Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town

DeadPresident
Posts: 37
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

I feel like Master of Winds is potentially an interesting consideration for Derevi/Jenara/ETB lists. 4cmc with evasion that draws 2, can be a decent threat, and will likely get through for damage and untap triggers feels quite strong.

It probably competes with things like Mulldrifter, but it could be worth trying out.

Tags:

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

Yeah, I saw that one. I think it could be pretty solid in some builds, particularly when you are taking good advantage of the discard. I'd personally be way more interested if it were a 3 drop, but this still looks fine.

Spoils of Adventure is card that I think is flying way under the radar. At its worst it's equivalent to a Sphinx's Revelation where X = 3, but with even a single party member it's at a better rate. At its best it's draw 3/gain 3 for WU. In fairness, Rev is largely present for dumping big mana into, but still.

One thing I've been thinking about a bunch is the new modal spell//land cards. In theory, while slow because tapped lands, these things existing will allow some decks to run really low land counts/high spell densities. Not every deck is going to be able to accommodate a ton of these, and not all of them will be hugely useful for all decks, but even when only mildly useful being able to replace a land with a sometimes-spell could be huge.

So I started thinking about which ones I might want to try to put into here. I wouldn't want to go too high on tapped land counts, and wouldn't want to mess with colours too much, but after looking through my thoughts are basically that there are a few really good choices and a handful of okay choices.

Really good:
Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore
Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn
Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood

Okay:
Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary
Jwari Disruption // Jwari Ruins
Khalni Ambush // Khalni Territory
Ondu Inversion // Ondu Skyruins
Silundi Vision // Silundi Isle

Of course out of those the Glasspool Mimic is the most appealing. Clones are often great, and I'm already running 3 of them anyway. Sucks a bit that it can only copy my own stuff, but being a land when I need it to be is something. I'm not 100% sure on what the rules will be for blinking these things, but I'm relatively certain you'll be able to play it as a land, and then blink it later to get a clone. I think the only way to flicker a land I'm currently running is Venser, the Sojourner, but still.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
Kitsune_18
Posts: 35
Joined: 3 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: New England

Post by Kitsune_18 » 3 years ago

It's been a while since I chimed in, but I'm super excited for some of these ZNR cards to make their ways into my decks!

Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore is probably the one card I know I want to find room for here, but Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary is also interesting. It reminds me of a card I'm already running: Tolaria West, which, if you think about it, is sort of the original modal double-faced card. Both provide a limited tutoring option, one for cards in your graveyard, the other for cards with CMC=0. At most I would probably run 2 of those 3 cards, determining which 2 will be the tricky part.

As far as some of the more CMC-intense modal DFCs, I was originally excited for Turntimber Symbiosis // Turntimber, Serpentine Wood (and to a lesser extent Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn), but I'm not sure anymore. I don't want to fall into the trap of simply swapping out some basics or utility lands to include more of these, and I'm not sure they merit taking up a dedicated spell slot. Though, I'll definitely be trying some of them in my mono G and Boros decks (along with a few other modal DFCs). I'd be very interested to hear others' results with them.

After giving it some thought, I do think Skyclave Apparition is probably a very strong card. In my mind, it compares favorably to Knight of Autumn.

DeadPresident
Posts: 37
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

I feel like I may have discussed Ghostway in your old MTGS thread perhaps, but it's one I've put back into my list recently so I thought I'd bring it up here. In any Derevi deck that's a bit of a hybrid between tap+untap/stax/ETB lists Ghostway might not really generate full value, but looking at the current build that leans heavily towards ETB triggers it might be an interesting consideration.

In my head it seems like it would be good to protect a decent board, but also using Ghostway to flicker valuable creatures to get ahead, potentially.

Has anyone else ever used it before and what has their experience been with it?

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

Sorry I haven't responded in a while. Recent events had me feeling a little disillusioned and I kind a just took a break for a couple weeks.

Ghostway is a fine card, along with its counterpart Eerie Interlude. Though, unless you specifically want it for the instant aspect, I think Yorion, Sky Nomad is probably the stronger include.

Seeing Skyclave Apparition in use a bunch has solidified my opinion that it's a strong card. Probably something I'm going to try out in the near future.

As an aside, I've been contemplating colours again. Specifically, I've been considering experimenting with shifting this into WURG with Omnath, Locus of Creation, or into 5C with Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. Both would work very well for this deck, and Omnath in particular also plays really nicely with the land ramp ETB creatures, of which I'm playing several. And even MORE value with Risen Reef! Omnath was my original considering for trying 4 colours with this again, and then Golos came into my thoughts because, at that point, it's kind of just like, "Well, why not play the arguably strongest commander currently in existence, that also has a nice ETB ability?". So, I dunno. I may experiment a bit and see what happens, just for funsies.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1111
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Yeah, the Secret Lair drop and the saturation of MTG product has me feeling a little worn out. No worries about the reprieve, we know that you're still active.

