Thanks for the feedback. I've delved deeper into the combo side of this deck. Once I had some crucial pieces in the list and continued to brew, new possibilities for combos kept popping up. My list may become an "Oops, all combos" deck.
I like Murderous Redcap because it provides a two card infinite combo with either Mikaeus, the Unhallowed or Metallic Mimic. If the deck became a bit more combo oriented, there are many pieces we can use. We have some great tutors being in black anyway!
These are the possible combo pieces I've laid out so far. Note that I have not entered all iterations of possible combo pieces, for example there are many blood artist type creatures that could be paired with persist type creatures plus a sac. outlet for an infinite combo.
The combo ideas just keep unfolding and I can't keep up with it all in the time I have to think about it. For the first time ever, the need to construct some kind of flow chart or idea web on paper for an EDH deck has become necessary. It may seem ridiculous to think of stringing 4+different cards together to perform a combo. On the other hand, we can tune the deck so that the combo pieces work with each other, and provide value given our commander, and multiple pieces become interchangeable.
I hope I'm not infecting this thread too much. It seems like combo wasn't the intent of this original deck build. I'll make a new thread when I get a decent list together. Just hoping to use the collective Marchesa knowledge as a jumping off point.
I have found a new EDH play group and I'm getting back in the game! Luckily this group is more competitive than my last. So it's time to upgrade my Marchesa list in a major fashion.
Y'all have to tell me if this combo works like I hope it does:
Also Metallic Mimic(Naming Goblin)+Redcap+Sac. outlet seems to work as well.
If I've got Mikaeus in there, might as well add Triskelion for another infinite combo right?
Do all of these combos work like I think they do?
If so, my deck will get redone to become centered around these combos with general aggro Marchesa shenanigans as a back up plan. What do y'all think?
Getting some great ideas from the main decklist on this thread! Jokulhaups is nasty, funny, and a legitimate wincon at the same time. I also like that it's cheap monetarily.
Pelt collector is a beast with all of the potential 3 power 2 drop creatures. Nullhide Ferox is great as a second 4 drop. With so few non-creature spells it's non-creature ability doesn't hold us back. If we have 4 mana to play it, we have 4 mana to play a lightning strike if need be.
The deck can struggle a bit with all of the double green cost creatures. I'm considering putting in a Gruul Guildgate in order to help me hit my jadelight rangers and Thrashing brontodon on time. I'm also considering a Merfolk branchwalker to help with this as well.
I went down from 3 Kraul Harpooners to 2 a little while ago. Kraul hasn't been as necessary lately.
I'm beating out most "mirror" matches, definitely mono-red, any kind of merfolk or aristocrat nonsense. Still struggle with esper control although I have been netting some wins there too. Mono-white is the worst match up. Thankfully I'm seeing much less of them these days.
I'm doing the "pay 500 gold" to play bo1 mode in Arena. I've been consistently making it to 5-7 wins with 3 losses. Just mining away here...
Is running 2-4x copies of teferi, time raveler just a meta decision atm? It beats esper and nexus but weren't those two matchups pretty good already? Is that the only reasoning to run him?
Seems like a lot to ask of a 19-21 land mono-white deck without significantly changing it and adding some land which means fewer creatures... et. Not sure though!
***Edit*** I play bo1 Arena.
I've been constantly adding in more 1 drops, it's just a bit unnatural for me as I'm used to midrange decks. It seems correct though, Gideon is way more of sideboard card than a mb card. I'm taking a tour of all the available 1 drops at this point. I can see how the deck needed skymarcher aspirant. Hopefully I can turn on the city's blessing soon enough. I'm down 1 Legion's landing due to wild cards. Do we really need 4 of them considering their legendary status? Playing this now:
Actually I just popped over here because I'm now brewing with mono-white. I opened 2 Gideon's, so naturally I started looking here. I'm experienced playing AGAINST this deck, but have a small number of games piloting it so far. That said, I'm having a bunch of fun. I'm crafting this deck for bo1 Arena by the way. I may switch to bo3 at some point.
