The Fateshifter | **PRIMER**
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 358 | 319 COMMENTS | 80868 VIEWS | IN 150 FOLDERS
DAabean: Oh my god, how did I not see that, I just took a part my animar deck, so I have one to put right in there :) The same is true for Great Whale
August 21, 2018 6:04 a.m.
Odysseus_97: I like the idea of Rune-Scarred Demon but at 7 mana, he's a really steep investment for a possible repeatable tutor effect. I might have to test him out though since with the number of ramp I run I might be able to get him out early to dominate the game.
DAabean: Good call on Palinchron...he's probably gonna find a spot in my deck if I decided to ramp up my combo consistency at my LGS.
August 21, 2018 8:24 a.m.
I played some games recently and feel like Whip of Erebos should be included as a consideration. Being able to bring a Massacre Worm back from the yard after dropping an Ixidron won a game pretty handily.
August 23, 2018 2:09 p.m.
Have you considered Azor, the Lawbringer ?
I have him in my deck and last FNM he controlled the whole game :)
That was super fun - No one had a chance to do anything against my board especially in combination with Lavinia of the Tenth.
August 24, 2018 1:43 a.m.
NeonEndymion says... #6
FWIW, I was able to get in 4x reps in a casual-competitive playgroup over the past week. On the whole, I played against 10 unique decks/strategies. Nothing tier 1 or 2, even within the context of casual competitive, but mostly solid/powerful strategies, and a mix of Aggro/Counters Matter/Graveyard+Sac Looping/Pillowfort. Most games went about 60-90 minutes, so the deck's powerful late game strategy was able to shine. Can confirm that you do want to avoid becoming Archenemy at any point with this deck; if you're making moves to win the game, you need to have answers/combo finish on hand to win that same turn or a few counters/removal/bounce spells in hand to police the board before your next turn.
I'm personally looking to tweak the list a bit to try and lower the curve a bit while prioritizing adding in some mix of the following:
-More card draw/cantrips (3-4), to avoid Aminatou fatesealing yourself when you're out of gas -More top deck matters/miracle payoffs (looking at Entreat the Angels and Temporal Mastery, in addition to Time Warp) -Other reliable/repetable sources of blink than Aminatou and Conjurer's Closet -1-2 Lower CMC ETB creatures with top deck manipulation payoffs -Tweaking the manabase a bit to add in select Duals (~4) with Plains/Island/Swamp subtypes -1-2 more tutors, perhaps even Trinket or Trophy Mage -at least 1-2 more payoffs for the Felidar/Aminatou infinite blink, as it was reliably the easiest to assemble in hand and on board, mana-wise and tutoring-wise. Altar of the Brood seems pretty OK to me here, as it just doesn't do much work, otherwise, and I feel like the build wants 1-2 more combo finishers. Per below, Magister of Sphinx felt like a solid go-to back-up wincon, for the very late game, but I think people enjoyed that card even less than combo (may be my meta, but the salt factor on Sphinx was higher than when combo'ing off). -1-2 other enablers, if they exist, for infinite targeted blinking w/ Aminatou+Felidar
-Looking to shave: Hostage Taker, Emeria Shepherd, Angel of Despair, Ashen Rider
Hostage Taker in particular underperformed for me, as unless you can immediately cast and then also cast the creature/artifact you stole, it is a very expensive proposition (our own rocks make stealing, say, a Sol Ring low-impact, and earlier game, most relevant creature targets were 5-7+ CMC in my pod. Any time she was cast without immediately casting the target in exile, it was a removal magnet or lightning rod for a non-symmetrical board wipe, with the target in exile returning to the field afterward.
Similarly, aside from the high CMC, Emeria Shepherd was often stuck in hand. I might have misplayed by trying to make sure I could cast her and either drop a Plains or blink a Plains (or both) on the same turn, but at that point I'd rather/more effectively tutored up Entreat the Angels to straight up recur most of my yard in one shot. Feels strictly better? Is there a lower investment recursion option to consider?
Angel of Despair and Ashen Rider were also a bit underwhelming, as by that point in the game, the efficacy of slower single target removal (vs trying to combo off and finish the game) once or twice per turn was limited/strained. For the CMC, I'd rather try/test Rune-scarred Demon to try and put together a combo win with protection, but that may be personal playstyle preference/local meta.
