Golos, ETB Pilgrim - Value Town

[ZenN]

I played two more games with the Golos, Tireless Pilgrim version on Saturday night. I think I'm leaning toward this change being more permanent.

The first game, one of my opponents decided to attack me instead of the Atraxa, Praetors' Voice deck's open Narset Transcendent, which then ultimated on the next turn. After which we played about two more turn cycles before we all scooped. Up until that point, though, I had just been sitting mostly on Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. I played him out then just kept a full hand every turn and was using his ability. Was sweet.

The second game I won. I just accumulated value and tanked everything coming at me (largely thanks to multiple uses of Resolute Archangel with a Sylvan Library on the table, letting me draw 3 cards a turn for a while), until eventually everybody tapped out and I had enough mana to just play the Survival of the Fittest out of my hand and go for the Reveillark + Karmic Guide + Mirror Entity + Venser, Shaper Savant combo.

I didn't get a change to try out Glorious Protector here, but we payed a few games of Oathbreaker, and I had put Protector into my Aminatou, the Fateshifter ETB deck there, and it won me a game by coming down in response to an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon's activation. So I'm pretty confident it'll be sweet here. Our usual game nights in recent months have been 2-4 games of Oathbreaker followed by 2-4 games of Commander.

This was the list I played on Saturday night:

SPOILER

Show

Hide

Decklist

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander

1 Golos, Tireless Pilgrim

Lands

1 Command Tower

1 Mana Confluence

1 Flooded Strand

1 Polluted Delta

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Windswept Heath

1 Marsh Flats

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Arid Mesa

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Indatha Triome

1 Ketria Triome

1 Zagoth Triome

1 Tundra

1 Underground Sea

1 Savannah

1 Taiga

1 Scrubland

1 Volcanic Island

1 Bayou

1 Plateau

1 Tropical Island

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Temple Garden

1 Breeding Pool

1 Ancient Tomb

1 Bojuka Bog

1 Field of the Dead

1 Strip Mine

1 Plains

1 Island

1 Forest

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Snow-Covered Island

1 Snow-Covered Forest

Creatures

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Charming Prince

1 Coiling Oracle

1 Dockside Extortionist

1 Gilded Drake

1 Ice-Fang Coatl

1 Phantasmal Image

1 Sakura-Tribe Elder

1 Snapcaster Mage

1 Eternal Witness

1 Knight of Autumn

1 Mirror Entity

1 Recruiter of the Guard

1 Risen Reef

1 Skyclave Apparition

1 Soulherder

1 Trinket Mage

1 Wood Elves

1 Yavimaya Dryad

1 Clever Impersonator

1 Glorious Protector

1 Omnath, Locus of Creation

1 Phyrexian Metamorph

1 Solemn Simulacrum

1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling

1 Venser, Shaper Savant

1 Cavalier of Dawn

1 Karmic Guide

1 Mulldrifter

1 Reveillark

1 Yorion, Sky Nomad

1 Kogla, the Titan Ape

1 Prime Speaker Zegana

1 Sun Titan

1 Angel of Serenity

1 Resolute Archangel

Artifacts

1 Mana Crypt

1 Skullclamp

1 Sol Ring

1 Chromatic Lantern

1 Birthing Pod

Enchantments

1 Survival of the Fittest

1 Sylvan Library

1 Mirari's Wake

Planeswalkers

1 Aminatou, the Fateshifter

1 Venser, the Sojourner

Instants

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Vampiric Tutor

1 Assassin's Trophy

1 Counterspell

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Dovin's Veto

1 Eladamri's Call

1 Mana Drain

1 Beast Within

1 Ghostly Flicker

Sorceries

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Finale of Devastation

1 Winds of Abandon

1 Eldritch Evolution

1 Villainous Wealth

1 Wargate

1 Mythos of Snapdax

Approximate Total Cost:

EDIT: Whoops, somehow reposted the previous version of the Golos list. Fixed for what I actually played on Saturday night.

[ZenN]

I played a three games yesterday online with randoms, using the same list as above.

