Sorry about the typo Iona only shuts off your opponents not you, so Celestial Dawn with Iona is OP and complete shutdown on your opponents. Meaning you when the game since no one can play anything with celestial dawn with you lock down White spells with Iona

OJ wouldn't get any triggers if you get pariah in play, Narset is the only one that would pose a problem to remove but with your general having pro white you can block it all day, only so Narset would just sit there doing nothing all day. Or just play board wipes or just run Glaring Spotlight, that way you can still run Celestial Dawn

last suggestion Caged Sun, Gauntlet of Power, and Extraplanar Lens are some mana pump you should highly consider for running any mono color deck btw.

I think your misreading Celestial Dawn. It only effects your board. It doesn't do anything to your opponents unless you can give it to them, and even then, with the removal of rule #4, it doesn't hurt them like it previously did. Perhaps your thinking of Painter's Servant. Unfortunately, that cards banned in commander.

Allay is a card I haven't seen before. Thank you for that. The Illusionist's Bracers I've ignored in the past. However I've been trending this deck slowly towards a control shell (for what white can do), so it's something to reconsider.

I've already got Caged Sun in the deck. Love it. It only affects my board, which is why I've kept it in and never slotted Gauntlet of Power. I don't like how global the gauntlet is. Extraplanar Lens has been on my radar, I've just never tried to fit it in. Maybe I have to play with it before I'll learn to appreciate it. I just see it as "spend mana exiling a land, artifacts wiped before next untap". That happens often when I get Caged Sun on board.

Finding slots will be tough. I'll have to think on this.

Yea I did misread Celestial Dawn for painter's servant. One way around the board effect that you can do is replacing all your plains with Snow-Covered Plains that way you can you use gauntlet and extraplanar lens, Sculpting Steel would be a nice add to copy mana rocks/accelerating artifacts. I think Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang have the least synergy with your deck its nothing more but a pump up Sword of Kaldra would cost less and have super deathtouch (exiles).

Hah that's a great solution for the gauntlet. However, I like my full art lands too much. Eventually I'll foil those out too. I was actually considering that it may have a better chance on staying on board than Caged Sun, since it's beneficial to other players.

I'm still hanging onto Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang. It's not incredibly efficient, but I dig it! The times have been few, but turning it into a dragon as somebody tries to break it or for a surprise blocker is fun. I had the Kaldra set too. They weren't as efficient as other options, so once I assembled them in a game once, I pulled them for more efficient answers. Tho it's something to reconsider. If I focus more on my commander then maybe they'll come back.

I also have some sweet custom tokens from a dude on eBay (GnD*alteredcards).

So! I pulled Reya for Ugin. I also decided to bring back the kaldra set I pulled Condemn (tuck vs exile from the sword), then Eternal Dragon and Flickerwisp. The dragon seemed useful but never really did much in the games I saw it. Flickerwisp has potential to do some stupid stuff. It just hasn't been happening lately.

I haven't bought Gauntlet of Power yet. Still undecided if I'm going to swap it with the cage, or pull another card.

This deck was on point last night! Mind you, my groups idea of "fun" typically means dumb shit & long games. Power going from one player to the next. Again, long games.

So the first game was getting out of control & I couldn't really do much. Thawing Glaciers a few times for ramp. Get Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite on board & kill off the little guys. Stopped the Marchesa player. Killed off a few creatures on the Dragonlord Ojutai players board. However that wasn't going to be enough. He had Ajani Steadfast & Tamiyo, the Moon Sage on board, with his Sword of Feast and Famine-wielding commander out - attacking with vigilance. Twice, thanks to Medomai the Ageless.

I forget what else was out. Just that I was glad to see my next draw was a land. I was holding Ugin, the Spirit Dragon in hand. Played the land, the planes walker, than with a big grin, announced' "Minus Ugin for 6!" Lmao. Bye planeswalkers! Bye free extra turns! Lol. Then OJ's turn comes up. Quarantine Field, exiling Ugin & Elesh. I just smiled. He passes turn, I untap, draw, then tap 4. "Return to Dust your Field & your sword! Thanks for resetting Ugin!" Lol everybody grumbled, then decided to scoop because they knew whatever creatures survived Elesh would likely die to Ugin's bolt. They didn't want to dig for answers.

