I've been play testing the last few days with a proxy of blade of selves in a semi competitive group and the blade is pretty damn good. The threat level it creates is almost equal to jenera holding sword of feast and famine. you will instantly be convinced of its power when an etb creature equips and triggers the effect. I had the pleasure of equipping the blade to a sun titan and even Terastodon in some of my games.
even something simple like a mana elf attacking with blade will easily generate tons of value. if left unanswered by turn 5 a wood elves or farhaven elf can net you 6 lands!
unfortunately the only things i found worth considering in my kara deck are Meren Of Clan Nel Toth and Scourge of Nel Toth. my kara list is not combo oriented, its more recursion + good stuff.
meren seems to just reward me for playing my deck and the dragon looks like a good enabler + threat to have. I swapped out Genesis and Angel of Despair.
that's true, the cost is higher but by very little. i find jenera decks only need about 6 mana to truly take over a game and 6 mana fits perfectly with being able to cast and equip blade. the effect is good enough for it to warrant the cost -- considering the effects you may gain from just ATTACKING, its arguably better than any of the swords
to your point, repeated use of the blade is less effective because of its equip cost, but let's be honest, all we are looking for is 1 attack -- you dont even need to deal damage, does it really matter that it costs 2 more mana at that point? ill gladly pay the extra 2 mana to make copies of my etb creatures. and looking at your list, 1 swing from any of your +5 ccm creatures is all you might need to win.
i think the cost is fine because on a curve its the same as the other swords. the cost of equip will matter if you have mystic in your opening hand -- delayed 1 turn
turn 2 mystic
turn 3 creature
end of turn 4 activate mysitc
turn 5 equip, swing
but that value...... makes me excited to try using it on cards like Prime Speaker Zegana, Sun Titan, Terastodon ^______^. even early equip to wood elves or tribe elder :3
dont get me wrong, the sword will make ANY creature a threat but the effects of drawing a card and dealing 2 damage has not had that high of an impact. i feel having x2 or x3 an effect from any of the etb creatures we have may outweigh the value that sofi may create. i didnt overlook the fact that my creatures also get protection from red/blue too. this just gives another reason why sofi is almost a "kill on sight" item, but i suspect the blade will draw the same attention. sofi can definite out generate blade's value over a few turns but i cant really recall a game i've lost when sofi has stayed active for a few turns.... by then i think ill already be winning. ultimately i think blades raw value is greater than sofi's long term. i will miss the protect it gives though. this may be a huge mistake but im willing to give it a try.
mirror entity. its only there for combo purposes and ive grown a little tired of that win con especially when i find myself purposely holding back from creating the loop. on top of that, skullwinder will serve as another redundant recursion + it has deathtouch which is nice. i might just end up replacing entity with blade of selves if Sword of Fire and Ice is missed and if skullwinder doesn't work out.
I was never really fond of brainstorm whenever I ran your list and lacking spot removal was never really an issue. If anything there's always an enchantment to deal with and the enchantments that resolve in my meta are usually the ones you want to deal with asap so the command fits nicely in that regard. The thing is you also have a decent number of etb enchantment removal and the body it generates is usually more valuable than the fight mechanic on command. When i look at dromoka's command i see a purely defensive card that could replace brainstorm if you're really lacking in removal/protection.
Is there a reason why you're not running any black sorcery tutors? I'm a die hard karador player and it seems you've purposely omitted many karador "staples" like eternal witness, worldly tutor, sol ring and to a lesser extent sac outlets like Viscera Seer, Ashnod's Altar etc.
I read your reasoning to skullclamp so I completely understand why those aren't in there if that's the reason
i think you should strictly look at it as a 3 mana 2 color fixer and ignore the 11 mana cost activated ability. Just like how the Channelfireball crew looks at new planeswalkers, you should never look at the ult, only the first 2 abilities. So in this case, is a 3 mana 2/3 creature that taps for 2 color worth the slot?
What about adding ravages of war and cutting a flicker affect? With all your mana dorks and rocks it seems like a good place to be. Let's not forget about casting one of your "gedon" affects while having Titania, Protector of Argoth out
Venser, the sojourner is meh in this deck? I've found him to be really good if for nothing else other than baiting removal that would otherwise be directed to Roon. He also survives board wipes and is an extra blink affect. Even his -1 can be useful to push through. His ability to interact with creatures/permanents that have been stolen also shouldn't be overlooked.
Since you're looking to cut something why not just leave him in?