In the first one, it very quickly turned into archenemy, because my three permanents of Sun Titan, Skyclave Apparition, and Soulherder were "just too powerful, man". I ALMOST managed to take over the game anyway just by sheer value and resilience, but the Gyrus, Waker of Corpses player was able to commander damage me out. His Gyrus was at 7/7 and I had just Strip Mine'd his Kessig Wolf Run since I was already at 10 Gyrus damage, but he had a surprise Mindleecher mutate + Autumn's Veil for the win.

In the second one, three of us left because someone took a 15 minute turn to cast 3 spells. Up until that point, though, it had been going well. Turn 2 Chromatic Lantern off of Ancient Tomb, turn 3 Golos, turn 4 activated Golos getting me a Mirari's Wake (which sadly Swan Song'd), a Clever Impersonator (which came in as a copy of someone's reanimated Avacyn, Angel of Hope), and a Skyclave Apparition, which exiled someone's (Bastion of Remembrance).

The last game I won. I just kept ramping and playing defensively until eventually everybody tapped out and I cast Villainous Wealth on the Jhoira of the Ghitu player for X = 10, which included a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, an Obliterate, and a Spark Double, at which point everybody scooped.

[ZenN]

Welp, I played one more game tonight with the same Golos list I shared above. I ran away with the game entirely.

Turn 1: land, Mana Crypt, Chromatic Lantern
Turn 2: land, Golos, Tireless Pilgrim getting Field of the Dead
Turn 3: land, Thassa, Deep-Dwelling, flicker Golos for another land
Turn 4: activate Golos into Ice-Fang Coatl, Eternal Witness, and Yorion, Sky Nomad, then play land, use the rest of my mana to pay for opponent's Rhystic Study, and then flicker Yorion to blink the rest of my team, getting Ancient Tomb off Golos when he came back again

By that point I had 7 cards in hand, 12 mana, active Field of the Dead, and a reasonable board presence. One turn cycle later one player scooped, and it didn't take long for me to overwhelm the other two.

So, I'm thinking this change is going to be "permanent". At some point in the near future I'm going to take some time to update the OP, and I guess change my signature and whatnot.

As an aside, while I'm purposely very light on black and red cards currently, I'd love some suggestions for black or red cards you think might fit into the list a couple posts up, or any general thoughts on it. One thing I'm thinking right now is I kinda want either a Command the Dreadhorde or a Living Death. I'm also thinking I might want a The World Tree, just for the sake of having a Chromatic Lantern effect I can get off Golos. Plus, in a pinch, it can go get Thassa for me, so there's that.

[pokken]

I'm on mobile where card tags are a bit annoying so I'll just drop a few cards and maybe fix it tomorrow..

Plaguecrafter is pretty much the marquee black etb dude in my opinion. Nightmare shepherd and gonti were always really good for me as well. Shepherd is pretty stupid with pod effects.

Red I like Kiki and conscripts although unlikely you will want to pay Kiki Mana it's easily chorded etc. Dire fleet daredevil and dualcaster are both great.

Given Mana constraints I like plaguecrafter, dire fleet daredevil, and nightmare shepherd.

[benjameenbear]

Clearly my internet hates me. I had this whole typed up list of awesome Black creatures... and then I lost all of my words. Sigh.

I'll try and remember the best ones:

• Yarok, the Desecrated
• Baleful Strix
• Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
• Havengul Lich
• Ravenous Chupacabra
• Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
• Sadistic Hypnotist
• Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
• Noxious Gearhulk
• Fiend Artisan
• Toxic Deluge
• Living Death

Of that list, I heartily recommend the Strix, Mikaeus, Deluge, the Gearhulk, and BAE Yawgmoth. I think adding a sacrifice dimension opens up another dimension to my own Golos deck and it's been quite powerful for me.

[pokken]

Oh, something I forgot is that the Twinflame Dualcaster Mage combo is really good with Golos, because both Heat Shimmer and Twinflame are pretty great with this deck anyway.

I found Twinflame on Golos, Tireless Pilgrim to be a pretty amazing play since it both gives you another golos trigger and can let you put Golos in the bin if you want (which is often really good). In my Mono-red golos deck I would just use it to kill Golos so I could recast him or Goblin Welder him back in or Feldon of the Third Path him.

