MTG Salvation

woah an equipment voltron that isn't using Sword of Vengeance, why not?

on the other hand I really like this deck! I've always wanted to make a deck for Isamaru.

Quote from Megablaster326

woah an equipment voltron that isn't using Sword of Vengeance, why not?

on the other hand I really like this deck! I've always wanted to make a deck for Isamaru.

Hey thanks, glad you liked it!

If the Sword was less to equip or cast, it would be in, but the cost just isn't worth the effect, unfortunately. I tested it pretty extensively, and it just never made the cut :/

I've been fighting the urge, but I have to: I'm gonna build a Isamaru list You're primer is too good, fantastic work! I don't have much experience with Voltron, but how are cards like Crawlspace, Ghostly Prison, and other prison effects?

EDIT:

Also what about Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx? What is your opinion on it?

Quote from rhakee

I've been fighting the urge, but I have to: I'm gonna build a Isamaru list You're primer is too good, fantastic work! I don't have much experience with Voltron, but how are cards like Crawlspace, Ghostly Prison, and other prison effects?

EDIT:

Also what about Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx? What is your opinion on it?

Hey, thanks, that's really kind of you! Glad I'm an ... inspiration?

Prison effects that deny your opponents resources are pretty solid in this list. Things like Ghostly Prison aren't that useful, but something like Rule of Law would work pretty well if you're looking for more stax effects.

The Shrine doesn't work too well, this list doesn't spam the board with permanents so it's a dead draw 9/10 times :/

Thanks for taking a look!

I love this deck, I built it and played it at my locals for our monthly EDH league. Second place. Swords kill everything at my locals. Thanks now i need a new list.

Quote from SIONtANKER

I love this deck, I built it and played it at my locals for our monthly EDH league. Second place. Swords kill everything at my locals. Thanks now i need a new list.

Hey, thanks! Really glad you liked it At least it's not the world's most expensive list to build or anything, no fetches/duals really helps that a lot. let me know if you find a card that you think should make the cut, the deck gets played almost every weekend. I always need new ideas lol.

deck looks fun. gj on primer.

Eiganjo Castle seems good here.

Quote from pork_rine

deck looks fun. gj on primer.

Thanks!

Quote from Kaii

Eiganjo Castle seems good here.

You know, that's not a bad idea. Think I'll add it in. Thanks

Well, unfortunately I think it's time for me to let the Sword of Body and Mind go in favor of a Batterskull It's the weakest of the swords in this format, and every deck has some sort of graveyard interaction so it's actually been hurting more than helping :/

Heliod's been really strong, I like having it in there. The decks' been performing pretty well these past few weeks. Just gotta get my hands on a 'Skull and I'll be happy >.<

When I've been playing it, I've had some awesome success with the same list I've had since last time.

Sword of Body and Mind won me a game against Nicol Bolas, got rid of Shattering Spree, Shattering Pulse and Snapcaster Mage in one go.

I got a Hundred-Handed One from a fat pack, might be worth considering in a 4 slot in my meta, tons of flying going around (Scion especially).

Soldier of the Pantheon might be worth considering if everyone plays a lot of multicolor spells and more specifically, multicolored removal.

My meta is this: Nicol Bolas, New Teysa, Old Teysa, Azusa, Scion, Grim-grin, Riku, Ezuri, Kamahl, Progenitus, Dakkon Blackblade, probably a few more I'm forgetting.

Hey, thanks, gald you liked it!

If there's a ton of flying then Hundred handed is an interesting solution. I found that the new Unexpectedly Absent can also really shine here if you're having some issued answering specific threats.

Sounds like you have a pretty varied meta, I'm glad the list is performing for you

Been running a more budgety version of this!

I found that I can never really compete late with the battlecruiser decks, so I just took out most of the wraths and high cmc cards in favor of maximizing the chances of having more explosive turns while people are setting up/tapped out. I added a Mana Vault I had lying around to cheat out swords, upped the land count to add Hall of the Bandit Lord (as I often found myself able to smell out Wraths yet lacking the haste to exploit it) and Rogue's Passage. I also play Fleetfeather Sandals over Bladed Pinions as the first strike wasn't relevant ever, and I kept in Quietus Spike because it's basically the most fun card in the deck with a double strike enabler and more haste/fast mana.

Other random inclusions include Leonin Shikari (juggle swords with first/double strike), Retribution of the Meek, Torpor Orb and Soltary Visionary (so good). They've all performed admirably for me, as has the deck for that matter, even without a lot of the money cards, although I'm not really winning that many games... acually winning a fair bit with my list now!

Quote from Kaii

Been running a more budgety version of this!

