just good card advantage/selection and the ultimate can be an easy save from a certain deck in my meta or just getting down really low.
  • Ajani Steadfast
    • Ajani is an interesting addition as many wouldn't think it a great addition, but when paired with Sisay, Weatherlight Captain , it makes it easier to tutor for bigger CMC planeswalkers. As well, his minus is just good value, and the ultimate is great protection against aggro and stompy decks.
  • Ajani, Strength of the Pride
    • Ajani is an interesting addition in this deck and as of writing this, is mostly for testing. His plus is life gain that benefits off my planeswalkers and tokens, which also benefits his minus token of Ajani's Pridemate . His "ultimate" is cool as it acts as a boardwipe for not only creatures but artifacts too and it's mostly one sided. I think he just makes a great utility card and is a fine addition to the team.
  • Ajani Unyielding
    • This version of Ajani is a lot more obvious of an addition as it's great card "draw", solid creature removal, and has an ultimate that basically says "all planeswalker you control can also ultimate."
  • Ashiok, Dream Render
    • Especially in my meta, stopping tutor effects can be absolutely back-breaking to some decks. And the mill is solid (usually I use it on myself), but the exile effect is great baked in graveyard hate for combo decks that rely on it.
  • Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
    • OG Ashiok is just fun as it's plus can mess with some tutor effects and also exile some key cards if you're lucky. The minus is also sometimes fun if you hit a spicy creature, and the ultimate can easily set you up for a win.
  • Chandra, Fire Artisan
    • I'm going to be honest about this addition, I really included it mostly because I love the art. Chandra is my favorite planeswalker (despite red being my least favorite color), and this art is beautiful. Though the card itself is actually pretty solid by basically drawing a card with the plus and drawing 7 with the ultimate. While it is immediate with the cards you exile in when you play them, I still think it's a solid addition.
  • Chandra, Torch of Defiance
    • Card "draw", ramp, removal, and a potentially game-winning ultimate. There's a ton to love about this Chandra (especially the art).
  • Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
    • For some reason, I seem to draw Daretti more than any other planeswalker, but it doesn't mean he's bad. His plus makes tokens for protection, but that can also fuel his minus that is creature removal, and his ultimate can just be fun if you copy something like Sol Ring , but can become broken if you copy something like Wurmcoil Engine or Blightsteel Colossus .
  • Elspeth, Knight-Errant
    • Other than having amazing art, Elspeth provides a very large buff to my commander to allow for a significant increase into what I can tutor, and her other plus is nice for some chump blockers. Her ultimate also makes it much harder to kill me if all my little chumpers are now impossible to kill.
  • Elspeth, Sun's Champion
    • This Elspeth takes a different approach by being more aggressive. She makes a ton of tokens, boardwipes, then buffs her tokens with the ultimate (which also happens to still avoid her boardwipe).
  • Garruk, Apex Predator
    • Garruk is the ultimate planeswalker destroyer (ironic, I know), but he also makes some very nice blockers if no planeswalkers (other than yours) are around. He also has a solid creature removal minus, and a very aggro/stompy friendly emblem (for your opponents).
  • Jace, the Mind Sculptor
    • Probably one of the most infamous walkers to ever be made, and despite being generally weaker in EDH, he still definitely deserves a spot in this deck. If we look at him at face value, he's a Brainstorm for 4 mana, but he can be repeated several times, as long as he sticks. If he needs more survivability, he also has his fateseal/scry plus that can be extremely useful. And the other relevant ability is his Unsummon minus ability. Now, all of those abilities are really nice and generally will be all he does, but if you can get to his ultimate, it can be used in two different ways. The first and most obvious and exiling an opponent's deck and them losing when they draw, however, EDH is a multiplayer format. My personal favorite way of using his ultimate is exiling your own library and having Jace, Wielder of Mysteries out and winning off of that. Overall, Jace is a great utility walker with a very fringe game-winning ultimate.
  • Jace, Unraveler of Secrets
    • Has a solid card draw ability for guaranteed value, with a more-helpful-than-it-seems bounce ability. His ultimate, if you get there, won't immediately win you the game, but your opponents are basically two-for-one'd on every single spell.
  • Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
    • I'll talk more about this Jace in the next section, but he has a solid card draw ability, and a win condition stapled on him.
  • Karn, the Great Creator
  • Liliana, Dreadhorde General
    • Liliana provides a safety net of sorts for my very few creatures by making them less advantageous to kill as I get a card draw, and it doesn't say non-token either which is a bonus. Her plus is the basic token-making ability, but her minus provides a pseudo-boardwipe if the battlefield is filled with only a few determinantal creatures. However, her ultimate is a straight up boardwipe, of not only every nonland permanent but even lands too. I was hesitant to put her in this deck originally but after several games, she has really shown her worth as a notable inclusion.
  • Nahiri, the Harbinger
    • Nahiri is the basic card draw plus, removal minus, which is solid in its own right. But when you also give her a creature tutoring ultimate, she becomes much more useful. Her ultimate is really useful because she's so unassuming that often you can get to it, which I usually would follow with a hasty Narset, Enlightened Master to get the most off the ability but I have since removed Narset from this deck for too slow outside this situation. And Nahiri can get any creature so it isn't limited to just Narset, but something like Spark Double or Planebound Accomplice could also be solid choices, but with the removal of Narset, Nahiri will likely see a cut soon for the new walkers.
  • Narset, Parter of Veils
    • Oh the infamous Narset, and I'm not talking about the Azorious one. This Narset is quite the show stopper, making her an immediate threat to most decks. Her card draw limiting ability does wonders if you can keep her alive, and her minus is just a cherry on top. Often she'll be kill-on-sight for a lot of playgroups, but sometimes that can be used to your advantage to try and use her as bait to keep another planeswalker alive to get closer to their ultimate.
  • Narset Transcendent
    • Speaking of the Azorious Narset, here she is. While not as threatening as the other Narset, she's still a force to be reckoned with. Her plus is a smaller version of the other Narset's minus, and her minus can be useful when used alongside tutors or targeted removal. Her ultimate is devastating for almost all control decks but isn't so unfair as to make most people concede (and never play with you again).
  • Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
    • The "last" big bad Bolas card is likely one of his strongest. Let's ignore the static for now and look at his abilities. He immediately comes out the gate with straight card draw as well as hand exiling or permanent exiling which is probably one of the best card draw pluses I've seen. His minus is Dreadbore and that's already a solid removal card in / as it provides versatile removal. However, the real show-stopper is his ultimate, which is a win condition and a strong one at that. Now, this already amazing walker with just these three abilities has a static ability that gives him ALL OTHER PLANESWALKER ABILITIES ON THE BATTLEFIELD! Like seriously, he really is a god, or I suppose was a god...
  • Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
    • The amount of groans I get from this guy is honestly hilarious. I don't think he's as groan-worthy as some on this list, but he does upset people a bit, if not only for the fact he Stolen Goods your opponents. His hand exile is also nice later in the game, and the damage minus is rarely used, but his ultimate is kind of lackluster in the sense that when compared to Liliana, Dreadhorde General it doesn't do much other than boardwipe. I still like the card and his plus two is fun.
  • Rowan Kenrith
    • One of the two Kenrith twins, and in my honest opinion, the more powerful of the two in this deck. Now hear me out before you start to disagree with me, but think about it. Many of the planeswalkers in this deck have powerful abilities, but what if they were doubled. Rowan has innate protection in the fact she can tutor up her brother who is a hoser for some decks, and when she ultimates, it makes life a lot more interesting. Her emblem double all activated abilities, including planeswalkers abilities. While her plus and minus might make it easier for her to die, her ultimate is almost always worth it.
  • Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
    • Basically Saheeli reads "All planeswalkers enter with a 1/1 Servo" which is pretty nice in itself. Her minus is rarely used but can be useful in several situations, especially with Daretti's tokens.
  • Tamiyo, Collector of Tales
