UPDATE: So I sprung on some stuff for Yisan. I must say I am really impressed with the deck. It's very consistent and feels like a ton of fun to play. Having my entire library at my disposal from turn 3 onward is just so powerful.
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is a pretty solid budget commander as he is one of the best commanders in the format if you want a competitive list and he can be built solidly for $200 and upgraded over time to the "budgetless Yisan" that sits around $1000.
I know your budget is 100-120, but I'm sure that you can make it to the $200 version with ease and Green is generally very budget friendly as far as effects like ramp, etc. Many of the cards in the list are also inexpensive (which is why this budget list is hailed) and it is rather modular where you can upgrade piece by piece. Decimator of the Provinces is an excellent budget swap for Craterhoof Behemoth, for example.
Would Yisan be able to compete with the likes of Storm? I've always wanted to play him but always thought he was kind of slow. Granted I don't know all of the crazy interactions with him, but he seems really cool.
EDIT: So you just build up 10 counters on Yisan to drop the Decimator then?
Well you will not be able to get the decimator trigger if you play it off yisan. Because it is a cast trigger. But you can play him after you generate infinite mana and draw your deck with Elvish Visionary, Temur Sabertooth, and Karametra's Acolyte and i think Wirewood Symbiote is part of that combo as well.
I see, can this deck handle storm? I'd mainly be playing in groups with a Mizzix player who tends to combo off on turn 4-6.
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard is a pretty solid budget commander as he is one of the best commanders in the format if you want a competitive list and he can be built solidly for $200 and upgraded over time to the "budgetless Yisan" that sits around $1000.
I know your budget is 100-120, but I'm sure that you can make it to the $200 version with ease and Green is generally very budget friendly as far as effects like ramp, etc. Many of the cards in the list are also inexpensive (which is why this budget list is hailed) and it is rather modular where you can upgrade piece by piece. Decimator of the Provinces is an excellent budget swap for Craterhoof Behemoth, for example.
Would Yisan be able to compete with the likes of Storm? I've always wanted to play him but always thought he was kind of slow. Granted I don't know all of the crazy interactions with him, but he seems really cool.
EDIT: So you just build up 10 counters on Yisan to drop the Decimator then?
Hey all, so I'm going to need a little bit of help. I was attending a convention a few months ago and my Jund goodstuffs deck got stolen. I thought about quitting the format, but decided that I enjoy it too much to give up. I've decided I want to play EDH again, but don't have the ability to invest tons of money into this hobby at the moment. The main issue I have is many people in my local group are really competitive, playing cutthroat decks or degenerate combo decks (Mizzix Storm for instance). Can anyone suggest a budget deck or two that can compete with a meta like this? My budget is around $100-120. I am a fan of combo/control decks and really enjoy artifacts as well. Blue and Black are my favorite colors, but I'm open to almost any color combination or strategy outside of just Mono Red. Would also prefer to pick a deck that can be upgraded in the future as I want to upgrade the deck as my disposable income hopefully increases in the future. I'm just not used to playing budget decks, so I don't really know where to start. Just need to be able to compete with some pretty degenerate decks and strategies without having as much money as the people I'm playing with. Any suggestions?
I've been thinking Arcum Dagsson, but I haven't the foggiest idea where to start with that deck.
EDIT: Would Stax be an option? Just thought maybe that would good for dealing with obnoxious degenerate decks that plague the area.
Hello creative members of the mtgsavlation community. I'm looking to get a card altered since
1)I really hate her artwork
2)This is my main general in EDH right now, so I'd like to have a nicer more personal version of her
I'm really looking to get an anime alter done of he either paints or <snip>. I'm looking to get something from Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero for the actual image. Know anyone who can do this alter for me or help me get this card looking better? Would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Let's not discuss printing of any type onto or around cards, m'kay? ~29
I didn't realize we couldn't discuss that. My bad, anyways, can anyone do an alter for me?
