This feels a little bit more streamlined and it also feels like it can go a lot of directions. I think it has more emphasis on combo, with a few Necrotic Ooze combos as well as some Kiki-Jiki tricks. It goldfishes pretty well, I just wish I could add in more ramp somehow. This is a very mana-hungry deck and a heavy-hitter deck, tapping out each turn for whatever it is it wants to do. I'm still trying to streamline it a little more, and I like that I can potentially win on T2 with Dark Ritual, Reanimate, Buried Alive and assemble the Necrotic Ooze Combo. It's good stuff.
I think Intuition is a great choice, and I kinda forgot about it myself. If I had to make a cut, it would Cryptic Command. The triple blue is expensive and it usually bounces a permanent and draws a card anyways.
Also, Void Maw is a good card that can pull our important dudes from exile into our most easily abused 'yard. Just a thought in case there's a lot of activated 'yard hate in your meta instead of the static replacement effects of Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace.
Your average mana cost there is 4.43. That's pretty high. You'd probably be way better off trimming out a lot of the higher cost stuff that doesn't necessarily do that much, like Decree of Pain, Geth, Lord of the Vault, etc, and sticking in some of the cheaper staples you're missing, like Vampiric Tutor.
So, I ended up fitting Intuition in by cutting River Kelpie, for the time being, at least.
I had previously been testing replacing Kelpie with Karn, Liberated, and I didn't overly miss the Kelpie, and I'm still not 100% sold on the Karn inclusion, so this works out fine.
I also fixed a typo that had gone missed for a while somehow, and made a few formatting changes/fixes.
These were very recently spoiled for Battle for Zendikar, as part of a new cycle of dual lands with basic types. I'm assuming/hoping that the other five, the enemy coloured ones, will be in the second set.
I really like these lands, and I'm already thinking about what I'll be cutting for them. Having another cycle of lands with basic types will be sweet.
What I've been thinking so far:
Cut the core duals (Drowned Catacombs, Dragonskull Summit, Sulfur Falls) - These new duals are probably upgrades over these, but the core duals DO get better with having even more basic typed lands.
Cut the painful or less reliable triple colour lands (Mana Confluence, Reflecting Pool) and/or maybe an effect land or two
Potentially cut all of the above, in favour of the new duals and a few more basic lands to make them come in untapped a little more frequently.
Lastly, Newlamog is super sweet. It's a little unfortunate that his exile is on cast, like with all the other Eldrazi, but his attack trigger is kind of insane, and he can be reanimated, unlike the old Eldrazi Titans. So he may require some thought.
I think I will just be sliding them in. Having access to more duals is awesome and it's about time that Wizards did this. I think it will help manabases become a little more stable and provide some access for new players to develop good manabases on the cheap.
Dude. The new Ulamog looks really, really strong. Exiling the top 20 cards is much stronger than I think I realize fully at this moment. Exiling 20 cards will really effectively shut some decks down and the fact that he proactively removes answers is really strong in my opinion. And he can be reanimated! Sweetness! I wonder what the other Eldrazi titans will be like? I hope Emrakul is similarly powerful. I'm really excited for this set so far and I think it brings some excellent additions to reanimator strategies.
Sire of Stagnation has definitely caught my eye. I think the card has a lot of potential, and may be worth considering here.
Also, I've got an extra copy of Lim-Dûl's Vault lying around, and I think I'd like to find a spot for it here. Not sure what to cut for it just yet.
So I played Sedris for the first time on Tuesday and I assembled the Ooze + Devourer Combo and won on T4. Nobody saw it coming and so no one had responses. I think it is a great way to introduce my newly formed Reanimator deck! Anyways, I wanted to ask what you think is better: Pathrazer of Ulamog or Nicol Bolas? I really like the OG Elder dragon but the Eldrazi just wrecks boards. With the synergy of It That Betrays there is potential to gain control of a player's board or at least steal a lot of permanents with the Pathrazer. But Nicol Bolas just wrecks all the blue decks in my meta. Decisions. They're hard to make. I wish I could somehow play both, but I don't know what I would cut otherwise.
Little bit funny that you had mentioned trying to build a more casual deck, and then you win your first game with it with a turn 4 combo.
As for Pathrazer of Ulamog and Nicol Bolas: Bolas is a fine dude. Pathrazer is fine if you're okay with that many high costed guys. Personally I prefer to keep the top end a bit lower.
