@NensouHiebara I've read over everything today and I'm super impressed. I would love to bounce some ideas off of you for my own equipment deck.

With the release of the new commander decks it really adds a lot to go through.

I don't Get The cataclismic gearhulk. Why would you like to destroy your stuff?

@Icenhard Wouldn't that be the question about every wipe?

@Icenhard

One of White's strengths is its sweepers: the ability purge the board of undesirables in a quick and efficient manner. My stuff getting destroyed as well is unfortunate, but quite often a necessary sacrifice to keep my opponents' strategies in check. Without sweepers, this deck would fold to a lot of easily avoidable situations.

Can you please remember what you took out for Strata Scythe, Caged Sun, and Relic Seeker? By the way, playtesting with Inquisitor's Flail, I noticed a lot of my Sword triggers are no longer doing it twice since it does not equate to double strike. Do you find it worth the change in order to reduce redundancy of Balan, Wandering Knights double strike?

@gzusvictory

Strata Scythe -> Conqueror's Flail

Caged Sun -> Cataclysmic Gearhulk

Relic Seeker -> Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

Any Equipment that raises Balan's power to at least 6 paired with Flail allows her to one-shot. Just the two Equipment. I'd say it's worth it.

Hey NonsouHiebara,

Thank you for sharing your great deck. I am a long time follower and I love this deck, because it plays the kind of magic which I enjoy the most: Artifacts and a mono-white build. Let's face it: mono white is the single-worst color in Commander. However, your deck is powerful with strong synergies and a flavourful theme, without swingy, game-ending cards and combos. I am taking a break from competitive commander, because it does not fit for me. There are other formats that do that for me. Therefore, I am strongly considering building a mono-white attrition deck for a more casual meta.

I would love to hear your thoughts on some cards.

Mana Crypt it is amazing, but it can do a lot of damage to you (1.5 a turn on average). It is great for decks that try to win fast. I think its probably fine to add it here since you have lifegain but I feel like you are a little slow to try to push for the win. The damage can add up quickly, especially when you aren't lucky with the random results.

Alternative Suggestions:

Wayfarer's Bauble is solid land ramp. I would rather have lands in play than a mana stone as they tend to get blown up. It's cheap to use and doesnt leave you with a target for things like Austere Command. It also lets you ramp into a turn 3 Balan, Wandering Knight.

Tithe is instant speed and let's you dropping lands when you fall behind.

Sensei's Divining Top I have started seeing this card a bit less as a staple for every deck.Card selection is always amazing and the more often you can refresh your selection the better this card becomes. It is amazing when you can manage to shuffle once per turn. This means that every turn, you get access to the best of three cards as your draw. It is great for trigger Miracle, like Terminus, even in your opponents turn. However, you don't have a lot ways to shuffle your deck to filter off the bad cards.

Alternative Suggestions:

Crystal Ball is topdeck manipulation where you dig into the cards you want or need. Whithout many shuffle effects it can make a nice addition.

Mind's Eye is one of the more powerful actual card draw effects available to mono white. It does not provide topdeck manipulation and it consumes a lot of mana. It is no Consecrated Sphinx and it may sit for a round until it provides value. However, it is very reliable card draw, especially if not answered quickly.

Crucible of Worlds is a good backup plan for your many utility lands. It turns Inventors' Fair into an engine. You already run Buried Ruin and Petrified Field which make this setup hard to disrupt. Personally I like including fetchlands if you are going to include this card just to expand what you can do with it. In mono color I tend to not run fetchlands. With Crucible I would consider fetchlands so I tend to have more shuffling, also for Sensei's Top.

Wrath of God and Day of Judgment are great when you are facing very fast decks. However, they lack versatility. At least the Wrath is a flavourful card and mostly stronger than Day of Judgment.

Alternative Suggestions:

Rout can wrath the board at instant speed as a nice surprise option.

Tragic Arrogance and Divine Reckoning work good with your voltron strategy. Keep your best creature and equipment and destroy the rest. Tragic Arrogance can also handle Indestructible and Hexproof, which is a great benefit.

Hallowed Burial Generally speaking I find it hard ever wanting to miracle Terminus. It can be nice with topdeck manipulation especially with Sensei's Divining Top, but I have also concerns with that card. Overall, I feel like the cheaper overall mana cost of Hallowed Burial could be a bit more solid than the random situations where you can profitably miracle cast Terminus.

Grasp of Fate and Angel of Sanctions are both efficient and versatile removal options. Your opponents will typically answer them quickly to get their cards back. I see it more like tempo cards, if you want to push for the win.

Alternative Suggestions:

Aura of Silence can act as as removal or as a tax and slowing effect on opponents until you want to remove something.You can access it with Enlightened Tutor and bring it back with Sun Titan.

Ray of Distortion is costly, but I think it's an underplayed card. Instant speed two-for-one removal is not too bad in my book.

