God-Eternal Oketra

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Commander Analysis
Current Decklist
Card Choice Discussion
Credits & Thanks
Change Log

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Introduction

Oketra is the God-Eternal that doesn't see color. Commander rules dictate that I can only play white cards, but most of them end up producing black tokens before they even hit the table. Furthermore, the art on GE Oketra indicates that s/he is mostly purple, which matches these lovely purple Plains that are covered in white snow...

Anywho, feel free to enjoy this deck. Like most of my creations, it will be cohesive, mostly on-theme, work much better with the commander than without it, etc. I'll also try to refrain from the infinite combos, but if something naturally happens to come together, so be it.

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Why play GE Oketra?

My approach started with the idea of getting a lot of mileage out of Oketra and various "self-bounce" creatures, namely Whitemane Lion, Stonecloaker, etc. From there, I reckoned that soul sisters would also be a solid package. The rest of the deck filled up pretty quickly with various staples needed to make mono-white attempt to survive in a world dominated by Cultivates and Fact or Fictions.

You'll like this deck if . . .

you think purple should be a sixth color
you don't see color
you like flashing in creatures
you think all zombies should be white
you think white needs some love in this format

Why not play GE Oketra?

You won't like this deck if . . .

you don't like white cards
you don't like purple cards
your life total is just a resource
you don't like attacking
you don't like a challenge
you want to combo off

Alternate Commanders

Other mono-white Generals

Heliod, God of the Sun - A fun mono-white commander that pumps out enchantment-creature tokens. Best when used with Skybind. @ISBPathfinder has all the bases covered in his thread.
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle - Best used to combo with lots of eggs, but can also be an aggro strategy.
Balan, Wandering Knight - Really good at picking up all the swords, hammers, and axes lying around, but more of a one-trick pony.
Heliod, Sun-Crowned: The new god on the block. Inevitably forever linked to Walking Ballista and Triskelion. @darrenhabib has a solid list here if you want to check it out.

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Current Decklist

God-Eternal Oketra, who doesn't see color

Approximate Total Cost:

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Card Choice Discussion

Notable exclusions

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This list is still pretty new, and there are a few cards that I haven't quite tracked down yet:
- Angel of Finality: A reasonable grave-hater with some upside as a flying creature.
- Charming Prince: Each of the three modes are small, but the versatility could add up to a card.
- Emeria Shepherd: Expensive, but very strong way to recur a lot of things.
- Heliod, Sun-Crowned: While I'm not going to go so far as to scrap Oketra for the shiny new white god, there's enough overlap between these two decks that Heliod will make an appearance as soon as I get one.
- Song of the Worldsoul: Expensive, but double your tokens.
- *zombie warrior tokens*: For some reason, these things are like $2-3 apiece right now, which is way too rich for me.

A few other functional duplicates that didn't quite make the cut:
- Aviary Mechanic: Doesn't come with flash or any other upsides.
- Impassioned Orator: A Soul Warden that costs two mana but doesn't come with upsides.
- Palace Jailer: All of the bouncing creatures would stack nicely with this card. Hmm...
- Path to Exile: One thing this deck has no shortage of is creature removal, and this was the one I didn't have any extra copies of.
- Ranger of Eos: I ended up with only a few actual one-drop creatures, so this felt less necessary.

...and finally, a few "staples" that just didn't fit:
- Aetherflux Reservoir: Every time I've seen this card played, it's super lame and just ends someone's night. If that becomes necessary, then so be it.
- Land Tax: I've never really liked this card without some way to use the extra lands, and this deck doesn't have that.
- Gauntlet of Power and Caged Sun: If you name white, then none of your black tokens get the bonus. If you name black, you can't double your mana.
- Ugin and other planeswalkers: Trying to get the most out of The Immortal Sun, so less planeswalkers.

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Credit & Thanks

Coming Soon!

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Change Log

1/7/19

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1/7/19

ADDS

1 Arid Mesa

1 Marsh Flats

1 Kor Haven

CUTS

1 Evolving Wilds

1 Scrying Sheets

1 Snow-Covered Plains

Approximate Total Cost:

2/6/20

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2/6/20

ADDS

1 Idol of Oblivion

1 Pearl Medallion

CUTS

1 Forsake the Worldly

1 Oblation

Approximate Total Cost:

2/12/20

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2/12/20

ADDS

1 Ajani, Strength of the Pride

CUTS

1 Hour of Revelation

Approximate Total Cost:

2/13/20

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2/13/20

ADDS:

1 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun

1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Mask of Memory

1 Sword of the Animist

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

1 Sword of Fire and Ice

CUTS:

1 Mother of Runes

1 Emancipation Angel

1 Mangara of Corondor

1 Alms Collector

1 Selfless Squire

1 Anointed Procession

Approximate Total Cost:

Picked up a shiny copy of new Daxos, trying out a Stoneforge package in favor of some awkward cards.