First off, I think Tomik, Distinguished Advocist is great. I'm running 2 of him. I feel he's better when played alongside Gideon. He's very flexible with Gideon's +1 ability. Give him vig. on turn 3, he outstates any flyers you will encounter in the air. So you get in 2 damage and can still protect Gideon fairly well on the backswing with his 3 toughness.
I've been running 4 Gideon's mb up until now and realize it isn't working out as I'd hoped. Benalish Marshal and History outclass him generally. Still, for bo1 I think running 1-3 mb may be correct. He does have some cool shenanigans the turn he comes out with convoke, also Unbreakable Formation. He keeps his +1/+1 counters even when not a creature.
I have no copies of Legion's Landing to my name, but think I'll be grabbing them soon. They seem instrumental to the deck, providing a bit of late game advantage while also allowing us to get away with playing 1-2 fewer lands in the mb. Makes Snubborn Sentry worth looking at.
My deck is in it's infancy, and perhaps a bit more midrange than it should be. Thoughts?
I've never had access to any of the quests. This is my account from when the open beta started, so I've completed anything they could have put in there by now.
After winning 2 games, the lock went away. I didn't notice any kind of change in the game type offered, except that I think direct challenge was unavailable at the time the lock was present.
I've spent about half an hour scouring the official forum, including all most recent update notes. Again, Wizards fails to make information easily accessible. Why is it so hard to let people know what's going on when you change the program in a significant way?
What's up with this new thing showing a lock with me at level 1 on the intro. page? We must do something to unlock more play modes? There were nothing specified. Does anyone have more information, especially a link to wherever this was officially announced?
It's titled Gruulggro, not GruulAggro. It should be near the top of this subforum. Possibly, it was moved to one of the higher tiered forums in standard like "Established". Last time I checked, it was still under the deck creation forum as of a day or two ago.
Cry of the Carnarium gives me nightmares! Been playing against it a lot lately. Even venerated loxodon doesn't do too much to help considering the number of 1 toughness creatures we run. Even if we add a counter to them, they still get hit by Cry, and then it makes me cry. That exile clause is brutal! I'm actually beginning to look more and more at mono-white now that I have all the pieces for it. Benalish Marshal shuts down carnarium much better than Vernerated loxodon in my opinion. Being able to run both in the deck really helps.
Are you basically running the same list still asdfpanda?
I went up to 4 Gideon's personally. He can actually be decent against control as he gets to -6 exile a permanent pretty quickly. It keeps them from playing Teferi if they can't answer Gideon. 4 copies isn't as bad as I thought. Just let your opponent attack into the first one while you're lifelinking another creature with him and you can race pretty well. They finally kill Gideon, you bust out the second, and third if needed. Again, he just becomes an alternate removal spell when you play him on turn 3 and can protect him.
Been brewing around all sorts of different stuff, but I think 4 Gideons is about right.
It seems to me that the deck isn't quite aggro enough against control. I can beat mono-red and mono-white usually (unless their Benalish Marshal comes down early.) Mono blue can be overcome too so long as they don't get that curious obsession/evasive creature combo. out too early.
Where I struggle is with midrange and control, and anything a bunch of green creatures.
That's where I'm at with the deck. I think Prison Realm is something worth considering. I think the deck needs more than the 4 Conclave Tribunal I've been running. I feel it needs at least 5 removal spells that hit walkers and creatures, maybe 6 or 7. I keep losing to control by not having an answer to Teferi or other walkers that they play.
I'm not sure the knights list is all that great. I do like the idea of Benalish Marshal if we drop the number of black cards so we can run fewer swamps and throw in a guildgate or 2. I'll investigate it at some point.
I like Murderous Redcap because it provides a two card infinite combo with either Mikaeus, the Unhallowed or Metallic Mimic. If the deck became a bit more combo oriented, there are many pieces we can use. We have some great tutors being in black anyway!
These are the possible combo pieces I've laid out so far. Note that I have not entered all iterations of possible combo pieces, for example there are many blood artist type creatures that could be paired with persist type creatures plus a sac. outlet for an infinite combo.
