Love the deck :) but can I ask you how to do those Dropdown Menus in your description? I'd love to know how to do it to tidy up my description boxes.

love this deck! I'm making a Mayael deck too and having a lot of trouble trying to decide what to take out. Also, I was thinking about it and wondered, how much does Scroll Rack help the deck, as in my view, its pretty much 7 mana to cast a creature from your hand and draw a card. Am I wrong? Great deck tho. Finally a really good Mayael deck I can look to for inspiration! Also, is there a reason that Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and Iona, Shield of Emeria are not being played?

I'm guessing, as you said Iona, Shield of Emeria is not fun for opponents, that they are both not fun in your standards.

I was also wondering about Gruul Ragebeast

Scroll Rack is not just about being able to play the creatures from your hand. Because Scroll Rack puts the creatures back on top of the deck, you can now plop an uncounterable creature onto the battlefield with the added bonus of being able to draw cards. And with this deck's topdeck manipulation power, your able to draw whatever it is you want provided you messed around with the top of the deck; like spot removal or WOG effects, something that can turn the tide in your favor. And also, as it says in the description, Scroll Rack lessens the need to mulligan very many cards (if any at all) which means your less likely to be at a disadvantage; which is very important at the start of a game. So yea, Scroll Rack has a lot of utility behind it and worth considering in any EDH deck.

Thanks NinjaKitty778

C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E., I'm not pointing specifically at YOU, but imagine your opponent plays Iona or Vorinclex against you. You can't cast spells of a color, and your lands don't untap. Are you really having fun anymore? Hobo respects the game, respects friendly competition. This is a Mayael primer, not a pro-level competitive shut-down deck list, from what I understand. Those are great cards, if winning is all you care about.

what about replacing Soul of New Phyrexia with Ghostway? Its cheaper, a combat trick so opponents wont see it coming, and it will trigger ETBs.

The obvious drawback is you only get to do it once, but in my LGS meta, surviving one board wipe unexpectedly will almost always win you the game.

Also, another drawback to this deck specifically is mayael targets. Looking at the current build, you are already pretty low on mayael targets, so to do this would have ripple effects. You would probably need to add a creature and remove something else to compensate, which might be a deal breaker, but thought i'd throw it out there for everyone. I've been having a lot of success with it.

PS: This discussion thread is great, thanks for all the great ideas! I have a non-budget/competitive version of this deck and i would love suggestions!

If You Ain't Cheatin', You Aint Tryin'

Commander / EDH denyde

SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 664 VIEWS

So I'm now a Savannah away from having a near card for card version of this deck, and I have to say it's the spacejam.deck. I know you've floated the idea of using the Zendikar fetches when you get them and I was wondering what you would cut to make room for them and what you would change (i.e. including Avenger of Zendikar and possibly playing something like Hunting Grounds from having a more reliable way to trigger threshold with fetches).

First off, let me say thank you to everybody who's made suggestions, asked questions, and had kind words to say. My work schedule lately limits the time I can spend on tappedout, so I may be slow to respond sometimes, but don't let that stop you from providing/asking for feedback!

@NinjaKitty778: Check this out. The coding I used is under the "Spoiler Text" section.

@C.H.O.C.O.L.A.T.E.: Scroll Rack is totally worth it. It keeps your fatties on top of your library, which is where they ought to be. I'd say it's one of the best topdeck manipulators in the format. As mentioned, Iona and Vorinclex didn't make the cut due to personal taste - they are often unfun/unfair, which is not the experience I'm going for with this deck. Gruul Ragebeast is solid, but a bit lackluster in my experience. I'd rather run cards like Dragonlord Atarka. While she can't grind as much long-term value, I find she closes the game faster and/or helps me catch up if I've fallen behind.

@denyde: What I like best about Soul of New Phyrexia is that it plays very comfortably into my existing strategy. I typically hold my mana back until my opponent's turn, then activate Mayael in response to their plays. That same mana can be pumped into Soul of NP in a pinch, which gives me flexibility. Also, as you mentioned, I'm pretty thin on Mayael targets. I've been thinking I need to add a few, rather than take more out.

Bear in mind, of course, that Ghostway is still a great card. If it works for you, run it. I've seen some Mayael builds that really focus on ETB effects, and flickering cards have the potential to really shine there.

@benwardlaw1: Tough question. Probably Winding Canyons, Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, and the filter lands (Wooded Bastion et al). As for changes, that's even more uncertain. Avenger of Zendikar is definitely in, and Knight of the Reliquary might see her day in the sun again.

I've also decided to run my Mayael deck at instant speed, making cards like Aegis Angel and even Quarry Colossus mildly relevant as ETB responses. The drawbacks are once they're down, they're not much of a threat and don't necessarily help your board state outside of their ETB effect. Ever consider these to fit the responsive playstyle?

@thewyzman: I like Aegis Angel. An evasive body that protects your biggest asset? Solid. Quarry Colossus is less exciting, particularly considering that you often won't have more than 2-3 Plains out at any given time.

It's not that your trying to bury it deep with Quarry, it just outright resets a threat. I like the potential myself, but I don't actually play it either, i just like the argument for it

Hey MaelstromHobo, thanks for that link :3 I'll try and learn how to do it ASAP. Also, you seem like an excellent deck builder so I was hoping you could give an opinion on my new favorite EDH deck: Ruric Thar's Guide to Punching Mages in the Face!. I'm quite proud of it but, like most of my decks, I'm always looking for new opinions and ways to make it better. Thanks for your help.