Omnath, Locus of Creation looks incredibly powerful. Having consistent lifegain AND card draw from the Command Zone opens up a ton of synergies. Any life pay effects a la Birthing Pod or Sylvan Library look even better since you can recoup the life so easily. And you can even start looking for Aetherflux Reservoir synergies if you go with Omnath since it's lifegain ability is so dependable. I've strongly considered opening up a slot for it in my Golos deck because of the raw power if brings and because I need some lifegain action in my deck.

My feelings about Golos as an ETB commander are pretty obvious. Having Ramp and his activated ability in the Command Zone is pretty broken and I have to agree that he's one of the strongest Commanders in existence. Frankly, he's in the same tier (imo) as Thrasios + Tymna, Kess, and Gitrog because of the sheer value he brings. There are even cEDH builds of Golos now. Crazy.

EDIT: I added Omnath to my Golos list as a test for goldfishing. Ohhhhhhhh man is it good. I highly recommend it with 7+ fetchlands for maximal value.

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
EDIT: I added Omnath to my Golos list as a test for goldfishing. Ohhhhhhhh man is it good. I highly recommend it with 7+ fetchlands for maximal value.
Man, last play session with my group I quickly threw together a half-assed Omnath landfall deck, and I was legitimately surprised by the amount of value I got out of him. Like, I knew he was good, but I didn't expect him to be THAT good in this format. Also, the third trigger was even more relevant with an Atraxa Superfriends deck at the table, so that was fun.

Real quick aside, Felidar Retreat is kind of a dumb card.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1111
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Yup. After more goldfishing and some 1v1 games vs my brother, I'm definitely ordering a copy of Omnath for my Golos deck. Helps to stabilize my life total consistently and triggering his free mana ability is absurdly easy in Commander. The fact that it replaces itself is like the Oreo on top (because cherries are lame on top of Ice Cream sundaes lol).

Felidar Retreat with Cauldron of Souls has some VERY interesting applications, especially with a sac outlet, Derevi, and a permanent that can either flicker a land or tutor a land to play. There are definitely some hidden gems in this set.

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

I was thinking about red cards today, for if I decided to try Omnath. I feel like the deck would basically just end up being my current list, except swapping out a few Derevi tech cards for the few red cards I actually care about and maybe an extra landfall effect or three, which would keep the mana easy with red as just a light splash, and keep the deck pretty similar.

The short list of red cards basically comes down to like:
Dockside Extortionist
Imperial Recruiter
Underworld Breach
Rhythm of the Wild
Twinflame/Flameshadow Conjuring/Molten Echoes maybe?

And then the top landfall cards I care about are basically just like
Field of the Dead
Felidar Retreat
Tatyova, Benthic Druid

Beyond that, the only thing I'd likely change is to include more land ramp creatures that I've played before, like Coiling Oracle and Yavimaya Dryad, perhaps.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

So, on Friday night I tried out a couple games with a version of this deck headed up by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. It was still very much Bant focused. Very close to the exact same list, with just a different mana base and a couple of different cards. For example, Noble Hierarch swapped out for Deathrite Shaman, and some room made for a few notable off-colour inclusions, like Dockside Extortionist, Omnath, Locus of Creation, Aminatou, the Fateshifter, Demonic Tutor, Assassin's Trophy, and Villainous Wealth.

It was fun. I occasionally missed having an always cheap speed bump to throw in front of things, or having that combat trick in the command zone, but for the most part it felt good. I never even activated Golos's ability in the games I played, but even just having a ramp ETB creature in the command zone felt pretty sweet. I'll probably try some more games with it in the near future and see what happens.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
pokken
Posts: 6276
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 2
Pronoun: he / him

Post by pokken » 3 years ago

ZenN wrote:
3 years ago
So, on Friday night I tried out a couple games with a version of this deck headed up by Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.
And that's how all restaurants became Taco Bell.

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

pokken wrote:
3 years ago
And that's how all restaurants became Taco Bell.
I love Demolition Man.

But your point is valid. Many, many decks right now would just be better as Golos decks that still just play only their normal colours.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

SaintForthigan
Posts: 12
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by SaintForthigan » 3 years ago

I think I'm inclined to agree--having been playing and tinkering with benjameenbear's Golos ETB list over the past month or so, even in the games where I never end up activating Golos's ability, the sheer amount of value I got just from exploiting the ETB through flickering has been backbreaking on a level I've not seen Bant provide in the command zone since Chulane. All hail the roving robot, all hail the Taco Bell.

DeadPresident
Posts: 37
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

For optimality's sake probably around 80% of commander lists would be better off just running Kenrith or Golos instead of whatever commander they're currently running.

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

DeadPresident wrote:
3 years ago
For optimality's sake probably around 80% of commander lists would be better off just running Kenrith or Golos instead of whatever commander they're currently running.
Especially given how many people run high curves and not enough ramp or mana sources, or even greedy mana bases with colour problems. Like, we're talking about a commander that can:
  1. ramp you
  2. fix your colours
  3. be cast no matter how bad your colours are
  4. find silver bullet lands
  5. give you strong card advantage if you get to the mana needed for his activated ability
That's pretty nutty. It's enough to make a poorly built deck function, or make a fell built deck sing.