Good point. Perhaps I should qualify what I mean by casual a little bit more. Casual means to me fewer than 5 counterspells, an average CMC above 3.5, and fewer than 10 instants. My Sedris deck is actually pretty combo rife, but it has no way to force through its combos effectively, making it much weaker to the permission that dominates my meta. And it's also heavily graveyard based, hate of which is becoming more prevalent now.
Any cool game reports with your list? I'm curious how Cauldron Dance is working out for you. Also, do you almost always tutor for Sneak Attack first? What is usually your go-to tutor in the beginning stages of the game?
As fort Cauldron Dance, I love the card and I think it's very solid, but it's probably a bit of a pet card for me.
When it's good it's really good, though, and it's a lot of fun to loop it with Archaeomancer.
I had a good game with Sedris last night that reminded me why I like Kaalia so much. I found a deck that I actually like better than her that fits my own personal flavor better than Kaalia does. So I will be giving Kaalia his vastly improved deck back to him and just go down to my Trifecta of two Reanimators and my Mono-Blue Control list.
Also, It That Betrays is really, really cool. So much synergy in my list. I love it.
4 man game with Sedris, Azami, Oona, Niv
Let me first just say that Sneak Attack is so much fun. I’ve never before had the joy of playing it in a game, but damn was it fun. So I’m playing against so many counterspell.decks it hurts so I just decided not to care at all. Azami and I are behind on mana when Niv and Oona both open with Sol Rings. Niv does one better and plays a Fellwar Stone. I started the game so I play a Izzet Signet with Intuition, It That Betrays, Rune-Scarred Demon and a few other cards. Azami plays a Patron Wizard which Niv stops and so Azami is angry. I target him with Intuition and persuade him to give me Sneak Attack. Bahahahahaha. On my next turn, I play Sneak Attack. And nobody is ready for my next turn. Azami is being handled by Niv and Oona, so I’m just having fun being a sorecery speed, heavy hitting reanimator deck. On my turn I untap, and Sneak in Rune-Scarred Demon to go and find Pathrazer of Ulamog. I Sneak in my collective Eldrazi and Annihilate Oona for 2 permanents with It That Betrays’ ability and Annihilate Niv for 3 permaments. It’s crazy how much ramp I just generated. I promised Azami that I was coming for him next, to be fair, so that threat was there. Azami digs deep to try and find stuff but doesn’t have anything to stop the slaughter that could happen. Oona is tight for mana and plays a Solemn Simulacrum and Lightning Greaves, after having played a Thran Dynamo to try and catch up with manas. Niv sits tight and is just hanging out, showing off a Pongify. I Sneak in Arcanis with my last red floating at EOT and draw Reanimate. On my turn I Reanimate my Demon and find Consuming Aberration. I Sneak it in and cast three spells to make it grow big enough to one shot Azami and proactively mill answers away from Niv and Oona. My Aberration got to be a 32/32, and when I went to go attack, Azami Ghostly Flickered Azami to have a blocker but Niv Pongifyed it. My Aberration still got blocked, but Azami didn’t really have a board and not enough mana to compete in the game. He did some stuff and after Oona Pact of Negationed his High Tide, he tactically scooped so I could kill more people. Oona didn’t do anything and neither did Niv, so it got back to me. I drew into Living Death and smiled. With an evil chuckle, I cast it, and proceeded to kill Oona really dead with Consuming Aberration, Thraximundar, and Clever Impersonator doing its best impression of Lightning Greaves. Oona dies, and Niv untaps, draws a card, and doesn’t draw enough answers to answer my board state. He also scoops. So, in summary, the ramp that It That Betrays gave me, weirdly, put me way, way ahead and enabled my broken plays. I feel like I have a good grasp of which creatures work in the deck and which don’t and will adjust my deck accordingly.
I played another game with Sedris against Freyalise and Oona. The game report follows.
And I've also discovered the absolute ridiculously awesomeness of Waste Not in Grixis. ZenN, I strongly suggest giving it a whirl. You can get away with it and not face too much politics or targeting because you're not running Nekusar as your general. Wheeling away your fat creatures to profit massive amounts of black mana to activate Sedris' ability is unreal. I just added a small Waste Not package and the power level in my deck has gone up incredibly. I'm expanding it now cause it's so good. I'll have to post a new list when I get home, but I am really excited for the Grixis awesomeness that I've discovered. T3 or T4 wins (where I have an overwhelming board state and people don't have much in their hands) seem to goldfish pretty consistently, but we'll see. I have yet to test it in real life.
