MTG Salvation

Cross-posting this list from the main forum into the cEDH forum because that's where it belongs. Basically it's your run-of-the-mill Stax deck that locks the game down by turn 3 or 4.



The deck combos off with Najeela + Druid's Repository/Sword of Feast and Famine/Nature's Will. Rest in Peace + Helm of Obedience combo is in there as a backup.

The deck is incredibly fast and incredibly disruptive. If opponents aren't able to interact within the first three turns, they will be locked out and/or dead.

Currently testing Dovin, Grand Arbiter over Lightning Greaves.

This looks super awesome to play. A couple of questions for you:

Do you find that you can consistently cast Global Ruin? In what matchups do you find yourself looking for that specific card?

The new Vraska as an inclusion seems quite spicy. How has she performed for you? I was vaguely toying with her as an inclusion for my Tasigur Flash Hulk thread but she just didn't seem good enough.

I always forget that Najeela gives your team lifelink. I would normally look at this list and raise an eyebrow at how much lifeloss is present, but Najeela's got your back here.

Global Ruin is for matchups that have either a) a lot of utility lands; or b) 2 or fewer colors. Being able to take out all the Caverns, Confluences, Academy Ruins, etc. at once is normally pretty useful. I tutor for it sometimes in the midgame if I'm unsure whether or not I'll be able to combo.

Vraska has been doing reasonably. She'll probably get cut at some point, but she's performed well enough to keep her spot for the time being. She always has food for the +2 and there's always a target for the -3, the issue is whether or not she's what I want to spend 4 mana on at any point in a game.

Makes sense. Vraska's removal ability is pretty often a vindicate before getting killed by a mana dork.

I think another question I have is the exclusion of Derevi. I assume that you want to minimize the effect of creature removal for your combo pieces, is that correct?

It's because it doesn't combo as reliably as SoFaF or Nature's Will, and I'd rather have Druids' Repository as the tertiary combo since it's less vulnerable. Maybe Derevi could replace Dovin? I haven't really gotten reps in with Dovin but Derevi seems better, despite narrowly missing the initial cut.

I don't think that Dovin reliably helps you execute your game plan. It takes a turn cycle to activate his ultimate, which is the best part of the card, and I think you simply have better options for token generation. Even though Derevi is weaker as a tertiary combo I think she's more proactive in helping you execute the primary Stax plan. She synergizes very well with Winter Orb and can help you get more mana output from your lands in future turns, should she stick around, allowing you to deploy more pieces of Stax or keep up mana for interaction.

I ordered a Derevi. I got one game in with Dovin and it went off but felt win-more, so it's not what the deck needs.

What are your thoughts for Najeela Flash Hulk? I know it's definitely not what your deck is focused on, but I've seen Najeela Hulk getting a lot more interest lately and I'm curious on your opinion.

What's the purpose of red? Adding red to a Thrasios-Tymna Flash-Hulk deck doesn't seem all that important, unless you'd want to add (I'm assuming) Worldgorger combo? And I'd rather have Thrasios and Tymna in the command zone than a poorly-supported Najeela

One of the upsides to having Najeela as your commander instead of Thra-Tym is that you have a clock on board. Another minor upside I have found good success with is Pyroblast & REB being flexible blue answers.

But certainly, in many ways having a inf-mana outlet gives you a different approach to the deck.

Welcome to the cEDH forums, Raoul! Thanks for chiming in.

I've actually read up on the Najeela Flash Hulk primer that's floating on TappedOut currently and it's an interesting list. Having multiple tiers of Combo-ing out with a Najeela combo plan seems pretty strong as a strategy. I guess Najeela enables a one-card win condition with enough mana producing permanents and Druids' Repository/Nature's Will/Derevi, Empyrial Tactician which is definitely appealing.

I guess it comes down to playstyle. I personally think that the Stax package might be a little more effective since it buys time for you to get maximum usage out of Najeela's trigger. This helps the execution of your combo to be more consistent, methinks. Is that right, OneRing?

The Stax package is very consistent. While the deck is a bit slower than a Flash-Hulk variant, you are getting much more mileage out of your commander. There's also less variance since the deck is streamlined: Stax/disruption, Najeela combos (some of which fall under Stax/disruption), dorks, draw. Hulk builds have pieces for Hulk combo, Najeela combos, dorks, draw, and disruption, making each hand less likely to have the type of piece(s) you need to fully implement your game plan.

That's a pretty strong point. I think I, as a player, favor consistency and interaction over explosiveness because I like to play Control.

On a sidenote, do you have a list of Stax cards that fluctuate based on who you're playing against? Or is the Stax count you've posted pretty set in stone?