Ephara, God of the Polis
Here are my thoughts on cards from Streets of New Capenna:
Extraction Specialist - This is a good effect though it might be too narrow in the long run. There are some significant cards to get back but from what I can tell, I only have 7 potential targets which geatly minimizes the impact it could have. Still, it might be enough for the cards I do have. It isn't totally out of the question anyway.
Scheming Fence - I think this is a nice card due mostly to the fact that it steals abilities but I don't think it is really all that better than Phyrexian Revoker. Revoker won't steal the ability but can also pre-emptively stop something whereas Fence can only shut something down after it hits the field (which Revoker can still do of course). It is a good addition to that effect, but not something that I think really ends up being better than other options.
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Fence's ability to hit mana abilities and steal them for itself makes it significantly better than Phyrexian Revoker. The likelihood of Fence ramping into ephara a turn early is extremely high, and while also setting someone back potentially up to 2 mana is legit just for that.WizardMN wrote: ↑2 years agoScheming Fence - I think this is a nice card due mostly to the fact that it steals abilities but I don't think it is really all that better than Phyrexian Revoker. Revoker won't steal the ability but can also pre-emptively stop something whereas Fence can only shut something down after it hits the field (which Revoker can still do of course). It is a good addition to that effect, but not something that I think really ends up being better than other options.
Mana dork that is a hate effect deserves a double look in my book.
Since Baldur's Gate previews have concluded, here are my thoughts on some of the cards from the set that might work in this deck as well as some lands from the previous set I missed.
Archivist of Oghma - I am still not entirely sold on this card yet, nor do I believe it is all that essential in a deck that is already drawing a lot of cards. However, having Flash does mean its stock ends up being a bit higher. I think it is worth trying out to at least see what it can do.
Githzerai Monk - Another Flash creature and one that basically allows for either an offensive strike or a defensive stance so it has uses on both sides of the field. I still prefer Angel of the Dire Hour but this has some good uses. Especially being 2 mana less. I don't think I try to find room for it, but it isn't a bad card.
Lae'zel's Acrobatics - This seems pretty sweet as a potential upgrade to Ghostway or Eerie Interlude. It does cost one more but also offers the potential of a second "re-entering" to double up on some ETB triggers (or, get immediate use out of something like Selfless Squire though that is not necessarily reliable). I like the card so I might give it a try.
Rescuer Chwinga - Another Whitemane Lion variant and another that can't offer repeated bounce. I do like these effects, but I am not sure they are all that good in this deck. Perhaps with the growing number of them though, I might lean into them a bit more but for now I think I am going to pass on this one.
Windshaper Planetar - This seems like a pretty fun card and one that can certainly lead to blowouts. I think the ceiling is pretty high though the floor is pretty low. I don't think it always does enough to truly kill someone but just giving a way out of situations would be pretty nice.
Displacer Kitten - This can be a pretty good way to really get more use out of our creatures. However, since this isn't really a blink focused deck (even though it does have a lot of good ETB triggers) I am not sure how much I want to lean into it right now. It does seem like a lot of fun though so I might try it out anyway.
Deserted Beach - These are all pretty good lands. While they aren't the best on Turn 2 and maybe turn 1, they are great from turn 3 onwards. They seem pretty solid in terms of fixing in all but the most aggressive decks and, even then, seem still worthwhile as they are very unlikely to be the only land one keeps.
White Cards
Githzerai Monk - Another Flash creature and one that basically allows for either an offensive strike or a defensive stance so it has uses on both sides of the field. I still prefer Angel of the Dire Hour but this has some good uses. Especially being 2 mana less. I don't think I try to find room for it, but it isn't a bad card.
Lae'zel's Acrobatics - This seems pretty sweet as a potential upgrade to Ghostway or Eerie Interlude. It does cost one more but also offers the potential of a second "re-entering" to double up on some ETB triggers (or, get immediate use out of something like Selfless Squire though that is not necessarily reliable). I like the card so I might give it a try.
Rescuer Chwinga - Another Whitemane Lion variant and another that can't offer repeated bounce. I do like these effects, but I am not sure they are all that good in this deck. Perhaps with the growing number of them though, I might lean into them a bit more but for now I think I am going to pass on this one.
Windshaper Planetar - This seems like a pretty fun card and one that can certainly lead to blowouts. I think the ceiling is pretty high though the floor is pretty low. I don't think it always does enough to truly kill someone but just giving a way out of situations would be pretty nice.
Blue Cards
Colorless and Land Cards
Here are the changes I am making next:
For the Deserted Beach, an Island makes the most sense to cut. This deck has quite a few basics so it isn't a big deal to cut one. And since there are a lot more cards that can get Plains, it made more sense to keep those as options for those cards.
