Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~Robert Frost
Thanks for taking a look at my Isamaru, Hound of Konda list! This list has served me incredibly well over the past year or so that I've been piloting it. I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Please, please feel free to ask any questions about card choices/make recommendations/tell me your experience with similar decks, I'd love to hear it all. Thanks again, hope you enjoy!
So, what makes Isamaru, Hound of Konda so effin special?! He's a 1 drop, with no abilities. WTF man, this card is worthless!
- Isamaru gives what almost no other general in EDH can give: A 1 drop beater turn 1, every single game. This makes for an incredibly aggressive play-style, and a deck that can take a lot of other archetypes completely off guard. This specific build takes advantage of a low costed general, an efficient curve, and some awesome equipment to beat face steadily throughout the game. By dropping the Hound turn 1, then immediately dropping that 2-drop threat followed by a 3-drop that supports him, be it an equipment, spot removal for that Deathrite Shaman they dropped to block, or a good ol' Doublestrike enabler, this makes Isamaru able to swing through for some incredibly quick, soon-to-be-lethal damage. This isn't the way most EDH players see their game plan going! This is the biggest advantage of the deck, the utter explosiveness. It's an incredibly satisfying list to play, if you like fairly straightforward, simple decks that smash face turn 1 of the game. Also, equipment. Lots and lots of equipment.
-You like incredibly fast, aggressive decks
-You want to win in the first 5-8 turns of the game
-You don't mind targeting what you view as the biggest threat at the table from the get-go
-You like equipment
-You like a Voltron-style build
-You have a playgroup that doesn't mind mass land destruction/stax elements
-...Did I mention the equipment?
-You still like equipment
Why not to play this awesome, amazing deck?
-You don't like equipment
-You like to sit back and play a control build
-You don't like tapping out every turn
-You want a late game win
-You want to have an answer for everything
-You don't want to win through combat damage
-You don't like weenies
-... Really, you don't like equipment?! Who doesn't like equipment?! It's, like, ... equippy, and stuff!
About your pilot
I've been playing MTG for about 13 years now, since when I was in 6th grade and moved to Columbus, OH. (C-Bus, represent!) There I fell in with a group of guys that I would play Magic with weekly for the next 7 years or so. The first deck I ever played was a mono-green creature simple deck with Giant Growth as a finisher XD.
From there, I moved to Springfield, MO in Nov of '08 and found a group of guys that played semi-competitively in standard and block. I played a couple of standard tournaments during the Alara block, then found EDH. From then on it was head over heels in love, and I have focused the entirety of my play resources to this ever-changing, amazing format.
If you ever find yourself heading my way, please shoot me a PM and I'd love to sit down and play a game or two with you!
What made me choose EDH? (Or Commander, if you're a Vicious Fanboy)
Elder Dragon Highlander is a unique take on the, IMO, very essence that got us all into Magic in the first place. There was that mysterious draw that I had to the cards, the interactions, and the game play when I was first introduced that (thankfully) has never quite left me. This escalated into pure excitement when I got to crack my first pack, and then a competitive glow that emerged as I began playing some higher-end tournaments. But I noticed over time that there seemed to be an endless stream of cash going from my hand to Wizard's coffers with all the new releases, just to stay competitive. I didn't have that many funds to support it, and I really wanted to get back to the days of simple fun, getting to try new cards and new ideas week by week. Net-dec is not my favorite format
In came EDH, and it's been a blissful affair ever since. It's the only format I've found that allows everyone to really get into the nooks and crannies of the magic world, while still having a competitive feel. It allows degenerate combos, hilarious shenanigans, topdecksfor-the-win, and a million million other amazing, fun, awesome interactions. This is the spirit of EDH for me, and that's why it's the only format I play.
Ancient Den - Helps the metalcraft for the Puresteel. Also good in very rare situations where you just can't seem to find that 2nd white source, but you have the Enlightened Tutor
Ancient Tomb - Lots of mana for equippy-ness! Been incredibly helpful so far, well worth the life loss. Make sure you take it out to adapt for 1v1.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin - Gets your dudes back! Very important, late game savior. This is a pretty under the radar card, a lot of people don't notice it, just make sure you don't forget it as well! I've had a couple of triggers that I forgot, and they were literally game breaking.
Flagstones of Trokair - Gets land after that Armageddon, doesn't CIPT. Very helpful.
High Market - Keeps your dudes from getting exiled, and Isamaru from getting tucked. Incredibly useful, and partners well with Skullclamp as well
Kor Haven - Oh, you want to Voltron me?! No, don't think so. It has it's limitations (shrouded creatures, destroyed before attackers declared, etc) but very much worth it in certain situations.
Reliquary Tower - Only in here because my meta plays a mill player with Forced Fruition, it can be cut for a Plains in other meta's
Strip Mine - Deals with problem lands, taps for a colorless. Should be run in every EDH deck, IMO.
Thespian's Stage - It's nice to copy the Emeria, or that Cabal Coffers your opponent just dropped. Also doesn't CIPT, which is vital for this deck.
These are pretty basic stuff, most of the staples. It is a little light on the targeted land to land destruction, but the deck can't really afford to not have 2-4 white sources early in the game.
Targeted Removal-
Condemn - Tucks a general, costs 1. It's hard to describe how useful putting some aggro general on the bottom of their owner's library is, or how satisfying.
Path to Exile - Exile effects are king in this format, and it costs 1 again. Well worth the land it gets the opponent, just try not to burn it on something that's not gamebreaking. This is best used late game on an Eldrazi, or that Mikaeus, the Unhallowed that someone dropped. Not to be used to clear out mana dorks for easy swings!
Revoke Existence - Exile effect (Noticing a theme?) It is 1 for 1, but gets Darksteel Forge as well as allowing you to get someone off an early mana source with their Sol Ring.
Aura of Silence - Stax effect that can kill a problem? Yes please. This has been in and out, it's now mainly in there as a 1 for 1 enchantment/artifact removal, but it does serve a dual purpose so it's held it's spot.
Kor Sanctifiers - a 2-for-1 that pops an art/ench and beats? Deal. Unfortunately not able to be re-kicked with the recursion elements, but still very much worth it.
Oblivion Ring - A relatively new include, this gets a permanent, which is vital. Not as good as a Vindicate, but great for mono-white.
Return to Dust - See Revoke Existence, but 2-for-1 for 2 more mana.
Duplicant - One of the best removal spells in the game, this guy gets everything. Just don't do it to Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund! The dragon just steals it right back next turn
Unexpectedly Absent - One of the best "get around annoying effects" cards there is (Eat it, Ulamog!) This card does just about everything. Amazing to pop something for 0 in response to them cracking a fetch ^.^
The basic stuff. Granted, a lot of this is 1 for 1 CA which I try to avoid, but most of it does the most important thing you can do to a permanent in EDH. Exile it. There's so much recursion in the format, being able to permanently answer somebody's Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre that they dropped turn 4 is game ending, or at least game saving. Trust me, in this format? The more exile effects, the better. Also, I hear tuck is awesome for enemy generals.
Mass Removal-
Day of Judgment - Standard Wrath effect. Good for swarms/hexproof, and this allows more 2 for ones. The deck usually only plays 1-2 creatures at a time, so this is where you regain some lost card advantage.
Magus of the Disk - Sure, it CIPT, but it's saved the deck many times, so it's still in here. Being able to wipe the board is incredibly vital, and this guy can be recurred.
Austere Command - Flexibility is good, and this one does it best. Problem solver, all the way.
Terminus - Ripping this of the top right when you're staring a hasty death general in the face is an amazing feeling. Always a solid include.
This is where you recoup some o' that Card Advantage you can lose with the 1-for-1's, but these are more here as a save my ass type deal. The deck is really only supposed to play 1-3 creatures at once, so it can be easy to get overwhelmed. These take care of those problems, and with the amount of recursion that the deck runs it's pretty easy to come back from your own board wipes, not to mention someone else's.
Tutors-
Enlightened Tutor - It's pretty good, not going to lie. Obviously putting it on top of your deck kind of stinks, but turn 2, untap, upkeep get my Sol Ring, put it into play to accelerate into my Jitte seems pretty good. White doesn't have that many tutors, so this one is pretty essential, especially with the amount of artifacts the deck runs.
Land Tax - This one doesn't need much explanation. It's just good. Play it.
Steelshaper's Gift - Did I mention that this is an equipment voltron deck? No? Well, this is one of the best tutors to make that build happen. It puts it into your hand, so you're not losing any CA, and it gets that prot-sword answer that you're just dying to see. It's essential, don't leave home without it.
Stoneforge Mystic and her big brother, Stonehewer Giant - These 2 guys are amazing. Everyone knows the Mystic, but the Giant is a force all to himself. He can swing and because of the vigilance, tap after he swings and put a sword on him to make him unblockable to the creature colors of your choice. I've won games with him alone, it's absurd.
Ranger of Eos Straight card advantage, and gets your general back after a Condemn or Hallowed Burial. The deck runs some pretty good 1 drop creatures, so this guy's never bad to see.
Utility-
Kami of False Hope - This little guys' been an all star in this deck. A recurrable fog that only costs 1 is huge, especially against the big green or swarm decks.
Salvage Scout - Cheap, effective, recurrable with any of the recursion elements. Gets your stuff back. Pretty good, especially for the cost.
Phyrexian Revoker - This has been one of my rising stars lately, and after seeing it's effectiveness I've literally gotten my entire playgroup packing one of these little guys. It just answerssomanyridiculousthings it's always worth playing, and in a pinch you can suit it up and swing. It's in every single deck I play now, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Oh, and it's recurrable? My goodness, the joy, the joy!
Grand Abolisher - This is one of the better answers to blue. I just wish it was uncounterable itself, but what can one do? Still a good answer and a decent beater.
Puresteel Paladin - One of the better draw engines in the deck, and makes equip for free. Good stuff
Wall of Omens - The deck likes to swing out every turn, so having a blocker that cantrips is nice. Also it recurs, and a recurring card draw engine is pretty cool, I hear.
Aven Mindscensor - There shouldn't ever be a white EDH deck, ever, that doesn't play this card. It shuts everytutordown, you can play it at instant speed, it's a recurrable creature, and it flies. One of the best white cards ever printed for this format, hands down.
Notable exceptions here are Solemn Simulacram and Kor Cartographer, mainly because they don't come back with Sun Titan. The artifacts also untap when there's Orb effects on the board, which is a huge help. Obviously they get the deck into the bigger stuff faster, and they're really good after a land wipe.
These are the mid-late game enablers for Isamaru. The deck explodes at first, but obviously the power to mana ratio drops sharply at 3 and 4, so when that green player hits 8 mana it's time to lock the board up. Thankfully most of the deck costs 1-3 cmc, so these effects don't hurt it nearly as much as it hurts the rest of the field.
This is the biggest source of Card Advantage in the deck, and is what allows Isamaru to come back to full force after a board wipe. These are also some of the biggest targets for exile effects, so try to have a High Market ready when they're dropping.
Creature Threats!
Kor Duelist - A 1 drop that can be swinging and doublestrike turn 3 is absurd. This is an allstar, and my opponents fear this little guy turn 2 more than most other plays.
Hero of Bladehold - Gives a little more offensive reach with evasion, and feeds Skullclamp.
These are the main beaters of the deck, and with the exception of the Hero they all either have double strike, evasion, or both. These abilities are the mainstay of the entire strategy. The goal is to equip one of these bad boys and start swinging, the doublestrike hits like a truck, and the evasion lets you connect with that sword you really want to hit with. It's simple, straightforward, and surprisingly effective.
Planeswalker Threats!
Elspeth, Knight-Errant - She gives food to Skullclamp, she gives a doublestriker flying and +3/+3, she's a huge threat, and she fits the curve really, really well. Awesome card all around to have.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride - Makes Isamaru bigger, allows kill shots to come out of nowhere, and costs 3?! Amazing card for the deck, a complete all star. Just don't ever ultimate, you're just begging for a Terminus.
Equipment Threats!
Skullclamp - Card draw is good, and makes Isamaru hit harder early game. Essential.
Lightning Greaves - Standard procedure, staple card. Nice to give a hasty smack to an opponent, also works well with Stonehewer.
FireShrieker - Giving more doublestrike than is already there is always a good thing, and I've killed dozens of opponents with this little guy. A solid include.
Batterskull - This is a vigilant/lifelink 4/4 that can keep coming back late game to munch your opponents face, and can be put into play for 2 with the Stoneforge. Good card, should have had it in from the beginning.
The bread and butter of the deck, these give amazing effects, awesome evasion, and are just a huge boon to the deck overall. I do run all 5, I've found that what I thought were the somewhat underpowered cards (SoBaM, SoWaP) were kill shots in a lot of cases, so I left them in. Incredible cards, and definitely worth playing.
Umezawe's Jitte - Arguably the single most overpowered card in the deck, I can't say enough about this card, especially with doublestrike. If you haven't ever had this on your side going to town on an opponent, it's one of the most absurdly powerful combat synergies I've ever seen. It gives the creature first strike, putting 2 counters on, and that's for any combat, not just player damage. Then you can give the equipped creature +4/+4 before normal damage even hits. This can make a 1 drop Kor Duelist hit for 6 first swing, then 14 each swing after that. That's absurd!!! Not even going into the -1-1 stuff, it just gets me so excited I have to stop typing. If you've never tried this out, give it a go and you'll never look back.
Some of these are cards of personal preference, that I just really enjoy having. Not many! But, -
could be a cut. These things aren't quite as strong as something like Mana Crypt, Scroll Rack or maybe even Quietus Spike. I just really like having all 5 swords, I never was a fan of the rack, and I don't own a Crypt. There are a few cards like this in the list that might have a better option then what I have in there, it certainly is far from perfect! Let me know if you think there's something else I should go through, and I'll get to it
-Other Options-
-General Talk-
So why Isamaru? Well, I knew I wanted a quick, aggressive mono white general, but there are a lot of those to choose from. The curve needed to be 2 or less, so that took out things Like Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Linn Sivvi, Defiant Hero. Out of the choices left, a few seemed to require building around Samurai/Bushido (Sensei Golden-Tail, Kentaro, the Smiling Cat, etc) and that wasn't the direction I wanted to go either.