At the moment, I'm fiddling around/testing with, aside from Trinket Mage:
Mystical tutor Rune-scarred Demon Brago, king eternal Vela the night-clad Restoration angel Lim-dul's Vault Scroll rack Entreat the angels Insidious dreams Tainted pact
I'm also looking at possibly also adding in Mulldrifter, in addition to Baleful Strix and Cloudblazer, as one of the most consistently powerful plays, early or mid or late game, was to blink for 6-8+ card draw over 1-2 turns (discarding to hand size didn't hurt as much if/when I could set up the yard, then tutor an Entreat the Dead on top for a big blowout turn).
As you noted, it's a relatively difficult deck to pilot, and it really does need to hang back in the early to mid game, try not to draw dedicated hate, and favor ramp/tutors/control/ETB card draw over going for fast combo. In 2 games (to be fair, in 1 of them I got Mind-twisted for my entire hand, which didn't help), I was low on gas, and Aminatou's +1 essentially fatesealed me into irrelevancy, hence my thought that some cantrips that could help dig for gas (the usual suite of 4-6, maybe even a Fact or Fiction) might help mitigate that possibility or provide an out when this happens. I did have to crack off fetches prematurely to help with color fixing, however, but still. Something to consider?
Lastly, both the games that I won were heavily dependent upon Time Warp (once for a combo, the other to set up a Magister Sphinx aggro finish after an overloaded Cyclonic Rift), so it might be worth considering adding, at the very least, Temporal Manipulation, if not also Capture of Jingzhou or Temporal Manipulation.
One fun discovery was that with just Aminatou, Archaeomancer, Time Warp, and Venser, the Sojourner, you can keep plus'ing Venser to re-set Aminatou, looping for infinite turns. You can then take one turn off plus'ing to pull of an ultimate, eventually exiling everyone else's permanents (with the limit being cards in your deck, but by then you'll have drawn, of course, into some other finisher).
Hope this was somewhat helpful/happy to dig into more detail from the testing if you or anyone else has questions!
And thanks again for the list; this was a super fun strategy that drew far less hate than Brago and really surprised the table with some of the shenanigans it could pull off (in a good way).
August 24, 2018 9:30 a.m.
NeonEndymion says... #7
edit: ". . . at that point I'd rather/more effectively tutored up Entreat the Dead to straight up recur most of my yard in one shot."
August 24, 2018 9:38 a.m.
tfitch: Whip of Erebos is definitely in my to-test list...the lifelink can also be relevant too.
dommes89: I've tested both cards and they made me an instant archenemy which is highly unfavorable upon testing. They are also difficult to be used as political leverage in the game. I prefer cards like Knight-Captain of Eos where it only affects people that choose to attack me or can be used as a political leverage to save someone from lethal.
NeonEndymion: That's a very solid writeup! I agree 100% regarding ashen/despair but I think we should keep at least one of them. Interesting enough, I have never had any problems with card draw because my number one priority for my tutor target is card draw...I think having redundancy can never hurt though. I am heavily considering adding back Trial of Knowledge just because enlightened tutor can be turned into another card draw if needed. I also agree on Mystical Tutor and Rune-Scarred Demon. I'm getting more games down this weekend at my LGS and will be putting my writeup soon after. These are the changes I'm now considering:
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Remove Angel of Despair for Rune-Scarred Demon versus Mulldrifter/Trial of Knowledge
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Remove Hostage Taker for Mystical Tutor
Thanks again for the writeup!!!
August 24, 2018 9:58 a.m. Edited.
NeonEndymion: Also regarding Emeria Shepherd, I think that it is still a very solid card especially late game. The key is that it is able to get back nonland permanents which includes planeswalkers. The number of times I save myself some commander tax or get back venser after a boardwipe has solidified its spot in the deck. Even when I drew it early, I can always shuffle it back to my library with Aminatou + fetch/tutor.
August 24, 2018 10:05 a.m.
NeonEndymion says... #10
I really like your idea to find space for Trial of Knowledge again, as at least twice I was low on cards and wanted to use Enlightened Tutor to grab a card-draw engine, but instead settled for Panharmonicon (which unfortunately becomes a do-nothing 4-drop when you're out of or low on gas).
Good luck/have fun at your games this weekend! I might be able to get in 4-6 more games today or tomorrow; I'm planning on leaving the list as-is for the moment before making changes, so we can stay on relatively the same page, but will change my early game strategy to favor tutoring for card draw almost exclusively and see how that pans out. If I discover anything interesting or different that's significant I'll be sure to share.
