Kenrith, the Returned King 2.0

User avatar
Card Slinger J
Nope Not Today
Posts: 384
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

My last take on Kenrith, the Returned King wasn't as consistent as I thought it'd be when running an Angel subtheme that I tried to get to work since it was supposed to be on flavor with Kenrith himself representing Jesus Christ. Then I thought about trying to go with just Angel tokens so I might venture into that a bit later. After getting a few games at my LGS (thankfully) I was able to figure out the decks' strengths and weaknesses with what was working and what didn't as I steered more into a build that was more combo centric or asymmetrical to what it's wanting to accomplish.

Decklist

Commander (1)

1 Kenrith, the Returned King
Approximate Total Cost:

Any help, advice, and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Last edited by Card Slinger J 3 years ago, edited 16 times in total.
"Salvation is for those who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who have lived through it."

- Ralph Smart

Tags:

User avatar
Card Slinger J
Nope Not Today
Posts: 384
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

Bump...

Nothing to help tweak this deck more?
"Salvation is for those who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who have lived through it."

- Ralph Smart

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

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

It seems like your list is a little unfocused and that your strategy is a little unclear. I assume you're just a Control deck that's looking to get a Seedborn Muse online? Are your cards meant to represent various aspects of Christ's ministry? You mention that you determined what your deck's weaknesses and strengths were/are but then don't elaborate on them.

Some clarification would be helpful!

User avatar
Card Slinger J
Nope Not Today
Posts: 384
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

Trying to represent various aspects of Christ's ministry within the deck was the biggest challenge since a lot of the card synergies and combos didn't reflect on that too well as much as I would've wanted it to. First I tried experimenting with having an Angel for each color however when that didn't work I mainly stuck with trying to capitalize on each of Kenrith's activated abilities and went from there. The Cycling creatures I have in here were too good to pass up seeing as how I can cycle them for free with Fluctuator to get any dual land and reanimate them later with Kenrith's last ability as chump blockers If need be. I could've went with the original landcyclers from Scourge and Onslaught but chose the one's from Shards of Alara block to try to spice things up a bit.

One game I played I accidentally threw when I could've won casting Conflux to get the Training Grounds, Biomancer's Familiar, and Zirda, the Dawnwaker needed to generate infinite mana with Basalt Monolith since I could animate it into a creature with Xenic Poltergeist. I had the mana to cast some of the cards I tutored only problem was that I didn't have a win con at the ready when I realized I should've been running Blue Sun's Zenith with Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. I had only one win con with Zulaport Cutthroat and Composite Golem as I'm looking to add others onto the deck itself. I was tempted to run Lotus Cobra over Seedborn Muse however I didn't have enough Landfall triggers with the Panorama's to get it going efficiently.
"Salvation is for those who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who have lived through it."

- Ralph Smart

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

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Thanks for clarifying. So, what direction feels the best for in your opinion? I know preserving the theme of the deck will be important, so what combo avenues/synergies would you like to pursue in order to maximize your deck's power and theme?

I think that with the religious theme you're going with would definitely encourage an infinite recursion loop with a win condition being Bastion of Remembrance (to commemorate Christ's tomb) AND/OR a massive alpha strike. Something like Karmic Guide loops or something. But would you rather stay true to the religious motif/theme you have?

For example, a card like Cathars' Crusade would help capture the fervor and power that early Christian missionaries had in converting the world to Christianity during the early AD period while also building on the concept of strength in numbers and unity (which is a core concept of Christianity).

I think you used to have Dregs of Sorrow in the list, which is definitely a fitting representation of when Christ suffered in Gethsemane, so I would definitely include that.

Dark Petition would be an AWESOME allusion to Christs' temptation after fasting in the wilderness.

Is this the kind of direction you'd want to go?

User avatar
Card Slinger J
Nope Not Today
Posts: 384
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

Here's the religious references for each card thus far:

Kenrith, the Returned King - Representing Christ himself.
Bastion of Remembrance - Commemorating Christ's tomb.
Dark Petition - Christ's temptation after fasting in the wilderness.
Filigree Sages - Representing the Three Wise Men who came to visit Christ at his birth.
Dryad of the Ilysian Grove - Representing Adam from the Garden of Eden.
Gideon Jura - Representing King David of Israel.
Training Grounds - Battle between David and Goliath.
Starstorm - Fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah.
Oblation - Pilgrimage to the Church of Christ.
Wonder - Archangel Michael?
Seedborn Muse - Virgin Mary in reference to Adam Rex original art.
Karmic Guide - Blessing from one of God's angels?
Sudden Spoiling - Representing Stigmata?
Disrupt Decorum - If the Last Supper had gone horribly wrong I guess?
Shard Convergence - When Moses received the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai.
Prismatic Omen - Star of Bethlehem?
Return of the Wildspeaker - Someone breaking free from demonic possession?
Chromatic Orrery - The Ark of the Covenant.
"Salvation is for those who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who have lived through it."