2/19/20

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2/19/20

ADDS:

1 Gold Myr

1 Blast Zone

1 Flagstones of Trokair

CUTS:

1 Marble Diamond

2 Snow-Covered Plains

Approximate Total Cost:

Gold Myr is a creature that triggers Oketra and others. Added a couple more utility lands.

2/25/20

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2/25/20

ADDS:

1 Cataclysmic Gearhulk

CUTS:

1 Sword of Fire and Ice

Approximate Total Cost:

Didn't have an extra copy of SoFaI, Gearhulk can be found with Enlightened Tutor.

Discord · Post by **Feyd_Ruin** » 4 years ago

Thoughts on Eiganjo Free-Riders?

It keeps the bouncing theme going for Oketra, and can also restart it later if need be.
Upkeep, bounce the Whitemane, which you recast to bounce the Threban Inspector, and for 3 mana you got your 4/4s, soul sister life, and an investigation. Even if you don't have other bouncers, it keeps the tokens going by bouncing any 1 cmc critter you have, or repeats an enters-trigger, etc.

Also, white soldiers riding around on giant moths sounds purple to me ^_^

MeowZeDung · Post by **MeowZeDung** » 4 years ago

Sweet! I love mono white, just for the challenge if nothing else! Plus, I love Emeria, the Sky Ruin

A buddy has a cool Oketra list that's a lot like this from what I can remember, and it does work!

You can really go off with Guide + Lark + Thraben Inspector / Mardu Woe Reaper and a sac outlet. Maybe Fanatical Devotion or Martyr's Cause?

Some cards off the top of my head that might be worth looking at:

Sweet as they are, I think you might be better off without Blind Obedience and True Conviction and instead run some other lifegain creatures like Impassioned Orator, Serra Ascendant, Aerial Responder, or Resplendent Angel. Similarly, you may look at Gold Myr, Palladium Myr, Burnished Hart, Guardian Idol, etc. to replace a rock or two. You do already have a high creature count though, so it may be unnecessary.

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

Wow, thanks for the early feedback!
- Eiganjo Free-Riders: it's a few places down on the list of self-bounces, due to the cost and the delayed payoff, but it's on the list.
- Emeria is probably my favorite land ever! It might even be worth running Vesuva or Expedition Map to go find it.
- Aviary Mechanic and Impassioned Orator just barely missed the cut in their respective categories.
- Serra Ascendant will need to wait until I get a few games with the deck to see how often it's big enough to rumble.
- I don't think any old life-gain card will be good enough for what this deck wants to do. However, Resplendent Angel is probably worth it if I can reliably put a Soul Sister on the table.
- Blind Obedience is a card I've seen do a lot of work across the table, but I've never been able to fit into my own decks. It's cheap enough and does enough of the things that this deck seems to want to do that I'm gonna give it an honest shot. True Conviction has a similar profile, but the bigger CMC gives it a much shorter leash.
- I considered Gold Myr and Burnished Hart, but ultimately left them out to start. The Myr is a little too fragile and the Hart is a little too expensive, even after I buy it back.

One thing I'm looking for a little more of is recursion, which is the closest thing that white has to extra draw power. Crucible of Worlds and an expanded land package top that list, which would mean cutting Scrying Sheets.

As always, I appreciate the responses. Keep 'em coming!

MeowZeDung · Post by **MeowZeDung** » 4 years ago

I respect that. I think I would be tempted to pursue more lifegain just because lots of cheap white creatures are good at it, and there are strong payoffs for it, but I understand your reasoning.

For recursion: you suggested Brought Back in the Kykar thread. Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle is am option too.

Edit: Bounty Agent seems great in a creature heavy mono white deck.

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

Hmm, that's a good point about Brought Back. I'll have to pick up some more copies.

weltkrieg · Post by **weltkrieg** » 4 years ago

I don't know how up you are for techy play, but since the zombie tokens have vigilance, I think Diversionary Tactics would be worth consideration. Declare attackers, and then before blocks you could use any given 2 of them to tap down a problematic blocker.

That said, most of the creatures you're wanting to see in this deck have a low converted mana cost. What about order of whiteclay?

