Hey guys, just recently picked up sultai for modern, having spent the past few years playing scapeshift and affinity I finally decided to play a G/B/x deck. I've palyed this deck a couple of weeks at my lgs (they have modern available 3 times a week so I can get testing in a lot) and I have made a few changes on Gerard's list.
I decided to include a pack rat in the main. After testing it out, as a 1 of, it shows serious power against fair decks. Turning the late game into an inevitable win for us as every card drawn is a pack rat (making the late game flooding unlikely).
As well with my local meta I up'd the quantity of compulsive research to 2 and dropped the amount of thragtusk to 1 (as there's a lot of jund, fair decks and tron) and I find that having access to more cards earlier is just better than a late game finisher.
As well I added an extra vendilion clique to the main, for hand disruption against scapeshift and twin
I've decided to include an obstinate baloth in the sideboard because it has such a good interaction against jund and abzan (which is a thing in my local meta).
Given my local meta has a lot of g/b/x decks, along with more fair lists and few unfair decks (twin, amulet) I was wondering what you guys would suggest for my sideboard and main to help better my performance.
I've been playing around with the idea of putting in a gifts ungiven, just for raw card advantage and snapcaster synergy as well I've been considering delver of secrets
Hi there, if you're reading this thread and you're considering building a Damia, Sage of Stonedeck this should (hopefully) be a good resource for you to build on or use.
Now this deck doesnt win by traditional means, there's no infinite combos or stuff like that, rather this deck will win by grinding out a game against opponents, killing their resources until eventually your card advantage and other resources simply make you unbeatable. This is a control deck for EDH.
Now when I first built this deck there were few decks out there of Damia, and fewer that really impressed me. They seemed slow and clunky, and I needed a deck that could go up against a variety of opponents as my playgroup plays omnath (nothing like dealing with a hexproof 48/48 trampler), mayael (turn 4 terastodon or ulamog anyone?, riku (c-c-c-combo!) and more. I needed something that can destroy aggro components while out drawing control and out ramping combo. It's was a daunting task but over time I've sculpted a deck that turn 4 or 5 player edh into an “All-against-Damia” game. And I still win, because, the card advantage this deck can churn out is terrifying (It's become an on-going joke in my playgroup that I'll always have 7 cards in hand; however, usually I have more.)
Understandably this deck may turn people off (Counters!?! In edh? Disgusting! This should be fun) Well to me, and my playgroup, we enjoy games that are a grind, a trick of being able to overcome seemingly impossible odds and looking down the table at a soulbonded deadeye + terastodon is just that.
There's 6 major components to this deck, and each is fairly solid currently. See with Damia, you get her out once and draw up to seven and there's a good chance you'll win. Knowing this, you want to be able to play Damia as early as possible. (So far my earliest is turn 3) And crazy ramp is the way to go.
I should point out before the list, the following card is a necessity in Damia
A CRITICALLY important card that this deck runs is Burgeoning -This card on turn 1 will win you a game. This card is good enough for any deck but Damia makes an already insane card just pants-on-head good. For starters you can empty all your lands from your hand by turn 2 (wwwhhhaaattt?!) but then once Damia sticks, you draw up to 7 and can keep those pesky lands out of your hand. Third Best Card in the deck
Forbid This is the sixth best card in the deck, with either Consecrated Sphinx or Damia out will allow you to (not infinite combo out but an engine) to lockout all the other players from playing spells
All is dust This card belongs in absolutely every edh deck. It's an out that always works (except for when sigardia is on the field, but there's a 2 colour niche card for ya) It kills avacyn, Iona, anything that regular removal simply cant touch, enchantments, planeswalkers ect ect. It is a restart button that's ALWAYS in your favour. Nearly any game I have a tutor effect i pick up this card. Everyone plays the best thing available to them so wouldnt it be nice to make them put it in the graveyard by saccing it? It's cheaper than black sun's zenith will be, it hits more stuff than wrath of god or damnation, this card IS necessary for the deck. Hell i could probably write a primer on why this card alone is so functional in my deck.
