Ideas for a different Spellslinger deck

[grimoiredark]

Hello all! And happy Commander Christmas time!

I wanted to get everyone's opinion here for Commanders of a spellslinger deck. Normally, the most popular decks tend to go towards storm based build, but they tend to be less interactive (plus trying to math out the turn can be a pain sometimes). So, I wanted to see if there were any spellslinger commanders that focused on casting a few big instants/sorcery spells for value (multiple times). I was thinking the new Sevinne, the Chronoclasm could do it (plus I love the graveyard interaction, but there doesn't seem to be any big payoffs.

If anyone had any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

[OCPunisher]

If you want to play with Sevinne, I'd probably focus more on his first line of text: "Prevent all damage that would be dealt to Sevinne...". You could run a bunch of damage-based sweepers to clear the way, cheap counters for the rest, and even a couple fun combo cards.

Or, just change to Elsha. Her psuedo-Future Sight plus the flash bonus is going to be a much bigger payoff than anything that currently exists for Sevinne.

[Mookie]

Riku of Two Reflections or Wort, the Raidmother would be my recommendations - cast spells and copy them, for value. Both can do storm stuff, but copying Kodama's Reach and Harmonize are perfectly reasonable plans for either.

Kess, Dissident Mage (and Dralnu, Lich Lord) is another option. Kess can function as solid spellslinger / control commanders by flashing back card draw or removal spells, for value. For example, my own Kess deck was designed with the goal of resolving Cruel Ultimatum as many times as possible by copying it with things like Primal Amulet and Swarm Intelligence.

[RxPhantom]

It doesn't play into the spellslinger theme, but if you're going with Sevinne, Pariah seems like an auto-include.

[Mimicvat]

Jeleva is fantastic for casting huge dumb spells. You can often end up in magical christmasland by having your mana open for copy effects while Jeleva casts the original for free, and she dies so much that the red and black 'commandstorm' cards work really well.

[grimoiredark]

Riku of Two Reflections or Wort, the Raidmother would be my recommendations - cast spells and copy them, for value. Both can do storm stuff, but copying Kodama's Reach and Harmonize are perfectly reasonable plans for either.

Kess, Dissident Mage (and Dralnu, Lich Lord) is another option. Kess can function as solid spellslinger / control commanders by flashing back card draw or removal spells, for value. For example, my own Kess deck was designed with the goal of resolving Cruel Ultimatum as many times as possible by copying it with things like Primal Amulet and Swarm Intelligence.

Kess is a commander I've had my eye on making for a while. Considering it gives your commander pseudo flashback and the deck works without her being around. Riku is another one, though I would want to make it more instant/sorcery centric. Only issue is the fact you need to build around them to get anything done lol some stuff to think about at least.

[Cyberium]

I'd recommend Varina, Lich Queen as your spellslinger. You can technically play her with no zombie and almost no creature, focus on cycling through your deck with cheap cantrips, then use those cantrip to fuel your board. In doing so, every reset spell like Time Spiral would have less trivial cards and eventually win with card advantage and Approach of the Second Sun.

[grimoiredark]

I'd recommend Varina, Lich Queen as your spellslinger. You can technically play her with no zombie and almost no creature, focus on cycling through your deck with cheap cantrips, then use those cantrip to fuel your board. In doing so, every reset spell like Time Spiral would have less trivial cards and eventually win with card advantage and Approach of the Second Sun.

That is a super interesting way to run the deck I wish I didn't have an esper deck already, I'd be tempted to try it.

I think a possible angle I may try is a Jeskai version of a Will and Rowan deck listed here: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=285 by darrenhabib. This build could work since Sevinne takes no damage, plus can use the planeswalkers as support (with a graveyard theme).

[toctheyounger]

I'm gonna recommend Dralnu, Lich Lord. There's a mix of fear of the first ability and props for risking it when running him. But he''s pretty strong. There's plenty of storm builds out there, and I run a control/reanimator version that does really well. It's also a lot of fun. He's easy to get value from as you've basically got two hands, one in the yard and one in your grip. Gives you plenty of options for card choices and keeps your lines of play varied.

Also for what it's worth, I have had him Blasphemous Acted before. I still won

[Sinis]

Also for what it's worth, I have had him Blasphemous Acted before. I still won

"In response, Domineering Will. Here you go."

[ISBPathfinder]

I have a Jori En, Ruin Diver that focuses on chaining cantrips and using token generation tactics alongside damage pingers to dish out a lot of damage. The deck is ABSOLUTELY not a big dumb spell kind of deck but its really fun when you push like 10 spells in a turn and everyone is just crying. It has some great cheap interaction and generally uses combat as a wincon but I have had a lot of success with it.

List here. I have been kind of mulling over if I wanted to make a transition to Kykar, Wind's Fury but I swear everyone is playing him as a commander right now so I am just continuing with Jori En but honestly I win probably more than I should without changing so I guess I am fine. I realize this answer is not one of the commanders from the commander decks but I just wanted to slide in some other options.