The second game, a 5th player jumped in. Slivers. I had an early Sensei's Divining Top so I was stacking my draws. As well as Weathered Wayfarer for a few lands. The slivers guy tried to blow up my top with Harmonic Sliver. So the first board wipe came, killing his 3 slivers and a couple other creatures. Then I dropped Relic of Progenitus making him remove a card each turn until he exiled the harmonic, since he made a comment about bringing back it back.

I had all the removal. It was hilarious. Sliver Overlord couldn't stay on board. Dragonlord Ojutai didn't last long. He managed to put in a few attacks with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar emblem out & vigilance from Ajani Steadfast. I had played out 4 wipes, with more in hand. I baited the slivers to pop his Nevinyrral's Disk by attacking with an attached Worldslayer. Lol. It was awesome. Granted, my board was wiped, but I opened up the door to keep putting stuff out rather than holding off on him activating his disk. We also didn't lose our lands! :) The turns continued for a while. I had a strong board state, lots of removal in hand, lots of land on the field & a Caged Sun, Sword of Fire and Ice, Shield of Kaldra, Helm of Kaldra & a manifest creature (OJ exiled my germ token Batterskull). I was considering which artifact to pull back with Treasure Hunter. My options were Assault Suit, Relic of Progenitus, Duplicant, Worldslayer, and I think another one or two. Well, the decision was made for me. OJ cast Tragic Arrogance. Left me that manifested creature with the Sword of Fire and Ice. At the EOT, I Path to Exile the Sliver Hivelord which'd been recently played.

Well, it was getting late. The FNM had finished and we were told they weren't staying late to draft. So I counted my lands. 13. 1 more in hand. I look @ the OJ player & (while laughing) say, "this is your fault. You made me do this!" I tap 3 lands, Treasure Hunter. "Returning worldslayer." Then I counted out loud as I tap down 10 mana. Play it, attach it. Move to combat. "Ok. Everything's gone". 3 of them laughed & scooped. "You got it." I scooped. The last guy laughs and says, "wait am I the only one didn't scoop? Does that mean I win?" I looked around, shuffling up my graveyard & hand and remark, "Yup! You got it! Good game!" He was the only one who wasn't already shuffling!

I saw all the pieces I put in this week. They all did good stuff. I didn't miss the cards I pulled at all. All in all, I'm happy with the changes. I do have Gauntlet of Power, Extraplanar Lens & Pariah's Shield on order & coming.

THIS DECK TRIGGERS ME

SOMEONE GET A TOPOR ORB

LOL draco_nite just say NO to the orb!

Man, the deck played like SHIT tonight! Only got one game in because attendance to FNM is lacking - they were done before 9 so the shop was closing up for the night.

In that game, I manged to draw Akroma, Elesh, Caged sun and spent MOST the game with 4 fuckin lands. Little irritated. Played 8.5 - He got instantly removed to Fiend Hunter of all the damn removal. Anyhow - I slotted in Gauntlet of Power, Extraplanar Lens and Pariah's Shield and pulled Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang, Assault Suit and Archangel of Tithes. Didn't see them at all. I forgot I had planned to pull Silverblade Paladin. That's probably next to be removed so I've got to decide which of the above 3 I'd rather have in the deck. Probably Assault Suit.

So! While reviewin this list, I realized I hadn't updated the decklist to the changes with gauntlet/lens/shield. Well, they're all in. I pitched Spine of Ish Sah and brought back Iona, Shield of Emeria. I also tossed Treasure Hunter so I could bring back Archangel of Tithes (which I previously pulled to make room for the lens).

As I mentioned in the main "update", I've placed an order for Descend upon the Sinful, replacing Mass Calcify. Also Lightning Greaves to replace Assault Suit

Also coming: Rest in Piece & It That Betrays. Marchesa is a serious pain & the # of sac outlets to avoid exiling affects is obnoxious! Lol.

So I brought in the greaves & Iona. Both saw play last night. As usual, Iona brought the salt. Lol.

