This is a deck based almost entirely around the card Divine Intervention. The idal goal is to ramp up to enough mana to play Divine intervention and one of the cards that removes all the counters from it at once as soon as possible on the same turn. The cards we have to do this with are Vampire Hexmage, Thief of Blood, and AEther Snap. There is also the slower option of Strionic Resonator but this requires it staying out a full cycle. The rest of the deck is dedicated to keeping you alive long enough to get to the combo pieces you need, tutors for the combo pieces you need, ramp, and ways to recover divine intervention if it is destroyed or exiled.
So here's the list (beware it does contain some very expensive cards)
I made this deck to see if I could do anything with Divine Intervention and this was the best I can come up with. I'm hoping to get whatever feedback I can from people here on the list. Thanks
My initial impression based on comprehensive rules section 509.1b is that since theres a restriction on Orchard Spirit it is a legal thing to do but 509.1c gives me the impression that we must satisfy as many of the conditions as possible. Thanks
If Guile gets put in a graveyard but is then removed from the graveyard (let's say say with Tormod's Crypt) before the triggered ability can resolve does the library still get shuffled when the ability resolves? According to the ruling on gatherer it says that Guile won't get shuffled into the library if it isn't in the graveyard anymore when the trigger resolves but does that mean the library doesnt get shuffled at all?
Both Bestows so far have been priced as 'slightly under costed Enchantment' + 'slightly over/par costed Creature'.
'2/2 w/ Intimidate' for 4 + 'Enchanted Creature has +2/+2 & Intimidate' for 2
'4/4 w/ Flying & First strike for 5' + 'Enchanted Creature has +4/+4, Flying and First Strike' for 3
I really hope they have fun with this design space and make one that the Bestow cost is cheaper than just casting the creature. A 5 cost creature that Bestows for 3 perhaps? Basically a reverse Nantuko Shaman
Either way, Bestow will be amazing in Limited! You can go all in on one creature and when it gets killed you get dudes? Yes please!
They flat out can not do that. Bestow works in such a way that casting the card as an enchantment is almost always superior to casting it as a creature. If you cast it as a creature it can be hit with creature or enchantment removal and when it does it's gone. If you cast it as an aura it can only be hit directly with enchantment removal otherwise to get rid of it for good you need to remove the creature then remove the bestow creature.
Im no expert on standard or modern but auras that are guaranteed not to be 2 for 1s (with the exception of cards like austere command or decimate) are strong enough on their own that they don't need to be incentivized. If you could get the token from Griffin Guide for 4 mana when casting it as an aura got you a bigger creature and were guaranteed the 2/2 flying not just if the enchanted creature died but if the creature got bounced, exiled or removed while the card was on the stack would you ever cast the 2/2 unless in the most dire of straights?
Maze of Ith is one of the 5 cards I strat EVERY deck with. I have never cut it. I play almost exclusively 4 player, and SOMEONE has a threat to stop.
I agree completely. Maze of Ith is in every deck of mine. There is always something for it to swallow up and in a format with a lot of board wipes it forces opponents to overextend a bit to get past it and get hurt more by board wipes
At first I didnt like banning primeval titan because I like playing the card but thinking on it further Im really happy not to have to play against it in every green deck every other game. I dont usually like banning creatures because theyre the most answerable threat in the game but titan has an impact as soon as it is cast and every turn it survives just makes things worse and worse
Im a fan of any system that keeps the ban list to as few cards as possible. Ban lists are the least fun part of any format so given how small the ban list is right now Id say the current philosophy works
Id say the sweet spot for me with game length is around 45 minutes it's enough time that everyone has a chance to do what their decks do best and get some good interactions, and to feel like a significant game, and it is short enough that if someone gets knocked out early they arent waiting around forever and the game is short enough that it doesnt feel long
One of two options Id say. Either buy one or more of the commander precon decks if theyre still available in stores or just rifle through the cards you have in storage and throw them together and see what works and tinker from there
We started out like that too.
But slowly they started to buy their own decks.
Problem being: They still suck in deckbuilding and have to ask me for advice.
So it still feels like I am playing against my own deck.
Some guys in my meta have their own decks, created them theirselves, but sometimes we switch decks and I tend to play it better.
Luckily that's only two-third of my meta.
My group started out like that as well. Originally it was me and three of my friends from school but only two of us had decks and each of us had 3 so it was really the same decks over and over. Gradually we encouraged the other two to make their own decks. They both started out with only one deck and it was pretty junky at first but both those decks have now been refined into competitive decks and they both added a couple more decks to their repertoire. Give the deckbuilding time and encourage them to dig through their collections for anything that seems like it would be fun to try out.
Is it necessary for this deck to run Diplomatic Immunity, Vanishing, and Flickerform or some or protection? Can we get away with running just Dip and Vanishing?