So now what's left? Thalia, Guardian of Thraben really messes with my equipment costs which the deck can't afford, so she's out, along with Kataki, War's Wage. That leaves either Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Mikaeus, the Lunarch, And Isamaru. I didn't want a token deck, so out goes Mikaeus. Between Eight-and-a-Half-Tails and Isamaru, the Hound was an aggressive beater droppable turn 1, and the Fox was more a stand back and assist the other creatures/spells turns 3-4, so I went with the Hound. Not to say that's the end-all decision for the deck, I'm sure other people are quite happy with their choice of general that's not a 1 drop 2/2 with no abilities, but it's been working really well so far
-Card Options-
This is a weenie build, with a really low curve to make the most out of dropping and equipping swords, axes and daggers to the little guys to make them big scary guys. I personally feel this is the best way to run this specific type of build, but if you're looking for a couple other ways to run a similar build, there are
-Goodstuff Voltron-
This build takes away the stax elements and a few of the lower drops to make room for cards like Archangel of Thune, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Wurmcoil Engine, Baneslayer Angel, and maybe Battlegrace Angel. This build focuses more on curving into big threats as opposed to curving into medium threats and suiting them up to make big threats, while using the stax to keep your opponents off their big answers. This type of list is a little more successful if you're in a slower meta, or a meta that really hates mass land destruction/stax elements. Also, if you like huge angels.
Voidstone Gargoyle - Huh, never actually looked at that card before. It's interesting. Sure, it costs 5, but it's a 3/3 flyer that shuts down a combo. That's really interesting.
Dem Strategems
This style of Isamaru is a fairly straightforward deck to play, in all honesty. The goal is dropping Isamaru, (or a Serra Ascendant if you have it in hand) turn 1, and start swinging turn 2, picking up various equipment, recursion, and control elements along the way. Simple, right? The deck is straightforward and uncomplicated for the most part, which is what makes it so ruthlessly effective. The entire list is honed and pared down to providing the maximum support for the least cost, to get your opponents life totals to 0. That's the goal, and the main playstyle. Isamaru can be played just that far, and played effectively, but doing just that (Suiting up and swinging) won't win the game. It'll kill 1-2 people pretty quickly, but then that blue player is staring poor Isamaru down with a handful of cards and an evil grin, and it's game over. This deck won't really win an attrition war on equipment and beaters alone, which is where the actual strategy stuff comes in.
-Extension-
This was the hardest lesson I had to learn from this deck. White doesn't have the hand refills that green, blue, and black does. (How I miss you Consecrated Sphinx, Soul's Majesty, Phyrexian Arena!) It doesn't have too many amazing draw engines, and it doesn't do to well with hand destruction. Therefore it is absolutely vital(See the italics? Yeah, That means this is important!) that this deck never, ever overextends into a blow out. Isamaru is a focused general, with a fairly linear playstyle that only requires 1-3 creatures on the board at most, with maybe a maximum of 3 equipment on as well. Overextending on ramp is fine, but getting all the threats blown out by a Planar Cleansing hurts, and if your hand has already been dropped and your recursion gets blown out with the wrath there's nothing you can do. Game over. I had to learn to always only drop 1-2 creatures at a time, and hold my cards in hand until those threats got dealt with before dropping new ones. This is not a green swarm deck, or a tokens deck, or a horde deck. Think of it like using a rapier as opposed to a battleaxe. Finesse, and very precise hits are required, not just swinging wildly away at all opponents.
-Stax-
Isamaru is a 1 drop, and almost all of the threats this deck runs curve out at 3-4. This makes for a very efficient, low costed power curve that comes out quickly, and almost as quickly gets outclassed. Sure, a suited up 3/3 doublestriking Kor Duelist with that Sword of Feast and Famine on him is scary, especially turn 3-4, but then that green player drops Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and refills his hand, followed by an Overwhelming Stampede and there's not a lot that can be done. Therefore, the goal is to never allow said green mage, or any other mage for that matter get to more than 4-5 lands without locking up the board. This is where that Static Orb, Winter Orb, Hokori, Dust Drinker, and Armageddon come into play. The goal is to have 1-2 good beaters on board with a sword or jitte by turn 4, then immediately drop land denial. This allows your creatures to swing away unimpeded for the most part, while your opponents are struggling to play defenses with all their lands locked down. It takes getting used to to know just when the right time to drop that Orb is, but please don't just nuke the lands out of spite. Make sure you have at least 1-2 good threats on the board for the sake of the other players ^.^
-Removal-
I've found that Isamaru as a 1 drop will most likely punch through most of the other 1-2 drops that your opponents play seeing as he's got that 2/2 body to get there. As the turns progress he'll start to gather some equipment that allow evasion through the defenses that opponents are setting up. This all says that the removal should generally be saved for game breaking threats, not for getting rid of chump blockers that are slowing the damage down. That's what the equipment is for. The exile effects are to be used for the recursion engines, and the mass removal is to be used when someone overextends. Don't burn it unless you absolutely have to.
-Recursion-
This is the main source of card advantage in the deck, and should be used wisely. It's amazing to drop a Sun Titan, swing with Sword of Feast and Famine, then drop Armageddon. From there it's just a win, and a fun one. It's just good to be aware that once your opponents figure the deck out a little bit the recursion elements are usually the first targets. Most of the dudes are 1-3 drops, and don't seem that scary, but a Reveillark? That means business, and expect if to be exiled. This is where that High market comes in handy, but it's a little of a long shot as your Expedition Map is most likely going to be used to get that Emeria, the Sky Ruin. Just don't get too bent out of shape when Karmic Guide eats a Path to Exile, all that means is you get to swing a fat one at that player next chance you get
-Mulligans-
This is pretty simple. Mull down to 2-3 lands, and 1-3 drops. Get rid of any extra lands past 2-3, and any cards that cost more than 3. The priority is threats! Thankfully you always have a turn 1 drop (gogo 1 drop general :D) but you need to be then dropping a 2 drop threat, immediately followed by a 3cc card. It takes some getting used to, but you really have to be dropping a threat every turn, and you don't need that many lands at first, so get those beaters down! The lands will come later, as will the heavies.
-This hand is really hard to keep. You have the Tutor to get an equipment on Isamaru, but then that's your only actual threat for 5 turns which=death to this deck. Mull the Guide, the Duplicant, and the Scout here. Stonehewer is insane, so you want to keep him as long as you have enough cards to pitch to get early game threats.
-Victory!-
The list and the strategy has been mainly outlined, but I wanted to make a small addendum here. This deck does not always win on the back of Isamaru. Honestly, it's about 1/4 wins I get with general damage. The general is there to get some quick damage, and get suited up to force your opponents to burn a removal on him, and he's nice and easy to cast 3-4 times because of his cost, but most of the real damage work gets done by the doublestrikers, Serra Avenger, and Stonehewer Giant. These are your primary wincons, so please don't try to just keep dropping the Hound. He's got friends for a reason
Mentating that Meta (and now with Gamestate Piloting!)
Meta
- This is a slightly difficult topic to present here, mainly because I play with the same meta every week, and have been for the past 5 years or so now. When I do take this deck into the occasional shop/other playgroup people tend to get upset at the Stax/land Destruction, but the deck wins most games in those meta's. The biggest threat that it has is a straight control/card advantage deck, mainly Blue/x. Isamaru drops threats, but only 1-2 a turn which can be easily disrupted, and it doesn't run any of the uncounterable answers that Green has, or the split second that green/black has access to.
The best way to combat this is if you see the Blue player at the table, go after them! They're going to be your biggest threat, but the deck has enough speed and ferocity that it can usually get them within the redzone in the first 5 turns, allowing their other opponents to finish them off. Other than that, it does pretty well against green with the tutor/land restrictions, it's faster than most other voltron decks, and white loves to beat up on black. It's an early game deck, though! Without a good land destruction package it's going to lose a late game, without question. It's obviously not the end all be all deck, but it's been pretty successful so far.
Here's the generals that I currently face on a weekly basis:
This is where the simplicity and linearness of the deck really come into focus. It's basically A: Drop dudes. B: Equip dudes. C: Swing and kill other dude's controllers. D: ... Win? Yeah, winning is good.
Early Game (Turns 1-4/5):
-This is where you really want a 1 drop with a sword/Jitte on it. Start swinging immediately at your biggest threat (I.E. usually whoever has more Blue/sever card advantage) and keep your threats topped off with equipment. Expect most of the early game spot removal to be thrown your way, seeing as you have the only threats on the board, but try to get as much damage in as quickly as you can. This is where the deck really shines, because it forces your opponents to make a hard choice. Do they A: Spend the mana/resources to burn your tiny guys, or B: Do they set up their board and try to get into their midgame positions? If they go with B you can actually kill off a player in the first 4-5 turns, and if they go with A that just means you've slowed them down in their early game enough so that they should be an easier fight in the midgame. Also, usually by turn 3 you've been able to tutor an equipment up. I almost always get an Umezawe's Jitte first thing I can. It allows for some explosive damage, and it allows you to pick off the early utility creatures/blockers your opponents start dropping, which is huge. Disruption+aggression, all in a 2 drop?! Yes please.
Mid Game (Turns 5-10):
-If you can, the very beginning of this should be spent finding/dropping an Armageddon/Orb. Hopefully by now you have a rock or two, and 1-2 creatures have survived the early game with some equipment. Remember me saying it's absolutely vital that you don't overextend? This is where playing that right really shines. You'll have threats in hand, and your opponents have either burnt all their removal on your early creatures, or you've locked down/blown up the lands, or both. Either way, your guys should be able to swing away if you played this right, and kill off the rest of the table. The tail end of this can be used to recur things that people draw into answers for to keep the pressure on, and to finish everyone off. This is also where that early game damage/disruption really comes in. If you kept a hand full of removal and just wanted to sit back and slow roll things, this is the time where the deck will get steamrolled, so it's really vital that the hand you kept had at least 2-3 good solid threats to work with.
Late Game (Turns 10+):
-If you get here, and there's more than 1 player left on the board, it's a bad deal. Sometimes you can get an Emeria active and get some threats back, but usually by this time the graveyard's been exiled, there's no hand left and the deck runs out of steam. I hate sounding so dolldrum about it, but it's really not what the deck is designed for. This is not an attrition deck, or a control deck, or a card advantage deck. This is a deck that wants to stomp face in the early game, and wreck house in the midgame, and then it goes PHOOMP and sits down to take a well deserved rest. Try to avoid this if you can, you want your rest at the expense of the other players' lifetotals, if you can have it. Who says having cake and eating it isn't done? I love cake. I also love the eating of cake. *Nom Nom Nom
Deck Weaknesses
This style of Isamaru is not a swarm deck, and it's not quite a weenie deck. It's a fairly dedicated Voltron build, which does come with some weaknesses. The main 2 are Fog, and Counterspells.
Thankfully, not too many people play fogs in EDH, but if you run into someone that does there's not a ton to be done about it. Constant Mists is the worst, absolute worst nightmare that this deck can face. There is 1 answer in the deck, and that's Grand Abolisher. Unfortunately, you don't have any tutors for him, so you need to try to just hammer into that Skullclamp and draw cards like crazy until you get it. If your meta has a lot of players playing the Mist or another similar card, Nevermore might also be something to seriously consider running. If they're running Spike Weaver then thankfully the Phyrexian Revoker can take care of that one. Just go after the fog player first, and tryto get them down quickly. The biggest advantage this deck has is speed, so you need to go after your known threats as quickly as is possible. That means T2 they're taking a beat from the Hound, and every turn after that til they're dead, or you are
Counterspells. Counterspells are usually more of a problem in the midgame, and that's if someone's focusing you. The problem mainly that I've run into is the deck comes out really, really fast and I usually end up targeting the person that I think is going to be the biggest threat later in the game. That person usually happens to be the blue player, so I get a lot of counterspell hate in the midgame. This also hurts because this list usually only plays 1-2 spells a turn. It generates it's card advantage through equipment effects mainly, with some recursion/wrath/ETB effects to spice it up a little. Unfortunately, Blue likes to get rid of that 1-2 good things that are amazing early-midgame. I think the best way to get around this is be unapologetic about going after them, and show no mercy. EDH is a social format, and there are feelings involved. The blue player might get upset that you target them game after game ... after game after game after game. That's their problem, they're the one playing blue! I found that a really aggressive, focused attack usually brings them within spitting distance of another player, who then finishes the job for me. Limiting their mana also helps a ton, but that goes for everything the deck goes against, because it's curve is so low.
Those are the 2 main weaknesses of the deck. The best strategy holds true for both, go after them mercilessly as much and as fast as you can. If it gets to the point that it's no longer viable to attack them (They have blockers you can't punch through, pillowfort stuff, you're losing CA to go after them) then it's ok to start working on threat #2. If that happens, the rest of the table will have noticed the effectiveness of the first target's defenses and start chipping away at them. Try to have a killshot available for when they're defense grinds down, and take them out as soon as you can.
-Extra Extra Extra-
-Historically Historical Histories-
My first deck for EDH was an Oros, the Avenger deck that was specifically built to combat my friends Uril, the Mistalker deck by playing every single wrath/edict known to man. All it did was wrath, wrath, wrath, and eventually die due to a lack of an actual wincon. I had only chosen the general because of the colors, not for anything it could actually do for the deck. This led me into creating my Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund deck which I still play to this day. That deck focused more on a control/ramp build with Karrthus as a finisher.
By this time in deckbuilding I had discovered that A: I liked killing with a general, B: I liked a fair amount of control in the deck and C: I really, really like equipment. With these 3 tenants in mind it seemed clear that I should play white, and Isamaru was born. The deck has been built and played every weekend for about 9 months now, and it's my go-to deck for most of our pods. The decklist started as a pretty simple aggro/equipment deck, and then I found the Stax Primer and was in love, adding some of those elements to the deck. Eventually my playgroup relaxed the house rules and allowed massive land destruction, so in came Armageddon.
It's a still evolving list, with changes being made every week, but the core of the deck has remained basically the same. Drop Isamaru and start aswingin'.