So I showed up late last night, after Marchesa made for a rough night (I'm usually burning resources to keep her in check). Well the player of Marchesa had changed over to Mizzix of the Izmagnus. The deck is known to go Enter the Infinite+Laboratory Maniac. Ok, long story short, I had a Quicksilver Amulet out, cheating in Iona, Shield of Emeria, naming Blue. That shut down Mizz, Riku & Horde. Followed that up with Sword of Fire and Ice. Already had Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, with the greaves. I equipped the sword to Iona, and began attacking Mizz. He already had Tamiyo, the Moon Sage on board, so I was shocking her w the sword.

Well, now these guys decided I was the big bad guy. Forgetting my deck has to work for the win & Mizz will pull it out of his ass. Horde pulls Desert Twister, gets all excited & says he's going to blow up Iona! I responded with a laugh & said, "Nope!" Tapped 3, turned the spell white with 8's ability, then giving Iona protection. "That's bullshit! Screw it, I'm done. I'm going home...." I couldn't help but laugh about it... He could have took back the spell (yes, we allow that).

After he left the guys said his deck wasn't doing shit all night. Riku & Mizz agreed to just scoop. The "new" guy, playing Teysa, Orzhov Scion was looking at them like a bunch of quitters :D I told him it's understandable as I had a pretty strong board state.

Next game - Mizz auto wins. Basically he sat there drawing cards. Zur Grasp of Fate's my Gauntlet of Power & I couldn't draw 6th land for shit. Mizz pulls off an Epic Experiment for 20, getting Enter the Infinite. Lab Man was still in the deck, so that's was that.

Iona has to stay tho. I need to have ways to deal with Marchesa, even if it is unfun. It's unfun when 1 deck gets to pull off too much shit and easily gets around spot removal & board wipes. Now I need to figure out where to slide in It & RIP. I'm thinking probably pull Marshal's Anthem for RIP.

(Continued, wasn't able to edit previous comment)

Maybe Batterskull for It? I'm not sure, this is a tough one. Stuff that's sometimes too expensive & wastes a turn, such as Argentum Armor & Worldslayer could also be considered, but not. When I use them, they're game changers. Maybe Remember the Fallen.. Again with the recursion, I don't have enough in the yard when these cards are in hand. Not to mention, "to your hand" is ass. Too many good cards...

With the inclusion of It That Betrays, I started thinking about how to get it in play. If I don't have Quicksilver Amulet on board, it will be incredibly hard. So, rather than giving up on it I'm bringing in some lands.

Ancient Tomb is like having another Sol Ring.

Eye of Ugin will not only help with pulling It when needed, reducing the cost of It & All Is Dust is just good. (5cmc sac all colored? 2 additional mana to turn my opponents lands white!? What??) With the recent banning, it's affordable once again.

Shrine of the Forsaken Gods Takes 7 lands, but it starts producing CC to bring out the bigger equipment. It'll help when I'm trying to cast & equip something like Argentum Armor. Too bad it's only for casting & not activating abilities...

Somewhere between the inclusion of those & what I've already got, it should make him a bit more viable. Thespian's Stage is another to keep in mind.

Might not be the direction you want to go, but there are some silly things you can do with protection and the ability to change the color of spells.

Earnest Fellowship - never let an opponent target anything you don't want them to again/remove any aura or equipment at will.

and Glare of Heresy as three manna unconditional removal.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/01-06-15-LPw-eight-and-a-half-tails/ if you want more.

@ Cloudchaser.Kestrel you know, I have previously considered Earnest Fellowship, but moved on, not thinking about abusing 8's ability. I just thought "everything gets pro white, that doesn't do as much as it does in my Kaalia deck. However, your right. Pay 1 to stop targeted removal/control. Rather than pay 3. I'll have to consider it.

Glare of Heresy is one I've been thinking about giving a shot. I know the real popular 8.5 build doesn't use it for relying too heavy on 8. However, it's basically w3: exile target permanent. Better than Vindicate if you have the setup for it. Such delicious versatility!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to consider what comes out. I did just stuff Rest in Peace in. Ofcourse now our Marchesa player is playing Nekusar. It That Betrays & RIP are less of a necessity. Maybe RIP for Fellowship. Fellowship could also Jose opponent deck strategies where they target their own stuff.