For the other cuts, it was tough to figure out what I wanted to do. I like the deck where it is with only a few cards that could be considered "flex" slots (even as a stretch). Teferi is one I never got to use much but I figure it isn't the worst to cut for now. I am also going to try to slow down on the ramp a little. Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, and Arcane Signet still let me get Ephara down turn 2 and 3. Azorius Signet and Talisman of Progress are a little more than I really need. They are nice to have but they also don't *do* a whole lot whereas the rest of the deck does. I am generally not trying to do much super fast in this deck so I don't think this truly slows things down all that much. I will see if it really changes it too much though and I can see what else I want to cut instead.
As mentioned above, I am not sold on Archivist yet and I felt Acrobatics is more of a replacement for Ghostway than a supplement to it and Eerie Interlude. Since I had cut Ghostway earlier, there might be an argument against adding the effect back in. So this too will remain on my watch list of sorts to determine if I really need it.
6/13/2022
Approximate Total Cost:
For the Deserted Beach, an Island makes the most sense to cut. This deck has quite a few basics so it isn't a big deal to cut one. And since there are a lot more cards that can get Plains, it made more sense to keep those as options for those cards.
For the other cuts, it was tough to figure out what I wanted to do. I like the deck where it is with only a few cards that could be considered "flex" slots (even as a stretch). Teferi is one I never got to use much but I figure it isn't the worst to cut for now. I am also going to try to slow down on the ramp a little. Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, and Arcane Signet still let me get Ephara down turn 2 and 3. Azorius Signet and Talisman of Progress are a little more than I really need. They are nice to have but they also don't *do* a whole lot whereas the rest of the deck does. I am generally not trying to do much super fast in this deck so I don't think this truly slows things down all that much. I will see if it really changes it too much though and I can see what else I want to cut instead.
As mentioned above, I am not sold on Archivist yet and I felt Acrobatics is more of a replacement for Ghostway than a supplement to it and Eerie Interlude. Since I had cut Ghostway earlier, there might be an argument against adding the effect back in. So this too will remain on my watch list of sorts to determine if I really need it.
Last edited by WizardMN 1 year ago, edited 1 time in total.
I think it might be problematic online price wise but deep gnome terramancer is like to be very good in this deck.
Would love to hear how planetar goes. It seems very good. Getting one Friday
Would love to hear how planetar goes. It seems very good. Getting one Friday
I agree. I am not sure how I missed that one. My main concern with this set as a whole regarding Online is which cards will actually be available. They have already said not every card will be available so the question is which ones does Wizards think they should implement? I have a feeling that this set is definitely going to cause a schism between online and paper play. Moreso than already exists anyway.. And since cards that are over 4 years old are still missing, I have my doubts that any cards skipped will ever be implemented at a later date.
Only time will tell on that part anyway.
Once I know for sure what cards I can even get online, I will make more changes to the deck. I still don't want my paper and online versions to differ but this might be the time where I might finally have to accept that reality.
Only time will tell on that part anyway.
Once I know for sure what cards I can even get online, I will make more changes to the deck. I still don't want my paper and online versions to differ but this might be the time where I might finally have to accept that reality.
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My early take was that Tarramancer is the superior of the two. White does need draw but as soon as you partner with another color that isn't red the ramp element probably outshines the draw. The ramp Terramancer can produce is probably some of the best as far as top end of its potential but its still going to be somewhat meta dependent. I happen to have a lot of landfall decks in my meta though so F those guys.
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Of all the cards among all my decks that I wanted to try, only two appear to be online: Displacer Kitten and Archivist of Oghma. So I won't get a chance to test out the Terramancer online any time soon nor will I get to do much with a bunch of cards I wanted to try.
Which is a shame because I do agree with your assessment on the ramp being a bigger deal than the draw.
Which is a shame because I do agree with your assessment on the ramp being a bigger deal than the draw.
With the full spoiler of Dominaria United, here are my thoughts on some of the cards that might make sense in this deck:
Defiler of Faith - This isn't the worst card but it doesn't really fit all that well either. Making things cheaper (on mana) is good but the trigger from casting white spells isn't that great here when most white permanents in this deck are going to be creatures anyway. We really want creatures in order to trigger Ephara and an extra token is nice but if the spell giving us that token is already a creature, it becomes less relevant.
Prayer of Binding - Flash always gets things higher on the list to include and removal and life gain are nice to see. However, 4 mana and not being a creature sort of push it back down the list. If this was on a creature I might give it more consideration, even at this mana cost, but as it is I don't think it is the greatest option.
Serra Paragon - This is mainly attractive for the land drop aspect and I think it does well. I am not a huge fan of the memory issues the card imposes though (it is going to be way to easy to forget that the land I played 10 turns ago is supposed to be exiled if it gets destroyed).
Aether Channeler - Another blink target and one that includes both card draw and removal (bounce) seems like a decent option. I am not sure how great it ends up being as temporary removal is still hard to justify. But, that ability also allows for more use out of some of our own stuff (blink it to bounce Angle of the Dire Hour would be kind of nice, even if the mana requirement is quite high). I am sort of on the fence about it now.
