In my opinion, minimizing the number of creatures in one deck will please Alta's effect the most.
I think two would be the magic number. A combination of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts will win the game.
That's a bit too risky for my tastes, even for a combo deck. What happens if someone can stop your combo? Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile cost only one mana, and even Force of Despair or Slaughter Pact can stop you. Then you're basically done for.
BTW: if you are not comfortable with kiki combo, please use Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre + Blightsteel Colossus package then.
With a sac outlet on the board, they are always reusable.
In my opinion, minimizing the number of creatures in one deck will please Alta's effect the most.
I think two would be the magic number. A combination of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts will win the game.
That's a bit too risky for my tastes, even for a combo deck. What happens if someone can stop your combo? Swords to Plowshares and Path to Exile cost only one mana, and even Force of Despair or Slaughter Pact can stop you. Then you're basically done for.
It depends which routine you prefer though. For a pure combo deck, of course you can run protection cards like silence, City of solitude.
To be honest, I am sort of sick on pure combo deck recently. A control combo deck will be my choice. Cards like Assemble the Legion, Elspeth, Sun's champion are great for Naya token control deck, especially with white board wipe and red spot remove (maybe mass land destruction). In additional, token control deck serves Divergent Transformations great.
Sadly, there is not any non-creature egg/changeling token generators in MTG. That makes her less attractive.
One Mirror Entity trigger will set you in the right direction for what you want to do though.
In my opinion, minimizing the number of creatures in one deck will please Alta's effect the most.
I think two would be the magic number. A combination of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts will win the game. However, I understand, certain auto-win combos are not welcomed in some play groups, then Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre + Blightsteel Colossus could be the second choice.
Without an ideal egg token generator, some cards like Hammer of Purphoros or Lightning Greaves, giving Alta haste may be another solution .
turn 6 cast Alta -> tap for token -> sac token for a Ulamog with haste.
I saw this one. 7 mana for one token is on the slow end. Let's say we need two egg tokens and one sacrifice engine on the board to maximize Alta's impact.
Turn 3 Birthing Boughs
Turn 4 one token
Turn 5 one more token
Turn 6 Goblin Bombardment + Alta = sac both tokens for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Conscripts / end phase two Eldrazi
Which could be doable yet not that great.
In my opinion, it is pathetic, if Wizard fail to manage a product without outstanding reprints, especially for the most popular MTG format. Based on my previous experience, all the chased decks were the ones with brilliant new cards, like True-Name Nemesis, Teferi's Protection and so on.
For Wizards, one piece of great reprint, let's say Wurmcoil Engine, may not be attractive enough for Experienced players to spend $40. Most of them may still prefer to buy singles, that may not be a bad thing, since for each Teferi's Protection floating around, one pre-con was sold.
On the other hand, will a new players with modest collection, prefer a $20 card to a dozen of $2 ~ $5 ones ?
I did not say on the current stage I am satisfied with C19. I am sort of disappointed with those underwhelming new commanders but not lack of quality reprints.
What could go wrong by giving every Commander deck a Riptide Laboratory for what is most likely their best creature(s)? That activation cost definitely needed to be much higher or possibly even a sacrifice cost to it.
They serve for different purposes though.
Riptide Laboratory is a way more flexible. You may rescue wizard corresponding to removes, reuse ETB effect during end phase and so on.
Sanctum of Eternity is a (sort of) sorcery speed card. It may not be that great except bouncing one's commander back when it is controlled by opponents.
¿how has been performing for you?
I'm still getting the last parts of the deck together, i'm using jace tms and aminatou together with liliana vess as my PW suite mainly as top deck manipulation and getting stuff out of my hand.
Overall the deck works pretty well. Volrath's Stronghold is shinning in the deck.
BTW: if you are not comfortable with kiki combo, please use Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre + Blightsteel Colossus package then.
With a sac outlet on the board, they are always reusable.
It depends which routine you prefer though. For a pure combo deck, of course you can run protection cards like silence, City of solitude.