Hello creative members of the mtgsavlation community. I'm looking to get a card altered since
1)I really hate her artwork
2)This is my main general in EDH right now, so I'd like to have a nicer more personal version of her
I'm really looking to get an anime alter done of he either paints or <snip>. I'm looking to get something from Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero for the actual image. Know anyone who can do this alter for me or help me get this card looking better? Would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Let's not discuss printing of any type onto or around cards, m'kay? ~29
Some of the choices are a bit whack (Cabal Coffers, Rakdos, Lord of Riots, etc.) but the basic spirit is in the right place. The deck still runs Mike in order to reuse the creatures you sac to pod, and he can also win with Murderous Redcap (better than the Trike because he can be sacrificed twice to the Pod). It also runs Tooth and Nail and Kiki-Conscripts like you were doing originally, so you can keep that (the Conscripts become a lot better with more sac outlets). If you want to go a more combo-focused route, I'd run more creature sac outlets. The best is Viscera Seer; some decks run crappy ones like Bloodthrone Vampire and Scarland Thrinaxso you can always pod into a combo piece.
If your goal is to win in a "hardcore environment", you probably can't in Jund (well, maybe with a Prossh, Skyraider of Kher+Food Chain deck, but it would have to be built and played flawlessly). Hardcore commander decks (at least, the very hardest of the hardcore) are basically all combo decks that are faster than Pod or prison/permission/stax decks that will render everyone else unable to cast a spell that costs more than 3 mana if they're lucky. But at any reasonable drop-in Commander game, Jund Pod should do well.
What kinds of combos come from the sac engine? I already am familiar with Redcap and Mike, but aren't there a few others that can get some mileage too?
You absolutely should be playing birthing pod. Birthing pod is extremely strong. I run it in my riku of two reflections goodstuff list, and on average i win 4 turns after pod comes out if its not removed, mind you i run no infinites in my list as well.
Deathrite shaman could be good as your one drop. You certainly seem to be running a lot of ramp to me, when i was running that much ramp in riku i got these awkeard games where i drew the ramp half of my deck and never anything to do with it a little too frequently
Edit: kiki-conscripts is the better combo to run, since kiki and conscripts are at least decent on there own, while mikaeus is alright and triskellion is trash
That's what I thought. I had Deathrite in the list initially but I cut him. I could probably put him back in. Hmm, any other ideas/suggestions I may have missed?
I dont know what your meta is like, but your deck is heavily etb focused. My riku list straight up folds to torpor orb, and it pops up in several decks in my groups. I run both vandalblast and ancient grudge to deal with these, as well as to deal witb t1 sol rings and whatnot
I know Torpor Orb wrecks me, but I have quite a few answers. Hull Breach, Violent Ultimatum, Maelstrom Pulse, Krosan Grip, Decimate, Putrefy, and Beast Within.
Also, what are people's thoughts on Cauldron Dance? It's a card I've always liked to play in these kinds of decks.
You absolutely should be playing birthing pod. Birthing pod is extremely strong. I run it in my riku of two reflections goodstuff list, and on average i win 4 turns after pod comes out if its not removed, mind you i run no infinites in my list as well.
Deathrite shaman could be good as your one drop. You certainly seem to be running a lot of ramp to me, when i was running that much ramp in riku i got these awkeard games where i drew the ramp half of my deck and never anything to do with it a little too frequently
Edit: kiki-conscripts is the better combo to run, since kiki and conscripts are at least decent on there own, while mikaeus is alright and triskellion is trash
That's what I thought. I had Deathrite in the list initially but I cut him. I could probably put him back in. Hmm, any other ideas/suggestions I may have missed?
For generals, it depends what you want your commander to do. Shattergang Brothers is the most grindy and control-oriented Jund commander and can generate value out of just about any permanent you happen to have, but is usually more staxy than controlly. Vaevictis Asmadi is a brutal finisher and can end games quickly (and has no deck-building requirements beyond "play Jund colors"). Adun Oakenshield can help you recycle your ETB guys, but I'm not sure how helpful that is since you don't seem to have a prevalent sacrifice theme. I'd recommend Shattergang Brothers first, followed by Vaevictis.