-Notable Exceptions/Change Log-
Notable Exceptions
Steelshaper's Apprentice - This guy was just too mana intensive for the deck, in my experience. I'm tapping out every turn, and it was only useful late game. At that point there was no haste and it immediately ate a spot removal.
Auriok Steelshaper - If I had more Knight/Soldier synergy this would go in again, and might go back in, or if it was a 2/2 or a 2/1, but the body felt a little flimsy and the -1 equip cost wasn't enough to warrant an include.
Indomitable Archangel - if this was an artifact itself it'd be in, but it's not. Odd as it sounds the deck doesn't always have metalcraft, and this basically became a 4/4 flying blocker for 4. Not bad, but not good enough.
Solemn Simulacrum - Might go back on day, but I would need to cut a threat which the deck needs, and it's so low costed that a 4 drop ramp spell seemed like a waste.
Mind's Eye - Mana instensive, and the deck taps out every turn. Later game it just eats a removal, and it's not recurrable save the Salvage Scout, so it's out.
Sword of Vengeance - Just not good enough for the cost. If it was 2 to equip it'd probably be in.
- Too expensive. Awesome cards, just not what the deck is going for.
World Queller - Might get included, awesome card, but it's still at "my" upkeep, so it generally eats removal before it has a chance to do anything.
Mother of Runes - Amazing in 1v1, not to amazing in multiplayer. Still good, just didn't make the cut. It definitely goes in the 1v1 incarnation, though.
Skyhunter Skirmisher - If it was a 2/2, or even a 2/1 it would be in, but it's a 3 drop which the list already has a million of. It's a maybe, I'm still considering.
Mikaeus, the Lunarch - This is a nice mana dump later in the game, and it's always playable. Much stronger with tokens, though, which the deck lacks. Still under review.
Karmic Justice - Cool card, good with stax. This isn't a dedicated stax deck, though, so it's out.
Tectonic Edge - And friends cut the white sources, which are vital to the deck.
Mother just wasn't effective in multi with all the swords it's already running, and Cataclysm tended to hurt more than help. Trying out the Restoration Angel, and Grand Abolisher should've been in from the start.
The path was just too situational, and with the amount of equipment/artifacts the colorless mana really comes in handy with the tomb. The angel just wasn't doing what I needed, and neither was the Stonecloaker. Both slightly want a sit back and wait type of deck, and this one can't afford to be sitting with 3-4 mana up for the first 7-8 turns of the game, so these were basically dead drops until turn 10 or so, and that was a loss anyways. The Soltari's are really proving their wirth, being all unblockable so Imma try those for a bit and see where it goes.
I don't like the Vesuva CIPT, the deck generally needs all it's mana right now, at least the stage taps for a colorless when it comes down. Darksteel shoulda been in there with the Armageddon already, and the Tec edge is for problem lands that I seem to have trouble dealing with. Might need to add Ghost Quarter if it gets bad enough.
I just really wasn't happy with the Footsoldier, having an extra 1 drop was nice, but it just ... felt so weak. Kirtar is a flyer so it still has decene evasion, it's only 3 cmc, and it can exile an attacking creature which is huge. We'll see if Theros has anything to offer to the deck.
Kirtar and the Pinions were 2 of the weaker cards in the deck. Trying out Heliod for a little while to see how it plays, will post results later. Canonist should have been in from the start, thanks to some friends for putting it in front of me here Thanks guys!
Mutavault soulda been in from the start. It is a colorless mana, but it's totally woth it to have an extra body if all your dudes are dead and there's an equipment lying around. Also considering Kjeldoran Outpost but that's a maybe. Anyways, Muta is now a part of the team
I loved the flavor of having all 5 swords in deck, but it really wasn't good to put cards in opponents graveyards in an edh game. The sword actually lost me a couple of games, so it's out for the Batterskull. Bladed Pinions was a nice card, but Unexpectedly Absent is just better on the power level, so it's cut and replaced. Plus, unconditional permanent removal is huge.
Thank You's
Special thanks to cryogen and ISBPathfinder for all the help and suggestions to make this thing somewhat bearable. Thanks again guys, you were a ton of help!
Bang! Attempting to make primer-licious, suggestions welcome!
Also, ugh. That took a lot of work
The change log is going to be a work in progress, the deck evolves pretty regurlarly, I just can't remember all the changes and dates for the past year or so, so I'll start from about 2 weeks back and go from there. Currently thinking about cutting Body and Mind and Homeward Path and putting in Ancient Tomb and .. Something else, don't know what yet. Ideas?
Feveros, this decklist is awesome. I love when people take vanilla beaters and make bananna split sundaes out of them. I will be sending your list to a friend of mine who has been attempting to make Isamaru work as his general for about half a year.
For that one addition you're missing, have you played with Basilisk Collar yet? It's cheap equipment that looks great on your dog. Get it? It's a collar...yeah.
Anyways, great list and the form was easy to read. Wonderful job!
Feveros, this decklist is awesome. I love when people take vanilla beaters and make bananna split sundaes out of them. I will be sending your list to a friend of mine who has been attempting to make Isamaru work as his general for about half a year.
For that one addition you're missing, have you played with Basilisk Collar yet? It's cheap equipment that looks great on your dog. Get it? It's a collar...yeah.
Anyways, great list and the form was easy to read. Wonderful job!
Can't tell you how much I appreciate that, really! Thanks a ton, I really hope your friend likes it too.
Yeah, flavor wise the collar is awesome, for sure lol. I found personally that it's more of a defensive position than an offensive position, though, and I didn't have any other interactions to abuse it with like Goblin Sharpshooter or Spikeshot Elder, so it got the axe. While it does make my guy a little less likely to get blocked, it doesn't make him do any more damage, and lifegain doesn't seem to be that helpful in my meta at least.
Thanks for the input, though, and thanks again for the kind words! I'll take it into account, I do have 1-2 slots that I'm considering opening up
Updated to reflect some changes made over the weekend. Would love some input from some people who have run a similar deck. Is there that 1 or 2 cards that I'm missing that you've found absolutely vital in a low curve voltron deck? The Soltari I added are nice, I jsut feel like there's something it's missing, some 1-3 cmc creature that packs a lot more punch than what I'm currently getting. Mirran Crusader and Fencing Ace have been complete houses in the deck, so something along that power level.
I don't tend to run the edgewright for the same reason I don't run Indomitable Archangel, which is that I don't always have the metalcraft. The Puresteel Paladin can stand on it's own, the metalcraft is just a nice bonus, but the edgewright and the angel both need metalcraft to be worth it. Most of the artifacts that the deck runs are huge threats, and therefore are big removal targets, so I don't actually get/keep metalcraft that much.
Skyhunter Skirmisher is a great card, and I'll toy with it. I was running it in my Aurelia, The Warleader deck (very similar build, - stax/some of the weenies, +awesome red stuff) and it ended up getting the axe there, it just felt a little slow. I can't come up with a factual reason why it shouldn't be in, it's got everything I look for. Low CMC, evasion, and doublestrike, but every time I drop it I find myself just wishing it were something else. It's definitely on the list of cards to try again, though.
Thanks for asking! Are you running a similar build, and found those cards to be really worth playing?
Student of Warfare
and i cant find any equipment playing better with isamaru or doublestrikers other than Bonesplitter with that mana..:D
But it's still a really early built, so i cant say much about my choices, games will tell, but my first day was a blaaaaaaast
might be too much but i found Silence,Lapse of Certainty VERY good in my build. sometimes, you just need that extra turn, or to avoid that incoming board wipe. ^_^. not that useful in multi though..
edit: oh, and i cant seem to fit board wipes in my build...it just goes so much off theme it irritates me. i cut them all, if im doing aggro i want every piece to be deadly, if opponent has scarier creatures i remove them with my obliv ring ,instant or oblation
or i just evade through them for the kill! if there's no player, there are no creatures Brave the Elements but i understand the reset button/ equips ready idea.. i just dont like it
Student of Warfare
and i cant find any equipment playing better with isamaru or doublestrikers other than Bonesplitter with that mana..:D
But it's still a really early built, so i cant say much about my choices, games will tell, but my first day was a blaaaaaaast
might be too much but i found Silence,Lapse of Certainty VERY good in my build. sometimes, you just need that extra turn, or to avoid that incoming board wipe. ^_^. not that useful in multi though..
edit: oh, and i cant seem to fit board wipes in my build...it just goes so much off theme it irritates me. i cut them all, if im doing aggro i want every piece to be deadly, if opponent has scarier creatures i remove them with my obliv ring ,instant or oblation
or i just evade through them for the kill! if there's no player, there are no creatures Brave the Elements but i understand the reset button/ equips ready idea.. i just dont like it
It's nice to have another Isamaru player out here!
It's really fun especially when you come to a meta that doesn't know what you're packing, and they take a look at the general and scoff. Taking someone like that out in the first 5-6 turns is priceless
Yeah, I definitely feel you on the build of cretures vs removal. I'm going more of a 1-2 creatures at a time, and holding the wraths back for when I get overwhelmed, then dropping a Day of Judgment, followed by 1-2 of the creatures I've been holding back. It's just different styles, it sounds like you're playing a much more creature-heavy list than I am, which is cool! I've thought about going that route, but then I ended up building the Aurelia, the Warleader list in my sig and got my outlet there, so I decided to keep this as a more control/stax voltron list instead of weenie/horde. Weenie/horde is super effective, though, for sure, especially with lots of swords going to town on an opponents face!
Brave the Elements is an awesome card, for sure. I would play it if it cantripped! It's just I feel that with the amount of tutors I run that I can get the proper sword quick enough that that, Mother of Runes, and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails are just extra cards that provide utility when I wanted a threat.
I'm probably going to tune this for 1v1 as well, and then Mana Tithe and Lapse of Certainty will probably go in. It's hilarious to play a counterspell in white!
Sigil is a cool enchantment, for sure. I found that with cards like that, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, and Student of Warfare that I was spending mana on those, instead of dropping/equipping threats, which I didn't like. Just different styles, but I'm really glad you like the deck! I've been looking at Oblation, it just seems sooooo risky, I don't know. It's an amazing tuck effect, though! Silence/Orim's Chant I would most likely play if I was going the Isochron Scepter route, but a 1 turn silence isn't something that I"m looking to get to do. I have the Kami of False Hope and the Wrath Effects for when my opponents creatures' start getting out of hand
I do like the Vial, though. If I go a more creature heavy list then it's definitely going in, I completely agree, that card is the stones.
Thanks again for the info, it's appreciated! Now I need to figure out if Imma make a cut for that Oblation... lol.
Fist off, this is an amazing deck and thanks for making Isamaru a badass in multyplayer.
I revamped my version with a bit of the stax and tax style after seeing this, though I decided that Armageddon can be a bit too douchey as I don't play with the most competitive players. I subbed Loxodon Gatekeeper in place of Armageddon to slow all those swarm decks down a bit and give you an extra turn in most cases, although with static orb and the gatekeeper in play, people have told me they would rather just play against Armageddon.
The other thing I do a bit differently also is take a bit of enchantment rout with Idyllic tutor. Just having that extra tutor is nice as finding cards such as Crackdown, Oblivion Ring, Prison Term, or even Hyena Umbra if your concerned with board wipes, can change games. I also use both Unquestioned Authority and Spirit mantle though I'm thinking of taking the latter out as I mostly use it for making a creature unblockable and the cantrip is nice.
and have you tried weathered wayfarer instead of expedition map as its also searches for any land and is re-usable. I was just wondering why it didn't work so well in your meta.
Fist off, this is an amazing deck and thanks for making Isamaru a badass in multyplayer.
I revamped my version with a bit of the stax and tax style after seeing this, though I decided that Armageddon can be a bit too douchey as I don't play with the most competitive players. I subbed Loxodon Gatekeeper in place of Armageddon to slow all those swarm decks down a bit and give you an extra turn in most cases, although with static orb and the gatekeeper in play, people have told me they would rather just play against Armageddon.
The other thing I do a bit differently also is take a bit of enchantment rout with Idyllic tutor. Just having that extra tutor is nice as finding cards such as Crackdown, Oblivion Ring, Prison Term, or even Hyena Umbra if your concerned with board wipes, can change games. I also use both Unquestioned Authority and Spirit mantle though I'm thinking of taking the latter out as I mostly use it for making a creature unblockable and the cantrip is nice.
and have you tried weathered wayfarer instead of expedition map as its also searches for any land and is re-usable. I was just wondering why it didn't work so well in your meta.
Hey, thanks! Really glad you liked it so far. It's really helpful to get this feedback, thanks a ton for letting me know what you thought!
I love that Gatekeeper, I've honestly never looked at that before, I just might have to put that in. I haven't quite been happy with the 2 extra shadow dudes I put in and am thinking of cards a little more multi-oriented for it, thanks for that!
And absolutely, the enchantment route is a solid route to go. White has some of the best enchantments in the game, and having the extra tutor in there is awesome, I completely agree. At this point for the deck it was a more flavor choice than actual effectiveness, I went heavy equipment/creatures/stax, and only have so many slots. A lot of people are running the prison now, it's an absurdly powerful card, so I can definitely see putting it in. I personally don't feel that making the cuts necessary to put the enchantments in is going to increase the effectiveness of the deck enough to warrant the changes, it feels pretty streamlined as is. If I did cut anything it'll be those 1-2 shadow guys, and I'm already a little creature light so I'd want to replace them with another body.
If you're going that route, are you taking a look at True Conviction, Luminarch Ascension, and the Crusade effects as well? It seems like running an enchantment build might be a cool route to go, and you have access to Mesa Enchantress, as well as Three Dreams :dance:. True Conviction's a complete house, too, I almost want to tailor my deck a little more token/creature heavy just to run that one card. The power level is enormous O.o Oh, and Karmic Justice! Also an absurdly powerful card O.o
The reason I'm not running the wayfarer is that I don't get to drop him turn 1 ever (That's always either Isamaru or Serra Ascendant) So at best he's coming down T2, which means he's not tapping for a land until turn 3. Turn 3 is my most important turn, all my best early-game threats come in T3, so I can't afford to be sitting a mana behind at that time in the game state. T4 is usually a bit more open, but by then he's died to a wrath/spot removal most likely, or I have another threat I need to drop and it's not really worth it. I also don't usually ever drop more than 5-6 lands unless Emeria, the Sky Ruin's in play so he's not too terribly useful after that. And that's only if I draw him in the opening hand! Later in the game he's just a dead draw 95% of the time :/ While the Expedition Map is only a 1 of, I can drop it and sac in the same turn, usually 5-6 turns in when I really want that Kor Haven, or the Emeria. It doesn't suffer from summoning sickness, and it's not opponent-land dependent, so if I just dropped an Armageddon I can still get some use out of it. Also more of a personal preference, I'm always tempted to keep a 1 land wayfarer hand, but then my opponents path it or something else horrible and I'm stuck at 1 land for 5 turns. That's just bad playskills, I know, but I can't seem to help it. I want my hand full of lethal goodness, not lands!!!