Defiler of Dreams - Certainly a better payoff than the white Defiler though still one that I am not sure becomes absolutely necessary. This deck is already big on card draw as it is. Though, really, you can't have too many cards. The mana cost does cause a bit of trepidation as, at that cost, I would hope for something a bit more impactful and I am not sure how much I care about the cost reduction. I will think on it but I don't believe I have the room for this at the moment.
White Cards
Prayer of Binding - Flash always gets things higher on the list to include and removal and life gain are nice to see. However, 4 mana and not being a creature sort of push it back down the list. If this was on a creature I might give it more consideration, even at this mana cost, but as it is I don't think it is the greatest option.
Serra Paragon - This is mainly attractive for the land drop aspect and I think it does well. I am not a huge fan of the memory issues the card imposes though (it is going to be way to easy to forget that the land I played 10 turns ago is supposed to be exiled if it gets destroyed).
Blue Cards
Defiler of Dreams - Certainly a better payoff than the white Defiler though still one that I am not sure becomes absolutely necessary. This deck is already big on card draw as it is. Though, really, you can't have too many cards. The mana cost does cause a bit of trepidation as, at that cost, I would hope for something a bit more impactful and I am not sure how much I care about the cost reduction. I will think on it but I don't believe I have the room for this at the moment.
Last edited by WizardMN 1 year ago, edited 1 time in total.
The main thing you missed is Stenn, Paranoid Partisan -- a 2 drop creature that ramps into Ephara and then blinks is very, very, very strong. Autoinclude in my opinion. I realize that you've been dialing it back on ramping into Ephara, but Stenn for Azorius Signet will likely you very happy.
Bonus for your deck, it makes Eerie Interlude loops with Archaeomancer into 1W.
(and you may not be into infinite combos, but it makes a lot of infinite combos with Hullbreaker Horror an option if you are so inclined
)
Bonus for your deck, it makes Eerie Interlude loops with Archaeomancer into 1W.
(and you may not be into infinite combos, but it makes a lot of infinite combos with Hullbreaker Horror an option if you are so inclined
)I am not sure I agree with it being an auto-include though it is something I should have at least commented on. Perhaps it is something I should look a bit closer at to determine if it is something I really want. Ramping into Ephara isn't likely to be the main reason to keep it around though. The two Familiars can do that already while also discounting creatures (even though they are limited to specific colors). Only being able to discount one card type also seems too limiting but perhaps I will need to play with it to determine if that is really that much of a concern.
Most 2 mana creatures that ramp into ephara deserve consideration. We don't want to play all of them but I've played Silver Myr and it was pretty good.WizardMN wrote: ↑1 year agoI am not sure I agree with it being an auto-include though it is something I should have at least commented on. Perhaps it is something I should look a bit closer at to determine if it is something I really want. Ramping into Ephara isn't likely to be the main reason to keep it around though. The two Familiars can do that already while also discounting creatures (even though they are limited to specific colors). Only being able to discount one card type also seems too limiting but perhaps I will need to play with it to determine if that is really that much of a concern.
With the ability to survive sweepers, fade nontramply attacks, and subsequently reduce the cost of instants wrapped up on the card it is a slam dunk.
3 mana draw a card at instant speed is a sizable upgrade from azure mage. But the slow blink dodging sweepers is just absurdly good.
Stenn and 3 lands is a keepable 4 card hand. There are not many of those.
With the release of the full Brother's War set, I have gone through to determine what cards might be good for this deck. Or, in some cases, which ones are worthy of discussion even if I may not add them:
Loran of the Third Path - Finally a Reclamation Sage for white. I don't know how often I want to use the draw ability but just having it as an option, without it being the main part of the card, is nice to see. This card likely finds its way into a few decks just off the strength of her ETB ability.
Myrel, Shield of Argive - I think this ends up being a pretty decent card to add. She protects us on our turn and also allows us to trigger Ephara fairly consistently. I believe there are better options for both abilities on other cards, but nothing else gives us the effects on one card which I think could be important. Being a 4 drop is likely the biggest issue but I could see finding a spot for her. I wouldn't say I am completely enamored with her as spots are tight, but she looks good.
Soul Partition - This is a very interesting removal spell and exiling is very important in a lot of cases. I am not sure if leaving them the ability to cast the card still means it isn't good enough. I think in other formats the tempo loss can be devastating but in EDH it basically just makes them cast their card again. It is still a very cheap, basically unconditional removal spell which might make it worthwhile. I am cautious about it though and probably won't jump to adding it quite yet. Though I might pick some up just in case.
Disciple of Caelus Nin - I don't think this is a good card but I do want to call it out as to just being an interesting "counter" to Teferi's Protection. Having someone phase stuff out and then dropping this to completely shut them out of the game seems pretty solid. So, hopefully I never see it after I phase my stuff out!