The other Jund commanders are either more aggro/sacrifice focused than you seem to want (like Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper or Kresh, the Bloodbraided), or they play to a theme that you're not using (Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund; you could play him just as a beatstick, but Vaevectis fills that role better) or they're combo commanders that most people are sick of before even playing against (Prossh, Skyraider of Kher).
No deck needsInsurrection, but it's useful as an instant win spell in multiplayer (in 1v1 it's garbage, of course). Playing it or not isn't a huge difference, it's just one of many finisher spells you can run, and is one of the better ones (I'd run it over Rise of the Dark Realms, actually).
Birthing Pod is extremely powerful, but it requires a whole different kind of deck to accommodate it. It's not a goodstuff card, it's a central combo piece and is basically an archetype unto itself (but I'm also not sure how goodstuffy your deck actually is, since you're running combos like Mike&Trike and Kiki-Conscripts. I don't think a real goodstuff deck would run Trike or Conscripts). You'd need to significantly up your creature count, work out 3 or 4 pod chains, and before you know it, half your cards are swapped out and you're probably running Kresh or Sek'Kuar as your general. Something like Natural Order (or your current Tooth and Nail) is better for goodstuff since it's not as finnicky, plus it lets you turn random green tokens into Craterhoof Behemoth without having to cycle through a bunch of other creatures in between.
The question of "number of win conditions" is also more suited to a control or combo deck than goodstuff. In goodstuff, a sizeable portion of your creatures are pretty much win conditions anyway (a good example being Omnath, Locus of Rage), plus a couple bombs like Insurrection or Exsanguinate. If you're thinking about on-the-spot win combos, three is a good number.
If you want to keep your reanimation creature-based, Apprentice Necromancer is probably your best option because of the haste, and sac EOT gives you more chances to reuse ETBs. Doomed Necromancer is slower but gives you lasting board presence.
You wouldn't play Mike and Trike combo or Conscripts combo in the deck? I just thought it would be good since it's an "I win" button that can just take the game. Mike seems good enough on his own . . . I do agree with Conscripts/Trike though. I figured I needed some sort of infinite combo to win the game in such a hardcore environment. Any other suggestions to replace them? Why do you not like them but are okay with Purph/Avenger off of Tooth and Nail? Not sure about Shattergang since I don't really run any enchantments and only very few artifacts. Just kinda curious is all.
EDIT: Regardless of the combo inclusions or not, you still like Mike, Kiki, and Tooth and Nail in the deck right? I admit I am kind of a combo player, so a piece of me wanted them in the deck to just kill my opponents on the spot via combo. Also, thoughts on Withered Wretch for grave hate? I know I have access to Scooze, but Wretch is easier on mana and I am already playing Jund Charm as an option as well. Also playing Darigaaz's Charm for that matter.
Thanks for the reply. Sorry, been really busy with work so I haven't been able to post a full list. Was already playing Beast Within and Dreadbore to answer walkers. Hmm, which Reanimation creatures would you play? I'm already playing the Delver since it interacts well with the deck. Sheoldred I'm kind of iffy on since it really needs to live a full turn to get value.
EDIT: Hmm, should I be playing Birthing Pod in this deck? It almost feels like I should. Do I need insurrection? About how many Win-conditions should I be playing in this build? Been a while since I just built a straight up good stuff deck, so I'm not sure anymore. Seems kind of silly to me to run both Insurrection and Rise if I am already running Tooth and Nail. Should I even run all 3 or just 2?
EDIT 2: Also, are there any better Generals then Xira Arien? She's not terrible, just a bit underwhelming and slow. More then anything I hate her art.