It's an amazing card, there's absolutely no question about it. If I was running a slightly higher curve and didn't need that much pressure early game he'd definitely go in, but as the build stands he just doesn't really work out that well.
Thanks again for the reply! I think I'm going to test that gatekeeper out, I really love that idea. Completely shuts down Craterhoof Behemoth, which is always incredibly satisfying, and leaves less blockers open. I'll try to get my hands on one later this week and test it out.
Ravages of War is worth mentioning too but I think we can assume $$$$ there.
Wall of Omens seems like an odd choice for an aggro deck too.
Ravages of War is a $ choice, to be sure. I might be getting a hold of one here soon and it will definitely go in, but just don't have one yet so it's not ther for the time being. Catastrophe was in the original list, and still might go back, but it got cut for being 6cmc for one more wrath effect, basically. THe deck really wants to hit all the lands turn 3-5 with Armageddon/orb, before anyone has had a chance to muster up a decent defense. By turn 6 (or 5 if there's some ramp) most players have at least a blocker or two, and some spot removal with an artifact out for ramp. This makes it a lot harder to push through lethal damage after all the lands are locked down/blown up, hence the cut. It's a good card, and if I tune the deck for a little higher average cmc feel it'll go back in. Right now it just doesn't feel quite right.
Cataclysm was a cut that I already had tried. It just didn't do quite enough, or did too much, one or the other. Every time I was dropping it my opponents for some reason always managed to have a bigger threat than I did on the board, making it an ineffective card. That could just be my lack of playskills, absolutely! It's a phenomenal card, but it required directly playing around the effect in my opening hand which meant only dropping 1 threat, 1 equipment, not dropping a sol ring if I had it, and just dropping enough lands to get it off to feel like I was getting the most out of it. That usually meant it didn't get down unti turn 4 at the earliest, at which time at least 1-2 of the other players had answered Isamaru and/or the equipment I had on him, so if I Catastrophe'd it left me with a 2/2 or no creature at all, and them with a blocker. Just my experiences, it just never really worked out as hoped :/ Late in the game it definitely served as a spiteful card, but again that served the purpose of leaving me with a weenie staring down a Bogardan Hellkite or something else horrible, and it didn't generate any advantage other than slowing the game down to a crawl.
Wall of Omens is in there as a cantrip blocker that also serves as a draw engine. As odd as it feels, the deck swings out every single turn and can take a lot of damage for that. WoO gives some blocking goodness, as well as being a recurrable draw engine with Emeria and Sun Titan. Works well to block a 3/3 when it has a Skullclamp on it, too, or a High Market in play with the clamp. It just works really well so far, keeps Isamaru from getting edict'd too often, it's just been a pretty solid include. Now, if there's a 2 drop cantripping threat that I could use, I'd prefer that, I just haven't found one that seems solid enough to put in.
Thanks a ton for the look at the list, and for the replies, it's much appreciated! Ravages is definitely a card I'm looking to get, now if only I could find one for less that $200 ...
I got some pretty sweet wins in with the hound this weekend! You know you've made a pretty rad deck when you can take on the whole table being the pinnacle of hate since turn one.
Loxodon Gatekeeper proved its worth again as it shuts down combo and with any winter orb affect or crackdown it completely shuts down the table with me basically gaining a bunch of extra turns. I used karmic justice this weekend but it really didn't seem to do the work how I was hoping for, while I can't really blame my opponents, it's usually just the next permanent of mine to go. I don't have a sun titan yet to abuse it with and I haven't had it in play during a board wipe yet so I'm going to give it some more time in the deck to see how it works. I'm also looking to try out cavern of souls to see if it helps the blue match up. A buddy of mine has an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck which can just be dreadful to play against. For me just naming humans covers most of my deck including grand abolisher or just needing to force a stonehewer giant in play doesn't seem like a bad idea.
I was wondering why you weren't running dust bowl in a monocolored stax deck, but I run one and after playing this deck so many times I realize I'm just too busy to shell out basically 4 mana to destroy 1 land. At least that makes cavern of souls an easy fit into the deck now!
One card I'm still wondering about for you is darksteel citadel. Doesn't it go hand in hand with Armageddon?
I got some pretty sweet wins in with the hound this weekend! You know you've made a pretty rad deck when you can take on the whole table being the pinnacle of hate since turn one.
Loxodon Gatekeeper proved its worth again as it shuts down combo and with any winter orb affect or crackdown it completely shuts down the table with me basically gaining a bunch of extra turns. I used karmic justice this weekend but it really didn't seem to do the work how I was hoping for, while I can't really blame my opponents, it's usually just the next permanent of mine to go. I don't have a sun titan yet to abuse it with and I haven't had it in play during a board wipe yet so I'm going to give it some more time in the deck to see how it works. I'm also looking to try out cavern of souls to see if it helps the blue match up. A buddy of mine has an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck which can just be dreadful to play against. For me just naming humans covers most of my deck including grand abolisher or just needing to force a stonehewer giant in play doesn't seem like a bad idea.
I was wondering why you weren't running dust bowl in a monocolored stax deck, but I run one and after playing this deck so many times I realize I'm just too busy to shell out basically 4 mana to destroy 1 land. At least that makes cavern of souls an easy fit into the deck now!
One card I'm still wondering about for you is darksteel citadel. Doesn't it go hand in hand with Armageddon?
Yeah, there's no question that the deck is weak against mono-U, it's probably the toughest matchup if they focus you. Which of course they do, since you're their worst matchup with a stupid-fast aggro beatdown deck. Honestly if I was running against a blue player I would probably up the creature count a little and start running Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, maybe even as the general. it's a turn slower which really stinks, but it hoses blue pretty hard, allowing you to get online faster with the added cost of basically all their spells. You can also run Mana Tithe, Lapse of Certainty and Nevermore to help with that match up a little bit. It's sketchy, though, this deck usually drops 1-2 threats a turn for a little while then runs out of steam, and if they know to counter the Puresteel Paladin then it's hard to overcome the card advantage. Cavern obviously is an excellent choice there as well, and if you get the Grand Abolisher to stick with some prot on him it's usually gg.
Darksteel Citadel does work really well, and I'm seriously considering adding it. The only reason I haven't yet, along with Cathedral of War, is that I really need white mana and I've been hurt a couple times by having too mana colorless producers in hand. I think that it would be a fine include, though, so I'll test it a bit and probably update here soon.
Really glad you like the deck, thanks again for the comments! I played it today in our first LGS EDH night and it did pretty well. I think the Gatekeeper is going in, I just haven't picked one up yet. I feel the same way you do about the bowl, it's a tapout deck, it doesn't want to sit on mana. That's the same reason I'm not running Eight-And-A-Half-Tails.
Thanks again, Darksteel will most likely go in here in a bit, along with maybe the Cathedral and Tectonic Edge. I've been having troubles with non-basics lately O.o
I like the old cards so forgive me in advance but have you thought about blaze of glory, ursa's lands and mishra's workshop?
Hey, thanks for taking a look! I like where you're going, it would be nice to have some combat tricks in here with the mana accel.
Blaze of Glory goes a little against what the deck is trying to do, but it looks like a fun way to wipe an opponents board, for sure. This deck is designed to swing through creatures, not at them generally, I really don't want my stuff being blocked. I basically swing away at the life total as long as I can possibly afford until I get overwhelmed with my opponents creatures/resources, then drop an Armageddon, Winter Orb or Wrath of God and start over again. That's why things like Blaze, Coalition Flag Carrier, all the taunt stuff I try to avoid.
The reason I'm not running the Urza lands is it's colorless mana and the deck really, really needs the white sources. Almost every threat in the deck is
:symw::symw:, and I don't run enough artifacts to warrant that or the workshop being in the deck.
If you having a bit of trouble with colored mana, why don't you try Mox Diamond. In theory you can pitch a colorless land to it and get it back later with Sun Titan if its really that important late game, and it can possibly make the deck faster which is always a plus! I also use Mistveil Plains as a form of searchable "recursion" though I understand coming into play tapped slows the deck right back down.
I'm also wondering how useful Reliquary Tower is in your deck. How do you manage to have more than seven cards in hand during the game?
If you having a bit of trouble with colored mana, why don't you try Mox Diamond. In theory you can pitch a colorless land to it and get it back later with Sun Titan if its really that important late game, and it can possibly make the deck faster which is always a plus! I also use Mistveil Plains as a form of searchable "recursion" though I understand coming into play tapped slows the deck right back down.
I'm also wondering how useful Reliquary Tower is in your deck. How do you manage to have more than seven cards in hand during the game?
I literally just put the tower in because of game that I was playing where I managed to get a million tokens with the Springjack Pasture Planechase card and had a Skullclamp out xD. I should probably take it out, but we have a guy in my playgroup that plays mill occasionally with Font of Mythos/Howling Mine/Forced Fruition, so it can come in handy. If I didn't have the mill in the meta then it would come out, definitely.
The Mox is an option, for sure. I usually end um mulling to 2 lands, however, and Isamaru is always dropping turn 1 so I usually don't need the extra mana that fast, and the card disadvantage bothers me a lttle bit. It does make it a little faster, and would allow things like a T1 Jitte or something ridiculous if you als had the Sol Ring. I just don't feel it's quite necessary to become quite that hypercompetitive in this stage of the decks' development.
Plus, I don't own one and they're expensive!
I still like that Gatekeeper idea you mentioned, but I think I might go the Blind Obedience route instead. It does almost the same thing, is half the cost and allows for Extort which is a mechanic I kind of want to play. The deck taps out pretty regularly, though, so I don't know if it'll be worth it or not, but Imma give them both a try, see what happens.
Also, in Multiplayer I'm running out of a bit too much steam if the game goes later than 7-9 turns, so I'm also thinking of adding Wurmcoil Engine to get some staying power after a wrath. We'll see after testing
Thanks for the replies, again, can't tell you how much I appreciate the feedback! I got to play this list Sunday and got the most points by far out of my pod, it was a lot of fun
I literally just put the tower in because of game that I was playing where I managed to get a million tokens with the Springjack Pasture Planechase card and had a Skullclamp out xD. I should probably take it out, but we have a guy in my playgroup that plays mill occasionally with Font of Mythos/Howling Mine/Forced Fruition, so it can come in handy. If I didn't have the mill in the meta then it would come out, definitely.
That makes complete sense. That mill deck you mentioned sounds a lot like my Phelddagrif deck, and the hound needs all the help it can get playing against that stonewall of countermagic and fogs. It's honestly the worst matchup I noticed for the hound and the only way to win is if I can mess with their mana. I haven't tested my hound deck against Phelddagrif since I revamped it, and while It has a way better chance now of winning now, that isn't saying much from the 0% win chance it had before. I pretty much just gave up on that matchup actually, mono blue might have plenty of counters but something is eventually going to slip by if you play it right. Mono green might have more creatures but it's still possible to punch through their massive creatures if you have protection or jitte. Those 3 colors together though, with Phelddagrif, can cause a rage quit. At least Rafiq of the Many is a legitimate wincon. If you have any secrets on how to beat a turbo fog deck, please don't keep it to yourself, I would love to read it.
Anywho, from what I've seen you can't go wrong with extort in multiplayer and Wurmcoil Engine is always an amazing card no matter how you slice it (I'm sorry, I crack myself up sometimes).
That makes complete sense. That mill deck you mentioned sounds a lot like my Phelddagrif deck, and the hound needs all the help it can get playing against that stonewall of countermagic and fogs. It's honestly the worst matchup I noticed for the hound and the only way to win is if I can mess with their mana. I haven't tested my hound deck against Phelddagrif since I revamped it, and while It has a way better chance now of winning now, that isn't saying much from the 0% win chance it had before. I pretty much just gave up on that matchup actually, mono blue might have plenty of counters but something is eventually going to slip by if you play it right. Mono green might have more creatures but it's still possible to punch through their massive creatures if you have protection or jitte. Those 3 colors together though, with Phelddagrif, can cause a rage quit. At least Rafiq of the Many is a legitimate wincon. If you have any secrets on how to beat a turbo fog deck, please don't keep it to yourself, I would love to read it.
Anywho, from what I've seen you can't go wrong with extort in multiplayer and Wurmcoil Engine is always an amazing card no matter how you slice it (I'm sorry, I crack myself up sometimes).
heh, hah! I like that, that's lol.
Turbofog, I have no idea other than dropping an eldrazi in the deck for the mill :/ Red has access to the "damage can't be prevented" stuff, not white. Jester's Cap would probably help, along with Lapse of Certainty and Mana Tithe, and maybe a Nevermore. I'm right there with you though, it's just tough. I still firmly believe that a well built Bant EDH deck is the strongest archetype outside of pure combo that you can play. I just have never seen a 3-4 player pod end up with anything other than an Archenemy feel with everyone against the bant deck, and more often than not U/W/G wins O.o It's absurd what that deck can do
U/W/G is the hardest matchup I've ever had. Once mass LD was allowed it got a little better, those colors tend to be pretty mana hungry. If you can draw into the Aven Mindscensor and have it stick that usually shuts them down pretty hard, then name the Constant Mists with Nevermore. Unfortunately in mono-W it's pretty hard to get all those cards without the tutoring of black/green. I guess you could also add in the Ashnod's Altar and the Triskelion to have access to a tutorable (Enlightened Tutor) infinite combo if you get the Reveillark/Karmic Guide in play.
