So, after being out for years I finally decided to jump back into paper Magic headfirst by building a 3 color EDH deck. My explanations behind the card choices are VERY likely common knowledge, but I'm going to use this pseudo-primer as a way to help myself learn to pilot the deck more efficiently, so keep that in mind when you see very obvious comments like "Zur is good with Enchantments". Anyway, on to the cards!
Intro
I've always been more of a control player when it comes to MTG, although combo also intrigues me a bit, so Stax mixed with pillow fort running a combo-enabling commander seems like a pretty natural progression for me as a player. I also prefer a bit of parity at the table, so I'm essentially running 4 commanders with varying levels of efficiency and power to better help keep the game (relatively, it is Stax after all) fun for everyone involved. The Commanders are as follows (ranked by power)
Zur the Enchanter - You guys know how good he is, and with the sheer amount of enchantments to draw on here he will QUICKLY take over the game if he's not answered. He obviously is the highest power level commander I have in the deck, and is really only used for tables where people are playing more optimized decks and won't get too upset at facing down an overly powerful card.
Alela, Artful Provocateur - While clearly not as powerful as Zur, she has some significant synergy with this list, allowing you to contest board states and win through the air if your opponents don't have answers for an army of flyers. She's best used at more creature heavy tables that wouldn't appreciate Zur locking them down as early as turn 4.
Ertai, the Corrupted - A bit more of a wild card commander, Ertai is definitely on the lower end of the power spectrum in most matchups since his stats are a bit lacking for a 5cmc creature (those old creature stats really hurt him). However, in a control or mirror, he's surprisingly useful, since you won't need the pillow fort enchantments as much he's free to sac them to counter any of your opponents win-cons or bombs. He needs to be used wisely however, as he has to tap to use his counterspell ability and playing at a multiplayer table you really need to measure how dangerous certain cards are to you. I personally like him more than Alela, but I can't make the case that he's a better commander in general.
Tivit, Seller of Secrets - Definitely the lowest power commander in the deck, he's primarily used at lower powered tables where players are playing more battlecruiser or fun decks. There isn't much synergy here, but he does allow you to draw an absolute assload of cards with which you can then pay for with the treasures he also provides. He's fun, but not really synergistic or particularly good in general. In games where he doesn't sit in the command zone, he acts as ramp and card draw, and can provide a pretty great body to slap something like All that Glitters on to threaten lethal pretty quickly.
The Enchantments
Running Stax and pillow fort essentially pushes you into one of two different categories of cards. Artifacts (i.e. Winter Orb, Smokestack, Norn's Annex), or Enchantments. I decided on the latter for two reasons. First of all, it's far easier to find things to pull enchantments out and they're a bit sturdier than Artifacts are since most players seem to lean towards the "destroy target artifact" side of things rather than the "destroy target permanent" side. Secondly, I've played with artifacts a bit too often, and wanted to pivot into a different card type to experiment with that has more color pie specific things that it can do. I'll list each of the card I'm using, along with a description as to why I think they make the cut / combos that can be pulled together to help you win the game.
All That Glitters - Combos well with creatures obviously, and can be fetched with Zur. I needed a traditional win-con for the deck if certain other options go pear shaped on me, and decided that this plus evasive creatures was a good call. Slap it on your commander for a very fast clock.
Arcane Laboratory - I decided to go with blue for this effect for no reason other than being a bit contradictory since white is usually used for effects like this. Anyway, it's a great way to stall the board state and keep things from getting too out of control. Combos really well with Linvala and Stony Silence to make sure opponents can't just dump their mana into activated abilities on their creatures or artifacts.
Aura of Silence - More for the mirror than anything, this further slows down opposing pillow fort or Stax decks and allows you to blip one of their overly powerful cards as needed.
Blind Obedience - Slows down tokens and creature based decks while also giving you a way to help sustain if you end up behind. I prefer this to Authority of the Consuls since it still works if you're facing decks that are light on creatures by giving you Extort triggers.
Celestial Convergence - One of the alt win-cons of the deck. This plus Solemnity equals a one turn clock which will turn the board into absolute anarchy as every other player panics and throws everything they can into having the highest life total at the table. With the extra lifegain I have built into the deck, and the pillow fort cards, this deck provides you with a fighting chance to make it through to your next upkeep (for added saltiness let someone knock you down slightly below them, then Sphinx's Revelation prior to the effect resolving on the stack to cause some serious tilt).
