MTG Salvation

Hi! I heard Salvation is shutting down soon and I just wanted to say thanks for all the work you've put in over the past several years. I always make a list of your top 20 and draft/trade/buy a copy of each by the end of standard rotation. As a result, I've finally acquired enough cubeable cards to build a basic cube this summer =]

Looking forward to following your work on Twitter,
Joel

Hello!

I just read this article http://www.starcitygames.com/article/32817_Getting-Friends-To-Play-Commander.html on SCG. I really like the idea of loaner commander decks for beginning players designed to showcase the craziness/joy of commander without the overly complicated stress.

I can see the draw of Atarka, World Render, my question is which other legends do you think would make for excellent beginning commanders?

Thanks!

Hello!

With the release of Triskaidekaphobia I decided I wanted to make a deck featuring it. I thought it might be fun to pair it with Hidetsugu's Second Rite for danger on 10s and 13s! I need your help!

1) Are there any similar cards that would endanger foes at other life totals in R/B?

2) What are effective (and maybe repeatable) ways of altering an opponent's (and/or my own) life totals? I'm thinking pingers?

Thanks!

Quote from alfindeol »

Just an FYI, don't cut False Prophet. It's an all-star since you can usually just sac everything to make sure nothing at all gets exiled.

I've found Grim Haruspex to be quite good in the deck.

I'd recommend cutting Courser of Kruphix. He's not a bad card, but you generate no value from recurring him. Consider Carrion Feeder as another cheap, creature based sac outlet.

I also have been pleased with Prophet. So far it hasn't bitten me, but I'm keeping an eye on it. Exiling instead of destroying can be a double-edged sword, but so far it has done more for me than against me. Courser/Haruspex are good calls - thanks!

Quote from Fiddlers_Green »

False Prophet doesn't exile himself but I find it hard to use him effectively as a wrath and also keep a sac outlet up. I'd rather run a generic wrath that I can use at will (Wrath of God, Austere Command) but I can see the benefits of running him.

Unfortunately Survival of the Fittest IS on the Reserved List but it's a total powerhouse! Definitely would recommend trying to pick one up.

Concerning card draw I would recommend Phyrexian Arena, Sylvan Library, Greed/Erebos, God of the Dead, and Sensei's Divining Top. In a small creature/token list Skullclamp and Grim Haruspex are excellent ways to keep a full hand. Enlightened Tutor is a great way to find your Equipment and powerful Enchantments if you run any.

Survival and Sylvan Library are on my PucaTrade Wants list... fingers crossed!

Thanks for the suggestions - E Tutor and Haruspex are in. I already run Arena/Clamp and personally I don't like Top, even though it's excellent, because it just slows the game down. If I find I need even more draw power I will think about Greed/Erebos =]

Changes 4/2/16:

- Diabolic Tutor A good budget option, but I traded up.
- Yosei, the Morning Star Undoubtedly a strong choice, but usually leads to groans. Violates the social contract IMO.
- Courser of Kruphix alfindeol is right, it doesn't really synergize with my build. I included it when I was trying to do too much (Pod + Lands).

+ Demonic Tutor Sweet card selection.
+ Enlightened Tutor Another efficient way to find Pod.
+ Grim Haruspex I can't believe I forgot to include him the first time - thanks to everyone who suggested him!

Hello!

I have two instants in my graveyard, one of which is Geistblast. I cast Rise from the Tides and "flashback" Geistblast. My question is how many zombies will I get from the first Rise? How many will I get from the second?

Thanks!

Thanks again for another great review!

Wow.

This is a really good primer - probably the best I've read. Thank you for all of the work you put into it, when I get tired of Karador I think I'm going to build this

I tried to stretch the manabase to accommodate my two favorite cards from OGW! Not sure if it will work out or not, but I thought I would give it a shot.