If my buddy puts his Jenara deck back together he's gong to be public enemy #1 for sure, we'll see how it plays out lol.
Hey, I haz a primer! Also, updated a change, Soltari Footsoldier's out, Lieutenant Kirtar's in. Hoping for something solid to fill this slot, Kirtar's good, just not as good as I'd like. Maybe that new white god? 4 cmc for everything vigilance, indestructible, token generator? Doesn't seem awful, we'll see what happens.
I don't usually play voltron, but how about something like Spirit en-Dal. It can help your general get there, or suit up and get there herself. Of course, I not sure what to take out. Your deck list looks tight. It might be a little more interesting than Lieutenant Kirtar.
That spirit is cool, absolutely. I might have to give that a look. The deck does end up tapping out pretty frequently, so it might get cut, but I've never seen that before. Thanks for pointing it out!
Awesome Banner by Xenphire in Inkfox Aesthetics
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~Robert Frost
Thanks for taking a look at my Isamaru, Hound of Konda list! This list has served me incredibly well over the past year or so that I've been piloting it. I sincerely hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Please, please feel free to ask any questions about card choices/make recommendations/tell me your experience with similar decks, I'd love to hear it all. Thanks again, hope you enjoy!
- Isamaru gives what almost no other general in EDH can give: A 1 drop beater turn 1, every single game. This makes for an incredibly aggressive play-style, and a deck that can take a lot of other archetypes completely off guard. This specific build takes advantage of a low costed general, an efficient curve, and some awesome equipment to beat face steadily throughout the game. By dropping the Hound turn 1, then immediately dropping that 2-drop threat followed by a 3-drop that supports him, be it an equipment, spot removal for that Deathrite Shaman they dropped to block, or a good ol' Doublestrike enabler, this makes Isamaru able to swing through for some incredibly quick, soon-to-be-lethal damage. This isn't the way most EDH players see their game plan going! This is the biggest advantage of the deck, the utter explosiveness. It's an incredibly satisfying list to play, if you like fairly straightforward, simple decks that smash face turn 1 of the game. Also, equipment. Lots and lots of equipment.
Why Play Isamaru, Hound of Konda?
-You like incredibly fast, aggressive decks
-You want to win in the first 5-8 turns of the game
-You don't mind targeting what you view as the biggest threat at the table from the get-go
-You like equipment
-You like a Voltron-style build
-You have a playgroup that doesn't mind mass land destruction/stax elements
-...Did I mention the equipment?
-You still like equipment
Why not to play this awesome, amazing deck?
-You don't like equipment
-You like to sit back and play a control build
-You don't like tapping out every turn
-You want a late game win
-You want to have an answer for everything
-You don't want to win through combat damage
-You don't like weenies
-... Really, you don't like equipment?! Who doesn't like equipment?! It's, like, ... equippy, and stuff!
About your pilot
I've been playing MTG for about 13 years now, since when I was in 6th grade and moved to Columbus, OH. (C-Bus, represent!) There I fell in with a group of guys that I would play Magic with weekly for the next 7 years or so. The first deck I ever played was a mono-green creature simple deck with Giant Growth as a finisher XD.
From there, I moved to Springfield, MO in Nov of '08 and found a group of guys that played semi-competitively in standard and block. I played a couple of standard tournaments during the Alara block, then found EDH. From then on it was head over heels in love, and I have focused the entirety of my play resources to this ever-changing, amazing format.
If you ever find yourself heading my way, please shoot me a PM and I'd love to sit down and play a game or two with you!
What made me choose EDH? (Or Commander, if you're a Vicious Fanboy)
Elder Dragon Highlander is a unique take on the, IMO, very essence that got us all into Magic in the first place. There was that mysterious draw that I had to the cards, the interactions, and the game play when I was first introduced that (thankfully) has never quite left me. This escalated into pure excitement when I got to crack my first pack, and then a competitive glow that emerged as I began playing some higher-end tournaments. But I noticed over time that there seemed to be an endless stream of cash going from my hand to Wizard's coffers with all the new releases, just to stay competitive. I didn't have that many funds to support it, and I really wanted to get back to the days of simple fun, getting to try new cards and new ideas week by week. Net-dec is not my favorite format
In came EDH, and it's been a blissful affair ever since. It's the only format I've found that allows everyone to really get into the nooks and crannies of the magic world, while still having a competitive feel. It allows degenerate combos, hilarious shenanigans, topdecks for-the-win, and a million million other amazing, fun, awesome interactions. This is the spirit of EDH for me, and that's why it's the only format I play.
So, talk aside...
23 Plains
1 Ancient Den
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Darksteel Citadel
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 High Market
1 Kor Haven
1 Mutavault
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Condemn
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Expedition Map
1 Kami of False Hope
1 Kor Duelist
1 Land Tax
1 Path to Exile
1 Salvage Scout
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Serra Ascendant
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Fencing Ace
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Knight of the White Orchid
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mind Stone
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Puresteel Paladin
1 Revoke Existence
1 Serra Avenger
1 Soltari Priest
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Wall of Omens
1 Winter Orb
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Aura of Silence
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Coalition Relic
1 Crib Swap
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Fireshrieker
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Mirran Crusader
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Silverblade Paladin
1 Static Orb
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Day of Judgment
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Heliod, God of the Sun
1 Hero of Bladehold
1 Hokori, Dust Drinker
1 Magus of the Disk
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Return to Dust
1 Wrath of God
1 Batterskull
1 Karmic Guide
1 Reveillark
1 Stonehewer Giant
1 Austere Command
1 Duplicant
1 Sun Titan
1 Terminus
-Card Breakdown-
Ancient Den - Helps the metalcraft for the Puresteel. Also good in very rare situations where you just can't seem to find that 2nd white source, but you have the Enlightened Tutor
Ancient Tomb - Lots of mana for equippy-ness! Been incredibly helpful so far, well worth the life loss. Make sure you take it out to adapt for 1v1.
Emeria, the Sky Ruin - Gets your dudes back! Very important, late game savior. This is a pretty under the radar card, a lot of people don't notice it, just make sure you don't forget it as well! I've had a couple of triggers that I forgot, and they were literally game breaking.
Flagstones of Trokair - Gets land after that Armageddon, doesn't CIPT. Very helpful.
High Market - Keeps your dudes from getting exiled, and Isamaru from getting tucked. Incredibly useful, and partners well with Skullclamp as well
Kor Haven - Oh, you want to Voltron me?! No, don't think so. It has it's limitations (shrouded creatures, destroyed before attackers declared, etc) but very much worth it in certain situations.
Reliquary Tower - Only in here because my meta plays a mill player with Forced Fruition, it can be cut for a Plains in other meta's
Strip Mine - Deals with problem lands, taps for a colorless. Should be run in every EDH deck, IMO.
Thespian's Stage - It's nice to copy the Emeria, or that Cabal Coffers your opponent just dropped. Also doesn't CIPT, which is vital for this deck.
These are pretty basic stuff, most of the staples. It is a little light on the targeted land to land destruction, but the deck can't really afford to not have 2-4 white sources early in the game.
Targeted Removal-
Condemn - Tucks a general, costs 1. It's hard to describe how useful putting some aggro general on the bottom of their owner's library is, or how satisfying.
Path to Exile - Exile effects are king in this format, and it costs 1 again. Well worth the land it gets the opponent, just try not to burn it on something that's not gamebreaking. This is best used late game on an Eldrazi, or that Mikaeus, the Unhallowed that someone dropped. Not to be used to clear out mana dorks for easy swings!
Swords to Plowshares - See Path to Exile.
Revoke Existence - Exile effect (Noticing a theme?) It is 1 for 1, but gets Darksteel Forge as well as allowing you to get someone off an early mana source with their Sol Ring.
Aura of Silence - Stax effect that can kill a problem? Yes please. This has been in and out, it's now mainly in there as a 1 for 1 enchantment/artifact removal, but it does serve a dual purpose so it's held it's spot.
Crib Swap - See Path/Swords, but costs 3.
Kor Sanctifiers - a 2-for-1 that pops an art/ench and beats? Deal. Unfortunately not able to be re-kicked with the recursion elements, but still very much worth it.
Oblivion Ring - A relatively new include, this gets a permanent, which is vital. Not as good as a Vindicate, but great for mono-white.
Return to Dust - See Revoke Existence, but 2-for-1 for 2 more mana.
Duplicant - One of the best removal spells in the game, this guy gets everything. Just don't do it to Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund! The dragon just steals it right back next turn
Unexpectedly Absent - One of the best "get around annoying effects" cards there is (Eat it, Ulamog!) This card does just about everything. Amazing to pop something for 0 in response to them cracking a fetch ^.^
The basic stuff. Granted, a lot of this is 1 for 1 CA which I try to avoid, but most of it does the most important thing you can do to a permanent in EDH. Exile it. There's so much recursion in the format, being able to permanently answer somebody's Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre that they dropped turn 4 is game ending, or at least game saving. Trust me, in this format? The more exile effects, the better. Also, I hear tuck is awesome for enemy generals.
Mass Removal-
Day of Judgment - Standard Wrath effect. Good for swarms/hexproof, and this allows more 2 for ones. The deck usually only plays 1-2 creatures at a time, so this is where you regain some lost card advantage.
Magus of the Disk - Sure, it CIPT, but it's saved the deck many times, so it's still in here. Being able to wipe the board is incredibly vital, and this guy can be recurred.
Wrath of God - See DOJ
Austere Command - Flexibility is good, and this one does it best. Problem solver, all the way.
Terminus - Ripping this of the top right when you're staring a hasty death general in the face is an amazing feeling. Always a solid include.
This is where you recoup some o' that Card Advantage you can lose with the 1-for-1's, but these are more here as a save my ass type deal. The deck is really only supposed to play 1-3 creatures at once, so it can be easy to get overwhelmed. These take care of those problems, and with the amount of recursion that the deck runs it's pretty easy to come back from your own board wipes, not to mention someone else's.
Tutors-
Enlightened Tutor - It's pretty good, not going to lie. Obviously putting it on top of your deck kind of stinks, but turn 2, untap, upkeep get my Sol Ring, put it into play to accelerate into my Jitte seems pretty good. White doesn't have that many tutors, so this one is pretty essential, especially with the amount of artifacts the deck runs.
Expedition Map - Gets that Emeria, gets that Strip Mine to get rid of that Cabal Coffers, gets that Ancient Den to give your Puresteel metalcraft... Just your standard utility land tutor.
Land Tax - This one doesn't need much explanation. It's just good. Play it.
Steelshaper's Gift - Did I mention that this is an equipment voltron deck? No? Well, this is one of the best tutors to make that build happen. It puts it into your hand, so you're not losing any CA, and it gets that prot-sword answer that you're just dying to see. It's essential, don't leave home without it.
Stoneforge Mystic and her big brother, Stonehewer Giant - These 2 guys are amazing. Everyone knows the Mystic, but the Giant is a force all to himself. He can swing and because of the vigilance, tap after he swings and put a sword on him to make him unblockable to the creature colors of your choice. I've won games with him alone, it's absurd.
Ranger of Eos Straight card advantage, and gets your general back after a Condemn or Hallowed Burial. The deck runs some pretty good 1 drop creatures, so this guy's never bad to see.
Utility-
Kami of False Hope - This little guys' been an all star in this deck. A recurrable fog that only costs 1 is huge, especially against the big green or swarm decks.
Salvage Scout - Cheap, effective, recurrable with any of the recursion elements. Gets your stuff back. Pretty good, especially for the cost.
Sensei's Divining Top - Yup, Top's here! Move along.
Phyrexian Revoker - This has been one of my rising stars lately, and after seeing it's effectiveness I've literally gotten my entire playgroup packing one of these little guys. It just answers so many ridiculous things it's always worth playing, and in a pinch you can suit it up and swing. It's in every single deck I play now, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Oh, and it's recurrable? My goodness, the joy, the joy!
Grand Abolisher - This is one of the better answers to blue. I just wish it was uncounterable itself, but what can one do? Still a good answer and a decent beater.
Puresteel Paladin - One of the better draw engines in the deck, and makes equip for free. Good stuff
Wall of Omens - The deck likes to swing out every turn, so having a blocker that cantrips is nice. Also it recurs, and a recurring card draw engine is pretty cool, I hear.
Aven Mindscensor - There shouldn't ever be a white EDH deck, ever, that doesn't play this card. It shuts every tutor down, you can play it at instant speed, it's a recurrable creature, and it flies. One of the best white cards ever printed for this format, hands down.
Acceleration-
Notable exceptions here are Solemn Simulacram and Kor Cartographer, mainly because they don't come back with Sun Titan. The artifacts also untap when there's Orb effects on the board, which is a huge help. Obviously they get the deck into the bigger stuff faster, and they're really good after a land wipe.
Stax/Disruption-
These are the mid-late game enablers for Isamaru. The deck explodes at first, but obviously the power to mana ratio drops sharply at 3 and 4, so when that green player hits 8 mana it's time to lock the board up. Thankfully most of the deck costs 1-3 cmc, so these effects don't hurt it nearly as much as it hurts the rest of the field.
Recursion-
This is the biggest source of Card Advantage in the deck, and is what allows Isamaru to come back to full force after a board wipe. These are also some of the biggest targets for exile effects, so try to have a High Market ready when they're dropping.
Creature Threats!
Kor Duelist - A 1 drop that can be swinging and doublestrike turn 3 is absurd. This is an allstar, and my opponents fear this little guy turn 2 more than most other plays.
Serra Ascendant - Most amazing 1 drop in the game. Ever.
Fencing Ace - A recent include, basically doubles the Duelists I have. Been amazing so far.
Serra Avenger - Vigilance is really helpful, and this guy only costs 2?! O.o
Soltari Priest - Evasion is really nice, and paired with either the Silverblade or the Fireshrieker this guy can really do some damage.
Mirran Crusader - Duelist # 3, with Prot!
Silverblade Paladin - Duelist # 4 and 5.
Hero of Bladehold - Gives a little more offensive reach with evasion, and feeds Skullclamp.