Have you ever thought of trying Flameshadow Conjuring? On top of mayael's ability, pay an extra and double the ETB triggers, and combat/damage/board state affect triggers on turn. It works better probably with a few less legendary creatures, where I use guys like Armada Wurm (ETB) and Utvara Hellkite (swing trigger) as token engines... but dropping in copies of Terastodon and Woodfall Primus, or even Bogardan Hellkite or Greenwarden of Murasa, for a single seems okay.

What is your take on Shadows over Innistrad, so far?

@snotice: The set is awesome, and jam-packed with Commander goodies. The cards I'm most excited about for this deck are Traverse the Ulvenwald and Arlinn Kord  ^Flip.

Same here! I just bought 2 Arlinn Kord  ^Flip for both my EDH decks. I know shes going to be an all-star. Traverse the Ulvenwald looks great turn one and even late game with delirium, most like possible. I'm looking forward to see how it works out for you!

How come no Godsire or Worldspine Wurm? This is the one deck they belong.

What's your input on Defense of the Heart?

I'm not the author, but in my own deck, Godsire is a lightning rod, making him and me instant threats. My own meta is full of blue decks and clone spells, and those are two creatures I'd like to keep for myself, though I do run the Wurm, for now.

@bankrupt_on_selling: Godsire and Worldspine Wurm are both fine cards, particularly if you've got a token sub-theme. They both amount to just beef though (admittedly, a ton of beef!), and I would rather sacrifice body size for utility. Nearly every power 5+ creature I run serves double duty as removal or protection for my other permanents. That said, you can have a ton of fun "monster trucking" and if that fits your play style then run with it!

Defense of the Heart is stupid good. I think there's only been two or three times that I've lost after triggering it. I don't run it any longer because I've changed my philosophy on tutoring, and would rather play less-predictable games.

How do you like the battle lands in a 3 color deck? What's your thoughts on painlands? How about City of Brass, Mana Confluence, Reflecting Pool and how about Kessig Wolf Run and Mosswort Bridge? Why not run Strip Mine and Wasteland? And Drumhunter is neat ramp/draw is he not worth playing? Knotvine Mystic is a neat naya dark rit. Thoughts on Sacellum Godspeaker? And Spearbreaker Behemoth & Steel Hellkite? It'd be great to hear your thoughts on naya removal! How would Return to Dust be in this? What about Day of Judgment as a 2nd wrath?Praetor's Counsel seems strong!

My gratuitous thought as a fellow Mayael player: As awesome as Kessig Wolf Run looks and feels in a fatties deck, I think I've ever used it only twice or so. I, myself, keep it in my deck for if I should need it, but so many of my own creatures have their own trample that I'm finding it decreasingly important. Drumhunter has been in and out of my deck like he's got springloaded sandals because the ramp/draw is nice, but the 4-drop slot is jam-packed with cards from Hedron Archive (better ramp) to Greater Good (arguably better draw, which works amazingly fun with Deathrender btw).

@bankrupt_on_selling: The battle lands are good. They don't often enter untapped, but being fetchable is really valuable. Painlands, City of Brass, Mana Confluence, and Reflecting Pool used to have a place in this deck but have been gradually removed as I acquired fetches, shocks, and alpha duals. The most stable mana bases I've seen for 3-color decks build around a core that looks something like this:

9 fetches3 shocks3 alpha duals3 check lands1 Command Tower

For most decks, that's half your mana base. You'll probably want to run a couple more dual cycles of your choice (I've opted for filters and battle lands), and 1-3 of each basic. Other than that, try to cram as much utility as you can into your remaining slots.

As thewyzman said, Kessig Wolf Run can be sort of underwhelming in this deck. Most all the creatures I run are already big and evasive, so it just ends up being redundant. Mosswort Bridge is pretty good, but I had to cut it because I found myself running too many etb tapped lands. If your deck can shrug off the tempo loss, then go ahead and give it a try. Strip Mine and Wasteland didn't make the cut because I don't enjoy land destruction.

thewyzman hit the nail on the head with Drumhunter. My 4-drop space is probably the most competitive and Drumhunter just doesn't compare to what I'm already running. As for Knotvine Mystic, I'm not a big fan of mana dorks in EDH. Because of the prevalence of board wipes in the format they typically die before they make much of a difference. Not to mention they're a dead draw late game. Sacellum Godspeaker works in Mayael builds that run Elvish Piper effects, but not in my deck. I try very hard to keep fatties out of my hand. Spearbreaker Behemoth is pretty good, but I've opted to run Soul of New Phyrexia in his place. Steel Hellkite is really good, though I try not to run creatures that need to attack (or in his case, connect with the opponent) before they have an effect. When I was running him it was pretty rare for the opponent to leave him alive long enough to destroy any permanents. Return to Dust competes for the same slot as Fiery Confluence, but either are fine choices depending on your meta. Day of Judgment is obviously strong but I would pretty much always play Rout over it. And last but not least, Praetor's Counsel. It's powerful, certainly, but I'm of the opinion that your 8+ drop slots should all be filled with Mayael targets.