    • Tamiyo found a spot in this deck mainly because of a certain player in my playgroup. He loves discard and sacrifice effects like Plaguecrafter so Tamiyo was a no-brainer inclusion. Her plus is very volatile, but actually can be useful alongside Sensei's Divining Top and even without that, putting them to the graveyard is nice as she herself can Regrowth them back.
  • Tamiyo, Field Researcher
    • Imagine the groans from Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh but times 10. This Tamiyo is a beast of a card because her ultimate provides an impossible-to-remove Omniscience effect. Her plus and minus are nice too, but everyone really knows why she's in this deck.
  • Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
    • Probably the most powerful Tamiyos because the sum of her parts makes her very frustrating to play against. Her plus is denial on permanents, which many probably know is much worse than just creatures. While yes, the plus usually gets used on creatures, sometimes denial of cards like Gaea's Cradle or Diamond Valley , can be backbreaking. Her minus is also particularly good against aggro or combat focused decks, but her ultimate is the real icing on the cake, allowing every planeswalker you have to always be resurrected and all your instants and sorceries to basically have free buyback. It's a nasty ultimate and I love it.
  • Teferi, Temporal Archmage
    • With this inclusion, I imagine several of you expect some kind of combo or something, but that just isn't the case. Teferi is just in here because he's a solid card. He's got a selective card "draw" plus, and a really useful minus. His ultimate, even though it's rarely reached, it also a great addition to the deck as it basically allows each planeswalker to use their abilities 4 times before my next turn (if playing a full multiplayer game) and that can be devastating depending on the planeswalker.
  • Teferi, Time Raveler
    • Another great Teferi, and for multiple reasons (like every other planeswalker). His static is probably the main reason I included him, making control decks less reactionary and basically making my planeswalkers uncounterable. His plus is fine, though often is underused, and his minus can be quite useful if need be, wrapping him up to be a solid planeswalker.
  • Tezzeret, Artifice Master
    • Surprisingly the only Tezzeret I'm running, but that's mainly because the rest are very artifact dependent, and I'm quite light on artifacts in this deck. However, this Tezz is very good on his own, as his abilities don't require any artifacts, or just get better if you have them. His plus creates not only a blocker, but an artifact as well which can fuel his zero ability to draw more cards. His ultimate is a Planar Bridge , which is crazy if you think about all the different targets. He's basically a full package that has a great payoff.
  • Venser, the Sojourner
    • Venser was never really a must have for me in this deck until Modern Horizons came out. For the most past, Venser is used to blink walkers to save them, or creatures for extra enter the battlefield effects, and his minus is almost never used. If you got his ultimate, it could quickly get out of hand because you'd eventually have to exile your own stuff. But with Modern Horizons came Planebound Accomplice and works perfectly with Venser, making planeswalkers basically cost .
  • Vraska, Golgari Queen
    • The most regal of all the Vraska's and she definitely deserve that title. Her plus is not only card draw, but lifegain and a sacrifice outlet if need be. Her minus is Abrupt Decay and her ultimate is just Vraska the Unseen 's ultimate, but stapled to every creature you have or will have. And the effect never goes away, because it's granted by an emblem, making her a much better inclusion than Vraska the Unseen .
  • Vraska, Relic Seeker
    • The only other Vraska I have in here, and it's because she proves her worth. Token making plus, a solid removal minus, and a basically kill the opponent ultimate. Not much else to say really.
  • Will Kenrith
    • The second and final twin of the Kenrith bunch, and outside this deck, generally the most powerful. His plus is crazy good as the removal of abilities shuts off commanders and utility creatures. His minus provides the general card draw, but also a great discount to my planeswalkers. The ultimate, while not as great as his sister's, is pretty great, and usually, I get two as I try to always ultimate Rowan first.
A lot of people always look at superfriends decks and ask the question, "How does it win though?" Great question, Timmy! Well, it's not anything too spectacularly crazy, I have multiple win conditions and infinite combos to get me to a win. This deck is very "slow" in the sense that it takes time to get to the win condition. And I don't mean turns, but usually several minutes of going through different lines of play to get to one of these wins.

