You're running Rest in Peace in the side, I see. Can your deck really bounce back from an RIP? It's questions like these that make me really see why there usually aren't sideboards in commander

HowlingFoxGPH: I'm running those two for different reasons. Waves of Aggression allows me to turn my late-game lands into spells, and Seize the Day is very cheap and has flashback. Notably, both can still be cast after discarding them to a Wheel or Faithless Looting. And although Relentless Assault is an awesome card (particularly with Sword of Feast and Famine), I think I'll have to leave it out for now. 8 mana total to get the first activation is harsh.

Ocelot44: I'm afraid I don't quite understand. I have very, very few GY effects in this deck, so RIP seems a natural choice for the sideboard. The sideboard rules for commander are debated pretty frequently, but in my meta they let you have a 15-card sideboard so that's what I've done (it's particularly anti-control). Any suggestions for it? :)

Well the problem is that with RIP on the field, creatures can't die, and Avacyn can't flip

Would you still run Rest in Peace if you didn't have a sideboard?

Ocelot44: Ah, I understand. The issue you're bringing up is the reason it's in the sideboard rather than the main-board. It does hurt me, but my meta is full of GY-based decks so it often straight-out wins me the game. Against some of the decks in my LGS, T1 Enlightened Tutor for T2 Rest in Peace is game.

Hey love the deck!

I have a couple questions though. For all of us who want to draw inspiration from your deck but don't play with sideboards, what would you say you would play in your main that you currently have in the side?

And secondly, can you explain your sideboard? Like each card, what matchup do you bring each card in for, what do you take out, etc. Your explanation of your deck is pretty good, but you don't talk about your sideboard anywhere, and that's kind of a big part of the deck :)

onua1: Thanks! :) To be honest, the sideboard is much less tuned than the rest of the deck, simply because it's harder to test. I've found that my worst enemies in 1v1 are fast combo decks and strong control decks, so I included many cards to stop them.

From my sideboard, I've been boarding in Winter Orb and Cataclysm more and more. They're just SO good in the deck that they may become main-deck additions. The rest are basically silver bullets. I don't have too much time to type this response, sorry, but here's a brief overview:

Academy Rector and Eldrazi Conscription come in for slower games where I have time to set up without interference, but I really need something big to push through the damage near the end of the game. They usually replace Argentum Armor and Loxodon Warhammer.

Armageddon, Blood Moon, Razia's Purification, Ruination, Cataclysm, and to a lesser extent Winter Orb are my land/mana denial cards. They're amazing (doubly so when the control player taps out or I'm playing against a ramp deck), but I try not to play them because they are rude.

(On a sidenote, NEVER miracle a Reforge the Soul on a whim after a Cataclysm. That lost me a game recently, dammit.)

Boil, Pyroblast, and Red Elemental Blast are my specifically anti-blue cards. I don't like having my commander countered. Fuck blue. I've been thinking of putting in Stranglehold for this purpose too.

Rule of Law is anti-combo and particularly anti-Storm. Ruination and Blood Moon also hit hard in that matchup.

Faith's Reward comes in to accompany my MLD, or in a matchup where I think my artifacts will be destroyed frequently.

And finally, Containment Priest and Rest in Peace are my anti-reanimator tech. Containment Priest also shuts down a nasty Brago deck in my meta.

I hope that gives you a little insight into my choices! :)

Hey, guess which deck's ranked #1 currently?

:D

No room for poor little Angel of Serenity? And her bff Eldrazi Displacer? But they do try ever so hard!

Samuel-Frederick: She's an awesome card, but unfortunately she's a bit above my mana curve. This deck is intended to be blisteringly fast, and although she's a great piece of removal, I think she's quite a bit overcosted. I'd consider her at 5 mana. 7 is just too high :(

Eldrazi Displacer has been in the deck several times (to reset Avacyn, grant my things indestructible, or tap blockers), but I ended up cutting it. I didn't get colorless mana reliably enough, and in the end it's a great card but somewhat extraneous when I want as many cards as possible to be threatening on their own.

Thanks for the comment, though! :) Happy deckbuilding - if you like the deck you're welcome to +1 it!