Freyalise, Oona, Sedris
So it was just a fun game where Oona had to control two heavy hitter decks. The game was kind of fun because Oona had to control Freyalise while I built up my board. Oona counters Freyalise's Natural Order, plays some mana stuff, but eventually gets mana-screwed. I get the chance to play Consuming Aberration while Oona is tapped out for a mana rock. Freyalise is spewing out Llanowar Elf tokens and activates Freyalise's ultimate once. It's not looking good for us, but when Freyalise kills Oona's board, Oona is wide open to my Aberration. I cast a few spells and my Aberration gets to be a 28/28 and I one-shot Oona, who was at 27 life. Freyalise untaps and then proceeds to Genesis Wave and win by going infininte with Gaea's Cradle and Umbral Mantle and Voyaging Satyr. There wasn't much going on except to say that Aberration is just so much fun for me, and Freyalise would have won anyways cause Oona was out of counters and removal.
I've semi-considered Waste Not in the past, but I really feel like it's only worthwhile for Nesukar, the Mind Razer decks. That card really shines there. Here I just don't think it does that much.
That being said, the deck could be molded around to work better with it, but I'm not sure it's worth it for that one card.
Unfortunately, nothing spoiled in Commander 2015 so far that I want here. Mystic Confluence is really good, but I don't really think it fits too well here. I'm still holding out hope for the black Confluence, though!
I think Waste Not has a lot of potential, actually. T2 Waste Not, T3 Wheel effect and you could potentially just win the game right there without ever using an infinite combo. Let's say your 3 other opponents each had 5 cards in hand and discarded collectively 6 lands, 4 creature cards, and 5 noncreature cards. Thats's 12 B mana, an additional 5 cards on top of the 5 you just drew and 4 zombies. For the sake of the example, let's say you draw into a signet and Windfall. Go down to 8 B after casting your general and wheel again, pitching a glorious hand full of scary Reanimatable dudes to the 'yard that is easily abused with our favorite undead baron king. And his ability only requires black mana to activate. Waste Not directly adds that to your mana pool, which just begs for Sedris to use it for the fatties you just pitched to your wheel effect. Let's say at the end of that you have 9+ black mana and It That Betrays, Phyrexian Metamorph, and...Pathrazer of Ulamog. Good game friends.
In short, I think the Waste Not strategy directly complements Sedris' ability and strengthens another equally powerful game plan in addition to the Sneak Attack show that's going on. I'll throw together a mock list that's casual, according to my definition of casual, and run it by you and see what you think. It runs Nekusar, the Mindrazer as part of the Waste Not shell and a few other awesome goodies that I think will be really powerful that complement the Reanimator strategy. Meh, maybe not a list, but more of a basis of a list.
I think Waste Not has a lot of potential, actually. T2 Waste Not, T3 Wheel effect and you could potentially just win the game right there without ever using an infinite combo. Let's say your 3 other opponents each had 5 cards in hand and discarded collectively 6 lands, 4 creature cards, and 5 noncreature cards. Thats's 12 B mana, an additional 5 cards on top of the 5 you just drew and 4 zombies. For the sake of the example, let's say you draw into a signet and Windfall. Go down to 8 B after casting your general and wheel again, pitching a glorious hand full of scary Reanimatable dudes to the 'yard that is easily abused with our favorite undead baron king. And his ability only requires black mana to activate. Waste Not directly adds that to your mana pool, which just begs for Sedris to use it for the fatties you just pitched to your wheel effect. Let's say at the end of that you have 9+ black mana and It That Betrays, Phyrexian Metamorph, and...Pathrazer of Ulamog. Good game friends.
In short, I think the Waste Not strategy directly complements Sedris' ability and strengthens another equally powerful game plan in addition to the Sneak Attack show that's going on. I'll throw together a mock list that's casual, according to my definition of casual, and run it by you and see what you think. It runs Nekusar, the Mindrazer as part of the Waste Not shell and a few other awesome goodies that I think will be really powerful that complement the Reanimator strategy. Meh, maybe not a list, but more of a basis of a list.
I kind of run what sounds like a similar list to yours. They're interchangeable commanders. I think there may be some new Commander stuff for me considering just how costly everything is to cast.
