Looking at that Hanna list makes me think the new Jhoira would be a decent stax general with her built in CA for playing artifacts. You get to add in Blood Moon and Goblin Welder and Daretti, Scrap Savant... Man if I had the cash for some of those stax artifacts I'd make the thing.
Depends on the starting cost of your commander, but I also like Crystal Shard or that colorless one I can't remember. Bouncing it to hand in response to something enables you to cast it again for its usual cost, and if someone is tapped out it also can bounce an opponent's creature.
Nezahal, Primal Tide is mine, though, I would consider it a voltron/control hybrid. It is an absolute terror for control decks, and ends up drawing piles of cards when it hits. With runechanter's pike it definitely one shots people. It plays like a hardcore control deck... except it's hitting people for 7 commander damage left and right while bouncing everything and countering problems.
I'm just wary of its casting cost. Do you play Nezahal more as a finisher, or as soon as you can and just protect it?
@Turtlerock, I wouldn't mind seeing your Thassa list if you got a link somewhere.
Right now I have Kefnet at the helm with both Thassa and Nezahal in the 99 (I replaced Jin-Gitaxias with Nezahal as he seems much less oppressive) so I suppose I can switch them out as I test the deck.
Until I started crafting the deck I didn't realize how good Kefnet the Mindful could be. Plop him down turn 2 or 3, keep your hand full (not hard in blue), and do anything from swing with Diviner's Wand attached or (gasp) Worldslayer.
Then I picked up a Nezahal, Primal Tide for my Kefnet deck and realized, hey, this one's pretty good too. 3 hit general, built in protection, card draw, no evasion but that's fixable...
And these are just a couple of the new guys on the field. Any experience with/thoughts on blue voltron?
Great draw suggestions. I always forget the swords had old border judge prints. So nice... and expensive. I may have to look at this deck as a work in progress as I'm currently trying to do the deck on the cheap and some of the suggestions that I don't already own copies of aren't cheap. Haven't look at the cost of Yawgmoth's Will in awhile, yeesh, should've bought one a few years ago!
Portent is actually a pretty cool card, a delayed Ponder that lets you mess with someone else's tutored card!
Captain's Claws seems decent for the mana investment. Not a spot removal target like Skullclamp but adds a little pump and makes more unblockable creatures.
Mystic Barrier is just a fun card as it is, seems good in Karona as you can choose to be attacked by the player you can best deal with (the one not playing tokens!), and only have to deal with one Karona attack each round instead of everyone ganging up on you when your defenses are down.
How can you not run Blackblade Reforged in a Dakkon deck?
Yeah, may have to make an exception for that, Dakkon with that equipment is pretty rad. I was considering making an exception for Crucible too until Sadgasm reminded me that judge foil has the old frame.
Having seen the power of Puresteel Paladin and Leonin Shikari in Sunforger decks I can't imagine any deck wanting to make good use of this equipment without these creatures. Put them in. Trust me. Doooo it.
Don't know how I don't own a Thawing Glaciers but I totally need it for this.
I actually eyed my Mana Vortex as I started considering cards and chuckled at how anti Dakkon it seems, but such a good card. I'll probably start out not doing the land denial plan, though it could end up going there. Hmmmm, Sunder into mass discard...
Dakkon Blackblade is a deck I've been considering for years and just never got around to building. Thought about lands matter, landfall, winning with manlands and swords... I just love the card, how off color it is, how it seems perfect for a finisher in an esper control deck that just plops him out when you have 21 lands and starts murdering people. (21 lands? yeah, was thinking of the long game) But I never build it.
Then I saw an article on using old frame cards to avoid jamming in all the same old powerful new cards and realized he'd be perfect for it.
Game plan is esper control with Dakkon as a finisher. Lands matter cards prior to 8th edition in these colors usually say "sacrifice a land" to get some cool effect. Kind of a nonbo. I've searched Gatherer with little luck, but if you know of some ways to get lands out, especially from the graveyard, LEMME KNOW!
So Dakkon is twice as blue as he is black and white, and I'm using mostly basic lands since this is a budget-y deck, so I'm going to lean toward mono blue control splashing black and white for the removal spells and Reanimate spells. Number one card on the list is Bribery and I think a steal/clone creatures strategy is better than using the sad old creatures of yesteryear and trying to make them good. I'll probably run very few creatures at all. Weathered Wayfarer being an exception.
So, draw, clone, steal, removal, maybe some pillowfort, maybe some annoying enchantments but not too annoying that I become a target. (I'm looking at you Rising Waters ) Send me your ideas!
I'm just wary of its casting cost. Do you play Nezahal more as a finisher, or as soon as you can and just protect it?
@Turtlerock, I wouldn't mind seeing your Thassa list if you got a link somewhere.
Right now I have Kefnet at the helm with both Thassa and Nezahal in the 99 (I replaced Jin-Gitaxias with Nezahal as he seems much less oppressive) so I suppose I can switch them out as I test the deck.
Right, I even have one! I think I prefer the CMC of Kefnet, but Sun Quan goes in Kefnet and I can always swap it out for funsies.
Then I picked up a Nezahal, Primal Tide for my Kefnet deck and realized, hey, this one's pretty good too. 3 hit general, built in protection, card draw, no evasion but that's fixable...
And these are just a couple of the new guys on the field. Any experience with/thoughts on blue voltron?
Portent is actually a pretty cool card, a delayed Ponder that lets you mess with someone else's tutored card!
What I need suggestions for are old frame draw cards. Rhystic Study, Mystic Remora, Brainstorm, Phyrexian Arena, Skeletal Scrying and Necropotence are oldies but goodies. What are some other options, especially low cmc to get me going in the early game?
Gahiji, Honored One rewards them for attacking other people as well.
Yeah, may have to make an exception for that, Dakkon with that equipment is pretty rad. I was considering making an exception for Crucible too until Sadgasm reminded me that judge foil has the old frame.
Don't... tempt me... Frodo...
I actually eyed my Mana Vortex as I started considering cards and chuckled at how anti Dakkon it seems, but such a good card. I'll probably start out not doing the land denial plan, though it could end up going there. Hmmmm, Sunder into mass discard...
Thanks for the ideas!
Then I saw an article on using old frame cards to avoid jamming in all the same old powerful new cards and realized he'd be perfect for it.
Game plan is esper control with Dakkon as a finisher. Lands matter cards prior to 8th edition in these colors usually say "sacrifice a land" to get some cool effect. Kind of a nonbo. I've searched Gatherer with little luck, but if you know of some ways to get lands out, especially from the graveyard, LEMME KNOW!
So Dakkon is twice as blue as he is black and white, and I'm using mostly basic lands since this is a budget-y deck, so I'm going to lean toward mono blue control splashing black and white for the removal spells and Reanimate spells. Number one card on the list is Bribery and I think a steal/clone creatures strategy is better than using the sad old creatures of yesteryear and trying to make them good. I'll probably run very few creatures at all. Weathered Wayfarer being an exception.
So, draw, clone, steal, removal, maybe some pillowfort, maybe some annoying enchantments but not too annoying that I become a target. (I'm looking at you Rising Waters ) Send me your ideas!