The fourth best card is the Prophet of Kruphix It offers seedborn muse as well as an alchemist's refuge, all in one piece of cardboard, HOT DAMIA! The value this card can create will be so much that you'll immediately be the target, but have no fear you wont even have to worry about accidentally tapping out with her online
As far as ramp goes the best of the best is Burgeoning This card on turn 1 will win you a game. This card is good enough for any deck but Damia makes an already insane card just pants-on-head good. For starters you can empty all your lands from your hand by turn 2 (wwwhhhaaattt?!) but then once Damia sticks, you draw up to 7 and can keep those pesky lands out of your hand. Third Best Card in the deck
Rune-scarred Demon Now here's a card most people look over and don't bother even looking at for a first time, but it's a massive body that tutors out something you need. It's (in my weird opinion) the Baleful Strix of EDH, as it cycles itself with an even better card and can trade with almost all threats. Plus reanimating it is just the bee's knees. Many a time I've used a tutor to get him and even more frequently I use him to fetch out either another reanimation spell, Diabolic revelation, a wrath. Literally anything! He's a 7 mana beater that deters attackers at you and gives you the best card you need at the time.
It's fairly obvious what the best card in this deck is; I mean, the card advantage it provides after just one turn is too insane and I could see it being banned anytime and I would not be suprised. Nectopotence
Even if a player destroys it, you can still necro for however much and get those cards. With Reliquary tower on the field you dont have to worry about exiling cards and with Venser's Journal you gain back all your life on the next upkeep.
Little things people should notice about this deck,
There's no graveyard hate; this is because I rune Rise of the Dark Realms and I'd rather just get everything back than exiling someone's yard. As well putting GY hate in my deck would seem out of place, an eldrazi would keep me from milling myself but outside of that circumstance it isn't as useful for what I want to accomplish
There's no infinite Combos; originally I ran one combo however I found I'd never actually use it because I could win games simply without. Hell I even put time stop in to prevent infinite combos from going off.
Now how this deck works is a little weird. I have no real intention of beating my opponent down, or even killing them! My game plan is to essentially lock my opponent out of ALL their resources. Vorinclex will kill their mana, as will Deadeye+terastodon
Jin-gitaxis will kill their hand along with Forbid+Consecrated sphinx or Damia
and Rise of the Dark Realms will turn their deck against them
(Little fun thing is to soulbond deadeye+Venser and bounce their lands+permanents+spells to their hand)
understandably this deck has been called some interesting names but all in all it proves to be exceedingly powerful and has answers to almost all problems that come up.
Cards to consider; bottled cloister you can stack it's triggers to draw 7 then return your hand back and never have to worry about discard, downside to this card is that it makes playing counterspells pretty useless. I'd recommend one or the other seedborn muse See this deck always wants more mana, not just to untap but to continually have more resources at it's availability. Exploration a slightly weaker burgeoning effect in multiplayer, you can get away with simply not playing it
So there's my first primer, I've been loving EDH, decktesting and hope to post more. Next up will be Shattergang brothers
I decided to include a pack rat in the main. After testing it out, as a 1 of, it shows serious power against fair decks. Turning the late game into an inevitable win for us as every card drawn is a pack rat (making the late game flooding unlikely).
As well with my local meta I up'd the quantity of compulsive research to 2 and dropped the amount of thragtusk to 1 (as there's a lot of jund, fair decks and tron) and I find that having access to more cards earlier is just better than a late game finisher.
As well I added an extra vendilion clique to the main, for hand disruption against scapeshift and twin
I've decided to include an obstinate baloth in the sideboard because it has such a good interaction against jund and abzan (which is a thing in my local meta).
Given my local meta has a lot of g/b/x decks, along with more fair lists and few unfair decks (twin, amulet) I was wondering what you guys would suggest for my sideboard and main to help better my performance.