I wouldn't really consider them to be interchangeable. They both benefit greatly from having their decks specifically tailored to them. If you build Sedris in a way with a bunch of Wheel effects, then sure, Nekusar can fit. But he won't be nearly as good as when he's the general of a deck specifically built for him.
And generally, a properly built Nekusar deck won't have room for enough creatures to make Sedris worthwhile.
I think Waste Not has a lot of potential, actually. T2 Waste Not, T3 Wheel effect and you could potentially just win the game right there without ever using an infinite combo. Let's say your 3 other opponents each had 5 cards in hand and discarded collectively 6 lands, 4 creature cards, and 5 noncreature cards. Thats's 12 B mana, an additional 5 cards on top of the 5 you just drew and 4 zombies. For the sake of the example, let's say you draw into a signet and Windfall. Go down to 8 B after casting your general and wheel again, pitching a glorious hand full of scary Reanimatable dudes to the 'yard that is easily abused with our favorite undead baron king. And his ability only requires black mana to activate. Waste Not directly adds that to your mana pool, which just begs for Sedris to use it for the fatties you just pitched to your wheel effect. Let's say at the end of that you have 9+ black mana and It That Betrays, Phyrexian Metamorph, and...Pathrazer of Ulamog. Good game friends.
In short, I think the Waste Not strategy directly complements Sedris' ability and strengthens another equally powerful game plan in addition to the Sneak Attack show that's going on. I'll throw together a mock list that's casual, according to my definition of casual, and run it by you and see what you think. It runs Nekusar, the Mindrazer as part of the Waste Not shell and a few other awesome goodies that I think will be really powerful that complement the Reanimator strategy. Meh, maybe not a list, but more of a basis of a list.
I kind of run what sounds like a similar list to yours. They're interchangeable commanders. I think there may be some new Commander stuff for me considering just how costly everything is to cast.
I like what you have going on in your list and I think that it's a good basis for what I'm wanting to do as well. I'll post over on your thread since it seems a little more appropriate.
@ ZenN
Any game reports to share? It's been a while since you posted on your thread and I bet that it's because of school or something, and I wonder if you've had the chance to play recently.
Well, I generally play every weekend with the same group. I switch around between my decks, but they generally all get played at least a little.
I've definitely been a lot busy lately, though, between work and other real-life obligations, so I haven't spent as much time posting on/editing my threads.
I'm still here, though, I'm still reading everything that gets posted in them, and I'm editing/posting when I really feel I've got something worth adding.
Speaking of, I actually made a change to the deck a couple days ago, and I'm considering making a few more in the near future.
I've replaced Cauldron Dance, tentatively, with Lim-Dûl's Vault. I still really like Cauldron Dance, but I wanted the extra pseudo-tutor and Dance was the weakest of its type of effect. When it's good it's really good, but when it's bad it's really bad.
I'll be making some updating to the primer itself later today.
Well, this primer is fantastic, so much so that it sold me on creating an account for this site. I have been kicking around the idea of building a deck around Sedris for a couple months but struggled to identify a direction I wanted to take, and I ended up losing it among other ideas. Your card by card elaboration definitely helped me out, and so I both thank you and raise my glass to your efforts. I do have one question though...do you feel there is a place for Caged Sun for a ramp source? The cost of 6 mana is fairly heavy but it seems to be a staple for ramp in UBR colours, at least in my edh experience so far. Thoughts?
Hey, thanks a lot for the feedback! I'm glad you enjoyed the primer.
As for Caged Sun, it's pretty much only any good in mono coloured decks. In multi colour decks, you don't generally have enough basic lands to be worth it.
So, I've decided I'd like to implement some changes in this deck in the near future. The deck is playing very well, but mostly I'm just getting a little bit bored, so I want to make some changes.
I've picked up the following cards and will be attempting to work them into the deck in the near future:
One of the biggest reasons I've avoided adding Wheel affects up to now is Necropotence. Therefore, while the card is insanely good, it's one of the primary things I'll be cutting when I make these changes. It's entirely possible I'll end up missing it, and want to add it back, but I think I'll have enough extra card draw with these changes that I won't miss it that much.
I'll update the primer when I've made some changes and had the opportunity to test them out and decide I'm happy with them.
Alright, I've played almost exclusively with Sedris lately to try to assess how I feel about the changes, and I've concluded that, while I'm not entirely sure that the changes I've made are necessarily better, I'm definitely having a lot of fun with this version of the deck, so I'm going to be keeping these changes (for the foreseeable future, at least).