[toctheyounger]

Also for what it's worth, I have had him Blasphemous Acted before. I still won

"In response, Domineering Will. Here you go."

I run Reins of Power, same thing. Strangely though this I didn't have in hand so I did have to sac 13. Still had enough in play to get over the line, although for the life of me I can't remember what the play was.

[Sinis]

Also for what it's worth, I have had him Blasphemous Acted before. I still won

"In response, Domineering Will. Here you go."

I run Reins of Power, same thing. Strangely though this I didn't have in hand so I did have to sac 13. Still had enough in play to get over the line, although for the life of me I can't remember what the play was.

I mean, I'd run both, as well as the new Sudden Substitution ("No really, it's yours.")

[toctheyounger]

"In response, Domineering Will. Here you go."

I run Reins of Power, same thing. Strangely though this I didn't have in hand so I did have to sac 13. Still had enough in play to get over the line, although for the life of me I can't remember what the play was.

I mean, I'd run both, as well as the new Sudden Substitution ("No really, it's yours.")

Yeah, there's reason to justify it. I've never needed more than one, and I run a few sac outlets and plenty of permission if things get hairy. But there's no reason you couldn't run all of these. It's very very rare to swing with the guy anyway and if he's forced into combat that's what sac outlets or these things are for.

[Sinis]

It's very very rare to swing with the guy anyway and if he's forced into combat that's what sac outlets or these things are for.

I think, for the most part, I wouldn't want to use a sac outlet. I would have them on hand, for sure, but, I would hate to pay Dralnu's cost more than twice a game.

[toctheyounger]

It's very very rare to swing with the guy anyway and if he's forced into combat that's what sac outlets or these things are for.

I think, for the most part, I wouldn't want to use a sac outlet. I would have them on hand, for sure, but, I would hate to pay Dralnu's cost more than twice a game.

It comes down to how much you want to mitigate his first ability. You can either cushion him or game hard, and he is about as suicide as Dimir gets. Being able to sac him for mana towards a spell or just plop him in your yard for reanimation works just fine. You want the deck to able to function without him anyway. But yeah, I don't think I've ever paid for him more than thrice, and that was running Paradox Engine (RIP T_T). It's part of why he lends well to control; you sort of need to make sure you're dropping him into a board state he can manage, and a lot of making the deck successful means timing his casting well and making it count while he is in play. You just don't bank on him being in play the entire game.

[Sinis]

It's part of why he lends well to control; you sort of need to make sure you're dropping him into a board state he can manage, and a lot of making the deck successful means timing his casting well and making it count while he is in play.

How do you win with this kind of deck? (edit: I see you have a list in your sig, I'm gonna check it out)

The background to all my questions is that Dimir is my favourite colour combination (black being my favourite colour by far). I'm getting a little bit bored of The Scarab God, and Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow feels like a nuts aggro deck that I'm not sure is to my taste.

I've had a copy of Dralnu forever, and I really like his ability (and the risk that comes with it).

[toctheyounger]

It's part of why he lends well to control; you sort of need to make sure you're dropping him into a board state he can manage, and a lot of making the deck successful means timing his casting well and making it count while he is in play.

How do you win with this kind of deck? (edit: I see you have a list in your sig, I'm gonna check it out)

The background to all my questions is that Dimir is my favourite colour combination (black being my favourite colour by far). I'm getting a little bit bored of The Scarab God, and Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow feels like a nuts aggro deck that I'm not sure is to my taste.

I've had a copy of Dralnu forever, and I really like his ability (and the risk that comes with it).

Feel free to! It's one of my longer lasting decks, and it's performed really well and been lots of fun.

If you have any questions feel free to ask on the thread, I'm happy to talk over suggestions and critique.

[ISBPathfinder]

Has anyone looked into Sevinne, the Chronoclasm with Pariah effects? I did a little preliminary digging into it but haven't looked all that deep.

[grimoiredark]

Bump

[KMA_Again]

I rather like "Finite Storm" or, storm decks without an infinite loop. Mizzix was one of the better generals for that since it reduced the cost of spells, but the new Sevinne seems ok due to the extra color and being able to combine him with Recoup and Past in Flames. The big cards in any storm-style deck are mana makers and card draw, and both work in a "big spell" Sevinne, like Mana Geyser. Just figure out a good wincon like Brain Freeze or Ignite Memories and work around it.
You can also just use big spells for value, but most of the good ones are time walk effects.

[Death_Noodle]

Jeleva is fantastic for casting huge dumb spells. You can often end up in magical christmasland by having your mana open for copy effects while Jeleva casts the original for free, and she dies so much that the red and black 'commandstorm' cards work really well.

This. I usually go for copying Breath of Malfegor or the like. Also filling up the yard for a big Mizzix's Mastery usually put me way ahead, if it doesn't end the game.