I've been playing around with the idea of putting in a gifts ungiven, just for raw card advantage and snapcaster synergy as well I've been considering delver of secrets
4x tarmogoyf
3x snapcaster mage
1x pack rat
1x vendilion clique
2x tasigur, the golden fang
1x thragtusk
Instants and sorceries:
2x mana leak
2x spell snare
2x cryptic command
3x Abrupt Decay
1x golgari charm
4x inquisition of kozilek
1x thoughtseize
1x go for the throat
2x damnation
1x maelstrom pulse
1x thragtusk
2x compulsive research
2x ashiok, nightmare weaver
1x jace, architect of thought
Lands:
3x darkslick shores
2x sunken ruins
1x island
1x swamp
1x forest
2x creeping tar pit
2x misty rainforest
3x verdant catacombs
3x polluted delta
1x overgrown tomb
2x breeding pool
1x watery grave
2x spellskite
2x feed the clan
1x sower of temption
1x thrun, the last troll
3x disfigure
2x rain of tears (although, even with the snapcaster interaction,
1x vendilion clique
1x scavenging ooze
1x obstinate baloth
Now this deck doesnt win by traditional means, there's no infinite combos or stuff like that, rather this deck will win by grinding out a game against opponents, killing their resources until eventually your card advantage and other resources simply make you unbeatable. This is a control deck for EDH.
Now when I first built this deck there were few decks out there of Damia, and fewer that really impressed me. They seemed slow and clunky, and I needed a deck that could go up against a variety of opponents as my playgroup plays omnath (nothing like dealing with a hexproof 48/48 trampler), mayael (turn 4 terastodon or ulamog anyone?, riku (c-c-c-combo!) and more. I needed something that can destroy aggro components while out drawing control and out ramping combo. It's was a daunting task but over time I've sculpted a deck that turn 4 or 5 player edh into an “All-against-Damia” game. And I still win, because, the card advantage this deck can churn out is terrifying (It's become an on-going joke in my playgroup that I'll always have 7 cards in hand; however, usually I have more.)
Understandably this deck may turn people off (Counters!?! In edh? Disgusting! This should be fun) Well to me, and my playgroup, we enjoy games that are a grind, a trick of being able to overcome seemingly impossible odds and looking down the table at a soulbonded deadeye + terastodon is just that.
There's 6 major components to this deck, and each is fairly solid currently. See with Damia, you get her out once and draw up to seven and there's a good chance you'll win. Knowing this, you want to be able to play Damia as early as possible. (So far my earliest is turn 3) And crazy ramp is the way to go.
I should point out before the list, the following card is a necessity in Damia
A CRITICALLY important card that this deck runs is
Burgeoning -This card on turn 1 will win you a game. This card is good enough for any deck but Damia makes an already insane card just pants-on-head good. For starters you can empty all your lands from your hand by turn 2 (wwwhhhaaattt?!) but then once Damia sticks, you draw up to 7 and can keep those pesky lands out of your hand. Third Best Card in the deck
1x Burgeoning
1x Sol Ring
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Search for Tomorrow
1x Farseek
1x Sakura-tribe elder
1x rampant growth
1x Cultivate
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Explosive vegetation
1x Skyshroud Claim
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Oracle of Mul Daya
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Prophet of Kruphix
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Omniscience
1x Vorinclex, voice of hunger
Counters
1x Plasm Capture
1x Time Stop
1x Mystic Snake
1x Voidslime
1x Counterlash
1x Forbid
1x Counterspell
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
Reanimation
1x Animate Dead
1x Nim Deathmantle
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Eternal Witness
1x Dread Return
1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
1x Rise of the Dark Realms
1x Beast Within
1x Black Sun's Zenith
1x Krosan Grip
1x Decree of Pain
1x All is Dust
1x Go for the throat
1x Curse of the Swine
1x Terastodon
Tutoring
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Worldly Tutor
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Progenitor Mimic
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Birthing Pod
1x Diaboic Revelation
1x Rune-Scarred demon
Card Draw
1x Consecrated sphinx
1x Fact of Fiction
1x Necropotence
1x Prime Speaker Zegana
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
Misc
1x Venser's Journal
1x Mindslaver
1x Deadeye Navigator
1x Defence of the Heart
Lands
7x Swamp
8x Island
6x Forest
1x Misty Rainforst
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Breeding Pool
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Watery Grave
1x Llanowar wastes
1x Yavimaya Coast
1x Underground River
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Hinterland Harbour
1x Woodland Cemetery
1x Temple of the False
1x Command Tower
1x Alchemist's Refuge
1x Academy Ruins
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Stripmine
1x Damia, Sage of Stone
Cards needed; (I'll do a little countdown)
Forbid This is the sixth best card in the deck, with either Consecrated Sphinx or Damia out will allow you to (not infinite combo out but an engine) to lockout all the other players from playing spells
All is dust This card belongs in absolutely every edh deck. It's an out that always works (except for when sigardia is on the field, but there's a 2 colour niche card for ya) It kills avacyn, Iona, anything that regular removal simply cant touch, enchantments, planeswalkers ect ect. It is a restart button that's ALWAYS in your favour. Nearly any game I have a tutor effect i pick up this card. Everyone plays the best thing available to them so wouldnt it be nice to make them put it in the graveyard by saccing it? It's cheaper than black sun's zenith will be, it hits more stuff than wrath of god or damnation, this card IS necessary for the deck. Hell i could probably write a primer on why this card alone is so functional in my deck.
