- Riley
- Registered User
-
Member for 17 years, 10 months, and 1 day
Last active Sun, Feb, 4 2018 07:51:16
- 0 Followers
- 865 Total Posts
- 27 Thanks
-
Jan 8, 2016Riley posted a message on Word of Command - The Rise of Duel CommanderThis is the format I play exclusively at this point. The sheer potential for creative deckbuilding AND having a shot at being competitive is staggeringly awesome. The Rules Committee has done a tremendous job over the years of balancing this format. Much love. <3Posted in: Articles
- To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
But no, not hard.
Is it not up to date right now?
Two things:
:/
Jeeeesus Christ.
To recap: that's only THREE distinct commanders in the top 8. 5 are Edgar and 6 in total use Eminence. 7th and 8th place are Titania.
I have no words. This is just.. embarrassingly bad. At what point does the schedule get broken and the council issues an emergency ban or two?
Well then!
"4 or more creatures" is a lot to ask for, but it's:
Probably safe to add? Anyone seeing anything else spoiled from Ixalan worthwhile to us?
You're prooobably right. You'd be amazed at how much of a difference needing to swing twice with Dark Depths makes, though, or how much a meta shift that allows far more blue control decks can make Sisay dilute heavily with cards that are otherwise not ideal in other matchups—but it's been a long while since I've played 30 life, so who knows? Depths combo is actually pretty tough to disrupt either which way.
I really wanted to try MTGO, but I didn't want to invest the money (or time) needed to recreate the deck.
Haha but I always hope better players than me will adopt the deck; I manage to do fairly well despite routinely making sub-optimal decisions.
Hiii, darekowns! Thank you very much for your appreciation of the thread. It means a lot to me.
This new Planeswalkers as Legendary creatures change was very unexpected to me, but it makes quite a bit of sense and is pretty exciting! Hmm, but I doubt it would have much of an effect on Sisay without making, say, some kind of very Kytheon-centric deck, there are very few G/W PW cards that are competitive and fit our curve. a Kythen-centric deck, though! Could be an interesting angle. You'd want to add:
And that's.. about it, I'd think. I suppose your whole line of play would be to get Gideon of the Trials out and proceed to "not lose" as best as you can. Unfortunately, Time of Need wouldn't add much, since it requires the type "creature" to be a part of the card as well.
Not to be completely negative about the prospect: I do like the idea of having toolbox access to same turn removal for the first time ever, though; Karn Liberated and/or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon is pretty cool—although their mana investment is still pretty bonkers without having access to Cradle (RiP forever). Without changing anything, though, I must admit that Garruk Wildspeaker joining the toolbox is pretty dang cool, considering he's always been (imo) the best PW for the deck and is pretty much excellent at all stages of the game.
Elspeth is.. okay. Trying to out-aggro one turn at a time with 1/1 vanilla creatures in this meta without otherwise having access to a ton of removal seems increasingly like a terrible idea. Beyond the aforementioned PWers, there's nothing else that comes to mind (or that I can see from top 8 data) worth considering in Selesnya colors. I've long been bummed about the imbalance of powerful commanders that leaves our colors mostly in the dark, and sadly I don't think this rules change benefits us all that much.
Obviously: abuse Fastbond. Abuse Fastbond. But just know that the meta will become flooded with Dark Depth combo decks taking advantage of this unbanning (already happening on Cockatrice, joy), so be careful about your play order in the inevitable many mirror matches you'll be facing and enjoy Dark Depths while it's legal. Also: Solemnity is bonkers. Even with Fastbond bull***** aside, you can have a turn 3 20/20 flying Indestructible flier pretty darn easily with this deck.
But for real, that unbanning made our path even more clear. I've made some tweaks to ensure a bit safer mana-fixing with 2-drops, and Ramunup/Crucible abuse is just... *sigh*
I don't know, witnessing 2 completely different commanders have turn 2 wins with Fastbond just...
Meh.
It's increasingly difficult to be excited about this format. Full stop.