Something I noticed about your G-Sun targets were they were all non-green creatures. Don't get me wrong gsun is great but if you don't have enough green targets to tutor maybe it might not be worth the slot?
Do you have revillark or plan on using it? I think revillark really shines when paired with karmic guide! and speaking of things to get maybe keep your eye out of a bitterblossom, the biggest challenge I had when building Ghave was having a flow of tokens and not relying on Ghave to be on board to be affective. I often times had like 3-4 enchantments just sitting on board and nothing to take advantage of it. Or only have 1 creature with a bunch of sac affects and no sac outlet to use... its important to have a clear direction with Ghave since he can do EVERYTHING and thus your list can easily not have a focus. What's your main game plan with Ghave?
for 5 mana if you play tezz and tutor for a sword thats the same cost as using demonic tutor and casting sword of feast and famine and now youre left with a planeswalker. seems like a sweet deal to me
even something simple like a mana elf attacking with blade will easily generate tons of value. if left unanswered by turn 5 a wood elves or farhaven elf can net you 6 lands!
meren seems to just reward me for playing my deck and the dragon looks like a good enabler + threat to have. I swapped out Genesis and Angel of Despair.
to your point, repeated use of the blade is less effective because of its equip cost, but let's be honest, all we are looking for is 1 attack -- you dont even need to deal damage, does it really matter that it costs 2 more mana at that point? ill gladly pay the extra 2 mana to make copies of my etb creatures. and looking at your list, 1 swing from any of your +5 ccm creatures is all you might need to win.
sequence with casting Blade of Selves and Sword of Fire and Ice
turn 2 sword
turn 3 creature
turn 4 equip, swing
sequence with mystic searching Blade of Selves
turn 2 mystic
turn 3 creature
end of turn 4 activate mysitc
turn 5 equip, swing
but that value...... makes me excited to try using it on cards like Prime Speaker Zegana, Sun Titan, Terastodon ^______^. even early equip to wood elves or tribe elder :3
+skullwinder
+blade of selves
and from my list ill be taking out
-Sword of Fire and Ice
-mirror entity
dont get me wrong, the sword will make ANY creature a threat but the effects of drawing a card and dealing 2 damage has not had that high of an impact. i feel having x2 or x3 an effect from any of the etb creatures we have may outweigh the value that sofi may create. i didnt overlook the fact that my creatures also get protection from red/blue too. this just gives another reason why sofi is almost a "kill on sight" item, but i suspect the blade will draw the same attention. sofi can definite out generate blade's value over a few turns but i cant really recall a game i've lost when sofi has stayed active for a few turns.... by then i think ill already be winning. ultimately i think blades raw value is greater than sofi's long term. i will miss the protect it gives though. this may be a huge mistake but im willing to give it a try.
mirror entity. its only there for combo purposes and ive grown a little tired of that win con especially when i find myself purposely holding back from creating the loop. on top of that, skullwinder will serve as another redundant recursion + it has deathtouch which is nice. i might just end up replacing entity with blade of selves if Sword of Fire and Ice is missed and if skullwinder doesn't work out.
I was never really fond of brainstorm whenever I ran your list and lacking spot removal was never really an issue. If anything there's always an enchantment to deal with and the enchantments that resolve in my meta are usually the ones you want to deal with asap so the command fits nicely in that regard. The thing is you also have a decent number of etb enchantment removal and the body it generates is usually more valuable than the fight mechanic on command. When i look at dromoka's command i see a purely defensive card that could replace brainstorm if you're really lacking in removal/protection.
I read your reasoning to skullclamp so I completely understand why those aren't in there if that's the reason
My thought is no... just my 2 cents
Since you're looking to cut something why not just leave him in?
Something I noticed about your G-Sun targets were they were all non-green creatures. Don't get me wrong gsun is great but if you don't have enough green targets to tutor maybe it might not be worth the slot?
Do you have revillark or plan on using it? I think revillark really shines when paired with karmic guide! and speaking of things to get maybe keep your eye out of a bitterblossom, the biggest challenge I had when building Ghave was having a flow of tokens and not relying on Ghave to be on board to be affective. I often times had like 3-4 enchantments just sitting on board and nothing to take advantage of it. Or only have 1 creature with a bunch of sac affects and no sac outlet to use... its important to have a clear direction with Ghave since he can do EVERYTHING and thus your list can easily not have a focus. What's your main game plan with Ghave?