To be honest, I am sort of sick on pure combo deck recently. A control combo deck will be my choice. Cards like Assemble the Legion, Elspeth, Sun's champion are great for Naya token control deck, especially with white board wipe and red spot remove (maybe mass land destruction). In additional, token control deck serves Divergent Transformations great.
In my opinion, minimizing the number of creatures in one deck will please Alta's effect the most.
I think two would be the magic number. A combination of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Zealous Conscripts will win the game. However, I understand, certain auto-win combos are not welcomed in some play groups, then Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre + Blightsteel Colossus could be the second choice.
Without an ideal egg token generator, some cards like Hammer of Purphoros or Lightning Greaves, giving Alta haste may be another solution .
turn 6 cast Alta -> tap for token -> sac token for a Ulamog with haste.
I saw this one. 7 mana for one token is on the slow end. Let's say we need two egg tokens and one sacrifice engine on the board to maximize Alta's impact.
Turn 3 Birthing Boughs
Turn 4 one token
Turn 5 one more token
Turn 6 Goblin Bombardment + Alta = sac both tokens for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Conscripts / end phase two Eldrazi
Which could be doable yet not that great.
Furthermore, 2/2 is not skull clamp friendly.
Sadly, there is not any non-creature egg/changeling token generators in MTG. That makes her less attractive.
For Wizards, one piece of great reprint, let's say Wurmcoil Engine, may not be attractive enough for Experienced players to spend $40. Most of them may still prefer to buy singles, that may not be a bad thing, since for each Teferi's Protection floating around, one pre-con was sold.
On the other hand, will a new players with modest collection, prefer a $20 card to a dozen of $2 ~ $5 ones ?
I did not say on the current stage I am satisfied with C19. I am sort of disappointed with those underwhelming new commanders but not lack of quality reprints.
They serve for different purposes though.
Riptide Laboratory is a way more flexible. You may rescue wizard corresponding to removes, reuse ETB effect during end phase and so on.
Sanctum of Eternity is a (sort of) sorcery speed card. It may not be that great except bouncing one's commander back when it is controlled by opponents.
Pass
Uba Mask is back to the deck.
And you can add enchanted evening combos as a backup plan (enchanted evening + Ajani's Chosen) (Enchanted Evening + Aura Thief )
Overall the deck works pretty well. Volrath's Stronghold is shinning in the deck.
Here is my newer version http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/reanimate-control-deck/?cb=1534954573 (Not the latest one, I remember I take out 1 land and Sun Titan yesterday). Some card choices depend on your play group though.
1x Arid Mesa
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Flooded Strand
1x Marsh Flats
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Polluted Delta
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Verdant Catacombs
1x Windswept Heath
1x Scrubland
1x Tundra
1x Underground Sea
1x Godless Shrine
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Watery Grave
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Isolated Chapel
1x Mystic Gate
1x Sunken Ruins
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Underground River
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Command Tower
1x Mana Confluence
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Hall of the bandit lord
1x Volrath's Stronghold
1x Strip Mine
1x River of Tears
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Snow-Covered Island
1x Island
1x Plains
1x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Sun Titan
1x Angel of Despair
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Nezahal, Primal Tide
1x Rune-Scarred Demon
1x Sphinx of Uthuun
1x Void Winnower
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
17 SORC
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Careful Study
1x Reanimate
1x Personal Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Exhume
1x Buried Alive
1x Compulsive Research
1x Windfall
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Vindicate
1x Damnation
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Unburial Rites
1x Living Death
1x Entreat the Dead
25 INSTANTS
1x Force of Will
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Swan Song
1x Brainstorm
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Entomb
1x Counterspell
1x Lim-Dûl's Vault
1x Negate
1x Mana Drain
1x Tainted Pact
1x Mana Leak
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Flash
1x Impulse
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Forbidden Alchemy
1x Dismember
1x Intuition
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Anguished Unmaking
1x Fact or Fiction
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Skeletal Scrying
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Expedition Map
1x Animate Dead
1x Dance of the Dead
1x Counterbalance
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Liliana of the Veil
1x Necromancy
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
It is not even a good control commander overall though. At least it should have shroud. A control commander without self protection is meh...