These are the main beaters of the deck, and with the exception of the Hero they all either have double strike, evasion, or both. These abilities are the mainstay of the entire strategy. The goal is to equip one of these bad boys and start swinging, the doublestrike hits like a truck, and the evasion lets you connect with that sword you really want to hit with. It's simple, straightforward, and surprisingly effective.
Planeswalker Threats!
Elspeth, Knight-Errant - She gives food to Skullclamp, she gives a doublestriker flying and +3/+3, she's a huge threat, and she fits the curve really, really well. Awesome card all around to have.
Ajani, Caller of the Pride - Makes Isamaru bigger, allows kill shots to come out of nowhere, and costs 3?! Amazing card for the deck, a complete all star. Just don't ever ultimate, you're just begging for a Terminus.
Equipment Threats!
Skullclamp - Card draw is good, and makes Isamaru hit harder early game. Essential.
Lightning Greaves - Standard procedure, staple card. Nice to give a hasty smack to an opponent, also works well with Stonehewer.
FireShrieker - Giving more doublestrike than is already there is always a good thing, and I've killed dozens of opponents with this little guy. A solid include.
Batterskull - This is a vigilant/lifelink 4/4 that can keep coming back late game to munch your opponents face, and can be put into play for 2 with the Stoneforge. Good card, should have had it in from the beginning.
- Sword of Feast and Famine
- Sword of Fire and Ice
- Sword of Light and Shadow
- Sword of War and Peace
The bread and butter of the deck, these give amazing effects, awesome evasion, and are just a huge boon to the deck overall. I do run all 5, I've found that what I thought were the somewhat underpowered cards (SoBaM, SoWaP) were kill shots in a lot of cases, so I left them in. Incredible cards, and definitely worth playing.Umezawe's Jitte - Arguably the single most overpowered card in the deck, I can't say enough about this card, especially with doublestrike. If you haven't ever had this on your side going to town on an opponent, it's one of the most absurdly powerful combat synergies I've ever seen. It gives the creature first strike, putting 2 counters on, and that's for any combat, not just player damage. Then you can give the equipped creature +4/+4 before normal damage even hits. This can make a 1 drop Kor Duelist hit for 6 first swing, then 14 each swing after that. That's absurd!!! Not even going into the -1-1 stuff, it just gets me so excited I have to stop typing. If you've never tried this out, give it a go and you'll never look back.
Some of these are cards of personal preference, that I just really enjoy having. Not many! But, -
could be a cut. These things aren't quite as strong as something like Mana Crypt, Scroll Rack or maybe even Quietus Spike. I just really like having all 5 swords, I never was a fan of the rack, and I don't own a Crypt. There are a few cards like this in the list that might have a better option then what I have in there, it certainly is far from perfect! Let me know if you think there's something else I should go through, and I'll get to it
-Other Options-
-General Talk-
So why Isamaru? Well, I knew I wanted a quick, aggressive mono white general, but there are a lot of those to choose from. The curve needed to be 2 or less, so that took out things Like Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Linn Sivvi, Defiant Hero. Out of the choices left, a few seemed to require building around Samurai/Bushido (Sensei Golden-Tail, Kentaro, the Smiling Cat, etc) and that wasn't the direction I wanted to go either.
So now what's left? Thalia, Guardian of Thraben really messes with my equipment costs which the deck can't afford, so she's out, along with Kataki, War's Wage. That leaves either Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, Mikaeus, the Lunarch, And Isamaru. I didn't want a token deck, so out goes Mikaeus. Between Eight-and-a-Half-Tails and Isamaru, the Hound was an aggressive beater droppable turn 1, and the Fox was more a stand back and assist the other creatures/spells turns 3-4, so I went with the Hound. Not to say that's the end-all decision for the deck, I'm sure other people are quite happy with their choice of general that's not a 1 drop 2/2 with no abilities, but it's been working really well so far
-Card Options-
This is a weenie build, with a really low curve to make the most out of dropping and equipping swords, axes and daggers to the little guys to make them big scary guys. I personally feel this is the best way to run this specific type of build, but if you're looking for a couple other ways to run a similar build, there are
-Goodstuff Voltron-
This build takes away the stax elements and a few of the lower drops to make room for cards like Archangel of Thune, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Wurmcoil Engine, Baneslayer Angel, and maybe Battlegrace Angel. This build focuses more on curving into big threats as opposed to curving into medium threats and suiting them up to make big threats, while using the stax to keep your opponents off their big answers. This type of list is a little more successful if you're in a slower meta, or a meta that really hates mass land destruction/stax elements. Also, if you like huge angels.
Summary:
-
+
-Goodcurve.dec-
This build focuses on dropping plain old threats turn 1 through 9, without worrying about any equippy stuff or shenanigans. It still utilizes Isamaru as a way to start getting damage in early, but it accelerates into bigger and bigger threats each turn to keep putting the pressure on. This build would cut the equipment only-based stuff and the non-vital equipment pieces (Steelshaper's Gift, Stonehewer Giant, Puresteel Paladin, Sword of Body and Mind, Sword of War and Peace) and replace them with the goodstuff cards that White can bring to the table, mainly the ones mentioned above with some extra additions like Jubilation Angel, Crovax, Ascendent Hero, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Marshal's Anthem, and Planar Cleansing.
Other Considerations:
Linvala, Keeper of Secrets - Not a threat persay, but with the success of Phyrexian Revoker in the deck I think this might warrant a slot.
Mikaeus, the Lunarch - another late game bomb that can also be dropped early. I don't run tokens, and it doesn't do any good to recur. Just an idea.
Adarkar Valkyrie - This is a solid card, but it just begs for removal and is a 6 drop. Egh.
Elite Inquisitor - 2 for a 2/2 First Strike/Vigilance isn't bad. The prot is useful in some things. Hrm.
Soltari Champion - Shadow is good, and the effect isn't awful.
Voidstone Gargoyle - Huh, never actually looked at that card before. It's interesting. Sure, it costs 5, but it's a 3/3 flyer that shuts down a combo. That's really interesting.
This style of Isamaru is a fairly straightforward deck to play, in all honesty. The goal is dropping Isamaru, (or a Serra Ascendant if you have it in hand) turn 1, and start swinging turn 2, picking up various equipment, recursion, and control elements along the way. Simple, right? The deck is straightforward and uncomplicated for the most part, which is what makes it so ruthlessly effective. The entire list is honed and pared down to providing the maximum support for the least cost, to get your opponents life totals to 0. That's the goal, and the main playstyle. Isamaru can be played just that far, and played effectively, but doing just that (Suiting up and swinging) won't win the game. It'll kill 1-2 people pretty quickly, but then that blue player is staring poor Isamaru down with a handful of cards and an evil grin, and it's game over. This deck won't really win an attrition war on equipment and beaters alone, which is where the actual strategy stuff comes in.
-Extension-
This was the hardest lesson I had to learn from this deck. White doesn't have the hand refills that green, blue, and black does. (How I miss you Consecrated Sphinx, Soul's Majesty, Phyrexian Arena!) It doesn't have too many amazing draw engines, and it doesn't do to well with hand destruction. Therefore it is absolutely vital(See the italics? Yeah, That means this is important!) that this deck never, ever overextends into a blow out. Isamaru is a focused general, with a fairly linear playstyle that only requires 1-3 creatures on the board at most, with maybe a maximum of 3 equipment on as well. Overextending on ramp is fine, but getting all the threats blown out by a Planar Cleansing hurts, and if your hand has already been dropped and your recursion gets blown out with the wrath there's nothing you can do. Game over. I had to learn to always only drop 1-2 creatures at a time, and hold my cards in hand until those threats got dealt with before dropping new ones. This is not a green swarm deck, or a tokens deck, or a horde deck. Think of it like using a rapier as opposed to a battleaxe. Finesse, and very precise hits are required, not just swinging wildly away at all opponents.
-Stax-
Isamaru is a 1 drop, and almost all of the threats this deck runs curve out at 3-4. This makes for a very efficient, low costed power curve that comes out quickly, and almost as quickly gets outclassed. Sure, a suited up 3/3 doublestriking Kor Duelist with that Sword of Feast and Famine on him is scary, especially turn 3-4, but then that green player drops Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and refills his hand, followed by an Overwhelming Stampede and there's not a lot that can be done. Therefore, the goal is to never allow said green mage, or any other mage for that matter get to more than 4-5 lands without locking up the board. This is where that Static Orb, Winter Orb, Hokori, Dust Drinker, and Armageddon come into play. The goal is to have 1-2 good beaters on board with a sword or jitte by turn 4, then immediately drop land denial. This allows your creatures to swing away unimpeded for the most part, while your opponents are struggling to play defenses with all their lands locked down. It takes getting used to to know just when the right time to drop that Orb is, but please don't just nuke the lands out of spite. Make sure you have at least 1-2 good threats on the board for the sake of the other players ^.^
-Removal-
I've found that Isamaru as a 1 drop will most likely punch through most of the other 1-2 drops that your opponents play seeing as he's got that 2/2 body to get there. As the turns progress he'll start to gather some equipment that allow evasion through the defenses that opponents are setting up. This all says that the removal should generally be saved for game breaking threats, not for getting rid of chump blockers that are slowing the damage down. That's what the equipment is for. The exile effects are to be used for the recursion engines, and the mass removal is to be used when someone overextends. Don't burn it unless you absolutely have to.
-Recursion-
This is the main source of card advantage in the deck, and should be used wisely. It's amazing to drop a Sun Titan, swing with Sword of Feast and Famine, then drop Armageddon. From there it's just a win, and a fun one. It's just good to be aware that once your opponents figure the deck out a little bit the recursion elements are usually the first targets. Most of the dudes are 1-3 drops, and don't seem that scary, but a Reveillark? That means business, and expect if to be exiled. This is where that High market comes in handy, but it's a little of a long shot as your Expedition Map is most likely going to be used to get that Emeria, the Sky Ruin. Just don't get too bent out of shape when Karmic Guide eats a Path to Exile, all that means is you get to swing a fat one at that player next chance you get
-Mulligans-
This is pretty simple. Mull down to 2-3 lands, and 1-3 drops. Get rid of any extra lands past 2-3, and any cards that cost more than 3. The priority is threats! Thankfully you always have a turn 1 drop (gogo 1 drop general :D) but you need to be then dropping a 2 drop threat, immediately followed by a 3cc card. It takes some getting used to, but you really have to be dropping a threat every turn, and you don't need that many lands at first, so get those beaters down! The lands will come later, as will the heavies.
Ideal hand would look like this: Plains, Plains, Plains, Fencing Ace, Mind Stone, Sword of Fire and Ice, [CARD]Ranger of Eos
[/CARD]
-This gives you some much needed pressure incredibly early, as well as a hand refill. This hand is about perfect.
Mediocre Hand: Plains, Plains, Duplicant, Stonehewer Giant, Karmic Guide, Salvage Scout, Enlightened Tutor
-This hand is really hard to keep. You have the Tutor to get an equipment on Isamaru, but then that's your only actual threat for 5 turns which=death to this deck. Mull the Guide, the Duplicant, and the Scout here. Stonehewer is insane, so you want to keep him as long as you have enough cards to pitch to get early game threats.
-Victory!-
The list and the strategy has been mainly outlined, but I wanted to make a small addendum here. This deck does not always win on the back of Isamaru. Honestly, it's about 1/4 wins I get with general damage. The general is there to get some quick damage, and get suited up to force your opponents to burn a removal on him, and he's nice and easy to cast 3-4 times because of his cost, but most of the real damage work gets done by the doublestrikers, Serra Avenger, and Stonehewer Giant. These are your primary wincons, so please don't try to just keep dropping the Hound. He's got friends for a reason
Meta
- This is a slightly difficult topic to present here, mainly because I play with the same meta every week, and have been for the past 5 years or so now. When I do take this deck into the occasional shop/other playgroup people tend to get upset at the Stax/land Destruction, but the deck wins most games in those meta's. The biggest threat that it has is a straight control/card advantage deck, mainly Blue/x. Isamaru drops threats, but only 1-2 a turn which can be easily disrupted, and it doesn't run any of the uncounterable answers that Green has, or the split second that green/black has access to.
The best way to combat this is if you see the Blue player at the table, go after them! They're going to be your biggest threat, but the deck has enough speed and ferocity that it can usually get them within the redzone in the first 5 turns, allowing their other opponents to finish them off. Other than that, it does pretty well against green with the tutor/land restrictions, it's faster than most other voltron decks, and white loves to beat up on black. It's an early game deck, though! Without a good land destruction package it's going to lose a late game, without question. It's obviously not the end all be all deck, but it's been pretty successful so far.
Here's the generals that I currently face on a weekly basis:
1V1
Star Magic
Piloting through the Gamestate
This is where the simplicity and linearness of the deck really come into focus. It's basically A: Drop dudes. B: Equip dudes. C: Swing and kill other dude's controllers. D: ... Win? Yeah, winning is good.
Early Game (Turns 1-4/5):
-This is where you really want a 1 drop with a sword/Jitte on it. Start swinging immediately at your biggest threat (I.E. usually whoever has more Blue/sever card advantage) and keep your threats topped off with equipment. Expect most of the early game spot removal to be thrown your way, seeing as you have the only threats on the board, but try to get as much damage in as quickly as you can. This is where the deck really shines, because it forces your opponents to make a hard choice. Do they A: Spend the mana/resources to burn your tiny guys, or B: Do they set up their board and try to get into their midgame positions? If they go with B you can actually kill off a player in the first 4-5 turns, and if they go with A that just means you've slowed them down in their early game enough so that they should be an easier fight in the midgame. Also, usually by turn 3 you've been able to tutor an equipment up. I almost always get an Umezawe's Jitte first thing I can. It allows for some explosive damage, and it allows you to pick off the early utility creatures/blockers your opponents start dropping, which is huge. Disruption+aggression, all in a 2 drop?! Yes please.
