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Ayli, Eternal Annihilator

Commander / EDH* Lifegain WB (Orzhov)

Fresh303


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This is my personal Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim EDH deck that has evolved a ton from my very first build which, looking back, played way too many awful cards such as Ajani's Mantra and Temple Acolyte. Initially I was entirely focussed on including creatures that gained some life either on entry or with abilities like lifelink. Back then I didn't fully comprehend the difference in scale between a one on one game with twenty life each versus a pod of four players each starting at forty life. Going through the process of making revisions has been a really cool experience because I really did start from the bottom with my first draft of Ayli. Not surprisingly, there is very little left of the original decklist in this one. If you'd like to see the list I started with, here it is: Ayli EDH Mark One

This deck at heart is looking to get creatures on the board and get a lifegain engine up and running to activate Ayli's exile ability. Recursion is important to rebuild after wraths or alternatively repeatedly exile opponent's nonland permanents. Eventually, I hope to make this deck semi-competitive at the least. If you have any suggestions or critiques to help me improve my deck, feel free to share them with me.

Cards to be Removed:

Mentor of the Meek - Too costly, the mana is better spent curving out. Too often this is just a 2/2 because I may not draw additional creatures with power two or less to trigger the draw ability.

Gisela, the Broken Blade - There are better aggressive, lifegaining creatures. Could be replaced with Baneslayer Angel or Archangel of Thune.

Cards to Added:

Scrubland, Godless Shrine - Will make the mana for the deck much more consistent. Scrubland is obviously better but the price tag will make it one of the last upgrades I purchase.

Marsh Flats - I will run fetches as soon as I have adequate reason. Currently, there are only two orzhov dual lands, neither of which I play currently. Like Scrubland, this will be one of my last upgrades.

Scroll Rack - More card selection to smooth out draws and get the cards I need into hand. Has great synergy with cards with miracle, similar to Sensei's Divining Top.

Altar of Dementia - When damage doesn't kill some opponents, drawing from an empty library can get the job done.

Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - More hate cards are needed to slow opponents down and keep their strategies in check.

Wurmcoil Engine - Like Grave Titan, Wurmcoil is a large value creature that can take over the game quickly. As a bonus, it has lifelink to keep that life total high.

Damnation - Four mana wrath is ideal, will see how low it drops with Modern Masters 2017 reprinting.

Batterskull - Completes an extremely powerful synergy with Stoneforge Mystic. With Stoneforge, it is one of the best ways to start gaining life quickly. Not to mention that it is very powerful card on its own.

Suggestions

Updates Add

Played only two rounds of EDH today which is reasonable considering both games were in five player pods. The upgrades I made last week really paid off. Having the mana I needed to play the expensive top end of the curve really helped. Playing combos like the ones I run requires a lot of mana to either play them or dig for them with card draw. The acceleration from the Cabal Coffers + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in particular was incredible late game when for a while I had a hand full of high cost cards and then drew into Weathered Wayfarer to eventually got me the mana I needed.

This week I added some really powerful cards for the top end of my curve. Both Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Sheoldred, Whispering One are bombs with insane power levels. As is the nature of the Praetors, both serve as strong hate on my opponents while providing massive benefit for myself. I only got to see Sheoldred in the two games I played, but it was amazing. Forcing opponents to sacrifice a creature isn't crippling for some decks but for the portion of decks that play only a few large, possibly indestructible or hexproof creatures, it is so powerful.

Removals:

Bruna, the Fading Light  Meld

Beacon of Immortality

Martial Coup

Butcher of Malakir

Upgrades:

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Sheoldred, Whispering One

Graveborn Muse

Terminus

Comments

Date added 8 years
Last updated 3 years
Exclude colors URG
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

10 - 0 Mythic Rares

44 - 0 Rares

17 - 0 Uncommons

8 - 0 Commons

Cards 101
Avg. CMC 3.59
Tokens Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Morph 2/2 C, Snake 1/1 B, Soldier 1/1 W, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders Other Peoples Decks, Look later on it, EDH
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