MTG Salvation

I appreciate what they're going for but I'm not feeling the execution. The entire table is going to be mad at you and probably just going to swing at you. A deterant is needed and they knew that so they made one but it's really not going to be very effective imo, especially against a token army. I really would have liked something like "whenever a creature attacks you or a walker you control, put a 1/1 deathtouch reach token onto the battlefield" for balancing you could even add clauses like "or pay 2-3 for each attacking creature instead" or "exile these tokens at the end of combat"

My other beef is that this thing costs 6 without making any immediate impact or survivability

That makes sense. I think any forced-combat deck has to be built that way, though, because it's VERY red: High-risk for high impact. I think it would be too powerful with, say, hexproof and I would imagine that if they ever put hexproof on him, R&D removed it.



Now, Flash? Flash would be great. Well-balanced. Flash him in at the beginning of an opponent's combat step. Not much time to respond and they have to attack immediately.



As for Xantcha.... hell yeah! A friend and I were just looking for infinite mana combos with her.

Sure, just to be clear, I don't think it's unplayably bad. It's just not up to a certain standard that I require. For my 6 drops I like things like Prossh, Ruric Thar and Sharuum for example that have a guaranteed impact. 6 is a lot of mana to waist on a turn for potentially 0 payout. If a creature doesn't have immediate impact then I would like it to protect itself. It it can't to that then the ability has to really be very powerful to justify the risk/reward. I'm just personally not feeling it. Sure, you can always build around a so-so commander to try to offset his drawbacks. But I would rather build aroumd an amazing commander that lives up to my standards instead.

Now Xantcha, Sleeper Agent, that's what I'm talking about! I would buy the while Jund deck just for her.

I see what you're saying, but I think you could build around him pretty effectively.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs and Dread both provide a means of dissuading attacks pointed at you. Archfiend of Depravity helps keep their board state manageable as well, and Crawlspace does a similar job without removing their creatures- more things they point at your opponent instead of you. A slew of curses also could be a fun way to encourage others as targets, depending on your meta's power level.

Also, if you're worried about a token army, why not answer with a token army of your own? I won't list them all but Jund has plenty of great options for tokens. Dolmen Gate helps keep them alive while they attack. Archetype of Finality makes folks think twice about attacking you or blocking with their things.

As to the casting cost... idk. It doesn't really bother me. This is the type of deck where I'd want to set up my blockers, my combat-control pieces, a little protection, and THEN play my commander. The advantage of this guy over, say, Warmonger Hellkite or Goblin Spymaster is that he's your commander. He's available anytime. The second your board is ready you play him and everyone starts beating each other up. You can include the standard battery of protection. Asceticism, Lightning Greaves etc, etc.

Would Thantis be better with hexproof or haste? For sure. But that's true of every card. While I get what you're saying, and I agree to a point... I still think the card is good. It makes a great commander to build around.

oh boy, if it had haste..

Spooder.
Sad creepy bois: Pale, Ancient

#LandsMatter