- Ralph Smart

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

Post by benjameenbear » 3 years ago

Alright, I'm going to throw some more ideas out there.

Enlightened Tutor - a visual reference to the scrolls and scriptures that dominates orthodox Judaism (of which Christ lived in)
Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer/Dark Confidant - to represent Judas, who sold out Christ for 33 pieces of silver.
Cultivate - multiple representations, but I'd settle on the fact that farming was a typical profession in ancient times and also of the effect during the Millenium, when the land will overflow with milk and honey.
Heroic Intervention - pretty obvious representation of many miracles in the Bible.
Eternal Witness - because evangelism is AKA witnessing.
Birds of Paradise - to represent the dove that Noah released from the ark to find dry land after the Flood.
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim - to represent Paul, possibly the most well-traveled and dedicated Christian missionary of all-time.
Swords to Plowshares - a phrase directly from the Bible and representative of the change that Christianity brings in true Disciples.
Wrath of God - because yeah.
Austere Command - the Old Testament seems very harsh, and this card definitely captures that feeling while also being practicle.
Hour of Revelation - pretty obvious in my mind, but definitely a powerful reminder of the Rapture, the one of the first signs of the End of Times.
Damnation - because duh.
Supreme Verdict - another great Wrath effect that fits with Christ's omnipotence.
Rhystic Study - while Christ's young adult life and childhood isn't explicitly explored in canonical sources, Jewish upbringing included a heavy emphasis on learning the Torah and the Pentatuech. This card captures that flavor perfectly while also being good.
Dockside Extortionist - to represent the money-exchangers that infested the Temple before Christ cleansed it.
Shalai, Voice of Plenty - to represent an Archangel, maybe Raphael?
Last Word - Christ's word as arbiter is final.
Worldly Tutor - Christ's parables came from his excellent understanding of the natural world around him, so this represents the learning he doubtlessly underwent.
Anguished Unmaking - I believe in Christ's merciful nature, and think this is a pretty good representation of the feelings he will have at the Final Judgment.
Fire Covenant - a representation of when Jehovah promised to be a pillar of fire by night to the Israelites as they wandered the wilderness.
Scheming Symmetry - another representation of Judas's betrayal.
Smothering Tithe - unlawful usury and tithes for nearly everything was a corrupt practice that existed during Christ's time, a legit reason for Christ denouncing the Pharisees and Sadducees as hypocrites.
Farseek - representation of when Jesus was carried into Egypt as a child to escape persecution from Herod (I think? can't remember the exact details here).
Council's Judgment - a representation of the corrupt excuse of a trial that Christ received as part of Judas's betrayal.
Happily Ever After - because this is an awesome card of the hopeful and happy promise of the Gospel.
Mayhem Devil - a representation of the various devils and demons Christ cast out during his ministry.
Isochron Scepter - an excellent representation of the scepter that Christ will wield as King of Kings.
Dramatic Reversal - yeah, I'd call the Resurrection a pretty dramatic reversal!

A good combo line that you could include would be Dockside Extortionist + Mayhem Devil + Kenrith, the Returned King. Your opponents need to have a collective 5 artifacts and/or enchantments between them in order for this combo to work. Sac 5 of the treasures for B. Mayhem Devil sees 5 permanents getting sacc'ed. Use 2 of the triggers to kill the Extortionist, putting it in the 'yard, and the other 3 triggers to deal damage to each of your opponents.. Use the 5 black mana to resurrect the Extortionist via Kenrith's last ability. Rinse and repeat until they're all dead.

And of course Dramatic Scepter is a well-known Combo commodity at this point.

I hope this helps you get some inspiration!

User avatar
Card Slinger J
Nope Not Today
Posts: 384
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by Card Slinger J » 3 years ago

Thanks! I actually do run Farseek, Happily Ever After, and Smothering Tithe in here. Did some brewing a few days ago and found some synergies that seemed to work really well for this deck:

Keldon Twilight - Thought it'd have some good synergy with Kenrith's first ability of giving all creatures haste and trample while pressuring opponents to attack without having to sacrifice one of their creatures.
Anax, Hardened in the Forge - Mainly in here to counteract Keldon Twilight from me having to sacrifice my own creatures for not attacking.
Crackling Doom - Adds pressure with Keldon Twilight when combined with Kenrith's first ability.
Dark Intimations and Mythos of Snapdax - Same as above except also add pressure to sacrifice planeswalkers.
Heartwarming Redemption - Closest card draw for White that isn't Azorius Charm or Sphinx's Revelation.
"Salvation is for those who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who have lived through it."

- Ralph Smart

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Decklists”