I've been playing standard on Arena, I came up with this deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1874945#arena. It's an Azorius mill deck that has been really fun to play with. The best suggestion I can think of as a new player to standard (I only played standard briefly, I drafted paper and played Commander) is the Meandering River, but I can use that as Chemister's Insight jumpstart fodder if need be too. I tried cutting them for basics and just got mana screwed on the two colored cards and some of the double blue or white cards.
I've been playing Arena since last August but I took a large break during RNA because I was playing paper heavily. Now I am back to Arena. I am lower on RNA cards due to not really playing. Now I am playing catchup and I feel short on wildcards. Here is the breakdown of my current situation and I wanted input on the best way to spend my currency:
* I have all the staples from every set from Ixalan up to GRN.
* I am missing a lot of RNA stuff. I may have more than I think but I spent a lot of my wildcards on Esper decks and a Sultai deck.
* The only thing I don't really like to play competitively is burn.
Here is the wildcard situation:
* 148 Common
* 164 Uncommon
* 28 Rare
* 18 Mythic Rare
* 1 unopened vault for progress tracking (I could always crack it of course)
I JUST spent $100 on 20,000 gems and I bought the $15 3,500 gem bundle too and I still feel like I am barely treading water in terms of what I need to craft. Here is what I have for currency:
* 5,675 gold
* 2,200 gems
I did two drafts yesterday and only won a single game out of all the matches. I love draft in RL but I've only been doing it for a couple of months so I consider myself newer still.
In terms of what I'd call the heavy hitters for this expansion, I have opened up:
* 2 Gideon Blackblade
* 3 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
* 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General
* 1 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
* 1 Karn, the Great Creator
* 4 Ugin, the Ineffable
So what is the most optimal way for me to max out what I have to build more of my collection? I do my dailies and reroll for 750 gold quests and all that but outside of that, I want to make sure I am spending my currencies smartly.
Hey all! I am a newer player. I just built my first non-precon deck for EDH. Anyway, what I wanted to know is what are you looking for an opening hand and when do you know whether to mull or keep? Is there some kind of method to the madness? Whether it is draft or EDH, I do not know how to strategize for it. So I was wondering what your advice was for on this for a new player who just has not figured out what to do.
If your commander is being targeted a lot, maybe you run a few more cheap counters. The easiest one not already on your list is Stubborn Denial. Once it rotates out of Standard, I'll be investing in some Siren Stormtamers. You might not get SG onto the table quite as fast, but it'll stay there a little longer.
The way you have laid out your list is a bit hard to follow, but I don’t really see the hallmarks of a Mill deck. To dedicate to that you should be running Consuming Aberration and Altar of Dementia at the very least.
Plus you might consider switching to Lazav, Dimir Mastermind as a commander. Hexproof is gas, and he pays you off for milling opponents. The Scarab God would also just be fine in the 99.
My biggest issue with Scarab God besides protecting him is not knowing what to dig for in opponent's graveyards since I am so new and there is a ton to learn with Commander. More often than not I am just afraid to ask what is in graveyards, and people will tell me I just don't like doing it because then they know what is coming. The other thing is people will play graveyard hate with me and not let me do graveyard play. Or they'll know it is coming and dig things out of their graveyard before I can use Scarab God. The 5 CMC cost of The Scarab God hurts me too but that is due to ramp.
My biggest issues from playing/testing are:
Draw
Graveyard play
Ramp
Zombies on the board
Graveyard hate
The scry from Scarab God is great when I have stuff on the board but getting stuff to the board is what is so hard. I have too much utility, IE: Ashnod's Altar, Eldrazi Monument, etc... and those are all great, do not get me wrong, but they've been very minimally useful and people can find ways to deal with them. Those types of cards need to be cut IMO.
I am sure I am forgetting some others I have or could get but money is tight. Between some previous bills and a small vacation coming up in early May plus the WAR prerelease, I have a lot going on. So budget is now a factor, especially after Star City this past weekend.