Hey! Is it possible that you could show us the decklists of the other guys in your meta? Id love to see what you are up against!

onua1: I don't have their actual decklists, unfortunately. But my current established meta is as follows, ranked roughly by their power level (though it rotates a bit):

Teferi, Temporal Archmage: Hard control and combo

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician: Stax/superfriends - this deck is the reason Stasis is my least favorite card.

Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind: Hard control and combo (this is a $15000 deck)

Karador, Ghost Chieftan: Boonweaver Giant combo

Like 4 Mizzix of the Izmagnus decks: Control, storm, etc

Prossh, Skyraider of Kher: Normal Prossh combo. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

The Mimeoplasm: Reanimator and Hermit Druid combo

Daretti, Scrap Savant: Standard artifact combo, some mass LD and stax

Like 4 Leovold, Emissary of Trest decks: Hard hand removal locks

Tasigur, the Golden Fang: Control with a Tendrils of Agony finish

Bruna, Light of Alabaster: Enchantment-based voltron

Ezuri, Claw of Progress: Pretty standard but vicious beatdown

Brago, King Eternal: ETB shenanigans, minor control and tribal

Oloro, Ageless Ascetic: Control of course

The Gitrog Monster: Combo and land-destruction stax of course

Purphoros, God of the Forge: Tribal goblins of course

Sliver Queen: General 5c goodstuff

Borborygmos Enraged: Mass LD mostly - tends to cast Decree of Annihilation then concede.

Sen Triplets: I think this deck is just made to piss people off TBH.

Plus some other various decks that stop in occasionally :) and several C16 decks that are still in tinkering stages. The people have generally been playing between 10 and 20 years, and usually sink $800-3000 into each deck. The decks are well-optimized and proxy-less.

Of those decks, I can reliably beat about 3/4 of them with this deck if I draw at least a decent hand.

Is that enough info? I'm not sure how else to describe my meta :)

I am a fan of RW. I have a deck like that myself. I'm not sure of the winrate anymore but I usually just lose to combos.

here's the deck: RW Deck

I don't like either Windbrisk or Spinerock. I think they can screw you out of early land drops, but I see them work in some decks. Slayers' Stronghold might be good.

I also run other creatures that give indestructibility or have it naturally.

Anyway it's just a sharing of ideas so do what you prefer. :)

Great Deck & Primer! I've got nothing to add that hasn't been said... 'cept maybe Strionic Resonator for doubling down on flip damage. Doesn't have too many other cards to create synergy with other than sword triggers and Relic Seeker.

Glad to learn flip cards can be played with colors of their flipped side, though it seems Avacyn is pretty unique in this realm.

Side note: I built a casual Fun-Stuff Sen Triplets deck to replace my Sydri, Galvanic Genius Control/Combo deck, but it seems to pull all the hate. I think people really get salty when you play their cards...

CelineT: I find that an early Spinerock Knoll or Windbrisk Heights can set you up for amazing midgame plays - or, if you play it later, abuse Sword of Feast and Famine to spit out your spell from under the land immediately. I definitely agree that they can slow you down on critical turns if you play them incorrectly - I always prefer to have another land in hand if I really need the mana on that turn. Between the two, Spinerock Knoll tends to be better (not least because you can activate it off of two other plays dealing each other seven damage) but I'm playing both because I like the symmetry TBH.

I didn't like Slayers' Stronghold when I played it TBH. I never had the three free mana, especially on the turn that I cast Avacyn. Avacyn already has pseudo-haste and vigilance. And there are more effective ways to get a +2 boost to power. Plus, the lack of colored mana hurts more than you'd think.

What other cards with indestructibility would you recommend? Also, I'll take a look at your RW deck later :)

Regoober: Thanks! :) I honestly don't like Strionic Resonator in EDH...like, at all. It's single-use and just doesn't do enough to warrant a spot in general (now, if it was repeatable like Rings of Brighthearth it might be a different story...).

I'd be happy to take a look at your Sen Triplets deck if you want :) Also, if you like the deck you're welcome to leave a +1 (I'm trying to break 200, hehe).

Yo man i want to thank you so much i was trying to make my own deck based on Avacyn and thanks to you i have almost finished it this is by far one of the best decks i have seem

MadCapGamer1993: I'm glad I could help! If you want to post the deck I'd love to look it over :)

Hey Daedalus19876! I have just played these cards and they performed admirably last time.. i am sharing it maybe you would also be interested.