Post by **pokken** » 4 years ago

This deck is borderline on proclamation of rebirth. If you add the ornithopter and memnite line (which I think might be right) I think it's worth it.

weltkrieg · Post by **weltkrieg** » 4 years ago

pokken wrote: ↑
4 years ago
This deck is borderline on proclamation of rebirth. If you add the ornithopter and memnite line (which I think might be right) I think it's worth it.

I don't see why you would add ornithopter or memnite. I don't see any combo that would require them and these cards do basically nothing on their own. On their own, they don't trigger cloudstone curio (non-artifact clause), and when you cast them, the oketra trigger resolves first.

That said,

-evolving wilds, -windbrisk heights +2 plains. I don't see why you need the shuffle (no scroll rack), and the synergy is soley sun titan. If you really feel you want that once in a blue moon synergy, I think you're better off with other options. Entering tapped is a liability in a deck that ideally wants to spam as many zombies as possible using whitemane lion and friends.

Similarly, I would make the argument that while marble diamond is a fine magic card (I run it in my own builds), cost reduction is where it's at in this build. You already have oketra's monument and to a lesser extent, Immortal sun, but pearl medallion is a lot stronger for reasons I mentioned previously.

For your removal, is there a reason you are running oblation (can be good, but the weakest of the options you already have) or forsake the worldly over return to dust and crush contraband?

Post by **pokken** » 4 years ago

Ornithopter and memnite plus curio makes infinite zombies since the others zombie can bounce one etc. Its a bit wombo but not that hard to set up with reanimation.

Also they go functionally infinite (making 10 or 15 zombies a cycle) with few other dudes.

I do see a lot of advantages to having at least one 0 cost guy since you can go off twice as hard with whitemane and ornithopter is a good card on it's own.

Re ramp...

This deck could probably support springleaf drum. It's very good.

weltkrieg · Post by **weltkrieg** » 4 years ago

Ornithopter and memnite together could make infinite zombies with cloudstone curio, yes, with oketra. Is this what you're saying?

One, however, would not (without some other creature entering). Depending on a 4 card combo in a deck with very little redundancy with cards that don't otherwise have much impact seems like a drawback in my opinion. You also don't have a ton of good ways to find them so the consistency becomes a serious issue.

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

weltkrieg wrote: ↑
4 years ago

pokken wrote: ↑
4 years ago
This deck is borderline on proclamation of rebirth. If you add the ornithopter and memnite line (which I think might be right) I think it's worth it.
I don't see why you would add ornithopter or memnite. I don't see any combo that would require them and these cards do basically nothing on their own. On their own, they don't trigger cloudstone curio (non-artifact clause), and when you cast them, the oketra trigger resolves first.

That said,

-evolving wilds, -windbrisk heights +2 plains. I don't see why you need the shuffle (no scroll rack), and the synergy is soley sun titan. If you really feel you want that once in a blue moon synergy, I think you're better off with other options. Entering tapped is a liability in a deck that ideally wants to spam as many zombies as possible using whitemane lion and friends.

Similarly, I would make the argument that while marble diamond is a fine magic card (I run it in my own builds), cost reduction is where it's at in this build. You already have oketra's monument and to a lesser extent, Immortal sun, but pearl medallion is a lot stronger for reasons I mentioned previously.

For your removal, is there a reason you are running oblation (can be good, but the weakest of the options you already have) or forsake the worldly over return to dust and crush contraband?

Been out sick for almost an entire week, so I missed out on some excellent feedback.
- How many one-drops do you need to run Proclamation of Rebirth? If I was running something like Martyr of Sands or another one-drop that sacrificed itself (nothing really comes to mind), then maybe I'd consider it.
- You make a good point about Evolving Wilds. While I haven't had a chance to play this deck yet (these couple of months are always a dry season for cards, unfortunately), I can easily see adding a package of lands for Crucible of Worlds to make more gradual recursion loops. For now, it might be better to just use a basic, or maybe a white fetch land to get Mistveil Plains and Idyllic Grange.
- I added Windbrisk Heights because it felt easy enough to activate when the time is right. I'll test it out and see how it performs.
- I don't think cutting Marble Diamond is a good call, but I will definitely make room for Pearl Medallion as soon as I find a copy. It's just one of those that I thought I owned, but never found in the binder.
- I wanted to try Oblation as a potential draw spell in a color combo that doesn't have much. I chose Forsake the Worldly because it's a bit cheaper than Crush Contraband and Return to Dust, and the cycling is free upside. The few games I've played recently have favored cheaper spells to more expensive/powerful ones.
- I'll put a disclaimer in the OP, but I have no interest in any infinite combos, so Memnite and friends will not be joining this party.