I love Scarab God and I like some of the counters prevented but do they really help me when I only have him on the board and have to keep using him to stop someone from going after me since I am usually taking
I need some help... again. I've been playtesting my The Scarab God mill/zombie build and the mill part is just not working the way I need it to win. The one game I did win was by life drain. After some time with it, I just want to abandon the mill altogether. Someone recommended running Gisa and Geralfas my Commander, which I do like more as an option for the new build over Scarab God. I could swap the two and make Scarab God as one of the 99. But then I'd have to put MORE money into the build and wait on more cards to come in, etc. This is getting more expensive than I really need it to be even if I buy cheaper cards and then have to deal with $4+ shipping.
What can I do to salvage my build at this point and make it more competitive? Because Scarab God is just a body to throw at something and he's being targeted a lot and I'm constantly recasting him from my hand, which I do get. I obviously would need more draw too. I just don't know the best way to go about it at this point and I am just frustrated since the mill didn't work out and I just bought a bunch of upgrades. Sure they can be used, but I feel like here we go, spending more money again.
In addition to those, I picked up a Polluted Delta, two fetches, a Rise of the Dark Realms, Ponder, Phenax, and a couple other things. Pretty much all that is left on my wishlist for now is cheaper stuff but my deck is pretty stacked now!
If you don't mind infinite combos, you could pick up a Phyrexian Altar, which will mill everyone out with Gravecrawler+ any other zombie. I believe it's about $20 for an UMA one. You could also pick up some fetches like Polluted Delta and the less expensive ones that are half fetches in Bloodstained Mire and Flooded Strand. Those are fairly reasonably priced and they can help you with consistency. Or you could blow it all on a Vampiric Tutor.
I'm not a huge fun of Endless Ranks of the Dead or Open the Graves. They are both 5 mana do-nothing enchantments that put a target on you before you've gotten much of any value.
I picked up a Phyrexian Altar yesterday! And a Grave Pact. I will pick up the Mire and Strand today at Star City and the #1 item on my list is a Polluted Delta.
I'm not getting any email notifications for any thread I've subscribed to ever on this board. I checked my settings for notifications, they are set up to immediately notify me of any responses and the email is correct on my Twitch account. My preferences are set up to immediately notify me of responses too. I am not sure what is going on. I've never once received an email notification that was instant.
I am new to the game but I LOVE Fblthp. He's a fun and very relatable character in lore and I am just happy to see him in a card of his own. I feel kind of bad for him but at the same time, I love and adore him! Life is not easy for everyone.
Hey all! I am back and I am continuing learning how to build my deck. I will keep it short as I am getting ready for bed. I'm the guy who built this as my first non-precon deck ever. I have gotten extremely strong and helpful feedback from here so I wanted to come back and get some more advice on what creatures or other spells to cut. I am going for zombie graveyard play and mill to play with graveyards for now.
I was going to cut Mystic Remora as when I've played it I have not been to pay the upkeep and play what I needed to out of my hand. This is not a final cut but I just have not had luck with it. I also was NOT scrying and doing the life loss with Scarab God, I missed all my triggers and felt so dumb after. But I am not being hard on myself, it is just something I have to get used to and get into the habit of, it is part of Commander anyway! So what I was going to try was Graveborn Muse and Forgotten Creation.
I am going to cut some counterspells too, this list is as of a day or so ago but today I placed the orders for the new cards. I just don't know what to cut and what to run at this point, it seems like I have a TON of firepower now compared to when I first pieced it together just two weeks ago and now the deck has taken on a life of its own. I tried to work on some token generation too.
Also, I have $40-50 I want to blow at Star City this weekend, any recommendations on heavy hitters I can pick up while I'm saving on cards anyway?? I am thinking maybe Grave Pact and Rise of the Dark Realms.
Ahh OK, I apologize. I did not understand what you meant. I am new here. I will follow that going forward and I do apologize.
Thanks for the recommendations, I will review on my lunch and get back with you. Thanks for your big help too! Love the help I get here. I wish the other resources were as helpful as this site.
2 Wall of Lost Thoughts
4 Dovin's Veto
4 Psychic Corrosion
4 Thought Collapse
2 Deputy of Detention
2 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Ixalan's Binding
2 Settle the Wreckage
4 Chemister's Insight
4 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
2 Cleansing Nova
6 Plains
6 Island
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Meandering River
I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to improve it? Also, I need sideboard help if possible so I can take it to Bo3 as well.
