Jhoiar of the Ghitu EDH Primer
Challenges and Articles forum
Posted on July 9, 2013, 1:33 p.m. by truble
Welcome to the official Jhoira of the Ghitu EDH Primer ! If you are building a Jhoira EDH deck this is the place to start !
Jhoira of the Ghitu is a three mana General in Red and Blue. (It kinda sucks that she is not Black and Blue since we all know that black is better then Red, but what can we do.) I would recommend her to anyone getting into EDH since she can be built for under $350 if you want to play for fun but can be upgraded over time into a better deck. No, she is not the best EDH deck out there (Hermit Druid im looking at you) but she is good. Besides, no one wants to play against you if you are winning on turn two or three every game.
The basic idea of a Jhoira EDH deck is to play the best high casting cost creatures and spells so that you can cheat them into play for two mana with Jhoira's suspend ability.
A lot of builds play play mass land destruction spells also because casting a fatty or two off suspend into a dead board is a really powerful play.
As with most blue decks you will see some counterspells and maybe a Time Walk
effect or two. The counters are mainly to protect your threats coming off suspend; the deck doesnt really want to spend turns holding up a counter.
The following is the agreed upon shell of a Jhoira deck. As you can see this does not add up to 100 cards (it is only 46 actually), so there is still a lot of room for personalization. Each card is rated 1-10 on how good it is in the deck. I would tell anyone building a jhoira deck that you must start with this list of cards and work from there budget permitting.
-Mana Base:
-Duels :
Volcanic Island 10 ... We all know that the duel lands cost a lot of money, but they are really great. Basically they are a must if you are playing fetch lands (but we also know that fetches cost a ton now too). If you are worried about the cost, look for a beat up version like I did. I got mine for $50 last year.
Sulfur Falls 8 ... your innistrad land
Steam Vents 9 ... Shocks are not as much as they used to be so most decks should run them. Make sure to get the 2012-2013 versions if you want to get them cheap
Shivan Reef 8 ... your pain land
Command Tower 9 ... The best duel land
City of Brass 7 ... The damage from city of brass is very minimal, I would recommend this to anyone in two or more colors.
Cascade Bluffs 8 ... your filter land
-Utility Lands:
Tectonic Edge 7 ... if you want to deal with a Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth , or a Gaea's Cradle this bad boy is important. If you have the money you can play the better version: Wasteland
Strip Mine 9 ... strip mine is an auto include in my opinion. it doesnt even come into play tapped. This is a restricted card in vintage for a reason. Dont leave home without it.
Cavern of Souls 8 ... you almost always name human. some people really hate Jhoira, and it is worth it to have a little insurance that you can land her.
Ancient Tomb 9 ... this is another auto include. I would play this in almost any EDH deck. (except for Edric, Spymaster of Trest , but that is another story)
-The Fatties:
Pathrazer of Ulamog 7 ... It says annihilator 3 on it
Bribery 8... I know some people frown on this 5cc blue fatty, but it is a must have in the deck. You are already playing a ton of mana rocks. Sometimes this lets you just win on turn 3-5
Omniscience 7 ... I was on the fence for a long time about this card. But I think it is worth it. Yes there are times when you have nothing else in hand and it is just a vanilla 10 drop. but alot of the time it lets you go ahead and just win the game.
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre 10 ... Cost a ton but is your best finisher.
Sphinx Ambassador 8 ... Some people miss this one. but it will let you go and get another fatty from someone else's deck the turn it comes off suspend. You almost never loose the sphinx game ( I never have ) because usually there are 8-20 good options.
Artisan of Kozilek 7 ... it is pretty rare that you get to reanimate a creature. but the annihilator two makes it good enough
Blightsteel Colossus 10 ... this should be a no brainer . Basically this is one of the best fatties in the game of magic
It That Betrays 9 ... This might be contending with Ulamog for the best Eldrazi in EDH. It even steals fetch lands from people
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth 8 ... A good beat stick, and you get the 4 cards even if it gets countered
Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur 9... If Jin survives a round you just win the game. The 7 cards you draw put you so far ahead even if he gets killed.
Consecrated Sphinx 9 ... Often time you can cast him for his actual cost. Kinda like Jin in that if he survives a round you are probably winning.
-The Land Wraths and Board Wipes:
Apocalypse 9 ... This is probably the second best land wrath you have in the deck. at 5cc you will just cast it with somethings still on suspend. not to mention that it gets ALL permanents. This card is a house
Blasphemous Act 7 ... usually on turn 5 this costs something like 4 mana. and it kills almost everything.
Cyclonic Rift 8 ... the bounce spell is good enough at two mana, but the overload just pushes it over the top.
Decree of Annihilation 8 ... Dont forget about the cycle. remember cycling is uncounterable and it will draw you a card
Devastation 7 ... The worst land wrath in the deck
Devastation Tide 7 ... I would play this at 5cc so the miracle cost is just gravy
Evacuation 6 ... This will help buy you time as you are trying to get things off suspend
Jokulhaups 7 ...Just another land wrath
Obliterate 10 ... This is probably the best land wrath you have available to you. Uncounterable is a big deal. Watch out for Venser, Shaper Savant and Time Stop though
-Things that take off counters:
Fury Charm 9 ... complete with the added benefit of artifact destruction
Jhoira's Timebug 8 ... dont forget you can fetch it with Fabricate and Tezzeret the Seeker
Timebender 7 ... four mana take off two counters, not the best but it helps. And some people wont know what morph card jhoira plays so they wont play around it.