"Ghirapur of ther Grid" - let's you use your voltron artifacts as spitters! Not to mention gaining full control of static orb and winter orb. i had it replaced the Sublime Archangel.

Beloved Chaplain - protection from creatures is insane! Guaranteed sword swing. I had to remove Argentum Armor for the reason that in my meta, i have not encountered being able to play Stoneforge Mystic and Sigarda's Aid also we follow a certain banlist, and i can't use the fast mana rocks.

Hey Daedalus19876! I have just played these cards and they performed admirably last time.. i am sharing it maybe you would also be interested.

"Ghirapur of Aether Grid" - let's you use your voltron artifacts as spitters! Not to mention gaining full control of static orb and winter orb. i had it replaced the Sublime Archangel.

Beloved Chaplain - protection from creatures is insane! Guaranteed sword swing. I had to remove Argentum Armor for the reason that in my meta, i have not encountered being able to play Stoneforge Mystic and Sigarda's Aid also we follow a certain banlist, and i can't use the fast mana rocks.

Okay, so based on all the comments and your primer, this is one of those "its my baby" type of decks. Blood, sweat, tears, and several paychecks have gone into getting this deck where it is at. Personally, I'm only just starting to find my way into that level of understanding and confidence about my builds, so I'm dully impressed with what you've done here.

I have A LOT I'm wanting to ask you, and not all of it about your build, but it is 2 in the morning for me so give me a day or so to be back on here. Suffice to say I'm mainly going to ask about alternate build paths like enchantments over artifact equipment.

HowlingFoxGPH: Ooh! Ghirapur AEther Grid is a good idea. Thanks!

TheRedGoat: This deck is indeed one of those B/S/T decks :) I eagerly anticipate your questions, though fair warning that I'm super busy with finals right now and it might take a few days for me to give you the answer you deserve :)

So, most of my questions were going to be about cards like Trailblazer's Boots, Skyblinder Staff, Vorrac Battlehorns, and similar equipment that while they don't grant you a power buff they do make it much easier to get your damage through. I see these as focusing on time over speed essentially in order to win.

Now I figure most of these types of cards, if they've been considered, have been left out for that reason exactly. For your group they're too slow. Someone earlier suggested Aggravated Assault over your Seize the Day and you said you preferred the sorcery for its flashback synergy with your draw spells. But I would presume then that if you had more cards focused around stalling for time over straight up drawing gas, then that type of card might seem better? I can say for sure that one card I would have suggested, War's Toll, would be too slow for your build, but it would also force your opponent's hand instead of letting them sit on answers to your stuff. This type of gameplay is the stuff I'm still new to. Where you really have to wonder how your playgroup will react to a spell in regards to how they handle it.

You also disregard the assault for the "8 mana" to use it. Which, yeah, if it was never out on the field to be seen then it would cost 8 mana to use it in one go. But you don't disregard the use of Loxodon Warhammer for being "6 mana" to use so idk. Then again that doesn't stop the 5 mana activation from being mana intensive over time. Which, again, the rest of your build doesn't support. Which is probably why you don't use equipment to get double strike over Silverblade Paladin or Duelist's Heritage? Is that really so necessary?

Now, for this last part, I figure you just find the idea behind auras like Spirit Mantle and similar cards are too risky to utilize? Or is it also in regards to the whole being slower to play or even the lack of a power boost? I understand red has very little support with enchantments, but there are other red or red/white aura's that can be extremely efficient.

Speaking of, why no usage of cards like Condemn or Dispatch instead of Declaration in Stone? Is it really just because of the other's ability to hit cards of the same name like tokens? And if so, why not run a low level burn spell like Whipflare or something instead?

Sorry for the small odyssey of a post, but I think I've only got 3 more questions. One is simply whether I'm right in thinking you don't run token production + Skullclamp over some of your self sacrificing creatures because that's only at sorcery speed. And the other is if the board wide bonus of Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer is truly better than having a perhaps more evasive creature like Steel Hellkite, or a more resilient one like Tajic, Blade of the Legion (which these are just ones that come to mind).

