Ephara's Lilliputians

Commander / EDH Control Hatebears Tokens WU (Azorius)

Tk4890

Creature (28)

• 1x Archaeomancer
• 1x Aven Mindcensor
• 1x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
• 1x Deadeye Navigator
• 1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
• 1x Emeria Angel
• 1x Faerie Artisans
• 1x Geist of Saint Traft
• 1x Glasspool Mimic  ^Flip
• 1x Keeper of the Accord
• 1x Knight of the White Orchid
• 1x Monastery Mentor
• 1x Nadir Kraken
• 1x Ornithopter of Paradise
• 1x Recruiter of the Guard
• 1x Reflector Mage
• 1x Reveillark
• 1x Saltskitter
• 1x Selfless Squire
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Soulherder
• 1x Spell Queller
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x Stonecloaker
• 1x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
• 1x Trophy Mage
• 1x Venser, Shaper Savant
• 1x Whitemane Lion

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Sacred Mesa

Land (36)

• 1x Adarkar Wastes
• 1x Castle Ardenvale
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Field of the Dead
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Irrigated Farmland
• 9x Island
• 1x Mistveil Plains
• 1x Moorland Haunt
• 1x Nimbus Maze
• 12x Plains
• 1x Port Town
• 1x Prairie Stream
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Windbrisk Heights

Artifact (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Azorius Signet
• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Relic of Progenitus
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sword of Body and Mind
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Talisman of Progress

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion

Commander (1)

Instant (15)

• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystic Confluence
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Negate
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Render Silent
• 1x Return to Dust
• 1x Rewind
• 1x Summary Dismissal
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

Sorcery (7)

• 1x Approach of the Second Sun
• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Emeria's Call  ^Flip
• 1x Hour of Revelation
• 1x Time Wipe
• 1x Tragic Arrogance
• 1x Wrath of God

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About the Deck/Commander

Though arguably among the weaker of the Theros gods (looking at you, Pharika!), Ephara, God of the Polis is my favorite commander deck I have ever played. As a general, she is more subtle and versatile than the other popular generals, such as Brago, King Eternal or Grand Arbiter Augustin IV. She can (and has) gone many ways; in the past, this list has been useless jank (not a recommended build style), purely tokens, blink value, hatebears, and this current iteration, an amalgamation of many playstyles, forming a solid Azorius control shell. I consider this list to be solidly 75% power-wise, and don't think that Ephara is conducive to much more competitive play than that. If you are looking for an Azorius cEDH deck, look at more objectively powerful generals, such as those listed above. One small disclaimer: this deck doesn't exactly make friends. It is a blast to play, but some of what it does can be considered unpleasant, and games might go on for a while, while you try to assemble a wincon after locking people down through a series of soft-locks.

Other Generals For This Style:
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage: Probably the other best general for this style of play. If you want to run a more artifact heavy build, or run more legendaries, or both, consider him as either a part of the 99 or a general (with Ephara in the 99, of course!)

Brago, King Eternal: Oh boy. Brago is the man; I should run him here, but he reminds me of how pale Ephara is in comparison. He lends himself to a slightly less traditional control deck, preferring to play more on his turn, not necessarily leaning as heavily on countermagic. Solid general, not quite what I want to end up doing with this deck.

Dragonlord Ojutai: Before Raff, the best alternative general. He does tend to lean towards the more aggressive side of the spectrum, playing as a voltron-control build. Again, solid general, and could possibly find a home here.

Gameplan + Engines/wincons

Gameplan:
Early Game: In this stage (turns 1-4), you are looking to get your general out as early as possible. Ideally, you have her down by turn 3, and the start of an engine. Most of what your opponents are doing is irrelevant, and will be dealt with by sweepers later on.

Mid Game: Here (turns 5-10), you start controlling the board a bit more heavily; you will have an engine online, and enough mana to leave up responses. With an aggressive start, you might be able to knock out an opponent through combat damage. Depending on how effective you are at ramping, Approach of the Second Sun can pull off a win at this stage. Wiping the board shouldn't be a priority, but problems should be dealt with with your discretion.

End Game: At this point (turns 11-?), winning is your main priority. Your creatures are largely outmatched, but having an Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, along with a small army of pegasi is highly effective. Sweepers ought to hurt less, as you have drawn enough cards to rebuild. Approach of the Second Sun should be within reach, and ideally, you will have counterspell back-up.

Engines/Wincons:
Approach of the Second Sun
Recruiter of the Guard + Trophy Mage + Cloudstone Curio + Another creature to bounce Recruiter
Recruiter of the Guard + Stoneforge Mystic + any equipment
Recruiter of the Guard + Spellseeker + 2 cmc or less spell (Cyclonic Rift, Muddle the Mixture, etc)
Recruiter of the Guard + Whitemane Lion/Venser, Shaper Savant bouncing the recruiter to start off other loops (ideally curio loop)
Deadeye Navigator + Venser, Shaper Savant
Recruiter of the Guard/Deadeye Navigator + almost anything
Sacred Mesa/Heliod, God of the Sun/Elspeth, Sun's Champion + Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
AEtherling
Talrand, Sky Summoner/Monastery Mentor + spells

Updates

9/9/18

-- -Sword of Light and Shadow

-- -Plains

-- -Island

-- +Sword of the Animist

-- +Moorland Haunt

-- +Adarkar Wastes

8/12/18

-- -Blind Obedience

-- -Daxos of Meletis

-- -Docent of Perfection  

-- -Godhead of Awe

-- -Island Sanctuary

-- -Knight of the White Orchid

-- -Luminarch Ascension

-- -Mistmeadow Witch

-- -Restoration Angel

-- -Saltskitter

-- -Sword of the Animist

-- +Azorius Signet

-- +Cloudstone Curio

-- +Monastery Mentor

-- +Muddle the Mixture

-- +Spellseeker

-- +Stoneforge Mystic

-- +Sword of Feast and Famine

-- +Sword of Light and Shadow

-- +Talisman of Progress

-- +Trophy Mage

-- +Umezawa's Jitte

Date added	7 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 44 - 0 Rares 16 - 0 Uncommons 9 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.30
Tokens	Angel 4/4 W, Angel Warrior 4/4 W, Bird 1/1 W, Cat Soldier 1/1 W, Copy Clone, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Human 1/1 W, Human 2/2 G, Manifest 2/2 C, Monk 1/1 W, Pegasus 1/1 W, Soldier 1/1 W, Spirit 1/1 W, Tentacle 1/1 U, Wolf 2/2 G, Zombie 2/2 B