Liliana Vess or Tezzeret, Artifice Master?
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on July 15, 2022, 11:29 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
I have a copy of the original Liliana Vess in my Atraxa, Praetors' Voice EDH deck, which replaced Ring of Three Wishes, and who is in the deck primarily for her second ability, which is obviously useful, but it merely places the card atop its controller’s library, not into the player’s hand, and her other two abilities are highly situational, dependent upon the types of decks that my opponents are playing.
Therefore, I am considering replacing Liliana with Tezzeret, Artifice Master, whom I believe would be a better fit for the deck. His first ability produces creature tokens, which the deck shall certainly appreciate, since +1/+1 counters are one of its central themes; his second ability is always nice, and my deck contains more than sufficient artifacts for it to consistently draw two cards; and his third ability is the main reason for which I am considering him: being able to continually place permanents directly onto the battlefield shall quickly sway the game in my favor, and, unlike some emblems, multiple copies of that emblem are cumulative, not redundant.
What does everyone else say about this subject? Should I replace Liliana Vess with Tezzeret, Artifice Master?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
Niko9, that is great advice, but my deck does contain Doubling Season, which allows seven of the nine planeswalkers to immediately use their ultimate abilities on the same turn that I summon them, and Tezzeret, Artifice Master also has.
I think that I need further feedback before I make a decision on this matter, so I do hope for more responses from users.
July 16, 2022 8:33 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #4
Does anyone else have anything to say on this subject?
July 17, 2022 7:18 a.m.
Ah, that makes total sense. Sorry that I didn't check the decklist and was throwing out somewhat baseless ideas : ) I think I was sleepy at the time. You've definitely got more than a few ways to put counters on, so that does make it a bit more complicated.
One thing that's also going to affect how good Lilly is, is whether you can draw the card after tutoring. I play a mill deck a lot, and when people tutor to the top, it can be dangerous, but if you can draw right away, it's the best effect in the game.
Also, if the ults can get there, then it maybe becomes a matter of your playgroup. If you play with a lot of creature based strategies, Lilly's ult can be an absolute bomb, but if you'd want to combo win either way, then Tezzeret is great, but you also sometimes have to wait multiple turns to assemble the win, which will make you a big target. I'd favor Lilly just because you can hold it in hand and then play for a big threat, where Tezzeret at ult still needs you to wait till your next turn.
But that's just my thoughts on it. The deck looks awesome by the way! It seems like it can do so many different things and synergizes really well.
July 17, 2022 8:01 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #6
Niko9, all of that makes sense, but I do think that I shall ultimately choose Tezzeret, since his other two abilities are perfect for this deck, whereas Liliana's other two abilities do not synergize with the deck nearly as well, although that does not mean that I do not appreciate your feedback on this matter.
July 17, 2022 11:42 a.m.
Ha, for sure. You are definitely the expert on the deck : ) I just like to theorize about these things, and it's been a fun chat about it. Best of luck with the deck!
Niko9 says... #2
Hmm, they do both have pluses for sure, and I'm just not sure how many times you will be able to make it to the -9 ability on Tezzeret. The way I usually look at walkers is, don't consider the ult except in very few situations, because they are so hard to get to. Unless it's something like proliferate effects, or if it's one turn like Serra the Benevolent and I know I want to cast it with one turn of protection on board, I don't know, it's a tight fit to think about using ults in deck construction. I'd more base everything on the first two abilities, and then if you do sometime get to ult, it's a bonus.
So, I'd probably pick Lilly, because of the tutor and the slight chance that you might be able to tutor twice off her. But I think both are great cards : )
July 16, 2022 7:55 a.m.