1x Captain Sisay
Creature (30)
1x Arbor Elf
1x Avacyn's Pilgrim
1x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Benevolent Bodyguard
1x Birds of Paradise
1x Boreal Druid
1x Courser of Kruphix
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Elvish Mystic
1x Elvish Visionary
1x Eternal Witness
1x Fyndhorn Elves
1x Gaddock Teeg
1x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Llanowar Elves
1x Lotus Cobra
1x Mother of Runes
1x Nissa, Vastwood Seer Flip
1x Priest of Titania
1x Primeval Titan
1x Ramunap Excavator
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Recruiter of the Guard
1x Sakura-Tribe Elder
1x Scavenging Ooze
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Sylvan Ranger
1x Sylvan Safekeeper
1x Titania, Protector of Argoth
1x Weathered Wayfarer
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Arid Mesa
1x Brushland
1x Canopy Vista
1x Cavern of Souls
1x City of Traitors
1x Command Tower
1x Crystal Vein
1x Dark Depths
1x Dryad Arbor
1x Dust Bowl
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Flagstones of Trokair
1x Flooded Strand
1x Horizon Canopy
1x Marsh Flats
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Razorverge Thicket
1x Savannah
1x Scattered Groves
6x Snow-Covered Forest
2x Snow-Covered Plains
1x Stirring Wildwood
1x Sunpetal Grove
1x Temple Garden
1x Temple of Plenty
1x Thespian's Stage
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Wasteland
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wooded Bastion
1x Wooded Foothills
1x Yavimaya Hollow
1x Council's Judgment
1x Cultivate
1x Eldritch Evolution
1x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Hour of Promise
1x Into the North
1x Kodama's Reach
1x Nature's Lore
1x Sylvan Scrying
1x Three Visits
Instant (9)
1x Chord of Calling
1x Crop Rotation
1x Dromoka's Command
1x Eladamri's Call
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Mana Tithe
1x Path to Exile
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Worldly Tutor
Enchantment (5)
1x Exploration
1x Fastbond
1x Solemnity
1x Utopia Sprawl
1x Wild Growth
Artifact (5)
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Expedition Map
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Skullclamp
1x Umezawa's Jitte
Planeswalker (1)
1x Garruk Wildspeaker
Quoting to emphatically say "this."
It's becoming increasingly challenging to even defend 1v1 Commander as a concept—I've been trying to pitch Duel Commander to NYC players for literally years and they laugh in my face every time and say some really *****ty things and I.. understand where they're coming from. More and more, as we get mechanics that enable 9-card starting hands and no shared Commander tax and no meaningful attempt whatsoever to make playing non-partner decks worthwhile, there are some major foundational issues that only get worse and worse over time.
I sympathize with everyone who has to make difficult rules decisions that further make the sub-format more difficult to understand for newcomers, be it bans or mechanical differences, but some things seem so obviously effed up and imbalanced that are never addressed that my empathy quickly transforms into animosity and some degree of shame, frankly, that I've been otherwise so insistent on singing the praises of everyone involved.
Reposting my thoughts from Facebook:
Renegade Rallier falls into the same category. Amazing 3 drop and pretty much always useful and even good for our ramp/protection/walling strategy on a body where 3 power is super relevant. It's just... barely not a shoe-in, as it doesn't necessarily directly advance our gameplan nor does it function necessarily as a win con nor does it function as well as a delaying prison/hate-bear as other cards. It's agonizingly difficult to make these cuts! But ultimately, a lot of my card decisions come down to "does this help me win faster or does this help shut down my opponent's ability to advance or win?" Advance? Delay? Hose?
But yeah, knowing how fickle I am about my flex spots, Finks in particular is likely to come in and out and in and out and in and repeat forever...
Case in point: my current list includes Blessed Alliance and Sakura-Tribe Scout/Skyshroud Ranger, and who knows if they'll be good enough to keep? But they seem relevant. For the moment. Maybe.
Ramunap Excavator
Scavenger Grounds
THIS IS ONE HOT DESERT. Pretty much every deck wants to run this, right? Ooze is still good to have, but this is REALLY good to have, especially in a land tutor deck. Dang.
Solemnity
I hesitated before adding this card to the list here because of conflicting rules interpretation, but the consensus seems to be that this card DOES prevent counters from being placed on cards entering the battlefield such as Dark Depths. That's.. INSANELY GOOD. This is not only more insurance for the Depths combo, but it straight up hoses some of our biggest trouble cards: Jitte, Reyhan, and Parallax Wave. Also, think about how this interacts with Glacial Chasm. It would never gain age counters, so your only cost is the initial sacrificing of the land. This otherwise costs NO LIFE and stalls combat until, say, you assemble Depths (or ramp into Norn). I'm not sure if you can sacrifice this land though, if there's no upkeep to pay? Anyone know for sure? "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent is on the battlefield, put an age counter on this permanent. Then you may pay [cost] for each age counter on it. If you don't, sacrifice it."
Hour of Promise
I mean, why not? 1 mana fewer than Prime Time for the combo seems good.
Uncage the Menagerie
Hmm, not sure if we want this or not. "XGG, Sorcery, Search your library for up to X creature cards with different names that each have converted mana cost X, reveal them, put them into your hand, then shuffle your library." Getting Wayferer for 3 isn't so bad. Getting Gaddock Teeg and Saffi for 4 isn't so bad. Getting Knight of the Reliquary and Fierce Empath and Fairgrounds Warden for 4 isn't so bad. I don't know. It's kind of in Harmonize territory for being slow and putting us in vulnernable tap-out and seems just lousy vs control...
I'll update with more probable-includes as they become spoiled.
I appreciate your fighting the good fight and keeping a 30 life list alive. On Cockatrice (at least when I'm on), there's a near-even split between Duel Commander, Leviathan, MTGO, and Multiplayer ban list games and it's.. a lot to navigate. I'm trying to focus exclusively on 20 HP (until/unless the MTGO list really catches on as a clear winner), but I suspect my list would do decently in 30 life as well; remarkably, I won back-to-back games against Keranos after near-total board wipes (lands and creatures) against an active Keranos, so the attrition game is strong. Maybe Sisay always wanted cantrips??