Post by **pokken** » 4 years ago

Yeah I think you would at minimum want to be running ranger of eos and a couple more 1/0 drops. Proc gets ornithopter dudes back as well, so can just be a game winning bomb in a lot of circumstances.

There are quite a lot of powerful self-sacrificing 1-drop critters.

And that new one that gives something protection.

Haman · Post by **Haman** » 4 years ago

I own a GE oketra deck, but it's constantly changing.
The deck need to get to 6 mana at least, so you can chain your "bouncers".
The crux is how much creatures do you really need to cast, before you cast yr CMDR?
If you ran too much soul sisters or cantripping creatures, you will risk the opponent overrunning you with fatties.
If your meta is comboish, then the deck don't do well also... unless you are willing to get some stax creatures to help out. Rule of law and the creature version helps.
I think you need to revamp yr mass destruction, as they affect yr arifact too much,

If possible try the 2nd odric, or a thalia lancer after a few games with it

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

Haman wrote: ↑
4 years ago
I own a GE oketra deck, but it's constantly changing.
The deck need to get to 6 mana at least, so you can chain your "bouncers".
The crux is how much creatures do you really need to cast, before you cast yr CMDR?
If you ran too much soul sisters or cantripping creatures, you will risk the opponent overrunning you with fatties.
If your meta is comboish, then the deck don't do well also... unless you are willing to get some stax creatures to help out. Rule of law and the creature version helps.

This is some good advice that might have taken me weeks to figure out myself. I appreciate the insight!

Haman wrote: ↑
4 years ago
I think you need to revamp yr mass destruction, as they affect yr arifact too much,

If possible try the 2nd odric, or a thalia lancer after a few games with it

Not sure I agree too much with this part.
- Not counting the ones that should get sacrificed immediately or only exist to cantrip, I only have about 8-10 that actually need to stay on the table, so my odds of hitting too many at the time I need to wipe seems pretty minimal, and white is pretty good at recursion if it really becomes a problem.
- Thalia's Lancers currently has a total of three non-land targets in the deck, and in the OP I've mentioned that planeswalkers aren't going to be a big thing, and I don't need a five-drop tutor.
- If you're referring to Odric, Lunarch Marshal, he has a pretty hefty setup cost. I need to have him in play and ready to attack with enough creatures that can share their ability keywords, and enough creatures to inherit said keywords.

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

Finally got to break this deck out and play a couple of games over the weekend!
- Game 1 was against Alela and Edgar Markov. I never saw a self-bouncing creature, but I did get to a board state with Pearl Medallion, Endless Atlas, and Arch of Orazca. Unfortunately, all of my threats (The Immortal Sun, True Conviction and Cavalier of Dawn) got exiled, and the cards I drew off the Atlas were mostly irrelevant, and I ended up dying to a horde of Alela's faeries.
- Game 2 was against Kess and Korvold. This game started out like gang-busters. I drew an early Whitemane Lion and proceeded to pump out Zombie Warriors at a clip of roughly 3 per turn. Weathered Wayfarer did a reasonable job of digging up a Kor Haven to keep me from dying to a large Korvold. Unfortunately, I ended up becoming a bit of an archenemy and bowed out rather quickly.

Couple cards that caught my attention in these two games:
- Suture Priest. This deck makes a lot of bodies, so getting extra life for all of those bodies was noticeable, and getting to burn my opponents at the same time felt like extra value.
- Mother of Runes: HOT TAKE TIME...I don't think this card is all that special. I could ask my two opponents if it actually deterred them from doing something, but my creatures all died to non-targeted removal. In a deck that is already light on flexible spots (due to all of the mandatory soul sisters and self-bouncing creatures), I'm not sure I want this card, which means I'm not sure I want Ranger-Captain of Eos either.
- Alms Collector: This card rotted in my hand both games. When my opponents drew an extra card, it was one at a time.
- Pearl Medallion: Card is straight money. Any and all forms of this effect are incredible. Furthermore, a lot of the draw power comes by way of activated abilities that cost extra mana (see: Clues), so saving mana on casting cost makes a huge difference. Speaking of which...
- Bygone Bishop: Made a lot of Clues, which largely went about unnoticed until I was ready to cash them in for extra cards. Job well done.
- Anointed Procession: Another HOT TAKE...I don't think this card is necessary. When the deck is up and running, it can spam bodies with the best of them. Getting double the bodies feels like overkill/win-more, and would just paint an even larger target on my back.