Scholar of New Horizons - I am not sure on this one. I don't think I have a good way to reload its counter and even with that, I think it will be more common that I "just" get a land to hand. Maybe that is enough though? It does at least ensure a land drop at least once and it is a creature to trigger Ephara so I can sort of see the appeal. But I think it ends up being "do nothing" more often than not.
Flow of Knowledge - This deck already has enough card draw that a 5 mana draw is a tough sell. In a mono-blue deck though, I could see this being quite the powerhouse.
Hurkyl's Final Meditation - I actually do like this card. I don't personally see an issue with Cyclonic Rift but this seems to more or less solve the larger issues with it while still giving blue a mass bounce option. 10 mana, which is likely what we want to cast it for, it a very hard sell though. I might pick one or two up, but I am not sure where I would actually play this.
White Cards
Myrel, Shield of Argive - I think this ends up being a pretty decent card to add. She protects us on our turn and also allows us to trigger Ephara fairly consistently. I believe there are better options for both abilities on other cards, but nothing else gives us the effects on one card which I think could be important. Being a 4 drop is likely the biggest issue but I could see finding a spot for her. I wouldn't say I am completely enamored with her as spots are tight, but she looks good.
Soul Partition - This is a very interesting removal spell and exiling is very important in a lot of cases. I am not sure if leaving them the ability to cast the card still means it isn't good enough. I think in other formats the tempo loss can be devastating but in EDH it basically just makes them cast their card again. It is still a very cheap, basically unconditional removal spell which might make it worthwhile. I am cautious about it though and probably won't jump to adding it quite yet. Though I might pick some up just in case.
Disciple of Caelus Nin - I don't think this is a good card but I do want to call it out as to just being an interesting "counter" to Teferi's Protection. Having someone phase stuff out and then dropping this to completely shut them out of the game seems pretty solid. So, hopefully I never see it after I phase my stuff out!
Scholar of New Horizons - I am not sure on this one. I don't think I have a good way to reload its counter and even with that, I think it will be more common that I "just" get a land to hand. Maybe that is enough though? It does at least ensure a land drop at least once and it is a creature to trigger Ephara so I can sort of see the appeal. But I think it ends up being "do nothing" more often than not.
Blue Cards
Hurkyl's Final Meditation - I actually do like this card. I don't personally see an issue with Cyclonic Rift but this seems to more or less solve the larger issues with it while still giving blue a mass bounce option. 10 mana, which is likely what we want to cast it for, it a very hard sell though. I might pick one or two up, but I am not sure where I would actually play this.
Here are some further changes I am making to this deck:
I am definitely getting into a point where I am not really making changes based on performance due to the fact that I am not actually playing these decks anymore. It is something I keep telling myself to fix and I have started talking to my group again to get playing at a new store. But, for now, these changes are not based on game performance.
With that being said, I know I want Loran in this deck. With this and Cathar Commando, White is finally really catching up to green for the disenchant on a body cards. Green obviously has more, but getting these are nice to see. And Loran does have 2 other relevant abilities which could come in handy.
Myrel I am not as sure about but the effects are good and worth running. This is another card that likely becomes a cut later as I try to find more room for new things, but I am willing to try it out for now.
As for cuts, there aren't many. As mentioned in my previous post, this list is pretty tight so finding the right cuts are tough. Serra's Emissary is one that I have never cast since I haven't played the deck since adding it, but in the interest of cutting down the curve, it is geting the axe. It was mostly added as a fun card to use, but I don't think is one that is absolutely necessary to the deck. I might find a way to add it back in because the effect is extraordinarily good, but I couldn't find anything else I wanted to cut.
Teferi is the actual cut online even though Planetar is the one that is supposed to be in the list. The problem is that Planetar is not online so Teferi was left in its place. I am partly cutting this just to sync things up (Lae'zel's Acrobatics still isn't online and Talisman is still online in its place so it isn't in perfect sync yet) and I may revisit this in the future.
11/13/2022
Approximate Total Cost:
I am definitely getting into a point where I am not really making changes based on performance due to the fact that I am not actually playing these decks anymore. It is something I keep telling myself to fix and I have started talking to my group again to get playing at a new store. But, for now, these changes are not based on game performance.
With that being said, I know I want Loran in this deck. With this and Cathar Commando, White is finally really catching up to green for the disenchant on a body cards. Green obviously has more, but getting these are nice to see. And Loran does have 2 other relevant abilities which could come in handy.
Myrel I am not as sure about but the effects are good and worth running. This is another card that likely becomes a cut later as I try to find more room for new things, but I am willing to try it out for now.
