Mimeoplasm (first ever commander deck)

TwistedMagpie
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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

I have been playing legacy for many years but have not put much money into the game. I play for fun but would also like to be as competitive as I can with the cards I have.

This is my first deck list. If like some advice on it, any suggested additions or changes.

Thanks in advance.
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Commander

Approximate Total Cost:


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darrenhabib
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Post by darrenhabib » 3 years ago

Hi, I've put your deck into a deck tag, just so that its easier for people to read.

Well I guess first of all, you've posted in the commander section that is more aimed at Tier 1 and 1.5 types of decks.
Coming from Legacy you'll understand that there is a bit of a difference between the established top tier decks and those that try their own saucy brews.

So without sounding condescending, your deck is very much in the battlercruiser casual format of commander.
I understand why you posted in this particular subforum because you want to try and make it as competitive as you can.

Commander is much like Legacy, in that to be more competitive in general you will have the bulk of your spells in the one and two mana range.
Now obviously this will be different with reanimation (big fatties), but I just wanted to get the point across that there is a real similarity between the competitive nature of commander when it comes to cost efficient spells.

Probably the biggest question is do you have a budget? Are you willing to spend $50? Maybe a $100? If its $5 then we can try and work with that as well :P Just need to know.
Last edited by darrenhabib 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.

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cryogen
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Post by cryogen » 3 years ago

I moved this thread and edited the OP to have a deck list.
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TwistedMagpie
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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

Thank you very much, I'm new to the forum too, want sure how to do those things.

I guess a budget of £20 would suit me fine.

My main concern is the balance between mana ramp and draw card.

Perhaps the best purchases would be creatures that do both these things too? Any particular suggestions at the lower Nana cost?

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OCPunisher
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Post by OCPunisher » 3 years ago

I think the first place to start is with your mana base. As with all decks in all other formats, you can make significant improvements just by making your mana base more functional.
- The biggest thing that I would fix is the number of lands. Your commander costs five, you're very likely to cast him 3 or more times, and you have an average commander curve, so you should start with about 38 lands and go from there.
- Next thing to address is the Polluted Delta. It's a terrific card, but it's not nearly as good without a few dual lands to dig up. At a minimum, I would invest in three Ravnica shock lands. They'll cost a bit, but they will never go out of style and they'll instantly make any deck much more consistent.
- The brand new Ikoria cards just went on sale today, and Zagoth Triome is thankfully only about $5.
- Going forward, any lands that has a reasonable chance to come into play untapped will be an improvement for you. Check lands like Drowned Catacomb are pretty reasonable, filter lands like Sunken Ruins are a little more expensive but can really fix your colors, and pain lands like Underground River are usually worth the life loss. No matter which ones you go with, the key is to get some lands that tap for multiple colors and come into play UNTAPPED. Can't stress that part enough.

Once you get that part up to snuff, we can talk more about the spells.
A deck for every color: Rakdos | Lord | Heliod | Yeva | Tetsuko | Scarab | Kykar | Kozz | Athreos | Haldan/Pako

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Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

Welcome!

As far as good mana changes go, I'll list a few that I think will go well into your list and that shouldn't be too expensive.

- Yavimaya Coast
- Sunken Hollow
- Woodland Cemetery
- Drowned Catacomb
- Tainted Wood
- Tainted Isle
- Grand Coliseum
- Temple of Malady
- Temple of Mystery
- Temple of Deceit

Some other cards that are a good idea (budget in mind):

Card Selection/Draw:
- Compulsive Research
- Windfall
- Sultai Ascendancy
- Fact or Fiction
- Taigam's Scheming

Reanimation:
- Life // Death
- Animate Dead
- Victimize

Ramp:
- Farseek
- Elves of Deep Shadow

Interaction:
- Curse of the Swine
- Go for the Throat
- Stubborn Denial
- Arcane Denial

Mimeoplasm/reanimator decks often lend themselves well to a sacrifice matters type of them with cards like Carrion Feeder, Viscera Seer, Summoner's Egg, Body Snatcher, Mindslicer and Skullclamp being ones that always worked well for me in the past, but that would require a slight change to the design of the deck.

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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

Does the zagoth triome count as a basic land due to having Forest, swamp and Island in the type box?

I didn't think non basic land could be fetched with the polluted Delta. Unless you mean the dual basic land that cost a few hundred pounds each 😉

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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

Ok... Let's assume I get the mana sorted (I'll likely need to wait till I have some cash).

What's the next step? How does my balance of ramp to card draw look?

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cryogen
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Post by cryogen » 3 years ago

TwistedMagpie wrote:
3 years ago
Does the zagoth triome count as a basic land due to having Forest, swamp and Island in the type box?

I didn't think non basic land could be fetched with the polluted Delta. Unless you mean the dual basic land that cost a few hundred pounds each 😉
Polluted Delta can fetch any land that has the type Swamp or Island. So it can get you an underground sea but not an underground river.
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Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

TwistedMagpie wrote:
3 years ago
Ok... Let's assume I get the mana sorted (I'll likely need to wait till I have some cash).

What's the next step? How does my balance of ramp to card draw look?
I'd recommend more draw than ramp, 6-8 pieces of ramp and 8-10 sources of draw on average, preferably split across a range of CMC.