Dissipation Field - Kick token decks in the teeth. Not only do they have to pay exorbitant amounts of mana (and possibly life) to attack you, all of their tokens end up deleted after they get bounced back to their owners hands. Works as a pretty solid answer for midrange and battlecruiser decks too since they probably don't want to keep casting their creatures over and over. Corner case is Kaalia of the Vast or ETB Effects, as bouncing ther stuff is typically not a great idea.
Energy Field - Pretty good on it's own to prevent damage, it ends up downright broken with Rest in Peace. If nothing goes to your graveyard, they need to remove this the old fashioned way, or not be able to traditionally hurt you at all.
Estrid's Invocation - What's better than Propaganda? Two of them. Greater Auramancy is a great card with the downside of not giving itself shroud as well. Enter this card to make your board of enchantments impossible to deal with on a targeted basis. The fact that you can change it each upkeep to whatever enchantment works best in the situation makes this an incredible toolbox card.
Ghostly Prison - White Propaganda. As these types of effects add up, the likelihood of you winning goes up since it'll buy you lots of time to piece together whatever you need to win.
Greater Auramancy - I'm also toying with adding Enchanted Evening to make the entire board impossible to interact with on a targeted basis. Even without that however, this card is incredible, especially if you drop in an Estrid's Invocation to give it shroud as well.
Koskun Falls - Black Propaganda. Not as good as the other pillow fort effects since it requires a creature to tap to keep it up and costs one more making it unfetchable. However if you manage to drop Alela first, she'll easily give you a body to tap to keep this card on the battlefield. Never underestimate the power of multiple Propaganda effects.
Leyline of Sanctity - Hexproof on yourself probably isn't as impactful as some other options at 4 cmc, but turning off burn and nasty spells that target players is well worth the investment. Picking this up in your opening hand is also really good, and I may even keep a 1 or 2 lander if this was in the opener too.
Mystic Remora - Let's be honest, Rhystic Study is better in most cases. However, Solemnity once again breaks a card by turning off the cumulative upkeep. What's better than saying "do you pay the 1" or "do you pay the 2"? "Do you pay the 4" has a really nice ring to it, even if it only triggers on non-creature spells.
Phyrexian Arena - Pay 1 life to draw a card. This is a really good rate, and honestly the only point of life that matters is the last one, and if you're at the point where this card will kill you, you probably lost the game a while ago.
Phyrexian Unlife - Keeps you alive for a turn or two on it's own, Solemnity once again shows it's broken face here, completely turning off poison counters and keeping you alive indefinitely until your opponents are able to remove this card (which is easier said than done with Greater Auramancy and Avacyn, Angel of Hope).
Propaganda - Blue Propaganda. Wait...
Rest in Peace - Graveyard abusers will hate you, and anyone attempting to damage you will hate this card as well if you manage to get Energy Field online.
Smothering Tithe - Ramp in white? What kind of nonsense is this? This card will get removed as soon as possible, so you better make use of it while you can.
Smuggler's Share - Kind of flies under the radar as a light version of Smothering Tithe and Rhystic Study. If anyone is doing anything worthwhile on their turn this card will make sure you get to share in their success. Obviously better early when players are setting up, this card will be a little bit more impactful late game than the cards it's imitating since it lets you do both things.
Solemnity - Finally, the official spot for this card. As you've seen before (if you're reading through this primer), this card is a serious combo enabler while also turning off a lot of different strategies your opponents may be attempting to pull off. It's good and you should play it.
Sphere of Safety - Supersized Propaganda. Being unfetchable with Zur is annoying, but you really don't want this early anyway since it scales (and costs 5).
Stony Silence - Hate mana rocks? Turn them off. Hate vehicles? Throw a boot on their tires. Turning off nasty artifacts is usually a really good use of your mana. And if your opponent isn't running artifacts, this is a cheap option for Ertai to sac to fuel his ability.
Vile Consumption - Primarily for when you're playing against token decks, paying one life per creature is back breaking if they've been flooding their board. Play this and watch them cry. On the other side of things, this is almost inconsequential against midrange, battlecruiser or control decks since the life they spend is nothing compared to the amount of damage they can do.
