Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

[SocorroTortoise]

Another deck posting because I comment on similar lists on a semi-regular basis and figure I should have my version posted. This particular list is a brand new (and therefore untuned) build, but I've played very similar lists with the same general in the past.

Decklist

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander

1 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

Creature

1 Alms Collector

1 Aven Mindcensor

1 Battletide Alchemist

1 Boreas Charger

1 Devoted Caretaker

1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

1 Emeria Angel

1 Emeria Shepherd

1 Giver of Runes

1 God-Eternal Oketra

1 Karmic Guide

1 Knight of the White Orchid

1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

1 Mentor of the Meek

1 Mirran Crusader

1 Mother of Runes

1 Oreskos Explorer

1 Painter's Servant

1 Ranger-Captain of Eos

1 Recruiter of the Guard

1 Samite Elder

1 Scaretiller

1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Stonehewer Giant

1 Sun Titan

1 Weathered Wayfarer

Artifact

1 Blackblade Reforged

1 Endless Atlas

1 Loxodon Warhammer

1 Mask of Memory

1 Smuggler's Copter

1 Swiftfoot Boots

1 Sword of Light and Shadow

1 Sword of the Animist

1 Sword of Truth and Justice

1 Sword of War and Peace

Enchantment

1 Aura of Silence

1 Circle of Protection: White

1 Crackdown

1 Earnest Fellowship

1 Endless Horizons

1 Flickering Ward

1 Land Tax

1 Rune of Protection: White

1 Smothering Tithe

1 Sphere of Truth

Instant

1 Abolish

1 Brought Back

1 Eerie Interlude

1 Faith's Reward

1 Forsake the Worldly

1 Generous Gift

1 Path to Exile

1 Second Sunrise

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Teferi's Protection

1 Tithe

1 Unexpectedly Absent

1 Valorous Stance

Sorcery

1 Austere Command

1 Gift of Estates

1 Sevinne's Reclamation

Land

1 Arch of Orazca

1 Arid Mesa

1 Castle Ardenvale

1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin

1 Flagstones of Trokair

1 Flooded Strand

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Karoo

1 Kor Haven

1 Lotus Field

1 Marsh Flats

1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

1 Prismatic Vista

1 Thespian's Stage

1 Wasteland

1 Windswept Heath

21 Plains

Approximate Total Cost:

Changelog

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October 24, 2019

In

+ Samite Elder
+ Castle Ardenvale

Out

- Reveillark
- Plains

A couple edits reflecting one card I forgot and one new printing. 8.5 Tails feels like a pretty ideal place to play Elder, which is an old pet card of mine. Lark was mostly here as a value recursion piece and doesn't have any particular synergy without sac outlets in the deck so no great loss there. I'm not sure how much I actually need the Castle but the opportunity cost of running it in a mono-W list with a relatively low number of plains matter cards and plenty of ways to tutor out basics is virtually nil, so I might as well have a little bit of extra utility in the manabase.

A lot of the card choices here are made with hitting land drops and keeping card in hand in mind. Monowhite does well with recursion and equipment, so a lot of the card advantage choices are trying to play to those strengths. There's of course some cute things to do with Eight-and-a-Half-Tails' ability, because where else can I realistically play Earnest Fellowship or Sphere of Truth. Win cons are Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Blackblade Reforged (probably on Tails for general damage), and repeated hits from Swords, all backed up by protection and recursion.

I know I'm missing GY hate. I figure I'll get blown out once or twice and then cut an underperformer for a couple pieces. I'm not yet sure if I want to stick to Tormod's Crypt-esque effects due to my own recursion or if the convenience of Scavenger Grounds and card draw on Relic of Progenitus is going to bring me to those. I'm also running very light on wraths intentionally. Tails does an excellent job of protecting from spot removal and of gumming up the board, so wraths are among the easiest way to answer the board state. I may want to go deeper on those for the same reasons - Tails encouraging people to overextend could mean additional value off of wraths. I'm planning on waiting to see how the deck plays before making that call.