In any event, I'd love to see your list. A Paradox Engine Legendary chain combo deck sounds like a lot of fun to pilot!
Flex spots are, as always, very few, but at 20HP, these are the cards I'm currently skeptical about:
Currently (re)testing Sylvan Library, Unexpectedly Absent, and Crucible of Worlds in their place. Also, re-included Mana Confluence and Razorverge Thicket for slightly more consistent white mana in my opener.
Edit for random fun(??) notes. In the current MTGO metagame, Captain Sisay:
Hello, garganerboy! Your kind words are very much appreciated, and they drew me out of my long hiatus. I want to say that I love your approach. It must be so satisfying to go off with Paradox and basically perform the flashiest Legacy elfball Glimpse combo known to man.
You'll be happy to know that I spent ALL DANG DAY yesterday adjusting the deck for the new 20 HP meta, tuning the deck to the point that it is actually capable of beating Zurgo. Hell, it may even be a 50/50 matchup bordering on favorable at this point after several test sets. I also had some random encounters against control, combo, and "extinction"-style builds, all of which went pretty darn well, trading sets. Sisay, as ever, hovers somewhere between "better than other decks deemed Tier 2 and at the bottom of the Tier 1 list." It's not a bad place to be.
Anyway, I added quite a bit to the first post here, and I re-posted the deck on Tapped Out: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/captain-sisay-duel-commander-20-hp-metagame/
The long-story-short version is that I still argue that there's no reason to play Sisay as a primarily "zoo" deck. She can and does definitely win through straightforward beats, exceedingly more now without even landing Norn just because 20 is so much easier to deal, but the true strength of Sisay lies in her consistent accessibility to combo pieces. I have tuned the deck to blunt early aggro and/or burn decks (life gain, walls, more removal), and the primary gameplan now is to pop off a near-instant win with Dark Depths / Thespian Stage combo.
Yes, the deck has been there before, but I have long history of diluting consistency in order to have multiple combo outs. Now, like never before (not since we had Loyal Retainers / Iona combo, anyway), the deck has a tight focus on its main combo win-con and is running the majority of the viable redundancy options to assemble the combo. A common win condition consists of 1 of the 3 in near-equal measure, nevertheless:
Here's the current list, also in the original post:
1 Captain Sisay
// 7 Artifact
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Birthing Pod
1 Skullclamp
1 Expedition Map
1 Thousand-Year Elixir
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Smuggler's Copter
// 37 Creature
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Arbor Elf
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
1 Mother of Runes
1 Fierce Empath
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Eternal Witness
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Recruiter of the Guard
1 Titania, Protector of Argoth
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Boreal Druid
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
1 Kitchen Finks
1 Wall of Omens
1 Wall of Blossoms
1 Courser of Kruphix
1 Selvala, Explorer Returned
1 Wall of Roots
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Voice of Resurgence
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Primeval Titan
1 Wild Growth
1 Utopia Sprawl
1 Exploration
// 6 Instant
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Mana Tithe
1 Crop Rotation
1 Path to Exile
1 Dromoka's Command
// 39 Land
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Flagstones of Trokair
11 Snow-Covered Forest
4 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Command Tower
1 Savannah
1 Temple Garden
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Arid Mesa
1 Marsh Flats
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Canopy Vista
1 Wasteland
1 Dark Depths
1 Mouth of Ronom
1 Thespian's Stage
1 Yavimaya Hollow
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Brushland
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
// 6 Sorcery
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Council's Judgment
1 Into the North
1 Eldritch Evolution
1 Sylvan Scrying
1 Explore
Just to address one of the biggest shifts: walls and lifegain are shockingly incredibly good in this deck. They more than make up for the loss of 10 life and confound much of the meta while also (for the most part) providing much-needed card advantage like never before. I not only recommend it, but I may even argue that it's a requirement for 20 HP. There's probably room for Thragtusk in here too if you're more in need.
Anyway, happy to share more if you have questions! I had to make some agonizingly difficult cuts to what I've long considered Sisay staples, but the deck is running so smoothly right now that it gives me quite a bit of confidence in those cuts. Hooray for viability!
(Oh and just as a funny side note: I NEVER get to tap Rofellos, but he eats removal like a champ so I guess that's something.)
Obligatorily emerging from the shadows to sing: "Neener neener!" (Note to everyone else: I wasn't the Sisay player here! Spas could trounce me with Barktooth Warbeard if he wanted to.)
But also: hey! These results are pretty darn promising. I haven't yet hopped aboard MTGO, but doing so just got a lot more enticing, I'd say.
Also: hi! I've been stalking this format for many months without playing, hoping for this unifying moment ever since the DC/Leviathan split. I'm with a lot of y'all that my hopes are with Wizards at this point. I've otherwise been frozen into inaction, without even a local scene (blehhhh NYC wtf) to just nudge me in a direction and be done with it. I've honestly never even used MTGO before, and if Wizards manages to adapt accordingly, then I intend to go that direction and finally support the platform. I haven't played any other type of Magic for significantly longer than my 1v1 Commander hiatus.
Here's to hopin'.