NoviceMagician says... #2
Alright! Commander is less of my jam, but Iit is still my jam! Not really! XD
But I'mma do dis anyway!
Tomorrow! I'm tired as bauls!
So yeah, I'll definitely leave my suggestions tomorrow. But for that, I need to know one thing, have you decided on what direction you're taking with the deck as Mr. Fowler explained?
Once I know what direction you want to go in, I'll have no problem throwing things out of your deck like they don't even matter! :D
I'll throw stuff out until your deck is only a shriveled up carcass! :D
No but really, I can most likely get you to about if not exactly 100 cards. And if I end up having more time than I think I will tomorrow, I may even be able to get it down to less than 100 and throw in some suggestions to fill the spots.
;) See ya tomorrow then!
June 20, 2015 12:04 a.m.
guessling ah I like a long list of cuts, 26! I already had cut Loxodon Smiter, Sublime Archangel, Sigarda, Host of Herons. From the other 23 cuts you suggest I agree with a lot of them, but still attached to a few of them :)
June 20, 2015 4:01 p.m.
NoviceMagician the direction the deck is focused in now is on creatures with ramp or enter the battlefield effects, and creatures/equipment that boost the general e.g. Wilt-Leaf Liege. I have retained the Steelshaper's Gift / Enlightened Tutor and equipment package since the protection offered by the equipment to my general is vital so I want to be able to find it. While I am at it, may as well leave in Armadillo Cloak as Enlightened Tutor finds that if desired. 115 cards, getting there. Look forward to your inputs
June 20, 2015 6:22 p.m.
NoviceMagician says... #5
Are you ready for this!?!
No!? Well too bad! Here we gooooooo! Wooooooo!
Alright, before dem card suggestions, there are two things you should know:
1.)I do not consider any of these cards necessarily essential, on the contrary, I simply wish to provide you with some options that hold some potential for this deck,
2.)I do not recommend using all of my suggestions, unless of course you choose to do so. I say this because I admit that there are others whom will have some better suggestions than me, and their's should be considered too. :)
Okay. Here goes nothin'!
Well, the panel name pretty much covers it. These are the cards that I support merciless throwing out and gut the deck! Don't worry, it won't be that painful! :D
- Knight of the Reliquary. No ETB, sacing lands kinda sucks, and already enough beatsticks and artifacts to make beatsticks.
- Reveillark. That is a LTB and a pretty high CMC for a pretty sucky LTB.despite being a 4/3 flyer, not that cool.
- True-Name Nemesis. A 3/1 with protection from the other player is cool, but for three CMC, there are better cards in the deck.
- Farseek. With 36 lands, this card is kinda redundant, and in Duel, that two CMC should be spent on something that affects the opponent or an ETB.
- Harrow, same reasoning as Farseek.
- Qasali Pridemage. Look at how many artifacts and enchants you have. Now, how many more is your opponent likely to have? Not that many more. I think you have enough cards that get rid of artifacts and enchants.
- Vendilion Clique is much better in Modern. So how about we leave it in Modern.
- Avacyn's Pilgrim. It would be different if he tapped for other kinds of mana too, but he doesn't. Besides, 36 lands.
- Mystic Snake. I know, I know. This card is awesome with bouncability. But, it still costs 4 CMC. If you really want to counter stuff, use a normal counter, not a 4 CMC counter just because it bounces. And chances are you will be bouncing the threats anyways, so this will probably only counter one card.
- Pestermite. Sure, it's pestering, but it also seems like a weaker Derevi.
- Omenspeaker. If you actually need to scry to make sure you don't die, then keep running it. Otherwise, take it out because you will likely be bouncing more important things.
- Wax/Wane. I'd rather spend that mana on a bounce, wouldn't you?
- Solemn Simulacrum. A 2/2 fetch that costs 4 CMC? Not that cool in my opinion. Sure it can bounce, but still it costs 4 CMC. It also gives car draw if it dies, but it probably won't die because you'll be bouncing it. and an opponent won't find a 2/2 that threatening for 4 CMC, so they probably won't kill it either.
- Fact or Fiction. Yeah, it is really cool. But you already have plenty of similar cards for only 1 or 2 CMC, this one costs 4.
- Wooded Foothills. Not only are you not running mountains, but removing lands makes less than 1% of a difference in terms of draw.
