Have you ever thought of Zurgo Helmsmasher in place of 8.5 ?

• He's a Voltron general, while slower than 8.5
• He's immune to your own boardwipes
• He adds red. That color has cool cards for equipment strategies: Sunforger, Aurelia, the Warleader, Gisela, Blade of Goldknight ?
• He adds black. Best color for tutors

Also, Rafiq of the Many seems very interesting for this strategy. Blue and green are the most powerful colors in EDH.

You just don't take the 'soul' out of such a deck ;-)

This build has been balanced in such a splendid way, that it requires a completely new deck approach.

@Stefouch

Changing to a Commander in a different colour combination would create an entirely different deck. It would be a tedious process to find space the other colours' staples and Voltron-usables. Some of my favourites that are in this deck would have to be taken out. My mana base would also be greatly altered and wouldn't be able to accommodate the same amount of utility lands. Then there's testing and tweaking to get the right mix of cards.

That's not something I want to do. I am content with a mono-coloured deck.

have you seen the upcoming "Sigarda's Aid" in Eldritch moon? you should check it out if you haven't already.

@vennamuel

I'm fully aware of Sigarda's Aid. It's definitely going into my deck.

And I think it's the only real asset that Eldritch Moon brings for this deck....

Have you considered divine reckoning to keep your 8.5 alive, complete with equipment? Also reusable.

@canderson

Divine Reckoning has the issue of leaving each opponent's best creature alive as well. I use Darksteel Plate if I want to keep 8.5 alive from sweepers.

NensouHiebara: I'm officially hopping on the bandwagon! Cards are ordered and should hopefully be here by next week.

I used to run Nahiri Equipment, but this is definitely way better and more fluid. Thank you for creating an amazing list.

Does anyone know the price of this deck in Tcg non-foil. I love this deck but not 1600 love it. If anyone knows I would love an idea of the price of the deck. Thanks.

NensouHiebara: How well does this deck do in Multiplayer? It seems like it would do really well 1v1, but with more than one opponent, it almost seems tough to pull out a victory? What strategy do you use? Do you focus on taking out the strongest player, then working your way down? Do you wait for someone to target you, then go after them? Do you evenly spread damage between everyone? Or do you sit back, build your board up, then try and one-shot them, one person at a time?

@Walt-Wizard

Going by TCGplayer's Market Price, a non-foil version of this deck would cost around $600.

@Guerte

This deck does fine in multiplayer. There are times where I get completely overwhelmed, but those games are few and far between.

I start off games setting up, playing any Equipment, ramp, and utility creatures I have available. I don't make any attempts to attack unless it's necessary. If I have a sizable threat, I'll start chipping away at life totals. I don't single out an opponent at this time unless they're being overly antagonistic or they had a very explosive opening.

When 8.5 is out and equipped, I'll single out the opponent in the strongest position. I always attempt to at least 3-shot with 8.5 and any resources are devoted to increasing that clock.

If my board happens to gets wiped out, I fall back to playing defensively and I attempt to rebuild. Once my board is replenished, I resume denting life totals and/or the Commander Damage Death Clock.

NensouHiebara: Thanks for the reply! That insight really helped me out. I played a three-player game the other day and suited my Serra Ascendant up with Swiftfoot Boots, Fireshrieker, Sword of Light and Shadow, and Umezawa's Jitte. It was enought to keep my life total high and I ended up killing off the Kemba, Kha Regent player. Next turn, I ended up drawing Sword of Fire and Ice and attacking Phelddagrif for what I thought was lethal, but ended up being a few points shy. He ended up killing me with the final points of Commander Damage. But it was definitely a good first run and I thoroughly enjoyed the deck.

Thanks for the price that is a lot easier to buy

So how competitive is this deck these days? Can it go against high tier decks and hope to win? How does it do in 1v1 matches?

The reason I ask is because my LGS has commander nights and it's a more competitive environment than other places where I've played.

Thanks for your response :)

@Noctem

I don't consider this deck to be that competitive. This deck can hold it's own in a mildly competitive setting, but I wouldn't try it against anything cutthroat. If your LGS has decks that try to kill as fast and efficiently as possible and/or are uphill battles of countermagic and removal, don't bother using this deck against them.

This deck isn't designed for 1v1 or Duel Commander. It's exclusively for traditional multiplayer Commander.

Thanks for the info :)

The latest spoilers from the new conspiracy set may hold something nice: Recruiter of the Guard

This seems to be a powerful tutor effect to find something sweet that adds something good for a certain match.

Cards like Argivian Archaeologist, Grand Abolisher, Puresteel Paladin, Stoneforge Mystic and Weathered Wayfarer are tutorable.

What is your opinion on this card for a voltron deck like this?

@PartyJ

I absolutely love Recruiter of the Guard!

A tutor for nearly every utility creature in my deck? Yes, please! It even grabs Serra Ascendant! This card is an instant staple in White. I just hope foils of it don't become atrociously expensive.

NensouHiebara: What would you consider cutting for it?

Nensou... from your lips to the ears of every deity out there... StarCityGames has preorder prices for Recruiter going for $30 non-foil, and they're already sold out for now... it's likely to be the most playable card in the entire set, as well as the most sought after both to play and for value/sale/trade. If the price for non-foil holds at or near $30, you can expect the foil to be $75+

@Guerte

Recruiter of the Guard is going to bump out Thalia's Lancers for Bastion Protector's spot. Recruiter has a better pool of cards to grab from.

@CrimsonWings3689

I guess I can always wait after release and pick up a foil when the hype and the price drops a bit.

Sigarda's Aid?

Sorry, didn't see that it was in your maybe board already