Probably but am not sure what I would substitute in for flickerform. Looking at it again flickerform is a bit pricey for the effect it has but it is a good option if graveyard hate is on the table
Yet again the Rules committee issues a ban that seems arbitrary.
I've not been a fan of the Commander Banned list for awhile, some things are hated out while other powerful cards are allowed because they are deemed more fun.
I really don't think the Official Banned list does a good job of balancing the format, or promoting the growth of Commander as a format that's more then just a side note.
It doesn't balance the format because it isnt supposed to. It is supposed to keep the format fresh and fun as you mentioned in your second paragraph. A balanced format would have legacy's banned list as basically a starter this format is about playing the cards you normally dont get to with a few exceptions that have warped the format around them
So here's the list (beware it does contain some very expensive cards)
1 Oloro, Ageless Ascetic
Creatures:
1 Academy Rector
1 Angelic Arbiter
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Magus of the Moat
1 Peacekeeper
1 Thief of Blood
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Windborn Muse
1 Hedron Crawler
Artifacts:
1 Aligned Hedron Network
1 Assault Suit
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Everflowing Chalice
1 Forcefield
1 Grim Monolith
1 Hedron Archine
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mind Stone
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Norn's Annex
1 Pristine Talisman
1 Seer's Lantern
1 Sol Ring
1 Strionic Resonator
1 Thought Vessel
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Worn Powerstone
Enchantments:
1 Divine Intervention
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Greater Auramancy
1 Moat
1 Propaganda
1 Teferi's Moat
1 Vow of Malice
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Liliana Vess
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
Instants:
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Evacuation
1 Pull from Eternity
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Vampiric Tutor
Sorceries:
1 AEther Snap
1 Austere Command
1 Crush of Tentacles
1 Crux of Fate
1 Damnation
1 Demonic Collusion
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Enduring Ideal
1 Final Judgment
1 Grim Tutor
1 Idyllic Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Life's Finale
1 Oblivion Strike
1 Open the Vaults
1 Replenish
1 Wrath of God
Lands:
2 Island
2 Swamp
2 Plains
1 Kor Haven
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Command Tower
1 Dromar's Cavern
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Flooded Strand
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Marsh Flats
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mirrorpool
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scrubland
1 Strip Mine
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of the False God
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Watery Grave
I made this deck to see if I could do anything with Divine Intervention and this was the best I can come up with. I'm hoping to get whatever feedback I can from people here on the list. Thanks
Thanks
If Melvin casts Joraga Invocation and attacks with both his creatures can Spike choose to block the Grizzly Bears with Air Elemental and leave Orchard Spirit unblocked?
My initial impression based on comprehensive rules section 509.1b is that since theres a restriction on Orchard Spirit it is a legal thing to do but 509.1c gives me the impression that we must satisfy as many of the conditions as possible. Thanks
Thanks
They flat out can not do that. Bestow works in such a way that casting the card as an enchantment is almost always superior to casting it as a creature. If you cast it as a creature it can be hit with creature or enchantment removal and when it does it's gone. If you cast it as an aura it can only be hit directly with enchantment removal otherwise to get rid of it for good you need to remove the creature then remove the bestow creature.
Im no expert on standard or modern but auras that are guaranteed not to be 2 for 1s (with the exception of cards like austere command or decimate) are strong enough on their own that they don't need to be incentivized. If you could get the token from Griffin Guide for 4 mana when casting it as an aura got you a bigger creature and were guaranteed the 2/2 flying not just if the enchanted creature died but if the creature got bounced, exiled or removed while the card was on the stack would you ever cast the 2/2 unless in the most dire of straights?
I agree completely. Maze of Ith is in every deck of mine. There is always something for it to swallow up and in a format with a lot of board wipes it forces opponents to overextend a bit to get past it and get hurt more by board wipes
My group started out like that as well. Originally it was me and three of my friends from school but only two of us had decks and each of us had 3 so it was really the same decks over and over. Gradually we encouraged the other two to make their own decks. They both started out with only one deck and it was pretty junky at first but both those decks have now been refined into competitive decks and they both added a couple more decks to their repertoire. Give the deckbuilding time and encourage them to dig through their collections for anything that seems like it would be fun to try out.
Probably but am not sure what I would substitute in for flickerform. Looking at it again flickerform is a bit pricey for the effect it has but it is a good option if graveyard hate is on the table
It doesn't balance the format because it isnt supposed to. It is supposed to keep the format fresh and fun as you mentioned in your second paragraph. A balanced format would have legacy's banned list as basically a starter this format is about playing the cards you normally dont get to with a few exceptions that have warped the format around them
It isnt the only degenerate card in EDH right now but it is the only one that draws you 35 cards in the early game