@FordLaBoube

Godsend is a better card than Hero's Blade. Godsend offers an extra toughness and makes combat one-sided. Hero's Blade has no raw power. It's just a vanilla P/T boost with and a relatively expensive equip cost and a barely usable auto-equip trigger.

I use Rest in Peace as a silver bullet against graveyard-based strategies or against opponents that get too much value out of their recursion. It's indeed a nonbo with my own recursion, but it's better to just forgo graveyard interaction completely when your opponents also use their graveyard as a resource, but to greater effects.

Council's Judgment is a removal spell that is at the mercy of your opponents' decisions. It's extremely easy for opponents to blunt it by colluding against me with their votes and collectively select something superfluous. Council's Judgment is too inconsistent and unreliable in a multiplayer format.

Restore Balance is also unreliable. Waiting six turns to purge everything is never going to work. Early game, opponents will simply hold their resources and wait for it to be cast. Late game, opponents will singe me out so it isn't cast and six turns is plenty of time for two or more opponents to take out one player. It's also a terrible card to draw in situations where I need to take immediate action.

Worship is a bad card. At a high life total, it does absolutely nothing. At a low life total, I'm dead regardless. There are plenty of ways to remove creatures and enchantments. Black laughs at it with their life loss effects.

ok list of possible add ins:

valorous stancesecond sunriseangel of jubilationarchangel of tithesakroma angel of wrathherald of hostwurmcoil enginefelidar sovereignelesh nornwingmate rocstonehhaven outfittercaptains clawsreliquary tower

@Blitzdragoon

Valorous Stance - No interest. White already has a handful of other removal options. There are plenty of creatures and Commanders Valorous Stance can't kill. Also not keen on a single one-shot source of indestructible since I'll never see it every game.

Second Sunrise - Not a fan of this kind of effect. It only works the turn everything is blown up. Faith's Reward is a one-sided version of Sunrise and I don't even use it.

Angel of Jubilation - No interest. This deck can't use anthems effectively. Its ability to stop life payment and creature sacrifice costs is too narrow.

Archangel of Tithes - Don't like it. It's attack trigger is unnecessary when I'm suiting up one creature with its own evasion. I don't like how its static ability costing opponents instead of for each creature and that is can be 'turned off' when it's tapped. It would end up as a worse Windborn Muse in my deck.

Akroma, Angel of Wrath - No interest. She's just a generic, goodstuff attacker. This deck already has two creatures like that and I don't need more, especially at 8 mana.

Herald of the Host - Garbage. It's just a Serra Angel that attacks each opponent. White always get shafted in the Commander keyword cycles...

Wurmcoil Engine - Used to use it a while ago. Took it out to reduce the amount of goodstuff this deck had at the time. No interest in using it again.

Felidar Sovereign - Always on the fence on this card. One one hand, it's an alternate win-con that you don't have to jump through hoops for it to work. On the other hand, it's extremely easy to win with it and doing so fells... empty.

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - No interest. As I stated earlier, this deck can't use anthems effectively. Elesh is a card for token decks, not Voltron.

Wingmate Roc - No interest. It's attack trigger needs numbers to gain enough life for it to be worthwhile. This deck doesn't have a real purpose for two flying 3/4s.

Stone Haven Outfitter - No interest. The anthem it provides is narrow, 8.5 getting removed won't trigger it, and I'll almost never draw cards off of it since I use a single creature to suit up.

Captain's Claws - No interest. It's way too low-impact for Voltron decks.

Reliquary Tower - No interest. White is the weakest colour at card draw. I don't often keep my hand full.

@NensouHiebara

I have to say, that I've been subscribed to this deck for a while, and whenever someone suggests a card or several cards, I will mainly see others criticize you for your responses. This is a tuned list. It plays very specifically, and I would be surprised if there was a card you hadn't considered. I think it speaks volumes that you're willing to go through each card suggested and let people know why you don't use it, not just a post that says "No thanks. Tried it, don't like it." Keep up the great work, love the deck. I'd +1 again if I could :)

I'm surprised you're not doing Extraplanar Lens x Snow lands x Scrying Sheets.and how about Angel of Finality vs Rest in Peace? you get a flying body out of it if anything.

@Latchking

I used to use Snow Basics and Extraplanar Lens. I had issues with not having enough Snow-Covered Plains out to offset the one that's imprinted in some games with only 20 Basics in the deck. With the printing of Sword of the Animist and the addition of other ramp options, I no longer feel the need of using mana doublers beyond Caged Sun. Actual land ramp has more staying power than doublers.