Hello MTGS community, it's been a very long time since I've posted much of anything. So I've been playing Magic a bit more and more lately since I've had some free time. While I don't really have the drive to grind tournaments like I used to, I still love the EDH format. I recently moved to Las Vegas to start a new part of my life. It appears that most of the EDH players here are rather competitive. Now I've had some mixed experiences with EDH in the past (I've always loved the format, but honestly my old group kinda just sucked). I usually play Savra, Queen of the Golgari, but it turns out there is a pretty vicious Sigarda player here. Seeing that my stupid sac shenanigans deck really didn't have a chance, I turned to something a bit more competitive. Now I play Xira Arien (pretty much just for her colors since I can't think of another Jund general that suits control well). Now that you have a bit of background information, I'd like to move on to the main topic. How can I make my deck more valuable? Not in a monetary way, but in a mechanical way. Right now I have this Jund Ramp/Control shell that just looks to always get value based on it's plays. I'm really looking for more 2-for-1's or other value cards/creatures I might have missed. Below is a list of some cards I already have in the area of 2-for-1's and other value cards.
I also have an ETB sub-theme going on as I want almost every card in the deck to generate value. Win conditions being Hellkite Overlord as a very hard to deal with threat and two different wins from Tooth and Nail being Mike and Trike or Kiki + Conscripts. As it is I am pretty happy with the deck, but I feel like it's missing something. Are there any other good value cards in Jund aside from the obvious ones? I already know about the Praetors and other common staples (E-Witness, Avenger of Zendikar, etc). How is this premise for competitive EDH? Is the second Tooth and Nail combo needed? TBH it's just been too long since I've looked at this game and I feel like my deck isn't as optimal as it could be. I'm also not sure if I'm playing too much Ramp. I should also mention that I do have Kessig-Wolf Run in the deck too, so maybe that much ramp is okay. Any other suggestions?
As a Bloom player myself the deck doesn't need to be killed. It's honestly not that bad, the T2's rarely happen and the Titan can be answered. If they want to touch it, ban Hivemind and move on IMO. That's the stupid card that lets you "oops, I win". Random topdecks of that Enchantment just win it for you. If people are really complaining about a deck that turns a creature sideways to win then I'm not sure what to think. 75-80% of the games you win with Amulet are off of the back of Titan anyways. There is nothing unfair about winning through creature combat, and this is coming from a long time combo/control player.
I think most here agree with you. Hive Mind is MUCH more of a problem than Titan.
That being said I don't think they can hit Blood Moon because of it. Blood Moon is an unfair card, but only to unfair decks in the first place. We need a card like that to keep the greedy decks and stupid wombo combo decks in check. Trust me, I don't really like Blood Moon, but I do so where it was needed. Just making the statement in general as I saw some people complaining about it. You think decks do stupid dumb things now, wait until BM isn't around to police those strategies. Modern may not have a Daze or Force of Will to shut down the stupid stuff, but they do have Blood Moon which, in a way, can fill the same role. Maybe not as early, but the concept of just completely blanking the opponent's entire deck is close enough to be game winning the same way Daze/FoW are.
As a Bloom player myself the deck doesn't need to be killed. It's honestly not that bad, the T2's rarely happen and the Titan can be answered. If they want to touch it, ban Hivemind and move on IMO. That's the stupid card that lets you "oops, I win". Random topdecks of that Enchantment just win it for you. If people are really complaining about a deck that turns a creature sideways to win then I'm not sure what to think. 75-80% of the games you win with Amulet are off of the back of Titan anyways. There is nothing unfair about winning through creature combat, and this is coming from a long time combo/control player.
Title says it all. I have the opportunity to pick up 4 NM Scalding Tarn's for 280. Should I do it? These weren't reprinted in BFZ, so I don't foresee a reprint until next year. It seems like a good price, but I'd like some second opinions.
I see, can this deck handle storm? I'd mainly be playing in groups with a Mizzix player who tends to combo off on turn 4-6.
EDIT:
What would Azami look like? Do you have a link to a budget list?
Would Yisan be able to compete with the likes of Storm? I've always wanted to play him but always thought he was kind of slow. Granted I don't know all of the crazy interactions with him, but he seems really cool.
EDIT: So you just build up 10 counters on Yisan to drop the Decimator then?
I've been thinking Arcum Dagsson, but I haven't the foggiest idea where to start with that deck.
