I've tried Ixidron in the past, but I was never overly impressed with it. Generally much happier with Cataclysmic Gearhulk.
I've been running Azami, Lady of Scrolls for a while now, and I have to say I'm incredibly happy with her. Almost every time I've had her on the table I've drawn 3 or so cards per turn for 2-4 turns before someone takes her out, as a minimum, and that's pretty fantastic. Then there are the odd times when I have Azami and Mirror Entity together on the table and I turn my entire team into 1/1 wizards until end of turn and draw a ton...
I've considered, off and on, running Willbreaker. I'm a little concerned with its fragility, but I'll probably try it out sooner or later.
Ashiok, Dream Render is super, super sweet. 1) self mill (or mill an opponent to mess with top deck manipulation), 2) exile other people's yards before a Living Death, 3) prevent them from tutoring for answers.
Finale of Eternity certainly has some potential here. I like versatility, and this can either be removal or another means of mass reanimation.
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion has also caught my eye. I like that he's got a repeatable wheel effect, plus he's a threatening body and has the potential for some mana advantage. I like him a lot.
And, since I haven't posted here in a while: from a couple sets ago I really like Mission Briefing.
Not sure Avenger of Zendikar works. I think the the +/+ and haste resolves before the tokens are created.
This is correct. All parts of Finale of Devastation will finish resolving before any triggers.
Craterhoof Behemoth and Pathbreaker Ibex would certainly work. Neither of those are particularly appealing inclusions though, in my opinion.
Given how infrequently casting Finale for 12+ mana is likely to happen, I don't really feel compelled to include any specific cards for fetching in that manner.
I think it's Green Sun's Zenith that gets the boot for this. The shuffle back in clause rarely matters, in my experience, and it only finds green creatures. Wargate has the benefit of finding any permanent, and Chord of Calling is an instant that can be pretty easy to cheat the cost on. The main benefit to Green Sun is just the cheaper cost, but in this case, swapping for Finale of Devastation, you're going up by 1 mana, but you gain the ability to get any creature from your deck, reanimate any creature, or just straight up win the game if you've got a few creatures and 12 mana lying around (which is a way I've won plenty of games already, thanks to Mirror Entity).
Yeah, sadly. I figured it’s possible that as a mid/late game Pod/Vannifar Target she could turn our 1-3 drops into 4/4’s and establish some solid board presence, but really, when the 5 drop slot has stuff like Karmic Guide, Cataclysmic Gearhulk, Seedborn Muse, and Willbreaker as competition Oketra kind of falls flat.
Nothing in this set is absolutely begging to be accommodated IMO, not in the same way cards like Vannifar were.
On Friday night I finally had a chance to play some games with my usual group with her in the deck. I ended up slotting her in over Mirari's Wake for the time being to try her out.
I didn't cast her once. I never tutored for her. I had several opportunities, I just never wanted to. Every time I could, it felt like a bad play. In many cases, she was just going to die before I'd get a chance to untap with her, and in others I just had to spend my mana doing other things.
I didn't think it would bug me that much that she needs a turn cycle to be useful, but it really did. In 1v1 it would've been much less of an issue, but in a 4 player game, all people who know my shenanigans, there was no way they were ever going to let me untap with her.
I'm going to try one more session with her, but I'm sad to say that I don't think she'll be making the cut.
My EDH playing has dropped into a lull again, and I haven't yet had a chance to try our Prime Speaker Vannifar. She's at the top of my list for when I get back into regular games.
As for cards that have caught my eye so far in the new set:
Neoform - I mostly agree with what you guys have said about this.
Single Combat - I feel like this card is probably really good. Not sure it's good enough to replace an existing wrath in this list, but it's a sweet card.
Teferi, Time Raveler - I've been playing Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, and this could be an alternative. It's cheaper and easier to cast, and adds a little bit of extra utility, but being able to cast creatures with flash is way better than doing the same with sorceries, so I dunno.
I honestly think Jenara is one of the most adaptable commanders out there because she is cheap, has a good body, has evasion, and scales to any stage of the game via her counters ability. Plus, she makes an ideal sword carrier, which I run 3 of them, so that is often relevant. This is a mid-range list at heart, with a lot of ETB control utility. I don't see the list as written benefiting as much from Derevi as it does Jenara. She's unassuming enough, but can be a powerhouse if unchecked, and give opponents second thoughts about swinging in at all with her ability to ramp up her power. With 4 mana open on turn 4, any opponent of mine has to consider the ramifications of swinging into a 5/5, and eating removal is a benefit for us, because it isn't pointed at our bigger threats/combo pieces.
