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SIBBBBHTSFHFTDOI

Commander / EDH temeref

SCORE: 39 | 11 COMMENTS | 6394 VIEWS | IN 8 FOLDERS

UPDOOT —July 9, 2020

A week or so back, I asked the folks over on reddit for opinions on how to make my deck more respectable at a mid-power table. The general consensus was that it was primarily fine, though Thassa's Oracle was out of its league. Completely agreed; many opportunities for cool & interesting plays were suboptimal compared to a simple summoning of the oracle.

That said, here are some changes I'm finalizing. There is a focus here on combat damage, haste, and just more general interaction opportunities for everyone. With the removal of Thassa's Oracle, many more interesting lines of play have come to light during playtesting, and my love for playing this build has been renewed.

  • 1 Thassa's Oracle > Ormos, Archive Keeper // I hesitated to remove Thassa's Oracle for so long because she was one of the first physical cards I purchased for this build. A long lasting staple, she was a sort of pet card, being the ultimate payoff for my favorite combo of Spatial Binding and one of the Cephalid folks. With JumpStart revealing the almighty Ormos, Archive Keeper, however, emptying the deck can still lead to some incredible moments and payoffs, though now a bit more work must be done. Ormos plays perfectly into the shift towards more combat-centric gameplay while also providing some interesting draw potential. With the addition of a few more instants as well, draw is regaining its value compared to raw mass mill.

  • 1 Taigam, Sidisi's Hand > card:Teferi, Time Master // I really needed more 4cmc cards; rushing out Zur the Enchanter *f-etch* every game not only painted a massive target on me (surprising, I know), but was pretty boring, too. That said, what a card!! card:Teferi, Time Master is one of, if not my favorite card released within the past few months. They actually brought back phasing!! He's primarily here as a way to repeatedly loot, and the additional utility of temporary creature removal is more than enough to warrant a slot. I'm happily shelling out $30 for one, especially with that amazing callback art variant. Sure he isn't a creature, but I have more than enough solid targets for rez spells already, and even if he isn't one himself, he helps me get to one.

  • 1 Magister Sphinx > Crashing Drawbridge // The sphinx was... toxic, to say the least. Very rarely did I ever have fun dropping them, rezzing them, discarding them, anything; and, whenever I did lower someone to 10, not only was it difficult to capitalize on it (this is dif. now obv), but it only took out a single person while leaving creatures tapped. I feel like this is a prime example of a card being great on paper, but really lame in actual gameplay.

  • 1 Devoted Caretaker > Eight-and-a-Half-Tails // Bringing back the ol' boy Tails! I had them in the list for a long while, actually, before removing them due to mana issues. That said, they've managed to end up on my board in every game of playtesting recently, and they have had some SERIOUS impact any time they were present. 1 colorless for a "target". Solid, flexible protection. Even some color fuckery that came up at a point when facing a Blind Seer player. I'm upset at myself for ever removing this card, and will do my best to not repeat the same mistake again.

  • 1 Nezahal, Primal Tide > Medomai the Ageless // Nezzy was a card draw engine, primarily, and one that could stick around after a board wipe. That said, they have had their moments, but also haven't been as impactful as I'd have liked. With the switch to more combat-centric gameplay, Medomai the Ageless has come to the forefront of my attention after using them as a janky commander in recent times, and has been the perfect fit. Extra turns are seldom something people enjoy, but nobody has been upset at Medomai yet since there's so much you can do against them. Really damn good include that theoretically provides draw, mana, untaps, and all that jazz.

  • 1 Solitary Confinement > Vizkopa Guildmage // Solitary provides immunity from damage, but not life drain, which ends up being far more common in commander. It was not providing the results I was looking for in the slightest, and at best, it saved me from a deck out once or twice over the past month. If it had flash the story would be different, but for now, Prismatic Strands is my damage prevention go-to. Vizkopa Guildmage, on the other hand.... well, during playtesting, they have EXCELLED in every game I've dropped them in. Being able to lifelink huge creatures like Vilis, Broker of Blood as they block is one of the best deterrents I've ever seen, and in addition, can be a full blown win-con when combined with Resolute Archangel. Vizkopa has been in the maybeboard for months now, and I think this is the correct version of the build for them to be included.

  • 1 Abolish > Winds of Rebuke // Abolish is a good card when you have Land Tax or Oreskos Explorer; not so much any time else. The amount of times I've drawn a dead Abolish hurt my soul a bit, and even though it theoretically checks off every box mechanic-wise to be a perfect fit for the deck, it simply isn't. Winds of Rebuke is a more generic option that, in addition to being a fantastic toolbox (this deck utilizes bounce effects quite well when you consider cards like Animate Dead), can still do what it does in cEDH best: ruin Vampiric Tutor's. Great card.

  • 1 Felidar Cub > Magus of the Will // Felidar was present as part of the Emeria Shepherd & Parallax Tide combo. While they were often times an excellent early game drop that lead to many the destruction of a rushed Smothering Tithe or Rhystic Study, they were dead in the water at most other points of the game. Magus of the Will, on the other hand, feels like quite a greedy card at first glance, and I think you'd be right on that; it is incredibly greedy. But, at the same time, not much else in this deck is. With the increase in haste givers like Crashing Drawbridge as well as instants, Magus of the Will is now a viable include that provides much needed recursion at multiple points of the game. Due to the sheer amount of self-mill this list can pump out, I have seldom ever been in a situation where I haven't been able to get high amounts of value off of a Magus' sacrifice. Surprisingly effective card at the end of the day, though perhaps I'm an idiot for being surprised in the first place, given the goal of the deck...

And yeah! July 18th, gonna mask up and travel out to a few LGS's, see what I can find. Here's to more interesting discoveries!