Scrying Sheets is an OK card, but it's not as efficient or as powerful as Mikokoro, Center of the Sea and it was dropped for another utility land.

Rest in Peace is my silver bullet against graveyard decks and heavy recursion strategies. If I decide to use it, I want all graveyards to be purged and remain empty. Angel of Finality is only a one-shot purge to a single graveyard. It's not as effective.

Fair enough.could you run me through your reasoning of transcendent master over student of warfare?also wonderful deck, i really am enjoying this.

@Latchking

Transcendent Master:

• Can use any mana for its level up cost, so I'm able to level it up more efficiently with my utility-heavy landbase.
• Has indestructible when fully leveled, making it a removal-resistant threat and a fantastic base body for Equipment.
• Is a pet card.

Since i'm building my own eight and a half, i'll keep pestering you for now.I like your reasons, i'm just trying to balance my own.

Aside from Mikokoro, cycle lands (which i don't really count), and sofi it seems you haven't much draw.Why isn't Skullclamp/Mask of Memory in this deck?

Terminus is great, how about Descend Upon the Sinful? even if you exile some of your creatures it shouldn't be too painful + getting a 4/4 angel to equip after is pretty okay. and maybe Rout as well? i find instant speed wraths pretty useful

and out of curiousity which equipment do you tutor for first generally?

@Latchking

Sword of Fire and Ice and Mikokoro, Center of the Sea are both easily tutorable. I don't really need to add a lot of card draw engines when I can tutor for one of those.

Skullclamp doesn't really work in this deck. I don't have a lot of X/1 creatures to feed it and both Planeswalkers are my only sources of fodder. I did plan on using it at one point, but I dropped two other X/1 token producers this deck did have during Origins. This deck just isn't set up for it.

Mask of Memory is a mediocre card compared to SoFaI.

I don't have a huge interest in Descend upon the Sinful. It's mainly a second Final Judgment, which I don't use. Delirium is a significant hoop to jump through for a deck that doesn't rely on the graveyard... and you only for a 4/4 flier. Descend's conditional 4/4 flier compares poorly to Phyrexian Rebirth.

Rout's ability to be cast at an instant is wasted in this deck. This deck's mana is near constantly used for Equipment or casting utility cards. Unless I have Sword of Feast and Famine or I didn't do much that turn, I won't have 7 mana open.

My early tutor targets are either:

• Swiftfoot Boots or Darksteel Plate to set up for 8.5.
• Sword of the Animist for ramp. (Most common target)
• Batterskull (Only with Stoneforge Mystic)

I love this deck! I also love the attention to detail you give for your reasons for turning down suggestions, very thoughtful of you.

How often does Transcendent Master do work?

@Perfect_Phyrexia

Often enough to keep it in the deck. It's a massive threat and a great back-up Equipment holder if 8.5 is stuck in the Command Zone.

Pardon me if this was already mentioned but have you considered Archangel of Tithes over/alongside Windborn Muse?

@SFCD

Archangel of Tithes isn't as good as Windborn Muse for this deck.

• Archangel's first ability isn't as strong as Muse's.
• Archangel's first ability 'turns off' when it's tapped.
• Archangel's second ability is wasted, as this deck never has a large enough army to properly use it and my suited-up creature will most often have its own evasion.
• Muse can be recurred with Reveillark.

I don't have room for both and Muse wins the spot for being better overall.

Don't know if it was suggested or not, but have you ever fiddled with Norn's Annex? It is 2 more expensive than Ghostly Prison, but if they don't have white, it can be very problematic for them. Just wondering. Great list bro!

@Tingy1

Norn's Annex has the issue of offering the option of paying life to attack instead of mana. A token army may be kept at bay, but decks with only a few large attackers at a time won't mind paying life, especially if their creatures have lifelink.