The combo ideas just keep unfolding and I can't keep up with it all in the time I have to think about it. For the first time ever, the need to construct some kind of flow chart or idea web on paper for an EDH deck has become necessary. It may seem ridiculous to think of stringing 4+different cards together to perform a combo. On the other hand, we can tune the deck so that the combo pieces work with each other, and provide value given our commander, and multiple pieces become interchangeable.
I hope I'm not infecting this thread too much. It seems like combo wasn't the intent of this original deck build. I'll make a new thread when I get a decent list together. Just hoping to use the collective Marchesa knowledge as a jumping off point.
Y'all have to tell me if this combo works like I hope it does:
Murderous Redcap+Mikaeus the Unhallowed+Sac. outlet=Infinite damage to any targets
Also Metallic Mimic(Naming Goblin)+Redcap+Sac. outlet seems to work as well.
If I've got Mikaeus in there, might as well add Triskelion for another infinite combo right?
Do all of these combos work like I think they do?
If so, my deck will get redone to become centered around these combos with general aggro Marchesa shenanigans as a back up plan. What do y'all think?
Getting some great ideas from the main decklist on this thread! Jokulhaups is nasty, funny, and a legitimate wincon at the same time. I also like that it's cheap monetarily.
3 Thorn Lieutenant (M19) 203
2 Kraul Harpooner (GRN) 136
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian (RNA) 128
4 Zhur-Taa Goblin (RNA) 215
3 Jadelight Ranger (RIX) 136
4 Gruul Spellbreaker (RNA) 179
1 Thrashing Brontodon (RIX) 148
4 Rekindling Phoenix (RIX) 111
2 Nullhide Ferox (GRN) 138
1 Skarrgan Hellkite (RNA) 114
4 Lightning Strike (XLN) 149
4 Stomping Ground (RNA) 259
4 Rootbound Crag (XLN) 256
9 Forest (RIX) 196
6 Mountain (M19) 275
Pelt collector is a beast with all of the potential 3 power 2 drop creatures. Nullhide Ferox is great as a second 4 drop. With so few non-creature spells it's non-creature ability doesn't hold us back. If we have 4 mana to play it, we have 4 mana to play a lightning strike if need be.
The deck can struggle a bit with all of the double green cost creatures. I'm considering putting in a Gruul Guildgate in order to help me hit my jadelight rangers and Thrashing brontodon on time. I'm also considering a Merfolk branchwalker to help with this as well.
I went down from 3 Kraul Harpooners to 2 a little while ago. Kraul hasn't been as necessary lately.
I'm beating out most "mirror" matches, definitely mono-red, any kind of merfolk or aristocrat nonsense. Still struggle with esper control although I have been netting some wins there too. Mono-white is the worst match up. Thankfully I'm seeing much less of them these days.
I'm doing the "pay 500 gold" to play bo1 mode in Arena. I've been consistently making it to 5-7 wins with 3 losses. Just mining away here...
Anyone else playing bo1?
Seems like a lot to ask of a 19-21 land mono-white deck without significantly changing it and adding some land which means fewer creatures... et. Not sure though!
***Edit*** I play bo1 Arena.
I've been constantly adding in more 1 drops, it's just a bit unnatural for me as I'm used to midrange decks. It seems correct though, Gideon is way more of sideboard card than a mb card. I'm taking a tour of all the available 1 drops at this point. I can see how the deck needed skymarcher aspirant. Hopefully I can turn on the city's blessing soon enough. I'm down 1 Legion's landing due to wild cards. Do we really need 4 of them considering their legendary status? Playing this now:
3 Skymarcher Aspirant (RIX) 21
2 Leonin Vanguard (M19) 22
3 Snubhorn Sentry (RIX) 23
2 Dauntless Bodyguard (DAR) 14
2 Law-Rune Enforcer (WAR) 20
4 Tithe Taker (RNA) 27
1 Adanto Vanguard (XLN) 1
2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist (WAR) 34
4 Benalish Marshal (DAR) 6
3 Venerated Loxodon (GRN) 30
3 Legion's Landing (XLN) 22
3 Unbreakable Formation (RNA) 29
3 Conclave Tribunal (GRN) 6
First off, I think Tomik, Distinguished Advocist is great. I'm running 2 of him. I feel he's better when played alongside Gideon. He's very flexible with Gideon's +1 ability. Give him vig. on turn 3, he outstates any flyers you will encounter in the air. So you get in 2 damage and can still protect Gideon fairly well on the backswing with his 3 toughness.
