For shuffling, I really have to urge you to give Commit // Memory a try. It's a way to deal with potential blockers (or any problem non-land) or to quasi-counter even uncounterable spells. It's phenonomenal in all of my decks that run blue - and it's amazing with Pull From Eternity.
Do you have any ideas on how to use cards that is out of the box? For example, use Brion Stoutarm to fling Colossus of Akros.
What makes flinging a big creature "out of the box"?
Is it possible that the example given is a rules misunderstanding ?
To clarify, the colossus can not survive Brion's sacrifice - despite being indestructible.
And an example I might use is using berserk on a creature that an opponent is attacking another opponent with. It will likely kill one creature, kill the opponent it damaged and leave you with two less things to worry about.
I was hoping the mana cost would've been 6 or less. At 7, it's probably going to be an include in the 99, though. Definitely a great target for Natural Order. Kopala, Warden of Waves and Deeproot Waters looks like they'd both be great in the 99 too. It looks like I'll have to hang tight and see what else awaits us.
Incidentally, after success in another deck, I experimented with Thrasios at the helm of this deck and Zegana in the 99 and the deck has never run better. I use him for value and ramp and not an infinite mana wincon - and he's great.
Even if he does put a bigger target on your head.
I'm also really loving Equilibrium in the deck right now also.
The counterfeit detection threads on FB usually maintain that faking foils is too expensive to be worth their while (when they can make just as much faking nonfoil RL cards).
I run it as a deal-sealer in my Derevi Enchantress deck. On its own, it's potentially problematic - but I run both Seal of Primordium, Seal of Cleansing and Aura of Silence. I'll try and have one in play before I give someone a Chimera for juuuuust a second - so there's no downside for me.
Back in the early days of magic, people would win by landing a Chronotog and a Stasis + Kismet and lock them out of doing anything useful - usually with a Black Vise to seal the deal, but sometimes just plain old decking them eventually did the job. No one plays these decks anymore - thankfully.
Derevi Enchantress focuses on sticking a big-mana land (Dawn's Reflection on Serra's Sanctum - or Mana Reflection with Cascading Cataracts) and a sac outlet to cycle Derevi an arbitrarily large number of times to generate infinite tap and untap effects (and since you're using Derevi's activated ability, you're not *casting* any spells) to win.
Even as a utility commander he's awesome. If you have a lot of dorks and they attack, each creature generates a tap/untap effect when they deal damage. This means that if you have Heliod and a Serra's Sanctum out, you're going to have 300+ cleric tokens really fast.
In most of the groups I play in, Infinite can be fine in a few circumstances:
if the rest of the table 'feels' like the game is ready to be over
If player A has a deck that the table feels is unfun and player B combos out to keep the table from having to sit through player A's stuff.
Furthermore, in regular playgroups people should remind all the other players when they sit down at the table that the one deck is a notorious combo deck.
One can really only play a deck so many times before it earns a reputation that causes the rest of the table to deal with it ASAP.
I run a Thrasios/Vial Smasher deck with no combos, the only creatures are Riftsweeper and Seedborn and contains no overt win conditions. The primary way it wins is with a 40 point Whir of Invention (with Vial Smasher). It is arguably a 75% deck - but similar builds could fit what you need.
Absolutely. Using it to get around the ETB of Dreadnought was what the old Vintage deck aimed to do. Eater of Days is another jankbeast that wouldn't be awful with this.
I'm fully aware now of how the card functions after catching up on the errata. 20 years ago I did well with it in one or two vintage tournies. I don't see how it changes the amount of potential the card has in a modern multiplayer environment.
In a situation where you have an effect that can tap a creature for a non combat effect like the ones I've listed, there can be some utility. I see there being some usefulness in a deck like Merfolk Tribal to hide the effects of Merfolk until their owners are casting spells (Sigil Tracer, Lullmage Mentor).
Also, I see it being useful in stifling decks that rely on casting one key creature that doesn't have an ETB (Voltaic Construct in Karn, Reveillark in any Graveyard combo,etc...) to make people with counterspells spend counters on a creature they can't see. Opponents knowing your deck and knowing that the only 5 drop you run is a Seedborn Muse - but you tapping 6 Mana could purely be a ploy sounds like the kinda shenanigans I'd like to be involved in. Particularly if you Rings of Brighthearth the ability and drop two 10(or less) dudes face down.
Howdy all - Illusionary Mask has long been one of those forgotten gimmick cards I had meant to get in my quest to get a copy of every great old-school card that's usable in EDH. Turns out I picked one up today and after reacquainting myself with the recent errata, I'm figuring out how I could use it.
Best I can figure as a way to flip-at-will is an effect like Opposition or Earthcraft.
As an magic old-timer, I really miss the days of playing when Chaos Orb was legal. It's a pity it's usually frowned upon - I really miss how fun it was.
Is it possible that the example given is a rules misunderstanding ?
To clarify, the colossus can not survive Brion's sacrifice - despite being indestructible.
And an example I might use is using berserk on a creature that an opponent is attacking another opponent with. It will likely kill one creature, kill the opponent it damaged and leave you with two less things to worry about.
Incidentally, after success in another deck, I experimented with Thrasios at the helm of this deck and Zegana in the 99 and the deck has never run better. I use him for value and ramp and not an infinite mana wincon - and he's great.
Even if he does put a bigger target on your head.
I'm also really loving Equilibrium in the deck right now also.
Even as a utility commander he's awesome. If you have a lot of dorks and they attack, each creature generates a tap/untap effect when they deal damage. This means that if you have Heliod and a Serra's Sanctum out, you're going to have 300+ cleric tokens really fast.
Furthermore, in regular playgroups people should remind all the other players when they sit down at the table that the one deck is a notorious combo deck.
One can really only play a deck so many times before it earns a reputation that causes the rest of the table to deal with it ASAP.
In a situation where you have an effect that can tap a creature for a non combat effect like the ones I've listed, there can be some utility. I see there being some usefulness in a deck like Merfolk Tribal to hide the effects of Merfolk until their owners are casting spells (Sigil Tracer, Lullmage Mentor).
Also, I see it being useful in stifling decks that rely on casting one key creature that doesn't have an ETB (Voltaic Construct in Karn, Reveillark in any Graveyard combo,etc...) to make people with counterspells spend counters on a creature they can't see. Opponents knowing your deck and knowing that the only 5 drop you run is a Seedborn Muse - but you tapping 6 Mana could purely be a ploy sounds like the kinda shenanigans I'd like to be involved in. Particularly if you Rings of Brighthearth the ability and drop two 10(or less) dudes face down.
Illusionary Mask has long been one of those forgotten gimmick cards I had meant to get in my quest to get a copy of every great old-school card that's usable in EDH. Turns out I picked one up today and after reacquainting myself with the recent errata, I'm figuring out how I could use it.
Best I can figure as a way to flip-at-will is an effect like Opposition or Earthcraft.
Anybody else ever get any mileage outta it?