It's just gravy that being an ETB creature makes him even better for this deck.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1111
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Indeed, all hail Sad Robot's older brother!

How has nu-Omnath been for you @ZenN? I've really enjoyed it so far. The consistent lifegain isn't super threatening to most players but makes a significant difference in the long run. The mana ability has been stellar, though. Getting the r consistently just from a fetch-land to activate Golos or double-spell on my turn has been incredibly relevant in advancing my board. The fact that it cantrips is the cherry on top for its design.

I also just added in Extortionist. It's just too good to pass up, frankly, so I now have a clean 2-card combo with Deadeye in the deck now. Not sure how I feel about that, but it exists. I made my deck to kinda durdle around and play long extended games, so having such a simple "I-Win" button... eh, I have conflicting emotions about it. I already have Kalamax and Breya if I want to win fast and win hard.

Otherwise, the deck is a great value deck. There is NO point during a game where I feel like I'm not important and can swing the momentum of the game. Of course, I haven't faced a Hushbringer or Torpor Orb yet either...

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
I also just added in Extortionist. It's just too good to pass up, frankly, so I now have a clean 2-card combo with Deadeye in the deck now. Not sure how I feel about that, but it exists. I made my deck to kinda durdle around and play long extended games, so having such a simple "I-Win" button... eh, I have conflicting emotions about it. I already have Kalamax and Breya if I want to win fast and win hard.
I feel this. Playing primarily with a 75% power group, there's a constant balancing act to be able to win games without being too strong. I avoid two card combos for most of my decks for that reason, and in some that have a naturally high power level to begin with (like my Maelstrom Wanderer list) I've avoided combos completely. In here, I like that my only ways to combo are 3+ cards, and all the cards involved are good on their own.

I played Omnath only once in the games I played last Friday, but man. It was Omnath, Locus of Creation, into Misty Rainforest, into Golos, Tireless Pilgrim, finding a Field of the Dead, and killing a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, a Teferi, Master of Time, and a Vraska the Unseen. The Atraxa, Praetors' Voice deck was very sad. Plus the 4 life I gained and the card I drew. So yeah, I'd say he did some work.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1111
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Wow, that looks like a pretty good 5-1 play right there: 3 dead Planeswalkers, the card from Omnath's draw trigger, and the ability to cast Golos for just 1 mana. The fact that you set up a recurring battlefield blockade via Field of the Dead AND the 4 life? Glorious cherry on top of the sweet deliciousness of that sequence.

Has anyone had a chance to play with Kodama of the East Tree? I'm really tempted to cut my Ulvenwald Hydra for it but Kodama doesn't do anything by itself when it ETB. I can see how the effect is entirely disgusting via Tatyova, Benthic Druid (which I play) and I think a solid comparison of Kodama as a mini-Omniscience is very worthwhile in correctly categorizing its power ceiling, but I'm leery of adding a supplemental card that doesn't necessarily do anything by itself. Any feedback?

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

@benjameenbear I haven't tried Kodama of the East Tree yet, but I'm pretty sure that with whatever deck I put it in, I won't be able to resist including bounce lands plus landfall token makers.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

I don't know over what, just yet, but I'm pretty confident that Glorious Guardian is going in here, at the very least to try it out.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
pokken
Posts: 6276
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 2
Pronoun: he / him

Post by pokken » 3 years ago

Pretty confident it's better than any 4-drop or 5-drop in the deck so can't really go wrong, except maybe Venser and Thassa.

Restoration Angel or Solemn Simulacrum would be my picks, but Clever Impersonator is definitely worse too I think.

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

@pokken Yeah, of what I've got listed here, Restoration Angel was my first thought to go.

That said, I'm currently testing the Golos helmed version of this deck, which has already given Resto the boot, so I'll need to take a look.

Also, I would definitely not place Glorious Guardian above Reveillark or Karmic Guide for this deck. It's definitely strong, though.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
benjameenbear
Posts: 1111
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

@ZenN
What's the Golos list you have look like?

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

benjameenbear wrote:
3 years ago
@ZenN
What's the Golos list you have look like?
This was the last list I played a game with. I had thrown in Peregrine Drake and Ghostly Flicker for shiggles, but I don't think I'll be keeping them. They're both good cards on their own here, but also just too combo-y.
SPOILER
Show
Hide
Decklist
Approximate Total Cost:

Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

User avatar
ZenN
Posts: 455
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Canada

Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

Temporarily, to try out Glorious Protector, I'm slotting it in over the Nicol Bolas, the Ravager I was testing in the Golos version. I was a little underwhelmed by it anyway, plus the cost includes both of the off colours.

I'm also going to slot in Yorion, Sky Nomad to try, over the Peregrine Drake I mentioned in the last post. I'm going to keep Ghostly Flicker in the testing for now. See if I'm happy with it when there isn't a way to go infinite with it anymore.
Commander
Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town
Maelstrom Wanderer a.k.a. The Kool-Aid Man
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King - OM NOM NOM
Kykar, Wind's Fury - Spellslinger + Tokens

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Decklists”