Changes 3/14/16:

- Sundial of the Infinite Too cute. Usually this meant using Roon on my turn to exile an opponent's creature permanently, but that doesn't open up a good attack and is worse to a wrath.
- Dauntless Escort I was always fond of the Sun Titan loop, but this didn't really ever fit thematically with the deck.
- Oblation Shuffle into library effects aren't as desirable after the rules change, I'm not facing lot of tough to deal with permanents.
- Mistmeadow Witch 4 mana activation is tough, I don't think it ever did anything good for me.
- Glacial Fortress/Sunpetal Grove Need more colorless sources.
- Forest x3
- Island

+ Sower of Temptation I love the art on this little guy. I also love stealing my opponent's things.
+ Gilded Drake I'm really looking forward to blinking him over and over =]
+ Austere Command Flexibility!
+ Eldrazi Displacer My favorite card from OGW, I like it so much that it single handedly prompted my manabase changes!
+ Adarkar Wastes/Brushland/Yavimaya Coast Need more colorless sources.
+ Mirrorpool I love this card and I LOVE its art! Tokens are a blink nonbo, but I have a bunch of good CIP creatures to copy. We'll see.
+ Wastes x2 I'm not sure if it's correct to play 0-2 but I thought I would start on the high end and see how it impacts my game.

I'm with you fatsnorlax, this deck is really a blast to play. Birthing Pod just gives you so many decision points/versatility if it sticks around, and the longer the games go the better Karador gets!

Kokusho, the Evening Star would be pretty good, but I already run him in my mono-black build and I don't want to be too repetitive.

I agree that Blade of Selves would be worth a slot - I've been trying to trade for copies and I'll try it out if I can pick one up! I don't think I run enough colorless sources for Matter Reshaper - currently 6. I don't think it's worth sacrificing consistency to add in colorless sources for a small value card, but I'll definitely think about it!

I've gotten a few reps with this deck in and have made a bunch of changes (which I haven't kept a changelog for, sorry). Thanks for all the suggestions!

Quote from JunkBeezy »

Yavimaya Granger, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, and Trostani, Selesnya's Voice could be added. They all do major work in my Karador deck. Granger is better than something like Farseek since you want as many creatures as possible, and Merchant and Trostani can gain you insane amounts of life, especially if you Living Death them into play. I've had plays like that where I get them both back and gain 200+ life.

Yavimaya Granger is a good one - I like that it sacs itself so I added it! Gray Merchant is in my Mono-black build and I don't think I want to double up - plus I haven't felt like I've had a lot of B symbols at once so far. Trostani, Selesnya's Voice I run in Marath and is good, but if I'm resolving a big Living Death I don't know if I'm concerned with my life total.

Quote from Fiddlers_Green »

Hello and welcome it's nice to have another Karador player!

Birthing Pod is an amazing card and incredibly fun to play with. It also fits in great with Karador by incentivizing you to load up your graveyard, cast Karador, then recur all of your fallen creatures. This makes Enter the Battlefield and Leave the Battlefield effects far more desirable than normal.

Glancing at your list some easy cards to add are:

• Yavimaya Elder is great to mana fix plus draws a card and it has a built in sacrifice ability.
• Fauna Shaman is a Survival of the Fittest on a stick and serves as a way to load up the graveyard for your reanimator spells and tutors up silver bullets.
• I also see Saffi Eriksdotter, Reveillark and Karmic Guide in your list. This results in an infinite sacrifice loop that also can resurrect everything in your graveyard, perhaps add in Blood Artist or Zulaport Cutthroat for a combo finisher?
• Acidic Slime definitely deserves some consideration as it can hit annoying lands in addition to artifacts and enchantments.
• If you run Crucible and Life from the Loam I really like Dust Bowl and Strip Mine to deal with all of the utility lands you see.Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is also a must include.
• Demonic Tutor is an amazing card, while a little pricey it adds so much to the deck and is a format staple. I would consider investing in it if you plan on building more black decks.
• Diabolic Intent is also a great tutor and we can mitigate the additional cost and usually squeeze some extra value out of it as well!
• For the true Pod lover Enlightened Tutor can give you easy access to Pod and some powerful enchantments that Junk has to offer.
• Sidisi, Undead Vizier is an acceptable budget alternative that plays to Karador's strengths and leaves behind a 4/6 deathtouching body
• Beast Within for unconditional permanent removal or Utter End for a slightly more expensive and restrictive alternative.
• Phyrexian Tower and Volrath's Stronghold are excellent utility lands and with Knight of the Reliquary in your build I would consider adding more utility lands.