Mid Game (Turns 5-10):
-If you can, the very beginning of this should be spent finding/dropping an Armageddon/Orb. Hopefully by now you have a rock or two, and 1-2 creatures have survived the early game with some equipment. Remember me saying it's absolutely vital that you don't overextend? This is where playing that right really shines. You'll have threats in hand, and your opponents have either burnt all their removal on your early creatures, or you've locked down/blown up the lands, or both. Either way, your guys should be able to swing away if you played this right, and kill off the rest of the table. The tail end of this can be used to recur things that people draw into answers for to keep the pressure on, and to finish everyone off. This is also where that early game damage/disruption really comes in. If you kept a hand full of removal and just wanted to sit back and slow roll things, this is the time where the deck will get steamrolled, so it's really vital that the hand you kept had at least 2-3 good solid threats to work with.
Late Game (Turns 10+):
-If you get here, and there's more than 1 player left on the board, it's a bad deal. Sometimes you can get an Emeria active and get some threats back, but usually by this time the graveyard's been exiled, there's no hand left and the deck runs out of steam. I hate sounding so dolldrum about it, but it's really not what the deck is designed for. This is not an attrition deck, or a control deck, or a card advantage deck. This is a deck that wants to stomp face in the early game, and wreck house in the midgame, and then it goes PHOOMP and sits down to take a well deserved rest. Try to avoid this if you can, you want your rest at the expense of the other players' lifetotals, if you can have it. Who says having cake and eating it isn't done? I love cake. I also love the eating of cake. *Nom Nom Nom
Deck Weaknesses
This style of Isamaru is not a swarm deck, and it's not quite a weenie deck. It's a fairly dedicated Voltron build, which does come with some weaknesses. The main 2 are Fog, and Counterspells.
Thankfully, not too many people play fogs in EDH, but if you run into someone that does there's not a ton to be done about it. Constant Mists is the worst, absolute worst nightmare that this deck can face. There is 1 answer in the deck, and that's Grand Abolisher. Unfortunately, you don't have any tutors for him, so you need to try to just hammer into that Skullclamp and draw cards like crazy until you get it. If your meta has a lot of players playing the Mist or another similar card, Nevermore might also be something to seriously consider running. If they're running Spike Weaver then thankfully the Phyrexian Revoker can take care of that one. Just go after the fog player first, and tryto get them down quickly. The biggest advantage this deck has is speed, so you need to go after your known threats as quickly as is possible. That means T2 they're taking a beat from the Hound, and every turn after that til they're dead, or you are
Counterspells. Counterspells are usually more of a problem in the midgame, and that's if someone's focusing you. The problem mainly that I've run into is the deck comes out really, really fast and I usually end up targeting the person that I think is going to be the biggest threat later in the game. That person usually happens to be the blue player, so I get a lot of counterspell hate in the midgame. This also hurts because this list usually only plays 1-2 spells a turn. It generates it's card advantage through equipment effects mainly, with some recursion/wrath/ETB effects to spice it up a little. Unfortunately, Blue likes to get rid of that 1-2 good things that are amazing early-midgame. I think the best way to get around this is be unapologetic about going after them, and show no mercy. EDH is a social format, and there are feelings involved. The blue player might get upset that you target them game after game ... after game after game after game. That's their problem, they're the one playing blue! I found that a really aggressive, focused attack usually brings them within spitting distance of another player, who then finishes the job for me. Limiting their mana also helps a ton, but that goes for everything the deck goes against, because it's curve is so low.
Those are the 2 main weaknesses of the deck. The best strategy holds true for both, go after them mercilessly as much and as fast as you can. If it gets to the point that it's no longer viable to attack them (They have blockers you can't punch through, pillowfort stuff, you're losing CA to go after them) then it's ok to start working on threat #2. If that happens, the rest of the table will have noticed the effectiveness of the first target's defenses and start chipping away at them. Try to have a killshot available for when they're defense grinds down, and take them out as soon as you can.
-Historically Historical Histories-
By this time in deckbuilding I had discovered that A: I liked killing with a general, B: I liked a fair amount of control in the deck and C: I really, really like equipment. With these 3 tenants in mind it seemed clear that I should play white, and Isamaru was born. The deck has been built and played every weekend for about 9 months now, and it's my go-to deck for most of our pods. The decklist started as a pretty simple aggro/equipment deck, and then I found the Stax Primer and was in love, adding some of those elements to the deck. Eventually my playgroup relaxed the house rules and allowed massive land destruction, so in came Armageddon.
It's a still evolving list, with changes being made every week, but the core of the deck has remained basically the same. Drop Isamaru and start aswingin'.
-Notable Exceptions/Change Log-
Steelshaper's Apprentice - This guy was just too mana intensive for the deck, in my experience. I'm tapping out every turn, and it was only useful late game. At that point there was no haste and it immediately ate a spot removal.
Auriok Steelshaper - If I had more Knight/Soldier synergy this would go in again, and might go back in, or if it was a 2/2 or a 2/1, but the body felt a little flimsy and the -1 equip cost wasn't enough to warrant an include.
Indomitable Archangel - if this was an artifact itself it'd be in, but it's not. Odd as it sounds the deck doesn't always have metalcraft, and this basically became a 4/4 flying blocker for 4. Not bad, but not good enough.
Solemn Simulacrum - Might go back on day, but I would need to cut a threat which the deck needs, and it's so low costed that a 4 drop ramp spell seemed like a waste.
Mind's Eye - Mana instensive, and the deck taps out every turn. Later game it just eats a removal, and it's not recurrable save the Salvage Scout, so it's out.
Sword of Vengeance - Just not good enough for the cost. If it was 2 to equip it'd probably be in.
- Iona, Shield of Emeria
- Avacyn, Angel of Hope
- Akroma, Angel of Wrath
- Too expensive. Awesome cards, just not what the deck is going for.World Queller - Might get included, awesome card, but it's still at "my" upkeep, so it generally eats removal before it has a chance to do anything.
Mother of Runes - Amazing in 1v1, not to amazing in multiplayer. Still good, just didn't make the cut. It definitely goes in the 1v1 incarnation, though.
Skyhunter Skirmisher - If it was a 2/2, or even a 2/1 it would be in, but it's a 3 drop which the list already has a million of. It's a maybe, I'm still considering.
Mikaeus, the Lunarch - This is a nice mana dump later in the game, and it's always playable. Much stronger with tokens, though, which the deck lacks. Still under review.
Karmic Justice - Cool card, good with stax. This isn't a dedicated stax deck, though, so it's out.
Tectonic Edge - And friends cut the white sources, which are vital to the deck.
Change Log
7/20/13:
-1 Mother of Runes
-1 Cataclysm
+1 Restoration Angel
+1 Grand Abolisher
Mother just wasn't effective in multi with all the swords it's already running, and Cataclysm tended to hurt more than help. Trying out the Restoration Angel, and Grand Abolisher should've been in from the start.
8/11/13:
-1 Homeward Path
-1 Restoration Angel
-1 Stonecloaker
+1 Ancient Tomb
+1 Soltari Monk
+1 Soltari Footsoldier
The path was just too situational, and with the amount of equipment/artifacts the colorless mana really comes in handy with the tomb. The angel just wasn't doing what I needed, and neither was the Stonecloaker. Both slightly want a sit back and wait type of deck, and this one can't afford to be sitting with 3-4 mana up for the first 7-8 turns of the game, so these were basically dead drops until turn 10 or so, and that was a loss anyways. The Soltari's are really proving their wirth, being all unblockable so Imma try those for a bit and see where it goes.
8/19/13
- 2 Plains
Vesuva
+ Thespian's Stage
Darksteel Citadel
Tectonic Edge
I don't like the Vesuva CIPT, the deck generally needs all it's mana right now, at least the stage taps for a colorless when it comes down. Darksteel shoulda been in there with the Armageddon already, and the Tec edge is for problem lands that I seem to have trouble dealing with. Might need to add Ghost Quarter if it gets bad enough.
9/4/2013
-1 Soltari Foot Soldier
+ 1 Lieutenant Kirtar
I just really wasn't happy with the Footsoldier, having an extra 1 drop was nice, but it just ... felt so weak. Kirtar is a flyer so it still has decene evasion, it's only 3 cmc, and it can exile an attacking creature which is huge. We'll see if Theros has anything to offer to the deck.
9/22/13 (Theros Update)
-1
+1
Kirtar and the Pinions were 2 of the weaker cards in the deck. Trying out Heliod for a little while to see how it plays, will post results later. Canonist should have been in from the start, thanks to some friends for putting it in front of me here Thanks guys!
10/4/2013
-1
Plains
+1
Mutavault
Mutavault soulda been in from the start. It is a colorless mana, but it's totally woth it to have an extra body if all your dudes are dead and there's an equipment lying around. Also considering Kjeldoran Outpost but that's a maybe. Anyways, Muta is now a part of the team
11/18/2013
-1
+1
I loved the flavor of having all 5 swords in deck, but it really wasn't good to put cards in opponents graveyards in an edh game. The sword actually lost me a couple of games, so it's out for the Batterskull. Bladed Pinions was a nice card, but Unexpectedly Absent is just better on the power level, so it's cut and replaced. Plus, unconditional permanent removal is huge.
Thank You's
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Also, ugh. That took a lot of work
The change log is going to be a work in progress, the deck evolves pretty regurlarly, I just can't remember all the changes and dates for the past year or so, so I'll start from about 2 weeks back and go from there. Currently thinking about cutting Body and Mind and Homeward Path and putting in Ancient Tomb and .. Something else, don't know what yet. Ideas?
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For that one addition you're missing, have you played with Basilisk Collar yet? It's cheap equipment that looks great on your dog. Get it? It's a collar...yeah.
Anyways, great list and the form was easy to read. Wonderful job!
Can't tell you how much I appreciate that, really! Thanks a ton, I really hope your friend likes it too.
Yeah, flavor wise the collar is awesome, for sure lol. I found personally that it's more of a defensive position than an offensive position, though, and I didn't have any other interactions to abuse it with like Goblin Sharpshooter or Spikeshot Elder, so it got the axe. While it does make my guy a little less likely to get blocked, it doesn't make him do any more damage, and lifegain doesn't seem to be that helpful in my meta at least.
Thanks for the input, though, and thanks again for the kind words! I'll take it into account, I do have 1-2 slots that I'm considering opening up
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Skyhunter Skirmisher[/CARD] ??
Δε φοβάμαι τίποτα...
Είμαι Άνεργος.
Grimstringer on Cockatrice, add me if you wanna
Thanks for the reply!
I don't tend to run the edgewright for the same reason I don't run Indomitable Archangel, which is that I don't always have the metalcraft. The Puresteel Paladin can stand on it's own, the metalcraft is just a nice bonus, but the edgewright and the angel both need metalcraft to be worth it. Most of the artifacts that the deck runs are huge threats, and therefore are big removal targets, so I don't actually get/keep metalcraft that much.
Skyhunter Skirmisher is a great card, and I'll toy with it. I was running it in my Aurelia, The Warleader deck (very similar build, - stax/some of the weenies, +awesome red stuff) and it ended up getting the axe there, it just felt a little slow. I can't come up with a factual reason why it shouldn't be in, it's got everything I look for. Low CMC, evasion, and doublestrike, but every time I drop it I find myself just wishing it were something else. It's definitely on the list of cards to try again, though.
Thanks for asking! Are you running a similar build, and found those cards to be really worth playing?
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stupid guy killing my quest for the holy relic..bahahha.
Im a different build, playing much more early creatures and heavier equipment theme.
Some cards iv found great that you dont run are :
Aether Vial ,it's the deck for this card,my 1-2 drop list is huge, serra avenger,Whitemane Lion ..this guy!! wow! and it's great with Sigil of the New Dawn and isamaru.. haha..
Student of Warfare
and i cant find any equipment playing better with isamaru or doublestrikers other than Bonesplitter with that mana..:D
But it's still a really early built, so i cant say much about my choices, games will tell, but my first day was a blaaaaaaast
might be too much but i found
Silence,Lapse of Certainty VERY good in my build. sometimes, you just need that extra turn, or to avoid that incoming board wipe. ^_^. not that useful in multi though..
edit: oh, and i cant seem to fit board wipes in my build...it just goes so much off theme it irritates me. i cut them all, if im doing aggro i want every piece to be deadly, if opponent has scarier creatures i remove them with my obliv ring ,instant or oblation
or i just evade through them for the kill! if there's no player, there are no creatures Brave the Elements but i understand the reset button/ equips ready idea.. i just dont like it
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Είμαι Άνεργος.
Grimstringer on Cockatrice, add me if you wanna
It's nice to have another Isamaru player out here!
It's really fun especially when you come to a meta that doesn't know what you're packing, and they take a look at the general and scoff. Taking someone like that out in the first 5-6 turns is priceless
Yeah, I definitely feel you on the build of cretures vs removal. I'm going more of a 1-2 creatures at a time, and holding the wraths back for when I get overwhelmed, then dropping a Day of Judgment, followed by 1-2 of the creatures I've been holding back. It's just different styles, it sounds like you're playing a much more creature-heavy list than I am, which is cool! I've thought about going that route, but then I ended up building the Aurelia, the Warleader list in my sig and got my outlet there, so I decided to keep this as a more control/stax voltron list instead of weenie/horde. Weenie/horde is super effective, though, for sure, especially with lots of swords going to town on an opponents face!
Brave the Elements is an awesome card, for sure. I would play it if it cantripped! It's just I feel that with the amount of tutors I run that I can get the proper sword quick enough that that, Mother of Runes, and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails are just extra cards that provide utility when I wanted a threat.
I'm probably going to tune this for 1v1 as well, and then Mana Tithe and Lapse of Certainty will probably go in. It's hilarious to play a counterspell in white!
Sigil is a cool enchantment, for sure. I found that with cards like that, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, and Student of Warfare that I was spending mana on those, instead of dropping/equipping threats, which I didn't like. Just different styles, but I'm really glad you like the deck! I've been looking at Oblation, it just seems sooooo risky, I don't know. It's an amazing tuck effect, though! Silence/Orim's Chant I would most likely play if I was going the Isochron Scepter route, but a 1 turn silence isn't something that I"m looking to get to do. I have the Kami of False Hope and the Wrath Effects for when my opponents creatures' start getting out of hand
I do like the Vial, though. If I go a more creature heavy list then it's definitely going in, I completely agree, that card is the stones.
Thanks again for the info, it's appreciated! Now I need to figure out if Imma make a cut for that Oblation... lol.