Timecrafting 10 ... this bad boy is the best card in the deck. you have to be playing this
Shivan Sand-Mage 8 ... dont forget you can suspend this turn one or two and then have it take something off suspend turn 5-6
Rift Elemental 8 ... gets the job done
-Good Stuff:
Mystical Tutor 10 ... This is the second best card in the deck. It can get just about anything you need for a given situation. Dont forget to tutor on end step or upkeep so that you can draw what you tutor for.
Sol Ring 10 ... the classic EDH staple fits in to Jhoira just fine
Mana Crypt 10 ... if you can afford it, you have to play this card. three mana on turn one is DISGUSTING! a turn one Wheel of Fortune will probably win you the game
Mana Drain 10 ... again if you have the money this counter is the best one there is. if something is banned in legacy make sure you take a look at it.
Counterspell 9 ... remember to save your counters for when your things are coming off suspend. Dont forget to float mana for the counterspell in response to the casting of the land wrath.
Force of Will 10 ... I hide my force in my wish board but it is a must have.
Time Warp 9 ... taking extra turns is always good. but when you just cheated an eldrazi with haste into play it is really really good. and it takes off a time counter in a pinch
Quicksilver Amulet 7 ... if you are going to be playing like 15 giant guys you might as well have another way to cheat them into play.
Temporal Mastery 8 ... in any deck with Mystical Tutor this is just Time Walk
I have been playing a Competative Jhoira EDH deck for about two years. It started out pretty basic but as time went on it has evolved into the deck it is today. The current list can be found here: Sing to the Jhoiar Tune (Would love to discuss)
Feel free to ask me for advise on your version of Jhoira! I would love to help out. If you want to talk about Jhoira, deck building theory, or anything in general write me on my wall or on one of my decks. I promise to get back to you!
Chime in with thoughts about what needs to go into a Jhoira EDH deck. I would love to hear some feed back!
TurboFagoot says... #4
I never like Jhoira decks. Oh man, I kill/bounce/counter Jhoira whenever you play her, guess I win. :3
July 9, 2013 3:48 p.m.
Phobophile says... #6
@TurboFagoot
if you're playing her right, you aren't blindly tapping out for her, and you aren't playing her unless you can use her ability for a decent card before your next turn.
but you did point out a big flaw in the primer, it just has a bunch of cards that OP likes in his jhoira deck, but with no mention of strategies, or variations on the build.
July 10, 2013 2:47 a.m.
@ Phobophile Wishes are legal. And the rules say this about side boards.
"Abilities which refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire, Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in Commander unless the optional sideboard rule is in use. If sideboards are used, wishes and similar cards may retrieve sideboard cards."
and
"Rather than filling every deck with banal responses, it is preferable to allow some flexibility in the composition of a deck.
Players may bring a 10 card sideboard in addition to their 99 cards and 1 Commander. After Commanders are announced, players have 3 minutes to make 1-for-1 substitutions to their deck. Any cards not played as part of the deck may be retrieved by "wishes".
Reasoning:
Highly tuned threats piloted by skilled opponents mandate efficient answers. The minimum number of response cards required to ensure they are available in the early turns can easily overwhelm the majority of an EDH deck's building space.
Sideboards allow players to respond to the "best" strategies in a timely fashion . They should be strongly considered as a necessary defense against brokenness and degeneracy in an environment where no gentlemans agreement on style of play exists."
Besides, I didnt mention Cunning Wish in the primer. That was a personal choice for my deck.
@mstancea: I would love to take a look !
@TurboFagoot: that can be said about Zur the Enchanter , Hermit Druid , and many other generals. But those are some of the best decks in the format. Phobophile is right about playing her right.
@Phobophile, you bring up a good point. This is my first attempt at this. maybe next time I can spend some time working on putting in strategies and variations.
July 10, 2013 9:20 a.m.
Yeah but the general they use for the deck never gets cast.
Um here ==> Hermit Druid Combo EDH
July 10, 2013 9:29 a.m.
That is why I demand to play with a side board. When I play for prizes my board is full of graveyard hate and like 5 versions of Magma Spray
July 10, 2013 9:31 a.m.
Phobophile says... #11
The sideboard rule is an optional rule, I personally don't think it's within the spirit of commander, but it does depend on your local meta, as you say.
I will update my jhoira list and post it here soon.
July 10, 2013 10:31 a.m.
I am happy not playing a side board if you are not mono blue, or Hermit Druid , and you let me take out my Cunning Wish before the game starts
July 10, 2013 11:11 a.m.
Phobophile says... #13
I've updated my list to be mostly consistent with reality.Jhoira's playing four turns ahead
I'm trying out strionic resonator in the deck, will let you know how it works out.
Also, for the primer, it might be worth mentioning that kickers are additional costs to casting spells, in particular, you can pay the kicker for Rite of Replication as it comes off suspend to copy something 5 times, way before you'd have the 9 mana to hard cast it..
July 13, 2013 1:05 p.m.
Thanks for the heads up !
PS ill take a look at your list
July 13, 2013 2:14 p.m.
Siccdecks91 says... #15
hey there I saw this while I was looking at ideas for my jhoira deck Jhoira of the Ghitu EDH check it out let me know what you think,, theres still cards im going to switch out
February 21, 2014 9:44 p.m.
Siccdecks91 says... #16
whoops wrong link that ones not my deck http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/jhoira-of-the-ghitu-edh-11-02-14-1/ here it is sorry im new to commenting and links and all that
truble says... #2
Lol typo of Jhoira as Jhoiar twice
July 9, 2013 1:38 p.m.