Sultai In Tiny Leaders
The Kitchen Table forum
Posted on May 17, 2015, 6:50 a.m. by Arvail
If you aren't aware of the ruling, you're allowed to run a vanilla 2/2 for the sultai colors as your general because no legendary with that identity exists with a CMC of 3 or less.
So yeah, you do lose out on having a general, which sucks, but sultai seems to have a lot going for it. It's has access to some of the best bodies in the format, like True-Name Nemesis, Vendilion Clique, Shardless Agent, Scavenging Ooze, Deathrite Shaman, Dark Confidant, etc. It's also got access to some of the best board wipes in the format in the forms of Pernicious Deed and Toxic Deluge. Finally, it's got tons of good utility. Think Sylvan Library, Smother, Abrupt Decay, etc.
Do you guys think all of this makes investing into a vanilla 2/2 as a general worth it?
CharlesMandore says... #3
I don't quite follow. Are you investing into the deck, or investing into the General? You have a vanilla critter, so it would seem there's no investment. I think it's definitely worth looking into. It definitely seems like a very powerful deck.
May 17, 2015 8:13 a.m.
I'm talking about opportunity cost here. When I say investing into the general, I simply mean is playing a 2/2 general with no abilities for 3 mana worth it to gain access to the color identity.
May 17, 2015 8:21 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
@kameenook: "From an EDH perspective, where your goal is to have fun rather than win,"
Just stop right there.
May 17, 2015 9:17 a.m.
Hjaltrohir says... #7
I am a big fan of sultai and i definitely think it is worth it. He is there as an emergency blocker if you need one and if you dont you don't have to cast him.
May 17, 2015 10:30 a.m.
Epochalyptik says... #8
I know nothing about Tiny Leaders, but it's not a requirement (in terms of deck operation) that your general be an integral part of your deck's strategy. It's a perfectly legitimate course of action to choose a general that opens other options to you (options like deck colors).
Of course, you'd have to evaluate the risk of this kind of strategy as well. Does BUG offer a strong enough 49 that the general won't matter? Can you justify playing it that way, whether it's through deck strength, enjoyment, or any combination of the two?
May 17, 2015 11:05 a.m.
The interesting thing about Tiny Leaders is that some color combinations only have 1 general. Look at Mardu where Alesha, Who Smiles at Death is your only option. I chose to build an Alesha deck that maximizes her ability, Alesha, Mardu Value-Leader. But you can also build Alesha in many different ways. As an example I saw a list online of an Alesha Tempered Steel list that runs Arcbound Ravager and other artifact creatures to aggro the opponent out. I've even brewed a Mardu tokens TL deck that has zero value for Alesha.
As Epoch said, it all depends on what you're aiming for.
May 17, 2015 2:57 p.m.
If you build you TL deck with the intent of not using your commander then it is quite easy. I have been playing with Xira Arien recently and built it as a heavy attrition deck and i works great. I rarely cast my commander because my spells are so much more powerful then my commander. To answer your question yes it is worth it and it will be quite easy.
Happy brewing!
kameenook says... #2
Competitively forcing you into Sultai Colors has to be worth it at some point. From an EDH perspective, where your goal is to have fun rather than win, you don't want that kind of vanilla goodstuff as a deck. However that aspect of EDH may have never fully transferred to Tiny Leaders.
May 17, 2015 7:51 a.m.