Going forward, I definitely want to pick up a copy of new Daxos. Charming Prince looks like it's cheap enough and has enough utility to be worth a shot. They never survived long, but anthems like Elesh Norn would likely have done work. As always, more will be revealed.

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

Update!

New changes

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New SFM package

ADDS:

1 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun

1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Mask of Memory

1 Sword of the Animist

1 Sword of Feast and Famine

1 Sword of Fire and Ice

CUTS:

1 Mother of Runes

1 Emancipation Angel

1 Mangara of Corondor

1 Alms Collector

1 Selfless Squire

1 Anointed Procession

Approximate Total Cost:

Trying out a Stoneforge Mystic package, which includes a few nice pieces of equipment to throw onto Oketra or any old minion that's just lying around.

For cuts, Mangara felt super clunky, Alms Collector and Selfless Squire spent a lot of time rotting in hand, Mother disappointed me...

weltkrieg · Post by **weltkrieg** » 4 years ago

OCPunisher wrote: ↑
4 years ago

- If you're referring to Odric, Lunarch Marshal, he has a pretty hefty setup cost. I need to have him in play and ready to attack with enough creatures that can share their ability keywords, and enough creatures to inherit said keywords.

Odric, Lunarch marshal seems like low opportunity cost. Just your general and him leads to 24 vigilant damage across 3 bodies and (Oketra at 5, the zombie token at 4, odric at 3). That alone can end games in a hurry and doesn't require you commiting to the board too much to win quickly. Any other common incidental keywoards that tend to happen in white such as lifelink or flying only makes it even better.

If you're really considering lifegain based on creatures, I think it makes more sense to consider effects like proper burial or angelic chorus than the soul sisters. They cost more, but are harder to kill and gain more life at a crack. More importantly, you don't really have a ton of lifegain pay off options other than dawn of hope. If you're after lifegain pay off, then really you ought to consider well of lost dreams for massive card draw to refuel, too. That said, lifegain doesn't usually win you the game, only keeps you in it.

I am glad to see that pearl medallion is paying off! If you don't like mother of runes (great card in a voltron build, which you most decidedly are not), then how about glory? It will perform a similar function in your graveyard (seems like people blow up a lot of critters in your meta), but for all of your creatures allowing you to alpha strike or survive blocking/red wraths too.

If you do like the lifegain route whichever it might be, a card that I have had considerable success with is book of rass. It gets a ton of flack for being expensive to play and use, but resolving it and using it a few times will almost assuredly win you the game. Just think of it as a colorless greedand you start to see its potential.

Couver · Post by **Couver** » 4 years ago

This primer is lovely! I especially like the colour matched lands.

I have a silly-ish question.

How much of a hit do you think this deck would take without the bounce creatures? I've been itching to build her but I don't have a single of the bounce creatures. They are cheap enough to get but not easier for me to find locally or quickly. I'm leaning more into weenies and a few hatebears. But I feel like without the bounce you can't reach the critical mass of tokens this deck needs to actually overwhelm people.

OCPunisher · Post by **OCPunisher** » 4 years ago

weltkrieg wrote: ↑
4 years ago
If you do like the lifegain route whichever it might be, a card that I have had considerable success with is book of rass. It gets a ton of flack for being expensive to play and use, but resolving it and using it a few times will almost assuredly win you the game. Just think of it as a colorless greedand you start to see its potential.

Now that's a great suggestion! I'll have to track one down...

Couver wrote: ↑
4 years ago
This primer is lovely! I especially like the colour matched lands.

I have a silly-ish question.

How much of a hit do you think this deck would take without the bounce creatures? I've been itching to build her but I don't have a single of the bounce creatures. They are cheap enough to get but not easier for me to find locally or quickly. I'm leaning more into weenies and a few hatebears. But I feel like without the bounce you can't reach the critical mass of tokens this deck needs to actually overwhelm people.

Why thank you!

Without the bounce creatures, you're almost looking at a different style of deck. The bouncers (and the profits you get from re-using them) are the core of this deck's strategy. Not sure what your specific situation is, but I would think you could put something together in a few minutes on TCG player or the like and have it delivered within a week, and most of them are under $1 apiece to acquire.

EDIT: made a small update, putting Gold Myr (a creature) in for Marble Diamond (a non-creature that does the same thing).

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