I have kept Eight-and-a-Half-Tails my number one commander for a while now. I have some questions/suggestions:Decree of Justice: Cycle for a free card and a load of 1/1's at instant speed and uncounterable! (Other than Stifle effects of course)Containment Priest: Stops creatures that are cheated into play since you only have a few that do that like Sun TitanHow effective has Karmic Justice been in your matches?Grasp of Fate: A Oblivion Ring for each player! No?Aven Mindcensor: How do you not run this card!? Holds equipment well with evasion, flashes in at their end step, stops their fetches, tutors, and definitely stops their Bribery!Do you ever consider including insta-win combos with Blasting Station with these cards, or do you feel unfulfilled with this type of win:--Sun Titan+Fiend Hunter--Reveillark+Karmic Guide--Karmic Guide+Fiend Hunter--Sun Titan+Angelic RenewalI am currently using Extraplanar Lens for a cheaper version of Caged Sun, and Gauntlet of Power and I am loving it, but I do feel it would weaken your Strata Scythe since it would imprint only Snow-Covered Plains. I read your explanation for Extraplanar Lens, but do you not like Gauntlet of Power?Crib Swap: Another answer to Eldrazi/Indestructible creatures. No?Lapse of Certainty Our only answer to Cyclonic Rift to help buy us time to get more damage in, do you not like it?Mana Vault: I see you have Mana Crypt already, but what are your thoughts on Mana Vault and Gilded LotusBlinding Angel: Stops Eldrazi from triggering their annihilator triggers. How do you deal with Eldrazi and annihilator? I also have Island Sanctuary. I would consider it if you have Eldrazi in your meta.Tithe I love this card and it probably best replaces a plains slot any day. What are your thoughts on Tithe?Profound Journey: Seems pretty heavily costed. How has it performed in your games?Lastly, how does your meta look? What types of decks have you lost to most frequently? Do you usually play in a 4 player pod? Do you do 1v1's often?

@gzusvictory

Decree of Justice - No interest. This deck can't use armies and flooding the field with tokens would just give me chump blockers.

Containment Priest - No interest. It also stops be from recurring my own creatures, which I frequently do with Sun Titan and Reveillark.

Karmic Justice - Fantastic card. Keeps removal off of my Equipment if opponents have some thing valuable they don't want destroyed. Karmic Justice also triggers off of itself, so an opponent removing it still gives me at least one trigger.

Grasp of Fate - It's in my Maybeboard. I'm planning on add it to my deck if I feel I need another catch-all removal option.

Aven Mindcensor - I'm not keen on hate cards that I need to have the luck-of-the-draw in order to use them. Using only a singleton of a hate effect isn't solving anything.

I have absolutely no interest in instant win combos for several reasons:

• This isn't a combo deck and I don't want it to be one.
• Most combo pieces are sub-optimal cards by themselves.
• Adding combo pieces would dilute the main theme of the deck.
• I can't reliably acquire the combo every game.

Gauntlet of Power - I prefer Caged Sun, as it's one-sided and affects nonbasics. Caged Sun is worth the extra mana over Gauntlet.

Crib Swap - No interest. At 3 mana, hitting only creatures is sub-optimal. I already have Path to Exile and Swords to Plowshares. I don't feel the need for more creature-only spot removal.

Lapse of Certainty - No interest. It's a poor excuse for a counter spell and only stalls a card for one turn.

Mana Vault - Used it before. I don't like the one-shot feel of it without a way to untap it for free.

Gilded Lotus - No interest. I'm keeping mana rocks to a minimum in this deck. Since I use a lot of Equipment, mana rocks are collateral damage from an opponent's increased use in artifact removal, especially sweepers.

Blinding Angel - No interest. I deal with annihilator by strait-up removing the Eldrazi before it attacks.

Island Sanctuary - No interest. Card draw is rough to come by in Mono-White. I'm not going to trade my draw for the turn for anything.

Tithe - No interest. I have Land Tax and Eternal Dragon for Plains tutoring.

Profound Journey - It's okay. Thinking about dropping it. The new Vancouver Mulligan makes it unfavorable to have too many high CMC cards.

My meta is overabundant in Goodstuff decks. Most players just play whatever the want with no coherent theme, but nothing degenerate like combo or stax. Players also tend to be fickle with decks and change often. The only common decks are Nissa, Sage Animist  ^Flip Ramp (with a plethora of artifact removal) and Oloro, Ageless Ascetic Pillowfort/Control.

I prefer to play in 3 or 4-player pods. 3 players is good for quicker games and more than 4 is just a mess. I never play 1v1. This deck isn't built for it.