The only other thought that came to mind was whether/not it's worth finding space for Tolaria West again, as being able to tutor up Piranha Marsh or Bojuka Bog (the former as a finisher, the latter as needed graveyard hate, and your only source of it) seems very good?
August 24, 2018 10:14 a.m.
NeonEndymion says... #11
Thanks also for the further context on Emeria Shepherd; for some reason I forgot that she can recur all non-land permanents (maybe because during game 2 of 4 this week, RIP was out with her in hand and I didn't have removal for it, so most of these lines were off the table).
I think that if there's room for some more Duals with Plains as their subtype, and if I shave some of the other higher CMC options as we discussed, this could really work well in my meta (the problem being that leaning on her surviving a turn of the table is very dicey, so she either needs Aminatou on board to cast or a Plains/fetch in hand or a fetch on board).
In terms of being used to recur walkers/avoid commander tax, I might want to look at adding 1-2 other walkers on this Shepherd/top deck matters subtheme: Liliana Vess (can set up Miracles at least once, hopefully twice). Possibly JtmS. Confused about how a few lists seem really high on Sorin, Grim Nemesis, though.
August 24, 2018 10:22 a.m.
Megalomania says... #12
I would go with Mulldrifter over Trial since you have more ways to flicker it.
I also strongly recommen that you try Parallax Wave. I’ve found it not only a good way to flicker multiple creatures every turn but also as a substitute for Oath of Jace and Panharmonicon.
August 24, 2018 10:59 a.m.
Jthomas3592 says... #13
Great write up! I'm excited to hear about other's experience with Aminatou as the deck is explored.
How much are you prioritizing Eerie interlude & Ghostway? I played a four player game last night, and Eerie interlude in hand with Chupecabra, Mulldrifter & Mnemonic wall on the battlefield felt incredible. Devastation tide became cyclonic rift, and I could flicker my entire board every turn cycle. I could just leave up 2W for Eerie Interlude and know it would take multiple wraths in a turn cycle for my opponents to get rid of my board. I wasn't planning on adding tutors to the deck, but now I'm prioritizing mystical tutor just to get Eerie interlude/Ghostway.
August 24, 2018 11:01 a.m.
Megalomania says... #14
Got them both in my list along with Ghostly Flicker. They work really well mid to late game. I recently took out Ghostway to make room for other cards.
August 24, 2018 11:12 a.m.
NeonEndymion: I've tested sorin and he is honestly too slow and underwhelming. I'm actually not a big fan of walkers just for the sake of value due to how vulnerable they are and how they often draws unnecessary attention to my board. I'm also thinking of removing Solemn Simulacrum for Mulldrifter...the reason is because I don't run a ton of basics to abuse it and also I do run a ton of mana rocks so ramp is not a problem in this deck. Solemn is also a pretty dead card mid to late game. Thoughts?
Megalomania: I agree with Mulldrifter...still not sure about Parallax Wave though...seems too clunky and slow..I think I would rather play Eerie Interlude over it if given a choice.
Jthomas3592: Eerie Interlude was in my list originally for the additional protection from wraths and value engine but was cut for other cards to test with. I am honestly thinking of putting it back after much testing. I think that it is a fantastic card and also synergies with Aminatou's ultimate.
August 24, 2018 11:43 a.m.
Megalomania says... #16
Enral Why do you think Parallax Wave is slow? It’s actually one of my favorite cards in the deck right now because of the slot efficiency. Remember that you can use it as a redundancy to Panharmonicon, Oath of Jace and/or The Chain Veil.
August 24, 2018 12:08 p.m.
Megalomania: I think it's slow/clunky because it requires Aminatou or another card to flicker to make it good ...although it can target opponent's creatures too which is worth considering. I'm also trying to balance between value creatures, enhancers (like panharmonicon), and flicker engines. Having too many enhancers may backfire if my board is wiped or if I have no value creatures to abuse. I'm also not a fan of having too many enchantments due the inability to get them back (other than emeria shepard) if they are destroyed. Overall I don't think I want to add more cards that are dependent on Aminatou...granted I do think that it is a great card for Aminatou to abuse. If it works well for you I don't see anything wrong with it..it's a great card! It all comes down to personal preference I guess.
August 24, 2018 12:22 p.m.