I'll go into more detail about the changes in the primer itself (to be updated later today, most likely), but as a quick run down:
He's definitely a lot of fun.
And yeah, Teferi's Veil definitely does some good things here. It's a card that always has a lot more board impact than my opponents expect it to.
1 Sedris, the Traitor King
His Undead Subjects
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Feldon of the Third Path
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Disciple of Bolas
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Necrotic Ooze
1 Mirror-Mad Phantasm
1 Sadistic Hypnotist
1 Body Double
1 Zealous Conscripts
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Ghoulcaller Gisa
1 Shadowborn Demon
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
1 Consuming Aberration
1 River Kelpie
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Flayer of the Hatebound
1 Triskelion
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Phyrexian Devourer
1 Duplicant
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
1 Thraximundar
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Lord of the Void
1 Balefire Dragon
1 Nicol Bolas
1 It That Betrays
1 Reanimate
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Exhume
1 Buried Alive
1 Damnation
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Living Death
1 Beacon of Unrest
1 Decree of Pain
His Evil Tricks
1 Entomb
1 Dark Ritual
1 Cryptic Command
His Dark Enchantments
1 Animate Dead
1 Teferi's Veil
1 Necropootence
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Sneak Attack
1 Pandemonium
His Evil Councilor
1 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
His Unholy Jewels
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Rakdos Signet
1 Dimir Signet
1 Coalition Relic
1 Worn Powerstone
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Grimoire of the Dead
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Whip of Erebos
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Conjurer's Closet
This feels a little bit more streamlined and it also feels like it can go a lot of directions. I think it has more emphasis on combo, with a few Necrotic Ooze combos as well as some Kiki-Jiki tricks. It goldfishes pretty well, I just wish I could add in more ramp somehow. This is a very mana-hungry deck and a heavy-hitter deck, tapping out each turn for whatever it is it wants to do. I'm still trying to streamline it a little more, and I like that I can potentially win on T2 with Dark Ritual, Reanimate, Buried Alive and assemble the Necrotic Ooze Combo. It's good stuff.
I think Intuition is a great choice, and I kinda forgot about it myself. If I had to make a cut, it would Cryptic Command. The triple blue is expensive and it usually bounces a permanent and draws a card anyways.
Also, Void Maw is a good card that can pull our important dudes from exile into our most easily abused 'yard. Just a thought in case there's a lot of activated 'yard hate in your meta instead of the static replacement effects of Leyline of the Void and Rest in Peace.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
---
Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---
Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I had previously been testing replacing Kelpie with Karn, Liberated, and I didn't overly miss the Kelpie, and I'm still not 100% sold on the Karn inclusion, so this works out fine.
I also fixed a typo that had gone missed for a while somehow, and made a few formatting changes/fixes.
---
Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---
Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
These were very recently spoiled for Battle for Zendikar, as part of a new cycle of dual lands with basic types. I'm assuming/hoping that the other five, the enemy coloured ones, will be in the second set.
I really like these lands, and I'm already thinking about what I'll be cutting for them. Having another cycle of lands with basic types will be sweet.
What I've been thinking so far:
Lastly, Newlamog is super sweet. It's a little unfortunate that his exile is on cast, like with all the other Eldrazi, but his attack trigger is kind of insane, and he can be reanimated, unlike the old Eldrazi Titans. So he may require some thought.
---
Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---
Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Dude. The new Ulamog looks really, really strong. Exiling the top 20 cards is much stronger than I think I realize fully at this moment. Exiling 20 cards will really effectively shut some decks down and the fact that he proactively removes answers is really strong in my opinion. And he can be reanimated! Sweetness! I wonder what the other Eldrazi titans will be like? I hope Emrakul is similarly powerful. I'm really excited for this set so far and I think it brings some excellent additions to reanimator strategies.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Also, I've got an extra copy of Lim-Dûl's Vault lying around, and I think I'd like to find a spot for it here. Not sure what to cut for it just yet.
---
Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---
Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
As for Pathrazer of Ulamog and Nicol Bolas: Bolas is a fine dude. Pathrazer is fine if you're okay with that many high costed guys. Personally I prefer to keep the top end a bit lower.
---
Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---
Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Any cool game reports with your list? I'm curious how Cauldron Dance is working out for you. Also, do you almost always tutor for Sneak Attack first? What is usually your go-to tutor in the beginning stages of the game?
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
What I tutor for and when is super situational. There are some general things I almost always stick to, though.