- Polluted Delta. Same reasoning.
Alright, so I realize some of that may have been brutal, but come on, the deck has to go down to 100 cards to be playable. I'm sorry if some of that might be painful to drop, but it is necessary. Sometimes you just gotta rip the bandaid off fast to get it over with.
Good luck, have fun, no let me know if you ever need anything! :)
June 20, 2015 7:29 p.m.
NoviceMagician no I wasn't ready but too late now :p
I like this bit: "I do not recommend using all of my suggestions, unless of course you choose to do so." Lol, deep man :D
You mention the land count of 36 as being a lot in your comments. The average casting cost in my deck is 2.46, which is above average for a constructed deck - compare to a Modern or Legacy deck. The general costs 5 mana. It's a 3 colour deck. And finally, some of the lands are utility - they are sacrificed to destroy lands (Wasteland) or tap down threats (Maze of Ith) etc. All of this points to not skimping on lands, I am not an aggro deck. 36 lands in a 100 card deck is equivalent to 21.6 in a 60 card deck - actually it's slightly on the low side given the demands of the deck, which is why I rely on mana dorks and the cheap blue card draw to be able to run on 36.
Thanks for your suggestions will look over them more tomorrow! Till then...
June 21, 2015 5:13 p.m. Edited.
No Spike Weaver to piss off your opponent? Really cruel card, but I wouldn't suggest it unless you like losing friends. I know I've lost one because he started using it...
Champion of Lambholt may make winning faster. I know it doesn't have ETB itself, but it will benefit greatly from the others and letter you sneak in free hits.
I know Aura Shards is already suggested, but I have to give my approval of it. It screws so many people over, and not to mention its on a 3 CMC. Although, for duel I can see it being unused because you have already destroyed everything they have. Yet, it will keep them from playing any artifacts or enchantments till they have dealt with it.
For cuts.... I'm agreeing with cutting Knight of the Reliquary, Avacyn's Pilgrim, and the majority of the other mentioned cards. Mana ramp is excellent, but there is such a thing as too much, especially when having card draw.
June 21, 2015 9:24 p.m. Edited.
Thanks RyProv I see you and others want to cut Knight of the Reliquary. You will notice 8 utility lands - among them flying 4/4/ elementals, tapping down my opponent's general or destroying a problematic land on opponent's side. KotR serves as a tutor to find me the right land among the toolkit, it's all I have as a land tutor plus it can beat face. It's just such a good card in a singleton format.
Mana dorks - as mentioned my land count is actually on the low side given the average CMC and the cost of the general. Also it is just so good to play your CMC 3 spells on turn 2 and the general a turn earlier. I am running 6 dorks (that includes Lotus Cobra, but I am counting Dryad Arbor as a land). 1 in 17 cards in the deck. If we look at a 60 card deck running 4 mana dorks that's 1 in 15, comparable. Some 60 card decks will run 6 or even 8 dorks if they ramping, so 1 in 17 cards is actually fine and not excessive. Card draw helps you not miss land drops which is cool but if you also want to play key spells a turn sooner you also need ramp.
June 22, 2015 6:28 a.m.
NoviceMagician - taken on board the following cuts: Reveillark, Solemn Simulacrum, Harrow (in retrospect, while 2 untapped lands is cool to then cast another counterspell or whatever they are basic lands whereas I want better lands), Farseek - though it can fetch shocks it's sorcery which means have to pay 2 life for untapped mana to use. I need to keep my dorks then due to these cuts and keep eye out for a better instant/sorcery for ramping than these. 111 cards, getting close
June 22, 2015 6:43 a.m. Edited.
NoviceMagician says... #10
I think if you are having a hard time choosing what to drop, maybe run a few games with it, then you can get a feel for which cards you find aren't necessary. Testing will probably be the best way to figure out what to drop at this point. You could even ask your opponents what cars they feel you could drop, as long as they aren't terrible, they should be honest about it.
;)
June 22, 2015 4:57 p.m.
NoviceMagician: With my equipment/aura with tutors package still in, True-Name Nemesis should stay as it is devastating with anything on it. It is also a creature played in Legacy a lot, for good reason. But if the package goes it can go.