I found that I can never really compete late with the battlecruiser decks, so I just took out most of the wraths and high cmc cards in favor of maximizing the chances of having more explosive turns while people are setting up/tapped out. I added a Mana Vault I had lying around to cheat out swords, upped the land count to add Hall of the Bandit Lord (as I often found myself able to smell out Wraths yet lacking the haste to exploit it) and Rogue's Passage. I also play Fleetfeather Sandals over Bladed Pinions as the first strike wasn't relevant ever, and I kept in Quietus Spike because it's basically the most fun card in the deck with a double strike enabler and more haste/fast mana.

Other random inclusions include Leonin Shikari (juggle swords with first/double strike), Retribution of the Meek, Torpor Orb and Soltary Visionary (so good). They've all performed admirably for me, as has the deck for that matter, even without a lot of the money cards, although I'm not really winning that many games... acually winning a fair bit with my list now!

Love it! Glad you liked it, thanks for the input.

I've actually ben thinking of putting the Spoke in, it is a really, really strong card, especially with the doublestrike. Visionary is another awesome one, If I could find one I'd put it in, my store just doesn't have any and I haven't remembered to put it on a purchase order online yet >.<

I had the Shikari in for a while, and it's really, really fun, no question. Especially with Greaves, omg, hilarious. I eventually cut it becuase it was just a removal target, but thinking back on it I'd much rather they burn removal on the Shikari than a threat. Hmmm...

Thanks! Gonna tinker for a bit

Have you considered testing Opal Palace? Seems like it would be really good in this deck, considering how cheap he is to recast multiple times. What are your thoughts?

I think I'll give that a try. Normally I wouldn't like it, but having him come in a little larger later in the game would be nice.

Thanks!

No problem. I've been thinking about putting together an Isamaru deck. Looks like a lot of fun. A friend had him put together, but his was more of a goodstuff deck.

It's a blast to play, for sure. I'll warn you though, in more than 4 player pods it really loses a lot of it's potency. If you're playing bigger pods I would recommend more of a goodstuff route just to be able to compete. It's strongest in a 3 man pod, and does decently well in 4 man, anything more and it's a tough game to win.

Thanks for the interest/replies!

Here's my list:


Any immediate improvements to be found? The deck is really fun to play, and while it might not be the most competitive deck out there, it really puts pressure on the battle-cruiser type of decks I encounter on MTGO.


Some comments on Scroll Rack:

Other than that, Mana Crypt is the most unfair card I've ever seen so if you have one, you should probably run it! I also run Rest in Peace for graveyard hate in general together with Helm of Obedience for the feeling you get when you topdeck it...

Quote from Kaii

Here's my list:

Isamaru, the Howling BladeMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Commander 1 Isamaru, Hound of Konda Lands (35) 1 Blinkmoth Nexus 1 Inkmoth Nexus 1 Ancient Tomb 1 Buried Ruin 1 Darksteel Citadel 1 Hall of the Bandit Lord 1 Rogue's Passage 1 Scrying Sheets 1 Strip Mine 1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin 1 Eiganjo Castle 1 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Arid Mesa 1 Flooded Strand 1 Marsh Flats 1 Windswept Heath 19 Snow-Covered Plains Artifacts (20) 0 Mana Crypt 1 Mana Vault 1 Sol Ring 1 Expedition Map 1 Sensei's Divining Top 2 Scroll Rack 2 Winter Orb 3 Static Orb 3 Crucible of Worlds 4 Helm of Obedience	1 Skullclamp 2 Fleetfeather Sandals 2 Lightning Greaves 2 Umezawa's Jitte 3 Fireshrieker 3 Sword of Feast and Famine 3 Sword of Fire and Ice 3 Sword of War and Peace 3 Sword of Light and Shadow 3 Quietus Spike Enchantments (6) 1 Land Tax 2 Rest in Peace 2 Seal of Cleansing 3 Aura of Silence 3 Crackdown 4 Heliod, God of the Sun Planeswalkers (3) 3 Ajani, Caller of the Pride 4 Elspeth, Knight-Errant 4 Gideon, Champion of Justice Instant and Sorceries (12) 1 Enlightened Tutor 1 Path to Exile 1 Swords to Plowshares 3 Oblation 4 Return to Dust 1 Steelshaper's Gift 3 Idyllic Tutor 3 Retribution of the Meek 4 Armageddon 4 Ravages of War 6 Austere Command 6 Phyrexian Rebirth	Creatures (23) 1 Kor Duelist 1 Serra Ascendant 1 Weathered Wayfarer 2 Ethersworn Canonist 2 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails 2 Fencing Ace 2 Grand Abolisher 2 Knight of the White Orchard 2 Leonin Shikari 2 Precinct Captain 2 Puresteel Paladin 2 Soltari Monk 2 Soltari Priest 2 Stoneforge Mystic 3 Aven Mindcensor 3 Mirran Crusader 3 Silverblade Paladin 3 Soltari Visionary 4 Hero of Bladehold 4 Hokori, Dust Drinker 5 Reveillark 5 Stonehewer Giant 6 Sun Titan

Any immediate improvements to be found? The deck is really fun to play, and while it might not be the most competitive deck out there, it really puts pressure on the battle-cruiser type of decks I encounter on MTGO.