Karmic Guide is amazing recursion on legs. It works well with Reveillark, even if you don't run Clone style effects.

Serra Ascendant is more aggressive and looking for swords. It's a nice and cheap beater.People get really pissed off when they see this on turn one and it usually leads to the whole table running you over first. Anyway, after clubbing a single opponent to under half life people start stabilizing and then you will turn the game into archenemy.

Transcendent Master Not really sure what to say. I think it's a very flavourful option and he gives you something to dump mana into. He can carry equipment and scales well into the late game. On the other hand he is very slow and everybody at the table will see it coming.

Alternative Suggestions:

Wall of Reverence acts as an amazing blocker paired with its lifegain it grants some great sustainability. You don't need to attack to gain life, which makes it great in more situations against decks that push hard on life. You also get the life end of your turn which can make a differnce.

Gisela, the Broken Blade comes down early, has evasion and lifelink. She's an efficient beater.

Baneslayer Angel is just an efficient beater, much like Gisela. She is very good at that. Again, it's a slow card, but so is Transcendent Master.

@Kosmokatze

Questions for post-Balan, Wandering Knight switch! I see you are still on the Sram, tsk tsk! =P

Does Flickering Ward and Sram, Senior Edificer stay in the 99 post switch?

Why not keep Caged Sun in the 99? Did the deck get too tight that it had to get cut from adding cards?

Would you consider running Ancient Tomb?

Would you cut Reliquary Tower for Mikokoro, Center of the Sea considering less card draw from Balan?

What sleeves do you use for you commander deck? Dragon shields, kmcs, ultra pro, etc?

@gzusvictory

I haven't had a game of Commander since August... :|

There's been little interested in Commander at my LGS during FNMs the past few months. I intended to make the switch last month, but I can't test new cards if I can't get a game going...

I'll update the deck by the end of this month. Games or no games.

Sram is going to stay in the 99, replacing the eventually-redundant Silverblade Paladin.

Flickering Ward is currently being replaced by Conqueror's Galleon. Galleon is the card I want to test the most.

Caged Sun was the last mana-doubler in the deck. I no longer wanted the lone doubling effect in the deck anymore. Land-based ramp, especially Sword of the Animist, has been wonderful.

Ancient Tomb was in the deck before. It was cut some months after Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx was added. I didn't need two lands that produce more than one mana and I needed space for the cycling lands. I'm actively trying to make Nykthos work well in the deck. If I ever get fed up with trying to build devotion, I'd reconsider Ancient Tomb.

Reliquary Tower isn't part of the deck officially, and still won't be after the Balan swap. If the swap doesn't work out the way I hope it will, it sinply won't happen and Reliquary Tower will be removed from the Maybeboard.

I double-sleeve in KMC Perfect Fits and DragonShield Mattes.

Dude, yes! You made the change! Question on your thoughts of Faith's Reward? Difficult to cast Teferi's Protection with correct timing against something that just gets rid of one thing versus Faith's Reward you know to always cast it end step. Or does the Teferi's Protection seem just too good in comparison?

@gzusvictory

Never cared for Faith's Reward as a recursion effect. I dislike how it only functions on the turn my things get destroyed. I'd rather have Sun Titan or Remember the Fallen in hand instead.

Between Reward and Teferi's Protection, I'd use Protection. It's the better card and effective against damn-near everything.

Sublime Archangel could be good if yr only attacking with yr commander.

@willis1234

This deck doesn't generate enough bodies to get a sufficient P/T boost out of Sublime Archangel's second ability.

Any thoughts on Odric, Lunarch Marshal?

@lil_cheez

Captain Keywords doesn't benefit a deck designed to have a single attacker. Giving my other creature keywords doesn't accomplish anything, as they're mostly utility dorks that usually never attack.

He's better suited for decks that can amass large, Anthem-boosted armies.

Looks like a nice deck! I like your use of Remember the Fallen, and I'll see if I can't make space for it in my artifact voltron build.

What is your opinion on Bloodforged Battle-Axe ? It seems like a good deal with the damage doubler and double strike.

@Akujiki

Bloodforged Battle-Axe is too gimmicky.

Bonesplitter would never make the cut in this deck. A Bonesplitter that copies itself doesn't change this.

Oh, a new card draw land.

~6 mana to draw a card is very slow

Flagstones still is better than a plains

@darklord1135

Flagstones of Trokair isn't better than a Plains:

• Flagstones can't be tutored by Knight of the White Orchid or Eternal Dragon.
• Flagstones is susceptible nonbasic land hate, such as Blood Moon, Thalia, Heretic Cathar, etc.
• Flagstones itself doesn't benefit Emeria, The Sky Ruin.
• Flagstones doesn't provide any meaningful utility.

Why would I use a nonbasic land that doesn't do anything?

Any particular reason why you run Dust Bowl instead of Wasteland?