Vendilion Clique - this gets quite a bit of play in Legacy, never mind Modern. A 3/1 flyer with flash for 
is already impressive but it also has an ETB effect you can keep repeating with blink, and it takes your opponent's broken Legacy card X (in a high powered singleton format you have some crazy powerful cards you want to remove) and they get a random top deck card. You can even target yourself if you desperately need to draw a card to salvage a game.
Off colour fetchlands - with 30 starting life, we have a bit more to play with over Modern. Normally I would be running about 8 to 10 fetches in a 60 card Bant Modern deck to help fix the mana with 20 life! That's like 15 in a 100 card deck. Here I only have 2 on colour fetches (don't have Misty Rainforest) so I really have to run a few off colour fetches - they either just get the basic land for 1 life or fetch that desperately needed Shockland. In fact I am going to add even more (muahahaha), so in goes Arid Mesa, Scalding Tarn which is all the other fetches I could play in this deck. That's then 6 fetches, with 3 shocks and bunch of basics to fetch.
June 23, 2015 8:10 a.m.
Momentary Blink instead of Cloudshift it may cost 1 more, but you get to reuse it which is nice
June 23, 2015 8:41 a.m.
Cuts: Centaur Healer / Soul Warden / Tangle - not enough impact. Prime Speaker Zegana - too expensive.
NoviceMagician - actually yes Mystic Snake should go since Roon's ability only returns it to play end of turn which doesn't help me counter a spell (I would need Cloudshift in hand to do that)
June 23, 2015 1:49 p.m. Edited.
Or Deadeye Navigator, even though he is a little expensive, with Mystic Snake just think of the possibilities.
June 23, 2015 5:10 p.m.
Deadeye Navigator nice in theory but I would actually need extra mana to protect it when cast or use it's ability else it will eat removal. It doesn't generate enter-the-battlefield value. Everything is now 4 mana or less except Thragtusk, Sun Titan, Acidic Slime - all with ETB value - and Roon.
June 23, 2015 6:19 p.m.
Deadeye Navigator + Deceiver Exarch + Gilded Lotus = Infinite mana!
That's just one of the many, many combos that makes Deadeye Navigator one of the best, nonbanned cards for EDH of all time.
June 23, 2015 6:33 p.m.
This is Duel Commander. Opponent focused on getting me dead with much lower curves than EDH so 6 mana is a lot. But thanks I will include in my EDH version of this deck. Added Mother of Runes and Sensei's Divining Top, how could I forget those lol.
June 23, 2015 6:45 p.m.
I recently put together a Roon deck, and the first card somebody suggested to me was Perplexing Chimera. This may seem like an odd choice at first... but think about it. If any opponent casts a spell of any kind... you can exchange Chimera to them to gain control of that spell. Then, you bounce Chimera with Roon, and it comes back to your control (Roon says, return to it's OWNER's control) and you can take over the next spell an opponent casts. If someone tries to spot-remove Chimera, you exchange control of the removal, remove something else, and then bounce Chimera to get him back again! Pair Perplexing Chimera with Prophet of Kruphix Or Seedborn Muse and start taking over your friends' decks today!
The best news: Perplexing Chimera is cheap to buy!
June 25, 2015 4:50 a.m.
The Perplexing Chimera thing is a cool trick, but just seems more suited to EDH when you have a range of opponents casting high CMC spells to pick a good one to exchange. Here you just have 1 opponent casting spells at a much lower CMC. Say you cast this. They then cast Bolt on this, you exchange your CMC 5 spells with their CMC 1 spell and direct Bolt at them instead. They then go for their turn and attack among others with your 3/3. You then get to untap and use Roon ability to get it back unless you blocked it with Roon and killed it lol. Not all worth it given low curves in this format.
June 25, 2015 3:22 p.m.
You're so close to finishing the deck. What I would suggest cutting.
Wax/Wane is not a creature with an etb trigger and only one side is worth casting. I don't think it's worth it IMO.
Either Wall of Blossoms or Wall of Omens. You don't need both, since they're the same thing.
Knight of the Reliquary seems out of place in this deck. Since it doesn't have any etb effect, you can't abuse it as well as you could.
Omenspeaker just seems lackluster because you already have plenty of help with card draw.
IMO, Dramatic Rescue seems too mana heavy for what it does. Idk. I've played with it, but I feel like it wasn't doing it's job because I had to have both AND 
open just to cast it, but it just falls flat most of the time.
