Trying to maximize the power of my Balan Wandering Knight deck
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on July 2, 2023, 1:35 p.m. by Monomanamaniac
I've been working on this deck for many years and just recently decided to try to maximize the power of the deck. I would like some advice on it's current power level and maybe anything I might've missed. Even just a simple 8/10 would really help me with deciding if this is the best deck that I own and is worth holding cards like mana crypt and jeweled lotus (I only have 1 copy of each and I'm not currently using proxys)
I will return the favor for anyone who wants me to.
Balan, One-Punch Woman
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 63 | 45 COMMENTS | 8562 VIEWS | IN 21 FOLDERS
Monomanamaniac says... #3
I haven't considered witch's clinic yet but I found devoted caretaker doesn't make Balan harder to block, so it got cut. I wasn't trying to set it at an 8, actually I'm trying to get it as strong as the deck possibly can be. I'm already painting a huge target on my back, my commander takes someone out practically every time she gets cast. I don't really run board wipes or stax or prison, besides Winds of Abandon. I'm going to have to take that into consideration, but it's really hard to justify running them with such a small curve and land count. A 5 mana card in the deck would have to basically end the game, and it would have to replace something like Grafted Exoskeleton or Mystic Forge that can lead to a win
July 3, 2023 7:54 p.m.
I was thinking Devoted Caretaker not so much to protect Balan but to protect non-Balan permanents you don't want blown up, that might be way too small of a niche though, do you have key equipment people need to blow up?
If other people aren't running Voltron, then any wipe that kills all but 1 creature is going to feel pretty good, and if people can't play creatures it's going to be downright unpleasant I suspect, technically you get two swings with everyone stuck on 1 creature with Single Combat? That's pretty horrifying vs Voltron unless I'm wildly mistaken, I'd rather have only 1 creature on each opponent's board than to have killed one guy with Infect via Exoskeleton, ymmv I guess? It might depend on how aggressive decks are in your area. For the record, you can also look at wipes as 'don't lose' cards rather than purely 'win now' cards, at higher levels of play you can expect other players to 'go off' pretty regularly, having access to a few wipes can make life a lot easier in my limited experience, they can help salvage a loss sometimes rather than eek out a win (but selective wipes are sometimes going to win you games).
Just wanted to say, it's obvious you've put a lot of effort into your deck, I hope this discourse is useful/relevant!
July 3, 2023 8:25 p.m.
I had another thought on how to put this, but one way to look at wipes is that they are 'lose less' cards, stuff like Grafted Exoskeleton is kinda 'win more', where you need to already be ahead to get further ahead, if it's your only equipment it's not great right? Anyways, a wipe can salvage a lot of games you'd have otherwise lost, and in a 3 vs 1 scenario there are going to be a lot more games you're prepped to lose rather than ones you want win-more. Just a thought!
DreadKhan says... #2
Have you ever thought about Witch's Clinic or Devoted Caretaker? Not quite sure what constitutes an '8', but Crackdown is pretty neat in mono-White, few people run big White creatures, it's probably a better defense than Ghostly Prison or Norn's Annex, but it might paint a target on your back. I think at a power level of 8 you can run something like Drannith Magistrate, that might be worth a look.
Wipes are very important as your power level goes up, people's decks get 'out of hand' both quicker and to a greater extreme, even 'fair' decks might have a much scarier board than you. Even in cEDH I hear about people using wipes these days, Promise of Loyalty is one I like, this will clear out even wide boards and force people to go after each other. The Eternal Wanderer is also interesting, but she is 6 mana for a pretty fun wipe in Voltron decks. There is also Single Combat, I suppose if you keep your Commander who cares if you can't summon any new creatures?
If your power level is reasonably high you can almost count on someone drawing quite a few more cards than you, maybe Wedding Ring would be worth it?
July 3, 2023 11:44 a.m.