This is just a list for me personally to keep track of what cards I want to switch out for future cards I may pick up at some point.
  • Nahiri, the Harbinger -> Aminatou, the Fateshifter
    • Nahiri has kinda been subpar in general when played. Often I don't feel like rummaging and her removal is too situational to always be useful. Her ultimate is almost completely useless as I don't have enough bomb creatures or artifacts to justify her. Aminatou has a great draw ability and her blink is extremely useful in several situations. Ultimate is unnecessary as she is cheap enough to be viewed as purely utility.
  • Winds of Abandon -> Chandra, Awakened Inferno
    • Now this seems like a strange substitution but it's justified. Winds of Abandon is a nice boardwipe, it does its job and is very one-sided except for one back-breaking part, the land tutor. I didn't think much of it and assumed it'd be a budget Cyclonic Rift , but it's way worse. While costing less, and getting rid of the creatures, decks often have no trouble rebounding because of the large amounts of lands they get afterward. It just doesn't work how I want it to so it's getting cut. I like Chandra in its place as she has a small creature boardwipe tacked on but she's also very versatile with her emblem on the plus and can get rid of larger creatures or rival walkers with her minus X. Overall, I just think she'd be more useful than Winds.
  • Skyshroud Claim -> Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
    • Now, this is not exactly an easy cut but I have my reasons. For one, this deck isn't looking to be the most competitive or best superfriends deck, but the most fun for me to play. And I love planeswalkers, so I want to jam as many as I can in the deck, even if it makes the deck slightly worse or play differently. Claim is an extremely good card as it's a ramp and fixing spell, but Freyalise also ramps, has removal, and card draw, and is a walker as well, only for one green mana more. That's honestly enough of a reason for me.
  • Karn, the Great Creator -> Garruk, Cursed Huntsman
    • To be frank, Karn is good, really good in fact. However, he's extremely boring and a major target in my playgroup. I already am enemy number one a lot of the times because of superfriends, but Karn strikes "fear" in my opponents because I used to run Mycosynth Lattice in my sideboard. While my playgroup does allow wishboards, they were adamantly against Lattice and when I removed it, the lingering distrust and dislike of Karn continued. He may have an infinite turn combo, but his general linear playstyle, boring nature, and targetability make him a prime cut. Garruk was chosen as his replacement not because it was a one-to-one comparison, but I had already decided on replacements parallels for everything else, and Karn was the last cuttable, and Garruk was the last to add. I like Garruk's design and it seems like it can be a great attacking deterrent so I hope if I get him, he'll be good within this deck.
  • Farseek -> Kiora, the Crashing Wave
    • Farseek is an opposite Nature's Lore and is a great ramp card. However, my goal of putting as many walkers as possible has led me to cut one ramp for another. Kiora is simple, but she's very useful in my playgroup as they have a hard time getting rid of my walkers. So Kiora can act as a protection spell or early game ramp, but if she sticks around, her ultimate almost assures winning in my playgroup as they struggle to remove the Krakens.
  • Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh -> Nicol Bolas, the Ravager  
    • Big bad Bolas, one of the most nefarious villains in Magic and has almost all useful cards. That being said, God-Pharoah looks like a big threat but is rather lackluster when compared to that title. His Stolen Goods effect is nice, but extremely volatile and can easily whiff and likely will. The exile is also nice, but if they have large hands or developed board states, it's almost useless. Also, I never find myself using the deal 7 ability. If you can ultimate him, which is doubtful as my playgroup sees him as a bigger threat than he is, it's only a boardwipe, not a game-winning effect. I mean compared to the ultimate on Ravager or Dragon-God, it's nothing.