I've been running 4 Gideon's mb up until now and realize it isn't working out as I'd hoped. Benalish Marshal and History outclass him generally. Still, for bo1 I think running 1-3 mb may be correct. He does have some cool shenanigans the turn he comes out with convoke, also Unbreakable Formation. He keeps his +1/+1 counters even when not a creature.
I have no copies of Legion's Landing to my name, but think I'll be grabbing them soon. They seem instrumental to the deck, providing a bit of late game advantage while also allowing us to get away with playing 1-2 fewer lands in the mb. Makes Snubborn Sentry worth looking at.
My deck is in it's infancy, and perhaps a bit more midrange than it should be. Thoughts?
2 Dauntless Bodyguard (DAR) 14
1 Martyr of Dusk (RIX) 14
2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist (WAR) 34
2 Hunted Witness (GRN) 15
4 Tithe Taker (RNA) 27
4 Adanto Vanguard (XLN) 1
3 Gideon Blackblade (WAR) 13
4 Conclave Tribunal (GRN) 6
4 History of Benalia (DAR) 21
3 Venerated Loxodon (GRN) 30
4 Benalish Marshal (DAR) 6
2 Unbreakable Formation (RNA) 29
3 Law-Rune Enforcer (WAR) 20
1 Snubhorn Sentry (RIX) 23
After winning 2 games, the lock went away. I didn't notice any kind of change in the game type offered, except that I think direct challenge was unavailable at the time the lock was present.
I went up to 4 Gideon's personally. He can actually be decent against control as he gets to -6 exile a permanent pretty quickly. It keeps them from playing Teferi if they can't answer Gideon. 4 copies isn't as bad as I thought. Just let your opponent attack into the first one while you're lifelinking another creature with him and you can race pretty well. They finally kill Gideon, you bust out the second, and third if needed. Again, he just becomes an alternate removal spell when you play him on turn 3 and can protect him.
Been brewing around all sorts of different stuff, but I think 4 Gideons is about right.
It seems to me that the deck isn't quite aggro enough against control. I can beat mono-red and mono-white usually (unless their Benalish Marshal comes down early.) Mono blue can be overcome too so long as they don't get that curious obsession/evasive creature combo. out too early.
Where I struggle is with midrange and control, and anything a bunch of green creatures.
That's where I'm at with the deck. I think Prison Realm is something worth considering. I think the deck needs more than the 4 Conclave Tribunal I've been running. I feel it needs at least 5 removal spells that hit walkers and creatures, maybe 6 or 7. I keep losing to control by not having an answer to Teferi or other walkers that they play.
Here it goes:
I'm not sure the knights list is all that great. I do like the idea of Benalish Marshal if we drop the number of black cards so we can run fewer swamps and throw in a guildgate or 2. I'll investigate it at some point.
4 Isolated Chapel (DAR) 241
9 Plains (RIX) 192
1 Swamp (RIX) 194
4 Unclaimed Territory (XLN) 258
4 Cavalry Drillmaster (M19) 8
3 Gideon Blackblade (WAR) 13
4 History of Benalia (DAR) 21
4 Conclave Tribunal (GRN) 6
4 Knight of Malice (DAR) 97
4 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77
2 Hunted Witness (GRN) 15
4 Benalish Marshal (DAR) 6
4 Dauntless Bodyguard (DAR) 14
1 Valiant Knight (M19) 42
I have used Unclaimed territory to good effect in a R/G Warriors deck in order to run Goblin Chainwhirler. It worked quite fine.