The Artifacts
Primarily mana rocks here with a couple of powerful pieces thrown in. Since this isn't artifact based Stax, they're far less likely to get played in a lot of games. I won't explain the mana rocks, since, well, they all produce mana and keep you a bit more resilient against Blood Moon and land destruction.
Lightning Greaves - Keep your commander alive and let them attack the turn they come into play. Zur loves these things to get things going a turn earlier than he would normally be able to.
Norn's Annex - Cruel Propaganda. Making your opponents pay 1 white or 2 life per creature to attack is ridiculously oppressive.
The Immortal Sun - The answer for Planeswalkers, and the reason this deck only runs walkers with passive abilities instead of some of the usual big guns like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. The other bonuses are pretty good overall too, with the cost reduction and extra card per turn being pretty equal in terms of power, and the anthem effect being a bit worse due to the number and size of creatures this deck runs.
The Creatures
I'll leave the possible commanders off here since I've already talked about them above, and if they're in the library instead of the command zone they play the same.
Archangel of Tithes - Propaganda on a stick. While this angel has an incredibly difficult mana cost, she makes up for it with a big butt and a unique effect by making opponents pay to block. A good target for All That Glitters.
Avacyn, Angel of Hope - An enormous, impactful bomb that must be answered, Avacyn plus Greater Auramancy is a ridiculous amount of protection for your board. Being an 8/8 flyer is also pretty helpful. A good target for All That Glitters (obvously).
Ayesha Tanaka - My pet card. Not nearly as impactful as a 4 drop should be, Ayesha slots into a corner case where she will make some artifact abilities impossible for your opponent to use unless they're able to pay 1 white. Not being able to do a thing will sometimes cause some tilt which can attach a target to you, but the humor factor makes it worth it in my opinion. Banding is a super awkward, weird ability as well, but you can use it to make combat even more for opponents by adding more math to the process. Totally worth the slot in my opinion.
Battle Angels of Tyr - A traditional win-con for the most part, Myriad makes this card a serious threat, and being a 4/4 flyer also makes this a good target for All That Glitters. The added ability for hitting players doing better than you is pretty good as well, but not particularly consistent.
Drannith Magistrate - A defensively statted hate bear that turns off all sorts of shenanigans. A 1/3 for 2 is a really good rate too which makes him an excellent early blocker.
Kambal, Consul of Allocation - Good card for sustaining your life total while taxing your opponents. I don't run much tax otherwise, so he sits in a unique niche in the deck.
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade - Another hate bear for shenanigans (although missing creatures with her first ability hurts since that's what a lot of ramp tries to cheat in early) and a soft counter to cards like Omniscience, although they're still able to play cards normally. Nothing like having your opponent need to hard cast a card off of lands and then not get the benefit of it.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence - Very oppressive and very likely to get deleted immediately upon being cast, Linvala's ability still makes her worth using. Turning off all activated abilities of your opponents is a really good way of asserting dominance (especially since her art could be argued to depict her moving into a T-pose).
Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker - While she drops off in usefulness as the game progresses, Michiko is a really good disincentive for players to attack you early, since at that point they may be looking at saccing lands to her ability. As the game progresses, she quickly becomes fodder for Ertai to counter a spell.
Reidane, God of the Worthy
- Choosing which side of this card really depends on who you're playing against. Against token decks or aggro/burn, the artifact side is a solid way to keep damage down while taxing their effect and making it harder to race, and against combo or control decks, the creature side is a great way to keep their bombs from going off for a turn or two while also offering an evasive threat to keep their life totals in check.
Silent Arbiter - Another anti-token / Anti-aggro piece. Obviously not nearly as good against battlecruiser or Voltron style decks, he still puts in enough work to make the cut. The 4 toughness doesn't hurt either as it places him out of range for most cheap burn, making opponents commit more resources to removing him.
The Planeswalkers
What would a game of Magic be without Planeswalkers? These self contained value engines will always be a part of the conversation, so I may as well put a couple in my deck as well, right?
Dovin, Hand of Control - Since I also run The Immortal Sun, I prefer walkers with passive abilities as well to make sure they aren't dead draws at certain points in the game. Dovin sits at the lower end of the power spectrum with his passive setting a small tax on our opponents which isn't terrible value for a 3 cmc card. He can also help you stall against massive threats for a few turns with his -1 ability, and since opponents can't usually commit huge numbers of creatures to attack into us, his loyalty ability actually has a bit more relevance than it might otherwise.