Not too long ago I would have agreed with basically everything you just said. However, I have to say, after having been playing the tweaked Derevi version of the deck these past months, I've come to very heavily prefer it.
As many of the decks in my meta have become more heavily laden with cheap removal, I've actually come to actively dislike running the Swords in many situations, and came to feel like Jenara just never did enough when she'd just eat removal and go away. No value ability, no built in protection, etc. While it's true that she could scale to any stage of the game, she was also a dead card in very many situations. On the other hand, I have almost never felt Derevi was dead. If nothing else, she comes in at instant speed to blank an attacker. Being able to essentially always have her on the table is just insane, and having a relevant ETB and damage trigger is great.
I loved Jenara, but I don't see myself ever going back.
With those cards, a very easy line of play is:
1) Pod Derevi/Jenara into Felidar Guardian, flicker Pod
2) Pod Guardian into Karmic Guide, return Guardian, flicker Pod
3) Pod Guide into Deadeye Navigator, pair with Guardian, flicker Guardian, flicker Pod
4) Pod Guardian into Peregrine Drake, pair with Deadeye, go nuts
I've run Cryptic Command on and off for a long time. It's a great card. Some lists, however, can have a hard time holding up 4 mana, and/or a hard time with the triple blue. It's not in versions of the list I've most recently been playing, but that doesn't mean it won't make it back in.
Spellseeker is a solid card. She can find a lot of great things and she's Skullclampable. She hasn't been in my list yet, but she very well may be at some point. I think if I was going to run her, I'd want more diverse options to get with her. Right now she could find me creature removal, counter spell, creature tutor, or artifact/enchantment tutor, or a "wrath" in the form of Cyclonic Rift. I think I'd want to be running a 2CMC mass draw spell (like Pull from Tomorrow), and some form of utility target (like maybe Mission Briefing or Dramatic Reversal). I kinda feel like she's competing for a slot with Recruiter of the Guard. But I dunno.
I ran Duplicant for a long time, but with the trimming down of my average CMC, he was one of the first to go, sadly. I haven't really missed him too much. Gilded Drake is a delight.
I really like Restoration Angel as a card. I have had it in and out of here a few times. Sadly, I think I'm leaning toward out again. That might very well be my cut for Prime Speaker Vannifar. Either that, or I'll cut her for maybe Angel of Finality and find a different cut for Vannifar. The problem with Resto is she just doesn't do enough in this format, I think.
Hydroid Krasis is a really cool card, but not one I think I'd play in this deck. I'd adore it in something like a Kruphix, God of Horizons deck, though.
I've never much cared for Mother of Runes in the majority of decks. I find her very overrated. She's fine if you're trying to protect a combo or a more important general (like Kaalia of the Vast, for example).
I could never justify running Nissa, Vastwood Seer over Wood Elves in a deck like this. I used to also run Yavimaya Dryad in addition, and only recently cut her out (for Bloom Tender, because in a Derevi helmed version of the list it's a much more impactful card).
Yeah, I stopped running Tooth and Nail in here a long time ago, too. It almost always just fetches the same creatures, at a heavy mana cost. Not only did it get worse as more people in my group started to run more cheap counter spells (and anti search effects and such... one guy in my group adores Shadow of Doubt), but also I kinda just got bored of it.
As for the combo, I definitely wouldn't put that here. None of those are cards I want outside of the combo, which is a big no-no in my eyes unless I'm running a dedicated combo deck.
I've been running Azami, Lady of Scrolls for a while now, and I have to say I'm incredibly happy with her. Almost every time I've had her on the table I've drawn 3 or so cards per turn for 2-4 turns before someone takes her out, as a minimum, and that's pretty fantastic. Then there are the odd times when I have Azami and Mirror Entity together on the table and I turn my entire team into 1/1 wizards until end of turn and draw a ton...
I've considered, off and on, running Willbreaker. I'm a little concerned with its fragility, but I'll probably try it out sooner or later.
Ashiok, Dream Render is super, super sweet. 1) self mill (or mill an opponent to mess with top deck manipulation), 2) exile other people's yards before a Living Death, 3) prevent them from tutoring for answers.
Finale of Eternity certainly has some potential here. I like versatility, and this can either be removal or another means of mass reanimation.