Some comments on Scroll Rack:

I know you said you didn't like Scroll Rack, but it has been positively insane for me. I usually play this deck by dropping just enough dorks and equipment to overload whatever spot removal people feel they can spare on vanilla 2/2s, then vomit a hasted, double-striking, sword-wielding threat on the board following the inevitable wraths. Holding cards in my hand lets me take full advantage of Scroll Rack's ability to enable the magical christmas land-turns, and better yet it plops down straight in the sweet spot between the explosive early turns and the lull before you again dare to commit. I can't recommend it enough. It lets you cash in a new hand when without it you'd be staring at a two-drop and straight lands, agonizing over whether or not you can afford to sit put or risk being blown out by wrath. It digs. It lets you get rid of your dead cards forever with shuffle effects. It protects you versus discard effects. Coupled with Land Tax or even Sword of Fire and Ice (which I basically always get with the equipment tutors), it's Ancestrall Recall every turn... for a colorless mana. Again, I can't recommend it enough!

Other than that, Mana Crypt is the most unfair card I've ever seen so if you have one, you should probably run it! I also run Rest in Peace for graveyard hate in general together with Helm of Obedience for the feeling you get when you topdeck it...

I really love that you're having so much fun with the list! If I owned a crypt it would definitely be in, I just can't justify spending that kind of cash on it at this moment. I'd love to play it though!

I had scroll rack in, and it just never did enough for me, but I might have to give it another try, your testimony is pretty convincing. Lately I have been noticing that I usually don't burn my entire hand, I'm sitting on a few cards at least, and if I draw into a ton of lands it would be incredibly helpful. It's just so dang slow, I usually am wanting to burn my mana to put pressure on my opponents, or I"m not untapping my lands because of an orb or they've been blown up.

I love your list tough, it looks like a ton of fun. A couple cards that I would recommend you try are the Kami of False Hope, Batterskull, and Phyrexian Revoker, they've all been really, really solid in my experience.

Thanks for the reply, sorry it took so long to get back to you! I really think I'm going to have to try the rack again, now I just gotta get my hands on one >.<

Phyrexian Revoker has been pretty weak for me. I found him especially terrible in my opening hand as my follow-up to Isamaru as I'd often be naming a card in the dark, but later in the game I rarely wanted to draw him as he was a somewhat narrow answer that usually just died as collateral damage. I realize that this deck needs a critical mass of low-drop creatures in order to voltron them up early, but the reason Isamaru is such a great general is that he allows us to skimp on 2/2s and only play those with the best utility/protection/evasion etc., and Revoker just didn't make the cut for me. That said, I play this deck on MTGO and acknowledge he's much better when you know your meta and can name a card you know is central to your opponents' strategy.

I've never actually tried the Kami of False Hope as he was way too weak when I ran a budget version, but now that I actually come out of the gates early and take quite a lot of damage in retribution, I might try him, especially if I add Ranger of Eos as well. He does seem like he'd suffer from the same reason I cut Phyrexian Revoker though, and the competition is a lot stiffer at 1CMC due to Isamaru being the turn one play roughly 92% of the time. In addition, he's a one-shot fog unless I have a recursion engine going, which doesn't seem the greatest for my deck.

Batterskull actually seems great since I've been having problems with taking damage from random attacks and/or my Crypt/Lands, I'll add it in!

glad I could help. I'll admit that I'm probably not running the most hyper-competitive list in the world, it's just there are some cards that I really love that have been super effective in the past. If you have a recursion engine going with the Kami it's really nice. I usually find that my opponents get really scared with how fast the list can come out of the gates and it gets a ton of pain later in the game, hence the Kami and the Wall of Omens. Heliod, God of the Sun has also been really, really nice for that reason, and the vigilance is really viable as well.

I can agree on the Revoker. My playgroup plays a ton of must answer stuff, though, and at least if it gets hit by a removal that's 1 less removal for my suited up threat. It's definitely not an aggressive card though, more reactive.

Really glad you like the list though, it really is a ton of fun to play

Yeah, the list is super fun! Thanks for the primer.

For sure, thanks for the interest!

what would be a good cut to sneak in a mana crypt?