As for cuts, there aren't many. As mentioned in my previous post, this list is pretty tight so finding the right cuts are tough. Serra's Emissary is one that I have never cast since I haven't played the deck since adding it, but in the interest of cutting down the curve, it is geting the axe. It was mostly added as a fun card to use, but I don't think is one that is absolutely necessary to the deck. I might find a way to add it back in because the effect is extraordinarily good, but I couldn't find anything else I wanted to cut.
Teferi is the actual cut online even though Planetar is the one that is supposed to be in the list. The problem is that Planetar is not online so Teferi was left in its place. I am partly cutting this just to sync things up (Lae'zel's Acrobatics still isn't online and Talisman is still online in its place so it isn't in perfect sync yet) and I may revisit this in the future.
With the full set spoiled for Phyrexia, All is One, here are some of the cards I am looking at.
Annex Sentry - This isn't the worst card here as more creature removal is always welcome. And adding in the possibility (however slim) of being able to win off poison is a way to speed up the clock. Overall though, it just falls short of anything the deck wants. It dies easily, the permanent is not exiled permanently, and Poison without further support is unlikely to do much. Especially on a card that dies to everything.
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines - I like her as a hate card and one that supports our gameplan as we do have a fair amount of cards that have ETB triggers. There aren't a ton but there are enough. I am not sure it is needed but I like the idea of doubling up on things like Mulldrifter, Faerie Artisans, Venser, Shaper Savant, and even Whitemane Lion could be useful in the right situations. I don't know what I would do to fit it in nor am I positive it is the right choice, but it seems like it could be good.
Phyrexian Vindicator - This just seems like a good creature overall and one that can also act as either creature or planeswalker removal or even just being a clock to end the game. It also nearly turns on Ephara by itself which allows for a little more aggression in the list. Turning on Ephara isn't always the best idea since then she can be exiled easier but being able to swing with her on turn 5, for example, might not be too bad. This is one of those cards that is "just" a beater but it can be a good addition overall. Not quite a good as the Obliterator but still a way to cause our opponents to rethink attacking us or blocking the flyer.
Skrelv's Hive - A white Bitterblossom seems pretty good. Yeah, they don't fly nor can they block but they can certainly build up an army. And each token ensures Ephara triggers that turn which is good. I am not sure even this is enough to be able to get opponents to the 3 poison counters (not to mention actually getting to 10) but it still seems like a good way to create tokens every turn without any additional mana investment.
Mindsplice Apparatus - It has Flash which is already a plus. And it makes spells cheaper which is also good. However, it does nothing on its own (that is, it has no other relevant abilities) and the deck only has 20 instants or sorceries so it just misses the mark for Ephara. It might be good in other decks, just not quite there for this one.
White Cards
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines - I like her as a hate card and one that supports our gameplan as we do have a fair amount of cards that have ETB triggers. There aren't a ton but there are enough. I am not sure it is needed but I like the idea of doubling up on things like Mulldrifter, Faerie Artisans, Venser, Shaper Savant, and even Whitemane Lion could be useful in the right situations. I don't know what I would do to fit it in nor am I positive it is the right choice, but it seems like it could be good.
Phyrexian Vindicator - This just seems like a good creature overall and one that can also act as either creature or planeswalker removal or even just being a clock to end the game. It also nearly turns on Ephara by itself which allows for a little more aggression in the list. Turning on Ephara isn't always the best idea since then she can be exiled easier but being able to swing with her on turn 5, for example, might not be too bad. This is one of those cards that is "just" a beater but it can be a good addition overall. Not quite a good as the Obliterator but still a way to cause our opponents to rethink attacking us or blocking the flyer.
Skrelv's Hive - A white Bitterblossom seems pretty good. Yeah, they don't fly nor can they block but they can certainly build up an army. And each token ensures Ephara triggers that turn which is good. I am not sure even this is enough to be able to get opponents to the 3 poison counters (not to mention actually getting to 10) but it still seems like a good way to create tokens every turn without any additional mana investment.
Blue Cards
I played this last night against Mogis, God of Slaughter, Omnath, Locus of All, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines. Just to get ahead of things, there was a UI "thing" that greatly affected the game so it might not be a true indicator of the deck.
I started off by needing to mull to 6. My first hand had Mana Crypt but only one land (Winding Canyons) and the second hand had 0 lands. I was able to keep a hand with enough lands but not much in the way of ramp. It still let me get Ephara down turn 4. The main issue was the lack of creatures to trigger Ephara. So things were a bit slow going to really do a lot. I mainly had Remorseful Cleric out as my only creature for 2 or 3 turns.
In the mean time, Mogis was getting their commander down along with things like Blood Sun. They did try to cast Painful Quandary but I had to counter that. Elesh Norn got their commander down too and was able to start getting a few things going. Nothing big but Priest of Ancient Lore coupled with Teleportation Circle allowed them to really keep their hand full. And there wasn't much I had to deal with it.