The fourth best card is the Prophet of Kruphix It offers seedborn muse as well as an alchemist's refuge, all in one piece of cardboard, HOT DAMIA! The value this card can create will be so much that you'll immediately be the target, but have no fear you wont even have to worry about accidentally tapping out with her online
As far as ramp goes the best of the best is Burgeoning This card on turn 1 will win you a game. This card is good enough for any deck but Damia makes an already insane card just pants-on-head good. For starters you can empty all your lands from your hand by turn 2 (wwwhhhaaattt?!) but then once Damia sticks, you draw up to 7 and can keep those pesky lands out of your hand. Third Best Card in the deck
Rune-scarred Demon Now here's a card most people look over and don't bother even looking at for a first time, but it's a massive body that tutors out something you need. It's (in my weird opinion) the Baleful Strix of EDH, as it cycles itself with an even better card and can trade with almost all threats. Plus reanimating it is just the bee's knees. Many a time I've used a tutor to get him and even more frequently I use him to fetch out either another reanimation spell, Diabolic revelation, a wrath. Literally anything! He's a 7 mana beater that deters attackers at you and gives you the best card you need at the time.
It's fairly obvious what the best card in this deck is; I mean, the card advantage it provides after just one turn is too insane and I could see it being banned anytime and I would not be suprised.
Nectopotence
Even if a player destroys it, you can still necro for however much and get those cards. With Reliquary tower on the field you dont have to worry about exiling cards and with Venser's Journal you gain back all your life on the next upkeep.
Little things people should notice about this deck,
There's no graveyard hate; this is because I rune Rise of the Dark Realms and I'd rather just get everything back than exiling someone's yard. As well putting GY hate in my deck would seem out of place, an eldrazi would keep me from milling myself but outside of that circumstance it isn't as useful for what I want to accomplish
There's no infinite Combos; originally I ran one combo however I found I'd never actually use it because I could win games simply without. Hell I even put time stop in to prevent infinite combos from going off.
Now how this deck works is a little weird. I have no real intention of beating my opponent down, or even killing them! My game plan is to essentially lock my opponent out of ALL their resources. Vorinclex will kill their mana, as will Deadeye+terastodon
Jin-gitaxis will kill their hand along with Forbid+Consecrated sphinx or Damia
and Rise of the Dark Realms will turn their deck against them
(Little fun thing is to soulbond deadeye+Venser and bounce their lands+permanents+spells to their hand)
understandably this deck has been called some interesting names but all in all it proves to be exceedingly powerful and has answers to almost all problems that come up.
Cards to consider;
bottled cloister you can stack it's triggers to draw 7 then return your hand back and never have to worry about discard, downside to this card is that it makes playing counterspells pretty useless. I'd recommend one or the other
seedborn muse See this deck always wants more mana, not just to untap but to continually have more resources at it's availability.
Exploration a slightly weaker burgeoning effect in multiplayer, you can get away with simply not playing it
So there's my first primer, I've been loving EDH, decktesting and hope to post more. Next up will be Shattergang brothers