I just ran thru some updates to the deck list. I pulled Shrine of the Forsaken Gods. The art is gorgeous, but 7 lands to get it to tap for 2 - just to cast colorless spells sucks. If it activated abilities as well, that'd be a bit more reasonable. I slotted in Mirrorpool, which is slower but has much more potential power.

Last weekend I played a very awkward game of EDH Emperor. Grand Arbiter Augustin IV was the opposing teams Emp, & my direct opponent was Momir Vig, Simic Visionary....who got out an early Asceticism. A very timely Tragic Arrogance followed up by my Emp's "each opponent sacs 2 creatures" affect (I forget the card) & we were able to stall Momir from killing me on the swing back. Augustin killed my 3rd team mate Athreos, God of Passage as I killed Momir with a suited up 8.5.

I had finally built a strong board state after Momir bouncing my permanents with Temporal Adept. Augustin cast Upheaval (I just saw that's banned in commander) which left me with a whole bunch of cards in hand & nothing to do with them! He was able to quickly ramp back a board state, throwing down the mana rocks he'd just bounced to hand. Before I could do anything, he had his 3rd plains out, cast Iona, Shield of Emeria, naming white. His plan was to neuter me & go for the commander kill. My Maze of Ith did work! Slowed his ability to kill my Emp. Besides Iona, he had Narset Transcendent Ajani, Caller of the Pride, Blinding Angel, his commander & I forget what else. I think an enchantment or two? And then.....

All Is Dust boom! Thanks to him all I had on board was artifacts! I played out 8.5, suited up & between me & the Emperor, we pulled out the win.

Sigarda's Aid a thing! Holy shit!

Plan on running Brisela in my Aurelia deck... Don't think they'd be any good in this deck tho.

Can't decide what cards to pull to make room for Sigarda's Aid, Thalia, Thalia's Lieutenant & Oblivion Stone. Lieutenant is lowest on the list, but tutors are sweet!

Biggest Do-Nothing cards are Akroma, Entreat the Angels... Just put Entreat back in, but it's still kinda meh. Maybe Exped Map, but that's proven so useful. Kaldra Gear is pricey(mana), but good utility. Godsend, but +3/3 & exiling is nuts. Although, it does work against 8 when getting protection tho... Relic of Pro? Kinda need some 'yard hate tho...

And then if I pick up Jitte.... Ugh

So previously, I had removed Shrine of the Forsaken Gods, going to 37 lands. My total count was off so I brought it back to have a full, proper deck. Then I remembered how good it is when your running a ton of colorless in your monowhite deck :D

Still thinking I can probably survive with 37 lands, I cut Homeward Path. I also pulled Champion's Helm, Entreat the Angels and Akroma, Angel of Wrath.

In their spots, I am bringing Oblivion Stone, Sigarda's Aid, Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang! Oh yes, I simply couldn't resist bring back the blade :)

I almost brought back Worldslayer, but decided to bring back Tatsumasa. Still considering Thalia's Lancers and Umezawa's Jitte

Trump is not white.

He is clearly yam hued. Think sweet potato casserole or ernie from sesame Street. Too bad cheeto isnt a color in mtg:)

Hey, I really like the deck!
I might have taken some of your ideas into consideration in mine 8,5. To be fair, I want you to know of mine -maybe you will find it helpful. I am trying to update it often but still didn't get used to tappedout's update feature so I don't really kepp a log of what goes in and out. Anyway, feel free to take a look!

Now, to make a real comment, I have a LOT do discuss with you since I basically run the same type of deck. But just to start a conversation (I hope), what's with the mass removals? Do you really need three? I was originally running Rout and found it not as useful as it seems to be. Also, the Descend upon the Sinful looks really great, but can you really cast it with delirium on? I rarely have four cards in the graveyard, not to mention four TYPES. All Is Dust seems solid to me. It's very costly but being able to delete an opponent to zero lands is too powerful of an option not to keep in the deck imo.

I didn't manage to read all of your updates yet. If I ask what's already answered -sorry -I'll keep on reading during next few days.

Cheers.

Hey Warxuaroz - chiming in with a quick rebuttal to your comment around All Is Dust. At first I was all "wait a minute, AiD doesn't include lands as they are colourless" and then I reread Tails' 2nd ability. Holy, that's gross!