[ZenN]

Plenty of good cards suggested, but not many that I think I'd actually play.

I've played Yarok, the Desecrated and been nothing but disappointed. He just never did anything. 5 mana do-nothing on his own, and there was only a SINGLE time out of the 4 times I put him on the table that I actually got to get a double trigger out of him.

Obviously anything with triple of the two off colours isn't a great choice (looking at you, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed). I also don't think Baleful Strix is worth trying to work in, given I've already got Coiling Oracle and Ice-Fang Coatl. And I'm pretty happy with Kogla, the Titan Ape over Noxious Gearhulk.

Nightmare Shepherd is a sweet card, but with the amount of recurring I tend to do I don't really want to be exiling my own dudes. I don't have much desire to work sac mechanics in, as I already have a sac focused deck, and also I feel it would just clutter and defocus the deck.

Of the things suggested, Plaguecrafter, Toxic Deluge, and Living Death were all already on my radar. Dire Fleet Daredevil is a sweet card I hadn't considered, and I kinda forgot Fiend Artisan existed. Those are worth considering.

[pokken]

It's not red or black but you should 100% make room for Ephemerate. That card is insane. Spellseeker → Ephemerate ends games.

[ZenN]

When I decided to put in a single flicker spill. I was choosing between Ephemerate and Ghostly Flicker. I ended up going with Ghostly for the extra utility, but I might try swapping them at some point. Spellseeker has been on my short list for quite some time. Eventually I'll find a slot for it. Don't even really need to tweak my spell set much. Already got tons of sweet targets for it.

Oh, that reminds me, now that I've got all the basic types, I want to fit in an Evasive Action. That card has been an all-star for me in other 5-colour decks.

[pokken]

I want to fit in an Evasive Action.

Ah yes, strictly worse Memory Lapse

[ZenN]

I want to fit in an Evasive Action.

Ah yes, strictly worse Memory Lapse

That is a wildly inaccurate statement.

[pokken]

I want to fit in an Evasive Action.

Ah yes, strictly worse Memory Lapse

That is a wildly inaccurate statement.

Wildly? I mean it's factually inaccurate because 'strictly' is rarely true but the likelihood of Evasive Action being any better than Mana Leak is not super high

(And both are usually much worse than Memory Lapse which I usually play over Counterspell because of its ability to hide things from the graveyard)

[ZenN]

Ah yes, strictly worse Memory Lapse

That is a wildly inaccurate statement.

Wildly? I mean it's factually inaccurate because 'strictly' is rarely true but the likelihood of Evasive Action being any better than Mana Leak is not super high

Evasive Action and Memory Lapse are very different cards. Mana Leak is certainly a better comparison.

Don't underestimate the difference between 3 and 5 mana. It's huge.

[pokken]

[
Evasive Action and Memory Lapse are very different cards. Mana Leak is certainly a better comparison.

Don't underestimate the difference between 3 and 5 mana. It's huge.

I didn't notice that you have several triomes so the odds of you beating Manaleak is pretty high, Still think both are worse than either lapse or denial.

[ZenN]

I didn't notice that you have several triomes so the odds of you beating Manaleak is pretty high, Still think both are worse than either lapse or denial.

Even before triomes, with a full package of fetches and duals, plus other ways to find basic typed lands, I've never had a problem consistently having it be 5 when I've played it in other decks. And really, 99% of the time, pay 5 is basically a hard counter.

Memory Lapse is a fine card, and I love it for combo decks. I don't care if they get back whatever they're doing next turn, because they won't get a next turn. Or in 1v1, because the tempo play can be huge. For anything not specifically aiming to combo out early, and dealing with a whole table, though, if I care enough about something to counter it then I want it gone, not just to have to deal with it again next turn. I almost want to play more exile counters spells just to have things forever gone. I'm just not willing to pay the extra mana for them, generally speaking.

[benjameenbear]

Plenty of good cards suggested, but not many that I think I'd actually play.

I've played Yarok, the Desecrated and been nothing but disappointed. He just never did anything. 5 mana do-nothing on his own, and there was only a SINGLE time out of the 4 times I put him on the table that I actually got to get a double trigger out of him.