I've been playing Arena since last August but I took a large break during RNA because I was playing paper heavily. Now I am back to Arena. I am lower on RNA cards due to not really playing. Now I am playing catchup and I feel short on wildcards. Here is the breakdown of my current situation and I wanted input on the best way to spend my currency:
* I have all the staples from every set from Ixalan up to GRN.
* I am missing a lot of RNA stuff. I may have more than I think but I spent a lot of my wildcards on Esper decks and a Sultai deck.
* The only thing I don't really like to play competitively is burn.
Here is the wildcard situation:
* 148 Common
* 164 Uncommon
* 28 Rare
* 18 Mythic Rare
* 1 unopened vault for progress tracking (I could always crack it of course)
I JUST spent $100 on 20,000 gems and I bought the $15 3,500 gem bundle too and I still feel like I am barely treading water in terms of what I need to craft. Here is what I have for currency:
* 5,675 gold
* 2,200 gems
I did two drafts yesterday and only won a single game out of all the matches. I love draft in RL but I've only been doing it for a couple of months so I consider myself newer still.
In terms of what I'd call the heavy hitters for this expansion, I have opened up:
* 2 Gideon Blackblade
* 3 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
* 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General
* 1 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
* 1 Karn, the Great Creator
* 4 Ugin, the Ineffable
So what is the most optimal way for me to max out what I have to build more of my collection? I do my dailies and reroll for 750 gold quests and all that but outside of that, I want to make sure I am spending my currencies smartly.
My biggest issue with Scarab God besides protecting him is not knowing what to dig for in opponent's graveyards since I am so new and there is a ton to learn with Commander. More often than not I am just afraid to ask what is in graveyards, and people will tell me I just don't like doing it because then they know what is coming. The other thing is people will play graveyard hate with me and not let me do graveyard play. Or they'll know it is coming and dig things out of their graveyard before I can use Scarab God. The 5 CMC cost of The Scarab God hurts me too but that is due to ramp.
My biggest issues from playing/testing are:
The scry from Scarab God is great when I have stuff on the board but getting stuff to the board is what is so hard. I have too much utility, IE: Ashnod's Altar, Eldrazi Monument, etc... and those are all great, do not get me wrong, but they've been very minimally useful and people can find ways to deal with them. Those types of cards need to be cut IMO.
Here is what I need to take care of.
Ramp Additions:
I love Scarab God and I like some of the counters prevented but do they really help me when I only have him on the board and have to keep using him to stop someone from going after me since I am usually taking
OK, thank you very much.
//creature
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
1 Gisa and Geralf
1 Lich Lord of Unx
1 Liliana, Untouched by Death
1 Undead Alchemist
1 Lord of the Undead
1 Phyrexian Delver
1 Cemetery Reaper
1 Cryptbreaker
1 Gravecrawler
1 Relentless Dead
1 Diregraf Colossus
1 Ghoulcaller Gisa
1 Grave Titan
1 Noosegraf Mob
1 Death Baron
1 Diregraf Captain
1 Lord of the Accursed
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Undead Warchief
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Plague Belcher
1 Shepherd of Rot
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Unbreathing Horde
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Forgotten Creation
1 Noxious Ghoul
1 Risen Executioner
1 Zombie Master
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Ponder
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Rhystic Study
1 Windfall
//manabase
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Cabal Coffers
1 City of Brass
1 Darkwater Catacombs
1 Command Tower
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Flooded Strand
1 High Market
7 Island
1 Mana Confluence
1 Morphic Pool
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Sunken Ruins
9 Swamp
1 Tainted Isle
1 Underground River
1 Unholy Grotto
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Watery Grave
1 Winding Canyons
//planeswalker
1 Liliana, Untouched by Death
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Dimir Signet
1 Expedition Map
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Thought Vessel
1 Ashnod's Altar
//removal
1 Decree of Pain
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Damnation
1 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Swan Song
//utility
1 Eldrazi Monument
1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
1 Rise of the Dark Realms
1 Rooftop Storm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Buried Alive
1 Entomb
1 Stitch Together
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Grave Pact
1 Dictate of Erebos
Link to build: https://deckstats.net/decks/127340/1257704-where-is-your-scarab-god/en
What can I do to salvage my build at this point and make it more competitive? Because Scarab God is just a body to throw at something and he's being targeted a lot and I'm constantly recasting him from my hand, which I do get. I obviously would need more draw too. I just don't know the best way to go about it at this point and I am just frustrated since the mill didn't work out and I just bought a bunch of upgrades. Sure they can be used, but I feel like here we go, spending more money again.