But for this last one, I feel it is less about your build, and more asking you as a person what you might recommend as a voltron commander for a "Dirty Santa" get together for a moderately skilled playgroup. With the premise that each deck is entirely made of proxies (so no budget technically), and the "best" player has stuff like Elf Ball (we stupidly allow him to use Emrakul) but our "worst" still has an Ulrich of the Krallenhorde  ^Flip deck (don't worry he knows it sucks), I'm not sure what to choose. I know personally I lean towards a style that is like your own here, at least in your versatility, but I also lean towards very slow plays that require some amount of either pillow fort and/or heavy control to get by. Which few of my opponents complain about, but most do not play themselves either.

Anyway, this deck is awesome and I hope very much one day to emulate its power in my own Voltron build. And one (actual) last thing, would you feel "Flight of Nightmares" is a deck name best left to a Mardu Angels tribal build than this one?

TheRedGoat My guess is, his deck is designed for his current meta and the rules they are using. Or maybe, he just does not want to disclose publicly the exact contents of his deck. I have my own deck of Archangel Avacyn  ^Flip and it was initialy based on Daedalus19876 AVACYN deck. However, on my playgroup, this deck gets murdered pretty much most of the time at turn 4 or 5 with my current meta (This is 1v1 btw) then a 40-50% ratio of winning against a multi. At 1v1, if you survive by turn 5, chances are, you win, then at multi, this does not have a "1-turn kill all trigger". Basically, you'll have to decide on killing only one. Either the one with the lowest life, or the one who is the biggest threat. In my meta, when i am on the aggressive play, ill be able to kill just 2-3 out of 5. When i go defensive stance, just chilling, somebody else will be able to set-up and go combo crazy win.

Due to this, I had to make some changes of my own and had to add some other wincons. Not to mention my playgroup are compliant with the current Multi/1v1 EDH rules and banlists (Though sometimes we go leviathan).

Anyways, I was actually one of those who suggested the Aggravated Assault but when he answered me, he referred to another card. Aggravated Assault + Sword of Feast and Famine has won me a lot of games especially when the equipped creature has natural evasion and/or my opponent/s is/are tapped out.

On other notes, i had removed the following cards:

The global discard draw spells for the reason that making my opponent draw seven cards at my expense does not appeal to me very much. Wheel of FortuneReforge the Soul

In order to compensate with the draw power of the deck, i had to add these two:m1. Nahiri, the Lithomancer - defense = 1/1 token, utility = get equipment from graveyard or hand to play is awesome with Sigarda's Aid possible wincon = an indestructible +6/+6 sword with double strike.Draw = 1/1 token + Skullclamp is three cards drawn per turn.

1. Skullclamp - i pretty much attach this to any of my creatures in play that are considered high valued targets or auto-equip with Nahiri, the Lithomancer's +2 loyalty. Or +1 of Elspeth, Knight-Errant or Kjeldoran Outpost.

In order to survive against full superfast aggro-combo may it be elf, goblin, humans, merfolk, skeletons, slivers, wizards, zombies, etc. I needed to rely on low casting cost global creature damage such as:PyroclasmAnger of the GodsWrath of GodDay of Judgment - probably will replace this with Whipflare

then,Authority of the Consuls - need lifegain in order to survive 5 to 7 turns (to establish stability) and also delay the swarm of attacks. I replaced Mark of Asylum for this.

I also had to remove creatures that are high cost such as Monastery Mentor, Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer, Sublime Archangel, and Aurelia, the Warleader.

Then, for win cons these are my key cards:Tajic, Blade of the Legion + Worldslayer - This is much a nuke every swing.

Aggravated Assault + Sword of Feast and Famine - equipped by a creature with evasion or by tajic or with Basilisk Collar

Repercussion + any of the ff: Pyroclasm, Anger of the Gods, Archangel Avacyn  ^Flip's flip damage (this is vs. Aggro)

Dictate of the Twin Gods - goes in flash when enemy takes damage

For anti-controlThalia, Heretic CatharConqueror's FlailGrand AbolisherCavern of SoulsWar's TollStoneshaker Shaman

For utilityBatterskullCrucible of Worlds,Kjeldoran Outpost,Inventors' Fair,Emeria, The Sky Ruin,Ghirapur AEther Grid, andStatic Orb

HowlingFoxGPH and TheRedGoat: Wow, that is a lot to respond to. I have a final exam in 40 minutes, but let me get back to you both in a few hours.

I'll respond to each of you in order.

TheRedGoat: Heres your answer. Sorry for the wall of text, lol.

I hope this answers your questions! :) If you want to know anything else, please feel free to ask.