Narset, Parter of Veils - God, what a great card. And an uncommon at that! Turning off draws is one of the most powerful things a card can do and will almost completely turn off certain decks until she is dealt with. Her loyalty ability is also pretty solid, allowing you to dig for answers or combo pieces if you haven't been able to resolve a Zur.
Teferi, Time Raveler - He was banned in multiple formats for good reason. Turning off instant speed for your opponents is absolutely broken, and allowing you to cast your sorceries with flash is also really good, especially with sweepers and sorcery speed removal. Nothing like your opponents swinging in with only black open and unloading a Damnation on them for their troubles. His -3 is fine, but feels like it costs a little bit too much for what you get from it. Probably stick to the +1 unless you absolutely need to dig.
The Spells
what would Magic be without Instants and Sorceries? Pretty boring I'd say. While I don't run a HUGE amount of interaction, the pieces that are in the list all seem to perform pretty well for what they do, and while they may not actively win the game for you, they can help you not lose it.
Absorb - I don't run the good old Counterspell since I need to get a little bit more bang for my buck with my limited instant/sorcery slots. Paying 1 white more than a standard counterspell helps me sustain a bit more while also keeping a scary card off the field.
Dovin's Veto - When you absolutely, positively need to stop a non-creature spell from resolving accept no substitutes. This card is a control staple for a reason.
Hagra Mauling
- Since I only run 35 lands, having the option to turn a non-impactful spell into a land is a good option. The way EDH decks are built also lead to a few more points where I can cast this as a Murder as well since there are so many non-basics being played.
Hurkyl's Recall - Solid artifact hate, this will also save your ass against cards like Revel in Riches by popping all of their treasures. I'd prefer if this buried artifacts, but beggars can't be choosers and I'd rather hit a whole boardstate than a single problem card with a Disenchant type effect.
Path to Exile - While most control decks prefer Swords to Plowshares, with the Celestial Convergence alternate win-con, giving your opponents life is a big no-no. This is a bit of a nonbo with all the Propaganda effects in the deck, but once you get a few out, one extra mana on your opponents field isn't the end of the world.
Render Silent - Goodbye Storm and good riddance. Also pretty hilarious to kill a players combo in the middle of them casting it if it's not all instant speed.
Settle the Wreckage - Another slight nonbo with the decks overall theme, but if your opponents somehow manage to swing at you with a truckload of creatures you'll be happy to have this card in hand. It can also be used diplomatically since you can target any attacking player regardless of who they're swinging at which may buy you just enough goodwill to win the game.
Sphinx's Revelation - Premium card draw and life gain. While the deck doesn't have a huge amount of ramp to dump into the X cost, you can usually play this late enough to get a good amount of value from it. Fun little combo with Celestial Convergence too if you cast this while the upkeep trigger is on the stack and steal a win.
Teferi's Protection - When you need just one more turn to win the game, but your opponents have completely locked on to you, this is the best way to avoid their ire. Don't cast this if you're at zero life with a Phyrexian Unlife in play though. You'll have a bad time.
Vampiric Tutor / Grim Tutor - Essentially 2nd and 3rd copies of key cards in the deck (Zur if you're not running him as the commander for the most part, sweepers otherwise in most cases).
Void Rend - Kill things without concerning yourself with petty things like "interaction".
Damn - Spot removal with the option to sweep the board.
Damnation - Black Wrath of God
Farewell - Need indestructible creatures gone? You got it. Playing against the mirror and you're behind on enchantments? Don't worry about it. Opponents are playing recursion? Not anymore. Artifacts got you down? Melt them down into an unusable puddle. All of these things happening? Farewell has your back.
Toxic Deluge - Paying life to kill creatures is a little bit risky in some cases, especially if they aren't actively able to all attack you at once, however the -X/-X is hard to discount when you're looking at an opposing Avacyn, Angel of Hope or other indestructible shenanigans.
Vindicate - Good old-fashioned hard removal. Blow up anything you want including problematic lands which this deck has some issues with otherwise.
Wrath of God - White Damnation
Conclusion
This is where I'm currently sitting on this list. I fully realize that it's not fully optimized, and will definitely have some weak spots. But guess what? That's where you come in! I'm more than happy to take suggestions on ways to make this deck play better, so send them my way! I'll even let you know if I think it's a good idea or a terrible one in the comments!
Flip