As fort Cauldron Dance, I love the card and I think it's very solid, but it's probably a bit of a pet card for me.
When it's good it's really good, though, and it's a lot of fun to loop it with Archaeomancer.
---
Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---
Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Also, It That Betrays is really, really cool. So much synergy in my list. I love it.
4 man game with Sedris, Azami, Oona, Niv
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
And I've also discovered the absolute ridiculously awesomeness of Waste Not in Grixis. ZenN, I strongly suggest giving it a whirl. You can get away with it and not face too much politics or targeting because you're not running Nekusar as your general. Wheeling away your fat creatures to profit massive amounts of black mana to activate Sedris' ability is unreal. I just added a small Waste Not package and the power level in my deck has gone up incredibly. I'm expanding it now cause it's so good. I'll have to post a new list when I get home, but I am really excited for the Grixis awesomeness that I've discovered. T3 or T4 wins (where I have an overwhelming board state and people don't have much in their hands) seem to goldfish pretty consistently, but we'll see. I have yet to test it in real life.
Freyalise, Oona, Sedris
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
That being said, the deck could be molded around to work better with it, but I'm not sure it's worth it for that one card.
Unfortunately, nothing spoiled in Commander 2015 so far that I want here. Mystic Confluence is really good, but I don't really think it fits too well here. I'm still holding out hope for the black Confluence, though!
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
In short, I think the Waste Not strategy directly complements Sedris' ability and strengthens another equally powerful game plan in addition to the Sneak Attack show that's going on. I'll throw together a mock list that's casual, according to my definition of casual, and run it by you and see what you think. It runs Nekusar, the Mindrazer as part of the Waste Not shell and a few other awesome goodies that I think will be really powerful that complement the Reanimator strategy. Meh, maybe not a list, but more of a basis of a list.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I kind of run what sounds like a similar list to yours. They're interchangeable commanders. I think there may be some new Commander stuff for me considering just how costly everything is to cast.
And generally, a properly built Nekusar deck won't have room for enough creatures to make Sedris worthwhile.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
I like what you have going on in your list and I think that it's a good basis for what I'm wanting to do as well. I'll post over on your thread since it seems a little more appropriate.
@ ZenN
Any game reports to share? It's been a while since you posted on your thread and I bet that it's because of school or something, and I wonder if you've had the chance to play recently.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
I've definitely been a lot busy lately, though, between work and other real-life obligations, so I haven't spent as much time posting on/editing my threads.
I'm still here, though, I'm still reading everything that gets posted in them, and I'm editing/posting when I really feel I've got something worth adding.
Speaking of, I actually made a change to the deck a couple days ago, and I'm considering making a few more in the near future.
I've replaced Cauldron Dance, tentatively, with Lim-Dûl's Vault. I still really like Cauldron Dance, but I wanted the extra pseudo-tutor and Dance was the weakest of its type of effect. When it's good it's really good, but when it's bad it's really bad.
I'll be making some updating to the primer itself later today.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
As for Caged Sun, it's pretty much only any good in mono coloured decks. In multi colour decks, you don't generally have enough basic lands to be worth it.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
I've picked up the following cards and will be attempting to work them into the deck in the near future:
- Living Death
- Wheel of Fortune
- Windfall
- Notion Thief
- Jace's Archivist
- Magus of the Wheel
One of the biggest reasons I've avoided adding Wheel affects up to now is Necropotence. Therefore, while the card is insanely good, it's one of the primary things I'll be cutting when I make these changes. It's entirely possible I'll end up missing it, and want to add it back, but I think I'll have enough extra card draw with these changes that I won't miss it that much.I'll update the primer when I've made some changes and had the opportunity to test them out and decide I'm happy with them.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
I'll go into more detail about the changes in the primer itself (to be updated later today, most likely), but as a quick run down:
Out
In
Cards I tested during this period but was unhappy with
Cards I still want to test
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge-Spellslinger/Storm
Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter-Tribal Vampires/Life Drain
And yeah, Teferi's Veil definitely does some good things here. It's a card that always has a lot more board impact than my opponents expect it to.
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Current Commanders: Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (coming soon) | [Primer] Sedris, the Traitor King | Maelstrom Wanderer | Najeela, the Blade Blossom | Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
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Retired Commanders: [Primer] Jenara, Asura of War | [Primer] Ghave, Guru of Spores | Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury | Saskia the Unyielding | Sydri, Galvanic Genius