Entreat the Angels and Banishing Stroke are excellent cards you can use with since you can reset them with Scroll Rack. I really think you should reconsider fetchlands since it can shuffle away bad cards seen by your Sensei's Divining Top and Scroll Rack. Have you ever considered using Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, making their lands white, then -0 to exile them? It feels like a one-sided Armageddon! What are your thoughts on Mirran Crusader? I love slapping a Sword of Fire and Ice or Umezawa's Jitte on him and I have green players in my meta also. Would you consider running Emeria Shepherd in place of Profound Journey? Do you also consider Mana Tithe a poor excuse for a counterspell? Do you ever consider tappers like Ballynock Trapper or Citadel Siege. Pentarch Paladin seems excellent with our commander and can function pretty well without our commander. Thoughts on him? Do you prefer Leonin Abunas over Indomitable Archangel? Compare them for me. Do you ever consider taking out Serra Ascendant? Or do you feel that you are more likely to stay above 30 life by the time you draw this card? Do you feel the benefits outweigh the risk enough to keep it in? Do you have any interest for Mind's Eye or Mentor of the Meek for card draw since you have 13 creatures (Eight-and-a-Half-Tails included) with power 2 or less? Why not run Elspeth, Sun's Champion? Does it cost too much? Do you not like Planar Cleansing for a decent catch-all board wipe? Also, in my meta, I have to face Prime Speaker Zegana (ramps to eldrazi), Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind (combos out with Curiosity and cards like it), and Omnath, Locus of Mana (also ramps to eldrazi). Lastly, I apologize for my formatting of the post. I cannot get "enter" to work here lol

@gzusvictory You need to hit enter twice in order to format it properly. Alternatively, you can put two spaces at the end of each line.

@gzusvictory

Entreat the Angels - No interest. I can't use token armies properly in this deck. Entreat is also too expensive in situations where I'd have to hardcast it.

Banishing Stroke - Used it before. Without Scroll Rack or a good target when it's drawn, it's an overcosted spot removal spell. Not hitting Planeswalkers is also a large strike against it.

Fetchlands - I already have a handful of shuffle effects in this deck, some of which are repeatable. Fetchlands don't have the flexibility of being saved for when I need the shuffle.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - No interest. Ugin costs too much. I'm trying to keep my curve low so I don't have too many high CMC cards stuck in my hand. Ugin is also unneeded. White has the most flexible removal options, capable of efficiently removing any permanent type. Ugin excels better in colours that lack stronger removal. I also don't like blowing up lands for no reason. Using Ugin's -X ability after 8.5 turned every opponent's lands White is pretty rude.

Mirran Crusader - Okay creature. Doesn't make the cut because Silverblade Paladin exists.

Emeria Shepherd - Probably not. I'm more interested in replacing Profound Journey it with a lower CMC card.

Mana Tithe - Conditional counterspells with mana payments are weak in Commander. Outside of the first few turns, players tend to have spare mana when casting spells.

Tap-down Creatures - No interest. The can't do anything the turn they're played due to summoning sickness, they get shut down by shroud/hexproof/protection, and are very weak creatures by themselves.

Citadel Siege - No interest. Its second mode is terrible and I can't recur or tutor for it as easily as I can for Equipment.

Pentarch Paladin - No interest. I don't like cards that are completely dependent on 8.5 to function properly.

Leonin Abunas vs Indomitable Archangel:

• Hexproof > Shroud
• Abunas an be recurred with Reveillark.
• Abunas doesn't require metalcraft.

The only thing Archangel has over Abunas is the stronger body, but the goal is to protect my Equipment and Abunas performs that role better than Archangel.

Serra Ascendant - Never taking it out! It's an amazing early game play and can hold Equipment extremely well. If my life total drops below 30, Serra Ascendant still has lifelink and this deck has plenty of P/T-boosting Equipment.

Mind's Eye & Mentor of the Meek - I'm currently content with my card draw options. Mind's Eye burns a turn's worth of mana without it actually doing anything. Mentor of the Meek is better in decks that can easily and consistently spill out bodies for Mentor to trigger off of.

Elspeth, Sun's Champion - No interest. She doesn't offer anything for Voltron. She's a Planeswalker for token decks.

Planar Cleansing - No interest. I actively avoid using sweepers that forcefully destroy my Equipment.

I appreciate the feedback man. I do enjoy that we have the same commitment to this commander. I am just making suggestions on what works for me and future improvements that we can make to the deck. Also, that Ugin and -X ability to wipe their lands, it may seem rude, but it wins games rather than prolonging it like Armageddon alone. Plus, my opponents would have continued using their Eye of Ugin to search for indestructible Eldrazi if I did not do that option. Do you play commander to be nice to other players? You weakling! Just kidding.