NeonEndymion says... #18
I've never even liked Sorin in other dedicated Superfriends builds, so I'm relieved to hear that you're not a fan of him either, and especially here.
If I were to tune this for 1v1, I'd want JtmS and Liliana, but in multiplayer and for the CMC, you're right; there are better options already in the deck for those effects.
I'm not convinced this is a particularly good idea (my initial/blind thoughts are that it isn't super synergistic with the overall strategy and feels a bit too win more), but I did see a list that runs Alhammarret's Archive. This does allow Aminatou's +1, when needed, to become a mini-Brainstorm, and would supersize an actual Brainstorm (or Ponder or Serum Visions etc), as well as blinked Mulldrifter/Cloudblazer/Baleful Strix's ETBs. Can . . . is it possible . . . to draw . . . entirely too many cards?
To that end, though, I agree that removing Solemn for Mulldrifter is at least worth testing. Worst case, too, you can evoke it t2 or 3, then recur it later, so it's never really dead.
And as to Eerie Interlude, I'm a fan of finding a slot if possible; one advantage that it has over Ghostly Flicker is that the delayed vs instant blink means you can protect all yer dudes and potentially draw even more cards off of it, which is pretty sweet.
Exciting stuff, and glad to see there are a bunch of other people who are interested in the deck and testing/brewing. Still surprised at how many people wrote off this walker as, like, a bad Brago or Venser . . . but I think those people are going to be even more surprised once they realize (by losing to) how viable this actually feels.
August 24, 2018 3:05 p.m.
I played Aminatou just an hour ago and all my opponents just go out from the table. They say it's just an evil control combo and they can't do anything. And only because I play Decree of Silence. What do you think about adding this to your deck? :P (sorry form my english)
August 24, 2018 3:46 p.m.
NeonEndymion: I agree that Alhammarret's Archive is overkill and not needed. Also..there is only so much you can fit in this deck so every card needs to count imho. I've decided to keep solemn seeing that artifact hate can set me back more so having some kind of land ramp can provide me with another insurance policy against that. I'm now debating cutting Knight-Captain of Eos for Eerie Interlude (just noticed that it works well with Ixidron...it's a great political card for protection though so idk.
I honestly think that in a 75% pod, Aminatou is a powerhouse. Brago is too fragile and because it is a creature, hating brago out is way easier than Aminatou. Also, any constant fog effect is gonna brick him hard. The addition of black also makes Aminatou that much better as a flicker commander.
Omega505: After tinkering with different cards to be abused by Aminatou, I think that the best way to build her is to specialize in something. For example, my build is more of a value-town toolbox strategy. This means that I will include value cards that isn't oppressive to abuse. The other direction is the stax route, which is to abuse cards that are oppressive to the table and Decree of Silence is one such card. I'm not a fan of mixing both stax and value-town strategies together as they dilute my deck's direction and make it less coherent and effective overall. I think Decree of Silence is a great inclusion in midrange stax builds but definitely a poor fit in my strategy.
August 24, 2018 4:04 p.m.
Well, in my group when I put like one enchantment or two creature and Aminatou they starting to focus on me so.... xd
August 24, 2018 4:14 p.m.
Megalomania says... #22
Enral I get what you’re saying and looking at your list, it does make a lot of sense. I’m curious about the inclusion of Ixidron though. What is the reason behind it?
August 24, 2018 7:49 p.m.
NeonEndymion says... #23
Since you can blink your own creatures to reset them, Ixidron is a one-sided board wipe. It also slows down the board if opposing creatures are out, bc opponents can’t just recast them without using target removal on their own stuff, politicking to attack each other, or using another board wipe, all of which gain you tempo and virtual card advantage.
August 24, 2018 8:09 p.m.
Megalomania: Adding to what NeonEndymion said, why Ixidron is amazing in this deck:
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No matter how complicated the boardstate is, including having instances of an opponent having Void Winnower + Shalai, Voice of Plenty + Avacyn, Angel of Hope in play, Ixidron makes them into useless 2/2s
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The turned down cards cannot be turned back up without flickering it...it is not a morph which makes nerfing everyone's commanders easy
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Synergies with Ghostly Flicker/Eerie Interlude/other flicker engines including Aminatou to turn them face up
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Massacre Wurm becomes a one sided board wipe
DAabean says... #1
No Palinchron? It combos with Panharmonicon for infinite mana as well as Deadeye Navigator and Eldrazi Displacer.
August 21, 2018 3:02 a.m.