With Stubborn Denial, you only have 1 creature that can abuse it's Ferocious ability, so to need both pump spells and creatures on the field just for a chance to counter a spell completely is just not the best for commander.
And lastly, you might want to take out 1 more land. Idk, I just feel like you can do well even without be mana flooded.
July 2, 2015 12:01 a.m.
Thanks SirFowler - another bunch of options to cut to make me question each card. I like it!
Stubborn Denial - not sure how you get that 1 creature/card triggers Ferocious? These 12 cards trigger it: Armada Wurm, Obstinate Baloth, Sun Titan, Thragtusk, Wilt-Leaf Liege (this may also create a number of extra 4+ power creatures), Sword of Fire and Ice / Armadillo Cloak / Simic Charm / Wax/Wane (on any creature power 2+), Elspeth, Knight-Errant (+3/+3), Celestial Colonnade, Vines of Vastwood. Then, the 13th card that triggers it is Roon of the Hidden Realm, and I am guaranteed to see him in most games once or twice and protecting him is really important.
Dramatic Rescue / Omenspeaker agree are not the strongest, out they go!
July 5, 2015 5:15 a.m.
Huh, for some reason I didn't notice all of the pump spells and creatures for some reason.
Anyway, the rest can be difficult to cut. I have a bunch of edh decks myself and it kills me every time I go to cut stuff when I get new cards that would be better. Sometimes it's just the 'staples' that don't even fit but you want them to because people say you should add them to every edh deck. Other times it's because you remember back when it was good at those certain times.
At this point in the 'chopping block', you just have to test which cards work and which cards don't work. I think you should ask yourself, "Do these cards work in every situation? Are these truly necessary? When will I be able be able to cast these that will progress me to my goal?"
Hang in there. You'll be able to find the right cards to take out.
July 5, 2015 11:48 a.m.
SirFowler it does get harder and harder to remove cards but getting there. I think 2 colour EDH/Duel Commander decks are just much easier :)
There have been quite a lot of people saying cut Knight of the Reliquary. But when you can tutor for a range of utility lands in Duel Commander I just think it's so good plus a body.
I have cut quite a few cards, but added Venser, the Sojourner and Council's Judgment. Down to 102 cards. Almost there! I think I should look at the tutors...
July 7, 2015 6:23 p.m.
Down to 100 cards! Thanks everyone. This deck is ready to roll.
guessling says... #1
I also run a Roon of the Hidden Realm deck - but mine is more tuned for multiplayer games.
I did look at what I would drop. Here is my list: Absorb, Ajani, Caller of the Pride, Armadillo Cloak, Loxodon Smiter, Sword of Fire and Ice, Dig Through Time, Treasure Cruise, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Fact or Fiction, Jace, Architect of Thought, Sublime Archangel, Wilt-Leaf Liege, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Dispel, Enlightened Tutor, Mystical Tutor, Steelshaper's Gift, Stubborn Denial, Scavenging Ooze, Selesnya Charm, Wax, Azorius Charm, Fertile Ground, Mana Leak, Qasali Pridemage, Time of Need.
You do need to drop around 30 cards so I was vicious with the axe there. I can't explain every suggestion so I will make a few general comments. I think that there are times when a card that is good in general might not stand up beside other cards that become so much better under the influence of the general. In cases where there are relatively few enchantments or artifacts to search for (or instants / sorceries), the associated tutor for that card type may be less useful than usual.
I noticed that you seem to have a kind of life-gain focus for your ETB effects. I am not totally sure that this is the most strategic focus for duel commander. It might not be the worst, either. However, many duel decks will try to kill you with something besides life loss and gaining life doesn't do anything about commander damage. You might want to try out some other options like creature stealing, tokens, or lockdown. Lockdown might be the easiest to win with. Certainly, lifegain is probably better than my deck which has more of a "general utility" focus. I guess that I would say that you might want to give some thought to the precise way that this deck will win. Maybe there is a combo I am not seeing here and thus the tutors ... but with duel commander, it can sometimes become a bit more like regular MTG in the way that efficiency, consistency, and focus come into focus more than it sometimes does in big multiplayer games.
June 19, 2015 6:10 p.m.