Some easy cuts would be:

• Ranger of Eos, we can run better tutors that are more universal in nature
• Swap Slum Reaper for Fleshbag Marauder as it is cheaper and can be recurred with Sun Titan
• Cut Thrashing Wumpus and run a global sweeper such as Austere Command or even Wrath of God
• Would consider removing Taj-Nar Swordsmith and Lightning Greaves, they don't have a ton of synergy with Karador. If you are concerned with exiling removal effects I like Claws of Gix as a protective measure instead.
• Not a huge fan of False Prophet nor any other self exiling effect as it makes it almost impossible to recur later in the game however it is a Final Judgment on a creature.
• Spike Weaver seems a bit weak, maybe add Constant Mists for a Fog effect that works with Crucible?
• Farseek and Nature's Lore would be best attached to a body instead. I like Viridian Emissary if you have sufficient sac outlets.
• Deadly Tempest for a better sweeper, if tokens are prevalent in your meta run Massacre Wurm.

There could be more ramp added to the deck along with some more versatile sweepers but the addition of tutors can reduce the amount of slots you have to devote to each. Land count should be upped probably to 38-39 to ensure you hit your land drops and can utilize Knight of the Reliquary effectively. Good luck and happy brewing!

Thanks! I'm really enjoying grindy Karador so far!

Thanks for your help with the cuts especially, they are always the hardest for me. I'm going to keep Slum Reaper because I don't necessarily want the effect redundant at 3 CMC - I like being able to pod a 3-dorp into a 4. So far it seems good but I'll keep an eye on it. False Prophet - I don't believe this exiles itself, am I wrong? I know it could nuke my whole field but being able to deal with indestructible creatures is really important and podding this into a 5 has got to be amazing. I know that Taj-Nar Swordsmith and Lightning Greaves don't have a ton of synergy with Karador but I've found keeping my velocity high can be hard without U draw power - Taj-Nar finds Skullclamp, one of my favorite cards in Karador. Greaves are basically my only way of getting haste.

I like the idea of Blood Artist or Zulaport Cutthroat. I kind of prefer to win through combat, but I'm going to keep an open mind about it because it seems like Karador is better with a bunch of small dudes than all the top-end beef I'm currently running. Thanks!

Quote from TheDesacrator »

Skyshroud Claim is a good one. I don't see why you would play Deadly Tempest. Looks awful. Damnation is just superior. Survival of the Fittest *****s on Evolutionary Leap. Demonic Tutor>Diabolic Tutor. Should play Vampiric Tutor. Stoneforge to get clamp is great. Your curve is really high.

All good, if expensive suggestions. I have Demo/Vamp Tutor on my Puca-want list. Hopefully I'll be able to snag them. Is Survival on the Reserved List? I doubt I'll ever get one if it's not reprinted.

Quote from L4W »

Hi, long long time lurker who's finally decided to post. It's nice to find another Karador player, especially one not specifically built for the boonweaver combo
I'll also second a lot of the suggestions already made by Fiddlers_Green, Yavimaya Elder is truly excellent, and being able to Pod chain into a Acidic Slime to kill a problem is amazing.
A few suggestions from my own build that come to mind (it's currently going through alterations, may post a list once i'm happy with it)
Where ever possible, if I can get the effect i'm looking for on a creature, rather than a spell, then that's the way I've gone, my playgroup is slightly more on the casual side of things, so our games tend to go fairly long.