Beyond this though, the game was not moving much at all. Omnath was doing very little and Mogis was doing a couple things (like Skull Rend) but beyond that not much was happening.
I was able to get a couple other creatures. I cast Stormscape Familiar which let me draw a card but the other cards in my hand had ETB triggers (Spell Queller and Glorious Protector) which Elesh Norn shut off. However, the weirdest thing happened around this time: Mogis cast Illicit Auction targeting Elesh Norn. That, in itself, isn't that odd but the UI messed up at least one person. Instead of the UI asking you what you want your bid to be, it asks how much you want to raise it. So, Mogis started it somewhere, Elesh Norn went to 7, Mogis went to 27 (I am not sure if they wanted to be at 20 or raise 20), and then Elesh Norn clearly wanted to bid 32. However, they instead *raised* it 32 which put it at 59. Which they didn't have so they immediately lost the game.....
From there, Omnath started trying to build a board and got out Grave Titan followed by Hoarding Broodlord while Mogis tried casting Erebos, God of the Dead. I countered Erebos with Spell Queller. Omnath then cast Underworld Dreams and Midnight Banshee. The Banshee would eventually wipe my board but there wasn't much I could do about it.
Mogis then cast Exsanguinate which I let go. It put me to 14 and Omnath to 9. It got them back up above 20 I believe. However, right after that, Omnath cast Peer into the Abyss targeting Mogis which killed them. This ended up working out great as it got rid of someone and I had an answer to it if I needed it anyway (Fierce Guardianship).
Now that it was just the two of us, I tried to go a little more aggressive. I still had the Banshee to contend with but I was trying a few things to get around it since I never drew any removal. I did use Venser, Shaper Savant to bounce it for a turn but it just came back. They then cast Bolas's Citadel which I let go since they were at a low life total anyway. They then tried to cast Omnath which I did a bit to counter and win the game at the same time. I cast Glorious Protector to exile my Venser and Spell Queller. I then cast Prized Amalgam to sacrifice Glorious Protector to get back Venser (Spell Queller couldn't do much but this did remove the counters on it) and used that to bounce Banshee. Amalgam countered Omnath. So, now, I was tapped out and they had no creatures on board whereas I had 4 now that Ephara was turned on.
Omnath then tried to cast Damnation with their remaining mana but I cast Fierce Guardianship for free to counter it and they scooped.
Beyond starting off slow with few creatures, the game ended up going pretty well. I doubt it would have though if Elesh Norn was still around as that does shut down this deck pretty well. And I am not sure I ever really got to an answer for it (though I might have since the game likely would have gone on longer). In any case, I was pleased with how things worked and don't have a strong opinion of things that need to change at this time.
Start of Summary
In the mean time, Mogis was getting their commander down along with things like Blood Sun. They did try to cast Painful Quandary but I had to counter that. Elesh Norn got their commander down too and was able to start getting a few things going. Nothing big but Priest of Ancient Lore coupled with Teleportation Circle allowed them to really keep their hand full. And there wasn't much I had to deal with it.
Beyond this though, the game was not moving much at all. Omnath was doing very little and Mogis was doing a couple things (like Skull Rend) but beyond that not much was happening.
I was able to get a couple other creatures. I cast Stormscape Familiar which let me draw a card but the other cards in my hand had ETB triggers (Spell Queller and Glorious Protector) which Elesh Norn shut off. However, the weirdest thing happened around this time: Mogis cast Illicit Auction targeting Elesh Norn. That, in itself, isn't that odd but the UI messed up at least one person. Instead of the UI asking you what you want your bid to be, it asks how much you want to raise it. So, Mogis started it somewhere, Elesh Norn went to 7, Mogis went to 27 (I am not sure if they wanted to be at 20 or raise 20), and then Elesh Norn clearly wanted to bid 32. However, they instead *raised* it 32 which put it at 59. Which they didn't have so they immediately lost the game.....
From there, Omnath started trying to build a board and got out Grave Titan followed by Hoarding Broodlord while Mogis tried casting Erebos, God of the Dead. I countered Erebos with Spell Queller. Omnath then cast Underworld Dreams and Midnight Banshee. The Banshee would eventually wipe my board but there wasn't much I could do about it.
Mogis then cast Exsanguinate which I let go. It put me to 14 and Omnath to 9. It got them back up above 20 I believe. However, right after that, Omnath cast Peer into the Abyss targeting Mogis which killed them. This ended up working out great as it got rid of someone and I had an answer to it if I needed it anyway (Fierce Guardianship).
Now that it was just the two of us, I tried to go a little more aggressive. I still had the Banshee to contend with but I was trying a few things to get around it since I never drew any removal. I did use Venser, Shaper Savant to bounce it for a turn but it just came back. They then cast Bolas's Citadel which I let go since they were at a low life total anyway. They then tried to cast Omnath which I did a bit to counter and win the game at the same time. I cast Glorious Protector to exile my Venser and Spell Queller. I then cast Prized Amalgam to sacrifice Glorious Protector to get back Venser (Spell Queller couldn't do much but this did remove the counters on it) and used that to bounce Banshee. Amalgam countered Omnath. So, now, I was tapped out and they had no creatures on board whereas I had 4 now that Ephara was turned on.