Draw/selection:

1CMC: Brainstorm, Ponder, Skullclamp
2CMC: Life's Legacy, Mask of Memory, Night's Whisper,
3CMC: Windfall, Dark Tutelage (although this is a risky one), Phyrexian Arena, Compulsive Research
4CMC: Harmonize, Greater Good, Fact or Fiction
5CMC: Hunter's Insight
6CMC: Prime Speaker Zegana

Ramp:

1CMC: Elves of Deep Shadow, Llanowar Elves
2CMC: Farseek, Sakura-Tribe Elder, Rampant Growth, Nature's Lore
3CMC: Kodama's Reach, Cultivate, Wood Elves
4CMC: Explosive Vegetation, Tempt with Discovery

If you pick any 8-10 of the draw (prioritizing repeatable or mass draw like Skullclamp, Greater Good, Windfall) and any 6-8 of the ramp cards and you should be good.

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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

That doesn't leave me any space for destruction and board wipes. Are you suggesting that I go without these entirely and just gave ramp and draw? I would then be depending on the creatures to kill other players stuff so I can copy it. It's that a safe play? If always read that having spot removal is a must for this format, particularly if I'm wanting to use those creatures myself.

Hmmm, it does seem like a dilemma

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Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

No, no, not at all - I was only referring to the ramp/draw parts of your deck in my previous posts. If you run between 35-38 lands you'll have more than enough space for interaction. Considering the colors you're in I'd recommend probably around 4 counter spells, 3-5 single target removal (Putrefy, Go for the Throat, etc) and then around 2-3 board wipes/mass removal. Curse of the Swine is great in that regard.

If you have around 7 pieces of ramp and 10 sources of draw you'll still have more than enough space for your creatures and your interaction/removal. Unfortunately I'd recommend cutting both the PWs since they don't really contribute much to your gameplan, and probably replace them with some removal like Hero's Downfall.

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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

PW?

Oh and how do I create the deck list? Is there a post that gives instruction?

Am i right that if I went more with self mill and graveyard expansion/retrieval that I wouldn't need the ramp and add much draw?

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darrenhabib
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Post by darrenhabib » 3 years ago

TwistedMagpie wrote:
3 years ago
PW?

Oh and how do I create the deck list? Is there a post that gives instruction?

Am i right that if I went more with self mill and graveyard expansion/retrieval that I wouldn't need the ramp and add much draw?
PW= Planeswalkers

You can edit your posts by selecting the icon the looks like a pencil at the top right of the original post.

There is a guide for formatting, and here is the deck tag explanation.
viewtopic.php?t=155#p_deck

TwistedMagpie
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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

This is another iteration I have come up with. You'll see some more of the good rare cards I have to offer. However in this deck list I have attempted to use many more lower mana cost cards that would either be useful early game (ie control), while using mill/ dredge to build up my own graveyard (windfall/ sultai soothsayer). I'm able to bring back some big creatures in the mid game as well as using my commander.
I then have a few finishers (dragon throne, overwhelming stampede & torrent elemental)

Spot removal is mostly done by creatures here too. I really like Garruk, even though he's expensive he can spot remove planeswalkers and creates death touch beasts which kill things (can also spot remove creatures himself. Mainly his emblem though is great in a multiplayer game.

(Some of the cards I'm set to purchase of it looks like the deck will work well)
Decklist

Commander


Approximate Total Cost:


TwistedMagpie
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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

I have a question... If I have much more of my own graveyard retrieval is mana ramp as important?

DeadPresident
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Post by DeadPresident » 3 years ago

Definitely. Unless you're retrieving from GY straight to the battlefield you'll definitely want a decent amount of ramp - it offers a huge advantage for the duration of the game if you resolve a couple of ramp spells.

Recursion is also important, but ramp is a tad more important.

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ZenN
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Post by ZenN » 3 years ago

People have said in the past that every Commander deck is a ramp deck, and they're more or less correct.

It is incredibly important in a multiplayer format to not fall behind, and if one person is on 7 mana while the rest of the table is on 4, it's probably not going to be much of a game.

There are entire threads dedicated to how many lands and ramp spells you should be playing, and people will never completely agree, but to throw my own opinion in there, you're going to want to be at 35-37 lands, and 10+ ways to ramp at <= 4 CMC.

How you go about those ramp sources is entirely up to you. Some decks want mana rocks, while others are much better off with mana dorks, or land fetching creatures, or land fetching spells. It's all about what you're trying to do, how you're doing it, and what your preference is. They've all got their pros and cons, and of course some are pricier than others.

Here's a list of some of the best or most popular options in your colours in each of those categories to get you started: One more thing that might be useful to you: EDHRec is a fantastic resource when trying to figure out what to put in your deck, and I absolutely recommend it to help you get going. :)
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

TwistedMagpie
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Post by TwistedMagpie » 3 years ago

Hi,

So I found some cash to throw at this, and have looked at the following.... I hope this could seen much more comparative and still remain fun for everyone. .

If really appreciate any further advise or small amendments. (I have access to a clone too, wonder if it's worth swapping in but not sure what is take out for it.
Decklist

Commander

Approximate Total Cost:



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