Duplicant: Sweet clone, removal that exiles creatures, and searchable with Enlightened Tutor

Thawing Glaciers:A little bit of a slow start, but it prevents mana screw, extra shuffle effects, and searchable by Expedition Map

Winding Canyons: Personally, I LOVE leaving mana untapped to ward away sorcery speed removal with 8.5, but still having the ability to flash in a creature right before I start my next turn to prevent wasted mana.

Heartstone: I understand you do not prefer cards that are useless without 8.5, but this does SO much work. It may benefit your opponent too though.

Armistice: Seems like a cheaper Mind's Eye, and giving your opponent life does not seem to bad. I can see the downfall of paying 5 mana to draw, but card draw in white! It also can help build politics because people 3 life matters a lot to newer players for some reason lol.

Karmic Guide: You are one of the first mono-white decks I have seen that does not play this card. It seems like a white staple, reanimates, and pro black gets relevant sometime. Sure, echo can happen, but completely optional and it makes a fantastic Reveillark target.

Ranger of Eos: I ran this guy and he ends games considering that he fetches the power players of our deck like Mother of Runes, Weathered Wayfarer, Serra Ascendant, and you can possibly add Student of Warfare and Salvage Scout if you feel that you need more targets.

How effective does Thespian's Stage work in your deck? I am using currently using Vesuva instead. Compare them for me.

Could you also list some cards that you are considering on changing or using, like what would you put in place of Profound Journey?

Just a little reminder here. I'm in love with your deck; actually I use it as a primer for my own. Still in the process of pulling together lands and a few of the equips to round it out. I pop in every now and again to check for updates, still on point I see.

Nice work man.

@gzusvictory

If you're having major problems with Eye of Ugin, there's always the option of running more Strip Mine effects. Dust Bowl is very effective at threatening utility lands. Using Expedition Map would also increase the changes of seeing a Strip Mine effect.

Duplicant - Used it before. It's a good card, but it's not needed in White, since it's the colour with the strongest and most flexible spot removal options.

Thawing Glaciers - Used it before. Dropped it for Myriad Landscape when Commander 2014 came out. I prefer the two lands at once and it taps for mana if needed. Also great with Sun Titan.

Winding Canyons - No interest. This deck doesn't play on other players' turns that well. There's no real benefit of spending an additional three mana ( plus tapping Canyons) to flash in a creature. Holding back mana also prevents building up the board with Equipment or utility cards.

Heartstone - No interest. Only two other creatures in my deck aside from 8.5 can benefit from Heartstone. Not worth it.

Armistice - No interest. Spending to draw a card is extremely inefficient.

Karmic Guide - Used it before. Dropped it to lessen the amount the creature recursion this deck had. I don't need so much creature recursion when my main focus is Equipment. Between Reveillark, Sun Titan, Sword of Light and Shadow, Emeria, The Sky Ruin, and Remember the Fallen, I have all the creature recursion I'll probably ever need.

Ranger of Eos - No interest. I thought about using it. I even bought a foil in preparation of using it! Ultimately decided not to include it. I don't have enough targets with just three 1-drop creatures and the though of adding more felt like I was forcing Ranger to work instead of it being a natural addition. Having 5+ creatures interdependent like that would also cause long-term issues when more worthwhile Equipment support creatures get printed and I need to find space for them.

Thespian's Stage vs Vesuva:

• Stage enters untapped.
• Stage can be played whenever and doesn't need to wait for a worthwhile target.
• Stage isn't locked into copying one land.
• Stage can copy lands like Azorius Chancery and Lotus Vale without the downsides.

• Stage can "save" a utility land by copying it in response to the removal effect.

• Vesuva gains the ETB trigger of whatever it copies.

Thespian's Stage is a much more flexible land clone and there's not a lot of lands with ETB triggers worth copying.

The only card on my chopping list other than Profound Journey is Bastion Protector. I tried it out since it supports Voltron, but like other cards that only work with 8.5, it's too narrow for my liking.

I don't have anything concrete to replace those cards yet. The cards in my Maybeboard are current ideas, but nothing I'm actively looking to put in. New cards get the most of my attention and any new, worthwhile Equipment and support cards take precedence over anything else.