  • Generous Gift -> Oko, Thief of Crowns
    • For the same reason Kiora plans on replacing Farseek, Oko will replace Gift. Gift is just a color-shifted Beast Within , and Oko's second plus is basically a slightly limited Gift for the same CMC. Plus Oko has other useful abilities. Why not replace Within? Well because I like the art more than Gift.
  • Tezzeret, Artifice Master -> Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
    • This is probably one of the harder cuts for me, but in my head, makes the most sense. Tezzeret is a fun walker and a useful walker as he can make flying blockers, draw cards, and has a goodstuff/slow win-con ultimate. However, his ultimate is exactly that, slow. Teferi has a better draw that also can open mana for my instant speed removal, and has a really good semi-tuck ability. And even though his ultimate isn't an instant win, it's extremely back-breaking for opponents. The function of the slot is being morphed from a slow win-con to a great utility walker as I already have better win-cons (which albeit, Tezz would tutor up, but too slowly), and Teferi is just a great walker to include in this deck.
  • Saheeli, Sublime Artificer -> The Royal Scions
    • This cut hurts me so but needed to be done. Saheeli is just bad. I love the alternate art, but I was misguided in how useful her ability would be. She's a three mana walker that does almost nothing until I play another walker, and that only gets me a non-flying 1/1. I have never been able to use her actual loyalty ability for any kind of situation I have been in so she often sits dead. The twins got a great new card that not only has a looting ability, but a buff ability to help out Sisay, and a nice utility ultimate. For basically the exact same cost, I am getting a much better walker.
  • Urza's Ruinous Blast -> Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
    • Urza's Blast is good and bad. It's good as it can often act as a one-sided boardwipe and often has for me, but it's bad when it doesn't remove the problem permanents. A lot, and I mean a lot, of the powerful problem creatures are legendary and other powerful permanents, like planeswalkers, are as well, and Blast completely misses them all. Usually, my one-sided boardwipe does nothing or not enough and I get overrun because of my lack of creatures. Ugin, while not a complete fix, has a much more powerful and controllable wipe on him, while also having a Lightning Bolt on plus, and an ultimate that puts you so far ahead, opponents have a hard time keeping up. He's just so much useful than Blast.
**So for the most part, that's my primer. There are definitely cards in the deck I didn't talk about because they are obvious why they are in there, and some combos I left out as they are things like infinite mana, which isn't necessarily a win in this deck. I hope you guys enjoyed my insight on my deck and all suggestions are welcome but try to remember that I am only human and don't have infinite amounts of money, so suggest conservatively! :)** Also upvote this deck if you enjoyed what you saw! +1 Upvote

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Revision 32 See all

(4 years ago)

Top Ranked
Date added 5 years
Last updated 3 years
Key combos
Legality

This deck is Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

30 - 1 Mythic Rares

51 - 5 Rares

10 - 3 Uncommons

4 - 1 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 3.83
Tokens Ajani's Pridemate, Beast 3/3 B, Beast 3/3 G, Construct 1/1 C Token w/ Defender, Elephant 3-3 G, Emblem Ajani Steadfast, Emblem Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Emblem Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Emblem Garruk, Apex Predator, Emblem Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, Emblem Narset Transcendent, Emblem Rowan Kenrith, Emblem Tamiyo, Field Researcher, Emblem Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, Emblem Teferi, Temporal Archmage, Emblem Tezzeret, Artifice Master, Emblem Venser, the Sojourner, Emblem Vraska, Golgari Queen, Emblem Will Kenrith, Pirate 2/2 B, Servo 1/1 C, Soldier 1/1 W, Thopter 1/1 C, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders june 2020, EDH, EDH
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