• Hythonia the Cruel, her ability is expensive, but a wrath on deathtouching legs, that Karador can recur when required has served me well.
• Grim Haruspex, this will draw you a silly amount of cards if it sticks for any length of time.
• Mindslicer, the bane of control and combo, we basically use our graveyard as a second hand anyway, so forcing the whole table to ditch their hands can really neuter people's plans.
• Resolute Archangel, "What am I on? 12, okay, cast Archangel from Graveyard, go up to 40" Will put a massive smile on your face, that's for sure.

I'm glad you came out from the shadows! Acidic Slime seems good for some versatility so I added it!

Grim Haruspex is worth some consideration - I've been feeling like my draw power is a bit lackluster. Similarly, Resolute Archangel might be worth a thought - I currently run Thragtusk in part for that and Archangel does it better, albeit conditionally and for a mana more. Re: Mindslicer definitely good but it doesn't seem like a very fun card!

Changes 2/6/16:

- Eye of Ugin Cashed in on all this Modern Eldrazi hype...
- Caged Sun Expensive, generally I just want to get Daretti out early.

+ Mountain
+ Doubling Cube Signed at GP Oakland!

Thanks! Unfortunately the duals are all foil proxies, but having good mana really makes the deck more fun to play.

Thought Vessel has been decent so far. It's cheap artifact ramp but doesn't have synergy with much else. When things are going well it does provide a redundant Reliquary Tower effect, but if I have 8+ cards in hand I'm kind of winning anyway. When I have some spare time I'm going to try to increase the blink synergy even more and rework my ramp package. Maybe more Farseek-esque sorceries and Archaeomancers because when I can "flashback" my ramp spells it feels like I'm really far ahead.

Changes 2/6/16:

- Island
- Angel of Finality GY hate not as necessary in my meta anymore
- Prophet of Kruphix I'll miss you ;(
- Wargate Mostly found PoK anyway, plus I want to increase my density of creatures to flicker - some games I don't hit any relevant ones and it's not particularly fun

+ Minamo, School at Water's Edge Picked up a copy through Pucatrade. It feels pretty good when it's relevant.
+ Phyrexian Metamorph Potentially a 3 CMC clone effect is nice.
+ Whisperwood Elemental Shoutout to Outcryqq for the suggestion!
+ Reflector Mage My favorite card from OGW, should be sweet!

Just wanted to say that I always read your articles to help inform my drafting/trading decisions while a set is out - thanks for doing it so well and so consistently! Really excited to finally build a cube with all the cards I've collected =]

Man, bad news re: Phyrexian Tower =[

Predictions on how high Eye of Ugin will go? $25 sure seems like a lot already =/

Changes 12/5/15

- Forest x3
- Island x2
- Terramorphic Expanse
- Evolving Wilds
- Bushlands
- Adarkar Wastes
- Skycloud Expanse
- Sungrass Prairie
- Thespian's Stage
- Day of Judgment Counterable < Uncounterable
- Birds of Paradise Better manabase means fixing<ramp
- Swiftfoot Boots Equip 1>0
- Body Double 5 CMC > 1 CMC especially with all of my gravehate.
- Bant Charm Flexible but also very specific. Mana requirements are strict.

+ Hallowed Fountain
+ Breeding Pool
+ Temple Garden
+ Tundra
+ Tropical Island
+ Savannah
+ Misty Rainforest
+ Marsh Flats
+ Flooded Strand
+ Arid Mesa
+ Verdant Catacombs
+ Windswept Heath
+ Supreme Verdict Uncounterable > Counterable.
+ Thought Vessel Ramp is more important than fixing for me now, also I usually have a lot of cards with this deck.
+ Lightning Greaves Equip 1>0
+ Phantasmal Image I broke Mimeoplasm down so the Image needed a new home
+ Glen Elendra Archmage Reusable counter is good - synergy with flicker effects.