Omnath then tried to cast Damnation with their remaining mana but I cast Fierce Guardianship for free to counter it and they scooped.
End of Summary
Here are my thoughts regarding March of the Machine, March of the Machine: Commander, and March of the Machine: Aftermath. I am also potentially including cards from Warhammer 40k Commander since I got behind a little:
Sunfall - I like this though it isn't all that great in practice probably. Exiling my own stuff is detrimental but having a wrath that can get rid of indestructible creatures is pretty good. I think there is likely a place for it since it does replace itself and this deck likely ends up being a reasonable spot thanks to Ephara not always being turned on (hopefully). The token won't trigger her unfortunately but it does give a little in the way of rebuilding. I likely won't do anything with it, but I don't think it is a terrible option.
Excise the Imperfect - An instant timing answer to basically anything. The main issue is that I am not sure on the power/downside of providing an Incubate token. I think in most cases I would probably rather deal with a 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, or whatever token than I would with whatever it is I am trying to remove. The main downside is simply that if it is stopping one from dying to combat damage, the token probably ends up being enough to deal the killing blow next year anyway. But that is a fairly small issue considering all the powerful permanents that exist out there.
Faerie Mastermind - This is likely one of my favorite cards of the set. It is understandable as it is clearly powerful, though arguably not all that flashy. I think it has huge potential to offset the balance in card advantage. The activated ability is sketchy: activating it likely gets me 2 cards while everyone else gets 1. Overall, that puts me behind 2 cards to 3 but there is enough card draw in this format that I think just sitting on the field, especially early, can draw quite a few cards.
Sister of Silence - This is a decent card due to the flexibility in terms of what it counters, but it doesn't go quite far enough. It still misses a lot of things and countering abilities isn't always worth adding a card for if it can't hit all spells. And 5 mana just pushes it too far outside the realm of playable due to the limitations. Either 4 mana or unconditional countering probably would have led to it being added.
Errant and Giada - This fits the theme of the deck well as a lot of things here have either Flash or Flying. I am not sure on how often I will actually have something on top that matters but it does potentially give access to one additional card each turn. I am not sure I want to include it but it seems like it could make sense.
Heliod, the Radiant Dawn - The back side of this is pretty good. It is a cost reducer along with a way to further support Flash. But, the front side is not very good in this build and spending 4 mana to then spend 3 mana and 2 life seems to be too high a cost to really want to include this in the list.
White Cards
Excise the Imperfect - An instant timing answer to basically anything. The main issue is that I am not sure on the power/downside of providing an Incubate token. I think in most cases I would probably rather deal with a 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, or whatever token than I would with whatever it is I am trying to remove. The main downside is simply that if it is stopping one from dying to combat damage, the token probably ends up being enough to deal the killing blow next year anyway. But that is a fairly small issue considering all the powerful permanents that exist out there.
Blue Cards
Sister of Silence - This is a decent card due to the flexibility in terms of what it counters, but it doesn't go quite far enough. It still misses a lot of things and countering abilities isn't always worth adding a card for if it can't hit all spells. And 5 mana just pushes it too far outside the realm of playable due to the limitations. Either 4 mana or unconditional countering probably would have led to it being added.
Multicolor Cards
Heliod, the Radiant Dawn - The back side of this is pretty good. It is a cost reducer along with a way to further support Flash. But, the front side is not very good in this build and spending 4 mana to then spend 3 mana and 2 life seems to be too high a cost to really want to include this in the list.
Not a whole lot of changes I want to make at this time, but I do want to try out a new card:
Technically, online, this is cutting Talisman of Progress since Acrobatics isn't online but I figured I could go down the mass exile and return for now. I still like Acrobatics, but not being online means I would rather just use this opportunity to mostly sync up paper and online.
Technically, online, this is cutting Talisman of Progress since Acrobatics isn't online but I figured I could go down the mass exile and return for now. I still like Acrobatics, but not being online means I would rather just use this opportunity to mostly sync up paper and online.
I played this game last night but the games blended together so I will just offer some thoughts and highlights from the game.
I was able to get down Ephara on turn 4 but didn't have a lot of creatures early on. I did get a few later with one being Faerie Mastermind which is as good as I expected so far. A few flash creatures got me some more cards during other turns and I was able to keep control of the game for the most part with my creatures. However, I did get behind for a little while and went down to 9. And then cast Resolute Archangel to go back to 40. I was able to then get down Hullbreaker Horror (which died very shortly afterwards) and then just flooded the board with a few smaller creatures.