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I revamped my version with a bit of the stax and tax style after seeing this, though I decided that Armageddon can be a bit too douchey as I don't play with the most competitive players. I subbed Loxodon Gatekeeper in place of Armageddon to slow all those swarm decks down a bit and give you an extra turn in most cases, although with static orb and the gatekeeper in play, people have told me they would rather just play against Armageddon.
The other thing I do a bit differently also is take a bit of enchantment rout with Idyllic tutor. Just having that extra tutor is nice as finding cards such as Crackdown, Oblivion Ring, Prison Term, or even Hyena Umbra if your concerned with board wipes, can change games. I also use both Unquestioned Authority and Spirit mantle though I'm thinking of taking the latter out as I mostly use it for making a creature unblockable and the cantrip is nice.
and have you tried weathered wayfarer instead of expedition map as its also searches for any land and is re-usable. I was just wondering why it didn't work so well in your meta.
Hey, thanks! Really glad you liked it so far. It's really helpful to get this feedback, thanks a ton for letting me know what you thought!
I love that Gatekeeper, I've honestly never looked at that before, I just might have to put that in. I haven't quite been happy with the 2 extra shadow dudes I put in and am thinking of cards a little more multi-oriented for it, thanks for that!
And absolutely, the enchantment route is a solid route to go. White has some of the best enchantments in the game, and having the extra tutor in there is awesome, I completely agree. At this point for the deck it was a more flavor choice than actual effectiveness, I went heavy equipment/creatures/stax, and only have so many slots. A lot of people are running the prison now, it's an absurdly powerful card, so I can definitely see putting it in. I personally don't feel that making the cuts necessary to put the enchantments in is going to increase the effectiveness of the deck enough to warrant the changes, it feels pretty streamlined as is. If I did cut anything it'll be those 1-2 shadow guys, and I'm already a little creature light so I'd want to replace them with another body.
If you're going that route, are you taking a look at True Conviction, Luminarch Ascension, and the Crusade effects as well? It seems like running an enchantment build might be a cool route to go, and you have access to Mesa Enchantress, as well as Three Dreams :dance:. True Conviction's a complete house, too, I almost want to tailor my deck a little more token/creature heavy just to run that one card. The power level is enormous O.o Oh, and Karmic Justice! Also an absurdly powerful card O.o
The reason I'm not running the wayfarer is that I don't get to drop him turn 1 ever (That's always either Isamaru or Serra Ascendant) So at best he's coming down T2, which means he's not tapping for a land until turn 3. Turn 3 is my most important turn, all my best early-game threats come in T3, so I can't afford to be sitting a mana behind at that time in the game state. T4 is usually a bit more open, but by then he's died to a wrath/spot removal most likely, or I have another threat I need to drop and it's not really worth it. I also don't usually ever drop more than 5-6 lands unless Emeria, the Sky Ruin's in play so he's not too terribly useful after that. And that's only if I draw him in the opening hand! Later in the game he's just a dead draw 95% of the time :/ While the Expedition Map is only a 1 of, I can drop it and sac in the same turn, usually 5-6 turns in when I really want that Kor Haven, or the Emeria. It doesn't suffer from summoning sickness, and it's not opponent-land dependent, so if I just dropped an Armageddon I can still get some use out of it. Also more of a personal preference, I'm always tempted to keep a 1 land wayfarer hand, but then my opponents path it or something else horrible and I'm stuck at 1 land for 5 turns. That's just bad playskills, I know, but I can't seem to help it. I want my hand full of lethal goodness, not lands!!!
It's an amazing card, there's absolutely no question about it. If I was running a slightly higher curve and didn't need that much pressure early game he'd definitely go in, but as the build stands he just doesn't really work out that well.
Thanks again for the reply! I think I'm going to test that gatekeeper out, I really love that idea. Completely shuts down Craterhoof Behemoth, which is always incredibly satisfying, and leaves less blockers open. I'll try to get my hands on one later this week and test it out.
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and Cataclysm while we are at it.
Ravages of War is worth mentioning too but I think we can assume $$$$ there.
Wall of Omens seems like an odd choice for an aggro deck too.
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[Modern] Allies
Ravages of War is a $ choice, to be sure. I might be getting a hold of one here soon and it will definitely go in, but just don't have one yet so it's not ther for the time being. Catastrophe was in the original list, and still might go back, but it got cut for being 6cmc for one more wrath effect, basically. THe deck really wants to hit all the lands turn 3-5 with Armageddon/orb, before anyone has had a chance to muster up a decent defense. By turn 6 (or 5 if there's some ramp) most players have at least a blocker or two, and some spot removal with an artifact out for ramp. This makes it a lot harder to push through lethal damage after all the lands are locked down/blown up, hence the cut. It's a good card, and if I tune the deck for a little higher average cmc feel it'll go back in. Right now it just doesn't feel quite right.
Cataclysm was a cut that I already had tried. It just didn't do quite enough, or did too much, one or the other. Every time I was dropping it my opponents for some reason always managed to have a bigger threat than I did on the board, making it an ineffective card. That could just be my lack of playskills, absolutely! It's a phenomenal card, but it required directly playing around the effect in my opening hand which meant only dropping 1 threat, 1 equipment, not dropping a sol ring if I had it, and just dropping enough lands to get it off to feel like I was getting the most out of it. That usually meant it didn't get down unti turn 4 at the earliest, at which time at least 1-2 of the other players had answered Isamaru and/or the equipment I had on him, so if I Catastrophe'd it left me with a 2/2 or no creature at all, and them with a blocker. Just my experiences, it just never really worked out as hoped :/ Late in the game it definitely served as a spiteful card, but again that served the purpose of leaving me with a weenie staring down a Bogardan Hellkite or something else horrible, and it didn't generate any advantage other than slowing the game down to a crawl.
Wall of Omens is in there as a cantrip blocker that also serves as a draw engine. As odd as it feels, the deck swings out every single turn and can take a lot of damage for that. WoO gives some blocking goodness, as well as being a recurrable draw engine with Emeria and Sun Titan. Works well to block a 3/3 when it has a Skullclamp on it, too, or a High Market in play with the clamp. It just works really well so far, keeps Isamaru from getting edict'd too often, it's just been a pretty solid include. Now, if there's a 2 drop cantripping threat that I could use, I'd prefer that, I just haven't found one that seems solid enough to put in.
Thanks a ton for the look at the list, and for the replies, it's much appreciated! Ravages is definitely a card I'm looking to get, now if only I could find one for less that $200 ...
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Loxodon Gatekeeper proved its worth again as it shuts down combo and with any winter orb affect or crackdown it completely shuts down the table with me basically gaining a bunch of extra turns. I used karmic justice this weekend but it really didn't seem to do the work how I was hoping for, while I can't really blame my opponents, it's usually just the next permanent of mine to go. I don't have a sun titan yet to abuse it with and I haven't had it in play during a board wipe yet so I'm going to give it some more time in the deck to see how it works. I'm also looking to try out cavern of souls to see if it helps the blue match up. A buddy of mine has an Azami, Lady of Scrolls deck which can just be dreadful to play against. For me just naming humans covers most of my deck including grand abolisher or just needing to force a stonehewer giant in play doesn't seem like a bad idea.
I was wondering why you weren't running dust bowl in a monocolored stax deck, but I run one and after playing this deck so many times I realize I'm just too busy to shell out basically 4 mana to destroy 1 land. At least that makes cavern of souls an easy fit into the deck now!
One card I'm still wondering about for you is darksteel citadel. Doesn't it go hand in hand with Armageddon?
Yeah, there's no question that the deck is weak against mono-U, it's probably the toughest matchup if they focus you. Which of course they do, since you're their worst matchup with a stupid-fast aggro beatdown deck. Honestly if I was running against a blue player I would probably up the creature count a little and start running Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, maybe even as the general. it's a turn slower which really stinks, but it hoses blue pretty hard, allowing you to get online faster with the added cost of basically all their spells. You can also run Mana Tithe, Lapse of Certainty and Nevermore to help with that match up a little bit. It's sketchy, though, this deck usually drops 1-2 threats a turn for a little while then runs out of steam, and if they know to counter the Puresteel Paladin then it's hard to overcome the card advantage. Cavern obviously is an excellent choice there as well, and if you get the Grand Abolisher to stick with some prot on him it's usually gg.
Darksteel Citadel does work really well, and I'm seriously considering adding it. The only reason I haven't yet, along with Cathedral of War, is that I really need white mana and I've been hurt a couple times by having too mana colorless producers in hand. I think that it would be a fine include, though, so I'll test it a bit and probably update here soon.
Really glad you like the deck, thanks again for the comments! I played it today in our first LGS EDH night and it did pretty well. I think the Gatekeeper is going in, I just haven't picked one up yet. I feel the same way you do about the bowl, it's a tapout deck, it doesn't want to sit on mana. That's the same reason I'm not running Eight-And-A-Half-Tails.
Thanks again, Darksteel will most likely go in here in a bit, along with maybe the Cathedral and Tectonic Edge. I've been having troubles with non-basics lately O.o
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Death and Taxes
UG Infect
Strawberry Shortcake Imperial Painter
EDH
Angus Mackenzie - Enduring Enchantments
Adun Oakenshield - Jund F'ing Good Stuff, "Money Vault"
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails - Captain Crunch
Hey, thanks for taking a look! I like where you're going, it would be nice to have some combat tricks in here with the mana accel.
Blaze of Glory goes a little against what the deck is trying to do, but it looks like a fun way to wipe an opponents board, for sure. This deck is designed to swing through creatures, not at them generally, I really don't want my stuff being blocked. I basically swing away at the life total as long as I can possibly afford until I get overwhelmed with my opponents creatures/resources, then drop an Armageddon, Winter Orb or Wrath of God and start over again. That's why things like Blaze, Coalition Flag Carrier, all the taunt stuff I try to avoid.
The reason I'm not running the Urza lands is it's colorless mana and the deck really, really needs the white sources. Almost every threat in the deck is
:symw::symw:, and I don't run enough artifacts to warrant that or the workshop being in the deck.
I love the idea, though! if I went combat tricks I'd probably run Brave the Elements, and for mana accel I'd run more rocks (Chromatic Lantern, Coldsteel Heart, Basalt Monolith, Grim Monolith, Etc)
Thanks again for taking a look, really appreciate the feedback
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I'm also wondering how useful Reliquary Tower is in your deck. How do you manage to have more than seven cards in hand during the game?
I literally just put the tower in because of game that I was playing where I managed to get a million tokens with the Springjack Pasture Planechase card and had a Skullclamp out xD. I should probably take it out, but we have a guy in my playgroup that plays mill occasionally with Font of Mythos/Howling Mine/Forced Fruition, so it can come in handy. If I didn't have the mill in the meta then it would come out, definitely.
The Mox is an option, for sure. I usually end um mulling to 2 lands, however, and Isamaru is always dropping turn 1 so I usually don't need the extra mana that fast, and the card disadvantage bothers me a lttle bit. It does make it a little faster, and would allow things like a T1 Jitte or something ridiculous if you als had the Sol Ring. I just don't feel it's quite necessary to become quite that hypercompetitive in this stage of the decks' development.
Plus, I don't own one and they're expensive!
I still like that Gatekeeper idea you mentioned, but I think I might go the Blind Obedience route instead. It does almost the same thing, is half the cost and allows for Extort which is a mechanic I kind of want to play. The deck taps out pretty regularly, though, so I don't know if it'll be worth it or not, but Imma give them both a try, see what happens.
Also, in Multiplayer I'm running out of a bit too much steam if the game goes later than 7-9 turns, so I'm also thinking of adding Wurmcoil Engine to get some staying power after a wrath. We'll see after testing
Thanks for the replies, again, can't tell you how much I appreciate the feedback! I got to play this list Sunday and got the most points by far out of my pod, it was a lot of fun
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That makes complete sense. That mill deck you mentioned sounds a lot like my Phelddagrif deck, and the hound needs all the help it can get playing against that stonewall of countermagic and fogs. It's honestly the worst matchup I noticed for the hound and the only way to win is if I can mess with their mana. I haven't tested my hound deck against Phelddagrif since I revamped it, and while It has a way better chance now of winning now, that isn't saying much from the 0% win chance it had before. I pretty much just gave up on that matchup actually, mono blue might have plenty of counters but something is eventually going to slip by if you play it right. Mono green might have more creatures but it's still possible to punch through their massive creatures if you have protection or jitte. Those 3 colors together though, with Phelddagrif, can cause a rage quit. At least Rafiq of the Many is a legitimate wincon. If you have any secrets on how to beat a turbo fog deck, please don't keep it to yourself, I would love to read it.
Anywho, from what I've seen you can't go wrong with extort in multiplayer and Wurmcoil Engine is always an amazing card no matter how you slice it (I'm sorry, I crack myself up sometimes).
heh, hah! I like that, that's lol.
Turbofog, I have no idea other than dropping an eldrazi in the deck for the mill :/ Red has access to the "damage can't be prevented" stuff, not white. Jester's Cap would probably help, along with Lapse of Certainty and Mana Tithe, and maybe a Nevermore. I'm right there with you though, it's just tough. I still firmly believe that a well built Bant EDH deck is the strongest archetype outside of pure combo that you can play. I just have never seen a 3-4 player pod end up with anything other than an Archenemy feel with everyone against the bant deck, and more often than not U/W/G wins O.o It's absurd what that deck can do
U/W/G is the hardest matchup I've ever had. Once mass LD was allowed it got a little better, those colors tend to be pretty mana hungry. If you can draw into the Aven Mindscensor and have it stick that usually shuts them down pretty hard, then name the Constant Mists with Nevermore. Unfortunately in mono-W it's pretty hard to get all those cards without the tutoring of black/green. I guess you could also add in the Ashnod's Altar and the Triskelion to have access to a tutorable (Enlightened Tutor) infinite combo if you get the Reveillark/Karmic Guide in play.
If my buddy puts his Jenara deck back together he's gong to be public enemy #1 for sure, we'll see how it plays out lol.
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That spirit is cool, absolutely. I might have to give that a look. The deck does end up tapping out pretty frequently, so it might get cut, but I've never seen that before. Thanks for pointing it out!
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