I picked up a Phyrexian Altar yesterday! And a Grave Pact. I will pick up the Mire and Strand today at Star City and the #1 item on my list is a Polluted Delta.
Thank you Ken Carson.
1 The Scarab God
1 Altar of the Brood
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Buried Alive
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Cemetery Reaper
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Cryptbreaker
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Damnation
1 Darkwater Catacombs
1 Death Baron
1 Decree of Pain
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dictate of Erebos
1 Dimir Signet
1 Diregraf Captain
1 Diregraf Colossus
1 Disallow
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Eldrazi Monument
1 Endless Ranks of the Dead
1 Entomb
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Expedition Map
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Forgotten Creation
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Ghoulcaller Gisa
1 Gisa and Geralf
1 Grave Titan
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Gravecrawler
1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
1 Grimgrin, Corpse-Born
1 Haunted Fengraf
1 Hero's Downfall
7 Island
1 Lich Lord of Unx
1 Life's Finale
1 Liliana, Untouched By Death
1 Lord of the Accursed
1 Lord of the Undead
1 Mana Confluence
1 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
1 Mindcrank
1 Morphic Pool
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Nirkana Revenant
1 Noosegraf Mob
1 Open the Graves
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Phyrexian Delver
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Plague Belcher
1 Pull from Tomorrow
1 Razaketh, the Foulblooded
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Relentless Dead
1 Rhystic Study
1 Risen Executioner
1 Rooftop Storm
1 Shepherd of Rot
1 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
1 Sol Ring
1 Stitch Together
10 Swamp
1 Tainted Isle
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Thought Vessel
1 Training Grounds
1 Unbreathing Horde
1 Undead Alchemist
1 Undead Warchief
1 Underground River
1 Unholy Grotto
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Victimize
1 Watery Grave
1 Whispering Madness
1 Windfall
1 Winding Canyons
1 Zombie Master
1 Counterspell
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Havengul Lich
1 Mystic Remora
1 Negate
1 Swan Song
The build: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/where-is-your-scarab-god/
Incoming cards are as follows:
Dictate of Erebos
Forgotten Creation
Relentless Dead
Lord of the Undead
Ghoulcaller Gisa
Razaketh, the Foulblooded
I was going to cut Mystic Remora as when I've played it I have not been to pay the upkeep and play what I needed to out of my hand. This is not a final cut but I just have not had luck with it. I also was NOT scrying and doing the life loss with Scarab God, I missed all my triggers and felt so dumb after. But I am not being hard on myself, it is just something I have to get used to and get into the habit of, it is part of Commander anyway! So what I was going to try was Graveborn Muse and Forgotten Creation.
I am going to cut some counterspells too, this list is as of a day or so ago but today I placed the orders for the new cards. I just don't know what to cut and what to run at this point, it seems like I have a TON of firepower now compared to when I first pieced it together just two weeks ago and now the deck has taken on a life of its own. I tried to work on some token generation too.
Also, I have $40-50 I want to blow at Star City this weekend, any recommendations on heavy hitters I can pick up while I'm saving on cards anyway?? I am thinking maybe Grave Pact and Rise of the Dark Realms.
Pickups at Star City possibly include Rot Hulk and Reality Shift.
I reviewed everything and modified my build and will pick what I want to run out of it. You made many really good recommendations! It really helps.
Thanks for the recommendations, I will review on my lunch and get back with you. Thanks for your big help too! Love the help I get here. I wish the other resources were as helpful as this site.