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion has also caught my eye. I like that he's got a repeatable wheel effect, plus he's a threatening body and has the potential for some mana advantage. I like him a lot.
And, since I haven't posted here in a while: from a couple sets ago I really like Mission Briefing.
Craterhoof Behemoth and Pathbreaker Ibex would certainly work. Neither of those are particularly appealing inclusions though, in my opinion.
Given how infrequently casting Finale for 12+ mana is likely to happen, I don't really feel compelled to include any specific cards for fetching in that manner.
Tutor or reanimate, or late game massive overrun. I like it a lot.
On Friday night I finally had a chance to play some games with my usual group with her in the deck. I ended up slotting her in over Mirari's Wake for the time being to try her out.
I didn't cast her once. I never tutored for her. I had several opportunities, I just never wanted to. Every time I could, it felt like a bad play. In many cases, she was just going to die before I'd get a chance to untap with her, and in others I just had to spend my mana doing other things.
I didn't think it would bug me that much that she needs a turn cycle to be useful, but it really did. In 1v1 it would've been much less of an issue, but in a 4 player game, all people who know my shenanigans, there was no way they were ever going to let me untap with her.
I'm going to try one more session with her, but I'm sad to say that I don't think she'll be making the cut.
As for cards that have caught my eye so far in the new set:
I think that's about it.
As many of the decks in my meta have become more heavily laden with cheap removal, I've actually come to actively dislike running the Swords in many situations, and came to feel like Jenara just never did enough when she'd just eat removal and go away. No value ability, no built in protection, etc. While it's true that she could scale to any stage of the game, she was also a dead card in very many situations. On the other hand, I have almost never felt Derevi was dead. If nothing else, she comes in at instant speed to blank an attacker. Being able to essentially always have her on the table is just insane, and having a relevant ETB and damage trigger is great.
I loved Jenara, but I don't see myself ever going back.
What I mean by that is putting in Felidar Guardian, Deadeye Navigator, and Peregrine Drake.
With those cards, a very easy line of play is:
1) Pod Derevi/Jenara into Felidar Guardian, flicker Pod
2) Pod Guardian into Karmic Guide, return Guardian, flicker Pod
3) Pod Guide into Deadeye Navigator, pair with Guardian, flicker Guardian, flicker Pod
4) Pod Guardian into Peregrine Drake, pair with Deadeye, go nuts
This gets even easier when there's the redundancy of Birthing Pod/Prime Speaker Vannifar (though Vannifar would also require a Lightning Greaves on the table to move around and give her Haste), and with Derevi, Empyrial Tactician at the helm, since she's so easy to have always on the table.
Spellseeker is a solid card. She can find a lot of great things and she's Skullclampable. She hasn't been in my list yet, but she very well may be at some point. I think if I was going to run her, I'd want more diverse options to get with her. Right now she could find me creature removal, counter spell, creature tutor, or artifact/enchantment tutor, or a "wrath" in the form of Cyclonic Rift. I think I'd want to be running a 2CMC mass draw spell (like Pull from Tomorrow), and some form of utility target (like maybe Mission Briefing or Dramatic Reversal). I kinda feel like she's competing for a slot with Recruiter of the Guard. But I dunno.
I ran Duplicant for a long time, but with the trimming down of my average CMC, he was one of the first to go, sadly. I haven't really missed him too much. Gilded Drake is a delight.
I really like Restoration Angel as a card. I have had it in and out of here a few times. Sadly, I think I'm leaning toward out again. That might very well be my cut for Prime Speaker Vannifar. Either that, or I'll cut her for maybe Angel of Finality and find a different cut for Vannifar. The problem with Resto is she just doesn't do enough in this format, I think.
Hydroid Krasis is a really cool card, but not one I think I'd play in this deck. I'd adore it in something like a Kruphix, God of Horizons deck, though.
I've never much cared for Mother of Runes in the majority of decks. I find her very overrated. She's fine if you're trying to protect a combo or a more important general (like Kaalia of the Vast, for example).
I could never justify running Nissa, Vastwood Seer over Wood Elves in a deck like this. I used to also run Yavimaya Dryad in addition, and only recently cut her out (for Bloom Tender, because in a Derevi helmed version of the list it's a much more impactful card).
As for the combo, I definitely wouldn't put that here. None of those are cards I want outside of the combo, which is a big no-no in my eyes unless I'm running a dedicated combo deck.