EDIT: Would Stax be an option? Just thought maybe that would good for dealing with obnoxious degenerate decks that plague the area.
I didn't realize we couldn't discuss that. My bad, anyways, can anyone do an alter for me?
1)I really hate her artwork
2)This is my main general in EDH right now, so I'd like to have a nicer more personal version of her
I'm really looking to get an anime alter done of he either paints or <snip>. I'm looking to get something from Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero for the actual image. Know anyone who can do this alter for me or help me get this card looking better? Would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Let's not discuss printing of any type onto or around cards, m'kay? ~29
What kinds of combos come from the sac engine? I already am familiar with Redcap and Mike, but aren't there a few others that can get some mileage too?
I know Torpor Orb wrecks me, but I have quite a few answers. Hull Breach, Violent Ultimatum, Maelstrom Pulse, Krosan Grip, Decimate, Putrefy, and Beast Within.
Also, what are people's thoughts on Cauldron Dance? It's a card I've always liked to play in these kinds of decks.
That's what I thought. I had Deathrite in the list initially but I cut him. I could probably put him back in. Hmm, any other ideas/suggestions I may have missed?
You wouldn't play Mike and Trike combo or Conscripts combo in the deck? I just thought it would be good since it's an "I win" button that can just take the game. Mike seems good enough on his own . . . I do agree with Conscripts/Trike though. I figured I needed some sort of infinite combo to win the game in such a hardcore environment. Any other suggestions to replace them? Why do you not like them but are okay with Purph/Avenger off of Tooth and Nail? Not sure about Shattergang since I don't really run any enchantments and only very few artifacts. Just kinda curious is all.
EDIT: Regardless of the combo inclusions or not, you still like Mike, Kiki, and Tooth and Nail in the deck right? I admit I am kind of a combo player, so a piece of me wanted them in the deck to just kill my opponents on the spot via combo. Also, thoughts on Withered Wretch for grave hate? I know I have access to Scooze, but Wretch is easier on mana and I am already playing Jund Charm as an option as well. Also playing Darigaaz's Charm for that matter.
EDIT: Hmm, should I be playing Birthing Pod in this deck? It almost feels like I should. Do I need insurrection? About how many Win-conditions should I be playing in this build? Been a while since I just built a straight up good stuff deck, so I'm not sure anymore. Seems kind of silly to me to run both Insurrection and Rise if I am already running Tooth and Nail. Should I even run all 3 or just 2?
EDIT 2: Also, are there any better Generals then Xira Arien? She's not terrible, just a bit underwhelming and slow. More then anything I hate her art.
And here is my ramp package (maybe too much ramp?)
I also have an ETB sub-theme going on as I want almost every card in the deck to generate value. Win conditions being Hellkite Overlord as a very hard to deal with threat and two different wins from Tooth and Nail being Mike and Trike or Kiki + Conscripts. As it is I am pretty happy with the deck, but I feel like it's missing something. Are there any other good value cards in Jund aside from the obvious ones? I already know about the Praetors and other common staples (E-Witness, Avenger of Zendikar, etc). How is this premise for competitive EDH? Is the second Tooth and Nail combo needed? TBH it's just been too long since I've looked at this game and I feel like my deck isn't as optimal as it could be. I'm also not sure if I'm playing too much Ramp. I should also mention that I do have Kessig-Wolf Run in the deck too, so maybe that much ramp is okay. Any other suggestions?
That being said I don't think they can hit Blood Moon because of it. Blood Moon is an unfair card, but only to unfair decks in the first place. We need a card like that to keep the greedy decks and stupid wombo combo decks in check. Trust me, I don't really like Blood Moon, but I do so where it was needed. Just making the statement in general as I saw some people complaining about it. You think decks do stupid dumb things now, wait until BM isn't around to police those strategies. Modern may not have a Daze or Force of Will to shut down the stupid stuff, but they do have Blood Moon which, in a way, can fill the same role. Maybe not as early, but the concept of just completely blanking the opponent's entire deck is close enough to be game winning the same way Daze/FoW are.