Obviously anything with triple of the two off colours isn't a great choice (looking at you, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Mikaeus, the Unhallowed). I also don't think Baleful Strix is worth trying to work in, given I've already got Coiling Oracle and Ice-Fang Coatl. And I'm pretty happy with Kogla, the Titan Ape over Noxious Gearhulk.

Nightmare Shepherd is a sweet card, but with the amount of recurring I tend to do I don't really want to be exiling my own dudes. I don't have much desire to work sac mechanics in, as I already have a sac focused deck, and also I feel it would just clutter and defocus the deck.

Of the things suggested, Plaguecrafter, Toxic Deluge, and Living Death were all already on my radar. Dire Fleet Daredevil is a sweet card I hadn't considered, and I kinda forgot Fiend Artisan existed. Those are worth considering.

My own Golos list is more Sultai based vs. your Bant-based list, so your reticence on some suggestions definitely makes sense.

I will defend my favorite Death-Owl of Doom because it has perma-deathtouch, no snow-land rider. It's amazing how often that little Owl acts as a deterrent for a large swing. It also makes the deck more linear to play against, which fits my current playgroup style (not necessarily my preferred game style, but it is what it is). The Coatl's Flash ability is definitely strong; how often does it have Deathtouch for you?

[ZenN]

The Coatl's Flash ability is definitely strong; how often does it have Deathtouch for you?

Honestly? Very rarely. I'm only running the three snow basics, though I do prioritize those over the regular basics whenever I go searching for a basic specifically. Sometimes I clone the Coatl. So the deathtouch on it is rarely relevant.

I have found that the surprise blocker, or attacker, has been about as valuable as the deathtouch on Strix would be, just in slightly different circumstances.

[pokken]

My experience playing Baleful Strix in Aminatou, the Fateshifter was that it might as well be Blazing Archon 90% of the time.

[benjameenbear]

@pokken
That's kinda been my experience as well. The deathtouch + flying combo has been way more relevant than Flash, although I would like to have both.

Either way, the Coatl is still a great card and is a legit 2 mana removal spell when its snow-permanent rider is activated.

[ZenN]

I've started to update the OP. Still a work in progress. I plan to flesh it out some more. Don't know how far I'll be going with it. Guess we'll see.

Also changed my signature. Guess it's "official", now.

[pokken]

So I was thinkin, I am fairly sure Golos, Tireless Pilgrim is always a Jeweled Lotus deck because of the ramp.

[ZenN]

So I was thinkin, I am fairly sure Golos, Tireless Pilgrim is always a Jeweled Lotus deck because of the ramp.

Y'know, maybe? Not sure there's anything I'd be willing to cut for it. Maybe a land, I guess.

It's funny, just today someone in my group was complaining about not having copies of Mana Crypt while the rest of us do, and trying to convince us to house-ban it. Wonder how he'd feel if I put Jeweled Lotus in its place.

[pokken]

So I was thinkin, I am fairly sure Golos, Tireless Pilgrim is always a Jeweled Lotus deck because of the ramp.

Y'know, maybe? Not sure there's anything I'd be willing to cut for it. Maybe a land, I guess.

It's funny, just today someone in my group was complaining about not having copies of Mana Crypt while the rest of us do, and trying to convince us to house-ban it. Wonder how he'd feel if I put Jeweled Lotus in its place.

lol, any time someone complains about card prices these days I tell them to print one out because this stuff is unreal nonsense.

I cut a colorless producing land in Ephara, and that seemed correct so far in test runs. In your deck I think Bojuka Bog is what I'd cut.

[ZenN]

In your deck I think Bojuka Bog is what I'd cut.

I actually just recently put that in, because graveyard shenanigans are rampant in my group, and I wanted to be able to Golos to remove someone's yard,.

[pokken]

In your deck I think Bojuka Bog is what I'd cut.

I actually just recently put that in, because graveyard shenanigans are rampant in my group, and I wanted to be able to Golos to remove someone's yard,.

Hmm, I never had much luck with it really but ymmv. I've found myself cutting it because of all the times drawing it pissed me off. YMMV.