Suddenly...Jaya Ballard EDH Decks?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on Aug. 7, 2015, 8:08 a.m. by DarkHero
She seems to have popped up more and more recently, and I can say from first hand experience, that this "destroy target blue permanent" is absolutely terrifying if you play blue at all. And I mean come on, someone in your play group runs blue either in full effect or splash. This, along with being a board wipe on a stick does make her an interesting double edged sword of a commander. She has her downfalls for sure, but what has sparked this new found attraction to the Task Mage?
canterlotguardian says... #3
Also Jaya is OP. She's one of my recurring commanders when I decide to switch up commanders in my Jeska, Warrior Adept deck.
August 7, 2015 8:23 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #4
Add stuff like Squee, Goblin Nabob, Basilisk Collar, Illusionist's Bracers, and Thornbite Staff, and you're set.
Not to mention colorshifting cards like Distorting Lens...
August 7, 2015 8:35 a.m.
canterlotguardian says... #5
You know, this almost makes me want to build her as a separate commander. I'll have to work on that after I get my Agrus Kos tokens deck finished.
August 7, 2015 8:45 a.m.
I got wrecked by a tiny leaders jaya ballard deck.
throw Darksteel Plate and either Swiftfoot Boots or Lightning Greaves and you've got a menace on your hands.
August 7, 2015 9:38 a.m.
MagicalHacker says... #7
And then there's Sword of Fire and Ice, Pariah's Shield, ... You get the idea: MagicalHacker - Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
August 7, 2015 10 a.m.
Pedrodamus says... #9
I've been toying around with a Jaya mono-R edh because of my hate for Blue. She does totally $hit on blue decks.
August 7, 2015 11:49 a.m.
She might work w Daretti, Scrap Savant's second ability. Bringing discarded artifacts back
August 7, 2015 12:42 p.m.
Pedrodamus says... #11
Red and artifacts go hand in hand. Still trying to figure out what route to go with her, but it will likely be artifacts and burn...maybe some Thopter shenanigans.
August 7, 2015 2:08 p.m.
Ehhh... In all honesty, she's not that good. I mean, you'll probably make sure one player won't win the game and you likely won't draw too much hate unless your meta is incredibly saturated in blue. Still, picking Jaya sucks because you're opting for a mono-colored deck. Now, that's not that bad, but when that color's red, you're in trouble. I'm sorry, but mono-red EDH is just not very good. Jaya EDH essentially says chose a player other than yourself. You and that player lose the game. I mean, really... You'll be destroying a Rhystic Study here, a Jace, the Mind Sculptor there and you'll probably have a jolly 'ol time doing it. Then a third player is just going to run you over with an active Beastmaster Ascension or something.
Whenever I play EDH, I'm always that guy. I run the most hateful decks and I get focused hard. The way I make my decks, that's practically guaranteed. I know this. I could see someone in my group going "I want to fuck up Devy. Let's play Jaya." if they weren't as mature as they are. And you know what? I'm ok with that. i'm used to it. What that player is essentially saying is that they're ok not winning as long as I'm not winning either. I'm already focused so hard it's rare for me to actually make it past turn 6 despite my best efforts to stay alive. If you really want to waste your time, be my guest. I'm not petty enough to complain about anyone's general of choice.
Just my two cents as a fairly experienced blue EDH player.
canterlotguardian says... #2
The new Chandra UR articles, plus Pyromancer's Goggles mentions her. She hasn't come up in lore at all since Time Spiral, I think.
August 7, 2015 8:21 a.m.