Mulldrifter, with things like Soulherder and Sword of Hearth and Home really kept my hand full. Reliquary Tower let me keep everything in hand and I got up to about 14-15 cards in hand at one point. This allowed me to retain numerous answers as the others kept trying to get through my defenses. Cosmic Intervention saved my board once but then another wrath took down my board.
I don't think I ever really came across anything I felt was truly superfluous but there are a few cards that I could see being cut if it came down to it. Cosmic Intervention, Cosima, God of the Voyage // The Omenkeel, Hullbreaker Horror and maybe Overcharged Amalgam if I really had to (though I think that might be last on this list);. All in all though, things are working well and I like where the deck is at right now.
I was able to get down Ephara on turn 4 but didn't have a lot of creatures early on. I did get a few later with one being Faerie Mastermind which is as good as I expected so far. A few flash creatures got me some more cards during other turns and I was able to keep control of the game for the most part with my creatures. However, I did get behind for a little while and went down to 9. And then cast Resolute Archangel to go back to 40. I was able to then get down Hullbreaker Horror (which died very shortly afterwards) and then just flooded the board with a few smaller creatures.
Mulldrifter, with things like Soulherder and Sword of Hearth and Home really kept my hand full. Reliquary Tower let me keep everything in hand and I got up to about 14-15 cards in hand at one point. This allowed me to retain numerous answers as the others kept trying to get through my defenses. Cosmic Intervention saved my board once but then another wrath took down my board.
I don't think I ever really came across anything I felt was truly superfluous but there are a few cards that I could see being cut if it came down to it. Cosmic Intervention, Cosima, God of the Voyage // The Omenkeel, Hullbreaker Horror and maybe Overcharged Amalgam if I really had to (though I think that might be last on this list);. All in all though, things are working well and I like where the deck is at right now.
That's a good idea. I was looking at that based on some of your comments in your thread and I think it ends up being a pretty good option. I think that is an easy swap if for Cosima especially at least.
I tried to play this deck yesterday and I didn't do much at all with it. I ended up taking a mulligan 6 times!!! I still kept 6 because I still wanted to play the game but even then, I missed a couple land drops and took forever to get to my third land drop. And Sensei's Divining Top is what actually helped me get there. So, overall the Magic Gods just didn't want me to play the game.
Against all odds, I still ended winning the game. With the mana I had, I cast Archivist of Oghma, Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate, and Guardian of Faith along with Ephara herself. Because I was doing so little, and another opponent was getting out of control with their board, I stayed under the radar. The player who got out of control was killed and then I was able to finally get to my third white mana for Hour of Revelation. Linvala kept my board alive and I wrathed the board and then just attacked the other two people to win the game.
I don't know why the deck refused to give me lands so much but I guess it just goes like that some times. Not a lot to talk about though beyond that.
Against all odds, I still ended winning the game. With the mana I had, I cast Archivist of Oghma, Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate, and Guardian of Faith along with Ephara herself. Because I was doing so little, and another opponent was getting out of control with their board, I stayed under the radar. The player who got out of control was killed and then I was able to finally get to my third white mana for Hour of Revelation. Linvala kept my board alive and I wrathed the board and then just attacked the other two people to win the game.
I don't know why the deck refused to give me lands so much but I guess it just goes like that some times. Not a lot to talk about though beyond that.
Here are my thoughts regarding Lord of the Rings and the LOTR Commander set:
Samwise, the Stouthearted - Having Flash is a big deal here and even using him to get back a fetchland to ensure another land drop is decent. The ceiling of course being much higher. I will see if I can find room for him.
Westfold Rider - I would almost certainly add this into a bunch of decks, this one especially, if that pesky "Activate only as a sorcery" clause wasn't there. As it is, it is not good enough to bother including.
The Watcher in the Water - This seems like a card made for this deck. The turn this enters, it just continues triggering itself forever until it gets removed. Every token gives me a card next turn and then the token gives me a card. Granted, I don't get the trigger on my turn so there is the potential for it to stop but it shouldn't be too difficult to keep it going pretty often.
White Cards
Westfold Rider - I would almost certainly add this into a bunch of decks, this one especially, if that pesky "Activate only as a sorcery" clause wasn't there. As it is, it is not good enough to bother including.
Blue Cards
Yeah, after seeing 4 additional cards you should be finding a creature or a way to make one
I am going to try these changes out:
The two adds were talked about above and I think they make sense in the deck. Hullbreaker Horror is just expensive and can be tough to really get going at the right time. And Cosima is one I have been waffling on for quite a while and I think it makes sense to finally cut her.
7/5/2023
Approximate Total Cost:
The two adds were talked about above and I think they make sense in the deck. Hullbreaker Horror is just expensive and can be tough to really get going at the right time. And Cosima is one I have been waffling on for quite a while and I think it makes sense to finally cut her.
